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 In Good Company Production NotesFilmmaker and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Paul Weitz ("About a Boy") turns his complex sense of humor on Synergy, an insightful comedy about the relationship between a 50-year-old businessman and his new, 26-year-old boss.
Dan Foreman (Quaid) is headed for a shakeup. He is demoted from head of ad sales for a major magazine when the company he works for is acquired in a corporate takeover. His new boss, Tom (Grace) is half his age--a business school prodigy who preaches corporate Synergy. While Dan develops clients through handshake deals and relationships, Tom cross-promotes the magazine with the cell phone division and "Krispity Krunch," an indeterminate snack food under the same corporate umbrella.
Both men are going through turmoil at home. Dan has two daughters--Alex, age 18, and Jana, age 16--and is shocked when his wife tells him she's pregnant with a new child. Between college tuition, the mortgage and a new baby, Dan can't afford to lose his job in the wave of corporate layoffs.
Tom, in the meanwhile, is dumped by his wife of seven months just as he gets his promotion. Dan and Tom's uneasy friendship is thrown into jeopardy when Tom falls for, and begins an affair with, Dan's daughter Alex (Johansson). Weitz's examination of life's surprises, ironies and coincidences combine to form Synergy.
Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid) is 51 and his life is good ... on the whole. The long-term head of ad sales at the weekly Sports America has just celebrated the magazine’s biggest year, thanks in large part to Dan’s warm, honest, handshake deal style and the departmental esprit de corps he fosters. Even the news of his wife’s unexpected pregnancy and the acceptance of his eldest daughter, Alex (Scarlett Johansson), into tony (not to mention expensive) NYU leave Dan happy, though not entirely unconcerned about family finances -- but he will, as he always has, manage.
Carter Duryea (Topher Grace) is 26 and thinks his life is awesome, mostly. The whiz kid has been devoting himself single-mindedly to getting ahead at the multinational conglomerate Globecom. Management even knows his name -- Carter is being “groomed” for his next rung on the corporate ladder: heading up ad sales at one of the cornerstone publications newly acquired by Globecom in their latest takeover, the magazine Sports America. Unfortunately for Carter, his promotion coincides with the crumbling of his seven-month marriage and he has no one, save a pet fish, to share his joy with. But he knows he’s on his way, he’s going places -- and he’ll manage.
Dan’s exasperation at his demotion is nothing compared to his incredulity at being replaced by the 26-year-old Carter. Given his new boss’ age and relative experience in ad sales (none), Dan has little desire to be Carter’s “wing man.” But in light of the new developments at home, he needs his job as much as Carter needs his. Forging a tenuous relationship out of corporate necessity, the two begin working together to meet Globecom’s mandate of cutting the department’s budget while increasing revenue by 35 percent.
Carter’s zeal to deliver to upper management doesn’t win him many fans in the Sports America offices. His bottom line focused approach, somewhat lacking in the human side of business, is often at odds with Dan and his devotion to his staff. As Dan sees it, these people are a family -- something Carter is sorely lacking. The new department head’s loneliness even prompts him to call a Sunday staff meeting and then invite himself to Dan’s home for dinner with the Foremans, where Carter and Alex have a chance to talk while Alex whoops her dad’s boss at foosball.
Later, when the lonely ad salesman runs across the equally lonely NYU transfer student at a Manhattan cafe, the chance meeting rekindles the sparks initially felt at the family dinner ... sparks that begin an affair, which the pair find themselves hiding from Dan. The corporate handbook has precious little to say about sleeping with your employee’s collegiate daughter and if word were ever to get out, news of their affair would seriously threaten Carter’s detente with Dan, Alex’s close relationship with her father and the progress the two salesmen have made at Sports America. All in all, life for both Dan and Carter just got a bit more complicated.
The Synergy Behind In Good Company
Director Paul Weitz is admittedly drawn to material that examines life’s surprises, ironies and coincidences, which he, along with his brother and collaborator, Chris Weitz, successfully explored with their Academy Award-nominated screen adaptation of Nick Hornby’s About a Boy (which they also co-directed).
