CMFH Interviewstag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews/52008-11-18T03:42:21ZMovable Type 3.32Peter Barttag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.11952008-11-18T03:32:44Z2008-11-18T03:42:21Z November 1, 2008 Peter Bart knows his way around Hollywood. As a studio executive at Paramount Pictures, he oversaw influential films of the '70s such as The Godfather. Bart held the position of senior vice president at MGM/UA and...November 1, 2008
Peter Bart knows his way around Hollywood.
As a studio executive at Paramount Pictures, he oversaw influential films of the '70s such as The Godfather. Bart held the position of senior vice president at MGM/UA and acted as president of Lorimar Films during the production of such films as Being There. Combined with 15 years of prior experience as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, Bart's present position as Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of Variety is the culmination of histories as both an outsider and insider of the Hollywood machine.
"Since I spent 17 years of my life working at studios involved in making pictures, I tend to be much more empathetic than people who spent their lives as journalists," Bart said in a recent interview. "My point of view is somewhat different."
Much has changed in the four decades of his participation in the film industry, particularly in technology.
"There has been a tremendous evolution in production, distribution and marketing. With digital distribution and cinema, there are more movies on demand," said Bart. "It's fun to run a paper like Variety; I like change."
"Every company is going through a big reevaluation and reassessment. New rules of navigation have to be developed."
Bart believes filmmakers should readjust their focus to match the drive behind personal filmmaking that he witnessed in the '70s and '80s.
"I think that the biggest mistake that many young filmmakers are making is trying to reach bigger audiences and be a pop hit rather than use what they really feel passionate about," he said. "Everyone's trying to guess what's going to be hot rather than expressing their own beliefs and dreams."
Bart said this year has proven that tent pole pictures can still find dedicated audiences, as demonstrated by Iron Man and The Dark Knight. He doubts that the Oscars will ever recognize such accomplishments.
"The Oscars are now really locked into rewarding prestige pictures," he said. "In the most memorable year, I thought Gandhi (should not have won the 1983 Best Picture Oscar) rather than E.T. E.T. was both a better picture and such a box office success, but Gandhi had the pretenses of being an award winner."
Bart feels a balance can be achieved between filmmaker and box office success. Recalling favorite films in which he had a hand, he said, "The quirky way of Harold and Maude, the more populist way of The Godfather, Rosemary's Baby -- these were accessible movies, but very much reflected the vision of the artist rather than how to make a hot movie."
Bart battles weekly over the business of Hollywood with movie mogul Peter Guber on AMC's "Shootout," which has taped episodes at past Palm Springs International Film Festivals. On Sunday, November 16 at 4 p.m. in the Palm Springs Art Museum's Annenberg Theater, Bart will discuss "Who Killed Hollywood?" with festival Executive Director Darryl Macdonald as moderator.]]>
Ken Bielenbergtag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.11942008-11-16T08:41:56Z2008-11-16T08:49:50Z November 15, 2008 "People were walking out of the show 'Oy Vey in a Manger,' shaking their heads and saying, 'You have no idea,' " Ken Bielenberg recalled about the first time he saw the Kinsey Sicks. "I just...November 15, 2008
"People were walking out of the show 'Oy Vey in a Manger,' shaking their heads and saying, 'You have no idea,' " Ken Bielenberg recalled about the first time he saw the Kinsey Sicks. "I just loved it; it was really wonderful and wrong."
"Their shows are a wonderful blend of wonderful singing, comedy, raunchy behavior and political satire, but they have a lot of truth to them."
The director was so drawn to the drag a cappella (or dragappella) performance troupe that he decided to direct two films at once -- a high production value taping of their show, "I Wanna be a Republican," and a documentary that would be an honest portrayal of the life of a touring group -- Kinsey Sicks: Almost Infamous.
"One of the challenging things when first making a deal was getting them to trust us," said Bielenberg. "I wanted this to be a good film and not just a fluff piece."
After all, these films established the proving ground for a new career direction. Both he and producer Alonzo Ruvalcaba came from animation backgrounds, working as visual effects supervisor on the Shrek films and head of production in visual effects on Hellboy, respectively.
The two met while working at Pacific Data Images (which was ultimately bought by DreamWorks SKG) and after years in the effects field, they decided to try something new.
"In 2005, we both left our companies to make gay films that don't suck," Bielenberg said bluntly. "We thought there was a bit of an underserved market with films that the gay community was forced to watch, and our mission was to make high quality films."
It was then that EyeThink Pictures, LLC, became a full-time endeavor, with the Kensey Sicks documentaries being their first feature-length films. The partners were also able to expand their relationship.
"Alonzo is my filmmaking partner and husband, as well," said Bielenberg. "We work really well together as we are able to take on different roles in directing, editing and producing."
Bielenberg and Ruvalcaba had been married in San Francisco before their marriage was annulled by the courts, and they had planned to remarry in February on their initial anniversary. In light of the possibility of Proposition 8 passing on Election Day, they married on October 30.
"And I'm glad we did," said Bielenberg.
Whereas the Kinsey Sicks mask social commentary through comedy, EyeThink Pictures has also recently produced the documentary Equality U, which follows the Soulforce Equality Ride as they talk at college campuses which have antigay policies.
"The film crew followed the group around for a tour and was arrested at half (of the locations) just for stepping foot on campus."
The film will premiere in January on Logo, MTV's lesbian and gay network.
Following a recent screening of Equality U near the intersection of Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles, Bielenberg witnessed Proposition 8 protestors held back by police in full riot gear.
"We were there to support the troops, but there was no way to cross the police line."
After tackling films with important messages, EyeThink Pictures is presently working on a gay horror film. This falls in synch with Bielenberg's moonlighting gig on DreamWorks Animation's upcoming film, Monsters vs. Aliens, due to release in January 2009.
Bielenberg and Ruvalcaba plan on attending the AFI Palm Springs screening of Kinsey Sicks: Almost Infamous on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Camelot Theatres.]]>
Jody & Dennis Lamberttag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.11932008-11-16T07:44:25Z2008-11-16T08:39:52Z Read the November 15, 2008 interview in The Desert Sun. Extended version: How is the realty business in Boca Raton, Florida? "Not good, pretty bad," said Dennis Lambert. Lambert's name may not spark recognition, but before he became a...Read the November 15, 2008 interview in The Desert Sun.Extended version:
How is the realty business in Boca Raton, Florida?
