"I saw a man, he danced on the breakwater." The prophet Elijah gets jiggy with it down on the lake front.
This is very old news, but the always informative and funny blog of Lynn Becker hipped me to the new section on Chicago in films that the brilliant folks who run Forgotten Chicago have started on their site, entitled Drama, Documentation and Discontinuity. As befits the subject of their blog, they concentrate on older films mostly from the “Daley I” drought years of the 50’s and 60’s.
Much like the rest of their work, the new section is a fascinating blend of historical info and trenchant meta-commentary. I was so inspired by their fine work that I finally rented Goldstein (1965), the first film by eclectic writer/director Philip Kaufman.
Although the film falters overall (as fabulous as Kaufman’s later work was, his debut project was an amateurish aping of French new wave film), the parts are greater than the whole and it functions as a valuable record of several important Chicago persons, places, and things (yes, a celebration of the noun!). Aside from the buildings and locations, Goldstein showcases some of the most talented actors and performers ever to call Chicago home, particularly those from the earliest days of Second City/Compass Players.
Some of the buildings not mentioned in Forgotten Chicago are:
Block 37 before it was razed, sat vacant for a few decades, and became home to the current monstrous structure that occupies the land.
Soldier Field- What a Spartan place it was back then! With nothing but uncomfortable looking bleachers ringing the inside of the classical coliseum.
A shot of the now-unused spotlight on top of the Palmolive Building blazing away (you can really see why residents of the John Hancock Building immediately put the kibosh on the lamp as they moved in just across the street.
An amusing chase sequence through a large sausage factory was also a treat.
As far as some of the amazing performers featured:
Del Close- One of the greatest improvisational gurus of all time and creator of the long form improvisational framework known as Harold, which revolutionized improvisation. Charna Halpern (and later Del himself) used it as the backbone of perhaps the most innovative and eclectic improv theater companies ever, the io. The long form also revitalized Second City when concepts central to it were integrated into main stage shows. Some time I’ll tell the story of how Del scared the utter living bejesus out of me when I was a young stand-up comic.
Viola Spolin- Those people whose young lives were rocked upon reading Improvisation For The Theater won’t need to ask who she is, everybody else needs to do some clicking. To sum it up, she conceived the first games and exercises that formed the foundation of what we know today as improvisation.
Nelson Algren- Yeah, that’s right, Nelson Freakin’ Algren. In all his brilliant prose writing, Simone De Beauvoir exciting resplendence. Right there in his authorial lair. Nelson tells a story whilst the camera pans around his apartment, lingering longingly over his array of nudie centerfolds scattered amidst the books, photos, and awards. The slow pan of Algren’s books is a valuable document in itself (I need to go back and freeze it again and jot all those titles down).
There also were quite a few other early SC alums in the film, including Severn Darden, Anthony Holland, and Jack Burns (from the comedy duo Burns and Shreiber).
Goldstein is a wonderful glimpse into many aspects of Chicago’s past. Just let it wash over you though, and don’t expect it to make any sense.
There are many shots of this man wandering through mid-1960's Chicago.
There's great fun to be had for the whole family at the Chicago Film Archives' Home Movie Day!
One of the newer film-related organizations in the city, the Chicago Film Archives has quickly grown into an important resource for all of the Midwest. Like many worthwhile non-profit endeavors, the Chicago Film Archives was created for a specific purpose, and then expanded its mission in order to fill a larger need. Started at the end of 2003 to save and preserve approximately 5,000 16 MM films that the Chicago Public Library was letting go, they originally set up shop in a donated space on LaSalle Street, but soon grew out of it. After a long search, they found their current home in a renovated industrial warehouse right on the river at 329 W 18th Street.
With climate controlled storage facilities, roomy freight elevators, and plenty of room to grow; the CFA almost immediately began looking to collect and preserve as many other old films as possible. Executive Director Nancy Watrous elaborates, “We started talking about the mission of the organization and what we should be doing, aside from just taking care of this collection from the CPL, and it quickly became clear to all of us that this part of the country needed a regional film archive. There simply was no existing place to take in, track, and try to save the films that represent [the heritage of] the Midwest. So slowly but surely we morphed into a regional film archive.” They worked out an expanded mission, “We take in films that either reflect in their content the Midwest, or that are made by Midwest filmmakers,” and other donated films began pouring in, expanding the collection to over 7,000 items.
A major part of the CFA’s mission is to select the rarest and/or most important films and submit grants on their behalf to the National Film Preservation Foundation for preservation as part of our national cultural heritage. Those films which receive grants are then sent to labs which specialize in restoration and preservation of old films.
One of the most fascinating and unexpected aspects of the CFA’s mission is the collecting of home movies, which are considered by film archivists and a growing segment of the public to be an important part of our shared cultural heritage. This has led to a fascinating outreach activity known as “Home Movie Day”, where CFA technicians and archivists set up inside a location (such as the Chicago Cultural Center) for a day long celebration of home movies. During the afternoon, interested persons may bring in their old home movies for inspection and evaluation by professionals and/or to donate films to the archive (they can also arrange to make use of the CFA’s transfer and repair services, which are done for a fee). Then later that night, the movies that are most interesting or in the best condition are then shown to large crowds which gather for a taste of Midwestern home (movie) cooking.
