We’ve all been tempted to try various recipes to broaden our culinary repertoire through various television celebrity chefs. But there is something special about Julia Child, an unassuming lady who found success later in life. Her tall stature and distinct voice could make a French chef out of almost anyone with some time and effort. Daniel Goldfarb (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and Chris Keyser (Party Of Five) spoke with Creative Screenwriting Magazine about their take on the famous Julia Child in their TV series aptly titled, Julia.
Julia was an unassuming, unlikely heroine at fifty years old
“Our show starts after Julia Childs (Sarah Lancashire) returns to Boston from France to invent the television cooking show as we know it today,” declared Daniel. They returned after her husband Paul (David Hyde Pierce) retired as a high level diplomat.
“Our story is a second act story. It’s a story about second chances,” added Keyser. “Julia also explores the evolution of the modern marriage where the husband takes a back seat to his wife’s emerging success.” Traditional husband and wife roles were flipped so Julia assumed a more prominent role in the partnership.
Daniel Goldfarb. Photo by Joey Stocks
Julia isn’t your typical celebrity chef we often see on our screens today. She’s not itching to open up a chain of exclusive restaurants, she’s not abusing her protégés, and she’s not demanding silver service wherever she goes. “There’s something in her joie de vivre, in her complete commitment to her cooking and her show with joy and humor,” continued Daniel. There was something unique about watching Julia cook on television. “It was more than cooking. It was watching somebody live their life they way you wanted to live yours.”
Julia’s rise to celebrity stardom was a happy accident. “She felt a spark after awkwardly making an omelette live on Public Access TV for her twenty-seven viewers,” said Daniel. “She ran toward that spark and ignited a career.”
Julia Child was an unlikely entrepreneuse. She pitted her modesty and insecurities with a supreme confidence in the culinary gifts she bestowed to the world. “That conflict was always inside Julia,” mused Chris. She pushed the envelope and dismissed her fears as she grappled with self-doubt regarding her suitability to be a presenter. She’s both confident and a klutz on television. “Julia’s the antidote to the typical person that might present a cooking show on TV. She takes on our insecurities and her own at the same time.”
The cooking process is just as important as the outcome
Daniel Goldfarb commented that on today’s cooking shows, any misshaps are swiftly edited out. “Mistakes were part of the fabric of Julia’s show. The most entertaining episodes were the ones where the recipes didn’t turn out as planned.”
Julia Child is known for her playful sense of humor which ranged from subtle to witty, funny to sexual innuendo. It wasn’t always clear whether she realized what she said. Daniel Goldfarb and Chris Keyser didn’t deliberately seek to mine the comedy in Julia. “We set out to be truthful with both the comedy and the drama. We never pushed either too hard.”
Julia was extremely erudite. “She often spoke in clever puns. It was who she was,” stated Keyser.
Profile Of A Marriage
Despite Paul Child never appearing in Julia’s cooking show, he was integral in its success. “The premise of the show is that Paul and Julia have a vibrant, sexual, intellectual, curiosity-filled marriage,” said Goldfarb. “They were iconoclasts. They lived crazy lives and travelled all over the world.” Paul dabbled in photography, art, and judo, while Julia settled on cooking. In spite of their different hobbies taking up their time, they both shared the same outlook on life. “Life was an endless adventure for them. Life was too good to worry about the consequences of it.” Both at middle age, they both understood their time on earth was limited so they were going to make the most of the time they had.
Paul Child (David Hyde Pierce) & Fiona Glascott (Judith Jones). Photo by Seacia Pavao
“They both learned and grew from each other,” continued Chris. “They were both deep sensualists.”
“Julia didn’t know how to cook when they met. Food wasn’t a big part of her life. Neither was sex,” explained Goldfarb. Julia took on this enhanced role and overtook Paul in her love of stimulating the senses. “It’s like a Pygmalion story where Paul crafted and molded Julia into what she become.”
Both Paul and Julia were keenly aware of when to step out of each other’s spotlight to allow the other to shine. “Both were good at being number two in their relationship,” said Keyser.
Although Paul had retired, “both Paul and Julia were in their prime at middle age,” expanded Daniel. “They were very inspiring that way, especially during that time. It was mind over matter.”
Not everything was perfect outside the Child’s marriage. Julia’s father John McWilliams (James Cromwell) continually pointed barbs at Paul’s masculinity. At one point, he suggested that Paul married Julia for her wealth rather than love, despite his previous distinguished career as a diplomat. “Julia took Paul’s art very seriously. She believed in him as much as he believed in her,” said Daniel. They were complementary to each other.
Julia is ostensibly Julia’s story. Goldfarb and Keyser wanted Paul’s story to be equally powerful. “Although Paul was a supporting cast member, we gave him his own story by not fully explaining the cause of his retirement,” said Daniel. Julia Child wasn’t an island. “In addition to Paul, she was surrounded by extraordinary thinkers.”
Chris Keyser (Photo courtesy of Freeform/Image Group LA)
Creating an ensemble cast was a matter of intersecting each character with Julia and servicing the central concept of her cooking show. Goldfarb and Keyser also explored their relationships with each other outside of the television set.
“Julia’s food is rich, flavorsome, decadent, heavy, and complicated. Just like her. It takes time and effort. There’s a method to it,” chimed Daniel. Julia’s recipes reflected her character. They weren’t simply scrumptious meals. She sold her attitude to American housewives planning the day’s meals. “Each meal was a temporary work of art. It was an elaborate set piece. You could craft something intricate and complex with a little bit of effort to expand the walls of your kitchen,” espoused Keyser.
Daniel Goldfarb was always interested in food since his college days. He wrote a play about a food critic in graduate school, so writing Julia was a natural extension of that. “I also write about relationships and marriage. I brought my passion, sense of humor, and sense of empathy and optimism to Julia,” he added. “I brought everything else,” joked Chris. “I like writing about small problems that are overcome to make a marriage work. I explore what makes you valuable as you seem to be towards the end of your life.” Anyone can effect change in the world at any age. “These are answered both directly and metaphorically in Julia.”
“As a playwright, I’m really interested in the rhythms of language and behavior,” said Daniel. “My plays have a lot of humor in them and try to say something through it that was ultimately serious.”
“I write all over the place,” countered Chris. “My work doesn’t live in a single genre. They are almost always driven by underlying questions of ethics or morality such as living a good life, taking care of others, and forming a community. I explore the nature of cause and effect in human behavior.“
