The Geometry of a Pittsburgh Love Story

Though straight writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber made his feature debut with the goofy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, his follow-up is something very different entirely -- an adaptation of Pulitzer Prize–winner Michael Chabon’s first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Beloved for its forthright, literate presentation of a bisexual love triangle among college-age bohemians, the book languished in development until Thurber’s radical adaptation got the green light. I talked to Thurber on the eve of the film’s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival to find out how he talked Chabon into his revision, and whether he’s worried about how fans might react.

Other directors (such as Alan J. Pakula) have tried to bring this book to the screen. One attempt, staring Jason Schwartzman, almost made it to shooting. How did you get ahold of the project?

I knew that it had been around for a while—I read the book in 1995 and fell in love with it. I wrote Michael Chabon a fan letter, essentially saying, “I love this book, I love your writing, and I’d love to take you to breakfast to talk about it.” He’s represented by the same agency as I am, so I flew up to the Bay Area -- where I’m from -- and we went to this local joint up there, had some eggs, and I expressed my passion for it.

Was he receptive?

You know, Michael Chabon is just about the coolest Pulitzer Prize–winning author you’ll ever meet. He had tried to adapt it before -- it was the first script he’d ever written, and he kind of ran into a tree. I think the novel had gotten this rap for being unadaptable.

I know you had a very different take on how to adapt the book. How did you sell him on it?

I knew what I wanted to do, and I told him, “I’ve got a pretty radical take on it, and if you’re at all interested, let me do a five-or six-page treatment. If you’re interested in that, let’s go do it, and if you’re not, please say so, and I’m a big fan and I can’t wait to read the next thing.” I wrote it up and sent if off, and I never thought he would say yes, actually, but then he read it and he sent me an e-mail back saying, “It’s great -- let’s do it.”