[This article courtesy of www.osv.ltd.uk]
The April issue of “Shelf Unbound” magazine named the 3-e-book series THE COLOR OF EVIL one of the Best Indie Books of the Year. (#44, p. 98)
I’ve been crafting a screenplay based on Book One. We’ll see how that fares. It had the assistance (feedback) of a Hollywood producer responsible for the purchase (by his studio) of “Memento,” “Donnie Darko” and “The Passion of the Christ” and, also, of Dan Decker, AFI Film School graduate and founder of the Chicago Screenwriting School.
Guest post by Zayin Allen
(A La Siskel & Ebert here….)
Marvel’s Black Panther is historic and iconic all at the same time. The film has brought in nothing but positive reviews, and the conversation concerning the film’s importance has been further increased by positive social media. This happened even before the film was released. (*Generally, this means that the P.R. machine of the studio was working in high gear and working well.)
Under the expert direction of Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed), this film is more than a superhero blockbuster; it has become a movement all its own. Director Coogler deserves kudos for touching on some tough topics, like the incarceration of people of color and the gentrification of their neighborhoods.
The film acknowledges everything from the traditions of African societies to debatable topics pertaining to the African American community. (*Connie wonders what the ‘debatable topics’ might be, since she has not yet seen the film. Debatable by whom? Who is debating what?) Black Panther is a film filled to the brim with power and extolling the beauty of black women who aren’t pushed to the side but are a key element to the nation of Wakanda.
The all-female protection squad, Dora Milaje, make their power known through their chant “WAKANDA FOREVER,” followed by the strong and culturally iconic X emblazoned across their chests.
Tennis player Sachia Vickery crosses arms on chest in celebration of victory (L). US athlete Tommie Smith raising his fist in protest at the 1968 Summer Olympics (R)
All in all, Wakanda, which is an eyegasm (*Connie says: W-H-A-A-T?) for audiences, isn’t the same film for white viewers as the film black viewers see. Seeing modern day African American kings and queen gives African Americans in this country a certain measure of cultural comfort. (*I wonder if that is a true statement with Jeff ‘Beauregard’ Sessions as our Attorney General and Donald Trump as Agent Orange, but let’s not get off on politics here. CW)
Africa has often been viewed as an eye sore, especially in the American media (*or when Donald Trump trashes the entire continent, actually referring to it as “a s—hole.”). Past generations viewed the second largest continent in the world as chaotic, impoverished, and savage. (*Probably past and present. Who knows about the future?) Today’s generation will envision Wakanda when asked about their perception of Africa.
(*Connie says she doubts this, because there are plenty of other films about Africa that are not as glowingly positive about this FICTIONAL country in this particular film. It’s like saying that we should all move to the country where “Wonder Woman” was shot, if we are female. Welllll, there IS no such country, is there, now? I think the film will be good, but I don’t think I’ll regard it as a travelogue look at the REAL Africa. Especially not after I watched that horrible 2016 turkey “93 Days” that Danny Glover was in (Chicago Film Festival offering) about the Ebola virus in Africa. You can only watch so many people bleeding to death onscreen before you say, “Uh….book me to a different country/nation/continent, Ma’am.”)
Black Panther offers a positive look at the African American experience. (*Except that it’s not a real country and that might make it a bit dubious. It’s like saying: ‘Avatar offers a positive look at Jupiter.’ (or wherever that was supposed to have been in the sci-fi film by James Cameron. Total fiction, in other words. But I digress and this isn’t Zayin. This is a bit like Siskel & Ebert here. Old vs young? Marvel Comics fan versus really good movie fan? Something like that. I’d also point out that Black Panther’s “rating” on IMDB is 7.8; “A Quiet Place,” which has not opened wide yet, is 8.4 and rising.)
