UCF English professor Pat Rushin calls himself an 麻豆精品 S渙vergrown student, 麻豆精品 S� but to those in the film industry he 麻豆精品 S檚 better known as the writer behind the Venice Film Festival entry, 麻豆精品 S淭he Zero Theorem. 麻豆精品 S�
Originally written more than a decade ago, the film about a curious computer hacker is debuting at the festival on Sept. 2. Directed by Terry Gilliam, it stars Hollywood heavyweights Christoph Waltz, Matt Damon and Tilda Swinton.
Rushin started teaching at UCF in 1983. 麻豆精品 S淭he Zero Theorem 麻豆精品 S� is scheduled for wide release in 2014.
When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
I was always a voracious reader 麻豆精品 S擨 learned to read from comic books before I went to kindergarten 麻豆精品 S攁nd even as a kid I was writing stories. My parents bought me a second-hand Underwood upright typewriter when I was in first or second grade, and I wore that thing right out.
My dad, a civil engineer, had a real literary bent and a fairly extensive library, and he told me I could read anything I wanted. What freedom. What a world opened up for me. I was 麻豆精品 S渁 skinny little kid from Cleveland, Ohio, 麻豆精品 S� but with a library card I was a world traveler.
How did you get involved with teaching?
I was not a natural teacher. I was not born to be a teacher. In fact, from childhood to this day, I 麻豆精品 S檝e suffered from a debilitating fear of public speaking. Every time I have to give a reading or a speech, I die a million little deaths right up until the time I open my mouth to speak. And the first thirty seconds are a horror show inside my beating heart. But if I push through that first thirty seconds, I 麻豆精品 S檓 OK if not golden.
But I wanted to study English Lit and Creative Writing, and the only way to pay tuition and rent was to get teaching assistantships, first at Ohio State, then at Johns Hopkins. So I got into teaching by 麻豆精品 S� teaching. And then I discovered that, once the nerves wore off, I was pretty good at teaching, since teaching is all about questioning. And I 麻豆精品 S檝e always been good at asking questions.
What inspired you to write 麻豆精品 S淭he Zero Theorem 麻豆精品 S�?
The Book of Ecclesiastes. Seriously. That 麻豆精品 S檚 the book in the Old Testament that asks the major questions. What is the value of life? What is the meaning of existence? What 麻豆精品 S檚 the use?
So yeah, there was the original inspiration, but once I got working on it, I just had to make the script funny. There 麻豆精品 S檚 no use in living a life you can 麻豆精品 S檛 laugh at.
You sent your script to producer Dean Zanuck 10 years ago. What has the process been since then?
It 麻豆精品 S檚 been a real roller-coaster ride of high hopes followed by dashed dreams. First Dean 麻豆精品 S檚 father Richard Zanuck got Ewan McGregor onboard to play the lead, but then EwMac dropped out. Then it was Billy Bob Thornton with Terry Gilliam slated to direct, but the plan was to shoot in London, and BBT nixed that, as he has a phobia of antiques, and London is apparently full of old stuff. Really. Then it was the same players ready to shoot in Vancouver, but then Terry Gilliam pulled the plug, as he was still working on his 麻豆精品 S淚maginarium of Doctor Parnassus 麻豆精品 S� after Heath Ledger 麻豆精品 S檚 untimely death put that show behind schedule.
And during all of this, it seemed like an endless cycle of rewriting. But through all the ups and downs, Dean Zanuck has been a champion of this project from day one till now. He never lost faith, even when I did. He truly deserves all the credit for this movie coming to fruition.
What is it like to see your idea turn into a film featuring Hollywood stars such as Christoph Waltz and Matt Damon?
It 麻豆精品 S檚 been a real trip. My wife Mary and I flew to Romania for a week of shooting, and the first thing Terry Gilliam did was send us to wardrobe so we could serve as extras in this one scene 麻豆精品 S攐ne of my favorite scenes, in fact. We worked two days straight, me actually doing some rewrites on the set as I was being filmed sitting at a park bench in the background. It was the best way for me to feel truly involved.
And everyone there, cast and crew alike, treated us like royalty.
