{"id":3295,"date":"2011-04-30T13:00:57","date_gmt":"2011-04-30T19:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=3295"},"modified":"2014-09-06T14:54:16","modified_gmt":"2014-09-06T20:54:16","slug":"article-du-c-u-ebertfest-01-pt-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/?p=3295","title":{"rendered":"Article du C-U: Ebertfest ’01, pt.5"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAll About Ebertfest 2001\u201d<\/strong>
\nWatching Movies and Other Nonesuch
\nat the 2001 Overlooked Film Festival<\/p>\n

by Jason Pankoke<\/em><\/p>\n

The following was condensed for inclusion in issue 13, Summer 2002, of <\/em>Cashers du Cinemart<\/strong><\/span> film magazine published by <\/em>Mike White<\/strong> of <\/em>ImpossibleFunky.com<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

~~~~~<\/p>\n

April 28, 2001 \u2013 Saturday<\/em><\/p>\n

1 p.m.<\/em> \u2013 THE KING OF MASKS<\/strong>
\n(1999, 101 min., China, released by Samuel Goldwyn Films<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

\"\"One of the few things crossing my mind on Friday when I wasn\u2019t going full-force movies was how to increase attention to MICRO-FILM<\/strong>, still stranded upstairs where hardly anybody took notice. I had already gone from discouragement to almost-acceptance of the situation, but had an epiphany right before hitting the sack.<\/p>\n

If you sit outside, they will come.<\/em><\/p>\n

Okay, I\u2019m not quite Kevin Costner<\/strong> \u2013 and I\u2019ll take the Cubs <\/strong>over the White Sox<\/strong> any <\/em>day \u2013 but if the people don\u2019t come to you, take it to the people. So, in essence, I became the first street vendor (apart from the park district\u2019s grub tents) of Roger Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival<\/strong><\/a> as I commandeered the end of the picnic bench situated closest to the Virginia Theater<\/strong> marquee. I then decided to sit out Wu TianMing<\/strong>\u2019s THE KING OF MASKS<\/strong> and bask in Mama Nature\u2019s plentiful rays. Hey, I had to get my first sunburn of 2001 at some point.<\/p>\n

Not to slight the film one bit, by the way. THE KING OF MASKS<\/strong>, set in the 1930s in China<\/strong>, concerns an elder street performer named Bian Lian Wang (Zhu Xu<\/strong>) whose performance secrets have been passed down through several generations. Alas, Wang has no male heir, and soon resigns to purchasing a child nicknamed Doggie (Chao Yim Yin<\/strong>) on the streets, an unfortunate yet common practice at the time. He soon realizes that Doggie is actually a girl, and thus begins a story of bonding and survival. Roger Ebert<\/strong> presented THE KING OF MASKS<\/strong> as a free children\u2019s matinee, and taking a cue from past Overlookeds, he and wife Chaz <\/strong>welcomed a dozen or so youngsters up on stage to ask questions of festival guest TianMing, speaking through a translator.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

~~~~~<\/p>\n

4 p.m.<\/em> \u2013 ON THE ROPES<\/strong>
\n(1999, 90 min., USA, released by WinStar Cinema<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

\"\"Boxing is a sport that I have little tolerance for \u2013 I\u2019m more interested in team effort events rather than sheer tests of endurance \u2013 and the overt glitz associated with professional fights is pure bunk in my book. But ON THE ROPES<\/strong> tells a compelling story about young people trying to turn it around; they are uncorrupted by media, living in a run-down world of crime and drugs (but not necessarily living as participants <\/em>of it), and they seem so genuinely real in this film.<\/p>\n

Harry Keitt<\/strong> is a man who grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant<\/strong> area of New York<\/strong>, running drugs, fucking up, and even killing a man in a deserted apartment complex. Although it took forever, he straightened himself out and opened the New Bed-Stuy Gym<\/strong> as a place for amateur boxers to train and, hopefully, go places with Keitt as their manager. Nanette Burstein<\/strong> and Brett Morgen<\/strong>\u2019s film, shot with a Sony <\/strong>camcorder and transferred to film, follows Keitt\u2019s evolving relationships with three kids who might have what it takes. George Walton<\/strong>, a burly young African-American with a Mike Tyson<\/strong>-ish grin and sheer talent in the ring, Noel Santiago<\/strong>, a fresh-faced Hispanic kid with some moves but not necessarily the determination, and Tyrene Manson<\/strong>, an African-American woman who defines what it means to stand tall in the face of adversity, all train under Keitt.<\/p>\n

We watch as Walton is fast-talked by Vegas<\/strong>-style impresario Mickey Marcello<\/strong> into training out West and eventually releasing Keitt as his manager. We shake our heads knowing that Santiago seems to be going through the paces of losing, rather than putting up a fight and trying to win. We grip our seats when Manson gets busted for drug possession by association, as she lives in a house with drug-addict Uncle Randy<\/strong>, and her court appearances effectively derail her from competing in a high-profile NY amateur boxing tournament.<\/p>\n

