BlackBook Magazine

When the movie Heathers came out in 1989, it was a eureka moment for many teen fans—finally, a dark comedy about high school! Because, let’s face it, high school is dark. Heathers catapulted Winona Ryder’s acting career, and Daniel Waters became one of the most sought-after screenwriters in Hollywood. He went on to write many big budget studio movies like Batman Returns, Demolition Man, and the “loved in Denmark and Spain” Hudson Hawk. Waters’ refers to this chapter in his career as the “failing-upwards-montage.” “I got involved in doing rewrites for big action movies,” said Waters. “I was creating movies that didn’t appeal to the people who liked Heathers and didn’t appeal to action movie fans either. I felt like it was more of a job than actual writing. I said to myself that I had to stop and get back to that warm place of naiveté where I wrote Heathers.” The result: the devilishly dark and wickedly funny Sex and Death 101.

The movie stars Simon Baker and Winona Ryder and is not only written by Waters but directed by him, as well. The premise: A man gets emailed a mysterious list of all the women he’s had sex with and all the women he ever will have sex with – a grand total of 101 names (thankfully not two because that would be tragedy, not comedy). I sat down with Waters to talk about Sex and Death 101, re-teaming with Winona Ryder, living in Orson Welles’ old house, and surviving in Los Angeles without a driver’s license. 

Let’s reflect on Heathers for a moment.

I had an opportunity to reflect on it recently. They had a salute to Heathers in Seattle that I flew up for. Right off the bat when the man who interviewed me announced it had been twenty years since the movie came out, the whole audience gasped. And I gasped back stage. I had to come out and explain that I wrote the movie when I was twelve.

[Laughing] How does it feel to have created a cult classic?

I like the fact that I made a movie where people come up to me and tell me that they like Heathers and then they say that the first time they saw it they hated it. That’s an interesting response because I’ve never seen a movie that I hated and then loved. The key to most of what I write and the key to what makes a cult classic is what comes out in a repeat viewing. I think a lot of movies that are made today you kind of get it in the first ten minutes and never have to see it again. Maybe it was the fact that Heathers was my first script and I kind of packed everything I could into it. So there’s a lot to unpack when you watch it over and over again. 

I read that you wrote Heathers because you “had to.” What did you mean by that?

I was watching movies in the ‘80s and remember something being missing. They weren’t engaging my mind like the movies of the 70s did. I thought of darker films, Stanley Kubrick films. I thought, where is that version of the teen film? I felt that that kind of high school movie had to be created. So instead of waiting around for it and being disappointed, I took the bull by the horns and wrote the movie myself. 

Is that why you wrote your new movie Sex and Death 101?

Yes. Exactly. I opened up the newspaper and felt that I wasn’t seeing adult films about sexuality. Movies in the ‘70s, like The Graduate and Shampoo, were movies not just for the art house. They were for a mass audience because they connected with the audience. This was the kind of movie that I wanted to see. Again, instead of waiting around for it, I got to be the guy to write it.

From the witty dialogue to the hilarious situations to the countless gorgeous women, most actors would jump at the opportunity to play the lead role of Roderick Blank.

You would think. Male actors are very freaked out about sexuality. They’re almost more uncomfortable with their sexuality than women are. Although women are probably used to reading more parts that are more sexual. I think actors like the premise of this movie if it was real life, but there’s a certain awkwardness that comes in when you know you’re going be the guy that people will be watching who’ll have his shirt off with all these different women in different scenes, in different complications. But, the great thing about Simon Baker is that Australians don’t have the same hang-ups as Americans. They’re walking around naked at age three and they never stop. Even Sophie Monk, who’s also Australian and has a major part in the movie, was more worried about her air hockey playing than her nude scene.

Most men would be totally psyched to find a list of the names of all the women they will ever have sex with. However, I didn’t get the feeling that Roderick Blank was all that excited about it.

It’s funny you say that, because I’ve always said that finding a list of all the women you’ll ever have sex with is a premise that if you think about for five minutes it’s awesome. You think about it for ten minutes …Oh, fuck. The plus side is obvious – all the money you could save and the emotional stress you can avoid if you just knew ahead of time what would happen with the relationship. The irony is that when you lose that thrill of pursuit, finding this list is all of a sudden not the greatest thing in the world. Once Roderick Blank starts racking up his numbers there’s a sadness behind it.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding Sex and Death 101 because of your re-teaming with Heathers star Winona Ryder. How was it to work with her again?

Let’s face it, I come at things as a writer from an intellectual smart-ass side. The great thing about Winona is that she will read my intellectual smart-ass stuff, bring out the emotion and give it heart. So when I conceived this part of a femme fatale “Death Nell” who puts men into comas, it could have easily been played as a kind of a wicked Kathleen Turner Body Heat film noir kind of villainous girl. But, I knew that if Winona were doing the role she wouldn’t do it like that. She would show you that this character has humanity and that’s very important for the movie. Winona as a person and as an actress can take the heavy and find the lightness in it, which is invaluable.

Do you like directing better than writing?

No. Writing is my comfort zone. I am a natural born writer. It’s something I can do anywhere, because I write by hand and don’t type on computers. I also love writing and then taking a nap. If I go to sleep with a writing problem and think about that writing problem as I’m sleeping I’ll wake up and it’ll be solved. Now, unfortunately, imagine me on the set telling the first AD, “What a second, I know exactly where I’ll put the camera but let me take a nap first.” I enjoyed the hell out of directing, but there is not one relaxing moment for me. 

How did you end up buying Orson Welles’ old house?

When I was looking for a house, there were a lot of shinier and more expensive homes. But, this place has that strange old Hollywood feel and the fact that it was Orson Welles’ old house sealed the deal. I guess I was hoping that if I bought Orson Welles’ house, I was going to get those Citizen Kane vibes. But, because he died in the house, instead I’m getting those Orson Welles, end of his career vibes where it’s very hard to get a movie made. It’s also very funny that he died in the room that’s my feng shui career zone. When the greatest director who ever lived died in your career zone, you know you’ve got some obstacles.

Speaking of obstacles, how has it been living in Los Angeles without a driver’s license?

I’ve lived here for over twenty years and I still don’t have a driver’s license. And, no, I’m not one of those guys who takes the lucrative easy way out by taking cabs. I actually take public transportation. I daydream constantly and get a lot of great thinking done on the bus. I can read and write and don’t even have to look up. Unfortunately, it’s bad for dating. I am proud to say, or ashamed to say, I never had a one-night stand. It’s hard to go into a bar and say to a woman, “The number four bus is coming in ten minutes and I’ve got two transfers. Be on it.” It doesn’t work with the ladies. 

Inquiring minds all want to know … Heathers 2?

I like to keep the idea of Heathers 2 open so Winona will return my calls. They’re actually doing a Heathers musical. Maybe that will take care of the world’s Heathers needs.

[Photo of Daniel Waters by Christopher Schmidt]