Larry Ratliff

Danny Boyle defends gruesome '127 Hours'

 
Danny Boyle, one of if not the most personable filmmaker I've ever had the pleasure of interviewing, stopped by Dallas recently to talk about "127 Hours," the based-on-truth saga of Aron Ralston.

If Ralston's name isn't familiar to you, I'm guessing his plight is.  In April of 2003, 26-year-old Ralston, an adventurer and mountain climber, cut off his arm with a dull knife to escape a boulder that trapped him in a Utah canyon.  He had been trapped for over five days and nights.

Boyle, a Best Director Oscar winner for "Slumdog Millionaire" (which also took Best Picture honors and virtually swept the Academy Awards in 2009), fielded questions from film journalists gathered around a table at a near-downtown hotel.

As usual, he was quite candid.  Boyle spoke openly about audience members having a tough time dealing with the graphic depiction of a desperate man's desperate act to survive.

QUESTION:  What was the thought process in magnifying the sound in this movie?

ANSWER:  It was to make the journey as intense as possible.  I mean, you've got two things.  Because you're got no other characters, James has to play all the parts, all the tones.  So you need a great actor who's going to have contrast and variation in what they can play.  The most obvious example of that is the talk show host when he does that.  He introduces these comic tones and then very tender tones. 

But you also need to provide as much variety as possible as a director.  Some of it is music.  You can do it with music and rhythm of editing.  And some of it you can create worlds.  And water is a character in the film.  It's beyond important, so you want to give it a point of view.

Q:  When you showed this film in Toronto (and later, other places), some people in the audience had a little trouble with the inevitable cutting-off-the-arm scene.  What were you thinking at that point in Toronto?  Did you think you pushed the audience exactly where you wanted to, or perhaps that you had pushed them too far?

A:  What you feel -- and it's happened a few times, and I've been in the auditorium when it has happened -- (is) that it's very distressing.  Your main concern is for the person, that they're going to be OK.  In fact, one guy woke up and said, "Great film, by the way, guys."  I swear to God, that's absolutely true. 

I thought about it very deeply after that.  And the studio's reaction was to try and stop the news from getting out.  It's not a horror film.  You want this film to be for everyone of a certain age, I think. 

I followed the book very, very closely in the scene.  I haven't increased it, nor have I decreased it from what's in the book and Aron's experience of it.  So it's very, very close to the way Aron described it.

Q:  Can you talk about the development of the project?  Did it start with you reading the book?

A:  No, it started with the real story.  I was in London and I remember hearing this report of him (Aron) being pulled out of the canyon.  It was just extraordinary.  After a couple of weeks, he did a press conference in the hospital.  I remember waiting to try to hear that story.  Then I read the book ("Between a Rock and a Hard Place") in 2006 and I approached him.  I met him in Europe.

Q:  Can you talk about the "Frankenstein" play and the Olympic Games?

A:  I started working as a director in the theater, but it's been about 15 years since I've done any theater. 

We started talking about "Frankenstein."  We have this idea about the perspective of the story.  It has never been done.  And we've been working on it ...  It's taken a long time, but we're going to do it.  It'll open in February, hopefully.

And then I'm doing the opening ceremony of the London (Olympic) Games in 2012.  It's about a mile from my house where I live in East London.  It's a very neglected area.  It hasn't had much investments.  This will regenerate the area.  So I'm very proud of that.  And I'm a sports fanatic, so how could I say no?  

(Photo of James Franco as Aron Ralston and Danny Boyle on location courtesy:  Fox Searchlight Pictures)

'Pure' country singer gets a shot, by George

 
Near-legendary country music crooner George Strait was a late scratch from the Dallas press conference to promote "Pure Country 2:  The Gift" earlier this week at a hotel near downtown.

In a parallel to the movie, however, up-and-coming country singer Katrina Elam got the attention in Strait's absence.

Although featured prominently in promotional material, Strait is not the center of attention in the second "Pure Country," which isn't a sequel or a continuation of the story.  It is, however, a kindred spirit in heart and toe-tapping country music.

Elam, 26 and from tiny Bray, OK, is out front this time as a small-town talent with a big voice struggling to make the big time in Nashville.  Like her movie character, Elam took on Nashville at a young age.

As she faced a handful of movie and music press, Elam was flanked by "Pure Country 2:  The Gift" director/co-screenwriter Christopher Cain (who also directed "Pure Country") and actor-writer Dean Cain ("Lois and Clark:  The New Adventures of Superman" on TV).  The younger Cain plays a small role in the film and co-wrote the screenplay with his step-father Chris.

In a highly unusual move, Elam was picked for the lead in "Pure Country 2" six years before actual production began.

QUESTION:  It's tough enough for any performer to make a movie debut, but you had six years of prep to prepare for this role.  What was that like?

