Coming Attractions Trailer Night-Summer 2014 Blockbuster Sequels, Remakes, and Indies

By Cheryl Dixon

A cozy group of diehard film fans gathered on May 21, 2014 at Landmark's E Street Cinema to cast their votes, both informal (applause) and formal (ballot), on over 30 trailers of upcoming, mostly soon-to-be-released Summer movies, including Blockbuster sequels, remakes, and indies in the midst. Director Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood” trailer was selected as the best of the best from six categories. Neither dismal rainy weather, nor a free screening of “The System” could keep attendees away.

Our popular Co-hosts Bill Henry and Tim Gordon led the always-spirited discussion on the trailers and gave the audience the full buzz on the effectiveness of the trailers themselves and a peek at the movies they represent. Bill and Tim both agree it’s been a bad year for movies so far and a lot of the trailers are hardly an indication that the movies might get better. In fact, their prediction was that, for the early trailers in the program, it was going to be more of a case of “Let’s pick the best of the worst trailers.”

The categories, the winners of each category, and general commentary follow. Whether by applause vote or official ballot, attendees are never shy about expressing their opinions. And they know that their vote counts. Audience feedback just might impact the course of future trailers and how they are used to more effectively market the films they represent. By now, many of the films associated with the trailers have been released, but remember that attendees at this event saw the trailers first! If you liked what you saw in the trailers, go see the movies! And if you missed the trailers, but like what you’re reading here, go see the movies!!

The program began with Bill and Tim paying respects to the already-released “Godzilla” monster hit with its 93 million dollar take at the box office in its first domestic weekend opening (which means it’ll make a zillion dollars worldwide). The trailer has done its job, as neither Bill, nor Tim think that it’s a good movie.

Here’s a summary of the winning films in each of the six categories and further discussion:

From the Sex Deviates Wing of the Academy
Palo Alto
Venus in Fur
X-Men: Days of Future Past WINNER!
Magic in the Moonlight

Again, Bill and Tim think it’s been a bad year for movies so far, and frequently stated that the trailers themselves were not that great. In several cases, they fail to give audiences accurate clues about what the movies are about. But there was a unanimous decision that in this category, the best produced trailer of the bunch, a “standout” trailer was for Director Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. Bill and Tim both agreed that the movie, featuring Hugh Jackman, a.k.a. “Wolverine” going back into the past to change history, is excellent. Wolverine has too much fun meeting up with younger versions of the X-Men. A real crowd-pleaser with dazzling special effects. Marvel Comics continues its run of successful X-Men Superhero movies.

Commentary: Bill and Tim had some explaining to do. Attendees wanted clarification of the category title and asked why “X-Men” was included in it. Fair questions. Bill and Tim then explained the controversy surrounding Bryan Singer, who was recently accused of teen sex abuse allegedly occurring in 1999. They reminded the audience that scandalous affairs involving minors is nothing new in Hollywood, citing the past misbehavior of Charlie Chaplin and Errol Flynn. Here we have director Roman Polanski’s (also a member of this bad-boy club) Venus in Fur about an actress attempting to convince her Director that she’s right for the part. Director Gia Coppola (granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola) presents Palo Alto, based on the story by James Franco, who also acts in this movie, about a high school student caught in a love triangle with her coach and a fellow student. What can you say about a tagline where the trailer reveals: “Girls looking for love, boys trouble. Men looking for both?” Director Woody Allen, similarly accused of “indiscretions” presents the charming Magic in the Moonlight, featuring heartthrob Colin Firth and Emma Stone in the 1920’s Age of Spiritualism. Stone portrays a mindreader. Is she real or fake?

I Know What We Need to be Delivered From
Deliver Us From Evil
Hercules
The Purge: Anarchy
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Think Like A Man Too WINNER!

Think Like A Man Too lets the women have a good time, too. This is a sequel to Think Like a Man, based on comedian and TV host Steve Harvey’s dating book. It’s the ladies vs. the gents in competition for who can have the most raunchy fun in Las Vegas. Kevin Hart is again prominently featured in this trailer and is at his comedic best. LOL.