Intrigued by the non-traditional father/son relationship, illustrated in the dramawith- comedy About a Boy and earlier in the comedy-with-heart American Pie (his directorial debut with Chris), Weitz, who wrote the original script for In Good Company, returns to that premise…but with a different, albeit compelling, set of circumstances.
The ever-changing economic landscape of corporate mergers, failing dot-coms and global conglomerates that has dominated the news over the past several years proved to be the perfect chaotic world in which to set his screenplay.
Says Paul Weitz, “In approaching In Good Company, I really wanted to attempt a film in the vein of Billy Wilder, which in some ways About a Boy had been. About a Boy was such an English film, though, and I now wanted to approach particularly American myths and look at, to some extent, how economic trends affect individual lives. Wilder was able to balance cynicism and optimism, particularly with films like The Apartment—he really captured the collision of the American dream and our tendency towards career ambition and how that balances with being a human. And that’s something that’s still very much present in our landscape today.”
After almost six months of refining and researching his initial idea for the screenplay and conferring with his brother Chris (who serves as a producer on the film), Paul had fashioned a very human story of the unlikely relationship between two men who find their satisfying, status quo existences disrupted by the startling truth that they no longer have any control over both the professional and personal sides of their lives.
In the process, Weitz had artfully tapped into the emotional and economic zeitgeist that resounded with a multitude of people—the prevailing sentiment that, in this new world order of huge multinational corporations, nearly everyone has a story of a family member or friend who has been displaced, downsized or affected in some capacity…looking at a now commonplace national occurrence, the filmmaker had found a human story.
Weitz notes: “People related stories to me about relatives and friends, in mid-life, being fired or falling victim to corporate downsizing. And now these 50-somethings were looking for a job at a time when they had hoped to be hitting their stride, with plenty of work years left, or re-training to try to enter the workforce in a different line of work. All of that fed my idea about a 51-year-old suddenly finding himself, because of a takeover, the employee of a guy half his age and having to deal with the humiliation of that situation.”
But in typical Weitz fashion, the exploration of what could be a bleak turn in a character’s life—treading prudently in new corporate terrain in hopes of keeping his job—is handled with gentle and character-driven humor. “Much like in Chekov, I find that anything that’s at all serious, the way people usually deal with challenges in life is to laugh about them…if they’re healthy at all. I don’t find a separation between ‘drama’ and ‘comedy,’ it’s really a question of the modulation of the comedy.”
For Chris Weitz, he found his usual working dynamic with his brother altered for this film. Chris Weitz: “Paul was really intent on telling this story, set in a world of downsizing and synergy as larger corporations take over smaller ones and control of people’s lives. My first role was as his sounding board for ideas and sort of encourage him during the writing process. Actually being less involved on this project has been a bit of a blessing for me—the stress has been much lower! I’ve gotten to let a lot more of the day-to-day decisions go to Paul.”
The role of Dan Foreman is one that is tailor-made for Dennis Quaid, who inherently brings a confident, straightforward presence, coupled with a subtle emotional depth to each role he plays. He was the first actor cast in the film and admittedly the anchor for the project’s core relationship.
Weitz on Quaid: “I think it’s really cool that Dennis—who’s still doing action movies and very much a leading man—was willing to take on the role of Dan. Some actors would think it would make them less viable. But what I think really works is that here is a character who is in danger of being sidelined who is still relatively young and incredibly vital. It’s more interesting to see that kind of man being pushed aside. I’m lucky Dennis was willing to play one year older than he really is—every day, we had to assiduously put gray in his hair. I should have just given him some of mine.”
Chris Weitz adds, “Dennis brings a square-jawed, American straightforwardness to the role just by his very presence.”
Casting the youthful looking and athletic Quaid in the role of a paunchy 51-yearold businessman with salt and pepper hair took some imagination. But with help from his hair stylist administering daily applications of gray hair color and costume designer Molly Maginnis (As Good As it Gets) utilizing creative wardrobe styling, he was aged up to personify his middle-aged character. “This character is not so much older than myself, so I take solace in the fact that they had to age me up to play him,” says Quaid with a laugh. “I’m just glad I’m old enough to play him. I love the part.”