Which brings us to the fact that the CFA is sponsoring another Home Movie Day on Saturday, October 17 at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E Washington Street (Michigan Avenue between Washington and Randolph across from Millennium Park).
3:00pm to 6:00pm:
Interested persons can check in their films and make an appointment to meet with a CFA archivist who will inspect their film and talk about home movie care.
6:00pm to 9:00pm
Those who brought in films can see their home movies up on the big screen in front of a live audience! David Drazin (a noted silent film musical accompanist who is also interviewed in Hollywood On Lake Michigan, 2nd Edition) will be playing piano behind the films for the full “movie palace effect.” (Which will really provide a dramatic context for that footage of Uncle Morty passing out in his mashed potatoes during Thanksgiving Dinner in 1961).
From those who bring in their footage, to the curators and experts who evaluate it, to the folks who just come to enjoy the screening in the evening; Home Movie Day is great fun for all involved. And it’s completely free!!! [although people can arrange for paid services to restore their damaged treasures]
For more information or to schedule an appointment with a CFA archivist call 773-478-3799 or 312-243-1808. Ask for Anne or Nancy.
Special Effects Coordinator John Milinac's face may not be familiar, but if you are a moviegoer, you've seen and enjoyed his work many times. (Photo by Michele Wiesler.)
When I began my research for Hollywood On Lake Michigan, 2nd Edition and was looking for local industry people to interview, one of my biggest priorities was to find a special effects person to speak with. Lucky for me, I was able to find one of the best in the business, John Milinac.
Born and raised in rural McHenry county in Northeastern Illinois, John was always interested in making home movies and “little story lines” with the neighborhood kids using his parent’s 8mm camera. He got super 8 sound camera when he graduated from High School in 1978 and “it ratcheted up a little more.” All the while, he was trying to figure out an entree to the real film industry.
He and his brother tracked down the production crew of the Blues Brothers (1980), which was filming a stunt scene in Wauconda, and visited the set. “We managed to infiltrate the set close enough to start talking to people and figure out how to approach getting into the film industry, and it seemed like a pretty big task at the time.” Milinac never gave up on his dream, however, and the itch to make movies just grew too intense. This led to him moving out to Los Angeles several years later, “I knew there was a ‘Stunts Unlimited’ company and just guessing I thought there’d be a ‘Special Effects Unlimited’ Company and there was. That turned out to be owned by legendary Hollywood effects man Joe Lombardi (Apocalypse Now, The Godfather).
“I started making a contact with that company and talking to their general manager and over the next few years just became one of their nuisance phone calls.” They finally relented and hired John as an entry level employee and he moved out to Los Angeles in 1985. He worked for Special Effects Unlimited until his son was born in 1989. John and his wife decided that LA wouldn’t be the best place to raise a family, so they moved back to Northern Illinois and bought a home. Illinois was still an infrequent site for movie making, however, and John had resigned himself to the fact that his career in film production might be coming to an end.
That all changed when Ron Howard’s multi-million dollar special effects laden production, Backdraft (1991), started filming in several locations around Chicago. Milinac knew the special effects crew, and was hired immediately. Backdraft was the first of a new wave of films to be shot in Chicago, and John soon realized he might be able to return home to his rural roots, yet still work in the movie business. “I just had to approach the industry a little bit differently than if we’d stayed in Los Angeles.”
The experience that he gained working out west proved invaluable to Milinac as he was able to work his way into the local film unions and become a mainstay of the Chicago/Midwest crew scene. He’s now a top tier special effects coordinator, having worked in various capacities on over 50 films in the last 25 plus years; including Next Of Kin (1989), Dennis The Menace (1993), The Relic (1997), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), The Negotiator (1998), A Simple Plan (1998), Stir Of Echoes (1999), Road To Perdition (2002), 8 Mile (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), The Weather Man (2005), The Break Up (2006), The Lake House (2006), The Express (2008), Wanted (2008), and The Unborn (2009). He also worked on several television shows, including Prison Break (1994) and The Beast (2009).
The fluttering feathers at the end of Stir of Echoes, the frosty with the spoon on Nicholas Cage’s jacket in The Weatherman, the intense battle scenes in The Last Samurai (he assisted on that film), the driving rainstorm during the climactic shootout in Road To Perdition, the big cemetery shootout in Next Of Kin, and untold scenes of terror and mayhem in a slew of horror pictures; John’s work (both big and subtle effects) has been an integral part of many of the coolest films of the last three decades.
He graciously has given several hours of his time to discuss his work and career with me over the last year, but you’ll have to get a copy of Hollywood On Lake Michigan, 2nd Edition to find out more! We’re only here to talk about his most recent work, particularly on The Unborn. [Yeah, I know I'm a tease. But I've got to move some units and I can't be giving it all away.]
Much of the work of a mechanical special effects coordinator is preparation for contingencies that never occur; certain effects may be called for in the script that turn out to be too expensive for the budget, or the script changes and the effect is eliminated, or the effect itself is changed. On the other hand, John always has to be prepared to efficiently, safely, and inexpensively create effects on the fly which were never discussed. Perhaps the location where the scene occurs changes and they have to scramble to replicate the original effect under totally new conditions, or a new scene is written that calls for something completely different, or one of the other departments needs a rig made for one of their effects (John’s department also functions as the on set mechanics for anything that breaks down and “R and D” for any new devices or rigging needed by the lighting, electrical or any other crew on set). It is a constant process of improvisation and creative problem solving.
