universal film magazine issue 5

8/10/2019 Universal Film Magazine Issue 5

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Pat Pawlackwrites aboutthe Feel GoodFilm Festival

MaleficentDISNEY ANNOUNCESSTART OFPRODUCTION

STARLITE GALA P.33

EXPENDABLES 2 P.3

www.ufmag.org ISSUE 5 OF 2012

PUNK BAND PUSSY RIOT JAILED IN RUSSIA

UNIVERS LUNIVERSAL FILMFILM

LawlesswithTom Hardy &Gary Oldman

WORLDWIDE EXCLUSIVE

100K PAID TO

THE TALIBAN FOR

UNPRECEDENTED ACCESS

DOCUMENTARY. P. 35


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Letters & E Mails Please ContributePlease send in your letters and stories [email protected]

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Editor-Iin-Chief

Creative Director

Proof Editors

Photographer

Marketing Director

Contributors

Magazine

TYRONE D MURPHY

DOM MURICU

TODD VOLZMICHELLE GOODEKATE SPATOLAPAUL PASTORPAUL WOODS

KEVIN A MURPHY

EV JOHNSON

PATRICIA J. PAWLAK

KEVIN A MURPHYROY BENSONRON GILBERTGAIL SPENCERZOE MOONMICHELLE GOODEGENE GODSELL

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About UFMThe Universal Film Magazine is afree magazine that delivers pas-sionate and creative coverage

about the global lm and festi-val communities. The publicationdiffers from the competition be-cause it is totally free.

It is the mission of the UniversalFilm Magazine to uphold our un-compromising high standardsin professional journalism withcompelling stories that are unbi-

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We are committed to the advance-ment of the industry by providingthe very best in-depth featuresand coverage that will have a pos-itive impact in the world. We aimto give our readers motivationaland inspirational stories that em-brace the spirit of independentlm and festivals and give them a

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Contents

Magic Mike P.7

5

13

14

12

35

59

38

51

41

33

27

45

63

Feel Good Film Festival

TALINIBAN DOCUMENTARY

Ron Gilbert Column

Why do we love Movies so much

Slavery Remembrance Day

IRIS Prize FILM FESTIVAL

UK Jewish Film

ZOE MOON MONTLY HOROSCOPE

Life Imitating Art

STARLIGHT Gala

Lawless

CONSEQUENCE

The USA vs. Douglas White.

Patricia J. Pawlak reports on the feel good lmfestivals

Michelle Goode writes about why people lovemovies so much

Ron Gilbert writes about The Method - An Ac-tors Journey

We investigate the Taliban documentary thatpaid 100K to the Taliban

Slavery Remembrance Day honourfor Englands Black Mahler

The 2012 Iris Prize Festival is on in Cardiff,Wales (UK) from 10th 14th October.

The 2012 UK Jewish Film Festival in on forNovember 1st-18th

Celebrity astrologist Zoe Moon gives hermonthly horoscope to UFM readers

Lawyer Gene Goodsell writes about legalboundaries become blurred when people sue

The Starlight Gala is Spains most importantcharity gala of the year.

Acclaimed director John Hillcoats new movieLawless with Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman

New Si Wall movie Consequence world pre-

mier in London

The USA vs. Douglas White. Douglas White, an89 year old Sioux spent 17 years in prison

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FEATURED STORIES:

Liberal Arts P.19

Expendables 2 P.3

Pussy Riot P.23


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EXPENDABLES 2


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The Expendables 2 2012 di-rected by Simon West andwritten by Richard Wenk andSylvester Stallone, based on astory by Ken Kaufman, David

Agosto and Wenk. It is a sequelto the 2010 action film The Ex-pendables, and stars SylvesterStallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li,Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris,Randy Couture, Terry Crews,Liam Hemsworth, Jean-ClaudeVan Damme, Bruce Willis, andArnold Schwarzenegger. Thefilm follows The Expendables,a mercenary group, as theyseek revenge against JeanVilain (Van Damme), a rival

mercenary who murders oneof their own, and threatens theworld with a deadly weapon.

Principal photography tookplace over 14 weeks begin-ning in September 2011 on anestimated $100 million budg-et, with filming occurring inBulgaria, Hong Kong and NewOrleans. The film was releasedacross Europe on August 16,2012, followed by a NorthAmerican release on August

17. A tie-in downloadable vid-

eo game was released on July31, 2012, that served as a pre-quel to the events of the film.

Plot

The Expendables are deployedto Nepal in order to rescuea Chinese businessman. Theteam consists of leader Bar-ney Ross (Sylvester Stallone),former SAS soldier and bladesspecialist Lee Christmas (Ja-son Statham), martial artist YinYang (Jet Li), weapons special-ist Hale Caesar (Terry Crews),demolitions expert Toll Road(Randy Couture), and snipersGunner Jensen (Dolph Lund-

gren) and Billy the Kid (LiamHemsworth), the groupsyoungest and newest member.The mercenaries rescue thebusinessmen, as well as Trench(Arnold Schwarzenegger),Ross rival. Yang accompaniesthe businessman in his returnto China, and temporarily de-parts from the group.

Ross accepts a mission fromMr. Church (Bruce Willis) to re-trieve an item from a safe from

an airplane that was shot down

in Albania. The team, accom-panied by tech genius Mag-gie (Yu Nan), retrieve the itemfrom the airplane; their victoryis short-lived, after discovering

that Billy has been captured byJean Vilain (Jean-Claude VanDamme), who intends to re-trieve the item. The Expenda-bles surrender the item, how-ever Vilain has Victor put theknife to Billys chest and Vilainkicks the knife into Billys heartand executes Billy and leaves.

Billys last words to Barneywere look in my pocket anddies. Barney reads the letter

to the others and realizes thatthe letter was meant for Billysgirlfriend. The group buriesBilly and swears revenge onVilain; Maggie reveals the itemon the plane was a computer,containing a blueprint to anabandoned Soviet Union minewhich stores plutonium. Vilain,along with his right-hand manHector (Scott Adkins), intendsto retrieve four tonnes of plu-tonium and sell them, for 4million dollars a kilogram.


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The team decides to travel to themines, although the group stops byan abandoned military base wherethey spend the night. The nextmorning, the team are ambushed

by Vilains army, the Sangs, but arequickly eliminated by Booker (ChuckNorris) single-handed, who departsthe group shortly afterwards. Be-fore departing, Booker informs thegroup about a nearby village withresidents who are against Vilain.As they enter the village, the groupdiscovers a number of armed femalevillagers who are guarding theirchildren. The women tell the mer-cenaries that the men of the villagehave been taken to work at the mine;the miners never return to their fam-

ilies. Eventually, the Sang arrives totake more villagers to work, but theteam successfully kills all the Sang,saving the village. The group stagesan attack on Vilain through infiltrat-ing the mine by shooting their planethrough the caves; the plane is de-stroyed in the process. Vilain causesa set of explosions that buries theteam and the miners underground.After Jensen makes an unsuccessfulattempt to detonate a portion of themine. Gunner tries to make an explo-

sive bomb and fails, but then Trenchand Church rescue the mercenariesand the miners trapped in the mine;the miners are reunited with theirloved ones from the village.

The Expendables, Trench and Churchpursue Vilain to the airport, whereVilain and his men would depart ona private plane with the plutoni-um. The team, re-joined by Booker,fight their way through the airport.Christmas encounters and fightsHector and eventually decapitates

Hector with a helicopter blade. Rossand Maggie follow Vilain to the han-gar, where Ross and Vilain exchangea couple of shots and words and thenfight and with the battle ending byVilain being strangled and stabbedin the chest by Ross and he is killed,avenging Billys death. Church, Mag-gie, Booker and Trench say theirgoodbyes to Ross, with Church giv-ing a worn-out airplane to Ross (as areplacement of the teams destroyedairplane). The group leaves a large

sum of money to Sophia (NikoletteNoel), Billys French girlfriend, aswell as a picture of Billy and Billysfinal letter to Sophia. As the teamdeparts in the plane, the Expend-ables give a final toast in honour of

Billy and flys offinto the day.Cast

Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross:The leader of the Expendables. Stal-

lone insisted on performing his ownstunts, ignoring the advice of hisdoctor following several surgeriesto repair a neck injury and brokenback he had received while filmingThe Expendables.

Jason Statham as Lee Christmas: TheExpendables knife expert. Stathamdescribed his character as kind ofa workingmans hero a guy youdwant to go out and have a beer with.

Jet Li as Yin Yang: The Expendables

hand-to-hand combat expert.

Dolph Lundgren as Gunner Jensen:A volatile member of the Expend-ables, nearly undone by years ofcombat stress and alcohol abuse.Lundgrens personal history includ-ing his chemical engineering degreewere integrated into the charactersstory by Stallone. Lundgren hadbeen hesitant to participate in thefilm based on the first script draft,but rewrites and additional content

for his character altered his stance.Chuck Norris as Booker:A retiredmilitary operative on a mission tosave his old teammates. The charac-ters name is a homage to the 1978action film Good Guys Wear Black inwhich Norris portrays the characterJohn T. Booker. At one point of themovie, Booker claims to have beenbitten by a cobra which subsequent-ly died as a result, a reference to thefamous Chuck Norris facts.