For Quaid, the appeal of the project lay with Weitz and his smartly written, relatable, multi-dimensional script. He remarks, “Paul is one of the most talented directors out there…not too many people can do comedy like this…it’s very human and intimate. I worked with Mike Nichols about 15 years ago [on Postcard From the Edge, opposite Meryl Streep] and he reminds me of Mike.
“What’s also great,” continues Quaid, “is that Paul really fosters a collaborative process on the set. Some writer/directors are really sticklers about their words, but for Paul, it’s really about the process of discovery, even for himself.”
Weitz adds, “Dennis has been doing this for such a long time that he is a natural film actor and extremely subtle. Sometimes I knew what he was doing was working in the scene, but I’m never closer than 10 feet away when shooting, so I couldn’t tell exactly what he was doing in extreme close-ups. It was only after I was sitting in the editing room that I saw all of the little things that he was doing. He’s one of these actors who make things look as effortless as possible, and I think a lot of those actors are overlooked, because their strength is not calling out that they’re giving this great performance. They’re actually making tons of decisions that are making the character real.”
Both Topher Grace and Scarlett Johansson are in agreement with Quaid when it comes to the writer/director, who often was just as collaborative with them when it came to improvising or re-working their dialogue.
Notes Grace, “I’m somewhat new to the game, but I believe the whole point of it is to work with great directors. It’s such a director’s medium. I’ve never worked with a writer/director who had written something that wasn’t adapted and it’s been a total plus. Paul is so open, yet has such a specific idea of what he wants. He is a fascinating guy to be around.”
Says Johansson, “Paul is one of the most inspiring directors I’ve ever worked with; he’s so excited about improv and getting new ideas. It’s definitely been to our benefit as actors and his script, it’s a perfect little gem, all the characters are so incredibly developed. No matter what story he’s telling, it’s very real.”
Topher Grace is probably best known for his starring role in the hit comedy series That ‘70s Show, but it was his first film role in Steven Soderbergh’s Oscar-nominated film Traffic that resonated with the filmmakers when envisioning an actor to portray Carter Duryea. Grace’s ability to imbue that character with an edgy intelligence coupled with impeccable comedic timing made for an easy casting decision for Weitz’s ambitious young MBA, whose personal life begins to fall apart as he is granted the promotion of his dreams.
Says the director, “Topher has such a great energy, which is very different from Dennis’, which made for a great contrast in the central relationship. I actually did something after their very first rehearsal, which in retrospect could have been disastrous. We read through a scene and then I said to Topher, ‘Okay, I’d like you to give some notes to Dennis.’ And Topher said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ ‘No, I’m serious.’ I was thinking at the time that since the script calls for the younger guy to order the older guy around, I thought it would be interesting to see what would happen there and about the actors’ dynamics.
“What I ended up learning first and foremost about Topher is that he’s very smart. He said, ‘Well, I’m not going to do that.’ And they both sort of laughed about it. But Topher made the absolute right decision. Both actors were smart enough to help me avoid a bad start as their director.”
“He reminds us most of a young Jack Lemmon,” adds Chris Weitz, “in terms of the boyish enthusiasm that he can bring to even the most cynical of characters. He was one of our easiest casting assignments.”
“I think when somebody gives a really good performance, one tends to think that they’re exactly like their character. Neither Dennis nor Topher is particularly like the character they’re playing and yet they both inhabit these guys fully, which I think speaks highly of their acting ability. And they’re just great together,” comments Paul.
Grace, who filmed In Good Company while on hiatus from his popular television series, is emerging as a talented film actor with diverse roles in such divergent projects as as Win a Date With Tad Hamilton and P.S., opposite Laura Linney. Grace treats each new film role as an ongoing tutorial and was enthusiastic about working so closely with Quaid: “To be able to work every day for three months with someone as accomplished as Dennis…it’s the best graduate school ever. I observe him a lot, and he doesn’t talk down to me nearly as much as he should,” Grace says with a laugh, “which is nice.”
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Topher Grace as Carter Duryea and Scarlett Johansson as Alex in In Good Company.