Commentary: More apologies from Bill and Tim and a decided lack of audience enthusiasm for the trailers in this category. Clearly the strategy is to pick the strongest from the weakest. The applause was barely audible. If there’s not enough already terrorizing Manhattan, what with Godzilla and monsters on the loose, here comes handsome hunk Eric Bana as a NYC police officer investigating cases of demonic possession. What to do when “Evil infects a City?” Call the Exorcist? Ghostbusters? One attendee asked what was Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson doing in Hercules (this time in 3-D)? Somewhere I heard, “Some do it for revenge, fun, survival … bidding will start.” In The Purge: Anarchy, I personally didn’t have a clue what this trailer was about. Bad trailer. Director Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trailer begins in all seriousness: “Crime, violence, and fear” in a great city, where people need heroes. All seriousness dissolves into slapstick humor as a turtle/teen removes his mask to avoid startling a distressed dame.

Music is Supposed to Make You Happy
Annie
Begin Again
Jersey Boys
Get On Up WINNER!
Step Up All In

Chad Boseman slides on over from the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42, to the James Brown biopic, Get On Up. The trailer features lots of the soulful music and fancy dance moves of the kid from Augusta, GA. It also offers a glimpse of his poverty-ridden childhood and abandonment from his mother on his rise to super stardom. Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis reunite with director Tate Taylor (The Help) as Brown breaks the rules and barriers along the way using his showmanship and business savvy step-by-step.

Commentary: This trailer category features music, starting with an updated version of Broadway’s “Annie.” This time Quvenzhane Wallis and Jamie Foxx are cast, respectively as the endearing Annie and the “Daddy Warbucks-like” character in modern-day Manhattan. It’s still a hard knock life. This trailer earned a few chuckles as well as Bill and Tim’s promises that the trailers are getting better. With Begin Again, we see Mark Ruffalo as a down, but not yet out, music manager inspired by his muse a singer/musician portrayed by Keira Knightley. Adam Levine and CeeLo Green add authenticity to the cast. Next, straight from Broadway comes the musical adaptation of the hit, “Jersey Boys.” Members of the original cast depict the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons with Director Clint Eastwood at the helm to guide you through the challenges and triumphs of the guys from Jersey with the falsetto voice, the hit-making songwriter, and the syncopated dance moves and grooves. In Step Up All In the young folks gather for a danceoff. Tagline: “The best will unite for the ultimate battle.” Why? Laments an audience member. Tim poses the most serious question of the evening: “What world does this take place in? What world has dance battles?” Bill replies, “Nobody was all in, step up.”

Together Again
Blended
Expendables 3
The Immigrant WINNER!
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
22 Jump Street

The Weinstein Company presents what looks like another future indie hit. The trailer for The Immigrant looks like it’s set in the 1920s, Ellis Island as two immigrant sisters, one portrayed by Marion Cotillard, pursue the American Dream. Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner round out the cast in a trailer that appears to depict the American Nightmare. This one got a hearty applause.

Commentary: In Blended a bad date leads to tension between single parents portrayed by Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore in their third movie-couple pairing. Overheard: “They always make good movies together.” Will they or won’t they find love happily ever after? That’s the question. Only if their respective families can survive each other during a South African vacation. Bill and Tim disagreed on whether the movie is, as Bill says, “actually good, very funny.” Gotta love the movies, there’s something for everyone. Expendables 3 reunites the geriatric set. Stallone, Statham, Schwarzenegger, Gibson, Li, Snipes, Banderas, Lundgren, Crews, Ford. All action stars readily identifiable by last name. Couldn’t decide whether to sum up the trailer, “boys will be boys,” or “the boys are back in town.” Evidently, they need to prove that as men, they still have “it.” Directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller present a striking, visual trailer. It’s black and white interspersed with vivid tomes of primary colors: red, blue, etc. It makes a visually stylish and surreal city in which Eva Green and Josh Brolin are prominent. Fans of Sin City will probably love it. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum get to out-do their high school antics in 21 Jump Street as they again go undercover in this sequel, this time to college. Spring break mayhem follows. Plenty of chuckles.”