Meeting Christoph Waltz and Matt Damon was a dream come true. Christoph was a real gentleman and a tireless worker. He was in every scene, and he still made time to talk to everyone on the set. And Matt Damon 麻豆精品 S� well, he shook my hand and said, 麻豆精品 S淕reat script, man! 麻豆精品 S� So now I can die and go to heaven. My wife and I have a picture standing with Matt Damon and Terry Gilliam that will go on my Facebook page just as soon as the movie is released. I 麻豆精品 S檓 such a fanboy!
What was the most challenging part about getting your script made into a movie?
The very first challenge, of course, was writing the damn thing. I wrote the first draft in ten days. It was 145 pages long, and I had no idea what I was doing. I simply checked out some screenwriting books from the UCF library, along with several screenplays. Coincidentally enough, one of those screenplays was Terry Gilliam 麻豆精品 S檚 麻豆精品 S淏razil. 麻豆精品 S�
And after that came draft after draft, rewrite after rewrite. With each new player who came on board, there was another rewrite.
But I think the main challenge for me was keeping up my interest in the project over the span of a decade. Let 麻豆精品 S檚 face it, I was ready to move on. After 麻豆精品 S淶ip-T, 麻豆精品 S� as we came to call it, I wrote three other features, two of which got some notice in festival competitions, and I was continuing to write short stories and some poetry 麻豆精品 S� but it all kept coming back to 麻豆精品 S淭he Zero Theorem. 麻豆精品 S� Every time I thought the project was dead in the water, a failed effort behind me, I 麻豆精品 S檇 get a call from Dean Zanuck revving me back up on the thing. Dean has been a heroic producer. Slow and steady and with endless faith that, as he told me repeatedly, 麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檙e going to make this movie, Pat. 麻豆精品 S�
Turns out he was right after all.
What do you love most about your job at UCF?
What I love most about my job at UCF is that, although they call me 麻豆精品 S淧rofessor, 麻豆精品 S� the truth is I 麻豆精品 S檓 just an overgrown student who 麻豆精品 S檚 never graduated college. I 麻豆精品 S檝e earned degrees, sure, but I 麻豆精品 S檝e never graduated to the thing that comes after education, whatever that may be. I 麻豆精品 S檝e been able to stay a student at heart through my whole career. My students are my colleagues. We 麻豆精品 S檙e all learning together. The day I don 麻豆精品 S檛 learn something new in the classroom is the day I need to retire and take up a know-it-all hobby like golf or political blogging.
What do you do for fun?
For one thing, I watch a lot of movies, and I mean a lot. And I read a lot. Books, scripts, student manuscripts, what have you.
But for true fun, I like to cook. Give me a Giada de Laurentiis recipe, and I 麻豆精品 S檓 in heaven. Love to cook, love to watch people enjoy what I 麻豆精品 S檝e prepared. Actually, cooking is a lot like writing. You 麻豆精品 S檙e not cooking if nobody 麻豆精品 S檚 eating, and you 麻豆精品 S檙e not writing if nobody 麻豆精品 S檚 reading.
As a writer, what are your favorite things to read?
A list way too long to get into that ranges from highbrow lit to lowbrow potboilers. I 麻豆精品 S檓 a fairly voracious reader unencumbered by my snooty literary education. In the past year I 麻豆精品 S檝e read books by literary luminaries such as Don DeLillo, Jennifer Egan, David Foster Wallace, Meg Wolitzer, etc., etc., but I 麻豆精品 S檝e also read books by Stephen King, Stieg Larsson, and even the first book of E.L. James 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S淔ifty Shades of Grey. 麻豆精品 S� Like I said, I 麻豆精品 S檓 a reader.
What is the one thing you want people to know about you or your work?聽
About me: I make the best fish taco in the state. Ask anybody who 麻豆精品 S檚 ever eaten them. About my work: Writing ain 麻豆精品 S檛 rocket science 麻豆精品 S� and it 麻豆精品 S檚 probably not brain surgery either 麻豆精品 S� but when you 麻豆精品 S檙e at the keyboard and on a roll, it 麻豆精品 S檚 like blasting off for unknown worlds inside your own skull. That 麻豆精品 S檚 the passion my students and I share.