Coming Attractions: Movie Trailer Night Winter 2009

Hollywood is making its list and checking it twice. George Clooney, Jude Law, Robert Downey Jr., and Jim Carrey star in films this holiday season. You can get a preview of what’s coming your way by making your way to the Washington D.C. Film Society’s “COMING ATTRACTIONS TRAILER NIGHT” for Winter 2009.

The date is Tuesday, November 17, the time is 7:00pm and the place is again at Landmark’s E Street Cinema. Longtime hosts Joe Barber and Bill Henry will return for an entertaining give and take with the audience to analyze just how the studios market these films to get us off the couch and into a theater seat. The audience will also get their say by voting on which trailers make them the most (or least) excited about the films that are on the way.

The list of trailers to be shown will be posted on the website closer to the event date but a few of the many possible films we hope to preview include: James Cameron’s Avatar—the maestro of Titanic goes for an action/adventure and sci-fi thriller rolled into one; Sherlock Holmes for a new generation with Robert Downey Jr. as the master sleuth and Jude Law as Dr. Watson. Other previews might include: a new animated version of the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, where Jim Carrey (or the voice thereof) plays more than one role; New Moon, the latest in the “Twilight” series; Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) brings us the adaptation of the novel The Lovely Bones and the Disney entry for this season is The Princess and the Frog
Then there’s George Clooney, whose vehicles run the gamut from the “psychic spy thriller” The Men Who Stare At Goats to Up In The Air, the story of a corporate downsizer trying to fly his ten millionth mile, to the voice of a fox in Wes Anderson’s animated The Fantastic Mr. Fox. As the trade paper Variety used to say, Clooney equals “boffo box office.”

In a lower key, there is Precious, a sensation at the Cannes Film Festival, which tells the (fictional) story of a 350-pound, illiterate teenage girl who suffers from unspeakable abuse by her family, and the latest from Spain’s Pedro Almodóvar, Broken Embraces.

You get more than admission for your money: lots of movie promotional items, movie posters, DVDs and raffles for movie tickets throughout the evening. “COMING ATTRACTIONS TRAILER NIGHT” is free for Gold Members, $5 for Basic Members and $8 for the general public.

A Serious Man: Q&A with Actor Michael Stuhlbarg

By Anita Glick and Annette Graham, DC Film Society Members

A Serious Man is currently playing at several locations in DC. This Q&A with actor Michael Stuhlbarg and moderated by Dan Raviv followed a screening at the AFI Silver Theater on October 1. Michael Stuhlbarg, a native of Long Beach, California is a noted theater actor. This is his first leading role in a film. Moderator Dan Raviv is a national correspondent for CBS Radio and a former foreign correspondent for CBS News.


Dan Raviv and Michael Stuhlbarg. Photo by Jay Berg.

Dan Raviv: I'm sure you liked the picture, I know I did. I thought to myself, it really is a Jewish picture, lots of questions, not easy to figure out. Michael Stuhlbarg is better known for his stage work than movie work, though he's been in quite a few films too. He received a Tony nomination four years ago for his performance in The Pillow Man. He played the lead in Hamlet at the public theater Shakespeare in the Park series just last summer. So he's been on stage a lot. But there are other films as well. Is this right--because it's appropriate: your first on-stage performance before being a union member, a professional--was it in Bye Bye Birdie?
Michael Stuhlbarg: It was.
Dan Raviv: Where?
Michael Stuhlbarg: At the Long Beach Jewish Community Center.

Dan Raviv: So the man knows something about that whole environment. On my way over here, I spoke to my mom who's a Hebrew schoolteacher in the New York area and she said, "Don't put the star on the spot. Be like me, like I would do in class. First ask the people out there, the pupils, 'If someone thinks that they can explain the main point of the picture in one or two lines--[usually in Hollywood it's high concept]... if anyone has an idea just two or three, maybe you'll get it going and Michael would react to that'." Does anyone want to give it a shot?
Audience Member: The point is there is no point.
Dan Raviv: Straight out of the 1960s.
Audience Member: The modern story of Job.
Dan Raviv: I like that.
Audience Member: Religion, faith and tradition.

