MOVIES:
Steven Spielberg once said “the only thing better than seeing movies is
reading about them.”
We agree. This month:
Sunshine Cleaning,
State of Play, Adventureland and Wolverine.
DVD'S:
Rick Sayre reviews Forbidden Hollywood, Volume 3 and
Universal Pre-Code Hollywood Collection, The
Spirit and Tell No One. Jehan Mondal reviews
Henry Poole Is Here.
MUSIC:
Doves' Kingdom of Rust. Brandy's Human.
BOOKS:
Things You Should Read:A Reliable Wife, The Star Machine, The
Non-Adventures of Wonderella: Everybody Ever Forever and
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Penguin Classics
Deluxe Edition).
FOCUS:
Rick Sayre interviews writer/director Christopher Jaymes.
SPOTLIGHT:
"I
don’t think that Michael J. Fox set out to be the
“optimistic actor” but somehow that is exactly what he
is—all of his characters work so well and engage you in a
way that is intimate and very personal because they all, at
the very core of them, contain Fox’s infectious optimism.
You don’t know exactly where they will take you but you
trust them… and somehow believe that wherever you end up,
you will be the better for it."
Starring: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Steve Zahn, Jason Spevack,
Clifton Collins, Jr.
Pretty as a light pink tee in the New Mexico sun, Rose Lorkowski (Adams)
manages to smile through struggle as a maid making ends meet as a single
parent to precocious son Oscar (Spevack) and responsible sister to
younger wanderer Norah (Blunt). Once a popular head cheerleader in high
school, Rose sees the now married quarterback Mac (Zahn) only on the
sly, trying her hardest to grow her confidence with daily affirmations
and work towards her slice of success and happiness. Meanwhile, Rose and
Norah’s father, widower Joe (Arkin) engages in hilarious get-rich-quick
schemes, including corn candy and one with jumbo shrimp. Despite silly
ventures, his reliable presence throughout the film is a huge one,
adding maturity and sincerity to the story, with the magic of a true
bad-ass.
When Oscar is kicked out of school one day for licking things, policeman
Mac suggests Rose work some of the clean-up jobs on crime scenes for big
money to put him through private schooling. Roping a resistant Norah
into these bio-hazardous events makes for interesting times and lessons
learned to say the least, while Oscar is entertained by the
heartwarming, cleaning supply shopkeeper Winston (Collins), sweet on
Rose's smile as he encourages her and recommends certification for waste
disposal.
As Rose and Norah are there when no one else is, the two find a way to
cleanse the pieces surrounding them, comfort the people and lives
suddenly broken beyond belief and heal their very own past for the
deeper strength needed to really go forward. Fans of Little Miss
Sunshine will enjoy Sunshine Cleaning, but should expect a
quieter, sweet and simple sound, more a glowing reflection in a mirror
than a pageant of dazzling imperfection.
Written by: Matthew Michael
Carnahan, Tony Gilroy and Billy Ray; based on the television series by
Paul Abbott
Starring: Russell Crowe, Ben
Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman,
Jeff Daniels
I went to see State of
Play with a little bit of skepticism, a touch of hopefulness and a
lot of curiosity. Reason being that I am a huge fan of the original 2003
British television series and I didn’t quite know what to expect or even
feel about a Hollywood remake of the show. In that same spirit I will
state that I’m not quite sure how to review the film, as its own entity
or as one who is familiar with its source material. So please bear with
me as I attempt to do both.
State of Play is a
good Hollywood movie, keeping the audience wondering what the grand
conspiracy of this story is and who is behind it. From a plot
perspective, it hits all its story points perfectly and at just the
right moments. What elevates it beyond being just another Hollywood
thriller is that the writing is very clever. The wit is evident and the
cast is able to convey it on-screen. Russell Crowe’s character and
Rachel McAdams’ character play well off each other and McAdams breathes
life into what could have come off as a passé, Hollywood stereotype: the
woman who’s trying to make it in a man’s world and learning at the feet
of her mentor, while playing second fiddle to a Hollywood leading man.
The movie is well directed, wonderfully cast and should more than
delight an audience looking to be entertained by a good story.
But, for me, what makes the
picture work is knowing where it originated from. One of my biggest
concerns with this adapted version of State of Play was: are they
going to mess it up? The answer is, no they did not. Another thing I
wondered about was “How can they tell this story in a condensed form,
making a two hour film from what was a six-part miniseries?” Under the
circumstances, they did very well. Certainly it helps having expert
writers Matthew Michael Carnahan (Lions for Lambs), Tony Gilroy (Michael
Clayton) and Billy Ray (Shattered Glass) working on the
adaptation.
