‘The Help’ — Writer/Director Tate Taylor and Producer Chris Columbus

Posted on July 13, 2011 at 8:00 am

Interview: Brian Stelter and Andrew Rossi of ‘Page One’

Posted on June 28, 2011 at 8:00 am

“Page One” takes us behind the scenes at the New York times in a year of turmoil and transition. We see how its media reporters cover their own industry. We see the release of the first Wikileaks material and how it competes with and is reported on and interpreted by the main-est of the mainstream media. We see how the Times buys out and lays off experienced staff and brings on a college student who has been scooping them with his blog about television news. I sat with director Andrew Rossi and blogger-turned New York Times reporter Brian Stetler in the sunny courtyard of a Washington DC hotel to talk with them about reporting on the reporters and the future of journalism.

A recent law school class was asked how many of them read a paper newspaper every morning and not one hand went up. What does that mean about the future of newspapers and of news?

Stelter: People get the news in different sources. They may be getting links on Twitter or Facebook. As Katrina vanden Heuvel says in the film, there’s lots of information out there. That’s the predicament “Page One” is trying to address.

I thought the most powerful statement in the film was “Daniel Ellsberg needed us. Wikileaks does not.” And yet, the movie shows that reader do need the New York times to digest and interpret and verify the material.

Stelter: In a day where everyone can be a publisher, not everyone can be an editor. The film fundamentally is about editing. You see reporters and editors figuring out what’s news and what’s not news and in the case of Wikileaks, figuring out how to cover someone who is a publisher, but not an editor. Wikileaks does sometimes redact material and decide what not to post, but fundamentally they’re not bringing to bear those judgment calls that journalists are. I love the movie for those scenes with editors where you see them making judgment calls.

We’ve seen new media blow the whistle on failures of old media and old media expose the failures and misrepresentations of new media. Are we going to be in an endless cycle of “gotcha?”

Stelter: That’s an element going forward, one element of a complicated structure. It’s good that we can all truth squad each other. In the film you see the Times trying to decide how to handle a report by NBC news about the end of the Iraq war and eventually deciding not to write about it because it was, I don’t want to say an imagined end but a “mission accomplished” moment.

It was surprising to see in the film the way Brian Williams made NBC’s role a part of the story and fascinating to watch the reaction in the newsroom.

Stelter: It baffles my mind.

How do the changes in media and reporting affect elections and politics?

Stelter: We get more saturated by the day-to-day minutia of the campaigns. It’s easier to write about and follow along. What me may lose there is the broader picture. But the other change is the interactivity. Citizens now can prod journalists to cover the campaign differently. Readers, listeners, viewers can push us to do a better job. We’ve seen some of that already but we will see more going forward. That’s one reason transparency is such a positive force. We can talk back in a way we couldn’t before. I love when readers talk back to me and tell me what to improve on.

I was very intrigued by the use of music in the film. How did you select it?

Rossi: “Paper Tiger” is the song that plays beneath the credits. It’s by Beck. It has a very sort of somber but driving sound and David Carr’s final lines in the film that drive the song are “The New York Times does not need to be a monolith to survive.” I think that is one of the very important messages of the film. There are multiple voices and there shouldn’t be any Zeus character with thunderbolts saying, “This is the only truth that can be known.” “Paper Tiger,” there’s a double entendre because of the word “paper” but it is also an expression the Chinese have for something that seems scary but really is not. Mao used to use that expression to refer to Russia and England as monolithic powers that were really just made of paper. The song has the right audiophilic quality but also a double meaning. Paul Brill did the score. He’s worked a lot on films that treat very serious topics but in ways that are accessible and have an entertainment value. That is the type of palette we were going for in the film.

You include reporters who cover the business side of the media, but you do not include anyone from the business side of the New York Times. Why is that?

Rossi: There’s a high and firm wall between the newsroom and the corporate side. Bill Keller, the executive editor, authorized the project after various discussions and meetings and it was really done under the purview of the newsroom so we really never butt up against the corporate side. I did request an interview with the publisher and CEO, both of whom declined. The film is really trying to look at the journalism involved, though certainly we treat the financial obstacles.

What’s the difference between writing for the web and writing for print?

Stelter: Paper is so permanent, a one time shot to get it right and there’s a high cost to making a correction. If I write something for the web in the afternoon I can make it better all day and then put the final product in the paper. Corrections are the first symbol of us opening ourselves up to the public. This movie is just another form of transparency.

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Interview: Jon Siskel of ‘Louder than a Bomb’

Posted on June 21, 2011 at 3:52 pm

“Louder than a Bomb” is a new documentary about Chicago’s poetry slam competition for high schoolers. Watching these teenagers thrill to finding their own voices and hearing each other’s stories makes it one of the most inspiring films of the year. I spoke to co-director Jon Siskel (nephew of the late critic Gene Siskel) about making the film.

http://vimeo.com/22721120

How did you discover the poetry slam competition in Chicago?