Dan Raviv: There's some ideas. Because as far as I know every time a movie is made the actors do have discussions before any film is run. Joel and Ethan Coen, fabulous filmmakers well known for 14 successful films. You signed up with them.
Michael Stuhlbarg: Yes.
Dan Raviv: When was it explained to you?
Michael Stuhlbarg: It wasn't.
Dan Raviv: Is it better that way?
Michael Stuhlbarg: Yes, absolutely.
Dan Raviv: But you do have discussions before any film rolls?
Michael Stuhlbarg: Ummm....
Dan Raviv: What about the story?
Michael Stuhlbarg: No. I feel like it's my job to ... (audience erupts in laughter)
Dan Raviv: Does that surprise you? It surprises me. Supposedly the actor turns to the directors, in this case two directors, two brothers, "Well what's my motivation in this scene?"
Michael Stuhlbarg: When I got the part, I wrote three and a half pages of questions for them. And they patiently answered as many of them as they could. And those that they couldn't answer, they just let me create my own answer, which was wonderful.

Dan Raviv: And the performance does do that. The looks on Michael's face! His take on various things... In the movies there's another take and another take and another take. The grand moment at the end when your character decides to change the student's grade from F to a C ... minus--big flourish. That's a few takes. The decision is which closeup to use.
Michael Stuhlbarg: Maybe two. Two or three at most. They're notorious for just not doing a lot of takes, because they edit their own movies. It makes their job all the more easy in the editing room. Fewer choices. Easier to pick from 5 than it is to pick from 45.
Dan Raviv: So they really want fewer takes. There's a little bit of mischief in that. There is a credit--you can see on the posters outside--a credit: "edited by" and there's a name there.
Michael Stuhlbarg: Roderick Jaynes.
Dan Raviv: He doesn't exist.
Michael Stuhlbarg: He exists.
Dan Raviv: Oh really?
Michael Stuhlbarg: He exists as Ethan and Joel.
Dan Raviv: They're so mischievous. They didn't explain it to you. So you have your take. Let's say you're on an airplane and you're talking to somebody about what you do for a living. "I just finished this picture. It's Coen Brothers." What do you say: "I can't explain it to you" or "I'll try?"
Michael Stuhlbarg: The movie?
Dan Raviv: Yes.
Michael Stuhlbarg: No. I like other people to make up their own minds about it. It's fascinating. Because everyone will bring their own experience to seeing this and everyone has their own ideas. That's as it should be, I think.

Dan Raviv: Are these all films you were in? The Gray Zone?
Michael Stuhlbarg: That was both a play and a film.
Dan Raviv: Body of Lies William Monahan wrote it; Ridley Scott made it--a CIA thriller
Michael Stuhlbarg: Right.
Dan Raviv: A Price Above Rubies
Michael Stuhlbarg: Right
Dan Raviv: Cold Souls with Paul Giamatti.
Michael Stuhlbarg: Right
Dan Raviv: And Martin Scorsese's short homage to Alfred Hitchcock The Key to Reserva.
Michael Stuhlbarg: Yes.
Dan Raviv: And you're doing something else with Mr. Scorsese.
Michael Stuhlbarg: Yes. We just finished shooting the pilot and I just heard it got picked up. It's called "Boardwalk Empire." It'll be for HBO. Mr. Scorsese executive produced and directed it; it'll be co-produced by Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Tim Van Patten. It's written by Terence Winter who wrote for The Sopranos. It stars Steve Buscemi, Michael Shannon, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, Stephen Graham, Vincent Piazza and a whole mess of others. It's based on a book called Boardwalk Empire by Nelson Johnson which is about the birth and high times of Atlantic City. The book starts in the middle of the 1800s but we pick it up on the eve of prohibition. I'm playing Arnold Rothstein who was allegedly responsible for fixing the 1919 World Series.

Dan Raviv: There are positive and negative images of Jews, you know. I had a sense, and wonder if anyone in the audience... did anybody feel uncomfortable about how Jews were portrayed? There are some American Jews who have trouble with almost anything like this that's in a Jewish suburb or Larry David series on TV ... basically, "I don't know what the goyim will think."

Question from audience: The music that was chosen--how much did that inspire you? Were you aware of the music while you were doing the shooting?
Michael Stuhlbarg: When we shot it, the music wasn't playing, but at the same time it was specifically chosen and had been in the script from the first day that I read it. So they knew exactly what they wanted and they put it in the script that way. All the music you heard except for Carter Burwell's swelling dramatic accompanying music during the course of the piece which gave it a rich dramatic tone throughout the piece. Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and Sidor Belarsky were all in there.

Question: Working with two directors, are Joel and Ethan like minded? What is it like having two masters on the set?
Michael Stuhlbarg: They really are pretty much two sides of the same head. Joel will say "action" and "cut" and Ethan will mostly put his head down and sort of pace around in the back of the room and just listen listen listen very very carefully. But as for asking them questions, you can ask either one and generally they'll give an answer and if they feel like they need to consult each other they do but mostly they've created the script together and they know what they want to do. Every day when we show up on the set they would give us something called "sides" which are a small version, photocopied, of what the scene is going to be that we are playing on that particular day. And behind the sides we'll get photocopies of the storyboards that they've created for the film. So we know on any particular day how many shots there are going to be, where the camera is going to be and as a result of that, they are so well prepared, that we ended up finishing a week ahead of schedule and under budget.

