ROBERT:
You're ready to run this company and
you're going to do a great job?Are you okay?
?This is supposed to be good news.
JULIE:
Yes. I'm very happy.
ROBERT:
You should celebrate.
JULIE:
I will.
ROBERT:
What are you going to do?
JULIE:
I'll think of something
 Writer
and director Patrick Stettner wrote his feature debut THE BUSINESS
OF STRANGERS on the heels of his well-received short film "Flux,"
which served as his thesis while studying at Columbia University.
Based on a short story by Alison Baker, starring Allison Janney, "Flux"
is a finely observed story of a middle-aged woman who gains a new
perspective on her own mortality after an unusual encounter with a
strange man. The short gave Stettner the opportunity to demonstrate
his faculty for insightful characterization, even within the confines
of a brisk, fourteen minutes.
 Rather
than retread the same ground for his next project, Stettner wanted
to create an intimate story about a middle-aged woman experiencing
a very different sort of revelatory encounter. With THE BUSINESS OF
STRANGERS, Stettner follows Julie Styron as she breaks through the
glass ceiling and confronts the choices she's made throughout her
career over the course of an intense evening with a young woman. In
writing the script, Stettner drew inspiration from the corporate culture
he had encountered as a temp in New York City. Says Stettner, "One
of the few advantages of being a temp is that you are invisible --
persona non grata -- a witness to conversations not usually afforded
the rest of the permanent staff. This gave me the opportunity to observe
the subtle rituals and complex games of power in the business arena."
In particular, Stettner was intrigued by the older female executives
and wanted to consider without judgment the choices they had made
in order to succeed in such a competitive context. Stettner says,
"I was curious about the personal and psychological trials these trailblazers
had to endure, working in an environment that was, at times, openly
hostile. It's a story not many films explore, but one that women of
a certain generation experienced."
 More
interested in developing a story about the personal dynamics of power
than an extension of boardroom rivalry, Stettner carefully crafted
a character to serve as a counterpoint to Julie -- Paula Murphy --
adding layers to the subtle power dialectic between the two women.
In writing Paula's character, Stettner created another strong-willed
woman who could challenge Julie on a more intimate level -- someone
who was not Julie's equal in the company hierarchy, but who could
nonetheless manipulate their interactions based on her own cunning.
 At
the same time, Stettner wanted to explore how a woman of Paula's generation
- a generation that has benefited from the older generation's pioneering
work - might react to a woman like Julie Styron, who must seem something
of an anachronism to the younger set.
Says Stettner, "I was very interested in exploring how power was a
central theme for the characters: power manifested through gender,
economics, class, youth and sexual prowess...[to explore] each characters'
ability to control the situation and how they perceived their authority
in relation to one another. Each character had different tools at
their disposal - psychological and otherwise -- to restore their power
when the other seemed to gain the edge."
NICK:
How'd it go?
JULIE:
Just fine?I've just been made
Chief Executive Officer.
NICK:
No shit? Congrats. Hey, we can leverage
this for that Pacific Net job.
JULIE:
I thought you said they were about to go belly up.
NICK:
With all due respect, I wasn't talking
to CEO material before.
Enhancing the story with the barbs of black comedy, Stettner introduced
the character of Nick Harris, Julie's uneasy ally in the jockeying
of rank in the corporate world. As with the other two characters,
Stettner sought to balance the headhunter's flaws with his more
sympathetic qualities, to add to the uncertainty of Julie and Paula's
questionable actions against him.
Explains Stettner, "I wanted there to be some suspense with the
Nick character; I wanted people to be unsure about whether he could've
been involved with what Paula accuses him of, or whether he was,
in fact, a victim, himself. I wanted people to be ambivalent about
what [Julie and Paula] are doing to him. Yes, Nick is a little unsavory,
but is he truly innocent? What is he capable of? That was a fine
line I wanted to play with -- the ambiguity where we as an audience
are forced to look at our own responses to moral questions based
on how we react to the characters and their actions."
PAULA:
I hate how the hotel windows never open.
They don't want you to breathe real air.
JULIE:
Or jump.
Finally, Stettner chose the perfect setting, the ubiquitous airport
hotel, for the surreal evening of revelation and confrontation, a
location where the characters felt insulated from the outside world.
