By Judith Salkin
Even with the final screenings of the Palm Springs International Film Festival taking place on the same day, there was still an audience that wanted to watch one more film and hear what the filmmaker had to say about his passion to bring all the elements of great storytelling together on the screen.
That’s what happened on Monday at Palm Springs Art Museum’s Annenberg Theater with the screening of Albert Berger’s breakthrough 1999 film, “Election.”
The screening marked the debut of the Museum Associates Council (MAC) “Art of Conversation” Speakers Series. It was emceed by MAC president Gloria Scoby, with Teri Schwartz moderating the post-film Q&A session with Berger.
“Election” is a bitingly satirical story of a high school student council election that mirrors the absurdities of national elections. It was directed and written by Alexander Payne (“Sideways,” “The Descendants,” “Nebraska”), along with author Tom Perrotta, who penned the book and Jim Taylor (“Sideway,” “About Schmidt”), a regular writing partner for Payne. But the story and the idea to bring it to the screen was the brainchild of Berger and his producing partner, Ron Yerxa.
After nearly a decade as screenwriter Berger and Yerxa, a former studio executive, partnered as producers, realizing they could have more of an impact by working to bring these intimate stories to the screen.
It was a desire to find the quirky, character-driven “(books and screenplays) that fell between the cracks” to life, Berger said. “After eight or nine years as a screenwriter, I was getting jobs writing comedy but it wasn’t necessarily for projects (I cared about) and the spec scripts weren’t being picked up.”
What he did realize was unlike screenwriters who were hired to write a specific script or got a payday when a passion project was picked up, “Producers work all the time,” he said, and most often got to bring the stories that held their interest to the screen.
When asked by Schwartz to define the role of producer, Berger called himself a “creative producer.” “I find the material and develop the project to bring it to the screen,” he said. “I find the screenwriter, the director and cast.”
He also became an on-set presence, involved in the day-to-day workings of film, with immediate contact with the cast and crew.
“Election,” from a Perrotta novel, is a prime example of his behind-the-scenes role, and also the character and story-driven films that Berger prefers to produce. He found the story and approached a young Payne to write and direct the piece, allowing Payne to cast the film. Payne’s choices, other than Broderick who was chosen by MTV Productions, were young, mostly unknown actors and people found that he found in Omaha, which gave it the authenticity of place he brings to his films.
It stars a young Reese Witherspoon in a role that foreshadows her eventual growth as an actor, including glimpses of the future Elle Woods her breakout starring role in “Legally Blonde” as the overachieving Monica Lewinsky-esque Tracy Flick, alongside veteran Broderick as the teacher who tries to rig the student body election.
Others in the cast include Chris Klein, a real-life jock at the time who was also in Drama Club, as the jock drafted to run against Flick and Phil Reeves, a character actor who has been cast in several of Payne’s other films.
For Berger, the pleasure of producing smaller films – especially when working with a major studio, “unlike the $100 million films, when you’re working with our budgets they tend to give us more freedom,” he said. “They’re not looking at what we’re doing every day.”
Even after nearly 20 years, watching the film with an audience for Berger can a bit nerve wracking. “On the set and in dailies, you think you have something others want to see,” he said. “It’s always nice to have the audience confirm that.”
Next up for the Art Of Conversation Speaker Series, is the screening of the Michael Childers documentary, “Hollywood In The Desert Sky,” which includes a conversation with writer/director Mary Silverman and Childers after the film at 3:30 p.m. January 25.
Childers is a world-renowned photographer and film producer (“The Falcon and the Snowman”) who has lived in the Coachella Valley for nearly 20 years. “Hollywood in the Desert Sky” documents his life and work of more than 50 years in the film and photography industries.
Tickets for the Art of Conversation: Michael Childers are $75 and include an after-screening reception in the museum’s sculpture garden. Tickets: www.psmuseum.org or (760) 325-4490.