Why You Should Hate Old People (or Young People)
And So It Goes
Earth to Echo
The Fault in Our Stars WINNER!
The Giver
Obvious Child
Tammy

The trailer depicts budding young love between a seriously ill cancer-stricken teen character, portrayed by Shailene Woodley and her beau, portrayed by Ansel Elgort. Based on the John Green novel by the same title, the movie has the potential to be a major weeper. Cancer. Support groups. Best trailer quote so far: “I am in love with you. All of your efforts to keep me from you are going to fail.” Pass the tissues.

Commentary: And So It Goes with Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton looks a lot like Something’s Gotta Give minus Keanu Reeves. Earth to Echo looks like an updated E.T. A bunch of insignificant, pre-teen kids, self-proclaimed nobodies, discover an extraterrestrial being with superpowers – like the ability to deconstruct and reconstruct the molecules of a super-sized trailer. They befriend the extraterrestrial, name him, her, or it, “Echo” and help their newfound buddy to return home. Definitely E.T. for a new generation. Not sure what to make of The Giver trailer. There’s Meryl Streep. There’s Jeff Bridges and something about creative energy from the lowest point in life. Obvious Child wasn’t very obvious at all. In Tammy we see another vehicle for Melissa McCarthy to showcase her physical comedy talent. This time she’s paired with Susan Sarandon as her hard-drinking grandmother as they head cross-country.

You Will Not Believe Your Eyes
Boyhood WINNER! BEST TRAILER OVERALL!
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edge of Tomorrow
Guardians of the Galaxy
Jupiter Ascending
Maleficent

This trailer is highly unusual and deserved the kudos and wild applause. Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, and a young male protagonist, deal with coming of age issues in real-time. Bill explains that the movie was filmed over a 12-year period with portions of the script filmed two weeks a year. Hairdos, aging, growth, are all very real and natural. It’s like stringing home movies together. Bill also says it’s a well-told story. Deserving as the best of the evening.

Commentary: Bill and Tim provide an answer to the question of why certain actors choose to star in movies that are seemingly below par. They explain that some actors are inspired by the work and some have bills to pay – just like the rest of us! Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Mmmnn. I could hear an attendee shout, “Get your hands off me, you damn, dirty ape.” If only there was some memorable dialogue in this trailer. Bill and Tim suggest that the longer version of this trailer is much more effective at getting across the movie plot in this sequel. It’s clear that Caesar and the other apes are now organized and there’s going to be conflict over territory between them and humans, but that’s about all you’ll get, no memorable lines. Edge of Tomorrow is aptly described as Groundhog Day meets Independence Day. Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt suit up for sci-fi action and adventure. Bill observes that Tom Cruise is caught up in a “Live. Die. Repeat” holding pattern. Jupiter Ascending presents more 3-D sci-fi action and features Mila Kunis. Guardians of the Galaxy also is sci-fi. Marvel Comic’s characters are quirky superheroes. I, having absolutely no knowledge of the characters or the comics on which the movie is based, was a bit clueless as to what the movie is about, other than it looks like a sci-fi comedy. Glenn Close, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, are characters led by Starlord Peter Quill (Chris Pratt). Maleficent is Disney’s tale of the dark fairy’s side of the story in “Sleeping Beauty” and explores her motivations for evil, hatred, and revenge. The lovely Angelina Jolie as “Maleficent” gets to reveal her darker emotions.

BONUS TRAILERS

Of course, the evening would be incomplete without the bonus trailers. We saw Gone Girl with Ben Affleck starring as the prime suspect, the husband of the wife who mysteriously disappears. Then, Interstellar, featuring Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine in a November IMAX release about, well, interstellar travel. Finally, we saw a depiction of Peanuts with Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the gang all here in 3-D. Coming to theaters in 2015. These trailers weren’t included in the audience voting.

And so, our very sated movie-going audience enjoyed a full evening of trailer film surprises and promotional giveaways and prizes just for showing up. Always nice to add a free DVD to one’s collection, and there were lots of t-shirts, books, movie posters and other assorted movie memorabilia to please any discerning movie fan. See you at our next trailer program, and at the movies!

