Punahou graduate's film looks at life after 9-11

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Jim Simpson co-wrote and directed the 9-11-inspired "The Guys," which stars his wife, Sigourney Weaver. Associated Press Jim Simpson Age: 47. Birthplace: Honolulu. High school: Punahou, class of 1974. Holds degrees from: Boston University, Yale School of Drama. Awards: Two Obie awards for direction; commendation for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking from the National Board of Review for "The Guys." Married to: Sigourney Weaver. Current project: Directing "Intrigue With Faye," a drama by Kate Robin ("Six Feet Under"), co-starring Benjamin Bratt and Julianna Margulies, previewing from May 21 (for a June 11 opening), at the Acorn Theatre in New York. Little known fact: He appeared in several "Hawaii Five-O" episodes.

"That's great news, because the film is not yet in wide release," he said from New York, where he is artistic director and founder of the Flea Theater. "The Guys" was first staged there as a theater piece.

From the beginning, he said, the movie required nurturing. Its source, a play Simpson commissioned from New York playwright Anne Nelson, addressed sacrifices made by real-life firefighters inside the doomed World Trade Center towers. The characters, including a free-lance journalist who assists a ladder company captain in writing tributes to eight fallen comrades, were based on fact.

Real firefighters played extras.

"The challenge to bring it to the screen was primarily about budget," said Simpson, 47, who moved to the Big Apple to pursue theater in 1981. The son of kama'aina Honolulu residents Jack and Ann Simpson, Simpson is married to actress Sigourney Weaver, who portrays the writer, Joan.

Joan helps the fire captain, Nick (Anthony LaPaglia), cope with the loss by crafting eulogies. Both actors re-created their stage roles for the film.

Though he has not done anything theatrical here since leaving for New York, Simpson holds on to his local memories.

"It all started with Herb Rogers," said Simpson of the former theatrical producer, now retired in Hawai'i Kai. "I was 8 years old. (Musical director) Donald Yap told me to sing 'Happy Birthday' as loud as I can, and I got cast as the littlest boy in 'Sound of Music.' I got the bug. ...

"Coming back home now and doing some film stuff would be a dream come true," he said.

Simpson coiwrote "The Guys" screenplay with Nelson, juggling two versions of the work during filming. "We started doing the movie while the play was still going on, shooting some material as early as February 2002, when the Sept. 11 events were still fresh in the minds of people," said Simpson.

He wanted to make a little film about people and reactions not exploited in major media coverage.

"Other producers wanted to expand the story with environment — the towers being hit, how the firemen met their demise — and while an interesting prospect, we felt you lost a great deal by going big," he said.

Weaver, who spent the first few days helping victims in Lower Manhattan, wanted in on the show, said Simpson. He wound up with a walk-on role as her husband, his first in a film. Their daughter, Charlotte, 13, plays their daughter.

Simpson, married 19 years to Weaver, rarely works with her. "Few couples can combine work and romance, and we generally like to work separately, because it's more fun to come home to complain about work, which is impossible to do when you're together all day," he said.

For Simpson, 9-11 was unforgettable.

"On the day of the attack, I was walking Charlotte home from school and we saw people covered with ash; it was a moment that would change her life immeasurably," he said.

"I think it sort of parallels what happened on Dec. 7, when my dad was on the way to church in Honolulu when the (Japanese) attack took place. These events change your life forever; you don't forget."

The play was perceived as a tool, not only to cope with the aftermath of terrorism, but also to bring New Yorkers and visitors back to theater.

It ran for a year; its performers included Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Swoosie Kurtz, Tom Wopat, Amy Irving, Stephen Lang, Marlo Thomas and Carol Kane.

The film tried to portray firefighters as ordinary people with extraordinary personal stories.

Nearly 200 firefighters and others volunteered to be in one church scene; the pews were jammed with fire and police crews and other front-line survivors.

While names of characters were changed, the firefighters knew precisely who was who. "The story became deeply personal for them," Simpson said. "Fiction and fact, oddly, became blurred."