PHILLY & SUNDANCE. Sports and film.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to interview two filmmakers whose films have ties to Philadelphia. The challenge is, I didn't have the chance to see either film. Having said that, it was a pleasure to speak with both directors, and what's life (and writing) without a bit of a challenge.

It all started this way. Last week, the press office here at Sundance offered to look up whether any films had a Pennsylvania connection, as I thought that would be great to write about. We couldn't find anything at the time, but it was still early on in the festival. As the week went on, I found things on my own.

BIG FAN: Robert Siegel, Director & Screenwriter.
Also Screenwriter of THE WRESTLER.


LisaBeth with Robert Siegel.

I stopped into some of the publicists rooms, and when I walked into one and asked if they represented any films with Pennsylvania connections, a journalist from NEW YORK MAGAZINE and the publicist both looked at me quizzically, and without missing a beat and in complete unison said, 'Funny you should ask!". Well, we all decided it was kismet when they told me that they were representing the film BIG FAN, about the ongoing rivalry between Philadelphia Eagles fans and NY Giants fans. Imagine my luck and surprise, and further delight when the filmmaker was there, and with a short wait would be available for an interview. The surprises and delight continued....as I was waiting my turn (after the NY mag journalist), I was reading the press package for the film, and lo and behold, the filmmaker and screenwriter, ROBERT SIEGEL also wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed film, THE WRESTLER. Further, he is originally from Long Island, (this writer's roots), AND to put the icing on the cake, he was also the editor in chief of THE ONION for several years. One of the first things Robert commented on when we sat down and spoke was my various Obama wear.

And onto the film....

Shot on location in various places in and around Philadelphia, Staten Island, and environs, Robert shared some stories about filming. They did some shots of Geno's and Pat's and also some scenes around Passayunk Avenue, but when they were shooting the final scene, they had to go elsewhere. The film climaxes at a South Philly bar, but because of budget, they used a sports bar in Staten Island, and transformed it to look just like a South Philly bar. Robert shared that the bar was covered in NY Giants memorabilia, and that they got quite the stares as they began to cover it with all things Philadelphia Eagles. It all worked out though, and Robert remarked that Philadelphia was really good to them.

With regard to THE WRESTLER, Robert said parts were also shot in Philly, and he was specific to mention the famed New Alhambra arena in South Philly as a Philadelphia icon. He mentioned that he loves Philly, but at the same time, seems to know and understand the unique reputation of the fans that completely immerse themselves in their sport, and has experienced their crazy and wild ways.

I asked Robert about any crazy stories that happened during the filming. He shared this one from a day in Staten Island...

They were using a house that belonged to the grandparents of Nick, the Associate Producer. A lovely elderly Italian couple from Staten Island, Sevario and Maria agreed that they would allow their house to be used for one day. No big surprise that one day wasn't enough, but it was enough for Saverio and Maria. On to plan B, as Robert tried everything to convince them to extend the time. First he tried to bribe them with Grappa, and though they all had a great time drinking together, the answer was still NO. Then Nick called to say they would be going to the track and that they would have a 5 hour window to sneak in. Of course, the door was locked, so plan C involved a friend of Nick's (whose identity shall remain nameless, but let's just say it was a cool nickname). He boosted Robert up to a little window on the second floor, Robert entered, fell about 10 feet, and they were in! They shot the scene, and in true sit-com style, Saverio and Maria got home before the shoot was complete, and it was a comedy act trying to keep them from realizing what was happening!

On a closing note, I asked Robert about the timing of BIG FAN coming out as THE WRESTLER is garnering great acclaim. Not expecting or asking for sympathy, he shared that he had worked on both projects for four or five years, and that he did wish they had been a bit more spread out at this point. It was a very honest statement, but don't worry, Robert Siegel is very humble and appreciative of having not one, but two films out and being seen by fans, both of sport and film.

THRILLER IN MANILLA: John Dower, Director & Screenwriter.

The rivalry between Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier is well known. They fought three times, with the final confrontation in the Philippines in October, 1975. This director tells the story from Joe Frazier's point of view, and sheds him in the light of an unsung hero.

About 80% of the film was shot in Philadelphia, and when I spoke to John Dower, he was very focused on the fact that the city of Philadelphia tends to celebrate the fictional boxing character of Rocky Balboa rather than the celebrated true life icon of Joe Frasier who is still alive and well.

Listening to the authenticity in John's voice, I feel it is my civic duty to express John's words here in hopes that the people of Philadelphia may be listening and will help to spread the word to celebrate and support Joe as he walks into his later years. Though he's only 65, he has had some health challenges, and is facing the possibility of having to sell his famous gym. This makes the Rocky Statue even more ironic sounding, and makes for a great challenge to boxing fans to save Joe's gym.

