Interview: Matthew D. Kallis of “Most Valuable Players”

Posted on March 2, 2012 at 3:55 pm

Producer/Director Matthew D. Kallis answered my questions about Most Valuable Players, the marvelous documentary about three high school teams competing for the Freddy Awards, given for the best high school musical productions. I asked him about his favorite musicals and what kids learn from putting on a show.

How did you decide to make this film?

I grew up in an environment where the arts were held in high esteem, and I was on the stage crew when I was in school. So this subject matter was a good fit for me. When I learned about the Freddy Awards, I was very impressed that this region of America, that’s so very sports-centric, would devote these kinds of resources and support to the arts. It was a story I felt needed to be told.

What impact did the creation of the Freddy awards have on Pennsylvania theater programs and why?

It has increased awareness of high school performingarts. Because the Freddy Awards is televised live, residents of the area flock to see all the shows, so they can judge the competition for themselves. The schools are seeing an increased interest and more revenue as a result. Like any trophy, the Freddy Award brings about a certain amount of respect for the winning schools. Easton Area High School, for instance, was facing a budget cut that would have wiped out their performing arts program. But when the school won the Freddy for Best Overall Musical (for RAGTIME), the school board reversed its decision. The Freddys have had a real, tangible impact on the arts.

Do you have a favorite musical?

This is a really tough question since there are so many musicals that I love for different reasons. Although many newer musicals are superb, like THE DROWSY CHAPERONE and SPRING AWAKENING, I am still quite nostalgic about the classics. The first opportunity I had to see musicals was in films like CAMELOT, FUNNY GIRL and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Later, my parents took me to New York where I saw great Broadway productions of MAN OF LA MANCHA, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF andmore. I was hooked. As a teenager, I saw THE WHO performing TOMMY, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at the Hollywood Bowl, Tim Curry in THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW at the Roxy on Sunset Boulevard, and A CHORUS LINE on Broadway. I just don’t know how to pick a favorite from the list.

However, if I must select a one, I guess it will have to be OKLAHOMA! Of course, it is a great musical, but that is not the main reason. When I was still in elementary school, my brother and sister allowed me to tag along with them to see a performance of OKLAHOMA! at Beverly Hills High School. I was so impressed with the amazing production values and all the talented kids. Everything seemed so dazzlingly professional. I knew I wanted to part of it, and that is why I joined the stage crew. The experience was fantastic. Making MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS allowed me to relive those wonderful times vicariously through the kids that participate in the Freddy Awards program.

While most teens are listening to hip-hop and pop, what keeps drawing some kids to traditional Broadway show tunes?

Kids today are being brought up on different kinds of showtunes. AMERICAN IDIOT, NEXT TO NORMAL, IN THE HEIGHTS or even THE BOOK OF MORMON, as examples, all have a cool, modern vibe to them with all sorts of influences. As a result, these musical scores might pique their interest in other, more classic, Broadway shows.

What are the most important lessons high schoolers learn from putting on musical shows?

There are lots of important lessons. They learn about responsibility and deadlines. They learn about cooperation and teamwork. Also, high school students can apply many of their reading, writing and arithmetic skills. For instance, building sets takes an understanding of math and physics. Scripts have to be read, analyzed and interpreted. There are all different skills being used in the theater, so the list of educational benefits goes on and on.

What is the biggest challenge for school performing arts programs?

The biggest challenge remains staying alive. Arts programs are always at the top of any “cut list” come budget crunch time. It’s important that school boards and administrators understand that there’s more to the musical than just song and dance. Yet arts programs must also learn to be more self-sufficient if they plan to survive. Many of the schools featured in MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS get no money from their schools. They raise all the funds on their own, which puts them in a more powerful position.

Complaints about “The Lorax” from Lou Dobbs and the CCFC

Posted on March 2, 2012 at 8:00 am

Dr. Seuss wrote The Lorax in 1971, around the time of the first Earth Day and the creation (by Republican President Richard Nixon) of the Environmental Protection Agency. It is the story of the “Once-ler” who chanced upon a place filled with wondrous Truffula Trees, Swomee-Swans, Brown Bar-ba- loots, and Humming-Fishes. Thrilled by the beauty of the Truffula Trees and greedy with the opportunity to use their tufts to make things, he ignores the warnings of the tree-loving Lorax. Finally, the Lorax goes away, leaving a rock engraved “UNLESS.” One Truffula seed remains.

This week’s release of a new film version has already led to complaints from Lou Dobbs, who says it is left-wing propaganda, and from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which notes that there is something inconsistent, even hypocritical, about the movie’s “partners,” which include an SUV and disposable diapers.

Dobbs complains that “The Lorax” is intended to indoctrinate children with liberal anti-capitalist ideas. He calls it “insidious nonsense” and “environmental radicalism.” It is heavy-handed at times, as I point out in my review. But it is balderdash to make any claim of conspiracy or propaganda. Time Magazine’s James Poniewozik points out that “The Lorax” book is actually pro-business.

he important thing that Seuss does in the book is not to simply decry business’ pollution and greed for what it does to cute creatures like the brown barbaloots and hummingfish. The real problem that deforester and Thneed-maker the Once-ler runs into is that cutting down truffula trees faster than they can grow back is also bad business. He makes money hand over fist for a while, yes, but: “No more trees… no more Thneeds.”

