By Mark Pfeiffer

10/31/2003

Family dysfunction and the holidays go together like Thanksgiving turkey and cranberry sauce, all of which are found in Pieces of April. In a break from the apple-cheeked, girl-next-door types for which she is best known, Katie Holmes plays April, the family outcast trying to make amends with her dying mother Joy (Patricia Clarkson). April invites the family to her New York apartment for Thanksgiving. It’s a goodwill gesture and an opportunity to introduce her boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke).

She intends to make the entire meal, including favorite family recipes; however, April isn’t an experienced cook--her oven doubles as a storage cabinet--and the stove breaks on the holiday morning. Determined not to disappoint her mother again, she traipses up and down the stairs looking for someone in the apartment building willing to loan her some oven time. Meanwhile, April’s father, mother, sister, brother, and grandmother make the drive, biding their time wondering how much of a disaster the meal will be.

The tense family dynamics are mined for much of Pieces of April’s humor, but writer-director Peter Hedges also finds room for the genuine love underneath all the sniping among family members. Pieces of April marks Hedges’ debut as a film director. His screenwriting credits include the adaptations of Nick Hornby’s novel About a Boy, Jane Hamilton’s A Map of the World, and his own book What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Hedges visited Columbus, Ohio on October 28 for a benefit screening of Pieces of April. I met with the writer-director.

Mark Pfeiffer: Where did you get the idea for the film?

Peter Hedges: I'd heard about a group of young people who went to cook a turkey, and their oven didn't work. They were in New York City. It was Thanksgiving. They'd bought an apartment. So they had to go around the building and ask other people to use their ovens. I thought that would be a terrific way to throw people together who would normally not be together.

MP: Family interaction is a part of the screenplays that you've written. That's certainly the case in this movie. What is it about the way families communicate and don't communicate that interests you so much?

PH: Family is our first community, and maybe it’s because I came from a very interesting, volatile family, although I've never rendered them in any of the stories I've written, and because I grew up around so many interesting families. Most of the stories I love, from Glass Menagerie and Long Day's Journey Into Night, and many of the movies I love are about family. I'm drawn to families as that first community that we need to navigate. How do we emerge from our family and then find a family? A lot of Pieces of April to me is about the family you're born into but also the family you find, and it was the family you find that really compelled me to write this particular story.

MP: It's interesting you say that because About a Boy has a lot of the same things with the Will character.

PH: That's correct, the family he finds. That, of course, is from the Nick Hornby novel. I was one of the adapters of that book, but I know I was drawn to it for that reason, the idea that if you don't have a family, it's incumbent upon you to make one or to find one.

MP: What's striking about the film is what people say by not saying something, whether it's by omission or inflection or even through action in the end of the picture. How do you get the cast to be able to do something like that where a lot of what's said really isn't spoken?

PH: I love your question because increasingly for me film is about what you don't say and what you don't see. In this case, it wasn't difficult to get the cast to not say lines and not do certain actions because they understood that the power of the movie was going to come from the absence of certain moments and also that other moments be seized and grabbed and embraced. They're smart actors, and they realized, I think, that they would have to bring their A game to the set every day to make these scenes work. It also meant that the writer had faith in them as actors. If you don't trust your actors, you're going to overwrite everything, you're going to explain everything so that an audience gets it. In this case, we don't do that because we want to treat the audience with the same respect that any person wants to be treated in any conversation they have as an adult, which is you have a brain and you will be able to figure out what you need to figure out.

MP: As the writer and the director, did you have any problem balancing the humor, which can be pretty biting at times, with the softer elements of the picture?

PH: To straddle the comedy and the drama feels human to me, feels natural to me. From the beginning of my writing career I've always written dramatic scenes with lots of humor and funny scenes with lots of undercurrent, so it isn't difficult for me to do. I only know that if I've written something and it's without humor--there's no comedy in it--I probably haven't gone deep enough.

MP: First time directing for you. What led you to want to get involved as more than just a writer?

