Tom Shadyac: Life begins after you give away your Hollywood toys

Correction: In writing about a scene from Tom Shadyac's new film, "I Am," I inaccurately transcribed a line of dialog. When Shadyac talks about his agent, he actually says: "My agent. A source of stress in show business!" My apologies.

There’s a scene in Tom Shadyac’s new documentary, “I Am,” where the filmmaker visits the Institute of HeartMath, a research organization in Northern California that explores the scientific basis for understanding human connectedness. Shadyac sits in front of a bowl of yogurt, which is connected via electrodes to a meter that can somehow register your heart’s emotional reaction to various stimuli. When the needle on the meter doesn’t move, Rollin McCraty, a senior researcher at HeartMath, suggests to Shadyac that he should think of something that might trigger a reaction.

Shadyac jokes, “Maybe I should call my agent.” The camera cuts to the meter, which gyrates wildly, like a Geiger counter near a uranium deposit. Shadyac’s mouth opens in amazement. “My agent. A source of stress and humiliation in show business!”

I still can’t figure out how the yogurt so quickly identified high-level anxiety, but when it comes to Shadyac’s feelings about his Hollywood career, the meter was right on the money. Once the most celebrated comedy director in the business, having made a fortune with hits like “The Nutty Professor,” “Liar Liar” and “Bruce Almighty,” Shadyac is now a Hollywood dropout.

Now 51, he hasn’t made a feature film since “Evan Almighty” in 2007. He sold a 17,000-square-foot mansion in Pasadena and moved into a trailer park in north Malibu. He’s been giving away most of his money and was well on his way to shedding his possessions several years ago when he took a serious fall while bicycling in Virginia, breaking his hand and suffering a concussion.

The hand healed, but Shadyac ended up with a nasty case of post-concussion syndrome, an ailment common among professional athletes that can cause depression, disorientation and has even prompted some victims to commit suicide.

It took Shadyac months to recover. When I visited him Friday at his trailer park home, he pointed to a closet in his tiny bedroom. “That’s where I would sleep a lot of the time,” he says. “Everything felt too loud and too bright because my brain had lost the ability to filter things out.”

When Shadyac finally returned to health, he decided that he needed to make a film that could explore why today’s culture is so obsessed with competition and separation instead of community and cooperation. Due in theaters early next year, “I Am” features interviews with all sorts of wise men and women, including well-known cultural figures such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the late historian Howard Zinn as well as lesser-known scientists, poets and evolutionary biologists.

They all grapple with Shadyac’s central theme, puzzling over why man is often more competitive than cooperative, more aggressive than empathetic — in other words more like Donald Trump than like Gandhi. The film is crammed with intriguing ideas, but Shadyac earns his keep as a filmmaker. He illustrates the serious talk with provocative images, emphasizing our sense of connectedness, for example, with a great scene of dozens of skydivers, holding hands as they plunge earthward.

But the film is clearly an act of penance as well. Five years ago, Shadyac was flying everywhere by private jet and staying in lavish hotel suites. He was giving away money, but he instinctively knew something was amiss — after “Liar Liar” opened, he slipped away to Thomas Merton’s monastery in Kentucky for a 10-day silent retreat.

“I had a woman at my production company whose job was to find people in need that we could help — people whose houses had burned down, kids in a blind children’s center,” he told me last week, sitting in his cozy trailer overlooking the gorgeous California coastline. “But I didn’t realize that even though I was giving my money away, my own life was a very poor reflection of who I thought I was. I thought I was taking care of others, but I was really only taking care of me.”

He laughs. “I couldn’t decry the gap between the rich and the poor and actually be the gap between the rich and the poor. As Mr. Gandhi says, you have to be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Childless and divorced for more than a decade, Shadyac now realizes he was searching for meaning, something he wasn’t destined to find in the shallow slipstream of Hollywood.

These days, Shadyac has one trailer that he lives in, another that functions as a production office. He admits he was afraid at first to make such a downscale move but says that “after one night of fear, I’ve found a great community here — I’m much happier in this little place than I’ve ever been in all my fancy houses.”

