As we did
“I thought the film was dead. But one morning my newsman, another Arsenal fan, gave me a note that said ‘Call Stephen Frears.’ It was an unconventional approach.
Interviews by Lee Campbell
Monday 27 February 2023 at 14:51 GMT
Nick Hornby, writer
Nick Hornby Photo: Patrick McMullan/Getty Images
There was a version of High Fidelity in my head before I wrote Fever Pitch. It wasn’t a high-profile book: the original idea was to write about a relationship from a man’s point of view. I remember telling my agent about it and seeing her eyes glaze over as I mumbled about record stores and relationships. I’ve spent a lot of time in record stores but never worked in one, so I based it on people I’ve seen and conversations I’ve heard. The girlfriends were archetypal.
The film rights were sold before the book came out in 1995. Then it got very quiet and I thought it was dead. In early 1999 I had an apartment in Highbury Hill, London, and there was a guy running a kiosk next to the station. He was another Arsenal fan so we always chatted. One morning he gave me a note that said, “Call Stephen Frears.” It had a phone number on it. This was an unconventional approach and quite hilarious. Stephen said to me, “We’re working on your book!” adding that John Cusack and two screenwriters – Steve Pink and DV DeVincentis – were in London to meet.
I liked what they did with the script. They had done Grosse Pointe Blank, which I really enjoyed. I was shocked at how close the film was to my book – some of Cusack’s fourth-wall monologues came right off my pages. It was very brave of them to do that. They just wanted to recreate the book! The Barry character was easy in prose, but who do you cast? I had never heard of Jack Black: the role changed the type of films he was offered. I am proud to have contributed to it.
I wasn’t concerned about the story being moved to Chicago. John, DV and Steve grew up there. You were 10 years younger than me, so the frame of reference for the music completely shifted. The story felt like it was about her, totally real and perfect. As a writer, that’s the best you can hope for: to have people commit so much to it. The music budget for High Fidelity alone corresponded to the total budget for Fever Pitch. No English-language independent film could have done that. We all made compilation tapes that we could listen to each other. Stephen was overwhelmed with the music so it really depended on John and DV.
The film was not a hit at first. It has found its audience over the years and still does. I took my son to see it just before lockdown and was very pleased with how it held up.
Stephen Frears, Director
Stefan Frears. Photo: Arun Nevader/WireImage
I loved Fever Pitch and read High Fidelity very quickly after that, but didn’t think it could be made into a movie. There were no chases. I got a call from John Cusack asking if I would direct the film and that it would be set in Chicago. I thought, “Well, that’s a mistake to shift the location of the story.”
Then I read the script and realized it wasn’t. There’s a Chicago suburb called Evanston and John, DV and Steve grew up there together. They wrote about their own lives. I had worked with John on The Grifters in 1990; By now he had grown considerably as an actor. I wanted Nick to stay involved, but I can’t remember how that message to him about the newsagent actually happened.
Jack Black called and said he didn’t want to do that anymore – because we hadn’t forced him into an audition
The fourth wall approach was my choice, but it never felt like a huge risk – the first draft had it as a voiceover and it just felt too easy to overlook. People like Groucho Marx often spoke to the camera.
The guys suggested this new actor named Jack Black for the role of Barry. I met him and said, “Great, you’ll be fine.” Then a few months later, I got a call that he didn’t want to do it anymore. I asked him what was going on. He said, “Well, you didn’t make me audition. Auditioning gives me confidence.” It was sorted out and he was brilliant. The mood on set was so high that everyone loved doing it.
High Fidelity at 20: the sneaky dark edge of a comedy about bad breakups
I stayed out of all the music but said I would be the judge and they had to get songs past me first. John, DV and Steve argued 24 hours a day, non-stop. Meanwhile, John had endless phone calls with Bruce Springsteen trying to get him on board for the cameo. God knows what they were talking about. Bruce seemed like a nice guy, but he was very nervous. That definitely got him upset.
The studio bosses mostly left us alone to get on with the film, but I remember them asking, “Can’t Rob and Laura end up getting married?” “No, I said. Absolutely not.”
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