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October 28, 2009
Capsule review: 'The Messenger'
One does not need to witness battles on the screen to understand the horrors of war, as evidenced by screenwriter Oren Moverman’s (“I’m Not There”) incredible directorial debut, “The Messenger.”
Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) has returned from the war in Iraq a decorated hero, but with multiple injuries, he must serve out the final three months of his tour. Relegated to the bleak and thankless work of casualty notification, Montgomery must visit families who have lost a loved one in the theater. His robotic commanding officer, Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), explains to the disciplined soldier that his new job is about “character” and one that must be done “before you can understand it.”
Reeling from the loss of his girlfriend he left behind to go serve his country, and haunted by the vivid images of war, Montgomery’s sole companion is a pager that goes off at all hours to alert him to his latest assignment. Throughout the movie, its piercing beep acts as a sword of Damocles hanging over his head, an audible device that leaves the audience on the same edge as the soldier.
As Montgomery and Stone enter each residence to notify families of their tragic loss, the camera enters behind them, offering the soldiers’ perspective on this horrible journey of endurance and duty, as they gut-wrenchingly deliver news that will forever change the lives of the people they visit.
Montgomery battles to reconcile his humanity with the emotional detachment required of the job, a function that Stone has assimilated so deeply that he seems to have no connection with his fellow man. As the cold relationship between commanding officer and his charge softens, Stone begins to reevaluate his understanding of war, people and himself.
Montgomery finds a kindred spirit in the form of Olivia Pitterson (Samantha Morton), a grieving military widow and mother of one, who is trying to come to terms with the death of her husband, a man whose soul she felt had already been lost to the brutality of life at war.
The script, co-written by Alessandro Camon, offers a loose framework for a movie that features some amazing improvisational work by the actors. The movie unfolds slowly and organically, with lengthy scenes that allow the open wounds of its characters to breathe, as they attempt to repair themselves organically.
Harrelson and Foster are outstanding in roles that should garner both of them Academy Award nominations. The relationship between these two men both dealing with their service and sacrifice in different ways, shifts seamlessly from adversarial to fraternal. While its subject manner is dark and discomfiting at times, the movie has a warmth, robust humor, and eventually, a hopefulness that left me moved unlike any movie I have seen in years.
Moverman and his cast and crew have created a stirring masterpiece that allows the viewer to inhabit a world we almost never see, and reveals the endurance of the human spirit and our need to find solace, love and fellowship in our fellow man even when we feel most isolated.
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Capsule review: 'The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia'
Inspired by director Jacob Young’s cult documentary, “Dancing Outlaw,” a movie that featured the eccentric tap dancing Appalachian phenom, Jesco White, “Jackass” producers Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine and director Julien Nitzberg decided to follow the entire White clan for a year.
Notorious for their drinking, drugging, violence and illegal behavior, the White family of Boone, West Virginia is a petri dish of dysfunction and amoral behavior.
The documentary, “The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia,” opens on a shot of a muddy puddle behind a chain-link fence, an apt metaphor for a family rolling around in slop, trapped by its history and genetics.
Using an animated family tree, the audience is introduced to one bad seed after another. The cameras follow various family members on an apparently typical year in the life in which they battle the law, their addictions and each other.
I’m always a little leery of a documentary that appears to exploit its naïve and foolish characters, but the Whites are more than willing participants in this quasi-sociological excavation of their sins. And the filmmakers don’t exactly seem to be overtly judging their subjects, for whom it seems they have a bit of an affinity. Whether that makes it OK to laugh and guffaw, I am not certain.
At times the movie almost feels like a snuff film, but instead of watching someone get killed, the audience must endure the shock, perverse humor and brutality of a family that is slowly killing itself.
A few glimmers of hopefulness appear in the bond and commitment the family members have to one another and the act of one White mother to try and get clean in order to save herself and her baby. But generally it is a darkly comic and unsettling look into a family set to self-destruct.
In the midst of the madness, Jesco White attempts to philosophize about the fate of this family that is a product of its geography and history. His massive back tattoo, one that features the visages of both Elvis and Charles Manson, may best encapsulate their burden — For as evil as they seem to be, there is a certain charisma to this band of country outlaws.
As the credits roll, the audience can shake its collective head in awe and disgust at the display of grotesque humanity in this unrated version of “The Jerry Springer Show” and then move on with their safe, comfortable lives, but, sadly, for the Whites, there seems nothing left to do but ponder the losing battle they half-heartedly wage against their demons.
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October 27, 2009
Capsule review: 'Tenure'
Navigating the politics of college bureaucracy can be a tricky path. After bouncing around small liberal arts colleges in the Northeast, Charlie Thurber (Luke Wilson) finds himself nearing the end of yet another academic rope. He’s been at small Grey College for three years and his time to get tenure seems to be now or never.
Adrift in loneliness and dealing with a father waging a battle to be removed from his early placement in a retirement home, nothing seems to be going right for Thurber. When he is not agonizing over the future of his career at Grey or his family, he spends most of his spare time suffering his eccentric Bigfoot-chasing colleague (David Koechner).
When a cute, young, seemingly qualified professor, Elaine Grasso (Gretchen Mol), arrives from Yale, offering a threat to Thurber’s position in the English department and his White Whale of tenure, he goes into overdrive to protect his turf, haphazardly and comically plotting to keep his academic aspirations alive.
Wilson is likeable as the put-upon but charming Thurber trying to hold his family and career together, and Koechner successfully tones down and humanizes his over-the-top shtick in his role of lovable but hair-brained sidekick (think a more mellow and slightly less paranoid version of Walter Sobchak), but the film is a little too restless. Many of the scenes feature clever bits of dialogue, but they aren’t given time to develop, leaving a somewhat forced feel to the narrative.
Rosemarie DeWitt (“Rachel Getting Married”) steals a couple of scenes as Thurber’s rented date, and BobGunton (“24”) brings seriousness and heart to the role of Charlie’s dad, William Thurber, although his parallel story line at times seems contrived.
With his entertaining and at times touching feature debut, writer-director Mike Million shows promise as a filmmaker who understands the humor and heartbreak inherent in the human condition, although his first effort feels slightly too familiar to consider him a refreshingly unique voice.
“Tenure” screens again Wednesday night at 7 at the Arbor.
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October 26, 2009
Capsule review: 'Youth in Revolt'
Michael Cera (“Juno,” “Superbad”) has seemingly become the one-valve Miles Davis of the acting world. He plays one note, and he plays the hell out of it. But even if the great Miles could only play one note, the tune would eventually become tiresome.