For The Unborn there was much preparation for more slime effects in an attempt to create an otherworldly feeling, “We had spent a lot of our earliest pre-production time coming up with a lot of interesting slime effects- oozing from the floor, coming up from the toilet, or cracks in the walls– there were several pages in the script where it was a torrent of this stuff coming down stairwells, going backwards up walls-things of that nature. We did a lot of test shooting, some of it worked well, some of it didn’t.” Unfortunately, all of the nightmarish scenes featuring Odette Yustman (who played the protagonist of the film) wandering endless hallways oozing with slime “like the bowels of hell” had to be cut for budgetary reasons and the slime was really only brought out in one scene.
It boiled down to where the most economical place to use the “ectoplasmic” effects was in the scene in the nightclub bathroom. That’s where a full onslaught of slime and bugs and creatures coming through the walls occurred. John and cohorts designed and created a special set which contained breakaway walls and hidden slime faucets and drains. “That was a pretty interactive set for a couple days; with sliming, and oozing, and mopping it up, and resetting it, recovering it. It [the slime] was basically just water and Methocel (a food additive used in shakes and a disturbing array of other food products) and caramel color, just trying to go for a putrid look, but something we could create a lot of. We probably had about 50 or 60 gallons and we just pumped it wherever we needed it.”
Some Other Effects On The Unborn:
Upside-Down-Headed Crab Crawling Guy- John and the mechanical effects department were able to sit this one out. They had made tentative preparations for a trolley rig in case the person hired for the effect needed the support, but he was a professional contortionist and proved to be so talented that nothing was needed. Just a mask made to give the upside down head illusion and him crab crawling in various ways- reversed and speed altered. Turned out to be a very creepy effect for little money. “The less you see it the more upsetting it is, because you don’t really know what is up with that guy.”
Demon Possessed Kid Gets Thwunked By Car: Was staged in reverse order, “with the car and the kid right next to each other” and then the film was run backwards with an immediate cut to a stunt player (with a very slight build) bouncing off the breakaway glass windshield. Ended up looking very realistic and really gave a nice quick scare.
Demon Boy In The Medicine Cabinet Effect- It’s a staple of horror films, but is always effective if done properly (as it was here). A special medicine cabinet was made and fitted with the twisted writhing limbs and other creepy stuff, along with a small place for the kid who plays the demon boy to put his face, “kind of like those placards where you stick your face through the cardboard and have your picture taken.” Odette opens the cabinet, and PRESTO!!! Mutilated demon boy! Now where did those Band Aids get to?
Bug In The Egg Effect: This was perhaps my favorite effect in the film (it made me jump out of my skin) although it was very quick and kind of low key for a horror film. Odette is cooking breakfast and cracks an egg into a skillet when a large and creepy bug emerges from the burbling egg and races away. “I had a lot of fun with that trick,” recalls Milinac. Basically, he took an egg, drilled a hole in it and blew it out so it was hollow, “like you did in grade school,” then carefully cracked it open, inserted the bug with a bit of egg white, and sealed it up with a temporary patch and a little bit of wax. The actress was then instructed how to hold and crack the egg into the pan for maximum effect.
For the “cooking” part, he got a skillet and modified it by drilling tiny invisible holes in it, then ran air through those holes to give the illusion of cooking when the egg hits it. They did several takes with the egg being cracked into the pan and the bug scurrying around. Then the insect wrangler would grab the bug and clean it off (with the ever-present Humane Society observer to make sure the bug wasn’t mistreated) and they would start again with a new egg.
The bug itself was called a Potato Bug. “It didn’t bite, but was very obnoxious, thorny and prickly and difficult to handle, kind of like an aggressive grasshopper.” There is an entire industry of people who provide various critters for movie scenes. Since bugs can’t really be trained, the wrangler will have an entire array of various insects for each task required “this one’s a good runner, this one likes to stay still, this one crawls real slow” and use them accordingly.
All-in-all the effects went extremely well on The Unborn and the movie was well received by audiences. There has been no official talk of a sequel to the film, but as John mentions “it does have the classic ending that could move into a sequel.” If the amount of searches I see on my web stats for this site that ask “will there be an Unborn 2?” (not to mention all the searches for “Odette Yustman in her underwear”) are any indication, we should definitely be seeing a sequel in the near future.
While I had John on the line, I questioned him about a few other things; the first one being his thoughts on the remake of Nightmare On Elm Street which had recently wrapped shooting. There wasn’t a lot he could say about it, there being a rather strict understanding of confidentiality about unreleased films in the FX code of ethics (often enforced by legal documents signed by the crew beforehand); but he did volunteer that, from his perspective, this re-imagining of the Freddy Krueger mythos will be much more dark and serious than the original franchise, without the tongue-in-cheek campyness that Robert Englund brought to the role. This darker version has apparently gone over quite well in some early tests and the filmmakers are “very excited” about its prospects.
I also asked John about any memories or impressions of the recently and untimely departed John Hughes, since Milinac had worked on several films that Hughes had produced and/or written (Baby’s Day Out, Dennis The Menace, Miracle On 34th Street, Home Alone 3). While Milinac had very little personal interaction with Hughes, the impression that he got from the reclusive producer was that his favorite thing in the world was to be on a movie set (which makes his retreat from directing even more curious).