ANSWER:  I just thought that they didn't like me.  It was the longest call-back ever.  It was very exciting.  I was really nervous.  Chris (director Christopher Cain) can tell you, I was pretty sick to my stomach the first couple of days.  I couldn't eat.  I was so nervous.  But he's such a sweet man.  After a while it became really fun.

Q:  What was it like working with George Strait, and did you have a favorite part?

A:  Well, the favorite part would have to be working with King George.  It was incredible.  I grew up watching the first "Pure Country" and obviously loved George Strait. Just to meet him for the first time was incredible and to do things with him and to see what a sweetheart he is was really fun.

Q:  Were there any parallels with your own singing career in the script?

A:  Anybody who's ever moved from a small town to Nashville to make it as a country singer (has found) a hard balance between doing what you need to do to get where you want to go and doing the right thing.  As they say in the movie, it's business.  But it's your life, too.  In any business it's a hard balance.  Of course I can relate to that. 

Q:  How did you approach this career wise?  Did you see it as a showcase for you as a country singer, or are you interested in becoming an actress?

A:  I just wanted to meet George Strait, really.  I have never thought about being an actress.  It still kind of even cracks me up.  It was fun.  I thought, "I'm an adventurous person, so I'll try it."  It was fun.  I'm glad I did it.

("Pure Country 2:  The Gift" poster art and Katrina Elam photo courtesy:  Warner Bros. Pictures.)

The Bratt brothers stay home for dream drama

Peter, left, and Benjamin Bratt remain connected to their old San Francisco Neighborhood. 

(Global Cinema/5 Stick Films Inc.)

Some actors speak fondly of returning home for a pet project.

Benjamin Bratt can't say that about the tough, heartfelt Latino drama "La Mission," however.

Bratt, who plays the lead in the gritty human drama conceived, written and directed by his slightly older brother Peter, doesn't feel he ever left San Francisco's Mission district.

Che (Benjamin Bratt) keeps the lowrider spirit alive.  (Global Cinema/5 Stick Films Inc.)

Benjamin, portraying a recovering alcoholic ex-con single father imploding at the notion that his son is gay, told a quintet of assembled entertainment writers in Dallas that the connection to their old neighborhood remains unsevered.  

"The neighborhood has always had a huge presence in our life; socially, artistically politically.  It was kind of a hub during the '60s and '70s for a lot of the social movements like the Farmworkers Movement, the American Indian Movement.  We had the occupation of Alcatraz in '69.  It's always been alive that way and very dynamic.

"It had a great impression on us.  We actually tried to infuse the film with that spirit, which still is there after decades. There's still kind of a rebellious, artistic, culturally proud spirit that permeates the whole neighborhood, even though it's changed quite a bit since we were young," Benjamin says.

Peter, Benjamin's elder by one year, collaborated with Benjamin once before.

"Follow Me Home," written and directed by Peter, drew a Grand Jury Prize nomination at the Sundance Film Festival in 1996. The ensemble cast included not only Brother Ben, but Alfre Woodard, Salma Hayek and Jesse Borrego, the San Antonio native who also appears in "La Mission."

It's been 14 years between collaborations for the Bratt brothers.  Benjamin, of course landed the role of Det. Ray Curtis on NBC's "Law & Order" in the mid-'90s, earning an Emmy nomination for his trouble.

Peter branched out from film-making to pursue activism in the Native American community in the Bay Area, following in the footsteps of the boys' mother, an indigenous woman from Peru involved in the Indian occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969 and the Wounded Knee stand-off of 1973 (according to the press notes).

Ever since they worked together on "Follow Me Home," Peter says the brothers wanted to repeat the process in their own neighborhood.

"We had always dreamed of making a film in San Francisco, where we're from, and always dreamed of that taking place in our own back yard, the Mission district. I think it was a combination of wanting to collaborate, but wanting to collaborate at home and then also finding a character that could really give an audience a new experience in many ways."

The result, Benjamin adds, is the most complex character he's had the opportunity to play.

"The most fully drawn, I would say.  What I found compelling about playing him was that my brother created kind of a cinematic archetype in in Che (Benjamin) in that it doesn't matter if you're from the Latino community, you immediately recognize who this man is.  He's an echo of Charles Bronson or Clint Eastwood or Marlon Brando or Al Pacino in 'Scarface,'" Benjamin says.

"(He's) someone who doesn't say much but gets the job done with violence.  That was by design, I think, on the part of my brother to create someone the audience would immediately identify with and possibly even revere.  That's how we've been socialized, to revere someone who can take care of business with his fists," Benjamin adds.

Some brothers squabble.  Benjamin and Peter Bratt are not that kind of siblings.

