The Angelika Blog is back after an unplanned and lengthy summer vacation. To reward our faithful readers (who’ve by now memorized our “stick your head in a bag” post), we bring you:
CRYBABY MATINEE VOTING!
We’re a bit caught up in the spirit of democracy. Starting this week, you can get involved in Angelika programming (thanks to one of our faithful CBM goers for the suggestion)!
(click here for film information)
THE RESULTS ARE IN FOR NOVEMBER!
For all of you Ipod converts who have long shunned radio, we wanted to share with you the promo for our Duplass Brothers-judged Baghead contest, again reinforcing that all you have to do to win is, you know…. put a bag on your head.
Best of luck!
If you thought our SEX AND THE CITY contest was too intense, too much work, or you just flat out hated the whole martini-drenched debacle, the Angelika has got a new contest for you!
BAGHEAD, a witty, tongue-in-cheek horror story from PUFFY CHAIR writer-director duo Mark and Jay Duplass, centers on a stalker whose favorite method of enforcing terror is no more complicated than lurking around with a brown paper bag covering his face.
We think there is genius in simplicity, and that said, have launched our very own Baghead contest. Click the thumbnail below to view the official flyer, but we’re basically looking for a photo or video of the most creative Baghead you can think of. Wear one to work, shop at the grocery store, recite a poem about your groceries – whatever you want to do. Just remember, we can’t be held responsible for any less-than-desirable reactions! Send your submissions to angelikasubmissions@gmail.com by 11:59pm on Thursday, August 7th for a chance to win, and become an Angelika blog star! (Albeit, if you’re following the contest rules, no one will know who you are…)
BAGHEAD opens August 8th at the Angelika Dallas and Houston. Check www.angelikafilmcenter.com for advance tickets and showtimes!
Click here to view the official flyer:
Official Contest Rules:
In our craftiest interview to date [see if you can figure out why…], we sit down with brothers Mark & Jay Duplass, the writer/director duo behind the upcoming film BAGHEAD. Entertaining and kind of off-beat, the Duplasses chat with us about why they decided to make a movie about a dude with a bag on his head. Watch below, and don’t miss BAGHEAD, opening at the Angelika Dallas and Houston on August 8.
[QUICKTIME http://www.angelikablog.com/_Content/Baghead.mov 320 257]
Writer/director Nanette Burstein, the mastermind behind this summer’s much anticipated documentary AMERICAN TEEN, sat down with us during a trip to Dallas. Winner of the 2008 Sundance Directing Award, Burstein’s film is an innovative and often hilarious documentary set in small-town Indiana, and follows four real-life high school prototypes â?? the jock, the popular girl, the emo-kid and the geek â?? through their senior year of high school.
[QUICKTIME http://www.angelikablog.com/_Content/americanteen.mov 320 257]
AMERICAN TEEN opens on August 1 at the Angelika Dallas and Plano – Don’t miss it!
A MAN NAMED PEARL is the story of Pearl Fryar, a prolific topiary artist in the small town of Bishopville, South Carolina. Fryar, who comes across as one of the most giving and sincere (not to mention talented) people on film in quite a while, was courteous enough to chat with us, as was director Scott Galloway about the making of the documentary. Both men will also be at the Angelika New York on July 18th (opening night) for an additional Q&A with the audience, and we really recommend that you go – A MAN NAMED PEARL is a refreshingly genuine story that may just renew your faith in the human spirit.
Scott Galloway, Director
Q: How did you first hear about Pearl’s garden, and why did you think it warranted its own documentary?
A: I owned a production company and we produced a show for the Turner network on the best gardens of the south. One of the four featured stories was Pearl Fryarâ??s topiary garden. My good friend Brent Pierson produced the piece and he called me at the end of the shoot and said, â??Thereâ??s more to this guyâ??s story than five minutes of television will allow.â? I was a bit skeptical. You hear that occasionally from a producer right after a shoot and over time their enthusiasm wanes. But Brent is different. Heâ??s an excellent story-teller and he didnâ??t relent. Every two or three weeks heâ??d bring up Pearl. â??You have to go down and see him. He lives just two hours from Charlotte. Iâ??ll fly out from Los Angeles.â? Finally, I agreed to a weekend in Bishopville.