"Not good, pretty bad," said Dennis Lambert.
Lambert's name may not spark recognition, but before he became a luxury real estate broker his songs topped the charts of the 1970s and '80s. "Baby Come Back," "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)," "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "We Built this City" are examples of Lambert's contributions to pop history. As a songwriter and producer, credit was rarely given aside from the small print on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, but in 1972 Lambert made his only solo album, Bags and Things.
The album went unnoticed in the United States but found mass appeal in the Philippines. Shortly after its release, a fanatical deejay-cum-promoter pressed Lambert for a Filipino tour. Year after year, Lambert turned him down. 34 years after the album's release, Lambert finally agreed to do the tour in 2006.
"It was long overdue for me to say 'yes' and go over there and meet the fans and perform the music that had been popular for so long," said Lambert.
A combination of family encouragement and a schedule unhampered by commitments to other artists opened the right door. His family also acknowledged, "This may be the last opportunity -- he may not come after you anymore."
Son Jody Lambert was a filmmaker searching for the right first project to direct, and his father's unique situation provided the perfect fodder.
"This was the film to go after and not make excuses; it had the possibility to be a real movie opposed to a home video," said Jody. "A movie of a once-mighty songwriter now removed from music getting a chance to get his mojo back."
Born a year after Bags and Things was released, Jody said, "My whole childhood was filled with his successful music career, so it was really beautiful to see him get that back again."
"I met him during one of the great times of record industry in the mid-to-late 70s and early 80s. He just kept having success after success," said Rancho Mirage resident, Steve Bedell. The two met while working in Los Angeles when Bedell was at Casablanca Records, and their families became close.
Regarding Lambert's success with his album, "It doesn’t surprise me; it surprises me it took 30-plus years to reach its peak," said Bedell. "All of a sudden he’s a rock star – belated, but well-deserved."
"It was wild; it exceeded our expectations in every way," said Dennis. "From the moment we landed (in the Philippines), it was very clear that I had a lot of fans and the media was very excited about my arrival."
"It was fun; it was almost like a buddy movie," said Jody. "For me to tag along on this adventure made me proud and thankful that he did it."
Of All the Things follows the highs and lows of cramming five concerts into five days with only one month to prepare the 17 songs performed.
"It was kind of challenging," said Dennis. "But I felt like I knew all these songs intimately as they were close to my heart."
As the film hits the festival circuit, Dennis often pairs a performance with the screening and would like to continue to do so beyond the film's tour.
"That takes a lot of good luck and good timing; there are many good, talented performers out there, and they're struggling," he noted. "I have my work cut out for me."
Dennis is presently working on a Broadway musical with his old writing partner Brian Potter. Jody and producer Taylor Williams would like to do a narrative film next.
"I learned how difficult it is to make a film," said Jody. "Luckily, we made a good one."
Father and son recently attended screenings of Of All the Things at AFI Fest in Los Angeles, and Jody and Williams plan on attending the AFI Palm Springs screening on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Camelot Theatres.]]>
Fay Ann Leetag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.11422008-07-22T03:17:46Z2008-07-25T02:42:28Z Read the July 24, 2008 interview in The Desert Sun. Extended version: Hollywood has come a long way, but it is not quite 50-50. It is more like 94-6. A recent New York Times column reported that only six...Read the July 24, 2008 interview in The Desert Sun.Extended version:
Hollywood has come a long way, but it is not quite 50-50. It is more like 94-6.
A recent New York Times column reported that only six percent of films are directed by women.
"I think that Hollywood is really dominated by men and their vision," said director Fay Ann Lee. "I'm trying to break into an all-boys club essentially."
Lee hopes to make her mark not only as the director but also as writer, actor and producer of her first film, Falling for Grace. The juggling act was necessary to get her independent film to the screen, and now she works tirelessly to find distribution. After overcoming the hurdles of a male dominated industry, she found herself wading through murky racial waters.
"It's not so much that Hollywood is outright racist," said Lee. "It's that they're not writing good roles for minority actors."
Lee wrote the screenplay herself, centered in New York City's Chinatown with a female Asian American lead. The story follows Grace Tang, a successful investment banker, who is attempting to climb the city's social structure while falling into a convenient case of mistaken identity and an inconvenient case of love.
"I thought that my first effort should be in a genre that I absolutely love," Lee said, reflecting on romantic comedies such as Sabrina and Working Girl. "Having grown up in Hong Kong surrounded by a lot of different classes of people, I felt I wasn't good enough because my family wasn't wealthy enough. I was inspired to put a little more into the film than just dealing with love."
Lee's character manages a tricky personal life around a close family, including a mother who works in a sweatshop -- a factor that ties the idealistic romantic leads through their careers.
"There are people who work in sweatshops and need better conditions, but (want to retain) the social life and community," Lee said. "I didn't want to preach; I really do understand both sides of the coin."
She was inspired by her parents to incorporate a sense of culture and family into the movie. When her older brothers came to America to attend college, her parents moved the rest of the family from Hong Kong to Texas.
"They sacrificed a lot to keep the family together," Lee noted.
However, despite the fact that Lee always dreamed of being an actress, her parents had different aspirations.
"My parents are very traditional Chinese parents who believe in an education and job opportunities that are secure and make money," she said. "I studied finance because it made them happy."
Her business degree has been helpful in her role as producer, though that position did not come immediately. After graduating from college, she pursued her dream and found herself on Broadway with Miss Saigon. Though continually successful on stage, her agent pushed TV and film roles.
"I was not happy always playing the maid or nurse," she recalled. "They were recurring roles but not fun and a little demeaning, to be honest, after having lead roles in theater."
Taking matters into her own hands, she began writing Falling for Grace. Producers became interested as the screenplay garnered awards in writing competitions, but everyone wanted modifications, including the request to change characters from Chinese to Hispanic so that Jennifer Lopez might assume the lead.
"I think that Hollywood distributors only know how to distribute what they think people will go to and never take any risks."
"One of the most beautiful things I get to experience is taking the film to different parts of the country and meeting some incredible people," Lee said. "I wouldn't be doing this if the audience did not keep encouraging me."
