PRESENTS
NOVEMBER 16, 2016 OSCAR PREVIEW/ACTORS
A LOVING AFFAIR JEFF NICHOLS, JOEL EDGERTON AND RUTH NEGGA ON THE YEAR’S QUIETEST, YET MOST POWERFUL LOVE STORY.
1 CASEY AFFLECK MAHERSHALA ALI DEV PATEL ADAM DRIVER MILES TELLER DEADLINE.COM/AWARDSLINE
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FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
WINNER
CHOICE 4CRITICS’ DOCUMENTARY AWARDS INCLUDING
BEST DOCUMENTARY THEATRICAL FEATURE BEST DIRECTOR IDA DOCUMENTARY AWARDS BEST FEATURE AWARD (NOMINEE)
IFP GOTHAM AWARDS BEST DOCUMENTARY
“EXCEPTIONAL.
A movie so perceptive, empathetic and compelling you want it never to end. Edelman is a superb interviewer.” – Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“A MASTERPIECE... Compulsively entertaining.” – Will Leitch, NEW YORK MAGAZINE
“Part true crime, part cultural history, and the
MOST POWERFUL AND ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTARY ABOUT RACE, CLASS AND GENDER IN AMERICA IN YEARS.” – Anne Helen Petersen, BUZZFEED
(NOMINEE)
CINEMA EYE 5 DAWHONORS
NOMINATIONS
“This is as good as storytelling gets.
REVELATORY.” – Chuck Klosterman, GQ
INCLUDING
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN:
NONFICTION FEATURE FILM MAKING DIRECTION EDITING
“STAGGERING…
Has the grandeur and authority of the best long-form nonfiction... a feat of tireless research, dogged interviewing, and skillful editing.” – A.O. Scott, THE NEW YORK TIMES
OFFICIAL SELECTION
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PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
a film by ezra edelman
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CONTENTS P U B L I S H ER
Stacey Farish EDI TOR
Joe Utichi C R EAT I V E DIR ECTO R
Craig Edwards
AS S I STA N T E D ITO R
Matt Grobar
DEA DL I NE CO - E D ITO R- IN- CHIE FS
Nellie Andreeva Mike Fleming Jr.
EX EC U T I V E E D ITO R
Michael Cieply
AWA R DS ED ITO R & CO LUM NIST
Pete Hammond
DEA DL I NE CO NTR IBUTO RS
Peter Bart Anita Busch Anthony D’Alessandro Lisa de Moraes Patrick Hipes David Lieberman Ross Lincoln Diana Lodderhose Amanda N’Duka Dominic Patten Erik Pedersen Denise Petski David Robb Nancy Tartaglione V I DEO P ROD UCE R
Scott Warren
NOVEM B ER 1 6, 201 6 OSCA R PR E V I E W / ACTO RS
4-14
FIRST TAKE The Contenders event; The fall festivals; Doc race roundup.
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COVER STORY Jeff Nichols, Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton on the extraordinary story behind Loving.
24
CASEY AFFLECK Why his performance in Manchester by the Sea might deliver him to Oscar’s stage.
30
DOCS ON SONG Tori Amos and Sting & J. Ralph make music.
34
C HA I R MA N & CEO
Jay Penske
V I C E C HA I RM A N
Gerry Byrne
C HI EF OP ERATING O FFICE R
George Grobar
S EN I OR V I C E PR ES ID E NT, B U S I NES S D EV E LO PM E NT
Craig Perreault
G EN ERA L CO UNS E L & S .V. P. , HU MA N R ES O URCES
Todd Greene
THE DIALOGUE: ACTORS Mahershala Ali Dev Patel Adam Driver Miles Teller
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FLASH MOB Deadline’s Sixth Annual The Contenders
V I C E P R ES ID E NT, CR EATIV E
Nelson Anderson
V I C E P R ES ID E NT, FINA NCE
Ken DelAlcazar
V I C E P R ES ID E NT, T V ENT ERTA INM E NT SA LES
Laura Lubrano
V I C E P R ES ID E NT, FILM
Carra Fenton
ACCOU N T EXECUTIV ES , FILM & TV
Brianna Hamburger Tiffany Windju
A D SA L ES CO O R D INATO RS
Kristina Mazzeo Malik Simmons
P RODU CT I ON D IR ECTO R
Natalie Longman
DI ST R I B U T IO N D IR ECTO R
Michael Petre
ON THE COVER Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton photographed for Deadline by Chris Chapman THIS PAGE Dev Patel photographed for Deadline by Chris Chapman
A DV ERT I S I N G INQ UIR IES
Stacey Farish 310-484-2553 sfarish@pmc.com
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c an n e s : l o ok i ng ba ck
p. 8
| PETE HAMMOND ON THE FALL FESTIVALS
BEST IN SHOW
Guild members and stars gathered at the DGA for Deadline’s annual The Contenders event. BY M AT T G RO BA R
p. 10
| PREVIEWING THE DOC RACE
p. 12
CBS Films brought Peter Berg’s
and sometimes sad consequences of
Patriots Day and indie smash Hell or
what we have to call American sexual
High Water; and the talent behind STX
Puritanism, which often has made us
Entertainment’s The Edge of Seven-
the laughing stock of France and other
teen closed the day discussing their
countries.” With election year 2016’s
riotous teen comedy. Here are some
dramatic conclusion, Beatty explained
of the high points of the day.
the film’s resonance in today’s climate.
THE SUN WAS STILL SHINING,
appeared before the assembled guild
but the stars were out at the DGA on
members on panels moderated by
November 5, as some of the indus-
Deadline’s staff. Joining the the tradi-
ance, joined the 20th Century Fox
time in denial of things that have to
try’s biggest names were on hand for
tional industry heavyweights—from
panel, discussing Rules Don’t Apply, his
do with love. It’s a big subject that has
Deadline’s annual The Contenders
The Weinstein Company to Netflix,
first directorial effort since 1998’s Bul-
always been an obsession in American
event. The bevy of luminaries on hand
and Walt Disney Animation—were
worth. Beatty spoke about his ‘inside
morality, so I think it’s important to get
shared the backstories of this year’s
many of the newer upstarts. A24 was
baseball’ Howard Hughes drama, two
a laugh out of it.”
major films as the awards race kicked
on hand, in a strong year for the label,
decades in the making. “It’s about
into high gear.
with their first feature production,
sex and romance in the old Holly-
was singer-songwriter and Hidden
Moonlight, and 20th Century Women;
wood,” he said. “About the comical
Figures composer Pharrell Williams,
21 studios and over 50 films
4
Warren Beatty, in a rare appear-
“It’s ludicrous that we spend so much
Appearing on the same panel
RE X /S H U T T ERSTOC K
NICHOLAS BRITEL’S MOONLIGHT SCORE
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“STIRS DEEP EMOTIONS…A BREATHTAKINGLY UNSENTIMENTAL EMBRACE OF LIFE AT ITS MOST CHALLENGING.”
“PORTRAYS GREAT STRENGTH AND GREAT SUFFERING… LENDING VIVID CREDENCE TO TIRED PLATITUDES ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST.”
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THE CONTENDERS way down to 6% body fat before gain-
and you have this gut feeling that they
ing some weight back during filming.
would allow themselves to connect
Teller approached the role of world
and fall in love with each other at
champion boxer Vinny “Pazmanian
some level.”
Devil” Pazienza with a bit of trepida-
was for Paramount Pictures’ Fences,
true-life story, and the responsibility
featuring director/star Denzel Wash-
that entails. “I was so nervous living up
ington and co-stars Viola Davis, Ste-
to this guy and carrying the torch of
phen Henderson, Mykelti Williamson,
his legacy and making an impact in his
Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby and
life,” he confessed.
Saniyya Sidney. The group received
One of the more out-there entries
who addressed his attraction to the
Talking Nocturnal Animals, director
a standing ovation from the crowd,
this year was Sony Pictures’ Sausage
appearing the same day that industry
Party, written and produced by Seth
screenings for the long-awaited film
Rogen, and directed by Conrad Vernon
had begun. Based on the Tony-
and Greg Tiernan. Vernon sum-
winning play by August Wilson, which
marized the genesis of the summer
Washington and Davis had previously
box office smash. “I’ve wanted to do
taken to Broadway, Fences was pro-
an R-rated cartoon since I watched
duced with the feeling that there was
1981’s Heavy Metal,” he explained.
much left to explore in the material
“Seth said, ‘We have a movie where
within the context of cinema. “One of
sausages leave their packages and
the things Denzel said is he basically
screw the buns,’ and I said, ‘I’m in.’”
wanted to press the reset button and
No panel on Sausage Party would be
didn’t want us to kind of just do it by
complete without reference to the
rote,” Davis said. “I think it’s always
film’s closing scene: a massive orgy for
great to rediscover something that
food products. “I really don’t think the
you’ve done for so long. And one of the
MPAA knew how to handle this film,”
things Denzel said when we started it
Rogen said, only half kidding. It might
was, ‘Remember the love.’ If it doesn’t
surprise some to note that there was,
come from a place of love, then you can’t feel the loss.’”
true story of the African American
Tom Ford discussed the motivation
in fact, a real, intentional political and
women behind the success of NASA’s
behind his transition from fashion to
social commentary behind the raunch.
early space launches. “Until recently,
film in recent years. “I love fashion but
“We wanted to show how different
star and Executive Music Producer
a woman’s contribution to history has
it’s quick and does not last very long.
[grocery] aisles believe different things
Justin Timberlake relayed an emo-
often been dismissed and discounted
Film is forever.”
and don’t get along with one another,
tional anecdote from the Dream-
For Warner Bros., Clint East-
Toward the end of the day, Trolls
and really show the true personifica-
Works film. “‘True Colors’ is a beauti-
acknowledgment,” Williams said. “We
wood’s Sully was discussed by writer
tion of everyone coming together,”
ful song, and it’s a huge emotional
see something crazy going on in our
Todd Komarnicki, producers Frank
Rogen explained. “Sometimes, if the
moment in the film,” said Timberlake.
nation, but I see a victory. When you
Marshall, Tim Moore and Allyn Stew-
bun fits…”
“And so I’m watching it and I’m like,
push women down, you’re pushing
art, and editor Blu Murray. Speaking
Passengers director Morten
‘Am I… crying? At myself?’ I thought
them to stand up even stronger.”
with Deadline’s Pete Hammond,
Tyldum—Oscar-nominated for his
my only opportunity to do that was a
Komarnicki told the story of his pitch
2015 picture The Imitation Game—
bottle of Jack Daniel’s and a mirror.”
Kubo and the Two Strings helmer
for the project to the producers—
appeared with writer Jon Spaihts and
Based on the popular dolls made by
Travis Knight discussed the snail-like
which was the first pitch they took—
editor Maryann Brandon to discuss
Danish woodworker Thomas Dam,
speed of the animation process. “It’s
followed by four months of silence
their highly-anticipated genre release.
Trolls closed out its opening weekend
filmmaking at the pace of a glacier,”
and nervous anticipation. “The one
On the panel, Tyldum spoke of finding
with $45.6 million.
he said. “You have to be completely
we heard first is the one we liked
a proper balance between the film’s
committed or slightly mad, but when
best,” said Stewart, explaining how,
smaller, more intimate scenes and
you devote that much time of your life,
after hearing many other approaches,
a setting as epic as space itself. “It’s
Also represented were Lionsgate—
you want to make sure it matters and
that first take rang true.
an intimate film,” Tyldum said, “but
promoting La La Land and Hacksaw
the epic quality was a balancing act.
Ridge—Illumination Entertainment
and oftentimes erased from public
On the Focus Features panel,
it’s meaningful.”