Jean-Claude Van Damme as JeanVilain: The leader of an opposingteam of mercenaries,and a formermember of the French Foreign Le-gion. Van Damme had previouslybeen offered a role in The Expend-ables but failed to come to an agree-ment with Stallone and ultimatelynever took part. Van Damme was in-tentionally distant from the cast andcrew during filming to stay in char-acter. Commenting on the role, Stal-lone said: Well have a big show-

down between me and Van Damme,which has been anticipated for along time, so it should be a goodone.

Bruce Willis as Mr. Church: A secre-

tive Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) agent. In late August 2010,Stallone stated his interest in havingWillis return for a role in the sequel

expanding upon his brief cameo in

the original potentially as a supervillain. Willis was confirmed to beinvolved in a substantial role onSeptember 6, 2011. Commentingon the film, Willis said: Hopefully,theyll start shooting it while wereyoung enough to survive.

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Trench:Ross arch-rival and occasional ally.Stallone noted his intention to haveSchwarzenegger return for a sequelbefore the release of The Expend-ables, stating: If this works, I would

love to get him in the next one.Schwarzeneggers involvement wasconfirmed on September 6, 2011,his substantial role expandingon his cameo in the original film.Schwarzenegger filmed his scenesin 4 days.

Terry Crews as Hale Caesar: The Ex-pendables barrel-weapons special-ist.

Randy Couture as Toll Road: The Ex-

pendables demolitions expert. Cou-ture described the character as theglue that holds all of these dysfunc-tional guys together.

Liam Hemsworth as Billy the Kid: Aformer military sniper disenchantedafter serving in Afghanistan. Hems-worth was confirmed for the role onSeptember 19, 2011. Hemsworthhad been cast in the previous film ina similar role as a different character,but his role was ultimately writtenout of the script. Stallone remained

in contact with Hemsworth and of-fered him a role in the sequel whenproduction moved forward. Stallonedescribed the character as the nextgeneration of The Expendables whois not as cynical as the other teammembers.

Martial artist Scott Adkins portraysHector, Vilains right hand man. Ad-kins had also been offered a role inthe original film, but turned it downfor Undisputed III: Redemption. Yu

Nan portrays Chinese agent Mag-gie. The cast is rounded out by Cha-risma Carpenter reprising her role asChristmass girlfriend Lacy; Swed-ish actress Amanda Ooms as Pilar, asniper; and Nikolette Noel as Sophia,

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Billys girlfriend. Professional Ten-nis player Novak Djokovic cameosas himself. He was invited to par-ticipate by producer Avi Lerner.

Several actors were reported to bein talks to appear in the sequel atvarious stages of its development.In October 2010, Willis claimed thatSteve Austin would be returningto the series as villain Dan Paine.In November 2010, Charlie Sheenwas reported to be in considerationfor the role of a CIA agent huntingdown Willis character. In August2011, Variety reported that actor,and expert martial-artist, DonnieYen had been offered a role in thefilm. The role was a condition of a

partnership between Nu Image/Mil-lennium Films and an unnamed Chi-nese distributor that would see thedistributor becoming a producer onthe film in exchange for a Chineseactor being cast. The partnershipwas also considered to make a Chi-nese release of the film easier toachieve. In September 2011, Stal-lone confirmed that he was in talkswith Nicolas Cage and John Travolta,claiming the only obstacle to theirinvolvement would be scheduling.

In July 2011, Mickey Rourke wasstated to be reprising his role asTool, but by late September it wasreported that he had dropped outof the film, and by October 18, 2011this status was confirmed. AntonioBanderas was reportedly offered arole but was unable to participatedue to other commitments.

On his approach to casting, Stalloneexplained that he was looking par-ticularly for actors who had not ex-perienced recent significant success

in film, saying: I like using peoplethat had a moment and then maybehave fallen on some hard times andgive them another shot. So were al-ways looking for actors like MichaelBiehn and Michael Par. I like thosekinds of guys. Someone did it forme and I like to see if I can do it forthem.

Prior to release, Stallone stated, Ihave an idea ready to go and Imgoing to try to do something thats

quite radical. In an interview on Au-gust 15, 2010, he said that he doesnot have a new script yet, but Itsplotted out in my minds eye. OnApril 18, 2011, Stallone confirmedthat he would not be returning to

direct or write The Expendables2. David Agosto and Ken Kaufmanhave been hired to write the scriptbased on a story by Stallone. Lion-sgate confirmed at CinemaCon that

the sequel will be in US theaters onAugust 17, 2012. A teaser poster forthe film was released at the 2011Cannes Film Festival. It has beenconfirmed that Simon West willdirect the sequel. Writer RichardWenk, who worked on Wests (TheMechanic), came on board to pen anew draft of the script. Lionsgatepurchased the North American andUnited Kingdom distribution rightsto the film for $35 million.

On January 19, 2012, Stallone

confirmed that the film was beingaimed towards a PG-13 audience,meaning the film could be viewedby people above thirteen years ofage and children below that agewith parental permission, unlikethe R-rating of the previous filmwhich restricted the film to thoseover the age of seventeen. The re-ported change received a negativereception. Speaking to Aint It CoolNews about the change, Stallonesaid The PG-13 rumor is true, but

before your readers pass judge-ment, trust me when I say this filmis large in every way and deliverson every level. It was reported thatthe change was requested by Nor-ris before he would take part in thefilm because he did not appreciatethe swearing present in the script.However shortly before releasethe adult-oriented rating was con-firmed. West stated that the shoot-ing style and the dialogue, from dayone, it was R-rated.

Van Damme redesigned his andStallones characters final fight inthe film with Stallones approval.Van Damme had been unhappy withthe scripted fight which involvedhis character running away and onlya brief confrontation between thepair. He felt that the audience wouldwant to see a more involved fightscene between the two actors.

On a budget of $100M, the shoot-ing of The Expendables 2 began on

September 29, 2011 and took placeover 14 weeks. Filming took placelargely in Bulgaria at the Nu BoyanaFilm studio in Sofia, the city of Plo-vdiv and the town of Bansko. Oneof the films larger set pieces took

place at Bulgarias second largestairport, Plovdiv Airport, involvinggun fights, explosions and car chas-es throughout the building. On Oc-tober 27, 2011, while the 2nd Unit

Stunt Team werefi

lming on reser-voir Ognyanovo, 15 miles outside ofSofia, stuntman Kun Liu was killedand another, Nuo Sun, was left incritical condition during a stagedexplosion on a rubber boat. Sununderwent a five hour operationwhich left him in stable condition.Filming also took place at Devet-ashka Cave in Lovech Province. Aspart of the cave shoot, BGN600,000(approximately $408,762) beingspent rebuilding a 114 meter bridgecrossing from the cave over the riv-

er Osam only the concrete bridgecolumns remained of the originalstructure. Nu Boyana Film Studiosannounced that the bridge wouldremain after the completion of film-ing as a gift to Bulgaria.

Box officeIn the week before release, NorthAmerican pre-release tracking es-timated that the film would grossbetween $30-$38 million to fin-ish as the number 1 film during its

opening weekend. Other trackingshowed that up to 17% of NorthAmerican audiences were reluctantto visit cinemas following the massmurder in a Colorado cinema in lateJuly 2012, which could affect ticketsales. The film earned $10.5 millionduring its opening day from 3,316theatres. The film debuted at No.1 with $28.8 million, according tostudio estimates Sunday August 19.Critical reception

As of August 16, 2012, the film has

garnered a 67% approval ratingfrom 72 critics an average ratingof 5.8 out of 10 on the review-ag-gregate website Rotten Tomatoes,whose consensus reads Taut, vio-lent, and suitably self-deprecating,The Expendables 2 gives classic ac-tion fans everything they can rea-sonably expect from a star-studdedshootem-up for better and forworse. Metacritic provides a scoreof 51 out of 100 from 25 critics,indicating mixed or average re-

views.CinemaScore polls reportedthat the average grade moviegoersgave the film was a A- on an A+ toF scale.

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Mike (Channing Tatum) is an entre-preneur. A man of many talents andloads of charm, he spends his dayspursuing the American Dream from

as many angles as he can handle:from roofing houses and detailing cars to de-signing furniture from his Tampa beach condo.

But at night hes just magic. The hot head-liner in an all-male revue, Magic Mike has beenrocking the stage at Club Xquisite for yearswith his original style and over-the-top dancemoves. The more the ladies love him, themore they spend, and the happier that makesclub owner Dallas (Matthew McConaughey).

Seeing potential in a guy he calls the Kid (AlexPettyfer), Mike takes the 19-year-old under hiswing and schools him in the fine arts of danc-ing, partying, picking up women and makingeasy money. Its not long before the clubsnewest act has fans of his own, as the sum-mer opens up to a world of fun, friendship andgood times.

magic

Mike

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Meanwhile, Mike meets the Kids captivating sister, Brooke(Cody Horn). Shes definitely someone hed like to know alot better, and it looks like he has a chanceuntil his life-style gets in the way. Magic Mike stars Channing Tatum,

Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Cody Horn, OliviaMunn, Matt Bomer, Riley Keough, Joe Manganiello, KevinNash, Adam Rodriguez and Gabriel Iglesias.

Directed by Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh (Traffi c)and written by Reid Carolin, Magic Mike is produced byNick Wechsler, Gregory Jacobs, Channing Tatum and ReidCarolin. The creative filmmaking team includes productiondesigner Howard Cummings, costume designer Christo-pher Peterson, music supervisor Frankie Pine and choreog-rapher Alison Faulk.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

Money, women and a good time.

