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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2013)
News Movies continued from page 6 graphic nudity) Romantic comedy examining the toll exacted on a newlywed couple’s (Rose Byrne and Rafe Spall) marriage when the groom starts spending time with his ex-girlfriend (Anna Faris) while the bride finds herself attracted to a business client (Simon Baker). With Alex Mac- queen, Minnie Driver and Stephen Merchant. In a World… (R for profanity and sexual references) Lake Bell wrote, directed and stars in this dysfunctional family comedy as an aspiring voiceover artist attempting to follow in the foot- steps of her movie trailer legend father (Fred Melamed), despite the fact that the field is dominated by stentorian-throated males. Cast includes Geena Davis, Rob Corddry, Jeff Garlin and Nick Offerman. Elysium Jug Face (R for profanity, sexu- ality and gory violence) Hillbilly horror flick about a teenager (Lau- ren Ashley Carter), impregnated by her brother (Daniel Manche), who tries to escape from her back- woods community of redneck moonshiners when she becomes aware of their plan to sacrifice her to a wild animal in a deep pit. Lovelace (R for nudity, profani- ty, drug use, domestic violence and graphic sexuality) Amanda Seyfried plays the title character in this sexplicit biopic about Linda Lovelace (1949-2002), popular porn star-turned-anti smut crusad- er who claimed she’d been forced to perform at gunpoint by her domineering husband (Peter Sars- gaard). Ensemble includes James Franco, Sharon Stone, Juno Tem- ple, Adam Brody, Chris Noth, Robert Patrick, Eric Roberts and Hank Azaria. ‘The Butler’ continued from page 6 color. That’s what was sort of there on the page, but it wasn’t until I started shooting that we began getting into the Woolworth’s sit-ins and the Freedom Riders with the Molotov cocktails that I asked myself, “What have I stumbled upon?” It was then that I realized the film was much bigger than just the father-son story. KW: Did you decide to tackle the civil rights material because of the Trayvon Mar- tin shooting? LD: No, it hadn’t happened when Danny Strong wrote the script, including the line “Any white man can kill any of us at any time and get away with it.” KW: You got Oscar-winners in Forest Whitaker, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Robin Williams and Melissa Leo, and Oscar-nominees in Ter- rence Howard and Oprah Winfrey to come aboard. How were you able to assemble such an outstanding cast? LD: My usual way… throwing out a net, and fishing. [LOL] This one was easy because the material was so good. The actors I approached took the bait because they wanted to serve the material. We really didn’t have any money to pay them, so most of them lost money in relation to what their normal acting fee would be. KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: How has the tempest over re-using the title The Butler affected you? LD: Well, I just finished editing the movie five days ago. When did you see it, Kam? KW: Earlier today. LD: Well, I’m not sure which version you saw. Anyway, when I’m working on a Page 8 The Portland Skanner August 7, 2013 movie, it’s like being in a cocoon. I consid- erate it like giving birth, and I don’t leave the bubble, because if I do, then it’s bad and affects the child. But I was pulled out for a minute when my kids told me about some- thing they saw online. I didn’t even hear about it from the studio. It disturbed me, but I didn’t have time to think about it. KW: Well, it’s now called Lee Daniels’ The Butler. LD: The MPAA [Motion Pictures Associ- ation of America] gave me that title and I still don’t know how to feel about it. I just finished giving birth to the movie. “Lee Daniels’ The But- ler!” It sounds like “The Greatest Show on Earth!” KW: Well Tyler Perry, Dino De Laurentis and others are famous for placing their names before the title? LD: I’m not Tyler Perry. I’m not Dino De Laurentis. I think it’s a bit much to put one’s name in front of the film. It makes me uncomfortable. Here’s the thing. Insiders like you know the whole story and about the legal issues, but not the average person. I worry that young kids in Oklahoma or Ala- bama might end up asking, “Who is this filmmaker to be so full of himself?” That bothers me. The MPAA handed down this edict. So, I don’t know how I feel about it right now. Ask me tomorrow. [Chuckles] KW: My eyes must have welled up at least a half-dozen times while watching the film. As the director, you must be too close to the film for it to have that sort of emo- tional effect on you. LD: No, when I actually sat down all alone to watch the final cut just for pleasure, I broke down in tears. KW: You did a masterful job of portray- ing the tensions and differences between the Civil Rights and Black Power Generations. LD: There was no right and wrong. Cecil [played by Forest Whitaker] was right and so was his son [played by David Oyelowo]. You’ve got a problem when neither is wrong, yet you have a conflict. KW: I also appreciated the evenhanded way in which you approached each of the presidents Cecil served under, like how Reagan could give his African-American help a raise to make their pay equal to that Two-Time Oscar-Nominee Talks about His Latest Offering of whites, while hypocritically still support- ing Apartheid in South Africa. LD: Ain’t that interesting? We don’t make Kennedy out to be a Goody Two-Shoes either. KW: Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier was wondering whether you’ve seen the TV miniseries Backstairs at the White House? LD: I did. I think it was a great movie for its time, but I wanted to avoid the episodic feeling of that film. KW: Patricia also asks: What message do you want the public to take away from The Butler? LD: I hate that question, Patricia, because it forces me to be philosophical… I think the message is that we have got a long way to go. I hope that this film rips a scab off the sore that is racism in America today. KW: Thanks again for the time, Lee, and best of luck with the film. LD: Thanks, Kam.
