It was a very close race but Denzel Washington and his latest feature, "The Equalizer 2" (and the actor's very first sequel) was the number one movie in North America last weekend. It had been predicted that another sequel, the musical, "Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again" had the edge in taking the top spot but people should never underestimate the impressive drawing power of Mr. Washington.
He has been a major movie star for over thirty years who has not only excited audiences with his diverse screen roles but moved them deeply with his persuasive skill as a performer. He has also captivated audiences on stage, playing roles in classic ("Coriolanus", "Julius Caesar") and modern ("A Raisin in the Sun", "A Soldier's Play") theater and won a Tony Award for Best Actor in 2010 for his performance in the revival of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Fences". Washington has displayed his immense talent behind the camera as well, directing three feature films to date including a version of "Fences" in 2016 which received a Best Picture Oscar nomination and a Best Actor nod for the reprise of his Tony Award-winning role. Vulture has given the sixty-three year old actor a ranking of all of his film appearances. As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Washington has never given a bad performance but there may have been a few roles in some movies that didn't serve him as well. I also don't think his natural intensity as a performer lends itself well to comedy and the actor has done relatively few with the most notable being a remake of "The Preacher's Wife" with Whitney Houston back in 1996. It's still a fascinating look back at the career of one of cinema's most acclaimed and gifted actors.
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"We The Animals", a coming-of-age drama involving the pain and challenges of three young boys growing up with dysfunctional parents, took the top prize of U.S. Narrative Feature at this year's Outfest Film Festival. For the first time, the winner of the Outfest Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short will now be eligible for consideration in the Best Animated or Live-Action Short Film categories of the Academy Awards. "Fran This Summer", from writer/director, Mary Evangelista, which looks at first love between two teenagers with one wishing to transition from male to female, won the award this year.
Here is the complete list of winners from the 2018 Outfest Los Angeles Film Festival:
GRAND JURY AWARDS
U.S. Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize: “We the Animals” U.S. Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize for Best Screenwriting: Yen Tan, "1985" U.S. Narrative Feature Special Mention: "Skate Kitchen"
U.S. Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize for Best Performance: Drew Droege, ”Bright Colors and Bold Patterns”
U.S. Narrative Short Grand Jury Prize: “Fran This Summer“
U.S. Narrative Short Special Mentions: “Tooth and Nail” and “Happy Birthday, Marsha!” U.S. Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize: “When the Beat Drops”
Documentary Feature Special Mentions: “Call Her Ganda” and “TransMilitary”
Documentary Short Grand Jury Prize: “Between Us Two” Documentary Short Special Mention: “These Are My Hands” International Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize(tie): ”Hard Paint” (Brazil) and
“Tucked” (United Kingdom)
International Narrative Feature Special Mention: “Montana” (Israel)
International Narrative Short Grand Jury Prize: “The Things You Think I’m Thinking” (Canada)
International Narrative Short Special Mention: “Dressed for Pleasure (Je fais où tu me dis)”
AUDIENCE AWARDS
Best Narrative: “Tucked” Best First U.S. Narrative Feature: “Daddy Issues”
Best Narrative Short: ”Tooth and Nail”
Best Documentary Feature: "Man Made"
Best Documentary Short: "Mama Dragons" Best Experimental Short: "These Are My Hands" Best Episodic Series: "Bonding"
SPECIAL PROGRAMMING AWARDS
Emerging Talent: Caroline Berler for "Dykes, Camera, Action"
Freedom: Leilah Weinraub for ”Shakedown” Artistic Achievement: Anucha Boonyawatana for "Malila: The Farewell Flower"
Fox Inclusion Feature Film Award: “Man Made” Fox Inclusion Short Film Award: “Rani”
And here are a few films I caught during the fest. "Sodom", the feature debut from writer/director, Mark Wilshin, tries to sell us on a whirlwind romance between Will (Pip Brignall), a twenty-something, closeted footballer engaged to be married and Michael (Jo Weil), a slightly older man who has recently ended a long-term relationship. Despite the provocative title and the intriguing meeting of the two men where we find the young one handcuffed nude to a streetlight as a bachelor party gag, we spend most of the film listening to them talk intimately about their lives, hopes and fears. But the conversations are not particularly engaging and it's pretty hard to root for a potential relationship between them when they are clearly not really compatible.
