Thank You For The Interview Notes

Interview: Nia Varadalos on writing Larry Crowne

And Tom said “I have an idea for a movie. Do you want to write it?” I describe this entire process as a series of “be cool, be cool, my face!” “What?” “Be cool, be cool.” “Yeah, sure, oh yeah.” We sat down at his office and he laid out the entire idea. It was very clear in his head of what would happen if a man at 50 years old lost his job through no fault of his own, just downsizing, and had to reinvent himself. He wanted to keep it as a very quiet story and a very simple, streamlined idea. I think Tom’s approach is very much he is the everyman because the way things happen to him is what he wanted to do.

As you were writing it, did you realize things were starting to turn?

NV: Tom Hanks is friends with Barack Obama so I think that Tom and Barack have caused this economic crisis so that the film would be successful. (laughs) There’s a relevance to Larry Crowne that is fortunate and unfortunate, but this is not a downer movie. It’s what can happen if you keep your heart open. I certainly have lived that too. When we were trying to become parents, I thought the only way to become a parent was either to have a biological child or adopt an infant, and when I opened my heart and thought of different ways, we ended up finding our perfect daughter in American foster care. And that is what I think Tom has, this optimism and this way of looking at things and to stay open, and that’s what Larry Crowne does.

Why didn’t you write a role for yourself in this film and what are the personal notes and stuff you added to what Tom Hanks did as far as characters on a large scale?

NV: The way we wrote was the “no rules” way. Neither one of us had an ego or a feeling of ownership of the script. Sometimes we would sit in a room and write together. Sometimes I would take the draft. Sometimes he would take the draft and go on vacation and write and then bring it back. I loved that process. It felt like it was very honest in that we were just trying to write a story, but neither one of us was trying to force our own ideas into it. I thought he was incredibly smart to create a character for Julia Roberts that was interesting and had depth and was not perfect – you know, the romantic comedy heroine who falls a lot – I can make fun of it because I’ve done it. He wanted to create something much more real. I think I had a secret plan that I was going to play one of the sisters. We had a whole family in the first and the second draft, a whole family that’s up in his grill when he loses his job and wants to help or not help or whatever, and then we realized that maybe it would be better to cut the entire family so that Tom is just an island. When he doesn’t have an income anymore, what does he do? We felt it was more indicative of what is happening to people globally. The writer in me always fights with the actress. There’s always that. So, without thinking, I went “Okay, so the family’s gone” and then went back to the whiteboard and didn’t even think like “What are you going to play? Oh well.” But they’re so lovely to me that I play the voice of the GPS, so yes, I will be getting some SAG residuals from this movie, thank you very much. And my husband is in it, by the way. My husband is so naïve. That was Perry’s Pie Shop, and then, of course, Tom found Frank’s in the Valley and he cast my husband as Frank, and then we got there and my husband went “This is so lucky that you found a place called Frank’s!” I was like “Oh honey, no, we changed the name. No.

How Many Thank-You Notes to Send After an Interview

I have a question re: thank-you notes after job interviews . . .

This is a multiround hiring process, and I really want the job, and I sent out thank-you notes after the first interview to the people I spoke with (phone interview) and have another phone interview. The question is, do I send a thank-you note to the same people again (since they may be on the call) or do I leave it at the one with a more informal email follow-up. Then if I do progress onto the third, it's an in-person interview where I have to travel, and it will likely be all of the same people again.

Any ideas are welcome!

To see my advice, and offer your own, read more.

Congratulations on snagging a second interview — you must be very excited. I see how you're confused about whether to send the same people thank-you notes since you have multiple rounds of interviews. In my opinion, I would send casual thank-you emails to the people who I've already sent notes to. However, if you have different people interviewing you, I would go ahead and send them thank-you notes. Expressing gratitude after an interview is very important and always remembered by interviewers, but you also want to be careful of going overboard. Good luck on rounds two and three!

Ask anything career- or budget-related — well, almost anything — by posting your questions in the Ask Savvy group, and readers and I will weigh in to support you.