“CASABLANCA”: HOW AND WHY IT BECAME AN ICONIC HOLLYWOOD MOVIE

A PERSONAL OBSERVATION ON AMERICAN FILMMAKING EXCEPTIONALISM

When the movie “Casablanca” merged the powerful elements of love, war, and destiny in 1942, the film and its producers never saw the phenomenal appeal or its success coming until it won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1943.  Seventy-seven years later it still deserves a shout-out for American filmmaking exceptionalism.

It seems the world can never get enough stories about romance, loves won and lost, exciting adventures or the drama of the human condition. Even with its flaws and its foibles laid bare, such stories keep tugging us into this intriguing, exciting, complicated short journey we call life but it doesn’t explain where we came from, why we’re here or where we are going. 

It’s not only profound, it’s a little scary when one thinks about it.  No wonder the world is constantly in a state of flux, chaos, and uncertainty.  The best medium for me in bringing some sense of understanding and clarity to life’s unanswered questions has been the cinema.

“Casablanca” starred Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid, as one of the best examples of American filmmaking.  The story encompassed a unique entertainment value amid the potent and poignant backdrop of World War II.  It allowed Americans, for the first time, to see others through the lenses of empathy and their fight for a just and good cause, pitting the Allies – America, England, France, and Russia – against the Axis powers – Germany, Japan and Italy.     

Americans have always prided themselves as being a nation of rugged individualists.  We believe that with our love of freedom, our love of country, and our love of democracy, anything is possible.  All we need to do is put our minds, muscles, and money in motion and we become invincible. We are a nation of optimists, but also a nation of nationalists.  The pressure to keep America neutral and out of “Europe’s War” was extremely intense.  Yet we still admire the qualities and characteristics of our Wild West history and those non-conforming individuals who loved doing things their way. 

“Casablanca” came along in American cinema at just the right time.  Before John Wayne ‘won’ WW II on the silver screens of the country, this relevant and significant movie produced by Warner Brothers, helped explain America’s necessity for entering the war and did so with honesty, style, and a wonderfully patriotic script.  Deftly directed by Michael Curtiz, featuring  a brilliant cast, the movie  would go on to win the Best Picture Oscar of 1943, also winning Best Screenplay Oscar statuettes for twin brothers Julian and Philip Epstein and Howard Koch.

The timeless romantic war story made a huge international star of journeyman actor Humphrey Bogart, who was used to playing hard-boiled tough guys, convicts, and outsiders in B movies.  However, his luminous young Swedish co-star, Ingrid Bergman, was already an established and accomplished actor in Europe and England. Her beauty and his talent made them an acceptable romantic on-screen couple, despite their age gap (he was 42 and she was 27).  Bergman would go on to win three Academy Awards; Bogart would win only one.  Handsome leading man Paul Henried, the ‘other man’ in this love-triangle, would later go on to woo Bette Davis in “Now Voyager”, another Warner Brothers romantic film directed, once again, by Michael Curtiz.

The genesis of “Casablanca” began as the love-child of playwrights Murray Bennet and Joan Alison who wrote an unproduced stage play called “ Everybody Goes to Rick’s” which they couldn’t sell to Broadway.  However, savvy movie producer Hal B. Wallis got a hold of the stage-script and thought with changes it would make a wonderful and much needed World War II propaganda movie. He bought the film rights from Bennet and Alison for $20,000, then a princely sum of money for an unproduced stage play.

Many extraordinary and wonderful films were produced during the height of Hollywood’s Golden Age when the studio system was in its full glory.  Producer Wallis enjoyed the freedom of the Warner Brothers backlot that was overflowing with actors, writers, producers, directors, and movie technicians. It afforded him the luxury to cast his movie directly from the studio’s list of long-term contract players, many who fled Europe earlier to England and America as immigrants when Hitler became Germany’s Chancellor in 1933.

The now-rewritten movie script by the Epstein brothers and Koch depicted Rick Blaine as a cynical American, ex-pat soldier of fortune with a mysterious past who settled in Casablanca, French Morocco running his own cabaret and gambling casino called Rick’s Café Americain. 

The heart of the story, revolved around Rick and his struggle to decide whether to help his former lover Ilsa Lund (Bergman) and her Czech husband Victor Lazlo (Henreid), a wanted underground resistance leader on the run from the Nazi government, to escape from Casablanca to America and continue the fight against the Axis powers.  It’s obvious that both men are in love with the same beautiful woman.  The burning question for audiences was which man will win Isa’s heart in the end?  Rick, the exciting soldier of fortune she met and fell in love with in pre-war Paris or Victor, the dedicated and committed leader for the cause of freedom. 

Rick’s was frequented by the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy of those fleeing the war in Europe seeking passage to the safety of America.  Casablanca was a melting pot of characters who conducted negotiations for coveted travel visas by black market profiteers, all under the watchful eye of ‘mildly-corrupt’ French Prefect of Police Captain Louis Renault, brilliantly played by charming character actor Claude Rains.  Renault never met an attractive female seeking an exit visa that didn’t require his special personal attention – validating the practice of “quid pro quo” that has been a powerful negotiating force since the world began.

Producer Wallis knew he had a solid film on his hands when he saw the early footage from Curtiz.  Only generations later would everyone realize that the film was made, not only to help defeat Nazism and Fascism, but that it also told a wartime love story that resonated with practically everyone; as a result “Casablanca” has been a consistent Top Ten movie in fan popularity polls for more than seven decades.  American Film Institute’s (AFI) Top 100 Films List of All Time ranks it as number three.

“Casablanca” is a master class on how to write a successful screenplay.  Most films back in the 1940s ran about 90 minutes.  There wasn’t a lot of time spent on exposition or explaining character development for audiences.  Writers learned quickly that they had to grab the audience both emotionally and viscerally to guide them as to whom to root for or whom to dislike in the story.  In Westerns, for example, if the character kicked a slinking dog crossing the dusty main street at night, that would be your “heavy” regardless if he was wearing a black hat or not.  Character not costumes informed the screenplay.  In more modern settings it is the action or reaction that defines the “good guy”. 

In “Casablanca”, Rick jealously guarded his past life, opting outwardly to not pick sides in the wars raging in Europe and Asia.  He claimed he was just a saloon keeper trying to make a living.  “I stick my neck out for nobody” was his standard working class-type reply when the police made an occasional arrest in his nightclub.  But Rick; was never personally involved in illegal activities. He was ‘clean’ as far as the authorities were concerned. 

Bogart was the perfect choice to portray Rick.  He brought his cynical, rough-around-the edges-vocal quality and the street smarts of a take-charge guy when needed.  He’s the sort of man that men liked and he had a vulnerability that women found attractive.  It may be hard to believe now, but studio head Jack Warner, seriously thought at one time that actor Ronald Reagan would be a perfect Rick.  After all, Warner was alleged to have said “we’ve got him under a long term contract.”  Producer Wallis said just one word – “Bogart”.  And the rest thankfully is history.

And what was not to like about Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund?  Her on-screen luminosity was breathtaking, her acting skills spoke for themselves, and the camera adored her – it was a slam dunk decision!

Rick always appeared aloof and indifferent about what went on inside his cabaret and private casino.  But he was keenly aware of the intrigues and illegal dealings that took place, but his public stance was just a smokescreen to mask his idealistic side.  He ran guns to Ethiopia and fought alongside the Spanish Republican/Loyalists against Spain’s Fascist dictator Francisco Franco in the 1930s.  He had a strict rule of never sitting with his patrons at their tables, but he made sure that Captain Renault always won at roulette, as well as having complete carte blanche in the dining room with a tab that he rarely paid. 

