Volunteering for the Newport International Film Festival is one of the high points of my film year. I work in transportation, it is a fantastic way to meet all the film folks. Unfortunately, it does not leave me much time to see films.
This year, one of the more interesting people I met was Craig Zobel, a young director. I just saw his film The Great World of Sound in DVD. I was told that the story was about an American Idol-type talent search. When I asked Zobel if it was a true story, he laughed and said "no". Now I see why he laughed. Two men are sent out by a bogus record label to sign new talent, they are required to get 30% of the production cost from the struggling artists. It's all a scam, and leaves the salesmen and the artists in a rough spot. The audition process is the American Idol tie, I read that 80% of the performers are actual artists, that only a couple were scripted. A good morality tale, nice job Mr. Zobel, glad I finally saw this.
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2 comments:
A true blue sleeper. Just caught up with this one myself. Terrific movie ... didn't realize so much of it was improvised. The whole film feels just so ... real, so utterly unmanufactured. Absolutely nothing polished or pretentious about it, and Kene Holliday's performance is revelatory.
Toto~ I was glad to see the great reaction to this film. Zobel, his cast and technique deserve the praise!
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