He’s still teasing out the complexities of how much he can practice what he preaches. He doesn’t have a cellphone. He has a small car, but he travels most places by bicycle, always wearing a helmet. He has taken planes to show his movie at film festivals, but he flies coach, not private.

“Look, this is an experiment,” he says. “I still have a lot of money that I don’t feel is mine because it came from a competitive system that is helping, in its own way, to destroy the world. So the way I run the economy of my life is to take only what I need to live and funnel the rest to other people.”

As for his career, that’s a work in progress too. Shadyac hasn’t taken a studio meeting in more than two years. When his agent and business manager come to see him, he encourages them to paddle-board in the ocean with him before anyone can start talking business. If he does take a job, it would have to be on his terms.

Shadyac is on the short list to direct the remake of “The Incredible Mr. Limpet,” a Warner Bros. comedy that has Zach Galifianakis attached as its star. However, Shadyac envisions the film as an environmentally conscious comedy, so much so that he first ran his ideas by the filmmakers who did the eco-documentary “The Cove” to make sure they were environmentally sound.

You get the feeling he isn’t counting on getting the job. “I don’t think it’s going to happen,” he says. “The studio may have someone else whose take they like more.”

For now, Shadyac is more preoccupied with getting the word out about “I Am.” “I’m doing my career in reverse. Usually you start with a little movie and work your way up to the big ones, but I started with the high-profile films and I’ve managed to work my way down. But what good is our art if it doesn’t change us, if our lives don’t reflect the values that we put into our films? Too many things are handed to us — the private jets and the big hotel suites. But what it does to you is insidious.”

He falls silent, staring out his window at the ocean.

“It’s already enough of a privilege to be an artist. We don’t need anymore privileges. I’m not saying that movie stars shouldn’t have trailers [on movie sets]. That’s not the line for me to draw. But if I make another film, all I need is a room, not a trailer,” he laughs as he points out the obvious. “I’ve already got one.”

Photo: Jim Carrey, left, with Tom Shadyac during a promotional tour for the film "Liar, Liar." 

Credit: Patrick Downs/Los Angeles Times

Comments

[dave di]

I knew Tom back in the days when we were all struggling in the biz and he was always a kind, funny, warm and generous guy...I was happy for his success and I am even happier for him now if he has found what he truly wants. Good for you Tom...(btw, I still have your sneaker fly swatter...:).d...Dave D.

[Thomm]

I've never had any thing or possessions of great worth, so it is hard for me to understand this article. I have had the post-concussion depression, though. For almost 25 years I have been living the way the article describes without the resources to get anything fixed. It's hard to have a steady job or believe in a vision that goes on much beyond today. I'm glad Tom is doing good.

[Jay Meakin]

I'm looking forward to watching the film "I AM". Not having seen it though, just the trailer, I believe Tom found out what few people already know. We are here on this planet for one another. As far as I AM concerned there is no better reason for living than to give the best we can to our family, friends, colleagues, people we do business with, and people we meet as we go through life. The most successful people in the world are usually those that give the best of themselves to others. If Tom chooses to give his financial wealth away to others this is one way that he can afford to contribute. It does not diminish the value of hugging your kid for no reason or offering a kind word to a stranger. We can all afford to do these simple things, and they do matter.

[R. Weber]

I am looking forward to see” I AM”
.
A few quotes from my latest essay “A Mentors Dialogue” on the subject Economics and Sustainability.

...History has shown us a great deal, on how we should not live our lives. At the same time, it has provided us with great thinkers and examples on how to live our lives adequately and in harmony with one another and nature.

Socrates:

399 B.C. Socrates awaits his execution. His crime? Reasoning and questioning the assumptions Athenian people made about their lives, the world around them, and what they understood was right and wrong. He said, “Using reason and logic to examine the world anew, you must make all decisions based on your own understanding of what is good and what is not good, what is wrong or what is right. A Life without every day examination is not worth living.”

Cicero (106 – 43 B.C.):

Cicero’s Fundamental Principles

Cicero’s compelling honesty led him to conclude that once the reality of the Creator is clearly identified in the mind, the only intelligent approach to government, justice, and human relations is in terms of the laws, which the Supreme Creator has already established. The Creator’s order of things is called Natural Law.

