The Cinema Lounge meets Monday, August 20, 2018 at 7:00pm. Our topic is The Films of Sidney Lumet.

Sidney Lumet made films for 50 years, directing classics such as 12 Angry Men, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network and The Verdict. Lumet is one of the few directors who could be labeled as both a legend and underrated. He never seemed to fit the auteur theory (that the director is the primary creator of the film). Lumet repeatedly discussed the collaborative nature of filmmaking, most notably in his 1995 book Making Movies. Is Lumet an auteur? What gives his films such staying power?

The Cinema Lounge, a film discussion group, meets the third Monday of every month (unless otherwise noted) at 7:00pm at Teaism in Penn Quarter, 400 8th St., NW in Washington, DC (closest Metro stop is Archives, also near Metro Center and Gallery Place). NOTE: We will meet in the downstairs area. You do not need to be a member of the Washington DC Film Society to attend. Cinema Lounge is moderated by Adam Spector, author of the DC Film Society's Adam's Rib column.

By Adam Spector, DC Film Society Member

James Gunn has garnered many defenders since Disney fired him as director of The Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 due to his offensive tweets. On June 30, the entire Guardians cast called for Gunn’s reinstatement. An online petition for Gunn’s rehiring has, by last count, 300,000 signatures.

I am willing to take the word of those who know Gunn that he is a good person who is not accurately represented by those tweets. Add in that this is a struggle between a maverick director and a huge corporation, and it’s all too easy to come down on Gunn’s side. Then why can’t I? I explain why in my new Adam’s Rib column.

Puzzle: Q&A with Director Marc Turtletaub and Actress Kelly Macdonald

By Ron Gordner and Brian Payne, DC Film Society Members

Agnes (Kelly Macdonald), a somewhat neglected suburban Catholic wife and mother, finds that she is very good at putting together complex jigsaw puzzles after getting a puzzle for her birthday. She finds this more interesting than another present somewhat alien to her -- an iPhone. Traveling to New York City to find some additional puzzles, she finds a notice from someone (Irrfan Khan), looking for a puzzle partner.

An advance screening of Puzzle was held at the AMC Georgetown theatre on July 23. Movie Mom Nell Minow moderated a discussion after the screening with the director Marc Turtletaub and actress Kelly Macdonald. Screenwriter Oren Moverman adapted the screenplay from Natalia Smirnoff's 2009 Argentinian film Rompecabezas [Puzzle]. The original film starred the great Argentinian actress Maria Onetto.

Left to right: Nell Minow, Kelly Macdonald, Marc Turtletaub. Photo by Brian Payne
Nell Minow: I found it unusual that the opening scene is silent with no dialog and her posturing and preparing for this Birthday party that you then realize is her own party. Can you tell us how you created this character?
Kelly Macdonald: I didn’t realize either after reading the script, how much time I would be on my own. It was really interesting to tell the story without lots of words. When I read the script this part really bowled me over, how there is this house full of people and what she is doing and that she is really completely invisible and it was very personal.

Nell Minow: Yes, today you told me you were inspired by silent films.
Kelly Macdonald: Yeah, I always wanted to be in those movies where there was dialog written but not heard or spoken--just acted out.

Nell Minow: Marc, it is always difficult to go from being a producer to becoming a director, but that gave you the opportunity to have worked with some really great directors. Can you tell me about that experience and what you learned from it?
Marc Turtletaub: You learn a little something from everyone. I have worked with David Burns and with the film Little Miss Sunshine and with Jeff Nichols in Loving. These are all great directors. You learn little tricks with each one. I’m not sure I can identify exactly what. I also learned most from my own mistakes and from the actors that I was working with and what they have to say. As you mature as a director, you learn to listen more and let go of the tenacity of how you are sure it has to be. There is a well-known director who says, “Every time I cast an actor, it’s like a little death. What he meant was that he had an idea how these words were going to be said, and when I cast this actor, she will say it differently, and maybe not what I want.” My approach is that when I cast an actor I will see something that I had not quite expected, and when you have actors like Kelly, Irrfan and David, you don’t have to really rehearse. You talk about the scenes and what will happen, but let them bring to the characters what they can do.
Nell Minow: Yes, it takes nothing away from the director to even just put the camera on Kelly’s face, which always a good direction.
Marc Tutletaub: Always a good idea, and I can always make adjustments later.

