Los Lobos, the iconic East Los Angeles band that elevated that helped bring Chicano music to the masses over the last 50 years, is the subject of the feature-length documentary with the working title “Los Lobos Native Sons,” currently in production and slated for a 2025 release. The film features testimonials from George Lopez, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Waits, Dolores Huerta, Bonnie Raitt, Flaco Jimenez, Cheech Marin, a trailer below.
Formed more than 50 years ago in East Los Angeles, the group is unique and versatile, able to play roots rock, Musica Mexicana, soul, folk and a galaxy of other styles. The film is co-directed by veteran filmmaker, producer, and editor Doug Blush and photographer/filmmaker Piero F. Giunti, and produced by Robert Corsini and Flavio Morales.
Blush says, “Los Lobos, as much as any modern band, has expanded and re-defined what’s possible in American music, and in their phenomenal half-century and counting,...
Formed more than 50 years ago in East Los Angeles, the group is unique and versatile, able to play roots rock, Musica Mexicana, soul, folk and a galaxy of other styles. The film is co-directed by veteran filmmaker, producer, and editor Doug Blush and photographer/filmmaker Piero F. Giunti, and produced by Robert Corsini and Flavio Morales.
Blush says, “Los Lobos, as much as any modern band, has expanded and re-defined what’s possible in American music, and in their phenomenal half-century and counting,...
- 4/17/2024
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
Civil rights icon and labor leader Dolores Huerta is getting the biopic treatment in a new film.
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Gregory Nava is set to direct. He will also write and produce alongside the Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated Barbara Martinez.
Huerta, who turns 94 today, is a renowned American labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers Union alongside Cesar Chavez. She is the originator of the famous rallying cry “Sí, se puede,” which means “Yes, we can.”
She has received numerous awards, including the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award from President Clinton in 1998, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2012.
Her work has continues today as she advocates for the working poor, women and children through her Dolores Huerta Foundation.
The biopic film will dramatize Huerta’s life for the first time, delivering a multi-faceted portrait of woman who became a movement leader, political activist,...
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Gregory Nava is set to direct. He will also write and produce alongside the Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated Barbara Martinez.
Huerta, who turns 94 today, is a renowned American labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers Union alongside Cesar Chavez. She is the originator of the famous rallying cry “Sí, se puede,” which means “Yes, we can.”
She has received numerous awards, including the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award from President Clinton in 1998, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2012.
Her work has continues today as she advocates for the working poor, women and children through her Dolores Huerta Foundation.
The biopic film will dramatize Huerta’s life for the first time, delivering a multi-faceted portrait of woman who became a movement leader, political activist,...
- 4/10/2024
- by Katcy Stephan
- Variety Film + TV
The contrast between Donald Trump on Univision last year and Joe Biden on Univision Tuesday was night and day, but the result was still pretty much the same.
Exactly five months after a controversial interview with the 45th President by Enrique Acevedo, the anchor of Televisa’s En punto was broadcast on the Spanish-language network, a sit-down with the 46th Potus aired. However, while the unctuous November 9, 2023 Trump interview at Mar-a-Lago saw the former Celebrity Apprentice host spouting grievances, stolen election conspiracy theories and self-aggrandizement, Biden went nearly full policy wonk tonight.
Including a stroll through the Oval Office discussing the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez, and a clearly scripted aside that the iconic labor leader’s granddaughter Julie Chavez Rodriguez is chairing his reelection campaign, the multi-channel, multi-lingual Biden special may have sought to distinguish itself as always from Trump. However, the truth is tonight’s interview with...
Exactly five months after a controversial interview with the 45th President by Enrique Acevedo, the anchor of Televisa’s En punto was broadcast on the Spanish-language network, a sit-down with the 46th Potus aired. However, while the unctuous November 9, 2023 Trump interview at Mar-a-Lago saw the former Celebrity Apprentice host spouting grievances, stolen election conspiracy theories and self-aggrandizement, Biden went nearly full policy wonk tonight.
Including a stroll through the Oval Office discussing the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez, and a clearly scripted aside that the iconic labor leader’s granddaughter Julie Chavez Rodriguez is chairing his reelection campaign, the multi-channel, multi-lingual Biden special may have sought to distinguish itself as always from Trump. However, the truth is tonight’s interview with...
- 4/10/2024
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
The season of the very first sign of the zodiac is here, and that’s exactly why being a leader comes so easy for Aries folks.
And that’s no joke, Aries really don’t know what else to be but a boss, CEO or innovator, because they’d rather play by their own rules. They march to the beat of their own drum and rarely ever need anyone to play backup instrumentals. Their charm, playful personality and great sense of humor make up for their impulsiveness and sometimes hot-temper, and there’s absolutely no other sign who will keep it all the way real with you like an Aries does, even if it’s something you don’t want to hear. They tell it like it is, as dishonesty goes against their entire m.o.
As ambitious as they are — known for being some of the greatest to ever...
And that’s no joke, Aries really don’t know what else to be but a boss, CEO or innovator, because they’d rather play by their own rules. They march to the beat of their own drum and rarely ever need anyone to play backup instrumentals. Their charm, playful personality and great sense of humor make up for their impulsiveness and sometimes hot-temper, and there’s absolutely no other sign who will keep it all the way real with you like an Aries does, even if it’s something you don’t want to hear. They tell it like it is, as dishonesty goes against their entire m.o.
As ambitious as they are — known for being some of the greatest to ever...
- 3/30/2024
- by Raquel 'Rocky' Harris
- The Wrap
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights today announced that Fran Drescher, SAG-AFTRA president, actor, writer, and activist, will receive the 2023 Ripple of Hope Award in recognition of her leadership advocating for workers’ rights.
Drescher will join fellow 2023 honorees, including The Edwin Barbey Charitable Trust, a donor-advised fund of the Arizona Community Foundation, and the previously announced January 6th Select Committee, at the annual Ripple of Hope Gala in New York City on December 6.
The Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award honors exemplary leaders across government, business, advocacy, and entertainment who have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to social change and worked to protect and advance equity, justice, and human rights. Since being elected SAG-AFTRA president in 2021 during an unprecedented time in the union’s history, Drescher has sought to safeguard workers and performers amid new industry challenges, has encouraged a culture of respect and empathy, and has advocated for a living wage.
Drescher will join fellow 2023 honorees, including The Edwin Barbey Charitable Trust, a donor-advised fund of the Arizona Community Foundation, and the previously announced January 6th Select Committee, at the annual Ripple of Hope Gala in New York City on December 6.
The Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award honors exemplary leaders across government, business, advocacy, and entertainment who have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to social change and worked to protect and advance equity, justice, and human rights. Since being elected SAG-AFTRA president in 2021 during an unprecedented time in the union’s history, Drescher has sought to safeguard workers and performers amid new industry challenges, has encouraged a culture of respect and empathy, and has advocated for a living wage.
- 11/22/2023
- Look to the Stars
On Friday, September 29, 2023, at 10:00 Pm on PBS, viewers can tune in to the latest episode of “American Masters.” This episode, titled “A Song for Cesar,” offers a unique perspective on the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez, a prominent figure in the farmworker movement.
The show provides a comprehensive look at various aspects of Cesar Chavez’s life, starting from his childhood to his final days. Through this documentary, audiences will gain insights into his journey, the challenges he faced, and his remarkable contributions to the labor rights movement.
“A Song for Cesar” is a tribute to a man who dedicated his life to advocating for the rights and better treatment of farmworkers. It explores the impact of his work and the enduring legacy he left behind.
For those interested in history and social justice, this episode of “American Masters” promises to be an informative and thought-provoking exploration of...
The show provides a comprehensive look at various aspects of Cesar Chavez’s life, starting from his childhood to his final days. Through this documentary, audiences will gain insights into his journey, the challenges he faced, and his remarkable contributions to the labor rights movement.
“A Song for Cesar” is a tribute to a man who dedicated his life to advocating for the rights and better treatment of farmworkers. It explores the impact of his work and the enduring legacy he left behind.
For those interested in history and social justice, this episode of “American Masters” promises to be an informative and thought-provoking exploration of...
