Photographers Inspire "when you find me"

I am very glad that Project Imagin8ion - an awesome collaboration between Ron Howard and Canon - gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the photographers, whose images inspired this heartwarming short film "when you find me."

Ron Howard and Canon on "when you find me"

Project Imagin8ion is an awesome collaboration between Ron Howard and Canon. Photographers submit their best work, in an effort to inspire Howard and his team to weave a story around their photos and bring the story onto film. Howard's daughter, Bryce Dallas, directs this heartwarming, tear-jerker of a film.

One remarkable thing about the internet, and social media in particular, over the past decade is the accessibility of projects and films like these.  They're right there, literally at our fingertips, to enjoy, reflect on, and be inspired by.

"when you find me" tells the story of two sisters whose childhood bond is tested by a tragedy they are too young to understand. Alternating between past and present, 'when you find me' is an emotional fable of two people coping with loss in very different ways, and what it takes to find peace within yourself and reconciliation with the ones you love.

It isn't having access just to the short film itself, but also to the creative process behind the scenes and the gathering at the premier, which I enjoy immensely.  I appreciate the chance to study up on the project, and do something similar, or related, or altogether different.

   

Playwright Tarell McCraney is a MacArthur Fellow

Tarell McCraney

Tarell McCraney is now among MacArthur Fellows for the Class of 2013, congratulations!

Unlike some of the other winners who have university or other professional appointments, McCraney is an independent writer with a peripatetic schedule involving Chicago, New York (where he has a close relationship with the New York Public Theater) and the United Kingdom. In the interview, he said he does not currently have a permanent residence but has been living where his commissions have dictated. That may change now.

“This is surreal,” McCraney said from London, where he currently is working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. “It won’t make sense to me until other people know. But I am thinking this will be, for me, focus money. It will allow me to focus, instead of trying to do so many projects at once.”

Reference:  Steppenwolf ensemble member receives MacArthur Fellowship.

I pursued the director position for this fellowship early last year, and along the way I learned that the nomination and selection of winners are a highly secretive process.  No one in the public can nominate anyone, but rather nominees are picked by an unidentified committee.

Colloquially known as a “genius grant,” the $625,000 fellowship (given over five years with no strings attached) is offered by the Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation.

Writer Chris Jones describes the award perfectly well.  Last year, though, it was $500,000, so the Foundation has sweetened the pot.

Four years ago I sketched a five-act, multimedia play, focused on housemaid abuse.  I was living in Dubai, then, and suffice it to say for now, it was very much an issue, especially for the Filipino community.  It's a massive five-project initiative that ultimately deals with all forms of domestic violence and neglect.  Besides the five-act play, I have a feature-length film, a photography-poetry exhibit, an animation film, and an advocacy initiative in mind.

With this, and other projects I have cooking under Dr. Ron Art, I would certainly love to have that focus money that McCraney speaks of.

Tarell Alvin McCraney is a playwright exploring the rich diversity of the African American experience in works that imbue the lives of ordinary people with epic significance. Complementing his poetic, intimate language with a musical sensibility and rhythmic, often ritualistic movement, McCraney transforms intentionally minimalist stages into worlds marked by metaphor and imagery.

His most well-known works, a triptych collectively titled The Brother/Sister Plays (2009), weave West African Yoruban cosmology into modern-day stories of familial self-sacrifice, unrequited love, and coming of age. The audience becomes an essential part of the story as the characters speak their stage directions and inner feelings directly to the viewers. In Head of Passes (2013) and Choir Boy (2012), McCraney draws on themes that run throughout the Book of Job and traditional spirituals, respectively, to explore the role of faith and tradition in two very different close-knit worlds. Head of Passes, set in the isolated marshlands of the Mississippi River Delta, dramatizes a matriarch’s struggle to maintain her faith as her world literally falls apart around her. In Choir Boy, students at an elite boarding school remain united in their dedication to performing traditional spirituals even as they navigate the fraught nature of adolescent self-expression. 