Nell Minow: Another thing we talked about earlier, I think the audience will appreciate, is the attention you gave to the dress Kelly wears in the first scene. We are quite surprised she gets an iPhone as a gift, because we assume at first this story was set in the past. You kind of surprise us there. So tell me a bit about the costume and wardrobe designers.
Marc Turtletaub: Sometimes you get obsessed about little things, and I was obsessed about that dress in the opening scene, and also the wallpaper so she somewhat disappeared; but not the degree that was done in the film Garden State if you remember that scene. I wanted her to somewhat disappear but not to that extent. But no one really sees her, except maybe her older son. So we were holding up different fabrics and dresses against the wall, etc. so it may seem like a scene from the 1950s or 1960s. I wanted to create a silhouette that Agnes was stuck in time and stuck in this house that she was raised in. She also takes care of her husband and her boys in that house. We even pumped some smoke into the house in that scene to make it look heavy. I am not sure you could see the smoke. So you think the film is stuck in time also until she takes out the iPhone gift and you realize, oh, it’s today.

Nell Minow: Something that always intrigues me, Kelly, is when you have to act with someone new and you have to capture that feeling of having lived together many years. David Denman, playing your husband, is a wonderful actor I have always liked, but tell me how you create that rapport where you brush your teeth together and look like you’ve been together forever?
Kelly Macdonald: I think you have to become somewhat friends with other people. We rehearsed and built the family scenes the first few weeks, and it was easy. I like all the people on this film. The smoke and the hot summer made it quite oppressive at first and we had this lawn chair we had problems with, so we finally got another one from Costco. Between takes we all sat in our lawn chairs and ate and drank.

Nell Minow: This is the second time I have seen the film, so this time I really appreciate all the work done solving the puzzles. How did you make it look so easy?
Kelly Macdonald: I do like doing puzzles, but the props department would bring in the puzzle properly prepared so I just needed to take certain pieces out and put them on the table and focus on where they should go and remember where they go. Then I could quickly take the piece and put it where it should go.
Nell Minow: Well, you did great. Marc, were there issues on what parts to focus on or pieces to shoot when putting together the puzzle?
Marc Turtletaub: Yeah, you put a lot of thought into it and try to find the right place without becoming obsessive about it. You try to find a true progression in doing it. You don’t want a romantic puzzle or one with two lovers to start out with.

Nell Minow: I want to ask about Agnes and her relationship with her sons and how that changes. I felt that in understanding herself more, she also understood them better. Before calling the younger son a punk and supporting the older son, tell me how her solving the puzzles also helped her see them differently and change?
Kelly Macdonald: The puzzles are really a conduit to change and I was at first worried before I read the whole script that the story would be about her, but just trying to win a contest, which doesn’t seem very interesting. But her confidence with the puzzles reverberated whether she wins a contest or not. What I like about Austin, the youngest son, is that he is weirdly clued up and kind of confident but she does call him out as punk that he might be at times too confident. With the older son, there is a special relationship and her pleasure in doing the puzzles opens her up and her relationships with her son that is beautiful.
Nell Minow: I really think she wants him to find happiness earlier that she did not.

Audience Question: What was the meaning or symbolism of the final piece of the puzzle?
Kelly Macdonald: Agnes says it’s the last piece.
Marc Turtletaub: Yes she says the last piece and looks at her husband and he at her with more compassion. So it is either the end of their relationship ...
Kelly Macdonald: ... or you realize although there is real love still there between these two people, she probably needs first to go on a journey of self-discovery as her own person before she gets back into this relationship or another one.
Nell Minow: I love the way it also harks back to the very first puzzle she does.