Question: Did they disagree at all?
Michael Stuhlbarg: I never saw them disagree in over two months of working on this film. They knew what they wanted to do. Roger Deakins, the director of photography is kind of a third Coen brother. He's kind of a third head on the set. He's the master behind the camera, behind the light. Nothing happens without Roger's okay. He stands there for many minutes waiting for the light to be absolutely perfect. And then we'll go when he's ready.

Dan Raviv: You can already tell that Michael Stuhlbarg is, among film actors, highly educated. Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Julliard School, also studied at UCLA and here's the real surprise: the Vilnius Conservatory in the capital of Lithuania. Was that for music or what?
Michael Stuhlbarg: It was a conservatory of the arts. It was a part of an exchange program. I went there to study Chekov and they came to the Julliard School to study American theater--Tennessee Williams and musical theater.
Dan Raviv: And Oxford University British American Drama Academy--and on a full scholarship. With Marcel Marceau himself.

Question: The Coen brothers grew up in a town near the Canadian border and their father was a teacher. Did they talk about whether this was autobiographical in any sense?
Michael Stuhlbarg: There are a few things in the film they drew from--from their childhood--their father was a professor of economics at the University of Minnesota; their mother was also a professor. All the boys who accompany Danny on the bus are named for people they grew up with. There was a Mrs. Samsky in their synagogue. Someone they knew actually wrote something called The Mentaculus and went mad. So that is the truth. As far as my character, other than him being a professor at the same university where their father was, the rest is somewhat fictional.

Question: How did you get chosen for this part? What was the process you went through?
Michael Stuhlbarg: I don't know how I got chosen for this part. I lucked out. They called me in to audition originally for the part of Velvul, the husband in the Yiddish parable in the beginning of the movie. So I had to learn the whole scene in Yiddish.
Dan Raviv: Some people think you also played Velvul. But you're not in the Yiddish part.
Michael Stuhlbarg: No.
Dan Raviv: Did anybody think that?
Audience: No.
Michael Stuhlbarg: They brought me in to audition for that and I went to a tutor and learned it in Yiddish and he was very kind to help me and try to get me out of the Germanic/Russian head and more towards the Polish head. There's differences and different people know different kinds of Yiddish. I did it for them and they laughed a lot and that made me really happy. They weren't sure at that point whether or not they wanted to choose an actor who could do it phonetically well, or to choose people who could speak it fluently. And as you can see, they chose folks who could speak it fluently. And there was a real sort of tete-a-tete on the set when these actors arrived because Allen [Rickman] and Yelena [Shmulenson] who played Velvul and his wife Dora; they're members of the Yiddish theater company in New York City and Fyvush Finkel [the dybbuk] has done a lot of Yiddish theater as well and they both know different kinds of Yiddish. "If you say it this way then I'm going to say this...." and they went on and on and on until they got it down to what would be right, so that if anybody who speaks Yiddish would hear it they would believe it thoroughly.... Six months go by and I get another call. I had just put it out of my mind because I knew I didn't get it and that was fine. I get a call; they want me to come in and audition for Larry and for Uncle Arthur. I hadn't read the script at this point. I got the script so I knew what was going on and I got to read it and I learned three scenes for Larry and three scenes for Arthur. I came in and did it and they laughed a lot again which made me really happy again. After that I kept asking periodically, "Am I still in the running? Am I still in the running?" And I kept hearing back, "You're still in the running, still in the running." Finally I got a call saying, "You're going to get one of these parts. They just don't know which one yet." So they're going to try to juggle the different people they're considering around to see who ends up landing in it and then 6-7 weeks before shooting was to start, I got a call from Joel who was coming back from a job and he said, "I'll put you out of your misery, you're playing Larry." And that's how that happened. It was about 11 months from the first audition to getting the part.

Question: The feverish mathematic equation stuff. Did you do that?
Michael Stuhlbarg: I did. That was me doing that.
Question: Did you understand any of it?
Michael Stuhlbarg: When I got cast as Larry, one of the first things I did--my sister is a professor and her husband is a professor and I went to them and said, "Do you know a physics professor?" They sent me to their friend Dr. Jeff Williams at Bridgewater State College and Jeff took me under his wing and taught me about Schrodinger's cat and the uncertainty principle so everything that you see me putting on the board is what he taught me. That equation particularly where I'm trying to describe the uncertainty principle is the end of a seven page equation that he wrote for me to try to describe it to me. I memorized the last portion. I asked how would I convey this to a group of students if I had to speak it out loud? And he said, you'd probably say this, you'd probably say that. And I just learned it. When I got there on the day of shooting, the Coens said, "Great, now just do it as fast as you possibly can." And that's what you see up there.