Thanks to all of the DC Film Society Directors, Coordinating Committee Members, and Volunteers for putting together this twice-annual educational program. And thanks to our uber hosts, Bill Henry and Tim Gordon for sharing their opinions and tolerating ours, Allied THA, Landmark Theatres, DC Shorts, and Filmfest DC.

The Cinema Lounge

Adam's Rib Searches for Movies' Greatest Year

Ida: Q&A with Director Pawel Pawlikowski

By Ron Gordner, DC Film Society Member

Ida (Poland/Denmark, 2013) is the story of a young orphaned novitiate nun (newcomer Agata Trzebuchowska) in Poland in the 1960’s about to take her vows, when she is contacted by an estranged Aunt Wanda (Agata Kulesza). She learns about her family's secrets from World War II and has a self-realization about her roots, who she is, and must decide where her future lies. The film is beautifully captured in black and white by cinematographers Ryszard Lenczewski and Lukasz Zal. Pawlikowski, who has made a few well-received films in the United Kingdom (including Last Resort (2000); My Summer of Love (2004); and The Woman in the Fifth (2011) co-wrote and directed this film in his native Poland. The film has been on the film festival circuit and has won many awards: The American Cinematographers’ 2014 Spotlight Award, the Fipresci International Critics Award for Special Presentations at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, and other nominations for best actress Agata Kulesza at many festivals. It also played locally at the DC Jewish Film Festival in February 2014. This presentation and discussion took place in October 2013 after a screening at the BFI London International Film Festival where it was awarded best film.



BFI Moderator: Pavel, this is a powerful and very precise story. Could you give some background on the story and your involvement with it?
Pavel Pawlikowski: Yes, although I would not consider it so precise. It is really very complicated showing chaos and then trying to find some order. I have wanted to make a film in my homeland Poland for some time. Another reason is the extraordinary story of the young girl about to become a nun, who discovers she is not what she thinks she is. She has faith, but seems to maybe lose it. It also deals with Christian and Jewish faiths and beliefs. My other source was my encounter with a prototype of the character Wanda. Thirty years ago I met an elderly academic woman in London named Helena, who was an alarmingly witty, warm, and funny creature who I had meals with often at that time. I lost contact with her and about 10 years later I found out that the Polish government was trying to extradite her on the grounds of many acts against humanity. She had been in the judicial system as a Marxist-Leninist in 1950’s Poland and had sent many people to their deaths. I was mystified that this warm person I knew could be different people at different stages in her life. Then most of the script was done and then with the help of Rebecca Lenkiewicz we created this young nun character to interact with the hard-edged older woman or aunt and the two stories seemed to enhance each other’s paths. I also had wanted to make a film back in Poland for some time. I wanted it to be a historical film, not one about modern Poland. I also still remember as a young child in Poland these images and the music and jazz that were so popular. So there were many reasons to make this film.

BFI Moderator: Do these images and stories also influence your aesthetic style and look of the film which has already had raves at Telluride and Toronto film festivals and has been compared to Dreyer, Bresson and of course the Polish new wave? What was it that informed your aesthetic choices for the film?
Pavel Pawlikowski: I really didn’t draw upon any special director or style. To me the writing was the important part to try and create images of and tell the story. Very early on to me it felt like it should be a black and white film. I also wanted it squeezed into this format with the high ceilings or horizons giving it a new perspective. Early on again when we tested shots for costumes, etc. we leaned the camera up and realized we liked to capture this area of more air. The film is shot in the classic, squared-off 1.37:1 Academy ratio. Suddenly it opened up a whole new way of looking at the world, even when it rained. It was really unconscious choices that were discovered at the time.

BFI Moderator: What made you choose a first time cinematographer for this picture?
Pavel Pawlikowski: It really wasn’t very bold at all. My original photographer Ryszard Lenczewski became ill early in the filming and so I used this young boy who was a camera operator, Lukasz Zal. He was 29 but he still looks like a boy to me. We had no choice but to shoot with him, and he turned out to be quite brilliant. I did give him the framing and character cues that I wanted clearly presented, but still he did a marvelous job. What he lacked in experience he made up in courage and artistic talent that helped me a great deal. After a few days, he really caught on and became a great talent to watch.

