Several venues in Houston's downtown theater district suffered flood damage from Hurricane Harvey; director Scott Cooper debuts his period western, "Hostiles," at the Telluride Film Festival; a new virtual reality experience puts you in flatline mode.
Scott Cooper worked to get Native American depictions right in 'Hostiles'
On a flight to the Telluride Film Festival two years ago to premiere his film "Black Mass," director Scott Cooper looked out the window at the San Juan Mountains. Cooper turned to his producer, John Lesher, and told him that was where he wanted to shoot his next film, "Hostiles."
"I said, John that's the landscape below," Cooper recalled. "These San Juan Mountains as they're unfolding — I must shoot here. I have to shoot here, John, or I can't make the movie."
Though they didn't end up shooting at that exact location, they did shoot in an area of the Rocky Mountains fairly close by.
Cooper returns to Telluride this year with his new film, "Hostiles," which he wrote based on a manuscript by Donald Stewart. The late writer won the Academy Award for best screenplay for Costa-Gavras' "Missing," and is best known for writing screenplays based on Tom Clancy novels for the Jack Ryan films, including "The Hunt for Red October" and "Patriot Games."
"Hostiles" is set in 1892 and follows the journey of an Army captain (Christian Bale) who escorts a dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) and his family back to tribal lands. They're forced to band together to overcome the perilous journey, as well as the hostile Comanche tribes they encounter along the way.
When Cooper stopped by The Frame, he talked about his relationship to the Telluride Film Festival and how he worked with the Native American community to ensure authentic portrayals in the film.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:
On the importance of the Telluride Film Festival to Cooper:
Well, it means as much to me as any festival probably can. With "Crazy Heart," they invited the film and I was not able to take it. We were just in the process of doing some work on the film and I think it wasn't going to be ready in time. But I couldn't have been more excited because Telluride represents a safe haven for filmmakers. They have clearly incredible taste over the years of having the best films of the year. The festival is unlike any other in that it's very relaxed. The streets are filled with wandering filmmakers and fans alike ... just this general pervasive atmosphere where everybody loves film and everybody's really well versed in film. Quite honestly, I couldn't imagine a better setting to debut "Hostiles" than Telluride.
On working with the Native American community to ensure authentic portrayals and avoid the damaging stereotypes:
Through a great deal of conversation with Native Americans, a great deal of research — not only with Wes Studi and then on through Adam Beach, who's been in a number of Native American-themed films. But I spoke with a Cheyenne adviser. I spoke with a Comanche adviser. I wanted to make certain that I got all of the language right, all the customs, the morés right. I wanted to treat them with as much respect as I possibly could. So I tended to wear both a belt and suspenders at many times just to make certain that I was as truthful to the era as I possibly could be.
For instance, though [the film is] set in 1892, we know at that point most of the Comanche were well-settled on reservations. But according to my advisor, who is a full-blooded Comanche, there were many bands of rogue Comanche that were still out wreaking havoc among the landscape. And that was not in Donald Stewart's work, but I really felt it important to show different versions of Native American society.
On the themes of "Hostiles":
When I was working on the screenplay, we as a nation were clearly quite divided. I just didn't realize that in the two years since, we would be as divided as we are socially and politically, culturally and racially. It's quite vast, that divide. And I felt that I could take this story that's set 125 years in the past, 1892, and really discuss the themes of reconciliation — understanding the ways of others, inclusion, understanding that though we think we may know someone, we really don't. And until you walk a mile in someone's moccasins and someone's shoes, you don't really know them. It was important for me, hopefully in a subtle manner, to discuss those themes because each day we're living them and they grow in importance.
On writing "Hostiles" based on a manuscript by Donald Stewart:
Donald Stewart passed away in 1999 so I never had a chance to even meet him. But his widow reached out to my agent and said that she was a fan of my second film, "Out of the Furnace" ... I was really quite interested to hear what she had to say about that film because, generally, older people like "Crazy Heart." So I spoke with Ms. Stewart and she said, I found something. I'm moving [and] I found something that my husband was working on back in the early '90s. And I think you would really respond to it. And I said, Well, I'd love to read it.
So she sent it over and it was this spine of a story that I really responded to, which was a cavalry captain escorting a dying war chief home to his sacred burial territory in Montana. And from that I felt like I really wanted to make this story speak to the times in which we live — culturally, politically, racially ... But certainly my screenplay would never have existed if not for Donald Stewart. And I wanted to really honor his legacy and we've given him an executive producing credit.
On writing for specific actors in his films:
I had written "Crazy Heart" for Jeff Bridges and I had never met Jeff. And I'd written "Out of the Furnace" for Christian [Bale] and had never met Christian. And I did the same here. I wrote this part for Christian and I also wrote the dying chief for Wes Studi. And just through a stroke of luck was able to get these two.
To hear John Horn's full interview with Scott Cooper, click on the player above.