Q: What was your first impression of Pearl?
A: I remember getting out of the car in front of the Fryar home as Pearl stood watching. My first impression was, â??This guyâ??s in amazing shape!â? We shook hands and his hands are huge and strong. I also learned early on that Pearl was, by his own admission, â??old school.â? He told me, â??If you feel you have to email me, email me your phone number.â? One other old school exampleâ?¦ We went straight into his dining room for our initial talk. In the Fryar home the dining room is next to the front door. Pearlâ??s wife Metra made us tea. Not two minutes into our conversation someone knocked on the front door. Pearl turned to the kitchen and said, â??Metra, door.â? She came from the kitchen through the Dining Room and answered the front door. Nowâ?¦if we were in my home and I had that proximity and yelled, â??Monica, door.â? Not only would she not answer the doorâ?¦
Q: In the film, Pearl comes across as completely sincere and full of genuine passion and goodwill – did you know in advance how well his personality would translate to film?
A: He was really good in the Turner piece. You could see it then, and certainly recognize it in person, heâ??s a commanding presence. His message of peace, love and goodwill is very important to him. It is a message he passionately and genuinely believes. There really werenâ??t any concerns that it would translate. When you see him with kids or visiting groups it really comes across.
Q: Although there is a prominent horticulture/topiary theme throughout, A MAN NAMED PEARL ends up being just as much a showcase of Pearl as a human being as it does of his incredible talent for topiary – did you intend for that from the beginning?
A: The short answer – yes. The longer answer – because this is one my favorite questions to field – is the followingâ?¦ In my first meeting with Pearl we sat in his dining room for well over an hour â?? maybe two hours. He spent the first thirty minutes talking about his love of children, particularly children that come from the projects, broken families â?? the kids that donâ??t have any opportunities. Pearl referred to them as â??kids that society overlooks.â? As he talked about nurturing and encouraging these children through various programs he runs, I looked out onto his front yard marveling at the beautiful works of art that towered more than 30 feet above. And then I had a bit of an epiphany. The plants in Pearlâ??s yard were initially rescued from a trash dump behind the Bishopville city nursery. These were plants that nursery goers didnâ??t want – plants that were overlooked. Pearl took plants from the trash heap, planted them, restored them to health and then shaped them into beautiful works of art. When I made that first allegorical connection I knew we had a film. Pearlâ??s garden is absolutely amazing but the gardener is even more so. The garden would provide stunning visuals, the story would be Pearlâ??s.
Q: The South Carolina community where Pearl lives seems very small-town and a tad old-fashioned – how did they react when you told them you would be filming a documentary about them?
A: Bishopville is a small, sleepy southern town. It actually looks old-fashioned. The signage on the pharmacy and stores is right out of the 1950s. The town welcomes visitors with a sign that proclaims: â??Bishopville home of Heisman Trophy winner â??Docâ? Blanchard.â? â??Docâ? Blanchard won the Heisman in 1945! There are places like the Yogi Bear barbecue joint (Iâ??m not kidding), and the cotton fields right off the main roads that definitely take you back. I write all this to illustrate the point that Bishopville has stagnated. As is mentioned in the film, the mechanization of the farm industry and the decline of textiles and tobacco have taken a toll. The community believes in Pearl. They are excited for him and hopeful that his story will revive the community. Chamber of Commerce Director Ronnie Williams arranged for our crew to have free accommodations at the local fire houseâ?¦the FORMER fire house. Ronnie and his wife made us dinner. Pearlâ??s neighbors often made lunch for the crew. We were able to get our shots on high from a bucket truck donated by a local cable company. We all really enjoyed the people of Bishopville. They are a great group. It is a tight-knit community, remarkably positive given the financial hardships they face.
Q: Were you nervous to show the finished product to Pearl?
A: Pearl saw the film for the first time in Bishopville in an auditorium at the Lee County High School. We brought in a projector and audio equipment â?? there are no movie theaters in Bishopville. Was I nervous? Somewhat, but not completely. We worked hard to tell Pearlâ??s story as accurately as possible. We spent a lot of time documenting his family, friends and neighbors just as they areâ?¦even down to the pace and rhythms of Bishopville. That written, I sat several rows away from Pearl and looked over at him many, many times during that first screening.