PH: I've wanted to direct long before I started writing films, so it wasn't born out of any disappointment from About a Boy or A Map of the World or What's Eating Gilbert Grape. It was very much that I view screenwriting as preparing a party and directing as getting to actually host the party, and I just wanted to be at the party.

MP: You made it through InDigEnt. How did you become connected with them?

PH: I've known Gary Winick, who founded InDigEnt, for years. He had been calling me for some time and asking me to come up with a project that I could do with InDigEnt. During that time I'd been writing Pieces of April, which I thought was too big of a project for InDigEnt because of 35 actors, lots of locations, and they make their films with a limited budget. My movie kept falling apart. Set up with a budget of seven million dollars three times, fell apart all three times. We called Gary in a last ditch effort. He and his team at InDigEnt read the script, and in twenty-four hours they said yes.

MP: What did you think of working with digital?

PH: For this story, which takes place over five hours, for a movie that wanted to feel as intensely human as it could, to get that feel of it being almost a home movie, that we're peeking in, peering in on life, it was a fantastic way to tell this story. I wouldn't have made Gilbert Grape or About a Boy or A Map of the World--not that I directed them--but if I were directing them and that was the only option, I would not have shot them on digital video. But this story, actually, I think, is enhanced by digital video.

MP: How did Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields get involved with the picture?

PH: I'd written this movie to end with the Three Dog Night song “Pieces of April”. My producer said, "You really need to have someone write a piece of music," but I felt he was trying to get me to score the movie, so I was reluctant. What ended up happening was we started bringing in composers, and I said, “Why don't we bring in my favorite composer in the entire world, Stephin Merritt,” who I'd never met. He came to see the movie. He loved the movie, hated the last song, and he agreed to write something, which he did. We only scored five moments prior to that ending moment—the ending montage—and then he also allowed me to use four of his songs as source music for April during the movie. We added a fifth song for the credits. He's my favorite musician in the world, and since I was working with some of my favorite actors, why not just have more favorite people around?

MP: What's next on your schedule?

PH: I'm finishing a novel that I've been writing since 1998, and then I have an idea for a movie that I can't wait to write.

MP: Thanks for your time.

PH: Thank a lot.

By Mark Pfeiffer

4/7/2003

Parminder Nagra

Bend It Like Beckham has won the hearts of moviegoers around the world, and now American audiences are being introduced to this lively and charming film. Director and co-screenwriter Gurinder Chadha tells the story of Jess Bharma (Parminder Nagra), a British teenager from an Indian family that is less than enamored with her football (soccer) obsession. Her mother, in particular, wishes Jess would learn to make traditional meals and find a nice Indian boy rather than spend time on the pitch. Jess’ idol is Manchester United and English national team star David Beckham, who possesses the enviable ability to curve the ball around defenders and into the goal, and her walls are decorated with his photos. Jules (Keira Knightley), a member of the all-women’s Hounslow Harriers, invites Jess to play on the team, forcing her to make a difficult choice. Should she follow her dream of playing football or lead the life her parents desire for her?




A year ago Bend It Like Beckham took the UK by storm, making the most money ever there at the box office for a British-financed, British-distributed film. Moviegoers in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa also pushed the film to the top of the charts. Bend It Like Beckham nabbed audience favorite film awards at three international film festivals, including Toronto, and was nominated as Best European Film by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the UK equivalent of the Academy Awards. The film recently opened in the United States to enthusiastic critics’ reviews.




Parminder Nagra visited Columbus, Ohio on April 4 to promote the film’s local opening and kick off a new season of Major League Soccer. I met with the actress, whose appealing, buoyant performance is one of the film’s strengths.





Mark Pfeiffer: Obvious first question. The film's about football. Did you play before you got the role?




Parminder Nagra: No. I had to, with Keira, who plays Jules in the movie, we both had to go and train, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, although he didn't have to play that much soccer in the film, he also came and joined in all the training sessions as well. We were taught by a guy called Simon Clifford, who has got a footballing scheme all across England and now spreading its wings called Futebol de Salao, and that teaches you the Brazilian method of playing football. So a lot of the flashy moves that you see in the film are down to him making us go home and just practice, practice, practice certain moves over and over again. So yes, there's a lot of intensive training.




