Big Screen Terror
We asked local cult movie cinema club Dreadphile to share a list of films they think every horror fan should see. As Halloween approaches and brings out the horror fan in us all, we suggest you lock the doors, turn on the lights, settle down in front of one of these flicks and prepare to be deliciously frightened.
Haunted Houses
The Changeling (1980)
House (1986)
The Innocents (1961)
Fun with Cults
The Beyond (1981)
The House of the Devil (2009)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968) Foreign Fright
Let the Right One In (2008 – Sweden)
Thirst (2008 – S. Korea)
Cronos (1993 – Mexico)
Audition (1998 – Japan)
Zombies
Pontypool (2009)
Night of the Creeps (1986)
Zombi 2 (1979)
Fun Slashers
Behind the Mask: Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
Tucker and Dale Versus Evil (2010)
Cabin in the Woods (2011)
The Thirds
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
Exorcist III (1990)
Army of Darkness (1992)
Check out one of Dreadphiles’ screening events this month. Halloween III: Season of the Witch: The Halloween movie without Michael Myers, Columbus Theatre, Oct 24, 8pm; Cathy’s Curse: A ’70s low- budget Canadian mashup of The Exorcist, Carrie and The Omen, Acoustic Java Cafe & Microcinema, Oct 26, 8pm; Dreadphile Yellow: A double-feature of essential Italian slasher films, Courtland Club, Oct 28, 7pm. For more, dreadphile.com
Run, Charlie!
Newport, 1929. Charlie Travers is the state’s leading prohibition rumrunner, bringing more than $500,000 of hooch, booze and liquor on each trip; $5 million in today’s money. A Robin Hood-type hero to the locals, Travers and his crew defied the odds and ran a pulsing enterprise across southern New England in the early part of the prohibition-era.
Fast-forward 90 years and in Middletown, married couple John Taft and Pat Cahill Taft are bringing the story to the silver screen. The couple fell in love with the Travers story when they purchased a derelict rumrunner in Albany, NY, and brought it to Newport to run tours. Older locals, recognizing a similar vessel to the one used by Travers, approached the Tafts to inquire if it was indeed, the Black Duck used by Travers, reminiscing about wild and passionate times in the era of prohibition. Digging deeper, the Tafts learned all about the Travers tale, and uncovered how John’s history with the US Coast Guard had its own sinister part to play in the story. Partnering with venerable Hollywood director Paul Madden, who wrote the screenplay for Paramount film A Show of Force starring Robert Duvall and Andy Garcia, among other projects, the Tafts are breathing life to one of the most exciting tales to come out of the state in the 20th century. Filming is ongoing in Middletown, Jamestown and Newport, with the production set to wrap mid-December.
Power to the People: Low-cost filmmaking puts creative pursuits within reach
Back in the misty days of the mid ’80s when I first started toying around with making movies, the common refrain you’d hear from people in the business was, “If you’re not shooting on 35mm film, you’re not actually making a movie.”
In many ways, these comments were meant to discourage people who weren’t blessed to be born with a silver spoon in their mouths — or Hollywood connections — from getting into the business. There always has been a certain “country club” mentality to the movie industry, but in all fairness, the alternative to shooting film at the time was to shoot videotape, which until the advent of HD video in the early 2000s was pretty wretched looking. Even high-end standard definition video had the unfortunate look of a cheap daytime soap opera, and wouldn’t really allow for a cinematic look.
All that changed around 2004, when the first prosumer HD video cameras started to hit the market. My first HD camera cost $7,000 and it gave those who started video production in the ’80s and ’90s a look they could have only dreamed of. The doors to making your own professional-looking movie for a fraction of the price were ready to open wide, and movie-making was about to become an art form for the masses — not one just for trust fund kids or those born into the business.
These days we are shooting our movies on a Blackmagic Pocket 4k Cinema camera that costs around $1,300. The image quality is stunning, and when used by an experienced director of photography, like John Mosetich who has photographed our last four pictures, can produce images that rival major studio productions. And it’s not just the cameras that have gone down drastically in price. Lighting, sound gear and editing software are all now within the reach of the masses, and with that has come a tidal wave of micro-budget and mid-budget indie films from all over the world.
