August 1997
We check in with
John Berendt
As THE book becomes THE movie, Savannah readies for further fame
Interview by Michael Sims
"Once upon a time John Berendt came to town," a Savannahian declared recently, "and Savannah hasn't been the same since."
In 1982, when Berendt, an "Esquire" columnist based in New York, first began spending time off in Savannah, Georgia, not everyone noticed. But since 1994, when his first book began its climb to publishing history, the town has indeed never been the same.
In case you've spent the last couple of years in Tibet, John Berendt is the author of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". Now in its 83rd printing, approaching the 1.5 million mark, it has been on the "New York Times" bestseller list for three years.
For a book that the Library of Congress catalogs under "Savannah (Ga) -- Tours," "Midnight" contains many diverse elements. "It's a nonfiction novel," Berendt says, on the phone from New York City. "It's got elements of travel, true crime, novel, all those things. Bookstores would have been sorely pressed to figure out where to put it. But fortunately they can put it on the bestseller shelves for now."
Why is the book so popular? Berendt lists the charm of the city, the characters, the suspense of the murder investigation. And he adds: "The narrator does not take a point of view. I don't make snide remarks about any of the characters; I don't make fun of the South. The narrator appears to be having a marvelous time -- and therefore so does the reader."
The book was optioned as a film one week before it hit the bestseller list. "It had been shown to all the studios before it came out," Berendt remarks, "and every one of them turned it down. They said, 'We love the book, but we don't know how to make a movie out of it.' " Then a certain producer's sister read it and the rest is history. Clint Eastwood, who specializes in outsiders of ambiguous morality, is directing. Recently Eastwood told "Newsweek" that he likes "stories that aren't cut and dried, stories that don't tell you everything."
He's certainly found one. The book has humor, the sensational murder trial of a gay millionaire, voodoo, and the most amusing female impersonator since Terence Stamp in "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert."
"Don't you be callin' me no man!" the Lady Chablis (nee Frank) warns Berendt the first time they meet. "Uh-uh, honey." And, as they drive down the road, she shows him the result of her regular estrogen shots, justifying the author's choice of the feminine pronoun. Berendt diplomatically describes Chablis as "an independent spirit." Her autobiography last year was called "Hiding My Candy." What does the title mean? Don't ask.
Chablis was the sole Savannahian with thespian ambitions chosen to play herself in the film. (Her contract specifies "she.") Sonny Seiler, the colorful lawyer who defended the millionaire, appears not as himself but as the judge in the trial. Berendt's own role is filled by John Cusack, fresh from playing the suave but guilt-ridden hit man in "Grosse Pointe Blank." Asked what he thinks of this bit of casting, Berendt laughs. "He's bright and funny and hip -- all the things you'd want someone to be if they were playing you."
But Berendt did find fault with the first draft of the screenplay, which was written by John Lee Hancock, who wrote Eastwood's recent film "A Perfect World." "My character as written was rather square and naive. That was intentional. In contrast to the craziness of Savannah, they wanted the narrator to seem sort of out of it. I said, 'OK, you can make him a fish out of water, but make him a streetwise New Yorker who's simply dazzled by Savannah.' Both Eastwood and Hancock liked that, so the script was fixed considerably."
Berendt himself is no innocent. When he went to Savannah he already had 25 years' experience as a journalist, including editing "New York" magazine and writing a column for "Esquire." Nor is he dazzled by his own success. It was the author himself who argued against issuing a paperback while the hardback was selling so well.
Much of the story is built around the murder trial of prominent Savannahian Jim Williams (portrayed by Kevin Spacey in the film), who was accused of killing a young man in his house in May 1981. When Berendt arrived in Savannah, he didn't sneak around under cover. "I told them right away that I was working on a book, and that it was going to focus on people in Savannah, particularly Jim Williams." Berendt says that one Savannahian regularly introduced him as " 'someone who's writing a book about us. He's a good Yankee,' he would say." One woman replied: "How could he be a good Yankee? He's not dead yet."
Those who appear in the book may have a different opinion of at least one Yankee, judging from their response to sudden fame. "They all sign the book," Berendt says. "People who are on only one page will sign the book."
One of the book's recurring themes is Savannah's delight in its own provincial status. "It's not that we're trying to be difficult," a woman told Berendt. "We just happen to like things exactly the way they are!" Yet tourism has doubled since "Midnight" came out. Some natives may resent the barbarian invasion, but many are happily exploiting the success of what they call simply "The Book." In that vein, at the wrap party after filming, Clint Eastwood expressed the hope that his film version will soon be known in Savannah as "The Movie."
Michael Sims is a writer in Nashville.
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