Denver Film Festival Through An Actor's eyes

200+ films over 11 days is a concentrated opportunity for an actor to see a wide variety of performances. It is also an opportunity to see films and performances that otherwise might not be available; films that likely would not play commercially, locally; films one might not even be aware of.

Moreover, seeing a film with a communal audience is a different (and better) experiences than sitting alone on your couch in front of a TV and your DVD player.

And while some of the films screened at the Starz Denver Film Festival are non-narrative films (documentaries, etc.) there is still much to see and from which to learn.

Actors learn by doing but also by watching: what choices are being made by the actor; what chances is the actor taking by making certain choices; is that a choice I would have made in the same role? This is not about judging the ‘rightness’ or efficacy of a choice, it is about pondering and learning.

This year’s Festival had a wealth of interesting acting performances, many from foreign-language and low-budget features. In fact, they were some of the best.

However, there was also a documentary that every actor should have seen. Because for actors, this is also a business; it is our job; it is what we try to do for a living.

Casting By is a documentary by Tom Donohue. It focuses on casting directors, particularly Marion Dougherty and the process (and how it has changed) of casting motion pictures and television.

The great director, John Huston, famously said that 90% of directing is casting. However, many actors, in fact many film professionals really have no idea about the process of how a film is cast. And what you don’t know can hurt you; the more you know about the process the better off you are. For an actor casting is everything – if you don’t get cast, you are not working.

Dougherty, who started in live television in New York in the fifties, really changed the way movies were cast. In the old Studio System, contract players were assigned roles in motion pictures based on their type. Dougherty, working primarily with New York stage actors changed that. Her success in casting such successful television series as Naked City and Route 66 eventually brought her to motion pictures and eventually Hollywood.

I was actually cast by Daugherty and Wally Nicita in Escape From Alcatraz, so it had special meaning for me. As scenes in the Documentary featured Marion surrounded by hundreds of actor photos, I realized that at some point, my photo was among those.

Two outstanding fiction films from an actor’s perspective:

In Starlet, Dree Hemingway plays Jane, a 21 year old - flaky in a Legally Blonde kind of way - Porn Queen living on the edge in the 'beautiful' west San Fernando Valley. She and her Chihuahua named Starlet, share an apartment with a drugged-out fellow sex worker, Melissa (Stella Maeve) and Melissa's porn-promoter, wannabe boyfriend, Mikey (James Ransone).

Dree Hemingway, the daughter of Mariel, niece of Margaux and great granddaughter of Ernest, is wonderful in this low-budget ($250,000) SAG Indie film, as is Besedka Johnson in a debut performance. The 87 year-old Johnson was 'discovered' at a YWCA and thought the casting was a joke. Her performance is no joke.

The acting here throughout the cast is terrific. It is so natural; the film almost has the feel of a documentary. It is also a testament to the value of SAG Indie and what creative talent can do with an extremely limited budget.

Another film with astonishing performances is I, Anna. Charlotte Rampling and Gabriel Byrne captivate us. This is an acting-class in understated portrayal. Their maturity and maturity of talent make the film work wonderfully. Rampling is still breathtakingly beautiful and imbues Anna with an enigmatic, other-world quality.

Some other films and performances worthy of note:

Andrea Riseborough in Shadow Dancer (Ireland/UK)

Nina Hoss (with incredible eyes) in the German film Barbara

Francisca Gavilan in the Chilean film Violeta Went to Heaven (about Chilean singer Violeta Parra)

Marcin Dorocinski and Agata Kulesza in the Polish Film Rose (Roza)

There were more but these are some of the performances that most engaged me as an actor.

The Starz Denver Film Festival does not have the cachet or drawing power of Telluride or Sundance, but it does provide Denver audiences and Denver actors the opportunity to see great film. It is not always about the Red Carpet films, it is often about all those other films that make us love to watch and work in Motion Pictures.

Author Laura DiSilverio

So what does a young woman, who wants to be a successful writer do after submitting her first novel for publication and having it rejected?

Join the Air Force, of course.

And that’s exactly what Laura DiSilverio did.

Now a successful writer of the Swift Investigations series of mysteries, she had written a romance novel while in college and it ended up at a major publishing house but was rejected. And even though the rejection came with some thoughtful suggestions, to Laura, it was rejection nonetheless. So she decided that maybe she would try the Air Force. Her father had been career Air Force, so the life was familiar and seemed like a good idea at the time.

