Filmmaker Lee Daniels and actors Geena Davis and Peter Jacobson tell The Frame's John Horn what it's like to be part of the dog-and-pony show that are the broadcast TV Upfronts. Director Jay Roach makes political theater into an HBO movie with LBJ's story in "All the Way." Songwriter Guy Clark remembered.
Jay Roach looks to LBJ in 'All the Way' for hope in democracy
Did you miss Bryan Cranston on Broadway? Not to worry: Cranston's portrayal of Lyndon B. Johnson in "All the Way" will be preserved in the adapted HBO movie that's slotted to air next spring.
The Tony Award-winning play, written by Robert Schenkkan, tells the story of LBJ's first hundred-or-so days in office. Assuming the Presidency in the wake of John F. Kennedy's assassination, Johnson sought both to heal the nation's trauma and to capitalize on it by aggressively forwarding legislation that Kennedy had proposed — most notably the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Jay Roach is the director of the "All the Way" adaptation. He's a veteran director of political movies, having dramatized John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate in "Game Change" (2012), and the story of the 2000 Florida vote epsiode in "Recount" (2008).
John Horn recently met with Jay Roach on the set of "All the Way." Roach was in the midst of shooting the scene of the newly inaugurated President Johnson addressing Congress days after Kennedy's assassination.
What does it feel like to walk in as a director and see what your production design and extras are able to do in this space?
It’s inspiring and humbling as a – though this sounds cheesy – student of history. I’m really fascinated with those moments where things were very fragile and could have completely unraveled with a different path taken by someone. That Johnson chose this path at this moment enabled us to overcome an incredible tragedy at a fragile time.
I’m moved by people who still believe in democracy and government as a force for good . . . That we can pull together in any form, much less on such a grand scale with so many interests. Clearly, one would wish that more constructive work could be done. But that an institution like this even exists, and that democracy works as well as it does, is moving to me.
In political films that may not always be factually accurate, is there an overriding idea that you have about what you want to tell people?
The complexity of [LBJ's] psychological choices — the dysfunction in the man, coupled with the unbelievable capability to actually get something done as important as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — I have to get that right.
Is there a movie you think about as “getting it right” in terms of the way of dramatizing politics, but also revealing some other truth?
I always go back to "All The President’s Men."
One of the interesting things about that story is that Hal Holbrook’s character [Deep Throat] — who is Mark Felt, as we now know — never said, Follow the money. He never said that! He gave out a series of details that implied there there might be a paper trail, but the film was so much better because he said, Follow the money. We could understand it. We could see what they were up to . . . So that to me is a prime example of, they got that right, but they took some license.
This movie will probably come out in the spring. We’ll be in the heat of the Presidential elections.
What I think is relevant today in LBJ’s story — particularly in these 11 months from November ’63 to when he’s reelected in November ’64 — [is] that it’s a story about how true statesmen get together and figure out how to get something really important accomplished, even when they could not be more diametrically opposed . . . [LBJ] found a way to use all the forces that were part of his own dysfunction and function, and turn his own drive into accomplishment. He was able to actually fight for something through all of his political contradictions and his ego and all of the other psychological flaws that he had. He knew what mattered. And he fought for it and he didn’t let anybody step so far out of line that he couldn’t pull it off.
As someone who clearly cares about politics, what is it like to step inside the world of this film — in which politics actually worked — and then walk into the real world, where politics doesn’t work as we would define?
You know, it’s always a miracle when anything is accomplished politically. The Affordable Care Act is a miracle. Whatever side you’re on, it happened . . . Who knows what went into that deal? But there is still hope in modern government.
It drives me nuts how slow it is — how wasteful and inefficient the process seems — but I think that’s part of how the system is set up. I’m not cynical about it. I actually believe it’s the best form of government. As long as people care about it and are willing to tell stories about how it’s worked in the past, and believe in how much better it could work in the future, I believe it’s worth talking about. That’s all I want these films to do: is to spark the conversations, to get people to compare those leaders with today’s leaders. To get people to wonder, how can we do this better? There must be a better way. And to maybe get involved.
