What’s so appealing about Mark Wahlberg?

Kaitlyn Tiffany, writing for The Verge about the rise of Mark Wahlberg, and why so many enjoy his work:

He’s perfect for this part mostly because there’s nothing special about him at all. Mark Wahlberg isn’t smart. He’s not particularly handsome or charming. He’s more like a potato sack upon which any American male can project an image of himself saving the world. Wahlberg notoriously commented in a 2012 interview that he could have prevented the attacks on the World Trade Center had he been aboard one of the planes. Though he later apologized, the statement provides a window into what makes his type of movie appealing — you get to live out a fantasy it’s inappropriate to articulate.

Maybe the most sinister thing about Wahlberg’s role in American culture then, is that his life itself is such an appealing fantasy: after all, what’s more American than knowing your repugnantly racist past won’t hold you back from further success? What’s sexier than redeeming yourself by saving the innocent over and over, on a screen 30 feet tall? It is, broadly, shameful and weird to fantasize about what you would do in the midst of death and destruction — but with Mark, you can. You’d be that guy.

Wahlberg’s self-aggrandizing work on Patriot’s Day has struck a nerve for many of my Boston film critic colleagues. For more, see Ty Burr’s review and Sean Burns’ review of the film (See also: Ty Burr’s suggestions on how to make the movie better. Love that last one).

On ‘La La Land’ and Its Treatment of Jazz

I really enjoyed La La Land when I first saw it, but as time has gone on, its shine started to wear off for me. The first thing that bothered me was how it handled its overarching message about succeeding in Hollywood (more thoughts here in our podcast review). The second was how the film handled jazz.

In La La Land, Ryan Gosling’s character, Sebastian, wants to open his own jazz club. He believes jazz in its pure form still has the potential in our society to thrive, unperverted by tapas, salsa, or modern day market demands (nevermind the sales figures).

About halfway through the film, John Legend’s character, Keith, is introduced trying to recruit Seb for his band. Keith has evolved his jazz style to be more palatable to the masses, but in a way that Seb finds objectionable.

When the two play a concert for the first time, the camera cuts multiple times to Emma Stone’s Mia watching Sebastian, her eyes full of disappointment and bemusement. “How could Seb do this?” she seems to be wondering. How could he pervert his “art” like this?

Which is a bit odd if you think about it. It feels like the audience is set up to look down on Keith’s music, and to admire Seb’s tenaciousness. But what actually is wrong with Keith’s stuff anyway? Isn’t changing with the times what all great musicians have done? And why is Ryan Gosling’s character trying to defend the musical form of jazz against John Legend’s character?

I wasn’t the only one who noticed this dynamic. Over at MTV News, Ira Madison III has penned a scathing reaction to the film’s “white savior” narrative on jazz:

The wayward side effect of casting Gosling as this jazz whisperer is that La La Land becomes a Trojan horse white-savior film. Much like Matt Damon with ancient China in The Great Wall or Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai, in La La Land, the fate of a minority group depends on the efforts of a well-intentioned white man: Gosling’s character wants to play freestyle jazz instead of the Christmas jingles he’s been hired to perform because, damn it, if the people can’t hear real jazz, then it’s going to cease to exist.

Seve Chambers over at Vulture has more on what La La Land gets wrong about jazz to begin with:

Today’s artists have realized that letting go of these conservative notions is best way to “save jazz.” La La Land presents these arguments in the form of Keith, the fusion artist played by John Legend in the film. Though his words sound reasonable — he asks Sebastian how he’s going to revolutionize jazz by being a traditionalist — Chazelle stacks the deck against him: Keith turns out to use a laughably ’80s sound that’s meant to seem completely disconnected from his jazz roots. For extra measure, he also uses a cheesy stage show complete with dancers — a luxury no modern jazz artist could afford, or would even consider. It’s almost as if, well, the movie wants us to hate new jazz.

This is a vision of fusion jazz that sounds nothing like the contemporary jazz scene. Take Esperanza Spalding, a gifted musician who has brought renewed attention to the genre. One night she might go onstage with a band that mixes rock, R&B. and other influences; on another she might play with veterans Geri Allen and Terri Lyne Carrington in an all-woman trio. The same holds true for Robert Glasper, whose experimental troupe might do a jazz cover of a Nirvana song or pay homage to the late hip-hop producer J Dilla, but who also spends time in a more traditional group, the Robert Glasper Trio. Both Spalding and Glasper are highly regarded within jazz circles, drawing sizable crowds and winning Grammys in the process. Other acts like Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, and Otis Brown III refuse to be fixed on the idea of purity; they’d rather push jazz to evolve. Despite what La La Land might have you think, the genre has already reckoned with and resolved the debate over the sanctity of jazz.

