"Morning Glory" Writer Aline Brosh McKenna Talks "We Bought A Zoo"

Aline Brosh McKenna gave us the screenplays for The Devil Wears Prada, 27 Dresses, and now, Morning Glory -- which might make it seem like she was going for a chick flick pedigree, except for the fact that her latest script, We Bought A Zoo, will star Matt Damon and be directed by Cameron Crowe. Clearly something more is going on with this writer -- so Current quizzed her on the red carpet for the premiere of Morning Glory to figure out her process.

Q: How does Morning Glory connect to The Devil Wears Prada?

A: There are some similiarities, but this is more about a young woman with a lot of responsibility for the first time, who has to be a boss, who has to be in charge. Both fashion and news are serious business, with serious careers, serious money at stake, and that's how I have approached them.

Q: How did you approach Morning Glory, then? You visited all the morning news programs...

A: I like to spend enough time with people to see what their everyday life is like. The specific details might change, but I want to capture the feeling of that world. Like how they're all attached to their BlackBerrys. On one of the shows, all the BlackBerrys went down, the system went down for a moment, and there was this panic when they were separated from the stream of information. Because these people are news junkies. They have a voracious appetite, and they have to be on top of whatever the news is. They're omnivorous. They have an appetite for it all. They do super serious news, and they do spring fashion. I asked a lot of people how they deal with that transition, and they said, "We say, 'On a lighter note...' a lot." One thing they pride themselves on is the first half hour is a solid news show, and it's anchored by news people with solid credentials. Because if news breaks, they want real anchors on the air. 

Q: There's usually a lot of noise made about the lack of women news anchors, which has largely been rectified. But there's still not a lot of female executive producers for these shows...

A: I think there's only been two in the history of the top two morning shows, Today and Good Morning America? And the reason for that? I don't know. But it made it convenient for us to exploit that, how this is usually the domain of highly educated men, and here's a girl from the wrong side of the tracks and without that pedigree.

Q: Is it that female perspective, for The Devil Wears Prada, or Morning Glory, that you want to get across?

A: It's not what attracts me to a story. Characters going through relatable moments in their life, versus the demographic, is what attracts me. And I don't write with actors in mind.

Q: So no Anne Hathaway, no Rachel McAdams while you're scripting. What about Matt Damon, for We Bought A Zoo?

A: Actually, Matt Damon was somebody I thought about when I was working on that, because he brings a lot of humor, but I don't generally do that. I try to immerse myself in the world, try to imagine it first.

Q: This is one of the few times Cameron Crowe is shooting a picture he didn't write himself?

A: I know, I'm so honored. He's a huge hero of mine. He's shooting this really soon. It's about a family, and about someone learning to parent on their own, what it means to be a parent, and be part of a family.

Q: But it's also a workplace comedy, just a different sort of workplace.

A: It's a really offbeat, interesting workplace. It's a zoo!