INTERVIEW - LARRY PARR
Fractured crime story

An email interview with writer/director Larry Parr about feature film Fracture, which opened in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland on September 9. Nick Grant

So what attracted you to Maurice Gee's novel Crime Story, and why did you think it would make the basis for a good film?
I was attracted to Leeanne's story. I'd seen young woman (and young men, for that matter) trapped by circumstances and unable to escape. Originally I thought that the film could be almost exclusively the Leeanne and Brent story and that it could be made very cheaply, a 'no budget film'. That's what I did with the first draft of the screenplay but it was very dark (it included the rape of Leeanne), so dark I had to rethink. So I went back to the novel, found more things that I could relate to thematically and added back characters.

How much screenwriting experience did you have prior to adapting Crime Story and why did you decide you were the guy to write this script? Did you see yourself directing it at this point?
Not a lot of actual writing experience I guess, but I had been involved as producer in the development of a number of screenplays including several adaptations of New Zealand novels. In terms of writing credits, I adapted Witi's short story The Makutu on Mrs Jones for the film I made, I had a co-writer credit on A Soldier's Tale and I had done several drafts of an un-produced screenplay called The Enlightenment of Jesse Edwards. Why did I think I was the guy to write the script? Money or the lack of it! I didn't have development funds and at that time wasn't inclined to approach the NZFC for development funding for the project, so couldn't really afford to engage a good writer.
And I did see myself directing the film, so wanted to try and come up with a script for the film I wanted to make. Ironically, when I finished the second draft I did end up offering the script to several other directors before deciding to direct it myself.
I'd previously directed one half-hour drama, The Makutu on Mrs Jones, the feature film A Soldier's Tale, one episode of Ray Bradbury Theatre, and three or four documentaries.

How many drafts of the script did you do, over what period, and how did it change during that process?
I think I did five drafts over about a four-year period. The first two drafts I did quite quickly, like in a period of about eight weeks. I showed the second draft around and only got mildly warm interest so I shelved it for a while - about three years. Then in April 2001 I dusted it off and did the draft we first submitted to the NZFC in about June or July of that year. I did a further draft after they declined to finance it at that first meeting and I think there was another draft and numerous tickles before we started shooting.
I've already talked about the changes from draft one to two. In draft three I tried to make it a more contemporary story and that's the stage where the rape scene disappeared. The Leeanne I was drawing was probably more in control than the Leeanne of the novel and I had to preserve the credibility of that character. In the fourth and subsequent drafts we were editing and trying to ramp up the stakes and that's where Brent's railway track fingers scene came in. It was always quite a struggle to get the balance of the various stories working right. That difficulty was exacerbated by the fact that different readers responded to different characters in different ways - more so than with anything else I have been involved with.

What do you see as the most important considerations when adapting a novel into a screenplay, as opposed to writing one from scratch?
You need to come up with a producible screenplay. I don't think you can lay down any hard and fast rules other than that. It's such a matter of subjective preference depending on the novel, the people involved and the film they want to make. There is one important question I guess you can always ask at the beginning of the process: "What did I pay the money for?" So sometimes you might be buying a brand, sometimes you might be buying a character, others it may be a story twist. Logically, what you paid the money for will influence what is important in the adaptation. With A Soldier’s Tale I was ultimately buying the ending; with Crime Story I was buying Maurice’s beautifully drawn characters, and so I hope I did justice to them.

Shortly after the shoot finished I was speaking to one of the more experienced screen performers involved and they said the shoot was the most creatively rewarding experience they’d had on a film, so you’ve obviously got some valuable insights to impart on that topic ...
Hell, I don’t think I’ve done enough directing to claim I have an approach to working with actors and I have had no training in that regard. Having said that, I guess there are two or three things that I have learned over the years.
First, it’s my job to know the script better than anyone else; I need to be able to answer questions quickly and precisely. For me a part of achieving that is developing comprehensive back-stories for the characters – (a) so that I have a rationale for my answers to questions, and (b) to offer up to actors should they want them.
Second, you need to be flexible – different actors work in different ways and you need to do the best you can to accommodate their individual method of working. Some actors like to rehearse, others don’t, and if they’ve got a lot of scenes together that could get difficult. I encountered that on A Soldier’s Tale and again on Fracture. You find ways of making it work, of giving them each what they want or need without losing sight of what the film needs. Mostly I have been fortunate enough to work with very experienced and talented actors, so I personally prefer not to rehearse too much – I want the thrill of seeing what they are going to give me on the day.
Third, I need to be able to communicate efficiently with the actors, be precise with any direction I may want to offer to them. I suspect that I’m quite collaborative with actors; I like to provide the actors with the working space, block the scene through until we have it nailed down and then design the coverage around what they do. And then, when it comes to shooting the scene, I tend to offer them ideas that they can use or not use. Obviously, if I’m on the mark they’ll take the idea and run with it. If they don’t want to run with it then they will be able to tell me why it doesn’t work for the character at that moment.

How would you describe your approach to working with crew and your “management style” in general when it comes to directing?
Again, I don’t think I’ve directed enough drama to say I have a style of working. Anyway, on the budgets we work with I think you are continually changing your approach to scenes and the day’s work to accommodate the budgetary constraints that we work under and to get the day’s work done. Again, my job is not to dither so we lose momentum – I have to try and be precise and efficient with my decision-making. In terms of style I guess I’m not into histrionics and I would like to think that I am a calm influence, though others may tell you different.

Leaving aside (for the time being) the looming financial problems Kahukura was clearly facing at the time, what were the chief challenges and pleasures of the Crime Story/Fracture shoot for you?
It’s not really possible to put it aside – obviously the behind the scenes crisis was a major challenge and remaining focused on the film in all the circumstances was difficult. It was also a challenging film to shoot in seven weeks, as there were a lot of speaking roles and a lot of locations. In terms of the pleasures, well, it was good to direct drama again after a break of about 15 years. I enjoyed that and I think, by and large, the whole team enjoyed making the film.

How did the postproduction process work, given the NZFC appointed editor John Gilbert as creative consultant to represent their interests in the film?
Actually, I think John’s involvement was positive; it was good to have all that external input channeled through one source. Particularly when that source is an experienced and talented editor/producer. That’s not to say that Charlie [McClellan, producer] and I didn’t have differences of opinion with John – we did – but there was mutual respect and that’s basically all you need to be able to work together.

What most pleases you about the finished film?
That it does justice to Maurice’s work, we got to finish it and it’s the film we set out to make.

What are you most disappointed about?
That completion of the film was so delayed by being caught in the Kahukura web.

What are your expectations for the film in terms of its immediate NZ and international box office prospects, and its medium to long-term future in ancillary markets?
I hope New Zealand audiences will go to the film and see something of us in it, that the film will move them and they’ll be encouraged to recommend it to their friends and peers. We are going out with a relatively small number of prints and I’d like to think we could be one of those films that sits there for a good run. We believe that being based on a novel by one of our finest writers will mean the film has some longevity in terms of ancillary markets. Internationally, the film has been selected by a number of film festivals and hopefully the exposure that it will get from these screenings will generate some good overseas sales.

Aything else about Fracture you’d like to mention at this stage?
I would just like to reinforce, as I have to most people directly involved already, that I deeply regret the demise of Kahukura, and I apologise to those who were caught up in the debacle and suffered as a result.

• Onfilm also submitted a number of questions relating to the collapse of Parr’s company Kahukura as part of this interview. Parr was concerned such a discussion might divert focus from Fracture’s current release, however, and so has given an undertaking to do a separate interview on this subject, to appear in Onfilm November.

© Copyright Onfilm magazine September 2004

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