- 9/24/2023
- by Jules Byrd
- TV Everyday
As the ongoing battles in state legislatures over classroom curricula indicate, history – or at least the curation of which stories to teach, and from which perspectives – is subjective. So too is Hollywood’s rich tradition of biopics, which imply to audiences whose lives are worthy of immortalizing on film. Whether in textbooks or onscreen, most of the protagonists of our shared cultural history have belonged to the same demographic: Elvis, Oppenheimer, Jobs, Zuckerberg, Hughes. Those individuals were undoubtedly impactful, but Hollywood has also devoted resources to spotlighting relatively lesser-known white men, such as Jordan Belfort, Frank Abagnale and Hugh Glass (and that’s just one movie star’s filmography).
Biopics about people of color exist, of course, particularly when it comes to undeniable icons like Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali. But one community – the second largest racial or ethnic group in the country – has been particularly underrepresented when it comes...
Biopics about people of color exist, of course, particularly when it comes to undeniable icons like Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali. But one community – the second largest racial or ethnic group in the country – has been particularly underrepresented when it comes...
- 9/15/2023
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This is Day 128 of the WGA strike and Day 55 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul paid a surprise visit to striking writers and actors outside Netflix offices in Manhattan on Wednesday, making good on what one union officer said was a “very, very last-minute” decision to briefly join the picket line and meet strike leaders.
In an appearance lasting about 10 minutes that caught most picketers and passersby off-guard, the state’s top elected official exchanged hugs and handshakes with WGA and SAG-AFTRA officers, paused for photos and, protest sign in hand, waded into the march for a couple of laps — flanked by aides, security and visibly delighted union figures including SAG-AFTRA president Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.
Hochul didn’t address the rally, but as she readied to leave, she spoke to a small circle of union leaders — all of them surrounded by onlookers — and encouraged the strikers to “stay strong.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul paid a surprise visit to striking writers and actors outside Netflix offices in Manhattan on Wednesday, making good on what one union officer said was a “very, very last-minute” decision to briefly join the picket line and meet strike leaders.
In an appearance lasting about 10 minutes that caught most picketers and passersby off-guard, the state’s top elected official exchanged hugs and handshakes with WGA and SAG-AFTRA officers, paused for photos and, protest sign in hand, waded into the march for a couple of laps — flanked by aides, security and visibly delighted union figures including SAG-AFTRA president Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.
Hochul didn’t address the rally, but as she readied to leave, she spoke to a small circle of union leaders — all of them surrounded by onlookers — and encouraged the strikers to “stay strong.
- 9/6/2023
- by Sean Piccoli
- Deadline Film + TV
Bill Maher criticized the WGA strike during a discussion with comedian Jim Gaffigan on the “Club Random” podcast. Maher, whose HBO talk show “Real Time” ended its most recent season in April just ahead of the WGA strike, shared his thoughts after Gaffigan noted the strike might kill late-night television for good.
“They’re asking for a lot of things that are, like, kooky,” Maher said about the WGA. “What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007’s strike, where they kind of believe that you’re owed a living as a writer, and you’re not. This is show business. This is the make-or-miss league.”
The WGA strike started in May and hit the 100-day mark last month. Maher said he agreed with the guild regarding streaming platforms having to report viewership data.
“I feel for my writers.
“They’re asking for a lot of things that are, like, kooky,” Maher said about the WGA. “What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007’s strike, where they kind of believe that you’re owed a living as a writer, and you’re not. This is show business. This is the make-or-miss league.”
The WGA strike started in May and hit the 100-day mark last month. Maher said he agreed with the guild regarding streaming platforms having to report viewership data.
“I feel for my writers.
- 9/5/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
“They’re asking for a lot of things that are, like, kooky.”
That’s Bill Maher’s take on the current state of the Writers Guild strike after his opinions were voiced on the latest episode of his podcast Club Random.
“What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007’s strike, where they kind of believe that you’re owed a living as a writer, and you’re not. This is show business. This is the make-or-miss league,” said Maher about the WGA’s demands to the AMPTP in a work stoppage that’s gone on for 127 days.
“I’m not saying they don’t have points,” Maher added, agreeing that streaming platforms should be reporting viewing data.
The conversation started when this week’s guest, Jim Gaffigan, broached that the strike might kill late-night. Maher...
That’s Bill Maher’s take on the current state of the Writers Guild strike after his opinions were voiced on the latest episode of his podcast Club Random.
“What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007’s strike, where they kind of believe that you’re owed a living as a writer, and you’re not. This is show business. This is the make-or-miss league,” said Maher about the WGA’s demands to the AMPTP in a work stoppage that’s gone on for 127 days.
“I’m not saying they don’t have points,” Maher added, agreeing that streaming platforms should be reporting viewing data.
The conversation started when this week’s guest, Jim Gaffigan, broached that the strike might kill late-night. Maher...
- 9/5/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Sitting with comedian Jim Gaffigan on Sunday’s episode of the “Club Random” podcast, Bill Maher shared some of his thoughts on the ongoing writers’ strike and the WGA’s demands, some of which he called “kooky.”
“They’re asking for a lot of things that are, like, kooky,” Maher said. “What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007 strike where they kind of believe that your owed a living as a writer, and you’re not.”
He then added that Hollywood has always been about the hustle.
“This is show business,” he said. “This is the make-or-miss league.”
Earlier in a clip of the podcast making its way around social media, Maher raised concern over the non-writers of the industry who are being negatively impacted by the ongoing dual strike of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA,...
“They’re asking for a lot of things that are, like, kooky,” Maher said. “What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007 strike where they kind of believe that your owed a living as a writer, and you’re not.”
He then added that Hollywood has always been about the hustle.
“This is show business,” he said. “This is the make-or-miss league.”
Earlier in a clip of the podcast making its way around social media, Maher raised concern over the non-writers of the industry who are being negatively impacted by the ongoing dual strike of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA,...
- 9/5/2023
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
This is part of a series of frank accounts of the strike from Hollywood writers at different levels in their careers.
Day 110 and the karaoke’s still going strong — so is trivia and celebrity-spotting. The TMZ bus swings by Paramount like clockwork now, with even the tourists cheering in solidarity. Also, food trucks. Lots of food trucks. Infinite thanks to Dean’s coffee for all that iced java, every day.
If anything, Friday hit a high note when Latin Hollywood flexed its muscle, swamping Warner Bros. in a Tacos 1986-fueled block party. Mr. Stand and Deliver himself, Edward James Olmos, was there, invoking the spirits of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to keep the fires burning. Not even a hurri-quake will keep this labor action down. Although, thankfully, we got Monday off to recover from all the frantic texting to Florida friends about how to use a sandbag properly.
The point is,...
Day 110 and the karaoke’s still going strong — so is trivia and celebrity-spotting. The TMZ bus swings by Paramount like clockwork now, with even the tourists cheering in solidarity. Also, food trucks. Lots of food trucks. Infinite thanks to Dean’s coffee for all that iced java, every day.
If anything, Friday hit a high note when Latin Hollywood flexed its muscle, swamping Warner Bros. in a Tacos 1986-fueled block party. Mr. Stand and Deliver himself, Edward James Olmos, was there, invoking the spirits of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to keep the fires burning. Not even a hurri-quake will keep this labor action down. Although, thankfully, we got Monday off to recover from all the frantic texting to Florida friends about how to use a sandbag properly.
The point is,...
- 8/22/2023
- by Anonymous
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This article contains spoilers for all seven episodes of I’m a Virgo.
There’s a lot going on in I’m a Virgo, Boots Riley’s seven-episode series on Prime Video. The mere premise of the show itself – that of a 13-foot tall young Black man from Oakland finding himself – is a lot to unpack. And that’s before the Sorry to Bother You filmmaker begins to introduce other elements of magical realism.
Cootie’s (Jharrel Jerome) journey to self discovery features: a cult cartoon called Parking Tickets that has the potential to drive people insane, a billionaire comic book writer who becomes his own fascist creation called The Hero (Walton Goggins), and of course: plenty of revolutionary labor politics.
All of those disparate threads come to a head in the I’m a Virgo finale in which Cootie and friends have sabotaged a power facility in a fruitless attempt at...
There’s a lot going on in I’m a Virgo, Boots Riley’s seven-episode series on Prime Video. The mere premise of the show itself – that of a 13-foot tall young Black man from Oakland finding himself – is a lot to unpack. And that’s before the Sorry to Bother You filmmaker begins to introduce other elements of magical realism.
