The Long and Winding Road to LOVE

An interview with ALL TOGETHER NOW director, Adrian Wills


Ordinarily, when two fervent forces embark on a collaboration, the results tend to be frighteningly intense. It seems that it could be either a catastrophe of epic proportions or a symbiotic melding that inspires all who witness it first hand. Given the drastic difference in potential results, most tend to avoid even entertaining the notion. We all know what happens when no risks are ever taken though. Besides, if we never risk the potential disaster, then we may never fall in love.

LOVE is exactly what the Cirque de Soleil found when they joined forces with the Apple company to bring the music of the Beatles to spectacularly new heights. It couldn’t have been an easy process to have too notoriously controlling and immensely huge entities find a way to do business together but find one they did and Adrian Wills was there to watch it all go down. His new documentary, ALL TOGETHER NOW, chronicles the entire experience – from the beautiful finished moments of the popular Vegas show to the ugly moments behind the scenes where it all seemed it would fall apart.

ALL TOGETHER NOW may not be a substitute for seeing the show itself but it is a tender experience for any Beatles fan. As though he weren’t even trying, Wills manages to get some very candid and very intimate moments with people I’m sure he never even dreamed he’d be speaking with – from Paul McCartney to George Martin to Yoko Ono. The closeness Wills fosters makes for a compelling and entertaining backstage look at this phenomenal show and also allows for the most important thing about the show to shine through – the love.

I caught up with Wills on the phone while he was in Montreal, a city he still calls home, promoting the film at the Festival Nouveau Cinema before the film’s American DVD release on October 21.


Joseph Belanger: Congratulations, first of all. The audience ate up your film at yesterday’s screening. You’re no stranger to the Cirque de Soleil but how was the LOVE project different from your previous Cirque work?
Adrian Wills: Thanks a lot. I’m glad to hear that. [Note: Wills could not make the screening as he was ill.] Well, the LOVE project is different in the sense that it was never supposed to be a film to begin with. I was just supposed to come in and shoot some stuff. They thought maybe it would be NBC or BBC that would so something. It wasn’t like, “Hey, Adrian. Here’s this great project. Go to town. We’ll give you all of our support.” It was more like a marathon all the way through. Eventually NBC and the BBC fell out but I had been shooting the whole time. So we just went with it.

JB: And did you have full access to every aspect of the production?
AW: It looks like we had all the time and all the money in the world but it wasn’t the case at all. I think it worked out to maybe 30 shooting days, maybe less. We had to really pick when we would be there. Because I was interviewing all these people myself as well, some of the shooting days would be about getting as many interviews as possible. From the interviews, I knew there was this emotional arch that could run throughout the film so that’s what we tried to set up.

JB: Were you a fan of the Beatles before you started working on this project?
AW: Oh yeah. I’ve been a fan of music for a long time. I was the kind of kid who would listen to radio shows and then tape everything. I have loved music ever since I can remember and the Beatles, I remember reading about them when I was 10 and listening to them all through my life.

JB: The man who staged the LOVE show, Dominic Champagne, describes at one point in ALL TOGETHER NOW that all the location research in London – Abbey Road, Strawberry Fields – was like being on some sort of pilgrimage. What was that experience like for you?
AW: It was like there were two parts of me. There was Adrian, the filmmaker, and then there was this other Adrian that was so taken with how amazing it all was. Then there’s the filmmaker part who reminds you what your job is and what you really want to do while you’re there; you’ve got to make sure you’re getting all the shots necessary to tell the story later. I felt very respectful and privileged to be in that intimate position to be at these places with these people.

JB: You talk about it in the documentary itself I don’t mind asking that, given the reputation Cirque and Apple Corps have for being very controlling parties, did you find that control trickling over into the way your film was coming together.
AW: It’s for sure that if you’re making a film with two huge entities, I can’t sit here and tell you that nobody ever looked at our film during the shoot. What I can say is that for the amount of time we had to shoot this and the amount of material that we got, we had the freedom to make the film without Cirque or Apple looking over our shoulders while we were shooting it. They also weren’t giving me hundreds of days of shooting either so we really had to plan to be there at the right times. So they weren’t telling us what to shoot but they also weren’t letting us be there all the time.


JB: And yet you still got to establish the emotional arch you mentioned earlier.
AW: I wanted it to be as emotional as possible to really get you into the heart of the experiences. I wanted to talk about George [Harrison’s] passing; I wanted to talk about John [Lennon] having passed. I wanted to talk about how people were dealing with these issues as well as the creation of the show. I was looking at the Beatles as a family. They’ve gone through fights. They’ve gone through deaths. They’re linked together by history, by legacy. That was something I thought was really important, interesting. I had not seen them portrayed that way. I had always seen them portrayed as fun guys who had gone through all this crazy stuff. I was lucky enough to find all the human stories behind all this.

JB: You also managed to get some very candid moments with these iconic figures.
AW: It’s like when Paul McCartney told me that he wakes up surprised sometimes and thinks, “Wow, I was in the Beatles.” It was amazing when he told me that but also at a fundamental level, that is really interesting. And then you got the story between George [Martin] and Giles [Martin]; what a gorgeous story. Giles is 36 years old. His father was 36 years old when he signed the Beatles. Now his father is losing his sense of hearing. You’ve got old school and new school working together. In remastering for LOVE, he gets to go through everything that his father has done that made him this legend and now turn it into something new for now. That’s amazing. How many fathers and sons get to go through that kind of experience?

