Hello and welcome to the Scene 2 Seen podcast season 2! I am your host Valerie Complex.
I had planned to take a 6 week hiatus from the podcast in order to plan the next season but ended up being gone for three months. Unfortunately, I had a family tragedy I had to deal with and It took me some time to regroup. Now we’re back in business with guest Teyana Taylor and A.V. Rockwell, star and director of Focus Feature film A Thousand and One which is now available on Peacock TV and Prime Video streaming platforms.
Rockwell is an award-winning screenwriter and director. Named as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” her distinctive voice has been celebrated for slyly addressing issues of race, identity and systemic oppression. Rockwell’s debut feature film, A Thousand and One, was written and directed for Focus Features.
I had planned to take a 6 week hiatus from the podcast in order to plan the next season but ended up being gone for three months. Unfortunately, I had a family tragedy I had to deal with and It took me some time to regroup. Now we’re back in business with guest Teyana Taylor and A.V. Rockwell, star and director of Focus Feature film A Thousand and One which is now available on Peacock TV and Prime Video streaming platforms.
Rockwell is an award-winning screenwriter and director. Named as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” her distinctive voice has been celebrated for slyly addressing issues of race, identity and systemic oppression. Rockwell’s debut feature film, A Thousand and One, was written and directed for Focus Features.
- 6/2/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
As an increasingly vaccinated New York lifts virtually all of its Covid-19 restrictions, there’s a turf war brewing between New York City productions and
restaurants, with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment caught in the crossfire. Just ask Awkwafina.
“The most challenging — but thrilling — part of filming in New York, both pre- and post-pandemic, is that you really have no idea what will happen at any given time, or who will be very pissed off that you’re shooting on their block,” jokes the star and exec producer of Comedy Central/HBO Max’s “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens,” now filming its second season.
Without a doubt, NYC production has been on a rollercoaster ride. It was at an all-time high just before the pandemic, generating more than $60 billion in direct economic activity and $3 billion in tax revenue for the city. Yet the number of productions...
restaurants, with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment caught in the crossfire. Just ask Awkwafina.
“The most challenging — but thrilling — part of filming in New York, both pre- and post-pandemic, is that you really have no idea what will happen at any given time, or who will be very pissed off that you’re shooting on their block,” jokes the star and exec producer of Comedy Central/HBO Max’s “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens,” now filming its second season.
Without a doubt, NYC production has been on a rollercoaster ride. It was at an all-time high just before the pandemic, generating more than $60 billion in direct economic activity and $3 billion in tax revenue for the city. Yet the number of productions...
- 7/1/2021
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety Film + TV
This past summer, Daily Dead had the opportunity to head out to New Orleans to visit the set of The Purge television series (you can read our two-part reports on what we learned Here and Here), which is currently airing on the USA Network every Tuesday night at 10:00pm Est. While we were able to divulge most of our activities on the set visit previously, there was one set in particular that we had to keep under wraps until now: the “Carnival of Flesh,” which fans will get a chance to experience tonight. And it was just as badass as it sounds.
Production designer Sharon Lomofsky gave us a grand tour of the provocative locale, breaking down how each area of the “Carnival of Flesh” allows characters on The Purge to live out some of their disturbing fantasies in a myriad of ways. As we walked through the different areas,...
Production designer Sharon Lomofsky gave us a grand tour of the provocative locale, breaking down how each area of the “Carnival of Flesh” allows characters on The Purge to live out some of their disturbing fantasies in a myriad of ways. As we walked through the different areas,...
- 9/25/2018
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
A few months ago, this writer had the opportunity to head down to New Orleans for a set visit being held for the upcoming television event series centered on the world of The Purge, bringing the franchise’s relevant and thought-provoking socio-political themes to the small screen for a ten-episode run that begins on Tuesday, September 4th on the USA Network.
During our time there, we had the chance to tour several of the show’s sets and spoke with The Purge executive producer and showrunner Thomas Kelly, production designer Sharon Lomofsky, costume and mask designer Lauren Bott, as well as numerous cast members, including Colin Woodell, Amanda Johnson, Lee Tergesen, Lili Simmons, and Hannah Emily Anderson.
In the first part of our report, we heard from Kelly, Bott, and Lomofsky about the grander opportunities to explore the world of The Purge in this new series, which includes being able...
During our time there, we had the chance to tour several of the show’s sets and spoke with The Purge executive producer and showrunner Thomas Kelly, production designer Sharon Lomofsky, costume and mask designer Lauren Bott, as well as numerous cast members, including Colin Woodell, Amanda Johnson, Lee Tergesen, Lili Simmons, and Hannah Emily Anderson.
In the first part of our report, we heard from Kelly, Bott, and Lomofsky about the grander opportunities to explore the world of The Purge in this new series, which includes being able...