Black Panther has been doing so well at the box office for the simple reason that it is different. (*Connie says it is also because of its terrific cast, but....) The film offers a powerful image of the culture. It’s what’s behind the shine of Wakanda; it’s what is behind the message of Killmonger. It’s what is behind T’Challa’s 16- year old genius Shuri, whose intellect surpasses Tony Stark aka Iron Man.
(*Connie was not impressed with Iron Man’s intellect after film #1 and is glad to hear that the great actor Robert Downey, Jr., might quit being Iron Man after one more film and go back to actually good roles. First one was fun. Others? Not so much.)
These messages and visuals on the screen are what make Black Panther a successful film. (*Again: many reasons why it is a successful film, including a good script, good cinematography, good acting, good directing, etc., but okay.) It’s a film where African Americans can step outside hatred and judgment and be unapologetically black.
(*O…..K….Connie will review the film, no doubt positively, at a later date and, no doubt, differently than Zayin. I thought Chadwick Boseman should have gotten an Oscar nomination for “Get On Up” (which, by the way, Mick Jagger produced/financed) but Boseman didn’t, because the studio released it at a really stupid time of the year. Boseman was also very, very nice when in Chicago at the Premiere of “Marshall” and If I have a picture of him there, I will use it when I am done here.
Chadwick Boseman at the Premiere of “Marshall” in Chicago. (Photo by Connie Wilson)
Guest Review by Zayin Allen
Writer-director Michael Larnell tells the true story of Lolita ‘Roxanne Shanté’ Gooden (Chante Adams) in “Roxanne, Roxanne.” She was a young teen who journeyed from the battle rap queen of Queensbridge, NY, to shattering the glass ceiling with her iconic freestyle “Roxanne’s Revenge” over the beat of Untouchable Force Organization “Roxanne, Roxanne”.
Afficionados of hip hop will have fan moments over the subtle hints of hip hop gems along the way. The film is refreshing because it offers a new perspective, a woman’s perspective. Executive-Producer Roxanne Shanté herself made sure that the film was centered around music, bur it also had moments where viewers understood the other side of music.
Roxanne Roxanne revolved around a young girl being immersed in an adult world too quickly. It’s a similar situation with most talented artists who become famous too fast.
The film was well acted by Hollywood’s finest Nia Long (Boyz N The Hood) and Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) . The real breakout star has to be Chanté Adams who, in her first role after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, s a newcomer captures the essence of Roxanne Shante.
Roxanne Roxanne/Netflix
You’ll be drawn to the intensity and chemistry of Nia Long and Chanté Adams on screen. The mother daughter dynamic between the two is powerful. Nia Long’s performance will hold your attention. It is as though she’s trying to teach a life lesson to the viewer.
Shanté’s story was a story that needed to be told, but it was more suited to be on Netflix rather than be released as an actual theatrical release like Straight Outta Compton or Notorious. As a fan of the Hip Hop genre I’m quite disappointed with myself for previously missing out on a performer as talented as Roxanne Shante. This is why more Hip Hop biopics such as (NOTORIOUS, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON) should be done PROPERLY. It helps to highlight the story of under-appreciated rap pioneers all while complementing the message that not everything comes easy and a mother is usually right.
ROXANNE ROXANNE is rushed but well put together story about a young African American teen girl who, although struggling against great odds, opened a door for many to follow in the hip hop industry.
That, alone, is noteworthy.
**************
(I know almost nothing about rap music, but I did see the recent Tupac Shakur docu-pic, which came out at the same time as ‘Wonder Woman.” I confess that after Slim Shady and Eminem and a brief shining moment when L. L. Cool Jay was my son’s hero (in his high school years) and, as a result, he and a friend went into a studio and made a rap record with their own money, I haven’t given rap music much thought since. I’ve heard the names, of course, but I’ve tried not to hear the rap ballads/albums. This is a good area—along with Marvel movies—for a young man like Zayin to follow. My one comment is that it seems sort of hypocritical that this film wasn’t helmed by a woman. The thing that is all the rage this year at film festivals: flicks directed by women. It’s the coming thing, and it’s about time. Here is a movie about a female rapper, but it’s directed by a man. Does anyone else find that odd in the year of “Lady Bird” (nominated as Best Picture and directed by Greta Gerwig) or Miranda Bailley’s film at SXSW or the fact that 40% of the films at the 53rd Chicago International Film Festival were helmed by women? I’m just asking, not telling. C.W.)
