Comedy Beats SFX at DCFS Summer Trailer Program
By Larry Hart, DC Film Society Member
Despite lots of supernatural goings-on, the ultimate Batman prequel and an updated War of the Worlds to look forward to this summer, the “preview” for an old fashioned romantic comedy, Must Love Dogs, was the audience favorite at this year’s Coming Attractions for Summer 2005 held at Landmark's E Street Cinema on June 14.
Once again, local film critics Joe Barber and Bill Henry provided context and commentary to 30 trailers that ran the gamut from another rendition of The Dukes of Hazzard to a six hour Italian epic, The Best of Youth. Joe and Bill like to place the trailers in categories and Must Love Dogs wound up in “The Decade That Brought Us Grease and the Bee Gees in Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band---Please Kill Me Now” (just don’t ask me to explain that one). Diane Lane and John Cusack head up the cast of a film that seems not to pretend to be anything but summer fun. That diverse category included The Island, which is described as the last uncontaminated place on our planet about 50 years from now, but the only thing you have to know is that it’s got Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. They were in with The Skeleton Key, one of those scary backwoods Louisiana flicks, with a cast of old faves like Gena Rowlands and William Hurt, Last Days, a fictionalized version of a Cobain-like rocker’s end and the film festival circuit sensation, Me and You and Everyone We Know a first film directed by, written and starring performance artist Miranda July. [See below for an interview with Miranda July].
Kicking off the evening was “Remaking the Movies-We Love the 70s” which included a new take on the old (very old) TV series Bewitched and a new yarn from the old horror-master Wes Craven-- Red Eye. (That one got a confused reaction as the trailer starts out in one direction and then reverses gears to the horror genre). The audience fave, though, went to a visually spectacular documentary March of the Penguins. A strong positive also for Stealth which will make HAL the runaway computer in 2001-A Space Odyssey seem tame by comparison. Disney’s Howl’s Moving Castle provided some lighter fare.
The Bad News Bears topped the “In the 70s We Believed in Recycling” beating out blockbuster remakes including Batman Begins--actually a prequel which Joe Barber hailed as “a classy piece of work,” War of the Worlds, Fantastic Four and a true blast from the past, The Dukes of Hazzard. Yet another remake is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which does include a Johnny Depp version of Willie Wonka but puts more emphasis on the boy. Joe Barber says Depp’s heavily made up Wonka reminded him of a certain pop singer who’s been in the news lately. Barber and Henry pointed out that remaking Bears with Billy Bob Thornton as the Coach makes it more of a Billy Bob flick than just a rerun.
There were three trailers in the “Here’s To Farrah (and her hair)” group but The Wedding Crashers was the easy audience winner. This may be the summer hit for New Line. Also in this group were Herbie: Fully Loaded aiming the old VW bug story to the NASCAR crowd (does anyone really remember the VW bug?) and Happy Endings, a dysfunctional romantic comedy for the art house crowd with a host of independent film favorites, including Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lisa Kudrow, Laura Dern and Bobby Cannavale.
Speaking of Art House flicks, that category included the aforementioned The Best of Youth, a six hour Italian RAI-TV miniseries that has been given a theatrical release. Don’t worry about devoting a whole day to it. Spanning four decades of an Italian family, it’s divided up into two parts shown at different times. Getting the audience kudos, though, was the documentary Murderball, a fascinating look at a version of Rugby for the disabled. From the action-packed trailer, the game is not for the faint of heart. Also included: Mysterious Skin, an odd tale of very different boys, one from small town Kansas who believes he was abducted by aliens and how they find each other in New York, and two French flicks Happily Ever After, a marital comedy for the over-35 crowd, and Francois Ozun’s 5x2, which appropriates Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal’s” gimmick of playing a failed marriage on rewind and ending at the beginning.
The “Blaxploitation” genre is not quite dead, but Four Brothers gives it a twist with Mark Wahlberg joining a largely African-American cast as one of four adopted brothers who want revenge for their adopted mother’s death. The same producer (John Singleton) also has a less violent film called Hustle and Flow, set in the world of the Memphis music scene and rapper wannabes.
What would a summer season be without Slasher and Zombie movies? This summer has plenty of them. Best trailer of the lot went to more of a supernatural adventure movie, Night Watch, which involves battles between forces of light and darkness. The kicker is when the titles come on in Russian after a no dialogue trailer. (Actual title: Nochnoi Dozor.) Joe Barber pointed out that studios go to great lengths in their trailers to avoid those dreaded subtitles. We also got a taste of two zombie flicks, the bigger budget Land of the Dead, from Universal and the Lions Gate release Undead. Dark Water has poor Jennifer Connolly playing another depressed woman who, with a young daughter in tow, and in desperation for an apartment close to Manhattan, winds up in one that makes the one in Rosemary’s Baby look normal (and watch out for those helpful New York “supers” who manage the buildings).
But that wasn’t all. Some were on the “surprise” list. The latest from David Cronenberg, A History of Violence. Although as its title implies, a violent film, those who saw it at Cannes claim it’s more mainstream for Cronenberg, whose films can best be described as esoteric. For something completely different, there was The New World from Terence Malick which goes back to the explorer John Smith and a new take on the clashes between Native Americans and the British.
Lots of thanks go to lots of people who helped, including coordinating committee members Karrye Braxton, Cheryl Dixon, Ky Nguyen, Tuan Tran and Billy Coulter, Landmark’s E Street staff, Allied Advertising, TerryHines and Associates and of course the studios for all those trailers.
Me and You and Everyone We Know: An Interview with Miranda July
By Caroline Cooper, DC Film Society Member
Last April's FilmfestDC provided several new filmmakers with an opportunity to showcase their talent to the Washington film community. One such artist is Miranda July, who makes her directorial debut with Me and You and Everyone We Know.For Miranda July, the film was the next logical progression in her already impressive career as a writer, actress, and performance artist. The film has received rave reviews from critics across the country, and won prizes at the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals. Roger Ebert calls it “This Year’s Sideways.”
Me and You and Everyone We Know traces the lives of everyday people as they embark on a journey through romantic ups and downs and professional pitfalls. The theme of the movie is connection, and July centers on the interaction of her four main characters, newly divorced Richard, budding performance artist Christine, and Richard’s two sons, to make the connections come alive.