But after a 20-year career, she decided that it was time to seriously try writing again. The result: Her third novel in the Swift Investigations series, Swift Run, is being released on November 27 by Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books.


Swift Investigations is a Private Investigation firm of two women, Charlie Swift and Gigi Goldman. Rather than having a solo PI, DiSilverio has invented this partnership of opposites; sort of like the female counterparts of Felix and Oscar from Neal Simon’s The Odd Couple. She says she wanted the relationship to be the center piece of the novels and evolve into a real friendship. She also wanted it to be two women not a woman and a man with the male/female romantic complication thing.

“I didn’t want it to be Remington Steele or Moonlighting.” Will they or won’t they sleep together? How long can you draw that out?”

Charlie is the no nonsense, experienced investigator and namesake of Swift Investigations. Gigi is her inexperienced and klutzy partner who often dithers about what to do and worries about her wardrobe and makeup as much as the investigation on which they are working. At first Charlie was very resistive to having Gigi for a partner, but over the course of the three novels the friendship has evolved and Charlie has begun to see Gigi’s value: she is good on the computer (better than Charlie) better with people, more patient and also more caring (which sometimes gets her in trouble). DiSilverio says she wanted Gigi to be more than a running joke, to be a real three dimensional character and give Charlie something to play off of.

DiSilverio spent her twenty years in the Air Force as an Intelligence Officer, a Squadron Commander at the National Reconnaissance Office and a fighter wing in Korea. The discipline that work teaches is great training for a career as a writer. Inspiration is wonderful, but discipline is what puts words on the page.

“I write 2,000 words a day. I write every day; this is what I do full-time. This is a job and I treat it like a job. I get the kids off to school and sit my butt down at about 7:30 and I write until I get 2,000 words done which is usually around 11:00 A.M. “

Discipline.

Leaving the Air Force (with the full support of her husband, who was also in the service) in 2004, she set about writing full-time, getting an agent and getting published.

In the process of seeking publication for Swift Investigations, she was approached to write a mystery series set in a southern beauty shop. She agreed and under the pen name, Lila Dare, the Southern Beauty Shop Mysteries were born.

“I had lived in Georgia, knew the territory and I thought, why not?”

And then came a three-book deal for Swift Investigations. The first, Swift Justice was published in October of 2010.

DiSilverio is hopeful of producing a fourth in the series as are her fans. Among other things, everyone wants to know what will happen with either Father Dan or Detective Montgomery as Charlie’s possible love interest. And Gigi – what new craziness will she get herself into?

Laura DiSilverio will be at the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Highlands Ranch on Thursday evening, November 29.

Hostess, not the first brand to go away.

With all the attention being paid to the demise of the Hostess brands, Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Cup Cakes, I started thinking about other iconic brands that have disappeared since I became an adult.

There are lots of them: Airlines, Pan Am and TWA; Department store chains, Montgomery Ward; Five and Dimes, Woolworths and Kressge; Automobiles, DeSoto and Oldsmobile, the list goes on.

I have written before about the demise of major American airlines. Since deregulation, many airlines, regional and national have disappeared, but TWA and Pan Am may be the most iconic and memorable.

Pan American Airways was the largest international air carrier in the United States, from its founding in 1927 until its demise in 1991. During that time it was the unofficial “Flag Carrier” of the U.S. It was also one of the most recognizable airline, or frankly, travel brands in the world. It started in Key West, Florida but expanded throughout Latin America, then Europe and the Pacific. By using seaplanes, or flying boats, it pioneered routes from San Francisco, to Honolulu and on to Hong Kong, during the 1930s.

It also pioneered the use of jet aircraft in the 50s and 60s. After WWII, Pan Am began aggressively moving to land-based aircraft (this in response to TWA) even for trans-oceanic flights. In 1958 it inaugurated service from New York’s Idyllwild (now JFK) airport to Paris with the new Boeing 707.

Pan Am was not just recognizable in the skies; it was recognizable on Manhattan’s Skyline. Its headquarters building on Park Avenue at East 45th Street, above the Grand Central Terminal opened in 1963 with the words Pan Am emblazoned across the top. Today, the building is the Met Life building with the words Met Life having replace Pan Am.