The film was shot very much in the North Broad Street area of Philly, and also in several gyms in and around the city. Dower was specific to mention how these gyms have been a safe haven for kids to go and be off the streets, and that they should be supported.

I asked John how Joe Frazier felt about the popularity of Rocky, considering that it was Joe who ran up the steps and was the inspiration for the scene in the slaughterhouse, and so much more. He said that Joe is a big hearted guy, who is kind of a realist.

Interesting factoid....several of the characters in the film still live in North Philly, the most famous being GEORGIE BENTON. An acclaimed boxer in his own right, Georgie is the only surviving member of Frasier's corner guys from the fight in Manilla.

In closing, I asked John about his Sundance experience overall. He said, "If you're a documentary filmmaker, Sundance is a dream come true."

Thankfully there are people like John Dower to tell the stories.

IN THE LOOP of satire.

The director and some of the cast of IN THE LOOP (sans James Gandolfini)

War & satire. What a combo. In the words of Sundance senior programmer John Nein, "If it weren't so funny, it would be terrifying."

At a time when it seems like we might actually experience some transparency in Washington, along comes the film IN THE LOOP. It's about a farcical lead up to war, and the players that completely mess things up in a modern day screwball comedy. The director, Armando Iannucci, weaves a stellar script with souped up and curse filled improv in this hysterical romp of transcontinental zaniness, internal corruption, and overtly blatant transgressions by senior officials in the US and UK government. Only it's all fictional. To echo that point, the audience doesn't know any details about who the war is between, what it's about, or how it really came to be. On the heels of the Bush administration, the satire seems all too real. Here's hoping that things really will change and that this kind of overt corruption is behind us.

And to add to the satire, the director injected a snarky comment as he was introducing the film. He talked about watching the Chief justice forget the words to the oath of office, and that it caused him to write down the name of his film just in case. During the Q & A, when asked what inspired him, Iannucci responded, "Isn't it obvious? I thought long and hard about the events leading up to Iraq, and decided you can either cry or you can laugh". That's the genesis. He went on to say that they were very clear to be anonymous in the present day, but with the implication that a fabricated war could happen again.

It's nearly impossible to watch this film and not really feel like you're a voyeur into this wacky world of Washington and the UK. With picture perfect recreations of the White House, the State Department, and the UN, the filmmaker also admitted during the intro that he was able to gain access to the State Department by showing his homemade BBC identification card.

There is such an interwoven mountain of content in IN THE LOOP, when the director said that the editing was really when the story was told, it made a lot of sense. Mostly filled with relatively fresh faces (for the US anyway), there is one quite well known face. James Gandolfini plays a General, and in his supporting role, casts a brilliant addition to this already wonderful, albeit thought provoking satirical film.

SUNDANCED!

THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD.

David Courier (Senior programmer), Mike Bonanno, & Andy Bichlbaum

The Yes Men Fix the World? And all this time I thought it was the women.

In this rapidly CHANGING political climate and WEEK of history in the making, a film like THE YES MEN is certainly timely if not amazing in the 'gotcha for the good guys' sense. Fearless filmmakers and popular protagonists Mike Bonanno & Andy Bichlbaum create a brilliant dance of exposing corporate corruption. Giving the old concept of "candid camera" a whole new meaning, Mike and Andy perpetuate elaborate schemes to infiltrate company meetings and live BBC television to conduct their righteous mischief.

Their tactics range from holding companies accountable to creating farcical projects for gullible CEO's. On the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster, they managed to get on the BBC, disguised as a spokesperson for Dow Chemical to announce that Dow was taking full responsibility and would be putting 12 billion dollars toward restitution. As the audience watches the sheer audacity of these two heroic characters, the scene takes the expected turn of, "uh oh, what now". The gradual reality sweeps the screen as the media begins to realize it was all a hoax. So the inevitable question came up during the Q & A....what about the people of Bhopal; weren't they angry and upset when all was said and done? Watching the film will tell all, but suffice it to say, after the initial and grand disappointment, the citizens of Bhopal were grateful to be in the news again after 20 years. And that maybe, just maybe someone would be listening.

I asked Mike and Andy where they watched the inauguration, and it turns out they were out on Main St., and just as mesmerized as the rest of us. I asked what they thought of Obama's speech. Andy said, "He gives us all the courage to fight for things." I concur and hope THE YES MEN continue that fight!

Other cool factoids:

• They were able to get clearance for everything in the film including Haliburton!
• Over 300 pieces of film were cleared in just a month and a half!
• When asked how they acquire credentials, they simply said, "We lie."
• Feeling their work was not yet complete, they created a fake (and VERY real looking) New York Times and distributed 100,000 copies all around New York City. Dated July 4th, 2009, the upper left hand box read, "All the news we hope to print, and the lead story reads, "War in Iraq Ends". You shoulda seen the look on people's faces as they took it all in.

