film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: BRWC

  • Dying, And Other Superpowers – Interview

    Dying, And Other Superpowers – Interview

    In the final part of a series related to LGBT themes in comic book/superhero stories we have a conversation with Elias Ribeiro and Kristian Johns about Dying, And Other Superpowers. Ribeiro is responsible for bringing the short film adaptation of Johns’s short story to the big screens, you can read our review HERE. In keeping with the theme of this series we talked to them about the origins and production of the short as well as LGBT representation in the superhero genre.

    Dan: How did Dying, and other Superpowers come about? Firstly, Kristian what inspired the story ? And Elias, how did the movie production come about?

    Kristian: I loved the TV show ‘Heroes’, and the standout character for me was the junkie who could only paint the future when he was high. It was an interesting dichotomy – he had this amazing gift, but had to hurt himself to use it. When I got the opportunity to be included in Paul Burston’s anthology, I knew I wanted to create an HIV positive character, but without all the associated clichés. Most HIV+ characters are painted as tragic victims or fuckups. I wanted Josh to be a hero for something other than having HIV, but also to demonstrate the impact the disease had on him using his abilities. Being HIV positive myself, I know it can limit me in some respects, but it’s also turned me into a better person. At the end of the story you’re left wondering if Josh’s story would have been different had he not had his powers limited by his condition.

    Elias: I had just spent 2 years working on commission for Playboy TV and it was a turning point for me when they screened one of the productions at the 2010 Berlin Porn Film Fest. I was really not happy with what I was doing and needed to reconnect with my creativity. I flew to London the following day and decided I was going to make a short film and move back into art house filmmaking, where I had started my career. I stumbled upon a video of Kristian reading his short story on his Facebook page, and contacted him right away. I had been corresponding with Jamie, the screen-writer and we spoke about collaborating. I sent him the short story and a week later we had the first draft of the screenplay, two other weeks and the film was in the can.

    D: Kristian, how did it feel handing your work over to someone else? Was it humbling that someone wanted to turn your words into live action?

    Kristian: It was great! I loved how Jamie Pohotsky (the screenwriter) took elements of the story I had only alluded to and turned them into whole scenes. For instance, Josh’s birthday, the sex scene with Stuart. It blew my mind to see real people acting out the dialogue and put faces to character names. I wasn’t precious about it – I wouldn’t know the first thing about making a film, but by the same token, Elias consulted me on every aspect of the casting, the script, the direction, the editing, etc. to make sure he was faithful to the story. The cast and crew were great to work with and I never had any doubt that the final piece would be great.

    D: Elias, the short is less dark than the original story, the ending is a bit more upbeat and it works really well. Was that to make the story fit within timeframe and budget requirements for a short film, or to open up the possibility of more stories in this universe? Or a little of both? 

    Elias: A little of both for sure. I wanted to turn this project around in 3 weeks, and I was funding the basic costs of the film myself, I pulled in a lot of favours and we made magic happen, so we could never have afforded to stick to the original ending. When I read Kristian’s story I thought it had this whimsical and very human tone and addressing such delicate and serious issue. It is almost fun to watch such a sad story, and that is what I love about Dying, And Other Superpowers. It was important to me that the audience left with a message of hope, with a drive to keep on moving on!

    D: Are you comic book/superhero fans? Do you have any favourites? 

    Elias: I was as a child. I was always more attracted to the human drama behind DAOS, to me Josh doesn’t really have superpowers, my favourite superhero was the girl with the cape from Dungeons and Dragons (Mom should have known!).

    Kristian: I’m a massive comic book fan, and I grew up reading X Men and Spider-Man, which was obviously a huge influence on DAOS.

    D: What do you think it is about superheroes and the idea of having powers and abilities that seems to fascinate so many people? 

    Kristian: As humans we can feel limited in our everyday lives, either through fear or by physical ability. We feel powerless when we watch the news and see violence, crime and war. Wouldn’t it be great if we could remove that fear or limitation and fly around the world saving lives and doing good in the world? Who wouldn’t want to be labelled a hero?

    As a gay man, reading comics was my first glimpse of the male form. Superheroes were all bulging muscles and tight clothing, and although I perhaps hadn’t recognised my sexuality for what it was, I knew there was something attractive about these drawings, even if I didn’t know why.