With his role in the new darkishly comic “Youth in Revolt,” many wondered if Cera would show a little more dexterity and range and break out of his twee cinematic mold. The answer is kind of.
Based on C.D. Payne’s 1993 novel, the film tells the story of young Nick Twisp, a bon vivant (at least in his mind), who prefers the works of Frank Sinatra and Federico Fellini to the immature predilections of his peers. But he does share one obsession undoubtedly similar to those of all adolescents — he wants to lose his virginity.
When his low-brow mother (Jean Smart) and her boyfriend (a woefully underused and unfortunately predictable Zach Galifianakis) head to a Christian RV park for a summer trip, young Twisp’s life takes a turn for the titillating when he meets Sheeni, an intellectual Lolita, played by Portia Doubleday in a sweet breakout leading role.
Determined to win the heart of the peaches and cream young temptress who is a lover of all things French, Twisp develops an alter-ego, Francois Dillinger, who dares the nervous sexual neophyte into a world of arson and bold adventure, promising to “rescue him from himself.”
Director Miguel Arteta spices the film with clever animation (best used in the psychedelic montage of a sex manual) and unexpected plot twist that provide a fresh twist on the well-trodden ground of the horny-boy-goes-on-adventure-to-get-sexed story.
As for Cera, his Twisp is a similar but slightly more confident version of his previous incarnations on the big screen, imbued here with a sense of righteousness not seen in his other work. But his snide, contemptuous, cigarette-smoking Francois is a side of the actor we have not seen. Cera’s deadpan delivery of the imagine Frenchman’s acid lines makes one hope that maybe the young star will eventually end up in a Neil LaBute or Todd Solondz film.
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Capsule review: 'American Cowslip'
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October 25, 2009
'This could end badly, Ron.'
A large crowd gathered at the Paramount Theatre at 3:45 on Saturday afternoon to hear three titans of the business, Ron Howard (“Apollo 13,” “Parenthood,”), Mitchell Hurwtiz (“Arrested Development,” “The Golden Girls”) and Steve Zaillian (“Schindler’s List,” “All the King’s Men”), discus the “The Art of Storytelling.”
The panel was moderated by trailblazing producer Marcia Nasatir (“Ironweed,” “The Big Chill”). While Nasatir at times seemed to have a very loose format to her questioning, her wit, charm and specifically her back-and-forth with the hilarious and sarcastic Hurwitz made for a compelling, if scattered, discussion.
What follows are some of the highlights:
- Hurwitz received a large ovation when he confirmed that, yes, there is going to be an “Arrested Development” movie and he will be directing. While he has been very tight lipped about what will be in the movie, Hurwitz relented to Nasatir, and said, that there would be a heavy jail presence and then made jokes about the inclusion of TARP money, a nod to the inability of a film to be as timely as television due to lag times in production and release.
- Speaking to the fact that many of his movies are based on real events, Zaillian said the reasoning is two-fold: 1) He’s always been interested in telling those kind of stories; and 2) Writers often get pegged with certain types of storytelling, and he has never felt the need to break away from that. As for his influences with regard to telling stories based on true events, Zaillian cited the Italian neo-realism movement and his love for documentaries. He said he has never liked the idea of putting “based on true events” at the top of one of the movies, as he feels that conceit is a loophole which serves as an “excuse to not do it right.”
- Howard on what makes a good script: “No matter what the genre, it has to be suspenseful.” He went on to say that most stories have to be about challenges and tests of character.
- On the writing process, Hurwitz said the things that come easiest to him in writing are the things about which he is the most suspicious, as he thinks it should be hard to write. He also described writer’s block not as the inability to sit down and write, but the fear that what he writes won’t meet his idea of what a screenwriter should be.
- On “Arrested Development” as a TV show versus a movie, Hurwitz said that he is excited to make the movie, because writing “A.D.” for only a 20-minute show is much more difficult because it restricts his ability to go into greater detail.
- While he said that there was a good reason behind why scripts he wrote didn’t get made, Zaillian did confess that he has one idea for a movie that he has carried around with him for years. He said he likes the idea of having one movie in his pocket for the future. In his case, that movie is an adaptation of Geoffrey Wolff’s book “The Duke of Deception.” Unfortunately, he said, the movie would be a period piece, which he said is “a great way to kill a project,” and not just because of the cost to rent the cars, as Hurwitz humorously suggested.
- On the writing process, Hurwitz gave an anecdote about listening to Timothy Geithner talking about trying to fix the economy. Geithner had said that even when they did not know exactly what they were doing or how to fix what was broken, the financial team just kept showing up to work their way through it. Hurwitz said this story correlates to his understanding of how writing works. You just keep showing up to work, and you write. Expanding on the idea of work as being a key to success, Hurwitz also told a story about two sets of children were given a math test. One group was a set of students who were told that they were very hard workers, while the other had been told that they were extremely smart. After the smart kids outperformed the other group on the first test, a second, much more difficult test was administered to the kids. On the second pass, the “smart” kids gave up before finishing the near-impossible test, while those who were told they were hard workers pressed on in an effort to solve the problems that were above their education level.
- At film fest panels, you will often get an awkward “question” from an audience member, and it seems at these large panels with big stars in big venues, you are almost guaranteed one. This year’s most awkward fest moment probably goes to the young lady who called on herself (in her defense, the room is big and recognizing questioners from the stage is a difficult task), and, after thanking the three men for inspiring her, went on a long tangent about the role of Ron Howard and “Richie Cunningham” in her life. She admitted that as a child she always thought “Richie” was a real person, and that instead of seeing the people on her TV as actors playing characters, she felt as if she was getting a look into someone else’s actual living room. This delusion continued, she said, until she was about 12 years old. She then said that when Howard left “Happy Days,” it scarred her and left a wound in her childhood. At this point, with the audience hoping a question was imminent, Hurwitz (who had the audience and panelists rolling throughout) leaned forward, looked at Howard and said, “This could end badly, Ron.” Everyone laughed, but the woman continued her questioning and pleaded with Howard that he produce Dan Brown’s new novel, “The Lost Symbol,” to help heal the wounds from her childhood. Howard laughed, and while admitting that these things take time, magnanimously assured the woman that there were development discussions underway.
- It all ended well when Hurwitz concluded with the sentiment that whatever writers do, they should make sure they enjoy it.