- 8/16/2018
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
A few months back, this writer had the opportunity to head down to New Orleans for a set visit being held for the upcoming television event series centered on the world of The Purge, bringing the franchise’s relevant and thought-provoking socio-political themes to the small screen for a ten-episode run that begins on Tuesday, September 4th. During our time there, we had the chance to tour several of the show’s sets and spoke with The Purge executive producer and showrunner Thomas Kelly, production designer Sharon Lomofsky, costume and mask designer Lauren Bott, as well as numerous cast members including Colin Woodell, Amanda Johnson, Lee Tergesen, Lili Simmons and Hannah Emily Anderson.
Thomas Kelly, who is no stranger to the world of television, discussed how the themes of the film series impacted his decision to come aboard The Purge, even if he didn’t have a great deal of genre expertise.
Thomas Kelly, who is no stranger to the world of television, discussed how the themes of the film series impacted his decision to come aboard The Purge, even if he didn’t have a great deal of genre expertise.
- 8/15/2018
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
By Terence Johnson
Managing Editor
A film as lost as it’s characters, Young Ones is what happens when big ideas meet terrible execution and a lackluster script, combining for a film that’s a chore to watch.
Young Ones is an epic film, a neowestern sci-fi film, spilt into chapters to show what happens when scarce resources force people to the breaking point. Ernest Holm (Michael Shannon) lives and works on the harsh frontier, delivering supplies to the workers on the water line with his son Jerome (Kodi Smit McPhee). Meanwhile at home his daughter Mary (Elle Fanning) is tired of the struggles and wants a better life, something presented to her in the form of Flem Lever (Nicholas Hoult). Unbeknownst to the clan, Lever has bigger designs than just Mary and longs to have Ernrest’s land for himself and to return it to it’s former glory.
Managing Editor
A film as lost as it’s characters, Young Ones is what happens when big ideas meet terrible execution and a lackluster script, combining for a film that’s a chore to watch.
Young Ones is an epic film, a neowestern sci-fi film, spilt into chapters to show what happens when scarce resources force people to the breaking point. Ernest Holm (Michael Shannon) lives and works on the harsh frontier, delivering supplies to the workers on the water line with his son Jerome (Kodi Smit McPhee). Meanwhile at home his daughter Mary (Elle Fanning) is tired of the struggles and wants a better life, something presented to her in the form of Flem Lever (Nicholas Hoult). Unbeknownst to the clan, Lever has bigger designs than just Mary and longs to have Ernrest’s land for himself and to return it to it’s former glory.
- 1/25/2014
- by Terence Johnson
- Scott Feinberg
This review was written for the theatrical release of "I Think I Love My Wife".In "I Think I Love My Wife", Chris Rock does something entirely unexpected. He isn't funny.
No doubt Rock -- who directed, co-wrote, co-produced and stars in the comedy -- is trying to stretch. He is not thoroughly convincing as a buppie, married with children, but you would feel much better about the role if his mischievous sense of humor had come along. When Edward Herrmann has the most amusing line, something is seriously wrong.
Playing a henpecked, straightforward investment banker unable to make any move whatsoever with a gorgeous and willing dream girl is not what Chris Rock's fan base will expect. Again, if he were funny, that might not matter. Because he is not, boxoffice for this Fox Searchlight release might suffer.
Rock insists that his film is based on the last film of Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales, "Chloe in the Afternoon", a French New Wave film made 35 years ago. Actually all he borrows is the premise: A happily married, bourgeois businessman daydreams about other women but has no intention of following through on any of these afternoon delights. Then an old friend, a former girlfriend of a buddy from the past, drops by his office with seduction on her mind.
There are a couple of odds things even about how the premise develops in this movie, however. For one, if Rock's Richard Cooper is as happily married as he says he is, why does wife Brenda (Gina Torres) refuse to have sex with him, and why is the couple in therapy? Also, what kind of "old friend" is Kerry Washington's Nikki? When Richard was sowing his wild oats as a young man in his 20s, Nikki would have been in junior high.
But never mind the details; let's go looking for laughs.
After re-entering his life, Nikki appears at Richard's office at all hours in outfits more appropriate for nightclubbing. Before you know it, he goes AWOL on clients and associates as Nikki leads him around town by his, um, nose. But they remain just friends. So far, all situation no comedy.
One night, Nikki persuades Richard to slip away from home for a rendezvous at a nightclub. She never turns up, and he gets stoned with a couple of salesgirls. No yucks here.
Another time, Nikki forces Richard to accompany her on a shuttle flight to D.C. to sneak her things out of the apartment of a soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. The boyfriend arrives home unexpectedly, smacks Richard around, the police arrive, and shots are fired. No laughs here. Worse, there are no repercussions: Richard and Nikki slip out the door without the police noticing they fled the scene.