Stettner explains, " For me, airport hotels are a strange no-man's
land, a transitory island, contained and controlled in a biosphere
of sorts. It's a place where travelers have the illusion of total
anonymity with the confidence that any social contact is only momentary,
allowing them to do things they normally wouldn't." In writing the
script for THE BUSINESS OF STRANGERS, Stettner worked closely with
producer Susan Stover who had produced his short. Impressed by the
filmmaker's visual style and flair for storytelling, Stover was firmly
committed to producing Stettner's next endeavor. In the process of
pursuing a few other projects with Stover, the writer/director mentioned
his story idea for THE BUSINESS OF STRANGERS to Stover in 1999.
 Says
Stover, "It really is a story about the power struggle between two
different generations. It isn't simply that Paula takes for granted
the opportunities Julie's generation has created for her. In fact,
it is as a result of Julie's trailblazing that Paula now has a fuller
range of choices, including the freedom to question why Julie fought
so hard and sacrificed so much for a career that ultimately does not
seem to make her particularly happy. Instead of being appreciative
of Julie's victories, Paula holds a mirror up to what normally would
be her mentor and makes Julie question her choices." A 1998 Silverman
fellow at Sundance, Stover presented the script herself to the lab's
director, Michelle Satter, who read it and promptly invited Stettner
to workshop the script during the 1999 session. At the lab, Stettner
met Scott McGehee and David Siegel, who were there with a script of
their own. McGehee and Siegel, along with partner Robert Nathan, were
announcing their formation of an independent production and finance
company i5 Films that year at the film festival which immediately
follows the lab. A few months later, after a reading of the script
in Los Angeles, the partners invited Stettner and Stover to their
headquarters in San Francisco to discuss making the film. By then,
i5 Films was commencing production on its inaugural slate of films.
When the filmmakers met with the i5 partners, however, it was truly
a meeting of the minds, both in terms of the creative aspects of the
project as well as the practical ones. The filmmakers were impressed
by i5's commitment to the production value of the film, especially
in their resolve to stand by the project during the critical casting
process. Even though they had offers to make the film with a large
studio, Stettner and Stover were quickly convinced that making the
film with i5 would insure its completion as the film they had originally
conceptualized. Upon deciding to work with i5, Nathan came on board
as a producer, with McGehee and Siegel as executive producers.
Comments Nathan, "Since our formation in 1999, i5 has produced three
films in two years, including this one, and we're becoming known for
our ability to maximize the production value of our films. We're always
looking for projects of this caliber that we can finance and produce.
As filmmakers, we are not only looking to provide financing for a
project, but we also want to feel we can bring something creative
to it."
JULIE:
f*ck you, you privileged little brat. I've seen
a thousand girls just like you. Rich families,
all the opportunities, and you throw it all away.
You put on this act, disaffected, obnoxious,
talented but undiscovered. You know what?
You all end up with your sensitive husbands, pregnant,
coming back, pleading for a job and making my coffee.
Says Nathan, "It's very easy to look at the story and come away
with an overly simplified sociopolitical interpretation of what's
going on, but Patrick undermines these easy interpretations throughout
the film, and instead emphasizes the complexity of the characters.
Even the seemingly transparent character of Nick is a good illustration
of this. He appears easy to peg at first. Ultimately, though,
you're not sure where you stand with Nick; you're not sure whether
to be sympathetic because he was taken advantage of or angry because
he still might have been capable of such acts. On the other hand,
you are not entirely certain of the degree to which Julie and
Paula are aware of Nick's guilt or innocence. Again, the easy
interpretations are undermined, and, in the end, we are left with
a very personal story about the lives of these characters." Finding
the right actress to play Julie Styron was surprisingly straightforward.
In order to find an actress capable of harnessing the range of
the character -- from the shrewd executive who has fought tooth
and nail to advance herself to the career woman who is acutely
aware of her vulnerability to the whims of corporate favor --
the filmmakers had only to consider the depth and breadth of the
accomplished Stockard Channing. The filmmakers sent the script
to Channing and were delighted when she responded with enthusiasm.
Writer/director Stettner flew to Arizona to meet with the actress
on the set of another film. In discussing the film, the filmmaker
and the actress found they were in complete agreement on how to
approach the pivotal role.
Says Stettner, "I was very concerned about avoiding the stereotypes
of businesswomen as being overly controlling and uptight, on their
phones screaming. I wanted to capture that aspect to an extent,
but realistically, not as a caricature. I wanted to provide a
backstory as to why their lives are like that. Stockard brings
an intelligence to every role she accepts, and there was something
about the role that really spoke to her. She felt she knew a lot
of people like this?In talking about the film, Stockard and I
were very specific about the fact that Julie has chosen this path
in her life and that is why she has become the person we see in
the film?We had a silent pact about the character; we both really
wanted to honor her and the choices she'd made in her life."