    Elias: Wouldn’t it be so much easier if we just had a magic trick to solve our problems instead of going through the pain of dealing with them?

    I just read Kristian’s answer, being another gay man, I’m sure I was always attracted to the male super hero forms too! And still am!

    D: Were either of you aware of the various LGBT characters in comic books, have you read any of them?  

    Elias: I was not.

    Kristian: Yes, I was a big fan of Marvel’s Northstar when he came out in the early to mid-90s, and now DC seem to be following suit with outing the original Green Lantern. I think it’s great to see the comic book powerhouses recognising their gay fanbase and reflecting the diversity in the ‘real world’ by having gay characters.

    D: The dynamic between Josh having HIV and also having superpowers is very interesting, what’s the relationship there – did he have powers and the stress of the situation helped them to present themselves, or are they a side effect of the virus, some sort of symbiotic mutation between his body and the virus? 

    Kristian: I address that in the book to a certain degree, as this is a conversation Josh has with Ellie. I think I prefer the former explanation. The last thing I want is people thinking HIV will give them superpowers. What’s interesting is that you’re left wondering that question, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter which explanation you opt for. The fact is that even if it was a mutation brought on by the HIV, it’s the virus that limits his abilities and ultimately forces him to sacrifice his own life for the greater good. It’s not his superpowers that make him a hero, it’s his humanity.

    Elias: Kristian and I don’t see eye to eye on this one. My interpretation has always been that his ‘superpowers’ were his coping mechanism with the illness. They never actually existed.

    D: HIV is a manageable condition now, would say it’s safe to say that the story stands as an allegory, albeit exaggerated with superpowers, for the message that having HIV doesn’t stop you from being who you want to be or doing what you want to do? 

    Kristian: It would be a very different story if he didn’t have the HIV to limit him. It’s not a fun illness to have and it does limit you in some ways, but certainly for me, it’s made me a better person. We are constantly presented with choices in our lives – we can run away from responsibility or we can face it and try to learn from it and be a better person. Much as I’d love him to be a role model for HIV+ people, I didn’t create Josh to be a template for how to live life with HIV. His character journey is very much about dealing with the consequences of his actions, and how he becomes a better person as a result.

    Elias: After reading Kristian’s short story, that is exactly how I felt, that like everything else in life it is important to move on. Not allow challenges to immobilize you. To have faith and work hard for recovery, better days. I hope the film carries that message without banalising the very serious HIV still is to humanity.

    D: Kristian, I know you’re working on a prequel to Dying, and Elias there are plans for a feature length movie – can you tell us what we can expect in the future from these characters? 

    Kristian: Elias and I are working hard to get funding to make the full version of DAOS and in the meantime, I’m writing a linear prequel to DAOS called ‘The Beginner’s Guide to saving The World’. It picks up from where Josh finishes his narrative in DAOS and before Ellie picks up the story. It’s clear that by the time Josh gets on that ill-fated tube train, he has developed his abilities quite significantly, and BGSW will focus on that story.

    Elias: We are meeting in London during the festival to discuss where to take the story on the feature version, Kristian, Jamie and I, so we will have to give you more details after we meet.

    D: In expanding the universe will you introduce more characters with superpowers, and super villains as well? Or will it remain more grounded?

    Kristian: Josh will meet people like him, all with their own special abilities, but all suffering in some way as a result, so yes, there will be antagonists and protagonists, each with unique abilities. I always wanted to do more around Josh’s story and his ‘world’ so although you will learn a lot about Josh and his backstory, you’ll meet a few more characters as well. It’s a bit more high-octane than DAOS, but still focusing on the characters’ humanity and the choices they make, etc.

    I’ve got time travellers, mind-manipulators and teleporters, you name it! It’s a lot of fun to write. A bit like X:Men, just with a lot more ‘issues’.

    –

    We’d like to thank Elias and Kristian for taking the time to answer our questions. Dying, And Other Superpowers is currently showing on the festival circuit and is screening in competition as part of the Soho Rushes International Film Festival at 18:30 on July 14, you can find out more information about that and book tickets HERE. You can also check out the trailer for the movie HERE.

