Artists ask the real questions ..and our individual responsibility is to watch , listen and think about community ... ah Berto and Bowles
Showing posts with label WESTVIEW NEWS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WESTVIEW NEWS. Show all posts
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
As requested : past posts in first blog jim fouratt's REEL DEAL
NYFF 14 PASOLINI post screening public Q&A wDefoe and director ABEL FERRARA audience erupts...
As usual with this director when Pasolini the new Able Ferrer film played the New York Film Festival (2014) controversy erupted. Here he and actor Willem Dafoe meet the audience ,.Dennis Lim, chief programer at the Film Society moderates .his answer to my question is interesting FYI Ferrara's Pasoline is Mama's boy and his brutal murder not a political act but simply a bad trick act. here are the program notes from the NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL (2014) prestred by the the Film Society of Lincoln Center : Pier Paolo Pasolini—filmmaker/poet/novelist, Christian, Communist,... more »
Doc ALERT: Right now on PBS *Channel 13 in NYC) Tanaquil Le Clercq: Afternoon of a Faun is playing Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq -
Doc ALERT: Right now on PBS *Channel 13 in NYC) Tanaquil Le Clercq: Afternoon of a Faun is playing .. it made my top 10 of Docs of 2013. FIrst shown at the New York Film Festival .. insight look at one of the great Ballerinas of the 20th century..tragedy happen ...bold face names are all over this doc by Nancy Buirski .... and it is fascinating to learn who remain her friend and who dance on .... an American Master/KING LORBER film..... it is also viewable on the PBS American Masters website
TAMMY FAYE STARLITE CALLS DOWN LORETTA LYNN AT JOE'S PUB 1
One night she is Marianne Faithful, another night she is Nico , sometimes she invades Mick Jagger's skinny jeans and here she is Loretta Lynn ,,, but she is always 24/7 Ms Tammy Faye Starlite ,,, actress, philospher and savant, rescuing performance art from the pits of ego saturation and returning it to art form of creativity, perception and insight ,,, rumor has it she is working on an old angry Harper Lee... ... you'd be a fool to ever miss her.... and her musicians are always .,.. as you can hear here,,, top notch and tasty , This night Lenny Kaye was just one of the "boys in the... more »
Athena Film Fest Rosie O'Donnell post screening discussion of women and ...
In that brash, totally Rosie humor, Rosie O'Donnell's new HBO documentary is both hilarious and dead serious about women and their hearts .. O'Donnell's near death experience with a heart attack is at the core of this the take no prisoners live stand up .... and it educates all of us and especially women how to know and care for their heart. Great discussion .. funny and informative...... it premiers on Valentine's day on HBO and HBO GO
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Hey New Yorkers ,, check out the website athenafilmfestival.com ... interesting programing ... and mostly free , but you have to register repeat mostly free but you have to register .. Friday Saturday and Sunday.... I will be there ..say hi! ... focus is women in film .. and empowerment .. good panels ...good films ... good people ... you will see blog (Women and Hollywood) .legend Melissa Silverman ≈..everywhere ...her finger prints are all over this ... jody foster shimmered last nigth receiving her awars ... Kate Bornstein tonight doing a Q&A ,... and please don't ask me ! ..... ... more »
The 2015 Athena Film Festival (NYC) presents to Jody Foster the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award.
*The 2015 Athena Film Festival* (NYC) presents to *Jody Foster* the *Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award*. *Athena Film Festival *— a* celebration of women and leadership *— is an engaging weekend of feature films, documentaries and shorts that highlight women’s leadership in real life and the fictional world. The four-day festival, which includes conversations with directors and talent and workshops for filmmakers, has quickly established itself as one of the most prestigious festivals of its kind.
(2) Hamlet In The Rented World: a screening of Jack Smith's films and presentation by Jerry Tartaglia
ONE OF MY FAVORITE EXPERIMENTAL FILM MAKERS : JERRY TARTAGLIA has been restoring JACK SMITH's "lost" films . He will present some of his JACK SMITH restorations and lecture on on the expansion of time and the illusion of space in Smith’s work. . Tartaglia own work I believe are deserving of a major Museum retrospective. I am not going to miss this event! (2) Hamlet In The Rented World: a screening of Jack Smith's films and presentation by Jerry Tartaglia
"Selma" Director Defends Film’s Portrayal of LBJ-MLK Dispute on Voting Rights Legislation | Democracy Now!