SUNDANCE PICTURES, Here, there, & everywhere!

Lotsa assorted Sundance photos! The cute couple is....Stacie Jones with the filmmaker Craig Brewer (Hustle & flow, Black Snake Moan). The young gentleman is JOHNNY SIMMONS from the film, THE GREATEST, which is getting big buzz around Sundance. Other cast members are Susan Sarandon and Pierce Brosnan.

GOOD MORNING MR. PRESIDENT. ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR CLOSE UP?

Pix from Inauguration Day at Sundance!

The really really happy gal is Stacie Jones from Toronto at the MOMENT of celebration!!!! Oh yeah, and that's LisaBeth in those glasses.

Good Morning from Sundance on the first full day of the Obama Presidency. I was able to switch my work schedule so I could relish the moment yesterday with all people Sundance. And it didn't disappoint. Tears of joy and hope, American Flags, conversations, smiles, laughter, amazement, and eyes and ears glued to the plasma TV's that the amazing tech crew set up out on Main St.

If you've never been to Park City, Utah, picture New Hope + Manayunk, with a twist of Media. The downtown part of Park City is filled with shops, restaurants, cafe's and all that good stuff of a wonderful small town, plus no shortage of ski and sport boutiques of course. Considered one of the best places to ski, there is even a ski lift ("the city lift") that literally goes directly over the downtown.

Setting the scene: Inauguration morning:
A beautiful and crisp day, people gathered around outside on the lower part of Main Street to share in the glory of the event. There had been word that some of the actors who were at Sundance left to attend the inauguration, and that offered a bit of a buzz of the who's and when's. And speaking of buzz, you could feel it in the air. With portable heaters and hand warmers being distributed, people continued to arrive and there was palpable camaraderie and optimism all around. It was rather surreal to be here at a film festival watching the first African American President being sworn in. It almost felt like a movie, but thankfully it wasn't. It's real. It's here, and the thousand or so people watching the moment together knew it. Hugging friends and strangers was the norm, as was all the talk of what happens next.

It wasn't the mall in DC, but in every way, watching the inauguration at the Sundance Film Festival brought it's own uniqueness. Coupled with the amazing films and documentaries appearing here, we can all know that the arts are alive in telling stories, telling truths, and being a witness to moments past, present, and future.

More later....

Random Sundance pictures!

Donna and LisaBeth at the Eccles theater, Sundance Film Festival, 2009...

Robert Redford joins the cast (a.k.a., the most high powered ad guys in all the land) of the doc, ART & COPY...

Front of Prospector Theater

SIGHTINGS, ADS, AND PROMS, OH MY!

Hi from fairly warm Park City!
Wow. Day 3 and it's already an unbelievably time. So far I've seen 5 films, 2 Redford sightings, one Pierce Brosnan and Susuan Sarandon sighting, and lots of assorted filmmakers, producers, writers, editors, actors, publicists, and patrons of course!

When Robert Redford shows up at a screening, it's obviously a happy time for all. There is a standard that seems to be set as well, with the audience for the most part showing respect to the man even as their flashes are going off. Granted, he travels with some security, but it almost seems like the people are tenderly aware of all that Redford has done in the interest of film.

Lots of acronyms are thrown around different parts of Sundance, but the most common one of course is Q & A, the very popular Question and Answer portion of the film. The way films are presented at Sundance is typically with one of the programmers introducing the filmmaker and the film, followed by a Q & A. It's a favorite of audience members, and rarely disappoints.

Sometimes there are interesting and unlikely comparisons of films that come across my path. I'll talk about 2 here that could be parallels to the current times. The first, PROM NIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI, (Paul Saltzman - Director/Screenwriter) is a documentary based on the actor Morgan Freeman's attempt at integrating a high school prom in his home town of Charleston, Mississippi. Morgan proposed this idea to the school two times, with the offer to pay for everything. The first time he was turned down. The second time, his proposal was accepted, and history happened. With candid and diverse input from the kids at the high school, we are brought into the realm of what it is like to attend a school with practices that seem shocking to most people. On the eve of a time that will create history with the swearing in of Barack Obama, one can't help but think that we have come very far, but that there is a long way to go.

