Nagging Questions for...
Thomas McCarthy
by Jeff Lyons

PROFESSION: Director, Writer, Actor

WHERE YOU'VE SEEN HIS WORK:
"The Station Agent" (Director & Writer), "Meet the Parents," "Boston Public," "Law & Order," "The Practice," "Ally McBeal," "Spin City"

WHAT'S NEXT FOR TOM:
Reading scripts and rest

FIND OUT MORE:
Visit The Station Agent website at
www.thestationagent.com.



I freely admit that I don't see some of the movies I review. So when I actually saw The Station Agent, a review didn't seem sufficient to express how much I loved this movie. Then I found out that writer/director Thomas McCarthy was the actor whose character was unfairly fired from Boston Public just because he didn't turn in his buddy for getting a little action from a student. I had to find out how a refugee from TV's most circus-like high school came to make one of the most humane, unsentimental, original and funny movies of the year about the friendship of an unlikely triad—a misanthropic four-foot-five rail fan, a puppyish hotdog vendor, and a grieving artist. Despite the fact that The Station Agent won the Audience Award and Best Screenplay at Sundance and was named one of the top movies of the year by the National Board of Review, McCarthy returned my call. Here's what he had to say.

The film has really taken off. I guess word of mouth advertising really works!

It worked for us. It's been this slow burn. You start to wonder if it does work, and eventually you're like, "Wow, people really do talk about it, and people really do go see it."

Can you pinpoint any turning point when you think the movie hit?

It's hard to do, and I think every scenario is different. For instance, we have Miramax behind us, and sure, we have a big company, but quite truthfully, I don't think that Miramax has had a film like this in a while. It's sort of a throwback to their roots, so I think that's why Harvey [Weinstein] really, really wanted this movie. I think with all his big success in the movies now he's anxious to prove that Miramax discovers and develop new filmmaker and new films.

I read that you were friends with Bobby Cannavale [Joe] and Peter Dinklage [Fin] before you made the movie.

Friends is stretching it—nah, I'm kidding. Bobby and I did a play together seven or eight years ago, and we've been very good friends since that point. Likewise, I directed Pete in a play about six years ago—same kind of thing… By the time we got to filming, we all knew one another very well.

So when you wrote the script, did you have either of those actors in mind?

I had the three leads in mind. Patty [Patricia Clarkson, who played Olivia] I didn't know as well, but I was a fan of hers. We had the same agent, and I had met her on several occasions. I was writing it, and I had seen her in a play at the time, a Richard Greenberg play called Three Days of Rain. I thought, man, everything I've seen her in, she's just so fucking good. I went back to writing the next day, and I thought she'd be perfect for this. I just sort of started to write it for her. When I was finished, I went to my agent, and told her I wrote this for Patty. I don't think my agent knew I was that serious as a writer, and I knew that she gets so many scripts, but Patty called me the next day after she got the script. She was like, "I'll do this," so we sat down and had coffee. That was three years ago. From that point on, Peter, Patty, and Bobby were involved.

How hard was it to sell this unusual story?

You can picture the pitch.

Yeah. There's very little dialogue, and it's about a little person, and his friends are troubled, and he lives in the sticks in New Jersey.

Pretty much. I was just, "Give me money! I never even directed a short, but trust me, it's going to do really well."

Michelle Williams and Peter Dinklage

Can you explain the process of to get this movie made—you wrote it, cast it and got the money.

Well, every process is different, especially for indie films, but my thought on this was always that a lot of the great independent films come from people who know each other really well and work well together. I think indie film has gotten away from that a little because so many people are getting into the business but they don't have connections. I don't mean connections in the Hollywood sense, but that they don't have connections to other actors and cinematographers and writers who they want to work with. So a lot of indie films are being built like studio films. They get a writer, they get a director, they cast actors that people kind of know. Everyone shows up on set and no one knows each other—there's no history there.

I think a lot of independent films really live and die on the intimacy that comes from people knowing each other—that trust and that attitude. With The Station Agent, I did attach these actors and myself as the director. It was a kind of a complete package when we went out for funding. I think that ultimately, that was the strength of the movie, but in the trying-to-raise-money stage, it was a nightmare. Everybody passed on this movie. Everyone liked it, but nobody wanted to make it. Cool idea, great actors—no. I think that's partially because I was a first-timer, and in a big part because Peter is a dwarf. And they were really open about that—they weren't really hiding it. They'd say, "I don't know if audiences are ready for this. I've never seen it."