And yet there’s more than
just successfully condensing a complex six-hour story to a tight
two-hour film that impressed me. I also felt State of Play did a
fine job of bringing up new issues. For instance, the blogging
revolution and Internet news reporting, not quite as prevalent in 2003,
is a subject intelligently touched upon in this version of the story.
Also the torpedo fashion in which a public official’s career can be
destroyed by the wrong media story, which seems particularly cutthroat
in the United States, was shown.
So if you didn’t really know
anything about State of Play until it recently hit theaters in
its American form, you’re in for a good flick. If you’re a fan of the
original BBC series, keep in mind that two hours isn’t enough time to be
as in depth as the British production was. So you’re not going to see
all the characters from the original, and you won’t see all the subplots
or all of the humor surrounding Dominic Foy. But what you will
see is a movie that pays fitting tribute to the production it’s spawned
from, while making its own statement along the way.
A Tale of Two
Reynolds:
Adventureland and X-Men Origins:
Wolverine
I first fell for Ryan Reynolds’ comedic timing while watching an episode
of the terrifically bad “Two guys, a girl, and a pizza place.” Reynolds’
was the sarcastic and quick-witted Berg, the man-whore of the show who
always had a hilarious retort just waiting to be fired. It’s been many
years since that show and Reynolds has been cast as a leading man in
dramas, action flicks and romantic comedies, to some success if not
quite critical acclaim, and yet I still find that the Reynolds that I am
most taken with is the funny one, the Berg, which we seem to see less
and less of.
It seems that I am not the only one who misses funny-Reynolds as this
past month saw the release of two film’s which allowed him to shine,
albeit in two very small supporting roles. The first is in
Adventureland, a hilarious “Freaks and Geeks/Undeclared”-esque
comedy written and directed by Greg Mottola, who previously directed
Superbad as well as several episodes of “Arrested Development” and,
coincidently enough, “Undeclared.” The film has the same humor as the
Apatow TV shows (and it even stars the adorable Martin Starr)—it is raw
and honest and embarrassing in a way that is all too real. The movie
tells the story of James Brennan (played with boyish sincerity by Jesse
Eisenberg) and his summer after college spent working at “Adventureland,”
a local theme park in his hometown of Pittsburgh. James wants to be a
writer and is set on going to grad school in NYC but his middle class
background sets him apart from his Ivy League counterparts.
All of the goofy-ass hi-jinks that you have come to expect from Apatow
productions are in the film, thanks largely in part to the comedic
genius of Bill Hader and Kristin Wiig, the husband-and-wife theme park
owners who are a laugh riot all-throughout. The interesting thing about
Ryan Reynolds in this film, however, is how likeable he is for being,
well, a pretty big douchebag. He plays Mike Connell, the park’s resident
married hot guy/musician and his performance is the perfect blend of sad
hubris. This role doesn’t allow him to be quite as funny as he was in
say, Wolverine, but it does let him shine in a way that
Definitely, Maybe, his last big screen role, didn’t allow him to.
Speaking of the atrocity that is X-Men Origins: Wolverine—Ryan
Reynolds 15-minute cameo in the film is the only light in an otherwise
dark, dark sewer of clichéd comic book crap. Reynolds plays Deadpool, a
kind of mercenary who is known for his smart-ass retorts and commentary.
When I first saw the trailer for Wolverine, I have to say that I
was excited—I know relatively nothing about the X-men universe but I do
love Live Schreiber (who was pretty fantastic as Sabretooth, actually)
and Reynolds, and that was enough to get me onboard. The lack of an
actual interesting script (David Benioff—really? You’re so much better
than this!) let alone a cohesive film, guaranteed my disinterest all
through out, except when Reynolds was onscreen. His Deadpool was exactly
what you needed and it is truly a shame, and kind of a rip-off, that his
character is not onscreen for more than a blip. Instead we get the joy
of extended scenes with Will.I.Am from the Black Eyes Peas, who, as far
as I can tell, was cast for his exceptional “hologram” skills.
Wolverine is right up there with every terrible and disappointing
comic book movie to have been released in the past couple of years
(ahem, Punisher) except that it seems even worse because of the
potential that it had to actually be good. X-Men Origins:
Deadpool…now that I will see.
Forbidden Hollywood, Volume 3
and Universal Pre-Code Hollywood
Collection
For
many casual film fans and those who aren’t old enough to remember
(which, in 2009 is most of us), it seems like most cinema before, say,
1968’s Bonnie & Clyde, was strait-laced and chaste. (That is for
those people who don’t believe that movies suddenly existed with Jaws
and Star Wars). Sure there were sly winks here and there, but
generally, the bad guys always got their due and the bad girls, well, it
was death or prison. But before the production code that
governed/censored the majority of Hollywood productions, there were
frank depictions of women having pre-marital affairs, prostitutes with
hearts of gold (80 years before Julia Roberts) and what the hell?!?
