There’s
nothing worse than having a younger sibling who’s more successful than you are.
Imagine being the older brother of the world’s greatest character actor, Philip
Seymour Hoffman. Instead of becoming a petulant jerk, Gordy Hoffman instead
wrote a script called Love Liza that
won the prestigious Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film
Festival earlier this year. The Fairport native brings Liza, which stars little brother Phil, to Rochester to close out
the High Falls Film Festival on November 2. In our interview, Gordy describes
why Liza is exactly the kind of movie
he doesn’t like.
City:Let’s
talk about “Love Liza.” Where did you come up with the story, you sick bastard
you?
           Hoffman: I had this idea of a normal guy abruptly starting to huff gas. Getting whacked
by something in life, we all know what that’s about. That’s why I think Love Liza is resonating with people,
because everybody knows you do all sorts of terrible stuff when bad things
happen to you.
           City:Did
you have to do any research into huffing?
           Hoffman: No, I never huffed gas. Detailed research? No. I just made everything up. I
talked to a guy who used to huff paint and asked him, “What happens if you
don’t stop huffing paint?” And he was, like, “Well, you usually kill
yourself.” I guess it causes incredible psychosis. The director (Todd
Louiso) did some research; I think he actually did try to get high. He took a
few whacks off of a rag. It made everything kind of hazy and groggy.
           City:Explain
what happens between you writing the script and the script becoming a movie.
           Hoffman: I wrote the first draft in August 1996 in 18 days and thought I had come up
with something interesting. My brother and I both happened to be in Rochester
and he read it over Labor Day weekend. I let him read it because he had seen so
many scripts and has a great eye for material. I just wanted to know what he
thought, to give me some feedback. He turned around and said, “I want to
play the guy.”
           He showed it to Paul Thomas Anderson
(Punch-Drunk Love), who showed it to
the people at Sundance — they run a Screenwriters’ Lab in January after the
festival is over, to develop material. It was placed as a finalist there but
didn’t go. About a year after that, Phil talked to his friend Todd Louiso and
said, “This is the guy I think should do it.” I met Todd, who is very
passionate and focused and cared a lot for the material, and signed off on him
being the director. It was more of a leap of faith — just trusting my
brother. I didn’t even see the short Todd made until months later.
           City:Were
you involved when they shot the film?
           Hoffman: No, I wasn’t on the set. It was the director’s first feature, so there was
trepidation on all of our parts. We didn’t really know what it would be like if
I was there and how I would react if they had to make creative decisions. About
five days into it, I felt like I had made a mistake. It was really alienating;
a very uncomfortable thing. It was like they’ve got a piece of your heart and
just ran off with it.
           City:So
did you not see the film until it was done, or were you seeing dailies while
they were shooting?
           Hoffman: We all looked at different versions; the first was in April 2001. Just like the
script, it went through five or six revisions. The director submitted it to
everybody, and everybody told him, “This works,” and “This
doesn’t work.” He listened, and that process went through the summer, when
he submitted a version to Sundance.
           City:Was
winning the screenwriting award at Sundance totally unexpected?
           Hoffman: The film was enjoying a really great ride there, and there was a lot of talk
about how the crop at Sundance wasn’t that strong. You could just hear the buzz
on the movie. And I had some Sundance employees say, “There might be some
awards in that movie on Saturday night.” Just kind of off-the-record
things — those people weren’t on the jury or anything. We didn’t know what
the hell was going to happen. I thought maybe an acting award, but I was pretty
sure we wouldn’t win the Audience Award. It’s still very surreal, but a
wonderful honor. It’s a real validation for everyone who worked on the movie.
           City:The
last two people (Christopher Nolan and Kenneth Lonergan) who won that award
have gone on to Oscar nominations for their films.
           Hoffman: Yes, I know that. It’s very frightening. I like to not think about that.
           City:It
seems like audiences have reacted pretty favorably toward the film.
           Hoffman: Yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of people liked the movie. And I think a lot of
people aren’t going to like the movie. I’m a lowbrow guy — I went and saw The Tuxedo when it opened. I don’t
necessarily feel comfortable going to artistic stuff that’s going to make me feel. Love Liza is the kind of film I’m not running out to see.
Want
to see Love Liza, both of the Hoffman
brothers, and the announcement and presentation of the festival’s awards on
Saturday, November 2, at the Dryden Theatre, at 8 p.m.? Take $15 down to Ticket
Express (100 East Avenue) and buy a ticket. This event is likely to sell out,
so don’t say we didn’t warn you.
This article appears in Oct 23-29, 2002.
