The Secret Garden of Caroline Thompson
Q: I can see why people love it, though, because it's not about the beautiful people.
A: Well that's the charming part about it. It's sort of about how everyone really feels.
Q: Yeah, about those horrible P.T.A. things.
A: And Anjelica really got the sternness down great.
Q: She was great. By the way, was the imposter Uncle Fester really Uncle Fester?
A: Was Christopher Lloyd's character really part of the family? I don't know.
Q: Well, they kicked us out before it was over, so I wanted to find out.
A: Well, let's put it this way: Charles Addams always sort of doubted that anyone was related to anyone anyhow. So, it doesn't really matter. Anyone can be an Addams if they are an Addams.
Q: Here's one of the questions the magazine editors asked me to ask you: "What is it like working with Tim Burton?"
A: Working with Tim Burton is like a psychic experience--Tim waves his hands and says, "I don't know" and you go home and do it. He's the most articulate nonverbal person in the world. He doesn't say a word and you know exactly what it means.
Q: So you've known him for how long?
A: What year did I move here? I met him in '86 because we were both at William Morris, and he had just directed Pee-wee's Big Adventure and they had no idea what to do with him. I had written the screenplay based on my book, First Born, and they didn't know what to do with me, either. I guess the word "weird" was the word that came up about both of us at a staff meeting, and they decided to introduce us. We loved each other right away.
Q: Now where is he from?
A: He's from Burbank. He encouraged me to move here, though he would never live in Burbank. As with him, I started out my career getting called "weird." After Edward Scissorhands came out, I was being called "imaginative" instead. Tim's now at the stage of getting called "genius." Whereas he went from being "weird" to being "imaginative" to being called a "genius," I've gone from "weird" to being "imaginative" and now I've gotten to being called "difficult."
Q: Difficult?
A: Yeah, because if I don't understand something people want me to do, I can't do it. In some quarters it's called "difficult."
Q: Difficult, I can't believe it. Tim didn't think so.
A: When I met Tim, it was like meeting you--it was like meeting one of the real people. He had this image in his mind from high school of this guy with scissors for hands and he didn't know what to do with it, but the second he told me I knew exactly what to do with it, so we did.
Q: Edward had that big house, and The Addams Family has that big house, and The Secret Garden has that big house...
A: And they all have party scenes, too. Most of my stuff has party scenes. I always think of my grandparents' lawn parties.
Q: Do you ever read Anne Tyler books? She can describe what a family has inside a drawer for 20 years.
A: I can't stand Anne Tyler books, but I gobble them up. It's like Updike--I can't stand him either, but I read everything he writes.
Q: I remember when you called from Florida when they were shooting Edward and you said...
A: ...I said that I loved it! I mean, I loved being there and I loved being welcome there. Tim left me alone to write the script I wanted to write, and I left him alone to direct the movie he wanted to direct. That's the way it is with Tim and me and I completely respect him and he made a beautiful movie and I loved it.
Q: What I was going to say was that when you called from Florida, you said you were waking up every day feeling like you were on mescaline.
A: Yeah. It was the best drug experience of my life. I walked around with a big foolish grin on my face the whole month I was there.
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