BFI Moderator: Also the casting is brilliant. The two leads are excellent. I understand that the young girl or actress playing Anna or Ida was a complete unknown. Can you tell us more about the casting process?
Pavel Pawlikowski: Well we have two extremes. The actress that plays Wanda, Agata Kulesza, is also not that old but is a virtuoso actress in Poland doing theater, TV, and film. Her character was also known also as Red Wanda because of her judgments against enemies of the state after the war. The other actress also an Agata, was a complete unknown that I discovered in a café and she never acted before in her life. Also she never wanted to act which was odd for a young woman today. There is something strong in her that the trained drama students didn’t get. Anna is a young woman devoted to God and the actress was not so devoted but was a feminist of sorts and really very serious about many things which are portrayed in her face. When I first saw her in the café she looked totally unlike the character Anna you see on the screen. She was dressed in hipster clothing, had rock hair and make-up. When we took all that away we had a very strong and unusual character. Agata Kulesza was very generous with the young actress Agata giving her instruction and lots of space to develop her own character.

Audience Question: What was the reaction in Poland when you showed it there in festivals and was the reaction surprising? What kind of reaction would you like to see, and would you like to make another film in Poland?
Pavel Pawlikowski: I don’t have a clue on how people should react to my films. I just want them to experience them. I don’t want this to develop into a political dialog about Catholic and Jewish issues. I don’t want any character to present just one idea, dogma or desire. Yes, I would like to make another film in Poland very much.

Audience Question: Does the pace of the film represent the inner life of the female characters or how she sees the world?
Pavel Pawlikowski: I didn’t seek out a specific pace but appreciate that you felt that.

Audience Question: What is your view on why she returned to the convent if she really did?
Pavel Pawlikowski: I think that it shows in her face that her faith is really unshaken after all that has happened. She went out into the world and discovered she didn’t need it.

Audience Question: For a period film it really felt authentic. Many modern films overdo the art or look to get it right and you lose the story in the art and furnishings. How difficult it was for you to find the city and rural locations that worked so well?
Pavel Pawlikowski: It was difficult since Poland has changed so much. We traveled around a lot to find these special locations. We found the city of Lodz and rural areas in the film called Lublin. That still looks somewhat as it did in the 1950s and 1960s and we tried to find areas that expressed what we wanted to show. My production designer was very good and I had my old family photo albums which also helped.

Audience Question: There were parallels of the characters and their flipping from their previous roles and the framing added to it.
Pavel Pawlikowski: The framing didn’t involve this part of the character development. I like the border areas and showing the clash of one area ending and another beginning.

Audience Question: How much was written such as Wanda’s suicide which was minimalistic. Was more shot and then edited down or was that the original idea?
Pavel Pawlikowski: We did a great deal of rewriting and editing during the filming. We had some restrictions on some days and had to stop filming which gave me time to do rewriting. Editing was done later. That is the way I work with a beginning script and making many changes.

Ida opened in the DC area on May 18 and in currently showing in four theaters.

Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia: Q&A with Director Nicholas Wrathall

By James McCaskill, DC Film Society Member

Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia (Nicholas Wrathall, USA, 2013) is scheduled to open at Landmark's E Street Cinema on June 6. The film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Filmfest DC.

Time to dust off the Thesaurus, we're going to talk about Gore Vidal. How can we describe a man of accomplishments like Gore Vidal: loquacious, patrician, acerbic. During his lifetime he published 25 novels, 2 memoirs, plays, TV dramas and screenplays. His maternal grandfather was the Oklahoma senator Thomas Gore. He and Jacqueline Kennedy had the same stepfather, Standard Oil heir, Hugh D. Auchincloss and at different times both lived in Northern Virginia's Merrywood.

Known for his biting quips: "Andy Warhol is the only genius I know with an IQ of 60." "Write something, even if it is a suicide note." "Fifty percent of people won't vote and fifty percent don't read newspapers. I hope it is the same fifty percent."

The following Q&A took place on October 12 at the London Film Festival. Director/screenwriter Nicholas Wrathall answered questions; the event was moderated by a Senior festival programmer.