A fundamental presupposition of Natural Law is that man’s reasoning power is a special dispensation of the Creator and is closely akin to the rational or reasoning power of the Creator himself. In other words, man shares with his Creator this quality of utilizing a rational approach to solving problems, and the reasoning of the mind will generally lead to common sense conclusions based on what Jefferson called “The laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” (The Declaration of Independence)

Let us now examine the major precepts of Natural Law, which so profoundly impressed the Founding Fathers.

Natural Law Is Eternal and Universal

First of all, Cicero defines Natural Law as “true law.” Then he says:

“True law is right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting; it summons to duty by its commands, and averts from wrongdoing by its prohibitions…It is a sin to try to alter this law, nor is it allowable to repeal any part of it, and it is impossible to abolish it entirely. We cannot be freed from its obligations by senate or people, and we need not look outside ourselves for an expounder or interpreter of it. And there will not be different laws at Rome and Athens, or changeable laws now and in the future, but one eternal and unchangeable law will be valid for all nations and all times, and there will be one master and ruler, that is God, over us all, for he is the author of this law, its promulgator, and its enforcing judge. Whoever is disobedient is fleeing from himself and denying his human nature, and by reason of this very fact he will suffer the worst punishment.” (Quoted in Ebenstein, Great Political Thinkers, p. 133.)
(Quoted in The Five Thousand Year Leap, p.34, 35.)

Cicero’s Conclusion

“As one and the same Nature holds together and supports the universe all of whose parts are in harmony with one another, so men are united in Nature; but by reason of their depravity they quarrel, not realizing that they are of one blood and subject to one and the same protecting power. If this fact were understood, surely man would live the life of the Gods!” (Ibid)

Here is a warning from Samuel Adams:

“The sum of all is, if we would most truly enjoy the gift of Heaven, let us become a virtuous people, then shall we both deserve and enjoy it. While on the other hand, if we are universally vicious and debauched in our manners, though the form of our Constitution carries the face of the most exalted freedom, we shall in reality be the most abject slaves.” (Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, 1:22-23.)
1. Where do you think we have perhaps failed in our self-responsibility?

One of my first thoughts of accountability is to be accountable to ourselves. In everything, we do, we affect others. Knowing that we affect others in what we do, we have the need and responsibility of critically analyzing our own actions. This includes what we speak of, what we consume, how we live, how we communicate, and how we educate. If we recognize that all actions, passive or active, will influence all things around us, we will understand that the same actions return to us. As said earlier, we are all one, a part of nature, and this earth.

[Jeff]

Are we all connected? Well, technically, yes, we are in some ways. But not in the way this movie would have you believe. It makes leaps of faith in logic and assumes because we all breathe the same air and have the same DNA then we're a few beer summits away from sharing the same culture (this is one of the mistakes Bush made in trying to convert the middle east to a democracy). If he believes that, then he did more damage to his brain in his accident than originally thought.

He laments the fact that he has money, because he got it from a competitive system and feels really guilty about it. This has essentially become his religion. And like all religions, there's nothing worse than the enthusiastic convert.

He talks about how he flies coach instead of private planes now. Ok? Some people can't afford coach. Why not walk, or at least take the bus? You know, like most people in the world you examined have to do? Those other means are more enviornment friendly too. So why not? Because it's all symbolic garbage to this man.

He's very critical of the fact that the world is competitive. This is kind of like being critical of humans having brains, because brains can be used for evil purposes. Yet without brains (and civilization), we'd be algae. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure we'd be peaceful algae, sitting around singing songs together. Never going to war and never doing evil things like buying HDTVs. It'd be without "sin" in this guy's view, whatever that means.

Let's forget for a moment that pretty much everything you see is the result of competition. Your house is the result of years of competing builders finding a better, cheaper way to build. That medicine you're taking that cures your diseases is a result of years of competition between pharma firms, hoping they can sell you a better cheaper cure before their competition does. I listed two examples, but could easily list 10,000. But let's forget all those benefits for a second. Humans could not be not competitive if we tried (and we try all the time due to people like this guy). We're hard-wired to be competitive. It's who we are as humans, no matter how guilty that makes you feel.