I had a chance to sit down with Miranda July to discuss her first experience in directing a film.
Caroline Cooper: What inspired you to make this film?
Miranda July: I have been working in a lot of different mediums of performance-writing, radio-for a long time, so I was very comfortable with doing things how I wanted to do them. That was very good training for the most important parts of making a movie. I had always wanted to make a feature, but didn’t have an idea. One day I was on the L-train in Chicago and had a flash of a world--the father and his two sons, curator and the artist, and the department store--and I got off the train and thought, "I have my first feature."
Caroline Cooper: You brought a lot of your background as a performance artist to this film. Did you want your background to influence the film? I ask because the character you play, Christine, and her performance art help to “bridge the gap” in so many parts of the film.
Miranda July: You are right. Initially, that was not the case. I added a little bit of that in the reshoot. If you are going to go through the trouble of making a movie, you should not be afraid to show the thing that is most unique to you. I knew the character of Christine would be an artist. Her story (her art) isn’t any bigger than Richard selling shoes. Her work is like a placeholder, and I wanted that to represent a lonely, yet driven personality.
Caroline Cooper: How long did it take you to write the script?
Miranda July: I started in June 2001. This was a backburner project at first because I was touring and performing and months would go by and I wouldn’t look at it. I kept applying to the Sundance Screenwriters Lab (I got rejected twice), and in that process I kept rewriting. When I was accepted, it became my next project.
Caroline Cooper: Was it difficult for you to begin the writing process?
Miranda July: Yes. I didn’t even have Final Draft. I just started with dialogue because that’s the easiest part for me. I would start with two people talking and discover what the scene was about as I was writing. I would try to get a lot done and stop in a place that I would want to come back to.
Caroline Cooper: Is it easy for you to write dialogue because you are a performance artist?
Miranda July: Yes. Acting is a great place to start from. In fact, I don’t understand how people can write for film when they have never acted. Obviously, there are great screenwriters out there who do. But, I am acting as I am writing because I’m used to performing all of the parts of something. I couldn’t have planned it better if I wanted good training for screenwriting than getting used to being all of the characters.
Caroline Cooper: Was it difficult for you to develop your characters and keep the story moving forward?
Miranda July: Yes. As I was writing I realized that the more the characters can connect, the more interesting the film will be.
Caroline Cooper: Outside of the dialogue, was it difficult for you to find ways to tell the story?
Miranda July: I didn’t start with the story; I started accumulating scenes. For a movie like Me and You and Everyone We Know, that works. Although by the end, you have to look at how people change and whether the plot becomes a single story. At later stages of writing, I realized that characters such as Christine and Richard would need to connect again and she needs to get something across or get new information. It’s kind of nice to be at that stage, to have assignments for yourself as a writer.
Caroline Cooper: Did your participation in the Sundance Screenwriters Lab help you to get financing for the film?
Miranda July: Sundance helps because you can say you were in the Lab, and that’s the biggest help in terms of financing. People will look at the scripts that go through the Lab, and that’s saying a lot because there are a lot of scripts out there. I never went to film school; I am totally self-taught in all the things I do. So, for me, the experience provided me with confidence about the process. I met some advisors at the Lab who continue to be supportive of the project.
Caroline Cooper: How much time did it take for you to finish the script and start shooting?
Miranda July: I went to the Sundance Filmmaker’s Lab in June 2003, and I began shooting in June 2004. During that time I was rewriting the script and working with my producer to get money. Once we got FilmFour and IFC on-board, we started instantly because we wanted to make Sundance this year.
Caroline Cooper: How did you select you actors? Did you have anyone in mind for the parts?
Miranda July: I didn’t have anyone in mind for any of the roles. I knew that I didn’t want name actors; it didn’t seem appropriate for this movie. I saw a ton of people for most of the parts and just kept looking for a certain quality--it didn’t have to do with experience but whether they had a certain type of energy.
Caroline Cooper: Like the character Robby?
Miranda July: Exactly. I still love watching the parts of the movie with his facial expressions.
Caroline Cooper: Did you have rehearsal time?
Miranda July: We had very little rehearsal time. We had one or two rehearsals with everyone to troubleshoot--going through the scenes to ensure there were no misconceptions. To be honest, I was so new to moviemaking that it was better to start shooting. For the next movie, I will have a better idea of what I would want to do in a rehearsal.
Caroline Cooper: Were you pleased with how the actors developed the characters?
Miranda July: Completely. The joy of not playing all the parts yourself (as I do in performance art) is that actors can do it so much better. The delivery of a certain line would blow me away. It is so satisfying when a character’s face can tell a story.
Caroline Cooper: Richard’s facial expressions were very vivid. Can you tell me about John Hawkes and his background?
Miranda July: He’s been in a million things. Right now, he’s in Deadwood. He’s never been cast as a romantic lead. He’s an intense and smart guy, and was perfect for the role of Richard. I looked at a million people and finally saw him and said he’s Richard.
Caroline Cooper: Was it difficult for you to find locations for this film?
Miranda July: It’s a weird process. There is a location manager, but ultimately, I drove around, pointed to houses, and knocked on doors to ask to shoot there. It’s a hard process because you are invading people’s lives. And none of the interiors looked like what I wanted. You have to change the inside--carpet, put up wallpaper.
Caroline Cooper: How much time did you take to shoot the film?
Miranda July: 24 days. It was very tight. Every second was precious. You spend years writing and perfecting a scene, and then you have only three minutes to shoot the perfect take.
Caroline Cooper: When did you finish the film? How much time did it take you to edit?
Miranda July: We finished the day before we left for Sundance--January 20. There were little things I fixed after Sundance because we shot on HD. There were points in editing when I didn’t think we would make Sundance. Somehow it all worked out.
Caroline Cooper: Have you been pleased with audience reaction so far?
Miranda July: Yes. You just don’t know how a crowd will react. The reaction to the film is a lot more visceral; people really laugh. It was pretty surreal the first time I watched it with an audience. It took me a moment to realize what was happening.
Caroline Cooper: Will you participate in other film festivals?
Miranda July: Yes, there are a handful of U.S. festivals and some in other countries.