Ten years after she first penned the script, Lee is personally touring with the film in order to prove that the audiences exist. She hopes that a distributor is paying attention. ]]>
Michael Chabontag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.10982008-04-02T06:23:28Z2008-04-07T02:56:02Z Read the April 5, 2008 interview in The Desert Sun. If only all teachers could be so life changing. Michael Chabon broke through the literary world's binding when a UC-Irvine professor submitted his master's thesis to a publisher. The...Read the April 5, 2008 interview in The Desert Sun.
If only all teachers could be so life changing.
Michael Chabon broke through the literary world's binding when a UC-Irvine professor submitted his master's thesis to a publisher. The novel would become the 1988 best seller, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, which 20 years later premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize.
When asked why Chabon did not submit the novel himself, he admitted, "I just wasn't there yet; I was just focusing on getting it approved as my thesis."
Chabon would receive further recognition when his second book, Wonder Boys, hit the big screen in 2000, starring Michael Douglas and directed by Curtis Hanson. Though he confessed that moving a novel from page to screen had mostly monetary benefits, he felt confident to release his words into the right hands.
"You're lucky if you have smart people that you're letting it go to," Chabon said in a recent telephone interview. "You want your book to be the best it can be, but I'm not a movie farmer. If it's successful, more readers might find their way to the book it's based on."
The year that Chabon earned his first screen credit, he published the book that would be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction — The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.
"It was definitely a great thing that changed my life and my writing career for the better in every way — something I'm still grateful for all these years later," Chabon said. "It validated what I was doing and also increased my profile to a degree, and made writing easier to the sense that I can keep doing what I want to do with a greater sense of freedom."
With this newfound freedom, Chabon spun off a series of graphic novels that followed the comic superhero created by the characters of his book -- an idea proposed independently by both DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics. The latter published the series Michael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, which was followed by Brian K. Vaughan's mini-series, The Escapists.
"I got to meet, work with and even edit to some degree the work of all kinds of comic book artists and writers I admired, including the great Will Eisner," Chabon said. "They didn't sell particularly well, but at Comic-Con I won an Eisner -- the Oscars of the comic book world."
The award takes a place of honor next to his Pulitizer. The book will receive yet another incarnation with an expected film release in 2009, presently attached to Stephen Daldry who directed the nine-time Oscar-nominated The Hours, based on another Pulitzer-winning novel.
Chabon shares each honor with his wife, Ayelet Waldman, a lawyer-turned-novelist. In a common writing room, the couple works through hurdles but never writer's block.
"I don't really believe in writer's block," he said emphatically. "We help each other constantly and continuously, tossing ideas out there and seeing how it sounds to the other person. We go for long walks called 'story walks' to talk our way through a problem we're having. We do this all the way through to publication; it's a family publication."
Chabon admitted that it is tempting to pursue new experiences for their eventual literary value.
"It's an occupational hazard; every day provides you with chances to do just that, even just eavesdropping." He explained, "It's really about paying attention, watching and listening and putting yourself in a place where you are able to observe what they are saying."
Once he finds the story, it can also be hard to escape the connection that readers make between him and his characters.
"I think I've worked as hard as I can to confound people. I hate being pigeon-holed," he said. "I respect and admire artists who resist pigeon-holing, whether it is David Bowie, Prince or Margaret Atwood."
"I just follow my impulses; it's not like I'm forced to do different things each time," Chabon said. "What I try not to do is say, 'You can't do that,' or 'The editor won't like it.' I don't let myself think those thoughts – I would never do that when picking up a book."]]>
Mimi Weddelltag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.10952008-04-01T05:23:41Z2008-04-07T01:13:19Z Read the April 4, 2008 interview in The Desert Sun. At 93 years and as many pounds, Mimi Weddell continues to make her mark in the world, as demonstrated in the documentary Hats Off. "(The film covers) 10 years...Read the April 4, 2008 interview in The Desert Sun.
At 93 years and as many pounds, Mimi Weddell continues to make her mark in the world, as demonstrated in the documentary Hats Off.
"(The film covers) 10 years out of 93, but we'll be here until we're older than God," remarked Weddell with a cheerful chatter.
It becomes obvious that she plans on making each year count. There are not many nonagenarians who would continue to hit the New York City streets for acting gigs and photo shoots, but Weddell does it with style. If her hair is not behaving, all the better excuse for wearing a fabulous hat.
"It sort of depends on the audition," she explained. "If they say, 'Just wear anything,' I will try to find something to complete the costume — something that feels just a little humorous, a little eccentric, a little gay, so that everybody won't think this is just an old lady."
Throughout her years of auditioning, she would occasionally bump into her daughter's childhood friend, Jyll Johnstone, who had also been bit by the acting bug.
"After that phase was over, she called and asked to follow me around with a camera," said Weddell. "I didn't think very much about it."
Hats Off completes a trilogy of documentaries by Johnstone celebrating women of progressing years and progressing talents, including Martha & Ethel and Throwing Curves: Eva Zeisel.
"She is really the sweetest director — unflappable Jyll," Weddell commented. "She's so patient, and I think that is an accomplishment."
Capturing ages 80 to 90, the film follows Weddell as she attends classes for acting, singing and dancing. During the interview she even broke into song while gushing about her love for classic jazz and her addiction to Fordham University's Sunday night jazz radio show.
" 'I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter,' " she began. "It must've been painful to (my singing coach), as I used to sing when I was young but didn't take it seriously."
Weddell is also seen in the film hanging over uneven bars. However, the years have begun to take their toll.
"I might arise from the bed with energy, but in 15 minutes it may be gone," she noted. "A teaspoonful of brandy helps if I can't get to the gym to stand on my head."
Often seen in the film smoking with a cigarette holder, Weddell confesses to her only vice.
"They would really gladly slit my throat if they saw me smoke, as my aunt paid me $5 during the Depression to not smoke until I was 17," she said. "I don't know if it sends me back to those days of being so light on my feet and dancing down the street and singing, but I enjoy it as I do coffee."
With roles that span from The Purple Rose of Cairo to Hitch, Weddell has worked with a variety of filmmakers.
"(Johnstone) is totally different (from other directors)," she said. "If you're doing a movie as an extra, (the director's) eye is on the camera and they'll shift their eye from you to the camera or maybe a wink backstage. But I’'ve loved them all."
Including a memorable transgendered role as Miss Mumsley in the 1981 horror spoof, Student Bodies.
"That was the one that I did as soon as my husband died," she recalled, even claiming in the film to attend the audition on her way to his memorial service. "(Director Michael Ritchie) was terribly sweet, working against time and money. I didn't think much about the movie, but it became a cult movie."
