TRIBECA DIRECTOR INTERVIEW: ROBERT CELESTINO, YONKERS JOE

Screening Times: Apr 24th, 9:30pm (BMCC Tribeca PAC), Apr 26th, 2:00pm (Village East), Apr 29th, 11:00pm (AMC Village VII), May 2nd, 10:30am (AMC Village VII), May 3rd, 10:30am (AMC Village VII)

Robert Celestino’s new feature is the story of a couple (Chazz Palminteri and Christine Lahti) who make a living working confidence scams and dice hustling until their life changes after the expulsion of the title character’s mentally challenged, 21 year old son (Tom Guiry). Forced to accommodate the young man, he and his wife plan the biggest scam of their lives.

Filmmaker: What gave you the initial idea for the film? How did writing the script unfold from there?

Celestino: As an aspiring magician I would run into these rogue characters as the magic shops. They were mechanics, which is on the opposite side of the spectrum of magicians; the good ones were great with slight of hand. I would hear stories of what these men did and it fascinated me. I met with “Fast Jack” Farrell and “Benny Jumbo” when I was in my early teens and they took me around. I saw them switch dice around crowded rough and tumble and craps tables, pitch poker, bankers and brokers, blackjack, anything you could gamble on. It was never a matter of testing your courage or how much money there was in the game. They simply walked up to the table, made their moves and got the money. It was work for them and I never saw any of them carry a gun for safety or protection. They didn’t even think about getting caught, in fact they as soon as suspicion arose they would work with each other in ways that made the players doubt their own suspicion. That is not to say they never got caught – they did, and when they did it was bad – but it was just the price of doing business.

I started the script as a journal about these men. But it become evident early on that I needed more – I needed a relationship the audience could invest in. Because to me good films are about relationships, story and character are requisites but it’s the relationships the audience invests in. I thought it would be interesting to see a father who is a mechanic be forced to interact his mentally challenged son. It was a challenge worth pursuing.

Filmmaker: How did you find financing? Was it cast-contingent or did the money appear first?

Celestino: I was fishing around for financing for about twelve years. My last film premiered at Sundance and was received well there so we had some serious bites for Yonkers Joe, but they never came to fruition. It wasn’t until I met Trent Othick who just started up his production company that things began to happen for YJ. Trent loved the script and he and I really connected. He’s a hands on producer who brings esthetic value to every project so he came up with many good ideas for YJ. Even though this film became his passion it still took another five years to get started. Trent went to his good friend John Gaughan, who financed the lion’s share but still wasn’t enough. So Trent went to his brother Matt, a celebrity in his own right. Matt was a pro basketball player and gambler. He is a good friend with Phil Ivey, the poker player. I remember a night in Vegas where Trent, Matt and I were shooting dice along side of Phil, knowing that if Phil won he would invest his winning into the film. He did win and with Matt and Big John Gaughan as our anchor we were off!

Filmmaker: “Con Artists” are one of the American Cinemas oldest subjects – in what ways are is your portrait of such behavior unique from other on-screen portraits of confidence schemes?

Celestino: It irks me when Yonkers Joe is referred to as a con artist. But I understand why – “where there’s gambling there’s larceny”, and there’s no other way to type cast a character like this. A con man gets the money with his mouth — a Mechanic does it with his hands. This distinction is very important to me and I believe the film makes that clear. A mechanic can’t show off. He lives in the shadows – he’s inconspicuous, he can’t even let his partners know what he’s doing because then they don’t need him anymore. When an artist cannot show off his art he becomes lonely and isolated. That’s why Yonkers Joe has built walls that shield his emotions and won’t let anyone in – especially his son.

Filmmaker: Do you consider yourself a cinephile? How has watching movies informed your ability and desire to make them?

Celestino: Yes, but not anymore. When I was in film school and a while thereafter I would watch 25 films a week. I loved to take directors apart. I’d start with their first film and watch them all in chronological order. It seemed to me that the best directors found their voice by their third film. When I started to make films I realized the difference between your first film and second is so massive in term of your own experience that if you don’t know what you’re doing by your third — you probably never will.

Lately I haven’t been watching as many films; maybe I don’t want to be influenced by them. I love working on them though.

Filmmaker: When working with talented veteran performers like Chazz Palminteri and Christine Lahti, how much “directing” do you do?

Celestino: I find that the best actors want direction. Certainly Christine and Chazz are two of our best. In order for an actor to do their best work they have to be present in the scene. If they have to worry about giving to much here because we’re going to need more of that later or earlier (you shoot a film out of chronological order). Then there’s no way they can do their best work. It’s my job to let them know where they are emotionally, relative to the rest of the picture. Although I never talk about emotion (it only tenses an actor up). We talk about needs and objectives. For example Yonkers Joe’s Life Object, which is the core of his personality or character problem is “People are fine – but it’s better when they’re not around.” Then we focus on a ‘life need’, an action powerful enough to pursue the life object. So Yonkers’ life need is “to be inconspicuous.” Now you can move on to the ‘scene needs, beat transitions and so on. As a director you want to fire up these needs by throwing obstacles at them. This is what causes conflict and keep the character’s behavior consistent. One reason Yonkers’ son is so problematic for him is because he’s in direct conflict with Yonkers’ life need to be inconspicuous. Joe Jr. is a mentally challenge young man with Down syndrome. There is nothing inconspicuous about him. Therefore Yonkers is out of his comfort zone, his movements become gestures that express themselves and reveal inner conflict. The best director’s fire up the need right before the scene is shot – so they can ‘capture’ the conflict on film. If you can manage that, chances are you’re going to be happy in the editing room.

Filmmaker: What were the biggest challenges while constructing and polishing the film in post-production?

Celestino: A great script can only indicate a great movie – it points at it, but a lot of things can go right or wrong along the way. When you’re translating a script on a film set it’s a different animal. You’re fighting time, weather, personalities, and confidence. I believe everyone understand this. I find what most people don’t understand is it’s the same when it comes to editing the film. It’s a complete different process. Some folks think you cut the footage to the script and it’s over. That has never been my experience. All these ‘must understand’ elements such as character arks and story plot come a far second to rhythm. That’s not to say they are not important, but you better find a way to make it work within a rhythm that keeps the audience watching or you’re in trouble. I’ve never seen a script no matter how tight translate exactly to the finished film. That’s why the first rough cut is so hard to watch – you’re seeing the film before it finds it’s rhythm. This is where structure comes back and bites you on the nose. If you don’t have a good setup, confrontation and resolution you’re done, but even if you do, you still have to find the film’s organic rhythm. You don’t have to give an audience much – they’ll forgive you for making them work. What they won’t forgive is boredom, because that’s what takes them out of the movie. And once they’re out you probably won’t get them back. That’s why I believe in testing a film in front of an audience that doesn’t know anything about it. It’s the only way you can be sure if the film is working. And if it’s not, it’s probably a structure/rhythm issue.

Filmmaker: What’s next for you?

Celestino: I’d like to work with Trent Othick again. I trust him. I can’t say it better than that – he suffers with the film, plus he knows how to cover a director’s ass without invading his space. That’s a great producer. Also Frank John Hughes, who I believe is one of the best American writers living today, has written a script that we’re development with.