Guest Review by Zayin Allen
Coming off the hype of “Black Panther,” the top-grossing super hero movie of all time, Marvel Studios has a hard act to follow. “Black Panther” offered both a step forward for the culture and a much needed change within the superhero genre. “Black Panther” changed the momentum of the Marvel Universe. A different villain who was right, is, in a sense, a different hero, going in a different direction.
“Avengers Infinity Wars” will have to change its dynamic altogether. As much as I hate to say it, Marvel has the superhero movie genre locked down right now. DC needs to be better coming off its recent flop.
The problem with Marvel was the villain, but “Black Panther” succeeded where the last 12 MCU films failed. This means the highly anticipated arrival of a villain who can tie together all MCU films has to be great.
*cue Thanos*
Josh Brolin will be reprising the role, having previously voiced the Mad Titan. Although his stature and demeanor are menacing, his true power has yet to be unveiled. His goal is to collect the Infinity Stone and take over the universe. We last saw him in the post credit scene of Guardians 2 proclaiming after many failed attempts he would get them himself.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has offered fans at least three of the five Infinity Stones. The Space Stone ( Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers), The Reality Stone (Thor: The Dark World) The Power Orb (from Guardians of the Galaxy) and The Time Stone( Doctor Strange).
The last remaining stone The Soul Stone has yet to be revealed in the MCU. More than likely in ” The Avengers: Infinity Wars”, at which point Thanos will either collect or know the whereabouts of the stones and use them for the Infinity Gauntlet, which will grant him unforeseeable power. Each individual stone has great power on their own, but with all of them together, that represents the call of action for all seen and hopefully unseen heroes in the MCU.
The proper formula for a superhero movie calls for a good villain, a sacrifice, and a triumphant return. (Hence, “Dark Knight,” “Black Panther,” “Alien”, and what should have been “Justice League”).
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige himself said that Thanos, within the first five minutes of “Infinity Wars” will prove why he’s a sinister and destructive force. Both Chris Evans (Captain America) and Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) hinted that the fourth “Avengers film” would be their last. [*To which this old person says, ‘We can only hope and pray.'”]
Someone is going to go out in a devastating way in “Avengers: Infinity Wars” but who and how is why seats will be filled April 26th.
(The review opinions above are from Zayin Allen, a college student in Delaware, who is enthusiastic about these movies. May I simply say: JUST SHOOT ME NOW if I have to watch any of these movies,— with the possible exception of “Black Panther.”)
“Write When You Get Work”, written and directed by Stacey Cochran (on right) had its World Premiere at SXSW. It is a romantic caper of thievery, money, and access, shot on Super16 in New York.
When the film opens, we see Finn Wittrock and Rachel Keller in a passionate embrace at the beach. The chemistry is so hot that it might melt the ice in your drink. It is 9 years before the main plot, and this couple are not only gorgeous, but obviously deeply in love with one another.
Stacy Cochran, Writer-Director of “Write When You Get Work” and co-star Andrew Schulz in Austin at SXSW. (Photo by Connie Wilson for WeeklyWilson.com and TheMovieBlog.com)
However, Jonny Collins (Finn Wittrock) is a bad boy who is never going to stop being a bad boy. He gets his lady love into all sorts of trouble when they are young. (“Four convictions in one year as a minor!” says her employer at a private school that has hired her, Guy Brinckerhoff (Scott Cohen).