At one point in the film, Captain Renault is forced to close Rick’s for a short period, following an incident involving the cafe’s French patrons and their spirited rendition of their national anthem to the displeasure of dining German officers.  German Major Strasser demands that the café be immediately closed down.  Rick quickly finds Renault among the departing patrons to ask why his café was being closed.  Renault replies with mock anger, “I’m shocked, shocked, to find out that gambling is going on here”, all the while stuffing his pockets with his roulette winnings that are being personally delivered by Rick’s croupier. “Casablanca” is a very rich source for what we now call clichés.  However, back in 1943, it was just called clever dialogue from a team of very sharp and talented screenwriters.

I have yet to see and hear character dialogue in any movie that so quickly and succinctly captures the male essence, confidence, and power of the Ricks of the world, especially when dealing with women.  The ‘discovery shot’ that introduces Rick to the audience occurs about four minutes into the film. Yvonne, a neglected former lover of Rick, enters.  She walks slowly past him, seated alone at his private table, and asks him tentatively “Where were you last night?”  “That’s so long ago I can’t remember.”  “Will I see you tonight?” “I never make plans that far ahead.”  Rick’s brush-off dialogue is delivered in a bored monotone without ever looking up at Yvonne.  The curt exchange only lasts about 10 seconds but it speaks volumes about Rick’s character.  He’s direct, crafty but trustworthy and very resourceful.  Talk about a power trip of male ego and confidence!  

“Casablanca” takes place during the early stages of WW II and is put in motion by Peter Lorre as Ugarte, a petty criminal who often frequents Rick’s.  When the news that two German couriers carrying important documents have been found murdered on their way to Casablanca, the event sends the police and the black market into a frenzy of searches for those missing documents. The fact they are “irrevocable” exit visas’ authorized and signed by French General Charles De Gaulle, suddenly makes them priceless to many interested parties.  Ugarte, asks Rick to hide his stolen documents for safe keeping with Rick replying in a steely voice that said he didn’t want them in the club overnight for obvious reasons.  His club would be the first place to be searched by the German occupiers. When Ugarte presses Rick, he reluctantly agrees, but just for one night.

As the story unfolds, we also learn via a flashback montage that Rick and Ilsa were lovers in pre-war Paris.  Again, a love triangle plot set against the backdrop of World War II just upped the ante of the plot points of intrigue and riveting suspense that viewers relished then and still do today.  

Sidney Greenstreet, Dooley Wilson, Conrad Veidt, S.Z. Sakall, Leonid Kinskey, Marcel Dalio, John Qualen, Joy Paige and Helmut Dantine play indelible, memorable supporting characters.   All are fine actors who brought a wealth of experience, authenticity and charm to their nicely nuanced performances.  When appropriately leavened with light comedic moments, charm is always a welcomed ingredient in good screen stories. 

Some movie viewers of today might find the film a little old fashioned with values we rarely honor in our dystopian-based movies nowadays.  Many of these films, however, are ‘computer generated imagery’ (CGI) produced creations: car chases, shoot-outs, and action sequences are now, technically, the “stars” of today’s films.  Additionally, many of these films rely on a ton of F-bomb-laden dialogue as a way of telling the story.  Back in the day, moviemaking relied more on actor talent and subtlety of performance and less on high-octane action scenes and movie director excesses.  

Hungarian-born film director Michael Curtiz was a master of large cast movies and an expert at telling stories and films set in Europe.  His “Casablanca” brims with many brilliant directorial touches too numerous to mention here. The screenplay is an excellent example of the collaborative effort between the writers and the director that is so necessary for good films to become great films. 

My major concern now is whether future top-tier character-driven movies will become an endangered species. The industry is struggling for relevancy right now; it’s on life support thanks to cultural and societal changes along with streaming platforms vying for product exposure and income.  Then, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived placing everyone and everything in a holding pattern until 2021.

“Casablanca” reruns, however, are still keeping its audiences fully engaged just as it has been doing for the last seven decades. I’m glad to learn it’s been embraced by younger modern audiences too.   One would think an older, senior audience would be its largest demographic, but not necessarily so.  This wonderfully enduring movie still remains one of Hollywood’s all-time favorites across all age groups.

Do yourself a favor if the opportunity presents itself:  Enjoy one more time the magic of Hollywood’s Golden Age of filmmaking with its memorable moments, dramatic scenes, and nostalgia-fueled dialogue from ”Casablanca” that Bogie and other actors forever immortalized.  Who could forget Captain Renault’s memorable “Round up the usual suspects”, or Rick’s drunken lamentation, “Of all the gin joints of all the towns in all the world, she has to walk into mine.”  Just sublime stuff.

Then there’s the exquisitely poignant and iconic exchange between Rick and IIsa on that foggy tarmac late at night when a plane awaits to take her and Victor to America.  In one impassioned speech, Rick lays out the ultimate rationale for supporting the Allied cause and steps up to the moral plate to remind Ilsa of her destiny.  His achingly tender reminder that “We’ll always have Paris…” and his parting comment “Here’s looking at you kid” have been seared into the memories of moviegoers across the world for decades.  This kind of romantically-inspired writing is what sets “Casablanca” apart from other hallmark films in Hollywood’s pantheon of cinematic classics accompanied by the perfect, iconic, leitmotif song, “As Time Goes By”. 

It’s the one film that stays firmly lodged in my heart and the hearts of passionate cinephiles and ardent aficionados of romantic films like “Casablanca” forever.

-- Jack Lyons

NORTH COAST REP THEATRE BRILLIANTLY REIMAGINES HOMER’S EPIC POEM “THE ILIAD” AS A MODERN DRESS PRODUCTION ON STAGE IN SOLANA BEACH

“An Iliad” stars award winning actor Richard Baird in a powerful, mesmerizing, tour-de-force, performance

When theatre aficionados and scholars gather to think about the origins of the western art form we call ‘the theatre’, they often harken back to the ancient Greeks and their culture to see how far their creation has evolved over some twenty seven centuries.  Homer’s two major literary works or poems are “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, with “Iliad” being written first.  It may be skimpy when compared to Shakespeare’s canon but its impact none-the-less, has been enormous to the art form of storytelling over the centuries.

 In 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic caused all entertainment venues to become more creative when it came to following CDC guidelines concerning the pandemic.  Traditional theatre audiences morphed into film format viewers.  Live theatre audiences became a No-No. The world of brick and mortar venues went silent, however, most live theatres still honor the theatrical tradition of keeping a ‘ghost-light’ burning through the night (tradition and superstition runs deep in show business).  

Undaunted, North Coast Repertory Theatre (NCRT) began to mount productions on its theatre stage and then capture the story and the action on film, to be seen at a later time in a streaming movie format.  Challenging times for the actors, the technical staff and the absent audience you wonder?  You bet!  But creative artists like actors, directors and producers thrive in such situations.

NCRT latest foray into filmed stage plays which ‘opened’ on December 9th is streaming the play “An Iliad” through January 3, 2021.  The play, freely adapted, by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare from ancient Greek playwright Homer, creates a modern dress production of Homer’s “Iliad’.  Deftly directed by savvy NCRT artistic director David Ellenstein, “An Iliad” stars award winning actor Richard Baird in a powerful, mesmerizing, tour-de-force, performance that leaves the streaming home audience in a state of awe.

