"If I learned anything at school, it was how to show up to class without any studying whatsoever," said Doug Liman '88, director of movies such as "Swingers" and "The Bourne Identity." With these words, Liman began the Variety Keynote Speech of the Ivy Film Festival Saturday night in Salomon 101.
His speech was marked by candor and dry humor as he recalled his exploits, setbacks and accomplishments from his years at Brown to the present. "I cherish this place and jump at any chance to return to Providence," he said.
Liman started with an anecdote about his senior year at Brown, during which he said he enrolled in a class known as "Rocks for Jocks" along with seven friends. While taking the course, he and his friends gave each other "handicaps" and competed to see who could score the highest grade. According to group-imposed rules, he wasn't allowed to attend lectures or do the reading for the class, but he still managed to pass. He likened the experience to working in the film industry, as he said both require one to "be able to work under insane conditions."
After graduating from Brown, Liman managed to direct his own short film at University of Southern California even after dropping out of its film school, but the film was unfortunately not the "ticket to Hollywood" he had thought it would be.
He subsequently directed his first feature film, titled "Getting In," which was not well-received. After these two disappointments, Liman decided to climb the Alps with a friend from Brown. He credited the trip with giving him a sense of accomplishment that has inspired him throughout his career.
When working in film, "you're gonna get bad news every day," Liman said. "I get rejected every day (by actors and writers). You need a way to still feel good about yourself."
"There's an adage in Hollywood - failure's not falling down, it's not getting back up," Liman said. "To cut through and break in, you've gotta do something that's great ... it just has to have an original voice."
Liman managed to break in with his next film, "Swingers," which was shot on a shoestring budget of $250,000. Because of the limited funds, Liman said he had to be crafty, using the same props in multiple scenes and filming without a permit while evading the police.
He also spoke about his forays into television, with shows like "The O.C.," which he said "started out as a big success (and) ultimately turned into garbage."
Liman ended by recalling the hoops he had to jump through while directing his more recent feature films, "The Bourne Identity" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."
While preparing to enter production on "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," there was a point when Nicole Kidman, who had been set to play Mrs. Smith, dropped out, followed by Brad Pitt and the producers, Liman said. Ultimately, Liman was able to complete the movie and is currently working on the television version of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."
After the hour-long keynote speech, Liman responded to questions from the audience, which included topics such as Liman's shift from smaller movies to big-budget movies, the process of preparing for a movie and past and present filmmakers he admires. During the session, Liman insisted the audience call him "Doug" rather than "Mr. Liman."
Liman told The Herald after his speech that he was glad the Film Festival had been organized. "The Ivy League schools as a whole are not supportive of film as a serious field of study," he said. "I feel like at a place like Brown, it's going to be the students who create the film (community)."
Liman said he remains close to his friends from Brown. "I really formed my life-long friendships at this place," he said. "Many of the friends I met here helped me on my first films and my short films even though none of them went into film. That entrepreneurial attitude (here at Brown) made them good co-workers."
Liman said he believes the future of film continues to lie in good storytelling, but the Internet and especially YouTube have provided new means to tell those stories. "Someone is going to create the first successful Internet-based program and ... it would surprise me if it wasn't a Brown student or a Brown alum," he said.
Simon Kinberg '95, writer of the film and television versions of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and a friend of Liman's, had originally been scheduled to speak with Liman but had to pull out due to a commitment to the upcoming television series "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," said Elizabeth Backup '08, alumni relations coordinator for the festival.
Backup said Kinberg had been scheduled before Liman and that Kinberg helped bring Liman to Brown.
Backup said she didn't know what to expect from Liman's speech and was pleasantly surprised. "It was so funny," she said. "I think it was kind of spontaneous."
She added that she learned a few lessons from this year's keynote and suggested the event may have drawn a bigger crowd if it were held on a Friday night or later in the evening. "I wish more people would have been there to see it, but (the scheduling) has to work with the filmmakers," she said.