The idea of making a movie set in the world of male strip-pers had been simmering with Channing Tatum for a longtime. Having once been a part of that world, he felt it hadreal cinematic potential to be fun, unique, entertaining

and more than a little revealing. But it was a conversa-tion he had with Steven Soderbergh that finally put MagicMike on its path to the big screen.

Tatum, who stars in the title role and is also a producer onthe film, recalls, I mentioned that Id worked as a stripperfor eight months when I was 18 and 19 years old. Ive al-ways thought about doing a story about that life becausewhenever the subject comes up, guys always want to knowabout it. Howd you get into it? What was it like? Howmuch money did you make? Steven said, You should do it.Absolutely. You should write it and Ill direct it. I thoughtit was one of the best ideas Id ever heard for a movie, saysSoderbergh. Its sexy, funny and crazy, and a view into aninteresting, exclusive environment most people never ex-perience. Adds producer Gregory Jacobs, We both feltit was something we hadnt seen in a movie before. AndChannings approach was fearless.

Soderbergh, Jacobs and producer Nick Wechsler joinedTatum and his producing partner Reid Carolin for a series oflively brainstorming sessions that formed the basis and in-spiration for Carolins final script. Ive never worked withanyone who is more collaborative, Tatum says of

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he 5th Annual Feel Good FilmFestival got under way August3 in the trendy new art district

of No Ho (North Hollywood) underthe keen and joyful direction ofKaryn Jones and festival founder,Kristen Ridgway Flores. The tradi-tional red carpet gave way to aglowing sunburst carpet in keepingwith the Feel Good theme of sun-flowers that, by the way, always face

the suns rays. Certainly, the sun-burst carpet, the festivities and thefilms kept up to the promise of thisfestival and one could not help go-ing away feeling kissed by the sun.Valente Rodriquez, Ernie, from thesuccessful The George Lopez Showled the way followed by an array oftalented filmmakers including direc-tor, Michael Gooch, Death (yes, itswonderfully uplifting) and up andcoming stars such as Linsey Godfreyfrom The Assignment, FabiennneMaurer, Emmanuelle Weisbach from

Cest Magique!, Narmar Hanna, starand producer of the hysterical TheDiners Club and Ian Hyland from TheMan At the Counter.

After a very lively gala openingnight party, the evening continuedwith films screening at the new Lae-mmles all digital theater, a welcomeaddition to NoHo which years agowas devastated by the Northridgeearthquake. The night started withtwo marvelous shorts The Man At

The Counter and The Parachute Ball,a tale of two older sisters in Londonduring WW II who end up being heldhostage by a fallen German para-trooper. The acting and costumeswere so remarkable that one wishedthe film would continue. Openingnight feature film was Red Dog withJosh Lucas. Set in Australia, it is atrue life story of a dog that brings amining community together. At onepoint, you could hear sobs echo-ing throughout the audience and Iwalked out wanting to see it again.

No surprise it won Best Feel GoodFeature. One of the finest docu-mentaries that I have ever screenedwas Dave. The film follows a young58 basketball coach who strug-gled for his success in his favorite

sport (due to height) and how hementored and cultivated a 65, 345pound special needs young man,Dave, and turned him into the star ofthe basketball team. Dave, whose Fa-ther had abandoned him years priordue to his special needs, ends upbringing Coach Donyes to search forhis Father, too.Saturday brought the well antici-pated Screenwriting Panel with Bri-

an Bird, Touched By An Angel, DeanBatali, That 70s Show, and Key Pay-ton, 28 year writing and editing pro.Feel Good, whose philosophy is toencourage the beauty amongst us inthe world really encourages passion-ate film makers to develop their viewpoint and then give them a venue toexpress themselves. Founder KristenFlores gives film makers an oppor-tunity to cultivate relationships thatwill transcend time and boundariesby nurturing an intimate venue witha popular courtyard meeting place.

Hats off to the fine selection com-mittee.Closing Night ceremonies werehelmed by Dominic Flores from TheYoung and the Restless with a spe-cial performance of the dance and

acrobatics group BBoy whose shortscreened at the festival.

And the winners of the 5th Feel GoodFilm Festival:

Best Feel Good Feature: RED DOGBest Feel Good Short: THE FIRST 70Best Director: Kriv Stenders REDDOGBest Actor: Fabian Kruger DER SAND-

MANNBest Actress: Carmen Sanchez LA UL-TIMA ISLAAudience Award Feel Good Feature:PAD YATRA: A GREEN ODYSSEYAudience Award Feel Good Short:CEST MAGIQUEBest Screenplay: GETTING THE BUSI-NESS by Haik HakobianBest Student Film: CHALK TALK

Cant wait until next year.

(Patricia J. Pawlak has attended filmfestivals throughout the world in-cluding Cannes, London, Rio, Shang-hai and Berlin.)

T

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Universal Film

Feeling Good At

The Feel Good Film Festival

Film festival review

Warren Davis and Ron Rogge


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all for Entries for the 6th an-nual Taos Shortz Film Fest.

Come join the hottest shorts filmfest in the SouthWest. Taos ShortzFilm Festival is rapidly becomingan internationally known filmfestival. We are dedicated to fea-turing quality, juried short filmsfrom around the globe and we in-vite you to bring your adventureof creativity to our film fest. Takethe opportunity to strut your stuffamidst the mountains and mesasof Taos, NM.

The Taos Shortz Film Fest contin-ues to bring world class cinema toour community and beyond andto providefilmmakers with a ven-ue to showcase their work, partic-ipate in workshops, panels, andnetwork with fellow filmmakers,media companies, producers anddistributors.The Taos Shortz Film fest will beheld March 7th to 10th 2013 atthe Taos Center for the Arts.

Our 2012 festival was an enor-mous success and put Taos backon the map as a cinematic des-tination. We screened over 70global and regional short films,offered free panel discussions inexperimental film, chalkboardanimation and Web Episodes.Taos was hopping as we hosted200 International filmmakers andpartied every night till the weenetworking hours

If you think you have what it takesfor this year....SUBMIT YOUR FILM!www.taosshortz.com

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Film Festivalof Vernon FranceFilm festival of Vernon (France), 45 minutes from Paris. From October, 19th to 21st.Theme: the art and the artists. Come and fill your mind with artistic and creativemovies. Program of this 4th edition: a wide choice of worldwide short movies, ani-mations about the creation of movies, rewards. www.lanormandieetlemonde.org.

From the Internet to the iPod, technologies are transforming oursociety and empowering us as speakers, citizens, creators, andconsumers. When our freedoms in the networked world come under at-tack, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is thefirst line of defense.

EFF broke new ground when it was founded in 1990well beforethe Internet was on most peoples radarand continues to confrontcutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy, innovation, andconsumer rights today. From the beginning, EFF has championedthe public interest in every critical battle affecting digital rights.

Blending the expertise of lawyers, policy analysts, activists, andtechnologists, EFF achieves significant victories on behalf of con-sumers and the general public. EFF fights for freedom primarily inthe courts, bringing and defending lawsuits even when that meanstaking on the US government or large corporations. By mobilizingmore than 140,000 concerned citizens through our Action Center,

EFF beats back bad legislation. In addition to advising policymak-ers, EFF educates the press and public. EFF is a donor-funded non-profit and depends on your support to continue successfully defend-ing your digital rights. Litigation is particularly expensive; becausetwo-thirds of our budget comes from individual donors, every con-tribution is critical to helping EFF fightand winmore cases.

Shari Steele is the Executive Director of the EFF and served as EFFsLegal Director for eight years. She is also co-founder of Bridges.org,a nonprofit working to ensure sound technology policy in developingnations. She has spoken widely on civil liberties law in newly emerg-ing technologies, including on the CBS Evening News, C-SPANs Wash-ington Journal, The Today Show, CNN, the BBC, and National PublicRadio. As EFFs Legal Director, she advised the NTIA on hate crimes intelecommunications, the U.S. Sentencing Commission on sentencingguidelines for the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the No Elec-tronic Theft Act, and the National Research Council on U.S. encryptionpolicy. She has spoken about Internet law as part of the Smithsoni-an Institutions lecture series on the Internet, the ABAs TechWorld

Conference, the National Law Journals annual Computer Law Con-ference, and the National Forum for Women Corporate Counsel.

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Electronic FrontierFoundation

CALL FORENTRIES

by Tyrone D Murphy


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We have a lot of personality actors who are stars and then

Al Pacino, Cate Blanchett, Robert DeNiro, Kathy Bates, EdHarris, Johnny Depp, Susan Sarandon, John Malkovich,Meryl Streep, Daniel Day Lewis, Glen Close, Nick Nolte,and Jessica Lange who disappear into the characters theyportray. The Method is the vehicle to bring out your per-sonal choices. Your personality would make you unique.When I first started my life in acting, the Actors Studiowith Lee Strasberg as the artistic director were the goalsof every actor who wanted to be part of that legacy,where Brando, Dean, Newman and later Pacino and De-Niro had been members. Being a member validated youas a Method actor and you were connected to that veinthat went back to its origins in the Moscow Art Theatre in

Russia and Konstantin Stanislavski, the grandfatherof the Method.

When I was asked to teach at the Lee StrasbergInstitute, I had to go back and retrace the stepsof this phenomenon in acting. Lee Strasberg wasconsidered the father of The Method in America,because once actors became members of the Ac-

tors Studio, he was their mentor. Many studied withother great teachers like Stella Adler, Michael Chekhov,Robert Lewis, and Sandy Meisner and entered the ActorsStudio with their training. I will share my journey withyou.

