Lakeview Terrace - BEHIND THE SCENES

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"Lakeview Terrace"
BEHIND THE SCENES
by Tim Nasson
August 30, 2008

Watch "Lakeview Terrace" Trailer

“A lot of people have asked me what the whitest white guy in America is doing writing a movie that deals with interracial issues,” says Lakeview Terrace screenwriter David Loughery. “I wanted to challenge myself a nd kind of get outside my comfort zone, so I wrote a thriller that dealt with issues we don’t usually see in that context.”

Loughery thinks many people will see themselves in the characters he has created. “I think people will identify with the situation. Whatever feelings they have about race and color and relationships, they’ll bring to the theater and they will compare it to the action we’re seeing on screen.”

Director Neil LaBute exploded onto the movie scene with his 1997 feature film debut, In the Company of Men, a razor sharp exploration of sexual politics.

In the succeeding years, LaBute has built a reputation as a controversial filmmaker and playwright who is unafraid to pull back the mantle of civility covering the ugliest side of human nature.

For Loughery, La Bute’s unique sensibilities made him the perfect director for Lakeview Terrace. “This is a guy who really knows how to push an audience’s buttons,” he points out. “The films he makes and the plays he writes are—in a good way—excruciating to sit through, because the situations he creates are so incredibly uncomfortable. I knew that Neil would bring something to this movie that another director couldn’t. He brought a real tension to it, so the behavior between these characters feels very, very real.”

When the script for Lakeview Terrace came his way, LaBute saw an an opportunity to create a complex story, set in Los Angeles, that could be interpreted on many different levels. “I’d been living in Los Angeles long enough to be aware of the idea of fires encroaching on homes and racial tension and that kind of road rage thing,” says LaBute.

Although the clash of opposites in the movie is racially charged, LaBute and Loughery are in agreement that the issue of race is just one facet of the escalating battle between neighbors in the story. “Lakeview Terrace isn’t so much about race as it is about personal space, boundaries, turf and the lengths people will go to protect their property,” says the writer. “I think everybody has had a situation here they’ve just moved in next to somebody who is ruining the quality of your life. It may be a barking dog or a kid with a garage band or something else, but we all know how little things between neighbors can escalate into gigantic feuds. This is the ultimate version of that story.”

“The conflict is about someone who has grown up with a certain set of values and doesn't believe in the kind of arrangement he sees across the fence,” says the director. Everyone has lived next door or under or over another person, and felt ‘Oh my God, what are they doing in there? Why are they making that noise at this time?’ When one of those neighbors is a policeman, it removes that first line of defense and makes for a very suspenseful sense of, ‘What do I do now?’

“That element is certainly not a racial element,” LaBute continues. “You could pick a good actor of any ethnicity for the part of Abel Turner. Tommy Lee Jones, Edward James Olmos, they could play the part of this man who is someone who will not give in to his neighbors.”

In the end, says Loughery, he wants the audience to be uncomfortable watching Lakeview Terrace. “I want them to kind of twitch in their seats, but at the same time I want to make sure that they’re entertained and have a great time.”

Samuel L. Jackson had read the script and agreed to play the role of Abel when the film was still in the early stages of development. “At the first reading, I though it was a compelling story,” says Jackson, whose substantial body of work includes such acclaimed films as Pulp Fiction and Jungle Fever. “It’s about an interesting kind of personality clash, with a twist in terms of who might be called the racist in the film. I just happen to be playing someone who everybody normally thinks of as a person from a dominant culture. It'll be universal in the way it plays out.”

Jackson knew LaBute’s background as a playwright would be instrumental in developing the script and the characters. “Neil had a very interesting take,” says Jackson. “He also allowed us to come up with things that worked and fit into the story. He let us do the things we needed to do to bring a sense of reality and honesty.”

Actress Kerry Washington, who plays Lisa, says the strength of the script’s characters and story are the key to its dramatic success. “The film is really well written,” says the actress, probably best known for her portrayal of Ray Charles’ wife Della Bea Robinson in Ray. “For me, the best films are about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances and this film is mostly about three ordinary people who just find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Abel, Chris and Lisa are all pretty normal people who have all the pressures of the world thrown on them, from pregnancy to death. Life seems impossible to navigate. We find these people at their breaking points.”