Comeback kid Ben Younger, direc-
This is but a sample of the festivities at Deadline’s The Contenders.
tor of Open Road Films’ Bleed for
Because it’s a character-driven film,
(Sing), Fox Searchlight Pictures
cussed his film’s relevance in the era
This, spoke alongside stars Miles Teller
they have to go through extreme
(The Birth of a Nation, Jackie), Sony
of #BlackLivesMatter. “The sad reality
and Aaron Eckhart about the grueling
choices. It’s really a roller coaster emo-
Pictures Classics (Miles Ahead,
is that we’re going to need this film
process involved in producing the
tionally.” In pairing Jennifer Lawrence
French Foreign Language film entry
and this story in 20 years, 30 years, 40
true-life boxing story, Younger’s first
and Chris Pratt for the sci-fi romance,
Elle), Amazon (Manchester by the
years,” he said. “The reality is equality
film in 10 years. In “funny friend shape”
Tyldum found an unusual and potent
Sea) and more.
is not something we just solve. It is
prior to filming—at 188 pounds, with
chemistry. “They didn’t know each
something that every generation has
19% body fat—Teller recalled dropping
other before the film,” the director
For full coverage of The Contenders,
to define for itself.”
20 pounds over 8 months, finding his
explained. “I met them individually,
visit Deadline.com.
Loving director Jeff Nichols dis-
6
★
RE X /S H U T T ERSTOC K
GOING FOR GOLD Stars lit up the room at Deadline’s The Contenders Event on November 5, including (clockwise) Miles Teller (Bleed for This), Viola Davis— representing Denzel Washington’s Fences—Warren Beatty (Rules Don’t Apply) and Emma Stone (La La Land).
One of the day’s standout panels
tion, having never before taken on a
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CHARTED TERRITORY
Gold Derby’s Oscar Odds At press time, here is how Gold Derby’s experts ranked the Oscar chances in the Lead And Supporting Actor races. Get up-to-date rankings and make your own predictions at GoldDerby.com OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR
Clair De Lune HOW COMPOSER NICHOLAS BRITELL CONJURED THE ARRESTING SCORE OF MOONLIGHT.
“WHAT’S THE MUSICAL sound of poetry?” This is what ran through composer Nicholas
and Violin Poem”. And to achieve an emotional to the violin, coupled with the soft hammering of
Barry Jenkins’ African American coming-of-age
the piano. To represent the characters’ personal transfor-
Floridian Chiron, who grows into a man of the
mation, Britell settled on a mixing style known as
streets, while coming to terms with his identity. Like
“Chopped ‘n’ Screwed” in which the track is layered
Spike Lee in his Oscar-nominated urban drama
on top of itself and slowed down a few octaves.
Do the Right Thing, the immediate go-to might
He put “Chiron’s Theme” through this process to
be using hip-hop as a Greek chorus. For Britell, a
dramatize the gravity in a schoolyard scene where
largely stringed chamber classical music score best
Chiron is double-crossed by his lover Kevin.
exuded Moonlight. “The film felt like poetry, it was so beautiful and
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Casey Affleck Manchester by the Sea
9/5
2
Denzel Washington Fences
7/2
3
Ryan Gosling La La Land
7/1
4
Joel Edgerton Loving
8/1
5
Tom Hanks Sully
14/1
6
Andrew Garfield Hacksaw Ridge
40/1
7
Viggo Mortensen Captain Fantastic
50/1
texture in the cue, the composer kept the mic close
Britell’s mind as he was watching the rough cut of story Moonlight from A24, which follows South
ODDS
“Barry focuses on big moments in life, like a schoolyard fight that changes someone’s life, but
tender,” explains Britell, pointing to such poignant
there are little moments like when Chiron is in the
moments as when Chiron is taught to swim by
bathtub,” says Britell about his inspirations, “And it’s
Juan, a sensitive drug-dealer who takes the child
those little moments that are just as impactful on
under his wing. This provoked Britell to write “Piano
our lives; that’s how our memories work.”
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR
ODDS
1
Mahershala Ali Moonlight
5/2
2
Lucas Hedges Manchester by the Sea
4/1
3
Michael Shannon Nocturnal Animals
8/1
4
Jeff Bridges Hell or High Water
9/1
5
Dev Patel Lion
10/1
6
Liam Neeson Silence
10/1
7
Hugh Grant Florence Foster Jenkins
28/1
A STELLAR SOUND
Sound editor Sylvain Bellemare delves into his work on Denis Villeneuve’s elegant Arrival. A LONG-TIME COLLABORATOR of director Denis Villeneuve, FrenchCanadian supervising sound editor Sylvain Bellemare was faced with one of his greatest challenges when Villeneuve brought him Arrival, a science fiction movie that deals with distorting reality as we know it. “It’s emotional, psychological science fiction,” Bellemare explains. “The sound in the film was really related to memory, and how memories can bring
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you to a level of presence.” It would spoil Arrival’s many surprises to explain exactly what he means by that, but suffice it to say it demanded of Bellemare that he find a new approach to the film’s soundscape. “Denis wanted a different sound than in other films,” Bellemare explains. “It’s cliche to say that, but he really wanted another type of sensation with this film. You had to make sure the sound was a strong enough
character to live by itself.” He’s familiar, by now, with Villeneuve’s exacting demands of his crew. “There’s a lot he doesn’t like, there’s a lot he likes, but you really need to know exactly what he wants,” says Bellemare. “It’s a very thin line for him, and if he doesn’t get what he wants, he’ll throw the work away. Fortunately, we were a big, wonderful team that worked very hard on the front lines, for everybody.”
D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E
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B E S T
F O R
Y O U R
C O N S I D E R A T I O N
D O C U M E N T A R Y
F E A T U R E
IDA DOCUMENTARY AWARDS I N C LU DI N G
BEST FEATURE NOMINATION BEST EDITING WINNER
CINEMA EYE HONORS NOMINATIONS NONFICTION FEATURE • DIRECTION • EDITING • CINEMATOGRAPHY
IFP GOTHAM AWARDS
BEST DOCUMENTARY NOMINATION “TRANSFIXING…
unlike anything you’ve seen before… a remarkably intimate film.” —A.O. Scott, The New York Times
“REVELATORY…
In ways both subtle and overt, the movie continually draws our attention to the human consciousness guiding every shot, the hand that is gently yet unmistakably manipulating the image.” —Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times
“TRANSCENDENT... there’s never been a memoir quite like this.” —Eric Kohn, Indiewire
CAMERAPERSON A FILM BY KIRSTEN JOHNSON
camerapersonfilm.com
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PET E HAMMOND
FALL FORWARD, FALL BACK
This year’s fall festivals were either platforms or stumbling blocks for various Oscar players. BY P E T E H A M M O N D THERE CAN BE NO QUESTION that the march to Oscar fully begins at the start of September each year, with the arrival of the much-ballyhooed fall festival trifecta of Venice, Telluride and Toronto. Awards prospects can soar on the strength of one of these all-important festival debuts, or simply deflate like a Tom Brady football if a screening doesn’t play right in front of an audience of critics, awards bloggers and industry voters, as well as the general public. Prospects are further rocked by the added exposure of the New York Film Festival and AFI Fest in Hollywood.
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So how did the presumptive ‘Oscar
well as the industry’s good graces—
bait’ fare this year? Venice’s Open-
with a ten minute standing ovation
ing Night film, La La Land, charged
for his stirring and true World War II
right to the top, and is still the likely
tale, Hacksaw Ridge. Venice was the
Best Picture frontrunner with a little
film’s only festival appearance this
less than a month to go until its
fall, but it was enough to put it in the
Dec. 9 limited release. The Damien
Best Picture conversation, and to
Chazelle–directed contemporary
start tongues wagging about Andrew
valentine to the musicals of Jacques
Garfield’s emotional turn as Des-
Demy and MGM’s golden era,
mond Doss, a conscientious objector
starring Ryan Gosling and Emma
who didn’t touch a gun but became
Stone, wowed audiences not only
the biggest war hero of all.
on the Lido, but also in Telluride and
A pair of Amy Adams films also
Toronto, where it won the much
came to Venice, with Denis Ville-
coveted Audience Award over the
neuve’s Arrival starting Best Picture
300-odd features on display.
and Best Actress talk, and Tom
Meanwhile, another Venice
Ford’s Nocturnal Animals resulting
winner cemented the return of Mel
in a Silver Lion for its director. Both
Gibson to the director’s chair—as
films also played Toronto to good
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box office performance. Universal’s Sing put itself into the Animated Feature race at TIFF, with the confident studio offering a slightly unfinished print to start the chatter, while smaller indie dramas Denial and A Monster Calls did well enough there to keep hope alive. But the real TIFF surprise was the closing night film The Edge of Seventeen, starring Hailee Steinfeld in a breakout role, which proved to be that rarest of gems: an exceptional teen movie. On the flip side, negative to mixed reviews for such hopefuls as Lionsgate’s American Pastoral and Deepwater Horizon KO’d their awards chances, along with little buzz for Oliver Stone’s Snowden, and a not-terribly-successful redemption attempt for Nate Parker and his controversial The Birth of a Nation. It was once the sensation of Sundance,
A FONDNESS FOR FESTIVALS (Clockwise) Damien Chazelle and Emma Stone; Jeremy Renner and Amy Adams; Casey Affleck; Pablo Larrain with Jackie star Natalie Portman.
but after a disastrous publicity tour saw Parker refuse to apologize for his part in a campus rape trial 17 years ago, the movie died a quick box office death. Most of the New York Film Festival’s Oscar marbles were spent on Ang Lee’s anticipated and pioneering technical achievement Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. But reviews and reaction were far from kind, and the 3D, 4K, 120fps photoreal process was a turnoff for many. Still, NYFF offered a positive berth to Mike Mills’ 20th Century Women, with strong Best Actress talk for Annette Bening, as well as its open-
effect, and Arrival hit Telluride as
Rockies, in much the same way that
Vinny Pazienza—another Telluride
ing night triumph 13th, a harrowing
well, just to make a statement that
distributor A24’s Room did last year.
debut.
documentary from Ava DuVernay,
it’s a serious contender.
That one went on to a Best Picture
Natalie Portman’s hypnotic
Manchester by the Sea, which
exploring injustice for young black
nomination and a Best Actress win
premiered at Sundance, proved its
men in America. It feels like the
portrayal of Jacqueline Kennedy
for Brie Larson. I expect Moonlight,
early festival debut was no fluke as
impact made by that film will still be
in Jackie also came out of Venice
which also played Toronto and
it continued to impress at Telluride
felt at the Dolby in February.
strong. It picked up distribution
opened to near-record setting box
and Toronto. And so too did Cannes
We’re right in the middle of AFI
with Fox Searchlight out of Toronto,
office numbers, will do the same.
debuts Loving and Elle, which found
Fest as this issue comes out, and it
second berths at Toronto.
promises to bring in even more Oscar
where Portman’s performance as
Warner Bros’ decision to play the
the First Lady struggling to deal with
Clint Eastwood–directed Sully paid
the aftermath of JFK’s assassination
off big in Telluride where it, and Tom
val offered a stage for The Weinstein
Warren Beatty’s first directorial effort
wowed the Canadian crowd.
Hanks’ starring role as hero airline
Company’s moving true story, Lion,
in nearly two decades, Rules Don’t
pilot Captain Sully Sullenberger
which grabbed attention and the
Apply, as well as Peter Berg’s Patriots
unquestionably by the little film
drew top notices and awards buzz
Audience Award runner up spot. And
Day, the Jessica Chastain-starrer
that could: Barry Jenkins’ Moon-
just before its successful launch in
the second Audience Award runner
Miss Sloane and Robert De Niro in
light, a coming-of-age film about
theaters. Sully co-star Aaron Eckhart
up, Disney’s Queen of Katwe, also
The Comedian. For good or bad, the
a young African American boy in a
also drew Supporting Actor buzz
gathered momentum out of its TIFF
festival circuit continues to make an
tough South Florida neighborhood.
for Bleed for This, which stars Actor
world premiere, though its chances
impact. Oh, and La La Land will play
It bowled over audiences in the
hopeful Miles Teller as the boxer
have decreased after a slow-boiling
AFI Fest too. The beat goes on. ★
Telluride debuts were topped
Toronto International Film Festi-
firepower. This includes the likes of
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D OCUMENTARY SPOTLI G HT
DISTRESSING DOCS (Clockwise) Amanda Knox; O.J.: Made in America adding dimension to familar territory; Gleason and family.