What was the budget?

Just under half a million.

By Hollywood standards, that's a small budget.

By independent standards, that's a small budget.

OK. I was treading lightly there. But what do you do to cut corners? Where do you not spend money and still get a quality movie?

At that price, you're cutting corners absolutely everywhere. Truthfully, I just kept saying to my producer, Mary Jane Skalski, who was on board for a long time, "Can we do this?" And she said, "Oh, we can do anything. It's going to be really hard and really painful, but we can do it." And it was. For instance, some of the major corners were where we shot in super 16 as opposed to 35, which saved us some costs. We kept our crew small, we used a lot of film-school students to help us out. Which is good and bad—you get cheap labor, and they're getting experience, and they're excited, but they're also really inexperienced.

Newfoundland (the film's setting) is a real town in New Jersey, correct?

Yes.

And you're from New Jersey—what part?

I'm from New Providence, a tiny town most people haven't heard of—it's only about a half an hour from where we actually shot.

Nearest big city?

Big city? I don't know. But in the last 10 years the Short Hills Mall has been the landmark that everybody seems to go, "Oh yeah."

I think you need a credit check to walk into that mall.

Exactly.

So you're shooting in a town you know well. Did you have family members and friends come by and help out?

We had one day—you know the scene where Olivia drives Fin off the road? We were shooting that scene on this abandoned road—it's an abandoned road, because we couldn't afford to own anything legally. So it's a tough shot and we're shooting very quickly because we don't have much film. I call for the road to be locked up so we can go ahead and do it, and we're just about ready to shoot, and my DP [director of photography] goes, "There's a car coming." Well, how can there be a car coming? It's locked up. So I say to my DP, "How did that car get there?" And everybody's screaming now on walkie-talkies, and then there's a pause. Then you hear after a silence, "Um, it's Tom's mother." It was my mom and my sister stopping by to say hello.

Did you feel bad reaming them out?

Let's say I felt pretty stupid. And my mom was horrified because she heard the whole thing on the walkie-talkie. It was one of those moments when I just had to laugh — you just can't take yourself too seriously when your mom shows up.

Bobby Cannavale and Patricia Clarkson

Got to ask about the hotdog stand—there's this hotdog stand in the middle of nowhere…

People always say that. But I don't want to have to explain it—I want people to take away what they want. But the hotdog stand is where I take my stand. I gotta explain this—first of all, it's not in the middle of nowhere. It's prime real estate for a hotdog stand. This guy has perfectly positioned himself. If you watch, there are always cars whizzing by, so much so that it affected our sound because there was a traffic overlap when we were cutting the movie.

Secondly, we would be filming a scene at the depot and we'd turn around and there would actually be a car pulling up to the hotdog stand. We got to the point where we were like, "Just don't say anything. They'll figure it out." They would stand there and look in and look around.

Bobby wouldn't serve them?

Nah. Thirdly, there was a guy with a very similar hotdog truck about 200 yards down the road. That's where I got the idea.

So it's based on reality?

Totally. We actually tried to rent his truck because it was so perfect. We asked, "Would you consider letting us use this?" And he said, "Yep." "Great. How much?" It was $8,000 a day. We were like, "How many hot dogs are you selling, anyway?"

Are you really a train fanatic or was this something you had to research?

Oh, it was totally research. I met the guy who owned that depot, and he was this oddball type, a publisher from New Jersey. I asked why he owned it, and he said, "Well, I'm a rail fan." I think that was the first time I heard that expression. He invited me to one of those train meetings, like you see in the beginning of the movie, and I thought it was amazing. It was a subculture that I didn't know existed. And it's funny—in this country a lot of people don't know about rail fans, but I was just in London screening at the London Film Festival, and they are just this derided group there. People hate rail fans—they call them train spotters.

Silly train spotters, they could be spending their time in pubs. What are they doing outside watching trains?

Literally, I was at this big Q&A at this huge theater, and after the third crack about it, I asked, "What do you people have against rail fans?" They all kind of laughed—they didn't even know why they hated them so much. They were just raised to hate train spotters.

