"The Gardener" in production

Since it’s featured in the New York Times this morning, I might as well mention that a script I originally wrote in 1989 – “The Gardener” – is currently in production in (largely) East Los Angeles. I worked on this film off and on for over ten years. At one point, I was going to direct with Andy Garcia in the lead. As with many things in the movie business, it never happened.

I was surprised and gratified to find it was finally being made with Chris Weitz directing. My script has been slightly modified and made more contemporary by Eric Eason. He did a good job, I think. How the final credits will be allocated is subject to arbitration by a committee of screenwriters at the Writers Guild, but I should be in a strong position. According to Guild rules, preferences are given to the first writer of an original screenplay.

The NYT appears to have given the film a rather decent sendoff, comparing it to a homegrown “Slumdog Millionaire.” My fingers are, of course, crossed.