REALITY CHECK This year’s field of documentary hopefuls is as stuffed as it’s ever been. BY A N T O N I A B LY T H
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION IS STIFF for the five available Oscar noms this year, with several of the strongest contenders breaking out of Sundance, setting the stage for a tense race as far back as January. Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg’s Weiner (IFC) won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize at the festival—the film follows the downward spiral of the politician with a penchant for inappropriate selfies and has already proven itself a quasi-comedic hit this year. HBO’s Jim: The James Foley Story snagged the Audience Award with its harrowing depiction of Foley’s abduction by ISIS, while Life, Animated (The Orchard) won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award for the moving and heartfelt story of a young autistic man expressing himself through a love of animated film. Streaming services are definitely upping the ante too this year, with Netflix showing a particularly strong front with 13th, Selma director Ava DuVernay’s exposure of modern-day slavery; Werner Herzog’s Into the Inferno; Audrie & Daisy, an exposé of sexual assault in U.S. high schools; and The Ivory Game, the title of which speaks somewhat for itself. Not to be outdone, Amazon offers Sundance standout hit Gleason, which follows the life of Steve Gleason, the former NFL player diagnosed with ALS. With many more options on the docket, such as Going Clear director Alex Gibney’s Zero Days and ESPN’s critically-acclaimed eight-hour marathon OJ: Made in America, it seems the Academy might have a tough job whittling it down to a shortlist in December. But for now, here’s an educated guess at the top 15.
Gleason
for 30 series, Ezra Edelman’s project
Amazon was quick to snap up Gleason
takes a detailed look at O.J.’s trajectory
at Sundance, and it has since become
to fame—and subsequent descent
a critics’ favorite, picking up a Critics’
into infamy—taking us back as far as
Choice best documentary feature
the 1960s. Initially somewhat eclipsed
nom. Clay Tweel’s film takes us on
in the public arena by the dramatized
an extremely close-up and personal
TV limited series The People v. O.J.
journey with NFL player Steve Gleason,
Simpson, this extraordinary feat of
often in the form of Gleason’s own
journalism is about way more than
video journals, as he simultaneously
“the trial of the century”.
faces ALS and first-time fatherhood. The result is an unflinching and uplift-
Life, Animated
ing look at a family under siege.
The message of Roger Ross Williams’ Life, Animated is nothing short of
13th
magical, as we meet Owen Suskind,
Ava DuVernay’s blistering look at
a young autistic man who abruptly
the U.S justice system focuses on a
stopped talking as a child, but who
jaw-dropping ‘loophole’ in the 13th
found his way back to communica-
amendment, that effectively made
tion through animated films such as
slavery legally allowable in the instance
The Little Mermaid and The Lion King.
of criminal conviction. The Netflix film
Already an Academy Award winner
details the cycle that created and
for his documentary short Music by
perpetuates the skewed treatment of
Prudence in 2010, Life, Animated won
people of color within the system. The
Williams the documentary directing
opener for the New York Film Festival–
award at Sundance.
a first for a documentary—it also recently snagged three Critics’ Choice documentary awards.
Amanda Knox With two separate trial acquittals failing to quiet public suspicion over
Weiner
filmmakers rolled with the punches,
O.J.: Made in America
her innocence, and following two years
Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg
to great effect. Aside from its Grand
ESPN’s nearly eight-hour, epic docu-
of persuasion, Amanda Knox agreed
may have thought they were mak-
Jury Prize at Sundance, the film just
mentary took the Best Documetary
to cooperate with this film, giving her
ing a film about Anthony Weiner’s
snagged the Best First Documentary
prize at the Critics’ Choice Awards,
version of events in a series of stark,
run for mayor of New York. But
award in the new documentary film
and a limited theatrical release quali-
straight-to-camera interviews. Brian
when things took a sharp left turn
Critics’ Choice offshoot, which hon-
fies it for Oscar consideration. Split
McGinn and Rod Blackhurst’s Netflix
with Weiner’s new sex scandal, the
ored 14 documentaries this month.
into five episodes as part of ESPN’s 30
doc effectively declares “Foxy Knoxy”
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F O R
Y O U R
C O N S I D E R A T I O N
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE OFFICIAL SELECTION
OFFICIAL SELECTION
TRUE/FALSE
TRIBECA
WINNER
WINNER
FILM FESTIVAL
AUDIENCE AWARD
AUDIENCE AWARD
SAN FRANCISCO
FILM FESTIVAL
FILM FESTIVAL
Finds poetry in the ability of music to bring us home again, wherever we may travel.” – Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times
WINNER
AUDIENCE AWARD
TELLURIDE
DIRECTING AWARD: U.S. DOCUMENTARY
FULL FRAME DOCUMENTARY
“AN IRRESISTIBLE KALEIDOSCOPE OF MUSIC!
WINNER
FILM FESTIVAL
WINNER
AUDIENCE AWARD
BERKSHIRE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION
SEATTLE
MONTCLAIR
INTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL
MOUNTAINFILM
OFFICIAL SELECTION
FILM FESTIVAL
FILM FESTIVAL
“AN ASTONISHING JOURNEY... A REMARKABLE STORY.” -KENNETH TURAN, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“A GEM. RADIANT AND UPLIFTING.” -DUANE BYRGE, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
“MUSICALLY DELIGHTFUL! A first-rate music film capturing a restless desire to communicate.” – John DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter
“A JOYOUS REVELATION! Full of pleasures and surprises.” – Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
“DEEPLY MOVING.
A WARM TESTAMENT TO A FAMILY’S LOVE AND RESILIENCE.” -JUSTIN CHANG, VARIETY
“FUNNY, TOUCHING AND VITAL.” -PETER TRAVERS, ROLLING STONE
“A STUNNING STORY
ABOUT HOW WE USE FILM TO RELATE TO THE WORLD.” -BRIAN TALLERICO, ROGEREBERT.COM
“A CELEBRATION.
TENDER, RICH AND WONDERFULLY TOLD.” -ANDREW CRUMP, THE PLAYLIST
“CONSISTENTLY ALIVE! It’s most insightful message: changing the world through music.” – Tina Hassania, RogerEbert.com
The only way to change the world is to make a little noise.
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D OCUMENTARY SPOTLI G HT workings of clinics in Alabama, Texas and Mississippi, the film gets its title from TRAP (targeted regulations of abortion providers) and artfully discusses the strength of feeling around the topic. Audrie & Daisy While last year’s The Hunting Ground ripped the lid off colleges quietly sidelining sexual assault, Netflix’s Audrie & Daisy goes back to high school, where teen rape and its subsequent medieval-style slutshaming can be deadly—as in the case of Audrie Pott, who committed suicide following an assault by her classmates at a party. Husband and wife directors Jon Shenk (Lost Boys of Sudan) and Bonni Cohen (Inside Guantanamo Bay) follow Daisy Coleman, who was 14 when she was assaulted, then harassed online. Nominated for the Grand Jury prize at Sundance, the doc also boasts innocent once and for all, in this grip-
an original theme song: “Flicker”, by
ping reexamination of the evidence in
Tori Amos.
the 2007 Meredith Kercher murder. Interviews with bumbling local law
Newtown
enforcement and headline-driven
The Kim A. Snyder-directed New-
press are the icing on the cake.
town looks at the aftermath of the Sandy Hook elementary school
The Ivory Game Coming out of Telluride, this Netflix
shooting, in which 20 children and INSPIRATION, TREPIDATION (Clockwise from main image) Conflict journalist James Foley in Jim: The James Foley Story; Werner Herzog’s Into the Inferno; Miss Sharon Jones! performs.
six teachers were killed. A Grand Jury
Directed by Richard Ladkani and Kief
Zero Days
Fire at Sea
as a powerful ally in the fight against
Davidson (whose film Open Heart
Following a loss for last year’s short-
Gianfranco Rosi’s Fire at Sea gives an
gun violence, while Snyder’s bare-
got a 2013 Oscar nom), it’s also exec
listed Going Clear, previous Oscar and
up-close perspective of the inter-
bones use of family interviews lets
produced by powerhouse environ-
Emmy winner Alex Gibney returns with
national refugee crisis as it happens
the horrifying material speak loud
mentalist Leonardo DiCaprio. The
a terrifying journey into malware and
on the Italian island of Lampedusa.
and clear.
use of concealed cameras ups the
its potential consequences. Could we
Only 70 miles away from North
edge-of-seat factor, while the film’s
survive a viral shut down? Is this all
African shores, the island provides a
Jim: The James Foley Story
depiction of all sides of the poaching
mere paranoia? Zero Days (Partici-
first landing place for thousands of
U.S. photojournalist James Foley had
trade seeks real answers rather than
pant/Showtime) pulls back the cur-
refugees, despite its having only one
incredibly already escaped a kidnap-
simple pathos.
tain on the shady side of the internet
doctor. Winning the Golden Bear at
ping in Libya before he was abducted
and our often-unwitting reliance on
Berlin, Fire at Sea is the result of 18
in Syria by ISIS. Directed by Foley’s
computer systems.
months of shooting, in which Rosi (El
childhood friend Brian Oakes (Living
Sicario, Room 164) accessed an Ital-
With Lincoln), HBO’s Jim: The James
project exposes the very real threat of extinction faced by elephants.
Miss Sharon Jones! With Oscar wins in 1977 and 1991 (Har-
Prize nominee at Sundance, it’s been lauded by the participating parents
lan County U.S.A, American Dream)
Into the Inferno
ian Naval rescue ship, gained entry
Foley Story may rightly exclude the
Barbara Kopple is back with a foray
Ever wondered what it’s like to stand
to the refugee encampment and
online video of Foley’s execution, but
into the world of Sharon Jones, singer
on the edge of a volcano? Werner
depicted the realities of both the
it doesn’t shy away from depict-
with The Dap-Kings. After being told
Herzog’s Netflix doc takes you there in
local and migrant communities.
ing the horror of war, at times using
she was “too old, too fat, too short
lurid, terrifying detail, while document-
and too black” to make it, Jones did
ing the reverence, fear and ritual of
Trapped
effect. With Sting’s original song
just that at the age of 40. The kicker is,
local people living under the imminent
Dawn Porter’s film Trapped revisits
“The Empty Chair” (in competi-
she’s also got Stage 2 pancreatic can-
threat of eruption. Another Telluride
the question of anti-abortion laws
tion with Audrie & Daisy’s Tori Amos
cer. Kopple takes us on an incredible
premiere, this film was finished just
in the U.S., and their first-hand
theme), a Sundance Audience
tour of the human spirit, the power of
shortly after the prolific Herzog’s Lo
effects in the American South. With
Award and an Emmy win already, Jim
music and Jones’s utter refusal to quit.
and Behold.
an emphasis on the day-to-day
is surely a strong frontrunner. ★
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Foley’s own footage to shattering
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What Richard + Mildred Did JEFF NICHOLS, JOEL EDGERTON & RUTH NEGGA TELL JOE UTICHI WHY THEY WERE DRAWN TO THE QUIET POWER OF RICHARD AND MILDRED LOVING, WHOSE COMMITMENT TO BEING TOGETHER CHANGED THE CONSTITUTION.