But with every massive change comes many downsides. There are several problems that started to crop up quickly when low-cost video equipment came into being. The first, and most noticeable, was that many young filmmakers decided that the equipment could do the heavy lifting for them. The DIY mentality of the 21st century gave birth to many filmmakers performing the same basic mistakes over and over again, instead of having a long apprenticeship in television where they could learn the nuts and bolts of their craft or going to film school where the basics are taught. It’s a difficult lesson for a society that loves toys to understand: Just because you have a shiny piece of the newest video gear doesn’t mean you know how to use it.
There were some independent filmmakers who stood out from the pack in the now extremely crowded indie film market, like Georgia-based filmmaker Torey Haas, who created quite a sensation with his witty and visually stunning debut feature The Neon Dead.
I spoke to Haas, who I consider to be one of the best young talents in the business right now, about his views on the changing tide of filmmaking equipment.
“It’s definitely made filmmaking much more accessible. Just browse through Tubi, Vimeo On Demand or Amazon Prime (well, maybe not so much that one anymore) and you’ll see how many independent and micro-budget films have been made in just the past few years. The technology is at a point where an aspiring filmmaker can readily obtain the equipment and software he or she needs to make a movie; if they can’t afford a RED, they can afford a GH5, and if they can’t afford a GH5 there’s always their smartphone. It’s exciting, but it’s also a double-edged sword; with more movies being made it’s much more difficult for an individual movie to stand out from the crowd.”
Now anyone who wants to make a movie can, and probably should. The downside is there are fewer and fewer channels for distribution. Back in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, you had local movie theaters in every city and town, drive-in theaters and movie rental stores like Blockbuster and Hollywood video that were starving for new content. But the video chains are now all gone, the drive-ins are few and far between, and what was supposed to be the savior of indie film — streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix — are starting to squeeze out indie film content so there will no longer be competition for the major Hollywood titles. And there’s another problem with streaming: Many worthwhile movies are lost in the blur of digital distribution. Classic independent films, like Eraserhead, Night of the Living Dead, El Topo and Pink Flamingos would develop a cult following because they stayed in theaters for months, sometimes years, where a loyal following would be built. Now a quality movie can easily get lost in the giant stockpile that is movie streaming services.
So what is the answer? We have this remarkable new equipment, but how can we get people to see our movies? And, if you’re going to be making just pennies per view on streaming sites, what kind of budget should you be working with?
I asked Haas about his thoughts on independent film distribution.
“I really like the Tubi model; if you’re not familiar with Tubi, they’re a streaming service that’s ad-based but otherwise free, kind of like if YouTube only streamed feature films. The great thing about Tubi is that the viewer doesn’t have to pay to watch their films … they simply click on the title, watch a few ads and then watch the movie. And even if they only watch the first five minutes before moving on to something else, Tubi still generates a small amount of income because of the ads at the beginning.
“I sort of hate saying this, but with so many movies being released now I think it’s good to get rid of the paywall like Tubi has since that will encourage viewers to take a risk on more obscure titles. Plus, it seems that people are getting more and more used to not paying for films. Even though Netflix, Hulu and the like aren’t free by any means, they feel free because you can watch all the titles they offer as many times as you want for a monthly fee that’s less than the cost of seeing a movie in theaters, let alone buying a Blu-ray. And the production quality of the average content on a Netflix or Hulu film is far above that of many micro- or low-budget films, so it’s really hard for an indie film to compete. Removing the paywall in favor of ads is smart in my opinion, and you can always sell a limited run of Blu-rays, DVDs or VHS tapes to your fans and collectors.”
As for me, I believe that the future of independent cinema lies within the basic philosophy of community theater. A group of talented people who are passionate about their craft get together to make something purely out of the love of storytelling, not financial reward. With the means of production now at our fingertips, there’s no reason not to go out and make your own movie with your friends, and tell the stories you want to tell. Make the movies that Hollywood won’t — or can’t — tell. And most of all, have a lot of fun and fellowship in the process.
Richard Griffin is an independent filmmaker in RI and owner of Scorpio Film Releasing.
Big Screen Meet Small State: The Rhode Island International Film Festival returns
The Oscar-qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) is once again hitting big screens throughout the state, and this year’s event promises to be bigger and better than ever. Shawn Quirk, festival organizer, says of the 316 films ready to be screened, “It’s the strongest year we’ve had.”
