Dalton Trumbo was one of the greatest screenwriters of our time, penning scripts for such masterpieces as Exodus, Spartacus, Roman Holiday and Papillon. He was also one of the original Hollywood 10 — blacklisted, indicted, tried, convicted and sent to prison for “contempt of Congress,” which involved refusing to share his political leanings with a government panel.

Trumbo often shared his boundless intellect, acerbic humor and staggering resilience in letters to friends, family and colleagues. Those letters were collected and combined, first in a book (Addition Dialogue: The Letters of Dalton Trumbo, ed. by Helen Manfull), then a play, Trumbo, written by Dalton's son Christopher. 

Now, Trumbo has been adapted for the big screen, with Christopher again writing and Peter Askin behind the camera. Some of the biggest names in Hollywood lined up to contribute to the production, reading the letters and commenting on their old friend. Among them are Joan Allen, Brian Dennehy, Michael Douglas, Paul Giamatti, Nathan Lane, Josh Lucas, Liam Neeson, David Strathairn, Donald Sutherland, Dustin Hoffman, and, of course, Kirk Douglas.

Dalton’s son Christopher, who also appeared in the film, recently sat down with Filmazing to chat about Trumbo — the play, the movie and the man.

Q: Where was the play originally, and how was the play originally staged?
 
A: It was originally staged at the Writer’s Guild Theatre, which they gave to me for free — we’re very cheap. The stage had two lecterns, one for Steve [Martin, who played Dalton Trumbo in the play's first staging] and one for Ed [Asner, who was the original narrator] and then a table for the other two actors. We didn’t have a director as we agreed, because if  Ed Asner and Steve Martin can’t figure this out, we’re all in a lot of trouble. I think we had a 20 minute rehearsal.  Steve and I went over the play the night before and on it went. 

The reception was, I thought, really good, and a woman in the audience, Susan Lowenburg, who [does the radio show] "The Play is the Thing" on NPR saw it and asked if she could [broadcast] it. And it went on from there, changing, and eventually it ended up in New York.
 
Q: How did it evolve into a film?
 
A: The film was Peter Askin’s idea.  He thought that this would make a good documentary. It was he who found all the people to put up the money. My role in the film is essentially the indispensable person who doesn’t do much even though I’m in it.

Q: How did they decide which actors to use in the film?
 
A: Some of the actors in the film had done the play in New York or other places.  Brian Dennehey, for instance, did the national tour of the play, so he was very familiar with it.  Nathan Lane did the play for a month in New York.

So those were people that Peter had worked with, but I think the great change in the letters came with Joan Allen — she is the mother to whom a letter is written, so it’s appropriate for her to read the letter and I think it was a wonderful addition.
 
Q: The score was really amazing. Can you tell us about that?
 
A: Oh that was a terrific score. It reminded me of Aaron Copeland, with a an openness — you could almost smell spring air coming through. I thought it was terrific.
 
Q: Out of all the letters that your father wrote, do you have a favorite that stands out to you?
 
A: There is a letter that I had that he wrote me when I was 16. I was visiting some friends in Mexico who had stayed behind there, and it’s a parody of Lord Chesterton’s letters to his son.  Lord Chesterton is a pleasant, late 19th-early 20th Century guy who was something of a moralist, and my father writes me sort of a satire and he advises me about lying and stealing and borrowing and girls. 

One of the problems is of course that he had to wait for his children to grow up before he could let loose at them with the full arsenal, but that was just a delight to receive.
 
Q: Was your dad a larger than life character, or was he just like a normal dad?
 
A: “A normal dad,” I wonder what that is.  None of us know probably. I came to know that he was something extraordinary, that he was one of a kind.  Definitely he was highly charismatic. he had a gift with people in a sense and he actually liked people.

He was very different than I am, but he was able to project himself into the way that you’re feeling.  For instance, if there were a party and he saw you were not being included in some way, he would make it a point to go over and bring you into whatever conversation there was, and make you feel that it was important for you to be there.

I think that shows in a lot of things that he writes. It’s important that the characters behave this way, feel this way and have this attention. We’re human beings and we’re all in this world together, so that was part of what he projected. 

You know aside from being funny and smart and knowing a lot of strange things and [being] willing to go off and fight this battle here or defend that person there, he was in a sense 'alive.' So many of us aren’t — it’s like we spend our lives sleep walking and suddenly we say, "How come my life passed by and I didn’t really do more, or do anything?" 

Not true of him — his life was full.