When it comes to La La Land’s vision of jazz, look closer at the real thing before you take it as gospel.

This was an expensive lesson to learn

That night as I drove home, I was one happy camper. Per my contract on K-9, Siegel & Myers would receive a bonus on a sequel. My take: $150K. Talk about money for nothing! Cut to some months later when I’m informed that I will not be receiving said bonus. Why? Because when the original K-9 deal was made, our lawyer neglected to add four little words to the contract re sequels: “Or any other format.”

Source: The Business of Screenwriter: Get a damn good lawyer!

Inkoo Kang’s Takedown of ‘Silence’

Inkoo Kang rails against Silence’s unfortunate undertones:

At my first screening of Silence, George Lucas introduced Martin Scorsese’s new Japan-set spiritual drama at San Francisco’s Castro Theatre by praising it as a film that belongs in the 20th century. Whatever Lucas meant by that, Silence feels far older, even archaic, bemoaning as it does the arduousness of European colonialism. “It’s Hard Out Here for an Imperialist,” the period piece could be subtitled. Or, perhaps: “Sympathy for the White Devil.” That Silence asks its audience to care more about the narcissistic crisis of its Portuguese protagonist than the welfare of the 17th-century Japanese populace is howlingly infuriating and racially insulting.

I agree with many of the issues Jen and Inkoo bring up. I was quite torn about the film myself. You can hear my thoughts on the /Filmcast.

I re-watched Avatar

Star Wars: The Force Awakens recently passed Avatar at the box office to become the number 1 domestic grossing film of all time. Upon hearing this news, a lot of people had the same reaction: “Avatar was the #1 grossing film of all time? Oh yeah…”

Listeners of the /Filmcast will know that we’ve been discussing Avatar for a few months already. Specifically: how could a film rapidly become the highest grossing film of all time and leave absolutely no cultural footprint? (Side note: hundreds of people have already sent me the link to Scott Mendelson’s piece on this topic. If I get it one more time, I fear I may have a Col. Miles Quaritch-esque freakout. That’s an Avatar reference, for those of you who have no idea what the characters’ names in Avatar are).

Awhile ago, a listener gifted me an Avatar Blu-Ray, and after all the Avatar conversation recently, I felt I should revisit the film. So yesterday I popped in the disc and tried to see it through fresh eyes. Here are a few of my reactions:

In my opinion, the CG still holds up – James Cameron pioneered some pretty amazing filmmaking techniques for this film, which allowed him to use/position a camera as he would in a conventional filmmaking environment but see a reasonable approximation of the final product on-the-fly. This allowed the film to “feel” like it was being shot with actual cameras on Pandora, with the weight movement that those cameras would bring to a real-world shoot. Moreover, while the world of Pandora is very clearly CG and a bit too shiny/clean to look totally photorealistic, the blend between the practical and the CG elements felt really seamless to me. And what never gets lost are the characters’ emotions. Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldana) is still this movie’s best special effect.

Everything is great except Na’vi Sigourney Weaver. She creeps me the hell out.

James Cameron still knows how to direct action like nobody else – The final hour of this film is a spectacular series of set pieces, with the destruction of Home Tree, the battle between the Na’vi and the marines, and then Quaritch’s final face-off with Jake Sully. Great sense of geography, pacing, and stakes throughout. Awesome action choreography.

James Cameron is not subtle – The Na’vi’s connection with the forest is not just metaphorical. It’s LITERAL. As in, there’s actually a neural network IN THE ACTUAL PLANET. Oof.

The Avatar Blu-Ray is terrible – Remember when Blu-Rays used to force you to stream special features? Because they might get updated in the future? Yeah, me neither. Awful.

The arc of the whole movie is just bizarre – It’s not too much of a stretch to assume that Avatar is an allegory about white people and Native Americans. The film invites us to relive the colonization of America, only this time, from the POV of the natives. And as Sully and the Na’vi brutally ruin and kill the appendages of the American military in the film’s final set piece, we as the audience are invited to cheer them on. It all just felt very…weird.

I was reminded of Annalee Newitz’s great piece about how Avatar and the fantasy within it is a distinctly “white” fantasy:

These are movies about white guilt. Our main white characters realize that they are complicit in a system which is destroying aliens, AKA people of color – their cultures, their habitats, and their populations. The whites realize this when they begin to assimilate into the “alien” cultures and see things from a new perspective. To purge their overwhelming sense of guilt, they switch sides, become “race traitors,” and fight against their old comrades. But then they go beyond assimilation and become leaders of the people they once oppressed. This is the essence of the white guilt fantasy, laid bare. It’s not just a wish to be absolved of the crimes whites have committed against people of color; it’s not just a wish to join the side of moral justice in battle. It’s a wish to lead people of color from the inside rather than from the (oppressive, white) outside.

