Interview

Interview: Debbie Reynolds Dishes on Her Lucky Star Career

PatrickMcD — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:04:46 -0700

CHICAGO – Debbie Reynolds, who began her movie star journey as a teenager during another show biz era, made her big splash in 1952’s “Singin’ in the Rain.” What followed was a long and varied career as a singer, dancer and respected film actress.

Born Mary Frances Reynolds in El Paso, Texas, she lucked into her career by winning a beauty contest, which included a contract with Warner Brothers. Making her debut in “June Bride,” she also scored a charted hit with the song “Aba Daba Honeymoon.”

Following her big break in Singin’ in the Rain, she worked steadily for the next several decades in film, stage and Las Vegas revue. Notable films include “Tammy,” The Tender Trap,” “The Catered Affair,” “How the West was Won,” “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” “Charlotte’s Web” and “Mother.”

Besides her long run in the movies, Reynolds is prominent as the mother of “Star Wars” Princess Leia – Carrie Fisher – through her first marriage with singer Eddie Fisher. She has also helped preserve Hollywood history with one of the largest private film memorabilia collections in the world.

She is Our Lucky Star: Debbie Reynolds in Chicago, November 6th, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HollywoodChicago caught up with the legendary star as she made an appearance at the Hollywood Palms in Naperville, Illinois, introducing Singin’ in the Rain and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. She spoke candidly about the films, the husbands and the litany of family secrets through the filter of daughter Carrie Fisher.

HollywoodChicago.com: You were thrust into the spotlight at a very early age. Was that a natural place for you to be or did it take awhile for you to catch up with it?

Debbie Reynolds: Goodness, it took me awhile to catch up with it, because I began as a true beginner, not knowing how to dance or perform. I just entered a local contest in town as a joke, because if you entered you got a free blouse and scarf. We were rather poor back then so those things were great to get if I just entered, I never expected to win. I did, thank God, make a very big mistake and did win. And that started me on a new path and into show business.

HC: You were literally a teenager when you joined the storm front of Gene Kelly and Singin’ in the Rain. Looking at it today, which scenes in the film do you make Gene Kelly look better?

DR: (Laughs) I don’t think anything I could ever do could make Gene Kelly look better than he was. Gene Kelly was a great dancer and I was lucky to be in Singin’ in the Rain. He was my teacher when I was 17 years old, when he was a man of 37. He taught me everything.

Donald O’Connor was in the film also, and he was only 27 years old. So we were closer in age and had more fun together on the set. Gene was more my teacher and mentor.

HC: I’ve read that Frank Sinatra was infamous for only wanting to do one take. Did you experience any of that method during the filming of ‘The Tender Trap?’

DR: Yes, one take, so you better be ready and you better be good. One take and that was it. It was something that was spontaneous. Sid Caesar and Jackie Gleason was like that as well.

HC: Did you have a good relationship with Frank Sinatra?

DR: Very much so, I love Frank, he was wonderful. Just don’t get on his bad side (laughs). I wouldn’t have wanted to marry him. But I probably should have since I married idiots anyway (laughs).

HC: You co-starrred with the legendary Bob Fosse the 1953 film ‘The Affairs of Dobie Gillis.’ What did you think of his later and more notorious success, including his style of choreography and the way he directed film?

DR: Well, Bobby was very difficult to work with, he wanted to be a big star at MGM, but it was the end of making musical movies then. So the heads of the studios, like Louis B. Mayer, were not of the mind to create another star.

So Bobby left and went to New York City to be a choreographer and created brilliant work. But he was a temperamental fellow, it was his way or the highway. I always found that kind of hard, and even though Gene Kelly was also a taskmaster, Bobby was tougher.

HC: How difficult a challenge as an actor was it to do the Cinerama film ‘How the West was Won?’ Were the technical aspects of camera placement and movement hard to get used to?

DR: Yes, very hard, because it was a three cameras technique, meaning three cameras wide. Therefore you’re not speaking to your fellow performer, you are speaking to a camera, or a line next to the camera. It was difficult to do, because its not real acting. You had to pretend that you were ‘seeing’ Agnes Moorhead or Jimmy Stewart or Carroll Baker. You were not, you were seeing a line.

It took me personally two years to make the film, because my character starts at age 16 and I end up being 92 years old in the film. By the end of that production, I was ready for bed (laughs).

HC: You’ve had some experience on the Broadway stage. What do you appreciate about the live stage and how does doing live performance differ from screen acting?

DR: Live is exciting, live is real, the people are there. It is very rewarding to walk out on stage and feel love and reception. I still perform live primarily. I just keep traveling and doing live shows.

The main difference in film, you know in your mind that you are doing it for posterity, you are doing for the eventual audience and it will be around forever. But when I was around doing theater in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s you weren’t allowed to film any of the plays that you did, it was against union rules. It was a stupid law, because so much is lost. We now have no recollection of these famous plays, it was very narrow-minded thinking.

HC: When you were appearing in Las Vegas in the early 1960s, besides the smaller size of the town itself what was different about the experience and atmosphere of Vegas in those days?

DR: Thrilling, exciting, it was very Parisian. For example, years ago nudity was not done in the United States. But during that late 1950s era in Vegas it began at the Tropicana, and spread to the other venues. Now the showgirls are going away again and Cirque du Soleil, the magic acts and the beasty acts reign in Vegas. But I don’t think you’ll completely lose the boobie shows (laughs). I think men like the boobie shows. Vegas will always be Vegas.

HC: You are a consummate collector of Hollywood memorabilia.. What was your personal favorite piece and why? Did you save anything from ‘Singin’ in the Rain?’

DR: I have the largest private collection in the world. I have over 5000 costumes, and the furniture and memorabilia that goes with them. Singin’ in the Rain I bought most of the costumes – the ‘Fit as a Fiddle’ costumes and the ‘Make Them Laugh’ Donald O’Connor outfits and the ‘Good Morning, Good Morning’ clothes we danced in.

My favorite is the white dress Marilyn Monroe wore in the subway breeze scene in “The Seven Year Itch.” But I also have a pair of ruby red slippers from the “Wizard of Oz’ and Dorothy’s gingham dress…and on and on.

I saved as much as I could and still do, because people are interested in it.

The Unsinkable Debbie Reynolds with Patrick McDonald in Chicago, November 6th, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: Did you have a relationship with Marilyn Monroe? Was she as difficult as she has been made out to be?

DR: You only know what you read. You didn’t know her. The people who talk about her didn’t know her either. She was a very sweet girl, she was a very innocent girl. She was taken advantage of by most of the men that knew her, including Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio, whom I also knew very well. DiMaggio was quite mean to her when they were married. But after she died, he did tend to her grave, which made up for it.

But Marilyn was really mistreated. Near the end, she was badly treated by Fox Studios, during the ‘Let’s Make Love’ film shoot in 1960, they threw her off the set because she had a cold. She was a bit temperamental, a little diva-like, but she didn’t deserve what she got.

And certainly not at the time of her death, because I’m a big believer that she was killed. My belief also is that she actually passed away long before she should have left us. She was a great talent who didn’t deserve what she ultimately got.

HC: Tell me about playing the title role in Albert Brook’s ‘Mother.’ Were you modeling the character after someone you knew or through Brook’s interpretation of his story and life?

DR: I think it was Albert’s mother and everyone else’s mother, including myself as a mother. I’m not a cook and I always stick everything in the freezer and then I leave things out, saying ‘if it’s good today it will be good tomorrow.’ (laughs)

Albert wrote the script and Albert interpreted everything about it. I hope I did well by the role. I loved doing the part.

HC: Your daughter Carrie Fisher is currently in a one woman show talking about herself in relationship to your family. Is her type of honesty the best policy for sharing family history?

DR: Well, you don’t tell Carrie a secret, because it will in a script or a book. So if you have a secret, keep it to yourself. But she is a great writer and very funny, and she takes things that are funny and makes them funnier.

Every secret gets known to the world. The show she is doing now, ‘Wishful Drinking’ is very funny and a huge success on Broadway. It’s very sophisticated show, it’s about family and Hollywood, about Hollywood ‘royalty’ like Elizabeth Taylor, Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, all that nonsense. And all the other gossip.

It’s a kick of a show, great fun and highly entertaining.

The Hollywood Palms in Naperville has upcoming programs with Tony Curtis, introducing “Some Like it Hot” on December 5th and 6th. Also Karolyn Grimes, who played “ZuZu” in “It’s a Wonderful LIfe,” will introduce that film on December 18th and 19th. Click here for information and details.

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

Interview: Kellan Lutz in ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’ on Chicago, Satiating Fans

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:56:03 -0700

CHICAGO – “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” knows what it is, what it isn’t and how to quench fans. It can’t say the same, though, for outsiders.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

Sure, there’s no practical reason why Taylor Lautner as the dark and mysterious Jacob Black would need to rip off his shirt just to wipe away a splat of forehead blood from Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan. But some pandering has been allowed – and even required this time around – in order to satiate a global legion of fans that these filmmakers have as putty in their hands.

