EJ Moreno chats with Boy Meets World & Dinosaurs creator Michael Jacobs about his new film Maybe I Do…
What were some of your early comedy inspirations?
Oh, I think I was ten years old or 11 years, something like that. And I was in New Jersey, and I think I was rearranging my bedroom, which I did, you know, every once in a while. And I think I was putting this poster of Spider-Man on the ceiling cause there’s no other space on the walls for anything. I had something on in the background: The Million Dollar Movie.
You know, I really liked Spider-Man, and my attention drifted away from Spider-Man to this movie I had never seen before, and it was Zero Mostel jumping on top of Gene Wilder.
I didn’t know it then, but to me, it was the greatest comedy ever made. And I sat on the edge of my bed with the rest of The Producers. And I wondered how did he do that. I was young, so it was; it was funny to me, but I know I probably missed a lot of what Mel Brooks intended, but I knew I was watching genius. I started to do my due diligence on Mel Brooks.
But now you’re making your leap to movies and going that Mel Brooks route. What made you feel like this movie was the right moment to make that leap
Well, it’s interesting. [Maybe I Do] was a play. The play that ran in 1978; I was 22 years. It was very, very, very different. You know, it has the same characters, but it’s not at all the same as what the movie is, but it was a jumping-off point.
I was old enough at 22 to decide, well, okay, I’ve had girlfriends, and I’ll have other girlfriends. Eventually, I’ll find a wife. How, what am I doing? What am I doing wrong? What am I doing right? And I sat down and started to write about a young couple who wonders that same thing. And then I thought, what if there were obstacles? What if there were severe obstacles and the characters came into play?
But then I lived a life, had a television career, and was very lucky. I always wanted to be optimistic. You know, maintaining hope that things could work, uh, except at the end of Dinosaurs, where I killed everybody,
But the thing was, a few years I finished up with a television series, and I wondered what I wanted to do next. And the thought that came into my head was to read basically the first thing I’d ever done, which was this play. And I read it, and I thought it was very, very funny to me how much I missed.
When I watch episodes of the television I’ve done, I rewrite them in my head. And you’re just never satisfied with anything. What have I done? I went back to what have I missed. And I wish I could go back and redo it with more life experience and knowing what I know. And I thought, well, I can do that with this piece.
So, I wrote a script, and the next thing I knew, I’m talking to Chris Slagger. He says to me; I read your script; what do you think of Diane Keaton? And it was the most astonishing conversation I have ever had.
The next thing I know, I’m sitting with Diane, and then a cast falls together this spectacular cast. And this, you know, absolutely astounding opportunity to go to work with these people every day. Now, here we are.
What went into picking those actors to play the parents and specifically the pairings that you’ve made? Because I thought the chemistry of everyone was so good together.
The comedy rhythms in the movie are not what I would have expected what the movie sounds.
When Richard and Susan, for example, did a scene very early on, I listened to the scene and thought I believed every word of this guy’s torture. I believe that this is a fellow who is absolutely looking at his mortality, looking at his aging mortality, and has stumbled into this very bad situation. And Richard says, you’re some woman; this one-night stand has taken me four months to get out of.
I think it’s very believable, and I think what’s really important about is that you buy that even though it’s Richard Gere; this is aberrant behavior. And what’s very important about that for the film is that when Diane Keaton takes him back, you don’t quite know what’s about to happen. But when, when the worst possible, you know, the breach between them happens, she absorbs it, understands it.
It’s funny the movie is marketed as a romantic comedy. You don’t think that’s what it is at all?
It has many different elements and many different vibes, but as you said, this cast they’re believable and brought so much life to it. Honestly, I have to say it was an honor to speak with you. I’m a 90s baby, so I grew up with your work, like Dinosaurs and Boy Meets World, and I love seeing what you are doing here.
I really appreciate that. It’s funny, it was a question that I got asked once, and it was the simplest question in the world, and it’ s changed everything for me. It was, “who do you do this for?” When you sit at the computer, and you laugh, or you’re moved, who are you doing this for? You really have to look at it honestly, and you have to decide who are you doing this for yourself or are you doing it for an audience.
I think that primarily you’re the filter. You’re the one who lets things in or takes them, but unless you’re really doing it for the audience, and unless you’re sufficiently moved all your career by someone who says thanks, I grew up on your work, then what are we doing this for?
So I appreciate what you said, and I hope people enjoy the film.
Many thanks to Michael Jacobs for taking the time to chat with us.
Maybe I Do is now playing in theaters and features a cast that includes Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere, and William H. Macy.