Stanislavski was born Konstantin Sergeyevich Alexeyevin 1863 into a very wealthy Russian family. The only ar-tistic connection was his maternal grandmother, MarieVarley, a touring French actress. He was encouraged byhis mother to become familiar with all aspects of the per-forming arts, particularly opera and circus, which becamehis obsession. One of his passions was puppetry, whichpreceded his acting career. In 1877, the Alexeyev familyopened their own theatre group and by 1881 it was clearthat his love of theatre was no longer that of a stage-struck youngster, so offhe went to Moscow to study atthe Mal theatre.

He was constantly looking for inspiration and in 1882the performance of Tommaso Salvini, the Italian trage-dian, in Othello, was to be the turning point in his life.Salvini was a tiger of passion and not only his voice,but his body showed his feelings. In 1888, Stanislavski

The Method is like the quest for the Holy Grail.

Once you find it, what fortune will it bring?After you read this, hopefully you will havean understanding of its origin and how it canhelp you as an actor. This process does not

happen overnight or after a 12 week or 9 month class atthe Strasberg Institute or the Masters Class at the NewSchool. It is an ongoing process. A constant state of crea-tivity. Sanford Meisner said it takes 20 years to becomean actor. It does not guarantee stardom or an agent oreven a living.

You must be excited about the work and still feel thethrill go up your spine when you read: The CollectedWorks of Harold Clurman, Lee Strasbergs A Dreamof Passion, Stella Adler On Ibsen, Strindbergand Chekhov, Robert Lewis Slings and Ar-rows, Sidney Lumets Making Movies, TheLife and Work of Konstantin Stanislavski, or anybook relating to this business. It is the bloodthat pumps throughout your veins. When usedproperly, the Method is the most useful tool foran actor, particularly in film, where most of yourcareers will be. A physical and emotional process thatwill help create a subtext for the role you are workingon. For the most part, the Method is misunderstood. Infilm, Marlon Brando and James Dean made the methodfamous almost 50 years ago and we can still view their

performances. Brando mumbled and scratched andbrought the character of Stanley, in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire to life on the Broadwaystage in 1947, because of his genius talent and characterinterpretation under the direction of Elia Kazan.

The world of acting would never be the same. We shouldall be so lucky to have a director like this, but the talentmust be there. Kazan could make you reach your heightsas an actor because it was a collaborative journey. So ac-tors mimicked Brando s performance by scratching andmumbling and they thought that was creating realism intheir acting. His performance in the film, On the Water-front directed by Elia Kazan, changed my life forever.His character, Terry, was like a guy from my neighbor-hood, but he was able to show his sensitivity. Sly Stal-lone copied this character in Rocky and it made him astar. Vulnerability, likeability, charm and talent are theingredients that you must tap into to be a star.

ron gilbertThe Method - An Actor's Journey

an actorsjourney

Actor, producer and journalist Ron Gilbert ..



Issue 5 of 2012

Universal Film

changed his name, as we know himtoday, and started his own profes-sional art theatre called The Soci-ety for Art and Literature, where hecreated his own preparatory tech-niques, using relaxation as the firststep in the process. Alexander Fe-

dotov, a noted professional directorand playwright taught him to find hischaracter models from living peo-ple, not actors. In 1897, along withNemirovich-Danchenko, he createdthe Moscow Art Theatre (MAT) whereeach actor would be part of a demo-cratic ensemble whose motto wasthe famous phrase by the Russian ac-tor, Michael Shchepkin; There are nosmall parts, only small actors.

In 1896,the French psychologist,

Theodule- Armand Ribot, wrote ThePsychology of the Emotions fromwhich the affective memory exercis-es that were used in the actors train-ing were drawn. It focused on recall-ing the sensory atmosphere of a pastactivity, so that one can recapture thepast emotion.

Classical and historical plays werebrought into the everyday world andan original sense of realism was seenin Anton Chekhovs The Seagulland MAT was known as The House

of Chekhov because they producedhis plays. In Maxim Gorkys play, TheLower Depths, actors demonstratedanother mode of performance: Natu-ralism.

In 1906, the forty three-year-oldStanislavski underwent his greatestcrisis and had a nervous breakdownso he took a long overdue vacation.During his convalescence, he stillsearched for answers to enhance theactors work. He called this inspired

artistic condition, The Creative Stateof Mind. When he returned to MAT,his new collaborator was Leopold

Sulerzhitsky, a stagehand and jack ofall trades. Sulerzhitsky incorporatedaffective physical and psychologicalexercises, which he called yoga, intothe actors training. Stanislavsky en-couraged his students with skills inforeign languages to investigate the-

atrical and scientific literature in oth-er languages to support his theories.

In 1912, Stanislavski and Sulerzhit-sky started their First Studio whichconsisted of younger less experi-enced actors and apprentices at MATwho would follow this revolutionarytraining system which used exercisesin relaxation, concentration, imagi-nation, and affective memory whichwas later divided into sense memoryand emotional memory by Lee Stras-

berg.Evgeni Vakhtangov, who was broughtinto the First Studio by Sulerzhitsky,was a radical reformer of the systemand used new aspects like faith andjustification.Michael Chekhov, the nephew of An-ton Chekhov, was an actor at the MATand the First Studio and as a teacherdeveloped a revolutionary new tech-nique based on Stanislavskis princi-ples. He invented a vocabulary thatspoke more directly to the actors

thought process and imagination. He,like Vsevolod Emilievich Meyerholdand other Russian actor/teachers likeRichard Boleslavsky took the MATprinciples and used them in theirown ways.

In 1923, The Moscow Art Theatrecame to America and changed thecourse of acting in America. The visitof MAT inspired Lee Strasberg to be-come an actor. Stanislavski and hisstaffhad instructed this company of

actors in the system for over 15 years.The emotions of the audience rose tomatch those of the actors and in the

quote from the New York Americanwas that The Moscow Art Theatreproved for perhaps the first time inAmerica that culture can sometimesbe as exciting as a football game.

In 1924,The American Laboratory

Theatre had members of the MAT,Richard Boleslavsky and Marie Ous-penskaya, teach acting to Lee Stras-berg, Stella Adler, Elia Kazan andRobert Lewis.

The Group Theatre was co-foundedin 1931,by Lee Strasberg, HaroldClurman and Cheryl Crawford andthey were to emulate the Moscow ArtTheatre. Clifford Odets plays Wait-ing for Lefty, Awake and Sing andGolden Boy made the Group Thea-

tre famous. Lee Strasberg was theacting teacher and was developinghis Method, which was a continua-tion of principles and procedures ofthe Stanislavski system with his newinterpretations. Internal conflictscaused the demise of the Group The-atre in 1939.

Stella Adler, a brilliant actress whohad created the female roles in Odetsplays was fed up and did not approveof Lee Strasbergs interpretation ofthe Method. She went to Paris with

Harold Clurman in 1935 and had thismeeting with Stanislavski and toldhim she was not happy with LeesMethod and Stanislavski coached herpersonally and corrected her notionof it. When she returned to America,she gave her own acting classes at theGroup Theatre, which were attendedby Robert Lewis, Elia Kazan and San-ford Meisner. When the Group closedshe continued her classes in ErwinPiscators Dramatic Workshop at theNew School, which has been called

the predecessor to the Actors Studio.


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Issue 5 of 2012

Universal Film

he 2012 UK Jewish Film Festivalopens in style with the UK pre-miere of the romantic comedy

PARIS-MANHATTAN on November1st at the BFI Southbank in London.Informed by the eternal wisdom ofWoody Allen, debut writer/directorSophie Lellouches delightful film isabout a young woman whose choic-es in life and love are shaped by the

philosophies of her favourite film-maker.

This years UK Jewish Film Festivalruns from November 1st to 18thand will show more than 50 featurefilms, documentaries, short films andTV specials from all over the worldat venues in London, Manchester,Leeds, Liverpool, and Glasgow.

UK Jewish Film Managing DirectorMichael Etherton (above middle)

comments: We have been planningan expansion of the festival pro-gramme to cities outside London fora while and are really delighted thatits come to fruition for the 2012 fes-tival. This years UKJFF programmeis extensive and will absolutely ap-peal to a wide audience in Manches-ter, Leeds, Liverpool, and Glasgow aswell as London. All the venues tak-ing part are hugely supportive of theUKJFF and are keen to reach out totheir ever-expanding film-going au-diences with this particularly strong

Festival programme.

Since UKJF Executive Director JudyIronside (left) founded the festival in1997, the UK Jewish Film Festival hasprovided an unrivalled showcase for

works on Jewish themes by filmmak-ers of all backgrounds and nation-alities. Last years titles included theaward-winning French film In TheNames Of Love directed by MichelLeclerc which won the Sky FilmAward, the extraordinary This MustBe The Place starring Sean Penn, thevery funny Israeli version of TVs TheOffice, a special gala screening of

Chariots Of Fire and many more.