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Panel highlights: 'What Gets Producers Excited'
Although it was going head to head with a “Conversation with Ron Howard,” the panel “What Gets Producers Excited” had enough of a draw to fill the Maximilian Room at the Driskill Hotel on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. Listening to a 50-year veteran of the film and television world is nice and all, but producers are the ones who help get writers jobs, and this festival is packed with screenwriters looking for a break or a tip on how to get their work on the screen. Practicality, then, trumped entertainment in this instance.
The panel, moderated by Drew Yanno featured producers Jeff Graup (“Obsessed) and Dawn Wolfrom (“The Perfect Man”). Garret Basch, a V.P. at Steve Zaillian’s production company, was scheduled to be on the panel, but was not around when things commenced. He would eventually make a belated and humorous entrance about 15 minutes into the proceeding, and his charming wit helped provide some momentum to the talk.
What follows are some of the highlights of the discussion:
- Wolfrom said that one of the most important elements of any writer’s pitch to her — besides the fact that it relate to her field of interest, specifically comedy - is a writer’s passion for the project and his ability to get her excited about the project. In order for successfully pitch the work, she needed to share the enthusiasm and sell that enthusiasm to the next person in the line of development. The writer is not the only one who hears “no,” the producers must battle the same doubts, so they need to feel excited about a script in order for it to get momentum.
- Graup: “The world of studios is a world of followers.”
- Wolfrom on producers only taking on projects they feel can succeed: “I kind of feel like we’ve got three shots with each of our friends (in the business).”
- Just as Brasch entered the room, the talk turned to foreign distribution and pre-sales of a film. Pre-sales are the money that can be made by selling distribution rights to foreign markets. Graup said that foreign market money used to make up for 40% of revenues but is now responsible for 60%. He said that for this reason, studios and producers are well aware of making a film viable internationally. To wit, he said that anyone would be sorely mistaken if they didn’t think Tarantino casting a German actor to play one of the leads in “Inglourious Basterds” wasn’t partially a product of the fact that studios knew it would make the movie more appealing to German audiences.
Brasch went on to explain how pre-sales are basically the way a studio sells raises the money to make a movie before it is made, by selling foreign distributors on a script, director, actor and budget. He disagreed with Graup somewhat in that he said he believes that pre-sales now account for only 10% of a film’s production budget, whereas it used to be in the neighborhood of 95%. While this part of the conversation may not have had much practical use to screenwriters looking to get their screenplays made, it was very instructive in the ways movies get made. Brasch explained how some firms sole purpose is to use a complex calculus to figure out how much money certain stars, depending on the genre of the film, the star’s status and past performance, can be expected to bring in internationally. As a humorous example, Brasch said that while American audiences and executives may not drool over Richard Gere or Kevin Costner, to foreign movie folks, they represent box office gold. A weird system, indeed. As it relates to the theme of the panel, then, I guess it could be said that foreign money gets producers excited - but less and less so in today’s economic climate.
- Graup, speaking on chasing trends and trying to fit a square peg into a round hole: “Don’t try to do what is hot. Do what you do best … Write what you know … Write with passion … and stop trying to sell stuff. Studios are out of money.” Following up Graup’s sentiment, Brasch said, “Don’t think about whether it is going to sell or not. We’re interested in the things that won’t sell. That’s what we buy.” He named “Half-Nelson,” “District 9,” and “Little Miss Sunshine” as examples of these types of screenplays. I would imagine the words of the two men both scared some of the writers in the room and liberated them.
- Although they admitted it was a harsh reality, all three said that they are rarely inclined to take on a massive majority of most of the scripts they read. They all said that they could tell within the first 10 pages, and often in the first page, if a script was good or not. They also picked up on an instructive theme from the weekend: Writers should pitch a script, but always have several other ideas in their back pocket. One good script or idea only has so much heat; it is important to have multiple ideas. And, as always, the key for writers is to keep writing.
- Discussing query letters, Graup said it was of extreme importance for writers to be diligent and original. He said that writers should spend a month crafting an excellent query letter, as it is the first (and maybe only) opportunity to display their writing prowess and creativity. If you’re just going to sit down and fire off an email query that you spend 10 minutes writing, it’s probably best not to bother.
- Brasch, sincerely with a slight bit of self-aware corniness, said the scripts he looks for are “dramas that will make you laugh and comedies that will make you cry.” So, there’s your answer, folks.
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October 23, 2009
Panel highlights: Write What You Know: Comedy
Judging by the dozens of high school students in attendance (as part of the Young Filmmakers Program) at the “Write What You Know: Comedy” panel, there will be no shortage of comedy writers or YouTube videos anytime soon. The Stephen F. Austin ballroom was packed for the 1:45 p.m. panel Friday, with a strong representation of both young people and local Austin comedians and performers such as Kerri Lendo, Asaf Ronen and Jason Neulander.
The panel was moderated by writer/funnyman Owen Egerton and featured writer-director-actor-producers Mike Feig (“The Office,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Freak and Geeks”) and AFF panel virgin Mike White (“School of Rock,” “Freaks and Geeks”).
Egerton was as affable and prepared as any moderator you will see at an AFF panel, and what he lacked in concision he made up for with energy and earnestness. While the discussion did not have a laser focus on the writing process, it was informative and enjoyable thanks to Feig’s generosity and garrulous nature and White’s oddball humor and struggle to express himself.
What follows are a few of the highlights:
- Feig on what interests him regarding characters and material: “Comedy comes from vulnerability … I like to concentrate on characters who don’t normally get served by Hollywood.”
- White said he likes ambiguity and not pre-digested material, a move that allows audiences to have their own, unqiue reactions. Feig follwed by saying that he and Mike, “both like making audiences uncomfortable … that is where the comedy comes from.”
- White humorously admitted that he gets very emotionally involved in his writing, which generally precludes him from writing in public. The visceral reaction is such that when he is writing about a character crying, he will cry while he is typing. It definitely painted an intriguing picture.
- Feig said that anyone who wanted to be a screenwriter or director should take acting and improv lessons to learn the rhythms of the way other people speak and to better understand what actors are going through when they work with them. He said the role of a director is to provide a safe place for actors to work, and that writers and directors should therefore not force an actor to deliver a line the way they would want them to necessarily.
- “The scariest thing about comedy is you have to trust the people you’re collaborating with,” Feig said.