Patrick Wilson, who plays Lisa’s husband Chris, praises LaBute’s ability and willingness to explore the complexities of the interactions between the story’s three principals. “He knows how to capture flawed relationships and take you where these characters are going,” says the actor. “He keeps driving the characters forward. He always knows what they want. That comes from being such a great playwright. There's also a real directness and rawness in his writing that I love. He gives men especially really rich characters.”

“Neil is amazing,” concurs Washington. “He's one of these people who always has a sense of humor. Whether it's 7 a.m. or midnight, he's there in good spirits. And he's a real team player. He respects everybody in their various positions and he wants everybody to do their best job. To me, that's the most important thing about a director, being able to hire the best people possible and then let them work their magic and you see him do that with every department. He really allows everybody to be a part of the process—that's what I love about filmmaking—it is really a collaborative effort.”

ABOUT THE CASTING

When Loughery heard that Samuel L. Jackson had been cast as Abel Turner, he was sure the filmmakers had made the right choice. “I thought, this is exactly the guy for this part,” he remembers. “He’s menacing and charming at the same time, so this character is both likable and threatening. It’s really a great performance.”

Jackson, he says, uses humor to diffuse the sense of danger Turner cultivates. “He has an odd sense of humor and I think that’s really a great addition to the character,” says the writer. “I guess you would say he’s the villain of the piece, but he doesn’t see himself that way. He’s protecting his property and he’s doing what he thinks is right for his family and for himself.”

With Jackson signed on to play Turner, director Neil LaBute’s challenge was to put together a supporting cast strong enough to keep up with the actor, famed for his dynamic onscreen presence.

Patrick Wilson, who plays Chris Mattson, is a well known stage actor with two Tony nominations to his credit, as well as leading roles in the film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, Children of Men and the award-winning HBO production of “Angels in America.” He didn’t hesitate when he was offered this role. “I loved the script when I first read it,” he says. “I’m interested in projects that are not only challenging to the actors, but that also touch the social conscience and maybe make people think a little.

“I would never set out to do a movie just to make a statement,” he adds. “But it's nice when you do a movie that reflects the world as it really is and when you play characters that are flawed. It's a character-driven story and also really enjoyable to watch.

“The mystery with a person like Chris, or any soft-spoken guy, is how does he really feel?” says Wilson. “He's not just this great guy who's always smiling. He's got his own issues and little secrets here and there.”

Wilson points out that Chris reacts to Abel in much the same way as he does to Lisa’s disapproving father. “Part of the challenge in their relationship is that both Lisa’s father and this neighbor are overbearing and antagonistic forces in this man's life. Is that because they are just these two men or is it because they're black men? Chris, I believe, doesn't care what race they are. It's just these two men telling him how to live his life.”

Although Jackson was familiar with Wilson’s acting work, the two had never actually crossed paths. “It was great to watch him find things and realize that he could relax and just do whatever he wanted with us and with me,” says Jackson. “And I guess because we connected in that way, we were able to let go in a very interesting process when we had our really angry stuff.”

Wilson is no newcomer to film, but working with a movie star of Jackson’s caliber initially proved intimidating for him. “Our rehearsal process was probably about two minutes of saying hello and talking about golf,” he remembers. “At the beginning, actors can be like two fighters trying to get used to each other in the ring, you know? The first rounds are just sort of dancing around and trying to get used to each other. He's been in so many movies and so many of his characters are so present in my consciousness.”

When the script for Lakeview Terrace reached Kerry Washington, she was instantly intrigued. “I really, really liked the idea of seeing this couple on screen,” she says. “I felt like we hadn’t really seen this kind of hip, progressive interracial couple before.”

Patrick Wilson was impressed by the fresh approach Washington brought to the role. “Kerry played this role in way I didn’t even see on the page,” he says. “She has such optimism to her character and such joy in the relationship between Lisa and Chris.”

Washington has equally high praise for her co-star. “He brought so much to this character and to the dynamic between husband and wife. He's the kind of actor that inspires me to be a better actor. Because when I watch him work, I know I'm going to look really bad if I don't do my homework.”

Washington wanted to play Lisa because, she says, “I think Lisa defies a lot of stereotypes about what a black woman is, and yet, to me, she represents a lot of black women. She’s modern, smart and open-minded, an adventurous black woman in a healthy relationship. She just feels like somebody I would know.”

