Turning to the dark side
By Frances Sun
Oct. 13, 2004 9:00 p.m.
It’s not unusual for a college or university to be more
than an academic environment for students. For screenwriter and
alumnus Scott Kosar, UCLA was the safe haven that changed his
life.
“When I entered (UCLA’s graduate screenwriting
program), I came in at a time in my life after many years of taking
the low road, and not really living a healthy lifestyle,”
Kosar said. “Going in to UCLA, I made personal changes in my
life.”
These changes included the learned ability to incorporate
personal experiences and a unique voice into his writing. From his
gut, Kosar was able to formulate the script to “The
Machinist,” a dark psychological thriller that will be
released in theaters Oct. 22.
Although he has experienced recent success, Kosar remains
connected to the place where he started. Kosar will return to
campus tonight to discuss his film, which the UCLA School of
Theater, Film and Television will screen before it hits the box
office.
Dealing with themes such as guilt, alter egos and existential
crises, “The Machinist” tells the nightmarish story of
an insomniac who falls deeper and deeper into a self-created
personal hell.
Melding his personal experiences with the influential works of
Roman Polanski’s “The Tenant” and Wim
Wendor’s “The American Friend,” Kosar completed
the script in the winter of 2002, while still in the MFA program at
UCLA. In many ways, “The Machinist” was a turning point
in his life and led to his debut as screenwriter in 2003, for his
remake of the horror film “The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre.”
“”˜The Machinist’ wound up being read all over
Hollywood. (Directors and producers) met with me and loved (the
script), but they all thought it was a little too dark,”
Kosar said. “They liked my style so they always asked,
“˜How would you like to do this instead?’ and suggested
to me a bunch of remakes. Once I pitched and landed (“˜The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre’), everyone in town suddenly knew who
I was.”
But now with “The Machinist” being released and
another remake, “The Amenityville Horror,” currently in
production, is Kosar limited to material from his dark side?
“Well, let’s just say I don’t get offered very
many romantic comedies,” Kosar said jokingly.
“I’m comfortable with writing about dark people and
stories.”
Because he was comfortable with his own style, Kosar realized
while writing “The Machinist” that nonconformity is not
necessarily a bad thing.
“When I wrote “˜The Machinist,’ people warned
me that it was too dark and I wouldn’t sell it. But I
didn’t listen to them,” Kosar recalled. “I
wasn’t at UCLA to put together three or four scripts and
break into Hollywood. I was there to learn how to write, to turn my
life around and to find meaning it.”
According to Kosar, UCLA had given him the artistic freedom to
write the stories he wanted to write.
“I love the faculty, the liberal politics,” he said.
“The students in the writing program are really encouraged to
experiment and to find their own voices.”
Though his scripts paved his path to success, Kosar values
deeply the idea of writing for himself and not for commercial
purposes.
“When I write to myself, it’s to entertain myself
and no one else, I do better work than if I’m trying to see
what the market would like,” Kosar said. “Of course, I
am interested in people being entertained and following the meaning
of the story, but I would never try to write a script in order to
convey a certain message for other people.”
Though “The Machinist” was written from the gut,
Kosar said he had no difficulty piecing the story together.
“I didn’t set out to tackle any personal demons;
I’m not that self-indulgent,” Kosar said.
“What’s strange is as I started to outline and write
it, things just seemed to fall into place. Some of the personal
things that came out (from the writing), I didn’t notice
until after I wrote them.”
While much of his work is influenced by his own personal
experiences and instincts, Kosar admits that his own personal story
has yet to completely unfold.
“I’m still trying to piece together fractured parts
of my psyche,” he said. “I’m coming closer to it
though.”