REALITY CHECK Finally Ava DuVernay, the Director of the historical narrative film SELMA gets to respond to the organized campaign emanating form Washington D.C. to deny Selma and her in particular Academy Award nominations . It took place the last two weeks of balloting time . Amy Goodman asks DuVerney directly questions about the historical basis for her portrait of LBJ, the cause of the successful campaign and DuVerney drops her public face of not responding and moving on and answers , Important interview to bring some clarity to the issue from the actual creator of SELMA .... imp... more »
Athena Film Festival 2015 Feb 5-8th nyc Barnard College
This is important film festival sneaks into NYC and should not be missed ..opening night: direct from wining an award at *Sundance* 2015 *DREAMCATCHER* , directed by multi-award winner *Kim Longinotto* present will be some of the subjects of how prostitutes leave the streets and repair their lives . ... Feb 5th -8th check out the outstanding selection of films and panels .. bring your mothers, bring your daughters ..see you there Athena Film Festival 2015 on Vimeo
ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL at Barnard College opening nigth film "Dreamcatcher" Trailer
This is the opening night documentary at the ATHENA FILM FESTIVAL at Barnard College.NYV Feb 4th - Direct from winning a Sundance Award .Director Kim Longinotto and subjects will be present for Q&A. Be there http://athenafilmfestival.com/ It was my favorite documentary at Sundance...and this is just one of a number of outstanding films that will play. Check out the program .. wow! "Dreamcatcher" Trailer
2015 Sundance Film Festival Closing Night Awards Ceremony Hosted By Tig ...
Sundance15 watch as Tig Notaro and special guests present filmmakers with jury and audience awards... all the awards ..all the surprises ..all the thank yous
2015 Sundance Film Festival Closing Night Awards Ceremony Hosted By Tig ...
Sundance15 watch as Tig Notaro and special guests present filmmakers with jury and audience awards... all the awards ..all the surprise ..all the thank yous
2015 Sundance Film Festival Closing Night Awards Ceremony Hosted By Tig ...
Sundance15 watch as Tig Notaro and special guests present filmmakers with jury and audience awards... all the awards ..all the surprise ..all the thank yous
2015 Sundance Film Festival Closing Night Awards Ceremony Hosted By Tig ...
Sundance15 watch as Tig Notaro and special guests present filmmakers with jury and audience awards... all the awards ..all the surprise ..all the thank yous
2015 Sundance Film Festival Closing Night Awards Ceremony Hosted By Tig ...
Sundance15 watch as Tig Notaro and special guests present filmmakers with jury and audience awards... all the awards ..all the surprise ..all the thank yous
2015 Sundance Film Festival: Day One Press Conference with Robert Redfor...
SUNDANCE15 Why we are here : Day One Press Conference with Robert Redford, Keri Putnam & John Cooper
Cinema Cafe: Saoirse Ronan and Toni Collette @ 2015 Sundance Film Festival
Join brilliant, fearless storytellers Lena Dunham (Girls), Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project, The Office), Jenji Kohan (Orange Is the New Black, Weeds), and Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, Saturday Night Live) with New Yorker critic Emily Nussbaum as they discuss antiheroes and archetypes, using humor to crash through boundaries, as well as how far their art will go to tell the truth. The fascinating range of three-dimensional female characters on film and television these days suggests a sea change in the cultural zeitgeist. They’re smart, sexual, funny, and flawed; they upend expectation... more »
SUNDANCE15 Power of Story: Serious Ladies at 2015 Sundance Film Festival
Join brilliant, fearless storytellers Lena Dunham (Girls), Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project, The Office), Jenji Kohan (Orange Is the New Black, Weeds), and Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, Saturday Night Live) with New Yorker critic Emily Nussbaum as they discuss antiheroes and archetypes, using humor to crash through boundaries, as well as how far their art will go to tell the truth. The fascinating range of three-dimensional female characters on film and television these days suggests a sea change in the cultural zeitgeist. They’re smart, sexual, funny, and flawed; they upend expectation... more »
Power of Story: Visions of Independence at 2015 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance15 .. the POWER OF THE STORY George Lucas and Robert Redford
Jim Fouratt's IndieWire-CriticWire ballot Sundance 2015 + comments
For those film buffs who care about these things: Here is my IndieWire/ Criticwire ballot for Sundance 2015. In my comments I disagree with some of the awards . I suggest you place this somewhere and refer to it as these films become available for viewing. some times this takes a year, or only on vod.I will give expanded reviews when they become available: (go to Sundance Film Festival Guide online read more about film IndieWire/CriticWire ballot Sundance 2015 Jim Fouratt Westview News (NYC), Reel Deal: Movies that Matter, Framework, BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE 1. The End of the Tour 2.Tak... more »
Finally someone is asking questions about The Imitation Game......