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The festival received 6,000 film entries that were narrowed down to the planned program in an unenviable process. Quirk explans how the selection works. “We have screeners based throughout the world as well as local and national alumni filmmakers and film educators.” The films first go through a round of judging, then the highest rated films go through a second round of judging. “We look for good films and films that speak to one another,” Quirk explains. “Films that don’t get in aren’t necessarily not good enough, but we’re looking for a cohesive program of films that speak to each other in a larger narrative.”
Quirk says of the theme that emerged during the judging process, “The narrative is very humanistic. We’re dealing with some tough times, but the festival speaks to a global vision of empathy and finding common ground both locally and internationally.”
Technology, both in subject and filmmaking technique, is another strong theme that emerged in this year’s collection. “We’re seeing films from all over the world dealing wth the smart phone and making social commentary on social media’s impact on our daily lives. There’s a little bit of a backlash, but there are some good things, too.” Quirk describes as examples the film Draw Line, about a YouTube star from rural Tennessee who uses social media as an unusual opportunity to make a living; Mirror Side, a film from Romania that deals with technology’s impact on human interaction; and General Magic, a documentary on the early days of smart phone technology.
Quirk also noticed that a lot of this year’s films were shot using drones, and he was particularly drawn to an Ecuadorian film called Sun of Man shot with drones and the RED camera. “Drone cameras have a wide lens and it’s very flat,” Quirk explains. But by using a different type of camera in this film, the filmmaker gave the movie a cinematic look. “He calls [the drones] floating cameras in the movie,” Quirk says.
Quirk says that opening night of the festival shouldn’t be missed. Opening the evening of seven films is My Moon, a film from South Korea about a love triangle among the sun, moon and earth. Quirk also highlights The Christmas Gift, a Romanian film about a young boy revealing his father’s political wishes in his letter to Santa Claus.
In addition to the film programming are networking opportunities for people involved in or interested in the industry. The Film Forum, which takes place on August 8 at The Vets is a symposium for the film community. “It’s going to be a collection of local and international filmmakers discussing the industry at large,” Quirk says.
Click here to view the schedule!
ScriptBiz is a screenwriting workshop that takes place on August 9 at The Walter Jones Library. Chris Sparling, as well as a number of filmmakers from RIIFF will be in attendance to discuss screenwriting, pitching, transitioning from being a short film-maker to a feature film-maker and adapting fiction work to a film. In addition to screenwriters and aspiring screenwriters, “It’s a great resource for film educators to get an update on the industry at large,” Quirk says.
From animation to documentary, shorts to features, there’s something for everyone at RIIFF. Don’t miss this world-class festival taking place in our backyard!
See schedule and highlighted films in our center spread. For tickets and up-to-date screening schedule, go to film-festival.org
Pass the Popcorn: The evolution of the movie- watching experience
There is no doubt that Americans love movies. But how much do Americans love movie theaters? Last year, domestic box office revenue was just under $12 billion. While this might seem like a record amount, the bigger picture reveals just how our movie-watching habits have changed, thanks, in part, to the availability of streaming services and on demand platforms.
Although box office revenue increased by 9% from 2017 to 2018, revenues decreased from 2016 to 2017. Many industry watchers point to a 4% price increase in the 1.3 million movie tickets sold last year as one reason for last year’s revenue increase, along with the release of several blockbuster films (Black Panther, Avengers: The Infinity War and Incredibles 2). Domestic box office revenue through June 30, 2019 is down by almost 10% compared to the first half of 2018.
While box office revenue appears to be stagnating, revenue for streaming services has skyrocketed. More than half of all homes in the US subscribe to at least one streaming service, spending more than $2 billion every month. A report prepared last year by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) revealed that 25% of the population in North America do not go to movie theaters at all to see films.
So, what does all this mean for the future of movie theaters?
Going to the Movies
Forty years ago, multiplex theaters began popping up all over the country, offering moviegoers multiple screens playing different films at the same time. As the popularity of the multiplex theaters increased, so did the number of screens. But along the way, the movie-going experience began to change – many say not for the better. Adding all these screens meant that the space of each theater became much smaller, compared to the single-screen theaters these multiplexes were replacing.