My co-director, Greg Jacobs, was driving on the North Side of Chicago on a Saturday night and saw outside this club called The Metro hundreds of kids lined up under this marquee that said “Louder than a Bomb Poetry Slam.” He thought, “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen, all these kids, every shape size, color, lined up for poetry on a Saturday night.” Greg came in Monday and said, “I think I’ve got our next subject.” We reached out to the founder of Louder than a Bomb Kevin Coval and he invited us to visit a slam and it was really that moment, going to the slam, seeing the kids on stage and the exchange with the audience that was so electrifying — it was one of those things where you know it when you see it. When you get into documentaries you know it is going to be such a long commitment so you’re always kind of cautioning and looking for a way out. “Is something wrong here? Is something not going to work?” But every step of the way it was just better and better and better.

How did you select the kids you were going to focus on?

Our first criteria was that we wanted the best poets. If you’re going to make a movie about a poetry slam, you have to start with that. There are these amazing moments of bravery with other poets who are not shining stars but who get up on stage, paper shaking, not necessarily a great poet but they’re up there pouring their hearts out. But we wanted the poetry to sing and be great.

There were about 40 teams competing at that time. Kevin narrowed it down to a dozen schools. We spent a year hanging out with the kids and part of that year was the first competition we filmed, Nate doing “LeBron James” and Adam doing “Poet Breathe Now.” We heard some stuff that Nova did that was amazing and the Steinmenauts won that year.

What makes a good poem?

I think these kids are writing great poems on paper, but with Slam it’s a combination of really good writing with really good performance. All of our kids in totally different ways do that amazingly well. I think people start giggling when they first see Adam on screen, the hippie kid, dorky, nerdy-ish, but when he gets up on stage he grabs the audience by the throat. And Nova just silences audiences, even in the scene where she’s performing her piece in the classroom about her father, every audience is just holding their breath. She is just devastating. There’s this honesty — I don’t know how they do that. What is so amazing is that it starts in the classroom with this teamwork and so you have Nova putting this stuff out in front of her peers, and Lemar and Big C, putting this very emotional territory in front of people.

Why does poetry make that possible in a way that say, writing an essay does not?

They’re reporting from the streets, talking about things happening around them. “Counting Graves” is this incredibly powerful poem. They create personas and characters. But a lot of the slam comes from this very personal place and that is highly valued by the audience and the judges.

What did you leave out that you wish you could have included?

So much. We had over 350 hours of footage and the movie is 99 minutes. For the educational DVD we’ve been able to add this really beautiful poem from Nate. And it’s going to air on OWN and they will put out a DVD and we hope there will be extras in that.

Are the slam kids influenced by classic poetry? Do they read it in school?

Oh yeah. Nate’s walls are covered with Bob Dylan and Langston Hughes. They read Gwendolyn Brooks, they read all kinds of stuff. Kevin and the teachers bring all kinds of influences and poetry into the classroom. Nate uses the word villanelle, a reference to a classic formal poetry structure.

Tell me about the teachers who work with these kids.

They are incredible. I think “love” is a word people are uncomfortable with, but it is really what this movie is about, love between the teammates, love from the community, and love between these teachers and their students. The teachers are the heroes of the film, not in a hammering political way but you just see it.

Chicago public radio station WBEZ co-sponsors Louder Than a Bomb and has posted audio from many of the Louder Than a Bomb poetry slams.

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Directors Interview

Interview: Sue Bourne of the Irish Dance Competition Documentary ‘Jig’

Posted on June 17, 2011 at 10:14 am

Director Sue Bourne talked to me about her new documentary, “Jig,” the story of the Irish dancing world championships. It is thrilling, touching, and inspiring, with unforgettable characters and stories and dancing that would make Michael Flatley stand up and cheer.

This is your first feature, right?

Yes. I’ve been making films for British television for a long time, won some awards, but this is my first feature and it has been a very interesting journey to go on. Once we heard that 6000 dancers from all around the world were coming to Glasgow for the Irish dancing world championships, I pitched the idea to the BBC. They said, “That sounds interesting,” and I said, “I want to make a feature film,” and they said, “Why?” I said, ” I don’t want to make a film about an Englishman, and Irishman, and a Scotsman going to Glasgow — that’s dull as ditchwater.” If we’re going to make a film that shows the true international scope of Irish dancing then let’s be ambitious about it and raise a big budget and do a big proper feature film. So it began with me being a bit big for my boots and saying, “I want to go around the world! I need a big budget!” and it escalated from there! I could see it would have international appeal and a cinema audience. Very few documentaries have what it takes for a cinematic theatrical release but I knew this was one.

How did you know?

My key thing in the films I make is finding the extraordinary in the apparently ordinary. Everyone’s got a story to tell and I am always keen to show that it’s not about dance; it’s about people and their stories and their lives and what they are passionate about. I just sensed that there would be great stories and great characters, that it would be about much more than Irish dancing. And you throw into that that it’s got great music, great dancing, children — I thought, this could be like “Spellbound,” plus “Mad Hot Ballroom” with a dash of Riverdance thrown in as well.