Cootie’s (Jharrel Jerome) journey to self discovery features: a cult cartoon called Parking Tickets that has the potential to drive people insane, a billionaire comic book writer who becomes his own fascist creation called The Hero (Walton Goggins), and of course: plenty of revolutionary labor politics.
All of those disparate threads come to a head in the I’m a Virgo finale in which Cootie and friends have sabotaged a power facility in a fruitless attempt at...
- 6/23/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
“To make a dream come true, the first requirement is a great capacity to dream; the second is persistence.” This quote from civil rights activist Cesar Chavez embodies the protagonists’ goals and motivations in Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn’s Going Varsity in Mariachi. Though audiences witness the statement only during a quick B-roll shot in the opening minutes, its subtle, bold presence encapsulates the American dream and U.S. immigrant experience in a snapshot.
This year’s Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award recipient explores the world of competitive mariachi in Texas’s high school system through the lens of the 2021-22 Edinburg North High School campaign, located in the Rio Grande Valley near the United States-Mexico border. The wise-and-fun band director Abel Acuña has led the mariachi band program to be one of the state’s highest-ranked division leaders in each of his 11 years. Yet, despite the accomplishment, the school...
This year’s Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award recipient explores the world of competitive mariachi in Texas’s high school system through the lens of the 2021-22 Edinburg North High School campaign, located in the Rio Grande Valley near the United States-Mexico border. The wise-and-fun band director Abel Acuña has led the mariachi band program to be one of the state’s highest-ranked division leaders in each of his 11 years. Yet, despite the accomplishment, the school...
- 3/8/2023
- by Edward Frumkin
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: Rick Peréz has announced his intention to resign as executive director of the International Documentary Association, with word coming just days before the organization’s signature annual event, the IDA Awards, Deadline has learned exclusively.
The surprise announcement came during a meeting with staff late Monday, a gathering that included IDA personnel both in-person and virtually. His resignation takes effect December 23, Peréz said.
“Rick thanked the staff for their work and acknowledged the difficulties as well as successes during the past year and a half as executive director, but that the challenges of leading a changing organization, during and post-pandemic, have weighed on him,” an IDA spokesperson told Deadline. “Ultimately, he decided his work was done and that he wanted to return to filmmaking, and working with directors, producers, and others as well as creating film projects, his true passion. He announced that his last day will be December...
The surprise announcement came during a meeting with staff late Monday, a gathering that included IDA personnel both in-person and virtually. His resignation takes effect December 23, Peréz said.
“Rick thanked the staff for their work and acknowledged the difficulties as well as successes during the past year and a half as executive director, but that the challenges of leading a changing organization, during and post-pandemic, have weighed on him,” an IDA spokesperson told Deadline. “Ultimately, he decided his work was done and that he wanted to return to filmmaking, and working with directors, producers, and others as well as creating film projects, his true passion. He announced that his last day will be December...
- 12/6/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Buffalo 8 has announced that it will release Ruben Pla’s feature directorial debut The Horror Crowd on digital and VOD on September 2nd.
The doc brings together an all-star cast of actors and filmmakers to discuss the Hollywood horror community, covering such wide-ranging topics as women in horror, race relations, “being the weird kid,” and film festivals, as well as the unique community and support that exists in the space. Among the near-40 people who appear are filmmakers Russell Mulcahy (Highlander), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), Ernest R. Dickerson (The Walking Dead), Adam Robitel (Escape Room), Chelsea Stardust (Satanic Panic) and Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw franchise), as well as actors Lin Shaye (Insidious), Brea Grant (Dexter), Greg Grunberg (Star Wars: Episode IX) and Clare Kramer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Blumhouse’s Director of Development Ryan Turek.
The Horror Crowd has played to film festivals like FrightFest and Grimmfest and...
The doc brings together an all-star cast of actors and filmmakers to discuss the Hollywood horror community, covering such wide-ranging topics as women in horror, race relations, “being the weird kid,” and film festivals, as well as the unique community and support that exists in the space. Among the near-40 people who appear are filmmakers Russell Mulcahy (Highlander), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), Ernest R. Dickerson (The Walking Dead), Adam Robitel (Escape Room), Chelsea Stardust (Satanic Panic) and Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw franchise), as well as actors Lin Shaye (Insidious), Brea Grant (Dexter), Greg Grunberg (Star Wars: Episode IX) and Clare Kramer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Blumhouse’s Director of Development Ryan Turek.
The Horror Crowd has played to film festivals like FrightFest and Grimmfest and...
- 8/5/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, actor and television host Luis Fonsi (Despacito) has signed on to star in the romantic comedy The Answer to My Prayer, in his feature film acting debut, with Oscar nominee Edward James Olmos (Stand and Deliver) coming aboard the project as an executive producer.
The film from director Patrick Perez Vidauri follows the romantic travails of three friends in San Antonio, Texas whose destinies are changed by an ancient prayer that guides them to true love. Cristina Nava and Vidauri will produce the pic written by Nancy De Los Santos via their companies Migrant Filmworks and Citizen Skull. Roberto Treviño and Eileen Kret (Selena) will serve as its co-producers.
Fonsi is represented by CAA; Olmos by CAA and Untitled Entertainment; and Vidauri and Nava by Citizen Skull Management.
***
Exclusive: Acoryé White (The Seventh Day) and Augie Duke (Mayans M.C.) will star in Trinket Box—a new...
The film from director Patrick Perez Vidauri follows the romantic travails of three friends in San Antonio, Texas whose destinies are changed by an ancient prayer that guides them to true love. Cristina Nava and Vidauri will produce the pic written by Nancy De Los Santos via their companies Migrant Filmworks and Citizen Skull. Roberto Treviño and Eileen Kret (Selena) will serve as its co-producers.
Fonsi is represented by CAA; Olmos by CAA and Untitled Entertainment; and Vidauri and Nava by Citizen Skull Management.
***
Exclusive: Acoryé White (The Seventh Day) and Augie Duke (Mayans M.C.) will star in Trinket Box—a new...
- 7/8/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The work of a documentary filmmaker is to try to decode via visual statements the chosen issue or figure. Although the artist uses reality as the malleable raw material, this does not imply the final product is rid of subjectivity. Storytelling is a personal matter, and as such, it relies on the nuances and vision of the one manipulating the story. Perhaps that is why Dir. Richard Ray Perez’ depiction of Cesar Chavez is different to that of others. His is a spiritual Chavez, an imperfect man capable of grandeur. Not a saint but a devoted believer who used that faith to benefit others who couldn’t fend for themselves. In the hands of a more conventional creator the story could have been too much of an idealistic homage or a didactic factsheet devoid of any interesting analysis. What the director crafted in Cesar’s Last Fast is a story of sacrifice with the purpose of social change. Utilizing incredibly intimate unseen footage shot by the late Lorena Parlee, filmmaker Richard Ray Perez elaborately made a film that doesn’t want to be the definite biography on the farmworkers’ beloved hero, but at least an honest one, as honest as the relative truth of cinema allows. What the camera doesn’t capture remains mysterious to those who will only meet the man through screens.
In this in-depth two-part interview Mr. Perez discussed with us the origin and unfathomable challenges to get the film off the ground, and his personal relationship to the Chavez legacy.
Carlos Aguilar: Please tell us how you got involved with the project, and how you manged to make a film with such incredible freedom given the stature of this historical figure?
Richard Ray Perez: Several years ago, I had a mentor who really wanted to make a documentary film about Cesar Chavez, for years. He heard the documentary rights might be available. He knew my background, that my father had been a farmworker so he thought I’d make a good addition to the team . . So we met with the Cesar Chavez Foundation, we had a really good meeting with them, and so my mentor started negotiating the contract. He wanted exclusive documentary rights. But ultimately the Chavez Foundation told him that they couldn’t give him exclusive rights because somebody close to the family had a non-exclusive deal to make a documentary. So my mentor stopped pursuing the project.
