The Hollywood Interview

DVD Playhouse--December 2009

2009-12-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

DVD PLAYHOUSE—DECEMBER 2009
By
Allen Gardner

PUBLIC ENEMIES (Universal) Johnny Depp portrays legendary Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger in co- writer/director Michael Mann’s take on America’s first “Public Enemy Number One.” Like many big studio releases today, Public Enemies has it all: A-list talent before and behind the camera, but lacks a heart or soul that allows its audience to connect with it. Film plays out like a “true crime” TV show with re-enactments of famous events cast with top actors and shot by the best technicians in the business, with little, if any, character or story development to hold it together in between. A real disappointment from one of our finest filmmakers and finest actors. The lone standout: the great character actor Stephen Lang as a hard-eyed lawman who’s seen a lot, but manages to retain a tiny piece of his heart. For a better take on the same subject, try John Milius’ excellent DILLINGER, from 1973, starring Warren Oates. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Mann; Featurettes; D-BOX motion enabled; BD-LIVE features. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.
A CHRISTMAS TALE (Criterion) Catherine Deneuve stars in Arnaud Desplechin’s harrowing tale of a troubled upper-class family who gather at Christmas after it’s revealed that the family matriarch (Deneuve) needs a bone marrow transplant from a blood relative. Film nearly runs the entire gamut of human emotions: joy, anger, sadness, revelation, catharsis, and more. A real tour-de-force by all involved. 2-disc set. Bonuses: L’aimee, Desplechin’s 2007 documentary about the sale of his family home; Documentary about film’s production; Trailers. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
FUNNY PEOPLE (Universal) Adam Sandler plays a comedian/movie star who finds out he’s got a terminal disease. Seth Rogen is the young upstart comic who meets Sandler at an open mike night and, to his shock and surprise, finds that his idol is willing to take him under the proverbial wing as a final good deed before he leaves the material plane. Had this been the only plot of writer/director Judd Apatow’s serio-comedy, it might have worked. Instead, you’ve got about three plots too many in this very long (2 ½ hours), unfocused mess of a movie. The high point: Adam Sandler shows he’s got chops as one hell of a fine dramatic actor. Available in R-rated and unrated editions. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary with Apatow, Sandler and Rogen; Featurettes; Documentary; Gag reel; Deleted scenes; Prank calls; James Taylor live. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.
MAD DOG MORGAN (Troma Retro) Dennis Hopper stars in an early (1975) Aussie New Wave classic based on the true story of Daniel Morgan, an Irish immigrant who became Australia’s most wanted outlaw of the 19th century. Uncut version features some really excessive violence that was cut for North American release. Aussie stalwart Jack Thompson is fine in support, as are many other faces which later became familiar to fans of films from “Oz.” 2-disc set. Bonuses: Interviews with cast and crew; Featurette; Introduction by director Philippe Mora; Slideshow. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 mono.
TERMINATOR SALVATION (Warner Bros.) Fourth entry in the Terminator franchise finds Gov. Schwarzenegger nowhere in sight, and an adult John Connor (Christian Bale) leading the human resistance against evil Skynet Corporation’s dastardly machines and plan of human destruction. Once again, a film that is loaded with acting talent (Bale, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Worthington, and Helena Bonham Carter, among others) and a potentially-thrilling storyline gets buried in a morass of state-of-the art “tech,” with director McG seemingly nowhere in sight, as the actors all shout their dialogue at one another. A film that starts out at “11” on a scale of 1-10 and then has nowhere to go—save for a splitting headache. A real let-down. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: PG-13 theatrical and R-rated director’s cuts; Featurettes; BD bonuses: Maximum Movie Mode featuring director McG deconstructing the film’s key moments; Picture (PiP) commentary with cast and crew interviews, storyboards, still galleries, timeline and more; 11 mini featurette focus points spotlighting how the ground-breaking special effects were created; Deleted scenes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.
EXTRACT (Miramax) Another sharp satire from the mind of Mike Judge (Beavis & Butthead, Office Space), starring Jason Bateman as a top salesman for a flavor extract company whose life is turned topsy-turvy when a workplace accident, his bored wife (Kristen Wiig), and a sexy con artist (Mila Kunis) all hit him at once. Very funny comedy, aimed at an audience with basic motor skills for a change, also features a great supporting turn from Ben Affleck. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurette; BD bonuses: Deleted and extended scenes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (Warner Bros.) More adventures at Hogwarts School, this time finding a very mature-looking Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) joining forces with Dumbledore to prepare him for what they both hope is a final battle between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. Great fun, although not quite the equal of the last two entries, buoyed greatly by its usual who’s-who supporting cast of Britain’s best actors: Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis, and Julie Walters. Well-adapted by veteran scribe Steve Kloves. Bonuses: Footage from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows; Additional scenes; Featurettes; Interviews with cast and crew; Digital copy of film. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN (20th Century Fox) More fun with Ben Stiller as former night watchman Larry Daley, whose exhibits come to life after dark. Once Larry’s nocturnal pals get retired to the venerable Smithsonian, he finds himself lured back for an all-out battle against the museum’s misfits who are bent on taking over the Smithsonian and, dare we say it, the world! One of the few sequels that is far superior to its predecessor, loaded with smart humor that is sure to appeal to kids and adults alike. Great support from Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Amy Adams and Christopher Guest. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes; Gag reel; Deleted scenes; Commentaries by cast and crew; Video game; Digital copy. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.
THE HANGOVER (Warner Bros.) A group of long-time friends (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha) head to Vegas for one last wild weekend before one of them ties the knot. After waking up from a wild night of excess, they find their room in a shambles, their lives in danger and their pal the groom…missing! Elbow-in-the-ribs comedy is full of broad yucks and good times, but is as easily forgotten as it is digested. Still, an entertaining way to kill 100 minutes of your life, or 108 if you choose the even raunchier, unrated version, both available here. Bonuses: Gag Reel; Featurettes; Deleted scenes; Digital copy of film. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
LORNA’S SILENCE (Sony Pictures Classics) An illegal immigrant (Arta Dobroshi), under the thumb of the mob, must do away with the man she married for citizenship, a dangerously-unbalanced drug addict, so that a Russian mobster can get European citizenship for himself. Fascinating study of moral and emotional quandaries is exceedingly well-made, and realistic to a fault, but is filled with nothing but loathsome, unrelenting losers who are hard to feel any sympathy for, much less empathy. A real litmus test for discriminating viewers. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
RUNAWAY (E1 Entertainment) A teen (Aaron Stanford) and his eight year-old brother run away from their abusive parents (Melissa Leo and Michael Gaston) and soon finds himself in a torrid love affair with a seductive older woman (Robin Tunney, excellent), who slowly pries dark secrets from the boy’s troubled past. Tough, honest and very powerful little indie packs a punch that will linger in your gut. Bonuses: Commentary by Tunney, Stanford, director Tim McCann; Featurette; Interview with screenwriter Bill True; Photo gallery. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
BLIND DATE (E1 Entertainment) Stanley Tucci (who also directed and co-wrote the screenplay) and Patricia Clarkson star in this English-language adaptation of the late Theo Van Gough’s play (and subsequent film) about a married couple who meet in a bar for a series of role-playing games as strangers meeting for blind dates, hoping to reignite their damaged relationship. The denouement is a stunner, but the film stumbles numerous times prior to its big reveal, and never becomes cinematic enough to completely lose its obvious origins from the stage. The two leads are, as always, excellent. Bonuses: Commentary by Tucci and Clarkson. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
SHERLOCK HOLMES DOUBLE FEATURE (MPI) Basil Rathbone, for many the ultimate cinematic take on Arthur Conan Doyle’s cerebral sleuth, stars in two vintage Holmes films. The first, The House of Fear (1939) finds Holmes and sidekick Dr. Watson (Nigel Bruce, wonderful) investigating the mysterious deaths of a gentleman’s club in foggy Scotland. The Pearl of Death (1942) finds the crime-solvers investigating a series of murders that are somehow connected with the theft of a valuable jewel with a checkered past. Both are great fun, and true time capsules. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
STATEN ISLAND (N.E.M.) Tale of intersecting blue collar lives (Ethan Hawke, Seymour Cassel, Vincent D’Onofrio) on New York’s Staten Island whose dreams far exceed their grasps. Nice, authentic-feeling slice-of-life is solid work by all involved but, like most films of this genre, owes much to Scorsese’s MEAN STREETS. Bonuses: Commentary by Hawke, D’Onofrio, and director James DeMonaco; Interview with D’Onofrio; Deleted scenes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
DOG EAT DOG (IFC Films) Columbia’s first feature film to be selected for Sundance, as well as its official entry for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, Dog Eat Dog tells the tale of a ruthless drug lord who suffers from agoraphobia, and rules his empire from atop a luxury high-rise. When two street hustlers double-cross the big boss, and kill his beloved godson in the process, he declares all-out war against the two small-timers. Stunning blend of neo-realism and full-throttle thriller. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
THE SKEPTIC (IFC Films) Tim Daly stars as an analytical attorney who, following the death of his aunt, moves into her supposedly haunted Victorian mansion. The rational, logic-driven mouthpiece soon finds himself besieged by ghostly voices, visions and incidents, until he is finally forced to investigate the seemingly-supernatural goings on. Solid, old-fashioned ghost story, with some genuine scares. Bonuses: Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
PENANCE (IMD) A young woman, down on her luck, takes a job as a stripper in an out-of-the-way club and soon finds herself falling prey to a psychotic who is bent on “purifying” her, and all wayward women like her. Some truly frightening and disturbing sequences that will stay with you, along with some truly sick and over-the-top gore and violence. Not for ever taste, or the faint-of-heart! Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
MCLEOD’S DAUGHTERS (E1 Entertainment) Now-classic Aussie film that spawned a hit TV series Down Under, about two wildly different sisters who must make peace and help their father (the great Jack Thompson) save the family farm from bankruptcy. Kym Wilson and Tammy McIntosh are charming in the leads, and the beauty of the Australian outback has never been more stunning. Bonuses: First two episodes of the TV series. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono.