Audience Question: How did you got rid of your accent in the movie?
Kelly Macdonald: I have a heavy accent so I worked a lot with the voice or language coach, even on the set which really helps and builds my confidence to have them in the room.
Nell Minow: Don’t lose your own accent.

Audience Question: I really like the movie, especially the scene where the Easter eggs are shot through the glass and Agnes is crying. Kelly how do you bring that emotion out?
Kelly Macdonald: We really didn’t discuss it that much. I just have to do it. I had trouble at first but then it’s a quiet moment and your muscle memory kicks in and you do it.

Audience Question: Why Montreal? And is there a national puzzle competition there?
Marc Turtletaub: Yes, we had Montreal in mind early on and they do have a national puzzle contest. There is also a documentary about it. I also picked Montreal because I wanted it to be somewhere a train could go but still could feel somewhat exotic, rather than, say, Binghamton.

Nell Minow: Marc, I want you tell everybody about your exciting next project.
Marc Turtletaub: Well, I don’t really have a next great directing project so if you have a script on the way out (audience laughter) I am open to that. I do have a producing project coming up. You have probably seen the documentary out about Mr. Rogers, which I and many people love. We are doing a narrative film about Fred Rogers that will star Tom Hanks and we start shooting in September.

Puzzle is scheduled to open in area theaters August 3.

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By Annette Graham, DC Film Society Member

A screening of The Bleeding Edge was held at AMC's Georgetown Theater on July 24. Present for discussion were the film's director, Kirby Dick, and producer Amy Ziering.

The Bleeding Edge is a documentary about the dangers of the $400 billion medical device industry. Devices are routinely implanted in patients without a single clinical trial on humans thanks to the FDA's 501 (k)--Premarket Approval process (PMA) which states that a device can evade scrutiny if it is "substantially equivalent" to another on the market. Five medical devices are discussed through interviews with the patient/victims, among them are Essure, a birth control device, a pelvic mesh implant and metal-on-metal hip replacement. Bayer, maker of the Essure implant, has already announced that their device will be taken off the market.

Among the filmmakers' previous films are This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) about the secretive movie rating system, The Invisible War (2012) about rape in the military and The Hunting Ground (2105) about sexual assault on college campuses. This Q&A has been edited and condensed.

Moderator: How did you get involved in this story?
Kirby Dick: We got involved in this when we learned that the FDA doesn't require any clinical testing on humans. We are known for investigating stories that are important but that few people know about. We had never heard of this. We started asking around. It turned out that few people knew that most of that risk is devices, not just in or on humans. The FDA doesn't require clinical trials with humans before they are put out onto the market. That was such an astonishing fact. We looked deeper and deeper into this and realized that this is an industry that has been able to operate under the radar; it's much less regulated than pharmaceuticals and there are really hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who have been harmed by medical devices. There is so little reporting about this. We felt it was really important to look into this story.

Moderator: What do you hope will be the outcome of producing this film?
Amy Ziering: We want a better system, federal regulation and for people to ask questions if they have a device put into them, and save lives. We want Congress not to be at the bidding of corporations and their desires.

Moderator: One thing that struck me is that besides the FDA there is a gatekeeper between the medical devices and agent and that's the doctor, someone who most patients trust and rely on to provide them with advice that they themselves are not capable of knowing. In making the film you talked to a number of doctors. What was your sense of how many of them were aware of the risk-benefit tradeoff of the devices they provide to the patients? Were they properly conveying to the patient when they make a recommendation, not just the benefits but possible things that could go wrong? That seems to be a thread in many of these women's stories. They are told of the upside of the procedure but had very little knowledge of what could possibly go wrong.
Kirby Dick: Most doctors we encountered, and I think it's true across the country, really want to do the right thing. But in many ways doctors are victims here too. They are getting misinformation from the medical device companies. The substantial majority of the research they rely on is funded by the medical device companies and it's been shown that studies funded by medical device companies are, not surprisingly, biased in favor of the medical device companies. And the other thing that is really shocking, that we learned when we got deeper into this, is that it seems this is not taught in medical schools. The regulatory system and how medical devices are regulated does not seem to be taught in medical schools. So these doctors have no idea how these devices they are putting in patients are regulated and they don't know that they haven't been tested on humans. This film is obviously made for the public and made for policy makers but also made for doctors. Doctors who have seen the film have thanked us repeatedly. We've heard from dozens and dozens of doctors. It's been an incredible response.