About two weeks later I got a phone call from the other filmmaker, she said “Hi, I’m Lorena Parlee, I know you were trying to make a film about Cesar Chavez. Well, I’m the filmmaker whose already been working on the project. She said “I’ve been working on a Chavez film for about 10 years, and I’ve amassed 85 hours of Chavez-related footage, about 20 hours have never been seen by the public, I’ve been holding it off for my film. I used to be Cesar’s press secretary. During his fast I had volunteered crews and I had access, I shot all this stuff around his 1988 fast. Then when Cesar died the family let me shoot video of the private rosary service, Cesar’s brother building Cesar’s coffin, the granddaughters knitting the lining in the coffin, etc. I have all this footage and nobody has ever seen it, it is incredibly intimate access. Then there is all this the footage I’ve acquire over the years. But because I’ve never had exclusive rights I’ve been having trouble raising the money”
She wanted my advice, she asked, “Do you think your mentor would be willing to team-up with me and be the producer, and I will direct. We’ll go back to the Chavez foundation and try to get the exclusive rights” And I said, “It sounds like a good idea, but I know my mentor is only interested in directing this film and I don’t think he’d be interested in co-directing with you or producing the project.” I advised her, “If you want to make the film you really want to make, I suggest you pursue this on your own.”
She was totally appreciative; we went on to talk about the farmworkers. Then she asked “How about you? Would you be willing to come on board and help me out as a producer” I said, “I totally would, but I’ve just started a freelance gig. I’m available in 6 months” She replied “I need someone to help me make this film now because I’m being treated for breast cancer, and I could only work on this film two weeks out of the month” I said to myself, if this woman is who she says she is and has what she says, then she has some good material. I said “Ok in 6 months if you haven’t found anybody, call me and I’ll totally work on this project for free, or deferred payment.” 6 months comes around, I don’t hear from her so I thought, “She found somebody else, anybody in their right mind is going to jump on this.” 9 months later I get a phone call from this elderly guy, he says “Hi, I’m Lorena Parlee’s step-father. Lorena died last month of breast cancer, and she left your name and her notes for us to contact you immediately to see if you’d finish her film”
She had told her parents about this conversation where I told her not to work with my mentor, and I think she appreciated that advice. She got sicker and sicker, until unfortunately she past away. It took a long courtship between the parents and me because even though they wanted me to finish her film, they still wanted to gain trust from me. At one point they said, “Come and pick up the tapes, they are in our garage” I said “Wait, we have to have this legally on paper” So I had a lawyer dropped a contract, they looked at it, and legal language is strong, so they flipped out. There was a whole other set of negotiations. In the end, I got a contract from them that said I could use this footage to finish a film as long as she got co-producers' credit and a co-directors' credit. Then after I was done with the footage I had to turn it over to an archive in her name at UCLA.
I went to the Chavez’ people after I had nailed this on paper. I said, "I want to finish Lorena Parlee's film" the first thing they said was "Where is the footage?" They knew she had the footage and they wanted it. I said "I have legal control of the footage for the next 5 years, I want to finish the film, would you give me an exclusive deal?" I had a good lawyer, what he did was, rather than negotiate a whole new contract, he just negotiated transferring the contract they had with Lorena Parlee to me. It gave her editorial control, but he changed it so that I had the exclusive documentary rights. It was something they had already agreed to in the past, and all the terms were pretty Ok except the exclusivity. So he said, "Let me just change that and get them to sign it" and sure enough they did. That’s how I got editorial control.
Lorena had left a 2-hour string out, which was not a film I could make. I saw it and it was just a linear traditional history from the beginning of his life to the end, which had been done before in 1997 with a PBS documentary called The Fight in the Fields. But when I had all the tapes - she had all these VHS tapes - they were labeled Day 23, Day 24, Day 25. I was like “What is this?” so I popped them in and Day 23 is that press conference with Martin Sheen, that’s intense. Day 24, is more drama, more intense. Then everyday gets more intense. First I was like, “Is this what I think it is? Never-before-seen footage” The second thing I thought was “That’s the natural spine of the film” That escalating conflict, and that suspense, “Will he break the fast? When is he going to break it? Will he die before? Will he harm himself?” It was just almost immediate, just looking at those things sequentially I was like “That’s it”. Between the days I could separate them and tell the back story because most people don’t know concretely what he did.
After I got the footage I just started from the ground up. I went back to Lorena’s parents and said, “I see a different film, I see one about his spiritual commitment as embodied by this fast. That’s the film I’d like to make” Her step-father is a retired minister, he totally got it and they were Ok with it, and I basically made my own film with the material.
Cesar's Last Fast opens in L.A. on April 25th and it's currently playing in New York...
In this in-depth two-part interview Mr. Perez discussed with us the origin and unfathomable challenges to get the film off the ground, and his personal relationship to the Chavez legacy.
Carlos Aguilar: Please tell us how you got involved with the project, and how you manged to make a film with such incredible freedom given the stature of this historical figure?
Richard Ray Perez: Several years ago, I had a mentor who really wanted to make a documentary film about Cesar Chavez, for years. He heard the documentary rights might be available. He knew my background, that my father had been a farmworker so he thought I’d make a good addition to the team . . So we met with the Cesar Chavez Foundation, we had a really good meeting with them, and so my mentor started negotiating the contract. He wanted exclusive documentary rights. But ultimately the Chavez Foundation told him that they couldn’t give him exclusive rights because somebody close to the family had a non-exclusive deal to make a documentary. So my mentor stopped pursuing the project.
About two weeks later I got a phone call from the other filmmaker, she said “Hi, I’m Lorena Parlee, I know you were trying to make a film about Cesar Chavez. Well, I’m the filmmaker whose already been working on the project. She said “I’ve been working on a Chavez film for about 10 years, and I’ve amassed 85 hours of Chavez-related footage, about 20 hours have never been seen by the public, I’ve been holding it off for my film. I used to be Cesar’s press secretary. During his fast I had volunteered crews and I had access, I shot all this stuff around his 1988 fast. Then when Cesar died the family let me shoot video of the private rosary service, Cesar’s brother building Cesar’s coffin, the granddaughters knitting the lining in the coffin, etc. I have all this footage and nobody has ever seen it, it is incredibly intimate access. Then there is all this the footage I’ve acquire over the years. But because I’ve never had exclusive rights I’ve been having trouble raising the money”
She wanted my advice, she asked, “Do you think your mentor would be willing to team-up with me and be the producer, and I will direct. We’ll go back to the Chavez foundation and try to get the exclusive rights” And I said, “It sounds like a good idea, but I know my mentor is only interested in directing this film and I don’t think he’d be interested in co-directing with you or producing the project.” I advised her, “If you want to make the film you really want to make, I suggest you pursue this on your own.”
She was totally appreciative; we went on to talk about the farmworkers. Then she asked “How about you? Would you be willing to come on board and help me out as a producer” I said, “I totally would, but I’ve just started a freelance gig. I’m available in 6 months” She replied “I need someone to help me make this film now because I’m being treated for breast cancer, and I could only work on this film two weeks out of the month” I said to myself, if this woman is who she says she is and has what she says, then she has some good material. I said “Ok in 6 months if you haven’t found anybody, call me and I’ll totally work on this project for free, or deferred payment.” 6 months comes around, I don’t hear from her so I thought, “She found somebody else, anybody in their right mind is going to jump on this.” 9 months later I get a phone call from this elderly guy, he says “Hi, I’m Lorena Parlee’s step-father. Lorena died last month of breast cancer, and she left your name and her notes for us to contact you immediately to see if you’d finish her film”
She had told her parents about this conversation where I told her not to work with my mentor, and I think she appreciated that advice. She got sicker and sicker, until unfortunately she past away. It took a long courtship between the parents and me because even though they wanted me to finish her film, they still wanted to gain trust from me. At one point they said, “Come and pick up the tapes, they are in our garage” I said “Wait, we have to have this legally on paper” So I had a lawyer dropped a contract, they looked at it, and legal language is strong, so they flipped out. There was a whole other set of negotiations. In the end, I got a contract from them that said I could use this footage to finish a film as long as she got co-producers' credit and a co-directors' credit. Then after I was done with the footage I had to turn it over to an archive in her name at UCLA.
I went to the Chavez’ people after I had nailed this on paper. I said, "I want to finish Lorena Parlee's film" the first thing they said was "Where is the footage?" They knew she had the footage and they wanted it. I said "I have legal control of the footage for the next 5 years, I want to finish the film, would you give me an exclusive deal?" I had a good lawyer, what he did was, rather than negotiate a whole new contract, he just negotiated transferring the contract they had with Lorena Parlee to me. It gave her editorial control, but he changed it so that I had the exclusive documentary rights. It was something they had already agreed to in the past, and all the terms were pretty Ok except the exclusivity. So he said, "Let me just change that and get them to sign it" and sure enough they did. That’s how I got editorial control.