The sole dramatic tension in the story stems from the will-they-or-won't-they question that hovers over the Richard-Nikki relationship. Few are going to care as character motivation is seriously lacking in a script Rock wrote with Louis C.K.
Why don't the married couple have sex? Brenda seems to love her man, and she certainly fights to keep him. Why after all these years does Nikki turn up? She seems to have nothing more on her mind than playing him for all he's worth. For that matter, why does Richard seem terrified of all women, even his secretary?
The script could have developed genuine inner conflict in its hero -- a family man devoted to his young children but with a frigid wife and possibly a hot mistress -- but never does. All of which leaves the three main actors playing very tentative characters. There is clarity with two of Rock's office comrades: Steve Buscemi as a womanizing married man and Herrmann as a stuffy boss. But these fine character actors are wasted on such lightweight roles.
As a director, Rock has little visual flair, so the film looks clumsy and stilted. Solid location work in and around New York does give designer Sharon Lomofsky something to work with while Suzanne McCabe has fun with all the revealing and stylish costumes for Washington.
I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE
Fox Searchlight
Fox Searchlight and UTV Motion Pictures present a Zahrlo production
Credits:
Director: Chris Rock
Screenwriters: Chris Rock, Louis C.K.
Based on a film by: Eric Rohmer
Producers: Chris Rock, Lisa Stewart
Executive producers: Adam Brightman, Ronnie Screwvala
Director of photography: William Rexer II
Production designer: Sharon Lomofsky
Music: Marcus Miller
Co-producer: Zarina Screwvala
Costume designer: Suzanne McCabe
Editor: Wendy Greene Bricmont
Cast:
Richard: Chris Rock
Nikki: Kerry Washington
Brenda: Gina Torres
George: Steve Buscemi
Mr. Landis: Edward Herrmann
Mary: Welker White
Running time -- 94 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
No doubt Rock -- who directed, co-wrote, co-produced and stars in the comedy -- is trying to stretch. He is not thoroughly convincing as a buppie, married with children, but you would feel much better about the role if his mischievous sense of humor had come along. When Edward Herrmann has the most amusing line, something is seriously wrong.
Playing a henpecked, straightforward investment banker unable to make any move whatsoever with a gorgeous and willing dream girl is not what Chris Rock's fan base will expect. Again, if he were funny, that might not matter. Because he is not, boxoffice for this Fox Searchlight release might suffer.
Rock insists that his film is based on the last film of Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales, "Chloe in the Afternoon", a French New Wave film made 35 years ago. Actually all he borrows is the premise: A happily married, bourgeois businessman daydreams about other women but has no intention of following through on any of these afternoon delights. Then an old friend, a former girlfriend of a buddy from the past, drops by his office with seduction on her mind.
There are a couple of odds things even about how the premise develops in this movie, however. For one, if Rock's Richard Cooper is as happily married as he says he is, why does wife Brenda (Gina Torres) refuse to have sex with him, and why is the couple in therapy? Also, what kind of "old friend" is Kerry Washington's Nikki? When Richard was sowing his wild oats as a young man in his 20s, Nikki would have been in junior high.
But never mind the details; let's go looking for laughs.
After re-entering his life, Nikki appears at Richard's office at all hours in outfits more appropriate for nightclubbing. Before you know it, he goes AWOL on clients and associates as Nikki leads him around town by his, um, nose. But they remain just friends. So far, all situation no comedy.
One night, Nikki persuades Richard to slip away from home for a rendezvous at a nightclub. She never turns up, and he gets stoned with a couple of salesgirls. No yucks here.
Another time, Nikki forces Richard to accompany her on a shuttle flight to D.C. to sneak her things out of the apartment of a soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. The boyfriend arrives home unexpectedly, smacks Richard around, the police arrive, and shots are fired. No laughs here. Worse, there are no repercussions: Richard and Nikki slip out the door without the police noticing they fled the scene.
The sole dramatic tension in the story stems from the will-they-or-won't-they question that hovers over the Richard-Nikki relationship. Few are going to care as character motivation is seriously lacking in a script Rock wrote with Louis C.K.
Why don't the married couple have sex? Brenda seems to love her man, and she certainly fights to keep him. Why after all these years does Nikki turn up? She seems to have nothing more on her mind than playing him for all he's worth. For that matter, why does Richard seem terrified of all women, even his secretary?
The script could have developed genuine inner conflict in its hero -- a family man devoted to his young children but with a frigid wife and possibly a hot mistress -- but never does. All of which leaves the three main actors playing very tentative characters. There is clarity with two of Rock's office comrades: Steve Buscemi as a womanizing married man and Herrmann as a stuffy boss. But these fine character actors are wasted on such lightweight roles.