- Regarding his writing style, White said that “overpreparing before (he writes) is probably the key to getting a lot if stuff I’ve written made.” Discussing his outlining and planning before writing, White said that you have to have an understanding of where you are going and the route that will take you there, as trying to improvise a script can be a very perilous and unproductive method of screenwriting.
- Regarding work he wished got more attention versus fan favorites, White said, “You want the unloved babies to be loved, and the loved ones don’t need any more love.”
- As for his golden rule of writing, Feig says he follows the words of George Bernard Shaw, “All men mean well.” By this he said he meant that if you can understand why a character is doing or saying something — no matter how bizarre or heinous — then you are free to develop a fully realized character that won’t feel like a caricature.
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Panel highlights: Breaking Into the Business
If there was a perfect, fail-proof way to break into the film and television industry, this panel would have to be held in the Erwin Center. As there is not, the panel was held in the Driskill Ballroom to a respectable crowd (given the early start on the conference’s opening day) of about 50 folks, who listened to industry vets rep Bryan Brucks, local Pat Hazell and Dan Petrie Jr. engage with moderator Aadip Desai in a humorous and insightful conversation that likely gave hope to many burgeoning writers in the room.
What follows are some of the highlights:
- Unlike years ago when one had to find film stock and a way to process it, Petrie spoke to the fact that there is now a huge democratization of making and showcasing films. But, as in the past, there is “always a hunger for new material.” There are people whose job it is to go out and find those new voices, but writers can’t be satisfied with themselves if they have one good script. “A great spec script is the premier ticket into the business … that is the most direct way. But you have to be willing to try several times. It’s not enough to have a good script,” he said. “It has to be a great script.” Petrie also made it clear that patting one’s self on the back for writing something that is better than half of the stuff out there in Hollywood is not a very remarkable accomplishment. This got a good laugh.
- “You have to have one thing that people want and will look for,” Brucks said about agents and producers looking for “the next big thing.” He went on to say that he signed a guy two years ago off of a three-minute short. But once you are discovered, Brucks said, “You have to have your next idea” ready. It doesn’t have to be an entire script, but a writer should at least have a page or two of his next idea or his next two ideas. And beyond having good ideas, a writer must be “good in the room.” Writing good material is one challenge, getting into a room and selling your ideas to people is an equally important step in getting something picked up.
- All the men made it clear that doing one great thing is not enough in an industry that is always looking for people’s next project. “You have to break in constantly,” Petrie said, which Hazell reinforced by saying that “heat on one project only lasts a certain amount of time.”
- One of the most important points Petrie hammered was that you don’t want to be in a position of asking people if they will read your script; a writer wants people to be asking if they can read his script. A good way to generate that interest, Hazell said, is by creating a showcase of your work that can serve as a calling card, whether that be a short film, or in his case a three-man play that he produced at a small theater in Hollywood that drove interest of executives.
- Brucks stated that chasing trends is a fool’s errand. With trends shifting so fast, it is impossible to keep up with them. In a prescient comment, he went on to suggest it is pointless for a writer to try and create the next “Paranormal Activity.” If studios wanted something in that vein, it would be more likely they would just go to the people who wrote that movie instead of hiring a new face to produce a derivative. In the case of a stinker, the executives could then say, ‘Hey, we went with a proven winner. How was I to know?’ But if they hire someone to make a knock-off of a successful picture, the executive would take the heat if it failed.
- For those who feel there is no way to get noticed, Brucks was insistent. “Believe me, if you have a great script, someone will find it,” he said. Speaking to that, Petrie said, “It’s a tremendous feather in people’s caps to discover good material.” Brucks confirmed that often that is how people get promoted at studios. To wit, a guy in the mailroom discovered “Paranormal Activity,” and there is little doubt he is no longer shuffling mail.
- There is no certainty in getting a gig, but pretty much everyone is going to face rejection. That’s just the nature of the beast. The key is to get used to rejection and don’t take it personally, Brucks said. And if you are lucky enough to get a job writing in Hollywood, get used to notes and get used to the fact that you are going to get re-written. It happens to everyone, and how you respond to both of those inevitabilities will go a long way in shaping the relationships you make in the business.
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October 21, 2009
Writer and star of 'Herpes Boy,' Byron Lane prepares for his close-up
Growing up outside of New Orleans, Byron Lane always dreamed of becoming a writer and actor.
But with a mechanic father and a mother who worked in insurance sales, the bright lights of New York and Hollywood seemed unattainable.
Instead, Lane made the pragmatic decision to study journalism at Loyola University, settling for telling the stories of others instead of his own.
After a stint as a news reporter and anchor at a television station in Alexandria, La., Lane’s career took him to the deserts of Las Vegas. It was there that Lane began to change course.
“Things were getting a little odd out there, with the news quoting TMZ and things like that. The opportunity came up to get in some acting classes, and I started on that route and loved it,” Lane said this week by phone from Los Angeles.
What happened next is a creation myth that has been told time and again in Hollywood, but that makes it no less true in this case. In 2005, bitten by the proverbial acting bug, Lane packed up all of his belongings in a car and drove out to Los Angeles, where he had a few good friends.
Because of his work history, Lane had the ability to find something many Hollywood aspirants do not — a steady job. Working the night shift as a news writer for the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles, Lane had his days free to write and pursue acting gigs. He quickly realized that the life of an auditioning actor in a city littered with broken dreams is one rife with rejection. But after watching the Web series “LonelyGIrl_15,” Lane decided to take his career into his own hands.
“I just thought to myself, ‘You know, I can do that,’” Lane said about his experience with ‘LonelyGirl_15.’ “So I decided to just create my own character. And in the middle deciding what to do, I was at Starbucks and the barista had a big birthmark around her eye. And I thought, ‘That would be perfect.’ Because I did want to do a character who was unique, and I didn’t want to just do an interesting hair style or just do glasses, so I thought the birthmark was totally cool. Then I just thought about where I was going to put it. So I put it on the mouth and called it ‘Herpes Boy’.”
Lane developed a Web series around the titular character, a young man who spoke directly to the camera complaining about the trials and tribulations of his daily life, from the hassles of going to the coffee shop to the nuisance of his mother’s manic dog. “It’s just little everyday things about life from the perspective of a person who is just exhausted with it all,” Lane said.
After receiving modest traffic to his Webisodes, boosted by some serendipitous timing on Funnyordie.com, Lane received a phone call that he could hardly believe. Producer John Baumgartner had seen the videos and was taken by the writing and performance. He met with the nascent writer-actor and asked if Lane could develop a feature script.