Being branded by perverts?!? Yep. Warner Brothers has already released
two editions of Forbidden Hollywood, including some of the top
offenders, films that didn’t see the light of day again once the
production code began to be enforced. In the first two volumes we got to
see Barbara Stanwyck literally sleep her way out of her small town and
into the penthouse apartment in Baby Face, and Norma Shearer get
revenge on her adulterous husband by sleeping with his best friend and
declaring, “I’ve balanced our accounts” in The Divorcée.
We
now have a third volume of Forbidden Hollywood, focusing on the
films of director William Wellman. Six films are included on three discs
and not one of them is disappointing. Infidelity, mail-order brides, a
madam and a prostitute, war veterans and teenage runaways inhabit these
movies, but not one of these characters is less than admirable. Loretta
Young stands out as a good girl driven to prostitution in Midnight
Mary, while the kids in Wild Boys of the Road will break your
heart. The best one of the bunch is probably Frisco Jenny, in
which Ruth Chatterton gives up her baby and then becomes the most
respected madam in San Francisco, only to have her grown-up son end up
prosecuting her.
Unwed
mothers giving up their young was a running theme in these pre-code
pictures, as seen in Torch Singer, a film starring Claudette
Colbert that appears on the Universal Studios collection, Pre-Code
Hollywood. Those of you looking for shocks can check this one out.
Most of these films have never been on home video and many are rarely
seen. Kicking things off is The Cheat, starring Tallulah Bankhead
as a Long Island wife with a gambling problem. When she tries to back
out of a deal with a wealthy eccentric, he attacks and brands her.
The Cheat is absolutely the kinkiest film I’ve seen that pre-dates
Barbarella. Elsewhere in the collection, we have an alcoholic
Fredric March in Merrily We Go To Hell, Cary Grant being accused
of corrupting a small-town girl in Hot Saturday and a couple of
Olympic champs duped into promoting a dirty magazine in Search for
Beauty. Throw in Colbert as a struggling singer who only makes it
big after she’s given her baby up for adoption and a musical tribute to
marijuana with topless dancers in Murder at the Vanities and you
have a fascinating view into the daring territory explored on film
before the censorship of a production code (a copy of which is included
in the set) that would be enforced in Hollywood for thirty years.
Trying to cope with the knowledge that his days are numbered due to an
unexpected, incurable illness, Henry Poole (Wilson) finds a place to
hold them. Finding an unfinished home in a Los Angeles working suburb
thanks to his perky agent (Hines), he begins completely checking out.
Spending days alone, he drinks and eats junk food, occasionally taking a
step or two outside. Thankfully, his existence expands when his neighbor
Esperanza (Barraza), a warm, wise and relentless Hispanic woman, finds
an image of Jesus in a stucco wall stain outside. Determined to spread
word of the miracle, she enlists her priest (Lopez) and her neighborhood
and church friends to confirm and rally around this new source of
inspiration. Henry will do everything to stop her and anyone else
annoying him back to life.
Across the fence, Henry meets and grows a friendship with Millie (Lily),
a doll of a seven-year old girl who has gone mute. As she records daily
conversations of Henry’s and her mother’s, Dawn (Australian beauty
Mitchell), she opens a dialogue between the two. Henry begins to tell
his full story to Dawn, as she lifts her heart up from divorce, and they
begin to fall in love with time against them. Then late one night,
Millie goes to touch the wall and has a prolific experience. Everything
afterwards breaks forth Henry’s pain and suffering for the whole
neighborhood to see, but not without light at the end.
Inspirational in tone and deeply honest in its human portrayals and life
reflections, from the tone of their facial expressions to the grace of
their dialogue, I believe Henry Poole and Esperanza are in each of us;
Wilson and Barraza are perfect here in showing us how and why.
I
rented The Spirit with great trepidation. Scratch that, I rented
it expecting to pretty much hate it, but how could I resist a movie that
stars my beloved Gabriel Macht and featured the fantastic Sarah Paulson?
I figured it would be one of those movies that looks really great but is
otherwise lifeless and dull. I knew also that people hated this movie.
Reviewers and people I know had warned me against it. Suffice it to say,
I was pretty shocked when I found myself actually enjoying The
Spirit. Eventually I realized that going in with zero expectations
was the way to approach it. Reading reactions of others online showed me
that most people went into the theatre expecting either a serious comic
book film or wanting Frank Miller to deliver another Sin City. I
went in FEARING that it would be another Sin City, being one of
the few who thinks that Miller’s brilliant creation became a visually
stunning bore.
