DISCUSSION WITH THE FILMMAKER
This week, FORGIVING THE FRANKLINS arrives on DVD.
It's a film that's tailor made to start a discussion, so what better place than right here?
If you have questions or comments after seeing the film, don't be shy -- ask away.
posted by Grinning Idiot at
2:58 PM
26 Comments:
Jay -
The film pulls no punches with the Religious Right. Have you gotten a lot of backlash - or do you expect to with the DVD release?
Thanks.
Hi JSOM --
Oddly enough, not really. Most people 'of faith' see that the film doesn't suggest faithlessness in the least. It doesn't have a high opinion of zealotry, but the Franklins' faith is actually purified in the film.
I have had some offended parties call it 'pornography', which is simply isn't. I think they were the very people you'd expect to be lashing out, but since the film doesn't really give them the opportunity to, they channel their anger elsewhere and call it 'porn'.
Thanks for the question.
What were the locations(s) for filming?
Fantastic premise I truly enjoyed it when I saw it about 2 years ago at DragonCon in Atlanta. Have been mentioning it to people thinking it would be in distribution much sooner. What took so long?
Finally found it on NetFlix gotit today was able to share it with the wife who thoroughly enjoyed it also. Thanks!
Hello Abaqus --
I shot the film in Greensboro NC and in Los Angeles / Pasadena CA. Framing out the palm trees when shooting here in LA was a pain in the nethers.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it. The film's path to distribution was taking longer than I liked, so, with a year wasted, I parted ways with the first distributor. That's when I teamed up with Indie Pictures and, after a few months, they were able to get it 'out there'. They've done a great job.
It's always GREAT to hear from people who appreciate the film. Thanks for your note.
i'm in wilmington nc (grew up here and returned after 20 years in ny) and thought your film spoke volumes about how conservative christianity plays itself out here. and the ending was really nicely done, closure and truth on a lot of levels . . .
and no spoiler intended for those who haven't seen it yet, so i'll simply say: dude, i'll never look at ice the same way again :)
Hello Datinggod --
You have no idea how heartily your ice comment makes me laugh. Really -- I'm laughing out loud here.
Being from NC myself, yes -- the story has no choice to be colored with my experience. I think it translates to other places as well, but maybe not with quite as a familiar ring as it did your you (and, obviously, me).
And I'm glad to know you 'got' the ending. Some people are a bit freaked by it, but I don't see that this story would really end any other way.
Thanks for your note!
yeah, i felt the ending couldn't have ended another way - not and keep the same sense of punch with it. (trying not to write spoilers here, sorry for the following shorthand :)
i saw no country for old men the other nite and had the same sense of "yes", where all sorts of ends of tied up, a genuine trajectory of cause and effect, even as it breaks your heart. the k cake did that, who baked it, what it meant, the position the mom and dad were in for their final frame.
i wondered as the film went on: how in the world is this going to resolve? and the only thing i could come up with was that they move to some big city, join an ashram, etc., but it felt so cheesy, and made too light of the subject being brought to light. and then your ending, and it all kicked into place: yes. then sister hearing her name, how she finally gets it. and voila, the real center of all of this: her transformation.
you wrote a tale of genuine spiritual enlightenment, from a unique perspective. really excellent . . . (and i can't believe you did the whole dang thing with no crew. you're like one of those musicians from the fifties with all those instruments strapped to him - harmonica, kick drum, symbols, etc. :)
Hi Datinggod --
The key to making a film without a crew is to not try to do things that you can't do without a crew. I just didn't want anyone on set giving me reasons why things can't be done, and 'volunteer' or extremely low paid help would likely bring with them exactly that energy. While fighting all that equipment, the last thing I needed was to be also fighting unhappy crew folks.
FTF is a movie that requires the viewer to be intellectually active. It's the kind of story I like, and I knew I wasn't alone. How long do we have to wait these days between films that don't assume the audience doesn't want to think? It's why people stop going to the movies as they mature, and I don't understand why Hollywood would consider this audience unimportant.
I knew that it wouldn't be for everybody, but we've only had a couple of bad reviews - from people in the Hollywood establishment, or at least trying to be like people in Hollywood establishment. If you're curious, go look at the awful review Gary Dretzka recently gave it on the Movie City News website. See if it seems like this guy is writing about the same movie you saw.
I wanted more than anything else to give people a story that never goes where you expect it to, and from your comments, it seems like I succeeded. Hell, I may have to do it again!
It wasn't the movie I was expecting. What was I expecting? . . . hmmmm. I rented it from a Blockbuster store, so it was the visual on the front, and what I remember from the back, about a family coming out of a coma with inhibitions removed (I somehow missed the sex part, or sublimated it :) And I also thought: oooo, fellow NC artist. I think I was expecting something more straightforward, serious, and more about human emotion than transcendence. I certainly wasn't expecting a spiritual expansion wrapped up as a satire.
I saw FTF at Sundance. My brother and I were blown away by it and we thoroughly enjoyed the Q&A afterward. I will see the DVD soon but I see it is rated R. How much chopping of language and nudity, etc did you have to do to get that "R" versus what I saw at Sundance? If a lot, will an uncut version be available? A truly great film. Glad it is out there finally.
Hi JMS --
Fortunately, and much to my relief, the version on DVD is the same as the Sundance version (minus one song at the end). I'm not sure if I'm allowed to talk about specifics regarding the MPAA ratings process, but I'm sure I can relay that the rating comes down to a vote, and IT WAS CLOSE.
You'll be seeing the same film you remember, down to the last ice cube. :-)
Great movie!! i am in desperate need of films like this.