JB: Sounds like you were pretty taken with the emotional elements too?
AW: For sure. Olivia Harrison, this wasn’t a cash grab for her. It was really George Harrison wanting to do something with the music of the Beatles and Cirque de Soleil. They didn’t know what that was yet. There were meetings and lawyers and red tape. It wasn’t even clear that something would happen when George passed. But it was Olivia who came back because this was George’s last wish. It was something he really believed in. For me, the emotion was always where I wanted to go with it. From where I was standing, and I’m the one translates that for the viewers, that’s what I was feeling. For Olivia Harrison to listen to her husband’s song and for George Martin to be playing that song in the studio in what maybe one of the last times. She knows that he won’t be around for a lot longer and that her husband has just passed. These are the moments that we really wanted to show. This is why George Martin says that he knows what their legacy is and what it means, that he lives with it every day.

ALL TOGETHER NOW will be released on DVD in America exclusively through Best Buy on October 21.


Cirque Du Soleil's All Together Now - Long Trailer - The top video clips of the week are here

Black Sheep @ the 2008 Festival Nouveau Cinema

My festival experience has thus far been a great one despite the films I’ve seen not being that memorable. I know there is better to come though and the people running the show have been nothing but helpful. The actual opportunity to see all these films, whether they be great or not, is enough to keep me excited and enthused. My initiation to the festival had a bit of a rocky start though. I had intended to begin my screenings with the highly lauded THE HUNGER but that is when I found out that accreditation does not automatically give you access to any screening at any time. Well, it does essentially but you need to book these screenings in advance. By the time I found that out, THE HUNGER was sold out. No bother, I had another screening the next day right after work. It was my last day before my week’s vacation from the day job (Hallelujah!) and I had to rush all day to make it on time. Nothing was getting done; I had an argument with a colleague; a headache pounded all day. Basically, I was a wee bit stressed. Somehow, I made it out of there and found myself suddenly sitting at the Ex-centris cinema for WENDY & LUCY. This did nothing to alleviate my tension.


WENDY & LUCY is the kind of movie that exhibits real people with real problems. It is the kind of misfortune that rarely makes an appearance in mainstream cinema but Kelly Reichardt's WENDY & LUCY can in no way be described as mainstream cinema. Well, there is the matter of its indie darling star, Michelle Williams. Williams went from “Dawson’s Creek” alumni to Academy Award nominee and serious actress after her harrowing performance in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. Her presence in WENDY & LUCY is the film’s center and she continues to demonstrate a range no one would have ever expected given her pop beginnings. Williams plays Wendy, young and homeless, she is making her way across the country to Alaska in search of work. Lucy is her dog, whom she misplaces early on in the film. I’d like to say that there is a deeper meaning to the film and a biting commentary about what it means to be a vagrant in America and there is on some level but it is mostly just Williams looking for her dog.


After that downer, I needed something more romantic, something more joyful and opted for a film called UNIVERSALOVE. It promised to be a music heavy piece about the universality of the most complex of human emotions. How could I go wrong? It sounded innovative and fresh but sadly it was dull and bordered on ridiculous. Six different stories are told in brief pieces and set around the globe. The music of Austrian indie rock band, Naked Lunch ties the stories together by bridging the gaps with half rock/half electronic songs that fill the spaces and make for intriguing tonal moods but do nothing to lend to the plot. Subsequently, we’re left with nothing more than a string of music videos. The stories themselves, including one where a guy brings his dead wife home after a car accident and another where a wedding dress salesperson is stuck in a fifteen year relationship going nowhere, don’t seem to bear any connection so I struggled to understand what universal link filmmaker Thomas Woschitz was trying to draw. Perhaps it was an unfair expectation but I wanted to see what ties us together not what keeps us entirely disconnected.


The kids have it figured out though. In VOY A EXPLOTAR, Mexican director, Gerardo Naranjo gives us two young people that appear literally to be exactly as the title describes, ready to explode. Roman and Manu (first time actors, Juan Pablo de Santiago and Marie Deschamps) are your typical dramatic teenage types. They cannot deal with rules and expectations and order and find themselves feeling like they could blow at any second as a result of being trapped in this kind of life. And while adolescents struggle with finding meaning and understanding within themselves, they certainly have an ease with exploring others as a means of avoidance. The two ticking time bombs are soothed by their exploration of this unfamiliar pull between them but it isn’t long before that pull becomes a push and the timer is on again. VOY A EXPLOTAR is an engaging commentary on youth, love and how that love can grow into something that either fosters or ruins our sense of self. Unfortunately, it isn’t as explosive as it needs to be to justify its own title.

Next Up: An interview with ALL TOGETHER NOW director, Adrian Wills.

Black Sheep Previews: BATTLE IN SEATTLE

In 1999, five days of chaos took over Seattle when what were intended to be peaceful demonstrations at the World Trade Organizations Ministerial Meeting turned into riots so ugly that a state of emergency was declared by the mayor. It took two years to organize the event and it was the first of its kind to be held on American soil. Still, despite all efforts on both the parts of the peacekeepers and the protesters, mayhem erupted. Flash forward to 2008 and the whole event has been turned into a provocative exploration of the humanity behind all the unintended violence, called BATTLE IN SEATTLE.