In choosing her roles, personality can trump the paycheck. "If I like (the director), I don't care whether they pay me $2 or $200, as long as I have a love of what we're doing," she said.
Weddell attended a screening of Hats Off at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
"Everybody was so sweet and enthusiastic. It was a wonderful audience, and I can't wait to go back," she said. "I never felt better than while being in Palm Springs — maybe it's the atmosphere, maybe it's the air."
Weddell will return to Palm Springs with her daughter Sarah Dillon and Johnstone to attend Camelot Theatre's opening show and reception, which will benefit the AIDS Assistance Program of Palm Springs. ]]>
Sandra Osawa tag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.10872008-03-22T08:31:32Z2008-03-22T08:41:03Z Read the Mar. 3, 2008 article in The Desert Sun, which includes excerpts from the following Q&A about the director's film, Maria Tallchief. • What is your film background? As you can see, my background is extensive as I...Read the Mar. 3, 2008 article in The Desert Sun, which includes excerpts from the following Q&A about the director's film, Maria Tallchief.• What is your film background?
As you can see, my background is extensive as I am the first contemporary American Indian to have produced for a major television station beginning with "The Native American" series for KNBC out of L.A. which was produced in 1974 and broadcast in 1975. At this time, there was no other Native American in a major producing and writing role, which is what I was doing in '74.
• How did you discover this story?
What drew me to Ms. Tallchief's story was the realization that there had been no major documentary done on her very extensive and important life and I wanted to remedy that. We have precious few role models for American Indian women and I wanted to help fill that void.
I also believe that it is important to pay attention to our lives in the present tense, not just the past tense since we are alive today and many like Maria Tallchief have made significant contributions to our life and culture, and such contributions should be acknowledged.
• Why do you believe it is important that your film be a part of the Festival of Native Film & Culture?
I think such festivals are a very important outlet for us as native people. We need venues like this so that more and more people can begin to understand our lives from our own point of view, not just those from outside perspectives.]]>
Beth Gage & George Gagetag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.10862008-03-22T08:10:45Z2008-03-22T08:30:36ZRead the Mar. 3, 2008 article in The Desert Sun, which includes excerpts from the following Q&A about the directors' film, Our Land, Our Life. • Will you be attending the Festival of Native Film & Culture? We will definitely...
Read the Mar. 3, 2008 article in The Desert Sun, which includes excerpts from the following Q&A about the directors' film, Our Land, Our Life.
• Will you be attending the Festival of Native Film & Culture?
We will definitely be attending the festival. We have found that with Our Land, Our Life, more than any film that we have done, the issue raises so many questions and the injustices portrayed instill an outrage in the audiences so that the Q&A is amazing.
• What is your film background?
From the 1970s to the 1990s, George Gage directed and Beth Gage produced thousands of television commercials. Over 200 have won major advertising awards including two honored in the U.S. CLIO Hall of Fame. During that time, they also produced and directed two theatrical feature films, Skateboard and Fear in a Handful of Dust. In the 1990s, they moved themselves and their company, Gage & Gage Productions, from Los Angeles to Telluride, Colo., to focus their energies on films with a social conscience. Since then, working together, they have produced six documentaries.
The N.Y. Times described their first effort, the award winning documentary, Fire on the Mountain, as "bracing exploits, hearty outdoorsmen powerfully captured on film." Former U. S. Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, said that Troubled Waters "opens up a brand new chapter on conservation history." Together We Can, an award winner at Mountainfilm and Lake Havasu, Calif., highlights people making a positive difference in the lives of young people overcoming physical, mental or emotional disabilities. Shot in China, Japan, Africa, India, Nicaragua and the United States, Water: A Clear Solution presents the story of a man who dreams of bringing safe drinking water to the 1.2 billion people in the world without it by staging the first ever around-the-world foot race in 2007. Based on this film, corporate sponsors were found and the race was completed. It both started and was completed at the United Nations in New York.
Our Land, Our Life, completed in 2007, has screened in the United States and Europe, winning several prestigious awards along the way: Best Feature Documentary at The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, a Silver Remi at Worldfest in Houston, the Peoples Choice Award and the Spirit and Advocacy Award at Mountainfilm in Telluride and Best Documentary Feature at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco. The Sarasota International Film Festival wrote that Our Land, Our Life "should be required viewing by every citizen in the United States."
We are currently working on a film concerning the indigenous Mayan of Belize and their struggle for their land rights. Some of our footage was used as evidence in the Supreme Court of Belize, and some people feel this presentation was influential in the historic decision favoring the Mayan People.
• How did you discover this story?
Beth saw an article in the New York Times describing an upcoming round-up of Carrie and Mary Dann's livestock by the United States. At first she was struck with the images of these weathered and interesting faces, then as she read the text she wondered why the United States government would be harassing elderly women ranchers by taking cattle and livestock at gunpoint from these grandmothers. We naively thought the mistreatment of the American Indian ended a hundred years ago. Boy, were we wrong!
• What is your connection with the Western Shoshone?
Originally, we had no connection with the Western Shoshone. We are filmmakers interested in human rights and environmental issues. Since Carrie and Mary Dann, Julie Fishel, Corbin Harney and many other Western Shsoshone have let us into their lives, we enjoy a wonderful warm relationship with them, continue to care for and support their work, and hope this relationship will continue.
• Why do you believe it is important that your film be a part of this festival?
This film needs to be seen by Native and non-natives cultures. Action against these injustices is long overdue and should be implemented.
We see this film as a call to action in many ways. We feel the Palm Springs area may be fertile ground for support for the issues raised by our film
• What is your connection to Oxfam?
We are not connected with Oxfam but certainly support the work they are doing with the Danns and around the world to eradicate poverty. As supporters of the Western Shoshone, Oxfam asked us if we would edit a shortened version of Our Land, Our Life to use in their education and organizing efforts. This short version is currently on You Tube and being distributed by Oxfam America.]]>
Kine Bomantag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.10852008-03-22T07:55:43Z2008-03-22T09:06:19Z Read the Mar. 3, 2008 article in The Desert Sun, which includes excerpts from the following Q&A about the director's film, Herdswoman. • How did you find this story? In 2005, a huge court case which questioned the Sami...Read the Mar. 3, 2008 article in The Desert Sun, which includes excerpts from the following Q&A about the director's film, Herdswoman.• How did you find this story?
