BEHIND THE LENS #231: Featuring Devon Parks

Behind The Lens

This week on BEHIND THE LENS we take a step back in time with writer/director DEVON PARKS as he talks about his debut narrative feature directorial, THE RIOT ACT. Premised upon a fascinating and factual piece of history upon which Devon takes true events from the turn of the 20th Century and then hypothesizes "what if", creating a riveting tale of revenge and shifting allegiances. Take a listen as we go in-depth talking about the actual events of 1903 when locally respected and esteemed Dr. Parchman (fictionalized to "Perrauw" for the film) shot and killed his daughter to prevent her from running off with "a low life actor". (And yes, folks, he was acquitted because of his social stature.) But before Devon joins us live, take a listen as we go back in time talking about an icon who needs no introduction, Judy Garland, and RUPERT GOOLD's new film, JUDY. Set during Garland's final stint at London's The Talk of the Town mere months before her death, thanks to award-worthy costuming, cinematography, musical arrangements, and a tour de force performance by Renee Zellweger as Judy Garland (HAND HER THE OSCAR NOW!), we are transported to a time and place we'll now only find over the rainbow. It's been 30 years since Judy Garland took us all over that rainbow into the Technicolor land of Oz. But time, pills, alcohol, husbands, have taken their toll on her. She is now broke, homeless, battling ex-husband Sid Luft to keep her children with her, and she has a reputation for unreliability. I sat down with JUDY director, acclaimed artistic theatre director RUPERT GOOLD, the perfect choice as director for this film, to talk about the elements and challenges in bringing JUDY to life. Take a listen as we talk about The Judy Garland Great American Songbook (including some fun factoids on license fees for song use), the film's cinematography as a storytelling layer and use of anamorphic lenses, framing, dutching, cranes, and more in constructing the film's visual tonal bandwidth, visual metaphor, the pros and cons of Rupert's theatre expertise in tackling a film like JUDY and, of course, Renee Zellweger. http://behindthelensonline.net http://eliasentertainmentnetwork.com