PLAYING FOR THE MOB: THE CAYMAN GRANT INTERVIEW

It would become one of the greatest scandals in a nation’s sporting history. Young men, upon whose All-American shoulders rested the hopes of the 1978 Boston College basketball fraternity, ‘gotten to’ by mob heavies and coerced into influencing the points spread on key games. Central to the scam, mobster Henry Hill, the mafia rat brought to life by Ray Liotta in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, whose small-scale fraud would ultimately lead to the downfall of underworld giant, Jimmy Burke. Director Cayman Grant, working alongside Emmy and Peabody award winning filmmaker Joe Lavine, affords the saga a vivid cinematic treatment in the compelling documentary Playing for the Mob... 

From the Los Angeles home she shares with her husband and producing partner Terry City, Grant (pictured, below) spoke with SCREEN-SPACE on the eve of her film's Australian premiere on cable sports giant ESPN, in which she discussed the intricacies of the swindle, the human cost of the crime and of being the last person to interview the once-fearsome Henry Hill…

Tell me about the early days of your involvement with the project and of collaborating with Joe Lavine?

Through our Pittsburgh producing partner, Paula Gregg, we were able to acquire the life rights to Paul Mazzei, who was the infamous “Pittsburgh Connection” in the movie, Goodfellas. Once I learned about the ’78-’79 Boston College Basketball scandal, I knew it would be a fantastic documentary. I started shooting right away and soon found out that Joe Lavine at HBO was looking to make a doc of the same story. We met and he was excited that I had many of the contacts and interviews in place. We formed a partnership with Gary Cohen at Triple Threat and pitched to ESPN. Lucky for us, I had already shot several interviews, most importantly Henry Hill and Paulie’s reunion before Henry passed away in June 2012.

Upon meeting Henry Hill, what struck you about his character and how he views his role in the scandal?

Until the day he died, Henry was somewhat perplexed that this scandal is what took down his friend, Jimmy Burke. As stated in the film, he didn’t even think it was a crime. I’m not sure that most of the people involved really thought it was a huge deal, at least not to the degree that they (would be) charged and sentenced to jail. The Feds wanted Jimmy Burke and this was the way to get to him. They got everybody.

Did the frail, elderly man still exude any of the fierceness one associates with his ‘Goodfellas’ persona?

I wasn’t nervous at all about having Henry in my home. In fact, I was excited to meet the real “Henry”. All I ever knew was Henry Hill as Ray Liotta. Henry was a wonderful houseguest. He was kind. He even kissed my baby. Mind you, he was much older now so that whole gangster persona was gone, aside from his hat (pictured, below).

What insight into the criminal mind, the ‘Mob mentality’, did you glean from contact with the likes of Hill, The Perla Bros and Paul Mazzei?

Once I reunited Paulie and Henry, I saw another side of them. They talked about the old days, crimes they committed together, like it was nothing. I’m not sure that I ever saw any remorse for what they did. They’re over it and have moved on. Actually, we also reunited Paulie Mazzei and Tony Perla, which was a memorable event. For me, it was fun to see their “real” personalities come out over the course of a few hours. I noticed that deep down these guys haven’t changed that much. Their true persona came out when they were all together. Through my encounters and research it was obvious that they all grew up in a time and in an environment that made it easy to get into the things they all got into.

There is a potent sense of tragedy about the purity of the sporting contest and, in a larger sense, the innocence of a society being corrupted by this event. Does this go some way to explaining the longevity of the scandal and the place it has in American history?

As a Canadian, I had no idea about the scandal until I delved further into the life of Paulie Mazzei. Anytime the mob gets involved, people’s ears perk up. The way this film has been embraced shows the fascination of American audiences with the mob and their involvement with sports. It would have been an even bigger deal had there been social media back in the late 70s, early 80s. Americans are huge sports enthusiasts and huge sports gamblers. There are tremendous stakes behind these games. One ‘call’ can affect a gambling spread, which then affects thousands of people’s money. Some people would argue that the reason sports are popular in the United States is that the gambling world is larger than anyone knows. It’s the ultimate form of American entertainment. We take our kids to these games. It’s a family event.

Were ESPN immediately keen to be involved in a story that de-glorifies sport? The network’s image is built on the lionising of sport and its heroes. Was Playing For The Mob seen as a departure for the network?

ESPN and their 30 for 30 Series have been able to show the human side of sports. The heroes that we glorify, the players that have gone broke, those who have done drugs and at times, those whom succumbed to it all. Playing for The Mob, while unique, isn’t such a departure, (although) there are not that many stories with the fame of Goodfellas that connect directly to college sports. I always wanted it to be an ESPN 30 for 30. I knew it was the right place for the story. ESPN loved that Joe and I had all of our bases covered, (with) all sides of the story ready to be interviewed. And of course, having Henry Hill’s last interview already in the can. 