As a director, Rock has little visual flair, so the film looks clumsy and stilted. Solid location work in and around New York does give designer Sharon Lomofsky something to work with while Suzanne McCabe has fun with all the revealing and stylish costumes for Washington.
I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE
Fox Searchlight
Fox Searchlight and UTV Motion Pictures present a Zahrlo production
Credits:
Director: Chris Rock
Screenwriters: Chris Rock, Louis C.K.
Based on a film by: Eric Rohmer
Producers: Chris Rock, Lisa Stewart
Executive producers: Adam Brightman, Ronnie Screwvala
Director of photography: William Rexer II
Production designer: Sharon Lomofsky
Music: Marcus Miller
Co-producer: Zarina Screwvala
Costume designer: Suzanne McCabe
Editor: Wendy Greene Bricmont
Cast:
Richard: Chris Rock
Nikki: Kerry Washington
Brenda: Gina Torres
George: Steve Buscemi
Mr. Landis: Edward Herrmann
Mary: Welker White
Running time -- 94 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
British documentary filmmaker James Marsh has collaborated for his first narrative feature, "The King", with hot screenwriter Milo Addica ("Monster's Ball", "Birth") to create a horror story that is as pretty as a candy box but contains only poison.
The film is an accomplished piece of mischief making that directly confronts religious conviction, in this case Christian, with its worst nightmare: can you really forgive evil?
Beautifully shot and well acted, the film might well cause controversy among fundamentalist believers as a provocative allegory challenging the power of faith. The film's boxoffice future will test its marketing team. The success of this film, which deals entirely with the nature of belief, will depend, however, upon audiences being willing to disbelieve.
The story has biblical overtones as a young man named Elvis Sandow (Gael Garcia Bernal) takes an honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy after three years and tells shipmates he is going home.
Elvis heads directly to Corpus Christi, Texas, where he seeks out Pastor David Sandow (William Hurt) and claims to be his son, the result of an encounter with a now dead Mexican woman. The pastor, who runs a successful Christian center involving a church and a school, immediately spurns the young man, explaining that he has a new family now, and the episode with his mother occurred before he had found Jesus.
Elvis, however, encounters the Pastor's 16-year-old daughter Malerie (Pell James), who doesn't know of his relationship to her father, and they fall in love, which presents any number of problems. Late one night, Malerie's Bible-student brother Paul (Matthew Buckley) observes Elvis leaving their house and follows him. Paul confronts Elvis, saying he will tell the pastor who will ensure the lovers will never meet again.
In a completely unexpected outburst of anger, Elvis stabs the boy and kills him. In an apparent state of shock, the sailor cleans up everything and dumps the body in a remote lake, returning the boy's car to his home.
The pastor and his family react to their son's disappearance as Christians might, praying and fasting. As it becomes apparent that Paul is unlikely to return, however, their faith is shaken to its core. As the secret love affair between Elvis and Malerie continues, the pastor has a change of heart and welcomes the young man into his home as a lost son.
Marsh and Addica infuse the remainder of the story with growing dread as the sweet-faced prodigal son and the stern and powerful minister appear on a collision course.
Bernal plays the young Elvis with great conviction, his handsome features masking a steely determination, and Hurt is masterful as a wastrel turned minister possessed of a sturdy but tempestuous belief.
The film benefits hugely from inspired work by cinematographer Eigil Bryld, production designer Sharon Lomofsky and composer Max Avery Lichtenstein.
THE KING
ContentFilm
Credits: Director: James Marsh; Screenwriters: Milo Addica, James Marsh; Producers: Milo Addica, James Wilson; Executive producers: Edward R. Pressman, John Schmidt, Sofia Sondervan; Cinematographer: Eigil Brylde; Production designer: Sharon Lomofsky; Editor: Jinx Godfrey; Composer: Max Avery Lichtenstein. Cast: Elvis Sandow: Gael Garcia Bernal; Pastor David Sandow: William Hurt; Malerie Sandow: Pell James; Twyla Sandow: Laura Harring; Paul Sandow: Paul Dano.
No MPAA rating, running time 105 minutes...
The film is an accomplished piece of mischief making that directly confronts religious conviction, in this case Christian, with its worst nightmare: can you really forgive evil?
Beautifully shot and well acted, the film might well cause controversy among fundamentalist believers as a provocative allegory challenging the power of faith. The film's boxoffice future will test its marketing team. The success of this film, which deals entirely with the nature of belief, will depend, however, upon audiences being willing to disbelieve.
The story has biblical overtones as a young man named Elvis Sandow (Gael Garcia Bernal) takes an honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy after three years and tells shipmates he is going home.