The popularity of multiplex theaters made it difficult for independent theaters to compete and many of them went out of business. Today, about half of the more than 40,000 screens in the US are owned by one of three corporations – AMC, Cinemark and Regal.
While the space of each theater in multiplexes has shrunk, the cost of going to the movies has skyrocketed, with increased ticket prices and the astronomical cost of concessions – 85% of every dollar spent at the concession stand goes into the theater owner’s pocket in profit. These prices have left many movie lovers skipping the theater and turning to streaming services. It costs approximately $25 for a movie ticket, soda and popcorn for one person at a multiplex. That’s the average cost for two months of a streaming service like Netflix.
And it’s not just moviegoers who are turning away from the theater chains because of the excessive profits these corporations rake in. Film producers are also turning to streaming services and on demand platforms as the major source of revenue for their films.
This is exactly what Rhode Island-based producer Chad Verdi of Verdi Productions has done with his latest release, Vault. The film, released in June, tells the story of the 1975 Hudson Fur Storage heist in PVD. Verdi says that the majority of profit from the film will come from streaming services, choosing to bypass the standard theatrical release, and instead going straight to Amazon Prime, iTunes, Vudu and other platforms.
“Theater owners need to be more willing to compromise on how the profits for a film are split,” says Verdi. He points to the industry standard of a 70/30 split as being cost-prohibitive, especially when you add in the cost of distribution. With these large bites of the revenue apple, there is little left over for the filmmakers. But streaming and other online platforms are giving producers and filmmakers other options to bring their stories to the public and keep more of the profits.
While the popularity of streaming services has put a substantial dent in the larger movie theater chains’ profits, they just may prove to be a boon for the independent theaters and art house cinemas. In addition to complaints of the cost of multiplex theaters, many moviegoers also lament the loss of the immersive experience that theaters used to provide. Instead of focusing on the experience, multiplex theaters focus on the convenience, providing more screens for more film options, but these options often leave customers crammed into small screening rooms, wondering whatever happened to the “big screen.”
And that immersive experience is something that streaming services also cannot offer customers. People who love film still love going to the movies, too. In a survey conducted last year by Art House Convergence, 65% of the more than 20,000 moviegoers surveyed said they considered their local theater a valuable factor for their overall quality of life.
Unlike multiplex theaters that tend to offer only the latest studio blockbusters, local theaters often showcase the works of independent filmmakers, foreign films, cult classics, older films and niche films.
Verdi thinks there will be a comeback for independent theaters, “As long as a theater is financially stable, they have many more options to attract moviegoers than the large chain movie theaters.” He points to his own film, Vault, as a perfect example. Although the film debuted last month on streaming services, it has also been running simultaneously at Empire Cinemas in East Providence for the past eight weeks for those who want to enjoy the film in a theater instead of at home.
RI currently has two dedicated independent movie theaters operating in the state, Avon Cinema (www.avoncinema.com) and the Jane Pickens Theater & Event Center.
The Avon Cinema, located at 260 Thayer St., Providence, has been around since 1938 and has been owned by the same family since the day its doors opened. Walking into the lobby of the Avon is like stepping back in time, with its original art deco styling throughout the building.
The Jane Pickens Theater & Event Center (janepickens.com) can be found at 49 Touro St., Newport. Built in 1834, the art house cinema began showing films in the 1920s. Today, the JPT Newport offers film lovers a full schedule of films and events throughout the year.
No matter where you’re watching a movie, whether it’s in a theater or in your living room, don’t forget the popcorn!
Haunted: An abuse victim deals with his trauma through film
Filmmaker Skip Shea still lives in the same town where he grew up, where he went to school and where he was sexually abused by Catholic priests. For years he was passed from one predator to the next, all of them allegedly in recovery from their unholy desires. The town is Uxbridge, Massachusetts, right over the RI border. It was there that Shea faced numerous sexual assaults that have plagued his entire life, causing him to go as far as attempting suicide, an urge he has quelled with years of therapy and the creation of solemn and often haunting films on the subject.
Trinity, which Shea directed, wrote and produced, delves into his own story. The film depicts a version of himself, Michael, who runs into the priest who assaulted him as a young adult later in life. This sets off a tortured exploration of his past, his suicide attempt, his lingering trauma and the periods of dissociation it brings. While the confrontation between Michael and the priest is based around an experience Shea had in a bookstore, the actual argument that occurs in the film did not take place in real life. Instead, Shea channeled his trauma into his art.