John and I discussed a few other items, but this post just passed 2000 words and needs to be brought to a merciful end. Look for other posts about him in the future, as he is very forthcoming about his craft and is generous with his time (when he has any, that is).
Learn more about John Milinac (and several other Chicago film production luminaries) in Hollywood On Lake Michigan, 2nd Edition, which is now available for preorder on Amazon.com and is slated for a November release (just in time for Holiday giving!).
Those among you who have followed the site from the beginning (both of you) may remember that I promised to get veteran special effects coordinator John Milinac to dish on how he and his crew achieved some of the creepy effects in The Unborn, as well as imparting his knowledge on some other matters.
Well, I was finally able to connect with the (incredibly busy) man and will be transcribing our talk and putting together a post in a few weeks. So this is your last chance to run down a copy of the film and give it a look see before I spoil everything by revealing “the tricks behind the tricks.”
There have been many instances where great composers were not the best conductors. The Book of Musical Knowledge (Arthur Elson- 1915) opines as such: “In general, composers make poor conductors… To begin with, composers are seldom broad enough to judge the music of all others properly…Then, too, many composers lack the needed executive ability. When conducting, they are apt to listen dreamily to the music instead of guiding it.”
Even the great Beethoven was apparently a mere mortal when conducting, even his own brilliant works; “Beethoven knew the instruments well, but was not really a good conductor. Later on, when he became deaf, he still continued to lead; but the results were so bad that finally the musicians agreed to follow the first violinist, and disregard Beethoven’s irregular motions.”
Something similar to this phenomenon is at play with The Poker House, which recently premiered on DVD. The Poker House was written by artist/writer/actor Lori Petty, and the plot was drawn from actual experiences from her own childhood growing up in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Petty has fashioned a brilliant and blistering script from her memories of growing up with her two sisters in a combination brothel and gambling joint (the aforementioned “Poker House”) where a motley assortment of junkies, gamblers, pimps and thieves gather at all hours to enjoy poker, drugs, and prostitutes; most notably the girls’ mother, Sarah (Selma Blair), who is deeply addicted to drugs and is totally in the thrall of her dealer/pimp, Duval (Bokeem Woodbine).
The action is all arranged to take place in one day (the far southwest suburbs of Lemont and Lockport fill in as 1976 Council Bluffs, Iowa), and illustrates the trauma that the 14-year-old Petty (called “Agnes” in the film) and her two younger sisters endure in their efforts to create an island of safety and normality amidst the horrifying and dangerous environment in which they are forced to live (basically fending for themselves). Despite the toxic home life, the girls take care of each other and all manage to not only survive, but to maintain good grades and an informal support network outside of their chaotic home. Agnes is even able to be a star athlete and hold down several part-time jobs, including one at the local paper.
The story itself is bracing, intense, yet ultimately heartwarming, a testament to the ability of children to adapt and function in the worst of circumstances and the triumph of love and creativity in the face of neglect and abuse. The problem lies in the fact that Petty, instead of finding a skilled veteran director who could do justice to this incredible story (or at least saving this particular story for her second or third directorial effort), takes the task on herself in her debut behind the camera.
Her lack of directing experience hampers the film in several ways, but it is her schmaltzy old Hollywood aesthetic that creates the main flaw of the film. It’s as if Charles Bukowski, Flannery O’Connor, and Raymond Carver co-wrote the greatest indie coming of age screenplay ever, but the project was given to Garry Marshall to rework as an After School Special. Something this raw and gritty requires a more realistic treatment, and Petty’s showbizzy flourishes and unfortunate music choices (except for the incredible recreations of old school 70’s soul) ring false and saccharine.
Sometimes when an actor directs (especially when other actors in the film are close friends), they become too acquiescent to the comfort of the actors and are afraid to prod and push them out of their comfort zones and into a better performance. Selma Blair (who was the victim of horrible miscasting to begin with) might have been believable as the girl’s pathologically self-centered and morally bankrupt mother, given a director that could have pushed her harder and perhaps even been a bit cruel (like Peter Weir supposedly did to Rosie Perez in Fearless, 1993) to get her into the requisite emotional place to most appropriately play the character in the scene.
Petty, who is close friends with Blair (and no doubt felt that Blair was doing her a favor by appearing in the film), could not summon that wherewithal, and Selma’s performance reflects that. The fact that Blair was playing a character based on a person who was not only alive, but was also someone she probably knew (Petty and her mother are now apparently on good terms despite everything) undoubtedly added another level of awkwardness to the process, with disastrous results.
Despite all my problems with it, I still feel that The Poker House is worth a look by folks. Bokeem Woodbine is tremendous as the charming yet feral pimp/dealer/boyfriend, and Jennifer Lawrence (who plays Agnes) has the screen presence and uncanny beauty of the greatest old Hollywood child stars, such Elizabeth Taylor and Natalie Wood; but also possesses the acting chops of a Jodie Foster or an Ellen Page. The girls who play the sisters (Sophia Bairley and Danielle Campbell) are also great finds, and Petty directs the children extremely well.