A MAN NAMED PEARL opens July 18th at the Angelika New York, and August 22nd at the Angelikas Dallas and Houston.
The Angelika was privileged to speak with Pearl Fryar, the gifted topiary artist and humanitarian featured in the upcoming documentary A MAN NAMED PEARL, about his work, (both artistically and charitably), his background and why he decided to be a part of this film. Mr. Fryar stepped away from his garden in hopes to promote his message, his film, and his scholarship foundation, and our interview with him is below.
Q: What did you think when the directors first came to you and asked to make a movie about you and your garden?
A: The movie came about because of a television show I did – the viewing audience was to vote on the best garden out of 4, mine being one of them. I didnâ??t think I even had a chance and I didnâ??t even vote for myself â?? but I won by 54%. So then they presented me with the blue ribbon as a part of another TV show, and they told me “we canâ??t tell the story in 5 minutes so weâ??d like to do a movie.” And I said, “no way”, because I didnâ??t think I have enough to do a movie about it. But they kept on, so finally I agreed because they said they had to raise the funds for the movie, and I didnâ??t think theyâ??d do itâ?¦but they did and thatâ??s how the movie came about.
Q: What did your family think? Were they excited for you?
A: Well quite naturally everyone was excited! I mean what are they odds of a person living in Bishopville, SC – approximately 20,000 people in the whole county – and theyâ??re going to come in and make about movie about somebody in Lee County, SCâ?¦ everybody was up in arms about it.
Q: What was it like once the filmmakers and the cameras â??invadedâ? your small townâ?¦ how did the people in the town and the county react?
A: Everyone was excited â?? youâ??re talking about Bishopville, SC getting some attention â?? and usually anything of that size is an event here, so we just had all kinds of things going on here while the movie was being made. People were very cordial, they would just welcome everybody here, they were just great.
Q: You seem so genuinely good-natured, and you let so many people into your topiary garden everyday for free-you were very adamant about making sure that nobody has to pay to see it unless they can afford it or want to donate â?? do you ever get sick of having people visit and having to show them around?
A: Oh no, some days I have over 200 people visit me. And see, one of the ideas of the garden was to do something from a creative point of view. I work with students and one of the things we make a mistake with is that we judge everybody from an academic point of view and not everyone is gifted academically. If you are an average student, you may be gifted in another area thatâ??s comparable to the person thatâ??s gifted academically. If youâ??re a C-student and very creative then you are on your own, and I wanted to bring attention to that problem, because I wanted those kids who came from that kind of [disadvantaged] background or environment to have encouragement -and that is the reason that the movie was made.
Q: Are those kinds of kids one of the reasons you started the garden in the first place?
A: Yeah that was the idea of the garden because it was like a hobby. There was 2 things I wanted to accomplish with the garden â?? I wanted to create a garden that when you walked through it, there was a message within the garden â?? you walk away with a message. Something youâ??ll remember about this garden or something that you saw in the garden. The other thing is that I wanted to create a garden that you could walk through, and once you walked away, you couldnâ??t copy anything in the garden! Those were my two main objectives. So, because of that, and because I used my creativity to create the garden, there is a uniqueness in the garden, because itâ??s just totally different. I knew nothing about horticulture, nothing about what you should or shouldnâ??t do from that point of view, and I just did what I had a gift to do â?? and be creative. And I took the plants and I made them do what I wanted them to do and that was it.
Q: The so-called horticulture â??expertsâ? are totally amazed and blown away by what youâ??ve been able to do with plantsâ?? they say in the film that they have no idea how youâ??ve managed to create such incredible topiaries – there is no horticultural explanation. Do you know how you do it, or is it just a natural instinct?