MP: This is also your first feature film. What challenges did that present aside from all the football skills?










PN: I have to say the biggest challenge for me probably was the football skills, was the soccer. I've kind of been in the business for nearly coming up to ten years now, so in terms of the acting part of it, I really wasn't that daunted by it. It was for me the opportunity of actually being given the chance to do a big part on film and also for people all over the world to be able to see it. So that was the biggest opportunity for me.




MP: You've been involved with this for quite some time.




PN: Yeah. (Laughs)




MP: You met the director in 1998. She saw you in a play.




PN: Yeah. She'd approached me after this. I did a Bollywood musical called Fourteen Songs, Two Weddings, and a Funeral, and it was literally after that project, after one show, that she talked to me about Bend It Like Beckham and said, "I've got this footballing project in mind. Do you want to take a look at the script and let me know what you think?" I kind of at the time thought, "Why would you want to do a project about football?" Then, of course, eventually the script arrived and I saw exactly why she wanted to do it. You know, you're sticking a young girl, and at that a south Asian girl, in the middle of not only a male-dominated society, but also something that's just not conventional.




MP: So you met her in '98 and I guess you didn't end up shooting until two years after that?




PN: Yeah, it was pretty much we're greenlit, we're not greenlit. We're greenlit, we're not greenlit. (Laughs) It was a lot of waiting and a few opportunities to do soaps in England where, you know, I could have been on a few things for quite a while. So it was actually taking the gamble and saying actually no, I'm going to try and hold out for this movie and wait for it to happen because I thought it was important and I didn't want to get pigeonholed doing a soap.










MP: The movie came out in the UK last year and turned out to be the biggest British-financed hit.




PN: Yeah, it surprised me actually when people were coming up to me and saying week number one, “You're number one in the box office.” And I went, “OK.” Then week number two it was like, “You're still number one,” And we were like, “Oh, OK, God.” And then by the third week when we were still at number one, it was crazy and then just spreading its wings across Europe and then to Australia, India, and eventually culminating and arriving in the U.S.A. It was just… it's just been a really remarkable ride, and it's been nice to be on the journey with it really.




MP: How has that impacted your career, with especially your first film out and you're carrying the picture, to be in the movie that's that successful?




PN: In terms of the work that I've been approached with now, it's been a lot better. I'm very conscious of the fact of wanting to do work that's very different because Jess is an eighteen-year-old girl growing up in west London. So the parts that I've played in the last year…I played Viola in Twelfth Night and then I did a small part in a Miramax film called Ella Enchanted and then just finished a two part drama for Channel 4 again called Second Generation, which is playing more my own age and somebody who is very sassy, temperamental, and very bold but completely different from what we see Jess as. It's been nice people are still trusting me that I can still do other things apart from just being a teenager, which is great. It's flattering. (Laughs)










MP: What was it like playing that? You were several years older than the character you were playing.




PN: It was funny actually because when I met Keira in the audition, Gurinder said to both of us, "How old do you think the other one is?" and I turned around to Keira and I went, "Oh, I don't know, nineteen, twenty." And then Keira turned around to me and went, "Oh, I don't know, nineteen, twenty." And then Gurinder said, "Actually, there's about nearly ten years difference between you both." And we both just looked at each other and went, "Oh my God." But it was fine. You do your homework, and then you go in and do the scenes. The story keeps you going. I had such brilliant teammates as well, and it really became such a good team effort on the film on so many different levels, on the pitch and also even when we got to the drama as well. It was good fun.




MP: Audiences have really seemed to rally around the movie. What do you think they are responding to?




PN: I think primarily the film, for me and for anybody who goes to see it now, and the reason why it's done so well is because it's about dreams and it's about somebody doing well and actually achieving something. People like to see that, and it's somebody who's got a few things against her. It doesn't seem like she has any opportunity, and then she breaks through that glass ceiling and manages to blow that out of the water. I think that's why it's done so well. It's dreams and aspirations, and that's a universal theme for us all.