This film does have much to offer, it just could have been so much better in the hands of a more experienced “conductor.” Without trying to publicly psychoanalyze Lori Petty, there seems to be a disconnect between Petty and her true feelings about what she went through as a child (her flippant and distracted manner during the director’s commentary is particularly enlightening in that regard) that greatly hampered her ability to take on this material. * While I have nothing but respect and awe for what she has endured and been able to accomplish in her life; I sincerely wish she had given the job of directing her story to someone else.
*Update 11/2: UPON FURTHER REFLECTION, I can’t believe I was such a dick to have written that! I have every right to criticize her aesthetic choices, but no one can (or should) ever tell a victim of abuse how they should feel about their abuse. I apologize to anyone who read that statement and had an attack of boiling blood (and to Ms. Petty). As a survivor of various kinds of abuse I should know better, but got caught up in my own pomposity and really stepped in it.
I thought about just going back and deleting it, but decided I’d leave it up and strike through it as a “teachable moment” for anyone who might wander by- Please don’t ever try to tell an abuse survivor what their “real feelings” (WTF Mike?!) are or should be. It just ain’t right.
Made in 2002 by writer/director P.J. Hogan (Muriel’s Wedding, My Best Friend’s Wedding), shelved by its studio for several years, then released directly to the Starz Cable Network and then to DVD with virtually no mention, Unconditional Love is another of those gems which has fallen through the cracks of the capricious Hollywood distribution system. Kathy Bates (Misery, Fried Green Tomatoes, Fred Claus) stars as frumpy Chicago housewife, Grace Beasley, who idolizes a cheesy love crooner, Victor Fox, played with manic glee by Jonathan Pryce (Brazil, Pirates of the Caribbean). When her husband (played by Dan Ackroyd) leaves her the day before Victor is murdered in Chicago (on his way to a television appearance where Grace was to finally meet him); Grace is inspired to hop a flight to England to attend his funeral.
In a bizarre turn of events (few things in this film aren’t bizarre), she bonds with Victor’s grieving gay lover, Dirk Simpson, played by Rupert Everett (My Best Friend’s Wedding, voice of Prince Charming in the Shrek films). After arranging a comeuppance for Victor’s homophobic sisters (Lynn Redgrave, Stephanie Beacham, and Marcia Warren), Grace and Dirk return to Chicago to solve Victor’s murder and bring his killer to justice. This quest leads the pair, along with Grace’s daughter-in-law (Meredith Eaton, who almost steals the movie), on an odyssey through the bowels of downtown Chicago in pursuit of “The Crossbow Killer” (Did I mention that Victor was killed by a serial killer?). And if all that weren’t enough, Julie Andrews does a cameo that will forever change the way you look at her.
The film makes good use of Chicago as well, featuring the Billy Goat Tavern for an extended scene (more than I’ve ever seen), as well as long sequences in the dark and often foreboding underground areas that the Goat leads to. Many films have showcased lower Wacker Drive, but Wacker is actually just one of a whole array of streets in Chicago that have a “lower” version. Lower Randolph, Michigan, Columbus and numerous other streets, byways and subterranean loading docks combine with pedways and tunnels to create a vast labyrinthine “Underground Chicago.” And since the underground is where the Crossbow Killer lurks, Unconditional Love lingers there for a long time with hilarious results. The lower portion of the Michigan Avenue bridge even comes into play during the film’s climactic scene.
Now I could definitely see how this movie could not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it tickled me to no end. If you’re yearning for a comedy that feels completely different and has a sense of humor that is by turns twisted, silly, painfully clever, and delightfully campy (Jonathon Pryce as the Liberace-esque/Iglesiasish/Humperdinkian love crooner is worth the price of admission in itself), Unconditional Love will definitely float your boat.
The Company is an interesting film that was poorly received when it was released in 2003, mostly because it didn’t conform to certain expectations that film goers had about it. It was marketed as “a Robert Altman film,” and while Altman was the director, he was basically a hired gun and not as intimately involved in the entire process as he was with his other films. Therefore, audiences went to it expecting to see a Robert Altman film when The Company was, for all intents and purposes, actually a Neve Campbell film. Allow me to explain.
When Neve Campbell was nine years old, she entered residence at Canada’s prestigious National School of Ballet, training full time and performing in numerous productions. Dance was her first love and the focal point of her life until her late teens, when she transitioned into acting.
Throughout the first several years of her acting career (first gaining fame in the television series Party Of Five and continuing through the Scream franchise and other films) she dreamed of mounting a project that would be her homage to the world of the dance. A film that would illustrate both the artistry and intense athleticism involved in the form, and the complete emotional, physical, and spiritual commitment required by it.
After an abortive attempt to produce this project through a major studio, she found a home for it with an independent production company. She and collaborator Barbara Turner spent four years visiting Chicago and interviewing members of the city’s renowned Joffrey Ballet Company in order to glean enough narrative material for Turner to fashion a script. Campbell also took classes with the Joffrey during that period (between her acting gigs).
Once the project became a go, Campbell then began the laborious process of returning to world class dancing form after an absence of almost ten years. She trained over eight hours a day for four months on her own, then spent another month and a half training eight plus hours a day with the Joffrey itself to learn the dances required. To further complicate this already near impossible feat (imagine an NBA player trying to return after a nine year hiatus), she broke a rib just four days before she began the Joffrey training period and was in constant pain throughout the rest of the preparation for and shooting of the film.