"1985" takes us back to a time when AIDS was decimating the gay community and a positive diagnosis was a certain death sentence. Yen Tan directs this moving drama about Adrian (Cory Michael Smith) who returns to his small hometown in Texas from New York to try to break the news to his deeply religious parents (Virginia Madsen and Michael Chiklis) that he has contracted the disease. But the longer Adrian is there, as he reconnects with his younger brother (Noah Schnapp of "Stranger Things") and faces his former girlfriend (Jamie Chung), the more difficult it is for him to reveal the truth. Tan has expanded this story from a short of the same title which won a special jury prize at the 2016 SXSW and effectively captures the complex family dynamics where everyone is aware of what is going on yet too afraid to discuss the matter openly and honestly.
There were many good documentaries at the fest but one of my favorites was "Every Act of Life" which profiles the life and career of Terrence McNally, the Tony Award-winning playwright who boldly redefined contemporary theater by telling vividly candid stories on unconventional subjects with many involving gay characters. Growing up in a narrow-minded Texas town with alcoholic parents who were abusive and neglectful, McNally, with the guidance of a supportive high-school teacher, used the dysfunction in his life to help fuel his art. Out and proud during a time when it was particularly dangerous to do so, he introduced theater audiences to open and honest depictions of the lives of gay people which included the AIDS crisis in his work. McNally's early relationships with fellow playwright, Edward Albee and actor, Robert Drivas ended partially due to them wanting to remain closeted for the sake of their careers. The film is mostly a celebratory affair with interviews by many friends and colleagues like Rita Moreno (who attended the screening), Nathan Lane, Angela Lansbury, Edie Falco, Christine Baranski and F. Murray Abraham to shower him with glowing praise but it also serves as a fascinating examination in to the creative process of one of the most influential writers for the American stage.
Where & When: Los Feliz 3, Los Angeles, CA. June 29. 2018 7:20 PM
I admit I was never a fan of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood". Even as a child, I found the program silly and corny with the host to be a bit of an oddball character. Now with the help of this wondrous documentary by Morgan Neville, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?", I have a better understanding of who Fred Rogers was and a greater appreciation of what he was trying to accomplish with his children's program.
The title of this film comes from the song Mr. Rogers would sing at the start of every episode as he would get comfortable by changing from his jacket and shoes to a cozy sweater and sneakers before starting the show. While "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" offered children an opportunity to escape in to delightful fun and fantasy, Mr. Rogers also wanted them to receive lessons about loving themselves, being kind and polite to others, coping with childhood fears and a subdued insight on the complicated adult world around them.
Born and raised as a solid mid-westerner in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Rogers had planned to join a seminary to become a minister. And while briefly accomplishing that goal, he became distracted by a relatively new medium; television. Rogers instinctively understood the potential of this technology and while what little he had seen left him underwhelmed, he knew what he could accomplish by somehow becoming involved with it.
Using footage of interviews he had given throughout his lifetime, Rogers explains how he first worked for a local children's program in Pittsburgh, learning to develop characters, puppets and music before being offered to create his own show by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1963. After a few years, Rogers went back to Pittsburgh and with PBS began "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" and the show was on the air for thirty-two years.
Most of Morgan Neville's feature documentaries have focused on important figures in the music industry. Rolling Stones founder, Keith Richards, country legend, Johnny Cash, punk legends, Iggy & the Stooges, cellist, Yo-Yo Ma (who also makes a brief appearance in this doc), James Taylor and Carole King's early years performing at the L.A. club, Troubabour and the unsung heroes of the music biz; the background singers ("20 Feet from Stardom" won Neville an Oscar back in 2013) are just some of the veterans that the director trained his camera on.
