‘Green Book’: How the True 1960s Heart-Tugger Made It to the Screen
In September, when writer-director Peter Farrelly prepared to world premiere “Green Book” at the first film festival in his 40-year comedy career, he had some strong preview numbers behind him, a thumbs up from Steven Spielberg, and the easiest edit he had ever had. “I didn’t have performance anxiety, I’ve had that before, but not about movies,” he said. “But I wasn’t expecting that reaction, which was crazy. That was a film lover’s crowd. And I didn’t expect the audience award.”Farrelly and his brother Bobby never planned their Hollywood career. Mostly they wrote their own stuff. “Something About Mary” was an old script they had read 10 years before that was mired in development hell. “There’s a really good movie in there,” they thought. After “Kingpin,” they asked to see it again and “Boom! We’re off,” said Farrelly.The only script anyone ever ...