In 2000's "Boiler Room," director/writer Ben Younger explored the high pressure world of Wall Street. In "Prime," to be released later this month, Younger follows the relationship of an Upper East Side woman (Uma Thurman) who falls for her psychoanalyst's (Meryl Streep) son (Bryan Greenberg), a painter from Brooklyn. Actually, there's nothing similar at all about those two films.
The Daily sat down last week with Younger and Suzanne Todd, one of the film's producers, to discuss the film, life and Heath Ledger.
Question: Bryan Greenberg, the actor playing Dave, I wasn't aware of him before. How did you go about casting him?
Ben Younger: We auditioned everyone in Hollywood, just about, and Brian was the one that sort of had this real innocence. Dave's a newcomer cause he's only been on television, he hasn't been in many movies ... he's not cynical yet. Yet. [Laughter] I was looking for the sexy Jewish guy.
Suzanne Todd: I think we talked about all those actors the studio wants to hire, where you just go through all the names. But it was a hard part to fill. It was sort of a part that was perfectly suited for an up-and-coming actor.
BY: We didn't want to cast somebody - we tried to do it authentically. We could have cast Heath Ledger, but the Jewish thing's a stretch there. [Laughter]
Q: "Boiler Room" was such a different kind of movie. How did you go from that type of movie to this one?
BY: My mother berated me for years after that. No female characters, misogyny, and all that stuff, so it was a wise decision. I actually had the idea for this movie before I did "Boiler Room" but I knew that I didn't have enough sort of life experience to write about and direct it, and then I got the idea for "Boiler Room" and it seemed like an easier movie to make.
Q: You mentioned that it took you eight years to develop this film. Could you talk a little bit about your process and developing your initial idea?
BY: How much time do you have? [Laughter]
Q: What's your work ethic like?
BY: I don't have a regimen. I've got to get one, actually - still sort of haven't figured that out. Sort of a sad question for me, I'm still grappling with it. I write in spurts, but it took me a while to get it going. I need to figure it out. I wish I could guide you but I'm ... when I write I feel like I'm good, but getting to that place is really hard for me. I'm not doing 8-11 a.m. every morning. I've got to get a regimen.
Q: Did you do the dialogue all on your own? It's so real and natural, I was wondering if you worked with actors on it.
BY: No, the dialogue's my own ... we wanted to something that was slapstick-y, but not toilet ... which seems like a lot of where movies have been going lately. Like pie-in-the-face is classic, I mean, you go back to the basics.
[Spoiler Alert: The following Q&A reveals key plot points about "Prime," mainly the end. If you want to be surprised, please stop reading.]
Q: In your mind, why don't the two main characters stay together in the end?
BY: It just felt real. I liked that they had to move past their religion, but stuff that you originally though was going to be an issue in their relationship turned out not to be. You know, that moment where someone says, "Would you feel better dating a 37-year-old divorcee if she were Jewish?" And it became about things that we really have to deal with in life, like children and a joint checking account. And I'm not trying to tell some cautionary tale about love not being enough, but I just think that he wasn't ready. He was too young. She was right, you know, they did love each other. That's why they were able to break up. She knew she had more to experience and she knew that she wanted to move on. The timing was just wrong, and I hate happy endings that are for the sake of being happy endings.