MP: Sort of serendipitously, women's professional soccer has taken off a little bit in the time this film has been in production and when it's come out. Has that maybe given it a little more cachet with the public too, do you think?




PN: I think Gurinder is very good at the subject matter she picked, and the ingredients that are in the movie. It's appealed to so many different people. David Beckham is a big soccer star in England but probably known here more for being Posh Spice's husband. In America it's a lot more of a women's game here. That's why I kind of think people will go see it here and young girls would want to go see it here as well because it's much more of a women's sport than it is in England. Whereas in England, David Beckham is such a big star people want to go and see it for that as well. Also, people go and see it, and actually it isn't about any one of those things. They actually get a lot more out of the movie.










MP: Has it helped to start up some women's soccer options for girls over in England?




PN: It's funny. There was only one professional football team in England, which was Fulham Ladies. Unfortunately I just found out recently that their sponsorship is being pulled, so they're going to have to go semi-professional, but after the film was screened in England, the FA, which is the Football Association in England, had such an influx of calls from young girls saying they wanted to play football. It was quite amazing. Apparently there is an article in The Times in England that girls in India have started up a lot of leagues in India, where there are young girls wanting to play soccer. So it's kind of spreading its wings around everywhere really.




MP: You mentioned David Beckham, and honestly, his name being in the title, he's not necessarily someone who's on the tip of everybody's tongues in this country.




PN: Yeah. (Laughs)




MP: Have you noticed any differences from viewings of the film of things that American audiences don't get that British audiences do?




PN: I don't think so. I've been in cinemas with such a mixture of people, in England, even in places like Germany, France, kind of all over the place, and it's pretty much the same reaction. It's pretty much everybody laughs at the same thing. Everybody feels for the character in similar sorts of ways, and above all, people come out smiling at the end of the film. I don't think Americans would see it in any other way. I think the only thing that they, or anybody who isn't from a British-Asian family, they get to see a window into that life or into that story. So no, I don't think they would see it any differently really.




MP: Jess has her walls plastered with posters of David Beckham. Was there anybody when you were that age that you had that kind of admiration for?




PN: (Laughs) I just answered this question about an hour ago. I'm so embarrassed, but I might as well tell you. It was Bruce Willis. (Laughs) You know, when Moonlighting was around, so I was young and naïve, and yes, Bruce Willis. (Laughs)




MP: Any particular reason for Bruce Willis?




PN: (Smiles and laughs) No, not any more. It's all right.










MP: Any parallels with her story in your teen years?




PN: The point where I said to my mum I'm not doing music any more, I'm doing drama, I think she kind of went, "Oh my God." But more than her stopping me or anything, it was none of that. Jess' mum is a little bit crazy, as is Jules' mum. They're both completely mad.




MP: A lot of teenage girls in films often tend to be exclusively defined, I think, by getting the guy in the movie.




PN: Yeah.




MP: In this case, I think what's interesting about Bend It Like Beckham is that it's more about her achieving her goal. Obviously there's still a romantic interest, but it has more of an internal striving she's going for. Do you think this is a little more emotionally honest than a lot of the other films that are about teen girls or are targeted to them?




PN: God, that's a big question. (Laughs) I need you to say it again, I think.




MP: OK, let me see if I can rephrase that. I guess, do you feel this film may be a little more realistic in how teen girls are rather than just stars in their eyes over the quarterback or whoever?




PN: I think one of the things people come out relating to the movie no matter how old or young they are, they kind of go, “We've been there.” As children, there's times when we've wanted to do something and our parents have gone, "Well, no, you're not doing it," and we've kind of gone, "Well, why not?" And they've gone, "Because of this," and then you go, "Well, I'm going to do it anyway." There've been those moments where you've sneaked out of the house or you've done something your parents haven't wanted you to do. I guess we can all relate to that really.