Stuart Townsend is best known as an actor who has appeared in some unfortunate failures like AEON FLUX and THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN. Not one to give up though, Townsend has changed his personal career direction and with BATTLE IN SEATTLE, he gives us his first screenplay and his first directorial efforts. His years as an actor, which incidentally have not stopped, have made him some strong contacts, including the romantic link to fiancee and Academy Award winner, Charlize Theron. Theron appears in BATTLE IN SEATTLE as a pregnant wife of a police officer (Woody Harrelson) who is on duty for the riots.

BATTLE IN SEATTLE has already been heralded by top critics like Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman as a directorial debut that exhibits "stunning passion and skill." Roger Ebert calls is "not quite a documentary and not quite a drama but interesting all the same." Having already worked the festival circuit, the film is finally ready for it's national release October 17 and I personally am very curious to see how Townsend manages to make sense of such a monumental mess.

For more information on BATTLE IN SEATTLE, click here.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Little Dogs, Big Business

Last week, I was shocked. Well, not so much shocked as disappointed. This week, I’m not the least bit surprised. There it is. BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA still sitting pretty on top of the box office chart. I guess we’ll be seeing litters of little kids dressed like fashionable dogs this Halloween. Their parents can carry them around in little purses while they wear giant sunglasses.


This week’s top debut might come as a surprise for some but not I. QUARANTINE opened stronger than most expected, capturing the number one spot on Friday. It was no match for the family friendly pooches though and it ultimately lost the weekend to the dogs. Still, it does have the highest average in the Top 10 and it did beat out Ridley Scott’s BODY OF LIES, starring Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio. Huge stars, giant director, no interest. The film did solid business but nowhere near what it should have given the caliber of names attached. It did feel like they might have been trying a little hard. Don’t try at all next time, Ridley. That approach worked wonders for the chihuahuas.


The Top 10 saw two other flat debuts and one disappointing expansion. The first is football film, THE EXPRESS, starring Dennis Quaid. After this spring’s dud, LEATHERHEADS, Hollywood will probably spend a little more time in the huddle before rushing any other football picks to the 10-yard line. And Gil Kenan’s follow-up to the Mouton d’Or winner for Best Animated Feature, MONSTER HOUSE, CITY OF EMBER, flickered out in 10th place. Maybe the underground city could have used a few more pint size pups. I’m just saying … Chihuahuas clearly equal gold. It worked for the Taco Bell people and Paris Hilton. Lastly, THE DUCHESS had been playing so well in limited release, it was only natural to go wide but the film failed to connect with the rest of the continent. The trials of beautiful royalty didn't seem to matter much to rural America as the film saw its averages drop from tens of thousands to under $3K.


On the specialty front, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED continued to dazzle. 18 screens were added in the last weekend before it goes wider. While it pulled in a per screen average of over $17K, two other films picked up per screens of over $20K. The first is the seemingly drastic departure for Mike Leigh, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY. Well, it’s a departure in the sense that it is supposed to be happy, which Leigh’s films generally are not. The second is a film that so needs to do well in order to save a flailing career. Guy Ritchie’s supposed return to form, ROCK’N’ROLLA, has the highest average of any film in release on just 7 screens. The film goes wide by Halloween and goes head to head with wife, Madonna’s directorial debut, FILTH AND WISDOM, next week. My money’s on Guy; don’t tell Madge.


NEXT WEEK: Are you ready for a painful experience? MAX PAYNE, that is. The video game adaptation starring Mark Wahlberg is the week’s biggest release. SEX DRIVE has the teen sex romp market covered. Oliver Stone’s highly anticipated Bush biography, W. has the controversy market covered. And THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES has the cherished-literature-turned-into-sappy-feel-good-movie market in check.

RELIGULOUS

Written by Bill Maher
Directed by Larry Charles
Starring Bill Maher


Bill Maher: If it’s one thing I hate more than prophesy, its self-fulfilling prophecy.

Comedian, Bill Maher, is not happy. In fact, he’s downright fed up. And if you don’t want to see Bill Maher pissed, well then you don’t want to see his first documentary film, RELIGULOUS. If a little anger doesn’t bother you, then you’re actually in for a pretty funny, fairly assertive and unfortunately, somewhat uneven time. You can’t blame Maher though. He’s just been living in the twilight zone for too long. It just so happens that his particular twilight zone is Earth and he can’t really get away from that, now can he? Maher has been racking his brain for years now, trying to understand how so many intelligent people are still subscribing to organized religion when all he can see is how the entire concept has stumped the progression of the human race, brought about global unrest and promoted hatred and ignorance. Sure it brings a great deal of people intense solace about where their soul will go in the afterlife but he cannot resolve that with the painfully obvious mythological nature of the teachings. He urges people to take an honest look at their beliefs, to face the reality of stories about men living in giant whales for days at a time. All he can do in the meantime though is laugh.


And laugh he does, right in the faces of the people he is interviewing at times. Yes, it must be hard to sit across the table from an “ex-gay” trying to convince him that homosexuality doesn’t truly exist and that prayer can help you find the confidence you need to be a solid heterosexual. Yes, it must be a struggle to keep a straight face when you take a tour through an animatronics park dedicated to teaching children about how both man and dinosaur co-existed in order to justify the creationist theory. And I doubt very much I would be able to sit across from a television evangelist justifying his $2000 suit by claiming Jesus himself wore only the finest linen robes without losing it. Still, restraint is a virtue. I think Jesus might have said that but I’m paraphrasing. Maher has none. So convinced is he in his rational that he can barely contain himself in interviews, which makes him come off somewhat indignant and pompous. Of course, I’m laughing at these people right alongside him but I’m not sitting two feet away from them so it’s totally acceptable. Laughter is abundant in RELIGULOUS but it does occasionally take away from the grander, intelligent debate that is raised from Maher’s questioning.