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PHOTOGRAPH BY
Chris Chapman
RE TOUC H I N G BY WWW.T WE A K P RODUCT I ON S .COM
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JEFF NICHOLS has spent the last several months struggling to explain his attraction to his latest project, Loving, the first story he has brought to film that wasn’t his own invention. “But this morning I woke up with the epiphany of how to talk about it,” he smiles, on a sofa at The London in West Hollywood in late October. “Everybody asks me, ‘Why did you tell this story?’ And inevitably I say, ‘[Producers] Nancy Buirski, Colin Firth and Ged Doherty brought it to me.’ But I realized: no. It’s because this is one of the greatest love stories in American history.” The story Nichols is telling belongs to Richard
Racial Integrity Act, which prevented interracial
and Mildred Loving. Married in Washington D.C. in
marriage. As one of the judges who presided over
July 1958, they travelled back to their small home in
their case put it, “Almighty God created the races
Central Point, Virginia and were promptly arrested.
white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed
Their crime? Mildred was black, Richard was white,
them on separate continents. And but for the
and their home state was still under the rule of the
interference with his arrangement there would
A QUIET HEROISM Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton share a typically intimate moment in Loving.
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COMING UP ON DEADLINE.COM Ruth Negga discusses her Loving role and more in our new video series, The Actor's Side with Pete Hammond. Watch the video Nov. 30 at Deadline.com
be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he
in a unanimous decision in the Supreme Court, after
separated the races shows that he did not intend
their lawyer, Bernard S. Cohen, conveyed a mes-
for the races to mix.”
sage Richard had given them: “Mr. Cohen, tell the
They plead guilty and were sentenced to a year
live with her in Virginia.” The decision made anti-
the condition that the couple be banished from Vir-
miscegenation laws unenforceable in the United
ginia for a quarter century. They moved to D.C., and
States, though many remained on statute books,
tried to acclimatize to city living. But they missed
with Alabama holding out as late as 2000. This one,
their home, they missed their families, and they saw
aptly-named pair changed the lives of countless
no kind of justice in their predicament. So Mildred
interracial couples for decades to come, and their
wrote to Robert Kennedy, who referred their case to
legacy lived on further, affecting legislation around
the ACLU, starting a series of legal challenges that
same-sex unions also.
led all the way to the Supreme Court. “And they changed the constitution,” declares
So Nichols’s film is a necessary corrective; a chance for the Lovings’ story to spread far and wide.
Ruth Negga, who plays Mildred in Nichols’ film. “So
And yet, it’s taken Nichols all this time, since com-
why is it that the majority of people I’ve met had
pleting his movie and its Cannes premiere in May,
never heard of them? When Nancy [Buirski] made
to rationalize his response to it. “It’s so quiet that it
her documentary [HBO’s The Loving Story] she
almost feels like I can’t be histrionic in talking about
couldn’t find anything until she happened upon
it, but there was great weight to it,” he explains.
this contemporary documentary footage, which
“There’s this cumulative power that slowly happens
had never been used. She had first heard about the
throughout the course of the film. You get these
story in Mildred’s obituary in 2008, and it was only a
small moments, but by the end it’s landing these
sliver in the obituary that stuck, and that was, ‘they
knockout, emotional punches, and it’s because it all
changed the constitution.’”
adds up to this amazing love story.”
Indeed, Richard and Mildred’s appeal was upheld
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Court I love my wife, and it is just unfair that I can’t
in jail, but the judge suspended their sentence on
The footage Buirski found for her documentary
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JO E L ED G E RTO N : CH R I S CH A P M AN /R ETOUCH I NG BY W WW.T WE AKP RO DUCT I O N S .COM
LOVE CONQUERS Nichols described himself as overwhelmed by the Lovings’ tale: “You get these small moments, but by the end it's landing these knockout, emotional punches.”
JO E L ED G E RTO N : CH R I S CH A P M AN /R ETOUCH I NG BY W WW.T WE AKP RO DUCT I O N S .COM
goes some way to explaining why Richard and Mildred might not have become instant icons for the Civil Rights movement, even as their case caused such profound change. With newsreel cameras in their faces, Richard and Mildred are shy, polite and— especially in Richard’s case—almost entirely silent. They’re also sweetly considerate of one another, as though they’ve each always got one eye on taking care of the other. A photographer for Life Magazine captured the shot of Richard and Mildred that hints at the beautiful simplicity of their life together:
“There’s something in how fated they seem, because of his last name, and because the image of the two of them together— her, this beautiful, brown and regal princess, and him, the redneck—is undeniable.”
watching a sitcom on the couch in their tiny apartment, Richard’s head is cradled in Mildred’s lap, as the pair share a laugh. They didn’t seek fame for their actions; they just wanted to be together. “They wouldn’t have come to the premiere,” Negga laughs. Says Joel Edgerton, who plays Richard, “He would probably only have come if Mildred had made him. “There’s something in how fated they seem,”
that. That image of the two of them together—her, this beautiful, brown and regal princess, and him, the redneck—is undeniable.” For Negga and Edgerton, finding these two characters on set meant interpreting and interpolating from the documentary footage. Negga credits
Edgerton continues, “because of his last name, and
Nichols with doing the heavy lifting on the behind-
because of the image of the two of them together.
closed-doors nature of their lives together. “Those
Bill or Bernie—one of their attorneys—had said that
moments are all his supervising of it,” she insists. “I
when they met Richard, he looked more like the kind
don’t think this couple had different public and pri-
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is generally who they were. The beautiful challenge is that you have parts to the jigsaw puzzle, and then it’s up to you to figure out how you’re going to complete it in as truthful and authentic a way as possible.” “It’s about that intimacy, without words,” notes Edgerton, “and the understanding and support and the comradery and knowing who leads and who follows, who comforts and who needs comforting. A movie relationship is generally a very different thing. It’s often overtures of love. It speaks to you about how much they care, and it’s billowing curtains and
“You’re drawn to those people because they inspire hope in you, and I think she was very much the rock of her family, and for Richard. You want to orbit that.”
sex scenes. With this, we’re deep into a relationship at this point, and it’s two people who could almost finish each other’s sentences and thoughts, and anticipate each other’s needs.” Indeed, the film opens at the close, with Mildred telling Richard that she’s pregnant. It was a moment of revelation for Nichols when he discovered that their wedding was hastily arranged after Mildred became pregnant (they would go on to have three children together), and he knew immediately that he had his opening scene. “The more I analyze all this, I do realize that as a writer, that’s a representational scene and it’s kind of what you look for,” he explains. “They work on multiple levels. In the moment, the behavior is correct, but then it’s representative of all this stuff that has come before. You know immediately that they have an intimate relationship. You know immediately that they love one another, because of the way he responds to her. You know something about their personalities; that they are fairly meek people. And then you know there’s trouble, because here we are, looking at these two people, one white, one black. They’re in period clothing and they are pregnant. It’s nervous, it’s joyous, it’s loving and it’s dangerous, all at the He relates it to that famous Life Magazine photograph. The whole of their lives explained in a single moment. “Talk about a complex amalgam of thoughts in one image. That’s what the opening scene is for me, and narratively it just gets you started.” It’s these kinds of images that haunted Nichols when he first heard the Lovings’ story. “The documentary haunts you first, and then the script started to haunt me. It shouldn’t be interpreted as a negative, yet it really is haunting. This was Richard and Mildred’s story. I seeped myself in it for months—or a year, between research and writing—and then I’m back out of it and I’m going to make Midnight Special, and when I come back, it’s all still there.” He had the feeling again, during the shoot for ODD COUPLE The striking contrast betwen “regal” Mildred and “redneck” Richard made for a powerful union.
Midnight Special, when it occurred to him that perhaps Edgerton might be right for Richard. And it recurred once more when he auditioned Negga for Mildred—a sense he got that Mildred was living inside her, somewhere. The strength of her performance, he says, is
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same time.”
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explained in the way she plays the scene in which Mildred receives a phonecall to relate the Supreme Court’s positive decision. “She wouldn’t burst out of the door and run across to him yelling and screaming,” Nichols reasoned. “She would walk out, see her husband playing with her kids in the yard, and just know that that image was finally protected and safe. “When you hand those script pages to someone like Ruth, they’re charged with emotion, but I couldn’t do what she does. I can know it in my mind, but I can’t somehow process it through my heart and then have it spill out of my pores, and that’s what great actors do. I help. I help with David Wingo’s score, and I do a slow push in when it matters. But everything’s going on in her face; the thousands of muscles that are operating, and her eyes, and her pupils. I would watch that all day long.” “There’s a real purity to Mildred that I think people recognize and are attracted to,” Negga says. “A lack of cynicism, and a composure. Hope is a key theme of this film, and she was a hopeful person.
Alien Nation
You’re drawn to those people as well, because they inspire hope in you, and I think she was very much the rock of her family, and for Richard. You want to orbit that.” Richard and Mildred Loving never expressed any anger about the dire situation that Virginia lawmakers forced on them. “But I think they were angry,” Negga insists. “In that time period, you had to be very careful about how you expressed it. There was
IT SPEAKS VOLUMES of the
sour milk. But what if you could take it
a cost involved. Even just protesting this sentence
variety inherent in Jeff Nichols’ career
back a step? How did they get there?’"
resulted in a brick through their window. There was
that Loving, the first film of his not
intimidation.”
generated from an original idea, will fall
contact, though. “What’s that step in
The movie won’t focus on first
in between two science fiction projects
the middle where those two cultures
you get back up and want to fight,” says Edgerton.
that couldn’t be more different. The first,
started to think about integrating and
“The second and the third time, it diminishes your
Midnight Special, was released in March,
dealing with one another? That’s where
facility to stand up and you learn to shut your
and told the story of a small boy with
it gets real interesting, real fast. The way
mouth. Richard is checkmated by his own inability
extraordinary powers, and a futuristic
I’m building the aliens will have very little
to joust with certain people. Whereas Mildred was
world hidden from our own. And then,
to do with the original, and I’m focused
tiptoeing and looking over the perimeter fence that
it was announced in September that
now on working out their social structure,
was set out for them, Richard was always looking for
Nichols had signed with Fox to reimagine
their family structure and their reproduc-
the back door, the way out, back to where they were.
Alien Nation, the 1988 sci-fi noir that
tion cycles. I’m just dreaming right now,
I think he was trying to will them back to a simpler
starred James Caan, Mandy Patinkin and
and I’m dreaming really, really big. Lord
place. Mildred was shrewd enough to know that it
Terence Stamp.
knows what it’ll turn out to be, but right
“The first time you suffer any kind of oppression,
RU T H N EGGA : CH R I S CH A P M AN /R ETOUC HI N G BY W W W.T WE A KP RO DUCTI O N S .COM
Jeff Nichols’ next project couldn’t be more different from Loving: a revival of the 1988 allegorical sci-fi noir Alien Nation, about the prejudices faced by an alien race that comes to Earth to live among us.
wasn’t going to correct itself without any effort.”