In 2005, a huge court case which questioned the Sami ancient rights to the reindeers' pasture was coming up. The judgment of the case was to be of crucial importance to the future of reindeer herding.
The Sami people had never won a similar court case. A few years earlier, the Sami people had lost a case, which had disastrous consequences. They lost the right to use their traditional land and at the same time the concerned Sami communities were also ruined by the court costs.
When I read about the upcoming court case in the newspapers, I felt that most of the articles didn't show a relevant picture of the reality. For the reindeer herders, the court case was a great insult. It not only questioned the rights to their traditional land, it questioned the whole history of the Sami people.
First the land of Sami people was colonized by the government and then sold out to non-Sami people without any compensation. After this tremendous assault, why should the indigenous people be forced into a trial to prove that they've been living and using their traditional land?
I started to make the documentary Herdswoman. By that time in 2005, I only knew one of the women that participates in the film. In court, I got acquainted with the other two main characters, which I only knew by name earlier. We all felt that this film needed to be done.
The knowledge in Sweden about Sami history, culture and life of today is very insufficient. I believe that knowledge is the only way to create understanding. We need to understand each other; we need to take part in each other's lives and experiences. It doesn't matter what culture, religion or social class you belong to. To reduce the prejudices and conflicts, we need to have the will to increase our knowledge and understanding.
• What is your connection with the Sami?
I feel like I am a part of the Sami society. The question of identity can be very difficult because of the importance of feeling accepted. I feel accepted even though my biological origin is a mix and I don't even know about some of my ancestral history.
To me it is more important what you feel in your heart. I feel that the Sami culture is a part of me.
• Why do you believe it is important that your film be a part of the Festival of Native Film & Culture?
Most of the indigenous peoples share the same experience in being colonized and assimilated. I believe that the knowledge about this needs to be spread to the whole world because it concerns millions of people and is a question of human rights.
I wish that many people will see Herdswoman because it is a possibility to take part of these women's lives and reality, to learn something about another culture.
• Museum Director Michael Hammond said that you will be attending the festival with your yoiking partner. Can you tell me a little more about that? Will you be performing?
My partner and I will attend the festival. We are really looking forward to that!
The yoik is the traditional folk music of the Sami, and it is an important part of our lives. If people like to hear some yoik, we like to share it with them. If there is some interest, my partner will perform. I believe he is an excellent yoiker. I myself will not perform; I have no experience of performing.
Something about yoik:
For the singer/yoiker, the yoik is a way to process and release emotions. It is a release and a cleansing where one can express emotions inexpressible in words.
A yoik can tell of the past and the future, with a range of subjects. A yoik can be about animals, people, places, feelings and hopes -- anything that is important to the yoiker. The traditional yoik are often about people.
It does not begin and it does not end. A yoik does not need to have words -- its narrative is in its power; it can tell a life story in song. The singer can tell the story through words, melody, rhythm or expressions.
A yoik is not merely a description; it attempts to capture its subject in its entirety. It's like a holographic, multi-dimensional living image -- a replica, not just a flat photograph or simple visual memory. It is not about something, it is that something.
Many people that yoik, only do it for themselves.
Check out the Herdswoman web site.]]>
Gwendolen Cates tag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.10842008-03-22T07:28:09Z2008-03-22T07:56:33Z Read the Mar. 3, 2008 article in The Desert Sun, which includes excerpts from the following Q&A about the director's film, Water Flowing Together. • Is this your first film? Why did you decide to move from photography to...Read the Mar. 3, 2008 article in The Desert Sun, which includes excerpts from the following Q&A about the director's film, Water Flowing Together.• Is this your first film? Why did you decide to move from photography to film?
This is indeed my first film. The move from photography to film was a very natural one for me. I was drawn to film because I wanted to be able to tell a story at more length, in more depth, to work with music, and, importantly, to allow people to speak for themselves.
• How did you find this story?
Jock and I became friends when I photographed him for my book, Indian Country. A few years later he asked me to make the film. I accepted his invitation because I knew that his exceptional story would make a very inspiring film.
• Why is it important that your film be included in the Festival of Native Film & Culture?Check out the Water Flowing Together web site.]]>
Peter Campbelltag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.10832008-03-22T06:58:10Z2008-03-22T07:55:03ZRead the Mar. 3, 2008 article in The Desert Sun, which includes excerpts from the following Q&A about the director's film, Killer Whale and Crocodile.• What is your film background?
I went to Film School in Toronto; worked in educational, then social issue documentaries for The Knowledge Network, The National Film Board of Canada, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation etc. I won a million dollar competition to produce a feature drama, Lies Like Truth. I'm also a still photographer involved in some art and nature projects.
• How did you discover this story?
The initial concept was brought to me to direct and to shoot by producer Arthur Holbrook. The first idea was to center the film around Elaine (owner of the Alcheringa Gallery), who has been promoting Papua New Guinea carving internationally for well over a decade.
I suggested that we bring Coast Salish Master Carver John Marston with us to Papua New Guinea. We could then see life on the Sepik River through fresh eyes -- the eyes and aesthetic of a young North American urban Native carver. So the concept evolved to cultures and carving traditions meeting in the jungles of Papua New Guinea and the rainforests of the Canadian Pacific Coast.
• Will you be attending the Festival of Native Film & Culture?
Yes. I am very much looking forward to attending the festival. I would also like to connect with the Cahuilla Bands and perhaps visit some of their territories. I've booked some extra time to hike in Joshua Tree National Park. It will be a great break from the Pacific Northwest winter storms!
• Why is it important that your film be included in this festival?
I think Killer Whale and Crocodile speaks to the power of art to connect different cultures on a deep level. The film is about carving, about wood and about water. The water imagery is ever-present, and to bring that powerful element to the desert I think is very compelling.
• What did you learn from your subjects?
I learned a lot about carving -- how physical it is, labour intensive. Carvers see the finished piece in a block of wood before they even start carving! They can see and plan in three dimensions. Film is two-dimensional; we have many tricks to give the viewer the impression of three dimensions, but on a screen there is no depth.
Traveling to Papua New Guinea gave me the opportunity to see a vibrant and strong culture that has never stopped carving. They didn't have the forced residential school experience like in North America; they weren't pushed onto postage-stamp size reserves. On the other hand, it is all very fragile. The global lust for resources and cheap labor is having an effect.
