Aaron Kaplan had a dream – to make a film about the friction created from a slacker who moves in with his newlywed friend. Time for a new dream, Aaron. Kaplan is the executive-producer of this summer’s comedy “You, Me and Dupree,” starring Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson and Matt Dillon. He’s also a Chicago native. Kaplan grew up in Old Town, made the move to Highland Park in his teenage years and then went to Northwestern University.
Now Kaplan is half of Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment (along with Sean Perrone). He manages writers and directors in TV and film and has six other films in development. In the future look for a comedy named “Made of Honor” and a horror film called “Dead Asleep.”
Kaplan found a moment in-between his Hollywood lunches to have a chat with Bayer and talk about “You, Me and Dupree,” watching the box-office and FedEx-ing food in from Chicago.
Bayer: Your role on “You, Me and Dupree” is executive producer. What does that mean? Kaplan: I don’t think the producer title means a specific thing. Me and my partner Sean had an idea for this movie, found a writer, helped him out, developed the script and helped put it together with cast and the directors. And we were involved on the set as well, along with a handful of producers. In every step of the process we were, luckily, allowed by the studio to remain involved. It was a very friendly atmosphere, and we had a great experience.
Bayer: Was there any idea that you suggested (for the film), and then you saw it happen on the screen? Kaplan: I wouldn’t want to take credit for anything creatively. When we started developing this movie, I had just gotten married and was going through a lot of the things the married couple did in the movie. Mike LeSieur, the writer, had just gotten married. And Sean … was more like (Owen Wilson’s character).
Bayer: It’s an impressive cast. How did they all become involved in the project? Kaplan: It was pretty amazing how the cast came together. Owen signed on to produce once he heard the pitch. Then when he read the script he decided to star. It was written for him and he was our dream. And then we felt so lucky to work with someone like Michael Douglas (as Dillon’s father-in-law) on our first movie. And Kate Hudson and Matt Dillon were just fantastic. Even the smaller roles like Seth Rogen (who co-starred in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”). Certainly that role wasn’t written for him but … he was just hysterical.
Bayer: The budget for the film was $55 million. By the third week in release it’s made $59 million so far. As a producer, are you happy with that number? Kaplan: We really are. The important thing for us is that the studio is happy with it. It’s been a really crowded summer and “Pirates of the Caribbean” has just eclipsed everything at the box-office. We just opened overseas and made about $2 million; we’re the No. 1 movie in Australia right now and the great thing about [“You, Me and Dupree”] is it has tremendous legs.
Bayer: Where did the name “You, Me and Dupree” come from? Kaplan: I don’t know. It didn’t come from me, I think the writer just liked that it rhymed. He said the name of it to me one day and I said, “Man, that’s a fine title.”
Bayer: As the producer are you just staring at the box-office numbers? Is that how you are judged? Kaplan: We were extremely involved in the project. Ultimately the bottom-line was really important for this movie. We all had really big hopes and I think we’re on our way to getting those numbers we really want to get. I consistently look at the numbers … I am a little obsessed with looking online and seeing how much money we made in Australia and New Zealand.
Bayer: What was your path in becoming a producer? Kaplan: I went to film school at Northwestern and moved out to Los Angeles with an eye toward working in features or maybe music videos. And I came out to L.A. and realized I knew nothing about how this actually worked so I started in the mailroom at United Talent Agency. You can’t get much lower than a starting position delivering mail and getting yelled at. I met my business partner, Sean Perrone, when I was at UTA and started a literary management company in 2000.
Bayer: How do you choose the projects you work on? Kaplan: I really like movies. I want to make sure I have an emotional reaction. It might sound cheesy but if I see a comedy, I want to be laughing, not just smiling throughout the film. If I see a drama, I want tears running down my face at the end.
Bayer: Do you have any plans on trying to get films in the Chicago area? Kaplan: I would love to shoot a movie in Chicago. It would be a great excuse to get back there and live there for a couple months. I think it’s such an amazing city. The movie “The Break-Up,” they made Chicago a real character. It was almost a third person in the movie. When they talk about the Weiner Circle in the beginning in that movie, I was dying because I love the Weiner Circle. For selfish reasons, I would love nothing more than to film a movie there. I grew up on John Hughes movies set in Chicago. “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” that scene where the Ferrari crashed into the ravine, it was shot a block away from my house.
Bayer: If you were able to eat at one Chicago restaurant, what would it be? Kaplan: Right this second it would be Michael’s in Highland Park. It’s kind of hard to beat that. My second choice would be Lulu’s in Evanston. You gotta go. It’s Pan-Asian, the full name is Lulu’s Dim Sum & Then Sum. My favorite dish in the world, ahh I have to go back there, is cold spicy sesame noodles. I highly recommend it. I would normally say Giordano’s but I just had a Chicago deep-dish pizza FedEx-ed to me the other day.
Bayer: What do you miss about the city? Kaplan: I miss the Old Town Art Fair. I miss Taste of Chicago, I miss Ravinia more than anything. We have the Hollywood Bowl out here and it’s fantastic, but it’s no Ravinia. I miss my sister to who lives there, and also that time of the year where it’s spring and it gets up to 35 degrees and everybody wears shorts. No other city would you do that.
Quick Questions
What did you have for breakfast this morning? Quaker Oats low fat granola out of the box. What's your second favorite film of the summer? "The Devil Wears Prada"
Last vacation you took? Mediterranean
Favorite piece of fruit? Pineapple
Last album you bought? Jay-Z “Vol. 3”
Something you can't wait to do? Buy "Dead Rising" for the X-box 360.
Who would you be for one day? The president, but not necessarily Bush.