Question: Who was responsible for detail, like the screen door with the G for Gopnik.
Michael Stuhlbarg: That's the fabulous Jess Gonchor, the production designer. And all the other details. There were so many amazing artists that were involved in the construction of this film. The ones I related to daily, like Frida Aradottir who helped with my hair, Jean Black who did my makeup. We made a haggard chart together. Where is Larry on his haggard chart today? And Mary Zophres, the fabulous costume designer. There so many fabulous talented people who added those nuances. They're at the top of their game. Many of them have been working for Joel and Ethan since Blood Simple ... 15 years ... They keep them close.

Question: The phrase "A Serious Man" is said a few times usually referring to Sy. Do you think your character is a serious man or aspires to be one?
Michael Stuhlbarg: I don't think the idea enters his head until he hears it at Sy's memorial service when Rabbi Nachtner said, "Sy Ableman was a serious man." I think Larry hears that and he thinks, "Well what about me? I think I've been working pretty hard. I've tried to do that." I don't know if people consider him to be, but I think he thinks of himself of at least trying to live a serious meaningful life. He's tried to.
Dan Raviv: Larry ends up saying it to Rabbi Marshak's secretary. But with great hesitation. "Do I really qualify?"
Michael Stuhlbarg: "I've tried to be."

Question: You've been in lots of very Jewish themed movies. Is that by choice or are you being typecast?
Michael Stuhlbarg: I'm being typecast. It's interesting. Cold Souls is more Russian than Jewish. The Gray Zone, absolutely. I did the play. I did a lot of theater, then people recognized I was doing that and they bring me in for a film. It just happened by circumstance.
Dan Raviv: Are you Jewish in Body of Lies?
Michael Stuhlbarg: No, I'm an attorney.
Dan Raviv: And Hamlet...

Question: Are there a lot of differences between acting for theater or for film?
Michael Stuhlbarg: I find that my job is pretty much the same. It's my job to bring the character to life. How that is conveyed is obviously different. It's my job when doing a play, if there's a second balcony, for someone in the back of the second balcony to get what I'm doing as clearly as the person in the first row. And hopefully they'll get a similar performance although the other person is closer up. But it has different technical demands in terms of filling the space with your energy and your thoughts and your clarity. Whereas with making movies, it's an audience of one in terms of trying to incorporate the camera into what would be the telling of the story. And also films are shot out of sequence. So it's a big challenge technically to try to be familiar enough with the arc of the journey of your character so that when you show up on day one and they're shooting a scene that happens in the middle of the film, that you bring with you the experiences of where you think the character is going to be that day and try to convey that as thoroughly as possible. Different challenges but still wonderful.

Dan Raviv: What scene was the first to be shot?
Michael Stuhlbarg: The first scene that I shot was the scene in the Embers Restaurant with Sy and Judith, when they tell me to move out of the house.

Question: Do you think your character brought bad things on himself?
Michael Stuhlbarg: I don't know if I blame him so much for the things that happened to him during the course of the movie. As the audience we are privy to just select scenes on his journey. And it was my job to create for myself how to get from one scene to the next scene and what happened before that. But I'd like to believe that he was not necessarily a passive person but a very moral person and adult in terms of trying to deal with what's presented to him. If your wife falls out of love with you and you've had many conversations about why, what can you do? I think he tried to approach the situation as an adult and tried to make the best of things. That's the way I tend to think about him. And I think he continues to live a serious life. But in terms of being considered a big macher in the community, I don't think that was ever necessarily an intention of him. Whereas perhaps Sy wanted that or wanted people to know he was a serious man... I think Larry just worked really hard and was content in his job and I think on a certain level, many people would consider him a serious man.

Adam's Rib: Let Us See the Legends Honored!!!