Following Catherine Hardwicke’s direction of “Twilight,” which began the phenomenon of a $37 million film that grossed $384 million globally, director Chris Weitz knew he had to graduate from a lake to an ocean in the sequel that even more fans have been anticipating.

Kellen Lutz of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” in Chicago on Nov. 11, 2009.
Photo credit: Adam Fendelman of HollywoodChicago.com

But while diehard “Twilight” fans will likely be appeased by this installment – just as in the case of the documentary “Michael Jackson’s This is It” that really was a fan-appreciation concert film – the film’s constantly crestfallen tone, dragging 130-minute screen time and slow pacing will likely alienate those who haven’t fully embraced the saga.

The “Twilight” sequel “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” which was written by Melissa Rosenberg and is based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer, features Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Dakota Fanning, Ashley Greene, Michael Sheen, Bronson Pelletier, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Anna Kendrick and Billy Burke.

It’s no accident that “Team Edward” (in promotion of Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen) and “Team Jacob” (for Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black) have erupted through the film’s online viral marketing.

The two clearly compete for Bella’s affections, which makes for some steamy “PG-13” romance – that is, if you’re of the demographic this film is targeting. Otherwise, this kind of tension – as well as some of the other cheese that has been silly strung throughout the sequel – might make you mini puke in your mouth.

Kristen Stewart (left) and Robert Pattinson in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”.
Photo credit: Summit Entertainment

But for some – and especially screaming girls who cry at the mere sight of the male members of this cast – the film is marketing to them in the exact way they desire. Kellan Lutz, who plays Emmett Cullen in “Twilight,” “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” and “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” has mastered the art of fan appreciation and knows too well how to react when situations get emotional.

“You give ‘em a hug, they wet your shirt and they freak out and faint. Then the paramedics are there. It’s great,” Kellan Lutz said in a Chicago interview with critic Adam Fendelman of HollywoodChicago.com.

Along with making his way to Chicago a couple times for contractual fan appreciation, Lutz also blew into the Windy City recently to film “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” which is currently in post-production and is slated to hit theaters on April 30, 2010. The film features Jackie Earle Haley (of “Watchmen” fame) as the famous Freddy Krueger.

“I love coming to (Chicago),” Lutz said. “I’m a big weather freak. I grew up in the Midwest. I love wind. Because of the wind, my favorite color growing up was clear. Then my teacher said: ‘That’s not a color.’ I love the layout. It’s so clean. I loved running with (“A Nightmare on Elm Street”) producers Andrew (Form) and (Bradley Fuller). They’re into running around the city. They asked me to run into the beach with them. I was like: ‘There’s a beach here?’ We ran there and it was freezing, but it was so nice.”

Left to right: Alex Meraz as Paul, Kiowa Gordon as Embry Call, Chaske Spencer as Sam Uley, Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black and Bronson Petteltier as Jared in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”.
Photo credit: Summit Entertainment

He added: “The parks are amazing. It’s such a free and open city. It’s nice being in a city that’s surrounded by water that doesn’t have docks, harbors and huge industrial plants on the edges. It’s a beautiful place. I wish we were outside doing this interview. It’s so nice out. Living in Los Angeles, it’s like paradise every day. It’s like going to an amusement park every single day and riding the same rides.”

Lutz continued: “I’m such a season guy. I love the snow and the rain and gloomy days are nice. And there’s some great eating in Chicago, too. I miss the Midwest and I try to go back. I’m an outdoor freak. I especially (love) the woods and nature. (I love to) take my truck and go to Iowa where my grandparents live and lay on the haystacks and stare at the stars.”

After making us feel warm and fuzzy about the city in which he was interviewing, Lutz discussed how he feels about his very minor role in the “Twilight” films as compared to the other Hollywood work he’s done so far and where this phenomenon might fit in the filmography of the rest of his career. Lutz says he hopes this franchise ends up not being his career trademark.

“I really pray that I can act for the rest of my life,” Lutz said. “I fell into acting when going to school at Chapman (University) in Orange County, Calif. for chemical engineering. My life has definitely branched off in a direction I never knew existed. I never knew you could just be an actor. I never had the dream to be an actor.”

Kristen Stewart in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”.
Photo credit: Summit Entertainment

Lutz took a risk by quitting school “for a callback for a student film. I thought a callback was huge. I was like: ‘Mom, this is my chance.’ She said: ‘I will hurt you. I will spank you.’ I said: ‘I could be the next Brad Pitt! You don’t understand.’ I had no idea. She was just scared for me because of a lack of knowledge. I did the callback and didn’t get the job. That was the day of finals. I got all zeroes and screwed up my scholarships.”

He added: “From that point on, my mom said I won’t make it. So many people said I needed a plan to fall back on. And when people tell me I can’t do something, it makes me want to do it. My mom said: ‘At least have a fallback plan and take college courses online.’ I said: ‘I don’t need a fallback plan because I’m not going to fail.’”

Lutz continued: “I got myself into acting classes, did extra work and found this passion I loved. Financially, it was tough. I was eating the dollar menu at McDonald’s for a long time. I got jobs in retail. But I view acting as a hobby. Fifty years from now, I hope I’m still acting. I won’t view ‘Twilight’ as being trademarked or stereotyped by it because we’re vampires portraying humans. But it’s a huge launching pad. It’s an actor’s dream to be a part of something so successful and have fans that are so amazing. People work 20 years to be a part of something like this.”

Lutz says he hopes this franchise can continue to ride the wave of popularity just as the Harry Potter films have.

Taylor Lautner in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”.
Photo credit: Summit Entertainment

“They’re even making a theme park for (the Harry Potter film franchise),” Lutz said. “For us, we’re vampires who don’t age. With Harry Potter, they’re allowed to age. You grow with their characters. It’d be really tough to be in their shoes. I know they shot on location for longer periods of time than we do. It’s been a seven- to 10-year journey for them and it’s still not done. What’s amazing about our cast is we’re all of an age of knowing who we are inside and out. It keeps us very humble and down to earth. We grow and we do this magic carpet ride together. It’s nice to have someone to lean on.”

Lutz, who has been spending a lot of time working with this cast (and has but a few lines in the second film), is used to having a large family in real life, too. He now has his real family as well as his “Twilight” family.

“I definitely feel like I’m a big brother to a lot of people in life from friends to family to cast,” Lutz said. “We really are like a family on and off screen. We hang out as much as we can. As for the things we bring forward with our characters, we’re kinda like that in real life. I love my character. He’s the protector. When people get too close, it brings out that side in me.”

Though it’s not commonly known, Lutz was actually initially asked to read for the part of the more well-known Edward Cullen, which went to the much more well-known Robert Pattinson. But Lutz claims he’s happy with how things played out.

Kellan Lutz (left) as Emmett Cullen and Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”.
Photo credit: Summit Entertainment

“I had just got done playing a marine and being in Africa and killing people for (the TV mini-series) ‘Generation Kill’. Seeing the poverty that’s in Africa was depressing. Being away from my family, friends and my dog, I really just wanted to take a break from acting and resituate my life,” Lutz said. “They brought me the script and I kept on passing for Edward. He was so depressing. Then I thought: ‘What about Emmett?’ He’s easy, fun-loving, big and brawly and a cool guy. I auditioned for that and luckily got it.”

While Lutz continued to discuss his love for Emmett without remorse for not getting Edward, he did speak of the clear benefits of being a lead over a supporting character.

“Obviously I’d love to be a lead in anything. You do get more time to develop your character and make great scenes. But I also love being a part of a scene in the background and reacting. Most people don’t realize you need to be on your game whenever you’re in a scene – even when you don’t have lines. I pay attention to extras a lot. You can see the ones who are really in the moment versus the ones who are (indicating).”

For the third film, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” (which recently finished filming and is directed by David Slade), Lutz says Slade said: “I know there are some big scenes and some people don’t have lines, but it’s very important to still be a part of it.”

RELATED IMAGE GALLERIES
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View our 35-image, high-resolution “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” image gallery.

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Read our comprehensive “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” coverage.

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Lutz added: “I believe that 100 percent of the time. If someone drops a bowl and no one reacts, it takes away from the dramatic bowl breaking. But if you’re genuinely in the scene, it gives the scene so much more life. It’s great to be (a supporting character) knowing you’re making a scene better by being a part of it. It’s such an ensemble cast. Yeah, you have these three [Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner] being the faces, but you couldn’t make these movies without all of the characters.”

Lutz says his direction from Catherine Hardwicke in the first film to Chris Weitz in the second wasn’t too different.

“Both books are different. The tones are completely different. As far as vibe goes, Catherine’s film felt more independent. Energy wise, she’s so out there. She’d say: ‘We need clouds. Come on, extras!’ On set, a lot of times it’s ‘hurry up and wait’. And you wait. And you wait. And you shoot for 20 minutes and then wait 2 more hours to set up the new shot. With Catherine, there never was downtime.”