RELIGULOUS is a perfect example of preaching to the converted. Religious fanatics are definitely not going to line up for tickets to this show. That’s fine; these are not the people Maher is trying to reach. As far as he is concerned, they are far beyond reach at this point in the game. Still, I’m not sure that fans of Maher’s previous work who might come out to catch this and who just might be also religious folks will hear his point. Given the choice between Bill Maher and the God they have been worshipping since birth is not much of a contest. Sorry, Bill. Maher doesn’t seem so concerned with these people either though. Maher is trying to speak to all the people out there who are sitting atop that proverbial fence. The agnostics of the world and those debating the merits of organized religion and whether it does service to the God they know to be out there, these are the people Maher hopes will hear his prayer. And once they do hear it, he wants them to go forth and preach the non-word to anyone who will listen.


I hope this doesn’t sound pessimistic to Maher but I have little faith that his argument will topple centuries of ritualistic worship. This is especially the case when Larry Charles’s directorial decision to cut away to countless other films as supposed comic accents ultimately undermines the case by interrupting the points in progress. Still, Bill Maher is just one man and I commend him for speaking his mind when his opinion is so clearly in the minority. Hopefully, one day, people will be able to see through his somewhat bitter condescension to see that he isn’t merely mocking their beliefs. No, Bill Maher just wants the world to be a better place … y’know, like it was when Jesus was here and the world was still flat.

Black Sheep @ the 2008 Festival Nouveau Cinema

If I were 37 years old, you wouldn’t be calling me old (at least I hope you wouldn’t) but you certainly wouldn’t be looking at me like something new either. Somehow though, after 37 years of existence in Montreal, the Festival Nouveau Cinema still warrants its title. Year after year, the festival offers Montreal filmgoers a variety of fresh films that range in style and genre and are anything but ordinary. This year is certainly no different and I am fortunate enough to have the whole week off to drift in and out of the dark cinemas as I please so that I can report back to you about all the wonders I was privileged to see. The following are the Top 5 titles I am most excited about …

ENTRE LES MURS
(THE CLASS)


This is actually the festival’s closing film selection and what a fantastic selection it is. Laurent Cantet’s adaptation of Francois Begaudeau’s novel was the surprise winner of the Palmes d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film is a hybrid of documentary style and activist thinking, told in a loose narrative form. Begaudeau plays himself, a French teacher in what could simply be described as a difficult Paris classroom but that would be a gross understatement. A lesson needs to be learned and I’m sure by the film’s close, we will have learnt just as much as the kids in class.

FILTH AND WISDOM


After years of being laughed out of Hollywood for uh, poor, acting attempts, Madonna has finally gotten the point. People don’t want to see her in front of the camera. So in taking a lesson from filmmaker hubby, Guy Ritchie, she has decided to try her hand at directing instead. It may have received mixed reviews from its Berlin film festival premiere earlier this year but the curiosity factor is just too great to resist.

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED


I am extremely excited for this much talked about Jonathan Demme picture. This is primarily because I’ve already seen it and cannot wait to get married again. I caught this film at its North American premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and cried frequently throughout the film when I wasn’t in awe of how surprisingly visceral it was. When I left the screening, I was disoriented, stunned. This is rare for someone who sees a lot of movies, let me tell you. That said, I will not say too much about the film because it just needs to be experienced.

ALL TOGETHER NOW


I am not the richest guy around so even though I would love to take a short trip out to Vegas to catch the Beatles’ highly acclaimed Cirque de Soleil show, LOVE, I simply cannot. For now, I will have to settle for the closest thing to it, Adrian Willis’s behind the scenes documentary, ALL TOGETHER NOW. Willis has lensed a number of Cirque shows prior so he is no stranger to capturing the remarkably magical experience that only the Cirque de Soleil can create. And even though it isn’t the same as being there, there are advantages to this experience. If I was fortunate enough to find myself a seat at the show itself, I’m fairly positive I would not be privy to Paul McCartney’s reaction to this unexpected interpretaton.

SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK


This is another film that has yet to connect with audiences in its festival run from earlier this year. It has been touched up though and the world will finally get to see how the mind that penned the genius works, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND and BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, will approach directing his first feature. To call Charlie Kaufman unique is too facile. His way of thinking is just far enough beyond the masses so as not speak above them but to present them with situations they can understand but could never have imagined themselves. Given that SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK seems to be about a giant reconstruction of the city within an immense airplane hanger, I would say we’re in for another mind melt.

The Festival Nouveau Cinema is on now and take it from me, you need to get your tickets right away. I was thinking that being accredited for the festival meant I could just waltz in to whatever film I wanted but not so. Apparently you still need to get a ticket and I was rejected from my first film already. Good times. No, but seriously, there are some serious good times to be had. For a complete list of films, please visit the Festival Nouveau Cinema web site. And be sure to check back on Black Sheep throughout the festival as I report back on these films and a dozen others (from MAN ON WIRE to ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO and more!)

APPALOOSA

Written by Robert Knott and Ed Harris
Directed by Ed Harris
Starring Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renee Zellweger and Jeremy Irons


Virgil Cole: That’s the law.
Randall Bragg: That’s your law.
Virgil Cole: Same thing.

