Archive
Filmmakers and Their Films
Filmmakers and Their Films
Dates: June 15 – July 20, 2019
Meets: Saturdays from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Location: MCC North Express 306, Highlander Accelerator 2112 North 30th Street, 3rd Floor
Instructor: Leo Adam Biga, film author-journalist-blogger (“Alexander Payne: His Journey in Film”)
Registration Fee: $60.00
Register at–
https://coned.mccneb.edu/wconnect/ace/CourseStatus.awp?&course=19JUCOMM201A
There is no better way to see a film than to view it with its maker. This summer, MCC offers movie lovers the opportunity to see diverse films alongside their makers. Guests include producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, editors and actors. All the films and makers share Nebraska ties. Following each screening, the guest will discuss the film and their career and field questions from students. Don’t miss this chance to see compelling movies by Nebraskans and to intimately engage these cinema creatives in conversation.
June 15—Mike Hill
“Rush”
Oscar-winning editor Mike Hill worked in Hollywood for many decades as one of two primary cutters on Ron Howard’s feature films. Hill shared the Academy Award for his work on “Apollo 13.” The now retired Hill will discuss his career and specifically his work on Howard’s 2013 Formula One race car drama, “Rush.” View the trailer at https://youtu.be/s43KIRThDDc.
June 22—Lew Hunter and Lonnie Senstock
“Once in a Lew Moon”
Lew Hunter was a network television executive who wrote and produced landmark TV movies. His book about screenwriting became a bible to aspiring scenarists. A UCLA class he taught included future filmmakers. Lonnie Senstock’s documentary captures Lew’s bigger-than-life personality and appetite for life. View the trailer at https://youtu.be/tRWBq0HiArg.
June 29—Mele Mason
“I Dream of an Omaha Where”
Documentary and network news photographer Mele Mason travels the nation and world for her work. She also trains her eye locally, “I Dream of an Omaha Where” follows the collaboration between performance artist Daniel Beaty and Omaha families affected by gun violence in the creation of an original work of theater. View the trailer at https://vimeo.com/197125222.
July 6—Nebraska Filmmakers Showcase
Sample the screen work of Nik Fackler, Omowale Akintunde, John Beasley, Camille Steed, Mauro Fiore, Tim Christian and other Nebraskans who make films. Some of these professionals will be on hand to discuss their work in front of the camera or behind the camera.
July 13—Jim Fields
“Preserve Me a Seat”
During efforts to save the Indian Hills Theatre, Jim Fields documented the passion of historic preservationists, film industry professionals and movie fans. He then expanded the story to document similar efforts around the nation that turn into classic clashes between grassroots groups and big business interests. View the trailer at https://youtu.be/TtMvpFPT9BY.
July 20—Brigitte Timmerman
“The Omaha Speaking”
The few fluent speakers left in the Omaha Tribe are featured in this audience favorite documentary at film festivals, Brigitte Timmerman presents the urgency that fluent speakers and educators have in preserving and passing on this rich cultural legacy before it’s too late. View the trailer https://youtu.be/lFK9Sj_Olx8.
NOTES:
The Little Blog That Could
The Little Blog That Could
Eight years ago saw the full launch of this writer’s blog, Leo Adam Biga’s My Inside Stories. In the span of that time this blog, whose link is https://leoadambiga.com. has received more than 750,000 views. Not bad for a non-monetized site that doesn’t utilize any SEO tools or analytics. For the most part, it’s just me posting my previously published journalism, though in recent years I have created some original content for the blog with my Hot Movie Takes and Hot Husker Takes.
My blog has more than 1,100 followers. I appreciate the interest and support from these followers. If you’re not among them, then I invite you to become one.
The simple idea behind the blog is to share my diverse work with wider audiences than the folks who might ordinarily see it in print or online.
The blog serves an important function by adding to my brand as a writer – “I write about people, their passions and their magnificent obsessions” – and creating an archive of my work. Just give it a visit and you’ll see within seconds, certainly minutes, how that tagline of passions and obsessions gets expressed in the stories posted there. The blog is heavy in arts, entertainment, culture. social justice, community and history subjects. There are lots of personality profiles.
The stories extend from the 1990s right on through today.
I also maintain a companion Facebook page, My Inside Stories (https://www.facebook.com/LeoAdamBiga), that features the same content and some unique content of its own. That Facebook page has more than 1,200 followers. Once again, I appreciate the interest and support and if you’re not among those followers, then please join in on the fun.