Moderator: This is a complicated issue. How did you make a film about a very scientific issue, plus regulation, and make it accessible for the average American?
Kirby Dick: We started by letting the patients--the survivors and victims--tell their story, because those stories are not heard. Our interviewer was able to get very very powerful responses from these subjects. We've done that before. The best way to tell a story is by hearing from those affected.
Amy Ziering: This was the hardest movie we have ever made. How do you simplify it but not dumb it down and do a disservice? How do you still make it compelling but not make it boring so that people get lost. We've worked together on a lot of films as a team. You learn from each film, what is most effective, how to narrate, present characters they can sympathize with and identify with and feed the audience scientifically accurate information throughout. So you are not just getting research information, you are getting a story and learning at the same time. We've figured out how to do this and keep it going--keep them informed, enlightened and moved. That's what we are trying to do, not just lecture you, but have you learn, and care and be moved to change.

Moderator: Bayer announced that it's going to stop marketing Essure in the US (audience claps).
Amy Ziering: It's news that happened because of the film. The film came out in April at the Tribeca Film Festival. There was a lot of talk about it. I hope it authors changes all the way down the line, not just medical devices.

Audience Question: Should section 510K be repealed? Is there a good reason why so many victims in your movie were women? Can we get that list of advice you gave at the end?
Amy Ziering: The list is on our website. The film is coming out this Friday.
Kirby Dick: In 2011 the National Academy of Sciences did a very comprehensive review of 510K trying to figure out how it can be improved. In the end, it said you would have to start from scratch. The first place we should start is making sure that devices are required to be tested.
Amy Ziering: Men and women are equally at risk due to a system that is poorly regulated and profits are chased. However, women are to a greater number disproportionately affected due to gender bias. It wasn't our intention. I don't want people to think that medical devices for men are okay. That's not the case. It's a problem across the board. Just because of the time and space, there are only a certain number of stories you can tell; it just lined up that the devices we profiled affected more women.

Audience Question: Have you done a congressional screening for members of Congress and staff? What kind of response did you get from both sides?
Kirby Dick: We are planning a screening on the Hill. A few members of congress and staff have seen it--not a lot have seen it, the film is just coming out--but they were moved by the film. This is not a partisan issue; obviously this issue affects everyone. Congess oversees the FDA, and passes laws to regulate it. For the most part, Democrats and Republicans have been equally influenced by the medical device industry. Both parties are involved.

Audience Question: Why are manufacturers putting out untested products?
Kirby Dick: For the most part we saw this across the industry, because they were allowed to get away with it, they would do it. As we saw in the film, Johnson and Johnson was aware of the problem before they put it on the market. They made a financial decision to go ahead and put it on the market, by the time people found out, they would have made a profit, even if there were lawsuits. The penalties they paid was just a small amount of the profits made. People didn't figure this out until later, there was a time lag, statute of limitations, etc. They are still up by millions.

The Bleeding Edge opens in theaters and launches on Netflix on July 27.

We are always looking for film-related material for the Storyboard. Our enthusiastic and well-traveled members have written about their trips to the Cannes Film Festival, Karlovy Vary Film Festival, London Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Festival, the Berlin Film Festival, the Palm Springs Film Festival, the Reykjavik Film Festival, the Munich Film Festival, and the Locarno Film Festival. We also heard about what it's like being an extra in the movies. Have you gone to an interesting film festival? Have a favorite place to see movies that we aren't covering in the Calendar of Events? Seen a movie that blew you away? Read a film-related book? Gone to a film seminar? Interviewed a director? Taken notes at a Q&A? Read an article about something that didn't make our local news media? Send your contributions to Storyboard and share your stories with the membership. And we sincerely thank all our contributors for this issue of Storyboard.