Before an image even appears on screen, you can hear the galloping of horses. Their slow stride announces the tone for the hours to follow and within the first five minutes, you know you’re in for a long ride. A slow and steady pace can work easily, especially for the western genre. Only there is a difference between a leisurely gait and dragging your feet. Ed Harris’s second directorial effort and first time out at the writer’s table, APPALOOSA, is a modern western stuck in a conventional frame that tries so hard to be authentic that it ends up coming across as farcical. As Harris and sidekick, Viggo Mortensen, swagger down the dirt roads of their busted down town, they say things like, “Watch you don’t spook the horses,” or, “while the bees are in the butter.” All the while, you’ll shiftin’ in your spurs, waiting for the men folk to ride off into the sunset so you can mosey on outta there.


Harris and Mortensen plays Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. They are the law, or at least they are their own brand of the law, and they’ve come to the town of Appaloosa to rid it of an evil tyranny otherwise known as Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons). Bragg basically has his way with the town and has no respect for the current law while Cole has his way with the town under the guise that he is the law. It is Cole’s job to take down Bragg and bring him to justice. He does just that with very little trouble or excitement and he must then accompany the prisoner to a neighboring town so that he may be executed for murdering Appaloosa’s former sheriff. Of course, the journey doesn’t go smoothly and of course there is an inevitable shoot out. In between all that, there is a lot of talking. Long conversations about nothing particularly relevant go on incessantly and finish long after the fields have been plowed (or in other words, the point has been made). Every turn is expected making every moment as flat as the western plains of New Mexico.


Enter Renee Zellweger as Allison French. Her character is just as lame as her name and her purpose is unbearably offensive. She appears out of nowhere, descending from a train car, dressed in a costume that borders on circus clown, and her arrival announces the obvious intention of ensuring that female viewers have someone to identify with (and not just Mortensen to stare at). Recently widowed, Miss French is clearly in the market for a new man. Cole wants to fill that hole. Miss French knows a good catch when she sees one and before what seems like just a week has passed, they are buying up property and she is nagging him that he never brings his friends round for dinner. She is woman as temptress; she is woman as bothersome and controlling; she is woman as distressed damsel; and she is woman as devil that should never be trusted. Perhaps Harris and co-writer, Robert Knott, thought they were being authentic to the period but all they come across as is misogynistic.


APPALOOSA is at times laughably melodramatic. It is so staged and so awkwardly paced that it often feels like amateur theatre. A central theme of men facing difficulties with having feelings, let alone expressing them, runs throughout. If only the men behind the camera had infused some actual feeling into the film, it might then have felt as though there were a purpose greater than just an excuse for the cast to get dressed up like cowboys and play with their guns.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! BLACK SHEEP IS 3! (part four)

It is the fourth and final week of the month long celebration of Black Sheep's third year anniversary. I've said it before and I'll say it again ... I cannot believe it has been three years that I've been doing this. I cannot believe the growth I've seen in that short time. I cannot believe that you keep coming back day after day to make my dreams possible. I cannot thank you enough.

First things first, let's give some movie love away. Who were last week's winners, you ask?

Othalia Tesserot knew that I once gave MATCH POINT an A- and SCOOP a C, so she wins a pass to VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (which incidentally, I gave a B+).

And Wadia Fils-Aime knew that Jose Saramago wrote BLINDNESS and can now go see the movie.

This week's giveaways are for the French film, FAUBOURG 36 and the new western, APPALOOSA. I'm going to make it real easy on you this week too.

FAUBOURG 36
This film is Christophe Barratier's follow-up to what film?

APPALOOSA
This film is Ed Harris' directorial follow-up to what film?


Moving forward, I would like to shift the focus back to the movies and the reviews one more time. After all, what are we celebrating here? If you will indulge me, the following are some of my favorite reviews of some of my favorite films from the last three years ...

ATONEMENT

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

THE DARK KNIGHT

THE DEPARTED

HALF NELSON

I'M NOT THERE

JUNO

LITTLE CHILDREN

MATCH POINT

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

ONCE

RATATOUILLE

THE SQUID AND THE WHALE

UNITED 93

WALK THE LINE

WALL-E

Here's to the next three years!

DVD Review: IRON MAN

Written by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway
Directed by Jon Favreau
Starring Robert Downey Jr, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow


With summer behind us and the dark night finally lifted, it is easy forget where it all began. Where that was, was with IRON MAN. Marvel Comics’ first independently financed feature was sure to do well but no one expected it to resonate as loudly as it did. This is a superhero that essentially flies around in a pretty funky suit. There is nothing particularly super about him so how does this guy compete with the spiders and the bats? Under Jon Favreau’s dichotomous hipster/fan boy direction, the answer is pretty simple. If you want Iron Man to connect with the every man, you highlight what makes him a real man. Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark, the man inside the suit. Stark is a billionaire prodigy by day and a billionaire playboy by night. He is also a man who has come to see through his life’s work as a weapons manufacturer for what it is, a warmonger. As Stark learns to rebuild his life from the ground up, Favreau births the Iron Man myth from the same point. With the lore solidly grounded, it’s time to fly!