The blog and the page are best enjoyed by people who enjoy the written word and are looking for alternative content outside the mainstream.
The blog and page also highlight some of my activities as a film educator, presenter, programmer and as a book author.
On the business side, the sites provide work samplers for anyone in the market for written content. I am a writer for hire to produce everything from press releases, newsletters and scripts to articles, white papers and books. If you like what you read on the blog and the page, then let’s connect and talk about what project needs I can fulfill for you.
Contact me here, via email at leo32158@cox.net or by phone at 402-445-4666.
Let me share your passion or magnificent obsession with the world. Everyone has a story: Let me tell yours.
A Year’s Worth of Writing for Omaha Magazine by Leo Adam Biga
A Year’s Worth of Writing for Omaha Magazine
by Leo Adam Biga
http://omahamagazine.com/articles/author/leo-adam-biga/
(November-December 2017 through November-December 2018)
Holiday book sale: “Alexander Payne: His Journey in Film”
Holiday book sale:
“Alexander Payne: His Journey in Film”
by Leo Adam Biga
For you and/or the film lover in your life
Retails at $26
Now on sale for $20 directly from me
(while supplies last)
Acclaimed filmmaker Alexander Payne uses satire to take the measure of his times. Award-winning writer Leo Adam Biga draws on 20 years covering the writer-director to take the measure of this singular cinema artist and his work.
Film scholar-author Thomas Schatz (“The Genius of the System”) said:
“This is without question the single best study of Alexander Payne’s films, as well as the filmmaker himself and his filmmaking process. In charting the first two decades of Payne’s remarkable career, Leo Adam Biga pieces together an indelible portrait of an independent American artist.This is an invaluable contribution to film history and criticism – and a sheer pleasure to read as well.”
National film critic Leonard Maltin said: “Alexander Payne is one of American cinema’s leading lights. How fortunate we are that Leo Biga has chronicled his rise to success so thoroughly.”
Available at this special sale price only by contacting me here or at:
402-445-4666 or leo32158@co.net
If you want a copy mailed to you, send a check for $25 (includes shipping and handling) made out to Leo A. Biga, along with your return address, to:
Leo A. Biga
10629 Cuming St.
Omaha, NE 68114
Please indicate if you wish a signed copy.
Faces and Places, Covers and Pages from this writer/reporter’s notebook
Film Connections Interview with Francis Ford Coppola about the making of “The Rain People”
Film Connections
Interview with Francis Ford Coppola about the making of “The Rain People”
In 1968 the future Oscar-winning filmmaker and his cast and crew ended up in Nebraska for the last few weeks shooting on an intimate road picture he wrote and directed titled “The Rain People.” A very young George Lucas was along for the ride as a production associate whose main task was to film the making of the movie.
Coppola’s indie art film starring Shirley Knight, James Caan and Robert Duvall was released in 1969. The experience forged strong personal and professional bonds. It not only resulted in the Lucas documentary “The Making of The Rain People,” but it’s how Lucas came to cast Duvall to star in his debut feature “THX-1138,” which Coppola produced. Coppola also produced his protege’s second film, “American Grafitti.” The two also co-founded American Zoetrope. Meanwhile. Coppola cast Duvall and Caan in his crowing achievement, “The Godfather.” From obscurity in 1969. Coppola and Lucas became start filmmakers who helped usher in the New Hollywood.
The experience of “The Rain People” also introduced Duvall to a Nebraska ranch-rodeo family, the Petersons. he came to make the subjects of his own first directorial effort, “We’re Not the Jet Set.”
I am documenting this little-known chapter Nebraska Screen Gem as part of my Nebraska Screen Heritage Project, in a college class I’m teaching this fall and in articles I’m writing and in posts I’m making. On this blog you can also find my interviews with Knight, Caan and Duvall. I have also interviewed several others who were part of this confluence of talent and vision and I will be posting those over time.
My next step is to bring back as many of the principals involved in these three films for screenings and discussions.
Here is my interview with Francis Ford Coppola:
LAB: The Rain People is very much a road picture, and you and your small cast and crew traveled in cars and, I think I read somewhere, a mini-bus from Long Island to the South and then to the Midwest to capture the journey Shirley Knight’s character makes. Did you happen to shoot the film largely in sequential order?
FFC: “Generally I tried to shoot in sequential order, though if there was an opportunity to save money to shoot slightly out of it, I would.”