Lutz added: “With Chris, there was a huge weight off our shoulders because the fans supported us so much the first time. We knew we did it justice. We were all at ease. We had fun with our characters and explored them more. Chris was so well-organized. If we had questions as actors, he had all the answers.”

On set and off, Lutz describes himself as a “chameleon” who’s able to blend appropriately into any situation. He concluded: “There’s a lot of Kellan in Emmett already. I live such a happy life. I try to live a stress-free life. It’s fun playing a character who’s so close to home.”

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” sequel, which was written by Melissa Rosenberg based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer, features Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Dakota Fanning, Ashley Greene, Michael Sheen, Bronson Pelletier, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Anna Kendrick and Billy Burke. The film is rated “PG-13” for some violence and action. It has a running time of 130 minutes and opens everywhere on Nov. 20, 2009.

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

Interview: Ben Foster Brings Humanity to ‘The Messenger’

BrianTT — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:40:46 -0700

CHICAGO – Ben Foster has stolen scenes in works as diverse as “Six Feet Under,” “Freaks and Geeks,” “3:10 to Yuma,” and “Alpha Dog,” but he truly shines in the spotlight of the lead role in “The Messenger,” giving the best performance of his career to date. The young actor was in town for the Chicago International Film Festival and took some time to speak to us about his research for the film, how one leaves such a dramatic work behind, and his love for co-star Woody Harrelson.

Foster stars in “The Messenger” as Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery, a young man returned home from his tour but with a few months of service left. To fill out his time, Will is assigned to the Casualty Notification Office (and partnered with Woody Harrelson’s Captain Tony Stone), the men who inform “NOK” (next of kin) when their loved one has been killed in the line of duty.

Ben Foster on the red carpet for the Chicago International Film Festival premiere of The Messenger.
Photo credit: Joe Arce/HollywoodChicago.com

Will finds himself drawn to a widow played by Samantha Morton, but the film is much more than a typical love story. “The Messenger” is a moving, dramatic examination of loss and how we deal with grief. Naturally, diving into that kind of a part can be tough for someone to leave behind. Foster admits, “I don’t know if I’ve totally shaken it. What’s nice about asking these kind of questions in the form of a film is that it demands a personal rigor to ask yourself these questions. How do we deal with grief? How do we deal with loss? How do we find ways to connect and celebrate what we do have? If that’s hard to shake, that’s fine with me. I like those questions rattling around.”

The Messenger
Photo credit: Oscilloscope Pictures

To help him shake off the ghosts of “The Messenger,” Foster dove right into another project, the poorly-received “Pandorum,” which was released earlier this year. Three weeks after wrapping something as realistic as Oren Moverman’s debut film, Foster was in Berlin, planning to “go to museums and play hard and run around a f**king spaceship. It was a naive concept.”

Foster somewhat talks around the subject of why it was naive but does admit that “…it wasn’t what was presented to me at the time. I think I probably should have taken time off. I’m not saying I shouldn’t have done it, but…You don’t want to start a project if you don’t have anything to give.”

“The Messenger” may be about a very specific job and the character feel three-dimensional but, for Foster, it’s about the universal experience of loss. He explains, “We’ve received those phone calls and we’ve made them. Someday, people will receive them on our behalf. We’re in a culture where we really duck it. We hide it. And, on some level, I believe it’s an unhealthy approach to the inevitable. It’s not morbid if someone is able to feel what they’re feeling - even if it’s scary and hard and recognize the delicacy and the gift that we have of just existing right now.”

The Messenger
Photo credit: Oscilloscope Pictures

To prepare for such a complex role, Foster and the team behind “The Messenger” had the head of CNO on-set every day. Even the extras were actual men and women who had just returned from their tour of duty. Ben, Woody, and Oren spent time at Walter Reade - “We hung out with those kids…missing pieces. It was very sobering. The way that Oren directed us - his strategy was to serve the piece and not ourselves. He set an example and created an environment where we had to listen to each other and honor these men and women. There was no rehearsal for any scene. We never met those we had to notify until we were actually knocking on the door. He would work the camera in a single move and those that would be notified separately. So, when Woody and I would walk up, we were raw nerves. It created this space where we had to really listen to each other. We didn’t know what would happen.”

Even before they got on-set, Ben Foster went to New York two months early to speak to Oren, talk to soldiers, and watch documentaries. Foster says, “We built a shorthand where, by the time we were on-set, his direction, although incredibly insightful, was very simple and subtle. We just built trust. He’s one of those guys - when you meet him…you can smell a liar. You just know that he’s a true humanist.”

A large part of the success of “The Messenger” is due to the interplay between Foster and Harrelson. “I had already been a huge fan of Woody’s for years,” says Foster. “When I heard that he was coming on, I was so excited. Of course, they say never meet your heroes. But it’s one of those rare love affairs. I’m so…I don’t want to say proud…it’s not the right word…blown away to work with him as he’s working on such a deep level. He hasn’t made the choice to do this kind of work often but when he does, he really swings. He’s my brother. I would do anything for Woody.”

The Messenger
Photo credit: Oscilloscope Pictures

Ben Foster has made a wide variety of films in his short career, but is often seen as “an intense actor”. When asked if he wants to do a comedy someday, he jokingly says that he’s called up the Apatow guys looking to do anything - “I really like to laugh. Help me out here. I’ll hold a f**king light.”

As to what draws him to certain projects, Foster says, “I choose each film for a different reason. I’d like to say there’s some grand scheme but it’s really about what shows up and when and where you’re at. I imagine…just thinking of this out loud for the first time…as a writer, if you’re good at what you do, you’re probably only going to be asking one or two different questions. They’re going to be variations on a theme. You’ll have a question that is important to you and you work through the films or the current project to get closer to some kind of answer. I like to be challenged in different ways, but it depends on who I’m working with. I like all kinds of movies. I’m not a movie snob. I like all sorts of genres. Shaking it up and playing with different environments…”

To close out our interview, Foster once again immodestly speaks of his co-stars and director more than himself as to what he learned on the set of “The Messenger” - “There’s such a humility from Samantha Morton and Woody Harrelson to Jena Malone and Steve Buscemi - it’s so impressive to work with people on such a high level. You see that it’s about sacrifice. I suppose it’s not a new thing to learn but it’s something important to keep after - it’s not about YOU, it’s about IT. That kind of commitment and selflessness for something that could be perceived as selfish is inspiring.”

‘The Messenger’ stars Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Steve Buscemi, and Jena Malone. It was written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman and directed by Oren Moverman. It opens in Chicago on November 20th, 2009. It is rated R.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Rodney Walker of ‘Ten9Eight’ on the American Dream

PatrickMcD — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:26:59 -0700

CHICAGO – With U.S. high school dropout rates at epic proportions, the new documentary “Ten9Eight” highlights a teaching program and competition for poorer, immigrant and at-risk students. One of those students is Chicagoan Rodney Walker.

“Ten9Eight: Shoot for the Moon” is the full title of the film directed by Mary Mazzio, that is getting a special nationwide screening through the AMC Theater chain in eight cities through November 19th. The film documents inner city high school students in competition, as they go through the steps leading up to the finals of the annual business plan contest sponsored by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE).

Rodney Walker, a Chicago native, was one of the finalists in the NFTE competition, which pits high school students from all over the country to present goods and services as viable businesses. Walker started a wedding video/music business, another contestant has vegetarian dog treats and yet another makes photosensitive football masks. It not only involves the business or product itself, but all the mechanics and dollar estimates that the competitors put before a panel of expert judges.

Rodney Walker and Business Partner Gabriel Echoles in ‘Ten9Eight’
Photo credit: Richard Schultz for 50 Eggs Films

HollywoodChicago talked to Rodney Walker, who also narrates the film, about his particular journey within the competition and why his difficult childhood actually inspired him to create a better life for himself.

HollywoodChicago.com: What do you think this film will accomplish regarding inspiring people who will see it?

Rodney Walker: For the most part, this film will show other kids from all places that there is power in being an entrepreneur, and what that can do. And how that entrepreneurial power can influence education. It stresses building a business and how that can effect a future.

HC: Describe your relationship with director Mary Mazzio. How did she keep the cameras out of your way and why did she choose you to narrate the film?

RW: I never asked her personally why she chose me (laughs), but it was a privilege. She first met me in Chicago when I placed first in the citywide competition for the NFTE. She was profiling the presentations. So I suppose she chose me because I have a great sense in my presentations and that would serve a purpose for the film.

HC: What specifically did you learn from talking to the judges in the entrepreneurial competition finals about the realities of the business you presented?

RW: Pertaining to my business and their feedback I was privileged to make it to finals. I didn’t expect it, or even close to it. There wasn’t as much innovation in my business, it is a video production business. It was something that I presented passionately because it is what I love to do.

