Nebraska Writer Bob Nelson Talks Cannes, Cast, & Inspiration

Nebraska screened this week at the 2013 AFI Film Festival. The indie darling stars Will Forte and Bruce Dern as David and Woody Grant, a son and father who set out on a road trip to riches. Alexander Payne (The Descendants, About Schmidt) directs the dark comedy.

On the red carpet at the legendary Chinese Theater, I had a chance to chat with the spanking-new screenwriter Bob Nelson.  His first feature, I had to know what it was like seeing Nebraska for the first time.  “The first time I really saw the film was at Cannes, which was amazing. Then it became real and surreal at the same time.” 

Given the intricacy of the family relationships in the film, I asked Nelson which elements of the Grant family were based on his own life. “The father Woody is based on my dad. I’m supposed to tell everybody that Kate is not based on my mother! It’s inspired by somebody else who used to speak like that and had no filters and was wonderfully entertaining and very funny. The uncles are from my childhood – a lot of relatives back in the Midwest growing up.”

Given the fantastic cast and director, I wondered what elements they unearthed in Nelson’s script. “Alexander, as soon as he was attached, that was great. Bruce has some looks you could spend 10 pages trying to write what his reaction is.  I love what Will did, keeping the comedy in check and playing a regular guy. Stacy Keach…perfect! I’ve always loved Bob Odenkirk’s work. Everything he does is great.”

I’m always interested in asking writers about their nest and pictured Nelson writing Nebraska in a remote cabin in the woods. “I was kind of in the woods. I was north of Seattle in a town called Snohomish. I was unemployed. I had just finished working in Seattle television, and I needed a job – so I wrote this script. It was very quiet. No one was calling me on the phone. I had a lot of time on my hands.”

Nebraska is out in theaters November 15^th!