Roger & Me (Lovies for Roger Scheck: An Illuminating Interview with the Director of Nobody Loves Alice)
Interview by Rhonda Baughman
Rhonda: Where did the idea come from for 'Nobody?'
Roger: I had written several screenplay which I would never be able to afford to produce. So I set out to write a story I could afford to produce. I gave myself three stipulations: 1. I had to write a female lead (I had yet to do this) 2. I had to tell a love story (I had yet to do this also) and 3. Horror sells.
One night when I was at work I was standing next to my boss. The phone rang and he picked it up. On the phone was a woman who claimed to have been in the restaurant and seen him. She thought he was cute and wanted to meet him out side of the restaurant. Being the manager, guest satisfaction was his job - so he thanked her and offered to have her come into the restaurant for a free drink. He ended the conversation by telling her that he had a girlfriend. Less than two minutes after he hung up the phone his girlfriend called and said the previous call was her friend testing to see if he would cheat on her. Suddenly it hits me like a ton of bricks! I know that was the story I was looking for. And Alice was born.
Rhonda: How did the casting procedure work?
Roger: I had worked with Nitzan Mager and Phillip Ward on previous projects. You can see Nitzan star in my film Motherhood on myspace.com/alicefilm. I really wrote the film with them in mind and never thought of any other option for their characters. As far as the other casting went, Phillip Ward was an acting student at Elon University and found nearly everyone else in the film. John Rushton, the Psychiatrist in the film, also brought a few of the actors in for auditions.
Rhonda: Tell me about that 'other' film, Red Autumn ...
Roger: Red Autum is a film that was originally titled The Bad Mother. I wrote a script that was very influenced by the “70’s cool”. It had witty dialogue and an interesting plot. My school agreed to produce it and I was approached by the director about the script. He had pitched a script to the school and they didn’t like it. Mine was approved and they loved it. One of the stipulations was that the director could take on any of the approved scripts, but couldn’t change them drastically. He wanted to do a few re-writes, which I was cool with. The script he came back with didn’t have one action line or line of dialogue from my original script. He wrote a completely new film loosely based on my script. He kept the character names and the most striped down basic plot points were there but the twist ending was removed. It was a boring film school movie. I raised enough of a stink at the school that the Dean agreed to return the rights to my story and give me any credit I wanted. Even the faculty was on my side. I have since expanded it into a feature film with all the original “70’s cool” and all new twists and turns.
Rhonda: What do you plan to work on next?
Roger: I have so man project in so many budget ranges. I just finished the script for the sequel to Nobody Loves Alice. I have a Lynch-ian 1970 road movie about a Special Ops killer gone AWOL. I have a couple crime dramas and several screenplays written by a friend of mine, Kyle Osbone. I’m ready with an arsenal of material; I’m just seeking out financial backing.
Rhonda: What do you want to be remembered for?
Roger: I want to be a name on the lips of American pop culture, along side people like Sid Vicious, Quentin Tarantino, and Andy Warhol. I’ve always said, “love me or hate me but the one thing I can’t stand is indifference.”
Rhonda: I like that. Who are your idols/influences?
Roger: By far my biggest influence has been Quentin Tarantino, but there have been so many people who have influenced my madness: Kurt Cobain, Wes Craven, The Sex Pistols, Robert Rodriguez, Takashi Miike, Danzig, David Fincher, Roger Corman, J.J. Abrams, David Cronenberg, Neil LaBute, Steven Spielberg, Rob Zombie, Jim Thompson, Elmore Leonard, Stanley Kubrick…I could go on for days.
Rhonda: Who would you most like to work with in the future?
Roger: Again, Tarantino would be my first choice. As far as actors and actresses go, I would love to work with Naomi Watts, Shannyn Sossamon, Michael C. Hall, Woody Harrelson, Seth Rogan, Samuel L. Jackson, Juliette Lewis, Charlize Theron and my all time top choice would be Daniel Day-Lewis.
Please read the new interview with the star of Nobody Loves Alice in the Sirens of Cinema #15!