  • The Rise And Fall Of A White Collar Hooligan – DVD Review

    The Rise And Fall Of A White Collar Hooligan – DVD Review

    The Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan, from writer/director Paul Tanter, is the latest in a line of movies showing cockney geezer football hooligans getting themselves into crime filled drama. Green Street, The Football Factory and countless others have gone here before with stereotype heavy skin head characters, guns, sex, violence, and an overabundance of the words fuck and cunt – this is not new territory, but it’s not necessarily all bad.

    The Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan certainly starts off well, Mike (played by Nick Nevern) is unemployed facing poverty and forced to take on a job for his friend Eddie, heavily concerned that delivering ‘merchandise’ is to do with drugs he has little choice but to do it anyway. Thankfully, for once, the crime is not about drugs but rather a pretty massive credit card scam – entertainingly unique for this sort of British crime drama. Things escalate pretty quickly and Mike is transformed from footie hooligan into ‘white collar criminal’ running credit card scams, and generally living it up with £1000 a night parties. The interactions, the accents, the general laddishness of it all is entertaining and funny, at least in the beginning – if a little tired and repetitive, this has become a bit of a stock ‘British’ market for films and it’s all quite similar.

    Unfortunately it starts to go down hill as the crime drama unfolds and Mike works his way further up the ladder getting completely out of his depth. The story then devolves into the usual tiresome cliches, murky violence, general thuggishness and just gets a bit messy. Mike, and to a certain extent Eddie, is likeable enough as the main character, you get the sense he doesn’t really want to be doing this but it’s easy money and he’s got a bit carried away – when he’s first introduced to the credit card scam he’s quick to point out it’s still stealing, he’s got morals.

    All the usual elements are present; there’s some non-linear time jumping, voiceovers that explain the job or where it all went wrong, plenty of shots of football induced riots, with every second word of dialogue being fuck and every third word being cunt – you know standard London dialect… But there are also some nice touches, introducing the geeks behind the scam is quite funny, and there is some genuinely entertaining banter. The fact that this probably had quite a low budget never really effects the movie, it just feels intentionally gritty. The editing jumps quickly, cutting abruptly from scene to scene which keeps the pace quite fast which works well and the film never really feels like too much of a chore even in the murkier second half where the stereotype crime and gangsters come in.

    The movie never resorts to getting too dark and the ending is quite satisfying, you feel like people get what they deserved for the most part. All in all The Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan doesn’t break new ground and doesn’t deliver anything particularly fresh or exciting but if you’re a fan of crime movies with a hooligan theme then chances are this won’t disappoint.

    The Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan is out on DVD July 2.

  • National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie – DVD Review

    National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie – DVD Review

    “National Lampoon’s…” used to be a prefix that carried weight, with Animal House in 1978 and a string of comedy movies throughout the 1980s including the John Hughs penned Vacation the brand was responsible for some of the funnier movies of the time. Flash forward 30 years to 2011’s Dirty Movie and it’s clear to see that the humour has long been beaten out of a brand that’s as a stale as the mattress in a middle aged hookers bedroom, with originality, and any sense of dignity, having been slung out the window long ago.

    National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie is a contradiction in terms; it’s not actually a movie, it’s a series of unconnected jokes reusing the same cheap acting ‘talent’ loosely strung together by the idea of trying to make a movie that is purely jokes. From the outset it is a mind numbingly banal and relentless rotation of horrible cliches, racist stereotypes, offensive generalisations, poorly acted insults delivered with the comic timing of a bucket of vomit. It’s unfair to call it a movie, to do so would cheapen the idea of the cinema in general, there are documentaries about soap factories that are funnier than this ball of tiresome clap trap. After about 30 minutes it descends into simply flashing boobs at the screen in a vague attempt to maintain your attention, at which it fails.

    Somehow the production value manages to feel even cheaper than the jokes, it has the look of a budget TV episode and it would have worked much better as a half hour comedy show, it still wouldn’t have been funny but there we are. Terrible green screen backdrops, awful digital filters, and a series of useless props contribute to an experience that defies the very idea of comedy. There was always an element of tack to the National Lampoon movies, an inherent cheapness, but this was just part of those movies’s charm and they had a story or a concept to back them up, something woefully lacking here. Cyndi Lauper turns up in a cameo that is truly baffling, why she thought it was a worthwhile project to put her name to is deeply troubling.

