oy Terry Roethlein shotos by Emesto Gonzales ‘One of the locations for James Ryan's low budget independent film, The Young Girl and the Monsoon, still haunts him, “It was my apartment,” he says. “Those beds were my beds. The sheets they were making love on were my sheets. 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But my davghtee did {g0 through some craziness when T | ivorced and the fi heightens that Pvchad so many patents come upto ime after seeing the film and so “Oh my God, did you get my kid. ‘Ryan is right at home with one of ioland’s greatest wnitars, Oscar Wilde, whose wey theatrical commentaries oa the foibles of human rela tionships gamered accolades and recrminations in his ‘day. Ryan's uncle, Wiliam Flaherty restored Wilde's old house in Dublin, because be clams the fail line suas all the way back to the controversial Ish sribe. "We were there three years ago,” says Ryan. “My ‘cousin got married at Latielisiown Caste ia Dublin nd we had a big party at Oscar Wilde's house.” “is potemal granparents eae to the States from ‘Tipperary during the Depression hut soon returned after secing how bad dings were. His fathee thea attended school in Island until he was eight years ‘old, when the family returned tothe States. Asa boy, Ryan used to spend summers in Thurles, Tipperary and his mother’s family bails from Connemara, Co. Galway. Although Ryan will not vouch for his clan's alleged litecary lineage, his frst generation HibernianA Declaration of Independence roots are evident in his Tove of storytelling end the lengths to which he will po to bring his work to Life, Ryan, who wrote, directed and produced his cheracter-driven relations film for “well uncer a million dollars.” belive his effort truly deserves that ‘muct-bandied-about “independent” label. {So muct about filmmaking is marketing and I've become very eynical about it says Ryan. “There is what people call the “indywood” film now, which is basicaly a film thas marketed as being independent, when in fact there's major studio money behind it sometow.” “After Ryan's 1997 stage version of The Young Girt and the Monsoon received favorable review inthe New York Times, some well-known Hollywood pro- «ducers (he won't mention names) called up ark asked him to develop the work Into a screenplay: Ryan had already lost the rights to two other adapted plays that went unproduced, so he decided to take his chances and decline the offer “FL lceraly said on the phone to a produces, a very big Hollywood producer, "No, I'm gonna do this on my own,” says Ryan, "She paused and said, ‘Well, \e'll continue this projet in about two weeks’ as if Twas going to come out of iy delusion, bor didnt ‘Reconcciving the piece required losing about $O% of dhe original play, says Ryan, bur using a camera allowed him to reveal much more about the private life ofthe characters. Taree of the principal actors Ryan chose—Tesry Kinney, Mili Avital and Diane Venors—were all accomplished thester actors. Sixteeu. ‘year-old film and (elevision aewess Ellen Muth was chosen from among four Ihanded actresses to play the 13-year-old daughter and eventually won the Best ‘Actress Award at the American Film Institute of Los Angeles iniemaational Film Festival last year ‘The entire feature was ten shot in New York City in 24 days. Ryan calls the experience “utterly independent.” The finished film is peopled with richly ‘wrought characters who can evoke deep pathos ss well as hearty laughter. The volatile, tragicomic tone ofthe film is st by the guilt aad angst Flak (Kinney) feels over his teatment of his daughter, Constance (Muth), who is catght inthe crossfire of a messy divorce, “T would say the characters Ike go the fall range and they are emotional characters.” says Ryan, clad in a black leather jacket. "They tend to be very motional about alot of things. At the same time if I don't get laughs I feel real ly bad, so what Clie todo is setup the laughs and then come in for the Kill.” After Hank dumps his gielftiend, Erin (Avital), she makes a bref but reveal- ing speech about the lack of depth to her life a theme al the characters echo, As the metaphor of the monsoon in the ttle suggests, each character undergoes 4 whitlwind experience of repuruble loss and then struggles to overcome that loss snd find connection with others “The sense of loss the characters endure is a sign ofthe times in which we live," says Ryan. “As we become involved ina much more virtual environmen, ‘an urbaa environment, ths leads to moce and more isottion, We're all utter. ing in those ways and we're all uying to figure out how to have a meeting of the souls in an environment that fights that.” Noted photojournalist Hank —disenchanted with his career—dectares that the “exposed life is not the examined life,” another theme within the film. Explains Ryan, “In a virtual environment, where entertainment has overtaken reality and people don't want to feel—the passionate man is considered suspect, —people are insensitive to not examining their own life. They think if they just expose it, as in alot of entertainment, it has been examined. Infact. that's not ‘rve.”| Moviegoers have compared Ryan to another talented director. “They call me the Catholie Woody Alten,” he says, “I find that interesting. The modern ne rosis, the cityscape, an the people in it who are literate and of certain class,” axe all reminiscent of that classic New York filmmakers style, “But I don't always write that stuff. This time that’s what the story required.” ‘Monsoon began gaming praise and interest immediately, first at the Los Angeles Independent Film Fessival and then at the annual Indie Flim Market. As evidenced at his screening at the Avignon/New York Film Pestvel, the film has been greered with guffaws and applause. Large stu dio distributors such as Sony Pictures Classis as well as smaller ones like Phaedra Cinema have ‘een bidding on Monsoon. Although certain festivals were indis pensable in navigat- ing the byzantine sale process, Ryan dis covered that many ‘others didnot seem committed to nurtring the genuine independent spirit. “L ‘was shocked to find out what festivals ar rally about. They're much move a launching pad for marketing campsigns for mii-major distibutors who have films and want to launch them someliow. ‘About the time Ryan retumed to New York to make his own film, he also ‘began teaching play riting ar the New School and screenwriting is his own pr vate workshop. He has also written two books about screenwriting Screenwriting from the Heart: The Technique of the Character Centered Screenplay (Billboard) being the most recen—to fila Void in the fel. “I felt like maybe I oovld contribute something that hada’t been i te books steady" he says,“ elt hat because of my theatre and acting backround, Thad a little bit ofa different approach. They’re not many books out thete on character.” Ryan recently took on a luerative sereemvritng job, which pays about four times what a year of teaching does. [Fhe has to elinguish teaching, Ryan says it would be hard to give up his association with studeats. ‘The only way to be 8 good teacher is ro love them on some level, so you go through this anxiety ‘hen you lose them-—his grief. So maybe it's time to move on. I don't know. (Or continue making pictues. His next project, based in Cuba, Miami a New York, wot be quite as indie, He’s been offered considerably mnie fund ing this time around, and he hopes tote in distribution before beginning prov duction, “Tt seems like the next challenge for me. 1 just don’t want to be stuck With a film and have to spend a year or two selling it, We hear of all these great stories of people making sudden sales ba in realty that’s not how it happens.” Although independents fared quite well atthe Osears this year, Ryan feels that some of those films won't stand the test of time because their characters are not fully fleshed out He calls Kimberly Perso's Boys on’ Cry “a concept film about « woman who dlesses like a man” and Sam Mendes" American Beauty “acastoon in many ways.” He fels these filemaker illustrate gener al societal trend toward exposing surfaces but exarmining litte else, “There's huge cultural shift and ansition going on and they are speaking about het, but ‘my cancem i it ends to lead to an affected, mannered cinema and that tends tobe less lasting. So what do you do as an artist? You've got to speak about the {imes: you have to be in the times and at the same time you want to write some- thing har’ lasting, t's a stragele.”