• What future projects do you have planned?
I am developing a feature film based on the novel Sointula, a road movie and a buddy movie that takes place in a kayak up the coast of Vancouver Island. It is about family disintegration and reintegration.
Also a documentary, Root of Transformation, about a powerful substance from Gabon, West Africa, that could be instrumental in providing recovery from dependence to chemical substances such as opiates and alcohol.
Also, a short film that will hopefully motivate elders to share their love of the natural world with children.
Check out the Killer Whale and Crocodile web site.]]>
Shane Belcourttag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.10822008-03-22T06:28:34Z2008-03-22T07:54:40Z Read the Mar. 3, 2008 article in The Desert Sun, which includes excerpts from the following Q&A about the director's film, Tkaronto. • How autobiographical is Tkaronto? The story is extremely autobiographical. Every detail? No. Many specifics and broad...Read the Mar. 3, 2008 article in The Desert Sun, which includes excerpts from the following Q&A about the director's film, Tkaronto.• How autobiographical is Tkaronto?
The story is extremely autobiographical. Every detail? No. Many specifics and broad emotional strokes? Yes, for sure.
First off, on the Ray character, I myself am the son of a white mother and a Metis father, and I look like my mom more than my dad, which has made for a long journey of trying to fit in...on which side? That's been the hard part. Like Ray's character, my wife and I were having a baby as I was putting this together.
As for the Jolene character, her primary search -- "I don't know how to pray" -- is something I also am using from my real life, my own personal struggles for spiritual identity and practice.
The story of this film was I turned 34 in 2007 and my wife was pregnant with our first child. I knew the year was a now-or-never proposition in terms of either making films with my life or having to find something else to make our family float.
So, in eight months we made Tkaronto, from script to final edit, on a shoe-string budget of a personal line of credit. In so doing, I had serous limits on what we could shoot. Basically, I was only able to shoot walk-and-talks for the most part, strung together with a series of locations I could borrow from friends.
I thought maybe the best thing to do was to just write from the heart, write from personal experience and make a really personal film for the first time (everything previous was fiction). I don't think I meant it to come out so autobiographical in the end, but I think by doing that I made a film that other people are really able to relate to. It's scary and pleasing, somehow.
• The conversations are so natural. Was improvisation involved? How did you decide upon the style of pausing the motion as the conversations continue?
I'm really, really big on collaboration with everyone I'm making a film with. At times people stuck right to the script and other times they would hit only the main points but improvise around them. I left it up to them to decide what they wanted to do, so it's really a mix of improv and following the script.
The main thing was that we cast the film without any auditions. We knew who would be perfect for each role and asked them, friends really, if they would be willing to do it for little pay, and they said yes. So, I think that really helped in making the performances seamless.
In terms of using the style of pausing the motions as conversations continue, a lot of the cinema style was trying to figure out how we could make a film that is two people talking 80 percent of the time interesting. I'm a big Soderbergh fan -- and he has his influences so who knows how far down the line this goes -- but I loved his treatment of conversations in The Limey and thought using that from time to time in this film might really assist in making all the dialogue palatable.
• Considering Ray’s impassioned speech about Aboriginal actors, do both of the actors reflect the heritages they portray? How much of the crew was Aboriginal, and was that a conscious consideration?
Ray's impassioned speech about Aboriginal actors does indeed come from the heart of everyone on set. When Ray demands at the end of his journey that Aboriginal people should tell their own stories, it is indeed a reflection of the cast and crew we had on Tkaronto.
Duane has Ojibway (Chipewa) heritage, Melanie is First Nations, and so on and so forth. The crew we had was really small and really Aboriginal. By end of day it was an 80 percent Aboriginal cast and crew production. And this was by design for a couple reasons.
One, I absolutely wanted to have a close-to-as-possible all-Aboriginal crew on this film because of its subject matter and because I think we need to, as a community, create as many working opportunities as possible for each other.
The second reason is because I had to rely on a lot of friends and family to work on this with me for so little pay, and well, that's who my friends and family are.
• What is the significance of your film being part of the Festival of Native Film & Culture? Do you feel there’s a difference in understanding of Native cultures in Canada versus the United States?
Hmm, tough question. It's hard for me to compare the level of understanding of Native cultures in Canada to the United States because I don't have a lot of personal experience in the U.S.. I can say that after seeing other native films from the U.S., Canada, Australia or New Zealand, it's safe to say there is a shared experience amongst Indigenous peoples. So many of the same themes, challenges and humor come through in the stories being told.
Specifically in regards to Tkaronto's theme -- what is it like to be a person of mixed heritage, as a Native person living in a city -- I think it's completely relatable and therefore there wouldn't be any difference between Canada and the U.S. in terms of how the individual feels and struggles through their identity and from the world around them, with the impossible to approach question for mixed heritage people, "So what percentage are you?"
I must say the significance of Tkaronto being a part of the Palm Springs Festival of Native Film & Culture is deeply exciting and gratifying. In terms of fiction, I don't think there has been a dramatic film that had a Metis character in it that wasn't historical or a fur trader with a French accent, if they existed on the screen at all.
Yet there are Metis people in the U.S., but since the U.S. government doesn't recognize them in Montana, Dakota, etc., they're this invisible nation that only the Canadian government and culture recognizes. So, to know that Tkaronto is going to show at the festival seems like a great opportunity to provide some exposure to the Metis nation.
Check out the Tkaronto web site.]]>
Jil Aigrottag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.10682008-02-27T08:02:15Z2008-02-27T08:12:29Z Read the Feb. 22, 2008 interview in The Desert Sun. There is a good chance that Marion Cotillard will walk away with an Academy Award on Sunday night for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose....Read the Feb. 22, 2008 interview in The Desert Sun.
There is a good chance that Marion Cotillard will walk away with an Academy Award on Sunday night for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose. If she has need for an acceptance speech, she should be sure to thank Jil Aigrot, who provided the voice of the French singer.
Aigrot will make her American debut to promote her upcoming album, Words of Love, a tribute to Piaf due for release on March 11, with a concert tonight with Upright Cabaret at the Viceroy Hotel in Palm Springs.
"It is natural for me to sing (Piaf's songs)," Aigrot told The Desert Sun. "I think it's the way she sang that I love."