Meeting Stettner was the deciding factor for Channing. Intrigued
by what promised to be a very unusual film, the actress was even
more taken with the director's intelligence and daring. Says Channing,
"The story was really kind of peculiar and very interesting. In
some ways, it was almost like an experiment for me; I wanted to
see how we would pull it off. More importantly, I was taken with
the short film that Patrick had done. I am also very much aware
of the fact that there are a lot of really good, worthy independent
films that don't find a distributor, and I felt Patrick was really
special."
On the story, Channing adds, "I think it's such an interesting
angle to take on today's reality and how out of touch with the
fruits of their labor -- in a Marxist sense -- people are, especially
this type of executive. The world they occupy is so prefabricated,
an artificial environment; it's removed from any authentic sense
of reality. They spend so much time on the plane, in these impersonal
hotel rooms; they rarely breathe fresh air. When Julie gets what
is supposed to be good news, she spirals out of control for a
few hours, really. That's one of the things that appealed to me
because it was such an unusual way to approach the story, yet
it taps into an aspect of human nature that I find to be true,
male or female. When you've sacrificed too much or worked too
hard for something, once you've achieved it, you sometimes, in
the process, have lost the very ability to taste it, let alone
to savor it. It's a story about a woman who stops to look at what
has she given up for a hollow victory that finds her in a tacky
airport hotel in the middle of nowhere."
Channing was also drawn to the story's provocative ambiguity.
Says Channing, "It reminded me of French movies that I grew up
with, where it didn't feel the need to explain itself at every
turn and leaves it up to the viewer, unapologetically. There were
strange shifts in the story that I like. There's a dreamlike quality
to it, too, which is definitely reinforced by the scene in the
airport at the end. After it's all done, it's almost as if [the
evening] didn't happen, the way Nick lies about his recollection
of the night, and the way that hints at whether Paula was truly
mistaken or just manipulative in her own ?memory.' What was the
nature of their revenge? Patrick makes the whole thing a little
unsettling, yet there are many wry moments. I like that Patrick
has a nice light touch with this stuff without being silly. In
the end, we really don't know a whole lot about what's happened,
and that's another thing I really liked about it: it's a bit of
a Rorschach test that people will project onto."
PAULA:
I'm surprised. I thought you wanted to get caught.
The excitement of being exposed and humiliated,
maybe a little rough stuff. That's why we're here, isn't it?
JULIE:
We're here because you're a profoundly disturbed young woman.
PAULA:
Oh, please. If you were a man, you'd see a dominatrix
twice a week. All CEOs have one, but you're a woman
so you don't do things like that. We express issues
of doubt and control differently. You do have them, don't you?
Once
Channing committed to the project, the filmmakers found they had
a formidable task before them. In casting the character of Paula,
they had to find a young actress who could hold her own, opposite
such a formidable presence. In considering the possibilities,
the filmmakers were convinced that Julia Stiles was the only actress
who could deliver the performance required of the role, matching
Stockard's character stride for stride. Although Stiles was physically
younger than the age they were casting -- she had just graduated
from high school the year before she was cast -- the filmmakers
were confident in the actress's uncanny composure and maturity
in her craft. Says Nathan, "Stockard has such a strong presence
onscreen, she just absorbs the energy when the camera's on her.
Our greatest fear was that any young woman who was onscreen with
her that long would just look wilted by comparison. Obviously,
that wouldn't work given the way the script was written; we needed
to have a strong person who could actually threaten Stockard's
character with credibility. Even though Julia is slightly younger
[than we were looking for], she plays older. When Julia agreed
to do it and we told Stockard, she had no reservations whatsoever.
Everyone knows Julia's unbelievably strong."
Stiles was eager to participate in such an intimate piece. Says
Stiles, "It was by far one of the best scripts I'd read in a really
long time, and Patrick is such a talented filmmaker. His approach
to storytelling is incredible, and he wanted to make the movie
for all the same reasons that I did. Because the story is basically
just the two characters and because it takes place in one night
and pretty much in one location, it all comes down to getting
inside their heads and exploring all the issues of control and
trust. As an actress, that's what's really fun about making movies."