MP: What was it like working with the director?




PN: She was great, Gurinder. She had a great sense of play on set, and she's a very formidable woman, very warm. Because she was the producer, and also the writer and director of the movie, there was a lot of sense of free play, in every sense of the word. Sometimes she'd leave the camera running for that few seconds longer, and you'd kind of think, "She's not shouting cut, you know, and I've finished my scene." And then of course we'd carry on and we'd ad lib at the end of scenes, which some of those moments were kept within the film. There'd be times where you'd do a scene and then she'd go, "Right, I just want you to throw the script up in the air and just improvise around that" and so we'd do that. And Juliet Stevenson, who played Jules' mum in the film--she's been around for ages, Juliet--talking to her about it, she said, "I've never been in a situation where a director has just allowed me to do that because normally the camera and the script are so sacred." So we had more freedom than maybe normally we might have. And also, allowing us to have that creative dialogue with a director—saying "what about this and what about that" and her actually taking that on board and working with you, it was great.




MP: At one point they considered using body doubles for some of the soccer footage, and you and Keira nixed that idea.










PN: Yeah. (Laughs) We were pretty determined, both of us. We didn't have that long to train, and, I guess, if we had our time over, we would have loved a lot longer. But low budget English movie, you're not going to get that amount of time. But yeah, we didn't want any body doubles. A couple of the girls were there, and fortunately for them, we were determined enough to do it. I think we got to a competent level, and I think what's ended up on screen is quite good.




MP: Talk to me a little bit about working with Keira because it sounds like in the film she's the one who's a little more experienced and has been with the soccer team, and in the real life situation, you've been around and worked in the industry longer than she has. How was that…




PN: Having said that, I think Keira started off when she was very young. She started off, probably, you know, when she was about…I think she did her first thing when she was about eight or something like that. So she was kind of in it longer in terms of seeing what it was like, and her parents are involved in the business. You know, those things go out the window when you're on a project together because you get together and you work together, and that's what it becomes about. And either you're on the same kind of level at that moment or you're not. And I guess if she wasn't, then Gurinder wouldn't have chosen her to do it.




MP: Anything in particular you would like people to take from the film?




PN: Essentially it's a feel good movie, so I hope people just come out enjoying it and smiling a lot, just taking away a lot of positive vibes.




MP: I understand you're kicking off things for the Columbus Crew tomorrow. (She took the inaugural first kick of the Columbus Crew-LA Galaxy match to open the Major League Soccer season on April 5.)










PN: Yeah. (Laughs)




MP: You've done this on film, but have you had a chance to do this sort of thing in front of a live audience?




PN: No. I don't think I quite realize what they want me to do tomorrow. I was told it was a coin toss. I think I'm kind of getting a bit scared about that now, but I'm sure it will be good fun. (Laughs)




MP: What are you currently working on, and where might we see you in the future?




PN: The last project I finished just about a month ago. Ella Enchanted is coming out in August. It will be in theaters. There are a few things that are happening. I can't say at the moment what it is, but there's some nice stuff that is happening. You'll just have to watch this space.




MP: Thanks for your time.

PN: Thank you.

By Mark Pfeiffer

8/15/2002

For most Sunday is a day of rest, but for Allison Moorer it was just another day to win converts to her underappreciated brand of country music. Touring in support of her new album Miss Fortune, she wowed a packed house at Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta, Georgia. (I estimate 150-200 crammed into the tiny club.)

The performance space at Smith’s Olde Bar sits at the top of a long staircase. Going into the small, dark room feels like gaining entry to the world’s coolest attic, where concerts are being staged for you and your friends. The intimate setting and Moorer’s terrific performance combined for the kind of show people will claim to have attended if she goes on to greater success.

Moorer and her five piece band opened with the bouncy “Think It Over”. The song’s mix of country and rock and roll set the tone for the evening. “Think It Over” also serves as a good introduction to Moorer the artist: independent, uncompromising, and pragmatic. The song’s narrator addresses a cheating man begging to be taken back. Moorer stands her ground, well aware of why he was unfaithful, why he’s returned, and that he’ll never change. “Think It Over” sets the relationship on her terms, a stance Moorer has also taken professionally.