Elvis heads directly to Corpus Christi, Texas, where he seeks out Pastor David Sandow (William Hurt) and claims to be his son, the result of an encounter with a now dead Mexican woman. The pastor, who runs a successful Christian center involving a church and a school, immediately spurns the young man, explaining that he has a new family now, and the episode with his mother occurred before he had found Jesus.
Elvis, however, encounters the Pastor's 16-year-old daughter Malerie (Pell James), who doesn't know of his relationship to her father, and they fall in love, which presents any number of problems. Late one night, Malerie's Bible-student brother Paul (Matthew Buckley) observes Elvis leaving their house and follows him. Paul confronts Elvis, saying he will tell the pastor who will ensure the lovers will never meet again.
In a completely unexpected outburst of anger, Elvis stabs the boy and kills him. In an apparent state of shock, the sailor cleans up everything and dumps the body in a remote lake, returning the boy's car to his home.
The pastor and his family react to their son's disappearance as Christians might, praying and fasting. As it becomes apparent that Paul is unlikely to return, however, their faith is shaken to its core. As the secret love affair between Elvis and Malerie continues, the pastor has a change of heart and welcomes the young man into his home as a lost son.
Marsh and Addica infuse the remainder of the story with growing dread as the sweet-faced prodigal son and the stern and powerful minister appear on a collision course.
Bernal plays the young Elvis with great conviction, his handsome features masking a steely determination, and Hurt is masterful as a wastrel turned minister possessed of a sturdy but tempestuous belief.
The film benefits hugely from inspired work by cinematographer Eigil Bryld, production designer Sharon Lomofsky and composer Max Avery Lichtenstein.
THE KING
ContentFilm
Credits: Director: James Marsh; Screenwriters: Milo Addica, James Marsh; Producers: Milo Addica, James Wilson; Executive producers: Edward R. Pressman, John Schmidt, Sofia Sondervan; Cinematographer: Eigil Brylde; Production designer: Sharon Lomofsky; Editor: Jinx Godfrey; Composer: Max Avery Lichtenstein. Cast: Elvis Sandow: Gael Garcia Bernal; Pastor David Sandow: William Hurt; Malerie Sandow: Pell James; Twyla Sandow: Laura Harring; Paul Sandow: Paul Dano.
No MPAA rating, running time 105 minutes...
- 5/17/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screened at the Venice International Film Festival
VENICE, Italy -- There are a lot of fine literary quotes in "A Love Song for Bobby Long", from Dylan Thomas to George Sand to T.S. Eliot, but it's one from Robert Frost that best sums up the film's appeal: "Happiness makes up in height what it lacks in length." This may not be a big picture, but its pleasures will linger long.
The film will benefit from smart promotion and the loyalty of Travolta fans, and should gain support from audiences who wish to see the latest in a growing list of astonishing performances by the hot young actress Scarlett Johansson ("Lost in Translation", "Girl With a Pearl Earring").
First-time director Shainee Gabel, working from her own script inspired by the novel "Off East Magazine St". by R.E. Capps, has pulled off a remarkable feat in creating a community of characters reminiscent of an early Steinbeck novel. These are people who travel through life like bruised fruit but who always cling to the promise of a fresh harvest.
Travolta takes on a genuine character role in Bobby Long, a dissolute former professor of literature who shares a run-down New Orleans home with a clever but self-doubting young writer named Lawson, played with bright intelligence by Gabriel Macht. In their household, any liquid found in a jar that doesn't smell is a good enough mixer for vodka, while beer and tomato juice is the breakfast of champions.
The film opens following the death of a singer named Lorraine Will, who was adored by even those she abandoned, which was pretty much everybody including a daughter, Purslane (Johansson). When Pursy shows up two days late for her mother's funeral, she discovers that she owns one-third of the house Bobby and Lawson reside in, left to them by Lorraine. Perversely, she moves in.
It's obvious to Purslane, and the audience, that there is more to the story of Bobby and Lawson than meets the eye, but her interest is in finding out about a mother who abandoned her but whom everyone speaks of with affection. As she begins to have a cleansing effect on the misbehavior of the two men, a sense of family develops. While the plot doesn't hold too many surprises, it does play out satisfyingly as mysteries are revealed.
Travolta is gray-haired, unshaven and a bit stooped, but his grizzled and booze-soaked intellect can bring the poets readily to mind and he can still charm the local waitresses with a smiling "Cheese on our grits, darlin', please." Although Bobby has a damaged toe, Travolta even gets to dance a sedate Alabama shuffle.
Johansson is a study in naturalistic acting with her Florida panhandle accent pitch perfect and her ability to convey tough-mindedness and vulnerability, not to mention that the camera adores her.
The film benefits hugely from atmospheric production design by Sharon Lomofsky, which cinematographer Elliot Davis has shot beautifully. There is also a masterful soundtrack with an insightful score by Nathan Larson and a killer set of tracks from music supervisor Jim Black.