It was a Pan Am flight that was downed over Lockerbie Scotland by a terrorist bomb. That in conjunction with the Oil Crisis and soaring oil prices of the 70s and the first Gulf War drove Pan Am to the point of bankruptcy. It sold off its most profitable routes between the US and London to United Airlines. In December of 1991 Pan Am shut down operations.

TWA for most of its existence was Pan Am’s major competitor. It began in 1925 as Transcontinental Air Transport and as with most airlines of the day; its primary income came from mail contracts. Eventually it became one of the largest air carriers in the US, but also had a significant presence around the world.

For years it flew another icon of the air, the legendary DC-3. It also flew Lockheed Constellations, favored by Howard Hughes who acquired control of TWA.

In 1958 TWA was the first airline to hire an African-American flight attendant, though it did so only after legal action. Flight attendants in those days were always women and were referred to as stewardesses.

Carl Icahn acquired TWA in 1985 and proceeded to sell off most of its profitable assets (that is why he is called a corporate raider), in turn providing him a profit but beginning to gut the airline.

Icahn left in 1993 but not before securing a sweetheart deal for a company that he formed, called Karabu, which was able to purchase airline tickets from TWA at a 45% discount. The ‘Karabu Deal’ allowed Karabu to purchase a significant portion of seats on most TWA flights at a heavy discount and then resell those tickets at a huge profit. TWA was basically hamstrung. It is estimated that TWA was losing $150 Million a year on this deal and went in and out of bankruptcy.

In April 2001, American Airlines acquired TWA. The last official TWA flight was on December 1, 2001.

Montgomery Ward and Company. I can still see the ‘Monkey Wards’ building on south Broadway, in Denver. The building was torn down in 1993. However, the Montgomery Ward building in Pueblo, Colorado is still there and is on the register of historic places. Among other things, the building is home to the Colorado Lottery.
Along with Sears, Roebuck and Company, Montgomery Ward was one of the major retailers in the U.S during the 20th century.

Starting out in 1872, in Chicago (also the home of Sears), Montgomery Ward pioneered the sale to rural America, ‘city goods’ through mail-order catalog. The Wish Book was everywhere in rural and small town America. Eventually that mail-order business was augmented by a chain of retail stores.

In 1985 Montgomery Ward went out of the catalog business and concentrated on its retail outlets. It also tried to rebrand itself as Wards. Unfortunately, those retail outlets had not kept up with the growth of the suburban shopping center concept by moving into those centers, and business was declining.
By May of 2001, Wards was gone.

Woolworth’s was another major retailer in the 20th century. It pioneered the concept of the Five and Dime store. The concept had merchandise out on display shelves for the public to be able to handle and examine, there was no need to ask a clerk to see an item. Also the merchandise was sold at a fixed unit price: either five cents or ten cents. This was revolutionary at the time.

There is a wonderful scene in the film version of Breakfast At Tiffany’s where Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard browse through a five and dime to steal a pair of Halloween masks. I don’t remember that it was a Woolworths.

F.W. Woolworth’s became very profitable and in 1913 built the Woolworth Building sky scraper in Manhattan.

Another success innovation was the inclusion of lunch counters in the stores. Shoppers could get a sandwich while they shopped. It was the segregated lunch counter at the Woolworth store in Greenville, South Carolina that was the sight of a sit-in by four African-American students in 1960. An eight-foot section of that lunch counter is now in the Smithsonian Institution.

Having pioneered the concept of the five and dime, or ‘Dime store’, F.W. Woolworth pioneered the concept of the big-box discount store. Its Woolco was the first of these that eventually led to such stores as Wal-Mart, Kmart (originally the S.S. Kresge five and dime stores) and Target.

Woolco is now gone as is Woolworth’s. In 1997 Woolworth’s closed its remaining stores and changed its corporate name to Venator. Venator now operates the Footlocker chain.

I once had a 1954 DeSoto. It was a 4-door sedan, six-cylinder ‘Powermaster’ that I bought from Dale’s Camper Sales and used cars in Fountain, Colorado in about 1967. DeSoto was already a defunct brand when I bought my car. I don’t actually remember when I got rid of it.