Caroline Cooper: Can you describe your best and most challenging experiences in making this film?
Miranda July: The best and most challenging experiences were somewhat the same. Writing and acting are very instinctive for me. But, directing is much more challenging; I feel like a novice. I felt so inarticulate in working with the actors, but at the same time I got the actors to do what I imagined them to do. That part of it makes me lie awake at night thinking I have to make my next movie.
Caroline Cooper: Do you have another project in mind?
Miranda July: Yes, I’m just in the early stages of the project. I started when I was editing Me and You and Everyone We Know. Once this movie is launched, then I will shift my focus to the next movie. The movie will be a bigger movie in scale because it will cost more. I don’t want it to be an ensemble piece, but I keep adding characters. Someday, I would like to do something with just two people.
Caroline Cooper: What advice would you offer to a budding filmmaker?
Miranda July: I would suggest starting the process with feelings that you have each day when you are writing; don’t create things that are not based on the way that you feel right now. Even if you have to come up with a scene to fit the plot, there is still something that you are feeling in that moment that has something to offer the movie.
Me and You and Everyone We Know opens in the Washington area July 1.
An Interview with Harriet Fields, W.C. Fields' granddaughter
W.C. Fields: The Icon of American Humor
By Annette Graham, DC Film Society Member and Storyboard Editor
Back in June 2004 I met Harriet Fields, W.C. Fields' only granddaughter, when Films on the Hill did a short series of W.C. Fields' films, including the rarely seen Sally of the Sawdust. She graciously agreed to an interview at the time, and after learning that the AFI would be doing a retrospective, we thought that the interview would be an appropriate accompaniment to the series. Also during July Slapsticon will show two of W.C.'s silent films. Those interested in learning more about W.C. Fields are encouraged to see the Emmy Award winning special by Ronald J. Fields, W.C. Fields Straight Up which is available on DVD, and his books, the essential filmography W.C. Fields: A Life on Film and W.C. Fields: His Intended Autobiography. Two biographies have appeared in recent years: Man on the Flying Trapeze: The Life and Times of W.C. Fields (1997) by Simon Louvish and W.C. Fields: A Biography (2004) by James Curtis.
Storyboard: Your grandfather died in 1946 before you were born. Do you remember how you first learned about W.C. Fields and how you learned that he was your grandfather?
Harriet Fields: Well, we, my four brothers and myself, saw his films on television with my father, W.C. Fields, Jr. sitting in the living room with us as young children growing up. My father looked exactly like his father, except Pa was tall, 6 feet, Pa even had the same ear lobes, so sitting side by side and as I told you when we met, it was a bit disconcerting for a young child to figure out where reality began or ended, for there on the television screen was WCF and there in the living room with us was WCF, our father.
SB: So, did someone tell you, "that's your grandfather" or did you figure it out based on the names being the same?
HF: Of course my parents told us, my father was proud and respectful of his father's accomplishments as an artist. We visited WCF's wife, my paternal grandmother, Hattie every Sunday. She would often reminisce about WCF and her part on stage with him performing throughout the world in vaudeville, before the birth of their only child, my father. There were also pictures of the young father, WCF, and his adorable young son, my father displayed in Hattie's bedroom, as well as a picture of Hattie and her sister, Kitty, with WCF's parents, Jim and Kate, and their youngest son, Leroy. Every time we visited Hattie, would show us these pictures, and evidently took pride in her accomplishments and family.
SB: Your younger brother Ronald mentions in his book that he didn't know
anything about it until he was 12 years old.
HF: Yes. My youngest brother Ron, only two and a half years separate us, says that since he was the youngest of five children all born within less than six years, no one ever bothered to tell him why we were watching these wonderful movies on television with our father, until one day he was laughing so hard he had to leave the room, and as a dutiful sister and subsequent dear friend, I went out and asked about his welfare< "Are you alright?" He said he never saw anything so funny, I said, "Well don't you know W.C. Fields is your grandfather?"
SB: I just love that story. What a revelation for a 12 year old. There have been quite a few books about W.C. Fields and his films over the years. There is also a documentary. What else has Ron done?
HF: As you know, Ron, Ronald J. Fields the writer, is the W.C. Fields scholar and Emmy Award winner. Ron's first book W.C. Fields: His Intended Autobiography was Prentice Hall's best seller of 1973. Ron's filmography: W.C. Fields: A Life on Film is the quintessential film resource and guide for Fields's films and St. Martin's highly acclaimed publication of 1984. In 1986, Ron won the Emmy Award for co-producing and co-writing the best Public Television Documentary, W.C. Fields Straight Up, which is now out on DVD. I cry whenever I see this touching documentary. There is one line narrated by Dudley Moore reading Ron's line, when the sixteen year old William Claude Dukenfield is walked to the train station in Philadelphia by his mother, for young Bill was taking the train to New York to try his hand at his great talent on the stage in New York and vaudeville throughout the world. The narration of Ron's words says: her boy would never be hers again, he would now belong to the world. And, how true. That is why I love W.C. Fields, because he belongs to us all.
SB: I knew nothing about W.C. Fields when I first started watching his films and had no idea that he was an expert juggler and had had a long and distinguished career in vaudeville. I only wish some of W.C. Fields' vaudeville shows had been photographed. Because WCF appeared in movies, he will live on forever and the rest of the world can enjoy his work. Comedians and dramatic actors who didn't make movies are just unknown to us; they may have been first-class in their day, but soon no one will be alive who has seen their work.
HF: W.C. Fields' art is about us. His humor is piercing, intelligent, and immediate, and thus, ultimately, so deeply satisfying. Where else do you see such deep understanding, nuance, relevance to current events in any other comedian, present or past, than W C. Fields? I would love to see a book addressing current events with Fieldsisms as commentary. Perhaps I shall compose such a tome. A few years ago, CNN did a profile of how people in the world do have great affection for Americans, even though they might not agree with current American policies. This segment was filmed in a former East German city where at the time, the whole townspeople came out to see then-president Clinton. Inside filming in a local tavern, was a picture on the wall of Clinton and W.C. Fields. Do you know there is a W.C. Fields Fan Club in Denmark, and just last week a colleague told me of purchasing an endearing card with WCF's photo in London. Many years ago, while in Trafalgar Square gazing off to my left was a book store with two huge glass store front windows, one adorned with a poster of Woodie Allen, the other, W.C. Fields, their native son, for WCF's father was born in that old mother country.