The 2012 UKJFF will present morethan 40 UK premieres from Israel,UK, France, Holland, US, Croatia, Por-tugal, Austria, Sweden, Brazil andmore; many have already garneredawards from festivals like Tribeca,Sundance and Cannes. Star featurefilm titles include the dramatic MyDad Is Baryshnikov, set in Moscowin 1986 when a young boy becomesspellbound by watching White

Nights, the thriller starring MikhailBaryshnikov, Gregory Hines, and Hel-en Mirren; the Croatian feature Leaand Daria, the true story of two 13year old girls who were singing starsin Zagreb before the Nazis arrived;Melting Away from Israels DoranEran about identity and family; theeagerly awaited Yossi, the sequelto Eytan Foxs 2003 movie Yossi &Jagger, which won Tribecas Best Ac-tor for Ohad Knoller; and the quirkyFrench comedy The Day I Saw YourHeart in which a young singleton, her

immature dad (played gloriously byMichel Blanc), her sister and a possi-ble new boyfriend try to make senseof life and relationships.

Documentary premieres include The

Art Of Spiegelman, an absorbing lookat comic book artist and Maus crea-tor, Art Spiegelman; Roman Polanski A Film Memoir, a full-length inter-view with Polanski himself abouthis extraordinary life and the effectits had on his movies; The Price OfKings, about the life of Simon Peresdirected by Richard Symons and nar-rated by Helena Bonham Carter; the

award-winning The Flat (which wonthe 2012 Tribeca Best Editing Award)in which director Arnon Goldfin-ger travels back to Tel Aviv to clearout his grandmothers flat after herdeath and unearths a shocking fam-ily history through the photographsand papers he finds; and Gainsbourgon Gainsbourg: No Comment, aboutthe legendary French songwriter.

The UKJFF provides great enter-tainment for a wide audience in

conjunction with showing work thatpromotes international communica-tion and cultural knowledge, addsJudy Ironside. Ive travelled to filmfestivals all over the world in the lasttwelve months looking at excellentwork by a huge range of writers, di-rectors, and production companiesand its been tough deciding whichtitles to include in this years UKJFF.Im very proud of all the films andam confident we have selected theworlds best cinema for our audienc-es. Im delighted that we are able to

show a diverse programme of workand that we also have a full, interac-tive programme of workshops anddiscussions to engage young and as-piring filmmakers.www.ukjewishfilm.org

T

The 2012 UK Jewish Film

Festival: November 1st-18th

Film festival news by Tyrone D Murphy

Managing DirectorD - Michael Etherton

Executive DirectorJudy Ironside

Paris ManhattanUKJFF opening film 2012


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Lancia is main sponsor of the 69thVenice International Film Festival


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For the seventh consecutive year, Lancia willbe the main sponsor of the Venice Internation-al Film Festival, scheduled from August 29 to8 September 2012. For this prestigious event,the Brand will provide the organisation with afleet featuring the new Lancia Thema, the firstflagship to unite the best of two industrial cul-tures, with its typically American dimensions,personality and performance and the interiorelegance, comfort and exclusivity of Lanciasgreats. The model debuted at the last editionas Offi cial Car, accompanying VIPs and moviestars on the red carpet.

The Lancia Caf will be back this year, too. Thisis the exclusive meeting place set up in thepool area looking onto the sea of Hotel Excel-sior at the Venice Lido. Proposed in the versionthat made its debut in the last edition, with anarea of over 2000 square metres, the LanciaCaf is an exclusive and welcoming location fortalents, producers and the media to meet andfor one-to-one interviews with directors andactors, with about 700 square metres of cov-ered and air conditioned floor space. Ever more

exclusive and refi

ned, the Lancia Caf will behosting events and meetings organised by theBrand as well as by production companies,leading magazines and cinema institutions.

By sponsoring the 69th Venice InternationalFilm Festival, Lancia is consolidating its linkswith the world of the cinema even further.These links are already close, as demonstratedby the appearance of Lancia cars in famousfilms such as: Big Deal on Madonna Streetin 1958, The Easy Life in 1962, A Man anda Woman in 1966, Deep Red in 1975 and

Pour la peau dun flic in 1981. Since 2006,the brand has also supported major film festi-vals, those distinguished by class, style, impor-tance and international character. Without for-getting the product placement of Lancia cars infamous films such as, for example, the recentpresence of the Thema and Delta models inthe movie To Rome with Love - written anddirected by Woody Allen - set in Rome, wherethis carefree romantic comedy unfolds in themidst of charming settings and locations whichsymbolise the Italian way of life. Lastly, the

Delta, the model most associated with theworld of cinema in the Lancia range, was castin the thriller Angels & Demons (2009) in ad-dition to starring in attractive adverts featuringRichard Gere.


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Liberal

Arts

Bookish and newly single Jesse Fisher (Radnor) re-turns to his alma mater for his favorite professorsretirement dinner. A chance meeting with Zibby (Ol-sen) a precocious classical music-loving sophomoreawakens in him long-dormant feelings of possibilityand connection.

College and I got along terrifically well. Maybe too well. My transitioninto the real world absent dorms, seminars, and meal plans was bumpy,

to say the least. Four years at Kenyon College flew by; graduation felt lesslike a celebration than a banishment.

Liberal Arts is at once a love letter to a liberal arts education and a rec-ognition of its limits. It posits that books and the academic mind-set canbe simultaneously a liberation and a kind of prison, that an over-devel-oped mind paired with a disengaged heart can bring one more anxietythan joy.

Everyone in Liberal Arts - the students, the professors, the 35 year-oldalum - is suffering to some extent, wishing circumstances were differ-

ent. The journey each character takes in the movie is one of accep-tance. For Jesse, that acceptance has to do with his past - specificallyhis college years - and the painful suspicion that his best days arebehind him.

Its easy to get tripped up by our past, to romanticize it out of allproportion. The trouble with nostalgia is that it tends to distortand reduce the present moment; it puts us to sleep. While weobsess over the good old days, the good - and possibly better -new ones roll on by without our noticing.

Still, the past must be dealt with. If were to step into our

lives in a vital and engaged manner, we must both blessour past and bid farewell to it. Liberal Arts is, for me,both a blessing and a farewell.

Directors Statement!


9

by Tyrone D Murphy

A film by Josh Radnor


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The

ActorsJOSH RADNOR Jesse FisherJosh Radnor is perhaps best known for his role asTed, the central character on CBSs Emmy-nom-inated comedy HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, butRadnors talents extend beyond acting, and hehas quickly established himself as both a giftedwriter and director.

ELIZABETH OLSEN ZibbyElizabeth Olsen is not only a vivacious andengaging young actress, but she is also a fulltime student at New York Universitys presti-gious Tisch School of the Arts. Currently, Ol-sen is starring in Martha Marcy May Marlenefrom Fox Searchlight. The film is a drama thatfollows a young woman who is living with herolder sister after escaping a cult. Olsen starsopposite Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes, SarahPaulson, and Brady Corbet. Martha Marcy MayMarlene was also selected in the Un Certain

Regard as part of the 2011 Cannes Film Festi-val and Olsen has received a Gotham Award,Critics Choice, and FIND Spirit Award nomina-tion for Lead Actress for her performance.

RICHARD JENKINS Peter HobergAcademy Award nominated Richard Jenkins isone of the most in-demand character actors

in Hollywood, having made over fifty featurefilms. Jenkins received an Oscar nomination forBest Actor for his highly praised performance in

director Tom McCarthys THE VISITOR. Thefi

lmpremiered to critical acclaim at the 2007 TorontoFilm Festival and the 2008 Sundance Film Festi-

val and won the Grand Prix at the 34th DeauvilleFestival of American Film.

ALLISON JANNEY Judith FairfieldDisplaying astonishing versatility with a wide range

of roles, Allison Janney has taken her place among aselect group of actors who combine a leading ladys

profile with a character actors art of performance. Jan-ney was recently seen in the much anticipated feature

film The Help based on the best selling novel of thesame name. The film has garnered much awards buzz and

has been named one of the Top 10 films of the year bynumerous groups.

20


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Issue 5 of 2012

Universal Film


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pussy riot


Photo by Igor Mukhin


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MALEFICENT

he Walt Disney Studios announced todaythat production began Wednesday, June13th, on Maleficent, starring Academy

Awardwinning actress Angelina Jolie.

Directed by two-time Oscar-winning pro-duction designer Robert Stromberg (Avatar,Alice in Wonderland), in his directorial de-but, and produced by Joe Roth, Maleficent iswritten by Linda Woolverton (The Lion King,Beauty and the Beast) and executive pro-duced by Angelina Jolie, Don Hahn, Matt Smithand Palak Patel.

Co-starring in the film are Sharlto Copley (Dis-trict 9), Elle Fanning (Super 8), Sam Riley (Onthe Road), Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake), Mi-randa Richardson (The Hours), Juno Temple(Atonement) and Lesley Manville (Secrets &Lies).

This is the untold story of Disneys most be-loved villain, Maleficent, from the 1959 classicSleeping Beauty. The film reveals the events

that hardened her heart and drove her to cursethe baby, Aurora.

Behind-the-scenes talent includes AcademyAwardwinning cinematographer Dean Sem-ler (Dances with Wolves, In the Land ofBlood and Honey), production designer GaryFreeman (Saving Private Ryan, The BourneSupremacy), two-time Oscar nominated cos-tume designer Anna B. Sheppard (SchindlersList, The Pianist) and seven-time Acad-emy Awardwinning makeup artist Rick Baker(Planet of the Apes, Men in Black).Maleficent is scheduled for a March 14, 2014release in 3D.