FILMS

American Film Institute Silver Theater
"Ingmar Bergman Centennial" (July 10-September 13). Titles in August are All These Women (1964), Autumn Sonata (1978), Cries and Whispers (1972), Face to Face (1976), From the Life of the Marionettes (1980), Hour of the Wolf (1967), The Magic Flute (1975), The Passion of Anna (1969), The Rite (1969), The Serpent's Egg (1977), Same (1968), The Touch (1971), and Scenes from a Marriage I and II (1974). More in September and more at the National Gallery of Art.

"Canada Now" (July 16-September 3) is a festival of new films from Canada. Titles in August are Hochelaga, Land of Souls, Between Sweet and Salt Water, All You Can Eat Buddha, Meditation Park, Mary Goes Round, Metric: Dreams So Real, Venus, and The Green Frog. One more in September.

"AFI Life Achievement Award: George Clooney" (July 14–September 12). George Clooney, director, producer, writer, and actor, received the 46th AFI Life Achievement Award. Film titles in August are Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Intolerable Cruelty, Burn After Reading, Good Night and Good Luck, Michael Clayton, Syriana, Solaris, and O Brother Where Art Thou?. One more in September.

"Stanley Kubrick: A Retrospective" (July 14-September 12). Titles in August are Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon and the documentary Filmworker about Kubrick's assistant Leon Vitali. More in September.

"William Holden Retrospective" (July 13-September 12). August titles are The Country Girl, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Paris When It Sizzles, Picnic, and The Horse Soldiers. More in September.

"George Romero Remembered" (July 14–September 8). A series of films by George Romero, who died last year, continues in August with Martin, Season of the Witch, Knightriders, Creepshow and Day of the Dead. One more in September.

"Looney Tunes" (July 21-August 26) is a selection of six programs of Warner Bros. classic cartoons. See the website for details.

Two new 4K restorations are Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, 1968) on its 50th anniversary and The Producers (Mel Brooks, 1967).

Special events in August include a 2K restoration of Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 Solaris (NOTE: the 2002 remake is also shown in August, see "George Clooney" above). "Doctor Sarcofiguy" presents a double feature of The Black Cat (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1934) and Re-Animator (Stuart Gordon, 1985) on August 25 at 7:30pm.

On August 10 at 7:30pm is Josiah, a documentary about Josiah Henson who was immortalized in Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Filmmaker Jared Brock will be present for Q&A.

Freer Gallery of Art
A series of Japanese classic films continues at the Freer. On August 1 at 2:00pm is An Actor's Revenge (Kon Ichikawa, 1963).

During July and August is the 23rd Annual "Made in Hong Kong" film festival. The series continues in August with Legendary Weapons of Kung Fu (Lau Kar-leung, 1982) with a hip-hop score by DJ 2-Tone Jones of Shaolin Jazz on August 3 at 7:00pm. A new digital restoration of Ann Hui's first film The Secret (1979) is on August 5 at 2:00pm. A documentary about artist Yank Wong I've Got the Blues (Angie Chen, 2017) is on August 12 at 2:00pm.

National Gallery of Art
The "Bergman Centennial" (July 1-September 3) reviews the work of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007). More films can be seen at the American Film Institute's Silver Theater and documentaries are shown at the Embassy of Sweden. On August 4 at 2:00pm is Sawdust and Tinsel (1953); on August 4 at 4:00pm is Lesson in Love (1954); on August 5 at 4:00pm is Summer with Monika (1952); on August 12 at 4:00pm is Dreams (1955); on August 18 at 3:30pm is The Magician (1958); and on August 19 at 4:00pm is Smiles of a Summer Night (1955). More in September.