So
here’s the thing. The Spirit was never supposed to be taken
seriously. I don’t know if the tongue in cheek dialogue passed you by,
if you missed the hysterical names of the cloned dummy henchman or any
of the other blatant signs that this is all being done in the spirit of
fun, but I’ve got news for you: The Spirit is ridiculous comic
book fun. Don’t know if you remember that, it was before Alan Moore,
The Dark Knight Returns, The Watchmen or Vertigo Comics…
back in the so-called Golden Age of the genre. But come on, “Why so
serious?” I’m not saying that it’s a perfect movie, far from it.
However, it’s a fun way to spend a couple of hours and even wearing a
mask, Macht is quite easy on the eyes.
Imagine my surprise when I randomly checked out a three-year old French
thriller to find out that it is one of the best suspense films I've seen
in a long time. In fact, I’m going to say that it’s the best mystery
I’ve seen since Memento. And what’s more, it’s the most
Hitchockian movie of probably the last decade. I mean, you have a
wrongly accused man trying to prove his innocence while trying to find
out the truth about the woman he loved? Shades of Vertigo.
Adapted from the novel by Harlan Coben and directed by Guillaume Canet
(who is also an actor and appeared in Danny Boyle’s The Beach),
Tell No One is an incredibly perfect film and one that completely
holds your rapt attention even the second time around.
Sort
of a shame, then, that the extras are limited to a gag reel and “deleted
scenes” that are almost entirely just alternate or extended takes.
Nevertheless, this is one you will want to watch!
“I longed to feel
that winter in my heart, so I went looking but I couldn’t stop. Now I’m
waiting for you, I know it takes an ocean of trust in the kingdom of
rust.”
With these words
the trio from Wilmslow, England introduce their fourth full-length album
titled Kingdom of Rust. This band holds a special place in my
heart; maybe it’s because they are totally awesome or maybe it’s because
they are the best kept secret in Brit Rock. Since the beginning they
have always been critically acclaimed yet very few people outside of
England know about them. (I’ve always made it a point to introduce
people to their music, so I hope this review inspires you to give them a
try.) Their albums are always put together like a beautiful tapestry of
sound, full of complex arrangements, a uniting theme and dreamy,
spiritual, melancholic melodies.
In order to talk
about the history of the band I have to begin with the sequence of
events that changed their lives forever. Before the band was known as
Doves, Jez Williams, Andy Williams, and Jimi Goodwin had a successful
dance-oriented project called Sub Sub. On the birthday of the twin
Williams’ brothers their studio caught on fire and burned down. They
lost everything in the fire; it was at that point that they were forced
to make the decision to either end it all or to start from scratch. The
band Doves was born out of the fire that changed their musical paths
back in 1996.
Unlike their
previous albums, Kingdom of Rust does not feel like it follows a
single theme. The lead singer/guitarist Jez Williams describes the album
as “schizophrenic, but... also strangely cohesive.” I completely agree
with his description as the album is filled with such diverse rhythmic
and lyrical content that you cannot help but get lost in the music.
Right from the opening Kraftwerk-inspired song “Jetstream,” the great
country flavored title track “Kingdom of Rust,” the drum and bass driven
“Compulsion” to the beautiful rock ballad filled with the signature Dove
sound “Spellbound,” Kingdom of Rust is destined to become a rock
classic. After four years of writing, recording and experimenting they
have put together their most daring and satisfying album to date.
“I’m only human,
forgive me/I’m only human, love me/I’m only human, save me, save me from
myself/I’m no super woman, embrace me/I’m fragile and broken, you’re
just like me”
After a 4
year-plus hiatus from recording, Brandy returns with her fifth studio
album Human. And much has happened in the time since she released
2004’s critically acclaimed Aphrodisiac. She endured management
and label changes, a called off engagement, and a tragic car accident
where another driver was killed. She’s currently in the midst of
lawsuits and countersuits stemming from the accident. So it’s fitting
that she would return with an album that showcases not only what she’s
been through during that time but how she’s been able to move on as
well.
Human finds Brandy at her most compelling emotionally,
vocally, and lyrically. This 15-track confessional re-teams Brandy with
Rodney Jerkins (who produces half of the album) and pairs her with new
producers such as Toby Gad, Brian Kennedy, RedOne, Soundz, HitBoy &
Chase N., Dirty Swift & Bruce Waynne, and Dapo Torimiro. The magic that
Brandy and Jerkins had on previous releases (Never Say Never and
Full Moon) is fully evident here. That futuristic, signature
sound – which blends contemporary R&B with pop, techno, and house - is a
welcomed return. The grooves here don’t go too far above mid-tempo
though, which might be a down point for some. The purpose with this
album however, was not to rattle the dance floor but to warm the heart,
mind, and soul.