The Cinema Lounge

The 34th Toronto International Film Festival

By Ron Gordner & James McCaskill, DC Film Society Members



The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) remains North America's most important film festival. Although a number of critics complained that the 2009 TIFF did not have some of the most anticipated Hollywood films like The Lovely Bones, Invictus, Nine (the musical), and Avatar, this has been the case for several years. Major studios do not see the need to spend advertising at festivals and this has allowed small and independent films in the past like Slumdog Millionaire, Whale Rider, The Wrestler and American Beauty to gain critical and audience recognition and some buzz for the Oscar races. Sometimes highly regarded films like Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, Me and Orson Welles, Lorna’s Secret, 35 Shots of Rum, Still Walking, A Woman in Berlin, Patrick 1.5, and some other films viewed at TIFF 2008 take almost a year or more to have theatrical release in the U.S. A few good ones from last year such as A Film With Me In It, Blind Loves, Lovely Still, and Pandora’s Box are still looking for U.S. distribution. Major stars, major directors and major films all come to Toronto. As part of TIFF09, 335 films from 64 countries were screened, including 271 feature-length films, 72 per cent of which were world, international or North American premieres, and 71 of which were feature directorial debuts.

We got more films that were scheduled than any other year, but found the pick up site at Nathan Square to be a real quagmire in trying to pick up or exchange tickets. The festival also did not partner with Roots for promotional clothing this year, and poorly marketed what items they did have. Films did run pretty much on time, except late night ones at Isabel Bader theater and some at the Elgin Theater, but this gave us time to make the screenings and no one seemed to want the front row seats at the small Bader theater which we enjoy. The Elgin Theater was open for pass holders this year which was a welcome surprise also. The Scotia multiplex theaters seemed to have had cutbacks in their small operating food stalls and restaurants, since many did not take advantage of the captive hungry festival goers, and did not open until noon or sometimes late in the afternoon. The volunteers are extremely friendly but had little training at the main box offices about standard procedures. We think the rising costs this year and the economy was reflected in some screenings that were only half full and much shorter rush lines.

Some free movies and concerts were shown to the public this year also at Yonge-Dundas Square. The winning audience award winner Precious was also given a free screening at the Elgin Visa Screening room the last night of the festival. People had to queue up a few hours early and the tickets were distributed a few hours before the screening.

This year at TIFF 2009 a number of anticipated and little known films got buzz for their writing, director, actors, art, and cinematography. These included Sundance winner Precious: Based on the Novel Push, by Sapphire, Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story, New Zealand documentary The Topp Twins, Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air with George Clooney, Italian films: Baaria, I am Love, and Vincere; Israeli films: Lebanon (2009 Venice Golden Lion winner) and their foreign language nominee Ajami; Danish director Lone Scherfig’s (Italian for Beginners) British film An Education; Aaron Schneider’s Get Low starring Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Bill Murray, and Lucas Black; and South Korea’s Bong Joon-ho’s (Memories of Murder) new film Mother.

Concern was expressed that not as many U.S. foreign and independent film buyers are buying films these days. Economic concerns have caused a number to go out of business and there is an unwillingness to tie up millions with no box office guarantees. However, Cameron Bailey, Co-Director of the Toronto International Film Festival announced an impressive list of film sales resulting from participation at the 34th Toronto International Film Festival. As the festival ended this year, U.S. sales were confirmed for: Accident, Air Doll, Art of the Steal, Bunny & the Bull, Chloe, Creation, Defendor, Dogtooth, Get Low, Hadewijch, I Am Love, Lebanon, Lourdes, Micmacs, My Toxic Baby, A Single Man and Valhalla Rising. Canadian director Ruba Nadda’s film Cairo Time starring Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig also has opened in Canadian theaters and was expected to obtain U.S. distribution soon. There is concern that the writer’s strike from last year and budgetary constraints may start to be reflected in fewer films showing up in the theatrical release pipeline and perhaps at future film festivals.

At left: Festival Director Piers Handling

Controversy surrounded the festival this year also when they chose a new programming for City to City with Tel Aviv in Israel as their first choice. This angered a number of film makers and celebrities who sent a letter of dismay to the manager Piers Handling. A few film makers like Canadian Guy Maddin, pulled their short films. Two Egyptian films were pulled late in the festival and so had no showings: Helipolis and The Traveller (starring Omar Sharif). Since the controversy over some Israeli film has been all year on the festival circuit, it seemed odd that they did not begin this program with Toronto or another Canadian city and films about that city. Palestinian director Elia Suleiman did not pull his film from the festival.

TIFF does seem to be trying to muster all the funds it can to finish building its Bell Lightbox building complex which will include at least 3 theatres, a film reference library, and administrative offices. We only viewed 2-3 films that we could describe as poor or very mediocre out of a combined 53 films we saw this year and considered 2009 TIFF as possibly the best group of films we have viewed since attending the festival over the last 15 years. Like many festival goers, we like to find the small independent U.S. and foreign films that are real discovered gems. We hope that these films at least make major festivals as we saw more outstanding films this year than any other year. Each of these films deserves an audience. Next year some of the Bell Lightbox is supposed to be finished and open.


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