"We've always wanted to work together, which I think speaks to the fact that historically we've always wanted to be around one another.  We've been best friends since we were young boys," Benjamin says.

"And whether we were playing together or causing mischief or working together in some of those early jobs like a paper route or picking weeds or painting fences or building decks, we always enjoyed spending time with one another.  As we've evolved into storytellers, it's a happy coincidence that artistically we find ourselves very much aligned.  It's a lot of fun," he adds.

In case you're wondering, Benjamin, who returned for a guest appearance on "Law & Order" last season, is not surprised that NBC's old police detective sawhorse is still around after 20 years on the air.

"It remains a high quality, high caliber show," he says.  "The key is the fantastic writing.  I think people really see that show as kind of a family member."

Any regrets about walking away from the plum network TV acting assignment?

"I have no regrets about leaving when I did," Benjamin says.  "I had four years on the show in the late '90s.  It was a great run.  It was my choice to stay, but I wanted to move on and do other things.

"In hindsight I'm happy that I did because all roads lead to where I am sitting now.  I count 'La Mission' as the pinnacle of my professional body of work.  I wouldn't have had that opportunity had I stayed on 'Law and Order.'  I'd be the richest man in the world, but I wouldn't be here talking to you proudly about 'La Mission.'"

A goofy actor gets the giggles, goes boom

(Summit Entertainment)

Brendan Fraser was falling-down-sober (I think) when he joined Brooke Shields recently at a posh North Dallas hotel to beat the publicity bushes for "Furry Vengeance."

According to Fraser, a sometimes semi-goofy leading man ("Dudley Do-Right," "The Mummy" franchise) but serious last time out opposite Harrison Ford in "Extraordinary Measures," he was (way) under the influence of a trendy energy drink.

Brendan Fraser and Brooke Shields in "Furry Vengeance."  (Summit Entertainment)

Shields, desperately attempting to derail Fraser's unrelenting giggly rant, tried to take the Red Bull by the horns without success.

In addition to playing a real estate developer infringing on the natural habitat of various animals on the edge of an Oregon forest, Fraser also serves as executive producer of the silly man-vs.-animal family comedy.

The script didn't come across Fraser's desk.  That's so Hollywood old school.

"It came across my Kindle (electronic book reader)," he says.

He was attracted to the project because of what he calls the fun factor.

"I miss fun.  Fun never writes, never calls," he giggles, about the time he falls backward onto the floor in his chair.

"This is kind of what I do.  Whoa!"

"This is a funny movie," he continues.  "Bring Grandma.  Come one, come all.  We're going to have a good time."

His character, Fraser contends, has a "dufus vitamin" in him.  On this particular day, the 41-year-old Indianapolis native appears to be packing his character's vitamin stash.

Fraser portrays Dan Sanders, a decent enough guy who has transplanted his family (Shields as wife Tammy) to the Oregon forest to oversee a supposedly "eco-friendly" housing development.

It's not and Dan becomes the target of forest animals who have apparently had enough human encroachment.

Fraser's rambling and the giggles grow louder, so Shields steps in to explain the obstacles involved with the production.

"I think part of what happens when you read a script like this, from what we've talked about, is how do you end up doing this," she says.

"I think it's how do you do a movie when they're not going to make the animals talk, where you're going to get a good message where you have characters that actually have a flushed-out place to go, where you're not just going to have the perfunctory wife, or girlfriend or next door neighbor or whatever and you're not going to do any condescending in your humor and you're going to appeal to kids and adults," Shields adds.

Surprisingly, none of the human actors had any contact with the animals.

"I did not touch a living creature, nor did she," Fraser offers.

"We shot with something called Red Camera, which is basically a digital camera.  It can emulate all different stocks and footage.  It won't run out.  Primarily, it's used because there's a lot of compositing going in.  In other words, the creation of these creatures are going to be put in interacting with human beings.  It made it easier for them from a technical standpoint."

"There was a movie (with animals) being shot simultaneously," Shields says.  "They had an entire crew and animals being sent there months prior to our getting there (to the Massachusetts location).

"Some of them were born during the period of time there was training.  They got married, had little baby raccoons.  They also didn't want too much interaction with us to compromise their training.  They didn't want any bonding to happen that was independent of what they needed," she adds.

"Furry Vengeance," opening Friday, turns out to be right up Fraser's goof-ball alley.  He's sprayed by vengeful skunks more than once and has an on-going battle with a crafty raccoon.

So how did he and others share scenes with animals that didn't actually interact with the actors?

"We worked with stuffies, stuffed animals," he says.  When his character gets slapped around by a furry creature, for instance, the raw footage involves Fraser taking it on the chin by little paws attached to chopsticks.

It's that kind of silly comedy, and that kind of silly, long interview day.