Those children are amazing, not just in their talent but in their determination and maturity. When the two top competitors hugged each other, it was a stunningly moving and powerful moment.

And they’re just 10! We knew that one of the stories we would have to find was a ten year old coming to the World’s for the first time. We looked for a long time, and many of them were shy. But then I saw Brogan and she was so remarkable. I said, “Who’s that!” I thought, “I’ve got to find out more about that wee girl.” She could talk for Britain and she was a 10 year old with a sense of humor. She’s remarkable. Yes, it’s about dancing, but it’s about much, much more than that.

We live in a world of “do your own thing” and yet this incredibly rigid and formal style of dance that is so particular and unchanging attracts passionate devotion from people around the world.

After two years, I’m none the wiser about that as to why they all love it so much. As one said, “It’s the shoes and the rhythm.” The closest I’ve got is that it casts a spell and you’re hooked. Something inside them connects with the rhythm or the music or the dance.

One of the most fascinating parts of the movie is how many people overlook their own cultural and ethnic traditions to devote themselves to Irish dance. You have a group from Moscow, Americans, and a Dutch kid originally from Sri Lanka.

Only about three of the dancers are Irish! Even little Brogan, her family never did any Irish dancing. And people said, “The film is going to be filled with pushy parents.” On the contrary, we found bemused parents who’ve been dragged into it by children who have been captivated by the dance.

It is as engrossing to watch the parents as the children, though. You have a couple of shots where you can tell everything just from the way they tense their shoulders and life their chins as they watch their children perform.

As with all sport, the teachers and parents live a little vicariously through their children and it is so beautifully manifest in that moment. I had to ask myself as a mother if I would be willing to make some of the sacrifices the parents in this movie make to support their children — to move from California to Birmingham! If you’ve got a tennis or golf prodigy you might movie because they could make millions. But here, if you are the world champion, you get a little bauble. They’re not motivated by celebrity, they’re not motivated by money, they’re not motivated by anything other than the goals they set themselves to be the best.

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Directors Documentary Interview

Interview: Don McGlynn of Gospel Documentary ‘Rejoice and Shout’

Posted on June 14, 2011 at 10:54 am

Don McGlynn is the director of a raise-the-roof documentary about gospel music fittingly called “Rejoice and Shout.” It is a thrilling compendium filled with history but more importantly, filled with music. The people are wonderful and McGlynn gives us full performances of the gorgeous music of the past and the present.

How did you find those amazing archival clips?

It was an enormous job finding it. I’ve been working with my producer partner Joe Lauro, who has been gathering this stuff for 20 years. It was daunting to go through all the material but even the middling clips were so inspiring. And the ones we used I’m very thrilled with. There were a number of gospel shows around the country. We got a lot from “TV Gospel Time” and some from “Jubilee,” a show out of Chicago. Joe is so determined and so interested that he wanted to see everything. And that means we got to use clips that had never been exhibited. We think of the beginning of movies with sound as “The Jazz Singer” in 1927. But we found one clip that pre-dates that, from 1922. And after “The Jazz Singer” all these newsreel crews went out to make sound films. About 30 minutes into our movie we have five or six clips of footage almost 90 years old that had never been edited before. There was a lot of archeology going on!

One of my favorite parts of the movie was tracing the way that gospel and pop and rock music influenced and enriched each other, sometimes uneasily.

One of the great things about gospel music was the way they took the whole concept of the barbershop quartet and twisted it and changed it around so much that it became this very elaborate, fascinating kind of music. As much as I love all of the quartets we have in the film, like the Dixie Hummingbirds and the Golden Gate Quartet, I think it’s fair to say they’re kind of unthinkable without the Mills Brothers. There’s this back and forth feeding of gospel into pop and vice versa.

And you show the influence gospel and folk had with each other, with Bob Dylan a big fan of the Staples Singers and performing with them.

It’s conscious music and it was a good time for both of them to sing those songs. That was a great meeting point. I’m a Minnesotan, too, an Irish Catholic boy, up there isolated in the frozen north, so it is heartening to me that Dylan, also from Minnesota, was listening to the Staples. We feel so isolated but that doesn’t mean we can’t find the world somehow.

How would you describe the importance of gospel in the African-American churches?

When you go to a Baptist church, it’s very similar to my experience in a Catholic church, but there’s more going on. You have the sermons, and the collections, and music. In gospel you feel that there’s this commitment for the daily experience. People say, “I go to church at nine and get home about six.” And it’s never boring! It’s a blast. It’s also like the newspaper of the community, to find out what is going on with everyone, what this meant morally and ethically, of course frequently referring back to the Bible.

Does the experience of singing gospel music bring the singer closer to God? Is it a form of prayer?

That’s maybe the point of my movie. In order for these people to sing so beautifully, having this religious and emotional and spiritual connection to the music brings it really to life. It’s inescapable. There were two things that were important to me. One was that this is a music movie so let’s have full performances of the songs. And these people are really religious, so let’s talk about what God and church mean to them. They’re artists who are expressing themselves because of how they feel about these subjects.

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Directors Interview