His jaw-dropping solo performance keeps the viewer completely engaged and enthralled as he relives the nine year-old Trojan War saga without ever leaving the stage in its 93 minute production.  Baird, an accomplished actor-director in his own right, runs the gamut of emotions from rage to irony to light humor, to the horrors and folly of war. playing all the parts in Homer’s epic saga The Trojan War.

The story revolves around three classic Greek events: the kidnapping of Queen Helen of Sparta by Troy; the great battles between Grecian and feared warrior Achilles and Hector of Troy, the greatest warrior of the Trojan army in a test  as to which side will prevail in their attempts to rescue and return Helen to her husband in Sparta. Or will Hector of Troy win the siege therefore keeping Helen in Troy with Paris, the son of King Priam of Troy.

The chemistry between theatre and film director Ellenstein and actor Richard Baird is palpable as each compliments the gifts of the other with the audience being the beneficiaries of their rich collaboration.  North Coast Rep’s bold, and enlightened, adaptation of Homer’s “Iliad” explores the nobility, savagery and the valor of the battles while insightfully revealing the human cost of war over the centuries.  I would even go so far as to offer “An Iliad” as the first anti-war movement story to confront the perfidy of those who profit from war.  And yet, we humans continue to ignore the efficacy and truth of history.  But, I digress.

Ellenstein’s “An Iliad”, despite the play’s gruesome references, is filled with modern language when it’s spoken by Baird in a sort of interlocutory-styled “asides” in their delivery.  His deep, modulated, baritone voice keeps the viewer fully enthralled.  His asides to the viewer are sly, amusing, and refreshing, in that they lend authenticity to the story and events that concerned Homer back in Eighth century BC Greece sadly, still plague world societies in the 21st century.

Ancient Greek culture was rife with God-like references, myths, and polytheism.  Statuary depicted some gods as half human and half animal even fish, or birds dominated their spiritual and societal lives where practically everyone prayed to multiple gods much like the Egyptians when it was an important request.  Times haven’t really changed all that much when it comes to asking for additional help with a problem, no matter the religion or the importance of the supplicant.  And the beat goes on …

Kudos to North Coast Repertory Theatre for selecting a relatively unknown play to produce for their audiences during the time of a worldwide pandemic, which for now, must be seen by audiences via collaboration with their sister art-forms of film and television.

In the technical department, NCRT Set Design wizard Marty Burnett celebrates his two hundredth design for the Solana Beach Equity theatre.   NCRT artisans who make this outstanding production a must see experience under the direction of David Ellenstein are: designer Marty Burnett with his spare but functional set, Aaron Rumley’s smooth cinematography and editing, along with camera assistant and editor Christopher Williams. 

Cellist Amanda Schaar provides the musical accompaniment throughout the performance.  The choice of the cello is a nice touch. Cello’s deliver just the right amount of melancholy that serves as the spot-on leitmotif that pervades this excellent production.

For tickets on how to view “An Iliad”, go online to: www. northcoastrep.org.  

Remember, a great nation deserves great art.  Support all the Arts!  

-- Jack Lyons

GEFFEN STAYHOUSE HAS ANOTHER CLEVERLY CONSTRUCTED HIT ON ITS HANDS IN "INSIDE THE BOX'

David Kwong stars in "Inside the Box" at the Geffen Stayhouse 

now through Jan. 2021. Photo by Jeff Lorch

Apart from being known as one of the best regional theaters in the country, the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, was one of the first local venues to successfully take aim at the attack on live entertainment by COVID-19. The first production, the Frank Marshall-directed "The Present" starring master prestidigitator and performer Helmer Guimaraes, allowed the show's compact staging to easily transition to the Zoom platform. While it sounded risky, it actually brought audience members into even more intimacy with the star and the unique story of art, love, memory and card tricks.

The latest production from the Geffen, "Inside the Box" is even better suited to the livestream format as its entire concept is based on boxes -- that is grids, squares and puzzles. The world-premiere production from writer and performer David Kwong is described as an exhilarating glimpse into the world of games. Kwong is one of the crossword puzzle constructors at the New York Times, the gold standard for puzzle fans around the world. With a combination of keen insight, sly wit and personal history, the affable Kwong displays his knowledge of the subject without ever sounding like a puzzle wonk...well, almost ever.

Twenty-four guests all have a front row seat in the evening's entertainment and in the Zoom proscenium, resemble a slightly whack "Hollywood Squares" episode. When you purchase your ticket for the show, you receive a package a day or two before the performance with interactive props and instructions for your participation. In between solving puzzles, Kwong regales the crowd with stories of the most celebrated puzzle makers throughout history while letting his audience create their own moments of head-scratching joy.  

Even if you aren't a puzzle fan, this 85-minute long peek into the world of words and wordplay is vastly entertaining and you actually get to share that "communal experience" that live theatre provides. Some participants eagerly raised their hands when they had solved a particular clue, while others never said a word but doggedly stayed the course, mostly due to the star's pun-kish humor and charm. "Jeopardy" producers, are you listening? He'd make a perfect host someday, and I'm sure his mother would agree.

The show has proven so successful that it has been extended beyond the initial run; the show is sold out through January 3, 2021 but additional dates are being added. The Geffen is also offering five $25 Mobile Rush tickets at each performance on a first-come, first-served basis. More information on tickets can be found on the website at www.geffenplayhouse.org.

The Geffen has just announced its upcoming three-play "virtual season" and I can hardly wait to join in the magic.

-- Lisa Lyons

SHOWTIME SCREENS THE INCENDIARY POLITICAL POWER PACKED DRAMA “THE COMEY RULE”

Jeff Daniels and Brendan Gleesen star in "The Comey Rule" on Showtime

PART ONE:  The Comey POV

On the subject of “timing” in politics, it is said that nothing is ever coincidental or random.  It’s always well thought out and planned for maximum impact right down to the “leaks”.  Showtime premiered its long awaited two-part political drama series “The Comey Rule”, on Monday and Tuesday, September 27 and 28, 2020.  

It screened two nights before the 2020 Presidential debates that the country was salivating to see on practically every TV set in America.  Coincidence?  Or was it by design?  Television programmers are clever manipulators when it comes to maximizing audience ratings, and of course, monetizing their film product revenue dollars.  Regardless, “The Comey Rule” will no doubt please some and upset others depending on your political party affiliation and for its treatment and/or bias of its potent subject matter: The 2016 Presidential Campaign.  

I prefer not to dwell on the public hullabaloo and the circus-like political firestorm surrounding the firing by President Trump of former FBI Director James Comey in May 2017.  Those are actual historic events familiar to all; I’m interested in seeing how this first rate, complicated, and very compelling movie by screenwriter and director Billy May, was able to pull-off the making of one of the most powerful, thorniest, and anticipated movies about the FBI verses the President of the United States of America, in a long, long time. 

There are echoes of the writing style and familiar character types that screenwriter/producer Aaron Sorkin created with the brilliant casts of individual and ensemble performances in his “West Wing” set–stories from 1999 to 2006.  That’s pretty heady company for comparison.  “The West Wing” garnered tons of awards in its seven seasons on TV.

