This piece was originally written for the Savannah College of Art and Design student media publication District. Through District I obtained a media pass for the Writers on Writing: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood panel during the 2019-2020 academic year SCAD film festival. I attended the panel and took notes on what was said in order to write this piece. I chose to attend this panel because of my passion for storytelling, I wanted to hear about the method used by successful screenwriters for a film that was generating a lot of buzz at the time. Photo by Mallory Chain.
Mr. Rogers changed countless lives and continues to be one of the most memorable TV personalities in American history. Tom Junod, a journalist known for his work with Esquire and now ESPN, is one said life changed by the infamous Mr. Rogers. Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue discovered the story of Junod and Rogers’ relationship through the hundreds of letters sent between the two men and decided to write a movie on it. This movie is “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”, and it was released in theaters on November 22, 2019.
On November 2, 2019, Junod, Harpster and Fitzerman-Blue all sat before an eager audience as they prepared to tell the story of how the movie came to be.
Harpster and Fitzerman-Blue met and became friends all because of their shared interest in a book titled “Under Heaven’s Banner”. They both shared an interest in adapting various favorite books into screenplays, and eventually came to work together as screenwriters for the Amazon series “Transparent”.
Before “Transparent”, Harpster and Fitzerman-Blue decided they wanted to make a movie about American icon Mr. Rogers, according to Harpster this idea came about after he finally got his stubborn toddler to sit quietly when he put on Mr. Rogers for her to watch, and immediately contacted his colleague about this “warlock who speaks toddler”, insisting they make a movie about it.
They needed an angle for the narrative, some sort of tension to add to the sunny life of a lovable man who seldom spoke about himself. Fitzerman-Blue stated that they needed a “backdoor or a side window into the story”. That is how they found Tom Junod.
“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” character Lloyd Vogel is based off Junod.
“I met Superman and I became like Jimmy Olson,” Junod stated on the experience. He agreed to being involved with the film because he wanted to keep Rogers’ message alive.
The process of writing the movie was apparently not an easy one, as Harpster recalled that the table read of their first script, before anyone was cast in any of the roles, was brutal. The feedback they received may have been hard to hear at times, but it was helpful.
Harpster explained that a huge part of screenwriting is finding people that will give you pushback and challenge your ideas in a loving way. He shocked the audience by informing them that writing is a small part of being a writer, it’s mainly about making relationships, collaborating with others and learning while you work.
Fitzerman-Blue stated that the biggest obstacle he encountered while building his career was getting out of his head and getting more in touch with his feelings, for emotions truly are the center that strengthens every story.
“He taught me brains and I taught him feeling,” Harpster joked on the subject.
They described screenwriting as telling the story as a painting, by making sure the whole narrative can be visualized and then going back and adding dialogue.
Fitzerman-Blue, Harpster and Junod all made it abundantly clear to the SCAD students listening intently to their every word to never stop writing, never stop creating and putting things out there. That’s how you find your voice.
See it on the District website! Writers on Writing: ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ gives insight into film and its makers – SCAD District
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