A: Itâ??s not any different from any other artist â?? in other words, if youâ??re a creative person then you work from that point of view. You have to think about â?? itâ??s no different if I had been a painter â?? but it just so happened that I used plant material or scrap metal to create the images that I can imagine, and if you said to me put it on paper and then do it, I canâ??t do it. But I can imagine an image, and work toward accomplishing it â?? sometimes it will take me 7 years â?? but I just have the natural ability to do it. And so Iâ??m hoping that when you walk away from the movie, you walk away with the idea that everyone is not just gifted academically â?? it can be creatively or in other areas, and maybe we should focus on those kids that weâ??re allowing to fall through the cracks because theyâ??re not academic â?? they fall through the cracks and become a problem.
Q: How do you think you were able to escape falling through the cracks and make such a success of your creative talent?
A: I did come from a strong family â?? my family was very important to me. They didnâ??t have a lot- they were all poor from a material or financial point of view, but they always encouraged me to do and accomplish more than they did, because they thought I would have a better opportunity. But what really gave me that hope was in 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke into the majors. I was one of those kids that was growing up in North Carolina and it was farming that was the main occupation, and occasionally you saw kids go off to college or whatever, but when Jackie Robinson broke into the majors, I thought at first, baseball was going to be my way out. I was a pretty good baseball player and all my friends were too, but we didnâ??t have the scholarships we have now [to go through with it]. But when I saw what Jackie Robinson could actually accomplish with his natural ability â?? even though I never played one day of baseball, I’m where I am today basically because Jackie Robinson was that person that took me to that next level. And if you have the ability to work, I found that you may not be able to afford your talent, but you just get out and you work so hard until people come along and they will feel sorry for you and they will just help you.
Q: Good plan!
A: Iâ??m serious! Thereâ??s no way I could afford what you see in this movie, but people come through. I have a donation box and Iâ??m telling you, people are very generous. Itâ??s not that you have to pay – it was other people that made me put the box up. One lady came by one day and she basically said â??Iâ??m not gonna leave until you put a box up so people can donate, because that makes people feel better about walking through this garden.â? And so when people see you are sincere about what you do, then people will help you.
Q: And you really come across as such a sincere and genuine man â?? do you think that has helped people want to fund your garden?
A: I think that could be it but then also, youâ??re seeing this story being told by a person that came from [a less fortunate] background â?? I am speaking from experience. I was one of those kids that wasnâ??t supposed to make it. If you had walked into my graduating class and said to us, “At some point in your lifetime, thereâ??s going to be a movie made about one of you”, I promise you it would not have been me. So the point is that, and I made this statement in the movie, you never ever allow obstacles to determine where you go in life â?? have dreams, at least try to accomplish some of your dreams. Sometimes we wait for things to fall in our laps but thatâ??s not going to happen â?? if you have the talent and you donâ??t use it then you lose it. You look at success â?? itâ??s not determined by your SAT score. Success is determined by the amount of work you put into what you do well. If youâ??re not willing to work then youâ??re not going to be successful. You can be an average student and really apply yourself and really work hard and at some point, you will be successful at what youâ??re doing. You donâ??t have to be president of the United States â?? the idea that you can make a good living and support your family â?? that is success. In the final analysis, you can see that the message in my garden is LOVE, PEACE AND GOODWILL. If thatâ??s not what life is about, then you’re going to always have an empty void in your life, because the love is that you care, you have peace within yourself, and goodwill is the ability to help others less fortunate than you are. And in the final days, if you have done that, you will feel good about what you have accomplished in life.
Q: Has your life changed at all since the movie, or are you the same Pearl out in the garden?
A: Iâ??m really the same person, except Iâ??m a little more excited, because I can see the difference that the movie has made, because now we have created a foundation to preserve the garden. The Garden Conservancy out of New York- they preserve unusual gardens â?? they just voted to take it on as 1 of the 17 gardens that are under preservation. We have a foundation and people donate to the foundation for the preservation of this garden, but within the bylaws of the foundation, this garden has to give scholarships to C-students, and that is the primary goal of this garden. If I can go back and change the lives of people that feel they donâ??t have a chance â?? for kids who donâ??t plan to go to college – I want to go in and help. We have a satellite here university here, Central Carolina. It costs about $1500 a year to attend this University, and you get an Associate’s Degree. And we also are trying to create a safety net, tutoring and whatnot, and once you get that Associateâ??s Degree, we want to see that you get into a major university and get a B.A. or B.S. degree. Now these are the kids that would ordinarily fall through the cracks and once you save those kids, then they become a tax payer instead of a tax burden.