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lawless

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cclaimed director John Hillcoat(THE ROAD, THE PROPOSITION)delivers a thrillingly vivid slice

of American outlaw history in his epicgangster tale, LAWLESS. LAWLESS isthe true story of the infamous Bondu-rant Brothers: three bootlegging sib-lings who made a run for the Ameri-can Dream in Prohibition-era Virginia.Based on author Matt Bondurants fic-tionalised account of his family, titledThe Wettest County in the World inthe US and Lawless in the UK, the film

gathers an ensemble of gifted, dynam-ic new-generation stars Shia LaBeouf,Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, JasonClarke, Mia Wasikowska, Dane DeHaan alongside two of the finest actors oftheir generations, Guy Pearce and GaryOldman.

A riveting, intense story of crime andcorruption, loyalty and love, brutalityand tenderness, LAWLESS is a rich ad-dition to the American gangster canon.

In the mountains of Franklin County,Virginia, the Bondurant brothers are

the stuff of legend. The eldest, How-ard (Jason Clarke), managed to survivethe carnage of the Great War, but hereturned home unmoored by what hehad seen and done. His brother For-rest (Tom Hardy) nearly died from theSpanish Flu that took his parents. Hebeat back death with a quiet strengthand ferocious, visceral invincibility thatcame to define him. Jack (Shia LaBeouf)is the youngest sibling, impressionable,sensitive, smart.

Times are tough and jobs are scarce,but the Bondurants are entrepreneursand have built a thriving local businessby concocting an intense and popu-lar brand of moonshine. But FranklinCountys bootlegging days are about toend with the arrival of Special DeputyCharlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) from Chica-go. The new law Rakes brings is lethaland corrupt and will challenge every-thing the brothers have built and rep-resent. But while the rest of the county

gives in to Rakes ruthless crackdown,the Bondurants will bow to no one.



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As the family rallies to fight Rakes,the fraternal dynamic shifts. Jacksambitions and enterprises alterthe balance of power between thebrothers as he careens into man-hood. Dreaming of expensive suits,fast cars and beautiful women, Jackstarts his own bootlegging opera-tion, with his friend Cricket (DaneDeHaan) helping him to soup upcars and build stills even againstForrests wishes. Jack starts to pros-per, even selling his moonshine toFloyd Banner (Gary Oldman), thebig city gangster he idolises. Thelives of the Bondurants are sooncomplicated by the appearance oftwo beautiful women: the exotic,steadfast Maggie (Jessica Chastain),who brings a secret past with herand catches the eye of the guarded

Forrest - and the quiet, pious Ber-tha (Mia Wasikowska), who slowlywarms to Jacks charms and chan-nels her own rebellious streak.

Jacks confidence however soontrumps his good sense, and theconsequences will test the broth-ers loyalty and endangers them all.Determined to do whatever is nec-essary to fight for what is theirs, theBondurants take up arms and con-front the corrupt forces of the law ina faceoffto determine who controls

the wettest county in the world.

The notorious gangster Al Caponeobserved that Prohibition hasmade nothing but trouble, and Iam like any other man. All I do issupply a demand. While his baili-wick was Chicago by way of Canada,the Bondurant brothers in Virginiawould have heartily agreed. Brazenrebels, the Bondurant boys How-ard, Forrest and Jack ran a flour-ishing family bootleg business in

Franklin County, Virginia, where thehills glowed orange from the lightof countless illegal stills.

The Wettest County in the Worldbegan when Matt Bondurant decid-ed to write a fictional account of thevery picaresque exploits of his pa-ternal grandfather Jack and grand-uncles Forrest and Howard. Thoughhis novel is inspired by true events,it isnt entirely factual. As he writesin the authors note, The basicsof this story are drawn from vari-

ous family stories and anecdotes,newspaper headlines and articlesand court transcripts However,this historical information does nothelp us fully understand the cen-

tral players in this story, at least interms of their situation or what theirthoughts were; all involved are nowdeceased and little record exists.There are no letters, and my grand-father and his brothers did not keepdiaries. My task in writing this bookwas to fill in the blank spaces ofknown record. There are family sto-ries and these memories and sto-ries are vague and often specious atbest, mixed with several decades ofrumor, gossip and myth My inten-tion was to reach the truth that liesbeyond the poorly recorded and un-derstood world of actualities.

The book, published in the US in2008 and being published in the UKas Lawless in early August, gar-nered rhapsodic reviews and won

two early, ardent fans in Red Wagonproducers Douglas Wick and LucyFisher. Says Wick, The book wasoverflowing with moments of hardmen and their softness; fierce, vio-lent behavior intertwined with si-lent moments of desire and longing;vivid flesh-and-blood pain mixedwith legends of indestructibly. Youcould not read the book withoutimagining performances. RachelShane, executive vice-president atRed Wagon Entertainment alertedher bosses to the book prior to its

publication, and Red Wagon quicklysecured the movie rights to the nov-el. Bondurant was thrilled; his talewas already a dramatic reimagin-ing and the notion of a filmmakerand screenwriter further exploringthe material excited him.

There wasnt a whole lot of infor-mation available to me to write anon-fiction piece so I took severalof the principal events that areverified as happening and strung

them together like a constellation,using some things I knew aboutthe brothers, along with picturesand documents, to create lives forthem. I knew my grandfather whenI was a young man but I certainlydidnt know him as an 18-year-old,so theres a lot of artistic licensethat I took. I knew the movie wouldtake that one step further and thatseemed natural, Bondurant says.

Meanwhile, Red Wagon executiveShane approached director John

Hillcoat. Says Shane, Johns pre-vious work on THE PROPOSITIONwas incredibly visceral and drama-tized violence in a way I had neverreally seen before. You could also

see the care he takes with his actorsthrough the specificity of their per-formances, and how he loves creat-ing worlds that are similar to ours,but also very alien. I knew Johnwould bring everything we neededto take this book to film and it wouldbe a very happy marriage.

Hillcoat realised The WettestCounty in the World offered anopportunity to tackle two of his fa-vorite genres in an intrepid and in-novative way.

I loved the world of the novel. I lovewesterns, but I was actually lookingfor a gangster movie. I had reallystruggled with that over the yearsbecause there are so many fantasticgangster movies, I was hard pressed

tofi

nd one with anything new tosay. And this was new. It was likea western as well as a gangster film.I hadnt seen a gangster film in therural landscape since BONNIE ANDCLYDE. And moonshine has most-ly been treated in comedies likeSMOKEY AND THE BANDIT. This wasbased on a true story, which was in-credible. It felt vivid and alive andunique. So that was really it for me,Hillcoat says.

Hillcoat enlisted his old friend

and frequent collaborator sinceart school, Nick Cave, to write thescreenplay and the music, as he didon THE PROPOSITION. On a Hill-coat/Cave project, the script and themusic are always intertwined at theprojects inception and evolve to-gether. Because LAWLESS is set inthe backwoods of Virginia, the maincharacters speech has a special, al-most musical cadence, which Caveincorporated into the dialogue, as ifit were a musical score.

Nicks songs are really narrative-driven, which of course lends itselfto screenplays but more than that,I think all films have a musicalityto them, says Hillcoat. Theres arhythm to the way Nick writes, tothe dialogue, the way scenes un-fold. Its subtle thing but its defi-nitely there. With LAWLESS, wetalked about adapting the novel -its the first time he has adapted abook - but we also talked about thescore, what sort of music it would

be. When Nick writes the materialand the music, its a very organicprocess. The music comes first, andthen the script, and then the musicagain.


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Bondurant was especially pleasedthat John Hillcoat and Nick Cavewould bring his book to the screen.I am John Hillcoat fan; I loved THEPROPOSITION and THE ROAD. AndIm a fan of Nick Caves music andwriting, so I was super-excited when

I heard he was writing the script. Hedid some really amazing work withthe adaptation, and Im flatteredthat he retained quite a bit of mylanguage. I was incredibly honoredto have John and Nick adapt mywork, Bondurant says.

Shia LaBeouf joined the team soonafter Hillcoat and Cave, taking onthe role of the youngest Bondurant- smart, sensitive, forward-thinkingJack. The next two years wouldprove a rollercoaster ride of near-starts and disappointing setbacks,but LaBeouf never wavered in hiscommitment to LAWLESS, even ashis star rose further with the TRANS-FORMERS franchise.

LaBeouf was drawn to the projectfor myriad reasons, not the least ofwhich was John Hillcoat. Im a fan,I would show up to do anything withJohn, the actor enthuses. Johnsfilms are all very visceral and hon-est. He is a truth-seeker, incredibly

intelligent and has a great visualstyle. He lets shots breathe; its old-school, John Ford vista-type stuff.He knows how to tell the story inone frame and he lets that framedo the work. Its a style of workingI hadnt experienced before, and Iwas very excited by it.

LaBeouf was also captivated byBondurants novel and the semi-nal period of American history itexplored. He delved into the his-tory of bootlegging, its specific re-

lationship in Virginia to the legacyof coal mining, the socioeconomicsof the region, particularly the reli-gious and racial schisms. Above all,the role of Jack intrigued LaBeouf.Jack, enterprising and eager, has tofind his way, not only as resourcefulyoung bootlegger but also withinthe Bondurant clan, as the powerdynamic between the three broth-ers begins to shift. Jack experiencesa spectrum of emotions throughoutthe course of the film as, essentially,

he grows up.I had never played a part like thisbefore. This is a boy becoming aman in many ways. He has his first

drink of moonshine, his first kiss,LaBeouf observes. The film is alsoabout a family going through com-bustion. Theyre dealing with manyproblems all at once; meanwhile,the power balance is shifting fromForrest and Howard to Jack. When

you first meet Jack, hes full of em-pathy; he lives on a farm and hecant watch his brothers kill a pig.That empathy is hindering his crimi-nal career, and this is a family ofcriminals. During that time, bootleg-ging was the only avenue availableto many poor and disenfranchisedpeople. All they had was their skills.For the Bondurant family, their tal-ent was for making liquor.