BLU-RAY TITLES Criterion releases a gorgeous Blu-ray edition of Fellini’s seminal 8 1/2, the maestro’s autobiographical look at a filmmaker (Fellini alter-ego Marcello Mastroiani) whose life and career are collapsing around him. One of the great, surreal epics of modern cinema, 8 1/2 helped redefine the language of film after its 1963 release, and continues to influence filmmakers today. A real treasure. Bonuses: Introduction by Terry Gilliam; Commentary by critic and Fellini friend Gideon Bachmann, NYU film professor Antonio Monda; Short film by Fellini; Documentaries and featurettes on Fellini; Photo gallery; Interviews with cast, crew and colleagues; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 1.0 mono. 20th Century Fox releases a dynamite 10th anniversary edition of David Fincher’s FIGHT CLUB, starring Edward Norton as a disenfranchised yuppie who find himself under the spell of the charismatic Tyler Durdin (Brad Pitt) and his underground fight club, where ordinary Joes, dissatisfied with the hands life has dealt them, gather to duke it out bare-knuckled, so they can at last feel something that resembles a human emotion again. Widely criticized when first released as convoluted and far-fetched in the extreme, film now feels extremely prescient in the wake of 9/11 and the economic crisis. One note: as a prank, Fincher has included a “fake” opening DVD menu, making it appear that the consumer has purchased a Blu-ray copy of the Drew Barrymore turkey Never Been Kissed! Almost as clever as inserting a frame of a big, fat…never mind. Bonuses: Commentary by Fincher, Pitt, Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, writers Chuck Palahniuk and Jim Uhls, technical commentary by Alex McDowell, Jeff Cronenwith, Michael Kaplan and Kevin Haug; Featurettes; Deleted and alternate scenes; Trailers, TV and Internet spots; PSAs; Music video; Promo art and photo galleries. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround. THE MEL BROOKS COLLECTION feature nine of Mel’s funniest films looking and sounding better than ever: The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, History of the World—Part I, To Be or Not to Be, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. All the films are now classic and defy capsule descriptions, save to say that they will leave your funnybone aching for weeks after viewing! Bonuses: 120 page hardcover book, “It’s Good to be the King!” that traces Brooks’ films and career. Also: 7 featurettes; 6 new featurettes exclusive to Blu-ray; 4 new trivia tracks; 5 isolated score tracks; Commentary by Brooks, cast and crew; Documentaries; Photo galleries; Trailers and TV spots. All are widescreen. Dolby 2.0 mono, 5.1 surround. MGM/Fox releases ROCKY: THE UNDISPUTED COLLECTION, featuring all six Rocky films in beautiful new, high-def transfers. The first Rocky is certainly an undisputed great film, with parts II-IV and the final entry, Rocky Balboa, all solid pieces of entertainment. Only Rocky V, featuring the Italian Stallion being challenged by a young tough (real-life boxer Tommy Morrison), falls short. 7-disc set. Bonus disc features over 3 hours of special features: Interactive game; Documentary on the series; Featurettes; Video commentary by Stallone; Stallone on 1976 episode of “Dinah!”; Trailers, TV spots. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround. IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, A VERY SUNNY CHRISTMAS is a feature-length Christmas special spin-off of the popular TV show, with the Paddy’s gang determined to shed their malicious, back-stabbing ways and discover the true meaning of Christmas. Yeah, right! Funny, funny stuff. Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Featurette; Sing-along. Widescreen. DTS. 5.1 surround. HBO releases ROME THE COMPLETE SERIES, a massive 10-disc set featuring all 22 hours of some of the finest, most epic television ever produced. Story follows two Roman Legionnaire grunts (Ray Stevenson and Kevin McKidd) and their encounters with some of history’s most revered Roman citizens. Bold, bloody and literate—a real event, made all the more opulent on Blu-ray. Bonuses: 13 audio commentary tracks with cast and crew; Nine featurettes. New for Blu-ray: All Roads Lead to Rome, an in-depth, interactive on-screen guide prepared by series consultant Jonathan Stamp, and Bloodlines: An interactive on-screen guide highlighting the connections between the soldiers, senate and families of Rome. Widescreen. DTS 5.1 surround. Universal releases Guy Richie’s Cockney gangster comedy LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS, an inventive, riotous romp about a charming London grifter (Nick Moran) who must come up with half a million pounds for the biggest gangster in town after loosing a winner-take-all card game that the big boss fixed. Wild romp almost defies description, but is loaded with amazing set pieces, performances and a killer soundtrack. Bonuses: Featurettes; D-Box motion enabled; BD-LIVE features. Widescreen. DTS 5.1 surround. Blue Underground releases the grisly 1978 grindhouse classic THE TOOLBOX MURDERS, starring Cameron Mitchell as a psychotic handyman who uses the tools of his trade to kill the “immoral” female residents of his apartment building. Its low budget makes the film especially realistic and unsettling. Uncut version is really sick, even by today’s standards. Not a recommendation mind you, but if this is your cup of tea, by all means…Bonuses: Commentary by producer Tony DiDio, cinematographer Gary Graver, star Pamelyn Ferdin; Interview with actress Maxine Walter; Trailer, TV and radio spots. Widescreen. DTS 7.1 and Dolby 5.1 surround.

DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL! 20th Century Fox releases THE COMPLETE LOVE COMES SOFTLY DVD COLLECTION, based on the best-selling novels by Janette Oke, follows three generations of courageous women of faith through their trials and tribulations. Family, and faith-based, titles in the set are: Love Comes Softly, Love’s Enduring Promise, Love’s Long Journey, Love’s Abiding Joy, Love’s Unending Legacy, Love’s Unfolding Dream, Love Takes Wing, Love Finds a Home. Starring Katherine Heigl, January Jones, Erin Cottrell, Sarah Jones, Patty Duke, Haylie Duff and Dale Midkiff. All are widescreen, Dolby 2.0 mono. BETTER OFF TED THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON is a 2-disc set of all 13 season one episodes, starring Jay Harrington and Portia de Rossi in a hilarious, satirical look at the research and development team at fictional Veridian Dynamics. Great mix of slapstick and satire. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround. Warner Bros. releases ER THE COMPLETE TWELFTH SEASON, where Country General finds itself affected by changes within and beyond its walls, as internal politics and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan affect its denizens. One of TV most enduring series, and for good reason. Bonuses: Unaired scenes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround. A&E releases THE SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTION, featuring the five surviving episodes of the BBC’s 1968 series starring Peter Cushing at Holmes and Nigel Stock as Dr. Watson. The classic Arthur Conan Doyle tales dramatized here are The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Sign of the Four, The Blue Carbuncle, A Study in Scarlet, and The Boscombe Valley Mystery. Bonuses: Documentary on Holmes. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 stereo. CRISS ANGEL MINDFREAK is a 15 DVD collection of the groundbreaking illusionist’s series where Angel proves why he’s been dubbed the “Houdini of the 21st century.” Collection features every episode of seasons 1-5, the Halloween Special and a bonus disc featuring six episodes never-before-released on DVD. Bonuses: Commentary by Angel; Interactive features; Featurettes; Interview with Angel; Additional scenes; Photo gallery; Biography. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 stereo. Disney releases THE WIZARDS OF WAVERY PLACE THE MOVIE, with everyone’s favorite suburban wizards, the Russo family, joining together on a quest for the “stone of dreams” while on vacation. Good clean fun for the kids and those who enjoy “family” entertainment. Bonuses: Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround. HBO releases INTO THE STORM, the true story of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill continues where its prequel, The Gathering Storm, left off, with Churchill (Brendan Gleeson, born to play the part) rallying his country during WW II, and how Britain seemed to turn its back on the man who saved them once the war was over. Fine support from Janet McTeer as Churchill’s long-suffering wife Clementine. Bonuses: Commentary by producer Frank Doelger and writer Hugh Whitemore; Featurette. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround. GEORGE LOPEZ TALL, DARK & CHICANO, a recording of a recent sold out, live performance by Lopez, where the comic targets modern kids and family values, love, sex, immigration, his Latino roots and more. Very funny, and very dirty! Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 surround.

DOCUMENTARY DAYS Warner Bros. releases Mike Nichols’ film of GILDA LIVE, a record of comedienne Gilda Radner’s 1979 one-woman show at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theater. Radner pulls out all the stops as she performs her characters that made her a household name on “SNL”: Emily Littella, Roseanne Roseannadanna, Candy Slice, and more. A terrific testament to a unique talent who left us far too soon. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 mono. ESPN Films/Buena Vista release Spike Lee’s documentary KOBE DOIN’ WORK, a look at NBA all-star Kobe Bryant, the league’s Most Valuable Player of 2008. Lee splices together footage shot from more than 30 cameras that followed Bryant during the 2007-08 season. A fascinating, warts-and-all look at the life of a professional athlete in the 21st century. Bonuses: Introduction by Lee; Photo montage; Deleted scenes; Music video by Bruce Hornsby; Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround. A&E releases THE NEW YORK YANKEES 2009 WORLD SERIES COLLECTOR’S EDITION, a seven-disc box set tailor-made for every die-hard Yankee fan! Features all six Series games against the Phillies, as well as the ALCS game 6 versus the Angels, plus a bonus disc that features 2009 season highlights and post-season highlights; Player interviews; Trophy presentation and celebrations; Alternate audio tracks featuring Series announcers from Fox Sports, ESPN, ESPN Deportes Radio, Yankees Radio and Phillies radio. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 stereo. Inakustic releases four looks at some of the world’s most popular cars: Faszination Hummer, Faszination Porsche, Faszination Supercars and Faszination Modern Classic Cars take in-depth look at the development, marketing and performance of these vehicles, which remain a source of passion for many people as much as sports, politics and even religion. All are widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround. MVD Visual releases THE ZOMBIES ODESSEY & ORACLE REVISITED a terrific record of the ‘60s icons 40th anniversary concert in London, 2008. Features 12 live tracks from the original four members of the band, followed by the complete set performed by The Zombies’ Touring Band. Dedicated to the band’s late fifth member, Paul Atkinson, who passed in 2004. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 stereo. MARTY BALIN LIVE AT THE BOSTON ESPLANADE, features the former Jefferson Airplane frontman’s solo show from June, 2008, where he performs some of the Airplane’s biggest hits, as well as some new compositions, all proving him to be in fine form. Full screen. Dolby 5.1 surround. Acorn Media releases BRAVA ITALIA, a terrific three-part travelogue of one of the world’s great countries, its history, its culture and its people. Narrated by Paul Sorvino. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 stereo. Algean releases GEORGE MICHAEL LIVE IN LONDON, a two-disc set featuring the pop star’s sold out London concert, and 23 live tracks, plus 3 bonus songs. Bonuses: Documentary. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround. Rock City releases MICHAEL JACKSON THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE KING OF POP 1958-2009, featuring clips of the singer’s final days, and highlights from his Los Angeles memorial service. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 stereo.

