Tim Blake Nelson

Interview: Writer Bill Haney, Regina Kelly on the Struggle, Uplift in ‘American Violet’

PatrickMcD — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:05:02 -0600

CHICAGO – In a previous interview, director Tim Disney of the new film ‘American Violet’ called his film one where “change begins, and change is possible, when individuals make choices and stand behind them.”

Rating: 3.5/5.0

The second set of interviews for the film is with screenwriter Bill Haney, and the real-life inspiration for the Dee Roberts character in ‘American Violet’, Regina Kelly. Through the six year odyssey to get this story to screen, Haney chronicled Kelly’s struggle and the struggle of many of the victims of America’s “War on Drugs”, replete with laws that sometimes are designed to unfairly incarcerate large groups of poor minorities and African American citizens.

Alfre Woodard as Alma Roberts and Nicole Beharie as Dee Roberts in ‘American Violet’
Photo credit: Scott Saltzman, Samuel Goldwyn Films

Effecting all Americans, the story of Dee Roberts in the film symbolizes the unfairness inherent in the system. It is Robert’s courage to make the choice to stand up to this injustice that is the heart and uplift of the movie.

HollywoodChicago.com explored the background of the inspiration behind the film in the following conversation with Bill Haney and Regina Kelly.

HollywoodChicago.com: What are the differences and distinctions between your story in reality and the fictional portrayal in “American Violet”?

Regina Kelly: The difference is that some of the film was fictionalized, but for the most part I can relate to it. It was in part my story and it was based on me, but it also is the story of millions of people around the world suffering the same injustice.

Regina Kelly and Bill Haney of ‘American Violet’, in Chicago on March 31, 2009
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

HC: One the most surprising elements of the story is how short a time ago – in 2000 – the injustice of the arrest and trials went down. Is this sort of a warning to fellow Americans that the profiling and segregating of African Americans continues even in a post-civil rights sense?

Bill Haney: One of things that shocked me about the court cases that made up the root of the story is the extraordinary hideous effects of the war on drugs. How is plays off a racism that is concealed, but hasn’t gone away.

There is a curious coincidence in the Jim Crow laws being overturned in the Voting Rights Act of 1964 and then Nixon declaring the “war on drugs” shortly thereafter. The number of incarcerations in 1971 was 200,000. Today it is 2.3 million.

There are 8 million Americans in the criminal justice system – either on probation, parole or in prison – it’s wildly disproportionate with people of color, people of low economic means and in the South.

And this have had tremendous voting implications. Almost 4 million Americans, because of their felony status, were not allowed to vote in the 2000 election, which we all know was decided by a few hanging chads. And even in the most recent 2008 election, there were 5 million disenfranchised voters.

A skeptical person would think there was a correlation – that the use of the drugs laws were in place to create systemic voter disenfranchisement. That idea was shocking to me as a American.

HC: What is the main problem for the African American populations in small town America? What advantages and disadvantages do they have by living, especially in poverty, in a small town?

Kelly: The disadvantage is our limited resources. When you are faced with a problem that is shown in ‘American Violet’, you are forced many times to get a court appointed lawyer, who doesn’t have your best interests at hand. He gets paid very little and has little motivation.

Without resources you can’t pay a lawyer who will fight for you, so many times in court-appointed situations you will take a plea bargain, even though you may not be guilty, just to get out of the case.

Charles Dutton as Reverend Sanders in ‘American Violet’
Photo credit: Scott Saltzman, Samuel Goldwyn Films

HC: Was was the symbolic decision behind using the trial of Bush vs. Gore in the background of the situation for Dee Roberts? Was it Bush’s position as a Texas governor that was part of that particular point?

Haney: The first was to set the film in time. The actual election in which George Bush gained the presidency was the one prompting the “tough on crime” district attorney to do his annual drug law round-up of poor African Americans to demonstrate his credentials to the electorate.

The second thing was the shocking lack of principle, particularly in Texas. Texas has the highest incarceration rate in a country that has the highest in the world. The state proudly trumpets this. The way that drug task forces, who do most of the arresting, are funded is through federal money called burn money allocated to the states, and the governors get to decide what to do with it.

So then Governor Bush, in the midst of a presidential campaign where he was suggesting a complete opposition to the notion of quotas in affirmation action, was effectively using quotas to allocate drug law money in Texas. If you convict 30 people a month, your county is most likely to get new police cars, more officers and better pay for those officers.

This is a troubling use of federal money to create quotas that incarcerates people, sometimes innocent people.

HC: Despite rough conditions and sub standard housing, there was a substantial sense of community portrayed in this film. How important is the collective energy of community and religion in confronting the evils of unjust laws and racial prejudice?

Kelly: I’ve lived in low income housing, and I knew everyone around me, and it’s not as rough and negative as everyone thinks, even though it’s low income. It’s like a big family, we all take care of each other, we all lean on each other and we look out for each other.

Because of the limited resources in that type of situation, my religion plays a big part in everything. I was brought up in a church and I brought my children up in a church and I believe in it to fullest, it’s where my security comes from.

