Writer/director Jeff Nathanson had been intrigued by this story ever since reading Steve Fishman’s magazine article. Over a period of six years he wrote several drafts of “The Last Shot” screenplay, but rather than produce an exact telling of Levy and Lewk’s story, he used their experience as the basis for the film. When Nathanson eventually pitched the idea to Touchstone Pictures they agreed that it was an intriguing idea and worthy of motion picture adaptation.
“The details surrounding the actual incident are undeniably bizarre and almost too unbelievable to describe,” Nathanson says. “I could never have made up what those guys went through, and what really happened to them in Rhode Island.”
Despite the fact that this had been one of the supreme disappointments of their careers as aspiring filmmakers, Dan Lewk and Gary Levy were enthusiastic about having Nathanson adapt their story for the screen. They still love the movie business. And even though they were burned and were never able to make their film, they haven’t lost their enthusiasm. They continue to have a passion for their project.
With his own film project given the green light, screenwriter Nathanson was offered the opportunity to direct his film. “I admit that I was never desperate to direct,” Nathanson says, “but the great people at Disney believed in me and gave me this chance.”
To help set the production in motion, Touchstone Pictures turned to respected producer David Hoberman for assistance. “The studio and Jeff Nathanson were looking for a producer who could show him the ropes and help him out on his first film,” Hoberman recalls. “They approached me and asked if I would be interested in producing ‘The Last Shot.’ I read the script, which is a very smart, satirical black comedy, and enjoyed it very much. Then I met Jeff. We liked each other immediately and thought we could work well together.”
Hoberman, known for his savvy ability to identify a unique and entertaining story, acknowledges the potential challenges faced by Nathanson as a director. “Jeff is primarily a screenwriter,” Hoberman says. “He wrote ‘Catch Me if You Can,’ and ‘Rush Hour,’ among others. He’s a talented writer. But creating a film comedy out of what may be seen as a reasonably dark and even sad experience could have been difficult in less capable hands than Jeff’s. After all, this is a story about shattered dreams. It’s a story about where some people want to be in their lives, as opposed to where they are in reality. These are all large thematic questions in all of our lives, and Jeff handled them very well.”
Nathanson was enthusiastic about working with Hoberman whom he calls “The Ultimate Producer.” When “The Last Shot” began pre-production, Hoberman, with his newly re-formed Mandeville Films/Television, was also in production on “Raising Helen” for director Garry Marshall, and was preparing to begin shooting the second season of his critically acclaimed, award-winning USA Network television series “Monk” starring Tony Shalhoub. The busy producer also had numerous other features in various stages of development. Still, Hoberman was enthusiastic about making this film.
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