DeSoto was part of the Chrysler family of cars, which included Plymouth, Dodge and Chrysler. Plymouth was the low-priced vehicle; DeSoto and Dodge the mid-price; and Chrysler the top end. Walter P Chrysler (from Ellis, Kansas) founded the company in 1925. He created the DeSoto brand in 1928.

At about the same time, Chrysler acquired the Dodge Brother’s car company and over the years the Dodge and DeSoto models would actually compete with one another. Eventually Dodge won out and Chrysler discontinued the DeSoto in 1961.

I had another car brand that has now gone away. I had a 1965 (Nash) Rambler station wagon. It was the vehicle I used for a long time when I traveled on the road as a musician. I could load instruments and PA system in the back and four musicians could ride up front.

Nash was another iconic brand from the 20th century. It began life in 1916 and over time the company name would evolve (at one point, Nash-Kelvinator who also produced Kelvinator refrigerators). With the acquisition of the Hudson Motor Car company, it became American Motors (headed by George Romney). Eventually the company stopped using the Hudson nameplate, and dropped the Nash part of the Nash-Rambler name. It did however continue to produce the Nash Metropolitan (what a great little car).
Eventually it acquired Kaiser Jeep, the old Willys Overland company.

In 1987, Chrysler acquired the entire company as the Jeep Eagle division and only produced Jeeps. The Nash and its antecedents were gone.

There were others, the Packard and Studebaker and Studebaker’s final vehicle the Avanti (“Guaranteed to go 160 MPH”); the Oldsmobile, etc.

I won’t miss Hostess Twinkies or the like - I have not had or wanted one in at least 40 years - but many of the above brands, I do miss.

Yes, Prime Minister

Fawlty Towers comes to Downing Street – or more properly, to Checquers, the official country residence of the British Prime Minister.

Yes, Prime Minister, by Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn is an updated stage version of their hit television series from the 1980s, Yes, Minister and then Yes, Prime Minister. And while it is not great theatre – it is not Shakespeare or even Oscar Wilde – it is great fun, with lots of laughs.

In the television series, Jim Hacker a back-bench Member of Parliament ends up as a Minister in a new coalition government; in the second part of the television series, he is elected Prime Minister. The play has Hacker, the manic and comic Robert Daws, surrounded by the same cast of characters, trying to hang on by his fingernails to his political career as he is buffeted by one crisis revelation after another.

The satire of unscrupulous, self-serving, often buffoon-like politicians and obfuscating, supercilious self-serving civil servants is timeless and is so in Yes, Prime Minister. However, the real hilarity is rooted in the very topical jokes – jokes that come a mile a minute: an unfolding Euro Zone monetary crisis (does a Euro Job call for Eurologist?), references to sexual proclivities and Berlusconi and Dominique Stauss Kahn, and the Director-General of the BBC (which one), etc. provide much of the humor. The United States comes in for its fair share (much to the delight of British audiences) of pointed jokes as well.

As the play opens, the obsequious civil servant, Sir Humphrey Appleby (the wonderful Michael Simkins) is confiding in the Prime Minister’s Private Secretary, Bernard Wooley (Clive Hayward) that a deal is imminent to build a pipeline from ‘Kumranistan’ to the west that will not only deliver oil but billions of Euros to solve the European Union debt crisis. On learning this, Bernard points out that the deal likely means that England will have to adopt the Euro – something that is anathema to the Prime Minister and the British people. Sir Humphrey responds that the Prime Minister will never know until after the fact.

That is just the beginning of the complications that unfold over the course of the evening. The topper is that the Kumranistan Foreign Minister, who is spending the night at Checquers but whom we never see, wants to be provided with three call girls for an orgy. If they are not provided the oil deal is off.

On learning this, the Prime Minister is aghast, but asks how it might be accomplished - the Euro issue is off the table and he very much wants the pipeline. Sir Humphrey suggests that the Queen’s RAF Helicopter is in London and could be used to deliver the girls. The PM is even more aghast.

Much hand-wringing and discussion ensue with Hacker variously considering it (‘the girls could be considered patriots, giving it their all for their country’) and rolling on the floor in dismay.

The jokes and one-liners are very topical and as such limit that part of the scripts script's longevity, but it is that very topicality that makes the show so rollickingly funny.