Lorena had left a 2-hour string out, which was not a film I could make. I saw it and it was just a linear traditional history from the beginning of his life to the end, which had been done before in 1997 with a PBS documentary called The Fight in the Fields. But when I had all the tapes - she had all these VHS tapes - they were labeled Day 23, Day 24, Day 25. I was like “What is this?” so I popped them in and Day 23 is that press conference with Martin Sheen, that’s intense. Day 24, is more drama, more intense. Then everyday gets more intense. First I was like, “Is this what I think it is? Never-before-seen footage” The second thing I thought was “That’s the natural spine of the film” That escalating conflict, and that suspense, “Will he break the fast? When is he going to break it? Will he die before? Will he harm himself?” It was just almost immediate, just looking at those things sequentially I was like “That’s it”. Between the days I could separate them and tell the back story because most people don’t know concretely what he did.
After I got the footage I just started from the ground up. I went back to Lorena’s parents and said, “I see a different film, I see one about his spiritual commitment as embodied by this fast. That’s the film I’d like to make” Her step-father is a retired minister, he totally got it and they were Ok with it, and I basically made my own film with the material.
Cesar's Last Fast opens in L.A. on April 25th and it's currently playing in New York...
- 4/23/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
From those that focus on singular defining events in a subject’s life, to those that aim to encompass an entire existence from birth to death in a matter of a couple hours, biopics are tricky feats to carry out successfully. After all, the life of a prominent individual is anything but ordinary, thus merits being translated into film. The chosen approach will determine whether the work serves as respectful homage or if it falls short. Unfortunately, Diego Luna’s Cesar Chavez fits in the second category, and not because of inadequate direction or issues with casting. Its problems are deeply rooted in the screenplay and the way in which it quickly summarizes Chavez’s struggle to deliver a satisfactory conclusion by Hollywood standards.
Structured like a bullet point-driven school presentation, the film appears as a succession of crucial events that in the end amount to a significant victory, but which also dismiss the darkness experienced by the Mexican-American leader throughout his fight. Chavez served as the voice of thousands of farm workers whose conditions were below acceptable, and for whom he felt great appreciation and respect. He felt for their suffering as he had been one of them growing up in Arizona. In the film, this is rapidly covered via voice over and the viewer is thrown into the history class-worthy facts forgetting to really give depth to Chavez as a man.
Played by Michael Peña, the Chavez portrayed here appears genuine, assertive, and honest, but it is rarely shown with the emotional complexity that person in his position must have felt. Having said this, this in no way diminishes Peña’s heartfelt performance. He is on point, and because of his great talent and commitment it is a shame the material did not provide him the challenging character that it should have. There is no denying Chavez deserves endless praise for his relentless labor, but in a film like this, straightforward glorification leaves no room for exploring the man and not simply the icon. Trying to make up for the lack of nuance written in the screenplay, the film makes a point of Chavez distant relationship with his oldest son Fernando (Eli Vargas). This never fully works with sufficient emotional weight.
As the marches, the boycotts, and other landmark protests against the greedy California growers roll out one after another, everything increasingly seems like a list of items being checked off to reach a happy ending. At the same time, the supporting characters fail to add any type of edge or interesting conflict to the story. America Ferrera as Helen Chavez only has a couple scenes where she gets to give life to the activist’s wife. A role that could have turned out enthralling settles for being generic, once again not for lack of talent from the performer but because of the genesis of the project. Rosario Dawson, as fellow activist Dolores Huerta, is equally forgettable and tragically underexploited. There is no point in expanding on the film's plot since all major occurrences are included and easily resolved, it is the lack of humanity that it is troublesome. It is sad to see such a lukewarm depiction of a passionate figure.
Cesar Chavez is Mexican superstar Diego Luna’s second feature in the director's chair - his first being the small scale Spanish-language drama Abel – and it is overall well-crafted and well-intentioned, but it certainly looks like it could have been directed by anybody else. Luna's voice as an artist has no resonance given that the screenplay by Keir Pearson forcefully wants to package all the societal and internal struggles into a formulaic piece. One that would be better suited to help teachers introduce students to the Ufw movement than to be an artistic interpretation of a man conflicted between his cause and his family. Hopefully both Luna and Peña will get a better chance in the future to create valuable work instead of didactic classroom material.
Structured like a bullet point-driven school presentation, the film appears as a succession of crucial events that in the end amount to a significant victory, but which also dismiss the darkness experienced by the Mexican-American leader throughout his fight. Chavez served as the voice of thousands of farm workers whose conditions were below acceptable, and for whom he felt great appreciation and respect. He felt for their suffering as he had been one of them growing up in Arizona. In the film, this is rapidly covered via voice over and the viewer is thrown into the history class-worthy facts forgetting to really give depth to Chavez as a man.
Played by Michael Peña, the Chavez portrayed here appears genuine, assertive, and honest, but it is rarely shown with the emotional complexity that person in his position must have felt. Having said this, this in no way diminishes Peña’s heartfelt performance. He is on point, and because of his great talent and commitment it is a shame the material did not provide him the challenging character that it should have. There is no denying Chavez deserves endless praise for his relentless labor, but in a film like this, straightforward glorification leaves no room for exploring the man and not simply the icon. Trying to make up for the lack of nuance written in the screenplay, the film makes a point of Chavez distant relationship with his oldest son Fernando (Eli Vargas). This never fully works with sufficient emotional weight.
As the marches, the boycotts, and other landmark protests against the greedy California growers roll out one after another, everything increasingly seems like a list of items being checked off to reach a happy ending. At the same time, the supporting characters fail to add any type of edge or interesting conflict to the story. America Ferrera as Helen Chavez only has a couple scenes where she gets to give life to the activist’s wife. A role that could have turned out enthralling settles for being generic, once again not for lack of talent from the performer but because of the genesis of the project. Rosario Dawson, as fellow activist Dolores Huerta, is equally forgettable and tragically underexploited. There is no point in expanding on the film's plot since all major occurrences are included and easily resolved, it is the lack of humanity that it is troublesome. It is sad to see such a lukewarm depiction of a passionate figure.
Cesar Chavez is Mexican superstar Diego Luna’s second feature in the director's chair - his first being the small scale Spanish-language drama Abel – and it is overall well-crafted and well-intentioned, but it certainly looks like it could have been directed by anybody else. Luna's voice as an artist has no resonance given that the screenplay by Keir Pearson forcefully wants to package all the societal and internal struggles into a formulaic piece. One that would be better suited to help teachers introduce students to the Ufw movement than to be an artistic interpretation of a man conflicted between his cause and his family. Hopefully both Luna and Peña will get a better chance in the future to create valuable work instead of didactic classroom material.
- 3/29/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
America Ferrera stars as Helen Chavez, the wife of our hero played by Michael Pena, in the new political drama, .Cesar Chavez.. The last time I spoke with the actress, it was for .How to Train Your Dragon,. four years ago. Now, Ferrera is tackling more grown-up roles that challenge her.
In this interview, we talked about her interest in making .Cesar Chavez,. the importance of Helen in the life of Cesar Chavez, how she researched the part, and the rise of a revolution.
In this interview, we talked about her interest in making .Cesar Chavez,. the importance of Helen in the life of Cesar Chavez, how she researched the part, and the rise of a revolution.
- 3/27/2014
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Four years ago, Diego Luna sat down with the Chavez family and asked permission to tell the story of Cesar Chavez to world through film. "We sat down with Paul Chavez, Cesar's son, and explained to him why we felt the film had to be done and why with us," director Diego Luna told Twitch. In February, Cesar Chavez premiered at Berlin Film Festival and played to a packed Paramount Theater in Austin for SXSW filmgoers and activists, Chavez family members, people who were involved in the movement, and the stars of the film - Michael Peña (Chavez), America Ferrera (Helen Chavez) and Rosario Dawson (Dolores Huerta).Twitch: What was it like screening to such a passionate and involved audience?Diego Luna: It was the perfect mix...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 3/14/2014
- Screen Anarchy
Diego Luna may have traveled into the future for his role in the sci-fi action movie “Elysium” but the Mexican actor recently also went back in time to direct “Chavez.”