HC: As a videographer yourself, what did you learn about shooting footage and composing a movie through your experience in Ten9Eight?

RW: The more I produced videos for the purpose of my business plan, the better I got at it. That really help me further develop my skills as a video producer.

HC: Describe your relationship with your business partner, Gabe Echoles. How did it develop from a friendship to using his music as a basis for your business?

RW: I didn’t feel video production was enough to propel me in the competition, until I thought of a way to specialize it. At the same time, Gabe wanted to specialize his music side. So he felt the best way to do that was with video and I thought it would be with music. That’s how we developed the business.

HC: You describe yourself as a scholar. Who or what inspired you to move past your difficult childhood and seek education as an alternative to create a better life?

RW: It came from me understanding that education is the foundation to my life, it is the single most determining factor as to how far I will go. The NFTE inspired me and helped me recognize that.

I could have not made it through the competitions without the feeling of importance, that I was at the center of things. When you feel like that, it gives you a sense of motivation. It gives you the feeling of ‘I can do this.’ And if I could do good in this, I can do good in anything.

Director Mary Mazzio of ‘Ten9Eight’
Photo credit: Richard Schultz for 50 Eggs Films

HC: At 20 years old you have lived a lifetime of experiences that people three times your age can’t even imagine. How do you think that will prepare you for the next stage in your life?

RW: My mentor has always told me that one day my struggles will prepare me for greatness. He also emphasized staying humble your experiences and learning from your experiences.

HC: How do you connect with the early civil rights struggles of 50 years ago and do you think that America will ever become a “post-racial” country?

RW: America will be as racist as we make it. The more you focus on something, the more it will come to you, I strongly believe in this fact. The more you try to avoid something, the faster it will come right back at you. If you focus on the positive things, if you emphasize the positive things, that is what will come about. As it relates to civil rights and the movements, instead of keeping the war we’ve got to make peace with the solutions. That is how we will bring about true change.

HC: With your entrepreneurial background, how are you approaching college differently than the other kids in your class?

RW: I think what I do differently is that when I’m faced with challenges and when I’m faced with expectations, I always have this willingness to overcome all my obstacles and challenges. I am very patient, with a sense of patience as I work through college and my education.

HC: How did the election of Barack Obama effect your friends and family? What surprised you most about his election and about President Obama as man?

RW: The history is compelling and motivational. It showed my family and friends how far we have come as a nation. But for their own progress it didn’t do too much for them. It didn’t do anything.

The fact that an individual can go through so much human struggle and still be a success is what inspired me most about President Barack Obama.

”Ten9Eight: Shoot for the Moon” has a limited release in eight cities at AMC Theaters through November 19th. Click here for participating theaters and DVD information. Featuring Rodney Walker, Jessica Cervantes, Macalee Harris and Amanda Loyola, directed by Mary Mazzio.

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

Interview: Producer Edward Norton on Documentary ‘By the People: The Election of Barack Obama’

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:16:55 -0700

CHICAGO – HollywoodChicago.com recently interviewed Edward Norton on the new HBO documentary “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama” along with co-directors Amy Rice and Alicia Sams. Edward Norton served as a producer.

Question: What did this campaign and this candidate do to motivate kids (like 9-year-old Lorenzo Rivera) in such a way that they would hit the phones for Barack Obama in support?

Edward Norton.
Photo credit: Dimitrios Kambouris, WireImage.com

Producer Edward Norton: It’s interesting because in some ways that’s what made us want to start this (project) in the first place. When Amy (Rice) first proposed it to us, it wasn’t a campaign film.

The idea was to chronicle this junior senator as he entered into the battle of government and politics. I think what drew us to him in the same way it drew everyone else was that he was so much younger.

Our generation – and even kids younger than us – are increasingly disengaged from politics. When Amy first put it to us, it was sort of like: “Don’t you think that for younger people it would be interesting to see what happens when that guy takes all this on?”

Part of our initial instinct about the whole thing was that (Obama) did speak to a young generation, (which) might make him an interesting prism through which to look at politics.

But I think when it became a campaign film, these (filmmakers) found a lot of people – not just young Lorenzo but (volunteers) Ronnie Cho and Mike Blake – who were very emblematic of a new generation investing itself in the Democratic process.

It’s actually what I like most about the film. I think the access to Obama is really cool as well as seeing some of the thinking of the senior staff as they go through it. But to me, Ronnie Cho and Mike Blake and those guys really represent the narrative of what actually made that campaign succeed, which is that they tapped that energy.

Question: How did you earn the trust and intimacy of these campaign operatives and particularly David Axelrod?

Director Amy Rice: Originally we gained access just from starting really early. I’ve spoken with other documentary filmmakers who tried to make documentaries about politicians and campaigns.

They said the key is that you really need to build trust with the campaign because in essence they don’t want cameras around behind the scenes. When (we) started filming, (our characters) were obviously aware of the camera. But after a while, they forget about it (especially with everything that was going on around them). They would forget about it and they trusted us.

U.S. President Barack Obama in the HBO documentary “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama”.
Image credit: HBO Documentary Films

Director Alicia Sams: With Axelrod, it was a combination of us wearing him down and Edward calling him.

When we finally interviewed him, Amy was wiring him and he sort of looked up and said: “How did I get here? I didn’t want to do this.” But at the end of the interview, he said it was actually really good to stop and reflect. I think then he saw the value of creating this historical record. We didn’t put anything on YouTube and eventually he did begin to trust us.

Edward Norton: I think a big part of it was separating (us) from the overnight media crowd. It was really (about) getting it clear in their minds that we wanted to create a record of the campaign that would not play in the election.

Question: Why release it now?

Alicia Sams: We talked with HBO about when to release it. We didn’t want to have it come out immediately. We wanted to (release it) now that it’s a year later. If you think about it, there really isn’t a good time for this movie to come out when he’s in office. With the … 24-hour news cycle, the news is (always) changing. We keep saying we’d like to fast forward 20 years from now and see how the film is perceived.

Michelle Obama (center) in the HBO documentary “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama”.
Image credit: HBO Documentary Films

Question: How were you able to capture the role racism played in the election?

Edward Norton: I think in some ways a big part of it was that Amy and Alicia got out there very early. Once (Obama) became a really viable candidate and when you could see people who were not for him start to tighten up a little bit, (it was) like they knew it was probably politically untenable to say certain things (in) certain ways.

The first time we ever talked about this movie (with producing partners Stuart Blumberg and William Migliore), we talked about this notion of having a Greek chorus in it where you balance the idea of him off of people in the public to see what the country is ready for and what it isn’t. What does his candidacy reveal about who we actually are, where we actually are and how far we’ve actually come?

I think one of the parts of the film I like the most is those cutaways to people reacting to him. I think the ones that were gotten early are very unvarnished. They’re not being racist per say, but they’re being honest about what they perceive America’s limitations to be. I think it’s great (that) you can see the tensions, prejudices and projections that people are still operating out of.

U.S. President Barack Obama (center) in the HBO documentary “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama”.
Image credit: HBO Documentary Films

Question: It would be interesting to speak to them now after he’s been elected into office.

Edward Norton: Yeah, I actually really like that idea. I think a funny follow up would be to interview each of those people again. But to your other question, I’m happy that one of the heads of HBO (Richard Plepler) made a decision not to rush to get this out in the spring even though in some ways it would’ve been easier when the shine was still on the whole thing.

There’s something more honest about putting it out later. I think the directors were very objective. It’s following the people in his campaign and (of course) they are very jubilant when he wins, but I think the film is pretty neutral. If we had put it out in the immediate wake of the election, it would’ve felt just like a celebration.

By putting it out now when he’s facing the complications of the presidency, it does more (of) what I think we intended it to do, which is open up questions and let people have a more complicated retrospective on that moment so they can weigh against where things are now. I think it’s more thought provoking to have it out now.

U.S. President Barack Obama (center) in the HBO documentary “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama”.
Image credit: HBO Documentary Films

Question: Since this film wasn’t originally designed to be a campaign film, how would it have looked differently if he hadn’t won?

Alicia Sams: We didn’t feel like we had a film until he won Iowa. Even if he didn’t win the election, we had a story. If he hadn’t won Iowa, we would’ve probably put it on the shelf and waited and gone back and continued to follow him and see where it went.

But once he won Iowa, that story of galvanizing and organizing those people was a pretty incredible story. Wherever it went after that would’ve been really interesting to follow. It probably (wouldn’t have been as) big or popular (of) a film (if Obama hadn’t won), but (still) an interesting film (nonetheless).

Question: Does Edward’s production company plan to make more documentaries?

Edward Norton: No. (Our involvement) wasn’t an agenda to make documentaries. My two partners and I were friends with Amy. We like to work on things with people we know. It evolved more out of all of us knowing each other and having a group interest in politics and things like that. But I don’t anticipate it leading to us becoming the next great engine of documentary films.

