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Sexual Healing
An Interview with Secretary Scribe Erin Cressida Wilson
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| Erin Cressida Wilson |
Erin Cressida Wilson is no stranger to the literary world. A writing professor at Duke University and a renowned playwright, her work has been performed at theaters around the globe, from San Francisco's Campo Santo at Intersection to London's New Grove. Her first foray into the realm of screenwriting has proven successful as well.
Based on the short story by Mary Gaitskill, Secretary-directed by Steven Shainberg and starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader-has been gaining wide acclaim since its 2002 Sundance premiere. Superbly acted, the film is a love story with a twist: our happy couple can't seem to show their love in a non-sadomasochistic way. The film is darkly humorous and uniquely touching, with a message that transcends the stereotypes. Here, Wilson speaks with MM about the differences between stage and screen, the most important lesson she teaches her writing students and why it always comes back to sex.
MM: Though you've tackled the role of screenwriter, you're probably best known as a playwright. What are the differences between writing a script to be performed on stage or in front of a camera? As a writer, do you discipline yourself differently when tackling one over the other? Do you have a preference for one over the other?
ECW: Right now I prefer screenwriting because of its limitations. I love the confines of the Hollywood film structure. I find it very freeing because it allows me to write even more far out things, because I know I can always fall back on the confines of the three act structure. The well-made play is a structured art form. But I find it boring because, within the well-made play, there is very little room for moving out of the confines of an old fashioned and almost dead art form. But then I also don't like "downtown" playwriting because it is often manifested as nonsense word salads. A career as a playwright is a hard path to forge. As a woman, it is virtually impossible. The playwriting world is, for the most part, closed to women.
MM: In addition to your work for the screen and stage, you also write a monthly sex column in Razor Magazine. The subject of sex seems to play a large role in most of your work, but not in a purely physical sense. Rather, we tend to learn more about the characters through their sexual relationships (or relationships to sex). What do you think sex can teach us about a person?
ECW: Thank you. That was so well-worded and exactly what I hope is achieved with my writing about sex. I think that sex is an exposure and a revealing of our wounds, our underbellies and our frailties. I think of sex as a very honest form of communication. And through it, we can see the core of a person.
MM: How did you first become involved with writing Secretary? The film is based on Mary Gaitskill's short story. In what way did you use the text in your own writing? How did you work to add your own details in order to make it a feature length film? What was the process of adapting the story into a screenplay?
ECW: Steven Shainberg hired me to adapt Mary Gaitskill's story into a screenplay. We added the element of self-cutting at the beginning to give the lead character a problem to overcome. She must stop destroying herself and find a way to turn her need for pain into something constructive and loving. And she learns to do this with the lawyer. I think the most important thing to keep in mind when adapting anything is to not allow oneself to read the original document too much. You must give yourself permission to march all over it, and to trust that the essence of it will come through. And that is what I did with Secretary. I tried to ignore the original story as much as possible; then I put myself into the story until it became mine. This was the only way I could write it organically. I had to take possession of it. It was important that I not treat the story as precious.
MM: In the most general terms, the story is about a sadomasochistic relationship between a young secretary and her boss-easily the fodder for a late night cable movie. Yet the film is a truly moving love story. How conscious were you of the subject matter's ability to slip into something different? What steps, if any, did you take to maintain that the story was about the emotions of two people rather than their actions?
ECW: One way to do this is to make sure that, as a writer, you are aware of every single cause and effect. You should always be intimately familiar with every single tiny decision that leads up to each action. This makes even the strangest action seem organic. If you are rigorous with this, you can write almost anything and the audience will stick with it and cheer for the character.
MM: There's a subtlety to the film-in its humor and emotion-that usually only exists on stage. While a lot of this is due to the superb acting, much of it is a result of the script. Do you think your experience as a playwright helped in successfully executing the screenplay for this film?
ECW: Yes, I think it helped a lot. My work on stage has always been character-based and highly dialogue-driven. Humor is a great device to use to undercut serious moments. You can become more serious and more outrageous in a script if you undercut it with humor at the right moment.
MM: In addition to your other many titles, you are also a writing professor at Duke. Do you think that location matters when you're working to pursue a writing career? How does being in North Carolina for so much of the year-as opposed to NYC or LA-affect your opportunities?
ECW: I have never gotten a job by hanging out at parties in LA or NYC. I'm just not that type of person. I have always gotten jobs by working hard and committing to my writing. So, when I am far away, in North Carolina, it actually helps my work because I turn my back on the business and get down to what matters: the writing. I have, in fact, gotten much more work ever since I stopped living in New York City full-time. I'm lucky to also have apartments in NYC and LA, so I can come and go easily.
MM: What is the first lesson you try and teach your students who are looking to pursue the craft of writing? What is the most important lesson you teach them?
ECW: Start listening to other people's conversations. Notice the way people talk. Notice the rhythms and repetitions. Notice how they often don't say what they mean. Notice how they rarely really listen to one another. Try to decipher subtext in real life.
MM: What are you working on now? What's up next for you?
ECW: I'm working on a new project with Steven Shainberg, which is the natural progression from Secretary. I've just finished writing a new screenplay for director Jesse Peretz and producer Forensic Films. I have a musical opening next season Off Broadway at Playwrights Horizons called Wilder. I wrote it with Red Clay Rambler Jack Herrick and Mike Craver. I'm writing a novel called Photography Lessons. And I've got a book of erotica out called The Erotica Project that I wrote with Lillian Anna Slugocki.
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