Rachel Keller, a St. Paul, MN, native who appeared in the 2014 “Fargo” TV series is trying to go straight. She has gotten her life together, and she is not in any mood to have it wrecked again by Jonny, who reappears in her life and seems unwilling to stop showing up.
Finn Wittrock, who appeared as a psychotic clown Dandy Mott from 2014-2016 on “American Horror Story” is a Julliard graduate who hopes that theater work will continue to find him. He says he “caught the acting bug from my dad,” who is an actor and voice teacher. Although only 5′ 9″, he is a handsome, charismatic leading man and his pairing with Rachel Keller was wonderful.
Stacy Cochran, Writer/Director of “Write When You Get Work.” (Photo by Connie Wilson for WeeklyWilson.com and TheMovieBlog.com)
Playing Jonny Collins’ best friend, Sticker, otherwise named Mitchell Mullen Vegas was Andrew Schulz, who showed up at SXSW. He is a producer and actor known for “Sneaky Pete” (2015). The plot is propelled forward by the fact that Sticker is married to an African American policewoman and they have a darling little girl who is about ready to start pre-school.
Much of the story centers on how getting into the “right” pre-school is uber important in New York City. The figure $35,000 is thrown out for the cost of one student to attend the prestigious Luscinia School, which Rachel Keller’s character has recently joined as its Director of Admissions.
The film had a very nice “twist” ending which I won’t ruin for you. It’s a nice film and a pleasant surprise. See it if you get the chance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd_pMz4TlS4
“Galveston,” based on the novel by Nic Pizzolatto, World Premiered here last Saturday (March 10th). Although I was assigned Red Carpet duties for “Galveston” and Ben Foster, its star, was supposed to attend, along with Elle Fanning, it would have meant missing out on an interview with the screenwriters for “A Quiet Place.” I saw it at the end of the festival, instead, without Ben Foster or Elle Fanning.
The brief plot summary for “Galveston”: “After surviving a set-up by his criminal boss (Beau Bridges), a hitman rescues a young prostitute and flees with her to Galveston, Texas, where the two find strength in each other as dangerous pursuers and the shadows of their pasts follow close behind.”
The novel the film was based on (“Galveston”) was written by Nic Pozaletti, novelist-turned-screenwriter who wrote 22 episodes of television’s “True Detective” series. Directed by Melanie Laurent, she also scripted it, and it wasn’t as strong as the source material. Producer was 74-year-old Jean Doumanian, better known for producing many of Woody Allen’s best-known films, [before he sued her over “The Jade Scorpion,” when she announced that he had 2 days to find alternative financing and Allen said she had been skimming]. [Interestingly, Doumanian also had a brief, troubled tenure running “Saturday Night Live” in 1980-1981 before Lorne Michaels returned. The credits for “Galveston” read “Jean Doumanian Productions, in association with Storm Outside.” Low Spark films appears as the company that helmed this and, later, when a motel used in the production is named Emerald Shores Motel, it is noteworthy that the company mentioned is Emerald Shores LLC. It is also true that the Motel’s desk woman, Nanee Covington, is well played by C.K. McFarland.]
THE GOOD
Ben Foster (Pinterest)
Nobody can put sheer intensity and emotion onscreen better than Ben Foster, the Fairfield, Iowa, native who has studied Transcendental Meditation since the age of 4. Foster dropped out of high school in his freshman year and flew to Los Angeles, based on the strength of an audition tape, to be cast at 16 in a TV show called “Flash Forward.” He never looked back and came to the attention of the public, in general. for his superb work in “Hostage” with Bruce Willis, playing a character named Marshall “Mars” Krupcheck, in 2005.
By that point, I was watching him portray Russell Corwin on “Six Feet Under” (2003-2005) and admiring his acting intensity. Of this quality, he has said, “That is source, that is art, that is spirituality. And meditation is a way to defy fear and experience that source.” It seems to have served him well. He has racked up some impressive roles in films like “The Messenger” in 2009, opposite Woody Harrelson, portraying Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery, whose task it is to tell soldiers’ families that their loved one has died in combat. Before that, there was Charlie Prince in “3:10 to Yuma” in 2007 and “Alpha Dog” as Jake Magursky in 2006.