In order to better understand the music, Aigrot felt it important to educate herself about Piaf's life. At a book signing for Edith Piaf, My Friend, she met the author, Piaf's secretary and constant companion for 15 years, Ginou Richer. Unknown to Aigrot, Richer was also the script consultant for La Vie en Rose.
"I bought the book and talked with her and told her that I sing Edith Piaf, and she said, 'Sing for me in the library,' " Aigrot recalled.
That impromptu performance led to Richer attending her next concert, after which she told Aigrot, "That is the first time I heard a voice that sounds like Edith so much in 40 years."
Soon afterward Aigrot was auditioning for director Olivier Dahan in Paris. "He asked me to sing 'Milord,' a famous but difficult song of Piaf's," Aigrot said. This was followed by a request to sing lesser-known music. "I didn't know the songs of the movie because they were old songs, but I learned them in a week."
The quick study paid off when Dahan announced, "I'm happy to tell you that you will be the voice of Edith Piaf," Aigrot recalled. "It was a great joy -- I realized my childhood dream which was to be a singer, to sing Edith Piaf."
Aigrot's greatest value to the film was to sing for scenes that had no representative recordings, such as during Piaf's earliest days as a singer.
"In the streets, she sings very loud; she sings because she has to eat," Aigrot explained. "It was difficult for me because I had to forget all that I had learned about singing," said the classically trained artist.
To make the performances seamless, Aigrot prerecorded the vocals, Cotillard lip-synched the songs and then Aigrot overdubbed as needed for the perfect fit. The two worked together to ensure a believable portrayal and evolution of Piaf's character and voice over three decades.
"It was long work for reaction and interpretation of the songs," Aigrot recalled. "Marion asked me to do it as if we were one person, her and me.
"I was an actress and a singer before, and in this movie I am a singer who does the job of an actress," Aigrot said. "This is something difficult; I couldn't let my own vision of Edith Piaf grow in me -- I must only be Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf."]]>
Michael Schroedertag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.10542008-02-18T05:16:54Z2008-02-18T05:30:09Z August 16, 2007 Since January, filmmaker Michael Schroeder has traveled the globe attending film festivals from Berlin to Seoul and trekking the United States gathering awards for his latest film, Man in the Chair. Quite a feat for a...August 16, 2007
Since January, filmmaker Michael Schroeder has traveled the globe attending film festivals from Berlin to Seoul and trekking the United States gathering awards for his latest film, Man in the Chair. Quite a feat for a director who has not been behind the camera since 1996.
Previously pigeonholed as a genre director of thrillers and action films, Schroeder decided he was not comfortable with that label. "I woke up one morning and had a Jerry Maguire epiphany," Schroeder recalls. "I sold my house and cars, moved into an apartment and started to write. I wrote Man in the Chair but couldn't get it funded. Now those people are vying to distribute it."
The story was inspired by the Motion Picture Home, a retirement home for aged actors. After hearing Jonathan Winters joke that someone could crew a movie from the talent there, an idea was born that percolated for 15 years.
The film focuses on Flash Madden, a former gaffer from the Golden Age of Hollywood. He had once been an electrician on Citizen Kane, working side by side and age by age with Orson Welles, though decidedly not as successful. Schroeder wanted to focus on the blue collar crew rather than "above the line" actors and directors. When a teenager uses the home for a student film project, he reignites a lost passion in Madden and his fellow residents.
Madden is portrayed by Christopher Plummer, whom Schroeder describes as being a force on the set. "The bar was set really high, and everybody was better because (of Plummer's presence)," Schroeder asserts. Up and coming teen Michael Angarano apparently held his own against the legend, and Schroeder claims that he knew within five minutes that he was right for the part.
Schroeder infuses the film with strong themes concerning the treatment of the elderly in a throw-away society, and their discarded presence in poorly maintained nursing homes. He hopes that a discussion of ageism and dignity will inspire viewers to reconnect with their own elderly family members and to learn their stories.
In order to get this film on its feet, Schroeder signed the Americans Back to Work Act and received a tax break for his production. He raised funds the old fashioned way through friends, family and connections, avoiding the hassle of convincing major studios of his film's worth.
The struggle paid off. The film has garnered many awards along the festival circuit, including outstanding directorial achievement and best ensemble awards at the Method Fest, favorite audience award at the Stony Brook Film Festival and best American film at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. ]]>
Tony Curtis, Rhonda Fleming & Tippi Hedrentag:www.criticalmassfilmhouse.com,2008:/interviews//5.10372008-01-25T07:26:31Z2008-01-25T08:01:11Z Read the Dec. 7, 2007 interview in The Desert Sun. Extended version: With films ranging from cross-dressing shenanigans to Hitchcock thrillers to medieval musicals, the Starfair Palm Springs Classic Film Festival which begins today and runs through Monday, does...Read the Dec. 7, 2007 interview in The Desert Sun.Extended version:
With films ranging from cross-dressing shenanigans to Hitchcock thrillers to medieval musicals, the Starfair Palm Springs Classic Film Festival which begins today and runs through Monday, does not lack in variety.
Susan Stafford, Ambassador of Entertainment for the event and 2005 recipient of a spot on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars, applauded organizer Bob Alexander for his work in gathering so many stars.
"Bob Alexander has outdone himself," Stafford said. "These are great folks who have made history."
Stafford made history as the first woman to receive a microphone on a game show when she hosted "Wheel of Fortune," resulting in the first Emmy nomination for a hostess. "I'm proud of that as woman, but I knew could do more than turn letters."
She has since earned degrees in Nutrition and Clinical Psychology, worked with C. Everett Koop, and acted as a crisis counselor for the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings.
Stafford will help present 26 classic films followed by Q&A sessions with the stars. A few of the actors recently discussed their legendary roles with The Desert Sun.
Dude looks like a lady
When director Billy Wilder suggested that Tony Curtis act in a comedy about two cross-dressing jazz musicians escaping the mob, Curtis was elated.
"I had played every kind of a part in the movies," said Curtis. "But playing a woman was a part I never thought I'd get."
And playing with the woman of every man's desire, screen siren Marilyn Monroe, made for a hard day at work on the set of 1959's Some Like It Hot. In the yacht seduction scene, she would lay on top of him, lift her arms and ask if he was alright, to which he replied, "Don't ask me stupid questions."
"It was the first time I was grounded, and I loved it," joked Curtis.
As friends who had once dated ("It didn't go very far, but it went far enough," he recalled), their mutual admiration made for an easy working environment.
