Popcorn Reel Production Notes and Observations/November 2006
RICHARD LINKLATER GOES IN SEARCH OF THE NOT-SO-GREAT
AMERICAN MEAL WITH THE HELP OF AUTHOR ERIC SCHLOSSER IN
(Banners, photos and logos here and on the home page: Fox Searchlight)
Recently in the news, worldwide franchise Kentucky Fried Chicken agreed to
eliminate the trans fats in its oils and other cooking ingredients for Colonel
Sanders' recipe, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit brought by an American
consumer which had been settled by KFC. The fact that "Fast Food Nation"
opens this weekend (November 17) should not be a coincidence connected to the
settlement of the lawsuit against KFC. Or should it?
"Fast Food Nation" is bound to get the attention of some -- but its authors
director Richard Linklater (who earlier this year directed the film "A Scanner
Darkly") and best-selling writer of the book "Fast Food Nation" Eric Schlosser,
wanted to convey a serious film that got its audience's attention. As
Schlosser says in the film's production notes: the film "isn't a comedy or a
satire. And it isn't a literal adaptation of my book. It's a tough,
unsettling look at what's happening in America right now."
The film, which is promoted by Twentieth Century Fox's independent sister studio
Fox Searchlight Pictures, is promoting the film in a, well, attention-getting
way, conveying the seriousness of Schlosser's book and the realities of
fast-food in America in its advertising campaigns. "Do you want lies with
that?" is one of several taglines for the film. Its production notes begin
with the line, "the truth is hard to swallow."
"Fast Food Nation" tracks at least three interweaving stories: an immigrant
couple trying to get work at a meat-packing plant, a teenager who hopes to do
more with his life than be employed at a fast-food restaurant, and a marketing
expert who gets a rude awakening about the burgers at Mickey's, the company at
which he works. The film boasts an ensemble cast, headed by Greg Kinnear.
Paul Dano (who appeared with Kinnear in "Little Miss Sunshine" this past summer)
joins Patricia Arquette, Bobby Cannavale, Luis Guzman, Ethan Hawke, Ashley
Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Avril Lavigne, Esai Morales, Catalina Sandino
Moreno (best actress nominee for "Maria Full of Grace"), Lou Taylor Pucci, Ana
Claudia Talancon and Wilmer Valderrama in Linklater's film. Bruce Willis
makes an uncredited cameo appearance in the film. BBC Films' Jeremy Thomas
produced the film, along with musician and entertainer Malcolm McLaren.
Richard Linklater (right) directs Greg Kinnear on the set of the new film "Fast
Food Nation" opening in North America this Friday.
Says Linklater in the film's notes: "I was a huge fan of [Schlosser's
best-selling] book but I don't really do documentaries." To that end,
after Eric Schlosser discussed with director Linklater the possibilities of
translating the book as a character-driven drama, Linklater pursued the
opportunity. "In this version of "Fast Food Nation", it's through seeing
real lives and real jobs and what people are actually striving for that the
issues behind the story emerge. I think I'm most proud that the movie
makes you care about all kinds of people that you might never even thought about
before." The film germinated in England, where producer Jeremy
Thomas received a copy of Schlosser's novel "Fast Food Nation" from Malcolm
McLaren. "I was very affected by the book." The two quickly agreed,
says Thomas, "that it should be a feature film, not a documentary."
Eric Schlosser, the writer of the
best-selling book "Fast Food Nation", on the set of the film which was inspired
by his novel. Schlosser co-wrote the film's screenplay.
The film's production notes contain some startling
facts about fast food and Americans:
Americans now eat about 13 billion hamburgers a year. If you put all those
burgers in a straight line, they would circle the Earth more than 32 times.
Americans currently spend about $134 billion per year on fast food -- more than
they spend on college education, computers, software, or new cars.
There are approximately 3.5 million fast-food workers in the United States, the
largest group of minimum wage-earners in the country.
Meatpacking is one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States. In
2001, the rate of serious injury was three times higher than that in a typical
American factory.
Every year about 76 million Americans are sickened by something they ate.
A typical fast food hamburger patty can contain pieces of hundreds, if not
thousands of cattle.
While these facts are quite profound, there are even more disturbing revelations
in Schlosser's book. And anyone who has read the novel "The Jungle" by
Upton Sinclair, a classic muckraking book which chronicles the ills of
California's meat-packing industry of the 1920's and '30's, probably has a good
understanding about just how serious the film "Fast Food Nation" will be about
conveying the horror stories where fast-food, workers, and corporation
executives intersect.
Richard Linklater, Eric Schlosser and Jeremy Thomas all no doubt hope that the
film finds a receptive audience. "Fast Food Nation" opens in North America
this Friday, November 17 and is rated R.
TPR