Had ON THE ROPES<\/strong> sported lush production values and been more manipulated to heighten the drama of these kids\u2019 travails, it would not have one-tenth the impact that it does. I\u2019m not so sure that I was saddened by their stories as I was miffed at how their life situations simply don\u2019t give them the outside support network they so truly need, apart from believing in themselves. Their tenacity and stamina under pressure is something to admire, even when the outcome isn\u2019t exactly the greatest. Burstein and Morgen wisely let the proceedings speak for themselves. An on-stage discussion featuring Morgen and Walton followed the movie.<\/p>\n

~~~~~<\/p>\n

7 p.m.<\/em> \u2013 JESUS\u2019 SON<\/strong>
\n(2000, 110 min., USA\/Canada, released by Lions Gate Films<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

\"\"As I sat outside on my trusty park bench waiting for the long, snaky line that would eventually form for JESUS\u2019 SON<\/strong>, my first divergence not only came into my sights, but walked right up to me and sat down at the bench with three of his friends \u2013 Mark Borchardt<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Mr. Coe<\/em>-ven himself, his even lankier brother, and two buds from Rockford, Illinois<\/strong> had come the distance for the Overlooked, although one would hardly know it from listening to Borchardt talk of sneaking White Russians<\/strong> and other libations into the Virginia. I asked him cryptically how things were going up in Wisconsin<\/strong>, hoping to find out where the guy stood on NORTHWESTERN<\/strong>. His answer? And I paraphrase, \u201cWell, sometimes life deals you good hands, and sometimes it deals you bad.\u201d I guessed that he had just told me to not ask.<\/p>\n

After the tail end of the line slipped underneath the marquee, some members of the Illini Film & Video<\/strong><\/a> student club stepped outside and asked if I wanted to get a bite to eat. I said OK. On site to videotape Ebert\u2019s intros and extros for the College of Communications<\/strong>, this fun group came into being three years ago thanks to Michael Stone<\/strong> and Andrew McAllister<\/strong>, two engineering stud boys stoked on the possibilities offered by Digital Video and computer production. Besides, with Mike, Sara<\/strong>, and Erin <\/strong>wearing their cool yet imposing black-and-white IFV \u201cCrew\u201d t-shirts with arms defiantly crossed, I\u2019m not really sure that I had a choice in the matter. Unlike most other people who live in C-U, I inhabit what might be termed a parallel film universe.<\/p>\n

Based on the novel by Denis Johnson<\/strong>, JESUS\u2019 SON<\/strong> is the fragmented tale of seventies drug user \u201cFuckhead\u201d (Billy Crudup<\/strong>) in and around Iowa City, Iowa<\/strong>. The film also stars Samantha Morton<\/strong> (SWEET AND LOWDOWN<\/strong>), Denis Leary<\/strong> (THE JOB<\/strong>), Jack Black<\/strong> (HIGH FIDELITY<\/strong>), and Will Patton<\/strong> (REMEMBER THE TITANS<\/strong>). I wasn\u2019t around to check out the post-film discussion, featuring Crudup, director Alison Maclean<\/strong>, and screenwriters Elizabeth Cuthrell<\/strong> and David Urrutia<\/strong>, which made JESUS\u2019 SON<\/strong> the best-represented film of the festival.<\/p>\n

~~~~~<\/p>\n

10 p.m.<\/em> \u2013 A SIMPLE PLAN<\/strong>
\n(1998, 123 min., USA, released by Paramount Pictures<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

\"\"It wasn\u2019t long after we returned to the Virginia that the audience let out, and it was interesting to sit outside in the cool air and watch Overlooked staffers do the back-door celebrity shuffle. Of course, as JESUS\u2019 SON<\/strong> got underway, festival director Nate Kohn<\/strong> walked up the block with A SIMPLE PLAN<\/strong> star Bill Paxton<\/strong>, who was quickly whisked away into a side office for a video interview with Overlooked sponsor Northwestern Airlines<\/strong> for their on-board programming. I sat on my park bench and watched in bemusement as very few people in the street picked up on \u201cthat guy\u201d being the one and only Paxton. Chet from WEIRD SCIENCE<\/strong>! Hudson from ALIENS<\/strong>! Severen from NEAR DARK<\/strong>! Yeah, that <\/em>guy.<\/p>\n

I really wanted to watch A SIMPLE PLAN<\/strong>, arguably the best-known entry at the Overlooked, but I had a standing invite from another UIUC <\/strong>student that I decided to honor instead. Not too coincidentally, young master thespian Christopher Denham<\/strong> arranged to stage a two-act play that weekend entitled In Film<\/strong><\/span> that he wrote and directed, and I was curious to see it. Having befriended Denham a few years back, I knew he had genuine interest in the medium and that it wasn\u2019t there just as a convenient plot point.<\/p>\n