Foster, selected in surveys when very young as an actor to watch, has said, “The heat around young actors burns out. Natural ability and magnetism only get you so far. The rest is hard work.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhV-zWM0AHs
Foster’s co-star in “Galveston,” Elle Fanning, is another young actress who knows all about starting young. Fanning began working on film as the younger version of her older sister, Dakota, at the age of 3, in “Taken” and “I Am Sam.”
Only 19 now, she was just as intense as Foster in her scenes as a young girl from Orange, Georgia, trying to escape a troubled past that included sexual abuse by her stepfather that results in a child, Tiffany (played as a child by Tinsley & Anniston Price and also by Lili Bernhart as a 23-year-old). She upped her game because Foster brought out the best in her, perhaps.
The acting in this film is over-the-top good.
THE BAD
The plot , script and direction: not so much.
The overall tone and setting of gritty reality was done well, and the costume design by Lynette Meyer to portray Elle as a trashy young thing was excellent, although to dismiss her character of “Rocky” as “a prostitute” is to shortchange that character. She is more an innocent with no other way to support herself than a true professional lady of the evening.
Rocky (Raquel/Fanning) shows up in the plot when Roy Cady (Ben Foster) is sent to rob a house which, in reality, is a set-up by his evil boss (who runs a laundromat), Stan Pithco (played by a decidedly portly and greasy Beau Bridges). When Roy manages to survive the hit, he notices a pretty girl in a red dress tied to a chair. Almost on impulse, Roy cuts her loose and takes her with him— not as a hostage, but more as an act of mercy.
The script, in fact, spells this out in dialogue between Fanning and Foster, when she asks why he is kidnapping her. He responds, “I saved you. Be clear on that.” Later, Foster goes to the wall for the young girl and her sister/daughter (think “Chinatown”), telling the now-grown-up Tiffany, “All this time I was your friend. You weren’t abandoned.”
There is a story line that involves Cady’s incorrect assumption that he is dying of lung cancer, his drinking (“You look like hell and you smell like it, too”) and his altruistic act(s) in defense of “Rocky”, whose real name is Raquel Arceneaux (Elle Fanning). Never do we get the impression that the 40-year-old and the 19-year-old are sexually involved, (although they do have one memorable date that might have led down that path, had the path been slightly longer.)
There are storms and rain and approaching hurricanes throughout the film (think Shakespeare) and the end made very little sense, except as it evoked a literary novel. By the denouement, the entire film will leave you marveling at the acting while feeling like you really need a stiff drink to recover from the many godawful things that have just happened to the characters.
VERDICT
I enjoy watching Ben Foster work. He has the same ability that Michael Shannon has to completely dominate the screen with his intensity. Elle Fanning also has come a long way from previous films. She did a stand-out job opposite Foster. Maybe his excellence brought out the best in her?
I originally selected this film for Red Carpet duties because I met Foster once before, in Chicago, when he appeared there with “The Messenger” in 2009. He is nothing if not intense, but he is also a good interview and not at all like the almost psychopathic types he occasionally inhabits onscreen. Then the opportunity for interviewing the screenwriters from “A Quiet Place” loomed, in conflict with those duties, so I finally caught the film today at its last showing, and I’ve given you Elle Fanning’s comments (above).
Perhaps Foster will mellow even more as his daughter with Laura Prepon (“The Hero”) approaches one year old this August, and his years (2014 and 2015) with Robin Wright (Penn), 14 years his senior, fade into oblivion.
See “Galveston” for the acting, but don’t try to make too much sense of the ending, nor of the scenes with Roy’s former African-American girlfriend, Lorraine (Adepero Oduye), which could have been omitted completely without harming the plot.