Stiles continues, "I liked the contrast between where Julie and
Paula are in their lives; Stockard's character is looking back,
while mine is looking forward. I think it's really poignant at
the end when Julie realizes that she's not really sure of who
she is anymore, beyond her job. Paula makes Julie realize that
maybe she's made too many sacrifices." In addition, Stiles was
compelled by the script's layers of meaning. Notes Stiles, "I
liked that the story is not anecdotal; you do sense sociopolitical
questions being brought up?I think one of the things that appealed
to me is the story brings up a lot of issues about female sexuality,
control, double standards. We all agreed that it's personal and
universal at the same time?What's really cool about the way that
Patrick writes is he doesn't rely on irrelevant details. Does
anyone really know what Julie is selling, and does it matter?
A lot of the details need to be filled in, but because we leave
it to the audience to figure out, they can project onto it whatever
they want to." As a young woman scheduled to enter Columbia as
a freshman at the end of the summer, Stiles was sensitive to the
issues that might arise from her character's inflammatory actions,
especially the accusation Paula levels against Nick, however,
Stile's confidence in Stettner's even-handed storytelling reassured
her.
Explains Stiles, "It's a really tricky thing, but when I first
read the script I liked that it toys with you a little bit and
challenges all the assumptions you might make about the baggage
that goes with such an allegation. I was worried because I didn't
want to be supporting or instigating any sort of Tawana Brawley
scenario. If I made this movie and people misinterpreted Paula's
actions and made assumptions about those sorts of accusations?I
would be very upset with that. I thought really long and hard
about the implications of what Paula does, but Patrick made a
conscious effort to balance each of the characters, especially
in making Nick's character unsavory enough that it almost becomes
a moot point?Even still, one of the more challenging aspects of
playing Paula was for me not to look at her as a typical villain.
Because she's so evasive and you don't really know if she's telling
the truth or not -- or even her intentions, for that matter --
it was important for me as an actress not to make up my mind about
that, to believe everything I was saying as Paula," she laughs,
"in almost a psycho way. Patrick and I agreed about this, which
is why I was so impressed by him when we met."
Of her co-star, Channing says, "The combination of our two energies
is very interesting. She's so incredibly self-possessed, poised
and very unlike most girls her age?I thought she was just perfect,
and we really worked to see if we could be the counterpoint to
each other."
PAULA:
Well?
JULIE:
I don't know.
PAULA:
What do you mean, you don't know?
JULIE:
I'm not a f*cking doctor?it's slow.
PAULA:
You're so f*cking dramatic. His pulse is fine?
It's your pulse that's fast, you're a f*cking head case.
Take mine. [Julie feels her neck.]
PAULA:
Well?
JULIE:
Shh. My pulse is fast.
In rounding out the cast, the filmmakers then had the difficult task
of casting the character on whom the story would hinge, Nick Harris,
the corporate headhunter. In selecting an actor for the part, it was
crucial to find an individual who could straddle the distinction between
guileless and slithery. Viewing tapes from the casting call independently,
the producers and the director unanimously decided on Frederick Weller.
Says Stettner, "We knew Fred was capable of capturing the conflicting
qualities the character had to represent in order for the film to
work. We all recognized that ability in him right away."
In casting Nick, the filmmakers also had the unenviable task of finding
an actor who was up to the challenge of spending the majority of his
time onscreen lying face down on a mattress in his underwear, essentially
serving as a human scoreboard upon which Julie and Paula's increasingly
hostile game of power is tallied. When Stettner approached Weller
to play Nick, the director was explicit in outlining the less glamorous
aspects of the role.
Says Stettner, "I was acutely aware of the fact that he would have
to be incapacitated for a week! I just wanted to be completely direct
with him about this; I didn't want there to be any issues. I told
him he was going to be out cold, just a body...I wanted to make sure
he was aware of that." Stettner chuckles, "I felt bad for him nonetheless!
It's hard, when you're in your underwear, and two women are writing
on you. It's very intense." Stover comments, "Patrick was very insistent
on making it plain what the role would require, and Fred was a very
good sport; those were very long days! It takes a very secure actor
to play a character subjected to that kind of humiliation. It could
not have been easy."
Although she'd worked with Weller previously on Broadway on two occasions,
Channing was still a little concerned with the intensity of the scene,
which culminates with Julie sitting atop of the unconscious headhunter,
scribbling furiously in a bizarre moment of passion.
Says Channing, "That was one of the things where I said, do I think
I can do this? It's such a strange moment ? strange and sexual --
and I really did wonder whether I could build the bridge to get to
it. It was quite difficult. Poor Freddie. He is such a great guy,
with such a great sense of humor."
Weller, on the other hand, took shooting the pivotal scene in stride.