I don’t know if you remember but the original trailers for IRON MAN were fairly unimpressive, or at least I thought so. By the time it was released in theatres, I had zero interest in seeing it. I know I can’t be the only one with that opinion so expectations for this film were certainly not soaring but people were definitely ready for summer. IRON MAN opened to over $100 million in North America but the real surprise was just how great it really was. Downey Jr.’s performance was so brilliantly suited to his sharp, sardonic character. The chemistry between him and Gwyneth Paltrow as his assistant, Pepper Potts, is quick but vulnerable. The film is even so bold as to make pointed attacks against the arms industry and war profiteering. People were not expecting what they got and what they got was explosive entertainment with a fresh approach to both the superhero and the effects-driven Hollywood film. Now that it is available to own, what the legions of fans will get is an incredibly complete look at these effects and the film itself. Each stage of production is broken down with plenty of secrets revealed – from the making of the Iron Man suit to how he flew to Downey Jr.’s screen test. Yet somehow, giving away all the tricks takes nothing away from the magic. Instead, it serves as a remind for just how awesome it is that they pulled this off.


Before the bat, Favreau’s IRON MAN was the summer super hero. Audiences were heralding it as the next Spider-Man. Then the dark night fell, the hoopla (albeit deserved hoopla) followed and people quickly forgot IRON MAN had happened. Let’s face it though, THE DARK KNIGHT is precisely that, dark. With a cold fall about to descend upon us, now is the time to remember that man of iron and have a little more fun while we still can.

FILM


DVD

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Gone to the Dogs

I can still remember what it was like when I first saw the trailer for BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA. Essentially, my eyes were widened in disbelief and my mouth had dropped all the way to my knees. I thought for a second that perhaps I had inadvertently taken acid. There had to be a reasonable explanation for the countless tiny dogs bobbing their heads and singing in unison atop some Mayan temple. No matter though; surely no one would actually see this mess. Once again, North American audiences have proven me wrong.


Disney’s BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA opened to $29 million, laps ahead of the rest. Audiences were clearly starved for supposed family fun, having been disappointed with recent examples like IGOR and FLY ME TO THE MOON. To be fair, it isn’t just dogs in purses singing; these dogs rediscover their Mexican roots. These dogs are not just for show; they’ve got bite and they’ve bitten deep into your pockets. What a treat!


This weekend was ridiculously overcrowded. Hollywood put out seven wide titles and somehow thought that they would each find their own audiences. After all is said and done, only three managed to make a connection. The second would be NICK AND NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST. The Michael Cera/Kat Dennings modern day romance averaged a solid $5K and should play its run out reasonably with inevitably sound word of mouth. The third would be the latest film from Larry Charles (BORAT), RELIGULOUS, featuring Bill Maher as he gallivants across the planet in search of truth in the world’s religions. Maher’s loyal followers rung up the film’s tally to a strong $7K per screen average. These are solid numbers but nothing to start your own religion with.


Word of mouth was also responsible for many holdovers retaining strong grasps on their audiences. Three titles (EAGLE EYE, BURN AFTER READING and FIREPROOF) all dropped off by less than 40% while the biggest decline wasn’t even that bad (NIGHTS IN RODANTHE with 45%). Then there’s that whole 3300% increase for APPALOOSA, Ed Harris’s latest directorial effort (having seen it yesterday, I will place the emphasis on “effort”). After two successful weeks in limited release, the supposedly modern western expanded modestly for a fifth place finish. The more modest expansion for THE DUCHESS is seeing more promising results. The film added another 72 screens and saw its tally rise another 60%. The film is slated to go nationwide on October 10.


As for the rest of the debuts, they will be listed in no particular order of embarrassment. First up, AN AMERICAN CAROL. This spoof, which apparently makes statements about the downside of free speech, played on three times as many screens as RELIGULOUS and mustered three times as less cash. Critical hopefuls, FLASH OF GENIUS and BLINDNESS debuted outside the Top 10 despite their strong studio pushes. And HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND ALIENATE PEOPLE proved perhaps once and for all that American audiences do not love Simon Pegg, as the movie couldn’t even manage over a grand per screen.


The weeks littlest winner is certainly RACHEL GETTING MARRIED. Jonathan Demme’s masterpiece debuted this week to nine screens before it goes wide on October 17 and pulled in the highest per screen of any film in release. The $33K per screen is nearly four times as much as this week’s ultimate champ, BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA. Look for the sequel soon enough … BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA GETTING MARRIED … or maybe RACHEL GETS A CHIHUAHUA.

Next Week: Another four releases go wide, the widest of which is Ridley Scott’s latest Russell Crowe vehicle, BODY OF LIES, also starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Dennis Quaid gives lessons in football and racism with THE EXPRESS. CITY OF EMBER aims to rob the dogs of some of their family gold. And QUARANTINE will try to trap horror fans into theatres before everyone inevitably gets “sawed” into pieces.

NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST

Written by Lorene Scafaria
Directed by Peter Sollett
Starring Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Aaron Yoo, Rafi Gavron, Ari Graynor, Alexis Dziena and Jay Baruchel


Tal: You guys were pretty good but you were one arm short of a Def Leppard cover band.
Nick: You guys were pretty good except you were … two penises short of a Shania Twain … re-imagination band

On one particular night in New York City, an elusive band by the name of Where’s Fluffy? have announced a secret concert. The word spreads through the city’s underground punk scene faster than it can go out of style and before long, it reaches Nick and Norah. Nick and Norah don’t know each other when this news reaches their ears but before the end of the night, they will each find something infinitely more important than Fluffy. NICK AND NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST is a contemporary romantic comedy that sets itself in an entirely unconventional place and time (can you think of another way to describe a straight romance in the queer punk underground?), but presents itself in a sometimes far too conventional fashion. While it can at times be too cool for school, it is the roughness around its edges that give it an unexpected and genuine warmth. Like any finely balanced playlist, it works its way into your head and your soul.


