In the (Whistler) writer’s room: Elan Mastai

In conversation with Toronto-based screenwriter Elan Mastai, the F-word is going to come up a lot.

Not because Mastai loves to cuss, or is practising for a stint with Sons of Anarchy, but because he is still caught up in the pre-release excitement and success of The F Word, the Michael Dowse-directed film for which he penned the script. (And the “F” in this case stands for “friend.”)

An international Ireland-Canada coproduction, starring Daniel Radcliff (Harry Potter) and Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks), the film debuted at TIFF this fall, with U.S. rights being quickly snapped up by CBS Films for a rumoured near-$3 million. The film is being released by eOne in Canada.

A noted talent prior to the film’s festival debut, with credits including 2012’s The Samaritan starring Samuel L Jackson, the pre-release buzz around The F Word has earned the affable writer even more attention.

At Whistler to accept an award for being named to Variety‘s 2013 Top 10 Screenwriters to Watch list, Mastai is currently splitting his time between Toronto and L.A. as he juggles an armful of projects in various stages of development.

He is currently working on a script for Paramount based on an episode of NPR radio show This American Life, a script for Sony and Overbrook with Will Smith and Jackie Chan attached and another project in development with Paramount with producer/director Alan Ball (American Beauty, True Blood).

It’s a good time to be Canadian in the North American film industry, Mastai notes.  With falling budgets and less appetite for risk at American studios, landing top Hollywood talent for independent Canadian projects is easier than ever, he says – which in turn makes financing, producing and selling them easier too.

“Big movie stars want to act,” he insists. “From a career perspective they want to stretch as actors, and work on roles with texture and nuance.

“Daniel Radcliffe is a good example. He took a risk to come and work on a project that’s proudly Canadian,” he adds, explaining that as Radcliffe works to expand his post-Potter acting portfolio “it was a risk worth taking.”

Thanks to a system that allows commercially riskier fare to be produced, Canadian films are offering actors that opportunity. And the industry here is evolving, he notes.

“In Canada, we are making more and more films for the world. We are making movies on a grander scale, with bigger budgets and movie stars and schedules that you can compete with internationally. And the powers that be in our country are waking up to it.”

Landing Radcliffe for the role of Alan in The F Word was key to CBS’ interest, he says, not just for the obvious reason that Radcliffe is a major star with a built-in fan base. Radcliffe, working hard to move beyond his Potter past, has developed a reputation for working tirelessly to promote his films, a fact that helped 2012’s The Woman in Black become one of CBS’ biggest successes prior to 2013’s Last Vegas.

“When you embrace an international approach… that changes so much,” he says, citing the market allure of big stars such as Radcliffe or English actor Rafe Spall, also in The F Word, as an example. “Don’t get me wrong – there are great Canadian actors,” he says. “But stars are how movies get sold all over the world.”

(The F Word also may have a rising star in Canadian actor Megan Park, who’s already earned rave reviews for her portrayal of protagonist Chantry’s chatty sister, Dalia.)

The kind of success Mastai is currently enjoying both stateside and domestically is increasingly been seen with other Canadian talent, such as directors Denis Villeneuve and Jean-Marc Vallée, both of whom are seeing Oscar buzz around their most recent films. As to why this is the case, Mastai has a few theories.

“I think as Canadians, it’s in our DNA to be participant observers in American culture. We have an observational irony that I think is very current in the tone of storytelling right now. Americans sometimes don’t come to that tone naturally – but we do. It’s how we look at the world and it’s serving us very well right now.”

“I think there’s a comfort, a confidence you get, when you’re a Canadian working in L.A.,” he adds. “Like, I’m going to pitch my thing to you but if [you don’t take it], I’m going to do my thing in Canada. People complain about the Canadian system, but there’s also a kind of confidence that comes from it – that whatever you do in the U.S. is going to help what you’re doing here.”

f word

Photo (left to right): The F Word producers David Gross and Jeff Arkuss, actor Daniel Radcliffe and Elan Mastai