Rogers, who leaned to play the piano as a child and wrote many of the songs on his program, did effectively use music to convey complex emotions to children in a way they could understand. Neville has occasionally strayed from the subject of music with the last time being "Best of Enemies" in 2015 which detailed the epic political battle by two intellectuals; Gore Vidal and William Buckley. With "Won't You Be My Neighbor", he focuses on Rogers' fierce determination to make adults understand that education doesn't only involve books. It also needed to involve developing their social and emotional needs. One great example of Rogers using his voice to enact positive change is displayed during a 1969 Senate hearing over funding of PBS amid discussions of budget cuts. He spoke before chairman, John O. Pastore, an impatient, no-nonsense Senator, and after giving an impassioned, unscripted speech, Pastore was visibly moved, essentially approving the funding at that moment.
Throughout the many conversations with people who either knew, worked with or loved him, no one had a single negative word to say about Rogers. He did not smoke, drink or curse, became a vegetarian later in life and swam religiously every morning before starting his day. With an endless goal in trying to help others, Fred Rogers comes across as a really nice guy on and off camera. Almost too good to be true. Yet perhaps that says more about what's going on in our society today. With a world filled with so much turmoil, hostility and cruelty, it's hard to imagine many successful and celebrated figures attempting to use their gifts and resources to improve our condition with respect, graciousness and good humor. Oprah comes quickly to mind but not too many follow.
I must say I was surprised by my reaction to “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” as I found myself either teary-eyed or openly weeping throughout almost the entire film. I guess I was really moved by Rogers' warmth, generosity and tolerance to everyone he came in to contact with. And I guess I may also be saddened by this seemingly conscious lack of charitable spirit in today's volatile climate. The film serves as a reminder of how far we have strayed from civility and how basic compassion is still within our grasp.
Just three days shy of what would have been his eighty-seventh birthday, Tab Hunter, the handsome actor and pop singer, passed away unexpectedly from complications of a blood clot which caused cardiac arrest on July 8th. While he was Warner Bros.’ most popular male movie star during the years of 1955 to 1959, the teen hearttrob had to keep secret that he was actually gay. This news most certainly would have derailed his career at the time but he eventually came out publicly with his 2005 memoir, "Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star". This book was later used as the basis for
a well-received 2015 documentary of the same name. A film project in development had just recently been announced with J.J. Abrams and actor, Zachary Quinto as producers involving Hunter's intimate relationship with fellow closeted actor, Anthony Perkins.
Born Arthur Kelm, he first became interested in becoming a figure skater as a young man before his striking good looks lead him to Hollywood's attention. Henry Willson, an agent who had a reputation for specializing in "pretty boy" actors, renamed him "Tab Hunter" and Kelm soon began with several minor parts in movies and bigger roles on the stage before landing a contract with Warner Bros. Hunter (along with James Dean and Natalie Wood) was one of the last few actors signed under exclusive contract with the studio and slowly worked his way up from supporting parts to starring roles. Some of his best known early films include the movie version of the Broadway hit musical, "Damn Yankees" (but the film was often referred to during it's initial release as "What Lola Wants" to placate the prudish), "Battle Cry", "The Burning Hills", "The Sea Chase" and "That Kind of Woman" with Sophia Loren.
Hunter later expressed how difficult and complicated it was for him during the peak of his fame as he was living two separate lives. His public life involved him playing the studio game of being partnered with beautiful women for publicity photos, creating the appearance of them "dating". While privately Hunter could be more his true self, within very strict limits.
By the late 1960's and 1970's, Hunter's career had cooled down considerably but he continued to work doing Broadway, summer stock, dinner theater, television and even a few spaghetti westerns. John Waters was responsible for Hunter's brief late career resurgence when he cast him opposite Divine in the 1981 cult classic, "Polyester" and Paul Bartel re-teamed them in the comedy-western, "Lust In The Dust" in 1985.
Hunter is survived by Paul Glaser, a film producer, and they had been together since 1983.
Much of Mr. Hunter's film work has received little attention of late but here are a few trailers of some of the actor's movies that will remind people why he became a major star.
