Made in Britain film season: Interview with 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' screenwriter Paul Mayersberg

Nic Roeg's sci-fi masterwork 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' is back in cinemas for one day only across the UK (Tues June 19th) as part of Studio Canal's MADE IN BRITAIN film season. Here Joe Utichi sits down with screenwriter Paul Mayersberg to discuss its lasting effect.

We've also reviewed the film (read our review HERE) and check out the link to more MADE IN BRITAIN info at the bottom of the page too.

What follows is an exclusive interview by Joe Utichi – www.joeutichi.com –  from May 2012 kindly offered to us via Studio Canal:

---

You were working with Nic Roeg on other projects; how did THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH come up?

Nic had a deal, after the success of DON'T LOOK NOW, to develop three pictures for Columbia in America. The first he wanted to do was OUT OF AFRICA, the second was JULIA, and the third and littlest was THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. He'd been shown it by a friend; we hadn't read it before. It was a paperback original which came and went in the 1960s. I think somebody did own it before; they thought of making it into a TV series like The Fugitive. Each week they'd be hunting for the alien. It never got made that way. The other two films didn't work out for Nic, and so the runt of the litter was this one. That's how it started.

 

The book is hugely political; you wouldn't imagine it getting far in today's filmmaking climate.

We decided early on to dump that particular politics, because we thought it would be the thing that dated first. If you're making a film about the workings of time, then something that seems dated is dangerous. We took the aspects of the novel that seemed to be predictions and we added a couple of our own. Among the predictions we added was the idea of the black guy becoming an army officer, and everybody laughed at that; they said it was completely impossible.

But it wasn't just prediction. It has been said of the film that it was ahead of its time, but there's no such thing in my opinion. There is such a thing, though, as spotting things in the present that have eluded others. That's really what we did; and I don't think particularly consciously. The film is very observant. Particularly in the David Bowie character, Newton; he sees things, literally, that others don't see. And that was really our benchmark, if you like.

 

Were you interested in the allegorical power of science fiction?

I didn't really think of it as science fiction. There's no science in it, really. There are inventions, but it's not scientific. Of course, most science fiction doesn't have any science; what it has is a proposition of some state of mind or new invention or way of perceiving things. HG Wells used to write scientific romances, and I think it's much more like that, in a way. Not particularly like Wells, but that idea that you take what amounts to a real story and mix it with a proposition. Most of the science fiction of my era, growing up in the 50s with IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE and THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, was not character-driven. What we had was a story you could tell without science fiction. An emotional tale, really. It covers 24 years, during which one character does not age at all, and you watch the others ageing in pieces and that's how you know that time has passed.

 

Did you feel a good amount of freedom to be bold?

We did absolutely anything we wanted, and we started with that premise. Nic was very keen on that; the idea that if you're going into it you might as well go for it. Anything in the story that occurred to us we dealt with. Not everything stayed, but most did. If you're coming to a planet and you can magic your way around, then you can put anything into it, and so there are scenes that look as though they come from a Western, and then there's a Christmassy atmosphere. And then there's the growing influence of Japanese culture, which I'd always been very keen on from my days of going to the Academy and seeing Kurosawa, which was another world. We took from everywhere.

The title is almost an oxymoron, THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, because he is, of course, an alien. John Carpenter made quite a nice little film called STARMAN, with Jeff Bridges, some years later, which took our theme and developed it in another, slightly more sentimental way. But we were very concerned about the environment and the idea that the planet was in some way decaying. The thing that holds everything together, insofar as there is something, is the growth of corporate America. If you have an amazing invention then you are in line for corporate America.

 

The idea of non-linear time is fascinating; how did that come about?

What we did was we built bit-by-bit from the book and created a tapestry that moves back and forth. The film is progressive; the narrative progression is of course straightforward. But, what Newton can see is not straightforward, so that he remembers the planet he came from, but then he'll be driving along one day in the country and he'll suddenly see the pioneer family from the days the West was opening up. It's one thing that he sees them – and his girlfriend can't – but the marvellous thing that Nic did was that they could see him. So you see this reverse shot of this pioneer family seeing a Lincoln Continental – which would have been like seeing a spaceship – cutting across the landscape. Nic had done something similar before, in DON'T LOOK NOW and WALKABOUT, but this was a more advanced form of that, because it was purely to do with character.

 

How does it feel that THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH is still resonating with audiences?

It's amazing that it still resonates. Perhaps even more so now than it did back then, except in some people's memories. A few months ago there was a showing at the NFT, during a Nic Roeg season, and I did a Q&A. I was suddenly keen to know whether anyone in the audience had seen the film before, so I asked them to raise their hand if they had. Ninety percent of them put up their hands, which was amazing. There are not many films you can really say that about.

---

This has been restored and re-released into UK cinemas for a limited engagement as part of Studio Canal's Made in Britain film season.