Because the film had multiple characters and involved large amounts of naturalistic improvisation (it would have been impossible to get a troupe of dancers who weren’t actors to sufficiently master large amounts of dialogue), Campbell knew the film would be “Altmanesque” in many respects and would require a director with a similar toolkit to Altman’s. But much to her amazement, Turner (who was an old friend of his) and Campbell were able to get The Master himself to consent to direct the film.
This turned out to be a blessing and a curse for the project, because while they were blessed with Altman’s considerable genius, they were cursed with an audience who expected the biting satire and brilliant ensemble acting of Mash or Nashville or Short Cuts. And although The Company is many things, it is certainly not a biting satire or expose of the world of dance, and while it features several fine actors (including Malcolm McDowell and Neve herself) it isn’t the full on thespian onslaught that is Short Cuts, The Player, or any of your prototypical Altman films.
The plot of The Company is very simple, it highlights a year in the Joffrey Ballet Company, focusing on Campbell’s character, an ensemble dancer who has a chance to take on a featured role. The film follows the trials and tribulations of the dancers, with an emphasis on the challenges of being both a committed artist and world class athlete. Most of the cast is comprised of the “real” dancers of the Joffrey, and the movie contains several of the company’s actual dances in their entirety.
Many people who saw this film when it was released (myself included) were put off by the fact that it doesn’t contain much in terms of dramatic arc or character development (again expecting an Altman experience), but this is also true to the realities of being a dancer in a top tier ensemble. When you spend 8 1/2 hours a day in a grueling training regimen (one you’ve adhered to since your were nine or ten years old), there really isn’t a lot of time left over for anything else. To inject artificial drama or action into the film would have betrayed the truth of the material and rung very false.
It is also unfair to compare The Company to other Altman films in terms of acting because he was mostly working with a group of dancers, instead of several dozen of the best actors in the business. Even Neve Campbell isn’t really the star of the film, the Joffrey Ballet (really the Art Form Of The Dance) is the star of this picture. It was only after seeing this film on DVD years after its theatrical release (and reading more about the project) that I was able to appreciate these distinctions.
So if you enjoy the dance, particularly the Joffrey’s wonderful brand of it; The Company could be a very entertaining and satisfying rental for you. Just don’t go into it thinking “Robert Altman Film.”
You can learn much more about the making of The Companyhere and here.
And after you’ve watched the movie itself, check out the bonus feature on the DVD entitled “Play All Dance Sequences From The Film” and be blown away by the artistry of the Joffrey Ballet.
While I have been and will continue to be an advocate for films unjustly given short shrift by the Hollywood distribution system; I am the first to admit that there are many movies which fail to get released in theaters simply because they are completely and unrelentingly awful.
Such is the case with Baby On Board, which was shot in Chicago in 2008 and unceremoniously released straight to video in June of 2009. I can’t even begin to explain how terrible [I feel] that this movie is, how painfully unfunny and wrong on several levels, but I’ll try.
The emotions I felt watching this film were similar to those experienced when seeing a really really terrible amateur comic perform on an open mic night; it’s uncomfortable on one level just because they’re not funny, but the true awkwardness springs from the realization that this person actually thinks the things they are saying are humorous. The scorn almost turns to pity as you start to meditate on what their life must have been like for them to be so emotionally and culturally retarded that they would actually write down and memorize this material and present in public as a comedy act. “What happened?” becomes the primary thought in your mind.
Here is what I think can be the only sane explanation for how this script came into existence: The two guys who wrote Baby On Board (yes there were two of them, and I’m not going to provide their names because this crime must have been committed while they were juveniles) did so when they were both 9 years old. After having skimmed through some older relative’s stack of Hustler and Penthouse magazines, they became inspired to write a romantic comedy. A few hours later when the script was completed, the boys made a blood oath with each other. “We will never change a word of this script. No matter how much we learn about men, women, dating, sex, biology, marriage, or the realities of day to day existence; as Satan as our witness, someday we shall get this script made into a movie with every letter and comma intact.” And then perhaps they killed a puppy to consummate their nefarious pact.
Since we live in an unjust and sometimes cruel world, not only did they manage to get this script made, but they persuaded some fine actors to participate in this abomination it. It’s especially painful to see the wondrous Heather Graham (whom I’ve adored since Drugstore Cowboy) vainly laboring away in an attempt to animate this befuddlingly puerile and dull witted material.
Now I could really tee off on this piece of cinematic goat vomit film and continue on indefinitely about how much I hated it, but I will lay off at this point. I just don’t want any of you good people to be in a video store, see this movie on the shelf and think, “Hey! Heather Graham, Jerry O’Connell, John Corbett, and Lara Flynn Boyle; how bad could it be?”
Very VeryVERY bad, my friends.
NOTE: After reading Roger Ebert’s do’s/don’ts of film criticism (although I don’t consider myself a film critic- and for the love of god neither should you all), I’ve been shamed into making a few changes and adding this post script:
Heather Graham and Jerry O’Connell play an ad executive and divorce lawyer (respectively) whose lives are thrown into turmoil when she unexpectedly becomes pregnant. John Corbett plays O’Connell’s best friend, Lara Flynn Boyle is Graham’s boss.
If you are under the age of 15 and/or think that There’s Something About Mary and American Pie were the greatest films ever made (I mean in a literal Citizen Kane, The Godfather 1 and 2 kind of way), you may very well enjoy this movie.