Though the music
is solid, it is not the focal point here. The music takes a backseat to
Brandy’s emotional vocal performances. This allowed for her to be as
open, honest, and free as possible. She sings of resilience (“I dropped
all that baggage/Let go of that habit/The pain you can have it/ ‘Cause
now I’m content with me”) on “The Definition.” She sings of
unconditional love and unbridled support in the midst of adversity
(“When you’re trapped and there’s just no key/And you can’t breathe/I’ll
breathe for you/The fire’s got you down on both knees/And the walls are
closing in but/I’ll be breakin’ through”) on “Right Here (Departed).” On
“Camouflage,” Brandy wants to be accepted for who she is – flaws and all
– and will not change for love (“These flaws I got/They’re a part of who
I am/Take me or not/But I finally understand/And I’m so done trying to
be everything you want/I had to stop/’Cause baby you ain’t worth it”).
On the title track, she’s at her most vulnerable, singing about
acceptance, self-love, and all of the things that bring all of us
together (“I cry when you cry/I hurt when you hurt/I’ve made mistake but
I can’t turn back time/…. I’m perfectly human/I might just tell a
lie/I’m perfectly human/But I’m an angel in disguise”). And on “Fall,”
Brandy sings about faith, letting go, and believing in yourself enough
to love (“Just fall – don’t be afraid/Fall – ‘cause I’m on my way/Fall –
with all of my faith/Fall – I’ll be okay/Fall – there’s no other
way/Fall – just fall”).
Brandy’s
beautiful voice continues to shine (at times outshining the music) with
each release. Her voice has richened in tone over the years but has
grown in flexibility, color, and expression. Songs such as the title
track, “A Capella (Something’s Missing),” “Fall,” “Piano Man” and “True”
are standouts that exemplify this maturity and growth. What is also
interesting is that though she only co-wrote two songs (the title track
and “Fall”), she sings each and every one of them as if she wrote them.
They’ve been tailored to her and her experiences. And her performance is
evident of that. Brandy owns these songs.
Human is an album that from beginning to end can be
enjoyed without skipping or interruption. The songs flow with ease. Yet
another reason to give it praise. Human is an example of how our
experiences can be turned into musical masterpieces. She’s taken
adversity and turned it in to a cathartic, intriguing, and heartfelt
listening experience. It’s unfortunate that this album may not get the
exposure it deserves. But with the current market – I guess it’s to be
expected. She’s not selling skin or sex appeal. She’s selling her
herself as a musical artist – something just doesn’t seemed to be valued
as much in the (mainstream) industry these days.
Things You Should Read:
A Reliable Wife, The Star Machine, The Non-Adventures
of Wonderella: Everybody Ever Forever and We Have Always Lived in
the Castle (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition).
By
Rick Sayre
A Reliable Wife
by Robert Goolrick
With
his memoir, The End of the World As We Know It, Robert Goolrick
proved that he could write beautifully about even the most harrowing
events. In a book about a highly dysfunctional family and a shocking
case of abuse, Goolrick’s prose helped keep the reader entranced, even
though the material was rough going in. In his first novel, A
Reliable Wife, he hooks us immediately into a very different story:
When a wealthy man waits to meet his mail-order wife, neither they nor
us expect what will happen next. They both have dark pasts and each of
them have got surprises in store for the other. What begins as a story
of a man meeting a mail-order bride who looks nothing like her
photograph (similar to Cornell Woolrich’s Waltz Into Darkness,
which provided the basis for François Truffaut’s film, Mississippi
Mermaid, as well as the Angelina Jolie/Antonio Banderas soft-core
porn, Original Sin), takes quite a few twists and turns, never
ending up where you thought it would. Best of all is the character of
Catherine Land, the woman who leaves one life for a very different one
and finds herself forever changed.
The Star Machine
by Janine Basinger
Basinger’s book about the Golden Age of Hollywood and the running of the
major movie studios is a must for anyone interested in filmmaking’s most
glamorous era. Using stars like Tyrone Power, Lana Turner, Norma Shearer
and more as examples, she takes us through the steps of turning a day
player into a superstar. The ways that the studio controlled the
publicity about their lives, helped them out of sticky situations and in
some cases, abandoned them when they were no longer gold and their
contracts were up is truly fascinating. I found myself discovering a lot
of new old Hollywood favorites in this book I know I’ll read again and
again.
The Non-Adventures of Wonderella: Everybody Ever Forever
by Justin Pierce
In
the wide world of web comics, there is only one Wonderella. Justin
Pierce’s sarcastic slacker super-heroine has a new non-adventure every
Saturday at
http://www.nonadventures.com. He’s
collected the first batch of comics here and filled it up with love.