This is a French person’s script and take on life in the South (shot in Savannah, Georgia and elsewhere in Georgia with many references to Austin, where Pizzolatto was once a bartender). That could account for some of what I found unsatisfactory about the film. My roommate was a French major in college, so, one year at the Chicago Film Festival (she accompanied me), we watched nothing but films that were in French with English subtitles. Fun for her. For me? Not so much. [ If you’ve watched many French films, you’ll know what I mean.] I think the movie might have been better served in the Director/Writer area by utilizing a more-experienced U.S. director of either gender .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWkS1gO3aNI
“Final Portrait” is Stanley Tucci’s writing/directing tour de force, the sixth such venture for him. Tucci is a veteran character actor whom we have seen in many movies since 1985, including one Oscar-nominated role as the killer in “The Lovely Bones” and his continuing role in “The Hunger Games” as the colorful Caesar Flickerman.
He was to have been on the Red Carpet for “Final Portrait” on March 9th at the Stateside Theater in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, but only Armie Hammer, the film’s co-star appeared. Fresh off of “Call Me By Your Name,” some interviewers asked him about his high profile in Hollywood at this time. He praised the great work ethic of co-star Geoffrey Rush (whom I met in Chicago at the premiere of 2013’s “The Book Thief.”)
Armie Hammer and wife at the Red Carpet for Final Portrait, Stanley Tucci’s film. (Photo by Connie Wilson).
The cast included co-star (and Oscar winner) Geoffrey Rush, Clemence Poesy, Tony Shalhoub, and Sylvie Testud. It is the story of the touching and offbeat friendship between world-renowned artist Alberto Giacometti and American writer and art-lover James Lord. It is based on Lord’s memoir.
We waited in the small lobby of the old Stateside Theater for quite some time until, finally, I tried to sneak in and be seated. I was told that they “weren’t quite ready” setting up. Later, we learned that 2 projectors had gone down. A young man was seen carrying a laptop into the theater, in the hopes that the film could be streamed.
“Final Portrait” Red Carpet at SXSW. (Photo by Connie Wilson for WeeklyWilson & The Movie Blog).
Stanley Tucci, who did not show this night, is married to Felicity Blunt, the older sister of Emily Blunt. His first wife died of cancer in 2009 and Tucci and Felicity got engaged in 2011 and were married in 2012. It was Emily who introduced Tucci to Felicity when Emily and Stanley were co-starring in “The Devil Wears Prada.”
Since Emily Blunt’s movie with her husband John Krasinski was premiering right next door at the Paramount at the same time, and it was unclear whether “Final Portrait” was really going to be shown, I made an executive decision to go see “A Quiet Place.”
For me, the thought of creatures that might kill you if you make a sound was more intriguing than Alberto Giacometti. I think I made the right decision, as “A Quiet Place” was one of the best movies I’ve seen in ages. Still, had Tucci shown up, it would have almost been like a family gathering, as his sister-in-law appeared on the screen next door, where she defended her family in a harrowing dystopian world.
“A Quiet Place” was the place for me.
Scottish bicyclist tries to qualify for the Tour de France after a 2-year ban, at age 37.
Two documentaries showing at SXSW deal with the difficulty of being an athlete and hanging it up (i.e., retiring). Those two are “Time Trial” by Finlay Pretsel of Scotland and “Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes,” directed by Robert S. Bader. Cavett is 81 now and traveled to Austin with the documentary.
Scottish director Pretsel shot film of Scottish bicyclist David Millar’s final attempt to qualify for the Tour de France after a 2-year suspension for doping. It was shot, colorfully, from the point-of-view of the cyclist. We learn that Millar got his first road bike at 15 and, while he only wanted one win at the Tour, he has competed there 12 times.
Robert Bader, director of “Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes.
Millar won in 2003, but was later shown to have used drugs. He was banned for 2 years for using EPC. He has felt himself a cheat since that time and this is a story of redemption.