In other words, Seuss’ final argument against the way the Once-ler runs his business is a practical one: if you over exploit a resource, besides whatever damage you do to the environment, you eventually undercut your long-term interests. That’s not ideology so much as physical fact–akin to, say, the problem faced by the overworking of a fishery. It’s not inherently political to say: there is only so much of certain resources.

Neither the book nor the movie argue for government intervention. They argue for personal responsibility, which conservatives often claim as their defining value. Dobbs seems to say that acknowledging the need to consider the future in the use of the Earth’s resources is per se liberal propaganda. Furthermore, as I have pointed out many times, most movies do not have political agendas because they are made by corporations who want to make money for their shareholders and themselves. Universal Studios is a subsidiary of NBC Universal, owned by the gigantic corporate powerhouses GE and Comcast. As noted below, the movie is being used to market many different consumer products. The idea of an anti-corporate political agenda is simply absurd.

The CCFC argues that the movie and its producers are too pro-corporate. It has launched a campaign to “Save the Lorax!” from “an onslaught of corporate cross-promotions,”with dozens of corporate partners promoting everything from SUVs to Pottery Barn to Pancakes. CCFC is urging anyone who cares about The Lorax’s original message to enjoy the story but pledge to shun the movie’s commercial tie-ins, including:

The new Mazda CX-5 SUV—the only car with the “Truffula Seal of Approval.”
Seventh Generation household products and diapers festooned with the Lorax.
IHOP’s kids’ menu items like Rooty Tooty Bar-Ba-Looty Blueberry Cone Cakes and Truffula Chip Pancakes.
In-store promotions featuring the Lorax at Whole Foods, Pottery Barn Kids, and Target.
Online Lorax games and sweepstakes for YoKids Yogurt, Comcast Xfinity TV, Target, IHOP, and HP.
HP’s “Every Inkling Makes a Difference,” a branded in-school curriculum produced and distributed by Scholastic.

“It is both cynical and hypocritical to use a beloved children’s story with a prescient environmental message to sell kids on consumption,” said CCFC’s director, Dr. Susan Linn. “The Lorax that so many of us know and love would never immerse children in the false corporate narrative that we can consume our way to everything, from happiness to sustainability. Instead, he would join everyone who cares about children and the environment to give kids time and space to grow up free of commercial pressures.”

This concern seems far more legitimate to me. The idea of tying the marketing of an SUV as a green initiative suggests that the Lorax’s message is more needed than ever.

Viewers Say Thanks for “Act of Valor”

Posted on March 2, 2012 at 5:00 am

“Act of Valor,” featuring active duty Navy SEALs, is number one at the box office and has inspired some nice “thank you” responses from viewers.

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Tribute: Davy Jones of The Monkees

Posted on March 1, 2012 at 10:37 pm

I loved The Monkees. Sometimes referred to as “the pre-fab four” because they were artificially created to imitate the “Fab Four” Beatles, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, Mickey Dolenz, and Davy Jones soon became more than four actors in a television show. They were a real group with real hits.

Davy Jones was “the cute one.” He was a teenager training as a jockey when he was cast as the Artful Dodger in the London and then the Broadway production of “Oliver!” He sang lead on some of The Monkees’ biggest hits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfuBREMXxts&noredirect=1

And he made a memorable guest appearance on “The Brady Bunch.” Oh, how we wished we were Marcia!

Jones died this week at age 66. May his memory be a blessing.

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Music Television Tribute

Undefeated

Posted on March 1, 2012 at 6:30 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for some language
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	References to substance abuse
Violence/ Scariness:	Sports injuries, references to violence
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	March 2, 2012
Amazon.com ASIN:	B005S9EITC

Bill Courtney, a successful white businessman, coaches an underdog football team at an inner city high school in an Oscar-winning documentary that quickly transcends the risks of sports cliché and racially treacherous noblesse oblige. Like the wonderful “The Heart of the Game” it is a powerful reminder of the difference one person can make — and of the consequences when no one is willing to make that difference.

Manassas High School in North Memphis has never made the play-offs since it was founded in 1899. Neither the school nor its students have the resources of their opposing teams. Courtney sums up his situation to his players: Two have been shot and are no longer in school. Two others were fighting and another was arrested for shooting someone. “For most coaches, that would be a career’s worth of crap,” he says. “I think that sums up the last two weeks for me.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckku5qEt-vA

Courtney volunteers his time and an even more precious gift — he truly gives his heart to his players. He has a lot to teach them about practice and plays and teamwork, but the most important lessons come from his own example of indefatigable dedication to his team. He is fully present for them in a way that is infinitely touching. They can never give less than their best because they see him giving his every day.

The movie focuses on three players. One is returning to the team after some time in juvie for problems caused because he cannot control his rage and seems to have no inclination to try. Another is a strong player who will need to get his grades up if he wants to qualify for a college scholarship. And the third is an honor student who wants a football scholarship but is sidelined with an injury just as he needs to show the scouts he can play. Courtney’s passionate commitment makes the difference, sometimes by just being there, sometimes by bringing in some extra help. When he has some good news for one of his players, there is not a dry eye on the field — or in the audience.

“You think football builds character,” he tells the team. “It does not. It reveals character.” That is true of the players and the coach as well.

Parents should know that this film has some strong language and some sad situations including the loss of a parent and a sports injury, as well as references to substance abuse and violence.

Family discussion: Do you agree with Courtney’s decision at the end of the season? What was the most important lesson his team learned from him and what is the most important lesson he learned from them? What can Courtney’s example inspire you to do?

If you like this, try: The Heart of the Game