Comic book geeks will especially appreciate the many references to their
favorite characters, the biggest being Diana Price a.k.a. Wonderella:
the super chick who made Batman cry.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Penguin Classics
Deluxe Edition)
by Shirley Jackson
Shirley Jackson, author of House on Haunted Hill and the infamous
short story, “The Lottery,” wrote this eerie novel in 1962, almost 15
years after “The Lottery” caused a huge uproar after being published in
an issue of The New Yorker. That short story incited hate mail,
cancelled subscriptions and was even banned in South Africa. It remains
one of the most haunting stories ever. Personally, We Have Always
Lived in the Castle is even more indelibly etched on my mind. The
story of two sisters who live in a secluded manor years after the
mysterious deaths of their parents, this book is the perfect example of
why Jackson has influenced the work of writers like Stephen King and
Neil Gaiman. It’s very much one of those novels you read and wonder why
it isn’t considered a universal classic, rather than just being
appreciated by those in the know.
Christopher Jaymes has gone from studying music at Berklee to acting to
writing, producing, directing and starring in his own feature film. A
hit at festivals everywhere, In Memory of My Father is a darkly
funny movie documenting the wake held for a famous movie producer by his
three sons (Jaymes, Jeremy Sisto and Matthew Keeslar). Also starring
Nicholle Tom, Christine Lakin, Monet Mazur, Pat Healey, Eric Michael
Cole and the ever-fabulous Judy Greer, In Memory of My Father is
finally available to own on DVD. We were lucky enough to get Christopher
Jaymes to give us some background on the film and some insight into his
future projects.
Rick
Sayre (P&F): You’ve had a pretty amazing life so far, from being a
skateboarder to an actor to studying music at Berklee College of Music
and even touring on piano with Wanda Jackson. What led you to
filmmaking?
Christopher James (CJ): From the time I was about 13 or 14 I had a huge
clunky VHS video camera, and my friends and I would make
edit-it-in-the-camera-while-you-go movies on a daily basis. They were
ridiculous things like, pretending we were water skiing behind my
friend’s boat, which was parked in his garage or mock talk shows about
teenage kids on laxatives. It became the thing to do at parties instead
of just bantering and drinking. I was pretty obsessed with movies from
the time I was 6 or 7. We didn’t have a VCR so once every few months my
mom would rent one and then I would get to pick six or ten movies to
rent and I would wake up before everyone else to get started watching.
Sometimes I remember early in the morning, it still being dark outside,
I would sneak downstairs and turn the sound on the TV really low and sit
right in front of it watching. Then on weekends, I would get dropped off
at the dollar theater, which had 4 theaters playing double features, and
I’d stay from morning to night watching every movie without wondering
what was playing.
P&F:Tell us a little bit about how the chance to shoot
In Memory of My Father came about. It seems like the opportunity came
quickly and everything else led to a fast move into production.
CJ: Yeah,
it was a fortunate mistake that got dropped in my lap without warning. A
friend of mine, David Austin, the guy who plays the dead father in the
film, called me and said he was selling his house and wanted to make a
movie in it, but we didn’t have much time cause he was selling it pretty
quickly. So, I didn’t sleep much for the next four days and on the fifth
day showed up at his house, (which was a mansion previously owned by
Samuel Goldwyn) with all of the actors that would eventually be in the
film. We did a read through, everybody liked it and 6 weeks later we
were shooting.
P&F:
Where did the story come from? Was it an idea that you had in mind for a
while?
CJ: No, I
never had actually thought of making a movie like this. I was writing
other scripts but at that particular moment in life, I was kind of
obsessed with French New Wave films and most of the things I wrote were
extremely ‘sophisticated’ and pretentious. Things with so much metaphor
that nobody had a clue what was going on except me, and even then, I
barely could make sense out of it. This script (In Memory of My
Father) came about by thinking... What can I stick in that house?
How can I use David in the film? What other actors do I have around me
at the moment that are available? Then I was watching a Buñuel film,
which stimulated a thought and a few days later I had a script. If I
would have slowed down to think about it, I would have talked myself out
of writing a movie like this.
P&F:
The great writer/director Alison Anders compared you to some serious
indie royalty: Cassavetes and Altman. What filmmakers inspire you the
most?
CJ: I
really love Truffaut, the more coherent films of Godard, Fellini, Lumet,
early Woody Allen and Scorsese, Paul Anderson, Wes Anderson; really I
love tons and tons of directors for different things... Tornatore,
Bertolucci...
P&F:
Did you approach In Memory of My Father in a different way than
the short films that you made previously?