He adds that Jack has a fascinationfor the bootleggers, specificallythe Chicago-style gangsters andthat admiration informs much ofthe characters drive and ambition.Jack comes from a new generation.He was seeing these Robin Hood-type characters fighting against thegovernment, specifically Prohibi-tion, and succeeding. These werethe new Americans. Guys who camefrom the bottom of the barrel andwere able to muscle their way intosome kind of foundation where theycould not only support their fami-

lies but their entire communities.This family was spearheading thisrevolution at the time. The boot-legger was the superhero of thatperiod, especially to someone in histwenties, like Jack, LaBeouf notes.

LaBeouf was not yet a major inter-national star when Hillcoat caughtthe young actors performing in the2006 independent drama A GUIDETO RECOGNISING YOUR SAINTS. Re-members the director, I thought,who the hell is that kid? Then I

saw him in DISTURBIA and again Ithought his performance was amaz-ing. Then came TRANSFORMERS,and even as he was surroundedby special effects and robots, Shiamanaged to create a compelling,three-dimensional character. So Ithought he was really interestingand it would be great to see him dosomething more unexpected. Shiahad the range to play Jack, who ex-periences every single emotion,from rage and despair to total joy

and happiness. And I could easilysee him as a young man in the Prohi-bition era. He was very interested,he was very passionate when I methim and continued to be through-

out, so I knew this was the guy. And Iam pretty particular about casting.

Meanwhile, LaBeouf had been look-ing for opportunities to work withacclaimed English actor Tom Hardy.The two had struck up a friendship

after LaBeouf sent Hardy a fan emailabout his arresting performance inthe crime biopic BRONSON, and hadbegun forwarding scripts back andforth to one another. LaBeouf sentBondurants novel to Hardy, fol-lowed by Caves screenplay. Hardyloved them both, and proved to beideal casting for the role of quiet,fearless and fearsome Forrest Bon-durant.

Hillcoat was also keen to work withHardy, whose reputation as an ex-ceptional talent preceded him. Ikept hearing about this incred-ible guy called Tom Hardy. I startedwatching his work, and I was awe-struck - he was amazing. I couldalso see Tom and Shia as brothers.And Toms take on the character wasquite audacious - he saw Forrest asthe matriarch and the patriarch ofthe family, in the wake of their par-ents deaths. He wanted to exploreForrests softer side and play him ina quiet, contained way. By taking on

the roles of the mother and the fa-ther of this family, he was really re-sponsible and very caring, especial-ly towards his brothers. But becauseof the time and the culture, he is un-able to articulate it. Toms approachwas very much about the differentemotional textures there were toForrest and how distilled and con-trolled he was. It was a unique andfascinating attitude towards thecharacter, Hillcoat notes.

With LaBeouf and Hardy in place,

the casting process steamed for-ward. Attracting financing, however,was proving to be a struggle, saysproducer Lucy Fisher Our materialwas intrinsically original and idi-osyncratic. It was a portrait of threebrothers, violent outlaws with fiercefamily ties; at the same time, it waslyrical and romantic. It didnt fallinto any easy category.


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STARLITEGALA 2012Spains most important charity gala


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Saturday 4th of Augustt in La Cantera Auditoriumof Marbella, Antonio Banderas celebrated the 3rdedition of the Starlite Gala along with MelanieGriffi th and Daryl Hannah. The fantastic trio ofTwo Much back together 17 years later.

This international platform benefits several foun-dations with the common denominator of havingprestigious spokespersons who, with their pres-ence, help to attract media attention to the differ-ent causes supported. Three humanitarian awardswere presented this year: for Best Buddies Inter-national, David Bisbal and Daryl Hannah.

Starlite Gala has been compered by the actorImanol Arias and Anne Igartiburu and has boastedfantastic performances of the likes of Jon Secada

or David Bisbal, who sang two songs during theshow. The peak moment was the duet performedby Antonio Banderas and David Bisbal.

The gala included an auction of unique experi-ences that even money cant buy. The only aim ofthis glamorous gala is to raise funds for the Foun-dations it supports: Lgrimas y Favores and Niosen Alegra. Paco Roncero served the special din-ner for the occasion with El Bulli Catering.

Antonio Banderas has been supported, onceagain, by great friends and celebrities such as AnaObregn, Antonio Carmona, Carmen Lomana, Ce-cilia Gmez, Cristina Trrega, Estefana Luyk, Eu-genia Silva and her partner Diego Osorio, GunillaVon Bismarck with Luis Ortiz, the actor and modelIvn Snchez, rsula Corber, Irene Meritxell, Ma-ra Pineda, Princess Beatrice dOrleans or PastoraSoler, the stars of a magical evening.


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s paying the Taliban 100,000 during atime of hostilities an Act of treason?

UFM has received information that the unprec-

edented access documentary on the Taliban wasmade possible by paying the Taliban 100,000 in

cash.

This incident apparently began with a series of negotiations meetings about how the filming could be achieved. The media

organizations team approached a number of politicians and con-tacts who had direct links to the Taliban in Kabul. An agreement was

put in place: upon receipt of 100,000 in cash, the media organizationsteam would be given unprecedented access to the Taliban. We are led to be-

lieve that it was an assistant producer from the media organization who smug-gled the 100,000 in cash through UK customs in hand luggage to Afghanistan.

The deal was apparently sanctioned by the head of the media organization. We have

no doubt as to the reliability of this information.This activity by a media organization raises many questions. Can paying 100k for unprec-

edented access to the Taliban be seen as a violation of allegiance toward ones country or sover-eign, or as aiding and abetting its enemies? More importantly, why would a media organization have

to go to such lengths to get the story?

Perhaps it could be due to lack of access. Since the Pentagon in the USA started its embedding journalistsprogram, reporting on the War has been one-sided. These embedded journalists, attached to military units,

were first used in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The United States military responded to pressure from the news me-dia, who were disappointed by the limited access granted during the 1991 Gulf War and the 2001 US invasion ofAfghanistan. Many objected to military oversight that was so strict that embedded journalists were reporting onlyon the American side of the war. This led to the alternate term inbedded journalist or inbeds. In an interview,legendary journalist Gay Talese described them as correspondents who drive around in tanks and armored per-

sonnel carriers, who are spoon-fed what the military gives them.

At the start of the Iraq invasion in March 2003, as many as 775 reporters and photographers worked as embeddedjournalists with military units. These journalists were required to sign a contract stating that they would not re-port information that may compromise military operations. Of course, any such contract is open to manipulation.When the US military was asked why the decision was made to embed journalists with front line troops, Lt. Col.Rick Long of the US Marine Corps replied, Frankly, our job is to win the war, and part of that is information warfare,so we are going to attempt to dominate the information environment.

Gina Cavallaro, a reporter for the Army Times, said, [The journalists are] relying more on the military to get themwhere they want to go and, as a result, the military is getting smarter about getting its own story told. In essence,it would seem the military took the journalists wherever the military wanted them to go. Many now believe thatwe have already been lied to about the war on terror as well as the next conflict on the horizon: the Iranian nu-

clear weapons programme.So we ask the question: if all access to information has been cut offby the British Army and US Military, is thisenough to justify paying the Taliban 100,000 to take part in a documentary with unprecedented access? Couldinvestigative journalists and documentary filmmakers argue that it is the USAs embedding programme itself thatis creating the need to pay the enemy for information? Wouldnt the Taliban take this unique opportunity to doexactly what their enemy is doing: embed journalists within Taliban front line units and spoon feed their own sideof the story to the documentary filmmakers? Perhaps the media organization took the Taliban version of unprec-edented access as complete truth. It seems highly unlikely that the Taliban would be so naive and reckless as toprovide unprecedented access to a Western documentary filmmaking crew, and risk giving strategic informationto its enemies. Either way, it would seem that the information contained in the documentary may not be reliedupon as factual.

While the outbreak of war normally ends all forms of normal relations, each country has laws enacted to prevent

its citizens from assisting the enemy through trade or other forms of contact. The fact is that the media organiza-tion has broken the laws of the United Kingdom and the United States. One of the laws that could be used is theAct of Treason. How could the laws of treason apply to the filmmakers of the Taliban documentary?

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History has shown that the law of treason is very difficult to im-plement, even in the best of times. The United Kingdom has not applied theTreason Act since 1966. The United States defines it as levying war against theUnited States, or, giving its enemies aid and comfort.

The difficulty of implementing the laws of treason was apparent in the case of the American John Walk-er Lindh, who was captured in Afghanistan, allegedly bearing arms against the United States. Although treasoncharges could have been brought, Walker accepted a plea bargain, and was charged with the lesser offence of supply-ing services to the Taliban, in violation of Title 50, United States Code, Section 1705(b); Title 18, United States Code,Section 2; and Title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 545.204 and 545.206(a).