My apologies to all the good and talented people who were involved in making this film for my extreme snarkyness. I know you have families to feed and can’t always choose the work you do. But my emotions run pretty high when I see what I consider bad comedy (10 years as a stand-up comic will do that to you).
The IMDB says that the movie was taken away from the director by the producers and drastically reedited, which may have contributed to the problem a little (but not much).
A friend recently forwarded these links to me (thanks Donna!) of a couple of short films which show Chicago circa 1948. They were made by MGM as part of their Traveltalks series. This one is entitled “Chicago The Beautiful.”
The first thing that struck me about the opening shot that pans along the Michigan Avenue Cliffs, was (aside from how many of the buildings remain) how odd the “cliffs” looked without the “mountains” of International and Post-Modern structures built in the intervening years looming behind them. This is even before the Inland Steel Building (1957) or, as the camera shows as it continues panning north, the Prudential (One) Building.
I also noticed how sooty some of the buildings looked, particularly the Merchandise Mart. This was still an industrial Chicago, where coal fires burned in the boilers of most buildings and steam engines in both trains and boats weren’t entirely uncommon.
The look from the “observation tower of the Board of Trade” was edifying, and I found it fascinating to see certain buildings without any structures around them. The stunning Jewelers Building stood out even more along the river than it does today, and the shots of the “original” Adler Planetarium long before its glass addition were particularly striking.
This is such a valuable record of the city especially considering it was shot during a period where there was very little filming going on in Chicago. I’ve been obsessively going back over it and finding new details; outer Lake Shore Drive before it was extended North to Hollywood (legend tells that a “clouted” person living in the Edgewater Beach Apartments wanted to get to work earlier), how the Water Tower looks bare without the Victor Skrebneski designed gardens, and a road crew standing around doing nothing in closed down lane (some things never change!).
The second film is entitled “Nightlife In Chicago.”
Wow! People really knew how to party back then! It was quite a kick to watch that short, having heard the tales of those who had experienced these places. I now see why they get a little misty eyed when relating those stories.
What was your favorite thing about these films? What struck you as odd? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.
Of all the Chicagoland shot films that I was hoping to see before handing in the manuscript for Hollywood On Lake Michigan, 2nd Edition, Were The World Mine was probably the one that I was most sad to have missed out on. I had heard great things about this empowering gay musical made on a shoestring budget, and how the film’s makers were desperately trying to get it a mainstream theatrical release.
Unfortunately, that mainstream release never materialized, and I was forced to wait until it was recently released on DVD. While the film was definitely worth the wait, viewing it made it painfully clear what a travesty of cinematic justice it was that this delightful little picture never received the exposure it deserved. Hopefully, the DVD release will bring it some wider recognition.
Were The World Mine is an enjoyable film on several levels; an exuberant and charming musical, a touching and tender coming of age story, a meditation on the nature of love and acceptance, and a wacky, surreal and sometimes campy comedy.
The project grew from a short musical screenplay, written in 2003 by Tom Gustafson, about a young gay teen who finds solace and strength in the words of Shakespeare (the piece was inspired by his experiences growing up gay in a small Illinois town). Gustafson’s partner, Cory James Krueckeberg, was impressed by the script and they both embarked on an attempt to actualize the work.
Gustafson, a graduate of Northwestern University, used contacts developed from working as a casting assistant on Road To Perdition and Master And Commander: The Far Side of The World to marshal resources and assemble a devoted team of collaborators and crew members. Krueckeberg, an accomplished actor, designer, and director; also drew upon his tenure in the Chicago theater community to assist the cause.
The result was Fairies, a short musical film. Fairies received a rave response at a screening in a Boystown venue, and they were quickly able to raise money for festival submissions. The film ended up appearing at over 75 festivals around the world. A year later, during a flight from LA to New York, they decided to expand Fairies into a full length feature. By the time the plane landed, Gustafson and Krueckeberg had already sketched out the framework for the picture.
After the pair completed the script (working in conjunction with talented Chicago composer Jessica Fogle on the songs), Gustafson and Krueckeberg then methodically set out to acquire financing for the feature film. Their efforts were a primer on the right way to fund and create a low budget independent movie; using staged readings of the script to garner interest in the project from potential investors, presenting a well constructed business plan to those investors, and doing research to locate all other possible funding sources. Meanwhile, they were also working hard on a production schedule so as to be able to hit the ground running when the financing came through, and searching the country for the talent to perform the various roles in the film.
Although many big name actors who expressed interest early on disappeared once the extent of the film’s gay content became apparent to them, casting people Carrie Barden, Mickie Paskal and Jennifer S. Rudnicke were able to assemble an amazing group of performers, the proverbial mix of seasoned veterans and talented newcomers.
Big name actors (and/or their agents) weren’t the only ones afflicted by uneasiness over the film’s gay content, investors were shying away as well, and for a while it looked as if financing would not materialize. But Gustafson, Krueckeberg and producer Peter Sterling were able to secure the final funds required. Pre-production reached a fever pitch in preparation for the shooting of the film, which was done in the Chicago area and took an amazingly short 4 weeks (it almost seems impossible when you watch the movie).
Were The World Mine is the story of Timothy, a shy and creative gay teen who often retreats into his musical daydreams in order to endure life in a private boys school and a stultifying small town. When he is cast as Puck in a school production of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, he becomes more aware of his talents and starts to blossom under the tutelage of his arty English teacher.