SB: Is there a W.C. Fields Fan Club?
HF: Yes, and it is alive and well with its own active Web site and newsletter, the Lompoc Picayune Intelligencer. Ted Wioncek the president, performs an enormous act of love and devotion. Yahoo hosts a group that helps spread the word of Fields and both have initiated a letter writing campaign to Universal Studios to release more Fields films.
SB: Anything we can do to help?
HF: Universal Studios owns most of WCF's films. We are trying to work with them to release them on DVD along with our now "added value material" (as they term it) of our paternal grandfather's artifacts and memorabilia, what a treasure feast it would be for the public to view. As you know, Universal has been absorbed with their own well publicized internal problems the last many years, but we will continue to pursue. So, any communication campaign to Universal will certainly help.
SB: W.C. Fields has been getting some attention lately and this year is the 125th anniversary of his birth. Two recent books have been published, W.C. Fields by James Curtis and The Man on the Flying Trapeze by Simon Louvish. I don't recall any of his films having been shown recently in our area other than the Films on the Hill series last year. Now both the AFI and Slapsticon are doing some films. This increased interest in W.C. Fields must make you feel proud.
HF: Thank you, yes. Proud, proud, proud! As I told you when I met you last year at Films on the Hill, I have always kept a very low profile about my paternal heritage. Not that I am not proud, but I know humbly and realistically it is W.C. Fields who is our inspiration, and it has nothing to do with me; I am proud of that on my own. However, I do feel at this point in life it is time and my responsibility to help spread the word of W.C. Fields to future generations. That is why I introduced myself to you and was pleased to field questions to the audience. I always love people who love WCF, because to me it means he means as much to them and their lives and developmental stages as WCF means to me and my siblings. So it is only an embarrassment of riches. My concern now is to spread the joy that W.C. Fields means to the human condition.
SB: What are you doing in that direction?
HF: My four brothers and myself inherited all of WCF's artifacts and memorabilia. What a glorious treasure trove! As with all family matters it has taken us quite awhile after it was processed through my paternal grandmother, Hattie's provenance and then my father and then finally us. Well, a few years ago, I realized based on advocacy and work I have done here in Washington as the federal Court Monitor in the D.C. Village Nursing Home case, that actually we cannot sit on material that really belongs to the world. We have placed our WCF material at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Margaret Herrick Library. I am happy for WC to have his materials there as a final resting place--he is with his entertainment colleagues--for the Academy is solely devoted to the preservation, restoration, archiving, cataloguing and sharing with researchers and the public their great collections devoted solely to the entertainment industry. Perhaps in a traveling exhibition the artifacts could reach the public in this country and all over the world.
At left: Harriet Fields models a beautiful dress at the DAR Museum's book reading and fashion show last year, celebrating Rosemary Reed Miller's book "Threads of Time, the Fabric of History," about African-American dress designers
SB: Can you tell us something about yourself and your four brothers?
HF: I was born three weeks after WCF's death and was named after his wife, my paternal grandmother Harriet. Shortly after me, Allen and Ron were born. Our two older brothers are W.C. Fields III and Everett. I have a doctorate from Columbia University in community health and nursing education and am a former nurse educator. For the past many years I have been consulting in nursing home reform. Recently, I served as the federally appointed Court Monitor in the D.C. Village Nursing Home case, and am currently with the National Endowment for the Arts, Office for AccessAbility, and at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. I am the Vice-President of W.C. Fields Productions, Inc. My brother Allen A. Fields, a business person in San Diego, is President of W.C. Fields Productions, Inc.; Ronald J. Fields, the writer and Fields expert, is Secretary. William C. Fields III and Everett F. Fields are both lawyers. We, my brothers and myself, oversee W.C. Fields Productions, Inc. Our purpose is to preserve, protect and promote the legacy of our paternal grandfather, our world treasure, W.C. Fields. He committed his life, art, passion, and himself to give pleasure and comfort to the world. I feel and believe, by mere accident of birth, it is our great responsibility and joy to share him. What a humble, exhilarating, and profound privilege.
SB: You are an inspiration to all us fans and to all others who might happen, through accident of birth, to be related to someone famous. What's your personal take on WCF?
HF: I love my paternal grandfather's films. W.C. Fields is my spiritual inspiration. For there is no instance in the human condition that one cannot find a source of refuge and solace in WCF's art. He studied the human condition and then served it back to us in his art. Whether it is the pain of a difficult marriage, teenage children, rebellious youth, contentious employers, less than loving in-laws, WCF persevered with sweetness, resolve, gentleness and understanding of the human condition, if not a bit of befuddlement about the circumstances he found himself. Some say that WCF was a misogynist. I do not believe that. In fact two years ago, Turner Classic Movies had as their star of the month, W.C. Fields. A comedy writer in Los Angeles wrote me that his girlfriend had never seen a WCF film until then. He said she was so overwhelmingly impressed by WCF's sweetness of being and his commitment to keep his family together. How true.
SB: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us. Anyone wanting to learn more: see the films at the AFI and at Slapsticon, check out the fan club and newsletter mentioned above, read some of the numerous books on W.C. Fields (beware--some of them are "print the legend" types) and possibly even make a pilgrimage out to the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Also Harriet Fields will appear at several of the screenings at the American Film Institute and at Slapsticon.
Lights, Camera, Cannes! Part Trois
By Cheryl Dixon, DC Film Society Member
The Palais des Festivals
The sights and sounds of the 58th annual Festival de Cannes held this year from May 11-22 continue to dazzle the senses. Fellow Film Society member Claudia Lagos and I found ourselves for the third time amidst the crowds of the Cannes Film Festival on the Cote d’Azur. Yes, they are all still there: the omnipresent gowned and tuxedoed ladies and gents, the hordes of adoring fans straining for a glimpse of celebrity red-carpet arrivals at the Palais des Festivals, the gendarmes, the paparazzi, the international journalists, the world-class hotels, the beach, the palm trees, and flowers, movie billboards along the Boulevard de la Croisette, the yachts in the adjoining Old Port … and of course the movies, hundreds of them, the long waiting lines, and the celebrities themselves. C’est Cannes, part trois!