HC: As the writer of this film and an observer of the human condition, what do you feel is the most insidious emotion or absolution expressed therein – the hopelessness of the maligned underclass or the crass insecurity of bigotry?

Haney: What you are referring to as the “maligned underclass” doesn’t feel as hopeless to me, and it’s partially because of the roots of spirituality. The connection to God, the connection to each other, can create a warmth that can be missing from American suburban life.

What I find most disturbing was the callousness of the people who have plenty. This is a Judeo-Christian society. If there is one thing that is central in the religions that undergird American culture and world religions is the need to be caring to the least among us. And we know who the least among us are. But in general within small town life, the people who are well off are very comfortable perpetuating a system that keeps them well off, even in the knowledge that it creates painful effects to the vulnerable in their community.

HC: Why do you think there continues to be a basic misunderstanding gap between this country’s white and African American populations and how do you think President Obama’s election helps to bridge the gap?

Kelly: I think there is a gap because everyone is stuck in their own world. You rarely meet people who want to get outside the box that they are in and want to see the way the other side is living.

White people have their problems, too, just like black America. We might not have the same problems, but we all have problems, we are all one in my eyes.

We are still the same people, living in different worlds. We need to find a way to connect and see that it is all one race, if you ask me.

As far as President Obama is concerned, so far, so good. I pray that this film connects to him, that he can watch it and see the struggle that everyone goes through. It’s not just my struggle, it’s everyone’s struggle. We have to stop the war on drugs and I hope this becomes one of his policies.

HC: Finally, what kind of word-of-mouth would you want for this film that you wrote?

Haney: First, it is dramatically compelling and engaging. Second, the performances of the actors, especially the first time lead Nicole Beharie, are just breathtaking. Third, it’s a story that actually matters, about our country, that effects all Americans.

There are 13 million Americans who are convicted felons, 60 million who are related to them. This war on drugs, and the carnage associated with it, is costing this country 100 billion dollars a year and the lives of millions of our citizens and neighbors.

’American Violet’, with Nicole Beharie, Alfre Woodard, Charles Dutton, Tim Blake Nelson and Michael O’Keefe, directed by Tim Disney, written by Bill Haney, opens Friday, April 17th, 2009. Check local theaters for film and showtimes.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Director Tim Disney on Incarceration Laws in ‘American Violet’

PatrickMcD — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:55:31 -0600

CHICAGO – In his third film, “American Violet,” director Tim Disney tackles the subject of unfair incarceration laws involving a poor African-American housing project in a rural Texas town. The uplifting drama is based on a true story and begins during the presidential election of 2000.

Dee Roberts (Nicole Beharie) is a single mother of four children, barely getting by on a meager waitress job and help from her mother (Alfre Woodard). When her housing unit is raided by country drug law enforcement, Roberts is arrested as a drug dealer suspect, accused unfairly by a police informant.

Alfre Woodard as Alma Roberts and Nicole Beharie as Dee Roberts in ‘American Violet’
Photo credit: Scott Saltzman, Samuel Goldwyn Films

When an ACLU lawyer (Tim Blake Nelson) comes to town to take on the unjust laws that sweeps out and jails poor African Americans, it is Dee Roberts that steps up to take on a corrupt and powerful county district attorney (Micheal O’Keefe).

HollywoodChicago.com sat down with director Tim Disney, who reflected on his unique and powerful film.

HollywoodChicago.com: What is the strongest impression that you want the audience to gain after they view ‘American Violet’?

Tim Disney: I hope people are inspired by the Dee Roberts story as I was. There are a lot of specific issues in the movie about drug policy, abuse of informants and plea bargaining, but in a larger sense that change begins, and change is possible, when individuals make choices and stand behind them. That’s what drew me to the story in the first place.

HC: This film indicates that there are still miles to go in the civil rights struggle. What surprised you most in relating a modern story about the rights denied African Americans post the year 2000?

TD: The fact that the events take place simultaneously with the 2000 election of George Bush is just pungently ironic. Dee Roberts is in jail being pressured to plead guilty to a crime she didn’t commit, George Bush is at the Supreme Court being given an election he didn’t win. That’s wrong on many levels.

You could hear this story told and assume it happened in the 1930s. That these are contemporary people was really striking to me, and in fact the same people are still in power doing many of the same things. Progress is incremental, it’s one step forward and two steps back.

HC: There have been many examples of African American injustice films that have made changes to society’s attitude. What film would you compare American Violet to within that genre and how can the cinema art continue to shine a light in the dark aspects of racial bigotry and injustice?

TD: I don’t know where it fits in the very specific genre you mentioned. In many of the older films in that category like ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ it is still the white father figure that solves the problem. We specifically tried to tell our story from the other point of view.

Even though there is a ACLU lawyer who is white and he is instrumental in the case, it is driven by Dee Roberts – an African American single mother on welfare with four children who lives in a rural Texas town – that is about as far from power as you can get in America and yet she is the catalyst for change.

In that context, it’s more similar to ‘Norma Rae’, ‘Silkwood’ or ‘Erin Brockovich’.