In the yacht scene, Curtis does a mean impression of Cary Grant. Correction: he was Grant. "Nobody did Cary Grant better than me," he stated.
Curtis felt Grant's affectation fit the faux-billionaire role, and Wilder approved the gag. All in good jest, Grant's friendship meant a lot to the actor. "I was enamored of him, we became friends and then we made a movie together (Operation Petticoat)," said Curtis. "Not bad for a New York delinquent."
Co-starlet Jack Lemmon assisted Curtis in causing scandal in high heels, wasting no time between takes to perfect their mischievous characters. "We permeated whatever we were in the costumes to project it on screen," Curtis said.
"Jack was the best," said Curtis. "He was so ditsy, just like the girl he played."
Wilder, on the other hand, was a consummate master. "He personified for me what directing and making a movie was all about," Curtis said.
"(Wilder) understood what an actor could bring to (the film) and never asked more than the actor could do," said Curtis. He recalls preparing to enter each scene with Wilder at his side, who would then tap his shoulder and say, "Do it." When a scene was finished, Wilder would say, "That's a print" -- making Curtis feel involved in the final decision.
"It is a quality movie -- what we all strive for," Curtis said. "It has given me a wonderful experience and a unique happiness."
When animals attack
To think it all began with a diet drink. On Friday the 13th in October of 1961, fashion model Tippi Hedren received a call from Universal Studios saying an executive was intrigued by her Sego drink commercial. Only they would not tell her who the interested party was.
"I spent the whole weekend wondering, Who is this person?" said Hedren. "It was my own little suspense thriller."
After reviewing her photo book, MCA agent Herman Citron asked her to sign a contract with Alfred Hitchcock, and Hedren jumped at the opportunity with out even meeting the director.
Hedren assumed the lead role in The Birds would go to a certain princess of Monaco and frequent Hitchcock Blonde. But after an involved screen test that included scenes from Hitchcock's Rebecca, Notorious and To Catch a Thief, Hedren won her first major film role in the 1963 film.
"If Hitch hadn't been very much behind me and very supportive I never could've done all that," Hedren said. "It was overwhelming."
Commercials had prepared her for technical aspects, but Hitchcock helped her to develop a character. Rehearsals for each scene were so detailed that he gave very little direction on set. "He spoiled me for other films because he knew so clearly what he wanted," said Hedren.
She said that Hitchcock often claimed that his films were finished before he began shooting, and rarely did he film more than three takes on The Birds -- with one exception.
When Hedren read about the bird attack scene, she asked him about the effects. "We'll use mechanical birds like we do in the scenes with the children," Hitchcock said.
On the morning of the shoot, the First AD entered her dressing room and looked everywhere but directly into her eyes.
"What's the matter with you, Jim?" she asked. To which James H. Brown quickly replied before darting out the door, "The mechanical birds don't work; we have to use real ones."
The obvious preparation made her certain this was no last minute change, and for the next five days prop men hurtled live birds at her in an attempt to mimic Psycho's shower scene.
"It was actually a kind thing (Hitchcock) did," said Hedren. "Had I known they were real birds, I would've been horribly nervous."
With good reason. The last day found Hedren lying on the floor when one of the birds jumped from her shoulder and jabbed at her eye. She sat in the middle of the stage and sobbed from sheer exhaustion, and production was shut down for a week to allow her to rest.
In Daphne Du Maurier's original story the birds take over the world, but Hitchcock discussed alternate endings with the cast. Hedren's favorite proposal faded to birds entirely covering the Golden Gate Bridge, Eiffel Tower and Coliseum. Hitchcock, however, provided no easy answers.
"Hitch loved to do that," Hedren said. "He'd leave everybody hanging, left to their own imaginations."
During the production, Hedren was awarded the starring role in his next film, Marnie. She then bought out the rest of her seven-year contract with the director as she found his control overbearing. Hitchcock declared that he would ruin her career, and, unknowingly to her at the time, turned down many offers including a role with François Truffaut.
"An independent woman can put up with that for just so long," she declared.
"There will not be another Hitchcock," said Hedren. "But when you have a genius, you have all the other personality traits that go with that."
Back to the Future
Rhonda Fleming had a similar victual discovery that brought her to Hitchcock.
After David O. Selznick's talent scout, Henry Wilson, propositioned her ("Young lady, have you ever thought of being in motion pictures?"), Fleming was having lunch in the studio commissary. After watching her eat, studio men whispered in Wilson's ear, "Never mind the screen test, just sign her." A week later, she was offered her first major film role in Hitchcock's Spellbound.
"It's a Cinderella story because I didn't ask for it," said Fleming. "I didn't pound the pavement."
In fact, she had never considered acting. She wanted to sing like her idol, Deanna Durbin. She was given voice lessons but never made musicals -- until the day that Durbin went to France and never came back. Fleming auditioned for the role intended for Durbin, with the one man her singing coach had told her not to imitate -- Bing Crosby.
"My coach wanted me to sing on note as the composer intended," said Fleming. "Not bu-bu- bu-buh like Bing Crosby."
Fleming won the role opposite the crooner for the 1949 musical, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. He praised her singing voice but suggested she take it down an octave, which she discovered to be good advice. He never crowded the camera but would back away from close-ups to allow her ample screen time.
Crosby shared opening titles with her though she had previously only been a character actress. Recalling his generosity, Fleming said, "He was one of my favorite guys in the world."
However, as soon as director Tay Garnett would call "Action," Crosby would tell a joke and then immediately say his next line, throwing Fleming off guard. "I learned not to listen to his jokes," she said. "That was just how he loosened up."
Crosby brought other jokers on the set, including frequent costar Bob Hope. Hope saw Fleming and said, "Well, Bing, if you can use her, I can too," and cast her in his next film, The Great Lover.
"Even now I'm awestruck for the fact that God blessed me so much with these breaks," Fleming said. And she is working to return the favor.
Inspired by her sister Beverly's experience with cancer, she helped found Stop Cancer with Dr. Armand Hammer and established UCLA's Rhonda Fleming Clinic for Women's Comprehensive Care and the Rhonda Fleming Resource Center for Women with Cancer. Presently, she supports P.A.T.H. (People Assisting the Homeless) and will be donating her memorabilia sales at Starfair to the organization.
"I'm so grateful that I can use what name value I have," said Fleming. "My heart was always in helping other people."]]>