Dan Fogelman: Last Vegas & Writing with a Bottle of Bourbon

Dan Fogelman is proving himself a screenwriter who can tackle just about anything. He’s written a slew of successful films for Disney such as Cars, Bolt and Tangled. His screenplay Crazy, Stupid, Love. has become one of the best romantic comedies of our generation, and now he’s tackling Las Vegas.

Billy (Michael Douglas), Paddy (Robert De Niro), Archie (Morgan Freeman) and Sam (Kevin Kline) have been best friends for years and decide to throw a bachelor party in Vegas. In attempting to re-live their youth, their friendship is challenged by the city of sin.

I was able to chat with Fogelman about working with his titan cast, his new movie with Al Pacino and how he writes in a cabin with a bottle of bourbon.

ATW: From Cars to Tangled to Robert De Niro. How did writing Last Vegas come about?

F: I actually wrote the film a very long time ago-about 6 or 7 years. It was pre-Hangover. In my 30s I found myself going to Vegas once or so a month. I was out there and my dad was there for work and a young guy was throwing some event at a loud nightclub. My dad went, and I remember looking at him there and thinking it was really funny. I went to Vegas by myself for about 2 weeks and just wrote things down.

ATW: All these actors are legendary! Did the roles evolve aonce the cast came on board?

F: They were pretty similar. Over the course of time, I had conversations with them. We went to a table read and got to see what was fitting and what wasn’t. When Michael Douglas becomes the main guy, [Billy] gets a little bit cooler! But those were the kind of archetypes that were on the page.

ATW: Crazy Stupid, Love is one of the best romantic comedies of our generation-at least I think so! You really let the actors’ natural voices shine. How were you also able to do so for Last Vegas?

F: It really depends on the director. Some of the most fun is watching the guys feel like old friends. That also comes with the director letting them feel the language and cut it into the film. Watching these four guys messing around with each other is where the real charm is.

ATW: You’ve written for a young demographic with your animated features. Did you find it different writing Last Vegas since it’s catered towards a much older audience?

F: Cars is like 3 to 7 year olds and the sweet spot for this movie is not that! I like stuff that is fun and funny and has a little bit of heart to it. I love the movies that are heavy and intense but it’s not what I’m good at. There’s the back half to [Last Vegas] that’s really sweet-when they’re really connecting as friends at this stage in their life. It can be a talking tow truck or a racecar or Michael Douglas and Robert De Niro.

ATW: How is writing for TV and film different? Your show The Neighbors has found a lot of success!

F: I love them both. I tend to prefer the one I’m not doing at the moment. TV is really fulfilling. You get to tell a 20-minute story every week. As much as I love it, there are moments when you go Ugh I just like writing a screenplay in my house. When you’re doing that, you’re staring at a blank Final Draft document. TV has been really fun. It really makes you a better writer.

ATW: Your directorial debut Imagine, which you also wrote, sounds amazing!

F: It was a tremendous amount of work. I like directing after and before, during it’s exhausting!  Al Pacino is the real deal in this film. I’m excited about this one. I showed just Al the film for the first time, and I thought I was going to vomit! But he loved it! Being the writer and the director is a blessing…but it’s daunting in that you’re the sole voice of it.  There’s nothing better than to get a great director to direct your own material! I don’t have to deal with all the nonsense.

ATW: Tell me about your writing nest!

F: I have a couple of spots. When I wrote Crazy, Stupid, Love., which is where everything started taking off, I rented a cabin up in Joshua Tree. I brought up 5 days of groceries and a bottle of bourbon. I was working 16 hour days, 5 days in a row. I went back there to write Imagine. Now my girlfriend and I bought a little ranch outside of LA. I have a little office there. I can make myself crazy by writing every day. I set aside big blocks of time to write.

Last Vegas is out in theaters November 1^st!