The 33-year-old star sat down with HuffPost Live’s Alyona Minkovski on Tuesday to chat about his latest projects, including his first English-language feature film based on the life and work of American civil rights activist Cesar Chavez.
Despite being born and raised in his native Mexico, Luna said he learned more about the Mexican-American activist during the time he was was living in the United States.
“The idea behind the film is to talk about a community that now I have a strong connection with,” the actor, whose first son was born in the U.S., told Minkovski. “And I found out that no one has done a film about him and I don’t think it has been celebrated enough.
The 33-year-old star sat down with HuffPost Live’s Alyona Minkovski on Tuesday to chat about his latest projects, including his first English-language feature film based on the life and work of American civil rights activist Cesar Chavez.
Despite being born and raised in his native Mexico, Luna said he learned more about the Mexican-American activist during the time he was was living in the United States.
“The idea behind the film is to talk about a community that now I have a strong connection with,” the actor, whose first son was born in the U.S., told Minkovski. “And I found out that no one has done a film about him and I don’t think it has been celebrated enough.
- 8/7/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Latino history in the United States has been obscure until now. A new documentary series narrated by actor Benjamin Bratt will chronicle the history of Latinos in the United States, going back 500 years and leading up to where Latinos are today, the largest minority group in the country.
Producer Ray Telles, responsible for producing a portion of a new upcoming series on PBS called “Latino Americans“, spoke to Voxxi about the project, his contribution and the future of Latinos in America.
The Emmy award-winning producer has been behind PBS Frontline’s “Children of the Night” and “The Fight in the Fields”, a 90-minute documentary on Cesar Chavez, among other films.
Being Mexican-American himself, Telles couldn’t be more passionate about “Latino Americans”. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Telles maintains a connection to his Mexican roots. In a way, this series shows the history of his family and allows for...
Producer Ray Telles, responsible for producing a portion of a new upcoming series on PBS called “Latino Americans“, spoke to Voxxi about the project, his contribution and the future of Latinos in America.
The Emmy award-winning producer has been behind PBS Frontline’s “Children of the Night” and “The Fight in the Fields”, a 90-minute documentary on Cesar Chavez, among other films.
Being Mexican-American himself, Telles couldn’t be more passionate about “Latino Americans”. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Telles maintains a connection to his Mexican roots. In a way, this series shows the history of his family and allows for...
- 5/3/2013
- by VOXXI
- Huffington Post
It's been nearly two years since Oscar-nominated screenwriter Keir Pearson announced his plans to write a biopic about Cesar Chavez, the labor organizer who fought for the rights of migrant farm workers in the Southwest in the 1960s and 70s. The biopic seemed to have stalled out somewhere in development since that announcement, but today we're learning it's gotten a big, starry boost. Variety reports that Michael Pena is set to play Chavez in an adaptation of Pearson's script to be directed by Diego Luna, the actor known for roles in Y tu Mama Tambien and more recently Contraband. Luna has one feature film behind him, 2010's coming of age story Abel, but Chavez will likely be a whole lot bigger, and with bigger stars to go along with it. America Ferrera is set to play Chavez's wife, Helen Chavez, while Rosario Dawson will play his aide, Dolores Huerta.
- 3/7/2012
- cinemablend.com
United Farm Workers (Ufw) has announced Honorary Co-Chairs of the Ufw 50th Anniversary 2012 year-long celebration.
The distinguished group of entertainers, public officials, dignitaries and Hispanic national leaders is led by Helen Chavez, wife of founder Cesar Chavez. Among today’s named co-chairs include actors Eva Longoria, Diego Luna, Tony Plana, Lupe Ontiveros, Martin Sheen, America Ferrera, Danny Glover, Ed Begley Jr., Edward James Olmos, Benito Martinez, screenwriter Keir Pearson, musical superstars Kris Kristofferson, Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-ca), U.S. Congressman Howard Berman (D-ca), U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-ca), California Senate President proTempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), California Speaker of the Assembly John Perez, Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs, Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Henry Cisneros, Executive Chairman, CityView, Dr. Robert Ross President and CEO, The California Endowment, Janet Murguia, Nclr President & CEO, Thomas A. Saenz, Maldef President and General Counsel, and Arturo Vargas,...
The distinguished group of entertainers, public officials, dignitaries and Hispanic national leaders is led by Helen Chavez, wife of founder Cesar Chavez. Among today’s named co-chairs include actors Eva Longoria, Diego Luna, Tony Plana, Lupe Ontiveros, Martin Sheen, America Ferrera, Danny Glover, Ed Begley Jr., Edward James Olmos, Benito Martinez, screenwriter Keir Pearson, musical superstars Kris Kristofferson, Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-ca), U.S. Congressman Howard Berman (D-ca), U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-ca), California Senate President proTempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), California Speaker of the Assembly John Perez, Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs, Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Henry Cisneros, Executive Chairman, CityView, Dr. Robert Ross President and CEO, The California Endowment, Janet Murguia, Nclr President & CEO, Thomas A. Saenz, Maldef President and General Counsel, and Arturo Vargas,...
- 2/17/2012
- Look to the Stars
This review was written for the film festival screening of "Bobby".VENICE, Italy -- Set among the guests and staff at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on the day in 1968 when presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was murdered, "Bobby" is a sentimental love letter from writer-director Emilio Estevez to his hometown and the slain politician. A well-crafted piece with a large ensemble cast featuring some big names, the film's success will depend on whether audiences respond to its rose-tinted view of Los Angeles in the late 1960s and its clear belief that RFK was a saint.
With its strong liberal bias, the picture will appeal to nostalgic left-leaning audiences in the U.S. It might well prosper internationally as it presents a very different face of American politics from the one on offer from the current administration.
Estevez obviously is one of the many who believe that Bobby Kennedy traveled from his bullying younger days via the Damascus road, picking up an epiphany along the way that made him America's last great hope following the death of Martin Luther King Jr.
"Bobby" features many clips showing RFK addressing campaign audiences and by the time he ran for president, he was certainly talking the talk. Its preamble also uses real footage to set the scene showing bombs falling in Vietnam, the march on Selma, President Johnson's resignation and the Cesar Chavez protests.
Estevez focuses, however, on the people at the Ambassador who include hotel fixture John Casey (Anthony Hopkins), who will reminisce about its glamorous history at every opportunity and always has time for a chess game in the lobby with his old pal Nelson (Harry Belafonte).
There's also hotel manager Paul (William H. Macy), who is married to Miriam Sharon Stone) but having an affair with Angela (Heather Graham), one of the switchboard operators. Well liked and a committed Democrat, Paul fires the hotel's racist catering manager, Timmons (Christian Slater), after he declines to let his staff of blacks and Latinos off work to vote.
Estevez does a good job of cutting between many story elements that cover Kennedy's political team at work. In the kitchen, blacks and Latinos strive to get along. Guests include a businessman (Martin Sheen) and his self-conscious younger wife (Helen Hunt); a drunken singer (Demi Moore) and her unhappy husband (Estevez); a young woman (Lindsay Lohan), getting married to save her groom (Elijah Wood) from Vietnam; and a would-be actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who works in the coffee shop and tries to help two very stoned Kennedy volunteers (Brian Geraghty and Shia LaBeouf), high on LSD purchased from a whacked-out dealer played by Ashton Kutcher.
The dialogue is heavy with aspiration and regret. Laurence Fishburn has a good scene lecturing on racial pragmatism. Hopkins and Belafonte reflect wryly on growing old, and so do Stone and Moore, though in a very different way.
Cultural references are used cleverly with Los Angeles Dodger Don Drysdale's effort to achieve six straight shutouts on everybody's mind, and people talking about such films as "The Graduate" and "Planet of the Apes".
Cinematographer Michael Barrett captures Patti Podesta's production design in expert fashion. Editor Richard Chew helps Estevez keep all the identities clear as the events of the day gather pace. Mark Isham's score is as expert as usual.
As the climax nears, Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" plays. Whether or not Bobby Kennedy was the man his supporters believed him to be, the film makes a persuasive case that something important in America was silenced when he was gunned down.
With its strong liberal bias, the picture will appeal to nostalgic left-leaning audiences in the U.S. It might well prosper internationally as it presents a very different face of American politics from the one on offer from the current administration.