After the September 11th Attacks against the United States, Congress enacted the Patriot Act, purportedly to strength-en the ability of the United States to protect itself from terrorist activities. The Patriot Act amended the existingstatutory provisions permitting the President to restrict transactions and other transfers with foreign countries, or-ganizations, and persons, in order to respond to unusual and extraordinary threats against the United States. Underthe International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the President may, with respect to any person or propertysubject to the jurisdiction of the United States, investigate, regulate, or prohibit transactions in foreign exchange;transfers of credit or payments by or to any banking institute; and importation or exportation of securities or currency.Violation of an executive order issued pursuant to the IEEPA may result in criminal sanctions. During the Gulf War in1991, President Bush issued an executive order prohibiting citizens of the United States from traveling to or dealingwith the government of Iraq.

It would seem that the media organization completely ignored the laws of their own respective countries in favor ofgetting the unprecedented access for the Taliban story. It seems sheer folly that the media organization did not ques-tion what the 100,000 would be spent on. It was highly unlikely that it would be spent on a luxury holiday for a fewTaliban fighters to take a break from killing, or to purchase a new car or even a yacht. It is more likely that the 100kwas used to buy arms and ammunition for the Talibanfighters, which were then used to kill British and US servicemenWe must also look to the legal basis for war by the coalition forces; this is of utmost importance, because we believethat this is the defense that is going to be put forward by the media corporation in the case of legal action or arrest bythe UK or US governments.

The United Nations Charter provides that all UN member states must settle disputes peacefully, and cannot use mili-tary force except in self-defence. The United States Constitution states that international treaties that are ratified bythe US such as the United Nations Charter are part of the law of the land in the US, though subject to effectiverepeal by any subsequent act of Congress. The United Nations Security Council did not authorize the US-led militarycampaign in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom).

Defenders of the US-led invasion have argued that UN Security Council authorization was not required, since the inva-sion was an act of collective self-defence provided for under Article 51 of the UN Charter, and was therefore not a warof aggression. Critics, on the other hand, maintain that the bombing and invasion of Afghanistan was not a legitimateself-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, because the 9/11 attacks were not armed attacks by another state,but rather were perpetrated by groups of individuals; and that these attackers had no proven connection to Afghani-stan. Further, it is their opinion that even if a state had perpetrated the 9/11 attacks, a bombing campaign would con-stitute self-defence. The necessity for self-defence must be instant, overwhelming, leaving no choice of means, andno moment for deliberation. So, it would seem there is no war, just an invasion.

After the Universal Film Magazine received this information, we forwarded it to the Leveson Inquiry. It remains to beseen if the Leveson Inquiry has investigated the allegations against the media organization; no arrests have yet beenmade in relation to these particular allegations; no arrests have yet been made in relation to this particulate allega-tion.

As of 20 August 2012, there have been 2,998 coalition deaths in Afghanistan as part of ongoing coalition operations(Operation Enduring Freedom and ISAF) since the invasion in 2001

36www.ufmag.org

Issue 5 of 2012

Universal Film

.ory provisions permitting the President to restrict transactions and other transfers with foreign cations, and persons, in order to respond to unusual and inary threats against the United Sternational Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA , t may, with respect to any personct to the jurisdiction of the United States, invest ,, , prohibit transactions in foreigers of credit or payments by or to any banking in e; on or exportation of securitiesion of an executive order issued pursuant to th criminal sanctions. During thePresident Bush issued an executive order prohi ti s United States from traveling the government of Iraq.

ld seem that the media organization comple or their own respective countrieg the unprecedented access for the Taliban s . t at the media organization dhat the 100,000 would be spent on. It wa u l spent on a luxury holin fighters to take a break from killing, or a e ... t is more likely thsed to buy arms and ammunition for th a i a t , t ill British and USust also look to the legal basis for war i i r i s rtance, becausis is the defense that is going to be p t d e a i of legal actionor US governments.

nited Nations Charter provides that U st es sts ettl s lly, and canrce except in self-defence. The Uni t s itu n tat l ties that arS such as the United Nations Cha e re a la o e , gh subjectl by any subsequent act of Congre . ni at c t rize the USaign in Afghanistan (Operation E Fr ..

ders of the US-led invasion have rgu d t a e t s n e uired, sias an act of collective self-def i r 5 t rter, an was therefression. Critics, on the other , ai n f Afghanis an was notefence under Article 51 of t , cau 9 a e armed attacks by ather were perpetrated by i ; th a t ckers h d proven connectiourther, it is their opinion t en t t had p t e 9/1 tt ck , ombing campaigself-defence. The nece o - fenc m ust n , n , ing no choice oment for deliberation. o emthe rei s n , st ..

he Universal Film Ma ceive s i f rmat , t h e n Inquiry. It rf the Leveson Inqu stigat t he llegati ai s e o n; no arrests hin relation to th lar alle ions; l n to this partic

20 August 2012, there have ,99 c s i a n p of ongoing coalitioation Enduring Freedom a AF nc th n i 0 1

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By Tyrone D Murphy

www.ufmag.org 38

IRIS FILM Festival

Australia and US film-makers dominate2012 Iris Prize line-up. Films selectedfrom 14 countries for the worlds larg-

est gay and lesbian short film prize.

10 US filmmakers make the final close-ly followed by 6 from Australia and 5from the UK.

Venezuela make the final for the firsttime joining, Canada, Germany, Brazil,Israel, France, Norway, Austria, Ireland,India, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland,Australia, US and UK.

Australian filmmakers Craig Boreham

and Jarrah Gurrie, and Evan Roberts,Marc Saltarelli and Carolina Roca-Smithfrom the US make it to the final for thesecond time!

Stories include a young boys traumawaiting for body hair to grow, a lovestory which develops thanks to a Polar-oid camera, the unexpected comfort incoffee and pie especially when yourebeing dumped, and a dramatic onenight stand with a serial killer.

The 31 films to compete for the prize,

the worlds largest international gayand lesbian short film prize, have beenannounced by festival organisers inCardiff, UK. The winner will be offereda chance to make a new short film withthe prize valued at 25,000.

The films will screen during this yearsIris Prize Festival which takes placefrom October 10th - 14th in Cardiff.

Once again the shortlist for the 2012Iris Prize represents the best of the

best. Half of the short-listedfi

lms havebeen nominated by our partner fes-tivals film festivals from around theworld that have their fingers on thepulse of upcoming gay and lesbianfilmmaking talent. Im confident that

amongst this years shortlist we haveyet another winner deserving of theIris Prize, said Berwyn Rowlands, Iris

Prize founder.

Iris is recognised for supporting tal-ented film makers from all over theworld. Three shorts, made with theprize, have been produced since welaunched in 2007 and a fourth is justabout to start production. Iris is morethan just a trophy that gathers dust ora certificate that yellows on the wall.Iris is what film makers need funding,support and guidance, added Berwyn.Its great to see films from all over the

world represented in the shortlist withentries from Canada, Germany, Brazil,Israel, France, Norway, Austria, Ireland,India, New Zealand, Spain, and Switzer-land all making it through to the final.The US has got the largest number offilms in competition with an impressive10 out of the final 31, said Berwyn.

The Iris Prize Cardiffs Internationalgay and lesbian short film prize is theonly short film prize in the world whichallows the winner to make a new film.Iris is more than just a trophy that gath-

ers dust or a certificate that yellows onthe wall. Iris is what film makers need

funding, support and guidance.

The Iris Prize Festival is a five day eventwhich includes screenings of the 31short films competing for the Iris Prize,premiere screenings of 8 new featurefilms, panel sessions, networking op-portunities, parties and a glitteringawards show and brunch.

The 2012 Iris Prize Festival will take

place in Cardiff

, Wales (UK) from 10th 14th O ctober.

[email protected]

REAL LIFESTORIES OFSTRUGGLEAND COURAGEFROMAROUNDTHE WORLD

THIS IS OMAR, A TEENAGEREFUGEE FROM SOMALIA.

A LIFE ON HOLDIS A NEW FILM ABOUTOMARS LIFE IN A REFUGEECAMP IN TUNISIA.

WATCH ATAMNESTY.ORG/REFUGEES

CHILDREN OF

THE JAGUARAN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY INTHE AMAZON JUNGLE TAKE ONTHE COMBINED MIGHT OF THEGOVERNMENT AND AN OILCOMPANY IN ORDER TO SAVETHEIR WAY OF LIFE AND THERAINFOREST THEY LIVE IN.

WATCH ATBIT.LY/JAGUAR-TRAILER

Find out more:

[email protected]

Issue 5 of 2012

Universal Film


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TUDIO4PES: Peace Eco Smile is a collab-

oration between Toyota and inno-vative creative group STUDIO4C.

The story tells of an alien whodiscovers the values and the joys

of humans and a little about theircars. The joy of mobility, the valueof safety and the importance ofyour own space are themes thatare explored as the stories unfold.Animation with romantic/dramaticstoryline and likable charactersthat convey key TOYOTA ideasHuman evolution is a history ofmobility. Cars bring our mobil-ity to life, yet too often, complextechnology

becomes the focus when we talkabout cars, rather than thesimple joy of mobility.TOYOTA X STUDIO4 have createdan animated story that follows a

curious alien who explores the joyof driving and the importance ofsafety. We hope you can join usthere and help us spread the mes-sage.

STUDIO4, Studio Yon Do C is aworld-renowned Japanese studiothat primarily works on animation,video planning, and production.The stu

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