ANIMATION NATION Disney releases a batch of kid-friendly titles: MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE: CHOO-CHOO EXPRESS, a new animated feature starring Mickey Mouse and pals who take an adventure on their Clubhouse Train into the mountains to load up with snow so all those in the city can have a white Christmas. HANDY MANNY MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE features the motorcycle-riding hero packing his box of talking tools and hitting the road for his family reunion. Finally, SANTA BUDDIES, THE LEGEND OF SANTA PAWS, features an adorable cast of real-life dogs and puppies, voiced by human actors, in a Christmas-themed adventure. Features both Blu-ray and regular DVD versions. Bonuses on all: Bonus cartoons; Music videos; Interactive mode; Sing-alongs. Widescreen. Dolby 2.0 mono, 5.1 surround and DTS 5.1 surround on Blu-ray. G-FORCE The G-Force, an elite squad of highly-trained guinea pigs, is on the brink of saving the world when, for unknown reasons, the FBI shuts them down. Not to be stopped, the stubborn little beasts forge on, with the Feds hot on their tails (literally) and continue their top secret mission. The little ones in your house should appreciate this amusing, pet-friendly adventure story, but there are few inside jokes planted for grown-ups, as well. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes; Deleted scenes; Music videos. BD features: Cine-Explore with the G-Force and their creator; Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround. New Video releases two Scholastic Storybook Treasures box sets: THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS…AND MORE CLASSIC HOLIDAY TALES brings 12 beloved holiday stories to life on 2 DVDs: The Night Before Christmas, The Twelve Days of Christmas, The Little Drummer Boy, nine more tales sure to delight the youngsters gathered around the tree. Bonuses: Spanish version of Too Many Tamales. 50 ANIMAL ANTICS is a terrific collection on 7 DVDs of award-winning and classic children’s stories, including old favorites like Harry the Dirty Dog and Make Way for Ducklings, as well as new tales such as Click, Clack and Moo: Cows That Type and I Stink! A terrific gift for kids that is sure to excite their heads, eyes and hearts. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 mono. Indiepix Films releases SITA SINGS THE BLUES, an enchanting animated tale which incorporates Ramayana art traditions to tell the tale of “the greatest break-up story ever,” set to the music of 1920s blues and torch songs by vocalist Annette Hanshaw. Winner of numerous awards, and deservedly so. Full screen. Dolby 2.0 stereo.

The Best Films of the Decade (aka "The Naughties")

2009-12-06T23:22:00.000-08:00

BEST FILMS OF THE DECADE (aka THE NAUGHTIES)

From Alex & Terry

List # 1
By Alex Simon

When Terry and I initially discussed writing these lists, I had a tough time thinking back on 20 films over the past decade which I was really taken with, thinking that movies have sunk so low over the past ten years, that even choosing a dozen would be a short-order job. Thirty minutes into it, my list had nearly 60 titles! After much cutting, pasting, and re-cutting and pasting, here are my top 20 films (in no particular order) of the first decade of the 21st century, dubbed by many as “the naughties.” --A.S.

1.No Country for Old Men (Coen Brothers, 2007) An elegiac blend of stark beauty and full-throttle despair from two of our finest filmmakers, set in the contemporary American West. Every frame is damn near flawless, and would have been an even more perfect vehicle for the late Sam Peckinpah.

2.The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007) Another elegiac, spare study of the American West, this time during the 19th century, and the birth of the celebrity outlaw. Brad Pitt has never been better and Casey Affleck makes your skin crawl portraying what might be the first celebrity stalker in history. Criminally overlooked by Oscar and the public alike.

3.Letters From Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood, 2006) Epic, elegant portrait of the battle of Iwo Jima from the Japanese point of view, with the great Ken Wantanabe magnificent as a Japanese officer struggling with a crisis of conscience. Eastwood’s master’s hand is evident throughout.

4. Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006) Even if it weren’t (arguably) the best entry in the most successful film franchise of all time, and Daniel Craig didn’t brilliantly reinvent a character who had become a stale relic of the Cold War, Casino Royale would still stand alone for what it is: one of the greatest, toughest action thrillers ever made.

5. The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006) Haunting portrait of the 1980s-era East German secret police (the Stasi) and their surveillance techniques, buoyed by an unforgettable performance from Ulrich Muhe, who died just after the film’s release.

6.4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days (Christian Mungiu, 2007) Another bleak portrait of life behind the Iron Curtain, this time in mid-80s Romania, following 24 hours in the life of a young woman trying to obtain an illegal abortion. Reminiscent of the best films of the Italian neo-realists and French New Wave.

7. Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008) I didn’t think it was possible to have an original take on the vampire myth until this near-brilliant tale of a young outcast and his undead best friend arrived, a chilly gift from icy Sweden. Think The 400 Blows meets Nosferatu.

8. Good Night and Good Luck (George Clooney, 2005) Co-writer/director/co-star George Clooney’s wise, witty take on pioneering television journalist Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn, excellent) and his war of words with demagogue U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. Not only captures a bygone era flawlessly, but cleverly draws parallel lines between McCarthy’s 1950s and George W. Bush’s early 21st century.

9.28 Days Later... (Danny Boyle, 2002) A completely original take on the zombie genre, with residents of the UK fighting for their lives against those infected with a “rage” virus that turns them into superhuman, flesh-rending monsters. One of the most frightening, and thought-provoking, films ever made. Its sequel, 28 Weeks Later, is nearly the equal to its predecessor.

10.Minority Report (Steven Spielberg, 2002) It’s not easy to make a science fiction film feel real, but Steven Spielberg succeeded with this suspenseful take on a future where law enforcement officials are aided by telepaths who can predict a capital crime before it happens. Tom Cruise gives one of his best, most restrained performances in the lead.

11.The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007) True story of French Vogue Editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who, after suffering a stroke, can only communicate through blinking his left eye. A triumphant synthesis of cinema and human biology.

12.Syriana (Stephen Gaghan, 2005) George Clooney again co-stars in and produces one of the best films of the decade: a tableaux-like tale of the politics of petrol in the Middle East, written and directed by Traffic screenwriter Stephen Gaghan. Fine support from Matt Damon, Christopher Plummer, and William Hurt. A tough, uncompromising film that pulls no punches.

13.Traffic (Steven Soderbergh, 2000) Adapted from an award-winning British miniseries, Steven Soderbergh's film takes an unapologetic look at the drug trade and the supposed “war” that the United States government is fighting against it. A rare “all-star cast” movie that is also a powerful social/political statement.

14.The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2001-03) Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy classics is a landmark in moviemaking: three cinematic spectacles that should be counted as one breathtaking film, much as the first two Godfather films are. Literate, thrilling, hypnotic, and thought-provoking, a true testament to the power of cinema, and Jackson’s mastery of it.

15.Il Divo (Paolo Sorrentino, 2008) Fact-based, modern day Machiavellian story of Guilio Andreotti (played to perfection by the brilliant Toni Servillo), whose rise to power in the Italian Parliament from its inception in 1946 to the present day is a virtual road map of bribes, blood and bodies. A cinematic tour-de-force on every level, writer/director Sorrentino has crafted a masterpiece that ranks among the greatest films of all time. Sorely overlooked on this side of the pond, but justly hailed overseas (it won the Jury Prize at Cannes, 2008).

16.Watchmen (Zack Snyder, 2009) The long-awaited adaptation of the groundbreaking graphic novel that reinvented the super hero genre and the myths that give it life. Zack Snyder faithfully keeps the novel’s spirit alive in this epic, awesome film that will surely grow more appreciated over time, and become a classic in retrospect, just as 2001 and Blade Runner did, when their audiences finally caught up with them. Jackie Earle Haley gives an Oscar-worthy turn as Rorschach, one of fiction (and now cinema)'s great anti-heroes.

17.Martyrs(Pascal Laugier, 2008) A young girl takes violent revenge against the family whom she claims kidnapped and tortured her…but that’s just the beginning. Nearly indescribable and unrivaled in terms of its level of brutality—some have said it even surpasses Pasolini’s notorious Salo in terms of its sheer ferocity—it is also a film that will stay with your head, heart and gut long after you see it—which will likely only be once. Not for the faint of heart, but not to be missed, either.

18.Memento(Christopher Nolan, 2000) Intricate, expertly-plotted puzzler told in reverse about an amnesiac (Guy Pearce) who carries clues to his violent and mysterious past through tattoos on his body. Watch it in its original cut, then in Nolan’s chronologically-correct re-edit that’s on the special edition DVD.

19.Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006) Brilliant blend of phantasmagorical fantasy and historical drama. A young girl in Franco-era Spain escapes the brutality of the civil war and her sadistic stepfather (Sergi Lopez) by stepping into a netherworld of grotesque, amazing creatures who launch her into a literal and metaphorical battle against good and evil. A stunner.

20. Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku, 2000) If Lord of the Flies had been set in a futuristic Japan with Beat Takeshi as the leader of a government agency that sends hard-case teens to an isolated island to fight it out amongst themselves…you get the idea, sort of. This was director Fukasaku’s swan song (he died shortly after beginning work on the film’s 2003 sequel, completed by his son), and what a way to go! Kinetic blend of bloody action, coming-of-age pathos, and political allegory. A brutal, ballsy masterpiece.