Question: How much footage do you have of the period before the actual election? Would you consider making a companion piece about Obama’s rise as a senator?

Amy Rice: We had 62 hours of footage before his announcement day. In documentary filmmaking, those hours are basically research and development hours. I don’t know if we have enough to make…

Alicia Sams: It would be the beginning of a story with no ending.

Amy Rice: But we ended up with 770 hours in the end. I have a feeling there might be another film in there, but I’m not sure if we’re ready to talk about it yet.

U.S. President Barack Obama (center) in the HBO documentary “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama”.
Image credit: HBO Documentary Films

Question: How did you go about choosing what footage you wanted to include in the finished film?

Alicia Sams: Well, once we figured out who our characters were – obviously Obama and Axelrod were our main characters – it was a matter of making sure they all had a narrative arc. They all had a beginning, middle and end to their stories that dovetails with (Obama’s) story.

A lot of great things – (such as) one of Amy’s favorite moments (where) Barack and Michelle joke around backstage – didn’t make the film because it didn’t serve the story. That’s just the nature of making a documentary film. You have to let a lot of really great things go to make two hours work as a narrative.

Amy Rice: We also had an incredible editing team (Sam Pollard, Geeta Gandbhir and Arielle Amsalem). The big challenge was that everybody knew the ending of our story.

We had to really pick and choose which moments to include in the story that played out in the national media (and) that people wanted in the movie to situate them in time. We combined that with the Ronnie Cho stories that people didn’t know and (struck) a balance with that. That was very challenging. There were many sleepless nights during the edit.

The new HBO documentary “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama,” which is produced by Edward Norton and co-directed by Amy Rice and Alicia Sams, airs on Nov. 16, 2009 at 1 p.m. on HBO and again on Nov. 24, 2009 at 10:50 p.m. on HBO. The film also features John McCain.

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

Interview: Director Richard Curtis on Rock, Politics, Sex & ‘Pirate Radio’

BrianTT — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:41:55 -0700

CHICAGO – The legendary Richard Curtis returns this week with “Pirate Radio,” the story of Radio Rock and the first disc jockeys to ever play rock and roll in the United Kingdom. Co-starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Sturridge, and many more, “Pirate Radio” is another ensemble comedy from the man who made the beloved “Love Actually” and wrote “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Notting Hill,” and created “Black Adder”. Curtis recently sat down with HollywoodChicago.com (and Matt Fagerholm of Film Monthly and Locke Peterseim of RedBlog) to discuss his new film and its inspirations.

Naturally, if a writer is going to make a film about the power of rock music, he probably has a pretty close kinship to the tunes of the era himself. Curtis vividly remembers tuning into Radio Rock on his transistor, a moment copied for the very first shot of “Pirate Radio”.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (left), Rhys Ifans (center) and director Richard Curtis (right) star in Richard Curtis rock and roll comedy PIRATE RADIO, a Focus Features release.
Photo credit: Alex Bailey

Curtis says, “In England, it was hilarious in the sixties. I went to a boarding school, and it really was like 1949. All the hair was unbelievably short, you couldn’t run in the corridors, you couldn’t talk after lights out, you sung endless hymns with the wet pilgrim in them. That’s why it was so fantastic to listen to rock n roll undisciplined.”

Philip Seymour Hoffman stars in Richard Curtis rock and roll comedy PIRATE RADIO, a Focus Features release.
Photo credit: Alex Bailey

Even tuning into Radio Rock was an adventure in itself - “You were like a safe-cracker, because the stations were hard to get. They had very small frequencies, and it was the thing about volume level. If it was too quiet you couldn’t hear it, but if it was too loud, the matron who stalked along the corridors could hear it, so you had to get that perfect level.”

His first favorite song was “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” by The Four Tops, the first single he bought and a song he remembers watching climb the charts, as made-up as those charts may have been. Curtis says, “I remember Chapel was on, which was compulsory, and a guy called Richard Griffiths and I were hiding in the music rehearsal room. I remember the DJ saying that “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” had gone from number sixteen to number TWO. I was unbelievably excited, because these days all records enter in number one, but in those days they went from thirty, although the great thing about Pirate Radio is they made up the charts. They really were piratical. They didn’t pay PRS, they made up the charts.”

Beyond The Four Tops, picking the music for the incredible soundtrack to “Pirate Radio” was a crucial part of production - “Well, you know, it’s so interesting now because you write on computers which are also a jukebox. So the moment I started [writing] it, the first thing I did was download about sixty songs that I was tempted by, and that got up to about 300. I always use pop music to cheer me up during very long days of writing and about 15 of the songs were actually written in to the script. January Jones is called Eleanor so that we could play “Eleanor” [by The Turtles] and the guy was always going to say at the beginning, “We’re going to broadcast all day and all of the night” [making The Kinks song a natural fit].”

“And then I did an iPod with thirty songs per DJ to give them all a sense of it, and when we edited the movie, all of those were on a computer. We had a music editor, and he and I would meet at the end of each day and do a new section. I wanted music all the way through the film, apart from the Ken Branagh bits. We ended up being self-selecting. You think you want one song for a scene, and then you play it next to the scene and it doesn’t work. It’s a song that only becomes interesting after thirty seconds, and it’s only a twenty second cue. So you find your way, as if by magic, to the songs.”

Director Richard Curtis (left), January Jones (center) and Chris ODowd (right) on the set of Richard Curtis rock and roll comedy PIRATE RADIO, a Focus Features release.
Photo credit: Alex Bailey

What most interested Curtis about the story of Radio Rock might surprise you. It wasn’t just about the music. It was something that has always interested him - “friendship and group dynamics”.

Curtis explains, “In this movie, [while] the historical passion idea was pirate radio and pop music, the comic idea was eight megalomaniacs in a small house. I sort of thought whatever the American equivalent would be, David Letterman and Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien not only working in the same space, but actually living with each other 365 days a year. So that was the comedy idea, therefore that required eight big characters.”

His recent films (and “Black Adder”) have displayed a political motif in Curtis’ work. He says, “The Girl in the Cafe was clearly a political film. Black Adder is a series about how stupid older people are, so it’s a young man’s show. The political point here, in a way, is just that I always feel that governments are solving problems of the generation before. Young men of 28 join politics, and by the time they’re 45, they still seem to be dealing with old stuff. That’s why the environment issue still isn’t being taken seriously, because it’s a bunch of people who still think that oil is more important. I think it’s political by chance, but it’s a political story I’m quite interested in.”

Youth is clearly a major theme of “Pirate Radio”. “I think it’s a film partly about being 24—for everybody. I think most people end up in a flat with too many people, one of whom has had sex with everybody, one of whom has never had sex, dreadful food, bad hygiene, and listening to music all the time. For me, that was Camden Town, 1979—The Specials, Madness, Blondie, The Pretenders. In a way, it’s a movie about the freedom of your twenties when money doesn’t matter. You do the job you want to do, you don’t have any children. The weird thing is you often end up living with people you don’t like, because it’s a bit random. It’s the one person who can afford it, or it’s the guy who owns the place, or some girl who’s a friend of his mother’s who has to move in. I hated the four people I moved in with, and yet we were happy.”

Will Adamsdale, Tom Wisdom, Bill Nighy, Katherine Parkinson and Ralph Brown star in Richard Curtis rock and roll comedy PIRATE RADIO, a Focus Features release.
Photo credit: Alex Bailey

Philip Seymour Hoffman was the first choice to play The Count. Richard Curtis explains why, “My brief to them was that The Count was meant to be both funny—which I hope everyone is, he tries to say “f—k” first on the radio—but he was meant to be the soul of the film. I loved the idea of having a really good actor deliver that speech about, “These are the best days of our lives.” The first thing I ever wrote in the film, oddly enough, was the speech he delivers as the boat sinks. I was listening to “Don’t Dream it’s Over” by the Crowded House, and he actually says, “I want to say to all you politicians, don’t dream it’s over.” My intention when I first made the film was that at the end of the movie, we were going to have a compilation of all the great rock songs from the moment the boat went down to now. But it was very confusing when we hoped to get the final cut. So I wanted the best actor to play that part, not necessarily a comedian.”

As for returning to “Black Adder,” something that is appears as a rumor every few years, I’m sorry to report that Curtis offers no clarity on the subject, first saying no, but then pointing out - “Oddly enough, I love the fact that The Police got back together again, and Cream got back together again while they’re still alive. And when we were young, we always said that we’ll do another Black Adder when we’re old and hate young people. Because it was young people pretending to be old people and show what idiots they were. But Tony Robinson is in his mid-90s now, so I’m not hopeful.”

“Pirate Radio” will be released in theaters on Friday, November 13th, 2009.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Director Lee Daniels, Star Gabourey Sidibe on ‘Precious’

PatrickMcD — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:15:47 -0700

CHICAGO – One of the most talked about films this year is the Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey backed “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.” Essential to the film is Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the title character of Precious.