To find out more info and what other unique, forgotten British classics you can expect from the season check out our feature that contains a link to the showtimes and participating cinemas right HERE.

Other film news

Cannes Film Festival rocked by $1m jewellery heist

The stars were shining a little dimmer at this year's Cannes Film Festival after a massive jewellery theft robbed the celebs of their jewels.

Pinewood Studios expansion plan axed by local council

Britain's premiere film lot Pinewood Studios, the home to James Bond and Harry Potter, has lost a £200m planning permission bid for a Hollywood-style expansion across 100 acres of green belt land.

'Avengers' stars Robert Downey Jr and Scarlett Johansson reassemble for 'Iron Man' director Jon Favreau's indie comedy

The last time Robert Downey Jr and Scarlett Johansson appeared in a film together it was a massive studio production that went on to break box office records. Now the 'Avengers Assemble' stars are reteaming for an independent feature.

Angelina Jolie undergoes double mastectomy after cancer tests

Oscar winning actress Angelina Jolie has undergone a double mastectomy after genetic tests revealed that she held a high risk of developing breast cancer.

Comedian Harry Hill's debut film starts shooting, casts Matt Lucas as his twin

'TV Burp' star Harry Hill's film debut has started shooting with himself in the lead and Matt Lucas as his twin brother alongside Sheridan Smith, 'Inbetweeners' star Simon Bird and Oscar winners Jim Broadbent and veteran actress Julie Walters.

Universal pushes back 'Jurassic Park 4'

'Jurassic Park 4' was due to begin production on June 24th for a release date almost exactly a year later, but studio Universal has pushed it back.

Tributes pour in for Ray Harryhausen, special effects pioneer, dead at 92

When it comes to optical effects in the movies, few have had a career as iconic as Ray Harryhausen, the special effects pioneer who recently died at 92.

Sequels news: 'Men in Black 4' and 'Mission Impossible 5' get the go-ahead

The bank holiday weekend saw not one but two tentpole franchises get the sequel green lights from their studios: 'Men in Black 4' and 'Mission Impossible 5' are on the cards at Sony and Paramount.

'Frasier' star Kelsey Grammer revealed as 'Transformers 4' villain

In somewhat unexpected casting news, TV star Kelsey Grammer (best known as classy radio psychologist Dr Frasier Crane from 'Frasier' and 'Cheers'), has been cast as the lead villain in 'Transformers 4'.

Natalie Portman and Michael Fassbender team up for 'MacBeth' film adaptation

First came the news that Michael Fassbender was onboard, and now it's been confirmed that Oscar winner Natalie Portman will be joining him for a new film version of 'MacBeth'.

'Iron Man 3' opening weekend beats 'Avengers Assemble' takings

Marvel/Disney knew they were on to a winner with the third film in the 'Iron Man' franchise but the Robert Downey Jr headliner has exceeded numerous box office estimates by beating 'Avengers Assemble' in its opening weekend figures.

Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt eyed for 'Guys and Dolls' remake

20th Century Fox has finally secured the film rights to the Frank Loesser musical 'Guys and Dolls' after years in legal hell, and now the studio are hoping to bag Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt for the lead roles.

Fox greenlights 'Dodgeball 2' with Ben Stiller onboard

Cult sports comedy 'Dodgeball' is getting the sequel treatment, with original star Ben Stiller's production company onboard alongside distributor 20th Century Fox.

"Deeply embarrassed" Reese Witherspoon and husband Jim Toth jailed for DUI and disorderly conduct

Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon and her husband Jim Toth were arrested and jailed in the early hours of Friday morning, it was confirmed recently.

Cannes 2013 line-up announced

The official list of nominations for the 2013 Cannes Film Festival have been revealed with a complete lack of British filmmakers/films in the running for the major awards of The Grand Prize and Un Certain Regard honours.

Disney to release a new 'Star Wars' every year

When Disney attended CinemaCon, the news that all the fans and industry types wanted to know about was what was happening with their newly acquired LucasFilm properties - namely the 'Star Wars' franchise.

Stephen King unhappy with 'The Shining' film prequel

Bestselling author Stephen King has stated that he’d be "happy" if Warner's planned film prequel to his 1977 horror novel 'The Shining' "didn’t happen".

'Avengers Assemble' dominates the 2013 MTV Movie Awards

Check out the full list of winners from the 2013 MTV Movie Awards here:

Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey cast in Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar'

Christopher Nolan's latest film 'Interstellar' has already confirmed that Matthew McCOnaughey will take the male lead and now it looks like 'The Dark Knight Rises' actress Anne Hathaway will reunite with Nolan as well.

Bradley Cooper saddles up for western 'Jane Got a Gun'

In what must be one of the most troubled productions in recent years, 'Jane Got A Gun' has a new villain at the last minute in the form of Bradley Cooper after both director Lynne Ramsay and Jude Law jumped ship one day into filming.