LAB: Is it true you hadn’t finished the screenplay when shooting began?
FFC: “I had a complete screenplay, but was prepared to make any changes if we encountered something interesting along the way.”
LAB: And so I take it that you hadn’t scouted all the locations beforehand but instead left yourself open to discovering places and events you then integrated into the story and captured on film?
FFC: “Exactly. We had a route, and wasn’t sure of exact location, But my associate Ron Colby was scouting a little ahead of us and we were in communication.”
LAB: What about Ogallala, Neb. – was it by design or chance that you ended up there?
FFC: “By chance. but once there, I think we felt at home and there were many good place that suited our story. And the people were nice and there was a nice little picnic grounds. And I remember a big steak cost about $6, so we’d have barbecues and we were all happy there.”
LAB: It was your first time working with the three principal cast members. At that point in your careers, Shirley was probably the best known of anyone on the project. I read somewhere that you met her at the Cannes Film Festival, when she was there with Dutchman, and that you saw her crying after a confrontation with a journalist and you consoled her with, ‘Don’t cry, I’m going to write a film for you.’ Is that right?
FFC: “Yes, that story is true. I think I was influenced by the notion of Europeans working with leading ladies, Monica Vitti or Goddard’s Anna Karinia, and so yes, I said that to her.”
LAB: You obviously admired her work.
FFC: “I liked Dutchman very much, where I also admired (her co-star) Al Freeman Jr.”
LAB: What about Jimmy and Bobby – did you know them before the project, and did any of their previous work make an impression on you?
FFC: “I had chosen Jimmy, and in fact before I even had the money or arrangement to make The Rain People, George Lucas and I went east and shot some ‘second unit’ footage at a football game and different images.”
LAB: Bobby mentioned that he might have replaced another actor who had originally been cast in his role, is that right?
FFC: “Original. For the rehearsals we had Rip Torn, but had as part of his deal that we give him the Harley motorcycle so he could learn to drive it well. We did, and he parked it in front of his house in New York City, and it was stolen. He came back to us and said it was his deal to have a Harley, so we had to buy him another. But all we could afford was a good quality secondhand one -– which then he said wasn’t his deal. It was supposed to be a good one. So later in the production, when Ron Colby called him to say we needed him to get his shoe and calf measured for the boots, he said, ‘That’s it’! and quit. I had seen Bobby in a movie (Countdown’ he made with Jimmy Caan for TV that Robert Altman had directed. I thought both of them were fantastic. So true and real in that kind of movie, so I offered the part to Duvall.”
LAB: I understand that in preproduction you like to rehearse or to at least do table reads with cast, or at least that’s how you preferred to do things then. Did you do anything like that for Rain People?
FFC: “Yes, I had been a theater major in college, and so I was very used to a few weeks of rehearsal and, yes, I did a rehearsal period for The Rain People and I’ve done it for every film after that.”
LAB: As you know, Jimmy and Bobby became fast friends with a local ranch-rodeo family there, the Petersons. They were this loud, rambunctious bunch. Did you meet any of the clan, particularly the patriarch, B.A., who is the central figure in the documentary Duvall made about the family, We’re Not the Jet Set?
FFC: “I remember the family, and Bobby’s interest in them. He was always interested in things that were ‘real’ authentic, as opposed to the fake reality of people in movies and TV shows, and thus he made We’re Not the Jet Set. I remember the song he wrote (?).”
LAB: What about another area ranch-rodeo family Jimmy and Bobby came to know, the Haythorns, did you meet any of them, particularly patriarch Waldo Haythorn?
FFC: “No, I don’t remember them. but perhaps I met them.”
LAB: I know that Duvall has often sought your opinion on the projects he’s directed – did he do so for We’re Not the Jet Set, and assuming you’ve seen the film what do you think of it?
FFC: “Over the years, he’d come visit me and bring me his films and ask for my reaction. I was pleased to be of any help I could be, especially after he did me the great favor of appearing in a tiny role in The Conversation.”
LAB: When you worked with Duvall on Rain People and later on the first two Godfather pictures and The Conversation, did you sense he had a directorial sensibility about him?
FFC: “I didn’t think about it. Iv’e always known that actors make the best directors among all the crafts – writing, editing, assistant directors, et cetera. There’s a long list of actors who became fine directors.”
LAB: After Rain People did you know you wanted to work with Caan and Duvall again? When you got The Godfather did you immediately think of them?
