This strange little interview (to promote the New York premiere of
Cleanflix) with Mary Anderson Casavant focuses almost exclusively on Mormon culture and ends very abruptly. Still, it is in filmmaker Magazine, so I won't complain too much. Direct link to the original post at the Filmmaker Magazine site
here.
Mary Anderson Casavant » 04.28.10 »
Cleanflix is Stranger Than FictionDespite being born and bred on our shores, Mormonism is still something of a fringe religion. For a lot of Americans, there’s something vaguely worrying about its army of clean-cut, nametag wearing missionaries. Neither Hollywood nor the independent film scene have helped the Mormon case for normalcy – their portrayals tend to fixate on the church’s checkered history with polygamy.
Last night’s Stranger Than Fiction featured
Cleanflix, a sympathetic look at the more mainstream side of Mormon culture. Directed by Andrew James and Joshua Ligairi, two filmmakers who grew up in the tradition (James is no longer practicing, but Ligairi still is), the documentary follows the rise and fall of a chain of small Utah-based video stores, who specialize in editing “objectionable” material out of R-rated movies. Hollywood finds out, and the lawsuits start flying.
A third act scandal reveals that even the most “clean” business has its own fair share of cads and perverts. Luckily for us, the filmmakers avoid exploiting the scandal for tabloid fodder, concentrating instead on the sadness at the core of the scandal. By focusing on the Mormon side of the fight, the filmmakers humanize the bright and shiny faces behind the fastest growing faith group in American history.
I spoke to Andrew James and Joshua Ligairi before the screening.
Filmmaker: What’s the biggest misconception about Mormon culture?
James: I think there’s this perception that they are in buggies like the Amish. Mormons aren’t as old-fashioned as everyone thinks, and that’s what
Cleanflix touches on.
Filmmaker: Like CleanFlicks, your film re-edits footage from major Hollywood films. What’s the difference between what you do and what CleanFlicks did?
James: We didn’t not pay attention to the rules. We hired a lawyer and went through a rigorous process to make sure the clips were legal and obeyed fair use.
Ligairi: We were using movie clips in a journalistic way to illustrate a point and tell a story within a historical context. The sanitizer were simply censoring content and claiming fair use because they happened to sell the DVDs to some schools. There is a huge difference.
Filmmaker: There’s a sex scandal that involves one of your main characters late in the film. Did you have any inkling about what was going to come out?
James: We heard rumors all along…We weren’t sure how that was going to play out in the narrative in the film…It took him getting arrested for us to put it in.
Ligairi: It was a big revelation to the public. All the information we presented matter-of-factly in the film wasn’t presented that way to the clientele. I think it was a huge surprise to people who spent money at the store.
Filmmaker: The main voice of in defense of Hollywood in the film is Neil Labute. Did you approach any other directors?
James: We tried, but at that point, it was who are you, you don’t have any big films… We did get a few responses, but the schedules didn’t quite work out…We decided to really go after Neil Labute because of the Mormon angle.
Filmmaker: What has been the Mormon response?
James: The film hasn’t played in Utah…There are a lot of people within the Mormon community that wouldn’t watch the film.
Ligairi: It’s something we’ve kind of joked about, but we’ve also really thought about doing a clean version so we can present these ideas to them. Ironically, I think the film is something Mormons could point to, something positive that humanizes them to a Christian audiences…At screenings, other Christians have been surprised by how much they had in common with this community.
James: I think they (Mormon viewers) might like the fact that the perspective is even handed.
Read the original article on the
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@FilmmakerMag on Twitter.
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People often ask me why I named my company after Icarus (a Greek mythological character who ultimately fails) and I usually give some vague answer about the character and his story reflecting my own approach to life--a strategy of unrelenting determination and hope, often colored by foolishness and naivety. Let's be clear, to attempt a life in the arts takes a measure of stupid optimism. But, I've always been one to keep going, to never back down (even when I probably should have). Sometimes I sail too close to the sun on wings of wax, but I've also found that my greatest success has come from taking those leaps of faith and bucking against the norm.
Today I heard a quote by Fred Shero, through my friend Mark Heimann (himself a talented and crazy artist), that perfectly sums up my feelings about committing to the often uncertain and difficult life of an artist and choosing the icon of Icarus to represent my work. I am going to use this quote from now on: “Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must first set yourself on fire."
More info on potter Mark Heimann at his website. More info on Icarus illustrator Emily Golden at her blog.
Joshua Ligairi » 05.09.10 »
You can listen to the podcast online at FusedFilm.com or you can download the podcast on iTunes under "Entertainment Overload Podcast." My Cleanflix interview starts off Episode #111 (entitled "Cleanflix Man 2"), but if you want to listen after the interview, I stick around to help review Lost and Iron Man 2.
Mary Anderson Casavant » 04.28.10 »
I spoke to Andrew James and Joshua Ligairi before the screening.
Hunter Camp » 04.26.10 »
Overall, Cleanflix was one of the more insightful documentaries that I have seen that clearly stated the problems with editing these films, but also being sensitive to the cause and lack of logic that studios would not provide television cuts , which are also edited, to the people of the United States that are basically begging for copies of these movies without having to risk breaking the law. The film is completely filled with hypocrisy, but that’s one of things that is great about it. It doesn’t stick to one side, so it was refreshing to see a documentary that felt completely unbiased.