Honorable Mentions (aka the top 50): Michael Clayton, Into the Wild, An Inconvenient Truth, Fahrenheit 9/11, Gomorrah, City of God, Children of Men, The Dark Knight, The Incredibles, Lost in Translation, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Munich, Sideways, Far From Heaven, Downfall, The Queen, Black Book, The Last King of Scotland, Team America: World Police, Idiocracy, The Bourne Identity/Supremacy/Ultimatum, The Motorcycle Diaries, Grizzly Man, Bloody Sunday, The Proposition, Milk, Mystic River, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2, American Psycho, The Departed.

List #2: My Top 20 Films of 2000-2009

By Terry Keefe

I must start by saying that my Top 20 list of films is effectively my favorite 20 films of the decade. Sure, I could go through the decade’s list of titles and find a number of films which are probably “better," or more important, in certain respects than some of the films here. But that feels disingenuous as I didn’t love those other films more than the ones on my list. These are the films that I loved most from the decade and which were the most important to me. With that, here we go:

1.The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001): I can’t say much that hasn’t already been said about The Lord of the Rings films, and all three probably deserve a spot on this list. But Fellowship has the very difficult task of effectively being the first act of the story and that means setting up the entire world of Middle Earth, the history of the same, the Quest for the Ring, as well as a slew of characters and races. Peter Jackson made it look effortless, but it is anything but. The opening 30 minutes where we are introduced to Middle Earth and all of its visual iconography was breathtaking for me the first time I saw it. Pure cinematic joy.

Favorite Lines - Frodo: "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened." Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." I have recited those lines to myself many times since 9/11.

2.Almost Famous (2000): The autobiographical tale from Cameron Crowe is easily his strongest work of the decade, not to mention some of the strongest of the decade from a host of actors including Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup (who does appear in two other films on this list), Jason Lee, Patrick Fugit, Frances McDormand, Fairuza Balk, Noah Taylor, and Jimmy Fallon (!). The film also effectively introduced Zooey Deschanel, and contains some of the best work of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s career as famed rock writer Lester Bangs. In fact, no one gives a bad performance in Almost Famous. Cameron Crowe has to be given a big piece of the credit for that. A classic.

3.Watchmen(2009): Zack Snyder’s adaptation of the Alan Moore graphic novel left many bewildered when it was released, although I believe that it will be ultimately remembered as one of the all-time fantasy classics. Time will tell on that count. For me, the film wonderfully weaved together a number of hero origin stories and contained terrific performances from Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Billy Crudup, and Patrick Wilson, amongst many others. The film effectively retells the history of the entire 20th Century in an alternate universe where super heroes are real. It had me from that opening montage which sets up this new universe, and contains the famed “Times Square Kiss” from the World War II victory celebration re-envisioned as a smooch between the iconic nurse and a leather-clad lesbian super heroine. Gold.

4.Sideways (2004): Speaking as a man, Sideways is both hilarious and painful to watch for the same reasons. I know the characters played by both Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden Church all too well. Tight script and direction from Alexander Payne. Classic Line from Church to Giamatti, as he is about to go home with a corpulent waitress: “You understand wine and literature and movies….but you don’t understand my plight.”

5.Zodiac(2007): David Fincher’s film about the search for the Zodiac killer takes its time, which is maybe why it has never received its due from those who didn’t see it in a single sitting at the theater. As the killer is never caught and the decades drag on, the film ultimately becomes largely about the tedium of obsession, something which is lost watching this on cable or in increments on DVD. You’ll never listen to Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man” again. John Carroll Lynch is incredibly creepy as the most likely Zodiac suspect, the “banality of evil” personified.

6.City of God (2003): When I saw this Brazilian masterpiece by Fernando Meirelles for the first time in the movie theater, I sat riveted to the screen in a manner I haven’t since I was a child. The use of a novelistic structure, in which characters are introduced in passing in one scene, only to have them become the lead an hour later…combined with the cinema verite-on-amphetamines visual style, built around three decades of history in the favellas of Brazil…there had never been anything like it before. A true original.

7. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001): Dense with characters and plot which intertwine and play-off each other seamlessly, Wes Anderson started off the decade strong with his story of a family of failed geniuses and their various hanger-ons. Tenenbaums contains a terrific performance from Gene Hackman, who sadly has chosen not to work since Welcome to Mooseport in 2004. Some of the best work career-wise from Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Luke Wilson.

8.X2: X-Men United (2003): With the origin story out of the way, director Bryan Singer was able to cut loose in this sequel and the result is a picture that many justifiably regard as the best super hero film ever made. The plot of X2 was not actually its strong suit, but it contains one fantastic super hero set piece after another. In this case, that proves more than enough. The pace of the film starts to pound when Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine takes on the government soldiers who raid the School for Gifted and Talented Youngsters and it doesn’t let up right through the final battle. Then in X3, Brett Ratner took over and dropped the ball entirely. There were enough great stories and characters in the X-Men canon to make another 20 films like this one.

9. Where the Wild Things Are (2009): Spike Jonze took the classic, although very slight, children’s book from Maurice Sendak, and spun it into a larger journey examining themes and concepts such as family, independence, interdependence, codependence, and growing up...all while remaining faithful to the spirit of the book. Like the life journey itself, the film is joyous and sad in parts…and at once.

10. Batman Begins (2005): The Dark Knight received far more acclaim, but Batman Begins has a much stronger plot and achieved the difficult task of re-launching a very tired franchise. Liam Neeson is great as the possibly immortal baddie Rah’s Ah Gul, and Cillian Murphy is genuinely disturbing as the Scarecrow, possibly the first time I’ve ever been really freaked out by a super hero villain.

11. Big Fish (2003): When Tim Burton sticks to a great script, as he did with Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski’s Ed Wood in 1994, and as he did here with the screenplay by John August, he can make magic. When he is left to his own story devices, he makes Planet of the Apes. The final scene where the dying Albert Finney, a life-long teller of tall tales, requests that his son Billy Crudup tell him a tall tale of his own as a sort of send-off into the next life, is a tearjerker.

12.Catch Me If You Can (2002): A film from Steven Spielberg which has sort of been forgotten in the years since, but which contains performances by Leo Dicaprio, Tom Hanks, and Christopher Walken which will be remembered as some of their very best. Amy Adams shines as well in one of her first roles as a sweet Southern nurse who Dicaprio seduces. It’s also the last time you will see Leo getting away with playing a high school student, and it is a worthy send-off to the boyish looks which he would eventually rough and buff up a bit in order to be believable as a tough guy in films such as The Departed. The true story of the master con man Frank Abagnale, played by Leo, is light on its feet and very fun in its use of early 60s hipster iconography and locations, but it also subtly injects the undercurrent of the loneliness which drives Abagnale to keep doing his cons, forever running, as well as the equally lonely obsession which drives Hanks’ G-Man to keep chasing him. A gem.

13. Minority Report (2002): A great year for Spielberg, 2002 was. Minority Report is only hampered by the somewhat happy ending tacked onto this bleak action story which has wrapped about it complex thoughts about civil liberties and the effects technology will have on them in the future. Despite the then still-strong star power of Tom Cruise, the film felt overlooked upon release. It isn’t quite Blade Runner in its futuristic visuals, but its themes are equally powerful. Samantha Morton has never been better, or creepier, as the psychic Agatha.

14. Max (2002): Noah Taylor plays a young Adolf Hitler, and John Cusack is a Jewish art dealer named Max Rothman, who takes a somewhat interested eye to Hitler’s painting. The film received criticism from those who thought it tried to make Hitler sympathetic, which is not the case at all here. Taylor’s Hitler is someone who makes everyone around him uncomfortable, including himself, and he is never once likeable. What the film very successfully does is make this version of Hitler understandable. There is a huge difference. The film presents Adolf Hitler as someone who was obsessed with fame and power, and who first tried to obtain those goals through painting, where he did have some skill. But he wasn’t willing to put in the time that was necessary to become a great painter, and so took a far easier route to fame and power via his then-stronger abilities in the realms of public speaking...and hate mongering. I believe there is danger in the desire not to examine the human side of figures like Hitler. For one, it lets them off the hook by just calling them "monsters." A monster cannot help themselves for evil actions. A person can. Secondly, if we can understand figures like this from our past, we might better identify their ilk in the future. Hitler, as presented in Max, had certain choices he could make in life, as we all do. He made all the wrong ones. And then some.

15. The Incredibles (2004): Although it cribbed heavily from the plots of both the Watchmen graphic novel and The Fantastic Four comics, The Incredibles was a far superior Fantastic Four film to either of the dogs that 20th Century Fox put out, the game performance of Michael Chiklis as the Thing in those films not withstanding. The film’s invention of the term “monologue-ing” to mock the genre standard scene of the super-villain explaining his dastardly plot has made it difficult to take those types of scenes seriously every again.

16. The Fog of War - Eleven Lessons From the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003): In a series of interviews, documentary pioneer Errol Morris captures a near apology, in not so many words, from the late Robert S. McNamara, the U.S. Defense Secretary during the lead-up to the Vietnam War. McNamara, who knew as much about the machinations and politics of war as anyone alive at the time, essentially warns future generations that anything can happen in “the fog of war,” including nuclear annihilation, and not to follow your leaders too blindly because they don’t always know much more than you do. Considering that he was once one of those leaders, the warning speaks volumes.

17. Gladiator (2000): It hasn’t aged as well as I expected, but this is still Russell Crowe at his most movie star badass of the decade. Joaquin Phoenix is great as the fey, cowardly, and calculating Emperor Commodus. Classic Line from Commodus: “Why is he still alive? It vexes me. I am terribly vexed.”

18. Sexy Beast (2000): Who knew that Ben Kingsley could be so terrifying? Ray Winstone plays an ex-British gangster named Gal who is happily retired and gone soft in Spain, until Kingsley’s Don Logan arrives on his doorstep to convince him to take on one last job. And Don Logan doesn’t take “No” for an answer in this subtly, and often not so subtly, homoerotic tale of gangster love gone awry. Classic line from Logan to his former pal: “Why should I let you be happy?!”

19. Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2003): Occasionally heartbreaking documentary about L.A. DJ Rodney Bingenheimer and the pitfalls of celebrity, and celebrity-chasers. Both a cautionary tale and a pop culture history lesson, from director George Hickenlooper.

