Jim Taylor Q & A

When Alexander Payne needed a roommate, Jim Taylor answered the call. When Payne, the aspiring director, needed material to direct, aspiring writer Taylor answered that call, as well. In the decade since Payne and Taylor forged their screenwriting partnership, they’ve produced three acclaimed films: Citizen Ruth, Election (for which they earned an Academy Award™ nomination for best screenplay) and About Schmidt. A fusion of the Louis Begley novel of the same name and an unproduced Payne screenplay called The Coward, Schmidt is the tale of a retired insurance executive (Jack Nicholson) from Omaha who hits the road to stop the wedding of his daughter (Hope Davis) to a waterbed salesman (Dermot Mulroney). Is the film a drama with comedy? A comedy with drama? We'll let Jim Taylor answer.

On how to label About Schmidt:
It's just human--meaning it's funny and sad. I don't particularly think it falls into either of those categories and I don't even know if it's weighted one way or the other. But, it definitely leans more toward drama than other things we've done in the past.