“If I don’t achieve some sort of peace in my life, they win, and I’m gonna be damned if I let them win,” he told me. He still screens the film from time to time and produces new works about the same topics. It’s not uncommon for fellow survivors who have not yet publicly come forward to confess to him after these screenings, a trend Shea doesn’t believe will stop any time soon.
Many new abuses have come to light following the release of 50 “credibly accused” clergy members’ names, and a new bill allowing sexual abuse victims nearly 20 more yearsto report abuse in cases of repressed memory was passed 70-1. Representative Carol Hagan McEntee’s bill was created because the representative’s sister, now 66, had been abused as a child but was unable to seek damages. Despite this victory, Shea is among many who have doubts over the church’s methods of self-reporting the crimes of its members.
“People think they’re protecting the church, but they’re protecting pedophiles,” he said. An organization like the church or the Boy Scouts, and professions like athletic coaching and others, provide cover and countless opportunities for those with predilections to prey on children. “Priests don’t become pedophiles; pedophiles become priests,” he added. “That’s how a good predator works.”
In his own small town, he acknowledged that he is a pariah, something of a walking symbol of things people would rather not think about. For a survivor of such abuses, Shea’s views are surprisingly nuanced, and he doesn’t blame his fellow townspeople for turning their heads away.
“I understand the people who avoid me. As it is, the priests who abused me could’ve nursed their mother back to health. And my story doesn’t invalidate thier story at all, and nor should it. But their story doesn’t invalidate mine, either.”
In Trinity, the priest who abused Michael haunts his memories even into adulthood. Sequences of brutal symbolism go to show the hyper-vigilance that many trauma survivors feel, unable to achieve peace of mind without significant help from therapists and community support. When the bulk of a town prefers to side with abusers rather than victims, it can further reinforce feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness among survivors. While attitudes are slowly shifting toward believing abuse victims, the Catholic Church is deeply entrenched in southern New England, and many will never truly hold it accountable for its lack of action on this front.
Much of Shea’s issues with the church stem from the fact that abusive priests remain capable of committing further abuses. In his own experiences, all the priests who abused him were allegedly in treatment. For its part, the Providence Diocese website reads: “The relationship of a diocese to a priest is more like a family than a business relationship. Even a priest who sins seriously remains a priest.” It goes on to say: “Previously the depth of some of these illnesses, such as pedophila, was not fully understood, and in the past, some priests were returned to parishes even though, as we now understand, their treatment was ineffective.”
This kind of non-answer is likely not much for people like Shea and Rep McEntee’s sister, but at least it’s something. While stories of abuse continue to break time and time again, filmmaking like Shea’s and legislation like McEntee’s move us closer to true accountability with those who have preyed on our society’s most vulnerable members and those who have shielded these predators. Film Is Rolling in RI: Diving into the mind of Steven Feinberg
Steven Feinberg is a legend of the silver screen. Currently serving as the executive director of the Rhode Island Film & Television Office, Feinberg previously spent 22 years in Hollywood where he worked with every major studio you can think of, developing a Saturn-nominated Best Science Fiction Movie, Fortress, in the process. Since returning to the Ocean State in 2004, Feinberg has been instrumental in the meteoric rise of the RI film industry, attracting more than $500 million of movie and television productions, including his own award-winning documentary, Pell. When not pulling the cinematographic strings, Feinberg is the co-host of the RIPBS weekly series “doubleFEATURE,” a show that explores the art of cinema. Eager to learn more, I caught up with Feinberg on a steamy Thursday afternoon and dug into what the future might hold for film in RI.
Amadeus Finlay (Motif): Any big projects in the works? Steven Feinberg: 2019 has been an exciting and busy year for film and TV production in RI. We wrapped Season 1 of the supernatural series, “NOS4A2″ during the winter months, and saw the premiere launch on AMC in June. Local filmmaker Tommy DeNucci (Vault) wrote and directed a fun family feature starring a talking dog. The hit TV series “The Bachelorette” filmed in Newport, presenting a postcard of our gorgeous locations to a worldwide audience. On July 20, AMC announced that they would bring “NOS4A2,” starring Zachary Quinto, back for Season 2. The show is currently in pre-production and will commence filming in September.