The second film, ART & COPY (Doug Pray - Director), brings us into the iconic world of advertising and how it has affected us, from the 60's to the Ipod. Director Doug Pray interviews what could easily be called 'the best of the best' of the advertising world. The names and faces behind 'Just Do It', 'got milk?',' Where's the Beef' and so on share stories and tales of what went into these campaigns. Voyeuristically appealing, the audience is drawn into hearing "the good, the bad, and the ugly" from these men and women of the ad industry. Considering the fact that ad revenue wouldn't be as gigantic as it is without the advent of satellites, the film is intermingled with shots of the technology that gets the job done to launch the big satellites in the sky. Along with that are some of the factoids about the mountainous amount of money spent in this strange and exciting world.

One of the most unique of the personalities represented in the film is the seemingly lovable, yet no holds barred George Lois (see the film or at least Google him to learn why). During the Q & A, an audience member asked, "How do you think the economy will affect the future of the advertising industry?" George Lois didn't miss a beat and said, "Greater creativity is needed. Case closed." He went on to say how creativity can save anything, and that creativity within the Obama administration can save everything. Let's hope so George. George Lois that is.

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL. Where there are no bad seats.

Welcome to the first of many bloggings from here at the Sundance Film Festival. This is my 4th year attending this iconic event and the 25th year of the event itself. I work as an Assistant Manager at the Prospector Theater, though my blog will be about my experiences outside that realm. In my spare time, I will be seeing films, seeing friends, and writing!

My special interest this year is the unique juxtaposition of the film festival and the inauguration and Presidency of Barack Obama.

It will certainly be interesting to watch the inauguration with everyone here at Sundance. As CNN says, "We can't all be there in person", but no matter where you ARE, chances are you will always remember where you WERE. I'll be watching it on a big screen outside, with what I imagine will be a huge and diverse crowd of people with huge smiles and faces filled with hope.

Being here at Sundance presents itself as an amazing opportunity to experience this historic moment immersed with filmmakers and patrons from here and around the world. Each filmmaker puts their heart and soul on the screen, with the hope that their work will travel far and wide into the hearts and minds of their audiences. I think that concept epitomizes Barack Obama, and there is a poetic parallel and/or juxtaposition to that notion. We don't always see the results of the impact of our work, but for filmmakers or Presidents, it is those results that can help effect change.

There are no bad seats. We are all witnesses to history. And at this pivotal moment of hope, any seat is a good seat because if you're watching, you're interested. And if you're interested, you're engaged, and if you're engaged, you just might get involved. We'll see how much that impact is felt here at Sundance.

The more we move ahead, the more we move behind

I wonder if social anthropologists will have a field day in years to come. There's an interesting juxtaposition that I see more and more each day. Speckled by the fact that the most powerful person in America and perhaps the free world is about to be the only person who will be banned from carrying a blackberry, I can't help but think about the irony. If you've been sleeping under a rock, I'm talking about Barack Obama and the fact that he will have to give up his beloved Blackberry when he's inaugurated as President. A potential legal and security nightmare, that's just the way it is.

I've been thinking a lot about this lately, that as we progress as a society in all things possible and technical, we also must jog through the bumps in the road, from techno s.n.a.f.u.s. to big brother.

Example:
We all have cell phones. We can call anyone from anywhere, a beach, a train, a car. Yet, the quality doesn't hold a candle to a good ol' fashioned land line. Hence, progress moves backwards and forwards simultaneously.

Example:
We have more technical capabilities than ever before. We can work from virtually anywhere, and have all the freedom of movement we could ever ask for. Yet, we are closer to big brother than ever before as well. This harsh reality rings true in every aspect of daily life. If you knew how often you were on camera on any given day, your head would probably spin. So again, we move forwards and backwards together. There are very positive aspects to this of course, as in solving crimes, etc., but at the same time, it seems like we're always being watched. George Orwell, are you listening?

Example:
Facebook - Social networking cutting edge innovation. I love Facebook as much as the next participant, but I wonder if people think/realize/know/care that every little thing they write is public and probably and surely owned by Facebook (probably this blog too). I hope that people think before they post, as in someone thinking clearly about whether they really want a tatoo or not. Once it's there, it's there.

SHIFT change

Some blog daily. Some blog hourly. Some probably blog minutely. Some blog way too much. Some think way too much is not enough. Some don't care one way or another about blogs. Some wonder how they ever survived without their blog. I've written a very occasional blog, just for venting purposes, up till now anyway.

With a brand new and remarkable President Elect about to take office, I think the time for venting may be morphing into the time for action. Caveat: ok, so I'll still vent, but I'm hoping that the global attitude starts to apply the paradigm shift that needs to take place in order to re-group from completely falling off the proverbial cliff of economic instability, incomprehensible wars, and leaders who don't lead. This is truly the time for SHIFT in this world, and I think Obama is just the one to lead us in the right direction. It won't happen overnight, so my wish for his first 100 days and beyond is that people give him a chance....and that people get involved in creating better days ahead.