Please talk if you would about the Sundance experience. Is it disconcerting now to see big stars roaming about a supposed "indie" scene?

It's more funny. You're like, why is Britney Spears here? It's kind of just odd. You're at a party and you see a bubble of people around a big star. It's still a weird mix—anything that becomes cool attracts people who go there to get their street cred: "I was down and dirty with the indie people."

It's also a good excuse to buy a new parka and funny furry hat.

Sure. But that said, Sundance is still pretty incredible. For me it was a great experience because I met a lot of really great filmmakers. When you're involved in competition, they set aside special places and times, and it's rare, when you're a young director or writer that you have a chance to talk to people who actually do what you do. It's very hard to find that community. Like David Gordon Green, I loved All the Real Girls, and I met him when he happened to be going to see my film. We ended up going out and having drinks all night and just chatting. That doesn't happen that often in the real world.

Pete Sollett's Raising Victor Vargas was another wonderful film, Peter Hedges [writer/director of Pieces of April] and Catherine Hardwicke [writer/director of thirteen]—I've now seen them again and again on the festival circuit. That's kind of cool, and it's something I didn't expect, to develop those relationships there. And obviously, we're forever indebted to Sundance.

When you were at Sundance for the first showing, was it the way we picture it from watching shows like Project Greenlight? Were you in the back waiting to see audience reactions?

I think again, it's important to point out that we had a unique experience. They're not all like that, and I say that being as gracious as I can be, because we won the Audience Award. We had never screened the film completed, with the score or with a blow-up print of 35. We rushed the film to get there. My brother and his wife, who have nothing to do with the film industry, had to carry the print from JFK to Utah because we couldn't get a courier to bring it down from Canada.

And they were like, "Do you trust your brother?" I said, "I trust my brother so much more than I trust me." He's a family man with four kids—he's the most trustworthy guy in the world. So they carried it, and we met them at the airport, and rushed the print up Friday night, and screened it Saturday.

It was amazing. I have this very big, close family so they all came. Pete's mom was there. We had a lot of friends there, and a lot of the crew showed up. It was a sold-out theater. Right before, I was like, "Oh man, this is like an absolute recipe for disaster if they hate it. Everyone we know is here." But we sat and watched it too, because we had never seen the film all together, especially with an audience. It was a little terrifying. I sat next to my cinematographer and editor, and we watched the movie with 450 people. But them we went up afterward to do the Q&A, and they gave us a standing ovation. We could kind of tell from the response that we had something very good. After that, it just kind of exploded.

At the screening, I sat in the back with my lawyer, and he was pointing out every studio as someone walked in. Oh, there's Miramax, and there's Fine Line—people that I would never recognize. That night we started hearing, "Let's have breakfast, let's have lunch, let's have coffee."

Was it like a feeding frenzy?

It's hilarious. We actually go to this hotel where a lot of people meet, and have breakfast with the Miramax people at table 9, then say goodbye and cross over to table 13 with other people. And they're all there—just waiting, watching, seeing how your meeting is going with the other guys. It really was surreal. It's almost like something where no one would believe the reality.

Can we talk a little bit about your acting?

Nooo.

Really?

No, it's OK.

The first time I think I saw you was on Boston Public. I've noticed that on Boston Public the actors have a very short life span.

It's a very tragic high school.

Your character didn't last long. What happened?

I got the offer from David Kelley, and it was really simple. He's a great writer and he's funny—I jumped at it. When it started to move in another direction, it was kind of a shock. I was on the show for what? Three-quarters of the year, and then I get a call that I'm getting written out. The funny thing was I kept complaining, “Nothing's happening with this character. I'm so bored.” And David was like, “You're right. Nothing's happening.” So that was the end of Kevin Riley.

You were also on a lot of episodes of Law and Order. Were you a victim or a perp?

I was at a play last night, and this woman was like, "I know you from somewhere." Everyone in the world watches that fucking show. It's amazing how it crops up. I remember I did a Law and Order while I was editing because I needed the money. I called my agent: "Get me something." She got this Law and Order for me—I went in and shot it in two days. It's such an autopilot show with those guys. Just tell me where to go and what to do. Let Briscoe yell at me, and let me out of here. But they're a great group of people and they have a great thing going there.

