While spending a year in Paris, France David Jacobson began writing Down in the Valley, which started out as a story about growing up in the San Fernando Valley.

"It was very strange to be writing about a place like the San Fernando Valley while living in Paris. I actually wrote a lot of it in the old 18th century National Library near the Palais Royale, which makes it even stranger. To be writing about a place whose major cultural achievement is the 12-lane freeway, while in a lovely Rococo setting is either insane or just perfect," recounts Jacobson.

As Jacobson was writing his story about his bleak Los Angeles suburban youth, David was attending a series of classic Western films at a tiny Parisian theater call the Action Christine. The Western myths and images were floating in his head, and soon flowed into his story. I definitely started to see parallels in the stark landscapes and lifestyles portrayed in the Westerns and the modern West where I grew up. The sense of loneliness, a constant fear of violent attack and the need of a hero to save me also seemed to tie the Western and my childhood together."

Before he could finish the script for Down in the Valley, David came back to the States to film Dahmer. When he returned to it a year later, he wasn't very happy with what he had written, and thought about taking on a number of other projects. At the end of 2002, David ended up returning to his script and finished the first draft in a month and a half of intense writing. Jacobson says of the experience: "Everything seems pre-determined, vivid and clear when you look back on a film or you examine a process from the outside. What amazes me is how much doubt and soul-searching really go on in most creative endeavors."

Jacobson wrote two more drafts and went through the Sundance Institute's Screenwriter's Lab. It was an interesting time, as he got to work with such diverse talents as Stewart Stern (Rebel Without a Cause), Jim Taylor (Election, Sideways), and John August (Willy Wonka, Big Fish). David liked the lab process because he got such different perspectives on his work. "All the writers obviously have very strong and personal ideas about cinema and story and they are passionate about giving them to you." David got the whole gamut of responses from "Completely re-vamp or dump the main character Harlan" to "Don't touch a word, its perfect!" They encouraged Jacobson to let all the comments filter through for a period of time before doing another draft. David did, and surprisingly one of the comments he most adamantly opposed during the workshop become the one he used in the final draft of the film.

After a successful, self-launched theatrical release, David's psychological drama Dahmer was nominated for 3 Independent Spirit Awards, his agent Todd Feldman introduced him to producer Holly Weirsma. Holly was a fan of Dahmer, and wanted to know what was up next for David. She read Down in the Valley and she loved it; they immediately formed a strong alliance. Holly was a perfect producer for Down in the Valley because she is a risk taker. David loved her from the start, recounting that, "Most producers in Los Angeles are looking for material that sells itself. Even if they like a dark or creatively innovative project, they usually shy away. Holly sees it as a challenge she must take." Holly was very aggressive when it came to casting the film. Edward Norton was David's first choice for the role of Harlan, though he knew such a big star was a long-shot. Holly felt any actor was possible, because of the strength of the material. She sent the script to Edward's agent, Brian Swardstrom. Unfortunately, Edward was hard at work on his own script and was not reading much outside material. David and Holly waited four long weeks, and just when they were about to give up hope and go to another actor, Brian called and said he loved the script. At that point Holly went to Adam Rosenfelt at Element Films, and they came on board and presented an offer to Edward.

Edward liked the script, but wanted to meet with David to discuss the project before he signed on officially. A planned brief meeting ended up lasting three hours. Edward and David found they had a lot in common. They were both History students, Edward at Yale and David at Berkeley, and they liked projects that covered serious emotional and social issues. Edward attached himself at that point, but wanted to work with David on the rewrites before going any further in the process. David flew to New York for an intensive week to work with Edward on rewrites, honing the script to where they both felt comfortable moving forward. When the rewrite was finished in December 2003, everything went fast from there; Edward came on as a producer as well. By March 2004, they started shooting.

David and Edward watched Evan Rachel Wood in Thirteen, and were both very taken with her. Luckily Evan had also been a fan of Edward's for many years, and was very excited to have the chance to work with him. Evan was living in the San Fernando Valley for most of her youth, which added that element of reality that makes her so perfect for the role.

When considering Evan for the role of Tobe, Edward was a bit anxious about her age, but as it turned out, Evan was so mature it wasn't a problem. Similarly, David did not want the film to get too focused on their age difference. The combination of Edward's youthfulness and Evan's maturity ensures that the film doesn't lose its thematic focus. You never get the feeling that this is a Lolita story. Their age difference certainly plays a role in the story, but by no means the central role.

Because they moved so quickly into pre-production there was not a whole lot of time for rehearsal, but David got in a good week with Evan and Edward. The most important thing was getting Evan and Edward comfortable with each other. "That was my main goal in the rehearsal time" says David. They also came up with several new scenes through improvisation which were then added to the shooting schedule.

As fat as casting for Lonny they felt it should be an unknown. David saw many new faces, but in the end Rory Culkin was just too good to pass up. David Morse came into the casting process late as well. David was very happy to get him involved. States Jacobson, "I was looking for someone who could bring some depth and nuance to the role that just wasn't there on paper. The character Wade could have become very much a two dimensional heavy, but David makes you believe that he is a single father struggling with a job that is often too much for him. He makes it an interesting role."