Jeff Daniels as James Comey

In the film drama “The Comey Rule,” writer-director May bases his script on many sources; first and foremost, however, is Jim Comey’s 2018 tell-all book “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership”.  It is a principal source that has been fleshed out with authenticated facts, notes, memos, interviews with high level Washington insiders and political players on both sides of the aisle. It provided rich anecdotal information for journalists who then authored books on the first three years of the Trump presidency. The research and time spent on the script has been exhaustive in its veracity and plausibility. Once again, truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

There have been volumes written that include conversations from government eyewitnesses familiar with the Comey/Trump affair that led to Comey’s ultimate firing.  In short, there is a wealth of research to support May’s screenplay; but ultimately it will be the viewers who will determine the success of the film by an outstanding huge cast.

There are over seventy roles for actors in this compelling production, with fifteen of them playing themselves as journalists, White House staff, and elected or appointed government officials, culled from archival television footage of the 2016 Presidential Campaign. The sensational story is well documented with an ending already known to the audience who have been waiting four years for someone to offer clarity on what really has been going on with a group of people who are loyal to one man, and are sworn to Omerta-like secrecy to protect him.  

James Comey, the ex FBI director, is a truth-teller to power.  He’s a dedicated, decisive, intelligent, highly principled FBI officer whose raison d’etre in life is the “Bureau” as it’s known in Washington D.C.   He’s a cool, composed, customer when under stress, who “walks on water” in the eyes of his close knit staff of seven highly skilled analysts. 

Holly Hunter as Sally Yates

It’s impossible to list the many deserving actors who bring this potent motion picture to life.  However, there are always stand-outs:  Jeff Daniels, fresh from his Tony Nominated Lead Actor performance on Broadway in “To Kill a Mockingbird”, plays James Comey. His portrayal is a study in how actors stay in the moment when story-wise, chaos is exploding all around them. It’s a finely judged performance that floats all the boats in Billy May’s highly-charged, politically explosive showdown with President Trump who is sensationally played by Irish actor Brendan Gleesen. More about him later.

The main sticking point between Trump and Comey is the FBI director’s refusal to politicize the FBI for Trump’s “personal war” on his perceived enemies. The president wants Comey to agree to a loyalty oath as a way of leveraging his cooperation when National Security Advisor Mike Flynn becomes compromised by Russian GRU agents and diplomats. A request for leniency for Flynn comes personally from Trump, asking Comey to let this pass as Flynn is “really a good guy”.  The FBI director eloquently refuses to let Flynn off the hook for his political indiscretions with Russia as a violation of FBI policy and rules. His decision, however, motivates President Trump to seek revenge.  

 PART TWO: The Trump POV

The movie is about our newly practiced American politics, warts and all, under Trump. It’s no more Mr. Nice Guys,  just raw, brutal, win-at-all-costs hardball.  The actors sound like characters from “The Sopranos” in their portrayals at times.  The only prop missing in the “highlight” dinner scene between Trump and Comey as solo diners was a baseball bat, a favorite “convincing tool” of Al Capone back in his day when his problems didn’t go away quickly enough. (Just joking; as the President often says these days). But mobsters over the years have had unique and odd ways of eliminating their competition.

The performance of actor Brendan Gleesen as President Trump, however, is no joke.  Unlike Alec Baldwin's Saturday Night Live (SNL) comedy sketch impression of Trump, Gleesen’s frighteningly menacing and thug-like portrayal is an eye opener. As the antagonist in the movie, Gleesen preens, glowers, and speaks in low breathy exchanges intended to intimidate.  It’s a highly nuanced, eerily performed characterization that will no doubt be discussed long after Mr. Gleesen moves on with his career. Great stuff from both Daniels and Gleesen.

Part One was getting to know Comey, and his supportive wife Patrice, sensitively played by Jennifer Ehle, thanks to an old theatrical device of a character/interlocutor, in this case the duplicitous Rod Rosenstein. Deliciously played by Scoot McNairy, it's a performance that would please Shakespeare’s Iago.

Comey’s brilliant staffer/analysts team, led by Michael Kelly as Andrew McCabe, Comey’s number One; also Amy Seimetz as Trisha Anderson, Steven Pasquale as Peter Strzok, Oona Chaplin as Lisa Page (who are having an affair at work), Jonathan Banks as James Clapper, Brian d’Arcy James as Mark Giuliano,, and Sean Gallagher as Jim Rybicki, deliver solid support.  Holly Hunter as US Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, Michael Hyatt as US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and Kingsley Ben-Adir as Barack Obama, have smaller but important key roles. 

I believe it’s safe to say that most American viewers are familiar with the term “drain the swamp”.  Four years ago the incoming players promised to drain the swamp and ‘Make America Great Again’.  Some in the country are still waiting for that to happen.   

Today, we have a politically divided country that appears to be doing very little to bring the nation together. Instead, we’re mired in partisan chaos, protests, looting, police violating their sworn oaths to protect the public and property from violence, random shootings etc.  

Film director Billy May, and his inspired cast offer his view of the first three years under the presidency of Donald Trump. Part Two is a peek into the machinations of how our two-party Democracy system works under Trump and his Republican party enablers. The more the country knows, the more we become concerned as to just how much there is to know and how to handle that information when the American people begin to process the truth.

Remember, a great nation deserves great art.  Support the Arts!

-- Jack Lyons

INTRIGUING PLAY ABOUT PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND ABOLITIONIST FREDERICK DOUGLASS STREAMS AT NORTH COAST REP THEATRE IN MOVIE FORMAT

Hawthorne James as abolitionist Frederick Douglass
and Ray Chambers as President Abraham Lincoln
face off in North Coast Repertory's streaming presentation
"Necessary Sacrifices". All photos by Aaron Rumley.

COVID-19 may still be with us but that hasn’t slowed down the creative theatrical efforts of North Coast Repertory Theatre (NCRT). The Solana Beach equity theatre company under the creative leadership of artistic director David Ellenstein, officially celebrated the opening of its 39th season last month.

Theatre is addictive. And loyal NCRT audiences have been hungering for the oldest of the fine art forms – live theatre – to re-open. San Diego and North County live theatres have been chomping at the bit since Governor Newson closed down all brick and mortar entertainment venues in California six months ago.  He lifted the ban on Wednesday, September 23rd for movie theatres, but not yet for live theatre performances.

Undaunted, by the ban and the pandemic NCRT decided to think outside the traditional ‘theatrical box’, as a way of keeping in touch with its subscriber base. Translation: NCRT current production is a play written in 2012 by award-winning prolific regional theatre playwright Richard Helleson, titled “Necessary Sacrifices”, directed by Peter Ellenstein.

The first thing we need to clarify at the outset is this quasi-historical, drama being streamed to viewers and NCRT audiences in “movie style” format is that it is not the famous 1858 Presidential debates between Republican Abe Lincoln and Democrat Stephen Douglas both of Illinois vying for the Presidential nomination of 1860.

“Necessary Sacrifices” deals with the relationship between US President Abraham Lincoln and the acclaimed abolitionist Frederick Douglass.  Douglass was an escaped slave who became a prominent activist, author, public speaker and a leader in the abolitionist movement during the Civil War.

America’s Civil War is probably the most written about conflict in our nation’s history, yet it’s still a story without an ending one hundred and fifty-five years after the war ended.  Yes. We reunited our country into a single nation again, however, if one looks back some fifty-five years, as well as what one is seeing taking place in America of 2020, one could make a case that the conflict is still festering; not as an overt shooting war, but more like legal political guerilla warfare. But I digress.

Playwright Helleson, a Californian by birth, is considered to be an expert on “Southern-based issues” having written several plays when it comes to stories about the Civil War, or what older entrenched Southerners used to refer to as “the war of the late unpleasantness”.