A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG
Presented by Columbia TriStar and El Camino Pictures
Credits:
Director and screenwriter: Shainee Gabel
Producers: Paul Miller, David Lancaster, Bob Yari
Director of photography: Elliot Davis
Production supervisor: Sharon Lomofsky
Costume designer: Jill Ohanneson (cq)
Editors: Lee Percy, Lisa Fruchtman
Composer: Nathan Larson
Cast:
Bobby Long: John Travolta
Purslane: Scarlett Johansson
Lawson: Gabriel Macht
Georgianna: Deborah Kara Unger
Cecil: Dane Rhodes
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 119 mins...
VENICE, Italy -- There are a lot of fine literary quotes in "A Love Song for Bobby Long", from Dylan Thomas to George Sand to T.S. Eliot, but it's one from Robert Frost that best sums up the film's appeal: "Happiness makes up in height what it lacks in length." This may not be a big picture, but its pleasures will linger long.
The film will benefit from smart promotion and the loyalty of Travolta fans, and should gain support from audiences who wish to see the latest in a growing list of astonishing performances by the hot young actress Scarlett Johansson ("Lost in Translation", "Girl With a Pearl Earring").
First-time director Shainee Gabel, working from her own script inspired by the novel "Off East Magazine St". by R.E. Capps, has pulled off a remarkable feat in creating a community of characters reminiscent of an early Steinbeck novel. These are people who travel through life like bruised fruit but who always cling to the promise of a fresh harvest.
Travolta takes on a genuine character role in Bobby Long, a dissolute former professor of literature who shares a run-down New Orleans home with a clever but self-doubting young writer named Lawson, played with bright intelligence by Gabriel Macht. In their household, any liquid found in a jar that doesn't smell is a good enough mixer for vodka, while beer and tomato juice is the breakfast of champions.
The film opens following the death of a singer named Lorraine Will, who was adored by even those she abandoned, which was pretty much everybody including a daughter, Purslane (Johansson). When Pursy shows up two days late for her mother's funeral, she discovers that she owns one-third of the house Bobby and Lawson reside in, left to them by Lorraine. Perversely, she moves in.
It's obvious to Purslane, and the audience, that there is more to the story of Bobby and Lawson than meets the eye, but her interest is in finding out about a mother who abandoned her but whom everyone speaks of with affection. As she begins to have a cleansing effect on the misbehavior of the two men, a sense of family develops. While the plot doesn't hold too many surprises, it does play out satisfyingly as mysteries are revealed.
Travolta is gray-haired, unshaven and a bit stooped, but his grizzled and booze-soaked intellect can bring the poets readily to mind and he can still charm the local waitresses with a smiling "Cheese on our grits, darlin', please." Although Bobby has a damaged toe, Travolta even gets to dance a sedate Alabama shuffle.
Johansson is a study in naturalistic acting with her Florida panhandle accent pitch perfect and her ability to convey tough-mindedness and vulnerability, not to mention that the camera adores her.
The film benefits hugely from atmospheric production design by Sharon Lomofsky, which cinematographer Elliot Davis has shot beautifully. There is also a masterful soundtrack with an insightful score by Nathan Larson and a killer set of tracks from music supervisor Jim Black.
A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG
Presented by Columbia TriStar and El Camino Pictures
Credits:
Director and screenwriter: Shainee Gabel
Producers: Paul Miller, David Lancaster, Bob Yari
Director of photography: Elliot Davis
Production supervisor: Sharon Lomofsky
Costume designer: Jill Ohanneson (cq)
Editors: Lee Percy, Lisa Fruchtman
Composer: Nathan Larson
Cast:
Bobby Long: John Travolta
Purslane: Scarlett Johansson
Lawson: Gabriel Macht
Georgianna: Deborah Kara Unger
Cecil: Dane Rhodes
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 119 mins...
- 1/13/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
There's more veers than cheers in this bar-world set comedy about modern relationships that, if it were a drink, would be decidedly on the lite side. A talented cast -- Eric Stoltz, Charles Durning, Peter Riegert, Daryl Hannah -- can't overcome the diluted scenario and predictable histrionics of this Lions Gate Films serving. Theatrical and video outlooks look underwhelming.
Written and directed by Roger Hedden, whose canny comedic take on modern love percolated in such previous works as "Bodies, Rest & Motion," "Hi-Life" perambulates around the cloistered world of big-city bar life: The messy and transitional lives of bartenders, waitresses, actors and boozers intersect with ever-present bartime crises of muddled romance and no money.