Estevez obviously is one of the many who believe that Bobby Kennedy traveled from his bullying younger days via the Damascus road, picking up an epiphany along the way that made him America's last great hope following the death of Martin Luther King Jr.
"Bobby" features many clips showing RFK addressing campaign audiences and by the time he ran for president, he was certainly talking the talk. Its preamble also uses real footage to set the scene showing bombs falling in Vietnam, the march on Selma, President Johnson's resignation and the Cesar Chavez protests.
Estevez focuses, however, on the people at the Ambassador who include hotel fixture John Casey (Anthony Hopkins), who will reminisce about its glamorous history at every opportunity and always has time for a chess game in the lobby with his old pal Nelson (Harry Belafonte).
There's also hotel manager Paul (William H. Macy), who is married to Miriam Sharon Stone) but having an affair with Angela (Heather Graham), one of the switchboard operators. Well liked and a committed Democrat, Paul fires the hotel's racist catering manager, Timmons (Christian Slater), after he declines to let his staff of blacks and Latinos off work to vote.
Estevez does a good job of cutting between many story elements that cover Kennedy's political team at work. In the kitchen, blacks and Latinos strive to get along. Guests include a businessman (Martin Sheen) and his self-conscious younger wife (Helen Hunt); a drunken singer (Demi Moore) and her unhappy husband (Estevez); a young woman (Lindsay Lohan), getting married to save her groom (Elijah Wood) from Vietnam; and a would-be actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who works in the coffee shop and tries to help two very stoned Kennedy volunteers (Brian Geraghty and Shia LaBeouf), high on LSD purchased from a whacked-out dealer played by Ashton Kutcher.
The dialogue is heavy with aspiration and regret. Laurence Fishburn has a good scene lecturing on racial pragmatism. Hopkins and Belafonte reflect wryly on growing old, and so do Stone and Moore, though in a very different way.
Cultural references are used cleverly with Los Angeles Dodger Don Drysdale's effort to achieve six straight shutouts on everybody's mind, and people talking about such films as "The Graduate" and "Planet of the Apes".
Cinematographer Michael Barrett captures Patti Podesta's production design in expert fashion. Editor Richard Chew helps Estevez keep all the identities clear as the events of the day gather pace. Mark Isham's score is as expert as usual.
As the climax nears, Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" plays. Whether or not Bobby Kennedy was the man his supporters believed him to be, the film makes a persuasive case that something important in America was silenced when he was gunned down.
- 11/15/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review was written for the film festival screening of "Bobby".VENICE, Italy -- Set among the guests and staff at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on the day in 1968 when presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was murdered, "Bobby" is a sentimental love letter from writer-director Emilio Estevez to his hometown and the slain politician. A well-crafted piece with a large ensemble cast featuring some big names, the film's success will depend on whether audiences respond to its rose-tinted view of Los Angeles in the late 1960s and its clear belief that RFK was a saint.
With its strong liberal bias, the picture will appeal to nostalgic left-leaning audiences in the U.S. It might well prosper internationally as it presents a very different face of American politics from the one on offer from the current administration.
Estevez obviously is one of the many who believe that Bobby Kennedy traveled from his bullying younger days via the Damascus road, picking up an epiphany along the way that made him America's last great hope following the death of Martin Luther King Jr.
"Bobby" features many clips showing RFK addressing campaign audiences and by the time he ran for president, he was certainly talking the talk. Its preamble also uses real footage to set the scene showing bombs falling in Vietnam, the march on Selma, President Johnson's resignation and the Cesar Chavez protests.
Estevez focuses, however, on the people at the Ambassador who include hotel fixture John Casey (Anthony Hopkins), who will reminisce about its glamorous history at every opportunity and always has time for a chess game in the lobby with his old pal Nelson (Harry Belafonte).
There's also hotel manager Paul (William H. Macy), who is married to Miriam Sharon Stone) but having an affair with Angela (Heather Graham), one of the switchboard operators. Well liked and a committed Democrat, Paul fires the hotel's racist catering manager, Timmons (Christian Slater), after he declines to let his staff of blacks and Latinos off work to vote.
Estevez does a good job of cutting between many story elements that cover Kennedy's political team at work. In the kitchen, blacks and Latinos strive to get along. Guests include a businessman (Martin Sheen) and his self-conscious younger wife (Helen Hunt); a drunken singer (Demi Moore) and her unhappy husband (Estevez); a young woman (Lindsay Lohan), getting married to save her groom (Elijah Wood) from Vietnam; and a would-be actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who works in the coffee shop and tries to help two very stoned Kennedy volunteers (Brian Geraghty and Shia LaBeouf), high on LSD purchased from a whacked-out dealer played by Ashton Kutcher.
The dialogue is heavy with aspiration and regret. Laurence Fishburn has a good scene lecturing on racial pragmatism. Hopkins and Belafonte reflect wryly on growing old, and so do Stone and Moore, though in a very different way.
Cultural references are used cleverly with Los Angeles Dodger Don Drysdale's effort to achieve six straight shutouts on everybody's mind, and people talking about such films as "The Graduate" and "Planet of the Apes".
Cinematographer Michael Barrett captures Patti Podesta's production design in expert fashion. Editor Richard Chew helps Estevez keep all the identities clear as the events of the day gather pace. Mark Isham's score is as expert as usual.
As the climax nears, Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" plays. Whether or not Bobby Kennedy was the man his supporters believed him to be, the film makes a persuasive case that something important in America was silenced when he was gunned down.
With its strong liberal bias, the picture will appeal to nostalgic left-leaning audiences in the U.S. It might well prosper internationally as it presents a very different face of American politics from the one on offer from the current administration.
Estevez obviously is one of the many who believe that Bobby Kennedy traveled from his bullying younger days via the Damascus road, picking up an epiphany along the way that made him America's last great hope following the death of Martin Luther King Jr.
"Bobby" features many clips showing RFK addressing campaign audiences and by the time he ran for president, he was certainly talking the talk. Its preamble also uses real footage to set the scene showing bombs falling in Vietnam, the march on Selma, President Johnson's resignation and the Cesar Chavez protests.
Estevez focuses, however, on the people at the Ambassador who include hotel fixture John Casey (Anthony Hopkins), who will reminisce about its glamorous history at every opportunity and always has time for a chess game in the lobby with his old pal Nelson (Harry Belafonte).
There's also hotel manager Paul (William H. Macy), who is married to Miriam Sharon Stone) but having an affair with Angela (Heather Graham), one of the switchboard operators. Well liked and a committed Democrat, Paul fires the hotel's racist catering manager, Timmons (Christian Slater), after he declines to let his staff of blacks and Latinos off work to vote.
Estevez does a good job of cutting between many story elements that cover Kennedy's political team at work. In the kitchen, blacks and Latinos strive to get along. Guests include a businessman (Martin Sheen) and his self-conscious younger wife (Helen Hunt); a drunken singer (Demi Moore) and her unhappy husband (Estevez); a young woman (Lindsay Lohan), getting married to save her groom (Elijah Wood) from Vietnam; and a would-be actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who works in the coffee shop and tries to help two very stoned Kennedy volunteers (Brian Geraghty and Shia LaBeouf), high on LSD purchased from a whacked-out dealer played by Ashton Kutcher.
The dialogue is heavy with aspiration and regret. Laurence Fishburn has a good scene lecturing on racial pragmatism. Hopkins and Belafonte reflect wryly on growing old, and so do Stone and Moore, though in a very different way.
Cultural references are used cleverly with Los Angeles Dodger Don Drysdale's effort to achieve six straight shutouts on everybody's mind, and people talking about such films as "The Graduate" and "Planet of the Apes".
Cinematographer Michael Barrett captures Patti Podesta's production design in expert fashion. Editor Richard Chew helps Estevez keep all the identities clear as the events of the day gather pace. Mark Isham's score is as expert as usual.
As the climax nears, Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" plays. Whether or not Bobby Kennedy was the man his supporters believed him to be, the film makes a persuasive case that something important in America was silenced when he was gunned down.
- 11/15/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
VENICE, Italy -- Set among the guests and staff at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on the day in 1968 when presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was murdered, "Bobby" is a sentimental love letter from writer-director Emilio Estevez to his hometown and the slain politician. A well-crafted piece with a large ensemble cast featuring some big names, the film's success will depend on whether audiences respond to its rose-tinted view of Los Angeles in the late 1960s and its clear belief that RFK was a saint.