What North Coast Repertory Theatre has mounted is Helleson’s intelligent, insightful, engaging play where two literary giants:  Lincoln and Douglass, meet in August of 1863 in the White House to discuss the immediate future of the Republic and beyond, in respectful and honest dialogue. Lincoln the great Emancipator and Douglass the passionate abolitionist, each with agendas seeking common ground of agreement that only hard sacrifices can achieve.

Ray Chambers is Abraham Lincoln in
Necessary Sacrifices

Douglass tells Lincoln that all the black man, free or slave, is asking from the white man is respect and dignity; one human being to another.  Lincoln is empathetic but knows the climate of the country and the Congress at the moment is in their ‘punish the South’ mood. He tells Douglass, in all honesty his hands are tied.  “I’m just an old mule at the front of the line of old mules.” He resignedly replies to Douglass (or as Bill Clinton might have said, “I feel your pain”).  However, the dilemma of who can remedy the situation, is why Douglass came to the White House to see him.  Lincoln gently reminds Douglass, “I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution.  In the long run it’s really a States Rights issue”.

The Congress is always in the driver’s seat.  Political plays and movies used to be a way for the average citizen to learn the basics of how our government worked. Politicians by nature serve more than one master.  But ultimately it’s the people who have the power to change the status quo via the elective process.

Hawthorne James as Frederick
Douglass in Necessary Sacrifices

Hawthorne James as Frederick Douglass, is a magnetic actor. When the camera is on him, so are all eyes.  It’s a nicely nuanced performance.  As an audience, we’re pulling for Douglass to succeed in his mission of having Lincoln intercede for equal pay and the recognition of bravery in action and death benefits for the families of the segregated colored Union army units.

Ray Chambers as Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, has the tougher image battle for the audience.  Not many can remember what Frederick Douglass looked like in real life.  But every school boy and girl over the age of five know who Abraham Lincoln is, how he dressed, and what he wrote and said.

To his credit and that of director Peter Ellenstein, Mr. Chambers creates a President Lincoln persona that both compliments his performance and resonates with the audience (like Daniel Day Lewis did with his portrayal of Lincoln in the eponymous movie and the persona he created).   Both Mr. James and Mr. Chambers acquit themselves with honesty and conviction in their portrayals of real historical figures. “Necessary Sacrifices” is a talky two-hander play. However, I feel the time spent with them is well worth it.

In the technical department led by Director Ellenstein, Aaron Rumley’s cinematography and editing skills hit the mark. Set and Scenic renderings is courtesy of design wizard Marty Burnett who recreates the 1863 Oval Office; providing plenty space for the actors to work their magic.

Costume designs by Elisa Benzoni are spot-on, with camera operators Chris Williams and Aaron Rumley, and music provided by Michael Silversher, along with Hair and Wig design by Peter Herman, make it a compelling North Coast Repertory Theatre production to see.

For tickets to see “Necessary Sacrifices” contact the NCRT Box Office at 858-481-1055.

Remember, a great nation deserves great art. Support all the arts.

--Jack Lyons

HBO SPECIAL “COASTAL ELITES” NAVIGATES THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC WITH HUMOR

The Cast of "Coastal Elites" on HBO:
Clockwise from left: Dan Levy, Bette Midler,
Sarah Paulson, Kaitlyn Dever and Issa Rae 

This insidious, if not invidious, COVID-19 pandemic has engulfed the world in fear and chaos. It also has taken with it over 950,000 unsuspecting lives as of September 17, 2020, most of whom didn’t understand or believe what was happening to them.

Society, in times of plagues or pandemics, has learned to embrace some unorthodox methods of coping when dangerous events in life’s journeys are present.  People resort to wrapping themselves in the safety net of comedy or satire, especially during this on-going quarantine mandate period of 2020. Without humor, society would be in worse shape than it already is.

HBO’s just released film “Coastal Elites”, navigates the COVID-19 experience in a comedic and satirical way (for a deadly subject matter)  with five vignette monologues, by five actors; each breathing life into playwright Paul Rudnick’s spot-on slices of pandemic life during this unprecedented experience, and all deftly directed by Jay Roach.

Leading off the first of five segments is one of America’s finest comedienne/Broadway baby/singer and actor is the irrepressible Bette Midler.  “The Divine Miss M”, as she was known back in her cabaret days in the 70s, has, over the years, perfected the persona of America’s Jewish mother comedy image, with a Yiddish-fueled saucy tongue that is blessed with impeccable comedy timing and talent. She hasn’t lost her star quality edge as an actor and comedienne over the years either. Her Miriam role is biting, funny and flirts with over-the-top moments. 

The legendary Bette Midler

As obsessed NYC school teacher Miriam Nessler, Midler’s take and the effect on her students and Trump’s role in the pandemic is classic Midler.  It’s a 20 minute comedic rant that leaves the viewer exhauster by her stamina and focus.  It’s ageless Midler returning to her early form.

Next batter up is beautiful, slender, stunning Issa Rae as Callie Josephson, the uber-rich socialite daughter and classmate of vapid Ivanka Trump.  Rae, or Rudnick, or both, have a field day recalling the shallowness and obsession with possessions and money, in a segment titled “The Blonde Cloud”.  Ivanka Trump is a true chip off the old money tree block revered by the Trump family, in Rae’s scathing comedy turn.

Apparently actors and psychiatrists are kindred souls; that’s why there are so many of them and they’re proud of it. Segment Three features actor Dan Levy as gay actor Mark Hesterman, revealing to his psychiatrist during their regular session his most recent audition for a role that didn’t quite turn out the way he imagined it should.

Emmy winning actor Dan Levy

He explains that VP Mike Pence is partly responsible for the gay community’s negative image and the paucity of openly gay acting roles (could this be a case of the pot calling the kettle black?). Comedians, however, view life’s vicissitudes from a different mind-set.  Thank God that they do or we would all be so anxious and up-tight we wouldn’t be able function at all.  We have seen this rodeo before.  Dan Levy, however, shines his special comedy spin on Gays vs. Trump/Pence in a political light perhaps a little too forcefully.

In Segment Four, Sarah Paulson is Clarissa Montgomery, a meditation guru who delivers her performance as a sweet but somewhat unsure guru of her own advice.  Later, as we listen to her and her message of easing the anxiety and depression of the pandemic for her clients, she reveals her failed attempt to get her Republican family to stop drinking the “kool-ade” that they have been steadily gulping down since 2016 via the cup of “cult mentality” – to the now newly updated – “herd mentality” label, but to no avail.  Her dilemma, no doubt, resonates with many in similar circumstances.

The final and fifth vignette of “Coastal Elites” is the best of the five, at least for me.  It sums up the 2019-2020 pandemic POV more soberly than comedic when viewed through the eyes of Sharynn Tarrows, a young, dedicated, volunteering Wyoming Nurse – who is terrifically, poignantly, and understatedly – played by Kaitlyn Dever.

Nurse Sharynn, who came to NYC to help her colleagues fight the pandemic is the one that hits home the hardest and is the most poignant of playwright Rudnick’s screenplay characters in “Coastal Elites”. One can really feel the ordeal that NYC health professionals went through and are still going through when viewing Dever's outstanding performance.

One must remember that “Coastal Elites” bills itself as a comedy-satire movie, even though were looking at a series of stand-alone, static, comedy monologues in the age of Trump. I doubt the Trump family or its red MAGA-hatted supporters will read or care what is said by playwright Rudnick, or director Roach, and the actors who perform as the characters. But I do think people with a sense of humor will smile, laugh and enjoy the antics of those of the political circus we all seemed to be trapped in these days.

