In Ira Sachs’ Peter Hujar’s Day, a transcript of a lost recording from an abandoned book by writer Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall) becomes the basis for a dramatization of the conversation she had one 1974 day with photographer Peter Hujar (Ben Whishaw), which covers art, memory, relationships, and things as simple as what he had to eat that day.
Awards Buzz spoke with Sachs about what rules he followed for working with an existing test as the framework for his screenplay:
“We added no words, but in editing, we took a few away. But every phrase, every comma, every pause, every addendum, the musical nature of everyday talk is part of the dialogue. I think, for Ben, it was like working in jazz in a certain way, because he had to remember not only the words but how to get from one word to another in a very technical way.”
Sachs commented on the positives of this unusual adaptation process:
“What I liked about the source material is it gave me what I’m always looking for, which is extraordinary authenticity. Because it’s actually a record of a conversation that took place at a very specific time, and Peter Hujar was such a gifted storyteller, the details really seem to evoke that moment in an unexpectedly full way. So, in a way, I hope the dialogue I write more fictionally can even achieve some of that authenticity that I found in this original text.”
Sachs also shared how he was in touch with the real Rosenkrantz, who he describes as a fellow Eastern European Jew, via Instagram messages, and only later learned that she was in her late eighties. Watch the video above to learn more!
Peter Hujar’s Day opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, November 7th.