20: 24 Hour Party People (2002): Director Michael Winterbottom’s film on the real-life story of Tony Wilson, who became convinced that the music scene of Manchester, England was the most important in the world, created Factory Records, and changed the face of popular music by launching acts such as Joy Division. For my money, a far better version of the Joy Division story than Control, which seemed to forget to include the undeniably great thrill of becoming rock stars in its DNA.

Runner Up:Bigger, Stronger, Faster (2008): This documentary by Chris Bell is on one level a story about his own family, and the obsession of he and his two brothers with becoming as physically big and muscular as possible, from their childhoods onward. On a larger level, the film is about America itself and our own preoccupation with always being the biggest and the baddest, no matter what the cost. Bell and his two brothers, one of whom has passed away since the film was shot, grew up in the 80s and their heroes were the musclebound American archetypes Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger (via Austria, technically), and Hulk Hogan. One of Bell’s brothers becomes a power lifter who continues to take heavy steroids as an adult, and the other becomes a failed professional wrestler, who still is overly preoccupied with fame as an adult, eventually attempting suicide when he doesn‘t become a star. Both seemed tragically locked in the mid-80s American mindset that if you just pump enough iron, kick enough ass, and become famous, everything will be just fine. I don't want to make the film seem like a downer because for the most part, it actually is a lot of fun to watch and is hysterical in its satire of American culture at times. But as with the best comedy, there is a darker layer underneath the laughs when you give the themes of this film some real thought.

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):

Kill Bill I & II, The Proposition, Dogtown & Z-Boys, Spider-Man 2, The Dark Knight, The Wrestler, Iron Man, Up in the Air, Zoolander (Seriously. The “Walk-Off” scene between Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson alone is fantastic.) Tape, Old School, The 40-Year Old Virgin, Pan’s Labyrinth, Unbreakable, Shaun of the Dead, Zero Day (A harrowing micro-budget feature based on the Columbine killers. Far superior to much better funded features on the same topic. From director Ben Coccio.), The Kid Stays in the Picture, Walk the Line, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Road to Perdition, Up, Whale Rider, American Splendor, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Mean Girls, Napoleon Dynamite, Adaptation, Garden State, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Grizzly Man, V for Vendetta, The Queen, Apocalypto, Casino Royale, Michael Clayton, Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (One of the best political documentaries I have ever seen about late Republican political mastermind Lee Atwater.), 8 Mile, Capote, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Let the Right One In, Coraline, Stardust, Hustle & Flow, Dig! (Great music documentary about the competition over a decade between two bands: the Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre.), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Synecdoche, New York, Memento.

There we are. Bring on the next decade. Thanks for reading. - T

It Happened in Hollywood Last Night: Nicholas Meyer and STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN at the Aero Theater

2009-12-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

( Filmmaker Nicholas Meyer, above.)

by Terry Keefe

The American Cinematheque at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica presented a triple header of Star Trek films last night - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: In Search of Spock, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Nicholas Meyer, the director of II, was there in person for a Q&A filled with some great stories. Some highlights included Meyer explaining that the script for Star Trek II was composited, in part, from the different elements of five previous drafts, and that it was written in some 12 days.

(Meyer being interviewed onstage by Geek Monthly editor Jeff Bond, above, and meeting with fans in the lobby afterwards, below.)

The upcoming schedule at the Aero Theater can be found on their website. With their near-nightly screenings of both new films and classics, which often include terrific guests who were principals on the films being shown, the Aero is one of the true cinematic treasures of Los Angeles.

("You are also my friend. I have been and always shall be yours." William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy in Spock's death scene from Khan.

A Talk with Floyd Mutrux about BABY IT'S YOU!, His New Musical About The Shirelles, and the Legendary Woman Behind Them, Florence Greenberg.

2009-12-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

(Director, writer, and filmmaker Floyd Mutrux, above.)

By Terry Keefe

It was the 1960s and a foursome took over the popular music charts in America, but they didn’t wear mop-tops. Right before the British Invasion, the girl group known as the Shirelles soared with hits such as “Dedicated to the One I Love,” “Soldier Boy,” “Will You Still Me Tomorrow,” and “Baby It’s You,” amongst many others. The Shirelles were discovered by Florence Greenberg, an ambitious and very prescient New Jersey housewife who founded Scepter Records, and consequently changed the face of popular music forever. In her business life, Greenberg was a woman who dove right into the middle of a male-dominated record industry and created one of the most successful independent labels of the time, and on the personal side, she left her first marriage for a union with African-American songwriter Luther Dixon. The story of Greenberg, the Shirelles, Dixon, and their journey through a portion of pop music history forms the backbone of Baby It’s You!, the new musical playing this month at the Pasadena Playhouse through December 20th. Baby It’s You! is directed by Floyd Mutrux, who is the co-writer along with Colin Escott.

Mutrux is also a film director who has had some of his greatest successes with stories either directly about rock 'n roll, or with a rock 'n roll theme and soundtrack. His films include American Hot Wax, which centered around the life of famed DJ Alan Freed and also featured performances by Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry, and Aloha Bobby and Rose which starred Paul Le Mat, who played the drag-racing king John Milner in American Graffiti; The Hollywood Knights which starred Michelle Pfeiffer and Tony Danza; and There Goes My Baby, which starred Rick Schroeder. His screenplay credits include Mulholland Falls and American Me.

Under the collective title of American Pop Anthology, Mutrux has written a number of rock and roll bio stories for the stage, of which Baby It’s You! is the newest installment. Another show by Mutrux and Colin Escott, Million Dollar Quartet, based around a legendary jam session at Sun Records between Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash, has been a huge success in Chicago and is on its way to Broadway shortly.

Baby Its You is produced by Jonathan Sanger, Jerry Katell, Joan Stein, and Mutrux. Sanger is the Academy Award-winning producer of The Elephant Man, Frances, The Producers, and Vanilla Sky, amongst many other projects.

We spoke to Mutrux at the Pasadena Playhouse a few days before previews began on Baby It’s You! Since then, the show has opened to numerous rave reviews and an extended run. Prior to coming to the Pasadena Playhouse, the show had a very successful workshop run at the Coast Playhouse in West Hollywood.

Obviously, you’re an aficionado of the period and the music, but had you known much about the behind-the-scenes story of the Shirelles prior to starting the project?

Floyd Mutrux: I knew a lot. About everything. All rock’n’roll, you know. My misspent youth. The literature of my youth was an AM car radio, so it was like, you know, I basically, just got into it.

Also, Kenny Vance was the lead singer of Jay and the Americans, a group in the ‘60s. He was in American Hot Wax. And when Kenny was in Jay and the Americans, they had four or five hits. He was friends with Florence Greenberg. When Florence was sick, at the end of her life, or in a retirement home, the last four or five years, Kenny went to visit her, a few times a week, and Kenny really had her story in his head, and was telling it to me. And I was gonna do this as a movie, at Paramount, in the early ‘90s. I was gonna do it with Bette Midler, Eddie Murphy as Luther, and Arsenio Hall. And the genius executives at Paramount decided not to do it, so I just forgot about it. Later, when I was doing this, I decided to go back and reinvent that story.

On stage this time.

You know, I’d done a number of rock’n’roll bios, even ones that didn’t get made, like about Jim Croce and stuff, and I’d always done music-driven stories. All the movies I directed were always music-driven, like American Hot Wax, which was Alan Freed’s story. A lot of people kept saying to me, “Why don’t you just do a show?’ I said, ‘You know what? I’m gonna do a series of rock’n’roll bios.” So I sat down, and for a couple years I wrote American Pop Anthology, a series of stories that chronicled the music and the people who made it. The stories and the lives of people who changed the culture of our country. I started with Sam Phillips and Million Dollar Quartet. I wrote five of the stories to take us through, the last story, which is that of Legs McNeil and CBGB’s. The story of the Shirelles is the second one I chose to do [in terms of producing], although it wasn’t the second one I wrote. I’m kind of doing them out of order, but someday they might all get in the right order.

Did you talk to many of Florence’s relatives or friends in creating the story?

No, but like I said, Kenny knew her well. Kenny saw her thirty or forty times a year. For three or four years, he went there and spent the afternoon with her. But I knew the story, and I could just follow the records. I knew the songs, and the through line, I knew she was with Luther, and that she was Jewish, and came from the 1950’s, actually 1940’s, headset. She’d been married in the late ‘30s, before the war, you know, Eisenhower - backyard barbecue - station wagons. So I knew her through line, and I kinda had her voice. She was very direct, very polite, very smart, knew what she liked, and she’d figured out the business. She figured out when something’s gonna be a hit. You know when something’s gonna be a hit? Do you know how you know? If you wanna hear it a second time. So she figured it out. And she knew what she liked. Remember, she was in a dead area. There was Rock’n’Roll, and then Rock’n’Roll died. You know, Elvis went in the army; Little Richard had a bad plane flight and got religion; Jerry Lee Lewis married his thirteen-year-old cousin off the air; Chuck Berry took a minor bus ride into jail; and Buddy Holly died. Rock’n’Roll is dead.

When they’re gone, boom, over, no Rock’n’Roll. You’re listening to “Hello Dolly,“ whatever. I mean, there were some ballad groups running around, and the Tokens, but then the Shirelles became the biggest girl group of all time, at that time. And Florence found the girls. This was the girls’ turn. You know, the Dixie Cups, the Shangri-Las, and the Shirelles. This was the girls’ shot. This vapid period, with a quasi-mixture of songs, became the golden era of pop music. The Brill Building sound that sort of permeated the culture for a brief but shining moment, you know, but then, one day, the President was dead, there was an unpopular war in South Vietnam, Martin Luther King’s trying to hook people up on a bus in Montgomery, four guys show up from England with instruments, McGuire sang “Eve of Destruction,” and bang, the culture of the country changed. Just like that: Boom, gone. It’s a new world order. The ‘60s began in 1965. And they were over in 1973.

(The real-life Shirelles, above, during their heyday.)

I assume securing the rights to all the songs has been one of the more difficult parts of producing the show?