 Remember, a great nation deserves great art.  Support all the arts!

--Jack Lyons

WORLD OF BALLET BRILLIANTLY BLENDS WITH THE ARTISTRY OF FILM IN "ROMEO AND JULIET" A FILM BY ENGLAND'S ROYAL BALLET

The Royal Ballet Company-based choreographer Kenneth MacMillan, is one of a few British choreographers that has introduced the blending of classical ballet in the modern dance era with filmmaking techniques familiar to movie audiences; with great success. 

The other choreographer is the bold and daring Mathew Bourne, of “Swan Lake” fame and his company of all male dancers portraying ‘the swans’ in traditional, classically mounted productions that toured across America over the last several years.

Boasting successful productions on their resumes, British filmmakers Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, brought their groundbreaking production “Romeo and Juliet” – as a ballet/movie without dialogue – to worldwide film audiences in 2019.  Their movie is engagingly accompanied by a glorious score written by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev.  MacMillan’s wonderfully inventive choreography is performed by an inspired cast of more than thirty dancer-characters, is the key element that drives the soaring music and appealing dance sequences taking the audience back to colorful Verona Italy, of 1595 A.D.

Ballet is not normally my beat.  I’m a theatre and film critic. But I know a genuine, special, creative work of artistry when I see it.  So, hold on before you decide to switch channels from the opening scene of the PBS “Great Performances” presentation of “Romeo and Juliet (R & J) when and if this terrific production becomes available again on PBS. 

As long as this pandemic has most of us quarantined in our homes we are free to choose and explore other entertainment options. Perhaps, it’s time to cultivate our classical side of ‘fine art’ options.  For a change, instead of watching an NFL or an NBA game, or worse, some old game show reruns; remember everyone has a story to tell. And no one wrote stories as profoundly affecting than the Bard of Avon.

When William Shakespeare, the greatest writer/dramatist in the history of the English language, put pen to paper to write, the results were often individually as well as societally, life altering as was his tragic love story and fate of two young teenagers: Romeo Montague who was 16 and Juliet Capulet who was just 14.  That’s very, very, young by today’s legal and social standards.  However, in 15th century Verona Italy, the average life expectancy was a little over 40 years of age.  Their tragic, star-crossed, story that captured the hearts of millions over the centuries has been called “the greatest love story ever written”.

Whether one is into ballet or not, this new blending of two celebrated art form disciplines – dance and film – has opened the way to viewing and appreciating not only the gracefulness and precision of ballet but the magic and unlimited range and power of the movable movie camera with its close-up advantage that is denied to fixed performing space venues. “The Red Shoes” movie of 1948 exposed the world of ballet to a wider audience and everyone has benefitted from its success.  

Classical ballet as performed by England’s Royal Ballet Company in this new film version by filmmakers Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, feature two new sublime, glittering, and accomplished principal dancers.  Lissome, waif-like, lovely, 26 year-old Francesca Haywood as Juliet Capulet, and dashing, handsome, athletic, first soloist 23 year-old William Bracewell as Romeo, are a dynamite pair of gifted dancers who also display some latent acting chops signaling a future in movies or TV, as well as ballet; might just be in their futures. 

The solid corps de ballet cast of performers numbering over thirty, gives one the same touching and poignant experience that the stage musical and subsequent “concert readings” and TV anniversary presentations the musical  “Les Miserables” gave to its audiences over the last 30 years.  Despite the   large cast of ”R & J” there are always standouts.  Marcelino Sambe as Mercutio and Matthew Ball as Tybalt, set the Romeo and Juliet story in motion as the feuding Montague and Capulet families who constantly quarreled publicly, must now deal with the deaths of Mercutio by Tybalt and Tybalt by Romeo, just hours apart.

Thanks to the stunning architecture of Budapest, Hungary, where “R & J” was filmed Nunn and Trevitt have come up with a winning hybrid combination of ballet and motion picture format.  Tt’s a richly textured movie with tons of details, authentic-looking gorgeous costumes and many poignant moments that stick with one, despite the fact that there is not one word of spoken dialogue throughout its 90 minute running time.  It’s a breakthrough method of how one can now enjoy the ballet without having to squint at the stage through one’s aging eyes from the balcony.  Perhaps, all ballets someday will be presented in this manner. Until then, make sure you see this production the next time it screens.

-- Jack Lyons

THE 1997 DEMI MOORE–VIGGO MORTENSEN MOVIE “G.I. JANE” STILL RELEVANT IN 2020

Director Ridley Scott and "GI Jane" star Demi Moore on set

It’s been a little over 100 years since American women received the right to vote.  Throughout history women have always been relegated to second-class citizen status: labelled the weaker of the sexes in almost every aspect of their lives. 

Almost all of women’s legal and societal rights have been derived from men be it through marriage or through the largess and compassion of their immediate families.  Frankly, it’s a wonder that they even talk to us at all, considering the way we’ve treated them over the centuries.

When the 1997 movie “G.I. Jane” was released, women in Israel were already hardened combat veterans.  In the US. Military, however, women trying to integrate the male dominated ranks of combat soldiers were met with severe resistance from the heads of the armed forces.  “Women will become a distraction and a liability in combat. Combat requires physical strength as well as stamina to handle the rigors of war and combat”.  

Those remarks were the most frequently heard excuses.  Many more like it back in those days, poisoned the well of public opinion of having women being integrated into US combat units alongside men.  Translation: if ‘there is no crying in baseball’, then there is no way women can be in combat roles,  thus safely keeping it an all boy’s run exclusive club.

Practically speaking, very few people on either side of the issue in the movie wanted it to succeed. It was too hot a potato for the politicians and the military to deal with.   They just forgot to tell the selected candidates of trainees who kept grinding away.  The lessons learned during their training period, however, would no doubt, save lives in the future.

In the “G.I. Jane” movie the fictional story takes place at US Navy Seal training facility over a 3 month period where candidates for this super-elite unit must pass the most rigorous and intense combat training regimens in the US military.  The “experiment” of integrating US Navy men and women in combat is the idea of Texas U.S. Senator Lillian De Haven, solidly and puckishly played by Academy Award winning actor Anne Bancroft in a neat little gem of a performance. 

The film is also blessed with sensationally powerful performances from Demi Moore and Viggo Mortensen, whose on-screen chemistry in their scenes has the ring of authenticity and the proportions of a “David vs. Goliath” confrontation with Moore being a female David who represents personal integrity in the face of Mortensen’s Navy system of by the numbers Rules and Regs. For him it’s a case  conform or drop out. Their struggle is mesmerizing in its execution.  No spoiler alerts from me but It’s a movie whose training sequence scenes are almost too real to watch, let alone film.  The cinematography of Hugh Johnson is first-rate in validating my observations and the swift-paced editing by Pietro Scalia keeps the audience glued to the screen.

Viggo Mortensen and Demi Moore in "G.I. Jane"

For the record, however, no female has ever been selected to become a US Navy Seal.  Although we’ve seen this sort of film before i.e, “Private Benjamin”, a light Goldie Hawn comedy set against the backdrop of a female vs. male army life.”  “An Officer and a Gentleman” and “A Few Good Men”, are serious movies that spring to mind. What separates “G.I. Jane” from such plot lines is its laser-like focus on commitment and dedication to get any job or assignment done, and do it as a team. Navy Seals never leave anyone behind on any mission.  That is a core value training order never to be violated.