I am a christian and i thought this is the most pure view of what a christian should be on most levels. loved the apple scene. potent and poetic. it's like once your a christian the "curse" is reversed right? so why are we living like it isn't? shame guilt etc...
I love these characters. And the prayers that caroline prays are amazingly heart fealt. i cried. because i relate to everything she was saying to God. except for cheerleading :).
awsome movie.
my complaint is that i dont think it is an "antidote to the passion of the christ" as a review said on the dvd. i think it's the fullfillment of what we should be living as christians who have been freed from the price christ paid on the cross.
my only question and i think i know the answer..
Are you a christian?
God bless.
this kind of art can change the world.
Hello Sereboib --
I'm always glad to hear when people who identify as Christians understand the film and appreciate where it's coming from.
I'm hesitant to answer your question because I don't want to influence other people's experience with the film.
Suffice it to say that if you guessed that I'm a person of faith, you're right!
If you'd like a private answer, feel free to email me at frank@forgivingthefranklinsthemovie.com.
Sorry -- correction -- it's frank@grinningidiot.com.
Dear Grinning Idiot,
I must say that this was an intelligent film. I loved the recurrent green and red color tones throughout the movie to keep the apple metaphor going.
I consider myself "spiritual, but not religious" and this film communicated quite well my frustrations with the Christian Church (as an institution).
I liked how it juxtaposed being a decent human being against living life by the "Book". I thought that the Franklins, after their "experience", were much more followers of Christ than the other characters. They were avatars for the unity and compassion that Jesus taught.
Well done.
Sean
PS - In the second to last scene I had a hard time hearing what Caroline heard. I still don't know what it was that was said.
Hell Sean --
Thanks so much for your note. It's always satisfying to hear from people when they absolutely understood the movie.
If you send me an email at
frank@grinningidiot.com
I'll be happy to talk to you about your 'PS'. I don't want to put info up here that might be a spoiler for people who haven't seen the film yet.
Jay
Grinning Idiot,
WOW just saw FTF this weekend with my wife. I am so glad she chose to get it from netflix. What a life changing experience, So well written and so true to life. So many times I have seen this whole "Holier Than Thou" life style that lives in the South. Talk about hitting the nail on the head with this movie!
I really hope you plan to make another movie soon and I hope to see the actors from the film in other movies soon, they did so well to tell the story at hand.(Loved Betty most of all!)
I had to go to iTunes the next day and get "Deliever Me."
Your movie is one of my top 10! Keep opening our mind's eyes with you work!
Wonderful!!! That sums it up. This film is truly excellent. I totally agree with datinggod. It is intellectually engaging and enlightening (in general). I love movies that prompt us to open our hearts and minds to universal truths. Your film has accomplished that in a most unconventional way, and I love that!
BTW, who is the actress that plays one of the Christian Mothers (she looks biracial)? I know she's in character and has to sport the frumpy look and all, but she is absolutely gorgeous ;)
Also, to her credit, she says so much without saying anything at all when the other member has those ice cubes in her mouth--lol.
At any rate, she took my breath away...and I hope she sees this.
Once again, kudos to you, and I look forward to more.
Just got done seeing this. I have one question: What did Caroline hear while peggy was praying over breakfast the morning she found her parents dead? We listened to it over and over but didnt catch it.
Hello Missy --
Thanks for finding the site.
I'd be happy to answer your question privately, via email at frank@grinningidiot.com
I'd prefer not to answer it here, since I don't want to spoil it for people who haven't seen the film.
Jay
i just saw this film today and wondered how it was shot? it almost feels a bit like video, but i can't tell... anyway, great satire on the religious right.
Hi Anonymous --
I shot the film with a Canon XL 2, standard def camera. Hi Def wasn't available at the pro-sumer level at the time.
We did a DI (digital intermediate) at Pacific Title, which helped to improve on the video quality and make it look more like film.
Thanks for asking.
ps meant to add, maybe you ought to have self distributed like the "robot stories" guy did and others. next time hire someone for $15/hr to contact independent theatres, send out screeners, make those bookings. hopefully unnecessary next time. funny this was the whole point of my writing and instead of I got illiterately carried away, didn't proofread, and forgot entirely what I meant to say....
ps if you were shooting a no crew film today, what camera would you use? always wondering whether an affordable HD cam would be. . . worth the trade off in possible loss of color quality. especially after seeing something like this film projected and Todd Verow's vacationland, shot with a 2500$ panasonic that looked for all the world in the theatre like 35 mm.
Hi I wanted to tell you I saw your movie and loved it. I have a couple of questions first who did the wonderful production and costume design? Also I couldn't help but notice that Forgiving the Franklins was very similar to the movies of Douglas Sirk. Were you inspired by Sirk's movies like All that Heaven Allows and Written on the Wind?
Hello John --
Thanks for writing me -- great to hear from you.
The production design was done per location, meaning I chose locations that fit the story and left them dressed pretty much as-is. Other than building a floor in Caroline's bedroom to match the wood floors of the primary Victorian location and my assistant painting the walls and trim in the parent's bedroom to match as well, there was little other set dec happening. I shopped costumes with some of the actors, while others shopped their character themselves and brought their bounty in for show and tell -- the key being that the South is a very colorful place, and their choices should reflect that.
As for the films of Douglas Kirk -- I haven't seen them! But now my curiosity is aroused and I'll be visiting my Netflix queue in a moment. The tone of the film is influenced by my love for Luis Bunuel, and the story is probably influenced by my love of John Irving stories... with a little bit of Hamlet thrown in for tragic measure.
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