Two more old songs followed before Moorer dipped into cuts from Miss Fortune. The evolving sound of the new material, “Can’t Get There From Here”, “Steal The Sun”, and “Let Go”, melded seamlessly with her prior work. “Can’t Get There From Here”, an excellent song co-written with Bruce Robison, was played at a pace somewhere between Robison’s slower Country Sunshine version and Moorer’s faster recorded interpretation.

Moorer’s voice was in fine form. She rendered the most fragile notes and punched the emotional chords with her sultry, Alabama drawl. A sticker on Miss Fortune’s packaging states that “absolutely no vocal tuning or pitch correction was used in the making of this record”. One listen to her in concert provides more than sufficient proof that Moorer has the vocal chops and doesn't need technological assistance. The band, jokingly referred to as Pole Cat Promenade for the evening, matched Moorer’s vocals with tight, skillful musicianship. One of the concert’s highlights was a searing version of “Day You Said Goodbye”, which found Moorer and band powerfully united. They jammed more than at any time to this point in the set, and the audience rewarded them with the concert’s most enthusiastic response. A gracious Moorer commented that at times she wonders why she continues doing what she does, especially considering her minimal commercial success, but reactions like that help remind her why.

Moorer transitioned to the soulful “Tumbling Down” and her debut album’s delicate “A Soft Place To Fall” before turning to the chilling “Dying Breed”. Without fail, any article about Moorer or her sister Shelby Lynne mentions the incomprehensible childhood tragedy in their family, so any knowledge of that incident adds to the wallop the song packs. Any autobiographical aspects aside--to be honest, interpreting this as a personal confession rather than a piece of dark, creative songwriting is likely misplaced--”Dying Breed”, a suicidal recounting, comes like a punch to the gut. Smith’s Olde Bar was pierced with silence during the song, a testament to Moorer’s stunning performance.

The raunchy, Rolling Stones-inflected “Ruby Jewel Was Here” picked up the mood, although the rollicking music obscured the sad story about a girl raised in a whorehouse. The respectful audience--yelled comments or requests were practically non-existent--took some prodding before participating in the sing-a-long drinking song “Bully Jones”, and the regular set wrapped with “Yessirree” and a blazing version of “No Next Time”.

For the encore Moorer came out to play keyboards and sing a stripped down “Cold In California”. The band rejoined her for a cover of Neil Young’s “Don’t Cry No Tears”, a fitting end to an outstanding concert.

Her performance knocked me out, but Moorer’s generosity with her fans was doubly impressive. She emerged from backstage shortly after the concert’s end and patiently met with fans, signing autographs, posing for photographs, and talking. Such behavior from a new artist wouldn’t shock me, but I was surprised that someone with three albums and something of a presence on the national stage would be so approachable. How many singers who, like Moorer, have performed at the Academy Awards ceremony would do this? This access may seem like a small gesture, but I sensed that Moorer won some new fans that night.

Opener David Zollo played a fine half-hour set of blues-tinged piano compositions.

Setlist

1. Think It Over
2. Bring Me All Your Lovin’
3. Alabama Song
4. Can’t Get There From Here
5. Steal The Sun
6. Let Go
7. Is It Worth It
8. Hey Jezebel
9. Send Down An Angel
10. Day You Said Goodbye
11. Tumbling Down
12. A Soft Place To Fall
13. Dying Breed
14. Ruby Jewel Was Here
15. Bully Jones
16. Yessirree
17. No Next Time

Encore

18. Cold In California
19. Don’t Cry No Tears

By Mark Pfeiffer

6/1/2002

To: Seth Paxton, Mark Pfeiffer
From: Edwin Pereyra
Subject: RE: George Washington

I viewed the film again last night in its entirety.
The first half leading to the tragic incident is now
the most engaging part of the film for me. After
that, it becomes a collection of tales of certain
people living in the South in one hot summer with the
lead character, George, carrying the entire film all
the way through.