It seemed an odd fit for Nichols. “But
now I’m super excited.”
it doesn’t have very much to do with the
When Nichols spoke to Deadline
from the date of their marriage, to fight the case
original film,” he told Deadline of his take.
before the Cannes premiere of Loving,
that sought to exile them from their home. 17
“I don’t know what the movie is about
he had expressed his regret at the
happy years followed, before Richard’s death in an
yet, but I’m building this massive story
way Midnight Special, which was not a
automobile accident, when a drunk driver ran into
and universe. It’s just a really good title,
commercial success, was received by
them. Mildred died in 2008, leaving an obituary that
that fit with this other idea that I had.”
audiences. But it hasn’t changed his
It took Richard and Mildred Loving nine years,
led Nancy Buirski to her documentary, and eventu-
In fact, Nichols says, he has grand
approach to making movies. “Even with
plans that might stretch to multiple
Alien Nation, I’ve said to Fox that it’s
movies in a new franchise. His work,
completely fine if, eventually, we have
premiere or not, it seems a further injustice that they
at present, is focused on creating that
divergent views; I just won’t do it. And
aren’t around to watch their legacy earn its undeni-
universe. “The way that you could
that will be sad, and there will be a lot
able permanence in the history books. Still, a year
connect it to the original—if you need
of wasted work, and I promise it’s not
before her death, Mildred had given a rare interview
to, which I don’t think you do—is to say,
about arrogance. It’s just kind of the
to the Associated Press, insisting again that she had
‘OK, that movie dropped you into a world
way I do things.”
no designs on being a hero. “It wasn’t my doing,” she
in which humans were integrated with
told the reporter. “It was God’s work.” ★
aliens, and they had their differences and
ally to Loving. Whether they would have felt comfortable at the
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Casey Affleck’s
haunting and haunted performance in Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea might have been amongst the first crop of fresh Oscar candidates when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January. But the fact that he’s still a Best Actor frontrunner 10 months later must surely be pleasing Amazon Studios, which picked up the movie there for $10 million with plans to make its first Academy run. Manchester was the second biggest acquisition at Sundance this year, but it now feels like the smartest. Of course, Affleck is already Oscar nominated, for his supporting turn in Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. He’s going for the win this year as Lee Chandler, a Massachusetts man forced to return to his hometown when the untimely death of his brother turns him into the legal guardian of his nephew Patrick. But there’s a dark secret in Lee’s past that made big news in the town, and facing those ghosts isn’t easy for him. Like all of Lonergan’s work, Manchester is at turns heart-breaking and hilarious, and always instantly—sometimes uncomfortably—relatable. And Affleck soars in the lead, dragging us into his character’s troubled headspace with a level of craft that can’t be ignored. It’s the kind of emotionally tense material with which Affleck thrives—think Gone Baby Gone, Jesse James, Gerry—and it’s hard not to draw parallels with a young Brando, so assured and affecting is his brooding intensity. Affleck’s relationship with Lonergan goes back to the London production of Lonergan’s play, This is Our Youth, in 2002. Sitting down to discuss Manchester at Deadline’s LA studio space, Affleck credits his writer/director with delivering the goods that allowed him to shine.
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CASEY AFFLECK TELLS JOE UTICHI WHY KENNETH LONERGAN’S EVOCATIVE SCREENPLAY FOR MANCHESTER BY THE SEA IS THE SECRET INGREDIENT BEHIND HIS CAREERBEST PERFORMANCE. CASEY AFFLECK PHOTOGRAPHED FOR DEADLINE BY DAN DOPERALSKI
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KITCHEN TABLE POLITICS Director Kenneth Lonergan huddles with Manchester by the Sea star Casey Affleck. Said Affleck of his director’s vision, “It’s very much about how all these memories are mingled together. It’s what make up a life.”
Describe your first read of this script. What
It had a strange effect on me. Even though I
kind of effect did it have on you?
have never been through anything near what
It’s funny, it was one of those reads where you stop
your character goes through, I understood that
analyzing. Sometimes you read something and
human fault to beat yourself up for mistakes in
there’s a part of you that remains in an analytical,
the past. I saw myself in it.
actor place. Am I going to do this movie? Is this a
Yes, that does make sense. I think probably those
good part for me? Is it not? Can I bring something
are some of the ideas people have when they
to this? Almost immediately I was just absorbing it
watch the movie, for sure. The idea of the character
like it was some piece of nonfiction; some complete
wrestling with trying to undo something that he had
piece of writing that was, in and of itself, a thing. Not
done wasn’t exactly the slant I was coming at this
a blueprint to be built upon. It was complete.
from. It’s very hard to distill the movie to a sound-
It was hard to describe why it worked so well.
bite or a sentence or two of description. I have tried
I have said sometimes that it’s a bit like a piece of
to do it myself sometimes, because I wanted to
magic; it’s like this sleight of hand trick where you’re
understand what this is all about. It’s affecting me in
absorbed, following the story and listening to these
a very powerful way, but I want to get a handle on it.
characters not talk about what’s really happening
That may be why it lingers in people’s minds
in their lives, through talking only about the kinds
after they see the movie. It’s a mess: the happy
of things right in front of them. It fuels this perfect
moments and the very, very tragic moments in
slice of life with uncanny verisimilitude, and then all
this character’s life are very hard to pick apart,
of a sudden, you realize you’ve been led to a much
even though they’re very distinct. There are these
deeper, more meaningful experience at the end of
really happy times before the tragedy happened,
it. The emotions really snuck up on me. I was crying
and then everything that was after. Also, the way
at the end and I had been laughing throughout.
that the story is told leads me to some conclusion
I put it down and I told Kenny what I thought of
about Kenny’s intention, which is that it was very
it. And then a year later he said, “Hey, you want to
much about how all these memories are all mingled
be in it?”
together: it’s what makes up a life. Even after the
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tragedy, there are moments of humor and love and hope. Beforehand, there are moments of miscommunication and pain. I think he likes to make things realistic in that way, and for that reason, likes to have very naturalistic performances. One of the things that works really well about
"It’s a bit like a piece of magic where you’re absorbed, following the story and listening to these characters not talk about what’s really happening in their lives, through talking only about the kinds of things right in front of them... and then all of a sudden, you realize you’ve been led to a much deeper, more meaningful experience."
all of his movies and plays is that it feels like real people. You just feel like you are watching real people go through some period of their lives. Therefore, you care about the characters in a way you might not if it had been written or directed with some stylization. I think also—and I don’t know if he would support this idea— he is such a talented writer, just naturally gifted in some ways and such a hard worker, that in the writing, he’s able to make stories work without employing very familiar conventions of storytelling and screenwriting. For that reason, the film and his plays strike us, as they’re not just hitting the same chords we are used to listening to—and therefore have become a little bit numb to. He’s playing a different-sounding song, and it makes us all a little bit more engrossed. Where do you begin trying to work out how COMING UP ON DEADLINE.COM Casey Affleck discusses his Manchester by the Sea role and more in our new video series, The Actor's Side with Pete Hammond. Watch the video Nov. 23 at Deadline.com
to play a character like this? Is it a daunting prospect—balancing all those ups and downs— or is it an exciting one, because it’s really going to test you? The idea of being the person at the center of it was daunting in some way, because it’s a really challenging part, having to convey an awful lot of the interior life of a person with almost no opportunity to speak to that. It really just has to be palpable in the way that he behaves, and the tone he takes with people, and the very, very few moments when he cracks. That was tough. I also know Kenny’s writing is so good that there’s a lot to discover in the movie. It’s not something you can clearly see at first glance. You have to read it again and again, and hopefully by the time you’re on set, shooting it, you have a sense of what’s happening that is deeper than just the words that are being spoken. Is there a balancing act between the happy and sad extremes you talked about? The film jumps between them, in time, and presumably you weren’t even shooting in sequence. We didn’t get to shoot in order. You never have that luxury, especially on a movie like this where you have zero money and even less time. We had to jump around. It was important that I keep in mind the before and after, so there’s a real change. But also, within that post-tragedy, there has to be its own arc in terms of, this is where he starts, this is where he gets to—because people do change a lot. It’s also one of the things the movie is about: watching this seasonal shift in their lives. But the disjointed nature of it, in the case of this movie, and the constraints of having no money and no time, worked to my advantage because I didn’t D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E
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have the luxury of grouping a bunch of hard scenes
kryptonite for me sometimes. I didn’t have to deal
scary or not, I was going to do it because I love
together and getting ready for them and doing
with that on this.
Kenny’s writing. He’s a great old friend of mine. I
them all. I had to immerse myself in it. Every day I
would do anything that he wants me to do, and I’d
would show up and there’d be some hard thing I
Do you come out the other end feeling your
only say that about a few people in my life. I knew
had to do.
tools have been sharpened all the more for
it would be hard work, but that’s the reason you’re
having done it?
an actor. If you’re a bricklayer, you don’t want to just
identify the body of my brother, kiss him and say
Yes, I think I became better because I got to work
show up at someone’s house and put a little row
goodbye. Then, in the afternoon, I have to pick up
with good material, and I got to work with a director
of bricks around their garden. You want to build a
his nephew, tell him he’s dead. Then, just before
who challenged me and had better ideas. That’s
building. This felt like some heavy lifting. It was hard
wrap, we’ll be doing the scene with the mother of
happened a few times in my life, and that is gold.
but satisfying work.
my children who may have been responsible for
That is the thing I look for. Sometimes I pick parts
their death. It was just one day after the next of
because I think, OK, it scares me, and that’s an
You did This is Our Youth with Kenny in 2002.
challenging scenes, emotional scenes, hard stuff.
indication it’s going to be a good movie for me to
That play felt so much like it captured a
I got out of my own head and stayed in the place
do. Sometimes that leaves me in a terrible… Well, it
moment in time when you’re on that cusp of
where I had to be the whole movie. And being in my
doesn’t always pan out, you know?
adulthood, but not quite there yet. When I saw
It would be like, “This morning, I’m going to go
head—that kind of planning and anticipation—is
In this case, it was scary, but whether it was
it, I was in that moment. Everyone says that about it. Kenny’s got a way of writing that speaks to people and feels very personal and intimate. It reflects something in their life. You don’t have to appreciate the work from a distance: you really appreciated it on a heartfelt, personal level. He’s got an incredible ear for that, and a lot of empathy. All of his characters are written as complete people, and nothing’s flattened out into a caricature or a type, or someone who’s serving a function in the story. They’re all real people, from the little, one-day roles that appear at the beginning of Manchester by the Sea—the tenants in this building. He really spent a lot of time with those actors, talking about what their day is like, what their life is like. Some people that I’ve worked with think that’s a waste of time, but I think it gives the movie a certain feel that you don’t otherwise have, and that adds a lot. Place seems so essential, too. I couldn’t imagine Manchester by the Sea taking place in any other location. He has an uncanny ability to make it feel like he is giving you a whole worldview. It’s in the writing too. He wouldn’t just use very simple descriptions. In other scripts, it would have said, “Exterior, town, night.” Or, “Exterior, boatyard.” Kenny would describe how the ice is cracking in the boatyard. It’ll be just one or two sentences of how the boats are all covered and frozen in by the ice, which is different. He’s doing it for a reason at that point in the story. Or he would say, “Manchester by the Sea, exterior, starry night.” A starry night feels different from a night. It just tells you all these sad, brutal things are happening in these little homes, but the stars are out and it’s a beautiful night. He’s juggling all those feelings that are happening at this very same moment. He’s so good. I don’t know that anyone has ever compared Kenneth Lonergan to Quentin Tarantino before, but I’m going to do it: Tarantino writes in the exact same way. I remember going on the set of Django Unchained, and they gave me
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"Sometimes I pick parts because I think, OK, it scares me, and that’s an indication it’s going to be a good movie for me to do. Sometimes that leaves me in a terrible… Well, it doesn’t always pan out, you know?"
the script first. He also paints a real picture
that still moves us the most. They can be in a $150
for each scene. He said that there were even
million movie, or a $5 million movie, or a $100,000
scenes he wrote into the script that he had no
play. I don’t think the scale really has anything to
intention of ever shooting or putting into the
do with how well the story is told. Spectacle might
movie, but for a reader, they were essential to
attract an audience and get them to spend their
the fabric of what the movie was going to be.
money, but it really doesn’t have any bearing on
That is interesting. I can’t say this for sure, but I
whether or not the story is going to work. At the
would say that Kenny is not writing something to
end of the day, anybody can do it, which makes it
direct it. He’s writing a complete piece in that same
very egalitarian. You can spend $200 million making
way you describe Quentin. Then, once he’s done, he
superheroes who blow up buildings, but you can’t
says, “OK, now how do I make this into a movie?”
make a better movie than someone who knows
And he goes and writes that. Though he might
how to tell a story.
totally deny that. But he’s a huge cinephile, too. He loves and has
But are we getting to a world where it’s much
a gigantic reservoir of knowledge about old movies.
harder to make those movies because people
He has strong opinions about what’s good and
don’t show up for anything but the superhe-
what’s not, about these obscure movies I’ve never
roes? It’s heartbreaking when a brilliant story
heard of. I know he loves movies and thinks about
never connects with an audience.
movies and how they’re made, and what shots say
I try very, very hard not to pay any attention to that,
and don’t say. I do think that when he sits down to
even when I’ve been in something successful. I have
write, he writes so that it could be something to put
mostly been very good at it, because I’ve had a lot
on the shelf and have somebody read.
of practice ignoring the box-office failings of the films I’ve done. Gus Van Sant told me that, when
You’re a cinema fan, too. What are your go-to
he started out, people were saying to him, “That’s
movies?
it. Movies are finished.” From the very first movie he
I don’t have go-to movies, and I don’t know my
made, they were saying, “Really? You’re making a
favorites right off the bat, but I can say that the
movie? Movies are done.” But he’s made, what? 15,
movies that come to mind as being movies I
20 movies now? And he’s had this whole long, bril-
like, they’re mostly movies that I saw when I was
liant career. They’re still saying it, but he’s optimistic
young—possibly too young—and they’ve made an
about it. He might be right, but on the other hand,
impression on me. The Elephant Man, The Harder
they will, someday, stop making movies. It’s not
They Come, The 400 Blows, The Good, the Bad and
happening right now, though, as far as I can tell, so
the Ugly, Shakespeare in Love, Planes, Trains and
we might as well just keep on making them.