Casting Bruce Dern as the ornery Valley denizen Charlie was exciting for David. "I came of age in the 70's and was an avid movie-goer. So Bruce Dern was a big part of my life growing up. I wouldn't even say that the films that Bruce appeared in were my favorites, but he was one of my favorites. And of course he was the guy who nailed John Wayne, and you have to love him, just for that!"

In pre-production locations were among the most important things for David. "I grew up in the shadow of the 405 freeway (literally). The Valley is really a character in the film." Even before the script was done, David went and shot stills all over the Valley. "I started in the neighborhood where I grew up in Van Nuys, but ended up ranging all over even to places I had never seen before." When Enrique Chediak, the DP, and Franco-Giacomo Carbone, the production designer, came on the project, they started scouting locations with David as well. It was very fruitful work in creating the look and mood of the film. Enrique, a native of Ecuador, remarks, "I really didn't get the film entirely until David took me on his tour of the Valley."

On one of these tours, David went to take pictures of an area that provides a great vista, looking out over the Valley, and there was an old pickup parked there. As he looked closer, he noticed two sets of entwined legs sticking out of the back of the truck; a couple making love in the great outdoors... "Exactly the type of place I was looking for" says David.

While David was preparing the visual attack, Norton practiced at becoming a cowboy. Thell Reed was hired to work with Edward on his gun-slinging. Thell was once considered the fastest draw in the country. In the late 50's he traveled around the country displaying his gun-slinging skills as part of the Gene Autry Western Show. Edward was able to hone his already considerable riding skills and learn some roping from bronco-buster Jeff Danoff.

One of the other exciting moments for David in pre-production was when Jacqueline West, the costumer, took himself and Edward to United American Costumers which had some of the original costumes from My Darling Clementine. Being that My Darling Clementine, directed by John Ford, is his favorite Western and one of his favorite films, made this very special. He was actually able to put some of the original costumes in the dance scene at the end of the film. It is more than fitting since that scene is David's homage to the dance scene in Clementine.

The film was shot in anamorphic widescreen so he could portray the empty flat spaces of the Valley, spaces that still retain some of that old Western emptiness. Even though the Valley is paved over with highways, David still feels like it's a desert wasteland. He and DP Chediak and Production Designer Carbone worked together to give the film a Western look, with dark interiors that seem to give protection from the burning bright exteriors.

Visually, David also refers to another of his Western favorites, Red River, by Howard Hawks. "I love the scene at night in the fog and used that as a reference for the scene when Harlan tries to help Lonnie with his fear of the dark."

The hardest part of the film to shoot was the scenes that took place at the beach. They had to shoot the scene in March when the Pacific Ocean is still painfully cold. Everyone wore wet suits though it was still freezing, and Evan was deathly afraid of sharks. They were momentarily blessed by summer-like weather, but by the time they had to go out in boats into the deep waters, things got very choppy. It was tough to get a steady shot, and David got seasick. In the end though, they got some beautiful shots.

The scenes in the Western town were shot at Disney Ranch, just outside the San Fernando Valley in the Santa Clarita Valley. Although the Western town there has been used primarily to film fantasies from other times and places, in the context of Down in the Valley it is just another realistic Los Angeles location.

Shooting in a place like Disney Ranch is easy going as it is intended for film production, but much of the other shooting in Down in the Valley was on location and many of these locations were not exactly hospitable to filmmaking. In the sequence where Harlan and Lonnie hide in a housing development that is under construction, the housing development during the filming was indeed under construction. They had to take frequent breaks for housing tiles and cement to be carried through their backgrounds and in post-production they had to edit out all of the sounds of construction labor, like hammering, sawing and the rumbling of big trucks.

Generally, the shoot went very smoothly. For David, even though it was a relatively small budget, it was huge compared to what he was used to. He found it very easy compared to the days when he had few days and few crew members to get the job done. In the beginning he found the size of production almost too big. "I remember showing up on the first morning of the shoot and finding all these trailers and trucks and thinking is this the right place? I didn't even know what I would do with a trailer. On my other films I was so busy doing everything from helping with set decoration to catering. I never would have had a change to sit in a trailer." But on this film with the large, seasoned crew, he quickly realized the joys of trailer life; a place to hide for a moment from the daily onslaught of cast, crew and producers who wanted his time.

Cannes Press Book

Down in the Valley main page

---

Main Page || Biography || News || Films || Articles || Photo Gallery || Multimedia || Site Map || Website Updates

Edward Norton Information Page Search edward-norton.org Search WWW Powered by

---

If you have new information on Edward Norton (and you can provide a verifiable and reputable source), please email me- Susan

Note: Articles and images have been posted without permission for noncommercial and nonprofit use with no intention of copyright infringement. The purpose of this reprinting is to disseminate correct information about the actors, films, and studios. I have included author names and links to sources whenever possible.