The macabre VR experience Angelenos are dying to try
While Virtual Reality has been "the next big thing" for a while now, not everyone is trying to crack the gamer market. In fact, one company has launched a new VR experience that veers towards the more spiritual side, simulating a so-called near-death experience (NDE). The Frame contributor Collin Friesen tried it out and lived to tell about it:
In the West Wing of the Los Angeles Convention Center recently, a massive line formed to step into the back of an ambulance for the “Flat Line” VR experience. It stretched well beyond the decorative corpse under the tarp and the decapitated clown tableau. The experience debuted at the recent Scare LA gathering – think Comic-Con, but for Halloween.
Once inside, co-creator Julian McCrea sat me on a gurney.
“We’re going to make sure the headset feels snug,” he tells me as he adjusts the goggles and headphones.
And like that, we’re off … I suddenly have the point-of-view of a woman who suffered a miscarriage and was basically left to die in a hospital bed. Not to be graphic, but when you look down there’s blood seeping through the blanket. And I’m hearing her tell her true story. Well, an actress telling me the story, as I’m sucked into a very realistic vortex. It has all the usual tropes of the near-death ride … a bright light, a feeling of calm, some scary bits — but more like just being shot down a cool tunnel.
That demo wraps up with a commentator of your choice. You can pick a doctor, scientist or a spiritualist, explaining their concept of what happens with a near-death experience. Either there’s a heaven or your brain is just messing with you. And that’s it. Six minutes later, Julian McCrea taps me on the shoulder and I’m back in the world of the living.
Now, it’s a little cheesy, with the waivers and the VR tech wearing medical scrubs, but the experience does stick with you. And the smell of the ambulance and the feeling of being locked in does a bit of a number on your rational brain. One of the first people in line was Fawn Quinn, who snuck over from another booth to give it a shot.
“I won’t lie. I had butterflies when I went in. I’m definitely glad I did,” she tells me after she climbs out of the rig.
The concept started 16 years ago when McCrea’s partner, John Schnitzer, heard a story from a friend about his near-death experience, and started to wonder how best to share it. McCrea says advances in virtual reality have finally made that possible:
“That story we are trying to tell about what happens to you, is better if it’s happening to you, or in first person, so that’s why narratively we went down that road.”
There’s no game here. You’re not killing aliens, or driving a Porsche through the Alps, or even trying to cheat death. This is a thinking – dare I say it – quasi-spiritual ride. And McCrea says they’re not only going for the young thrill seekers, but also that elusive NPR demographic, like the kind that listens to Krista Tippett’s high-minded show, "On Being."
"If you’re a thinker, a person who reflects," says McCrea, "you can come into 'Flatline' [thinking], I now know something more than I did. So I think that’s the right audience.”
Ted Dougherty is a VR director and theme attraction consultant. He liked the ride, but agreed that finding the audience will be the challenge:
“On the outside, it seems like it’s going to be macabre. At the end of the day it was an uplifting story, so I’m not sure this is the perfect thing for a Halloween type of situation. But these types of attractions can be monetized, so the possibilities are definitely there.”
This is only the pilot, but McCrea's company will be coming out with five other episodes, available for purchase on most gaming platforms. That will make it not only the first semi-serialized near-death VR experience, but the first time in history that Krista Tippett fans have been singled out as a gaming demographic.
To hear the story click the play button at the top of the page.
After Hurricane Harvey, setting the scene at Houston's Theater District
Houston’s downtown theater district is made up of of 17 blocks in the heart of the city, adjacent to the largest bayou in the area.
As the nation’s fourth largest city, Houston has a vibrant visual and performing arts scene. The district is home to nine theaters, a few of which are historic.
The Alley, Houston’s largest theater, suffered the worst damage from Hurricane Harvey. It’s famous for world premieres of “Jekyll & Hyde” and Tennessee Williams’ “Not About Nightingales” and is one of the three oldest resident theaters in the country.
In 2001, tropical storm Allison ravaged the district, forcing many theaters to renovate and build flood gates to prevent flooding. However, some of the infrastructure that was built in the wake of Allison failed during Harvey.
Molly Glentzer, Senior Arts & Culture Writer and Critic at the Houston Chronicle, joined Libby Denkmann to set the scene from Houston.
Here are some interview highlights:
On Houston's Downtown Theater District:
At the heart of the district are three venues that have been there for quite some time: Jones Hall opened in the 1960s; The Alley Theater opened 49 years ago; and the Wortham Theater Center which opened in 1987. Those are the homes of the opera, the symphony, ballet and the theater.
Comparisons to Tropical Storm Allison in 2001:
Downtown has a history of being devastated and, frankly, we're asking why anyone thought it was a good idea to build basements into these venues. All of them sit very close to the bayou. For Allison, the entire basement of Jones Hall flooded all the way to the ceiling. I remember walking downtown when Allison was dying down and looking into the stairway to the plaza in front of Jones Hall and seeing a goldfish floating among the broken windows and furniture. A lot of improvements were made to the underground system after that.
Effects on the Fall season:
The season was due to start the first week of September. That would have been starting with the Houston Ballet — a six-program show that was cancelled. The ballet has not been rescheduled. None of the resident companies in Jones Hall or Wortham Theater Center are allowed back into their offices until next Tuesday.
Effect on artists and administrators:
From the reports we've gotten, lots of people have been affected. It's safe to say that no one in Houston will escape this storm without being impacted in some way.