I mentioned this guy is like a religious person. And like all religious people, this guy wants to convert everyone to his way of thinking. Sorry chief, but humans are not ready to go back to living in caves (metaphorically speaking) after we've achieved greater things. Unlike you, I do not wish to force my views upon you. You are welcome to stay self-absorbed and delusional, and I won't try to change you at all. I will, however, call you out as a fraud.

Jeff

[Celia]

Call me a cynic but only the incredibly self-indulgent feel their lives lack meaning by virtue of the fact that they have so many options regarding life's path. Conversely, the rest of struggle to raise children while we're still paying off our own student loans. We struggle to provide a decent education for our kids while feeling horribly guilty that we can't send them to better schools. We drive decade old cars and live in houses that need serious work. We work 50 hour weeks and still go in to credit card debt to pay for the kids' braces, math tutor, out of pocket medical. For most of us working folk materialism is not what we struggle with - it's getting by and going to sleep at night hoping that you did the best you could for your kids, who will only have public, state schools as an option if they can afford their college at all, and even then they'll go in to debt for their education like we did. Most of us, Mr. Shadyac, are not so awash in money as to have the choice to feel poisoned by materialism. That's a myth about the average American which only actually applies the a very small upper class. The rest of us, sir, are just trying to get by.

[Sheena Singh]

Dear Tom:

May I introduce myself. My name is Sheena Singh and I formed www.wisdomannex.com , a non-profit organization in Toronto, Canada, with the intention of putting together transformational conferences and workshops to shift our consciousness, especially at this crucial point in the history of our earth.

We have an upcoming conference called Continuum: The Soul’s Greatest Journey – Past, Present, Future. It is being held on March 5-6, 2011. We have put together a line-up of outstanding metaphysical speakers, teachers and authors who will be covering different aspects of our soul. http://www.wisdomannex.com/continuum/presenters.html
We anticipate attendance of 500 – 600 people.

Dr. Raymond Moody, the father of near-death experiences (NDEs) will speak about his most recent research of how “shared-death experiences” can happen.
Dr. David Kessler, who has counseled Michael Landon, Farah Fawcett and Anthony Perkins amongst others when facing their own death, will address the issue of grief.
Carol Bowman will speak about how young children’s spontaneous past life memories provide the purest evidence of reincarnation.
Danielle MacKinnon, an internationally known Soul Contract Intuitive, will share how healing in current relationships happens when we understand our Contract with them.
Joseph Tittel’s gift of mediumship is to connect with loved ones who have crossed over bringing you messages that help with validation and closure of relationships.
Dr. Bradley Nelson, a holistic chiropractor, uses a fascinating process called the Emotion Code, to remove trapped emotional energies from the body.

This morning I discovered (no accidents in the Universe) the film “I Am”, and my intuition tells me that THIS is the film we are to show at our conference. I knew I had to show a film, but nothing felt RIGHT till I read the review and story of Tom Shadyac. It would be an honour to have you attend and be available for Q & A after the film.

I am so excited and crossing my fingers that you will agree to grace us with your presence. This entire conference has been based on following my instincts that kept nudging, saying that now is the time to educate the masses on what our purpose on earth is and through meaningful information help transcend transitions and challenges coming our way. I have no sponsors, no partners and am funding this expensive project entirely on my own because I humbly believe that I too am an agent for change.

I can let you know about the speaker’s fee that is being offered to our other presenters. I will take care of airfare and hotel expenses. I feel that your personal appearance will attract the attention of a lot more people, while also spreading the word about this important film exponentially.

I was also thinking that for people who only wish to view the film, we could arrange for a second screening and have all the proceeds from that showing go towards the Foundation you have created. Would this be agreeable? I am open to all possibilities. Toronto is ready for this film!

I wait with abated breath to hear back from you.

Namaste
Sheena Singh

[Dave]

I am definetly on board Tom.Thank God for you!!!! Sounds like you have been bleesed by the lord.Now run with it and do good things.

[Veronica Jacobi]

I have a movie idea for Tom Shadyac ... check www.OurGreenChallenge.org for where I am coming from... Thank you for I Am ! (I always wear my helmet too and always encourage others to also...concussions and crashes are scary.)

[Katherine]

Good for him..iIve never been that rich but am doing the same thing in my own way..capturing the essentials