Not as difficult as you’d think. You know, they’re like women that sit around there, you know, playing gin rummy, who clear all this music, it seems like a gin rummy club over there when they’re clearing the music. They’re not personally invested in it. They’re not, “This is my song!” They’re more like, “We own the publishing. Oh, you want to license it? Good idea. Do you want one? Do you want the green, the blue one, how ‘bout a yellow one?” You know? Look, I mean, some people say, “No, you can’t use my song,” whatever. But they’re in a business. Their business is to license the songs. We’re going to be in a Broadway musical, it’s going to go to New York, it’s going to be a movie—I mean, you know, if all things work out…. We just did seventy sold-out shows at the Coast. It was great, I mean, every night. Rod Stewart’s there, Michael Eisner, Cher, Freddy DeMann.

So, then we came over here and what was intimate and magical over there (at the Coast), needed to be brought over here with, you know, doing major scrims and slides. I always envisioned this thing where movies would meet theatre, and you know, I always envisioned it would be like a set, and there would be a movie screen, also. So anyway, this is some version of that, with stills. But it’s very exciting, and in fact, extremely difficult, technically. And, you know, especially in a quick period of time. Everything has to work as one.

(Pasadena Playhouse Artistic Director) Sheldon Epps has been fabulous. He’s my partner, and he’s really the godfather, and the artistic director here, and he really led me through the process, and the show wouldn’t be nearly as good without him. As I was writing scenes, he pointed out mistakes that were in there, that I didn’t see before, and because of him, and his ability to tell a story and to pull a show up, the show is in Pasadena. It’s due in part to Sheldon’s artistic vision, and his ability to coincide with me, and make it play. He’s fabulous. He can come with me on any part of this journey.

(The cast of Baby It's You!, above. Photos by Michael Lamont.)

How close is the Florence onstage to the real one, you think?

Only in spirit, and intelligence.

And obviously the goal is to bring it to Broadway next. Is there any solid plan for that yet?

Well, I’d like to make it good here first, but, you know, yeah, we’re gonna run here through December. And then, Warner Bros. and Universal are both our partners now, and other people.

Did you keep a lot of the same cast from the Coast Playhouse version?

We changed one character that played three different people, and we changed that, we broke it into two parts. And we changed the daughter, because she had to do something else, and that was a little challenging in the middle of all this mix, to bring three new people into it, because it’s a small cast of ten.

Was Florence Greenberg known to the general public at the time of her greatest success?

The public didn’t really know. The public didn’t know who Berry Gordy was. Well, I mean, somewhat, but not really until later.

Have any of the numbers stood out as particularly difficult to nail?

They’re all different. And they’re all challenging in different ways. There’s the challenge of structuring the songs for the wardrobe change, so that the dramatic scenes can roll through them. I’d like to just tell you it was easy [laughs].

(Million Dollar Quartet, above.)

You mentioned that one of the projects that you’re working on as part of the American Pop Anthology is the story of Legs McNeil. That sounds very cool.

He’s my good friend. We’re really good friends. It’s called “Yuppie Like Me.” It’s Legs’ journey from the day that he started - growing up in Connecticut and starting Punk Magazine and then finding CBGB. It’s half a dozen different people in Legs’ life. It’s Legs, and then these people, on his journey, from when he discovered the music, punk music, to his run through Punk Magazine, and alcohol and Quaaludes, and sex, drugs and rock’n’roll, and Blondie, and Iggy Pop and Bowie, and then…he comes crashing and burning, getting sober, and then going to work, getting a job to do a story on the virus of the ‘80s, which was yuppies. He wrote a series of articles and it’s the ultimate journey, because the ultimate punk, the king of punkdom, Legs - Punk Magazine and the leader of the pack, had to go underground to write an article on Yuppies, and to do so, he had to become one of them. It’s a true story and it’s a fabulous story. Half a dozen different people play the Greek chorus, they play all the characters in Legs’ life, and all the groups, you know, Pet Shop Boys, Eurythmics, Blondie, Soft Cell. Think of it as A Chorus Line for rock’n’roll.

BABY IT’S YOU! plays at Pasadena Playhouse, 39 South El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, through December 20 (Closing Performance: Sunday, December 20 at 2:00 p.m.). Performance schedule is Tuesday through Friday at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Ticket prices are $62.00 - $78.00. and are available by calling the Pasadena Playhouse Box Office at 626-356-7529, visiting the Box Office, open from 12:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. daily excluding holidays, and online at www.Pasadenaplayhouse.org. Group Sales (15 or more) are available by calling 626-737-2851.

More information on Floyd Mutrux can be found at his website.

Nicolas Cage: The Hollywood Interview

2009-12-01T23:11:00.000-08:00

NICOLAS CAGE: BAD TO THE BONE
By
Alex Simon

It’s an inevitable event in every accomplished artist’s life: if you go back on the timeline of their existence and stop in adolescence, almost all of our greatest actors, writers, filmmakers, musicians and painters went through tumultuous, tortured teenage years, often scorned, almost universally ridiculed by their peers and elders alike for the cardinal sin of being “weird.” Most people run from their inner nerd as they grow into adulthood, masking it behind toned muscle, fine clothing and the right haircut, struggling to be that cool guy or gal whom we knew had all the answers and the clearest skin back when such things started to be de rigeur in our lives (and if you live in Southern California, continue to be).

Nicolas Cage is that rare movie star who not only never seemed to care if he was cool, but was one of the few that seemed to run from it, embracing his inner nerd and quirky weirdness wholeheartedly. Yes, he cut quite the impressive figure in the series of box office smash action films he was in: buff bod, cool wardrobe, good with a gun, and almost inevitably got the hot chick in the end, Bond style. However, unlike 007, who is always seen in the final fade out with a dry martini in one hand and a supermodel with a PhD in astrophysics in the other, Nic Cage would turn around wearing horn-rimmed glasses and reading a mint condition issue of Spiderman #2, with a grin that seemed to say “Fuck you Johnny Cool, I’m still a geek!” And herein lies the brilliance of one of our greatest actors.

Cage was born Nicholas Kim Coppola on January 7, 1964 in Long Beach, the youngest of three sons born to August Coppola (who passed from a heart attack in October), a professor of comparative literature, and Joy Vogelsang, a classically trained dancer and choreographer. Born into one of America’s premiere artistic families, Nic’s father is the eldest sibling of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire. Their father, Carmine Coppola, was an accomplished musician, composer and conductor, and composed much of the music for son Francis’ films, until his death in 1991.

Life was not easy for young Nic, who sought refuge first in his imagination, and then on the stage and in front of the camera. After graduating high school early (he is not a dropout as has been reported in the past), Nic landed his first feature film role (as Nicolas Coppola) in the classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) in a part that was mostly left on the cutting room floor. The following year, Nic starred (as the newly-christened Nicolas Cage) in the sleeper hit Valley Girl, which made him one of his generation’s most prolific and acclaimed actors. The momentum hasn’t stopped since, with Nic having starred in over 50 features, producing nine, and directing one (2002’s Sonny). Nic won the 1995 Best Actor Academy Award (as well as a Golden Globe, and the LA and NY Film Critics Award) for his searing performance in Mike Figgis’ Leaving Las Vegas. Nic was nominated in the same category for his brilliant turn as identical twin screenwriters in Adaptation (2003). Whether he’s playing an inbred trailer park denizen who longs to give his wife a child (Raising Arizona, 1987), an Elvis-obsessed hipster on the lam with his true love (Wild at Heart, 1990), or an ambulance driver teetering on the brink of madness (Martin Scorsese’s Bringing Out the Dead, 1999), Nic Cage is one of the cinema’s great chameleons: although he often changes colors with the diverse parts he plays, his quirky intensity and unpredictability make him completely riveting to watch. Even in some of his lesser films, Cage has never given a lesser performance.

Nicolas Cage gives a no-holds-barred turn in legendary auteur Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, portraying a drug-addicted cop teetering on the brink of insanity, in the post-Katrina Big Easy. A wild, stinging satire rife with Herzog’s trademark haunting, yet beautiful imagery, the First Look Studios release, which co-stars Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer and Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner hits U.S. theaters with a vengeance November 20.

Nic Cage sat down with The Hollywood Interview recently to discuss film, philosophy, and the liberation of embracing your inner nerd. Here’s what transpired:

What was it about Bad Lieutenant which initially attracted you?

Nicolas Cage: I was up for the challenge of it, the risk of it. I’m at a point now where I need to look for work that keeps me interested, keeps me excited about acting. I know Harvey [Keitel], and thought he was excellent in the first Bad Lieutenant, and felt that Abel Ferrara directed a great movie. With Werner and this script, I thought we could take the original Bad Lieutenant and make it a much more abstract film. And New Orleans itself - I have a very close connection with this city. In many ways, I was reborn here; became a philosopher here. It‘s the city that woke me up to the possibility of other ancient energies… and that is both a blessing and a curse. I’ve made four pictures here and this is my fifth. I was afraid to come back and do another movie, but when I’m afraid to do something, I know I have to do it. I have to face the fear, get over it and work through it. These are the main reasons.

Cage and Eva Mendes in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.

You chose the setting for this film. Can you talk about this?

I chose New Orleans for the reasons I previously expressed, and it’s a city like nowhere else in the world. We have a Bad Lieutenant in New York, and because this is a new movie entirely, Bad Lieutenant Port of Call: New Orleans, let’s give it a cultural twist that we haven’t seen before.

What was it like to make a film with Werner Herzog?

Werner had come to me in 1995 to do Cortez, and I had just come off of Leaving Las Vegas. I was being very selective about what I was going to do and not do, and when Cortez came across my desk, I didn’t feel it was wise to play this dictator who was pretty horrific. A lot of actors who play Manson or Hitler, you don’t see them again, and I didn’t want that to happen to me. I was also much younger then. I would have a different way of looking at it now. But to get back to Werner – I grew up watching his movies, and my father and Werner are friends. My father was a huge admirer of Herzog’s work, as are some of my colleagues, and they all recommended that I do it. I really like Nosferatu, Aguirre: Wrath of God and Stroszek. Those are pictures that stand out. I thought it would be good to work with him.

I’m always looking for a new way to express myself. I just did a picture in Bangkok with two Chinese brothers and an all-Thai crew, because I thought they would bring a ‘new me’ out. When you’ve acted for 30 years, you have to find new ways of reinventing yourself, and if you can’t find it on your own, you have to go to strange places and see if they can find it for you. Now, I’m working with a German, a great artist, to see what his sensibilities are. What can he see in me, what can he bring out?