Lane spent four months writing his first feature screenplay. Expanding on the life of the character from his short Web series, Rudolph, “Herpes Boy” tells about a young man coming to terms with his own fears and insecurities while working to love and accept the eccentric and aggravating members of his family. While the script is hilarious, “Herpes Boy,” — a movie filled with rich and absurd, yet realistic performances — does not aim solely for the easy punchline as many recent comedies. It has a subtlety and heart that reveals the complexity of its creator.
“I’m not sure I would be that good at writing something that is just laughs,” Lane said. “I enjoy movies that have heart. The funniest comedies for me are the ones that aren’t just slapstick; they’re based in reality. Sometimes life is so weird and horrible that it is just hilarious.”
Baumgartner liked what he read and showed it to his friend, character actor Beth Grant (“Extract,” “No Country for Old Men”), who also felt an immediate affinity for the quirky movie.
From there, things seem to snowball. Lane contacted director Nathaniel Atcheson, with whom he had previously worked on a short film, who agreed to direct the project and bring on a producer and cinematographer. What resulted was what Lane likes to call an “indie film miracle.”
While he prepares for the world premiere of a movie that will undoubtedly put him on the indie film map, the days of sitting at home and dreaming of emulating his heroes Lily Tomlin and Woody Allen seem like a lifetime away to the Louisiana native. “It’s surreal. I literally can’t believe it,” Lane said.
“Herpes Boy” makes its world premiere at the Austin Film Festival Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Alamo Ritz. It also screens Tuesday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m. at The Independent at 501.
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My written-in-pencil schedule for Austin Film Festival
Not that my inbox has been overflowing with requests to find out what I will be up to during the Austin Film Festival, but I thought I’d go ahead and share my intended schedule for the Austin Film Festival. Maybe it will help you sort through all of the screenings and panels, maybe it will give you a great opportunity to stalk me or give you a blueprint for avoiding me. Whatever. (Note: All descriptions of panels and movies comes directly from the Austin Film Festival Web site.)
THURSDAY 10/22
Panel: Breaking Into the Business @ 1pm
While seeing your work produced is the ultimate goal, selling the script is a great first step. Many scripts are bought and never produced. But your script can serve as a sample to secure other work. Much of a professional screenwriters’ income lies in script doctoring and assignments, not movies produced from their spec scripts.
Movie: “Youth in Revolt” @ 10pm
“Youth in Revolt” is a coming-of-age comedy that puts a fresh and outrageous stamp on a tale of adolescent obsession and rebellion. Starring Michael Cera (also of the Oscar winning film, Juno, and Superbad) and based on the acclaimed novel by C.D. Payne, Youth in Revolt is the story of Nick Twisp - a unique, but affable teen with a taste for the finer things in life like Sinatra and Fellini - who falls hopelessly in love with the beautiful, free-spirited Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) while on a family vacation. But family, geography and jealous ex-lovers conspire to keep these two apart. With Sheeni’s encouragement, Nick abandons his dull, predictable life and develops a rebellious alter ego: Francois. With his ascot, his moustache and his cigarette, Francois will stop at nothing to be with Sheeni, and leads Nick Twisp on a path of destruction with unpredictable and uproarious consequences.
FRIDAY 10/23
Panel: Write What You Know @ 1:45pm
A new master class series on writing for specific genres with Paul Feig and Mike White
Moderator: Owen Egerton.
Movie: “American Cowslip” @ 10:15pm
Ethan Inglebrink, an eccentric, agoraphobic heroin addict who is obsessed with his garden, is searching for the perfect moment in a life that is running out of time. And the odds are against him. This darkly comedic tale set in small town California follows the last days of Ethan’s life as he struggles to find love and purpose - at a time when it might be too late to even matter. This colorful film marks the return of AFF alum Mark David.
SATURDAY 10/24
Panel: What Gets Producers Excited @ 2pm
Think you have what it takes to become the next “it” writer? Find out what successful producers are looking for in a script and learn what projects interest them the most. With Garrett Basch, Jeff Graup, Dawn Wolfrom. Moderator: Drew Yanno
Movie: “Tenure” @ 8:15pm
After three years as a professor at Grey College, Charlie Thurber is hoping for tenure. In competition with his colleague, an attractive and seemingly more qualified professor from Yale, he tries a number of tactics that include the founding of an erotic poetry club, showing more school spirit, and the endless pursuit of getting published. Through it all, he finds that his real passion is teaching and that learning is something you’re never too old to do. He also may help his friend catch Bigfoot, they are really, really close this time.
SUNDAY 10/25
Panel: 10/25 The Art of Storytelling with Shane Black @ 1pm
What is it that causes a great script to stand out against all the rest? Why do some scripts seem to pale in comparison to others, even if both capture an interesting story? Three titans of cinema discuss the tools they use to bring a script life with rich characters, authenticity, and memorable dialogue. With Shane Black, Richard Linklater and Tim McCanlies. Moderator: Tom Schatz.
Panel: Turning Your Shorts/Webisodes into a Film Career @ 2:30pm The popularity of short films has exploded thanks to dwindling attention spans, the popularity of Internet sites like YouTube, and the omnipresence of mobile, small screen broadcast outlets like cell phones. How do shorts and features differ in concept and execution? Will the cinema of the future be a hybrid of both? How can you turn your short film into a film career? With Owen Egerton, Michael Fry, Ya’ke Smith and Ben Steinbauer. Moderator: James Macak.
Movie: “The Messenger” at 7 p.m.
The directorial debut of accomplished screenwriter Oren Moverman (I’m Not There and Jesus’ Son) The Messenger is a powerful and tender story about a returned war hero making his first steps toward a normal life. In his first leading role, Foster stars as Will Montgomery, a U.S. Army officer who has just returned home from a tour in Iraq and is assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification service. Partnered with fellow officer Tony Stone (Harrelson) to deliver tragic news to the loved ones of fallen soldiers, Will faces the challenge of completing his mission while seeking to find comfort and healing back on the home front. When he finds himself drawn to Olivia (Morton), to whom he has just delivered the news of her husband’s death, Will’s emotional detachment begins to dissolve and the film reveals itself as a surprising, humorous, moving and very human portrait of grief, friendship and survival. Not just a well written script, but a showcase for two amazing performances by Foster and Harrelson who bring us into the inner lives of these outwardly steely heroes to reveal their fragility with compassion and dignity.
