Interview: "Homefront" author Chuck Logan

Chuck Logan is a seasoned author who's published nine books, with the majority of them devoted to the exploits of Phil Broker, an undercover cop from the far, snowy reaches of Minnesota. The force of justice and devoted father is about to receive his first big screen adaptation with "Homefront" (opening November 27th), a Sylvester Stallone-scripter action film starring Jason Statham as Broker. The cast also includes Winona Ryder, Kate Bosworth, and James Franco. Recently, Blu-ray.com critic Brian Orndorf had the opportunity to sit down with Logan to discuss his experience with "Homefront" and his future plans for publishing as the e-book revolution grows.



Q: "Homefront" was originally published in 2006. When were you first approached to turn the novel into a movie?

Chuck Logan: The original option was in 2006. That eventually expired. The next one was in 2008. That expired. And then this recent one came along last year, very fortuitously in my case.

Q: How close did you get to making the movie those first two times?

Logan: I don't think very close. There were a number of other options on other books and I sort of became jaded about the possibility of it happening. In this case, Stallone is like one stop shopping. He can direct, produce, write, act, and in many cases, when someone takes an option, they go hunting for a cast, a producer, money. Because "The Expendables" was successful and because the "Rambo" and "Rocky" sequels were successful he has power, more power with Millennium Films and he always wanted to make this, but he'd kind of outgrown it. And so he called in Statham.

Q: What was your reaction when you heard Stallone was interested?

Logan: He was always interested, but when I heard they were making the movie, I was ecstatic. A year and a half ago, I virtually perished in the death spiral of the midlist writer, and now Harper Collins is reissuing the book, and I'm now working on a prequel in the series. I'd like to do a book about the daughter from the series as a teenager, make her the main character. So, I'm just a happy camper.

Q: "Homefront" is the sixth book in the series?

Logan: There were six Broker books. This is the last one.



Q: Would you prefer the producers to start at the beginning?

Logan: You can deal with the facts of what's happening. It's hard to speculate or second-guess that process. To get a book made into a movie, well, the odds are astronomical on that happening. Much less a reasonably big budget feature film with some star power. I'm very satisfied with what's going on, and, from what I hear, I haven't seen the movie, some people have said they do a fairly good job. A lot of times, people identify Jason Statham with a movie poster where he's pointing guns at you, and in this case, he's hugging a kid. I hope that tone and theme carries through. Whereas a lot has changed from the novel to the movie, the adaptation rule of thumb is, "do they remain faithful to the spirit of the story?" And this is about a father, and they've kept that, and the backstory.

Q: On that point, moving the story from Northern Minnesota to Louisiana, how do you accept that?

Logan: What I've learned about the American cultural apparatus is that when your book gets beamed to the parallel universe of Hollywood, not all the characters, names, and locations make it. So my shaggy Minnesota Northwoods cop is now a bald Brit in Louisiana bayou country. The main character of the book, the wife, is off-stage. What am I going to say, "no, let's not make this movie, because I want total artistic control?" I suppose I could've said that, but I didn't.

Q: Stallone has a reputation as someone who seeks out a lot of input on his scripts. There's a joke out there that claims his gardener deserves a writing credit on "Rambo" and "Rocky Balboa." Did he come to you at all during the development process?

Logan: I talked to him last year about a different matter, about a scriptwriting scenario, and since I had him on the phone, I gave him some heat about "Homefront." And then they re-optioned it, and it was off to the races. There was an interview with Gary Fleder, the director, online, and Fleder said he and Stallone were nudging Statham in the direction Stallone took with "Copland," where he did a more dramatic role, gained 50 pounds. I think he suffered for that in the business because he broke type. And by bringing in an interesting mix of other stars, like Franco, who was a surprise. And I hear Kate Bosworth has really done a heckuva acting job in this movie. And Winona Ryder. So you're drawing interest from venues outside the normal "let's kick and punch and break bones" type of genre. That's what's exciting about it.



Q: Did anyone from the production have any interaction with you? Statham come to you for character tips?

Logan: No, nothing like that. I suppose I could've gone down to Louisiana, but unless they invite you, it looks kind of needy, like pressing your nose against the glass. The only real feedback so far, and there have been a lot of blog entries out there. You know, the internet is kind of a microcosm of culture, a frontier bar where they don't enforce the drinking age, and you read all this stuff, and salted in there are some thoughtful comments. USA Today did an interview, and this is the only national story I've seen so far on this film, and I imagine that will start to change now. What they said was that Statham was trying something different, and if you see what he did in "Redemption," he's attempting to do a more layered, dramatic role, which I think is good.

Q: You mentioned talking to Stallone about screenwriting. Do you have any interest in pursuing that line of business?

Logan: I was pitching another story, another book, and there are two more books mentioned in the contract as possible sequels, but that's speculation.

Q: Do you have interest in joining the Hollywood machine?

Logan: No. There's a famous quote, either from Fitzgerald or Hemingway, and it goes, "You go up to the line and you throw the book across, and they throw the money across, and you run like hell." I'm curious. I look forward to going to a premiere, playing the country kids among the beautiful people. Checking it out as research.

Q: Do you have future plans for the Broker character? You mentioned a prequel.

Logan: Because of the movie, my publisher and I are talking again. The logical thing to do, since you have a movie star and billboard advertising, is to do a book called "Broker," and make it a prequel where he's a younger guy. It's going to be confusing, in the chronology of the books, Broker is ready to apply for Medicare. In the movie, he's totally different. The easiest way is to go back where he's a young, single guy, and how he got into being an undercover cop or something.



Q: If you were to make another movie, would you be interested in more control? Or do you prefer to step back?

Logan: I'm sure there are a million stories about bright guys who go to Hollywood with plans and get destroyed. I think I'm very comfortable with where I'm at right now. I can keep writing novels, and they can do whatever they want with them.

Q: Outside of "Broker," what else do you have planned right now?

Logan: Right after this movie comes out and they reissue "Homefront," I'm bringing out an e-book called "Fallen Angel." I have several books I couldn't publish before, and now the world has changed, with e-publishing on the rise. I'm looking at reprising old works, rewriting them, publishing them as e-books. I would like to do a book about the daughter as the protagonist in another story, but I don't know where that would wind up. I'm real excited about that.

"Homefront" opens in theaters on November 27th. Learn more about Chuck Logan at chucklogan.org.