I have know of Alan Turning and his history since the late '60.This horrible story of the damaging of a brilliant brain who was instrumental in ending WWII because of his self admitted homosexuality and this history of having to closet it himself in order to work was pone one of the motivation that made me become an activist despite knowing how in my on life it would damage my career goals. When I saw the film I while happy (yes) that at lat at last more of the public would know of this gay hero and what happened to him because he was a homosexual, I did have an uncomfortable feel... more »
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SUNDANCE and LARRY KRAMER the Larry Kramer doc is more an homage to St Larry than a definitive look at his complicated and important life ...being Larry he was there to speak his mind and be loved by a Sundance audience..no not live on stage but skyped in : and my question to him made him say "Oh Shit" I think we both smiled Than he answered it watch and listen http://youtu.be/Akcz_PswD5E
Sundance 15 Jean Carlomusto's Larry Kramer In Love and Anger world premier post screening Q&A w/ Kramer...
SUNDANCE 2015 and LARRY KRAMER : the Larry Kramer doc is more an homage to St Larry than a definitive look at his complicated and important life ...being larry he was there to speak his mind and be loved by a Sundance audience ...no not live on stage but skyped in : and my question to him made him say "Oh Shit" I think we both smiled watch and listen http://youtu.be/Akcz_PswD5E
Reel Deal: Movies Thatt Matter AMERICAN SNIPER, SELMA, FURY, UNBROKEN, INHERENT VICE, A GIRL WALKS ALONE AT NIGHT, RED ARMY
*Jim Fouratt's REEL DEAL: MOVIES THAT MATTER* (a version was first was published in WESTVIEW News 1/01/15) January 2015) As I write this column I am still reeling from the saturation of quality films that opened and closed in the last 90 days in NYC and LA in order to qualify in *Oscar Season*. Some will be back in the next couple of months for all of you to see. We can thank my neighbor *Harvey Weinstein* for creating this frenzy template of release pattern. Missing was his much anticipated *Grace of Monaco*,(*Nicole Kidman*), It had a bumpy debut at *Cannes* and disappeared almost... more »
liv Ullman in public chat about Miss Julie Film Society of Lincoln Center ...
Almost invisible in this year's best of list was Miss Julie directed by Liv Ullman and staring Jessica Chastain who gives in my opinion the best performance of the year, Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton are pitch perfect too... here Liv talks about the work and how she adapted Strindberg through a 21st century, feminist gaze. Look for the film on VOD and watch it please (i do ask a question during eh Q&A)
AMERICAN SNIPER vs FURY
*AMERICAN SNIPER* vs *FURY* I made a mistake and paid to see American Sniper ... No matter how I queried I was not invited to any press screening. *Clint Eastwood *like his films or not is a master of craft and since I was putting the finishing touches on my *Reel Deal: Movies that Matter:* *Best Films of 2014* I felt I should see it. MISTAKE! The press people must have know I would hate it. I did.The kind of mixture of blind Patriotism and hyper-masculinity is the breeding ground of bullies, tea party politics and the mentality that creates the police code of honor that makes ... more »
SELMA becomes the MUST see movie of the Holiday Season ..