We are very excited about this year’s Academy Award qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival, which had the distinction of premiering the Oscar-winning Best Short Film The Silent Child two years ago [see center spread for story and schedule].
In addition, we’ve had a fantastic year of showcasing various industry professionals and their work to a loyal audience via the RIPBS weekly television series “doubleFeature.” Our talented, diverse guests included Joe Alves (Jaws, Close Encounters), Douglas Trumbull (2001, Bladerunner), Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Judge Frank Caprio, Deloris Grant and many others.
There are several outstanding productions currently lined up for 2020, which we will announce as we get closer to the start of principal photography.
AF: Why do filmmakers come to RI? SF: Rhode Island is the smallest state with the greatest backlot! A filmmaker can shoot in the city in the morning, in a Newport mansion in the afternoon and on a beach or farm in the evening. The Film & TV Office is a hands-on one-stop shop, providing assistance with locations, housing, crew, tax credits and anything else a production may need. We have a competitive 30% transferable tax credit, which levels the playing field against other potential locations around the world. We are also blessed with a fantastic local crew base and superb group of performers prepared and waiting for their opportunity to shine.
AF: What is the purpose of the Rhode Island Film & TV Office? SF: To promote Rhode Island as a film-friendly location to independent filmmakers and major studios outside the state while also nurturing our local “homegrown” filmmakers, crew and talent base, local businesses and tourism industry.
We also work closely with the local film festivals, support film and media education at the local institutes of higher learning, and sponsor the teen filmmaking program GiveMe5.
AF: Why did you choose film as a career? SF: I was born that way! I’ve been making films since I was 8 years old, and it was all I ever wanted to do. And I’m doing it!
AF: Any advice for all those students in the state dreaming of a career in film? SF: Be prepared, and when an opportunity presents itself, make the most of that opportunity. Remember to treat others as you would want to be treated. Be on time. And thank people for the opportunity when it is given to you. Also, it’s important to make as many friends as you can, because friends look out for each other and can help educate each other. Film is a collaborative art form and there’s nothing better than working with friends. One last piece of advice: Always leave a location in the same or better shape than you found it, because you not only represent yourself and your production, you represent the entire Rhode Island filmmaking community, and we always respect the location and those who have granted us permission to use it.
Sex on the Silver Screen
Strapped for Danger: Undercover Vice, the latest offering from veteran RI director Richard Griffin, wraps in Pawtucket on August 4. A rollicking LGBTQ+ comedy, the production centers around two undercover police officers being sent into a “gay porn factory” to bust a racketeering ring.
The second in the Strapped for Danger series, Undercover Vice is a typically high-octane Griffin story focused on humor and Pride, but there is more to the production than sexy scenes and punchy gags.
“The major reason for me wanting to direct Strapped for Danger: Undercover Vice is to bring fun, exciting and sexy movies to the LGBTQ+ community,” explains Griffin. “The film is a fantasy, a complete and utter explosion of joy, sex, humor and nudity. Is it for prudes? No. But prudes have enough typical neutered Hollywood film to enjoy. Those who think that sex and nudity are no laughing matter should steer clear of this film. But for those who are hip, I know we’ve made a film that will entertain and hopefully arouse!”
Strapped for Danger: Undercover Vice will be premiered in December. Womanimation! Celebration
On June 29, some of the best women-created animation from around the world will be featured at AS220 for the annual Womanimation! screening. MergingArts Productions, helmed by creative director Toni Pennacchia, puts the festival together every year. This 90-minute festival brings to the screen 12 animated shorts from 11 countries, and more than half of them are world premieres.
In today’s political climate, proudly nasty women are pissed off. But these shorts — though not appropriate for children — are not political in nature. Pennacchia says, “It is more personal than political, focusing on the story-telling power of animation, while still presenting distinctively female perspectives. Themes may be deep and dark or light and fanciful, from the complexities of sexual dynamics to life after death to strange worlds where logic takes a holiday.”
Festival-goers will see the Russian stop-motion film Three Sisters, which follows three siblings in love with the same man. From France comes Flowing Through Wonder, a film about an unusual funeral. And from Venezuela is Girasol, which is the story of a girl in love with the Sun God.
