Behind The Film 'What Goes Up'

For Jonathan Glatzer, winning the best film award for 'Prix Fixe,' a 28-minute short released in 1997, must seem a lifetime ago on the day before his full length feature film What Goes Up is shown at the Pacific Design Center before opening in six major cities.

Back then, he had directed Oscar nominee Douglas McGrath and Tim Blake Nelson. This time around, he directed a cast of brilliant performers including: Steve Coogan, Hilary Duff, Olivia Thirlby, Josh Peck, Molly Shannon, and a dozen other young and talented actors.

"Being around this young cast, I felt younger and much older at the same time," recalls Glatzer. "Younger because they brought an energy and commitment that has not been dampened by cynicism; older because sometimes I had to act like the mature one on the set. But only when I absolutely had to."

According to Glatzer, the script, which he originally worked on with Robert Lawson as a stage play, had a long history of what some might call moments of maturity. While it attracted champions, the number of characters and locations called for a bigger budget than many producers and studios would have considered from a first-time director.

And then, even after the financing was locked, it became even more challenging than Glatzer expected. The result, two weeks before principal photography, was a tight budget and fewer shooting days. It took some additional tenancy for the first-time executive producers at Three Kings Productions. And, of course, the cast.

"It all came down to having a truly great cast, talented and deeply cool, to make it possible for us to accomplish this film," says Glatzer. "When your budget has you by the edge of a knife, your cast makes the difference. Their performances were all wonderful."

The cast originally came together in a few short months, with Coogan being among the first to meet with Glatzer after reading the script. Duff, who was recommended by John Cusack, came on after noting a personal connection between herself and Lucy. And Shannon joined after hearing how she had enamored Glatzer during a screening of Mike White’s “Year of the Dog.” He still insists she should have been nominated for an Oscar.

"When I saw Olivia Thirlby’s audition tape, I was completely blown away; I still am," he said. "And Josh Peck, who was originally cast as the character Fenster, is one of the best, if not the best, actors of his generation."

Nearly everyone agrees. Many reviewers, even those who have been hard on the film, have given props to the performers. Even more so than reviewers, the film's first outing at the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival won the "Audience Award."

"I think they walked away with what I wanted them to ... love for the characters, but the kind of love you might give begrudgingly because they are not without flaws," he said. "Just like this film, there is no ‘wrapped with a ribbon’ resolution or perfect plans or moments of unadulterated triumph."

Glatzer says that if there is any message, then it must be exactly that. There is pain, he says, not only in loss, but in every interaction between us all. He believes that is one of the reasons we look for heroes; each of us is trying to find ideas that are larger than ourselves, even if that sometimes means disposing of inconvenient truths.

It happens in everyday life, he says, and on the grand scale. It happens with groups of young people, in their teens, just like those brought to life in the film. Sometimes, kids have one adult in their lives who shines. But if they die, it leaves a crater in their lives that needs to be filled with whatever seems within easy reach and most convenient.

Glatzer began his career in theater as a director, staging productions at such venues as the Oxford Playhouse in England, Shakespeare Theatre in Washington D.C., and The Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York. He then moved on to work as a writer for Touchstone Television, Fox Television, Warner Brothers, Good Machine, and Industry Entertainment.

In addition to film, there is another interesting footnote on Glatzer's resume. He was an alternate for the U.S. men's fencing team for the 2000 Summer Olympics that was held in Sydney, Australia.

Glatzer will also be featured this Friday in an extended First Look video.