FFC: “I liked working with them very much, and yes, they were on all the early lists of names for The Godfather.'”
LAB: The Rain People production team also included two key collaborators in George Lucas and Mona Skager. The film came at an interesting juncture in your young careers. You had wanted to be an independent director but soon found yourself being a studio wonk. After Finian’s Rainbow it appears you intentionally set out to liberate yourself from the studio apparatus with Rain People, is that right?
FFC: “Yes. George Lucas was, and still is, like a younger brother to me. I knew early on that he was a great talent, and though a different personality to my own, one that was very helpful to me, and stimulating to me. hH’s a fine, very generous person, so bright and talented.Ii am very proud of him. Mona was the first ‘key associate’ I had, starting out as a secretary and blossoming into an all-around associate in the entire process.”
LAB: I believe that you, Lucas and Skager formed American Zoetrope not long after the project. Did the idea for Zoetrope come to you during the making of the film or did the experience of that film point you in the direction of launching your own studio?
FFC: “The idea for American Zoetrope really came from the theater club that I was president (or executive producer) of in college, called ‘The Spectrum Players.’ It still exists at Hofstra University in Long Island, and I was the founder and merely took many of the ideas of a creative entity that attempted to create art works with it’s own means. George was essentially a co-founder, and Mona was what they called in those days ‘the Girl Friday’ – today a production supervisor who was involved in all we were trying to do.”
LAB: Rain People certainly fits the vision you had for Zoetrope in terms of small, personal art films. which Godfather I and II, Apocalypse Now and subsequent pictures took you away from for many years before you returned to this model the last few years. Do you still regard Rain People warmly after all these years?
FFC: “Yes, very much. I wish Warner Bros. would allow me to buy it back, as there’s not even a DVD available about it (there is now). It has value, I think, beyond being an early film of mine but as one of the first films to touch on the theme of ‘women’s liberation’.”
LAB: The documentary Lucas made about the making of the film captures you and the others before you became so well known, which makes it a very interesting time piece, don’t you think?
FFC: “George’s film is excellent, if I may say, and he caught the spirit of this exciting trip, which for us was an adventure into filmmaking.”
LAB: In addition to working again with Caan, Duvall, Lucas and Skager, you also ended up working again with Rain People cinematographer Bill Butler, and so that film really forged some key relationships didn’t it?
FFC: “Bill Butler did a terrific job, and it was a pleasure to work with him.”
LAB: And, of course. Lucas ended up casting Duvall in his first feature, THX-1138, which you produced.
FFC: “Yes, George got to meet Bobby and knew he should be in THX-1138.”
LAB: The confluence of talent and connections that arose out of Rain People has always fascinated me, as has the fact that within a few years of its making you and Lucas helped usher in the New Hollywood and became kingpins in the industry. But you tried to escape the constraints and weight of studio filmmaking over the next few decades, and you finally have regained the independence you found on Rain People, all thanks to your wine company. You’ve kind of come full circle, haven’t you?
FFC: “I hope so. With the conclusion of the ‘student’ films I just made, Youth Without Youth, Tetro and Twixt, I feel ready to tackle a new and much bigger project. I feel blessed in my life, and of course hI ope I’m able to enjoy the freedom and autonomy enjoyed in those last three, on the new one, which will need a much bigger budget. I hope fate allows me to do it, as I don’t yet feel i’ve achieved what I long to do in film.”
LAB: As you know, Lucas has long talked about freeing himself from his corporate machine, CGI endeavors and Star Wars franchises to make small experimental films. Have you nudged him at all to say, ‘Hey, look, I did it, you can too’?
FFC: “George is so talented, anything he attempts will be a pleasure to see. Yes, I always ask him to quit fooling with the Star Wars ‘franchise’ and go back to what he and I always wanted: to make personal — experimental films. I have no doubt that he will succeed.”
Life Itself XX: The Terence Crawford Collection
Life Itself XX:
The Terence Crawford Collection
Welcome to my stories and musings about the most important and high achieving athlete to come out of
Nebraska – world boxing champion Terence Crawford.
He has dominated in the amateur and professional ranks. He has fought for and won titles in America and abroad. He has single-handedly revived a dying sport in his hometown and, in the process, put Omaha on the national and international boxing map. He has remained true to his roots and his base. He has established a community gym in his old neighborhood.
He has broadened his horizons outside boxing by making humanitarian trips to Africa. I accompanied him on one of those trips in 2015. But my coverage of him began a few years before that when I did some reporting about the place where he got his start – the CW Boxing Club.