TUESDAY 10/27
“The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia” @ 10pm
Shoot-outs, robberies, gas-huffing, drug dealing, pill popping, murders, and tap dancing. From MTV Studios and executive producers Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine (Jackass) comes a shocking and outlandish year-in-the-life documentary about the White Family of Boone County, West Virginia’s most notorious and surly family. Nestled deep in the Appalachian Mountains, the White family lives an existence more like something from the Wild West than modern day suburbified America. The legendary family is as known for their wild, excessive criminal ways as they are for their famous mountain dancing members, including Jesco White, the star of the cult classic documentary Dancing Outlaw. Over the course of one tumultuous year, the Whites deal with a stabbing, criminal sentencing, attempted murder, death and birth. The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia is directed by Julien Nitzberg (producer of Dancing Outlaw).
WEDNESDAY 10/28
Movie: “The Donner Party” @ 7pm
During the winter of 1846, a group of westward bound settlers is stranded in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They must reach California for salvation, but without food and a guide, the group becomes disillusioned and decisions must be made so that others can stay alive. Inspired by the infamous Donner Party tragedy, the film is a harrowing look at survival and how far some will go to achieve it.
THURSDAY 10/29
Movie: “Up in the Air” @ 8 p.m.
The timely odyssey of Ryan Bingham (Oscar winner George Clooney), a corporate downsizer and consummate modern business traveler who, after years of staying happily airborne, suddenly finds himself ready to make a real connection. Ryan has long been contented with his unencumbered lifestyle lived out across America in airports, hotels and rental cars. He can carry all he needs in one wheel-away case; he’s a pampered, elite member of every travel loyalty program in existence; and he’s close to attaining his lifetime goal of 10 million frequent flier miles - and yet … Ryan has nothing real to hold onto. When he falls for a simpatico fellow traveler (Farmiga), Ryan’s boss (Bateman), inspired by a young, upstart efficiency expert (Kendrick), threatens to permanently call him in from the road. Faced with the prospect, at once terrifying and exhilarating, of being grounded, Ryan begins to contemplate what it might actually mean to have a home.
Possible game-time additions: “Hunger,” “Harmony and Me,” “Cummings Farm” and “The Vicious Kind.” I’ve already seen “Herpes Boy,” so I won’t be seeing it again but recommend it.
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October 21, 2008
Thoughts on 'Happy Birthday Harris Malden'
At the beginning of “Happy Birthday Harris Malden,” it is clear that something is amiss. There is a wild card at hand. With people running up and down stairs and between houses to find birthday boy Harris Malden (Nick Gregorio), we get the urgent, and somewhat comic, sense that there is a boy on the loose. Someone must be caught before he does damage to someone, something or himself.
As we finally track down this mysterious character, we learn that he is not a child, but a man. A good looking, well dressed, seemingly normal, if not a bit neurotic, man … then we see the mustache. Harris Malden wears a drawn-on mustache (that is actually foam latex, according to the credits later). As for why, we are not altogether certain. But it seems wacky and whimsical and certainly sets the tone for the first feature length film from the collective known as Sweaty Robot.
Leading the charge to corral Harris is neighbor and childhood friend Paul Levine (Eric Levy), who is dealing with more drama than his infantilized neighbor … he’s also got a hot and bothered girlfriend, Susan (Brigitte Hagerman), at work who wants to move in with him.
When Paul’s girlfriend surprisingly shows up at the house where he lives with his grandmother, we finally get the big reveal. As an aggravated Paul explains to the uninvited Susan, that Harris lost his father and suffered serious burning on his 5th birthday. After the tragedy, Harris’s mother painted a mustache on the child to keep him from having to see the burn scar above his lip, a physical reminder of the loss of his father. Ever since that time, Harris’s friends and neighbors have sheltered him from the outside world, never allowing him to enter the city center and never letting him know that he looks ridiculous with his self-applied facial hair.
Granted, the entire conceit his absolutely ridiculous, but it sets up a sweet and at times hilarious story of friendship and the lengths to which we go to protect our loved ones. Amidst the mania surrounding Harris’s condition, his younger brother attempts to break free from his mundane life and strike out on his own, while Paul battles with whether he should stay with his loving and hilarious grandmother or finally grow up and move in with his grandmother.
The pace can be a bit frantic at times, due in large part to zooming cameras and harried tracking shots, but the absurdity of the premise and low-budget feel is tempered by a warm heart. Levine’s acting leaves quite a bit to be desired, something reminiscent of early Kevin Smith movies, but his quick give and take with Hagerman, a striking visual presence part Mira Sorvino and part Jenna Fischer, is clever screwball at its indie best.
A thought kept nagging at me slightly throughout. Something about the film seemed very familiar. It actually felt a lot like a SXSW film to me, but I didn’t even really understand why or exactly what that meant. Then it hit me. “Happy Birthday Harris Malden” is a lot like mumblecore (the “genre” launched thanks in large part to SXSW) with more whimsy and less ennui. It came as no surprise then, that during the Q&A, some of the guys from Sweaty Robot told the audience that former SXSW Film Director Matt Dentler, in his new role at Cinetic, has reached an agreement to just represent the filmmakers’ rights in the digital arena. Reached in New York, Dentler said of the film, “I think it’s a good film, and a funny film. And comedies work well in the digital space, plus the guys behind the film are very well versed in this new media space.” Dentler, who originally saw the film at the Cinevegas Film Festival in June, would not elaborate on plans for distribution but said folks could look for the film online by the end of the year.
The Q&A was actually funnier than the movie itself, with the guys sharing some of their thoughts on making the movie, trying to market it, and the risks and rewards of independent film. It is obvious that there is a bit of a mutual appreciation party going on amongst the Sweaty Robot collective, but they have reason to feel a bit giddy. They’ve made a strong feature that I think should presage greater things in the future, that is if anyone can figure out the future of independent film.
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October 20, 2008
Panel wrap: David Wain
People love the Austin Film Fest for its casual nature, for the opportunity it affords you to get close to filmmakers and screenwriters without the pomp and circumstance that surround some other fests. That dynamic is as evident in the casual chats in the Driskill Victorian Balcony room as anywhere.
With the couches pulled from the room, 75 folks pulled up some carpet Sunday to listen to/engage with funnyman David Wain. Probably best known for his work with sketch comedy troupe The State, Wain, a repeat visitor to the fest, has had a relatively large cult success with his films “Wet Hot American Summer” and “The Ten.”
