Iceland review - 2006, Side 35

32 ICELAND REVIEW ICELAND REVIEW 33
EW: How does writing for film differ from radio?
GK: Well, I think a good scene is a good scene. In radio, it’s likely
to be a shorter scene. A scene has certain dynamics. You can only
discover them by writing what you need to write. Of course,
screenwriting requires many fewer words. The fewer words the
better. And that’s hard for a writer to get used to.
EW: Scripts can take years to write. You say this wasn’t that
difficult?
GK: There were a couple of blind alleys that I went down. Stories
that simply didn’t work. In the end, the only way I could think
to give the story the right sort of pall it needed was to make it be
the last show, and create a threat from the outside – [a person who
wants to shut down the show] – but that’s not the crucial thing. The
crucial things are the characters who are gathering themselves for
their final hurrah.
EW: I know the script was written some time ago, but with the
current budget presented to Congress, it seems the “threat from the
outside” could be President Bush, who has called for a 25 percent
cut in funds to public broadcasting. Do these budget cuts mark
the end of PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) and NPR (National
Public Radio)?
GK: No. Public broadcasting is very strong. I think it’s found its
audience. It’s very diverse, but it’s growing by leaps and bounds. I
think NPR’s big news shows, “Morning Edition,” and “All Things
Considered,” have a larger weekly audience than any of the top
news shows in America. And this is astounding. Where there’s this
type of audience, the money will follow.
EW: Conservatives constantly complain that NPR and PBS are
biased towards liberals. Does this complaint have any merit?
GK: Depends on the conservatives you’re talking about. They use
the word ‘liberal’ to include people I’d consider moderate. They
don’t recognize this enormous group in the middle. I see public
radio as being part of that large, well-intentioned group believing
in civility, hearing both sides of the question and weighing the
facts. To me this belongs to the middle, not to the avid left. I think
what really irritates conservatives are moderates, people like me
who are believing Christians but vote Democrat, and don’t fit the
conservative view. I think it’s the right wing that has declared
political war on this country, and has been fairly successful.
EW: Can you explain a little about this red and blue state divide in
the US? Is the polarization more pronounced than in the past?
GK: I don’t think the red state-blue state is all that important.
lindSay lohan and meRyl StReeP on the Set of a PRaiRie home ComPanion