Automobiles, Jeanne Dielman, Satantango.
I’ve been in movies that were absolutely terrible, and they failed. And thank god they did, and nobody
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL Affleck in a meditative moment on location in Massachusetts.
That’s an eclectic selection. Are you excited by
saw them, including me. I’ve been in movies that I
the range this art-form offers? The possibility?
loved, and nobody saw them. Then, ten years later,
Oh, yeah, and wait until everyone’s making virtual
someone writes an article about it, some people
reality. I saw some of the stuff that Chris Milk has
read it and it slowly starts to gather momentum and
made. I got it. All of this has been leading to virtual
it’s resurrected. I think that happens too. I try not to
reality. We thought we were making something special,
be short-sighted and reactive. One thing I don’t do anymore is read or pay
but then you look at this
attention to the critical response, which is a
stuff. In the not-too-distant
bummer because when I started, and when I was
future, people might think
in school, I loved to read old film criticism. Because
of film and TV as a kind of
they were really well written, by people who weren’t
dated, dusty old medium.
muckraking about the celebrities who were in them,
Some of the virtual reality
and they weren’t being snarky about the movies to
stuff I’ve seen has been a
show how clever they were. They’re interesting and
very overwhelming experi-
educational. There are still people out there who
ence. It reminds me of those
still write like that, who I look to when I’m trying to
descriptions you hear of
figure out what I want to see at the theater, or I go
people seeing movies for the
read their reviews after I’ve seen a movie to get a
first time, and jumping out of
really intelligent point of view on it. But there’s such
the way of the train coming
a cacophony of the other stuff, that sometimes you
into the station. Those VR,
just have to throw up your hands and say, “Forget it.
immersive experiences have
I’m just not going to pay attention to any of this.”
a power in them that I don’t think we’re really ready for. But stories are what we’re after, and I think it’s them
There used to be a very different definition of the word, “criticism”. It wasn’t criticism to be critical. It was criticism to pick it apart and think about it. I wish there were more of that today. ★ D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E
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DOCS ON SONG The Original Song category will be a competitive field at the 2017 Oscars, as a range of world-renowned musicians submit pieces for consideration. Offering songs for two very different documentaries, TORI AMOS (Audrie & Daisy) and the songwriting team of STING & J. RALPH (Jim: The James Foley Story) seperately channel crucial contemporary issues through their own unique lenses, writes Matt Grobar.
TORI AMOS A HIGHLY ACCLAIMED singer-songwriter, composer and pianist bringing her soulful voice to bear over the past two decades, Tori Amos was the perfect artist to compose the closing credits theme— titled “Flicker”—for Netflix doc Audrie & Daisy, a film which raises awareness of the widespread issue of sexual assault, and related crimes of the internet age. Below, Amos—a mother to a teenage daughter, and a long-time activist with the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, discusses the genesis of her work on the film, her musical inspirations, and the use of her art in promoting social change.
I’ve always said, this is the mantra of my life: “if it’s
actions. Where else are we going to have the
too loud, turn it up.”
education, unless in our schools? Sometimes, I think we inhibit our educators
When you were performing “Me and a Gun”
from talking about tough subjects, but that
every night, was it a source of personal pain,
doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be talking about
empowerment or both?
it. Kids—girls and boys—are sending pictures
It depends on the night I was performing it. That
of themselves, whether they feel bullied, or
particular song is written so that the attack is
they’re being groomed to send naked pictures of
happening as she’s singing the song, and right in the
themselves, which the boys in the Audrie story
aftermath of the attack. You are in her mind as the
had been doing—allegedly—and had an account,
attack is occurring. “Flicker” is a song that wanted
almost like trading naked baseball cards. The
to include Audrie’s story, as well as Daisy’s story.
truth is, a lot of our teenagers can out-social
To say that some lights do not sustain, to go from
media us in ways that will lock us out of our
victimhood to survivor. Some of our beautiful lights
computer systems; there has to be another way
tragically go out.
to get through, and I think that’s why the film is so
I was speaking to Sheila the other night—
important.
Audrie’s mother—in depth, about being a mother, and not knowing what was happening until after
At this stage in society, as light is shone on
her suicide. Now, she has become an activist in
the slow but sure path to progress with regard
When did you first see Audrie & Daisy, and how
Audrie’s name, to go into high schools, and to
to many social issues, why do we still find
did you get involved?
really talk to people—because these are our kids.
ourselves grappling on such a level with those
Netflix sent it over to see what my response was,
That’s something in both stories—Daisy’s story
issues presented in the film?
and I watched it twice because I was shocked. I was
as well. This issue is not with strangers; this is in
Because these kids have technical capabilities, but
aware of the Emily Doe case, and the issue on our
our communities, with people we know, dividing
they don’t have conscious responsibility. They’re
universities campuses that’s been happening in the
communities and schools. That’s what really shook
not walking a thought through. I had a teacher
States, but realizing that this had permeated now
me to the core. Audrie & Daisy is about kids going
years ago that would talk about, “Play this out.”
into our high schools and middle schools, with the
to the same school and doing this to each other—
That is about education, and we’re spending so
age group of 14 and 13—with Paige [Parkhurst]—
people who you would call your friends. There is
much time on getting our teenagers technical
and hearing in the film that in Audrie’s case, one
the online component that we have to talk about.
skills, but not on developing the emotional
of the girls was talking about how photographs
Not just our boys are involved: our girls are just as
intelligence that they need in order to protect
were being sent to an account belonging to kids
involved in the shaming online.
themselves and not hurt each other, and to realize
as young as 11 and 12… I realized that as bad as the
how they’re hurting each other.
university cases are, and as shocking as they are,
You’ve said in the past that the internet and
and prevalent, now parents—and I’m the mom of a
social media are neutral tools that can come
What was the process of finding the lyrics and
teenager—need to be aware of what’s going on.
with positive or very negative consequences,
composing the music for your song in the film,
depending on how they’re applied. Are you
“Flicker”?
To you, what is the importance and the role
concerned that either of these tools is making
Bonni and Jon and I had some deep conversations
of art—and music specifically—in promoting
the world worse?
about the different issues in the film, and even
social change, or awareness of critical social
Yeah. That’s why, I think, Bonni [Cohen] and Jon
though the song needs to be uplifting, Audrie’s
issues?
[Shenk], the directors, have been going around
dead. The song had to hold that story, and then
Well, when “Me and a Gun” was on the Little
the screenings talking about it. This is a tough
it also had to hold Daisy’s story, which is the
Earthquakes record, not everybody wanted me to
conversation, but it has to happen in our schools,
phoenix out of the ashes. So the spark did ignite
put it on because it was a tough listen in 1991 and
as well. You could see in the film, when they were
there—although she did try to commit suicide a
1992—and it’s still a tough listen, but that doesn’t
interviewing the boys in Audrie’s story, that they
few times, she is still with us, and so fire and lights,
mean that you shouldn’t put it on your record. As
seemed clueless to the consequences of their
they were very much guiding me at the time.
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“WE’RE SPENDING SO MUCH TIME ON GETTING OUR TEENAGERS TECHNICAL SKILLS, BUT NOT ON DEVELOPING THE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO PROTECT THEMSELVES AND NOT HURT EACH OTHER, AND TO REALIZE HOW THEY’RE HURTING EACH OTHER.” TORI AMOS
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STING AND J. RALPH STING TEAMED WITH prolific, Oscar-nominated composer J. Ralph to create an original song for HBO documentary Jim: The James Foley Story, titled “The Empty Chair.” Speaking to the song, which Sting re-recorded in a different key for his forthcoming album, 57th & 9th, the pair discuss conversations with the film’s director, Brian Oakes, the political and human resonance of the film, and the visual behind the music.
How did you both come to be involved in this pro-
Obviously it’s a very sad movie because of the outcome,
ject, and what made you want to come on board?
but it’s an incredibly inspiring movie to see what all of us
J. Ralph: I had met Brian Oakes, the director, through a
are capable of doing. I’m not suggesting or saying that
friend—I had been on board very early on and was hugely
everyone needs to go to Syria, but this guy made it his
inspired by the film. I was in Africa at the same time that
mission in life to make the world a better place, and to
the event happened to James Foley, and the front page
show people parts of the world and things that are going
of the New York Times, the day that I left for Africa, it
on in the world. Specifically, civilian casualties of war,
was like, “Kidnapping at an all time high.” This feeling of,
people that have nothing to do with anything. To try to
I guess, brotherly relation to him was always there. After
keep the conversation going.
watching the first cut of the film, I really thought that
That’s one of the other main drivers of the film, is
there could be a great opportunity to distill a lot of these
that we hope that it keeps the conversation alive about
emotions and give people a bridge back to their lives,
civilian casualties of war, the importance of conflict
because it’s very intense emotions.
journalists and our own hostage policy. I think everyone
I had reached out to Sting. I just thought that his writ-
knows that the U.S. policy is that we won’t negotiate with
ing and his sensitivity and his voice would be a perfect
terrorists. We won’t negotiate on any level, but I think very
complement to helping people relate to the story.
few people know that it’s illegal for the family to pay, as
Sting: He invited me down to his studio in Chinatown
well. If you pay, you will go to jail. It’s almost like a treason
and showed me the film, which devastated me, and then
kind of thing. The family legally didn’t even have an option
he said, “Would you write a song with this musical setting
to pay, themselves, to get their son back.
I’ve done?” I said, “I don’t think I can. It’s too devastating,
Sting: Which is why his captive friends—the Australians,
and I’m not sure how a song could possibly end that
French, Germans…
thing. I don’t know what that song is; no idea.” I took the
Ralph: They all got out. I’m not making statements on
movie back home, showed it to my wife, who was equally
the effectiveness of U.S. foreign policy. I just think it needs
devastated by it. Then we had dinner with my family, and
a much bigger debate, because the world is radically
I just had this idea of a family sitting around a table, and
changing at a rate that I don’t think anyone ever expected.
someone was missing, and how would that feel? What
We can’t be in situations where someone is trying to help
would you do, have an empty chair waiting for him?
save the world and there’s no options, you know?