Bad Lieutenant is a self-generated motor. Werner knows this and we’ve worked well together because of this. He lets me do what I need to do, and I let him do what he needs to do. Each of us knows who we are, which always makes it easier.

Cage confers with director Werner Herzog.

The search for who we are inside is an ongoing quest, isn’t it? It should always keep going, ideally.
Yeah, and it will, until we become…what’s the right way of saying this? Until we’ve overcome it to the point where we can become masters of our own destiny, if such a thing is possible.

We become the directors, not the actors?

(laughs) Yeah, we’re no longer at the mercy of the elements, but more in control of them.

Ever met anybody like that?

No. Have you?

Never. (both laugh) I’ve always wanted to meet The Dhali Lama. I would imagine he’s pretty close to that.

Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard, too. When he walks into a room, you feel a different level of vibration, that he’s that guy we’re talking about.

Cage in Bad Lieutenant.

Your background is the stuff of Hollywood lore now: you’re the offspring of what has become one of the most prolific artistic families in Hollywood history: the Coppolas. Your father August Coppola was a professor of Fine Arts, right?

Yeah, comparative literature. He initially taught at Long Beach State and then became Dean of Creative Arts at San Francisco State. Here’s the interesting thing about my father in relation to education: he was pretty frustrated with the educational system, so when I went to him in high school and said ‘Dad, I’m not a good match for this. This isn’t me. I want to go to work. I want to act. High school isn’t working for me.’ He actually said “Go ahead and take the (GED) exam, and get out.” So what one would expect, that he would insist I go to college, wasn’t the case. He encouraged me to follow my dream and go on.

But he was also the son of an artist.

Yeah, so he understood that and related to that. Thank you for pointing that out. It has been somewhat confusing to me over the years why he would say that’s okay. It was somewhat important to him that I pass the equivalency, which I did do. I passed the GED, but I didn’t finish the school year. To set the record straight, I am not a high school dropout, as has been said. I have a diploma. I just wanted to get to work.

Your mother is also an artist, right?

Yeah, she was a dancer, a modern dance instructor. She studied at UCLA. I was surrounded by that kind of frequency, of artistic energy, that was always around my family. When I’d visit my uncle Francis, it was everywhere. It’s the kind of thing where, it’s madness. There’s a level of it that’s so eccentric and zany, that if you’re not careful, it can catch like wildfire and burn you down. But at the same time, that’s the very stuff that makes people fascinating to watch and charismatic. The trick is, how do you keep a balance with it and not blow yourself out.

Well, the history of art, and particularly cinema, is littered with the corpses of people who were the architects of their own destruction.

In some capacity whether it’s drugs, high speed driving, or just bad behavior, yeah. This is the very thing that I’m thinking about daily, what we’re talking about now, and I’m trying to think how to express it without sounding like I’ve got my head in the clouds. It occurs to me that we’re on this material plane here and we’re born into it, into matter, and so because we’re on this level, it seems like the people who are the most messed up, and have the largest appetites for the material are the ones we find the most charismatic, and the ones we relate to the most and they sort of take the experience of our lives on Earth and tell the stories. So we go to the theater and we see it, and we say “Yeah, I know what that’s like. I’ve been there. I know what it feels like to drink myself into oblivion. I know what it’s like to want to rob a bank,” and so on. But no one wants to go watch a movie about a guy like The Dhalai Lama. Who’s going to want to go watch that for two hours? As beautiful as it is, people seem to be gravitated toward those who are on this plane and who are succumbing to the plane.

It’s called “drama” for a reason. You know the one word definition of drama, don’t you?

No. What?

“Conflict.”

Yeah, yeah. It’s something that I’m really contemplating right now. If I became perfect, which I am not (laughs), would anybody want to see my work?

But would you want to be perfect?

That depends. It’s almost like if you want to get to another level, assuming there is another level in the afterlife, I’d rather be an eagle than a monkey. But I don’t think anybody wants to watch the eagle. I think they want to watch the monkey.

It’s also comforting, to a certain degree, to watch people who appear to be far more fucked-up than we are, even though that might be the case. Most likely, unconsciously, we’re relating to that pain and that dysfunction far more than we realize. Is that what you’re saying?

Yeah, yeah, that is what I’m saying. The most charismatic stars and performances: Al Pacino in Scarface (1983), Jack Nicholson in a number of movies, Robert de Niro in Raging Bull (1980), these are people who are really beleaguered with issues, but you can’t your eyes off of them. I’m not saying the actors themselves are beleaguered, but the characters they play are. If you did become perfect, you would almost have to resacrifice yourself into matter to be able to be someone who would be accessible to people.

You would have to become Keir Dullea 2001: you would just become light spheres.

Yeah, exactly! So the artist to me is really the one who, in a sense, is a character who is giving themselves up for the people.

From what I’ve read, you’ve always known that you were an artist, and have marched to the beat of your own drummer from the time you were a small child.

Yeah, that’s right.

Did you know you were an actor at that point, or did you just know you were different?

I knew I was different. I knew in very abstract ways that I wanted to be an actor. I liked what was happening in a box—which was the television set—more than what was happening in my own family living room. I wanted to figure out how to get inside the box. It was mystifying to me, and thought it was amazing that there were people inside this little box. I vowed in my mind that I’d learn how to get inside it.

You were also the victim of bullying growing up because you were perceived as being so different.

Yeah, those were rough years.

But don’t you also think that when you don’t fit into the norm, it forces you to develop the part of your brain that forces you to create, in order to maintain some kind of stability?

Yeah, it’s a training ground of sorts. Look around, this whole place is a training ground. There’s a million opportunities to not give in, and not have it break your spirit. Instead, you can have it be a stepping stone, depending on how you navigate those waters. Our minds are so sensitive at that age. But I had that moment on the football field where everyone in the school starting backing away, and just slamming me with every other name you could think of, and I didn’t know why it was happening. Although it turned out it was because I was wearing a t-shirt that had The Incredible Hulk on it. (laughs) And that was it, from then on.

You were “it.”

Yeah, I was “it.” I was the guy with the cooties. But I remember taking a deep breath, and just kind of gliding out of it, and going home and sort of breathing and calming down, and just sort of making a mental note of it, but not letting it become the wildfire that we’re talking about.

Which is what happened at Columbine.

Yeah, which is what happened at Columbine. You have to have a place which can funnel the negative energy and turn it into a positive. A lot of these kids don’t have that. They have no identity, or that becomes their identity, being an avenging angel, of sorts. If I could have been there, and had been some kind of teacher or something, I would have said ‘What kind of music do you like? Okay, you like goth music. You like it to be really dark and scary. Well, let’s see if we can learn to make it together, to put it all there.’ People get mad at kids when they draw scary pictures, they think it’s the sign of some sort of disturbance. Well, actually it’s art. He or she is taking a scary image, getting it out of their head, putting it onto a piece of paper, and alleviating the pressure. They’re doing something good with it. To take that away, or not facilitate or educate that is why, I think, we have these problems.

Let’s get back to some of your films.

(laughs) Yeah, okay.

Trailer for Valley Girl.

The first movie I saw you in was Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982).

I had auditioned for Judge (Reinhold)’s part, and did about ten or twelve auditions for it, and didn’t get it, but got a supporting part as Brad’s Bud #1 or #2, I forget which.

A lot of your scenes are on the TV version, that they air on TNT.

Are they really? That’s bizarre. I remember my father driving me to work on that. I was 16. I guess that makes me a child actor, of sorts. It’s been over 25 years now. It’s very interesting growing up publicly. I was there and most of the actors were five or six years older than me, so I was the nerd again. Another mental note was checked off there. (laughs)

Like American Graffiti (1973), Fast Times turned out to have this incredible cultural and artistic synchronicity in terms of all the actors who went onto greatness.

Yeah, there was a buzz in the air that there was something excellent being created. It was another difficult time, though. I was Nicolas Coppola, and there was a lot of “Oh, he thinks he can be an actor because he’s Francis Coppola’s nephew.” So again, I had to sort of figure out how to deal with that, and achieve my goals if this is being put on me. Now again, with a very young, very sensitive mind. So it occurred to me that one, I’d have to work twice as hard as the other actors in order to be taken seriously, and two, that I’d have to change my name.

Cage and Deborah Foreman in Valley Girl.

So it was between Fast Times and Valley Girl (1983) that Nicolas Cage was born.

Right.

You got “Cage” from the musician John Cage?

John Cage and also the comic book character Luke Cage. I liked reading comics as boy—I was a nerd—and it was how I learned to read, really. Then I when I went to Horace Mann Elementary School, in music class they talked about John Cage, and I always thought that it was such a cool name. Then I started getting interested in that kind of music, which is what my father listened to. So that was the genesis of the name.

After Valley Girl, everything changed for you.

Yeah, that was the first time I felt like I could breathe on a movie. I walked in on that with a new name. Nobody knew who my uncle was. The other actors weren’t teasing me about it, so I suddenly felt like I could really relax and do what I think I can do. All I wanted was to be on the same playing field as everyone else. Not that I have a problem with my name, but don’t have prejudice towards me because of my name. Just put me on the same playing field because I think I can do this, whether you think so or not. So that’s what Valley Girl did for me.

You did three movies with your uncle. Since there was a familial bond in place already, did they two of you have a sort of shorthand in terms of how you communicated?

What happened was, Francis saw Valley Girl and got very excited about the possibility of me, and that’s when The Cotton Club (1984) happened, and then Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), and all that stuff occurred. And I liked working with him. I found him to be very open to some far-out ideas. Peggy Sue I didn’t want to do. I actually turned it down originally. He really went through the paces with me on that. TriStar wanted to fire me and he talked them out of it. I was going for something different with that character, and he didn’t know 100% what he was getting into when he cast me. I told him I didn’t quite know why he wanted to make the movie, and he said “Well, it’s like Our Town.” So I kept turning him down, and finally I gave in on the condition that I could go pretty far out with the character. During rehearsal, I came up with this idea to into Pokey from the Gumby show, and create this cartoon character. Those were some very tense days on the set. Every day I was going to be fired. Kathleen (Turner) was not happy with the performance. She thought she was going to get the boy from Birdy (1984) and instead she got Jerry Lewis on acid! (laughs)

Cage in Francis Coppola's Peggy Sue Got Married.