What was the human element that you had to get across in the film? Why is this story still so resonant and relevant?

Part of its resonance is the mafia element but the reason we’ve been successful with the film is the human element. This is the tragedy of three young college kids who made poor decisions that they have to live with the rest of their lives. It’s even more relevant today because athletes at the College level are not compensated. They generally get their education paid for but with little or no stipend for spending money. These kids are broke. How many college kids would say no in this kind of situation? They would be torn, especially those players who grew up in poverty or have no other source of revenue. Boston College wasn’t the first scandal like this and given that colleges make millions off players’ performances, it certainly won’t be the last. (Pictured, above; Grant, second from left, and co-director Joe Lavine, centre, at the recent Boston Film Festival screening of Playing for the Mob).

Narrated by actor Ray Liotta, PLAYING FOR THE MOB premieres on Australian televsion on Tuesday 14th October on ESPN. Check local listings for times. 

DAY OF THE ANIMALS: THE MICHAEL DAHLSTROM INTERVIEW

Despite offering up one of the most confronting film experiences of the MIFF 2014 program, director Michael Dahlstrom is a happy man. His documentary, The Animal Condition examines our complex relationship with the animals we exploit and had just played to packed audiences for its World Premiere when he chatted with SCREEN-SPACE about the unique narrative structure he employs and finding the balance between harrowing expose and hopeful advocacy filmmaking…

“We sold out both sessions, which was surprising and great,” says Dahlstrom (pictured, below), a NIDA graduate, on the final day of an extensive media schedule that has accompanied the premiere of his debut feature. Audience reaction was exactly what he had hoped for, a passionate chorus of opinions from those involved in both the trade and protection of livestock. Says the director, “It became a spirited Q-&-A debate afterwards, lead by an intensive farmer and a free range farmer and a vegan activist, as well as plenty of the vocal public.”

Shot over four years, The Animal Condition underwent extensive shifts in focus and tone before it became the expansive, insightful advocacy work it is today. What begins as an adventure about four angry, wide-eyed inner-city types (at one point, rescued baby chickens dance on a piano keyboard) soon becomes a multi-tiered examination of industrialized farming and the emotional issues inherent to animal exploitation.

“In the beginning, we were definitely making a very deliberate activist film,” says Dahlstorm, who appears on-screen alongside producers Ande Cunningham, Sarah-Jane McAllan (pictured, below) and Augusta Miller. “Initially, we weren’t going to film ourselves. But as we started arguing about different points, we realised it might be interesting to capture the decision-making process we were going through. You can clearly see the filmmaking style change and us change as individuals as the narrative develops.”

The four friends engage the services of a radical animal activist who helps them gain illegal access to a battery hen factory; the sad footage turns shocking when, during the course of shooting, the live export controversy erupted and smuggled film of barbaric slaughter practices surfaced (see footage here; viewer discretion advised).  “That footage was informing the wider population at the same time as it was informing us and our filming,” says Dahlstrom, who remained mindful that the horrible minutiae of slaughterhouse reality is not always the most effective tool an activist can employ. “If you show really extreme footage, then people will have a knee-jerk reaction and they will switch off or react with the own extreme views.”

“What we wanted to capture was the realities of intensive farming facilities, but also the transition of animal welfare issue from fringe activism to something that all of Australia was talking about,” he says, confirming that The Animal Condition was designed to preach beyond the converted. “The audience that we had in mind was certainly the Australian public. We wanted to create a time capsule of what happened in 2009 up until the end of live exports.”

Ultimately, Dahlstrom’s film impacts due to a very even-handed approach, ensuring all parties involved in modern farming practices have time to air their points-of-view. Corporate heads, political leaders and intensive farmers are given as strong a voice as the pro-animal liberationists and traditional farmers. The film captures a turning point for a country that has proudly boasted of the wealth it has attained by ‘riding on the sheep’s back’, i.e. exploiting the rich, natural world for economic gain.

“I think for us to grow as a country we have to be self-reflective,” says the director. “If having an international eye on us makes us conscious of what we are doing and the example we set as a population, and this film helps to shine that kind of spotlight on us, then that can only help us as a nation.”

Michael Dahlstrom will be in attendance when The Animal Condition screens at the Sydney Underground Film Festival un Sunday, September 7. Full details can be found at the event website here.

CURIOUS GEORGE: THE JENNIFER M KROOT INTERVIEW

Despite her films being warmly accessible works, Jennifer M Kroot favours the outsider's view of her America. In 2009's It Came From Kuchar, she offered a deeply affecting profile of the life and art of underground filmmaking giants, twins George and Mike Kuchar. Her latest, To Be Takei, is an off-kilter look inside the vast world and eccentric mind of Star Trek's iconic Mr Sulu, George Takei, a figure who has risen above TV bit-player status to help shape his adopted nation, despite decades of racial intolerance and homosexual persecution. With its Australian premiere at Perth's Revelation International Film Festival only a few weeks away, a forthright Kroot spoke with SCREEN-SPACE about the film that Variety lauded as "a unique blend of camp and conviction"...

