Screening Times: Apr 26th, 9:00pm (19th St. AMC), Apr 28th, 7:00pm (AMC Village VII), May 1st, 10:30pm (AMC Village VII)
A mid nineties, hip-hop textured bildungsroman,
The Wackness, which was gobbled up by Sony Pictures Classics upon bowing at Sudnance, is the work of
Jonathan Levine, whose first feature,
All The Boys Love Mandy Lane is still tragically awaiting a theatrical release. With a standout cast that includes
Ben Kingsley, Mary-Kate Olsen (who apparently makes out with the legendary British thesp)
, Method Man, Josh Peck and the inimitable, ex-
25 New Face In Independent Film,
Olivia Thirlby, it sure seems like the picture has broad appeal, even for those who've never heard of
A Tribe Called Quest.
Filmmaker: This picture is much different in tone and style to your first film - was this a conscious departure or did it grow organically from working with vastly different subject matter?
Levine:
The Wackness is a very personal film whereas
Mandy Lane is more of an experiment in combining tones/genres/etc. That said, I do feel there share commonalities from both a thematic and stylistic perspective. While not a conscious departure, this script did stem from a desire to express my own personality filmically. Mostly, though, I just wanted people to stop sending me shitty horror remakes to direct.
Filmmaker: Your film is loaded, in a rather engaging, unobtrusive way, with vintage early/mid 90's hip-hop and features Method Man as one of the supporting players - how did that era of hip-hop, especially in New York City, inform the film you were making?
Levine: For me, every memory has a soundtrack to go with it, and 90's hip hop wasthe soundtrack to my very own coming-of age. It also served the era metaphorically: the music combined unbridled creativity with a passion to provoke and challenge. It transcended lines of race or socioeconomics. These factors formed a fascinating backdrop to Luke's journey. It also seems so foreign from our own contemporary culture, and that juxtaposition intrigued me.
Filmmaker: Josh's character, perhaps because of his privilege, falls outside of the "drug dealer" archetype, yet many if not most of the pot dealers I've encounter are not so unlike him, both socio-economically and culturally. What from your personal experience did you draw on to create such an authentic portrait of uptown youthful malaise?
Levine: Well, I never dealt pot, but I certainly smoked a lot of it. As such, I knew all types of drug dealers growing up in NYC. For the younger ones, dealing pot was more of a way to "act out" than to sustain themselves economically. It was the ultimate benign act of rebellion. For, while there were consequences, a lot of these kids didn't recognize them. But Luke is interesting, since he doesn't really define himself by his occupation. And if he didn't, then we weren't going to do that either. I think Luke had a different moral code than many of us, and we tried to explore and respect it through the course of telling his story.
Filmmaker: The casting is quite eclectic and inspired - tell us about that process a bit.
Levine: We knew from the beginning that we wanted to cast in an unexpected way: to take established people and have them do things they'd never done. I think that creates an energy and restlessness that excites audiences.
It all started with Ben Kingsley. When he responded to the script, we were thrilled. Everyone else sort of fell into place, because they were psyched to work with him. Josh and Olivia both read for their roles, and they were the best auditions: the only two to combine an authenticity with a lightness that I was looking for. Meth and MKO were ideas we had, and they both
really liked the script. That said, each member of our cast had the chops to pull it off. This was an absolute prerequisite: sick acting ability. I don't like stunt casting and I am happy to report that none of these guys are playing themselves. They disappear into their roles, but I think the fact that they bring some preconceived notions to the table makes it thrilling to watch them shatter 'em.
Filmmaker: What were your biggest challenges in post-production?
Levine: The timetable was rough. We finished shooting in early September and we locked picture 3 months later to make the Sundance deadline. Somehow, the original cut was almost 3 hours. That was scary. We screened the film aggressively for friends and family, and had to make strong, quick decisions about what to keep in and what to cut out.
Filmmaker: If you were to make the film again, would you do anything differently?
Levine: Yes, I'm sure I would do a lot of stuff differently. On my first 2 films, I
learned so many lessons--and then I forgot them as soon as the film was done. I
should start writing this stuff down.
Filmmaker: The film is so New York centric - any special expectations, desires or
concerns in lieu of your New York premiere?
Levine: Each festival has its own pressures and thrills, but I am very excited to show this film to a New York audience. A lot of this movie is about little evocative details, and I hope those details resonate strongly with New Yorkers. And it will be emotional for me to have my friends and family in my corner. Thinking about it makes me very happy.
Filmmaker: How was the acquisition of your most recent film different from that of the long awaited
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane?
Levine:
Mandy Lane was like a crazy dream, selling the film at Toronto, achieving overnight success--but it has been challenging since then. Selling Wackness was
more about finding the right home than making the most money. It's a credit to my producers that they learned some lessons on
Mandy. And Sony Pictures Classics has gotten behind this in a remarkable way. I've never met anyone with the kind of passion for film that
Tom Bernard and
Michael Barker have, and they've reaffirmed my faith in the "movie business". Yet while the roads are very different, the destination will be the same: in a movie theater, with an audience--and I very much hope audiences go see both films.
Filmmaker: What's next for you?
Levine: I'm writing a script for Sony entitled
Echelon Vendetta, an adaptation of a spy novel of the same name. It's kind of like Bourne Identity on acid, and it's a lot of fun to write.
I'm reading a lot of scripts, and I'm going to write something for myself to make, which I would then like to make in 3D. I like the idea of a real 3D movie, not an exploitation movie, but, like a good movie. I hope to do that at some point within the next 20 years. I would also like to go to a Mets game.
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posted by Brandon Harris @ 4/23/2008 03:24:00 PM
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