With its strong liberal bias, the picture will appeal to nostalgic left-leaning audiences in the U.S. It might well prosper internationally as it presents a very different face of American politics from the one on offer from the current administration.
Estevez obviously is one of the many who believe that Bobby Kennedy traveled from his bullying younger days via the Damascus road, picking up an epiphany along the way that made him America's last great hope following the death of Martin Luther King Jr.
"Bobby" features many clips showing RFK addressing campaign audiences and by the time he ran for president, he was certainly talking the talk. Its preamble also uses real footage to set the scene showing bombs falling in Vietnam, the march on Selma and the Cesar Chavez protests.
Estevez focuses, however, on the people at the Ambassador who include hotel fixture John Casey (Anthony Hopkins), who will reminisce about its glamorous history at every opportunity and always has time for a chess game in the lobby with his old pal Nelson (Harry Belafonte).
There's also hotel manager Paul (William H. Macy), who is married to Miriam Sharon Stone) but having an affair with Angela (Heather Graham), one of the switchboard operators. Well liked and a committed Democrat, Paul fires the hotel's racist catering manager, Timmons (Christian Slater), after he declines to let his staff of blacks and Latinos off work to vote.
Estevez does a good job of cutting between many story elements that cover Kennedy's political team at work. In the kitchen, blacks and Latinos strive to get along. Guests include a businessman (Martin Sheen) and his self-conscious younger wife (Helen Hunt); a drunken singer (Demi Moore) and her unhappy husband (Estevez); a young woman (Lindsay Lohan), getting married to save her groom (Elijah Wood) from Vietnam; and a would-be actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who works in the coffee shop and tries to help two very stoned Kennedy volunteers (Brian Geraghty and Shia LaBeouf), high on LSD purchased from a whacked-out dealer played by Ashton Kutcher.
The dialogue is heavy with aspiration and regret. Laurence Fishburn has a good scene lecturing on racial pragmatism. Hopkins and Belafonte reflect wryly on growing old, and so do Stone and Moore, though in a very different way.
Cultural references are used cleverly with Los Angeles Dodger Don Drysdale's effort to achieve six straight shutouts on everybody's mind, and people talking about such films as "The Graduate" and "Planet of the Apes".
Cinematographer Michael Barrett captures Patti Podesta's production design in expert fashion. Editor Richard Chew helps Estevez keep all the identities clear as the events of the day gather pace. Mark Isham's score is as expert as usual.
As the climax nears, Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" plays. Whether or not Bobby Kennedy was the man his supporters believed him to be, the film makes a persuasive case that something important in America was silenced when he was gunned down.
BOBBY
MGM
Bold Films/The Weinstein Co./Arclight Films
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Emilio Estevez
Producers: Edward Bass, Michael Litvak, Holly Wiersma
Executive producers: Daniel Grodnik, Gary Michael Walters, Anthony Hopkins
Cinematographer: Michael Barrett
Production designer: Patti Podesta
Music: Mark Isham
Editor: Richard Chew
Cast:
Nelson: Harry Belafonte
Patricia: Joy Bryant
Dwayne: Nick Cannon
Tim Fallon: Emilio Estevez
Edward Robinson: Laurence Fishburne
Cooper: Brian Geraghty
Angela: Heather Graham
John Casey: Anthony Hopkins
Samantha: Helen Hunt
Wade Buckley: Joshua Jackson
Jimmy: Shia LaBeouf
Diane: Lindsay Lohan
Paul: William H. Macy
Lenka Janacek: Svetlana Metkina
Virginia Fallon: Demi Moore
Jose: Freddy Rodriguez
Jack: Martin Sheen
Timmons: Christian Slater
Miriam: Sharon Stone
Miguel: Jacob Vargas
Susan Taylor: Mary Elizabeth Winstead
William: Elijah Wood
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 120 minutes...
With its strong liberal bias, the picture will appeal to nostalgic left-leaning audiences in the U.S. It might well prosper internationally as it presents a very different face of American politics from the one on offer from the current administration.
Estevez obviously is one of the many who believe that Bobby Kennedy traveled from his bullying younger days via the Damascus road, picking up an epiphany along the way that made him America's last great hope following the death of Martin Luther King Jr.
"Bobby" features many clips showing RFK addressing campaign audiences and by the time he ran for president, he was certainly talking the talk. Its preamble also uses real footage to set the scene showing bombs falling in Vietnam, the march on Selma and the Cesar Chavez protests.
Estevez focuses, however, on the people at the Ambassador who include hotel fixture John Casey (Anthony Hopkins), who will reminisce about its glamorous history at every opportunity and always has time for a chess game in the lobby with his old pal Nelson (Harry Belafonte).
There's also hotel manager Paul (William H. Macy), who is married to Miriam Sharon Stone) but having an affair with Angela (Heather Graham), one of the switchboard operators. Well liked and a committed Democrat, Paul fires the hotel's racist catering manager, Timmons (Christian Slater), after he declines to let his staff of blacks and Latinos off work to vote.
Estevez does a good job of cutting between many story elements that cover Kennedy's political team at work. In the kitchen, blacks and Latinos strive to get along. Guests include a businessman (Martin Sheen) and his self-conscious younger wife (Helen Hunt); a drunken singer (Demi Moore) and her unhappy husband (Estevez); a young woman (Lindsay Lohan), getting married to save her groom (Elijah Wood) from Vietnam; and a would-be actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who works in the coffee shop and tries to help two very stoned Kennedy volunteers (Brian Geraghty and Shia LaBeouf), high on LSD purchased from a whacked-out dealer played by Ashton Kutcher.
The dialogue is heavy with aspiration and regret. Laurence Fishburn has a good scene lecturing on racial pragmatism. Hopkins and Belafonte reflect wryly on growing old, and so do Stone and Moore, though in a very different way.
Cultural references are used cleverly with Los Angeles Dodger Don Drysdale's effort to achieve six straight shutouts on everybody's mind, and people talking about such films as "The Graduate" and "Planet of the Apes".
Cinematographer Michael Barrett captures Patti Podesta's production design in expert fashion. Editor Richard Chew helps Estevez keep all the identities clear as the events of the day gather pace. Mark Isham's score is as expert as usual.
As the climax nears, Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" plays. Whether or not Bobby Kennedy was the man his supporters believed him to be, the film makes a persuasive case that something important in America was silenced when he was gunned down.
BOBBY
MGM
Bold Films/The Weinstein Co./Arclight Films
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Emilio Estevez
Producers: Edward Bass, Michael Litvak, Holly Wiersma
Executive producers: Daniel Grodnik, Gary Michael Walters, Anthony Hopkins
Cinematographer: Michael Barrett
Production designer: Patti Podesta
Music: Mark Isham
Editor: Richard Chew
Cast:
Nelson: Harry Belafonte
Patricia: Joy Bryant
Dwayne: Nick Cannon
Tim Fallon: Emilio Estevez
Edward Robinson: Laurence Fishburne
Cooper: Brian Geraghty
Angela: Heather Graham
John Casey: Anthony Hopkins
Samantha: Helen Hunt
Wade Buckley: Joshua Jackson
Jimmy: Shia LaBeouf
Diane: Lindsay Lohan
Paul: William H. Macy
Lenka Janacek: Svetlana Metkina
Virginia Fallon: Demi Moore
Jose: Freddy Rodriguez
Jack: Martin Sheen
Timmons: Christian Slater
Miriam: Sharon Stone
Miguel: Jacob Vargas
Susan Taylor: Mary Elizabeth Winstead
William: Elijah Wood
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 120 minutes...
Actor Edward James Olmos, who went from East Los Angeles to Hollywood stardom, has been honored with a plaque on the Latino Walk of Fame. The 53-year-old actor was the seventh person to be honored with a plaque on Whittier Boulevard. Others have included labor leader Cesar Chavez and former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela. Known for his roles in such movies as Stand and Deliver (1987) and American Me (1992), Olmos has worked with the poor and the Los Angeles International Latino Film Festival. Ray Abboud, the Walk of Fame chairman, says, "He's deserving because he has helped out Los Angeles so much. He became a celebrity, but he never forgot his roots."...
- 12/18/2000
- WENN
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