Once I found that metaphor, I wrote the song very quickly, and then I took little bits of interviews, all that
What does winning the Audience Award at Sun-
people had said about Jim—like, you know, he was always
dance, and taking awards at other festivals, mean
late for every meal, little snippets that were part of the
for the film?
film—and then just put it together. I gave it to Josh the next
Ralph: I think, for the most part, it’s important for us to
day, and he said, “You’re supposed to make this look hard.”
keep his memory alive, help the film, and as I said, mostly,
[laughs] I said, “It’s not hard once you find a metaphor.”
help people find another connection to the film that’s
So the next test was to play it for the family, really. We
more love-based and hopeful and inspiring. If you want to
performed it for the family in Sundance. And friends of
look at the story through a lens of darkness and evil, you
his, and people he’d been in captivity with. They all gave
can choose to do that, but you can also see incredible
us their permission, and they said, “This actually really
hope and beauty and the power of an individual, of what
honors Jim. It sounds like him.”
one person can do. Sting: We want more people to see the film. We’re not
While the film is very emotional and very human, it
here to get an award—I don’t need another award. But
also has a strong political resonance. What do you
we want to have as many people as possible to see an
think the documentary reflects about our society
example of a real American export of power, which is soft
at the moment?
power. It’s this compassion, this empathy that Jim had.
Ralph: I think the actual quote from the movie is that
Ralph: And bravery.
Jim’s photograph is the second most recognizable event
Sting: It’s not a shoot-em-up kind of heroism at all. It’s a
in the world next to the 9/11 photograph.
more empathetic, real courage. That needs to be heard
Sting: Which photograph?
and seen.
Ralph: In the orange jumpsuit in the desert. But the
Ralph: I think the final scene of this film is one of the
thing about this is that this movie is not about death.
most gripping, powerful cinematic experiences I’ve ever
It’s about the importance of life, and how well you live
seen on film. It’s a level of emotion and intimacy that I’ve
your life while you’re here, and what you do with your life.
not really seen ever. ★
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PHOTOGRAPH BY
Dan Doperalski
11/11/16 1:59 PM
“WE HAD DINNER WITH MY FAMILY, AND I JUST HAD THIS IDEA OF A FAMILY SITTING AROUND A TABLE, AND SOMEONE WAS MISSING, AND HOW WOULD THAT FEEL? WHAT WOULD YOU DO, HAVE AN EMPTY CHAIR WAITING FOR HIM?” STING
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D THE DIALOGUE
OSCAR CONTENDERS/ ACTO RS
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Mahershala
ALI
★
★
★
crack-addicted mother—was there any resistance, on your part, to the idea of playing a drug dealer? Not at all. In thinking back, maybe I would have some resistance to playing a drug dealer in how they’re most commonly framed—they usually are one-dimensional. They’re just drug dealers, and they’re there to represent a crimi-
★
nal element. As a black man, it’s very difficult
After crashing Netflix in September with Luke Cage, Mahershala Ali is crushing it on the big screen, with Moonlight and Hidden Figures. BY M AT T G RO BA R
for you to feel good about contributing in that way, and sort of already enabling and supporting certain stereotypes, but with this, it’s a project that is written from the inside out. With both Barry and Tarell being very talented writers, they can’t help but write characters that are three-dimensional, so with that in mind, and just what was on the page, I didn’t really think of it as being a negative.
BY ANY MEASURE, MAHERSHALA ALI is having a banner year. As Remy Danton on House of Cards, Ali went toe-to-toe with the likes of Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. But he moved on in a big way this year, delivering a menacing turn as Cornell ‘Cottonmouth’ Stokes on Netflix’s Luke Cage, before jumping into the press circuit for Oscar contenders Moonlight and Hidden Figures. Speaking to Deadline, Ali touches on the process of working with breakout Moonlight director Barry Jenkins, an encouraging year in Hollywood, and the challenge of tackling highly personal, emotional material.
Now, look—obviously, anything with a criminal element is something that should give you pause, but as a character, he was so human that to me, it wasn’t any different from Remy [Danton, House of Cards] and his flaws. It was a character flaw, but it wasn’t what he was. Since we’re all flawed, one of his flaws is that he makes money illegally, but it doesn’t mean that he’s a bad or evil human being. I felt like there was a real opportunity with this character to play someone who reflected people from my own upbringing
What attracted you to Moonlight in the
reflected Barry and Tarell’s upbringing. I
and experience. I didn’t grow up in a world
initial read?
didn’t want my lack of time to be a disser-
filled with drug dealers per se, but I’ve known
The story was just so well told, and it was
vice to the character, which would impact
a few, or have been close to a few, and over
something that I hadn’t seen that was
and affect the film negatively.
the years, have had to consciously separate
contemporary and fresh. It just had a strong
I was committed to three other proj-
myself from them because of the work that I
sense of social relevance—it felt impor-
ects—it was kind of in negotiations at that
started doing, and how my life has changed.
tant—and coupled with all that, the charac-
time, and looking to see how they could all
The stakes have been really high for me. I
ter was one that really spoke to me. Having
fit together—and my wife had said to me,
can’t be rolling around in my hometown in a
come up through doing a lot of television
“Well, you know you used to do this all the
car with a guy making deliveries. [laughs] I
work, I’ve done a couple of period pieces
time in grad school,” because we knew each
just can’t do that.
as well now, but this one ended up being a
other in college. She reminded me that,
character from an urban world, so to speak.
look, you’ll be in scene study one moment,
you have to continue to grow as a person,
Up to that point, I hadn’t read something
and then you’re in your improv class, and
and once you have means and opportunity,
that was that well written, and a character
then you’re working on something else in
you have to make different choices to protect
that was just so clear and alive, and multi-
your cabaret class, and then you’re going off
what you have. It doesn’t mean I love those
dimensional on the page.
to rehearsal for one of the plays that you’re
people any less—I just can’t really be in close
doing. We would work on three or four char-
proximity to them, in the way in which I was
Working from material that’s so
acters in one day, and all those characters
growing up. Though to bring that back around,
personal for Barry Jenkins, and Tarell
had to be really different, and specific and
the character was human in a way that as an
McCraney [who wrote the play on
truthful. I hadn’t had to juggle anything like
actor, I’ve always aspired to play people who
which Moonlight is based], do you
that in 15 years, but when she reminded
were multi-dimensional, and for someone
find there’s a different weight to the
me of that, it helped with my confidence to
who has really tried to make the best of any
project?
take it on, and in some ways, compartmen-
opportunity that I’ve had, those characters
From the first time I spoke to Barry, the
talize, and encourage myself to be really
haven’t come around a lot for me, not to the
only resistance I had to the project had to
focused and singularly minded when I was
degree to which I’ve wanted them to. There
do with the time I felt was necessary for
working on whatever project I was working
wasn’t one second where I thought about not
me to do good work. That resistance was
on that day.
playing Juan because he was a drug dealer; if
attached to how personal the story was
Your life, your circumstances change, and
anything, I just had some anxiety about being
for Barry—I felt an extra layer of pressure to
Naomie Harris has shared her initial
able to do a good job because of what was
get it right because of it being a story that
reluctance to take on the role of a
going on with my schedule. ★
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Dev
to Bhopal, alone. I wrote diaries. I went to these orphanages and met children that were severely disabled, and kind of disregarded by their par-
PAT E L
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ents, and it was a real process of growing up and learning a lot about myself. It’s been the most nourishing experience of my career. But for Saroo, he lived this reality—this incredible existence, with these wonderful adop-
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tive parents supporting him. Slowly, this guilt
Lion’s lead is inspired by Saroo Brierley’s emotional true-life story. BY JO E U T I C H I
started to creep in. He was a product of privilege and luck. And his mother and older brother could still have been on that train platform every single day, searching for him. That started to plague him, and he was consumed by trying to find his mother to let her know he was OK. You’ve become practically a local in India
EV PATEL’S CAREER STARTED in his native United Kingdom, with a role on the hit teen drama Skins. But it was with Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning 2008 film, that he became a real star. Equally adept at drama and comedy, Patel went on to join the cast of Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom, as well as star alongside acting royalty in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel duology. This year, he’s in The Man Who Knew Infinity alongside Jeremy Irons, and TWC’s Lion, with Nicole Kidman. Lion is based on the true story of Saroo Brierley, a boy orphaned on the streets of Calcutta before being adopted by a loving Australian couple. Patel plays the older Saroo, whose quest to be reunited with his lost birth mother took years of searching.
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now. But was Slumdog Millionaire your first experience of the country? Saroo’s journey is very close to my journey in discovering India. I can relate a lot to that feeling of going back as an alien, but with connections to it. I kind of unconsciously went to India as a child, to a part of Godhra for a family wedding, but I didn’t really understand it at all. I discovered it when I did Slumdog. I was out there with Danny Boyle, experiencing this whole new side to this culture. And it had a massive effect on me. I grew up hiding from my heritage in a way, so I could fit in, and to avoid being bullied in school. I felt insecure about it. And now, having gone there and worked there so much, I have become
What went through your mind when
got the role, the first step was changing
completely enthralled by the culture and the
you first heard Saroo Brierley’s story?
my look, the way I sound, the accent, all
country, and it’s become a real source of inspira-
I read the script and I was blown away by
those kinds of things. The first thing I said
tion for me.
Luke [Davies]’ writing, and I was a ball of
to Garth [Davis, director] was, “I don’t look
tears by the end of it. I started to research
anything like him; what are we going to do?”
Are you hopeful that the film sheds some
Saroo—articles, and a couple of Google
But he explained we weren’t doing some
light on children in India who perhaps
talks he’d done. To be able to play a char-
kind of imitation. We wanted to capture the
weren’t as fortunate as Saroo?
acter well, you’ve got to love them first, and
essence of his struggle and his pain, and I
You know, I’ve been there and seen so many
that was very easy for me because the story
had to embody that honestly.
children wandering the streets. There are almost
We finally met when we were filming in
too many to help, and it becomes almost suffo-
Tasmania. It was a nerve-wracking moment
cating. But when you go through an experience
Saroo’s story is sadly not uncommon
for me. I worried he’d judge me or see
like I did on this movie, and you understand what
in India. Did you feel a responsibility to
right through me. But he was so warm and
it’s like for a child, that’s really when it becomes
get it right, for India’s huge number of
informative. What we spoke about was very
something real to you.
street children?
microcosmic moments and feelings. How
Yes, and Saroo is one of the lucky ones.
were you feeling when you were on that lap-
this movie can initiate a conversation and shed
There’s hundreds of thousands of children
top, finding your home? What was coursing
light on these lost souls. The Weinstein Com-
in India that are lost or homeless, and
through your veins? I don’t think he gets
pany and See-Saw Films are trying to figure out
that don’t have families. This is one of the
asked that stuff normally, but for me it was
a way to give a financial boost to some of these
stories of triumph, really. Not only did he
important to know.
charities, and we’re in the process of that.
but also he was able, through his incredible
It must be almost impossible to imag-
see them in our film, like Mrs. Sood, the woman
brain and perseverance, to reconnect with
ine the depth of those emotions.
that takes Saroo out of that home, and she’s
his birth mother as well. That’s what makes
For Saroo, even though he was surrounded
just a ball of warm, beautiful energy, who would
it so incredible.
by so much love, his journey was really
die for her job. There are many people like that in
personal, and actually very isolating. I went
India, that are trying to do great things for these
Did you meet with Saroo?
through the whole process while preparing
children, and we hope we can bring people to
We met during production. When I first
the role. I traveled the trains from Calcutta
them. ★
get adopted to a beautiful, loving family,
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It’s awful, what’s happening, and I’m hopeful
There are beautiful people in India—and you
PHOTOGRAPH BY
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is so inspiring.
