Ernie Cline's Site:
www.ErnestCline.com

Fanboys Movie Site:
fanboys-themovie.com

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ScoreNotes: In all, how long a journey was it for you to get “Fanboys” into theaters ?

Ernest: I finished the first draft in October of 1998 and Fanboys was finally released in February of 2009. So the journey from script to screen took ten years and four months.

ScoreNotes: What were some of the significant changes between the script you originally wrote for Fanboys and the story that eventually made it onto the big screen?

Ernest: Well, there was my original 1998 draft, which was very low-budget and a dialogue-driven movie, very much in the Clerks vein. Then when the script was optioned I did a second draft in 2002, which was much more ambitious in scope, with more set pieces and a few cameos. But it was still much more serious and dramatic in tone than what the final movie eventually became. Once it became a studio film, it started to get less and less geeky, and the non-stop Star Wars and movie references were toned down a lot. And some of humor grew cruder and more low-brow, especially once the studio began making changes on their own, against our wishes.
ScoreNotes: How involved were you with the production when cameras finally got rolling on this feature? Any interesting recollections you can share with us?

Ernest: I was on the set for a big portion of the shoot, just geeking out on the set of my own Star Wars movie. And also got to play a small role, as one of the Trekkies that the Fanboys encounter in Riverside, Iowa and again later in Vegas. (I'm one of the two Trekkies who tackle Dan Fogler when he shoves Admiral Seasholtz - the lead Trekkie played by Seth Rogen.)

I wanted to play a Trekkie (or Trekker, if you prefer) so I could be in a scene with William Shatner, because I also happen to be a big Star Trek fan. But it didn't occur to me ahead of time that when the day finally came and I got to meet Mr. Shatner, I would be dressed in a faux Starfleet uniform. Just so you know, that is not how you want to be dressed when you finally meet William Shatner. You feel like a huge dork.

ScoreNotes: Did you get to meet any of the Star Wars cast members during this trek and possibly George Lucas himself?

Ernest: Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams were each only on set for one day, and I wound up missing both of them. And when I went to Skywalker Ranch for the final Fanboys sound mix, Mr. Lucas wasn't around. But I did get to meet him at the Clone Wars movie premiere a few months later, and sit in his row during the movie. So I actually got to watch a Star Wars movie in the same theater as George Lucas, which means I can die a happy geek now.

ScoreNotes: Has the lukewarm reception by some of the critics tempered your experience during this process or are you taking it all in stride?

Ernest: Some of the reviews were annoying, sure. Especially when they blame the writers for a scene or line of dialogue that the studio put in the movie against our wishes. (Like the entire Mantina scene - none of us wanted that in there, believe me. )

But ultimately, all I care about is what Star Wars fans think of our movie, because that's who we made the movie for. And I've seen it with a packed audience of die-hard Star Wars fans several times now, and they all love it, go nuts for it, get all of the jokes, want to see it again, and want to own the DVD. For me, that's a dream come true.

ScoreNotes: What would you say is the quintessential definition of a fanboy, and secondly, at what point in your life did you realize that you were one yourself?

Ernest: I'd say that a fanboy (or fangirl) is a person who loves something so much (movies, comics books, Firefly, Star Wars, whatever) so much that they become a little obsessed with it, and feel compelled to totally immerse themselves in the object of their obsession.

I've been a Star Wars fanboy since the age of five, but I didn't hear the term "fanboy" until my teens, in reference to comic books fans. But once I realized the term could be applied to any type of obsession, I knew I was a Star Wars fanboy. And a Highlander fanboy. And a Buckaroo Banzai fanboy. And the list goes on.

ScoreNotes: In your professional opinion, how does the Prequel trilogy stack up with that of the original three films?

Ernest: All three of the prequels have moments of greatness in them. That being said, The Phantom Menace is by far my least favorite of the six films. I like Attack of the Clones slightly more, but it's still my next-to-least favorite. But I think Revenge of the Sith is a fantastic Star Wars film. In my opinion, it totally redeems the prequel trilogy. I like it more than Return of the Jedi, and I'm beginning to think I might even like it more than Empire. Blasphemy, I know. But Obi-Wan versus Anakin, intercut with Yoda versus the Emperor? It doesn't get much better than that, man.

ScoreNotes: Out of the six Star Wars scores, which do you rank as your favorite?

Ernest: Episode IV. It contains all of the iconic themes that echo through the whole saga. I used to have it on vinyl when I was a kid and would listen to it endlessly while I played with my old Kenner action figures.

In fact, I'm going to pull it up on Winamp right now, just for old time's sake.

ScoreNotes: And now the money question – your favorite Star Wars movie?

Ernest: The Original. A New Hope. Also probably my favorite single movie of all time. Nothing can ever top it. That movie changed my life, and I'm not the only one.

ScoreNotes: What is your opinion on the direction in which the Star Wars franchise is headed and are you on board with it?

Ernest: I am on board for Star Wars until the day die. It's the mythology of my youth. In every Star Wars TV series, comic, and video game there is always cool stuff to be found, because it's such a familiar and rich universe.

ScoreNotes: Getting back to the subject of filmmaking, what are some of your next steps? Any new opportunities lined up?

Ernest: My next movie explores my other lifelong obsession, video games. It's called "Thundercade" and is being made by Lakeshore Entertainment. I have high hopes that it will be the greatest video game competition movie ever made (even better than "The Wizard" with Fred Savage.)

I've also written a rock-n-roll pirate-radio western about the origin of Wolfman Jack. It's called "Heard It On the X" and Dan Fogler is attached to play the Wolfman. That movie is going to kick nine kinds of ass. I promise.

ScoreNotes: Thank you for the great interview!

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