In addition to writing new works, McCraney is committed to bringing theatre to elementary and secondary school students, particularly in underserved communities in his hometown of Miami. His ninety-minute adaptation of Hamlet (2010), an intense, condensed version of the play set within a contemporized historical context, employs a visually explosive, expressive staging that engages audiences of all ages, whether or not they have a previous familiarity with Shakespeare. In telling stories that are simultaneously contemporary and universal, McCraney is demonstrating to new and younger audiences the ability of theatre to evoke a sense of our shared humanity and emerging as an important voice in American theatre.

Reference:  Tarell McCraney.

When Fragrance is a Romance

Audrey Tautou stars in this sensual short film for Chanel N°5.

Nicole Kidman stars in this Moulin Rouge-like film for Chanel N°5.

Keira Knightley stars in this sexy short film for Coco Mademoiselle.

"Stone" as a Modern-Day Biblical Story

I admit to the following interpretation as more free associative, perhaps imaginative, too, than systematic or deliberate.  I found "Stone" to be a brilliant, compelling film, but its poor showing in the box office suggests I am one of relatively few movie goers who loved it.

Ready?

"Stone" is a modern-day Biblical story.  Jack and Madylyn are the young couple we see at the outset, living an intolerably staid, oppressive life, at least far as Madylyn finds it to be.  They are Adam and Eve.

A snake tempts the couple into eating the forbidden fruit.  In the film, Lucetta offers Jack a hard-boiled egg, and he picks it up hesitantly and nibbles at only part of it.  She persuades him into eating the whole thing, a foreshadow of the seduction she entraps him with.

The snake is the Devil, of course, and perhaps it is no accident that the name Lucetta is a takeoff on Lucifer.

Which brings us to Stone, the prisoner working diligently for his release.  He is Jesus.  Stone is the titular figure, and that in itself may be telling.  Writer Angus MacLachlan situates him at the center of a decidedly religious story.

Stone discovers a pamphlet on Zukangor at the prison library, and he learns about the belief that some sort of sound accompanied the realization of a spiritual truth.  As the film progresses, we see him transform from a purely foul-mouthed, confident prisoner, to a more troubled, hesitant man who definitely hears that sound amid the din of prison life.  Perhaps, then, Stone is the messiah.

Zukangor must've been a change MacLachlan made from Eckankar, a religious movement that began in the 1960s in the US.  It derives from the Sanskrit Eka Omkāra, a name for God.

Jesus is the Galilean preacher, whom Christians have generally painted as kindly, patient and holy.  But God made him an incarnation of Himself, that is, simply as a man among men and women.  But what if, with imaginative lenses, we saw him more like Stone?

Lucetta may also be Mary Magdalene, who was one of Jesus' closest followers.  Apparently Christian beliefs that she was formerly a prostitute are unfounded.  Lucifer and-or Mary Magdalene, Lucetta is definitely a sexualized figure in the film.

Moreover, Jack may also be Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who holds Jesus' fate in his hands, just as Jack has official say in whether or not Stone should be released.  Jesus was arrested for blasphemy, that is, for giving the impression that he was the Messiah, Son of God.

Joan Allen Returns to Steppenwolf Theatre

Joan Allen speaks warmly about returning to Steppenwolf Theatre, her role in "The Wheel" (performing now, until November 10th), and the founding members of the Theatre.  Below is the photo, shown in her video interview:

Members of Steppenwolf Theatre (circa 1980), with Joan Allen on the left

In 1974, a plucky group of young actors in suburban Illinois who rehearsed in a borrowed church basement decided, "Hey, let's start a theater company!" What may sound like the premise of a new TV show along the lines of Smash and Glee is, actually, a true story—starring Gary Sinise, Jeff Perry, and Terry Kinney as the plucky young actors. The theater they founded in that basement? Chicago's Tony Award-winning Steppenwolf Theatre Company (with a name borrowed from the Herman Hesse novel for no particular reason at all). The theater, which received the National Medal of Arts in 1998, is heading toward its 40th birthday, which is not bad considering that neither Sinise, Perry, nor Kinney knew that what they were incubating would become one of the most highly revered theaters in the world. In fact, according to Perry, they "had no other particular skill set" and were just doing what they loved. He added, "I don't remember thinking more than a week ahead…I don't think any of us did. I think we only thought to the next opening of the show."