The film touches upon the relationship of George’s
uncle and aunt, who, in themselves, are childless.
There’s Rico, whose father owns a business tied to the
railroad industry. He shows deep concern about other
folks in his town in maintaining their jobs while
having, in what appears to be, secret relations with a
black woman. The film talks about religion, as well.
Furthermore, there’s Nasia sitting around with some
older female friends and relatives whose conversations
revolve mostly about men and relationships. If there
is an observation, I would like to make is that the conversations of these individuals are unencumbered, worry free and mostly, philosophical in nature.

Still I wonder what purpose the tragic incident serves
as it relates to the remaining four child characters,
as it did not provide a turning point in their lives.
The incident and its results did not play out as I
would like it to be and there appeared to be very
little sense of loss given that one of the main themes
of the film is friendship. I would like to hear your
thoughts on this.

~Edwin

To: Edwin Pereyra, Mark Pfeiffer
From: Seth Paxton
Subject: RE: George Washington

Well, since the film is named after George I think his character is the most important. And if that is the case then Buddy's death certainly has a large effect on the film because that is what makes George flip out and become obsessed with being a super hero.

Remember that is Buddy's wrestling outfit that he puts on for one thing, and that one of his first heroic acts is to cleanse/baptize Buddy and lay him out to be found so there can a least be resolution for the family and for Buddy in some way. Plus, Buddy's death affects Sonya because she is troubled that the event didn't make her cry or feel upset. She is bothered by her own indifference.

Since the film is obviously more abstract to the point that the narrative structure is subdued, I think that perhaps the connection between scenes is meant to be the philosophy of each scene. That the concepts being discussed in one scene connect to the concepts of the scenes that will follow, even if the narrative connection seems broken and jumpy.

One moment I couldn't quite interpret was the extending scene of Rico just riding through town which was intercut with a scene with the kids (I forget the moment exactly now). I have a little trouble grasping that connection, but the length of time spent on Rico there plus the amount of cuts tells me that Green had something in mind for sure.

- Seth
To: Seth Paxton, Edwin Pereyra
From: Mark Pfeiffer
Subject: Turning point

Edwin, I think the tragedy is a big turning point, but we're just not
shown a lot of external reactions as far as emotions, etc. It is after
Buddy's death that George begins to work on becoming a superhero. Vernon
seriously questions what he should do with his life. Recall the second
scene in the rundown bathroom. Vernon sits on the floor and chastises
Sonya that she isn't acting any different. She recognizes that she
doesn't feel anything and believes herself to be a bad person. All of
their actions in the second half of the film spin out of the accident.

Perhaps the reason you don't feel it didn't have much impact is because Green
doesn't dwell directly on it. The characters feelings and comments are
mostly internalized, but it is through their actions that we see how they
were affected. George atones, in a way, by saving the boy with the neck
brace who was drowning in the pool. He isn't supposed to get his head wet
but thinks nothing of diving in and helping someone else. In doing so, he
gets the baptism he is not able to receive. Green mirrors this
baptism when George takes Buddy to the water and gives him a sort of last
rites, including burning the white hat Buddy was seen wearing in church
earlier in GW. Vernon specifically mentions wanting to be saved. I don't
remember if he gets baptized toward the end, but he too is taking stock of
his young life and wants to be redeemed because of what happened to Buddy.

When I saw George Washington the first time, I naturally assumed that
the film was going to stick with the aftershocks of Buddy's death. I
think it does, just not in the way we're used to seeing. That it took me
another time or two to realize that probably owes more to the
preconceptions of storytelling most of us carry than any deficiencies on
Green's part.

That's just my opinion, though. If you disagree and think I'm giving more
credit than is deserved, defend your position. My intention in starting
the DVD Club was to stir up differing views in addition to deepening my
understanding of the film. This process has allowed me to uncover the
layers I hadn't seen or considered until now.