Moderator: When did you first approach Gore Vidal?
Nicholas Wrathall: I approached him in 2005 through his nephew Burr Steers, a friend of mine. It was a very casual meeting; I was invited to Easter brunch with him. We had the idea and just discussed it with Gore, actually talked with him. He seemed to know everything. He personally knew everyone. Soon after the brunch he was selling the house so we sort of rushed out and filmed his scenes. Making the film was a slow process; getting the film out, getting financing. It was part-time for quite a while. People had something else going on.

Moderator: You are following the end of his life; the last comment in the film was when you asked about his legacy. Do you think he was concerned?
Nicholas Wrathall: I think he cared about his legacy. He did not like to speak about himself but I definitely think he cared about his legacy. He was working right up to the end of his life. Still doing television and radio interviews. Still writing. For me the film was a chance to build something of his legacy. He was very aware of that.

Moderator: For all the sense that Vidal was a public figure, he was also someone who was quite guarded about his private life. He didn't talk about partners. Was it difficult to arrange the trip to Ravello, Italy?
Nicholas Wrathall: That trip to Ravello--it was just very fortunate for me and the film that when I arrived he was very open. He was quite melancholy, very reflective. One of the few times that I got to see that side of him and show it on camera. For, as you say, he was very guarded and generally when I asked him about his personal life - about his mother, his personal life, anything about his feelings, he would just sort of brush aside the question. Maybe made some joke about it. It was quite difficult to get an answer. We brought in other people who knew him well. I think that scene at Ravello enabled me to see inside of him. He generally had a prickly exterior but he was also a very generous man, had a soft side and I got to see that as well. On camera he had his agenda. Presented himself in a certain way. That was not going to change.

Audience Question: What would he have made of the Tea Party today?
Nicholas Wrathall: I would hate to put words in his mouth. He was horrified at the extremist, those who are small minded. I think it is obvious looking at his views throughout; we know how he would feel about those people. He was pretty negative and bitter toward the end. One of the things I did see him get excited about was the Occupy thing. He was thrilled that young people were talking about issues and were out in the street. I didn't speak to him about the Tea Party but you can imagine his view.

Audience Question: There were so many people in his life. Any people that you wish you could have interviewed about him?
Nicholas Wrathall: There were indeed so many people that he knew. I guess Paul Newman. (Vidal had dated Joanne Woodward before Paul. Joanne and Paul had lived with Gore briefly after their marriage.) It would have been amazing to have spoken to him about their relationship, their friendship but like so many of his generation has gone. He outlived most of his friends and peers. Also in the beginning I wanted to make the film about him and it was only after we got started in the edit phase that we got to think about others, people we should have interviewed. I wasn't really seeking out lots of different people to get opinions about him. We were more focused on him. Definitely Newman would have been amazing.

Audience Question: Did you contact Paul Newman?
Nicholas Wrathall: No, I didn't. We were just getting started on the film when he passed away.

Audience Question: What did you think of his conspiracy theories?
Nicholas Wrathall: I never really saw him as a conspiracy theorist. Definitely a Washington insider. A member of the political class and family his whole life. Knew the way Washington worked. About 9/11 specifically I guess he was accused of being a conspiracy theorist. A lot of people have discussed that. He sorta stepped back from it because he was alarmed at the time. I didn't see him as a conspiracy theorist. I think, as he said, it's easy to label people like that to diminish what they are saying. He was very aware of that so he avoided having that label attached to him.

Audience Question: Was he happy to discuss anything or did he direct you to go to those things he wanted to talk about?
Nicholas Wrathall: He was so tricky, there were definitely times when I was in trouble with him. When Gore shortened the interview, there were lulls in the conversation on things I wanted to talk about. Most of the time he had his agenda, things he wanted to speak about: current affairs, what was happening. I could get him around to answer most questions in the end. You would ask him one question he'd answer quickly and them talk about 15 minutes on what he wanted. He didn't have any editoriral input in the film. He definitely spoke about what he wanted to speak about. Always. I did a lot of different interviews with him and got most of my questions answered.

