THE ROAD TO 'EUROTRIP'

By MILAN PAURICH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
"We wanted to call it 'Ugly Americans,' but the prevailing attitude at the studio was that irony doesn't play too well in Middle America.
They thought it sounded unpatriotic, or that it must be about really ugly people," Jeff Schaffer said with a laugh explaining how his new DreamWorks comedy evolved into "Eurotrip."
Howland native and 1987 Western Reserve Academy graduate Schaffer met his "Eurotrip" writing-producing partners Alec Berg and David Mandel while attending Harvard University where they worked together as editors for the Harvard Lampoon.
After college, Schaffer and Berg wound up on the writing staff of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" while Mandel briefly toiled at "Saturday Night Live."
"'Late Night' was a blast. Alec and I were there during Conan's first few months, and every day a new rumor would get started that we were going to be canceled," Schaffer said. "You literally didn't know whether it was going to be your last week or not, but we were too tired to care. It was a great learning experience, though. If you had a bit on that day's show, you'd get to produce, pre-shoot, and edit it yourself."
The 'Seinfeld' experience
Schaffer, Berg, and Mandel eventually reunited in 1994 on NBC's landmark hit "Seinfeld," serving as writers and executive producers until the show went off the air four years later.
"Larry David basically finished off the education that we started at 'Conan,'" Schaffer continued. "We'd be on the floor blocking actors, then edit and sound mix the episode. When Larry left, we basically took over his job. By the time we got to direct a movie, we'd already seen every aspect of the process. I don't think that any of us had any artistic yearnings to be a 'director:' We just liked making comedy. But the only way to have any creative control in this business is to direct."
Schaffer learned that lesson the hard way with last fall's ill-fated "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat."
"All I can say is that it was a really good screenplay. We started writing even before Mike Myers got signed, then had to tailor the script for him. By the time we got back from shooting 'Eurotrip' in Prague, it was finished."
Does Schaffer have his own theory on why audiences rejected the film?
"I think part of it was that people just didn't respond to Mike. I'm not sure whether they particularly liked seeing him cheekily skate the line between PG-13 and R in one of their most beloved childhood possessions," Schaffer admitted. "When you write a script and spend months and months on it, you have a pretty clear idea of what it should be -- especially with comedy, which is very particular."
'Eurotrip' production
"Eurotrip" proved to be a considerably happier experience. "It's a great way for us to dig our own graves," he chuckled. "And I'm sure that we made mistakes. But it's a chance for us to say, 'This is what we're talking about.'"
One of Schaffer's biggest challenges was finding the perfect setting for his around-the-world adventure on DreamWorks' conservative budget.
"Prague doubles for suburban Ohio, London, Paris, Amsterdam and Rome, and it does an amazing job of it, too," Schaffer said. "In Prague, we found what looked like a typical suburban American house with a swimming pool in the back yard literally in the middle of nowhere. Next to it was a field and on the other side was a house that looked like it had been built by Stalin. Really strange."
In fact, the only time the "Eurotrip" production crew left Czechoslovakia was when they needed -- this is a raunchy teen comedy after all -- a nude beach. "We wound up on the northern shore of Germany, right on the Polish border. The German nudists we used as extras couldn't believe they were getting paid to take their clothes off."
Feedback
Even the much-reviled industry practice of "test screening" -- showing your unfinished film to a handpicked audience who then proceeds to tell you everything that's wrong with it -- was fun for Schaffer.
"Test screenings are like a comedy buffet; you get to see what people are picking at. I'm used to getting instant gratification from my TV days. It's only when you put it in front of an audience that you find the proper rhythm," he said pragmatically.
Next up for Schaffer, Berg, and Mandel is an original screenplay for Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Films.
Also in the pipeline is "rescuing some of our early scripts from development hell. One that I'm particularly anxious to take another crack at is the first movie we wrote together called 'Foolproof.' It's about the worst criminal on Earth -- the type of guy who tunnels his way out of prison on the day he's supposed to be released. He's kind of like the Inspector Clouseau of crime. I'd love it if we could get Will Ferrell to play the lead."
Or Mike Myers?
"Oh, absolutely. Mike is great -- he's just not The Cat in the Hat."