In this curio, Stoltz stars as Jimmy, a self-absorbed, glib "actor" who is in hock to his bartender-bookie (Durning) for $900 for having an inflated estimation of the Fighting Irish's football abilities. Fearing bodily harm from his local goombah (Riegert), he concocts a ruse involving his sister in which he inveigles her kindhearted brother (Campbell Scott) into lending her the dough. Ray, however, doesn't have the kind of cash stashed, so he has to ambulate around to the area's watering holes, collecting small debts from his buddies, fellow bartenders and, most gratingly, from his ex-girlfriend (Hannah), a vainglorious beauty who dumped him for greener pastures.
Although this story mix has some tangy comedy and nicely blended characterizations, the narrative is a generally lackluster and noninvolving string of ever-escalating miscommunications and misunderstandings. None of the characters is particularly appealing -- even good guy Ray, whose methodical tenacity wears thin. Writer Hedden owes director Hedden a round of shooters: overall, the direction highlights telling details and is nicely grounded in characterizations. It's the humdrum plotting that makes this one a fizzle.
The talented cast adds gusto to the proceedings, with Stoltz providing an amusingly grating performance as the user actor, while Hannah does a nice turn as a manipulative playgirl. Riegert, not surprisingly, is terrific when revealing his character's screwy inconsistencies but it utterly unconvincing when projecting a tough-guy image.
Durning's surly growl is decidedly more intimidating than his soft bite and, in this role, he certainly doesn't bring the necessary element of fear to a convincing level. Scott is well-cast as a tightly controlled person who doesn't quite fit in with the mores and transitional ethics of his peers.
Under Hedden's insightful directorial eye, technical contributions are appropriately punchy, particularly art director Sharon Lomofsky's astutely selected bric-a-brac, illuminating succinctly the contrasts and curiosities of this subculture.
HI-LIFE
Lions Gate Films
Director-screenwriter: Roger Hedden
Producer: Erica Spellman-Silverman
Director of photography: John Thomas
Art director: Sharon Lomofsky
Editor: Tom McArdle
Music: David Lawrence
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jimmy: Eric Stoltz
Bookie-bartender: Charles Durning
Minor: Peter Riegert
Susan: Moira Kelly
Ray: Campbell Scott
Ex-girlfriend: Daryl Hannah
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Written and directed by Roger Hedden, whose canny comedic take on modern love percolated in such previous works as "Bodies, Rest & Motion," "Hi-Life" perambulates around the cloistered world of big-city bar life: The messy and transitional lives of bartenders, waitresses, actors and boozers intersect with ever-present bartime crises of muddled romance and no money.
In this curio, Stoltz stars as Jimmy, a self-absorbed, glib "actor" who is in hock to his bartender-bookie (Durning) for $900 for having an inflated estimation of the Fighting Irish's football abilities. Fearing bodily harm from his local goombah (Riegert), he concocts a ruse involving his sister in which he inveigles her kindhearted brother (Campbell Scott) into lending her the dough. Ray, however, doesn't have the kind of cash stashed, so he has to ambulate around to the area's watering holes, collecting small debts from his buddies, fellow bartenders and, most gratingly, from his ex-girlfriend (Hannah), a vainglorious beauty who dumped him for greener pastures.
Although this story mix has some tangy comedy and nicely blended characterizations, the narrative is a generally lackluster and noninvolving string of ever-escalating miscommunications and misunderstandings. None of the characters is particularly appealing -- even good guy Ray, whose methodical tenacity wears thin. Writer Hedden owes director Hedden a round of shooters: overall, the direction highlights telling details and is nicely grounded in characterizations. It's the humdrum plotting that makes this one a fizzle.
The talented cast adds gusto to the proceedings, with Stoltz providing an amusingly grating performance as the user actor, while Hannah does a nice turn as a manipulative playgirl. Riegert, not surprisingly, is terrific when revealing his character's screwy inconsistencies but it utterly unconvincing when projecting a tough-guy image.
Durning's surly growl is decidedly more intimidating than his soft bite and, in this role, he certainly doesn't bring the necessary element of fear to a convincing level. Scott is well-cast as a tightly controlled person who doesn't quite fit in with the mores and transitional ethics of his peers.
Under Hedden's insightful directorial eye, technical contributions are appropriately punchy, particularly art director Sharon Lomofsky's astutely selected bric-a-brac, illuminating succinctly the contrasts and curiosities of this subculture.
HI-LIFE
Lions Gate Films
Director-screenwriter: Roger Hedden
Producer: Erica Spellman-Silverman
Director of photography: John Thomas
Art director: Sharon Lomofsky
Editor: Tom McArdle
Music: David Lawrence
Color/stereo
Cast:
Jimmy: Eric Stoltz
Bookie-bartender: Charles Durning
Minor: Peter Riegert
Susan: Moira Kelly
Ray: Campbell Scott
Ex-girlfriend: Daryl Hannah
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/14/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
If you go to the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood and stroll around the kitchen section where all those metal refrigerators and icers and things are, you'll get a feel for "Claire Dolan", a frosty, modern work of filmic blue.