Nick (Michael Cera) has been down as of late. It seems his fragile heart has been trampled by Tris (Alexis Dziena), a girl so clearly wrong for him but whose physical beauty is apparently capable of diverting people from noticing her lack of a soul. Norah (Kat Dennings) has some trust issues as she naturally assumes that any man interested in her is likely more interested in her connections (her dad is an enormously successful record executive). As a result, both Nick and Norah have withdrawn – not externally as they both still function amongst the other humans but they do so at arm’s length. Like sleeping beauties though, they are both awoken from their waking comas by a shared impromptu kiss. Suddenly, worlds they never knew existed have become possibilities and an ordinary evening becomes an adventure. While the twists the evening takes are at times unrealistic, they do give the night and the film a sense of spontaneity that makes the viewer believe that anything can happen.


Peter Sollett is a delicate director. His first feature, RAISING VICTOR VARGAS, in which a group of Hispanic youths in New York’s lower east side figure out how to stop playing and how to be themselves instead, was a singular revelation. He created a strong sense of hesitation in face of the unknown and a desire to be something more. He has an ease with creating simple, real spaces that foster intimacy and humble his characters and Nick and Norah are no exception to his treatment. Outside of these two though, the remaining ensemble are little more than comic relief and functional plot progression pieces. They can come across as occasionally transparent and one-dimensional but thankfully never enough to distract from the delightful romance budding at the center of all the chaos. Cera proves his versatility once again by showing that there are hundreds of facets to being an awkward teenager, that awkwardness does not define you but is rather just how who you are can come across. Dennings is his perfect counterpoint; she is sharp and strong, a worthy adversary, but frightened underneath it all, an ideal match. The two are so strongly suited that they transform the sometimes too facile script into something much more mature and meaningful.


NICK AND NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST made me want to fall in love. It also made me laugh and swoon, delight in the magic of music and believe in the transformative properties of one crazy night. It made me long to be in New York City. It made me wish that I was that young again and that believing in possibilities was that easy to do. It may not be perfect but it is almost better that way, more real. There is something so genuine at the heart of this film that makes it almost impossible not to want for Nick and Norah to realize their potential – a potential that is just as infinite as the playlist they are about to create together.

Alive and Young

An Interview with DIED YOUNG, STAYED PRETTY director, Eileen Yaghoobian

For many of us, we just walk right past them. They fill the cracks of our peripherals as we hurry down busy city streets and, like a great deal of the world’s unexpected beauty, these too go unnoticed. For others though, those who are actively seeking them out instead of merely remaining ignorant to their presence, these sometimes rare beauties provide insight on top of valuable information. They come in different sizes; they come is different colours; they come with varying degrees of meaning and commentary. Maybe they lined our walls when we were younger; maybe they now line the walls of the abandoned building down your street. They are rock posters and while they may not be roses waiting for someone to take the time to smell them, you should stop to see how far they’ve come the next time you catch them in the corner of your eye.

First time filmmaker, Eileen Yaghoobian, has decided it is time for the underground rock poster culture to get out of the basement and have their day in the sun with her first documentary, DIED YOUNG STAYED PRETTY. Both pretty and young (though she would not say just how young), Yaghoobian, who is Iranian born and Canadian raised, is boisterously alive and her enthusiasm for the counter culture poster community and the film she made on the subject is infectious. Now, I know what you’re thinking. A whole movie about posters? How can that be even remotely interesting? I thought the same thing when I found out I had to watch it. The truth of it is that it isn’t remotely interesting; it is actually downright fascinating and provocative. Yaghoobian has, over the last four years, crafted a refreshing take on the documentary that is just as much about the people behind the posters as the progression of the culture itself. The result is an engrossing exploration of influence, rebellion and the human condition that perfectly mirrors the language of the subject it presents.

DIED YOUNG STAYED PRETTY, which gets its title from both a source of inspiration and a source of healing, is just now beginning its journey along the festival circuit, starting with a world premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival. Yaghoobian is overwhelmed by the response, aware of her hurdles and hopeful for the film’s future. She is also more than happy to talk about it.


Joseph Belanger: Congratulations on your stunning debut. My first curiosity is how you ever thought to go underground and tackle this marginalized culture.
Eileen Yaghoobian: Thank you. A designer friend, Michael Humphries, had sent me a link to Gig Posters. I saw the posters and related to them because my second brother had just died and I was in this very dark place.

JB: I’m very sorry.
EY: Yes, both my brothers died young. I was in this dark place, dark apartment, and when I saw the imagery, like teddy bears with their arms cut off and this twisted stuff that they were using, I found it dark but funny. At the time I was relating to the imagery that was representing the bands and of course I loved the music. I always wanted to make a feature film so I just went for it; I didn’t wait for financing. I made this with my pocket money and I just did it.

JB: Either you have very deep pockets or this must have been a creatively affordable shoot.
EY: Budget is huge and I come from a very photographic background so it was key for me that it look a certain way. When I first started, I actually had a small crew, a director of photography and a boom guy. This was only for four days though. I shot listed and actually had a thirty page script based on this convention that I was going to in Seattle. I went to Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Kentucky, Texas, Calgary, Montreal. Three years of location filming, sometimes sleeping on floors.

