“American Splendor” directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini received some bad news last week when the subject of their 2003 breakout indie hit, the acerbic comic book writer Harvey Pekar, passed away at the age of 70.
But in an interview about her upcoming NYC-set indie, “The Extra Man,” a charming little film starring Kevin Kline and Paul Dano (out in theaters on July 30), the female half of the directing duo said she had only good memories of the feisty author. “It seems like so many people were touched by Harvey and by the movie. It was an incredible feeling,” she said lamentably, noting she had just seen Pekar recently and he was in good spirits and health.
But life has to move on and Springer Berman and Pulcini are already about to shoot their next project, the HBO film, “Cinema Verite” announced earlier this year which Berman tells us will probably clock in at 90 minutes.
But there’s more in the works as well, including a project with an SNL star who’s been breaking out on her own over the last few years.
“There’s actually a screenplay that we’d love to do that somebody else wrote, this woman named Michelle Morgan, called ‘Imogene,’ ” Springer told us enthusiastically. “It’s a comedy and again a great character. It’s a funny story but it’s got amazing characters, and Kristen Wiig is attached to star in it.”
Those who prefer their original projects to say, “The Nanny Diaries,” will be happy to hear the pair have another original film in the works as well.
“There’s an old project that Bob and I have. We wrote it a long time ago and it’s been almost made many times. It’s called “The Royal We” and it’s the true story of a man named Michael Romannoff, who was one of the world’s greatest impostors, who wound up in Hollywood. He said he was the brother of the tsar and had personally killed Rasputin (this was in the 30s) and was ultimately revealed as this fraud. He was a complete fraud, he was a Jewish guy from New York, but he wound up in Hollywood and opened the greatest Hollywood restaurant ever called Romanoff’s. During the Golden Age of Hollywood. We’d love to make that movie. It’s hard because it’s a period piece. The whole thing takes place in the 20s and 30s. It’s hard to do it cheaply because it’s a period piece. It’s almost gotten made several times. I hope it gets made, because it’s a great story. Michael Romanoff is an incredible character, and true, a real person.”
Fingers crossed for Springer Berman and Pulcini. “The Extra Man” hits theaters next Friday on July 30. More from this interview soon. — interview by Danielle Johnsen