Will you be concentrating more on directing now?

No. I've been reading a lot of scripts, there's been a lot of offers, but I'll probably write my next thing, and that will take a while. It's great to be able to act while you're writing because it's not that consuming for me, and I like to be around other actors, whether it's in a play or on film. It's a great environment when you're working with good people. Right after Sundance, I went and had a supporting role in this movie called The Last Shot, that Jeff Nathanson, the director who wrote Catch Me If You Can, did. It's a big, broad mystery comedy. I haven't seen it or been involved with it since we shot it, but it was cool to be back on a set as an actor, watching Jeff, who was directing his first film, go through all the same things that I had just gone through—but with a lot more money. It's a great way to learn, sitting back and watching other directors work, and other actors.

What are you looking at next? Give us an exclusive.

I really don't know. I get some period epics, and I wonder, What are they thinking? Are they kidding me? Did they see The Station Agent? Nothing happened and it all takes place in one town in New Jersey. We were laughing when the National Board of Review named us as third on their list of the best movies, along with films like Mystic River, The Last Samurai—all sweeping epics.

Will there be a Station Agent II?

You know, I get that all the time.

Well, you've lived with these characters for so long, and the audience really loved them. Wouldn't you like to see these guys hang out again?

I'll work with those actors again, definitely, but not those characters. We've got to let them go.

So it's also safe to say that we won't be seeing a sitcom, a la "My Big Fat Greek Wedding?" We won't see wacky neighbors hanging out at the station?

Right. It would be about a really quiet guy who doesn't like people. That would make a great sitcom. No. It's come up in meetings actually, and you just shake your head. And you just think, god, do we have to merchandise everything? But I would completely support Station Agent dolls to sell to kids—that would be a great thing. Action figures—I'm all about action figures. They could collect the hotdog truck, the depot—it would be really exciting.

I just saw Peter Dinklage on Jon Stewart a couple weeks ago, and he was very sweet and talkative. This is defintely not the guarded, taciturn fellow we saw in the movie.

It's really true. Dink is one of the funniest guys I know. He's sarcastic and he's got a great sense of humor and he's completely different from the character. I do point out on a serious level what a really subtly great performance he gave—it's almost easy to overlook in some ways, and I think the critics have. We really had to strip him down. That's tough for an actor, especially someone like Peter who has used his sense of humor to get through life. I had to say, you can't do that. You can't do the charming thing—this guy doesn't want to be charming, he doesn't want to be flirty, he doesn't want to be sarcastic. He really just wants to be left alone. The only way to achieve that is really to shut down.

Were you concerned about his minimal dialogue, that he might not be able to get his character across?

I felt confident that we could pull it off. But yeah, there was something about it that was very execution-dependent. Pete had to pull it off. He's an actor that has more going on—when you just look at his face, you're reading something there. There are moments that he sells just with a "no" or a "yeah"—it's very watchable, and at moments very funny.

I was thankful that it didn't hit you over the head like many comedies do.

Again, good actors make the difference.

Like Bobby, he was an interesting choice because he usually plays the studly macho guy. Were you hesitant about casting him?

I was never hesitant, but I think other people were. When we went to get money, people said, Well, you need Peter, and Patty's a bona fide indie queen, but I don't know about this Bobby guy. They knew his work kind of from Third Watch, but the had never done anything like this. I knew Bobby personally, and I knew how funny he is. We have a similar sense of humor, so I knew I could write for him and pull it out of him. It was an opportunity. It's funny how those things work out, because we did have a lot of offers where they said, how about a star for that role? But this was Bobby's part. And he nailed it, and now he's getting film offers left and right.

Here's a standard UsedWigs question we like to ask people: Favorite websites?

I like Drudge a lot, but I'm not a big surfer guy. I just go there for my news. Lately its been Drudge and Indiewire. But yours is my new favorite website.

Thanks… Lastly, what's a good day for Tom McCarthy?

Right now a good day is just being in New York without much to do. I've been traveling pretty much nonstop for the last three months, so right now, I'm enjoying being in New York where I can just wake up, drink some coffee, read the paper, go to a movie in the afternoon, and dinner with some friends that night—just chill and simple.