He visited the festival this year to screen his first major studio comedy, “Role Models,” starring Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott.
Wain entered the room on the quasi-secretive Malkovich floor at the hotel without escort and nobody present to introduce him and took a chair at the front of the room, making a funny observation about the floor-bound attendees and promising a “freewheeling, intimate discussion.”
“It’s a hotel. I’m sure they have chairs … like 1,000 chairs,” he said. Oh, Austin, you casual charmer.
In a faux wistful tone, Wain noted that “it all began back in 1969,” the summer of love and year of his birth. He then took the audience through a brief rundown of his life and career, which included a childhood in the Shaker Heights neighborhood of Cleveland; an aborted dalliance with magic (“the more I did magic, the less a chance I would ever lose my virginity”); an education at NYU, where he would eventually join up with the folks who would form The State; and his stint at MTV, which led from the show “You Wrote It, You Watch It” to “The State.”
The biggest thing I took away from the pleasant chat was the fact that Wain and his partners have endured over the past decade close to 40 failed projects. It is a testament to his (and their creative) energy and ability to work through rejection and frustration that he finds himself in the envious position of directing “Role Models.”
He was brought on to the film late in the game after receiving a phone call from Rudd (one of the stars of “The Ten”) saying they had lost their director. Wain, former State member Ken Marino, and Rudd took the barebones script and reworked it along the way, finding ways to add their own absurdist voice to scenes throughout the mainstream movie. The end result … a somewhat formulaic movie that features the intelligent and biting wit for which Wain and Rudd are famous. (Check out Chris Garcia’s thoughts on the film here.)
Beyond discussion of his own career (which currently includes his own web series, “WainyDays” and voice work on Adult Swim’s “Super Jail”), Wain also touched on the sad state of independent film and the difficulty getting distribution, as well as an impassioned reaction to Gen. Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama earlier in the morning.
In such casual settings, with a funnyman at the helm, the members of the audience, feeling like they are part of a special comedic clique, often feel the need to crack a few jokes and match wits with the talent. But, such is the nature of these casual chats, and one of the reasons AFF is such an enjoyable fest. And, the disarming and witty Wain, apparently appreciated the back-and-forth, writing today on his blog that Austin “consistently has the coolest audiences anywhere.” That’ll go to our heads.
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AFF panel wrap: The Online World
As any frustrated indie filmmaker (or excitable dude with a camera and some editing software) will tell you, more and more content is moving online. This phenomenon is actually a double-edged sword; while there are seemingly infinite places to get your material online, the glut of material and the short attention span of online viewers are making it harder and harder to get your original content discovered, much less make you any money.
Thus was the point of the panel The Online World Sunday morning at the Driskill Hotel, with panelists Todd Berger and Austinites Chris Hyams and Brad Neely.
The gentlemen returned several times to the remarks by CEO of The Film Company (and former Miramax president) Mark Gill’s talk at the Los Angeles Film Festival this year, in which he declared that, “yes, the sky really is falling” on independent cinema. (For any lovers of cinema, his entire speech is worth reading.)
In his speech, Gill wrapped up his bleak picture of the indie film words with a little bit of a positive message: “If you want to survive in this brutal climate, you’re going to have to work a lot harder, be a lot smarter, know a lot more, move a lot faster, sell a lot better, pay attention to the data, be a little nicer (ok, a lot nicer), trust your gut, read everything and never, ever give up.”
If you’re looking for a cool lifestyle, you’re in the wrong business. If you want work-life balance, go get a government job. But if you really want to make movies—even after all the unvarnished bad news I’ve dumped on you today—then by all means do it.”
Yikes.
The discussion Sunday basically revolved around the way these three men have tried to find their place in the overcrowded marketplace that is seeing opportunities for distribution shrink annually.
I can’t say that any new ground was broken in the conversation, but it was interesting to hear the view points of men who approach the subject of promoting and distributing online content from much different points of view.
Berger is a writer/director/editor who, along with his partners in The Vacationeers, had an internet sensation with the online videos “The Googling,” which showed in a humorous light the power and ubiquity of Google maps. He came at the panel from the perspective of a prolific writer who was working hard to find avenue to get his original work distributed.
Hyams, a co-founder of B-Side, a company that provides interactive online content management for audiences and film festivals, in order to discover great fest films and then promote them, approached the subject from a marketing standpoint.
Neely, who arrived about 30 minutes late, was the most aloof of the three, confessing to a lack of understanding about marketing and the business end of the creative world. Instead, he mostly focuses on creating original work and being true to his art. And what happens after that simply happens.
Below are a few points made by the guys on the panel:
Berger: People zone out from watching online content at about the 2:46 mark. You have to find a way to tell a story in segments of that length. Even if it’s episodic, people have to be able to watch those episodes as stand alones.
Berger: People have still not figured out a way to make money off of ads on sites. People are starting to get sponsors for entire episodes. Many folks are now suggesting that producers go directly to advertising agencies to get sponsorship deals from their clients.
Hyams: “Online video is a lot like Internet stocks in 2000 … there is value, but where is it?”
Hyam: The online world is going become far more Darwinian. Not all good online content will make it, but the only content that will make it will be good.
Hyam: “You can trick people into watching TV or going to the movies. Not so with the Internet.”
Hyam: There has been such a glut of material online because the tools have become so accessible.
Hyam: Average YouTube viewing time is 87 seconds. Viewing habits across the board are moving from the TV and cinemas and on to people’s laptops.
Neely: “It’s a mistake to put too much stake in any projection [of where online content is headed].”
Neely: You can’t be worried about the fear of not getting seen. “It’s important to try and make things with other people [viewers] in mind, but all I want to do is work with good material.”
Neely: After I create the work, then I just want to sit down with someone who tells me where to put it online in order to be viewed.
Berger: In five to 10 years, there will be no difference between computers, TV and phone. You will have one handheld device that allows you to ‘take over’ any screen and view content from your handheld on it, including your desktop.
Neely: If creators of content don’t take into consideration the medium for which they are creating something on a visual level, there will be an unfortunate homogenization aesthetically.
Neely: Everyone’s success story in the online content world is going to be different.
Neely: “Don’t worry about getting paid for the first 10 years.”
Hyam: It’s hard to just be a writer. You have to be a creator or on a creative team.
