By Grace Hogsten
Copy Editor
Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Whit Stillman visited Washington College this past week to present the most recent additions in the Sophie Kerr Screenwriters Series. Stillman is the second of six screenwriters who will visit the College for this series.
“Folks from the Lit house and from the Sophie Kerr Committee got together and…proposed names and balanced genres and approaches,” Associate Professor of English and Director of the Rose O’Neill Literary House Dr. James Hall said. “Whit Stillman, of course, people know as a terrific filmmaker, writer, [and] director…His first movie was…a huge burst on the scene and he was nominated for the Academy Award in writing.”
On Monday, Sept. 18, the College held a screening of Stillman’s most recent film, “Love and Friendship,” which is an adaptation of one of Jane Austen’s lesser-known works, “Lady Susan.” Afterwards, Assistant Professor of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Literature Dr. Katherine Charles led a panel in which Stillman discussed the movie and answered questions from the audience.
During the panel, Stillman described the process of adapting “Lady Susan” for the screen. He explained the thought process behind his decision to extend the plotlines of some of the supporting characters, and discussed the way that he adapted “Lady Susan” from an epistolary novel into a film while still paying homage to the significance of letter writing within the story.
“He’s such a kinetic and idea-dense person that I felt like I wanted to be jotting down notes the whole time that he was talking to me,” Dr. Charles said. “I certainly learned a lot from him.”
On Tuesday, Sept. 19, Stillman gave a craft talk in the Rose O’Neill Literary House. At this second event, Stillman discussed his projects and his screenwriter career, prompted by questions from Dr. Charles and from the students in attendance.
Dr. Charles, who frequently describes herself as a “Jane Austen freak,” began the event with a brief speech about Jane Austen’s place in pop culture before introducing Stillman and starting the panel.
“Whit Stillman, with his glinting arch, ‘Love and Friendship,’ keeps the Austen talk going and, perhaps more importantly, argues through all of his films that books have a critical role in helping us ask questions, grapple with ideas, and connect in meaningful conversations,” Dr. Charles said.
Stillman devoted a large portion of his talk to discussing his relationship with Jane Austen’s work and his approach to adapting it.
“I hated Jane Austen before I loved Jane Austen,” Stillman said. “Sense and Sensibility” sparked his love of Jane Austen’s work, he said, and the opportunity to read early version of a script for “Sense and Sensibility” (1995) brought him into the world of Jane Austen adaptations.
Stillman also spoke about some of his earlier works.
“Metropolitan,” the film that earned Stillman his Academy Award nomination, began as a self-funded project. A fellow creative later gave him additional funding, and he continued to work on the film.
“‘Metropolitan,’ after a lot of rejection, started getting acceptance. It started doing really well — it was a kind of Cinderella film. A lot of money was coming off the film, because it cost very little and it succeeded,” Stillman said. “This company…really liked ‘Metropolitan,’ and they wanted me to do films for them.”
“I’ve never considered screenwriting as a possible career choice before now since I always thought it was one of those industries you have to have an ‘in’ for, which I don’t have,” junior Sarah Coverdale said. “Hearing Whit Stillman talk about how he got into the industry…made that career option seem less impossible to achieve. He definitely opened some doors for me there.”
Over the course of the event, Stillman covered topics such as his introduction to the industry, his body of work, and challenges he has faced throughout his career.
“[I] wanted to hear about the experiences of a person who has worked in a creative industry,” sophomore Seth Horan said. “Whit Stillman had interesting anecdotes and was able to provide insight into the professional creative sphere.”
Stilman also visited two of Dr. Charles’ classes, including her first year seminar on Jane Austen’s work, and an upper-level course on nineteenth century gothic novels.
“I was really pleased both with his level of engagement, but then also how curious he was about our school, but especially about students, and…student ideas,” Dr. Charles said.
Photo courtesy of Dr. Katherine Charles
Photo Caption: Dr. Katherine Charles sits with Whit Stillman during his talk at the Rose O’Neill Literary House.