Precious is the story of an overweight African American teenager in 1987 Harlem, who is about to have her second child. Rejected by almost every element of social order, including her immediate family, Precious is a story of survival in a world where certain people remain invisible.

Gabourey Sidbide as Precious and Paula Patton as Ms. Rain in ‘Precious’
Photo credit: © Lionsgate

During the Chicago International Film Festival in October, HollywoodChicago got to interview Gabourey Sidibe, along with her director Lee Daniels. Both participants in this one-of-a-kind production brought their perspective on the journey of both Precious and themselves.

HollywoodChicago.com: Lee, this is by far one of the hottest and most talked about films of the year. Can you describe the path of the main players that got involved in this film and why it resonated with them so much as to get this film in the mainstream?

Lee Daniels: It was really an angel. Ally Sheedy’s mother gave me the book to read. It blew me away, it rocked my soul, it stuck to me like hot grits. But the author at first wouldn’t give me the rights to the book. I kept stalking her, and she finally gave me the book.

Most of the talent I gave the Geoffrey Fletcher adapted screenplay to already knew the story from the novel. And even if they didn’t, they read the script and it stuck to them in the same way. It all starts with the word. And the word was so powerful that it trickled down to everyone involved in the production.

HC: Gabby, I saw that you had read the novel that the film is based on years before. What was the first thing you felt about Precious in relationship to yourself when you read the script?

Gabourey Sidibe: I felt like I knew her, certainly. I felt like I was related to her, she was a family member, a friend. But Precious is a person I didn’t really want to be a friend with, she had a little too much drama. But I did feel guilty because the point of Precious is that she did feel neglected and ignored. And I’ve been part of the people who have neglected and ignored her. That guilt opened my heart, and I felt so much more compassion for her.

HC: Lee, there were actors in your film playing against their glamorous types to find the truth within the story. Were there any difficulties with these actors – Mo’Nique, Mariah C. and Sherri Shepard in particular – finding these characters because they are so outside their usual lives?

LD: No. Because under it all they are all actors. And they are also very good friends. When you have actors that believe in you, that have really given their spirit to play with, and they trust you, and you trust them, it shows on screen.

They gave me their respect and trust. When actors give you their spirit you owe it back to them.

HC: Gabby, how did you and Mo’Nique – playing Precious’ mother Mary – communicate in your electric scenes together? What connection do you think Precious and Mary have, beyond their very difficult circumstances?

GS: Precious and Mary are enemies in a lot of ways. What people don’t see is that Precious loves her Mother, she is the only Mother that she has ever known. She wants a better life now only for herself, but also for her Mother. While she doesn’t understand all the abuse that Mary has handed to her, she still loves her.

In their apartment, though, they are enemies. Because Precious has never heard a kind word from Mary, she is always getting the worst part of her mother. And that defines the relationship between them on screen.

But Mo’Nique and Gabby have a completely different relationship, because we had to. The scenes between Precious and Mary are so intense, angry and emotional that Mo’Nique and I had to love each other double in order to survive the day. In the film she would throw a frying pan at me, Lee would yell ‘cut,’ and then we would hug. And dance. And sing.

Mo’Nique as Mary in ‘Precious’
Photo credit: © Lionsgate

HC: How important is it to tell stories like this to society in general? What revelations do you think will be communicated in regard to this level of poverty, especially of the spirit, in this subsection of the African American community?

LD: It’s not just the African American community. It is a social economic issue that effects all of the underprivileged. Precious is a universal story, it is through me, an African American filmmaker, that the story is told. But when it was a play on the West End of London, the entire cast was white.

We are all Precious, but it just so happened to be that I stuck to the book’s story. It is important to hit home that the ‘Preciouses” of society are not forgotten. It is important to note that today, unlike the 1987 that the story is told in, that people don’t fall through the cracks like they used to. It is a different world, but there are those that still get away with abuse.

The film is about abuse, but it also is about the will to survive. Also literacy, the power of the word and looking at yourself in the mirror and loving yourself, this is how deep Precious goes.

HC: Gabby, there is so much survival instinct that have to be learned at a young age in Precious’ circumstance. What survival instincts do you have in common with Precious?

GS: I have a lot, I was born in Brooklyn and raised in Harlem in New York. We probably have a lot of the same survival instincts. When Precious first meets Ms. Rain [Paula Patton] she doesn’t trust her at first. She doesn’t believe in trusting people, and that is a very New York instinct. That is something I know – never trust a stranger. I relate that completely back to Precious.

HC: You were involved with Monster’s Ball and now Precious. Both dealt with African American women. Since historically in the race, matriarchs are very high status and responsibility in family structure, how do the stories of Leticia and Precious provide understanding to this very important gender?

LD: I don’t agree that African American women have any different status than any other women. When we were at Sundance, a 70-year old Japanese lady started bawling in my hands, crying. I would have agreed with you about African American women in particular before I did this film, but we have been around the world and the story is about women in general, and their mechanism to survive.

When I started out making this, I thought it was about black women and in the end it changed my view about all women.

HC: Gabby, the facial expressions that you decided on for Precious, the blank mask that defined her, was that a natural expression for you or did you have to find it for the character?

GS: (laughs) We called it the ‘One Face.’ The funny thing is that when I’m bored or in a daydream, it’s a family trait. We purse our lips out like that [demonstrates]. When you’re on a film set, waiting, and Lee saw me through the lens naturally going to that face, he said ‘that’s it, that face!’ And I said what? And he said make that face again. I didn’t want to because it was ugly (laughs). Lee said, ‘it’s not ugly, do it!’ When the rest of my family sees this film, they are going to fall out because it’s a family trait to do that expression.

LD: The expression is honest. Oftentimes I’d let the camera roll after I said cut and then I would try to find the truth in what the girls were doing. When they were just being and then capture it. Then I’d say do that, right now. Because that is the truth, and that’s what I wanted to capture.

Director Lee Daniels, Gabourey Sidibe and Patrick McDonald in Chicago, October 14, 2009.
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: Lee, what advantages do Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey give to the representation of African American and general American spirit? Is it some ways equal to Barack Obama on another level?

LD: Yes. I would be embarrassed to bring my Mother, for example, to meet Tyler Perry ever, because she would probably jump him, she loves him so much (laughs). She lives for him. He has that effect on black Americans. We idolize him for what he has done, what he has built, with his entertainment empire.

And the same thing with Oprah. Outside of being really sexy, she is just a Goddess, a Goddess that walks on air.

HC: Last Question for Gabby. What do you want Precious to represent for other “Precious” type girls in the poverty and hopelessness areas of cities and towns in this country?

GS: Certainly hope. The thing about Precious is that life keeps throwing things at her and hitting her in the face. But she never lies down. Even the one time it looked like she was going to, Ms. Rain tells her to continue, and she does.

She is a warrior, and her only weapon is hope. Hope for the future, hope for a better life. And she keeps moving toward it. And that is what I want people to take away. You can never count yourself out. Never.

”Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire” has a limited release on November 6th. Check local listings for theaters. Featuring Gabourey Sibide, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd and Lenny Kravitz, directed by Lee Daniels. Rated “R”

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

Interview: Adam Goldberg on the Art of Performance in ‘(Untitled)’

PatrickMcD — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:30:39 -0700

CHICAGO – The Adam Goldberg character is well known to fans of TV’s “Friends” and the movie’s “Saving Private Ryan.” With his heart-on-his-sleeve persona, he takes that character to rarified heights in the new film “(Untitled).”

Set in the galleries and small symphony halls of New York City, (Untitled) is a deeply philosophical look at the nature of art, through three characters who each believe they understand the essence of what art is within themselves.

Adam Goldberg plays Adrian, a composer of atonal symphonies, whose work continues to go unrecognized. His brother Josh (Eion Bailey), is a successful painter of hotel decor-style art, who longs to be recognized for more. Rounding out the triad is Madelaine (Marley Shelton), the arty and pretentious gallery owner who strives for the next atmospheric happening.

Adam Goldberg as Adrian and Marley Shelton as Madeleine in ‘(Untitled)’
Photo credit: Parker Film Company/Samuel Goldwyn Films

HollywoodChicago got the opportunity to talk to Adam Goldberg about this challenging and enlightening film, and his perspective provides further insights into this substantial release.

HollywoodChicago.com: You essentially played a darker, deeper variation on a character that you are known for, the twitchy neurotic intellectual type. How did your past work with that character type help you in relationship to your portrayal of Adrian?

Adam Goldberg: There were definitely certain aspects of myself that I needed to amplify for this film, and other aspects that I needed to turn down. It was a tuning process to find a balance, because there are definitely certain things I can relate to about Adrian and other things that were hyperbolized. However, after I read the script, I felt that the character was clearly defined.