Womanimation! takes place on June 29 at AS220, 115 Empire St, PVD. Screenings are at 4pm, 6pm and 8pm.
Vault Review: Love Letter to 1970s Providence
Vault directed by Tommy DeNucci
There are a lot of things to like in Vault, the new crime film about the legendary 1975 Hudson Bonded Vault robbery from director Tommy DeNucci and producer Chad Verdi. The heist netted an estimated $31 million of loot from organized criminals who stored it in private safety deposit boxes. The acting is superb, the script is tight, and the production values are high, but ultimately Vault is a love letter to Providence as it was in the 1970s. It’s well worth seeing on the big screen while it runs at the Showcase in Providence and Warwick.
On the one hand, I felt really old at the premiere at the Showcase Cinema Warwick on June 6 because I seemed to be one of the few present who was alive during the 1970s, let alone remembered the decade. On the other hand, the accuracy of the sets and costumes was impressive, down to the ridiculous but historically accurate brown uniforms of the Providence Police, part of a misguided effort to make the cops seem more friendly. Seeing a coin-operated, rotary-dial telephone in a booth was a hoot. The classic cars, including a Ford Thunderbird and Chevrolet Camaro SS, were a treat. News footage, both real and simulated from the non-existent Providence “Channel 7,” opens the film. The music is outstanding.
Clive Standen as Charles “Chucky” Flynn and Theo “Rossi as Robert “Deuce” Dussault in Vault
In the lead roles, Theo Rossi as Robert “Deuce” Dussault and Clive Standen as Charles “Chucky” Flynn are charming petty criminals who have known each other since their teenage years. They’re a great team, with the hotheaded Chucky often hiring the methodical Deuce to plan and execute complicated tasks – such as the Hudson Bonded Vault robbery.
Historical criticism aside, detailed below, Vault is highly entertaining. Samira Wiley in the role of Karyn, Deuce’s girlfriend, turns in an Oscar-worthy performance. Especially if you know nothing about the real history of the robbery, the film is a gripping crime caper with larger-than-life personalities, evoking a bygone era of romanticized mafiosi, wise guys, and “made men” that dominated organized crime – and it makes a plausible case for why that era ended as discipline broke down, the code of silence was successfully eroded by the feds, and organized crime became, for lack of a better word, disorganized.
Don Johnson as Gerry Ouimette in Vault
Don Johnson is a chilling Gerry Ouimette, especially when his usual smile is traded for a momentary flash of anger. Chazz Palmintieri is an eerie Raymond L.S. Patriarca down to his mannerisms and distinctive staccato speaking style; Patriarca would say literally anything in the same emotionless tone, speaking just a bit more slowly than anyone else likely would, deliberately making it impossible to tell whether he was pleased or angry, something he consciously exploited to unnerve those to whom he spoke. In one critical scene, Ouimette asks to be “made” a full member of the Patriarca Crime Family, and is told that will never happen because he has no Italian ancestry, explaining Ouimette’s hatred for the Italians whom he knew called him “that fucking Frenchman.” (Through the 1920s organized crime followed ethnic lines with separate enterprises for those of Italian, Irish, and Jewish backgrounds; by the 1950s, the Italians had murdered enough of rival ethnicities to take firm control.) This is subtly referenced later in an ironic scene where Deuce watches the classic 1971 “People Start Pollution, People Can Stop It” television commercial featuring a crying Indian played by Iron Eyes Cody – who, it turned out, falsely claimed to be of Native American Cherokee and Cree ancestry although he was actually a full-blooded Italian. That sort of confident directorial touch and attention to detail (and occasional Easter Egg) run throughout the film.
Director Tommy DeNucci told me “we’re not making a documentary,” and that’s an understatement. Some of his deviations from historical accuracy are very wise: it helps the story to relocate the site of the robbery from its real location on the northern edge of South Providence to the city’s nicer looking and more picturesque downtown, with establishing shots of the landmark Turk’s Head Building and its Westminster Street plaza. That’s understandable in part because the original vault no longer exists, but also because it was little more than a visually unappealing glorified storeroom. Instead, as a proxy the film takes us into the huge vault complex under 111 Westminster Street, the now-vacant Industrial National Bank that is commonly known as the “Superman Building,” a much more elaborate setting that for good reason looks exactly like what one imagines a bank vault to be.
