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 The Ice Harvest Production NotesThick Thieves. Thin Ice.
It's Christmas Eve in rainy, icebound Wichita, Kansas, and this year Charlie Arglist just might have something to celebrate. Charlie, an attorney for the sleazy businesses of Wichita, and his unsavory associate, the steely Vic Cavenaugh, have just successfully embezzled $2,147,000 from Kansas City boss Bill Guerrard.
Even so, the real prize for Charlie would be the stunning Renata, who runs the Sweet Cage strip club. Charlie's fondest Christmas wish is to slip out of town with Renata. But, as daylight fades and a storm whirls, everyone from Charlie's drinking buddy Pete Van Heuten to the local police begin to wonder just what exactly is in Charlie's Christmas stocking. For Charlie, the 12 hours of Christmas Eve are filled with nonstop twists and turns, both on the ice and off.
In his work, filmmaker Harold Ramis has always coaxed refreshingly offbeat humor from everyday life. His latest film mines comedy from people behaving recklessly on Christmas Eve, catching them as their various foibles – and worse – collide head-on.
“We get so much Christmas glop every year – all those albums, and the first 50 times you watch It’s a Wonderful Life, it’s nice, but…The Ice Harvest definitely runs counter to all that,” says Ramis.
Upon reading Scott Phillips’ novel The Ice Harvest, producers Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa of Bona Fide Productions felt that they had found their next movie. Yerxa remembers, “It’s refreshing to see something so irreverent unfolding on a holiday that’s been gummed up with so much commercialism. Also, I was immediately intrigued by the idea of spiritually homeless men behaving badly on Christmas Eve, and by the story taking place in one night.”
Ramis remarks, “For me, the best comedy comes from reality. There’s nothing that’s written as a joke in The Ice Harvest; no one’s trying to be funny. It’s a film noir – with laughs.”
Berger comments, “The novel was a compelling crime story with interesting characters. Plus, it’s set against – in more ways than one – the Christmas spirit. That contradiction captured my attention. With men of a certain age, on Christmas Eve with no place to go, left with no other choice but to behave very badly, there was also something poignant about it. Ron and I like to make movies, such as Election, about contemporary America that are both funny and sad.
“Scott Phillips had been a screenwriter before he became a novelist; this was his first novel. I think he had written this with one eye on the movie screen.” Yerxa states, “Scott laid out the story with a great acid wit – the novel is very dry. It was excellent source material for a movie.
“We’re big fans of Harold’s work. He has a very funny existential take on the material, and he, over 25 years, has done some of the best comedies in American cinema. His interests in philosophy and existential humor complement his own unflappable calm nature – and make him a seriously funny storyteller.”
After landing the option on the book, the producing partners were contacted by another creative team: Academy Award-winning writer/director Robert Benton and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Russo. The latter duo had previously collaborated on two movies, and were now keen to adapt The Ice Harvest for the screen. Berger remembers, “They sought us out because we had the rights. As producers, having two major writers come forward and approach you is a home run. We all decided to work together and form an alliance.”
Ramis notes, “Richard and Robert have not only great ears for real dialogue but also great sympathy for the human experience. Their screenplay had even more compassion than the book, without going Pollyanna-ish or sentimental. They understood where people can be, spiritually and emotionally, at Christmastime.”
“It was very different from anything that Harold had directed before, and smaller than what he usually does,” admits Berger. “I think it was very appealing to him to try something new, in a darker arena he hadn’t yet explored. With Harold, there would also be that assurance that comedy would still come through.”
Ramis explains, “I don’t read crime fiction, but I love it in movies. Reading this script, it first appealed to me as a filmgoer and then as a filmmaker. That’s critical for me when I’m considering a piece of material. In order to do a movie, I have to want to see it badly enough. People will say The Ice Harvest is a departure for me, but my decision-making process was the same as it has been.
“I have – I would say – a cynical worldview. At the heart of this story is a grim existential reality that I find somehow amusing. Increasingly, the world seems to be operating without real spiritual values. Our culture pays lip service to higher values. But where do we really see them? We don’t see them in foreign policy. Certainly not in government, and we don’t see them in people’s moral behavior.”
Yerxa comments, “Charlie calls Christmas ‘God’s Birthday.’ Yet, people celebrate Christmas in a very commercialized way that has nothing to do with the myth of Christmas. That’s a contradiction in American culture – and a serious topic that we have chosen to approach humorously without attempting to do a comedy per se.”
Ramis adds, “Charlie has not taken action in his life. He’s been paralyzed with the pointlessness of it all, and he’s not really committed one way or another to anything. He’s plunged into an adolescent male fantasy that a lot of men take into midlife: ‘Gee, what would my life be like if I lived alone, did whatever I wanted, slept as late as I wanted, went to strip clubs, and smoke and drank as much as I wanted?’ His whole purpose, or lack thereof, is finally channeled into one single act that has consequences for a number of people.”
The part called for an actor who could be at once sympathetic and lost. Berger comments, “John Cusack brings a boyish optimism and likeability to all of his characterizations. I think the audience brings a connection to him that this particular character subverts.”
Yerxa adds, “John makes a great Everyman. He has an accessibility, and also a sadness and world-weariness that he is able to convey in Charlie.”
Ramis remarks, “John is not a tentative person. But he is a deeply thoughtful man who questions things. He and I talked about the concept that Charlie can barely feel pleasure any more. There’s a term for that – ‘anhedonia,’ the inability to feel pleasure – ”
“— and a great twenty-dollar word,” confirms Cusack, who adds, “I see Charlie as a very bright person who has slowly drifted into an abyss. His life has been compromised. Now he’s basically numb, and the night he has is one of those where you keep drinking yet somehow can’t get drunk. Probably because, with all that happens, his adrenaline finally has to get going!
“I could relate to Charlie in some ways. It’s great material, and I have always wanted to work with Harold Ramis; we’re both Chicago guys, and he has been part of a lot of iconic film moments, either as writer, actor, or director. He’s smart about material, and concentrates on character motivating plot, not the other way around.”
Concentrating on the character of Vic Cavanaugh, Ramis notes, “Unlike Charlie, Vic is not intellectually conflicted at all. He sees only his own desires and works totally from his gut. Vic is all instinct; he doesn’t even think later about what he’s done.
“One of my theories in life is that, from the time we’re little children, we’re looking to be taken care of and feel safe. It’s like having a friend in school who can actually fight, if you’re not a fighter yourself. Vic represents a stronger, tougher guy to Charlie – and an enabler, too.”
Billy Bob Thornton was sought by all concerned to play the sardonic Vic. Berger notes, “He just seemed a natural for this part. Nobody combines humor and menace like Billy Bob. As an actor, he’s always looking for a challenge.”
Yerxa adds that the actor “puts a lot of spin on the ball. You never know exactly where he’s coming from – charismatic, macho, intimidating.”
Ramis comments, “Billy Bob has got a lot of colors. He loved the character of Vic, the deviousness. Interestingly, when he arrived at the shoot, he said, ‘Now that I’m doing Vic’s part, I’m not reading other parts of the script, because Vic doesn’t care about anybody else.’ John seemed genuinely excited when Billy Bob arrived, and I soon understood why; he’s fun to have around. Their rapport comes through.”
The two men had established that rapport six years prior, while starring as nemeses in the comedy Pushing Tin. Cusack enthuses, “We had a great time back then, and we always wanted to do something together again. Billy Bob is a good friend, a great guy, and an incredibly talented man. We both like working the same way, finding the scene together and improvising. This script was so good, though, that we didn’t need to.”
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John Cusack and Connie Nielsen in The Ice Harvest.