“The Effort Lies in Screenwriting”: John Sayles Discusses Resourceful Filmmaking, James Cameron, and His TIFF Retrospective

      Filmmaker John Sayles has truly done it all. If you enjoy Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial or Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist, you should know that Sayles’ unproduced screenplay, Night Skies, served as a foundation for both beloved films. Similarly, Sayles’ heartfelt film, Return of the Secaucus 7, which he both wrote and directed, explored the disillusionment of baby boomers’ American dream well before Lawrence Kasdan tackled the subject in The Big Chill. His contributions have been vital to the progression of nearly every genre in American cinema in various ways.

      Ahead of TIFF Cinematheque’s retrospective titled Declarations of Independence: The Cinema of John Sayles, curated by Adam Nayman and starting this Thursday, we engaged Sayles in a conversation about the selection of films featured in this series. We also discussed his anticipated upcoming film, I Passed This Way, his collaboration with James Cameron, and the classic noir films he has recently watched.

      Watch or read the conversation below, or listen on The B-Side here.

      The Film Stage: A couple of years ago, we had a lively discussion about how there’s an endless array of old films from the ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s that we’re always trying to catch up on. Have you seen any noteworthy classics recently?

      John Sayles: I have actually been watching a lot of pre-code films from the ‘30s. Some of them I had heard of, while others were new to me, and the reason I hadn’t seen them before is that when the Code was implemented, they didn’t air on TV. As a kid, I would catch old movies with commercials, but these films were completely overlooked; it was just known that they had been banned or edited. I’ve discovered several gems, including actors who thrived during this era. One standout is Lee Tracy, who portrayed fast-talking, cynical reporters. He was in numerous films, some of which are quite excellent. Sadly, he somewhat sabotaged his own career after an incident on the set of Viva Villa!, where he got drunk and urinated over a balcony, possibly on military personnel. This led to him being sent home and replaced, from which he never fully recovered, but his performances are impressive nonetheless.

      I also watched a French film called Any Number Can Win featuring Jean Gabin and Alain Delon, which is an engaging psychological caper about attempting to steal money from a complex location. There’s an earlier Frank Capra film titled American Madness starring Walter Huston, and Black Tuesday, a prison-escape film with Edward G. Robinson and Peter Graves. Additionally, I checked out several post-war Japanese films, the first being Branded to Kill, starring Joe Shishido, who had a somewhat unusual appearance due to a botched plastic surgery aiming to make his face resemble more typical American tough-guy looks. The intriguing thing about these films is their exploration of the “Sun Tribe,” a new youth subculture of wealthy kids enjoying rock and roll after Japan's tough times.

      There’s a fantastic movie featuring Burt Lancaster called Criss Cross, and Dodsworth, again starring Walter Huston, is exceedingly good. Scarlet Street is another notable Fritz Lang film, and Silver Dollar featuring Edward G. Robinson and Aline MacMahon is quite impressive. MacMahon was a character actress involved with the original Actors Studio and uniquely pursued a film career, distinguishing herself even within a fast-paced dialogue scene, unlike many of her contemporaries.

      The Sniper, set in San Francisco, depicts a psychologically troubled individual targeting women from a window, while The Half-Naked Truth, with Lee Tracy and Lupe Vélez, although somewhat formulaic, moves briskly at 77 minutes. Jewel Robbery, featuring William Powell and Kay Francis, is another enjoyable film. Heat Lightning stars MacMahon as a reformed wild girl trying to keep her sister from falling into a bad lifestyle, while another solid film called Merrily We Go to Hell, directed by Dorothy Arzner and starring Sylvia Sidney, is notably tough. Lastly, I highly recommend The Narrow Margin, which, despite being a B or C-movie, features Charles McGraw, typically cast as tough sergeants or gangsters.

      The remake with Gene Hackman is good as well, and so is the original Nightmare Alley starring Tyrone Power, which is quite wild. I recently viewed Piccadilly, a silent film featuring Anna May Wong and Charles Laughton, set in London's cabarets, where Wong shines as a young dancer. Another lesser-known film from the ‘50s is The Lineup, with Eli Wallach as a hitman in San Francisco—a fantastic movie that might be Don Siegel’s early work. I've seen so many lately, but I often have to keep a list because the titles can be so similar. I find myself wondering, “Have I seen