You’ve heard this all before. So, what’s new, exciting, and different? The Cannes Classics section focused on the works of British Director Michael Powell and French Director Jean Renoir. Movies featuring James Dean in East of Eden and Rebel Without A Cause were screened. Cinema de la Plage, the free movies screened outdoors on the beach, was back with a diverse selection of popular films, including the first Star Wars movie, Episode IV--A New Hope, as well as documentaries, and musicals. Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith received a royal reception as George Lucas, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, and Samuel L. Jackson were present at the Palais screenings. Cannes, incidentally, was the place where Mr. Lucas made the original deal for Star Wars. In addition, there was a tribute to film music as evidenced by contemporary musicians’ performances prior to the outdoor screenings. One musical set was devoted to Actress/Dancer Josephine Baker. A pre-Festival jurors’ conference featured discussion on providing access for young talent and the possibility of creating a traveling, mini-Cannes Festival with selected Festival screenings. Catherine Deneuve, who received an honorary Palm Award, offered an Acting Master Class and African Director Sembene Ousmane lectured in the La Lecon de Cinema section. The Festival opened a new theatre, “Cinema du Monde,” in the Village International, screening movies from Morocco, South Africa, Mexico, Austria, Peru, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines that were not made for foreign audiences. Billboards revealed beaucoup Beyonce on the Boulevard, and Rosario Dawson and Jessica Alba of Sin City were also popular billboards. The Chronicles of Narnia (watch out Harry Potter fans!), War of the Worlds, and, of course, Star Wars billboards were seen everywhere.
For a complete description of the Festival’s mission, competition categories, and a complete roster of films, please see previous Storyboard articles on Cannes in the July 2004 Storyboard and July 2003 Storyboard or check out the Festival’s website.
Fast Facts
The big winners of the coveted Palme d’Or were brothers, Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne for the movie, L’Enfant (The Child). The Festival’s Opening Night Film was Lemming (France, Dominik Moll) about the troubled relationship between two couples, and Closing Night Film was Chromophobia (U.K., Martha Fiennes) about the disintegration of an upperclass London family. The Feature Film Jury President was Emir Kusturica, with a jury that included Fatih Akin, Javier Bardem, Nandita Das, Salma Hayek, Benoit Jacquot,Toni Morrison, Agnes Varda, and John Woo. Un Certain Regard Jury President was Alexander Payne.
2005 Festival de Cannes Film Lineups (Partial Listing)
Feature Films in Competition: Broken Flowers by Jim Jarmusch; Cache (Hidden) by Michael Haneke; Don’t Come Knocking by Wim Wenders; Election by Johnnie To; Last Days by Gus Van Sant; L’Enfant (“The Child”) by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne; Kilometre Zero by Hineer Saleem; Lemming by Dominik Moll; Manderlay by Lars Von Trier; Shanghai Dreams by Wang Xiaoshuai; Sin City by Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller; Where the Truth Lies by Atom Egoyan.
Feature Films Out of Competition: Chromophobia by Martha Fiennes; Joyeux Noel by Christain Carion; Match Point by Woody Allen; Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith by George Lucas; The Power of Nightmares by Adam Curtis.
Un Certain Regard: Delwende by S. Pierre Yameogo; Down in the Valley by David Jacobson; Habana Blues by Benito Zambrano; Le Filmeur by Alain Cavalier; Le Temps Qui Reste by Francois Ozon; Sleeper by Benjamin Heisenberg.
And the Winner is…2005 Awards
Feature Films: Palme d’Or: L’Enfant (“The Child”) by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Grand Prix: Broken Flowers by Jim Jarmusch
Best Actress: Hanna Laslo for Free Zone
Best Actor: Tommy Lee Jones for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Best Director: Cache (“Hidden”) by Michael Haneke
Best Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Jury Prize: Shanghai Dreams by Wang Xiaoshuai
Short Films: Palme d’Or: Wayfarers by Igor Strembitskyy
Short Film, Special Mention: Clara by Van Sowerwine
Un Certain Regard: Moartea Domnului Lazarescu by Cristi Puiu, Le Filmeur by Alain Cavalier, and Delwende by S. Pierre Yameogo
Camera d’Or: The Forsaken Land by Vimukthi Jayasundara and Me and You and Everyone We Know by Miranda July (tie).
So, Who Was There?
Woody Allen, Daniel Auteuil, Javier Bardem, Juliette Binoche, Hayden Christensen, Penelope Cruz, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Nandita Das, Benicio Del Toro, Catherine Deneuve, Andre Dessollier, Robert Downey, Jr., Atom Egoyan, Ralph Fiennes, Colin Firth, Morgan Freeman, Lukas Haas, Salma Hayek, Paris Hilton, Samuel L. Jackson, Benoit Jacquot, Jim Jarmusch, Scarlett Johansson, Tommy Lee Jones, George Lucas, Liza Minnelli, Toni Morrison, Brittany Murphy, Bill Murray, Sembene Ousman, Clive Owen, Alexander Payne, Michael Pitt, Natalie Portman, Charlotte Rampling, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Robert Rodriguez, Mickey Rourke, Hiner Saleem, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sharon Stone, Hilary Swank, Tilda Swinton, Gus Van Sant, Lars Von Trier, Marco Tullio Giordana, Wim Wenders, John Woo, Billy Zane, Zhang Ziyi, to name a few….
Parting Comments
The Cinema du Monde
It remains true that Cannes is a place where the official selections are reserved mostly for the viewing pleasure of the press and the well-connected only. However, there are still many opportunities for the public to view international movies through venues such as Cinema de la Plage, or the ticket booth nearby the Noga Hilton Hotel for the Quinzaine des Realisateurs (Directors’ Fortnight) program. Long lines remain unavoidable, but your patience will be well-rewarded. Also never underestimate the power of a chance meeting with someone in Cannes who can kindly provide tickets, information, or access to events. Purchase your ticket and chat with whomever is standing next to you in line. We met a wonderful French woman, Josette, who gave us tickets to the Cinema du Monde section complete with a champagne reception. Also, friends from Germany and new-found friends from England got us into a “hot” club, the invitation-only V.I.P. club in Cannes. During the Festival, a lot of business is conducted in both formal and informal social settings, whether on the revolving dance floor with the floor show featuring scantily-clad female and fully-clothed male dancers/singers (and the pole dancers and cages) or on a luxury yacht. Do take advantage of the international scene to mix and mingle and appreciate the French way of doing things, like nightclubbing! Above all, see some movies and enjoy yourself. See you next year, somewhere along the Croisette!