*MUST SEE* ,, trust me go to *SELMA* before the* INTERVIEW* : When a black female director, *Ava DuVernay* teams with a black female Producer, *Oprah Winfry* to tell the story of *Martin Luther King* at a historical moment at Selma, the story telling is very difference. After 50 years of a male centric version of the Civil Rights movement in the US, women are finally upfront and seen as partners and participants in changing history. Yes *Diane Nash* is present (ever since Stanley Nelson's excellent doc *Freedom Riders* I have been trying to learn more about the woman who was the firs... more »
Selma - Trailer #1
Must See : SELMA not theInterview ! When a black female director teams with a black female Producer to tell the story of Martin Luther King at a historical moment at Selma, the story telling is very difference After 50 years of a male centirc version of the Civil Rights movement in the US, women are upfron and seen as partners and participants in changing history. Yes Diane Nash is present (ever since Stanley Nelson's excellent doc Freedom Riders I have been trying to learn more about the woman who was the first person to climb back on the bus after the attack and ambush in Birmingh... more »
HELP ,, it that time of the year: (best of ballot time) is there any film I have left off that you would like to remind of????? Here is my list of films of merit I have seen:
LISTEN UP FILM BUFFS : I am about to cast four different ballots for best films etc of 2014 ...here is my short list of films of merit I have seen (note I have not seen American Sniper, Into the Woods , Vice or Black and White A Year of Violence) Is there any film I have left off that you would like to remind of????? Here is my list of films of merit I have seen: ’ 71 20,000 Days On Earth (Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard, United Kingdom) A 50-Year Argument (Martin Scorsese/David Tedeschi) A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour, USA) A Most Wanted Man Afternoon of a Faun: Tana...more »
Jim Fouratt's REEL DEAL: Movies that Matter, December 2014. Nightcrawler, Foxy Merrkins,
Jim Fouratt's REEL DEAL: Movies that Matter, December 2014. It is snowing big pictures and stunning performances this month. Yikes. But first I would like you to take part in our REEL DEAL: Movies that Matter Readers Poll - Best Films of 2014. I would love to know what you liked! Please participate: here is a link to your own personal ballot: REEL REAL READERS BALLOT 2014 OR copy, clip and paste into browser: http://Google/forms/kovTln53xg The poll is open 12/1-12/20. LETS GO TO THE MOVIES NIGHTCRAWLER - Director Dan Gilroy Dan Gilroy's debut film should grab the gold com... more »
Academy announces SHORT LIST of 15 Documentaries from 134 submitted to be whittled to final 5
I34 documentary films were submitted for consideration for the Oscar. The Academy’s Documentary Branch determined the shortlist in a preliminary round of voting. Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles. I have seen all of them and think it a very good list. Goggle the title ans see if any are playing in a theater near you..or are available on VOD (streaming)... what's missing ? for me THE E-Team,and the Pamala Smart doc ....and you ???? "Art and Craft," Purple Parrot Films "The Case against 8," Day in Court "Citizen Koch," Elsewhere Films "... more »
Six films to get you through boycott Back Friday and the weekend of consumer overload..... they are listed listed in order
Six films to get you through boycott BlackFriday and the weekend of consumer overload..... they are listed in order of my preference .. 1: CITIZENFOUR 2: NIGHTCRAWLER 3: FOXCATCHER 4: THE CIRCLE 5: THE IMITATION GAME 6: ELSA and FRED
THE CIRCLE jim fouratt chats w/historical subjects ernst and robi re: i934 Zurich
*The CIRCLE *is the kind of documentary I love . I discovered by watching it something I did not know nor ever heard of: In 1934 a group of gay men in Zurich formed a private social club to break isolation and to publish a journal that would be published in three languages.This club continued to meet despite the outside world of the 30's and 40' In 1948 the *KREIS* rented a pub in Zurich to house a club in which „homophiles“ from all over Switzerland could meet, exchange ideas and get to know one another. The film focuses on a couple,*Ernst Ostertag,* and *Röbi Rapp*, who met at ...more »