JB: I found also that the film style embodies the spirit of its subjects. It isn’t necessarily an activist film but it has a guerilla style that fits perfectly with what is being discussed on screen. Was this your plan all along?
EY: As far as the cutting goes, I was very specific about this. I wanted to cut it as though I were cut and pasting a poster. I cut like that on purpose so that it would give you that energy that the world has. Rock has that energy. I did shoot with long shots so a lot of the shots we see are good as one take. So when I first cut the film it was like five hours long or something insane like that. But I didn’t want it to have that traditional documentary form though because I had to be true to the subject. I didn’t follow any specific structure but I just felt I had to be true to the construction of a poster and the rock world.


JB: Oddly enough, in terms of the subject, there isn’t a great deal of time in the film spent on the formal process of poster making. We see posters being made in the background but it is more about the inspiration rather than the mechanics.
EY: The process is in their worlds, in their studios, in their space. That’s just location filming really. You see it in the background; you see it in their conversation. It is there in the beginning of the film. You get it all in one chunk, from the mixing of the ink to the finished poster, as there is a conversation about the golden era of poster making – how it used to be this trite crap when it was heavy metal stuff but how the simplicity and the design were changed with punk. The imagery matched the music and that is a historical point for these guys.

JB: And these guys definitely share in a community as well. You get the impression that they’re very reclusive, almost to the point where I don’t expect some of them to leave their apartments. Still, they have found each and know each other.
EY: Mark Greenberg, the film’s composer, said to me when he first saw the cut, “Out of these dirty, murky places comes this shining art and community.” GigPosters.com is really the site that made that happen. Before the site, they were still obviously making these posters but no one knew who else existed. Then, in 2001, when Gig Posters began archiving all these posters, that’s when they began their community. Some of these posters are for unknown bands; some are just for local venues. Maybe 100 people would see the poster. Now there is a place to see the posters and there are even celebrities within their own ranks. It’s like their in a renaissance and I was there to capture it.

JB: And big brother is there to capitalize on it. There seems to be this fine line between artistic value and commerce common to all your subjects. They are creating from a counter culture place but they still have to eat. How do they manage?
EY: Some of them have 12 dollars in their bank account. Most of their money comes from after sales at gigs. Some of them are what they are. They don’t make much money and they live what they make. They are the poster boy, essentially. Some of them are professional designers and make the posters for no money just because they love it. This is what is really amazing about this scene. Despite the obvious corporate hold on the music, these people are still fans. They’re making posters in this archaic, primitive way because they’re fans of the music. It’s kind of lovely, right?


JB: Yes, it most certainly is and that is just one of the many unexpected messages to come out of DIED YOUNG STAYED PRETTY. They are all such different kinds of people too. They come from so many backgrounds and walks of life but find this commonality between them in the underground. After all of this, do you think of yourself now as an underground artist?
EY: What is that? One of the poster makers in the film, Brian Chippendale says, “The underground is waiting for the overground.” Maybe I’m underground because I’m waiting to make some fucking money. I’m not financing my next one out of my own pocket. This was totally DIY. No one knows who the hell I am. That’s underground.

Yaghoobian’s next project will be a narrative. Ordinarily, this would be a definite bid for a broad appeal but this one is a gothic love story so she might be playing to the underground for just a little longer than expected. Meanwhile, DIED YOUNG STAYED PRETTY is fresh off a spot at the Atlantic Film Festival for its return to Montreal as part of Pop Montreal on October 3.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! BLACK SHEEP IS 3! (part three)

Black Sheep, it's your birthday! Happy Birthday, Lisa ... I mean, Black Sheep! Loyal readers, it is week three in the Black Sheep Reviews Birthday Giveaway ... First off, congratulations are due for last week's winners.

Charles Marcil knew that Joan Crawford played the Eva Mendes role in the 1939 original version of THE WOMEN.

Dinah Zeldin knew that LE BANQUET director, Sebastien Rose directed LA VIE AVEC MON PERE and COMMENT MA MERE ACCOUCHA DE MOI DURANT SA MENOPAUSE prior to LE BANQUET.

And there was some debate over just how much time Al Pacino and Robert De Niro spent on screen in Michael Mann's HEAT, but Matthew Belanger narrowed it down to under 10 minutes in the 3-hour epic. Technically, the one scene they actually share (discounting the one where they chase each other specifically at the end) is just over three minutes. Matthew is off to see RIGHTEOUS KILL.

This week, we are giving away passes to two more great films. One is generally considered to be one of this director's finest and the other is considered to be this director's misstep. I consider them both to be pretty darn good. As usual, the pass is for two people and is good any time as long as it is used in Quebec.

VICKI CRISTINA BARCELONA
This is Woody Allen's third time working with Scarlett Johannson. The other two instances, MATCH POINT and SCOOP have both been reviewed by Black Sheep already. To win the double pass to Woody' latest success, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, tell me what grades I gave the other two Johannson collaborations.

BLINDNESS
Fernando Meirelles' latest film, BLINDNESS, explores how horrific humanity can get when it doesn't have to look in the eyes of another person. Name the author of the highly praised novel which the film is based on.

As always, send your responses to joseph@blacksheepreviews.com
This week's winners will be contacted today and passes will be mailed to them before the end of the week.
The contest is open all week and winners will be announced next Wednesday when two more passes will be up for grabs.
Thanks for playing and have a great week!