Alex Kurtzman is the Writer, Director, and Executive Producer for People Like Us. He gave up a bit of his time while us Mom Bloggers screened the amazing People Like Us then stayed around for a Q&A. Below Mr. Kurtzman talks about his inspiration for the movie.
Q: Tell us where the story came from?
AK: I met my sister when I turned 30. My dad had had another family before ours. We knew about them growing up. But, uh, I’d never met them. So I was sitting in my house and in my backyard. And, uh, I think it was because my wife and I were starting to think about having kids.
And, you know, makes you think about your family and where you come from. And I had this — I had this, um, I — I started thinking about my — I have a half-sister and a half-brother. I started thinking about them and wondering who they were and what they were like.This image came to me. The image was the last image of the movie. I didn’t know who those characters were in the image. But it just — it struck me very profoundly as the ending. And, I thought, “Wow, that — that seems like a really interesting story.”
I didn’t think much of it. I went to a party that night. And a woman walked up to me and said, “I’m your sister.” So that — that’s begun the seven years of the odd odyssey of [LAUGHS] trying to work through it and separate truth from fiction in order to make a movie. So what you see is I think in many ways very autobiographical and in other ways there’s a lot of invention in there. But I certainly think there’s a lot of emotional, you know, emotional truth for a lot of people in my family in there.
From DreamWorks Pictures comes “People Like Us,” a drama/comedy about family, inspired by true events, starring Chris Pine (“Star Trek”) as Sam, a twenty-something, fast-talking salesman, whose latest deal collapses on the day he learns that his father has suddenly died. Against his wishes, Sam is called home, where he must put his father’s estate in order and reconnect with his estranged family. In the course of fulfilling his father’s last wishes, Sam uncovers a startling secret that turns his entire world upside down: He has a 30-year-old sister Frankie whom he never knew about (Elizabeth Banks). As their relationship develops, Sam is forced to rethink everything he thought he knew about his family—and re-examine his own life choices in the process.
PEOPLE LIKE US hits theaters everywhere on June 29th!
***Disclosure: I attended #BraveCarsLandEvent . My flight, lodgings, and expenses were covered by Disney. All opinions are 100% mine. Pictures above provided by Disney***
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