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Adam
in that these two young priests are traveling the world on a massive quest. The guy I’m playing,
DRIVER
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★
Father Francisco Garrpe, he’s a lot like St. Peter. That’s the person I kind of modeled him after. He’s a realist and has a similar doubt that St. Peter had. In the old days of Hollywood, it wasn’t unusual to hear about a star who served in
Known for complex characters, the ascendant actor plays it simple in Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson. BY A N T H O N Y D ’A L E S SA N D RO
the armed forces. Attitudes have changed. As a former Marine, do you ever come up against any misconceptions about your profession in a left-leaning industry? Not really. I don’t feel the need to defend myself whenever it comes up. There’s less than 1% serving in the military and whenever I get questions it isn’t so strange. When I decided to be an actor, it struck some as strange, but
EETING THE TALL, WAVY-HAIRED ADAM DRIVER in person immediately brings to mind his most sublimely acerbic onscreen personas; Adam Sackler, the brooding boyfriend with the power to wrap Lena Dunham’s Hannah Horvath around his finger in Girls; or Kylo Ren, arguably the Star Wars saga’s most multi-dimensional villain. It’s not that Driver hasn’t played nice guys before, but with his profile rising we’re treated to his gentle side in Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson. As the title character, Driver is an out-of-his-time blue-collar guy with a penchant for poetry, who drives a city bus in Paterson, NJ. Of his character, Driver says: “I like that he’s a creature of habit, and that he does his art in private—that I understood. However, that the main objective in the movie required him to always listen—that was very exciting to me.” The Juilliard graduate will also star in Martin Scorsese’s Silence this year, as a Jesuit priest on a perilous mission to find his lost mentor in 17th Century Japan.
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people forget that the military is comprised of people. They’ve had lives before and they have lives outside the military. They’re not just engrossed in military culture and vernacular, but they’re poets and artists and they’re people, and they have a complicated and very stressful job of being in the military. What Jim does so well in Paterson, when I initially read the script, the main character wasn’t in the military. He added that, but in no prevalent way. I was apprehensive initially but it highlighted a point: just because someone was in the military, you can’t put them in a box. He happens to drive a bus and he happens to write poetry. I have a non-profit that I run with my wife, Arts in the Armed Forces, which we started during my second year at Juilliard. Entertainment for
How did you prepare for Paterson?
that goes along with anything; not knowing
troops, which is always well-intended, plays to
I think the biggest thing was learning how
if you’re right, doubting regardless of where
the lowest common denominator, and here I am
to drive a bus; I had an elementary knowl-
you are in your career. These guys have a
at Juilliard reading these plays from David Rabe
edge of poetry. I knew of Allen Ginsberg’s
good way of dealing with that. They’re not
and Sam Shepard. We’ll read plays that have
Howl and E.E. Cummings. I didn’t know
shy in not knowing what the answer is. To
nothing to do with the military, but that relate to
about Ron Padgett’s poems that appear
watch that in practice is very inspiring; to
being a human, that bridge the gaps between
in Paterson, and the New York School.
see someone at their level not know the
civilian and military. We pick contemporary
Jim also turned me on to Frank O’Hara.
answer – they embrace the process of
American plays to perform on military bases and
Because we were trying to tell a story
making anything. Your impulse on a Martin
for veterans, with no costumes. We just get great
about someone who had structured their
Scorsese set is that you want him to tell
actors to volunteer their time, we set up music
physical life and could go on autopilot, I
you what to do. But he wants you to take
stands on stage and read plays. We’ve traveled
had to put in the rhythms of someone who
ownership of your character and space, and
to Kuwait, to military medical centers. We just
does this every day. In regards to getting
the challenge that comes with your ideas.
came back from Fort Hood in Texas.
a bus license, that was the longest thing
They’re very much interested in the process,
to prepare for. There was a three-month
and the process of filmmaking. They both
Following the success of Star Wars, has
period. You need to be aware of what’s
have a rebellious spirit of making something
there been any pressure to make you more
going on in the bus. There are active driv-
with their friends, and value that collabora-
of an action star? For you to exchange art
ers who are teaching you, and I would grill
tive part of it.
for the sake of commerce?
What can you tell us about Martin
studio movies. In the outside world, there might
What was the takeaway for you work-
Scorsese’s long awaited Silence?
be certain steps that actors are supposed to do.
ing with Jim Jarmusch and Martin
I guess it’s similar to The Mission. The
I don’t subscribe to these steps. Regardless of
Scorsese?
time period is 17th Century. Two priests are
what the project is, whether it’s a disaster or a
They’re similar in some ways and they’re
looking for a fellow priest who has been
new experience, I want to continue to work with
very different in others. There’s an anxiety
ostracized. There’s a bit of Homer’s Odyssey
great directors regardless of the medium.
them about how their days were on duty.
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I haven’t felt any pressure whatsoever to do big
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Miles
He had a gift for selling a fight of the ilk of Muhammad Ali. Vinny was powerful
TELLER
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in the ring, he had nice footwork and a ton of knockouts, but he wasn’t the most technical fighter. When I finally got to meet him, I’m getting to a guy with 50 pro wins; he’s been beat around. Vinny broke his nose 100 times. He was always covered in blood in any fight. He had the
After playing a masochistic drummer in Whiplash, Miles Teller wraps his hands again for boxer biopic Bleed for This. BY A N T H O N Y D ’A L E S SA N D RO
heart of a lion to risk paralysis, but to still walk and box again. He loved to box. When I met him, he was still intact. He’s 54 and he’s not walking around with a walker as opposed to Kevin Rooney, who has dementia. It’s a brutal sport. He doesn’t like training other boxers. I think in his own words, they would need to win just as much as he did.
WO YEARS AGO, MILES TELLER cut his fingers and took a beating as a jazz drummer in the three-time Oscar winning film Whiplash. This year, Teller endures a different type of pummeling as two-time world boxing champ Vinny ‘Paz’ Pazienza in Ben Younger’s Bleed for This. Paz was at the top of the world in 1991, then the second boxer in history to win both the world lightweight and junior middleweight titles. But then tragedy struck. Following a training session, Paz got in the passenger seat of his friend’s Camaro. They were doing 50 on the road when they were cut off, sending the vehicle into oncoming traffic. Paz woke up in the hospital with two cracked vertebrae in his neck and a third resting on his spinal cord. The doctor said Paz would never box again. But what followed was one of the greatest comebacks in boxing history. “I love these people with that warrior mentality,” says Teller. “You have a doctor—the highest people in the field—telling you, ‘This is impossible,’ and there’s just something in there that says, ‘Not for me.’”
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He’d get frustrated if they didn’t match his own tenacity. He never drank or did drugs throughout his career. He liked to gamble because he liked the risk-reward stakes of it. Typically in other boxing movies, it’s the woman in the corner of the ring who is the fighter’s conscience: Adrian in Rocky or Vikki LaMotta in Raging Bull. It’s interesting, but Bleed for This doesn’t hang its hat on a woman in Vinny’s life. You could make a version of this movie that’s romanticized with all the aspects of Vinny’s life, or make it with all the aspects to reach a certain rating or audience. One of the most important things was to make this movie truthful. It took
This project came to you about two
I knew how hard this one would be. I got
me a second to know that it was a dif-
years ago before Whiplash released,
a nutritionist and a trainer over the next
ferent girl’s name in each scene. I kept
right?
eight months, and I had two other films
looking for the girlfriend in Vinny’s corner,
I got the script and thought this was an
in between. For those eight months it
and it was always a different girl.
incredible opportunity for somebody
was a strict diet and working out. When I
else. I hadn’t played a part like this; I
got to Los Angeles, I got a boxing trainer,
Given Vinny’s daredevil attitude to
wasn’t playing any part around my own
and that’s when the days got intense
keep boxing after the car crash, is
age, but I was slowly making my way up
over the next five or six weeks. Four hours
this a guy who would be at peace
there. When it was time to meet with
a day boxing, two hours lifting weights
dying in the ring?
Ben Younger, I thought this guy was doing
and two hours with a dialect coach. By
Once his neck was healed, the bone
my agent a favor. I went back home to
the time we went into production I was
grows back stronger. In regards to those
Florida to see my family, and that’s when
168lb with 6% body fat.
boxers who die in the ring, in boxing you
I got the call from Ben offering me the
want all the glory, but you can’t ignore
part. He saw Spectacular Now. To see
If a neck injury didn’t stop Vinny from
all the pain, and there’s always a poten-
me playing out of sorts, this high school
boxing, why did he ultimately stop?
tial risk of dying. A lot of boxers have a
teenager, and then think of me for Vinny
It’s hard for any professional athlete to
disjointed, kind of tragic home life. That
Paz, that was a huge leap of faith.
walk away at any point in time, but for
wasn’t the case with Vinny. He came
Vinny, I think getting that 50th win in the
from a normal, loving, middle-class fam-
How did you prepare to play the
ring was pretty important to him, and once
ily. I know Vinny saw Rocky as a teen-
“Pazmanian Devil”?
he was pretty old, it just made sense.
ager and rode his bike home and told
When I got the part in March, I had 19%
his parents he was going to be a world
body fat and weighed 188 lbs. I had got-
Aside from Vinny’s warrior mentality,
championship boxer. He’s just that big
ten in shape for other movies before, but
what else struck you about him?
badass dude.
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★ | flash mob
THE CONTENDERS PRESENTED BY DEADLINE SATURDAY, NOV. 5 / LOS ANGELES Top row, from left: Seth Rogen; Laura Dern and John Lee Hancock; Tom Ford, Warren Beatty and John Legend; Jessica Chastain, Denzel Washington. This row, from left: James L. Brooks, Hailee Steinfeld and Kelly Fremon Craig; Ben Foster and Chris Pine. Bottom row, from left: Don Cheadle; Margaret Bowman and Jeff Bridges; Mark Wahlberg; Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg; Justin Timberlake.
RE X /S H U T T ERSTOC K
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FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE OFFICIAL SELECTION ITALY
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
IDA DOCUMENTARY AWARD NOMINEE
BEST FEATURE
“
WINNER
WINNER
Golden Bear Berlinale
Best Cinematography IDA Documentary Award
4
CINEMA EYE HONORS NOMINATIONS
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NONFICTION FILMMAKING DIRECTION, CINEMATOGRAPHY, PRODUCTION
EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS NOMINEE
BEST DOCUMENTARY
INTENSELY ABSORBING .
ROSI OBSERVES, WITH HUMILITY AND PRECISION. INSTEAD OF RAISING AWARENESS, HE CULTIVATES ALERTNESS.’’ A.O. SCOTT, THE NEW YORK TIMES
★★★★★ ! AN AMAZING FILM.
“
THIS MIRROR HELD TO REALITY IS SO MULTIFACETED THAT IT MESMERISES LIKE FICTION.’’ NIGEL ANDREWS, FINANCIAL TIMES
★★★★★ ! BEAUTIFUL,
“
MYSTERIOUS AND MOVING. THIS IS MASTERLY FILMMAKING.” PETER BRADSHAW, THE GUARDIAN
“
MASTERFUL ...
GOES ABOUT ITS BUSINESS IN A QUIET WAY, WITH UNOBTRUSIVE YET POWERFUL SIMPLICITY, USING AN UNCONVENTIONAL STRUCTURE AND CINEMATIC ARTISTRY TO MAKE ITS POINTS.’’ KENNETH TURAN, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“
PROFOUNDLY MOVING . REVELATORY. A SHINING EXAMPLE OF JOURNALISM FUELED BY OUTRAGE AND SHAPED BY FREERANGING CURIOSITY.’’ JOE MORGENSTERN, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
A F I L M BY G I A N F R A N C O R O S I
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“S T U N N I N G” “E X T R AO R D I N A R Y” “A S T O N I S H I N G” “AS GRIPPING AS SERIAL AND MAKING A MURDERER, B U T W I T H M O R E I N T I M A C Y A N D H E A R TA C H E” “E S S E N T I A L V I E W I N G”
“U R G E N T A N D I M P O R TA N T”
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S O M E S T O R I E S H AU N T U S F O R E V E R . KITTYGENOVESEFILM.COM
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