Firstly, the most important question – are you a Trekkie? When did you first become aware of the unique human being that is Mr Takei?

Of course I'm a Trekkie! I have enjoyed the original Star Trek series for as long as I can remember. I watched the show in reruns after school and I've loved it ever since. Initially it was the glamorous outfits and campy lighting and sets that I enjoyed, and then later I understood how incredibly progressive the show was. It never actually occurred to me what George Takei's sexual orientation would be or that he would have been imprisoned in American internment camps, so when I found those things out much later I became fascinated with him. While To Be Takei is about much more than Star Trek, I do think it's important that as a filmmaker I have the inside understanding of what it means to be a Star Trek fan.

This man’s journey represents a kind of new American social paradigm. He has emerged from a country divided by race and social tension to become a leading advocate of tolerance and change. How did you settle on the balance between exploring ‘Takei the Man’ and ‘Takei the Icon’?

Because George is such a beloved pop culture icon and because George's personality allows him to laugh at himself, he has been able to reach a wide audience with his advocacy work, regardless if it's for racial or LGBT civil rights. He's the perfect spokesperson! The US is indeed divided, but almost everyone loves George Takei for these reasons. I'm certain that George is able to charm many conservatives with his message of tolerance and change. I think that George's fans, especially on Facebook, think that they actually know him like a friend, because of his graceful and funny style. So people think that they know Takei the icon as Takei the man. Does that make sense? (laughs) This film is a very personal look at George, his history, his relationship, his regrets, his dreams. But that is balanced with George Takei the icon and, at the age of 77, the reignited, reinvented rock star. I wanted to show how he isn't just a pop culture icon but also a civil rights rock star. 

Neither seems uncomfortable with attention, but were George and his spouse Brad (pictured, top) immediately open to the intrusion of a doco crew? Did they have any kind of final say on where your camera could go or influence on the final cut of the film?

George was more comfortable with cameras than his husband Brad. I think George actually forgot we were filming sometimes. Brad is more like most people, and usually did realize that the cameras were on, becoming self conscious at times.  They were not involved in the editorial process at all. It was very nerve-racking when they saw the finished film at Sundance, but they loved it and continue to be active in the promotion of the film.

Despite the very different personalities of your subjects, I recognised similarities between George Takei and The Kuchars (pictured, below; with the director). These are society outsiders, struggling against the accepted norm to express unique creativity in the face of preconceptions and prejudices. What does your study of these men say about you as a documentarian?

And both gay men named George with wonderful voices! (laughs) It is an interesting question. Both Georges channeled their outsider-ness into their art. George Kuchar is the underground version and George Takei the above ground/galactic version. Neither have a pretentious bone in their bodies, despite being widely acclaimed. They are both willing to laugh at themselves, which is a big part of why these Georges were and are so beloved.

It's funny, I don't meet a lot of people who enjoy both underground film and science fiction. I'm not sure why the two categories don't usually overlap.  For me, the campy qualities of Star Trek remind me of the camp style of the Kuchar brothers' early films, especially Sins of the Fleshapoids.  There's a misconception that camp or theatricality can't be deep or meaningful, but of course camp can be profound, (just as) realism can be banal. I think Star Trek and the Kuchar's films are both great examples of meaningful camp.

I love that both Georges are older people who are driven to do artwork or advocacy of some sort because of obsessions they've had since they were children. George Kuchar has passed away, but I thought of him when I was filming. I am definitely attracted to people who are able to channel personal obstacles into something positive. It's hard to do. I tend to think of myself as a negative person. I worry a lot. I get caught up in the endless horrors of organic existence, so I enjoy being around people who inspire me. It's especially hopeful when they are older people doing amazing things. 

Is it the film you envisioned it would be? Perhaps more importantly, is it a version of himself that George Takei envisioned when he agreed to take part?

It's more of a romantic comedy than I expected, but other than that it is the film I envisioned.  I didn't know George and Brad prior to filming, so I didn't envision their unique relationship dynamics. That was an exciting discovery. I knew that the film would be dense and complex with many themes, just like George. I knew that I wanted to play with time, and try to create a nonlinear structure, so that we could flip easily from the present to various points in the past, like memories. I was able to interview everyone that I hoped from the original Star Trek cast to Howard Stern to the late Senator Daniel Inouye. I'm not sure if George envisioned what the finished film would look like. He saw my previous film, It Came From Kuchar, and he liked it and apparently trusted me.

To Be Takei will screen Sunday 6th and Saturday 12th of July at Revelation Perth International Film Festival. Full program information and tickets can be found at the official website.