HC: There is an uncompromising grace in arc of all the characters in (Untitled), a rare feat. Do you feel that you, your fellow actors and the rest of the production crew dug deeper within the material because it was so strong?

AG: In situation with films like this you don’t have as much time, and not as much money, but I’ve found that most people are there because they want to be there, as opposed to it just being a paying gig.

In a uniform sense the people involved were trying to tap as much as they possibly could in themselves. And the director, too, hired everyone because he knew they were going to be good. It turned out to be a very collaborative process. There wasn’t a lot of rehearsal or a lot of time, but there was a lot of discussion in tracking the character’s arcs.

With all the characters there are no definitive didactic statements. Their development is about walking the line and staying true to the character, but at the same time poking holes in the armor so the audience can see some vulnerability and what’s going on in them. In my character of Adrian, it was a minor shift. I had lots of discussion, for example, about how he wouldn’t smile.

Sibling Rivals: Eion Bailey as Josh and the Unsmiling Adam Goldberg in ‘(Untitled)’
Photo credit: Parker Film Company/Samuel Goldwyn Films

HC: (Untitled) is very poignant in showing the truth in staying true to one’s self in artistic expression, despite the pain it sometimes causes. How did you relate this to your character Adrian in the early readings of the script?

AG: In a sense, he is too true to his atonal musicianship, cutting off the harmony to spite his face. He on the one hand believes in what he is doing and on the other hand questions it. He stubbornly stands by his atonal self even though it is shown he is capable of playing beautiful melodies.

He overcompensates for his point of view in an effort to defend it. Ultimately the lesson in the film in part is that you can only end up doing what you do and being yourself. If that ends up being minimalist atonal cacophony so be it. But maybe it also means it’s okay to be successful. Some sort of mainstream acceptance does not equate to a lack of artistic integrity.

HC: We see a New York City in this film that is less familiar and more claustrophobic than usual screen portrayals. What was director Jonathan Parker communicating with this scenic approach?

AG: My sense from the very beginning was that although this is New York City, present day, that there was kind of other worldly feel to it. Adrian, for example, somehow has the last affordable bohemian apartment left in Soho. It’s a holdover from the old days.

Also the world the art gallery characters live in is a bubble world. Adrian’s bubble is even smaller. Although you can identify the area as New York City, it isn’t necessarily about New York as a whole but more of the ‘islands’ within the island.

HC: You are a published and recorded musician yourself. Did you relate to Adrian’s approach to his music art or did you think he was a little much and what did you personally learn about the atonal symphony composition?

AG: For many years I been a fan of the musician Steve Reich, who is a minimalist composer. He began with samples of hand claps, street sounds and pianos, and would phrase them to become this hypnotic repetition. Ultimately he incorporated these elements into very beautiful symphonic structures.

Where we find Adrian is in an earlier phase. He’s not necessarily getting it all right either, he’s become beholden to this intellectual concept that one thing has nothing to do with the other and those two worlds can’t co-exist.

To that extent I don’t relate to him, but I do relate to the idea using soundscapes and sound objects. I have done that in my own music, but it is tuneful. The idea is to create an atmosphere where the song lives. I get the atonal thing intellectually but don’t do it in my own music.

HC: Interestingly enough, the characters in (Untitled) all come to a redemption of sorts by the end. Which of the characters keep evolving the strongest, do you think, or has the best future ahead of them and why?

AG: In a weird way I think probably Eion Bailey’s character, who was my brother Josh in the film, there is something about the acceptance of who he is as himself. It is his character that decides that his artwork is not going to make the Museum of Modern Art, but this is the stuff he paints and he’s happy to be showing it, period.

Eion was last minute casting, replacing somebody who had dropped out. We were all on pins and needles because we were about to shoot. But he made some great choices for the character, with little evolutions rooted to himself.

HC: The art world can be both objective and subjective. What part of the pursuit of art, including your experience with acting and music, do you find to be most satisfying in this process of object and subject?

AG: I struggled with this a lot. Not so much as an actor, for as an actor I feel like my job is to do whatever I can with the material presented, sometimes I succeed and other times I don’t. The things I feel I can be judged on are the things I’ve created from the ground up.

My music, which was well received, and the two films I’ve created, which were more divided reactions, is what I’m most proud of. If I’m going to be judged for something, it should be for the things that I’ve put every ounce of myself into.

Ultimately nothing is more satisfying as the process of making my works. When you start with something that is nothing, a blank screen, and you end up with images, sounds, people’s performances, there is no failing in that regard. There will always be different perceptions of the work, but you can’t control that.

The success is never really enough anyway, what you are left with is what you’re going to do next. In the end, you need to embrace the fulfilling aspects of creation.

HC: Even though you have never actually served in the military did you feel like you had after ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and what appreciation did you come away with for that service, especially in the context of the World War 2 veteran?

AG: It was a totally transformative experience, there is no question about it. As the years go by, the thing I kind of glean the most from that experience was this connection to service, in particular with the guys who fought that war. I was moved by those men and women, and even the homefront. What a different time it was, how connected everyone was. There was something about it that felt like another planet.

When I got home from it, I definitely felt like I had military experience. Particularly the boot camp, even though it was abbreviated. We were camping for five days, eating rations and referring to each other by our character names. It was as important to me to appeal to Dale Dye, the military advisor, as it was to appeal to Steven Spielberg. I had to portray this guy as honestly and thoughtfully in the military sense as in my acting performance.

HC: What was the atmosphere on the set of ‘Dazed and Confused?’ and are you surprised about the number of actors that broke out from that seminal film and had prosperous careers?

AG: I am not surprised. When we were doing it, we had concerns about how it was going to be released, because we wanted it to be as exciting to an audience as we thought it was. It was released in far fewer theaters than we all were led to believe. It was almost destined to be a cult movie just by virtue of how it worked out.

It was a great film to be a part of at the time, in that particular phase of being 17 through your early 20’s as an actor. So many people were so good in that film, that it was obvious it was going to be a breeding ground for breaking out, not unlike ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ and ‘American Graffiti.’

It was a exciting set atmosphere, very familial and clique-oriented. It was like a very condensed college experience, even though it was only a month. We were all running amuck in this hotel, even a security guard made me stay in my room all night (laughs). It was a free-for-all the whole time.

”(Untitled)” opens in Chicago November 6th, in limited release elsewhere. Check local listings for theaters. Featuring Adam Goldberg, Marley Shelton, Eion Bailey and Vinnie Jones, directed by Jonathan Parker. Rated “R”.

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

Interview: 50 Years of Filmmaking With Martin Landau

BrianTT — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:30:53 -0700

CHICAGO – The legendary Martin Landau was recently in Chicago with two films in special presentation at The 45th Annual Chicago International Film Festival - the classic “North by Northwest,” also releasing on Blu-Ray tomorrow, November 3rd, 2009, and the new drama “Lovely, Still,” co-starring Ellen Burstyn.

Very few actors will ever have an experience like Mr. Landau did at the film festival in October, bringing two experiences from such different eras of their working life. We spent a lot of time with Martin discussing what’s important to him as an actor and he made clear that it’s the arc of his character that’s essential to the projects he chooses.

Landau explains, “The interesting thing is that I’ve had an interesting cross-section of directors - Joe Mankiewicz, George Stevens, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, Tim Burton, Francis Coppola, Woody Allen, Steve Spielberg. The good directors create a playground for you and give you a lot of freedom.”

“That’s the secret - casting the right person, somebody with the range and understanding to play your character, and then opening a door and creating a space for them to have fun. I haven’t been directed, literally, in thirty years by anybody. I haven’t been given a direction. I come in with stuff and I figure if they don’t like it they’ll tell me. They don’t tell me. I hit my marks, I say the words, and I go home. All an audience wants to believe is that what’s going on between two or more people is happening for the first time ever. That’s what you have to create in a positive sense. It’s a dynamic of behavior - what’s going on NOW. That’s what’s exciting about what I do.”

Martin Landau at the Chicago International Film Festival Awards Ceremony in the Pump Room at the Ambassador East Hotel, October 17, 2009.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

When asked if he would take a bad script if the collaborators were talented, Landau revealed that he would turn down anyone if he didn’t like the screenplay, even Woody Allen, saying that he has turned him down in the past. It’s the arc of the character - “both the story and the challenge” - that matters.

As an example, Landau brought up how he became attached to “Entourage” - “Doug Ellin wrote it for me. It was a three-episode arc. I turned it down on the basis of one script. So he says let’s have dinner. He and Jeremy Piven take me out to dinner and I told them that there’s two more scripts and I wanted to see where the character goes. So, he sends me the second one and one of the directors and Doug take me to dinner. I say, “Look, I’m not being difficult but I want to see where the character goes.” In the beginning, you think the guy doesn’t have a few cylinders working and then you see that he doesn’t even have a project and then as it goes on you think that he’s going to be taken advantage of and then he winds up getting Ari fired. I liked that and I liked where it went.”