A character portrait of a modern-day call girl, Cannes film festival competition entry "Claire Dolan", scorched in arctic blues and chilly framings, is a mildly interesting but ultimately detached divertissement that will likely swing no more than a one-night stand on the art house circuit.
Katrin Cartlidge stars as Claire, a fashionable woman who has somehow run up a huge debt to her pimp (Colm Meaney). We're never told how this came to be -- she doesn't seem to have a drug habit, and she's methodical to such a degree we can't imagine her not balancing her checkbook to the penny.
In her late 30s, Claire's feeling the pressure from some sort of psychological clock and has decided to quit the trade and have a child. With those goals in mind, she increases her caseload, as it were, doing johns with the fierce determination of a chiropractor who schedules overlapping appointments. Not surprisingly, the erotic portion of this film is negligible -- the sex is about as stirring as the demonstration of a newfangled ice maker -- and writer-director Lodge Kerrigan never gets far beneath Claire's surface. As such, "Claire Dolan" is not much more than a tease.
As the titular character, Cartlidge's piercing eyes and steely demeanor never deviate from a one-note performance. As far as we get to know Claire, all we can determine is that she's terminally snippy and, alas, very shallow.
The only flesh-and-blood performance in the film is Vincent D'Onofrio's sharp turn as a frustrated cabbie who tries to connect with Claire. Meaney is, well, a solid meanie as Claire's pimp, but the role is sorely underwritten and we know nothing about him other than he's manipulative and cruel.
Unfortunately, Kerrigan's direction is befitting more an appliance commercial than a human drama. While he evinces a luminously chilly tone -- thanks to the smart and sterile scopings of cinematographer Teodoro Maniaci and the edgy, modernistic production design of Sharon Lomofsky -- "Claire" is merely one frigid film.
CLAIRE DOLAN
MK2 Prods./Serene Films
Screenwriter-director: Lodge Kerrigan
Director of photography: Teodoro Maniaci
Production designer: Sharon Lomofsky
Music: Simon Fisher Turner
Editor: Kristina Boden
Color/stereo
Cast:
Claire Dolan: Katrin Cartlidge
Elton Garrett: Vincent D'Onofrio
Roland Cain: Colm Meaney
Cain's friend: John Doman
Running time -- 95 minutes
No MPAA rating...
A character portrait of a modern-day call girl, Cannes film festival competition entry "Claire Dolan", scorched in arctic blues and chilly framings, is a mildly interesting but ultimately detached divertissement that will likely swing no more than a one-night stand on the art house circuit.
Katrin Cartlidge stars as Claire, a fashionable woman who has somehow run up a huge debt to her pimp (Colm Meaney). We're never told how this came to be -- she doesn't seem to have a drug habit, and she's methodical to such a degree we can't imagine her not balancing her checkbook to the penny.
In her late 30s, Claire's feeling the pressure from some sort of psychological clock and has decided to quit the trade and have a child. With those goals in mind, she increases her caseload, as it were, doing johns with the fierce determination of a chiropractor who schedules overlapping appointments. Not surprisingly, the erotic portion of this film is negligible -- the sex is about as stirring as the demonstration of a newfangled ice maker -- and writer-director Lodge Kerrigan never gets far beneath Claire's surface. As such, "Claire Dolan" is not much more than a tease.
As the titular character, Cartlidge's piercing eyes and steely demeanor never deviate from a one-note performance. As far as we get to know Claire, all we can determine is that she's terminally snippy and, alas, very shallow.
The only flesh-and-blood performance in the film is Vincent D'Onofrio's sharp turn as a frustrated cabbie who tries to connect with Claire. Meaney is, well, a solid meanie as Claire's pimp, but the role is sorely underwritten and we know nothing about him other than he's manipulative and cruel.
Unfortunately, Kerrigan's direction is befitting more an appliance commercial than a human drama. While he evinces a luminously chilly tone -- thanks to the smart and sterile scopings of cinematographer Teodoro Maniaci and the edgy, modernistic production design of Sharon Lomofsky -- "Claire" is merely one frigid film.
CLAIRE DOLAN
MK2 Prods./Serene Films
Screenwriter-director: Lodge Kerrigan
Director of photography: Teodoro Maniaci
Production designer: Sharon Lomofsky
Music: Simon Fisher Turner
Editor: Kristina Boden
Color/stereo
Cast:
Claire Dolan: Katrin Cartlidge
Elton Garrett: Vincent D'Onofrio
Roland Cain: Colm Meaney
Cain's friend: John Doman
Running time -- 95 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 5/29/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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