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DGA screens Stephen Kessler's The Independent
Stephen Kessler's The Independent was screened at the DGA on July 30 to a full house. Following the screening, DGA member Jack Ziga, also a co-producer of the film, moderated a discussion with Kessler and the film's star, Jerry Stiller.
"When you do an independent production like this, you have to have a lot of compassion on the set and go into it with a sense of joy that comes from loving the script and loving the people involved," Stiller explained. "We began work on the film in 1998, right after Seinfeld ended. In this crazy world of being an actor, you don't know when the next thing is going to happen that lifts you up, and makes you happy you even joined this profession. In this particular crazy time after that final episode wrapped, I was blessed when this sort of fell into my lap."
Kessler recalled that the casting process was a challenge in and of itself. "Originally Jerry Lewis was interested in playing Morty, but had to drop out. Although now I really can't picture anyone other than Jerry Stiller playing this part, because he so totally inhabited Morty Fineman."
Kessler went on to explain that the casting of Jerry Stiller was also due to a healthy dollop of kismet.
"I had gotten a lot of really talented young comic actors like Janeane Garofolo to commit to the film because they were going to be working with Jerry Lewis. As soon as Lewis dropped out, I thought I was going to lose the rest of my cast. I spoke with Janeane, and she asked who else I had in mind for Morty. When I mentioned Jerry Stiller, she got very excited, so I thought, 'Hmm, maybe the others will stay as well.' I called Jerry's agent, who said 'Jerry's very hot right now. Send the script. If we like it, we can set a meeting in three weeks in New York.'"
Kessler, a New Yorker who was land-locked in Los Angeles at the time, knew that he didn't have three weeks worth of time, or money, if his film was going to happen. "So I'm coming out of the Chateau Marmont one day, and who do I run into but Ben Stiller, who was also staying there. I said, 'I've got a great part for your dad in my movie.' Ben said, 'Yeah, Janeane told me: that would be great. Have you met him yet?' 'No, I'm supposed to go meet him in New York in three weeks.' Ben smiled and said, 'I'm about to go out to breakfast with him at Canter's. Want me to bring him back to the hotel?' Jerry read the script and committed to it the next day."
As a final thought, Kessler remarked, "Hollywood gets a bad rap oftentimes as a very cold and unfriendly place, but doing this film, it taught me that nothing could be further from the truth. All these people who appeared in the film — Ron Howard, Roger Corman, Karen Black, Peter Bogdanovich, Nick Cassavetes — all gave their time and of themselves to appear in this film to talk about this guy Morty Fineman. They had nothing to gain from it, but they did it anyway, out of generosity. This is a film that many people will look at and think it's very bitter satire, but the experience of making it was anything but."
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