This process reaches full flower (pun mandatory) when he discovers a love potion recipe for Puck’s purple pansy secretly encoded in Shakespeare’s text (the pansy causes those sprayed by it to fall for the first person they see). Timothy creates the potion, then uses this magical flower to turn his whole town gay, most notably the hunky rugby player for whom he has been pining.
Tanner Cohen, who plays Timothy, was really quite a find for the production; possessing strong acting skills and an incredible voice (not to mention an uncanny resemblance to Nick Stahl). Cohen deftly captures the nervous insecurity of Timothy, but also really brings it in the musical numbers.
Nathaniel David Becker, who makes his film debut as Jonathan (the rugby playing love interest), has an excellent voice, handsome looks and solid acting chops. He should be able to write his own ticket in the musical film/theater world; in fact he already seems to be a bit of a gay heartthrob.
The supporting cast is unbelievably strong: the devilishly quirky Wendy Robie (Nadine from Twin Peaks) plays the English/Theater instructor (in a role she reprised from Fairies), revered Broadway stage performer Judy McLane shines in her first film work as Timothy’s mother, Daytime Television fixture Jill Larson (Opal on All My Children) is an absolute hoot as McLane’s eccentric employer, veteran Chicago character actors Christian Stolte and David Darlow do their usual brilliant jobs, and newcomers Zelda Williams and Ricky Goldman are adorable as Timothy’s best friends and confidantes.
In addition to the fine acting performances, the musical numbers really knocked my socks off (and I’m not generally a fan of contemporary musicals). Cory Krueckeberg seamlessly melded Shakespeare’s words with his own clever lyrics, Jessica Fogle’s melodies were excellent (catchy without being cloying or fluffy), and Tim Sandusky’s work on the score, arrangements and production was absolutely first rate (of course, he has a reputation for that in Chicago). Todd Underwood’s choreography was joyously kinetic but not too busy or cliched, Elizabeth Powell Wislar’s costumes were fab, and Director of Photography Kira Kelly was able to achieve a beautiful look with limited resources.
Hell, there wasn’t much about this film that I didn’t like. I know this big of a rave about a picture of this sort from a big butch breeder like me might seem incongruous, but hey, sue me. I call ‘em like I see ‘em.
Gustafson and cohorts worked hard for a wider mainstream release for the film and it’s a shame that they weren’t successful, because Were The World Mine is truly “The Gay Teen Musical For The Whole Family.” Seriously. Although there’s a certain intensity in the romantic moments that generates a bit more heat than the hook up scenes in your average WB-style teen dramedy (which comes more from having better actors being directed well); WTWM is much less salacious than the teen centered offerings on any network. The most graphic action in any of the love scenes is a chaste kiss and warm caress, which is positively Disney-esque compared to the bump and grind explicitness in standard teen fare (actually, WTWM has been likened by many to Disney’s High School High). And I think we can all agree that young dudes with their shirts off isn’t exactly pornographic (those who don’t agree probably wouldn’t have read this far anyway).
Of course it’s two guys doing the kissing, so the knee jerk reaction from mainstream execs (particularly gay mainstream execs) when confronted by a film that forthrightly portrays romantic affection between two males is to pronounce it “too gay.” Those two words are the bane of the existences of all gay filmmakers/artists/musicians/etc. seeking to expose their work to a wider audience.
The fact that this cowardly mantra is so often recited by corporate cultural gatekeepers who are themselves gay is especially puzzling. Particularly about something as heartfelt and wholesome as Were The World Mine. In a interview included in the WTWM press kit, Gustafson wonders:
Maybe it’s really that purity and innocence that scares people into saying the film is too gay? I think to some people, this innocence is even more dangerous than films that portray gay characters in very crude and sexual ways. Historically, ‘gay’ has been more prominent, and as a result more accepted in a way, as a dirty little secret involving bathroom stalls or sex clubs than when it involves real love, religion and the long term commitment of a marriage like institution. Regardless, it’s a strange irony to say that an incredibly innocent film is too gay. In some way I think it comes from a shameful place, and I think some of the non-straight people in the industry react this way to things as a defense mechanism. The same way our main character escapes an unsavory reality with daydreams, these people escape reality by saying it’s ‘too gay’ instead of putting support behind it and risking ridicule.
Whatever the true motivations of those who denied this film its due, the fact remains that it was a poor decision. With both filmed and live musicals pulling in the public in droves in recent years, Were The World Mine could have really made a splash had it been given a chance.
Hopefully, the recent DVD release will at least help get this picture seen by some of the legions of people, gay and straight, who would enjoy it.
Which is the really crux of the matter at hand, not to mention one of the most frustrating things about the capricious and arbitrary way that films are distributed by Hollywood, the fact that so many great pictures never get brought to the attention of the people who would most enjoy them.
Aside from the sheer injustice of it, it’s just bad business.
Tanner Cohen and Nathanial David Becker bring the sexy in Were The World Mine.
There have been many instances where great composers were not the best conductors. The Book of Musical Knowledge (Arthur Elson- 1915) opines as such: “In general, composers make poor conductors… To begin with, composers are seldom broad enough to judge the music of all others properly…Then, too, many composers lack the needed executive ability. When conducting, they are apt to listen dreamily to the music instead of guiding it.”