I remember seeing The Last Samurai and how that was a movie about someone who not only adapted to the ways of the samurai; he mastered them. The same happens in Avatar. Jake Sully doesn’t just barely squeak in as a member of the tribe; he rides Toruk to victory, which is considered one of the greatest honors and almost an impossible feat within Na’vi culture.

What does it say about white culture that it seems to be the only culture producing these kinds of narratives about redemption via assimilation into and mastery of other cultures? The film made me wonder. (P.S. If there’s, say, an Asian film about a guy who not only becomes assimilated into white culture but a master within it, leading a bunch of whites into victory, please let me know).

James Horner’s score is still beautiful – Still love the work of this brilliant man. RIP.

All rewards have been delivered

Photo Credit: elldubphoto.com

This past weekend, The Primary Instinct World Premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival. On the /Filmcast, we talk frequently about how much technology is changing the film industry and how much viewing is moving towards streaming and online. But despite all these market forces, I can now confidently say that nothing beats seeing your film projected on a big screen. Seeing people line up around the block to see my film, and then hearing people laugh and engage with it in a darkened theater – there’s nothing else like it. I suspect it’s a feeling I’ll want to chase again.

One of the biggest, most emotional moments for me was actually fulfilling the final reward in our Kickstarter project: sending everyone a viewable copy of the film. Firstly, I need to say that the service we used for this, VHX, was excellent. They have amazing, responsive customer service, along with a platform that did everything I needed it to. I’d highly recommend them if you ever need to fulfill a project, and it’s very likely they will be part of the mix if/when our movie ever gets sold on VOD.

While it was a pleasure to enter into this journey with all our backers, it was also a mentally taxing obligation. All these hundreds of people chose to give us money — they deserved not just to get a film in return, but one that was of high quality and that they will be proud of.

Sending out those copies to everyone meant that my obligation was over. I had run the race. I had delivered what I promised I would. And even if the film goes nowhere from this point forward, I can hold my head up high as someone who followed through on a very ambitious project. In a world littered with crowdfunding projects that never delivered, it feels like an accomplishment. (That being said – the film won’t go nowhere. We’ll have more to announce soon…).

For our final update. Stephen wrote a note to all our Kickstarter backers that I think eloquently sums up how we feel at this moment. I’ve included it below. If you’ve supported me in any way during this intense journey. I hope you’ll accept my gratitude.

***

It is hard to give credit where credit is due.

There have been too many hands that have helped me in times of need. I have tried to make a list to demonstrate how one small thing like The Primary Instinct is really the work of thousands. Literally.
To:

Cedering Fox for encouraging me to write down my first story.

Robert Brinkmann for proposing we make a film—a wonderful collaboration resulting in Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party.

Andy Putschoegl for producing and editing it.

All of my friends that had to wear the same clothes for three days straight to be party guests.

That stupid horse, Little Red, that broke my neck and forced me to start writing more stories to save my sanity.

David Chen for inviting me to be a guest on the Slashfilm podcast at just the right moment.

David Chen for devoting uncountable hours, for no pay, to produce, edit, and promote The Tobolowsky Files.

David Chen (I’m sensing a trend) and Peter Sciretta for making a home for me at Slashfilm.com.

Jeff Hansen, the innovative Program Director at KUOW for taking the leap of faith to put The Tobolowsky Files on public radio.

Melinda Ward of PRI (Public Radio International) and the extraordinary talents of engineer Margaret Moos Pick, assisted by Mark Kausch and events coordinator Elisa Pluhar for making The Tobolowsky Files a national radio event.

HOWEVER …none of that would have happened if it weren’t for the efforts of Brandon Taitt, an unpaid volunteer who introduced Melinda to The Tobolowsky Files while working at his regular job in a computer repair store.

Ben Schwartz for making the introduction to literary agent Jud Lahgi—who said, “Yes!” – such a precious word.

Ben Loehnen, my brilliant editor at Simon & Schuster, for publishing my book of stories, The Dangerous Animals Club. David Lavin, Ken Calway and Octavia Ridout at The Lavin Agency for booking appearances.

To David Chen for harassing David Blum at Amazon Kindle into publishing “Cautionary Tales.” And Mark Crilley, a podcast fan, for doing the artwork.