Her role in Lakeview Terrace also brings together many of the elements Washington loves as an actor. “I love doing films with stunts and action and danger, but what draws me most to a project is the characters and what the real story is. This film is an opportunity for all of that. It has many interesting, multi-faceted and very real characters, within the context of something that's thrilling and exciting.”

Although Washington and Jackson have long traveled in the same social circles, this is their first time working together. “We see each other in the strangest places,” says Jackson. “We have run into each other in Cannes and at premieres and at parties, but I never had the opportunity to work with her. And wow! She has such great energy and abandon.”

For her part, Washington says, “Sam Jackson in the role of Abel Turner is brilliant casting. I just love him no matter what he does, but it's so great to see him in this role, because Abel is really smart, really charismatic, really likeable, and yet he's a man who's in an enormous amount of pain that he is taking out on Lisa and Chris.”

Lisa’s other important relationship in the film is with Abel’s daughter, Celia. “I love the scenes between Lisa and Celia,” says Washington. “I think a big part of the conflict is generational. This isn't just a story about racial misunderstanding. It's also a story about economic misunderstanding, social misunderstanding, age misunderstanding. Lisa is able to connect with Celia in a way that she's not necessarily able to connect with Abel just because they are closer in age.”

Making just her fifth film appearance, the young actress who plays Celia, Regine Nehy, holds her own in an emotional scene with Washington and Jackson in which Abel Turner discovers his daughter has secretly been spending time with Lisa. “My character gets really intrigued with Kerry’s because she has a crush on a guy at school who is of a different race,” says Nehy. “So she wants to get advice from Kerry on how to kind of keep it away from her dad.”

Nehy, whose career has been the fast track since her first film in 2007, never missed a chance to learn from the more experienced actors on the set. “Sam’s an amazing actor,” she says. “I would watch him after every cut and when we weren’t filming, and he kind of keeps to himself. He's working on his lines or just focusing, which teaches me to just stay focused and get ready for the scene again.”

Up and coming actor Jay Hernandez also plays a crucial role in the film. Jackson says his enthusiasm and ambition brought him back to his early days in the movie business. “Jay came in at the end of the shoot, but he fit right in. We had a kind of instant rapport. It was great to be with these young actors who are starting out and talking about the energy of the business and what they’re doing now and what they're going to do.”

Hernandez plays Officer Javier Villareal, Turner’s younger partner on the police force. He says his character looks up to Jackson’s as a role model, a feeling he also has for the veteran actor. “One of the reasons I took the job was to work with Sam,” he says. “I've always been a big fan of his. He has such a presence and he's a really nice guy. Very generous—he even gave me a couple of his lines!”

HOT HOT HOT

Walnut, California, where Lakeview Terrace was primarily filmed, is located about 25 miles east of Los Angeles. The cul-de-sac on which Turner and the Mattsons live is set against the magnificent hill and canyon terrain of the area.

“One of the things I wanted to do in this script was set the story against a backdrop of the way we live here in Southern California,”says Loughery. “We think we’re safe and secure, but nature has its own ideas.

“The community where Abel, Chris and Lisa live is built right into the side of these hills and it’s constantly being threatened by mudslides, earthquakes and fires,” he explains. “In this story, almost from the day they move into this house, there’s this sense of this fire that’s out of control and slowly approaching. As the drama heats up between these characters, there’s this real kind of apocalypse just over the other side of the hill.”

The specificity of the location required finding homeowners willing to give up their houses for five weeks and a community that would accept a film company on their street for the 25-day shoot.

The filmmakers took advantage of an unusual tool in the first stages of their search—Google Earth, an online service that provides users with an aerial view of entire neighborhoods. “We looked at a lot of houses,” says production designer Bruton Jones. “We explored different neighborhoods and then just went up to people’s doors and knocked. I have to say, our society can be very trusting. Because, here we were, strangers, standing there saying, ‘Hi, we know you have a pool in the back of your house. Can we look at it?’ ”

“We ended up in Walnut, which is a traditional, planned community,” says Jones. “It ultimately met a lot more of our requirements than the alternatives. It had many of the visual references in the script, particularly the way you can see from one neighbor's yard into the other and from one window to the other.”