Audience Question: Given how much time, effort and money that has to be raised to make a documentary film: (a) why did you chose Gore Vidal as a subject; (b) do you think he is important because he was a public celebrity, a writer or because of his ideas? Of these what will last?
Nicholas Wrathall: I think he is important for all those reasons. In meeting him I saw a great opportunity to make a film and a chance to look at the second half of the 20th Century through his eyes which I thought was a point of view that was not being expressed today in the general media. He was someone who could express it clearly and have the stage, that public intellectual the US has lost now. There is no one stepping into his shoes. As far as what will last I hope that his ideas will last.

Audience Question: Will some of the interviews, especially Gorbachev's be made available?
Nicholas Wrathall: Not at this stage. I am planning to put some extras on the DVD, maybe on the website. Once distribution is finalized we will put out other material. A lot of people have asked. We had a much longer cut of the film that included a lot more but has been cut down. We had to make choices.

Audience Question: Did you consider getting UK film funds?
Nicholas Wrathall: I never really discussed getting UK film funds. We focused on the US. He had a lot of friends in the UK and really admired the system here. I did go through a lot of archives at the film institute here, many clips especially the early clips were from the UK television. It was really interesting for me and also for an American audience to see the material that they probably haven't seen in the States.

Audience Question: What do you expect the distribution to be in the UK?
Nicholas Wrathall: We are sort of working on it now; cinema and TV offers are being considered now. We are waiting to finalize them. We expect to have a small theatrical release in the US followed by television. TV in the UK will probably be March 2014. The film has started to screen in Europe as well as Australia. Hopefully on and on.

Audience Question: What was his involvement in the Gay Movement? (He claimed that by age 25 he had 1,000 male and female lovers.)
Nicholas Wrathall: He was never really involved in the later gay movement. I think a lot of people were hoping he would be. I asked him about gay marriage and he said something about everyone sharing the misery of marriage. He was not involved at that point.

Audience Question: What abut him did you think was admirable and at the other end, that you really despised?
Nicholas Wrathall: I admired that off camera he was a very caring person. I saw him with his grandnieces and people he worked with and he was very generous. With me he was always willing to talk about things, anything really. He was generous despite his public persona. I liked his tremendous knowledge. On the dark side: he was incredibly bitchy as you can imagine. His nephew is a good friend of mine. He was so cruel to him in my presence. I can't imagine what he said about me when I wasn't there. How did Gore Vidal describe himself? "I'm exactly as I appear. There is no warm, lovable person inside. Beneath my cold exterior, once you break the ice you find cold water."

Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia is scheduled to open at Landmark's E Street Cinema on June 6.

We Are the Best: Q&A with Director Lukas Moodysson

By Ron Gordner, DC Film Society Member

We Are the Best (Vi är bäst! Sweden/Denmark, 2013) is about three 12 year old girls in 1980’s Stockholm, Sweden area that decide to start a punk band. The problem is that the band’s originating girls don’t have instruments and also say punk is not dead. A comic and touching coming of age drama, finds best friends Bobo and Klara as outsiders in school and then they find slightly older Hedwig who is prettier and can play the base and sing, but is considered a square by her classmates and has a very strict family. Location shooting is done in Södermalm, and nearby Stockholm and Stockholms län, Sweden. The girls deal with their parents, siblings, growing interest in boys, and getting funding as a girls’ band in this story of teenage self-discovery. The film was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2013 with the director Lukas Moodysson in discussion. It also played in the DC area at the EU or European Union Film Festival at the AFI Silver Theatre in December 2013. It is scheduled to arrive in the DC area on June 13, 2014. The film is in Swedish with English subtitles and has won awards at the Tokyo Film Festival, Reykjavik Film Festival and Göteberg Film Festival. Some of Moodysson’s other darker or lauded more dramatic films have included Show Me Love (1998) and Lilya 4-Ever (2002). The following Q&A took place at the Toronto Film Festival.



Audience Question: Where did you find those girls for the film?
Lukas Moodysson: Mainly in Stockholm. The girls are: Mira Barkhammar as Bobo, Mira Grosin as Klara, and Liv LeMoyne as Hedvig.