    Overall there really isn’t much to be said about National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie other than to suggest not to watch it, it is offensively puerile nonsense that wouldn’t even be worth your time if it was in a £1 bargain bin. The only thing to say in it’s favour is that it pretty much manages to equally offend every person, gender, race, religion, and sexuality going – a veritable carpet bombing of abuse. Dirty Movie is like a compendium of tasteless jokes, eventually one might make you laugh but 99% of the movie is filler, tumbleweed inducing, cringeworthy, humourless filler.

  • Logan’s Power Trailer

    Logan’s Power Trailer

    We reviewed the film HERE, but check out the trailer below for Michael Lamarra’s funny short film Logan’s Power.

  • Dying, And Other Superpowers – Short

    Dying, And Other Superpowers – Short

    Continuing our series focusing on LGBT and superhero themes comes short film Dying, And Other Superpowers from Director Elias Ribeiro and based on the short story by Kristian Johns. This fantastic short follows Josh on his 18th birthday as he is confronted not only with finding out that he has HIV but also that he has superpowers.

    Josh is a typical 18 year old, he hangs out with his best friend Ellie, plays computer games, and reaps the benefits of the tenacious, and confused, sexual proclivities of his Mum’s boyfriend Stuart. But following a spontaneous, and unprotected, bathroom stall sexual encounter Josh is told he is HIV positive and his world is irrevocably changed. The confusion, panic, and fear surging through his body manifest, causing a mug on the nearby desk to explode all over the unwelcoming hospital room.

    Josh’s narration guides us in breaking the news of his status to Ellie and Lorraine, coming to terms with the magnitude of his risky sexcapade, and in beginning to gain control over his health and his newly empowered abilities. Excitedly he embarks on an exploration of his new reality complete with superpowers. Following Stuart’s less than stellar reaction Josh’s unstable equilibrium is threatened by confrontation that results in a frenzied outburst of telekinetic powers, bringing with it the realisation that these powers come with startling consequences. Realising the extent of his new abilities, Josh faces the question: if you had superpowers, what would you do?

    Kristian Johns’s original short story is split into two chapters, one from Josh’s point of view and one from Ellie’s, and is darker in tone with a more final ending where Josh used his powers to save a tube train full of people at the cost of his own life. Ribeiro’s short focuses more on the emotional and familial relationship between the characters and plots a more positive outlook for Josh’s future, ending on an optimistic high note. As the movies log line states Dying, And Other Superpowers is about “accepting things you wouldn’t wish on anyone and most importantly: moving on!”

    Tom Stanley provides a great performance as Josh and is backed up by an equally great supporting cast in Rebecca Pitkin (Ellie), Lorraine Hodgson (his Mum, Lorraine), and Adrian Bouchet (Stuart). Pitkin’s performance is especially poignant in her reaction to Josh’s status, and Bouchet is a mixture of hilarious, hot, and sexually rapacious as he lures Josh into the shower in one of the shorts stand out scenes. Equal parts humour and drama this short is well photographed, engagingly edited, with a fast pace that makes good use of special effects to enhance the narrative. The focus really is on the characters; their humanity is what makes this story really stand out, it’s believable given the fantastical element because of this grounding – as with any decent superpower story the reality of the situation allows you to suspend disbelief in the supernatural abilities.

    Dying, And Other Superpowers doesn’t shy away from, or desexualise, homosexual relationships as is often the case with mainstream films and is frank and honest in discussing the reality of HIV. As with anything discussed in this series of articles – graphic novels, TV shows, and movies – the most successful narratives hold a mirror up to reality and explore real world issues, even if they do so in an escapist or fantastically divergent manner. Josh’s superpowers become an analogy for his HIV status, an exaggerated metaphor for being different, he must accept this and learn how it effects his life and act responsibly. His powers, just like his status, make him vulnerable but by taking ownership of them, facing reality, and refusing to be defined by one thing he can find that the real power lies in the choices he makes.

    Johns is turning the universe into a full length novel, a prequel titled The Beginners Guide to Saving the World, that will be released in 2013. Also Ribeiro and Johns are hard at work on a feature length movie that is to expand upon the short and deliver a bigger and even better story.

    Dying, And Other Superpowers is currently showing on the festival circuit and is screening in competition as part of the Soho Rushes International Film Festival at 18:30 on July 14, you can find out more information about that and book tickets HERE. You can also check out the trailer for the movie HERE.

    Look out for the final post in this series, a chat with writer Kristian Johns and director Elias Ribeiro coming soon.

     

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