The film based on a fictional story by Danielle Alexandra, who co-wrote the screenplay with David Twohy, is deftly directed by the acclaimed uber-action movie director Ridley Scott.  He’s the director who scared the wits out of half the world with his space thriller movie “Alien” some 40 years ago that made a star of Sigourney Weaver. He also directed “Gladiator”, with Russell Crowe, and the iconic girl-girl road trip movie “Thelma and Louise”.

It’s the superb direction of Scott that makes the screenplay elements of grit and guts, plus the rough and tumble excesses of high-octane action sequences to the nth degree that make “G.I. Jane”, so compelling to watch.    

The film stars Demi Moore as US Navy Lieutenant Jordan O’Neil selected to be the first female chosen for Navy Seal training.  Viggo Mortensen plays Master Chief John James Urgayle, in charge of the Navy Seal training facility, as a modern day Captain Bligh with a touch of Mr. Hyde of Jekyll and Hyde fame thrown in for good measure.  One can think what they want about past roles Ms. Moore chose to play – which covers a wide range – but one cannot deny her talent and dedication as an actor through the years.  For me, Ms.  Moore is akin to one sampling scotch whiskey for the first time. After a few drinks it becomes an acquired taste and a bond is forever formed.

I remember the daring and the boldness of Katherine Hepburn and Bette Davis in their younger days. They weren’t exactly everybody’s favorite cup tea back then but matured into acting icons as they got the opportunity to extend their reach in the roles they played.  I’ve come to appreciate that stoic look on Ms. Moore’s lovely face in repose, to her steely in-charge stare when cracking orders as she swings into action.  In the world of the stage and television, actor Mary Louise Parker possesses those same character traits and skill sets that allow for her to grow and succeed as well.  Both actors are fierce, unafraid, and creatively ambitious as performers and they’re both a joy to watch.     

Viggo Mortensen, as Master Chief, is in charge of all he surveys in the training facility.  Military D.I.’s (short for drill and training instructors) are one step removed from God in military hierarchy thinking.  And woe betide the individual that forgets it.  The excellent cast of supporting characters in “G.I. Jane” make the premise of the story not only moving but a believable exercise of what takes place in the lives of our military men and women.

Demi Moore and the cast of "G.I. Jane"

Military stories are usually favored by men.  But in “G.I. Jane” the ladies have a worthy hero character for whom to root.   “G.I. Jane” the movie has been selected by AMC’s TV channel to stream as their movie of the month for September.  As long as we’re all quarantined at home, it’s the perfect time watch this semi-inspirational movie again. Especially, since the women’s rights movement recently celebrated 100 years of getting the vote on the road to full equality for all women.  

I reviewed it on September 4th. Check your local TV listings for date and time of screening.  It’s definitely worth a second look.

HISTORIC JOHN GLENN NASA SPACE LAUNCH MOVIE “HIDDEN FIGURES” STILL WORTH A LOOK

Taraji P. Henson and Kevin Costner lead an all star cast in the Oscar-nominated film "Hidden Figures"

The 2017 sleeper hit movie “Hidden Figures” began its worldwide $ 326 million dollar box-office bonanza with the relatively small budget of $ 50 million dollars. Those kind of figures (no pun intended) put a wide smile on the faces of 20th Century Fox executives when all was said and done.

The story and cast responsible for its wide appeal put smiles as well on the faces of its stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Kirsten Dunst, and Glen Powell as John Glenn.  It proved once again that creative quality films, intelligently written by talented writers, sensitively played, in this case, by an inspired cast all under the insightful, smart direction of Theodore Melfi, can indeed entertain audiences worldwide without a single F-bomb being uttered.

Taraji P. Henson and Janelle Monae

Set in 1961, “Hidden Figures” centers around the true story of three brilliant African-American female mathematicians who worked at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, during America’s era of the odious Jim Crow Law – from 1887 to 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 finally nullified the repellent second-class distinction law, by recognizing that all citizens of America are to be accorded full and equal protection under the law authorized by the US Constitution.

There have been many bodies lost on the barricades over the centuries.  However, it took the courage of African-American woman Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white passenger, that set in motion the ‘freedom’ movement which requested that all racial discrimination and segregation laws be declared unconstitutional.

The “Hidden Figures” screenplay written by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi is based on the eponymous non-fiction book by Marge Lee Shetterly which scrupulously followed the key NASA events in her well documented book. Some critics of the movie, however, felt that technically speaking screenwriter Schroeder and director/co-screenwriter Melfi injected a character or two which altered somewhat the dramatic intention of the book Ms. Shetterly authored. However, she, didn’t find that to be an issue in the movie.

Melfi and Schroeder countered that the character of Al Harrison, the chief project engineer as played by Kevin Costner, was a composite character of several NASA managers.  Harrison, who is often grumpy, consumed and focused to the project at hand, is charged with the important and critical assignment of getting astronaut John Glenn to orbit the earth several times and then bring him safely back to earth to tell us what he saw. Yes, that’s an ulcer-producing assignment and it’s all true.

Harrison was a constant gum-chewer, no doubt to calm his nerves, and was a NASA manager who didn’t suffer fools easily. His frustrations over having to play catch-up with Russia’s space program success of sending a man into space, albeit a sub-orbital effort, is what drove the American space program.

Director Melfi ignored his critics knowing a government project like space travel required the coordinated efforts of thousands of highly skilled employees, so compressing the timelines, and the number actors required to produce what the scientists and engineers did for rapt audiences and the government, was definitely worth the effort.  Above all, he had to produce a very compelling movie that involved three African-American families and how they each fit into this terrifically entertaining movie story puzzle.   

In a side bar regarding filmmaking for or about a government entity, I wrote, produced, and directed industrial and marketing films for five years often arm-wrestling with the client as what to keep or remove; to listening to ‘that’s not exactly how we do this or that’.  Once my script was approved to go, I’m the person accountable for the end product not the client.  So, I can empathize, in a small way with Mr. Melfi’s plight.  And the beat goes on…. but I digress.

The technical aspects of space travel is a bit old hat now, but some 60 years ago it was mind-boggling stuff.  Compelling stories with issues that confronted everyday life, however, are still the best sources for making movies.  It’s still the best way to watch talented actors do their thing for audiences, except here they’re doing it in front of the camera.

“Hidden Figures” is blessed with a terrific cast led by Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson, a young widow with three young daughters to raise.  She is mathematical whiz in quantum geometry and possesses a mastery of numbers bordering on genius and works in the NASA East computer division, with her two friends Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) an aspiring engineering candidate, and Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan, who runs the East Building Computing department as its temporary Supervisor, but is waiting for her promotion to full Supervisor.  All are women of color in this NASA facility were located in the East Wing of the complexes of offices.

Academy Award winning actor Octavia Spencer

Solid support comes from Kirsten Dunst as Vivian, the white supervisor of the all colored computing department employees. Jim Parsons as Paul Stafford, lead engineer and assistant to Costner’s Al Harrison, has the unfortunate luck to play the film’s antagonist toward Ms. Henson’s quiet, gracious and gentle, Katherine. Both actors deliver nicely nuanced performances. Mahershala Ali, as dignified Colonel Jim Johnson of the National Guard, becomes the love interest to Katherine’s shy demeanor.  Also, Glen Powell portrays a winning John Glenn.