"From Vault to Screen-UCLA Festival of Preservation" (August 11-September 3) is a collection of films from Hollywood's history. On August 11 at 4:00pm is Trouble in Paradise (Ernst Lubitsch, 1932); on August 25 at 2:00pm is Stranded (Juleen Compton, 1965); on August 25 at 4:00pm is The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean (Juleen Compton, 1966); on August 26 at 4:00pm is a "cine-concert" Good References (R. William Neill, 1920) with Andrew Simpson accompanying the film on piano; and on August 26 at 5:30pm is The Murder of Fred Hampton (Howard Alk, 1971). One more in September and more at AFI Silver Theater.

Goethe Institute
On August 31 at 6:30pm is Sputnik (Markus Dietrich, 2012-3), a children's film set in autumn 1989, during the last weeks of the GDR.

The Japan Information and Culture Center
On August 10 at 6:30pm is the anime film In This Corner of the World (Sunao Katabuchi, 2016), winner of Animation of the Year award.

The Avalon
The "Programmer's Choice" film for August is the animated film Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, 1968) on August 1 at 8:00pm.

On August 8 at 8:00pm is Eight Heads of Madness (Marta Novakova, 2017), part of the "Lions of Czech Film" series.

On August 15 at 8:00pm is Montparnasse Bienvenue (Léonor Serraille, 2017), part of the "French Cinematheque" series.

On August 29 at 8:00pm is Plan B (Kinga Debska, 2018), part of the "cinePolska" series of films from Poland.

Library of Congress
"Anime for All" is held August 8-10 at the Library of Congress Jefferson Building. Activities include films, panel discussion, displays, musical performances, cosplay workshop and cosplay demonstration. The films are The Tale of Princess Kaguya (Isao Takahata, 2013) on August 9 at 1:00pm (Coolidge Auditorium) and Superman (Richard Donner, 1978) on August 9 at sundown, outside, north lawn of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building.

The Mary Pickford Theater at the Library of Congress continues its series of films showcasing the Library's collection and including newly preserved films. On August 16 at 7:00pm is The World, the Flesh and the Devil (Ranald MacDougall, 1959), an apocalyptic story starring Harry Belafonte and Mel Ferrer.

Anacostia Community Museum
On August 1 at 11:30am is a film screening and discussion of the new WETA documentary Washington in the 90s, shown in conjunction with the exhibit "A Right to the City."

On August 4 at 2:00pm is a documentary film and Q&A with sculptor Uzikee Nelson Uzikee, Washington DC's Ancestral Sculptor (Doug Harris, 2018).

On August 18 at 2:00pm is a documentary The Rat Film (Theo Anthony, 2016) about rat infestation in Baltimore. A discussion follows the film.

Wolf Trap
On August 26 at 8:00pm is "Bollywood Boulevard," about Hindi cinema told through live music, dance and film from the early days to the present.

"Capital Classics" at Landmark's West End Cinema
Classic films are shown at the West End Cinema on Wednesdays at 1:30pm, 4:30pm and 7:30pm. On August 1 is Key Largo (John Huston, 1948, 1948); and on August 8 is The Band Wagon (Vicente Minnelli, 1953).

International Spy Museum
On August 23 at 6:30pm is Mata Hari, Agent H21 (Jean-Louis Richard, 1964) starring Jeanne Moreau and Jean-Louis Trintignant.

Reel Affirmations XTra
On August 24 at 7:00pm is Hard Paint (Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Peolon, 2018) set in Brazil. A panel discussion follows the film.

Busboys and Poets
On August 5 at 6:00pm is the documentary Hebron (Yousef Natsha) followed by a discussion. At the 5th and K location.

The Phillips Collection
To accompany the exhibit "Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia" is Rabbit-Proof Fence (Philip Noyce, 2002) on August 16 at 6:00pm and Ten Canoes (Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr, 2006) on August 30 at 6:00pm.

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