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*JIM FOURATT'S REEL DEAL: MOVIES THAT MATTER* *November 2014* Over *150 films* will open somewhere in NYC from oct 15 to December 15. Much of this traffic is related to qualifying rules for the *OSCARS, SPIRIT AND SAG *awards. Many of these films will be of merit. I will highlight some smaller films that will not have saturation media campaigns that I want to bring to your attention.. As well as two important local fFilm Festivals locally. That said let me first alert you to some institutional programing :*BAM* (next wave) : *Exposed:Music Unseen Warhol Films (*15 Films)* featuring... more »
Reel Deal - reeldealmovies@gmail.com - Gmail
*JIM FOURATT'S REEL DEAL: MOVIES THAT MATTER* *November 2014* Over *150 films*will open somewhere in NYC from oct 15 to December 15. Much of this traffic is related to qualifying rules for the *OSCARS, SPIRIT AND SAG *awards. Many of these films will be of merit. I will highlight some smaller films that will not have saturation media campaigns that I want to bring to your attention.. As well as two important local Film Festivals locally. That said let me first alert you to some institutional programing : *BAM*(next wave) : *Exposed:Music Unseen Warhol Films (*15 Films) *featuring*liv... more »
My NYFF 2014 Criticwire Best of Festival Ballot with trailers
My NYFF 2014 criticwire ballot ….. for those who follow such things : ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jim Fouratt Westview News. Reel Deal: Movies That Matter Best narrative feature 1 Timbuktu 2.Whipash 3. Foxcatcher 4.”71 5 Two Days One Night Best documentary feature 1.Citzenfour 2 Red Army 3. Merchants of Doubt 4.Stray Dog 5.Iris Best director 1.Aberraham Sissko: Timbuktu 2.Bennet Miller Foxcatcher 3.Damian Cazelle Whipash 4.Olivier Assayas Clouds of Sils Marie 5.Aice Rohrwacher The Wonders BEST LEAD PER... more »
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lee grant actor extrodinaire, survived the Backist and won an Academy Award .. her e she expoans how she refused to disappear ... http://www.npr.org/2014/07/06/328202489/undeterred-by-the-blacklist-lee-grant-said-yes-to-everything?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social
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CitzenFour, the Laura Poitras documentary on the most important whistle-blower in history, Edward Snowden, New York Fl m Festival Friday night. Totally in lock-step with the dramatic stryteing of Glen Greenwald's No Pace to Hide. Most peope realize the importance of the Edqward Snoden and the film documents first hand step by step what happened once he arrives in Hong Kong and ater to Moscow, premiered at the New York Fi Full of important information and people including Julian Assange. But was most suprising to many at the screening s how successfuyshe tells his story in a super... more »
Listen Up Philip
Listen Up Philip dir Alex Ross Perry I have a few good things to to say about an asshole of a movie that has seduced *Sundance, NYFF and Lorcano* Festival programers. Philip is the guy you want to never invite to meet your sister despite his being smart, Jewish and a successful author . Because she woud have to join the ranks of the smart women in the film who eventually sees through his manipulative narcissism and show him the door. For an indie shot on* super 16* film selection *Alex Ross Perry *mentored by the works of J *ohn Cassavetes *and with his smart script and reputation f... more »
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PRIDE director *Martin Warchus\* (*published Oct 1st 2014 **Westview News**) * *PRIDE* is based on a true story about a compelling, recent chapter in British history. During the crippling 1984-1985 national miners‟ strike, the U.K.’s gay and lesbian community, already under siege with the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic, took up the cause of the battling miners, raising funds that literally kept them and their families from starvation. *LGSM* (*Lesbians & Gays Support Miners)* grew into a national movement because of the vision of 24 year of Mark Aston and members of *London’s Gay Li... more »
TS OFFICIAL ..THE AWARDS RACE HAS BEGUN! ...and after seeing I AM ALI I think we have a doc front-runner ... and the documentary to beat .... opens October 10th I AM ALI -
Wow ... after seeing it ..WOW ..and OMG the soundtrack!