HC: Describe the interaction between yourself and Nicole Beharie, given that it was her debut in a film lead role. Since it was an ensemble piece, did some of the veteran actors help her out?

Director Tim Disney of ‘American Violet’, in Chicago on April 6, 2009
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

TD: Nicole is just tremendous. I know she was frightened, intimidated and all the rest but I never saw it. But she is a brave girl and has that actor characteristic where she leaves it all out there. She has that gift, whatever that is.

Tim Blake Nelson trained at Julliard, where Nicole had just graduated from. They had some language in common. They talked about acting using terms I had never heard (laughs). I even think I broke their “rules” a few times, too. I made a suggestion or used an analogy that I could tell was not in their acting language.

HC: Both Charles Dutton and Alfre Woodard have had long and distinguished careers in both social justice-type African American roles and just plain character acting. What drew these veterans to the project and what was their reactions or feedback to the injustice portrayed?

TD: Everyone in the film responded positively to the material and saw that it was an important story. In my limited experience in movies, people want to do good work. It was a low budget independent film and the whole cast had to make sacrifices because they want to be in something of quality, something about ‘something’.

HC: It’s easy to play the heroes of the piece. What approach did you and Michael O’Keefe make toward the “villain” of the narrative?

TD: Michael O’Keefe is so good in that role. It was a difficult role to cast, because no one wants to play a piggish racist. What we talked about is that his character is not a clown, he knows what he is doing and he is good at what he does, however repugnant.

We kept the words in his character to a minimum. His presence is scarier than his words can ever be.

HC: Your screenwriter and partner Bill Haney gave an interesting answer when asked about whose emotionalism is most insidious, the maligned underclass or the powerful crass bigot. He said that in the research for the film, it was the religious and stick-too-ive-ness of the “underclass” who at least seemed more connected to what was important in life. Would you care to add your perspective on that notion?

The real-life person that Dee Roberts is based on, Regina King, definitely used her religion as a touchstone throughout the whole experience. We tried to portray it in the film without being too heavy. We also wanted to show how the churches, in this town and many towns like it, occupy an important community function beyond just personal faith.

HC: If you were the prime mover in spreading a “word of mouth” summary of American Violet, what would it be?

Change begins with individuals. It is a serious drama but it’s not heavy. It is an inspiring movie, and I hope it’s successful on that level. And go to AmericanViolet.com if you care about the issues and you want to learn more about the film.

Tim Disney is also part of the Walt Disney family, with father Roy E. Disney guiding the second golden age of animation there (beginning with “Beauty and the Beast” in 1991) and grandfather Roy O. Disney founding the company with grand uncle Walt.

Tim Disney worked for the company in the 1980s, co-writing the screenplay for “Oliver & Company” (1988). We asked him to reflect upon his famous name and the Disney legacy.

TD: I had the great fortune of working for Disney for three years after college. There were some older guys who worked with Walt himself, and that was a gift and honor to hang around those guys. Besides Oliver & Company, I did write an early treatment for the Lion King along with 500 other people (laughs) and I don’t claim that any of my ideas got into the final film. But I was around when that was happening. It was a culture of quality. Good wasn’t good enough.

I give my father a lot of credit for advocating on behalf of the animation department in the down days before ‘Beauty and the Beast’ came along. He is the Godfather of Animation.

HC: What do you think of the image backlash against the Disney Company?

TD: It hasn’t been a family company in a long time. But it went from being a large corporation to a mega-corporation. And that is what it is now.

Sharing the same last name entitles me to a cranky opinion and little else. It has been nothing but good for me, and it afforded me the opportunity to meet interesting people and do interesting things. But it owes me nothing and in turn I don’t owe it anything.

TOMORROW: Screenwriter Bill Haney and the real-life inspiration for ‘American Violet’, Regina Kelly, talk about the film.

’American Violet’, with Nicole Beharie, Alfre Woodard, Charles Dutton, Tim Blake Nelson and Michael O’Keefe, directed by Tim Disney, opens Friday, April 17th, 2009. Check local theaters for film and showtimes

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

First-Look Production Still: ‘Leaves of Grass’ With Edward Norton, Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:40:26 -0700

CHICAGO – HollywoodChicago.com has just received a first-look production still for the comedic thriller “Leaves of Grass” in which Edward Norton stars as twin brothers.

The film recently wrapped production in Shreveport, La. “Leaves of Grass,” which is written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson (who also co-stars), is due out in 2010. Richard Dreyfuss, Keri Russell and Susan Sarandon also star in the film. The first-look production still is below.

The first-look production still of Edward Norton in the 2010 film “Leaves of Grass”.
Image credit: Glen Wilson

Here’s the plot description for “Leaves of Grass”:

In “Leaves of Grass,” Bill Kincaid – a college classics professor (Edward Norton) – is lured home from the Ivy League to the backwoods of southeastern Oklahoma by his identical twin (also Norton).

The twin is a hedonistic, pot-smoking career criminal. Kincaid finds that Plato and Marcus Aurelius have ill-prepared him for dealing with a gang of homicidal yokels.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com