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An Exclusive Interview with The Author

Recently, Michael A. Weintraub sat down to discuss some of the compelling questions raised by his new screenplay. An excerpt from that interview is here. Be forewarned, however: Many of the twists and turns of the plot and characters from the script are spoiled here.

Where did the idea for Angel Wings come from?

I wanted to write a story about people falling in love, but I didn't want to make it one of the usual "falling in love" scripts. Romantic comedies always strike me as being false. They're too predictable, and my own life has shown me that the good guy doesn't always get the beautiful girl. That's why Ray and Alina, while they seem perfect for each other, don't connect.

Also, I wanted to explore the idea of what love is. As an abstract word, love seemed ripe for the exploration.

How did you vary your writing style for this script?

Normally, I outline the entire script on paper before I write a single scene. I'll type up a list of the scenes (usually 30-40, depending on the length of the script), along with a brief, one or two sentence description of each. That gives me the space to determine how long each scene is going to be, and likewise get a gander of how long the script will be.

For Angel Wings, I wanted to break free of the rigidity of my prior style. I didn't have a plot in mind, just an idea for the theme: how and why people fall in love. I had thought of the story of the boy who thought he could fly, and then wrote that scene. From there, I imagined a bus pulling into town, and that I would follow two people as they got off the bus: Alina and Darrell. I didn't know who either of them were until they developed themselves. Imagine my shock when I had the potential match for Alina robbing the bank she was at!

What were the inspirations for Angel Wings?

Wislawa Szymborska's poem Love at First Sight was the primary inspiration. I first stumbled upon it when I learned that Trois Colours: Rouge (Three Colors: Red), my favorite film, might have been inspired by it. When I read the poem, I saw how Kryzystof Kieslowski may have drawn from it, and also an opening to more fully adapt the poem's idea that "every beginning is only a sequel."

I also feel that since Kieslowski's death in 1996 the world has lost a great filmmaker (and storyteller) and I wanted to help carry on his legacy by making my own, American-Kieslowski script. Any similarities in plot, theme, and ideas between Angel Wings and Trois Colours: Rouge are merely coincidental, by the way. We just both took our ideas from the same springboard, but landed in different pools.

Who would be in your "dream cast" for Angel Wings?

Usually, when I write a script, I have already cast the film. But, for Angel Wings I didn't, really, until it was nearly done. I suppose any young, talented actress in Hollywood could play Alina, and likewise any young actor could be Ray. I did make Aron a transplanted Scotsman in the script for one particular person to play: Fish, the Scottish singer who is now branching into acting.

But, if I had to cast the film, and the money to hire a "dream cast," I'd probably ask Winona Ryder to play Alina, and Matt Damon to play Ray. I'd want a relative newcomer and unknown young child actor to play Barry.

Both Angel Wings and Tierra Del Fuego deal with issues of religion. How did you differ the themes between the two scripts?

In Tierra, the religion was global. One person's point of view changed everyone else's. In Angel Wings, I took the direct opposite view: each person's beliefs were relative and held only by that one person. I also toned down the religious aspects of the story, even when Ray meets Sister Catherine at the end, I don't delve into the right or wrong of his dilemma. I just present it and let him (and the audience) decide.

Is Barry (the little boy who thinks he can fly) truly an angel?

Well, it depends on your definition of angels. If you mean the more biblical sense of an angel being a divine being with wings who hang out with God up in heaven, then no, he's not. But, if you consider an angel to be a metaphorical prime mover, then I'd say he was an angel to Alina, prompting her toward the right path.

Was there any importance in setting Angel Wings in the Los Angeles area?

The Los Angeles setting is important to Ray's character being a young filmmaker. But, I had decided the setting before I even dreamt up Ray, his career, or even his sordid films. I suppose I wanted to find a location that offered everything (little boys who think they can fly) and anything (hulking six-and-a-half-foot tall Scotsmen). It's also a big enough area for Alina and Darrell to both arrive in and anonymously nearly collide. My original intention, when I put Alina and Darrell on the bus together, was for them to meet and fall in love. When Darrell robbed the bank, I realized that wasn't meant to be, so I introduced Ray to Alina.

A lot of characters in Angel Wings are introduced, developed, and then disappear from the script. Was this intentional?

Sort of, yes. Darrell disappeared because he robbed the bank. Michelle and Catherine, the women who invited Alina to the party, didn't return because Alina left them there, and the story's about her, not them. Usually I ditched characters because they weren't the ones for Alina. Ray stuck around because he was supposed to be the one for Alina, and Barry was there throughout because he helped guide Alina on her way.

Ray, the filmmaker in the script, is developing a film that starts to echo his own life. Will his next script be about Alina?

Maybe. Actually, I think Ray would take what happened to him and Alina, throw it in a blender, and come up with a better, more veiled, account of what happened. He's an optimist, so in his version he would get the girl.

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