The cast is quite good and the humor broad: not quite Benny Hill broad but definitely Monty Python or Beyond the Fringe.

The play was originally produced in 2010 and this the second time in the West
End. The great irony of this production is that it is at the Trafalgar Studio theatre just up the street from 10 Downing Street, home of the British PM.

The play has also prompted a revived and revised TV series with a new cast set to run in the UK in 2013.

Should we see that in the United States, as well? Yes, Prime Minister.

Thanksgiving in London

Once again we will spend Thanksgiving in London. We don't do this every year, but often enough that it has become a bit of a tradition. We will see some theatre, maybe even a movie and of course eat. As I have noted in the past, London and the UK are not the horrible food deserts many people suppose.

Thanksgiving is a quintessential American holiday and is not celebrated in Europe. If you are there and it is Turkey day, you are on your own.

This got me thinking about what other Americans, who may be abroad on Thanksgiving, do for a meal on that day?

Do you seek out some place that may actually serve Turkey and the fixings? Do you find a way to join with other Ex Pats and cook for yourselves? Does some British family take pity on you and try to provide a traditional Turkey dinner for you?

My guess is, for the most part, the answer is no. And for me that answer is definitely no. If I wanted to do traditional Thanksgiving, I would have stayed in the US.

I never travel overseas with the idea of seeking out the nearest McDonald’s (I don't do that in this country). For me part of the joy of travel is experiencing the local culture and food.

So, it got me thinking about what kind of meals would an American Ex Pat seek out in a foreign country on Thanksgiving.

I am going to list some of my thoughts but am interested in yours, whether you have found yourself in this position or not; maybe just speculate what kind of meal you would seek out.

The first time I was in London for Thanksgiving two other couples from Colorado were to join us and we had agreed that we would all meet on Thanksgiving at the Fuller's Pub next to the Tate Modern. We were there but since this was in the day when cell phones were not ubiquitous, we had no way of knowing that both other couples had serious travel difficulties: canceled flights.

So we waited. Eventually we decided that there had been a problem and, being hungry, we ordered. I had Bangers and Mash, with Mushy Peas and a pint (okay a few pints) of Fuller's London Pride.

Over the years, I have had that same dish as well as a wonderful steak, mushroom and Guinness pie at Brown's in Mayfair during thanksgiving.

In the UK, a roast of beef is always great. You can usually find this in a Pub, but usually only on Sunday. I suppose I could do one of my favorites which is the Polish-Mexican place in Shepherds Market. I will undoubtedly eat there, but choosing a local favorite would seem to preclude this. Actually, maybe a trip to the Borough market is in order. British sausages, and local cheeses – Stilton, English Cheddar – and some bread back at the room.

Paris?

What of one of the great food cities in the world? I am going to opt for Bistro food. Boeuf bourguignon? French Onion Soup with a wonderful baguette? Mussels? Steak Frites? Any of that will work for me. Of course anything I choose will need to have a country pate to start. I'm thinking a Cotes Du Rhone for wine.
We spend a lot of time in southeast Asia. We particularly like Singapore. It has a very diverse population, including significant numbers of Chinese, Malays and Indians. There are four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. This diversity is reflected in the food selections as well. However, my number one choice will be Chilli Crab. The crabs are stir fried in a tomato and chilli sauce and can be very spicy – read HOT. They are great.

Mexico City. People often talk about 'Mexican food' as if it were a homogeneous cuisine – tacos anyone? The reality is that Mexico has a wide variety of regional cuisines. The food of southern Mexico is different from that of the north which is different from the food of the two coasts. The good news is that you can find those various foods served in Mexico City, so take your choice. Chicken Mole is good (it is a bird after all), but I am fond of Pibil. In this dish from the Yucatan, pork is marinated in citrus, then slowly roasted wrapped in a banana leaf. I'm ready now.

So, if you are away from the U.S. For Thanksgiving, try something local.

Hawaii Airports

Going to Hawaii? I am in December and can’t wait.

I will fly into Honolulu (HNL) and land on the Reef Runway, which last month celebrated its 35th birthday. It was built in 1977 at a cost of $81 Million and was the first major airport runway to be built just off shore on underwater coral. The runway is 12,000 feet long which made it capable of being an alternative landing site for the Space Shuttle. It was never used for that and now, never will be.