My wife and I must've seen two or three plays at the Steppenwolf Theatre, but it's been ages since the last time.  Besides Allen in the photo above, I have seen Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and John Malkovich in films.

"Arabana" Means "Wheelbarrow" in Arabic

Arabana (meaning "wheelbarrow" in Arabic) is a film about what can happen if we are not diligent about our children's whereabouts...

I will ask my readers for their patience, before I elaborate on this mysterious, poignant short film.  Please let me know what you think and what you experienced:  Ron.Villejo@drronart.com.  There is a broader complexity to this story, which I've seen and grappled with, when I lived in Dubai.

Linguistic Tour de Force of "V for Vendetta"

V: [Evey pulls out her mace] I can assure you I mean you no harm.
Evey Hammond: Who are you?
V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask.
Evey Hammond: Well I can see that.
V: Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.
Evey Hammond: Oh. Right.
V: But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatis persona.
V: Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.
[carves "V" into poster on wall]
V: The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.
V: [giggles]
V: Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.
Evey Hammond: Are you, like, a crazy person?
V: I am quite sure they will say so. But to whom, might I ask, am I speaking with?
Evey Hammond: I'm Evey.
V: Evey? E-V. Of course you are.
Evey Hammond: What does that mean?
V: It means that I, like God, do not play with dice and do not believe in coincidence. Are you hurt?

I simply love this exchange between two figures, when they first meet, who arguably develop a muted, maybe masked, love affair with one another.

(image credit)

The film was based on the graphic novel (i.e., comic book) by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, and its script was written by Andy and Lana (formerly Larry) Wachowski.  The Wachowskis were, of course, behind the monumental Matrix trilogy.  To sustain the v alliteration in the above introduction between V and Evey is a linguistic tour de force.

"The Black Hole" of our Want

"The Black Hole" is very different from other shorts I have seen. It pushes the boundaries of reality and literally breaks them apart, but it does this with a message in mind. Delightfully simple yet capturing our imagination is what Black Hole is all about.

It's funny, yet dark.  It's curious as child's play, yet regretful as the lengths human want goes to.  It's not funny, in that we want to say to this man, at the end of it, Why couldn't you have left well-enough alone?

I found this Future Shorts film wonderfully simple and brilliant.

Songs for the Smoldering Rooney Mara

(image credit)

(image credit)

(image credit)

The Enthralling "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

Screen shots from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is among my Top 5 All-Time Favorites:  "The Matrix," "V for Vendetta," "A Beautiful Mind," and "Moneyball" are the others.  

I love so many things about this David Fincher film - its acting, dialogue, intrigue, photography, soundtrack - that I could spend days watching it several times more.  Rooney Mara is super-enthralling in an otherwise super-enthralling film, and warrants a separate article.    

Rooney Mara jumps off the page as Lisbeth. She is what SL wrote. Rapace was great, but Mara IS Salander inside and out.

Absolutely agree! I read the Larsson novel, after watching the Fincher film, and without question Rooney Mara was Lisbeth Salander incarnate. Yet, the Salander I read sounded more social, more "normal," and didn't seem as compelling as the inscrutable, fierce woman whom Mara portrayed. Maybe Mara captured the Salander whom Larsson actually had in mind.