But that interpretation was so appropriate, because that guy, in every high school in America, is a cartoon!

Exactly! Not only that, but the dreamscape that we were playing in was very exciting to me. So I thought since this is about the visions a woman has when she’s fainted, maybe I could make Charlie a little more abstract.

Every time that movie’s brought up today, it’s your performance that people talk about.

That’s what’s so ironic because at the time, it was really lambasted critically. “The wart on an otherwise beautiful movie,” is what one critic said, I think.

Cage and Laura Dern in David Lynch's Wild at Heart.

Wild at Heart (1990) is one of those movies that keeps getting better every time I see it. Although I have to admit when I first saw it, I hated it.

You know what’s interesting about what you’re saying now, is I’ve notice this happen with all kinds of art forms. Apparently 2001 got slammed when it came out. Rock Hudson walked out of the theater. The very things that really kind of rub us the wrong way at first, become the things we connect with so deeply later. That’s why I think I get as happy with the bad reviews as I do with the good ones. I don’t want to make people too comfortable right off the bat. If I can really do my job well and get to the truth of something, inevitably that might be a little bit painful. (laughs) And that’s why I try to be careful with the movies I choose. I don’t want to have one identity. I want to keep looking for different points of expression.

Anytime you elicit a strong emotional response from someone, you know you’re doing your job.

You know you’re doing something right, absolutely. Owen Glieberman from Entertainment Weekly gave Lord of War a D-, which is basically failing the movie. So I thought ‘Okay, I know it’s not a D-, otherwise we wouldn’t have David Denby from Newsweek saying it’s one of the most enjoyable movies of the year.' He’s a very important critic. So to me, those are very interesting polarities and it says I know I’ve gotten you, Owen. I know I’ve affected you in a way that you’re going to think about this down the road. So it’s actually a good review, if you think about it that way. I actually told them to put (Glieberman’s grade of D-) on the poster, but Lions Gate wouldn’t do it. (laughs)

Cage in his Oscar-winning turn in Leaving Las Vegas, with Elizabeth Shue.

Tell us about the experience of making Leaving Las Vegas (1995) and working with Mike Figgis.

It was just a great time, all the way around. I had a great connection with Mike and Elisabeth Shue. Mike is music. He’s free form and rhythm and melody and it comes out in his direction. He’s even got music on the set that he was composing. So we had a connection and I hope to work with him again some day. We did the film very quickly, in about four weeks and it just was painless, I don’t know why. It just seemed like everything was linking up. It was channeled with the real guy, John O’Brien, almost. (Editor’s note: John O’Brien, who wrote the novel on which the film was based, committed suicide shortly before principal photography started) I felt like I was making moves that I later on found out he had made, like the way he’d light his matches. The car he drove, Mike wanted him to drive an old Jaguar and I said ‘No, he should drive a BMW, like every other agent in town.’ And he had a BMW, and I didn’t know that. His parents came to the set and would comment on how much I reminded them of their son. I don’t want to get too spooky about it, but it was a very special time. We were in John’s mind somehow.

John Woo is one of my favorite directors, and I’m a big fan of Face/Off (1995).Tell us about that.

Face/Off for me is a personal milestone because I felt like I was able to realize some of my independent filmmaking dreams in a major studio film. I was taking a lot of the laboratory of Vampire’s Kiss (1989) and points of expression that I was working on with films like Nosferatu (1922) or The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919): early German expressionistic film acting, and with Face/Off, I got do it in a huge genre picture. John had shown me his film Bullet in the Head (1990) and I knew when I saw that where he would let me go. I knew his barometer and that I could put it up against a wall of expressionistic acting, as opposed to naturalistic acting. I’d not done that to that level before in a big studio movie, so it was a real personal best for me. I got to get way outside the box.

Cage and John Travolta in a publicity still from John Woo's Face/Off.

I forgot that you executive produced Shadow of the Vampire (2000), which was a fictional re-telling of the production of Nosferatu. F.W. Murnau, who directed the latter film, is one of my heroes.

Yeah, he was amazing. Sunrise (1927) is one of the greatest films ever made.

Nosferatu actually changed my life when I saw it as a kid. It’s one of the movies that made me fall in love with movies and scared me to the depths of my soul.

It’s kismet that we’re talking because that’s exactly the same experience I had. My father used to bring the movies home from Cal State and he’d project them for us, and there I was, looking at this terrifying imagery. It was so uncomfortable and really made me miserable but again, like we talked about, I began to fall in love with it.

Murnau shot it like a documentary, which is what made it so interesting. Wasn’t it one of the first films to go on location?

I think it might have been, yeah. What we did in Shadow of the Vampire was pretty thought-out and accurate in terms of the actual events, except of course that (actor) Max Schreck wasn’t really a vampire! (laughs) All actors by some definition are vampires, I suppose.

I have a theory that all great actors and filmmakers have one overlooked masterpiece, and I think 8mm (1999) is yours. I think it’s such a brave, audacious, deeply disturbing movie.

Thank you. I’m sure Joel (Schumacher) will be happy to hear that. In a lot of ways that movie is kind of a milestone for me, because it’s my first foray into horror. To me, it’s a horror film, and I hadn’t really done that before. It does have weight in my library, but it was, as you said, overlooked and wasn’t something people could respond to at the time because it was so dark and disturbing. It’s not how people want to spend eight bucks to get their minds off their problems. (laughs)

Cage in Joel Schumacher's 8mm.

If it had been made in 1971, it would have been a hit.

But you see, those are my favorite movies, from the 70s. I’m still kind of living that fantasy, trying to do it in 2005. But that was the time, and those were the movies that propelled me into wanting to go for this. The 50s and 70s movies for me are the ones that got me on the track of wanting to be an actor.

I was watching Klute the other day, which was made in 1971. A movie from 1985 is more dated now than that film is.

Yeah, right. I believe that. If you look at A Clockwork Orange (1971), it’s like virtual reality now. Even if you take a single frame of that film, the amount of time Kubrick must have put into lighting that, it just pops! The shot of the droogies as they’re walking out of the milk bar, it’s lit in a way that’s nearly digitally perfect, and he did it in ’71. It’s fascinating.

Tell us what directing was like, with Sonny (2002).

That was a great experience, too. It was a real highlight for me. I was surrounded by some of my favorite actors. I’ve never seen James Franco hit a false note. He’s a great actor, and he’s just fantastic in the movie.

It’s a great kitchen sink drama. Did you study the films of Karel Reisz and Tony Richardson before you did it?

No, I didn’t. It just kind of came out of me, the way I sort of felt it. I didn’t want to take too much away from the actors. I wanted the film to look beautiful, but I really just wanted to focus on performance, and I got that. I was very happy with the results.

THE END OF POVERTY? We're not even close according to Philippe Diaz's searing new documentary.

2009-11-22T20:21:00.001-08:00

By Terry Keefe

(This article is currently appearing in this month's Venice Magazine.)

And now we pause for some startling statistics: 20% of the planet's population uses 80% of its resources…and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate.

Those numbers are at the heart of filmmaker Philippe Diaz’s documentary, The End of Poverty?, which sets out to examine the actual root causes of global poverty, and the film is the antithesis of a feel-good capitalism love story. A major part of Diaz’s conclusion is that capitalism doesn’t work without free, or at least very cheap, labor. His argument follows that the conquest of poorer countries in the South, by wealthier ones in the North, began with slavery and colonization hundreds of years ago, but continues today, even though many of those countries technically now have their independence. According to the theories laid out in the film, servitude comes now in a different form, metaphorical chains and shackles, via wildly unfair debt, tax, and trade policies. And for the wealthier nations to maintain their current standards of living and consumption, the poorer ones must continue to suffer, with little hope for that changing any time soon.

Diaz frames the backbone of The End of Poverty upon a series of interviews with both economic experts and citizens of a number of impoverished countries.

How large was the crew you traveled with to do your interviews with the documentary subjects in the poorer areas?

Philippe Diaz: We were a very small team and that was for two reasons. There is the budget issue of course, but also, we knew that because we had to go into small places, where poor people live. A lot of these people live in a room which is eight by eight feet. And sometimes there is an entire family living in it. I was operating the camera as well as directing and the producer was also doing the sound, and we had two local people to help.

(Filmmaker Philippe Diaz, above.)

You did a tremendous amount of research before shooting anything, but did you still encounter a number of surprises in your actual interviews?

There are good surprises and bad ones. The bad ones were the reactions of some experts. We wanted to raise awareness of the true causes of poverty with the film, as you know. My biggest surprise is that when I went to interview some of these experts, they had nothing interesting to say. There’s the story of (American economist) Jeffery Sachs going around the world with Bono and saying if we give mosquito nets and fertilizer, it will end poverty. I went to interview the number two of Jeffery Sachs, and after an hour and a half of interview, he could only tell me about mosquito nets and fertilizer. But some of the poor people who we interviewed…we were very surprised by their understanding of world economy and world poverty. They were very aware that they are poor because we are rich.

Structurally, the film predominantly focuses on making its case about the causes of poverty. Earlier on in the production, had you considered spending more time with proponents of the other side of this debate, those who believe that unfettered capitalism will set the world free?

I started with that idea. I wanted to show both sides. We interviewed lots of experts from around the world, but what they were saying…they couldn’t even articulate their ideas. It was their idea and that was it. If you tried to dig, there was nothing there. We had so little time to explain the problem, that to show the other side was a total waste. But I didn’t want to make a leftist movie, because that isn’t the issue. The issue is, as surmised by one of the experts who said, “Today we are consuming 30 percent more than what the planet can regenerate.” So, because the world population increases every year, it means that in order for us in the north to maintain our great lifestyle, we have to plunge more and more people below the poverty line. That’s not a political issue, that’s a mathematical issue. As one other expert says, “If we could find six other planets with the same resources, it wouldn’t be a problem.” I think it’s a crisis much bigger than global warming. It’s a problem of a much bigger proportion. How many million people will we let die every year so we can keep three cars in the garage?