Factoids, you might like to know? The runway consists of nearly 20 million cubic yards of material brought in via hydraulic pumping from offshore. There is an additional 16 million pounds of stone used to protect the runway from the Pacific Ocean.

I love landing and taking off from this runway. I also like the one at Lihue (LIH)on Kauai and the black lava runway at Kona (KOA)on the Big Island. They all three say to me: ‘You’re Here!’

Lihue was not the first airport on Kauai, that was Burns Field near Hanapepe. Hawaiian Airlines started commercial flights there in 1929. You know flying was a real adventure in those days.

Kona is the only airport that does not use a jetway. You climb up and down a stairway like in the old days. I do love that black lava. I have never flown in to the other airport on the Big Island, Hilo (ITO), but some day I must.

Speaking of HNL, big changes are coming starting next June. That is when a $600 Million renovation is to start. The changes:

A new eleven-gate L-shaped “Mauka concourse” which will support larger planes located next to the inter-island terminal.

Demolition and relocation of the commuter terminal (used primarily by Go!Mokelele and Island Air) to the opposite site of the airport (adjacent to UAL). The current HNL commuter terminal is not directly connected with the other terminals and is only accessible via a long walk and escalator/stairs from the adjacent Hawaiian Air terminal.

A new multi-story car rental facility. The five-level 2,250 stall operation will replace the current single level car rental area and will increase car rental space by more than double.

HNL opened in 1927 and was originally named John Rodgers Airport.

Last year HNL handled nearly 20 Million passengers. By comparison DIA routinely handles 50 Million.

Arts education in Denver and low-income students.

Arts education and minority and lower-income students. In Denver it is a tale of two cities: one affluent and one not.

A study, the report of which was released in October, of the state of arts education in Denver Public Schools deals in part with the minimal participation and lack of opportunities for lower-income students in arts education and/or the ability to pursue a career in the arts. The study took a broader view of the state of arts education and much of what it found was not surprising – the state of arts education is not what it could be or should be. What I found particularly troubling however was the part of the report dealing with the availability to arts education for minority and low-income students.

The notes that the Denver School for the Arts (DSA) has a good program (it is considered the ‘gold standard’ for arts education), however participation from minority and low-income students is very limited.

“DSA currently serves a student population of 13% low-income students in contrast to Denver Public Schools overall low-income population of 73%” – from the report.

The reason in part is an inequality of access. DSA admissions are based on blind auditions. The problem is that students who want to attend are handicapped because they have not had enough training, much less quality training. Zip codes tell the tale. Admissions from schools west of I-25 are almost non-existent. The reality is that while arts education throughout DPS is not what it should be, particularly at the elementary- and middle-school level, more affluent parents can provide their children with private instruction and that can make the difference.

This is particularly acute with regard to music, orchestra and band.

This inequality not only hurts these students it hurts us as a community and may deprive the society at large of the next Pablo Picasso, or YoYo Ma, or Maya Angelou or even Madonna. Moreover the report also cites from James Catteral's study Doing Well and Doing Good by Doing Art, that low-income students at arts-rich high schools were more than twice as likely to earn a B.A as low-income students at arts-poor high schools

We know and the report also notes, that the arts have a significant impact on the economy. The Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, in its latest survey of the economic impact of the arts for instance stated that the economic impact of the arts in the Denver Metro region was $1.76 Billion 2011.

So not only do the arts have intrinsic value, they have tremendous economic value. For both those reasons and others, access to arts education should be universal and comprehensive and no socio-economic groups should be excluded.

The report has a quote that I love from the actor and former Director of the National Endowment for the Arts, Jane Alexander: “The young man who picks up a clarinet or even a paintbrush or a pen is not as likely to pick up a needle or a gun: he has better things to do.”

The study was done by A+ Denver, an independent, non-partisan 501 (c)(3) organization working to assist in improving student achievement in Denver Public Schools. The study was initiated by a task force of that organization, the Denver Quality Arts Task Force.

The report notes that some years ago, a commitment was made nationally to improve student performance in Math and Science and that is occurring. No such commitment currently exists with regard to arts education. It needs to. And that commitment must be implemented in every neighborhood regardless of zip code.

The full report is available here.