CJ: To a
degree yes, because I had to deal with more people in one place for
longer periods of time, and I actually had some money to deal with. The
pre-production was more intensive than the shoot because the shoot I
could afford couldn’t last more than a handful of days, so to make
everything happen perfectly within that time, knowing there was no
budget for backup, and no time for error made it key that everything was
as ready as could be prior to the equipment arriving. So, rehearsal was
really the thing that made it come together. Not only rehearsal, but
rehearsal at the actual location and then time spent with the DP
preparing each shot days prior to shooting, so there was no mystery once
we started.
P&F:
One of the great things about the film is how natural everyone appears,
it really adds to the believability that we're watching the documentary
of this family at their father's wake. How much of the film was
improvised?
CJ: Some
characters don’t improvise a single line while others bounce around.
Probably the least amount of improv was between Jeremy Sisto and Eric
Cole and the most improv was between me and Nicholle and Christine,
mainly because I didn’t like what I had written for myself and felt like
the scenes weren’t interesting enough, so I just starting randomly doing
things hoping something would work out.
P&F:
The film played a lot of festivals and got a lot of acclaim. In addition
to several Best Film awards, you picked up quite a few for your work as
director. Were you surprised that the film never found mainstream
distribution?
CJ:
Initially, I didn’t expect it, but then after winning awards and getting
reviews from Variety saying ‘we’d be fighting off the
distributors’ it was a bit of a let down, especially when so many people
began showing interest and we were so close to selling it to Searchlight
and a few others and then the ball dropped out. It’s a strange movie in
that manner... Almost as if it’s hypersensitive to the crowd that’s
viewing it... When it’s in a filled theater it generally becomes a
riotous, joyous occasion but sometimes when it’s on a small screen in
someone’s office with phones ringing and chat windows open, it doesn’t
seem to play as well.
P&F:
In the meantime, as you write about in your book, Boxing Day, you
were supposed to be vacationing in Thailand when the tsunami of 2004 hit
and ended up becoming an aid worker instead. What sort of influence has
this experience had on you as a filmmaker? Is it what has inspired your
move into the field of documentaries?
CJ: I
think as a filmmaker, being in the midst of a recently devastated
community, I realize that there is no way to thoroughly make others
understand the size and effects of a disaster of this scope. Even
standing in the middle of it, I couldn’t believe it wasn’t a movie set,
however, if it would’ve been a movie set, it would have looked more...
precise and proper, instead of messy and dilapidated. Part of my
interest in documentaries is that I feel there are so many important and
interesting things to investigate and educate on, and though I love
narrative fictional features and will continue to make them, sometimes
when you look at the amount of work, time and money you’re going to
spend making it, you look at it and think... “All that for this one
little story?? Is it really worth it?” And probably sometimes it is, and
sometimes it’s not. At the moment, I love mixing it up and doing bits of
everything I can possibly be doing.
P&F:
Your next project, the documentary Shrink Me is about the
reliance of medication in our society. Any idea when it will be hitting
theaters?
CJ: It’s
halfway shot and probably won’t be moving forward again for a few
months, so no real projected release date any time soon.
P&F:
You recently appeared in an episode of Lost. Any chance of Doc
becoming a recurring character?
CJ: I
certainly hope so... But at this point, there are no promises.
P&F:
What do you see in your future—more documentaries, more indie cinema or
do you have any aspirations to direct a big-budget movie eventually?
What would your dream project be?
CJ: Dream
project would be a huge massive project that we’ll talk about later. In
the meantime, I’m working on two documentaries at the moment, turning my
book into a film, and developing a few other features, both big and
small, but I’ll save the details for you for closer dates so we can
actually talk about it when there’s something for you to see!!
SPOTLIGHT:
Michael J. Fox
June 9th, 1961 -
“I’ve always
dreamt big…” – Michael J. Fox
When you’re an immigrant, you often find yourself telling stories that
begin with, “When I first came to this country…” It is the universal
phrase that binds us all together, and in my case, having come here at
such a young age, most of my immigrant stories have to do exclusively
with TV. Meaning: “When I first came to this country, I learned English
by watching “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, “Sesame Street” and “Family
Ties.” This last one is an odd choice, I know, because it wasn’t
technically geared toward small children, but when my family first
arrived in Miami in 1986, it was in the middle of its run, and Back
to the Future had been released the year before to much acclaim.
None of us had actually seen Back to the Future at that
point—Colombia was still on Beta so god only knows when we would have
seen it—as I recall, the first time that we saw it was on someone else’s
VCR, but we certainly knew what it was and recognized Alex P. Keaton as
Marty McFly.