Mark

To: Seth Paxton, Edwin Pereyra
From: Mark Pfeiffer
Subject: Wrapping up this DVD Club

I wanted to say thanks for your participation in this first edition of the
DVD Club. It may not have gone perfectly--namely the e-mail quirk that
kept me from being able to read Seth's last message--but all in all I'm
very happy with how the discussion transpired. Your comments made me
aware of some things I had missed or viewed differently. I appreciate
the insights you provided and hope this was an enriching experience for
you too. You are certainly welcome to take part again.

The DVD Club will return with discussion of a new film (or films) in a
couple weeks. The participants may be different, but hopefully the
conversation will be equally stimulating.

Mark

By Mark Pfeiffer

5/31/2002

To: Edwin Pereyra, Mark Pfeiffer
From: Seth Paxton
Subject: RE: George Washington

Hmmm, hope it's okay to go back to back in my responses. Since I had more
to say about stuff you covered, I will.

First, I saw it on a LBX VHS which was all that was available to me. But I
am able to look past shimmering and fuzziness and fill in those presentation
gaps. I love the use of the 2.35 here simply because that goes against the
"talky art house" convention. A film with these types of moments usually
goes for the more intimate 1.85 or sometimes even Academy ratio, not to
mention a grainier look.

I agree about the rhythms thing. I've found that I have very little trouble
shifting into that paradigm of viewing now, but it has taken numerous
viewings of other films that use this same style. While I love great
narrative film, I am totally fascinated with the idea of connecting
scenes/images via an alternative linking, like emotional or conceptual.
Just look at something like Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera which
abstracts the narrative and connects the variety of images either using the
Kuleshov Effect to imply similarities between very different images (like an
opening eyelid with an opening window shutter) or by relying on the implied
similarities between subjects (like sport and military service). These
films are very watchable, but they do present a challenge at first.

I do think that scene to scene we are being led somewhere, it's simply that
the method of leading us is not by following the story along. Certainly a
story is there but it's obviously not the backbone of the flow.

Speaking on the photography again, what about the shooting of the rundown
parts of town. Roofs filled with holes, rusty metal, junkyards and
abandoned places. To me there was a feeling that we are seeing all of these
flaws in life, but that the characters still find happiness there. There is
a lot of love and friendship around the kids and their life is not portrayed
as all that abnormal in it's basics. The odd details are there, but not
enough to alienate us from the kids.

I don't think he becomes a hero in life, but that in her eyes he will. I
think that gives a message that life can be what we see in it, but that
won't automatically make others see things our way. It was a poignant
moment for me when Nasia says "But who am I, my dad is a scientist and my
mom creates new perfumes" or something like that. There is a duality of
being special or being special in someone else's eyes, but at the same time
we are all just people too. It's like the kids are looking for more than
there really is and that learning this is a big part of growing up.

- Seth

To: Seth Paxton, Edwin Pereyra
From: Mark Pfeiffer
Subject: Depictions of childhood

I'd never thought of Huck Finn in conjunction with this film, but I
think it's an apt comparison. Good call Seth. The main characters in
both are mired in poverty but find joy where they can. They have
adventures, markedly more modest ones in GW but adventures nonetheless,
and struggle with issues of parental absence or distance. It's been a
long time since I've read Twain's books, but I may have to crack one open
to explore this more fully. Both strike me as archetypal portrayals of the
South and of childhood.

Speaking of the kids, I was thrilled to see a film that lets kids be kids
instead of miniature adults. The fast-talking, wisecracking moppet may be
one of my greatest aggravations in movies, so I really appreciate it when
a filmmaker shows kids how they are in all their mumbling and confident ways.
That's where a lot of the humor comes from, just the odd things kids say.
George lists his heroes and includes the Great Wall of China. There's a
different thought process, probably a more free associative one. That
could be why Green's style works so well with his subject matter. He makes
leaps that don't always appear connected from an adult's mindset, but in
the mind of a child, everything fits together perfectly.

There are some other items I'd like to comment on, but work beckons,
forcing me to expand on those thoughts later today.

Mark