The latest entry in director Miguel Arteta’s feature filmography marks a departure from his independent film norm. His indie track record started with Star Maps (receiving five Independent Spirit Award nominations, including for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay) and has gone to include Chuck & Buck (winning a Spirit Award for Best Feature Under $500,000), The Good Girl (winning Mike White a Spirit Best Screenplay Award) and Cedar Rapids (Spirit Screenplay and Male Supporting Actor nominations). What had proven elusive, though, has now finally been realized by Arteta–his first major studio feature, Disney’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, a heartwarming family film which went into wide release last week.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day follows the exploits of 11-year-old Alexander (portrayed by Ed Oxenbould) as he experiences the worst day of his young life–a day that begins with gum stuck in his hair, followed by one calamity after another. But when Alexander tells his upbeat family about the misadventures of his disastrous day, he finds little sympathy and begins to wonder if bad things only happen to him. He soon learns he is not alone when his mom (Jennifer Garner), dad (Steve Carell), brother (Dylan Minnette), and sister (Kerris Dorsey) all find themselves living through their own day full of adversity.
Arteta is no stranger to diversifying as a filmmaker, having successfully settled into the TV director’s chair, beginning with an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street, followed by installments over the years of such shows as Freaks and Geeks, Six Feet Under, The Office, Ugly Betty, American Horror Story, The Big C, Nurse Jackie, and Enlightened. The latter HBO series was co-created by the aforementioned White in tandem with its star, Laura Dern. Arteta also is on the roster of Bob Industries for commercials and branded content.
White and Arteta’s collaborations have been notable. White penned Chuck & Buck and The Good Girl, which were nominated for Deauville’s Grand Special Prize in 2000 and 2002, respectively. Chuck & Buck also earned White a best male actor honor at Deauville. And The Good Girl is regarded as being Jennifer Aniston’s breakout dramatic performance as a married woman who falls in love with a discount store stock boy. (Aniston earned a Best Actress Spirit Award nomination). The National Board of Review also cited The Good Girl with a special recognition honor for excellence in filmmaking.
The National Board of Review named Arteta’s Cedar Rapids starring Ed Helms and John C. Reilly, and Youth in Revolt with Michael Cera, as one of the top ten independent films of their respective years, 2010 and 2011.
A native of Puerto Rico, Arteta graduated from the film program at Wesleyan University in 1989, and four years later received a Masters of Fine Arts from the directing program at the American Film Institute. His first directorial project, the musical satire Every Day Is a Beautiful Day, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and was nominated for a 1990 Student Academy Award. He also studied at Harvard’s documentary program and attended the 1996 Sundance Institute Writer’s Lab to work on Ball & Chain, a script he co-wrote with Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia).
SHOOT: You have a history in independent film and in television series? How did you get the opportunity to direct this Disney feature? Was it a goal of yours to land a studio film?
Arteta: I’ve been wanting to do a studio movie for a long time but I couldn’t find one offered to me that I could put my heart into. It’s been a long road but the test for me has always been, “Can I put my heart into this story?” It’s a little ironic that a Disney family movie was the project that really spoke to me. I guess I’m getting happier as I’m getting older. I love the movies referenced for this–the John Hughes films such as 16 Candles, entertaining movies that were a little off center with more affection for characters than most Hollywood movies.
I had worked with Steve Carell on The Office so maybe that’s why they called me. Disney had not been doing live-action family movies in awhile; they’ve been mostly doing animation. It was in my favor that they didn’t want to do a live-action film by the numbers.
SHOOT: How did your independent film experience inform your first major studio feature? Was this a difficult transition for you?
Arteta: At the end of the day, it’s all about storytelling. There’s not much difference [between indie and studio features] when it comes to that. It’s remarkable how similar it is. It still feels the same. You love your actors and stay focused on the feeling you want. The goal for this film was to make you love this family, to believe in them and to celebrate how messy it can be at times to be in a family. Disney let me cast the movie the way I wanted to, which was so important. The kid who played Alexander had to not be your typical Hollywood kid and they went with that.
Many times I’d be sent a studio movie with a twisted agenda. There would be a semi-dark aspect to the story, which would benefit from becoming a little darker and they knew that. But instead, they wanted us to make it not as dark as possible. The studio preference and what would help the story were at odds with each other.
That wasn’t the case with Disney. They wanted what benefitted the story most.
And of course there are advantages to having a studio budget. You can put a car at every parking meter.
You have a larger canvas.
SHOOT: What was the biggest lesson learned from your first mainstream studio film?
Arteta: Normally in pre-production on my films, I don’t eat or sleep well. I’m so immersed in everything that I’m barely surviving. This time, though, I put myself on a regimen in pre-production–went to the gym three times a week, slept and ate well. This was better preparation for a film because you need to have your energy in order to put out the best energy possible. Your energy can become infectious so that the people around you put out their best work. Getting in great shape was the best preparation I could have done for the film.
I remember 20 years ago in film school [at the American Film Institute] when Frank Marshall encouraged and tried to teach us to take care of ourselves. He said get yourself in good shape, work out like a crazy man in pre-production. That’s the best preparation because you will need that energy and endurance for the shooting. I didn’t pay that much attention then. Now years later, I finally learned that lesson.
SHOOT: What’s next for you?
Arteta: I’ve worked on Getting On with the next season coming out on HBO on November 6. We’ve got a great cast including Laurie Metcalf and others. It’s a dark and twisted show [set in the geriatric wing of a hospital].
In the big picture, I enjoyed the studio movie experience. Hopefully I can do more and excel at them. I’m a movie geek from the golden era of Hollywood. I still watch Turner Classic Movies three times a week.
I’m crazy for those movies. Those directors would work in so many different genres. With this heartwarming and funny family movie, I showed that I can work outside the tyranny of cool. I can do dark independent films and a family project for Disney. I want to continue to stretch those boundaries.
