A Lemony look at the corporate world

A novelist friend of Daniel Handler -- author of the macabre children’s book series “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events” -- told him once that every good story boils down to somebody losing something.

“I never know if I agree with that,” said Handler, “but there’s something intriguing to me about a character who has the rug yanked out from under him or her.”

While that certainly applies to Handler’s wildly successful stories about three orphaned siblings who must fend off their evil guardian -- the latest is called “The Grim Grotto” -- it also applies to his screenplay for “Rick,” a merciless adult drama about the dark fate of a cruel businessman played by Bill Pullman. It opens Friday in Los Angeles.

Handler, 34, wrote “Rick” in the late ‘90s in a fit of anti-corporate pique. Then a struggling writer in New York, Handler once endured a pitch meeting with a gaggle of arrogant junior film executives who savagely criticized him and left him feeling personally humiliated. That night, he caught a production of the doom-laden opera “Rigoletto” -- about a womanizing duke and his corrupt jester -- and suddenly saw a modern tale of self-loathing suits.

Handler later toned down the snark, clarified the more tragic elements and beefed up ambiguities in the script. And speaking during a recent phone interview at the end of a book tour for “The Grim Grotto,” Handler is quick to point out that the movie isn’t a diatribe against capitalism.

“What I find interesting about large, faceless corporations is that so many people who work for them are constantly justifying what they do,” said Handler.

These people have “latched on to a larger entity, the values of which are not necessarily their own, and that to me is where ‘Rick’ examines behavior,” he said. “Is it possible to be a good person who behaves badly all the time?”

For Pullman, the trick was figuring out Handler’s take on Rick, a lost man taking drastic measures to protect the daughter he loves from the soullessness of his work life.

“There’s a war going on within Daniel about whether Rick is to be admired or despised,” said Pullman, who responded to the raw anger and bleak noir of Handler’s writing. “There’s a part of Daniel that rails against the unconsciousness of the world, how everyone is hurting or betraying each other.”

Handler’s experience with the film version of his Lemony Snicket books, opening Dec. 17, has also been a lesson in mixing personal principle with business acumen.

After writing eight drafts for original producer Scott Rudin and then-director Barry Sonnenfeld, Rudin left, followed by Sonnenfeld, and the project shifted from Paramount to DreamWorks.

At that point, said Handler, “I didn’t really know if I could gear up to write a ninth draft for new people, and neither did [DreamWorks]. Sometimes I think they felt like I left them high and dry, and sometimes I felt like they’d shown me the door, but mostly it was time for everyone to be new.”

Handler later asked that his name be removed; he cites a desire for credit accuracy as his innocent reasoning.

“I didn’t realize the political implications that had,” he said. “There was this flurry of ‘He’s taking his name off the film!,’ which I think is funny, being it’s called ‘Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.’ ”

He hasn’t completely walked away, though. He’s been busy rewriting narration for the film, and still has high hopes for it.

“They’ve spent a lot of money on this, and I hope it does really well,” he said. “I always wanted it to be a film like ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ something equally good if not better years and years later.”

For now, the San Francisco-based Handler is looking ahead. He’s working with art rock musician Stephin Merritt on a musical about extraterrestrially spread love, prepping for next year’s release of a novel for adults, “Adverbs,” and working on two final Snicket books.

When asked whether his new role as a father -- he and wife, Lisa, have a year-old son named Otto -- has affected the writing of his patented kid-treacherous scenarios, Handler realized it had.

But not in the way one might expect. Handler, in fact, has used the experience as food for thought.

“Having a child, you’re constantly brainstorming on things that could go wrong,” he said, giggling. “Foods that could be dangerous, putting them down in a way that might stop them breathing when they sleep, where we keep the fire tools.... It’s been sort of a godsend.”

*

‘Rick’

What: Writer Daniel Handler and actor Bill Pullman will appear for question-and-answer sessions after two screenings.

Where: American Cinematheque, Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

When: 7:30 tonight

Price: $9

Contact: (323) 466-FILM

Also

Where: Laemmle’s Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Price: $9.50

Contact: (323) 848-3500