'It was terrifying' — Lee Daniels and others give their take on the network upfronts presentations
The annual broadcast TV upfronts are an opportunity for networks to trot out new shows and top talent to advertisers — but it's also the time of year when that talent remind themselves that their industry is called show business. The upfronts put the business in the show and put the shows on display to do some business. The Frame's John Horn tracked down some talent in and around the Fox upfront presentation to get their perspective on what this annual confab means to them.
Interview Highlights
Lee Daniels, “Empire” + “Star”
You’ve been to award shows and film festivals. If people have never been to an upfront, how do you explain it to them?
I’m still processing it myself. You are selling the advertisers to the show. You’re selling them what the network is producing. My first year doing it was for "Empire" and I just thought it was cheesy. I thought, 'What is this song and dance and pony show?" And then I realized, "Oh no, this is quite important. This is very, very important." I really gathered this time around that it was more about making sure that advertisers understood, not only content, but the demographic and the importance of their dollar and how it was being spent.
What are you thinking as you’re watching these kids present your new series "Star"?
I was very nervous because I thought people would just compare it to the biggest hit on TV.
Which is your show, Empire...
They just build you up to drag you down, so you’re just preparing for the rug to be yanked from under you. But I thought that we held our own and showed that "Star" is the anti-"Empire" in many ways. Even though we’re dealing with an urban environment of wealth in "Empire," now we’re dealing with grit, poverty and ruthlessness — what these girls will do to get to the top.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2snL9QUIZI&feature=youtu.be
The Fox presentation started with the cast of "Empire," and at the end of the presentation was bookended by the cast of "Star." It really was the Lee Daniels show, even if you didn’t come out on stage.
It was terrifying. Overwhelming. I started crying at the end of it because I got caught up in this TV racket. I’m a filmmaker. I didn’t think I would have to stay, but I have to stay for a bit.
Peter Jacobson, “House" + “Colony”
Once you’re in a show, once you’re cast and once you’ve shot a pilot — is the upfront the ultimate or the penultimate test for the actor to say, here’s what I’ve got?
It’s definitely the penultimate, because the ultimate is the numbers that come in and whether or not you’re sticking around to do the upfronts the next season. You get dressed up and rolled out on stage, people ask you questions and then you have a big party. Mostly it’s about meeting and mingling with the executives and, obviously, the advertisers. I’ve always felt like it’s part of my job to be as friendly and forthcoming in that situation, because it’s what we do. It’s what we get paid for.
These are really nervous moments, right? Getting on a series and being a regular is really the difference between having a steady income and starting to scrap for a job all over again.
I have nothing to say because that was perfectly put. It’s an exciting time, because you shot the pilot. That usually happens sometime between January and March, and then in April you hear rumors that are never true and facts that aren’t facts. My rule on this, whatever you hear is bull----. Literally, if the head of the network came to my house and said "You're picked up," I would consider it a lie.
Geena Davis, “The Exorcist”
How do the upfronts fit into the sequence of getting a show on the air?
Well, this is the last step before it gets on the air. This is what you wait for and what you do all that work for. It’s very exciting to hear that we got picked up! We all loved the pilot and we loved shooting it. I think it’s going to be really fun.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/942170
In film, there are not a lot of parts for women who are above 25. Does television give older actresses an opportunity to keep acting and play meaningful roles?
Definitely. TV is doing a better job than film. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s doing a much better job. My research institute has looked at all of that. There are more opportunities for women now. We all can name shows that are very gender-balanced and very diverse. Also, female characters get to do more on TV. In our research on occupations of female characters in film, only 20 percent of those jobs are held by female characters. It’s hard to find a top judge or a lawyer or a politician, whereas you really can on TV.
Guests:
Lee Daniels is a filmmaker whose credits include "The Butler," "Monster's Ball" and "Precious." His first upfront was when he presented "Empire," which he co-created with Danny Strong. This year at the Fox upfront he presented his new show "Star."
Geena Davis has attended the upfronts twice before this year for her comedy "The Geena Davis Show" and for the drama "Commander in Chief." This year she is in attendance for the Fox reboot of "The Exorcist."
Peter Jacobson is a working actor who has been to the upfronts five or six times, mostly with the Fox medical drama "House" on which he was a regular for five seasons. Now he's in the USA show "Colony."