The play concerns a struggling screenwriter named Patrick Lenegen (Mick Hilgers<\/strong>) who had the studio offer of a lifetime in his younger years, and has yet to truly reconcile turning it down. In the basement of his West Orange, New Jersey <\/strong>digs lives promising film student Gerry Strohm (Andy Gershenzon<\/strong>), who is Patrick\u2019s lover. Gerry also happens to be so absorbed in rejecting any sort of potential accolades (or commercial success) that might come his way, that he becomes dumbfounded when a bright peppy blonde in his class, Claire Lauckner (Kelly LaMont<\/strong>), turns in a film he finds unbelievably good.<\/p>\n

What follows is a very strange relationship triangle. Gerry finds himself turned on by Claire, but wallows in such self-loathing for his own potential career that he arranges to have both their films screened at New York\u2019s famed Angelika Film Center<\/strong> with studio execs in attendance. He hopes that her film will become the talk and that his film \u2013 and by extension, himself \u2013 gets overshadowed completely, therefore proving without a doubt that he\u2019s doomed to be an \u201cartistic type\u201d forever shunned by the masses.<\/p>\n

Although the three actors managed to pull off some rather tricky interplay, I became extremely confused by these characters\u2019 motivations with the exception of Claire\u2019s simplistic (yet not self-derogatory) \u201cI like to make movies\u201d outlook. Especially with Gerry, the dialogue seemed bent more on making points about how an artist coexists with society when one\u2019s art is something broad-based like film, rather than progressing the characters towards some qualitative end. The spirit of a smart drama lurks within this play; Denham needs to lift some of the weight from Gerry\u2019s shoulders, refocus the characters and then refine their personal modi operandi<\/em>. I\u2019ll be fair and admit that I missed most of Act 1 that night, but hopefully, the playwright has worked it good over the last year, and a more refined draft will be on display when In Film<\/span> makes its off-Broadway <\/strong>debut in late May 2002.<\/p>\n

I rushed back to the Virginia just in time for A SIMPLE PLAN<\/strong> to roll the very end of its last reel. This \u201cMidwest noir<\/em>\u201d deals with brothers Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton<\/strong>) and Hank Mitchell (Paxton) and buddy Lou Chambers (Brent Briscoe<\/strong>), who find an airplane downed in their Minnesota <\/strong>neck of the woods one winter, and discover a satchel containing $4 million of drug money near the wreck. How will these three flawed human beings, along with Hank\u2019s wife Sarah (Bridget Fonda<\/strong>), deal with this discovery, and will it eventually corrupt their very lives? Of course it will, and critics lauded the subtle, deft ways director Sam Raimi<\/strong> allowed the twisting tale to unfold, especially in light of his prior EVIL DEAD\/DARKMAN<\/strong> days of rock\u2019em, sock\u2019em genre cinema.<\/p>\n

Afterwards, Ebert appeared on stage with Paxton and PANIC <\/strong>composer Brian Tyler<\/strong>, who happened to be working on the final sound mix of the actor\u2019s directorial debut, FRAILTY<\/strong>, co-starring Matthew McConaughey<\/strong> and Powers Boothe<\/strong>. Paxton made an endearing impression as the type of actor who\u2019s a regular Joe beneath it all that just happens to make movies for a living. From openly dedicating the film to his father (who sent him the original novel A SIMPLE PLAN<\/strong> was based upon) and his brother (who eerily resembled Thornton\u2019s character, a mentally slow, blue collar man) to describing how in awe he felt working alongside Thornton, I think the audience came to appreciate Paxton\u2019s heart-felt sincerity and good humor.<\/p>\n

Yeah, that <\/em>guy.<\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

:: Part 4<\/a> | Part 6<\/a> ::<\/p>\n

~~~~~<\/p>\n

Article \u00a9 2001 Jason Pankoke. Used with permission.<\/p>\n

Cover Graphic: \u00a9 Roger Ebert\u2019s Film Festival<\/a>\/Daily Illini<\/a><\/p>\n

THE KING OF MASKS<\/strong> graphic:
\n\u00a9 1999 Samuel Goldwyn Films<\/a>\/Sony DVD OOP<\/p>\n

ON THE ROPES<\/strong> graphic:
\n\u00a9 1999 WinStar Cinema\/DVD OOP<\/p>\n

JESUS\u2019 SON<\/strong> graphic:
\n\u00a9 2000 Lionsgate<\/a><\/p>\n

A SIMPLE PLAN<\/strong> graphic:
\n\u00a9 1998 Paramount Pictures<\/a>\/DVD OOP<\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Back to the fore, MacDuff\u2026<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Visit the Article Index<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Return to Home Page<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our exclusive EbertFlashBackFest continues as editor Jason Pankoke speaks to us from 10 years ago! In this fifth entry, he lives life ON THE ROPES by also entertaining Mark Borchardt and several University of Illinois students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,14,137,13,30,18],"tags":[692,84,694,668,691,72,693],"class_list":["post-3295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alums-done-good","category-area-festivals","category-article-du-c-u","category-public-events","category-roger-ebert","category-student-film","tag-a-simple-plan","tag-illini-film-video","tag-jesus-son","tag-mark-borchardt","tag-on-the-ropes","tag-roger-eberts-film-festival","tag-the-king-of-masks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3295\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}