Lovely, Still
Photo credit: The Chicago International Film Festival

Landau revealed that he may be coming back to “Entourage,” but the focus of his time in Chicago was on “North by Northwest” and “Lovely, Still”. He explained how he got the part in the former - “I was very new in Hollywood. I had been involved in the theatre and stage work and summer stock and, suddenly, I’m in a play that travels the country and winds up in L.A. Hitchcock comes and sees the play opening night and the next thing I know I get a call and read a script and the character is 180 degrees from the character I’m playing in the theater. Suddenly, I’m working with Cary Grant, who I grew up with in theaters on Saturdays with my friends. James Mason.”

“Hitchcock was legendary, even then. I had seen Rebecca, Suspicion, Saboteur, which is one of the reasons he did North by Northwest. He felt he had made a mistake by having the bad guy hanging off the Statue of Liberty. He told me that. He said [in a perfect Hitch impression], “Martin I made a terrible error. I had the bad fellow in jeopardy. No one gave a damn. DIE for Christ’s sake. It’s one of the things that made me do this film. I wanted to correct a major error on my part of judgment.” Having the good guy - a different national monument but the same scene really.”

Fifty years later and after dozens of amazing films, Landau isn’t just picked by directors, he has parts written for him. Such was the case with “Lovely, Still,” a drama co-starring Ellen Burstyn in a tale of an elderly romance with a twist. Writer/director Nicholas Faeckler sent the script to William Morris who sent it to Landau’s agent and then the real work began.

Martin Landau in North by Northwest
Photo credit: Warner Brothers

Landau says, “It’s a good piece and a good concept and I told my agent that I’d like to meet with the writer. I said, “How old is he?” I figured 50 or 60. Who’s going to write an older couple love story? “He’s 22 years old.” “Wow. I’d like to meet him and have lunch with him.” “Well, he lives in Omaha, Nebraska.” “Well, that’s his problem.” I wound up loving Omaha. We shot there. Anyway, he flies in and we have a 5 hour lunch at Art’s Deli in the Valley, where they don’t throw you out. I said, “The first act has to build to the date. These scenes do not belong here. These scenes need to be here.””

“The reality that you’re watching this movie on is not the actual reality. The second time is another movie. There’s double entendres and moments that it needed. He did a rewrite and for two months on the telephone, we did 5 or 6 pages at a time. I said, “If you work with me on this, I’ll do your movie.” We had a list - Ellen Burstyn, Gena Rowlands, Blythe Danner. When it was 90% there, I said send it to Ellen. She called me and said, “Marty, what the f**k are we going to do in Omaha for seven weeks?” It never got past Ellen.”

Martin Landau in North by Northwest
Photo credit: Warner Brothers

When it comes to his career of work, Martin Landau barely has time to watch his older films, revealing that he has several projects in some state of production, runs the Actor’s Studio on the west coast, is working on a seminar with Mark Rydell and Lyle Kessler, and is working on a stage musical that he is also shooting behind-the-scenes material on for a making-of show.

But when pressed as to which films he feels should be seen first by someone new to his career, Landau mentions some classics including “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” “Ed Wood,” “Tucker,” and, somewhat surprisingly, “Pinocchio,” noting that it wasn’t the first time that he had worked with “a wooden actor”.

As for what he’s working on next, Landau reveals, “I’m going to do a movie next with Jennifer Lopez, a film noir kind of movie like Double Indemnity - a lot of that stuff. We hired a director who did a pass on the script and it was terrible. We gave them another shot and it was worse. It’s a very good script as it is but the guy didn’t get it. I won’t mention his name. It looked like it was written by a farmer with a rake. It’s a good script and it’s gotten better but he didn’t get it. He’s one of the friends of another one of the producers and it took a lot of time. But now there’s a guy we’re very interested in and we’re talking to him. But that’s going to go. That’s a go project. It’s a very good one for her. It’s good.”

“North by Northwest” will be released on Blu-Ray on November 3rd, 2009 and “Lovely, Still” will open in theaters on a TBA date.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com

Interview: ‘Nice Bombs’ Director Usama Alshaibi, Nat Dykeman of Cinema Obscura DVD

PatrickMcD — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:30:23 -0600

CHICAGO – October 27th is the release date for “Nice Bombs,” a personal documentary from Cinema Obscura DVD about the homecoming of a native Iraqi to his old hometown of Baghdad, still in the midst of the Iraq War.

The film follows director Usama Alshaibi, as he contemplates and completes his two-and-a-half week visit to Baghdad, meeting long lost relatives after 24 years of exile. Alshaibi’s profile describes it as “Both an inwards exploration of personal identity and an outward examination of a post-Hussein Iraq through interviews with family and friends.”

Director Usama Alshaibi (upper left) among his countrymen in Baghdad, in ‘Nice Bombs.’
Photo credit: NiceBombs.com

Nat Dykeman, who runs Cinema Obscura DVD, and the documentary creator/director Usama Alshaibi talked to HollywoodChicago in anticipation of the October 27th DVD release and the journey to get this unique story available for the marketplace.

HollywoodChicago.com: What is the background of Cinema Obscura’s involvement in the ‘Nice Bombs’ DVD release?

Nat Dykeman: I knew someone in the BenzFilm Group, who produced it. I went to the premiere and loved the movie, it had won Best Documentary at the Chicago Underground Film Festival. It also had a theatrical release and was shown on the Sundance Channel.

When the DVD release came up, they came back to Cinema Obscura because simply they wanted a nice product and saw that we could deliver. They wanted somebody, even though we were smaller, that would meet the expectations of the DVD release and nurture the film product.

HC: Cinema Obscura DVD is a relatively new sales and distribution company. What is your philosophy regarding the type of films you want to offer the marketplace?

ND: As the logo and name suggests, we release smaller and more obscure titles. ‘Nice Bombs’ is our biggest release.

Typically we deal with projects in the low-to-no-budget range, that have done well in the festival circuit and people have seen them. There is no ‘KFC secret recipe’ (laughs), it’s about finding good product, getting them out on DVD and then getting them into distribution channels.

With my background in DVD sales at the retail level and running the Lake County Film Festival I see a lot of independent films that I want to put out.

HC: Usama, what type of global understanding are you trying to communicate in this documentary?

Usama Alshaibi: On a basic level, the opportunity to see an Iraqi family through my perspective. As someone who had to leave Iraq at an early age, and being displaced from the country of my origin, this is a story about having loved ones and relatives back in Baghdad. It a typical situation in this scenario.

Since the war started in 2003, there are many countries and people who are involved directly. In the U.S., there are people who are for it, against it, who have family members in the military that are over there. And then there is the Iraqi people, which is a perspective that we don’t have that often.

‘Nice Bombs’ doesn’t emphasize the war, it is rather my connection to Iraq and the Iraqi people, universally what those people recognize and share it with the rest of the world. It is an opportunity to showcase Iraq and its people.

HC: With the war still ongoing, what do Americans need to know about the Iraqi people and how does this film help?

UA: Though the problems are far from over, it is because Iraq has a fairly large middle class there has been some amazing improvements. The country is more or less on its own feet. There is still U.S. presence but it is pretty much hands off, they can’t do anything unless the Iraqi government asks them.

I think the American people need to be patient with Iraq and the U.S. involvement. There is no military solution anymore, but definitely there needs to be more aid, plus an awareness and a sense of responsibility. There has to be more than invading a country, being gung-ho and then just getting bored and have no more interest. We’re all indirectly connected to this.

HC: ‘Nice Bombs’ refers to an off-hand remark that one of your cousins makes about the constant explosions in Baghdad. What do you want to say in the film about living in such a war zone?

UA: In an off-hand way, it’s really about the humor. People have this impression that everyone is huddled together waiting for the bombing to be over. It’s more complicated than that. When the initial bombing period was over, there was still daily random violence – everything from insurgent attacks to kidnappings.

War is a common theme over there and speaks about the culture. And humor is used to protect themselves, a type of sense of humor that I’ve never seen before. Laughing in the face of death.

It comments on Iraqis but it’s also a sad reality that I hope will change.

HC: Finally, what was the highlight about visiting your homeland again and what did you most take away from the experience.

UA: It was important for me to go back to Iraq, because I’ve been in the United States so long that more or less this is my home now. Going back and visiting Iraq it would seem difficult to me to permanently moved back.

It just felt good to connect again and to go back to the place where I was born. As a human being, there is a need to connect to your origin. In the face of all that, there was the war, the dangerous journey and the tumultuous homecoming that also all made it very dramatic.

Besides just the movie it was probably the most important journeys I’ve ever made. And as a film it one of my most important pieces. It did make me feel vulnerable, and like a true documentary I went ‘into the cave’ and went into the unknown to both show to myself and the world the real Iraq.

”Nice Bombs” releases on DVD by Cinema Obscura October 27th and can be obtained on Amazon.com. Find more information on the film here.
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By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com