Berger: You might have to do a boring job at a production company before you can get work where you have more responsibilities.
Hyam: Using HuLu for as a “premiere platform” for the film “Crawford” combined with a publicist, led to more viewings of the film in its first three days of release than opening weekend for “An Inconvenient Truth” or “March of the Penguins.”
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October 18, 2008
Capsule review: 'Who is KK Downey?'
One of the beautiful things about the Austin Film Festival is that it gives a sizable platform to young writers who might not otherwise be able to reach such a large audience. Sure, you can see films like “Role Models,” “Slumdog Millionaire” or “W.” at the fest - all strong movies in their own right - but those are movies you will be able to see at cineplexes soon enough. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
But AFF is as much about discovering hidden gems as it is about seeing big name films and attending informative and casual panels. Further, the fest has developed relationships over the past 15 years with young filmmakers, many of whom return semi-regularly to promote their films at the fest that helped launch their careers. Such is the case with the comedy collective known as Kidnappers Films from Montreal. After screening shorts at AFF for several years earlier in the decade, the group returned this year with their first full-length feature, “Who is KK Downey?”
With all of the feel good talk about minor films, aside, however, I must admit that, while the premise of the comedy “KK Downey” was intriguing - two hipster doofuses create alternate personas in an attempt to finally breakthrough as artists - the film unfortunately falls quite flat. Terrance is a jaded rock star, hopelessly in love with an ex-girlfriend who regards him as sad and desperate and has since moved on to date a music critic for “Gaze” magazine, a publication akin to “The Village Voice.” His bud Theo is a chubby, pitiful would-be writer who plays drums in Terrance’s horrific band, while kowtowing to the delusions of grandeur shared by his old friend. After coming to the realization that Terrance, despite the financial support of his parents and the shameless self-promotion of his band, will never be a rock star and Theo, despite his constant desire to talk about his forthcoming novel, will always be considered just another suburban kid writing about subjects with which he has no real relationship and not a literary star, the two decide to take fate into their own hands.
The two decide to take Theo’s manuscript, “Truck Stop Hustler,” a profane piece of literary pap involving a drug-abusing, trick-turning Southern Boy trying to find his place in the world and his next high, and make Terrance the lead character, KK Downey. What ensues is a sometimes funny examination of the way society latches on to cultural trends and its passion for hero-making, even when that which is being idolized is banal and trite. The two fall into a pit of buying their own hype, with all the ensuing groupies and drugs one would expect. The film has its funny moments, depicting the shallowness and simplicity of the hipster scene, and ones that attempt to be touching, such as in the boilerplate love story of a boy trying to win back a woman. Fortunately, the movie never takes itself too seriously, always reminding us that the film is farce at heart, while humorously reminding us of the fate of similar real-life characters such as J.T. Leroy, and to a lesser extent James Fray.
Sadly, the movie doesn’t hit hard enough at the places where it does find laughs - the desperation of its protagonists, the stereotypes it ridicules and the inanity of the premise. There is not enough heightening going on here, as it sometimes gets lost trying to tell the old boy-loses-girl, boy-tries-to-get-girl back story. Maybe the biggest problem of the film is the fact that none of the characters are actually likeable or sympathetic, not that a film has to have this element, but if you’re not going to like any of the characters, you want to be laughing more.
“Who is KK Downy” screens again Wednesday night at the Dobie at 8 p.m.
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October 17, 2008
Tone of 'W' may surprise some moviegoers
When it was announced that Oliver Stone would be directing a bio-pic about President George W. Bush, many people from both sides of the spectrum rolled their eyes expecting a political hit piece. They may be surprised to find that the film actually paints W. and his family in a rather sympathetic light.
The film does take some digs, but more at Vice President Dick Cheney than W. himself. The problem with the film is that it lacks any historical perspective, due to the fact that Bush is still in office, and reveals nothing that astute citizens do not already know. That said, the film is worth viewing simply for the amazing performance by Josh Brolin as W. Toby Jones, James Cromwell and Jeffrey Wright also turn in excellent performances, as Karl Rove, George H. W. Bush and Colin Powell, respectively, although Jones and Wright are not able to match the physical presence of the men they portray.
The gist of the film, as one would expect, is that America was led down a tragic path by a simplistic, born-again Christian with a massive “daddy complex.” As he wastes most of his twenties and thirties as a booze-hound, skirt-chasing, good ol’ boy, W. is haunted by the expectations and disappointment of his father and the comparisons to his more talented and disciplined brother Jeb.
After finding God, and sobriety, W. makes it his mission to both make his father proud and stubbornly prove to him that he has the capacity for greatness. This motivation, compounded by what W. considers a call from God to lead the country, leads to the oft-lamented march to war in Iraq, spearheaded by Cheney and his neo-con pals. In “Star Wars” parlance, Cheney plays the evil Emperor to Bush’s in-over-his-head Darth Vader. It is fascinating, however, to see W. repeatedly attempt to tamp down both Cheney and Karl Rove’s visible influence. A man of intense and confounding pride, W. wants to make sure that he is seen as the leader. After a life spent being chastised by his father for his lack of responsibility, W. wants to be seen as an undisputed leader.
It would be easy to say that W.’s story is Shakespearean in nature, but that would likely be doing a disservice to The Bard, as W. is too simple a figure to be considered on such a grand scale. While the election of Bush as the 43rd president is certainly confounding and something that would have been unthinkable just a decade before, the real tragedy is that which besets the American people, not to mention those of Iraq, as Bush attempts to prove that he is as strong, if not stronger, leader than his father. Unfortunately, according to Stone, the son lacked the introspection and thoughtfulness of his father and ended up being a puppet that was used to do the duplicitous work of the men who stood in the shadows behind him.
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October 18, 2007
Review: 'Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project'
Directed by John Landis (“Animal House,” “Coming to America”) who, as an 18 year-old gopher on the set of “Kelly’s Heroes” met Rickles for the first time, pays homage to the comic who broke ground with his acerbic wit and scathing treatment of minorities and concert goers.
Rickles, whose comedy career began after his dreams of being a serious actor fizzled out, came to prominence playing for wise guys and Frank Sinatra’s cadre of friends in night clubs in Florida. Never afraid to play the role of court jester, Rickles spared nobody with his personal attack, even the king. Despite his personal and decidedly non-politically-correct humor (decades before that term came into vogue), Rickles always got away with comedic murder due to the fact that he was genuinely funny.