Itâ??s very simple â?? but itâ??s being told through the eyes of an average person and someone who has been in that environment.
I would also like to say that if this movie is halfway successful, then some of the proceeds from this movie will go back into the foundation to preserve the garden and support the scholarship â?? thatâ??s the real reason I agreed to make this movie.
Please don’t miss A MAN NAMED PEARL at the Angelika – the film opens Friday, July 18th in New York and Friday, August 22nd in Houston and Dallas.
If you’re not already using the discrete invention called Google Alerts to scour the web for pertinent information related to you (or just sort of tangentially related to you in any way at all)… you should. We get lots of funny Angelika alerts, so we thought we’d share.
This week, Whizziwig discusses War, Inc., and informs us that “Ben Kingsley shows up, because heâ??s now required to be in every movie shown at the Angelika.”
Look for Ben Kingsley in THE WACKNESS, TRANSSIBERIAN, and ELEGY, all opening up this summer at the Angelika New York!
CHILDREN OF HUANG SHI director Roger Spottiswoode sat down with us to talk about his new film. View the full entry to watch.
ELSA AND FRED director Marcos Carnevale took some time to answer a few of our questions about the film. The film, an uplifting tale of two completely different people who yearn for the same thing as they approach the end of their lives: one last chance to find happiness, opens at the Angelika New York on June 27.
Q: Can you describe ELSA AND FRED in your own words?
A: Elsa & Fred is a story about two people who, at the end of the road, discover that itâ??s never too late to love or to dream. Elsa always dreamed of a moment that Fellini had already envisaged: the scene of â??La Dolce Vitaâ? at the Fontana di Trevi. The same scene without Anita Ekberg in it but Elsa instead. Without Marcello Mastroiani but with that love that took so long to arrive. Elsaâ??s dream was also my dream: all my life I wanted to meet Fellini. Itâ??s a story that teaches us that itâ??s never too late to live what we haven´t lived yet.It invites us to live with no fears.
Q: Why do you think that the emotional conquests of elderly people are always so endearing?
A: Elderly people are endearing because of their vulnerability and their need to be protected. Elderly people and children can awaken our tenderness; they are touching and they reach our feelings easily. Everything is magnified at these ages. Everything takes on a higher value. Love between two elderly people has a greater dimension because it is unlikely to happen. In younger people it’s normal to happen.
Q: The film makes reference to the Fellini classic LA DOLCE VITA â?? is that a film close to your heart?
A: LA DOLCE VITA was the first Fellini movie I saw and it changed my life. Since then I became his greatest fan. I even got his address and wrote letters to him. I keep two letters he wrote to me and they are my biggest treasures.
Q: Why was there a three year gap between the making of the film and the American release?
A: Latin-American movies must go a long way before having access to American screens. And during that process –than can take several years– the film must prove that it has achieved an enormous interest from the public.
Q: What inspired you to make this filmâ?¦ were there any influential people in your own life?
A: There are two people that inspired me to make this film: one was Fellini, who I never met personally and with whom I only kept an epistolary relationship. This movie besides making my dream of shooting in the Fontana di Trevi with my own Anita and Marcello come true, is a tribute to he â??Maestroâ?. The second person is my mother, who taught me to live without fear.
Q: What was the casting process like?
A: China Zorrilla was always Elsa, from the beginning, even before we started to write the script. I could never imagine another actress for that role. Elsa is a lady with a body 82 years old and head of a girl of 20. China is like that also in real life. As for Manuel Alexandre it was a suggestion made by the Spanish producer José Antonio Félez. Manuel is a great actor; he has worked in 320 films. He is a little bit like Mickey Rooney in Spain.
Q: Who are your biggest influences as a director?
A: Federico Fellini, Roman Polanski, Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen.
Q: What do you most want audiences to get out of the film?
A: I would like them to realize that the moment to live is now. Future and past donâ??t exist; we must live our moment and make our dreams come true now.