Millar’s trial is Pelleton, a tough gig and, ultimately, Millar is cut from the tour by Charlie, the team leader, and we see him shedding tears in a moment of extreme vulnerability. I, for one, felt he had the look of a haunted man, and I wondered if Lance Davenport looks this way when you meet him.
The director of the bicycling documentary said, “I feel like I’ve had this in the back of my mind for many years. The only UK cyclist in the Tour de France—the best Scottish cyclist ever.” He did share with us that he considered the film to be capturing “this bizarre sport in a microcosm” and that the rest of the crew that Millar rode for and with was not that supportive.
At the end of the colorful documentary, Pretsel was to take questions, but he was down the hall watching “Heredity” so the bicyclist, himself, got up and said, “Oh, well, I can talk about the film.” He was 37 when they shot the documentary and is 41 now. It was very late this night; Millar had the haunted look of a man who could benefit from counseling as he said, “I’m a very twisted human being.” He added, “I wish there was a film that existed of me winning.”
When I asked what he plans to do now, at 41, his cycling career over, he said, “I hope to do things that are worth telling stories about.”
Muhammad Ali & Dick Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes
In the Dick Cavett/Muhammad Ali tapes we also see a champion—-the only fighter to ever to win the Heavyweight Championship crown three times—who is loathe to stop fighting when he should. Cassius Clay’s early history is portrayed, and then the documentary moves on to the friendship between Ali and Cavett that developed because, as Ali said, “You’re the only one who ever asks me on when I lose.”
After one particularly brutal beating, Ali’s cheeks are as round and bulbous as a chipmunk’s. He is a gracious loser, giving credit to the fighters who have bested him. He calls Cavett his “main man” and the two are shown at Ali’s training camp, where, at one point, Cavett even dons green trunks and dances around in the ring.
There is also a notable tape where Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali are both on Cavett’s show together and they literally pick him up, physically. All-in-all, the appearances, shown together like this, are like a time capsule of the sixties and the turbulent era of the Vietnam War, which Ali opposed. When Ali converted to Islam and would not fight in Vietnam, he was stripped of his title and lost years of his fighting career, after which he was no longer “floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.” I saw him on campus at the University of Iowa when he was not allowed to fight, and the Union was jammed with students like me who had come to hear what this icon had to say.
Both films treat the difficulty of a pro athlete adjusting to hanging it up forever. However, regular human beings also have to hang up their cleats at some point, in terms of giving up their day jobs, jobs which have also defined them. The thing that helps make it more palatable for a professional bicyclist or a professional fighter has to be the tremendous paychecks some made during their heyday, not to mention the adulation of the crowds, which we see in both documentaries.
The downside is that a sport like boxing can doom those retired from it to diseases like Parkinson’s Disease, which Ali suffered from during the rest of his life. The film is a powerful argument for more stringent protection for athletes in all contact sports. The image of Ali lighting the Olympic torch, arm shaking visibly from the effects of the debilitating disease, is both touching and historic.
I’d recommend the Ali/Cavett documentary to anyone who was alive in the sixties and remembers them, or to anyone who wants to learn what was happening in this country during that turbulent era.
AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 09: Director/Executive Producer/Writer/Actor John Krasinski attends the ‘A Quiet Place’ Premiere 2018 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Paramount Theatre on March 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
I’m here at SXSW Film Festival (for the 3rd year) and the Opening Night film, “A Quiet Place,” written by two Hitchcock-loving Bettendorf, Iowa, 34-year-old filmmakers, (with some contributions from Director and Star John Krasinski of “The Office” fame), is wowing the critics and the crowds.
I was fortunate enough to grab a few minutes to speak to Scott Beck and Bryan Woods about this big-budget Paramount film the day after it premiered. It is not difficult to see how these two young Iowa graduates, who have been collaborating since junior high school (and throughout college at the University of Iowa) have helped create a suspenseful thriller that is destined to become a classic. It’s the start of something big, career-wise. Their next film “Haunt,” currently in post-production, is one they both wrote and directed.
AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 09: Emily Blunt and Director/Executive Producer/Writer/Actor John Krasinski attend the ‘A Quiet Place’ Premiere 2018 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Paramount Theatre on March 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
The filmmakers were articulate, congenial, diplomatic and enthused about the audience’s 100% Rotten Tomatoes response to their film about a family of four that must remain totally silent in order to keep some scary underground-dwelling creatures from killing them. They’ve survived in a dystopian world (no further explanation) where any loud noise will bring these “things” down on the family of Krasinski, his wife Emily Blunt, their deaf teen-aged daughter Millie (played by a lovely young actress, Millicent Simmons, who is deaf in real life), a son of about 10 and a younger boy who looks just about ready for kindergarten in a normal world.
But, when the film opens, they are not in a “normal” world, but are searching for drugs in a ruined drugstore, where the youngest of the brood finds a noisy toy that he’d really like to keep. You know this bodes ill for the family, which has resorted to using sign language to communicate, has sound-proofed their dwelling and has an extensive camera and light set-up to try to protect themselves from the blind, armored creatures in an attempt to try to stay alive. There is also a tower that the father (Krasinski) lights a fire atop at night. We see two other fires in the distance, so we know there are at least a few other survivors. The set design and special effects are extraordinary, reminding of the “Alien” days, (when we finally see this threat—which isn’t for a long time). Marco Beltrami’s score is great and–most importantly—the acting from all is terrific.
(Left to Right) Scott Beck, Connie Wilson and Bryan Woods at SXSW (Austin, TX) on March 10, 2018.
The log line for the film is: “A family lives an isolated existence in utter silence, for fear of an unknown threat that follows and attacks at any sound.” That is an original premise that has not been done before. It leads to one of the most spare scripts in Hollywood history. Not only do the actors seldom speak (they sign or whisper or mouth the words), we don’t get to “see” the monster(s) until quite late in the film. And they are “Alien-” quality when we do.
There is not one “down” or boring scene, always the goal for a screenwriter, but difficult to achieve. No unnecessary exposition or wordy speeches. Just good old-fashioned Hitchcockian suspense from a screenwriting team that mentions “Vertigo” as one of their favorite movies and have been making films since they were six years old.
AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 09: Writers Bryan Woods and Scott Beck attend the ‘A Quiet Place’ Premiere 2018 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Paramount Theatre on March 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
I met up with them at a Starbucks the day after the film and wrote a piece giving the local ties to the Quad Cities of Iowa, which appears above this one. To achieve that, I had to embarrass myself and climb over about 8 other movie-goers in my row to go to the microphone during the Q&A. Where, exactly, were these two talented young men? Fortunately, my willingness to go that extra mile led to a brief but informative meeting the very next day.
The film’s extraordinary quality is leading to this recommendation: if you like suspenseful, well-acted, well-directed films, beautifully-shot films where you care about the characters and root for them to escape, even against overwhelming odds, you’re going to love this movie.
Bryan Woods (left) and Scott Beck at SXSW in Austin (TX) on March 10, 2018.
Most of those present on Opening Night did, and the remark I heard made most often in the lobby following it was, “This was so much better than last year’s Opening Movie.”
Last year’s opening film was Terrence Malick’s “Song by Song” with Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender, Natalie Portman and some other “A”-list talent. Perhaps Malick should have hired Beck & Woods to script the thing, as that renowned filmmaker’s work, which was often wonderful, was not well-received because of its meandering storyline.
AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 09: (L-R) Actors Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe and director John Krasinski attend the Opening Night Screening and World Premiere of ‘A Quiet Place’ during the 2018 SXSW Film Festival on March 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
The film opens wide in the U.S. on April 6th and, yes, it IS that good. Take it from someone who’s been reviewing film for 47 straight years.