John Lynn Passionate about Community Theater

John Lynn

The title - John Lynn, who used theater to help others, 1929-2013 - sounds too dispassionate for a man who was passionate about community theater and community service in general.  But the article does share heartwarming memories from those who knew and loved Lynn:

"When ticket sales were brisk, it made him all the happier because he had so many good causes to support," said his son Jon, a director with the troupe who taught theater in the north and northwest suburbs.

"He was the best-kept secret in town," said Sheila Bourque, board president of the Kirk Players, which performs at Mundelein High School. "John was quiet, unassuming, gracious and, above all, tireless when it came to his community service. It was never about him. It was about everybody else."

"He was committed to our community in a way you don't find very often," said Mike Flynn, assistant village manager. "He devoted his time and energy to creating one of the best community theaters in the area, and one that will live on under the precepts he established.

As I complete my scripts - The Room (five-act play on domestic abuse) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Talks!) - I also look for venues to stage these.  Since we live close to Mundelein, and my daughter goes to another high school there, I may want to approach the Kirk Players.  I could help carry on Lynn's community spirit.

13 "Flowers of War" Make Extraordinary Sacrifice

(image credit)

Japan invades China in 1937, and its army overtakes the capital city of Nanjing.  Twelve schoolgirls flee to a nearby church for safety.  John Miller, an American mortician, flees to the same church.  There, they find a boy, the same age as the schoolgirls, who was under the care of a priest (now dead).  Soon thereafter, twelve high class prostitutes scale the locked gates of the church compound, and seek refuge inside as well.

(image credit)

One would think that a church was safe, somehow exempt from the attacks and atrocities of war.  Not the case in "The Land of Blood and Honey," by Angelina Jolie.  Not the case, either, with Zhang Yimou's "The Flowers of War."  Here, renegade Japanese soldiers storm the church, who were fortuitously killed by a surviving Chinese Major.  Their regretful Colonel promises Miller and the schoolgirls, and installs guards right outside the gates.  In the meantime, he invites the girls to sing a choral for him.  Fearing for their safety, Miller declines the invitation.  Now having lost face, the Colonel informs him that it is an order, and his soldiers will return the next day to pick up the girls.  They tally thirteen of them.  (Huh?)  One of the prostitutes mistakenly ambles in, and is therefore counted as one of the girls.

(image credit)

Horrified at what fate no doubt had in store for them, the schoolgirls scheme to commit suicide by jumping off the church tower en masse.  Leader Yu Mo catches wind of their horrible plans, and persuades her fellow prostitutes to take the girls place.  That, they did. The problem?  There are only twelve prostitutes, and there must be thirteen of them, as counted.  Enter:  the boy, who offers to disguise himself as a girl, in order to make the tally.  

In the meantime, Miller and the girls escape the church, in a truck that he fixed.  Apparently the fate of the Thirteen Flowers of War remains unknown all these years, but they are celebrated for their martyrdom.   

The perennially handsome Christian Bale is John Miller, and the inscrutably pretty Ni Ni is Yu Mo.
  

The Thrill and Pathos of "Les Misérables"

For years, I saw advertisements here and there of the musical staging of "Les Misérables" - on TV, in the newspaper, and on outdoor posters or billboards.  But I hardly paid attention.  With only sketchy notions, I thought the piece was by Molière and the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber.  I was flatly wrong on both counts, though it was another Frenchman - Victor Hugo - who wrote the original novel and it was adapted for the stage by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg.

Two things made me take note, finally - The 2012 film adaptation by Tom Hooper, which had a premier in London.  Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried were on hand.  

But it was Anne Hathaway's heartfelt rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" that cinched it for me.  Some very accomplished singers misunderstand a piece like this, and let their talent take precedence over character and drama or otherwise miss the agonized and agonizing tone of the piece.  Hathaway is an exception.  

(image credit)

I haven't seen the Hooper film or the London staging, yet.  But with patient search on YouTube and Google, I am able to learn about "Les Misérables" and cull select videos for this article.  I was especially pleased to have found a full concert of the musical (top).