Cannes Spotlight: Two Festival Acting Debuts
By Cheryl Dixon, DC Film Society Member
Along the Boulevard de la Croisette, you stroll past the “Big Four” hotels, and the equally grand and expensive, but lesser-known beachfront hotels, the beach with the outdoor movie screen, palm trees, movie billboards, barricades, luxury stores, the world-famous, red-carpeted Palais and the international village pavilions promoting the works of film companies. The handsomely-dressed gendarmes mostly providing escort duty and police officers providing the main security and their vans are as everywhere present as the bejeweled, gowned, and tuxedoed Festival guests, including the movie stars and the associated film principals and, of course paparazzi, and other journalists. As large as the Cannes Film Festival and the Croisette are, Cannes is still the kind of place where you will easily meet people and run into people that you either already know or have just met.
Claudia and I met two actors in Cannes this year. One of them, Cesar Montano, is a multi-talented, well-known, seasoned actor (as well as producer, director, and writer) from the Philippines making his Cannes acting debut in the film, New Moon (“Bagong Buwan” (2001, Philippines)) directed by Marilou Diaz-Abaya. This film was one of the official selections of Tous les Cinemas Du Monde, a showcase of international film could be found tucked away at the section of the Croisette nearby the Old Port. The Festival had created a movie village consisting of large tents and a winding red grass carpet. We approached Mr. Montano, who was surrounded by admiring film fans, following the screening of New Moon, a serious-toned work about a city doctor returning home to the village where his son has just been killed during a civil war. The movie’s themes are on truth, justice, peace, and the futility of war. The movie is a difficult one to watch; there are far too many characters that die. Claudia and I agreed, however, that the best parts of the movie were the characters’ performances and the lush cinematography, particularly the footage of the village countryside settings amidst the battles.
Luckily, we exited the theatre at the same time as Mr. Montano. We chatted briefly with him alternately congratulating him on his performance and wishing him the best in the future and a long run for the movie in future festivals. He happily signed autographs and posed for photos. We thought he was a real “find” and take pride in “discovering” this actor, a former sit-com star who has performed in over 40 film/TV productions. Soon we’ll have to share him with the rest of the world. He next appears in possibly a U.S./Australia film debut this year in as Captain Juan Pajota in The Great Raid (2005), a World War II POW rescue mission drama featuring Joseph Fiennes, Benjamin Bratt, and James Franco. Watch for him! He’s beautiful and talented!
And speaking of beautiful and talented. We also met Daniel Staley, a Swedish actor who did voiceovers for the Swedish movie, Det var ett jakla fint kok du har, which translates roughly to “What a Lovely Kitchen” directed by Christina Erman Widerberg. Mr. Staley communicated his excitement about working in this movie, which was part of the Festival’s Short Film Corner. He described the movie as a collage of images with voiceovers shot on Super 8 film. His main preoccupation, though, was how he would keep his tuxedo dry for that evening’s press promotion of the movie as we were all caught in an unexpected downpour. We are certain that this downpour, however, did not in any way drench his high spirits and the exuberance of having this movie as part of Cannes’ official selection.
Cannes Spotlight: Turkish Afternoon Delight
By Cheryl Dixon, DC Film Society Member
When you think of Cannes, you cannot separate from the sight of the enormous yachts in the adjoining Old Port just a stone’s throw from the Palais des Festivals on the Boulevard de la Croisette. It’s fitting--the grandeur and scale at Cannes. Everything is big and supremely stylish here. The Marche du Film, focusing on the actual business of film: distribution, sales, and the associated wheeling and dealing had a record number of participants this year. Much of the business conducted in Cannes is done as an intricate part of the social scene, at the parties, receptions, and other social events, many of which take place on these yachts, which are leased specifically for entertaining Festival guests. Over 30 Festival vessels grace the Old Port stationed side-by-side. Their respective countries of origin are readily identifiable by both the country flag and country name displayed on the yacht. For the right price package (try “$49,000-$65,000” per week leasing rate), a film production company might showcase a film and invite prospective buyers to view and discuss the film while onboard a world-class yacht.
Captain Ekrem Lalanci of the "Suheyla Sultan"
Claudia and I, therefore, gladly accepted an invitation from Seaman Ariff to take our shoes off, a standard requirement, and come onboard one afternoon to tour a Turkish yacht, the “Suheyla Sultan.” The Cote d’Azur is one of the many exotic ports of call for the Suheyla Sultan, this elegant, state-of-the-art yacht which features luxury accommodations, with king-size beds, an entertainment center, excellent service, gourmet cuisine, and finishing touches including an open-air fitness lounge, underwater lights, and a rotating sundeck. Sales literature seductively promises “ incomparable stargazing experiences,” “panoramic views,” and “culinary pleasures of the highest standards.” Just a few thousand dollars buy a lot of paradise on earth! There, in addition to the tour of the Suheyla Sultan’s world-class accommodations, we thoroughly enjoyed a glass of wine and a chat with the affable Captain Ekrem Lalanci and other crew members.
Captain Lalanci explained to me that his vessel was leased by a client so that Festival goers and other prospective film distributors might enjoy the show and tell of the unnamed, big-name movie studio over dinner and drinks. A glance around the yacht’s interior reveals the leftovers of somebody’s marketing and promotions campaign. Movie posters’ taglines indicate: “Boo, you don’t have a Ghost of a Chance” and “Fear Nothing, Risk Everything.” It isn’t difficult to imagine the entire scene live, the posters strategically displayed, the press kits and other promotional literature, the gift bags, as the back drop to the well-dressed invitees conversing, clinking their glasses, or dining at a table overflowing with gourmet cuisine.