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Please join me in these live events to be =live streamed at SUNDANCE 2016 and documented on YOURTUBE
HEY you can JOIN ME in the Sundance LIVE events at HOME :
Here is a list of ALL the Sundance live streams : http://www.sundance.org/blogs/special-edition/heres-how-to-follow-the-sundance-film-festival-from-home
and here is the youtube link for all archived livestreams https://youtu.be/NNiRrSd6bhI
Join me at the opening PRESS CONFERENCE (this is a BIG DEAL
The Sundance Facebook page is a wealth of information and videos https://www.facebook.com/sundance
Spotify has playlist of all the musicians playing the ASCAP music cafe
You may not be able to be on the Ski Slopes of Park City , but you will be able to join me from the comfort of you home at events I will be attending
P
And Yes I do believe there is nothing live seeing a Sundance film at its Premier with a live audience ...plan ahead and join me next year
jim
Thursday, October 1, 2015
MY FULL REVIEW OF STONEWALL the MOVIE.. please share
THIS IS THE FULL REVIEW
Jim Fouratt’s Reel Deal Movies that Matter
October 2015
The Stonewall Rebellion took place in Greenwich Village in 1969. Hollywood director Roland Emmerich and Broadway PlaywrightJon Robin Baitz have released Stonewall the movie.
Because it happened in the WestView News neighborhood and the event changed history world-wide, I have decided to change my normal format and just review one film in this print issue. Please look at Westviewnews.org for my New York Film Festival reviews and current releases.
I have to give you some of my own background first. I was a witness and participant in the four nights of the Stonewall Rebellion. On the night of June 28th 1969, I was coming home from working late at CBS/Columbia Records. At 10:15 pm, I turned the corner onto Christopher St. I saw a police car pulled up in front of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar that I did not often frequent. It was dirty, dark, seedy and usually full of closeted married men looking for young men to buy or to get pills to calm their nerves as they ventured out of the shadows. I was a 60s radical and one of the few out gay men in the anti-war movement and one of the founders of the Yippies.
I walked to the front door of the bar to see why the police car was there, and twenty people were gathered outside. I was there no longer that ten minutes when the front door opened and a police officer led out a very masculine-looking and dressed woman who was handcuffed and placed into the police car. He went back inside. She started rocking the car with her bulky body, much to the appreciation of the about sixty people now gathered outside and spilling into the street.
Much to her surprise and to the crowd one of the doors popped opened. She climbed out. Despite her size, she slipped her female wrists out of the cuffs. She began to throw her bulky body against the police car. It began to rock each time until it almost tipped over—it did not, but at its highest point the crowd, now nearing one hundred, started to cheer. The bar door opened. A cop put his head out to see what the noise was about and quickly closed the door. She freaked at the sight of the cop and fled. The cop apparently went inside and called for reinforcements. In
In Christopher St Park across the street underage gender non-conforming mostly run away kids did gather .A very few were of color .One must know that i 1969 the Northern racism as subtle as it is, was at play in the bar life of Greenwich Village. The mob did not normally let blacks in with few exceptions based on physical beauty. Black gays had their own bars in Harlem and times Square. There was one bar on the Village waterfront that was know as a black gay bar , It was called Kellers. The few authentic pictures of that first night wil show the majority of people were young, white gay men. The politically correct and language police must understand that the world drag queen was not a negative term and was used as identification by people like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Transvestite was the respectable language used as in Street Transvestite Action Revolution for gay men who dressed in women'x clothes. I knew of no transexuals. While drag queens did come to GLF, no transexuals that I was aware of did. I am using the language of 1969.
Meanwhile as the crowd grew outside awaiting the arrival of more police, it took on the tone of a street party. People were having a good time mulling around. The police arrived and cleared the sidewalk and went inside the bar. The bar employees were arrested, brought out and placed in police vehicles. The crowd outside became more animated, but not violent. Yes, a trash can may have been dumped over, and yes, some queens stood outside on the street and threw pennies and small change at the cops and matches at the building. Yes, there was pushback. But it had more the flavor of gay camp than 60s radical fight back.
The person who gave the most angry lip to the police was a straight folk singer (Dave Van Ronk) coming out of the Lions Head bar next door who asked “what is going on here” and got arrested. The cops started clearing the street. The crowd disbursed. Some simply went over to West 10th and some to Washington Square.