I’m sure that the reason that I initially watched “Family Ties” was my
attraction to the very cute Michael J. Fox, but once our family got
around to inheriting a VCR (my father is very proud to say that he has
never purchased any technology related to Television or movie-watching),
and our obsession with the Back to the Future series began, my
love of the character of Marty McFly secured my affection for Alex
Keaton. I only had eyes for Alex and in fact, the episodes that I
remember the most revolve solely around him (oh my God, when Alex gets a
girlfriend!). It is only in recent viewings that I discovered and
appreciated the other characters on the show, let alone the terrific
writing that Gary David Goldberg was responsible for during its run.
Although he was a Republican and dreamed of working on Wall Street, a
shock to my fairly liberal sensibilities, Michael J. Fox imbued Alex
with a genuine goodness that somehow always seeped through the
sliminess.
Fox wasn’t NBC’s initial choice to play Alex however (Matthew Broderick,
the network’s first choice, turned it down). As Fox recounts in his
memoir, Lucky Man, Brandon Tartikoff, one of the show's
producers, felt that Fox was too short to belong to the Keaton family
and that ‘his is not the kind of face you'll ever find on a lunchbox.’
After the show became a huge hit and Fox himself skyrocketed to fame, he
presented Tartikoff with a custom-made lunchbox with the inscription "To
Brandon, this is for you to put your crow in. Love and Kisses, Michael
J.Fox."
Michael J. Fox has always been underestimated as an actor, largely due
to his height (a fact that I can definitely relate to) and youthful
looks, but his physical energy and enthusiasm have always allowed him to
fill up and take over any scene that he is in. Eric Stoltz was
originally cast as Marty McFly, but director Robert Zemeckis felt that
he lacked the “energy” needed for the high school teenager and replaced
him with Fox. You often hear of casting changes in a film and remark on
what it would have been like had the other actor been cast, but in the
case of Back to the Future, I cannot even imagine this. In my
mind, without Fox there is no Back to the Future; there is no
Johnny B. Goode, no awkward front seat Oedipal action; no emotional
screaming of the words “Doc!” Michael J. Fox embodies the character so
completely that for most people, myself included, he is that person; for
all intents and purposes, Fox is Marty McFly…just as he is
Mike Flaherty and Frank Bannister and Nick Lang or Dr. Benjamin Stone.
Fox is often cast in comedies, pretty formulaic ones at that, such as
Teen Wolf, The Secret of My Success, Life with Mikey
and Doc Hollywood. I can say that I love all of these movies
without hesitation not because they are particularly great, but simply
because Michael J. Fox is a joy to watch in them—his comedic timing is
effortless and completely engaging. But it is the more dramatic fare,
his performances in films such as Bright Lights, Big City,
Casualties of War and even, to a lesser degree if only because it is
not an all-out serious drama, Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners,
that remain particularly etched in my mind. It is so rare that we as an
audience are allowed to see that other side of Michael J. Fox, the side
that broods and cries and is laced with pain, and he is so good
at the other side that it just makes you appreciate what he does as a
comedian all the more.
It is hard to cry onscreen, but it is damn near impossible to be truly
funny onscreen, and somehow Fox has managed to do both exceptionally
well throughout his career. In writing this article on Fox, I attempted
to try and pinpoint exactly what it is about him that I love so much—I
began by re-watching his films, by reading both of his terrific books,
Lucky Man and the recently released Always Looking Up: The
Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, and, lastly, by talking about
him to as many different people as I could. Ultimately, and quite
fittingly considering his latest book and TV special, no one summed
Fox’s appeal better than my brother: optimism. I don’t think that Fox
set out to be the “optimistic actor” but somehow that is exactly what he
is—all of his characters work so well and engage you in a way that is
intimate and very personal because they all, at the very core of them,
contain Fox’s infectious optimism. You don’t know exactly where they
will take you but you trust them… and somehow believe that wherever you
end up, you will be the better for it.
Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991—he was
only 30 at the time, just halfway into his career as an actor. When I
first learned of this, along with everyone else in 1998, and then also
learned that Fox would be leaving “Spin City,” a show that, at the time,
was one of a handful of half-hour sitcoms with incredible characters,
storylines and dialogue, I mourned the loss of the actor that I had
loved for all of those years. I thought of all of the roles that I would
no longer see him in, all the movies he would no longer be in…I never
once imagined that the role he would take on as a human being, as a
Parkinson’s patient and as an activist, would come to outshine every
single film and TV role that he had ever played. But it has. The years
since leaving “Spin City” have continued to bring numerous great film
and TV roles, but more importantly, they’ve allowed me to see yet
another side of Michael J. Fox, a side that I would have probably never
known had it not been for Parkinson’s. It is not easy to view the
effects that the disease has had on Fox, and yet it is truly remarkable
how much of that intense physical energy and exuberance still remains.
I may have learned English by watching Alex. P. Keaton but I have
learned to be a better person by watching Michael J. Fox.