It’s almost that time again to celebrate the lives of the LGBTQ communities through cinema. The 2018 Outfest Los Angeles Film Festival will be held beginning on July 13th and concluding on July 22nd. This looks like another year of exciting programming from across the globe.
The Opening Night Gala, which will once again be held at the majestic Orpheum theatre in downtown L.A., will begin with the presentation of this year’s Outfest Achievement Award to filmmaker, Angela Robinson. Her work as a writer/director includes the feature films, “D.E.B.S.” and “Herbie: Fully Loaded” and on television with the shows, “True Blood” and “The L Word”. Ms Robinson’s latest feature from last year, “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women”, based on the story of the creator of the classic comic-book super-hero, Wonder-Woman and his unconventional life, will be screened during the fest.
The film that will kick-off the fest will be “Studio 54”. This glittering documentary by Matt Tyrnauer will allow viewers behind the exclusive velvet ropes to reveal all of the juicy and scandalous details of what went on at this infamous, celebrity-filled, New York disco back in the 1970's. Mr. Tyrnauer has another documentary that will be screened during the fest, "Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood". This is a shocking expose on the after-hours activities of the glamorous stars in the golden age of Hollywood seen through the eyes of Scotty Bowers who claims to have arranged private hook-ups for some of these closeted actors.
Some of the Special Screenings of the festival include the U.S. Centerpiece, "We The Animals", the feature debut by documentary filmmaker, Jeremiah Zagar. This drama (which made a splash at this year's Sundance Film Fest where it won the NEXT innovator Award) is based on the novel by Justin Torres and tells the story of three young brothers trying to navigate through their parent's volatile marriage and ultimate separation. While two of the boys seem to model the behavior of their macho father, the youngest son appears more sensitive and thoughtful like their mother.
"Marvin ou la belle éducation (Reinventing Marvin)" is the International Centerpiece. Anne Fontaine, the acclaimed French filmmaker ("Coco Before Chanel"), delivers her latest which involves Marvin, a lonely boy who is a little different which causes him to be picked on by his classmates and misunderstood by his parents. An understanding school principal guides him towards a drama class and Marvin's life opens up to endless possibilities and a new way to express himself on the stage. And the film features the legendary actress, Isabelle Huppert playing a version of herself.
Choreographer turned filmmaker, Jamal Sims with his directorial debut, "When The Beat Drops" has been selected as the Documentary Centerpiece. The film takes place in Atlanta and follows a group of black gay dancers who perform a dance called "bucking" which follows in the tradition of the New York ballroom scene where they compete to see who is the best dance troop.
And the Closing Night Gala will be Desiree Akhavan's "The Miseducation of Cameron Post". The winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival tells the story of Cameron (Chloë Grace Moretz), a teenage lesbian who is sent to a religious conversion camp after she is caught by her parents making out with another girl. While the counselors attempt to "cure" her, Cameron resists and forms a bond with two others (Sasha Lane and Forrest Goodluck) to rebel against this therapy.
For the complete list of films, venues and to purchase tickets, please click below:
I have previously expressed my conflicted views on the films of Tyler Perry. As I have stated, I greatly admire his incredible success as one of the few African-American power players in Hollywood yet I am troubled by many of the films that have built his empire. I have avoided most of Mr. Perry's recent movies as I hate the feeling of frustration over the continuous uninspired writing and broad characterizations after leaving the theater. However I must admit I am intrigued by his upcoming comedy, "Nobody's Fool".
Perry was wise enough to cast one of the hottest comics around, Tiffany Haddish to star as Tanya, a slightly unhinged woman fresh out of jail. She returns home and reunites with her successful sister (Tika Sumpter) who tries to help her get her life back in order. Tanya thinks that her sister is getting "catfished" by a man she has been in a relationship with yet never met. So Tanya decides to use some of her skills that helped land her in prison to track this man down.
I'm not sure how "Nobody's Fool" will end up but I'm going in with an optimistic, open mind. And we are also treated to the great Whoopi Goldberg back on the big screen playing the sisters' mother.
"Nobody's Fool" is due in U.S. theaters on November 2, 2018