A group of about seven of us gathered at Waverly and Waverly and talked about how we could keep the energy and people coming back. This was all before cell phones and twitter, Facebook etc. A couple of us had been in the Mattachine youth group, and some of us had experience in the Anti-war movement.
Christopher Street was calm by 2:00 am. We set about organizing for the next three nights. Yes, it became more aggressive when some straight radicals joined in and were agitating to pick a fight with the cops. I saw this all with my own eyes. It is basically what I told Martin Duberman for his book Stonewall. Note there was never a Cadillac parked in front of the Stonewall any of the four nights.Sylvia Rivera and Bob Kohler were not there the first night but were there the following three nights. Now, the review:
Stonewall director Roland Emmerich
Whoever did the research for this movie talked to the wrong people (Or they read Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution by David Carter, which tells a mostly fabricated story of what happened the first night.) To me his is a dangerous story because he puts a straight template on gay history. He used as his principal authority Police Inspector Seymour Pine—who did everything he could to draw attention away from the mob payoff to the cops, because it was against the law to serve liquor to homosexuals. Pine’s people fed the Daily News a story of three cops getting injured and having to be taken to St Vincent’s Hospital and released. The hospital had little record of any injuries directly related to the Christopher Street incident.
The film is set in the days before the rebellion and focuses on street kids and queens and a new white boy Danny Winters (Jeremy Irvine) in town with a scholarship to Columbia. Danny has been thrown out of his family home in Kansas. He is taken in by a group of street kids he encounters, led by a character based on Sylvia “Ray” Rivera named Ray/Ramona (Jonny Beauchamp) more myth than reality.
Later he sees the handsome Trevor (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) in the Stonewall Inn handing out fliers. Trevor is the political hero of the film. He appears to be based on an ex-boyfriend of mine Marty Robinson. Trevor takes him home and for the Danny it is love at first sight. Later he sees Trevor kiss another boy and gets his heart broken. The film is populated with stereotypes and sentimentality.
When Danny runs out of money. Ramona suggests he turn a trick to buy food. He says they all do it to survive. Danny goes to local gay pimp Ed Murphy (Ron Perlman) who sends him to an uptown apartment to meet a mysterious fat, old man in a dress (this shouts J.Edgar Hoover to me.) We go to a Mattachine meeting in a flashback and see Frank Kameny calling for equal treatment for gays in the workforce. He is dressed in straight male drag, a suit and tie. Emmerich tries to put everything in but the kitchen sink—including a reference to the street queens mourning the death of Judy Garland inside the Stonewall Inn.
These constructed facts simply are not true.
All of this is building towards Saturday night June 28th. Two cops arrive at the Stonewall in the early evening for their pay off. I do not know what went wrong in the bar. The action on the screen focuses on the street where I was and it presents a full stage riot with crowds of angry young men assaulting the bar and threatening the police. Reinforcements are called in, including the notorious NYC riot police the Tactical Police Force (TPF) with their stanchions and shields clearing the streets. Fire engines rush to out a raging fire apparently set by people on the street.
Exciting on the screen? Yes. But it simply did not happen that way. Emmerich compresses four very different nights into one and creates a lie of what actually happened. There are so many historical errors—including the focus on the Mattachine Society—that it almost becomes a cliché version of William Burroughs’ The Wild Boys. Emmerich has the right to tell a story and is skilled at film making. I know Stonewall is not a documentary. But his distortion of actual history makes him vulnerable to people like myself who were actually there.
To me the significance of Stonewall is not what happened in the bar—payoffs happened all the time—but what happened on the street those four nights. The rejection of Mattachine and the birth of the modern Gay Liberation Front with its multi-issue politics much more in sync with the radical politics of the late 60s was important. As was the courage of the people godsmacked by the events—they had the courage to come out to create a safer world for all lesbians and gay people.
Not, “Gay is Good,” the Mattachine slogan but “Come Out” was the GLF chant. Coming out and being visible is what changed history. Stonewall birthed the modern gay and lesbian movement initiated by the Gay Liberation Front and groups that grew out of it like Radical Lesbians and The Gay Activist Alliance. (GAA).
Good intention alone do not make a good movie.
(cc) Jim Fouratt ( a version first appeared of the Westview News )
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