Says Weller, "Patrick was very careful about that. In fact, my agent
and I really didn't understand why Patrick wanted to talk to me about
it beforehand, but he just wanted to make sure that everything would
be cool. I never understood what the big deal was. It's a great project,"
Weller laughs, "maybe it's not ideal on the days where you just lie
there and are written on, but if you like the story and you want to
help tell the story, you just lie there and think of England, instead."
Approaching the final stages, the filmmakers began assembling the
production team, including associate producer Ramsey Fong, in preparation
for the 24-day shoot, which commenced on May 24, 2000. In selecting
a director of photography, Stettner already knew whom he wanted to
shoot the film: Teodoro Maniaci. Stettner, whose father is a photographer,
had followed the D.P's career and had a fine appreciation the cinematographer's
unerring eye for composition and his inspired palette. When he met
with Maniaci to discuss the film, the director found the two were
simpatico on the visual style of the film.
The director and cinematographer worked closely together, using the
storyboards and sketches Stettner had created as an outline for the
film's visual style. In their collaboration, Stettner and Maniaci
developed a plan to use wide angle lenses early in the film as the
characters are being introduced, then shifting to longer lenses --
literally increasing the immediacy of the characters -- as the story
exposes their vulnerabilities in the imminent psychological showdown.
In conjunction with Dina Goldman, who came on board as production
designer, Stettner and Maniaci developed the film's color palette
to complement each scene's action along with the planned camera and
lighting schemes, using warmer tones for the more intimate scenes
and the cooler blues for the more formal transactions. While writing
the script, Stettner had very specific notions about experiencing
Julie Styron through her surroundings, the spaces she occupies in
each scene.
Says Stettner, "I wanted Julie to exist in these weird rarefied spaces
and to have these spaces reflect, on some level, what is going on
in her interactions. And as the film progresses, I was interested
in showing what happens when you get to the bones of the building
because psychologically, that's what is happening with Julie's character
when she and Paula have finally exposed each other's deepest fears
in the bathroom that's being remodeled. In the story, we are getting
to a real, truthful layer with Julie, and I wanted the spaces to reflect
that."
In spite of their interchangeable nature, finding the "right" airport
hotel to play such an important role in the film was a challenge in
itself. The hotel where Julie and Paula stay is actually a composite
of five different ones. The sauna, the elevators, and the room under
construction were all built by the production. Incidentally, Julie's
executive suite was also built on a sound stage, but the filmmakers
built around existing windows to be able to have real night in the
film, as well as to include a vista of nameless highways with the
airport not far beyond, lending a touch of authenticity to the seasoned
business traveler's hotel room.
Once the film was shot, Stettner was concerned with finding an editor
who could preserve the nuances of the performances of such an intimate
piece. Although the director was confident in his collaboration with
Stover and his female leads, Stettner was also very committed to having
a woman's voice in the editing room. Says Stettner, "I was very aware
of the fact that I am a man making a film about these two women. I
felt good about what Susan, Stockard, Julia and I had done with these
characters, but I wanted to make sure there was a woman's voice in
the editing room, just to make sure things rang true and the characters
were being shown the level of respect and understanding that they
deserved. I certainly didn't give Keiko that burden specifically,
but she has good instincts, in general, in addition to her superb
technique as an editor."
In completing the film, the filmmakers carefully selected sound designer
Eugene Gearty and composer Alexander Lasarenko to design the aural
elements for the film. Stettner and Stover were delighted when Gearty
expressed interest in working on the film. The award-winning sound
designer had worked extensively in film -- with such directors as
Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee and Joel and Ethan Cohen -- and had recently
completed work on the international hit "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
Lasarenko, on the other hand, hadn't done many films at the time he
was chosen to score THE BUSINESS OF STRANGERS, although he had worked
extensively in the music industry and was highly recommended by one
of Stover's colleagues. However, the filmmakers were confident in
his solid classical background and his versatility as an artist. His
ability to strip away the layers of his music down to percussive elements
suited the story's progression very well, and his contribution to
the film enhances the performances with a subtle urgency.
Although the strength of his script played no small part in drawing
the level of talent involved on both sides of the camera, Stettner
recognizes his good fortune in working with individuals so supportive
of his feature debut. Stettner concludes, "It has been a great privilege
making this film. Working with such generous and talented actors has
been a great experience. And thanks to a supportive and hardworking
production team, this is the film I set out to make. I realize that
this is a rare experience for a first time director and I am thankful
for their trust and the opportunity."
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