The beauty of “Hidden Figures” lies in the power of its poignant and inspirational script performed by a fabulous ensemble cast. There are three Academy Award winners up on the screen of your computers to appreciate:  Costner, Spencer, and Ali.  We’re all stuck at home riding out this pandemic, so streaming services and platforms are your options at the moment.  Check your TV listings to see when “Hidden Figures” will be streaming or screening in your area again.  I viewed it on the FX channel last week. If you’ve seen it before, see it again.  It’s definitely worth a second look.

Remember, a great nation deserves great art.  Support all the arts.

-- Jack Lyons

DOWNTON ABBEY THE MOVIE IS CHALLENGED BY THE PHENOMENAL SUCCESS OF ITS PBS TV SERIES

Jim Carter as the imperturbable Mr. Carson in the feature film "Downton Abbey"

In the world of show business – plays, films, TV, cabaret, ballet, and the performing arts in general – the most formidable challenge to master is the one of coming up with a winning “sequel” when a smash hit presents the opportunity.

Margaret Mitchell and Harper Lee were ‘one novel wonders’.  Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind” (ten years to write) and Lee’s “To Kill a Mocking Bird” (her only novel) is the proof that it’s extremely difficult to top a worldwide, runaway, smash-hit novel with a sequel.  Both authors eventually settled for a no sequel career to their one-time enormous success that each enjoyed as novelists.

Money in today’s entertainment commercial market place is a powerful and seductive business aphrodisiac. The best vehicles for making millions of dollars today belong to the mediums of film and series TV.  Loyal book readers become eager movie patrons and fans for the ubiquitous sequel and alas, therein lies the producer’s dilemma.

Will it be the pot of gold waiting at the end of the rainbow become a blockbuster or a critical and box office disaster with disappointed fans? And let’s not forget the investors who will be expecting a big monetary reward in their bank accounts.  Of course that was back in the halcyon days before the current COVID-19 pandemic arrived that changed the rules regarding all forms of the entertainment industry.

Fan favorites Mr. Bates and wife
Anna in "Downton Abbey"

Which brings us to “Downtown Abbey” the movie whose fans have been waiting to see it for two years.  It’s the love-child of the eponymous BBC-TV series, “smashingly” written as they say in the U.K., from the brilliant pen of actor/producer/director/writer Lord Julian Fellowes.  Fellowes is Life Peer, the Earl of West Stafford, Dorsett, England.  Fame is indeed illusive but some are destined to be selected for it. Writer Julian Fellowes became not only one of the anointed ones, but also a victim of his own incredible success.

Who could have foreseen worldwide audiences take to their hearts the story of an English aristocratic family and the lives of their servants at the beginning of the 20th century? Most of Europe for years had been distancing themselves from monarchies not embracing them, to say nothing of Americans now being asked to accept a TV series on the lifestyle they fought a war two hundred and twenty years ago to prevent it from ever happening to them again.

A crew member, Lord Julian Fellowes and Michelle Dockery

Just how successful was the popular TV series phenomena known as “Downton Abbey”?  Mind boggling and totally entertaining and one of the most endearing and engagingly written Masterpiece Theatre/ BBC co-productions in the history of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).  It ran for six seasons with audiences clamoring for Julian Fellowes to write another season. He authored all 70 episodes of the series.  He breathed a sigh of relief after season six ended.  Frankly, he needed a rest from the pressure of writing creative weekly scripts of such high quality for six straight years.

But success only breeds more success.  So, it was “once more dear friends into the breach” to quote “Henry V”.  Inevitably, “Downton Abbey” simply had to become a major motion picture written by Lord Julian Fellowes that the world was expecting.  But what would be the storyline? The series ended two years ago with all the various story lines of the characters neatly wrapped up by Fellowes. What possibly could a new feature film storyline contain?  What indeed? After six seasons of episodes, viewers and fans knew more about the characters of Downton Abbey than they did about their own relatives.

A two year hiatus from the season finale of the highly successful TV series provided the now movie company creators time to dream up a storyline and begin to prepare the actors, the technicians, and the various technical components to do their “due diligence things” before filming actually would begin.

The Crawleys host Queen Mary
and King George V at Downton Abbey.

The creative team of the old TV series noodled over a variety of suitable premises for the feature movie. The executives at the BBC and Masterpiece Theatre went “underground” so to speak, in not revealing any plot points of the movie everyone was eager to see. It’s a clever marketing ploy to keep the “loyalists” panting for news of what the movie will be about and when it will be ready for viewing, etc. It’s always good business to keep the project in the forefront of movie fans and the general public until D-Day arrives.

The movie’s exciting premise, however, was finally leaked.  The King and Queen of England, George V and Queen Mary, will make a Royal Visit to Downton Abbey in Yorkshire. The visit will be part of a scheduled series of visits by their majesties to some of their favored aristocratic loyal subjects. Downton being high on their Majesties to visit list.

Michelle Dockery and Matthew Goode in "Downton Abbey"

A storyline event like a Royal visit allows director Michael Engler to pull out all production stops.  It’s pretty much a given that no one does more colorful pageantry, pomp and ceremony than the Brits. It in their DNA; which leaves one scratching one’s head to learn that Mr. Engler is an American movie director.

Lord & Lady Crawley welcome back daughter
Edith (Laura Carmichael) and family to "Downton Abbey"
for the Royal Visit.

The Crawley family scored another ‘honor notch’ on their family’s coat-of-arms with this impending visit. The news brings Mr. Carson, the Butler and protector of all things Royal at Downton, out of retirement to once again take command of Downton Abbey’s downstairs household staff, including most of the principal characters who participated the original TV show.

The story in this dramedy ‘movie sequel’ includes political intrigue, as well scandalous story points into the machinations of the Crawley family: Lord Grantham, Countess Cora, Lady Mary, Lady Edith, Tom Branson, Lady Isobel Merton, and the inimitable Dowager Countess Violet, the zinger Queen of Downton (Maggie Smith),  plus a would-be assassination plot against the King and Queen, tossed in for good measure; it should make loyal fans of the Crawley family delighted with their lovable and redoubtable servants Mrs, Hughes, Mrs. Patmore, Daisy, the scullery maid, Anna, Mr. Bates, Mr. Mosely, and yes, even Peck’s bad boy, Thomas, who behaves himself.

The Downstairs Staff of "Downton Abbey"

Let’s face it “Downton Abbey” is the most popular and successful worldwide aristocratic-based “soap opera” in the history of television. And what was not to like about it? It’s every little English girl and boy’s fantasy to grow up to marry either a handsome prince or a beautiful princess. It was the appealing stories in every episode that captured the hearts and emotions of its viewers regardless of country of origin. TV’s “Downton Abbey” has been seen by more than 150 million viewers worldwide in some fifteen countries. It’s the reigning champion in Masterpiece Theatre’s Pantheon of award winning television productions.

For me, Downton Abbey the sequel falls into the category of a nice film with a great pedigree but couldn’t quite reach the heights that everyone expected for the sequel.  It received mixed critical reviews, but that doesn’t mean fans won’t like it.  As I said in the opening paragraph, coming up with a winning sequel is a formidable challenge indeed, and difficult to write a sequel that will please everyone. Kudos to all who made “Downton Abbey” so memorable over six seasons and so compelling and enjoyable to watch.  And it’s always a pleasure to see old friends like the Crawleys drop by to visit us every now and then.

Remember, a great nation deserves great Art.  Support all the Arts.

-- Jack Lyons