There were many people on the radio who have promoted The Tobolowsky Files. Before anyone there was Nick Digilio at WGN. Nick has been there from before the beginning in support. He was the first person I sent a copy of The Dangerous Animals Club. I wanted his opinion. So many in the media have helped me. Marc Maron (WTF), Tom Rhodes, Liam McEneaney (scariest bathroom in a recording studio ever!), Alan Sepinwall (Hitfix) , Luke Burbank (Live Wire!), Jesse Thorn (Bullseye), Tyler Smith and Dave Bax (Battleship Pretension), Dave Davies of NPR’s Fresh Air, Scott Simon (Weekend Edition)…

Pause to take a breath. So much help.

Whitney Matheson at USA Today, Jim Philips of the Philips Phile in Orlando, Bob Strum and Dan McDowell at The Ticket in Dallas, Nadia Chaudhury for The Awl, Richard Sergay at Curiosity Project with Discovery Communications, Michael DeSenzo, Jennifer Wilk, Jenna Dooley of WNIJ Public Radio, Vanessa Finney, Colleen Horning at KTXD-TV, Brandon Isaacson, Mark McKeown, Wolfie Rankin, Elizabeth Shepherd, Anne-Marie Welsh, Jay Wulff, Philip Wuntch, Adam Yoffe, Joshua Youngerman, and John Swansburg from Slate.

David Farrier, journalist, comedian, bird watcher extraordinaire, who opened his country, New Zealand to us and his home as well.

Denis McArdle who did the same for us in Dublin (I didn’t live in his home, but I DID eat his sister’s food!) We haven’t even touched on the producers and theater owners that extended themselves for my stories.

Adam Zacks (Seattle Theatre Group / the Moore and the Neptune) and his wife Lynn Resnick at BFI Seattle, Michael Hawley (The EG Conference), David Hunt Stafford (Theatre 40), Nick Hinkle at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge, Robert Newton at his theaters in Worcester and Gloucester Mass., Rebecca Graves, Lauri Hennessey, Susan Hanson, Kim Cunningham, Hedy Anderson and Vashon High School Theatre Program, David Caplan (Bell House, 92Y Tribecca ) Robyn Tenenbaum (Live Wire!), Kyle Mann and Dan Forte (Kentucky Center in Louisville), Lietza Brass (Paramount Theatre in Austin), David Wolkin and Matthew Grob (Limmud NY), Cole Stratton (San Francisco Sketchfest), Clinton McClung at SIFF, Randi Caldwell and Randy Lubas (Ventura Comedy Festival), Ann Alexander and Carrie Rodgers at USA Film Festival in Dallas and Katie Hutton at Dallas Museum of Art.

Amy Carver with Friends of the SMU Libraries. Jennifer Hall at Aegis Living. The Classic Theatre in Auckland New Zealand, Vicki Abelson’s Women Who Write, Wendy Hammers’ Tasty Words, Paul Morrissey of Alley Oop, Kimmie Dee, Brett and Lester Levy, Jr.

My friends at PIXAR: Galyn, Angus, and, of course, Dr. Wave for inviting me out to tell stories from The Dangerous Animals Club.

Super Frog Saves Tokyo – now cut.com – (Mike Gaston, Blaine Ludy, Jason Hakala, Joanny Causse) for going into the venture as partners with David and me.

Gary Matoso and his team from Vignette, and Joel Clare and his team for helping us with our Moore Theatre shoot. In the end, it all comes down to individuals.

Richard Kagan who bought a LOT of books for Christmas. I mean a LOT.

Matt and Maria Swanson for being our angels on The Primary Instinct, and funding a whopping 25% of our budget.

And you.

I know. It’s overwhelming. It’s like the beginning of the Book of Numbers. Every name here, including yours, represents time spent and risk taken. Your time and risk are honored. David Chen and I will endeavor to return the favor with enjoyment. Thank you all.

– Stephen Tobolowsky and David Chen

Ten of My Favorite Moments from Max Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road is out in theaters this weekend, and if you haven’t yet, you should go see it. Walking out of Mad Max, I felt like I did when I’d first seen movies like Jurassic Park or Star Wars – a feeling like what I’d just seen was genre defining, and that all future films would be compared to this one.

This movie was satisfying in ways that the vast majority of summer blockbusters are not. While most films are happy to create entire worlds in shiny CG, George Miller apparently filmed hundreds of hours of vehicular action in Namibia, and did a lot of it practically. We feel the danger that these characters are in, and that’s probably because the actors and stunt doubles portraying them were also in danger too.

When it comes to visceral thrills, gorgeous composition, and spectacular action choreography, nothing will beat Mad Max: Fury Road this summer. Maybe for the next few summers. Probably also for the past 10-20 summers.

Anyway, here are a bunch of random moments from the film I really enjoyed. This is FAR from an exhaustive list – there were many dozens of moments that I thought were incredible. Spoilers ahead.

Opening chase scene, which ends with a spectacular car flip