While thousands of the international filmmakers, film executives, film stars, and film fans converge at the Cannes Film Festival, thousands of accredited journalists compete to gain access to the official film selections, and to the parties where they might meet the movers and shakers. The journalists have to work extra hard to gain access to the social events, like these fabulous yacht parties. Here, as elsewhere, around the Festival invitations and personal connections are key.
An Interview with Eran Riklas, Director of The Syrian Bride
By Larry Hart, DC Film Society Member
In the embattled Middle East there are Muslims, Jews and Christians, and then there are the Druze. A fiercely independent religious sect dating back to the 11th Century that regard themselves as Muslims, they are not accepted by other Muslim groups. About half of the 600,000 Druze live in Syria, while another 70,000 live in the Golan Heights, Syrian territory before the Israelis claimed it after the 1967 war. It is there where Director Eran Riklas has set his film, The Syrian Bride, which puts a human face on a bureaucratic nightmare where people have their passport stamped “Nationality uncertain” and where once you cross the border in either direction you can never return.
Storyboard caught up with Riklas prior to the screening of The Syrian Brideat FilmfestDC who said the film evolved from a documentary he shot six years ago in Israel called Borders. One of the border stories concerned the Druze weddings, well-known in Israel but seldom discussed, between Israeli brides who leave their family for Damascus never to return and brides from the Syrian side who face the same dilemma in moving to the Golan Heights.
Riklas explained the history this way: “The Druze always considered themselves Syrians, even after the Israelis took over the territory after the 1967 war. In 1982, Israel formally annexed the Golan Heights, requiring the residents to accept an Israeli identity card. About 90 per cent of the Druze refused to take one and that’s why their nationality is listed by the Israelis as ‘undefined’.”
The Syrian Bride tells such a story in fiction form. Mona (Clara Khoury) has agree to leave her family in the Golan to marry Syrian TV personality Tallel (Derar Sliman), only to have her wedding day threatened by a bureaucratic snafu. Adding to her emotional trauma is her dysfunctional family--a father just released from jail for his political activities and threatened with going back to jail if he attends the wedding, a sister who insists on shedding the traditional clothes and role of Muslim women and an excommunicated brother who ran off with a Russian bride.
Riklas said he wanted to make the film because it is unexplored territory. “On the one hand it provides a great story with great characters while still making a film which reflects Israeli society and Middle Eastern politics, but not in a direct way that would reflect the news of the day,” Riklas said. “I think I am the first filmmaker to deal with the actual life in the Golan Heights as such.” (The film used actual locations in the Golan Heights and elsewhere in Israel).
Riklas, who describes himself as “living in Tel Aviv but working with the world,” co-wrote the film with an Israeli-Palestinian (Suha Arraf) and most of the actors are listed as Israeli-Palestinians as well. Only one actor (the sister’s husband) is actually Druze as Riklas says the Druze have no tradition of theatre or cinema and actually are hostile to these art forms.
I asked Riklas, considering the circumstances, the difficulties with the location shooting: “It’s strange. On the one hand, personally, I had a very good reputation with the Druze because after spending two years in the Golan Heights with the documentary, I received a certain degree of trust. On the other hand, the local politics was very difficult. The Mayor of the local village, for example, is pro-Israeli while most of the villagers are pro-Syrian. So I had to play my own politics as you would really, in any small town anywhere, say South Dakota. I can tell you that when I showed the film for the villagers, it was tough. On the one hand, they loved the feeling that their story was being told to the world. The main issues with the film were tradition and religious issues. For example, showing the brother as an outcast to his father for marrying a Russian, the sister shedding traditional clothes and wearing jeans. No closed society likes to see the truth brought to the surface. But I think can still go to the Golan Heights and not worry about my life. I think I’m OK there.”
Riklas said it was not his intention to make a “political” film: “I’m really weary of films that say ‘this is the situation, this is what you should think.’ Obviously, there is politics in the film, but what I tried to do, first of all, is make a democratic film, in the sense that each character brings their emotions to the film and you can draw your own conclusions. In that sense, whether they are an Israeli bureaucrat, a Syrian officer or a Druze father, they are all victims of global politics, they’re pieces in a chess game somebody else is playing. But I also think it shows that people can take control of their own lives, that the border they cross is not just a physical one, but mental and emotional as well.”
The Syrian Bride is listed as an Israeli-French-German co-production, but, unlike many filmmakers I have talked with, Riklas said the financing was easy. At a cost of $2.5 million, Riklas said the number is “a joke” for most feature films, but it is triple the cost of the average Israeli film. “The traditional European sources (Canal Plus in France) and Israeli sources came through. The reaction was, it’s a good script and a refreshing story.” Riklas said it’s also reflective of the increasing popularity of Israeli cinema in Europe and the U.S. as well.
The 50 year old Riklas brought a strong commercial background to this effort going back to his first feature in 1975, On A Clear Day You Can See Damascus. His credits include the critically acclaimed Cup Final, Zohar, an Israeli box office hit and lots of TV work.
As for his next project, Riklas says he’s looking at one possibility that would break from his Middle East theme and would be set in South America. “Although I’m based in Tel Aviv and live in Israel (with his wife and two children) I feel now I can go anywhere and make a good film.”
Riklas says The Syrian Bride has already played to receptive audiences in Israel, France and Germany after winning awards at the Montreal and Locarno Film Festivals and has been slated for a U.S. release in October.
Calendar of Events
FILMS
American Film Institute Silver Theater
In July, the AFI shows films by George Lucas including the Star Wars episodes, American Graffiti, THX 1138, and the Indiana Jones films. David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia in 70mm gets a revival, as does Jaws (1975) on its 30th anniversary. If you missed the Massimo Troisi retrospective begun last month, there are still a few films left in July. A retrospective of films by Slovenia's Damjan Kozole begin in July with Damjan Kozole appearing in person with his latest work Labor Equals Freedom. A series of W.C. Fields films begins on July 15 and includes many old favorites such as The Bank Dick and My Little Chickadee plus three silent films with accompaniment by Ray Brubacher. Harriet Fields, W.C.'s granddaughter will appear at the AFI. Also see the interview above.