All my reporting and analysis about Crawford and the community that shaped him and the impact he’s made in return is included here for your perusal.
He has truly been one of the more unforgettable characters I have written about. He possesses, like a lot of people I report on. a passion and a magnificent obsession that will not be denied, only his drive has taken him to the heights of his craft and profession. As a Fighter of the Year honoree who has yet to lose a professional bout, he stands alongside the elite artists and entrepreneurs I have been privileged to profile.
Terence Crawford affirms his place as Nebraska’s unequivocal homegrown sports hero
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/10/15/terence-crawford…rown-sports-hero/
Terence Crawford, Alexander Payne and Warren Buffett: Unexpected troika of Nebraska genius makes us all proud
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/08/19/terence-crawford…kes-us-all-proud/
Terence Crawford, right, lands a punch against Jose Benavidez Jr. on Saturday. “It feels so good to shut somebody up who’s been talking for so long. I’m at ease,” Crawford said after his victory. AP Photo/Nati Harnik
Omaha warrior Terence Crawford wins again but his greatest fight may be internal
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/05/21/omaha-warrior-te…-may-be-internal/
This is what greatness looks like. Terence Crawford: Forever the People’s Champ
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/07/24/terence-crawford…he-peoples-champ
.jpg)
©Photos by Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Some thoughts on the HBO documentary “My Fight” about Terence Crawford
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/07/12/some-thoughts-on…terence-crawford
TERENCE CRAWFORD STAMPS HIS PLACE AMONG OMAHA GREATS
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/02/24/terence-crawford…ong-omaha-greats
28:56HD
Terence Crawford – My Fight Full HBO Documentary
YouTubeÂ
HOMETOWN HERO TERENCE CRAWFORD ON VERGE OF GREATNESS AND BECOMING BOXING’S NEXT SUPERSTAR
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/10/23/hometown-hero-te…s-next-superstar/
The Champ looks to impact more youth at his B&B Boxing Academy; Building campaign for Terence Crawford’s gym has goal of $1.2 million for repairs, renovations, expansion
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/10/14/the-champ-looks-…ations-expansion/
My travels in Uganda and Rwanda, Africa with Pipeline Worldwide’s Jamie Fox Nollette, Terence Crawford and Co.
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/08/01/my-travels-in-ug…-crawford-and-co/
The Champ Goes to Africa: Terence Crawford Visits Uganda and Rwanda with his former teacher, this reporter and friends
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/06/26/the-champ-goes-t…rter-and-friends
Pad man Esau Dieguez gets world champ Terence Crawford ready
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/04/25/pad-man-esau-die…e-crawford-ready/
Omaha conquering hero Terence Crawford adds second boxing title to his legend; Going to Africa with The Champ; B & B Boxing Academy builds champions inside and outside the ring
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/04/21/omaha-conquering…outside-the-ring/
Sparring for Omaha: Boxer Terence Crawford Defends His Title in the City He Calls Home
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/01/08/sparring-for-oma…ty-he-calls-home/
Terence “Bud” Crawford is Nebraska’s most impactful athlete of all-time
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/12/09/terence-bud-craw…lete-of-all-time/
Flashback to June 2015: Visiting Africa with Terence “Bud” Crawford
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/06/14/flashback-to-jun…nce-bud-crawford
What do Oscar-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne and WBO world boxing champion Terence “Bud” Crawford have in common?
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/12/02/what-do-oscar-wi…d-have-in-common/
Bud Rising: Terence “Bud” Crawford’s tight family has his back as he defends title in his own backyard
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/06/25/bud-rising-bud-c…his-own-backyard
Terence “Bud” Crawford in the fight of his life for lightweight title: top contender from Omaha’s mean streets looks to make history
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/02/25/terence-bud-craw…-to-make-history/
In his corner: Midge Minor is trainer, friend, father figure to pro boxing contender Terence “Bud” Crawford
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/07/30/in-his-corner-mi…nce-bud-crawford/
Giving kids a fighting chance: Carl Washington and his CW Boxing Club and Youth Resource Center
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/12/03/giving-kids-a-fi…-resource-center/
Brotherhood of the Ring, Omaha’s CW Boxing Club
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/19/brotherhood-of-the-ring/
This image and the one above are of a very young Bud at the CW Boxing Club, ©photos courtesy Jim Krantz
Mini-Profile