Audience Question: Is this well-known music of the time or is it made for film? Is the soundtrack available?
Lukas Moodysson: The music they play is made for the film but the music they listen to, yes is well-known in Sweden and especially at that time in the 1980s. People like me who were about 12 at this time and grew up in Sweden have fond memories of this music and making the film 30 years later gives me a sweet reminder of those times and my childhood, so this is a very special film for me. As for availability, I don’t know. Some of this is available to find on the Internet. I guess we will make a very limited soundtrack to make available for sale, maybe on vinyl. So look out for that.

Audience Question: How did you rehearse the girls?
Lukas Moodysson: It’s funny because I was teaching film school in England just before this film. I told them the same thing I told my students. Just relax, you are allowed to try new things, to fail if necessary to learn. A director creates a very safe environment for the actors and we rehearsed a lot, but also improvised a lot and use much of that. I don’t want to use psychology and other methods. The important thing is that the crew and actors get water, and coffee and snacks when they need it and feel comfortable with rehearsing and creating their characters and the story.

Audience Question: Was the film highly scripted or highly improvised?
Lukas Moodysson: I wrote the script myself based on my wife’s graphic novel which is about 90% autobiographical. I then wrote the script in more detail. I respect the screenwriter which was me in this case. I also have problems putting on and taking off my glasses, so I have a script reader to help me start the shooting of scenes and then we do some improvising as needed to take the scene where it needs to go to. I am more interested in the scenes and details of the scenes themselves, more than the overall storytelling. I am concerned about the one or two lines delivered more than the story and I hope the story is connected by the detailed scenes. The girls sometimes followed the script quite closely and other times they improvised what they felt the characters should do.

Audience Question: Did the girls know about punk music?
Lukas Moodysson: I didn’t care about that before the film so much. They got some background. I was more concerned with the language of the day and popular and punk culture then as compared today. We also discussed the real characters, my wife and her girlfriends, who in 1982 didn’t really want to look like pretty girls then and had different ideals. They didn’t want to look cute. They wanted to look funny and tough, not something the boys in school would consider pretty. This is very much different from the actors' real selves and their concerns with clothing and looking as pretty young girls.

Audience Question: Does the film address LGBT themes in Sweden as some of your other films have or about the issues at that time.
Lukas Moodysson: This film doesn’t really get into that. I don’t want to address that since this is mainly a generations type film and sexuality wasn’t a big theme in this film.

Audience Question: What did the actresses think when they saw themselves in the film?
Lukas Moodysson: That’s interesting, because when they first saw it, the theatre projection was poor and had technical sound problems. Then we just showed it at the Venice Film Festival. I am Swedish and of course low key, so you know sometimes at the festivals only 3 people show up or they may boo the film, so I was prepared for anything. The Venice screening got lots of applause and good press and so it was very successful for them this time and the big thrill was that they got to meet Harry Potter.

Audience Question: Did you find it easy or hard to relate to 12 year girls and actors to get what you needed as a director?
Lukas Moodysson: I had no problem. I direct with a team, sound and script team, etc. We had a number of female cast and crew member to help out and make the experience relaxed for them. I also think maybe I have a little girl or boy still inside me yet, so that helped me relate well with the girls.

Audience Question: Does the actress playing Hedwig really play the base?
Lukas Moodysson: Yes that is the actress Liv playing Hedwig really playing and singing.

Audience Question: Does the film end where the graphic novel ends also, or are there further adventures of those girls?
Lukas Moodysson: Well, I must tell you I did change things from the graphic novel. For instance, there is no Hedwig character in the graphic novel. The three girls are there at the beginning. As mentioned I don’t respect the story as much as the characters and tone of the story which I tried to capture with other details. The novel ends with the dream which I did put in the film.

Audience Question: Do you know how the film will be rated in Canada and the United States so kids can see it?
Lukas Moodysson: I am not the right person to discuss that. I hope that those who were 13 years old in 1982 and the 13 year olds today will both see it and compare the social atmospheres of then and today.

We Are the Best! is scheduled to open at Landmark's E Street Cinema on June 13.

Adam's Rib Previews AFI Docs with Head Programmer Andrea Passafiume

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