Freer Gallery of Art
The 10th Annual Hong Kong Film Festival starts in July and continues through August. On July 8 at 7:00pm and July 10 at 2:00pm is Throw Down (2004), a comedy by Johnnie To; on July 15 at 7:00pm and July 17 at 2:00pm is Kung Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow, 2004); on July 22 at 7:00pm and July 24 at 2:00pm is DragonBlade (2005), Hong Kong's first CGI-animated blockbuster; and on July 29 at 7:00pm and July 31 at 2:00pm is Love Eterne (1962), one of Hong Kong's great classics based on the Chinese opera The Butterfly Lovers. More in August.
National Gallery of Art
The Gallery concludes the "Marius" trilogy with Fanny (1932) on July 1 at 2:00pm and Cesar (1936) on July 3 at 4:30pm and July 4 at 2:00pm. A series of new preservations includes Baby Face (Alfred E. Green, 1933) on July 9 at 3:00pm and July 10 at 4:30pm; Counsellor at Law (William Wyler, 1933) on July 16 at 2:30pm; A Face in the Crowd (Elia Kazan, 1957) on July 17 at 4:30pm; some preserved prints of Stan Brakhage on July 23 at 4:00pm; The Scarlet Letter (Victor Seastrom, 1926); films from the Slapsticon film festival on July 30 at 4:00pm and Claude Renoir's The River (1951) on July 31 at 4:30pm.
Art films shown include Rivers and Rides: Any Goldsworthy Working with Time (2000) on July 6-8 and July 13-16 at 12:30pm; a collection of early 1900s films "Electric Edwardians" on July 23 at 2:00pm; and The Venetian Dilemma (Richard and Carole Rifkind, 2004) on July 27-29 at 12:30pm and July 30 at 2:00pm.
National Museum of African Art
Animated films for children, including both traditional African tales and contemporary stories, are shown on July 5, 12, 19, and 26 at 10:30am. On July 10 at 2:00pm is Cosmic Africa (2002) from South Africa, and on July 17 at 1:00pm is Monday's Girls (1993), a documentary contrasting two women's viewpoints on an initiation ceremony.
National Museum of the American Indian
Two short films, Hawaiian Sting (1997) and Stolen Waters (1996), both about native Hawaiians, are shown July 8 and July 23 at noon. The Voyage Home (Karin Williams, 1996), a documentary about the first Hawaiian canoe built in centuries, which sails a historic journey across the Pacific to Alaska and Washington state, is shown on July 9 and 22 at noon.
National Museum of Women in the Arts
To accompany the exhibit "Women in Blues and Jazz" are two film events for July. On July 6 at 7:00pm is a tribute to Lena Horne, Stormy Weather (Andrew L. Stone, 1943) preceded by a short film, Boogie Woogie Dream (Hans Burger, 1941). On July 20 at 7:00pm is Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin' Women (1988), a documentary about jazz trumpeter Tiny Davis and drummer-pianist Ruby Lucas shown with International Sweethearts of Rhythm (1986), a documentary about the 1940s all-women jazz band. Directors Greta Schiller and Andrea Weiss will attend the screening.
Films on the Hill
All three of Burt Lancaster's technicolor swashbucklers from the early 1950s are featured in July. On July 13 at 7:00pm is The Flame and the Arrow (Jacques Tourneur, 1950); on July 20 at 7:00pm is His Majesty O'Keefe (Byron Haskin, 1954), shot entirely on the Fiji islands; and on July 23 at 7:00pm is The Crimson Pirate (Robert Siodmak, 1952). Burt Lancaster, a former circus acrobat, performed all his own awesome stunts, thrilling audiences of the day.
Washington Jewish Community Center
As part of the "Soiree on the Steps" series is Melinda and Melinda (Woody Allen, 2005) on July 14 at 7:00pm. Paper Snow (Lina and Slava Chaplin, 2003), a video from Israel is on July 28 at 7:00pm; it is based on a true story and set in the early 1930s among the Tel Aviv literary artists.
Pickford Theater
On July 5 at 7:00pm is Christmas Holiday (Robert Siodmak, 1944); on July 8 at 7:00pm is Happy Anniversary (David Miller, 1959); and on July 15 at 7:00pm is Lonesome Cowboys (Andy Warhol, 1968). Check the website for others.
Goethe Institute
"Great Novels, Great Films" is a series of five adaptations of works by German writers. On July 11 at 6:30pm is The Magic Mountain (Hans W. Geissendorfer, 1982) without German subtitles and on July 18 at 6:30pm is Death in Venice (Luchino Visconti, 1971). The series concludes in August.
The National Theatre
Baseball is the theme for this summer's video series. On July 11 is The Natural (Barry Levinson, 1984); on July 18 is Soul of the Game (Kevin Rodney Sullivan, 1996); and on July 25 is A League of Their Own (Penny Marshall, 1992). All are at 6:30pm. More in August.
Screen on the Green
The seventh annual "Screen on the Green," movies shown on the Mall, begins July 18 with The Way We Were (Sydney Pollack, 1973). On July 18 is The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948). Movies begin at sunset on the Mall between 4th and 7th Streets. More in August.
National Museum of Natural History
In conjunction with the Folklife Festival's "Forest Service" exhibition, the film The Greatest Good (2004), a documentary commemorating the centennial of the Forest Service, will be shown on July 1 at noon and July 2, 3 and 4 at 2:00pm. Director Steve Dunsky will introduce his film.
Cinema Arts Theater
Every day from July 8 to July 21, Cinema Arts will screen favorite films from the DC Independent Film Festival, hold "Open Screen" for anyone to display clips of their work, present classic "first" independent films from today's most successful filmmakers, lead seminars that cover topics from "Going Foreign" to "How to Get Into the Film Business," and showcase the New Directors, New Visions program. Check the website for more information.
The Avalon
The Avalon continues its Local Filmmakers Nights on Wednesdays throughout July. On July 6 at 9:15pm is an evening of short films including Sweet Dreams (Paul Awad) and First Session (Lonnie Martine). On July
13 at 9:15pm is a feature-length documentary Voices of Wartime (Rich King), in which soldiers, journalists, historians and experts on combat discuss their perspectives on war's effects on civilians, soldiers, and society. On July 20 at 9:15pm is Bloodsworth (Adrian Muys), shot on location on Maryland's Eastern Shore, the story of Hurricane Isabel's effect on a small crabbing community.
FILM FESTIVALS