Some of the fictionalized elements are quite funny in-jokes. In an early scene, Deuce and Chucky are robbing a store when Chucky accidentally fires his gun and hits someone in the leg; in reality, it was Deuce who was so incompetent with guns that Chucky had taken to putting blanks rather than live cartridges in Deuce’s gun. The film shows, after the robbery, wise guys in the parking lot all implausibly claiming to be coin collectors, but at least one of the boxes in the vault was rented by William and Mildred Lamphere, who really were coin dealers the IRS was chasing for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Events inside prison are moved from the Massachusetts State Prison in Walpole to the Adult Correctional Institution in Cranston. The film character Gerry Ouimette, played by Don Johnson, is a composite of Gerry and his brothers John and Walter for narrative simplicity. In the film, the robbers call each other “Buddy” to conceal their real names; in reality, they called each other “Harry” – and they reportedly got the code name idea from the heist film The Taking of Pelham 123 released a year before the robbery.
By far the most problematic aspect of the script, in my opinion, is the complete fictionalization of Karyne Sponheim, the girlfriend of Deuce, for some reason renamed “Karyn,” dropping the final “e” from her name. In the film, they meet when Deuce robs a store where she works in Providence, and he invites her home for a meal home-cooked by his mother; in reality, Karyne was an expensive prostitute Deuce picked up in Las Vegas. In the film, Karyn knows from the beginning that Deuce is a criminal and she picks him up in his car when he gets out of a stint in prison in RI; in reality Karyne didn’t even know Deuce’s real name because he was using the alias “Dennis Allen,” and not only did Deuce not have a car but never learned how to drive because he spent most of his adult life in prison.
In the film, Karyn is played by the extremely beautiful – and African American – Samira Wiley, making their interracial relationship notably progressive for the 1970s; in reality Karyne was regarded as extremely beautiful – but she was white. (Nor were these people racially progressive in their outlook. At the trial, according to The Last Good Heist, defendant Jacob Tarzian said to assistant prosecutor John Austin Murphy, “Jesus, Murphy. I was sorry to hear… I hope it isn’t true. Your sister’s married to a colored guy.” Murphy responded, “That’s right. You don’t have to feel sorry.” Murphy also said defendant Jerry Tillinghast whispered to him, “Hey, Murphy. How’s it feel to have those nigger kids running around your house?”) The cultural gulf between the real Karyne and Deuce was vast: at one point they had an argument because he wanted to celebrate a classic Christmas with a tree and so forth because he missed that for years in prison, and he became upset that she did not share his enthusiasm because she was Jewish.
The film only briefly hints at something else: in reality, the woman Deuce thought was his mother was his biological grandmother and the woman Deuce thought was his older sister was his biological mother, facts his family hid from him until adulthood, the discovery influencing his well-known distrust of women to the point of misogyny. In the film, Karyn and Deuce fall in love; in real life, there seem to have been honest feelings for each other, but he physically beat Karyne enough that she regularly had to use makeup to cover bruises on her face. In the film, she turns him in out of a desire to save his life; in reality, she had him arrested because he broke into her Las Vegas apartment and was lying in wait for her to return while she hid out at her mother’s. In the film, the epilogue says that Deuce and Karyn never saw each other again after she turned him in; in reality, Karyne testified against him at his trial before she was killed at age 30 as a pedestrian by a drunk driver.
I fully understand the need for literary license in telling a good story, and much of the fictional Karyn makes sense in that context, including the change of hometown, the change of profession, and even the change of race – but it crossed a line for me to erase completely the documented history of serious domestic violence; while Deuce was certainly a “bozo” inept in many of the basic skills of life, he was not, as director DeNucci described him, a “gentlemanly” bozo. Chucky was rumored to have murdered more than a few, but to what extent that was true or just image-making will never be known; in Massachusetts around Lowell, he was a small-time crime boss who controlled illegal gambling, extortion, and drug trafficking in his territory, being careful to stay far away from Rhode Island and Boston to avoid conflict with Patriarca.
And, despite my concerns about departure from the true history in a few cases, it is above all a good story well told.