“Although we were in a suburban neighborhood, we didn’t want the houses to be cookie cutter kind of houses where each one is exactly the same,” says LaBute. “We wanted the contrast between our two main houses to be strong. Even though the cul-de-sac had mostly Spanish style homes, including Abel’s home, we were lucky to find one for Chris and Lisa that is kind of a faux Cape Cod home.”

Lakeview Terrace was the production designer’s first experience working with LaBute. “What a director brings to a script automatically sets the tone of the shoot,” says Jones. “And with Neil, he brings a lot to the table. He's a bit controversial and very cerebral. There’s often a subtle subtext going on underneath, which allowed me to explore things a little bit more than usual.”

LaBute and Jones decided to create interiors that reflected the lifestyles and values of the two families to provide a visual illustration of their differences. “We talked about color and about the furnishings,” he says. “Abel’s home is more of a warm, nurturing environment that centers around kids, as opposed to the Mattson's more hip, cool environment.”

The filmmakers were also trying to create a visual reflection of the climbing temperatures, blazing fires and flaring tempers. To create a cohesive look, the filmmakers and department heads tried to put together the sets, lighting and costumes that would reflect the film’s fiery themes.

Jones continues, “For the Turner house, we added little red elements. We wanted to show that Abel was the impetus of the dynamic relationship with his neighbors. To the red, we added oranges and yellows throughout the house—subtly—so that you could just see it in the background.

“The color palette of Chris and Lisa’s’ surroundings is a reflection of who they are both internally and externally,” says the designer. “Chris and Lisa’s world is more graphic and culturally diverse on the surface. Sophisticated colors and graphic patterned fabrics surround their world. Their use of common icons of culture is an attempt to validate their superficial embrace of their diversity.”

Along with Jones and LaBute, director of photography Rogier Stoffers and costume designer Lynette Meyer helped give Lakeview Terrace its unified look. Meyer, who has worked with LaBute on many of his previous films, understood the importance of the smallest details, like the red accents in Celia Turner’s clothing and Lisa Mattson’s graphic and hip, Northern California style.

“We wanted the characters to look comfortable and real,” says Meyer. “The color palette we used was very warm, which communicates heat both physically and subconsciously.

“The Lisa Mattson character,” Meyer continues, “definitely needed to be ‘organic’ and natural. I used a lot of ‘eco-friendly’ designers and fabrics to convey that feeling in order to be very different from the Abel Turner character and his world. Also, Kerry Washington is very interested in the ‘conscientious clothing movement’ and she was very involved in her look for the film. And finally, I wanted to create a character who was fashionable, earthy, yet sexy and not a cliché.”

Another key player in creating the unique look and feel of the film was Ben Bray, the renowned stunt coordinator, who has worked on films as diverse as No Country for Old Men, The Chronicles of Narnia and I Heart Huckabees.

Kerry Washington loved the challenge of performing her own stunts and was wowed by Bray’s expertise. “He’s fantastic,” she says of the veteran performer. “The first time Sam and Patrick and I saw the final sequence, it was like we were three kids watching the “Nutcracker” ballet for the first time.

“It was so exciting to see them do these movements so expertly and I hope we came close to what they did,” says the actress. “A lot of times when stunt coordinators choreograph things, they're not necessarily choreographing for the actors. They're choreographing for their stunt guys or things that they do well or want to do themselves. You always want to pay attention and let people know that you know what you're doing and you understand what their job is.”

Jackson echoes that thought when he says, “It's surprising to them sometimes to know that you can actually do it and do it in a specific way that makes it look as good as what they thought it was going to look like. So, it's kind of fun to do.”

But he also says, “I did as much as I could. But I let the stunt guy do some too. You know, stunt guys like to get knocked down. So, if we hire them, we might as well let them get knocked down.”

Bray says he had an ideal experience on this film. “It’s more of a challenge when you have to keep it realistic, but from our first initial meeting, what I tried to push was that the stunts should not look like stunts,” he says. “Everything needed to be real and gritty and not look like it’s choreographed at all. Luckily, Neil and I were on the same page when it came to that. His notes were that we should just make it look as realistic as possible. And that’s what we’ve done.

“He knows exactly what he wants and that’s the easiest to way work,” says Bray. “I wish all directors were like him.”