Milius: Portrait of a Zen Anarchist

The ‘film school” generation of the 60s and 70s gave us such writer-directors as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and John Milius. Who's John Milius, you ask? You may not know his name, but you’re certainly familiar with some of the films he’s worked on as a writer, director or both: Apocalypse Now (1979), Conan The Barbarian (1982), Red Dawn (1984) and later, the HBO series, Rome (2005). Now a new documentary entitled Milius (2013) covers the life and career of this talented, sometimes controversial filmmaker. Milius came to prominence as a screenwriter in the early to mid 1970s. He worked on movies such as 1971’s Dirty Harry (Milius did an uncredited rewrite of the script, and came up with the famous “Do you feel lucky, punk?” speech) and writing the screenplays for the 1972 Robert Redford film, Jeremiah Johnson, (for which he received a record payday at the time) and the Dirty Harry sequel, Magnum Force (1973).

Milius quickly became one of the most in demand writers in Hollywood. Interestingly enough, at a time when the movie business (and the country as a whole) was in the midst of a more liberal stance politically, he was very conservative, but was still able to be a success in the industry. He wrote and directed the old-fashioned adventure film, The Wind & The Lion (1975) starring Sean Connery, Candice Bergen and Brian Keith as Teddy Roosevelt, one of Milius' personal heroes. He also penned the famous monologue about the USS Indianapolis that Robert Shaw performs in Jaws (1975), as a favor to his friend Spielberg. Then he co-wrote the screenplay for Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, a project that he, Lucas and Coppola had talked about endlessly since film school. The documentary covers the genesis and production of the celebrated Vietnam war epic (and Milius' contributions to it) in great detail.

During the 80s, Milius worked on bringing Robert E. Howard’s legendary Conan character to the screen in Conan The Barbarian, and wrote and directed the original Red Dawn, about a Russian military takeover of the US, and a group of teenagers who rebel against the invaders. The film covers a lot of ground talking about these two movies, and the political controversy that was sparked by Red Dawn during its original release. During this period, Milius (and the entertainment business in general) were being heavily criticized for the overly violent content of films. And while Milius had famous friends and colleagues like Lucas, Coppola & Spielberg, his over the top personality often rubbed studio executives the wrong way, causing some of his projects to be derailed or cancelled. The self-proclaimed "zen anarchist" could sometimes be his own worst enemy.

The documentary is a well-rounded portrait of Milius, and features fascinting interviews with Lucas, Spielberg and Coppola. There are also comments from Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Milius’ children, as well as current filmmakers like Bryan (X-Men) Singer and Kurt (Sons of Anarchy) Sutter, who've been inspired by him. The Lucas and Spielberg sequences are some of the most engrossing parts of the film. While they often give interviews about their current projects, it’s fascinating to see them really open up about their friendship and collaborations with Milius, and tell stories about their early days working together in the 70s. Milius really is the kind of larger than life persona that you don’t see in today’s Hollywood, and even the studio executives he knocked heads & battled with admit they admire his talent.

The latter part of the film goes into some health struggles Milius has suffered after having a stroke a few years ago, which is why he’s largely seen in archival footage. He’s working to get better, and is hoping to get a long in development project about Genghis Khan produced. This is an absorbing portrait of a man who’s given us a host of iconic movie moments. It’s a must see for fans of 70s & 80s cinema, and if you've read Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, you'll see that a lot of the information from that book resonates in this documentary. Milius, which was directed by Joey Figueroa and Zak Knutson, is often shown on the EPIX cable channel and is available for digital viewing at various sites. Here’s a link to the film’s trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLuPXfsCkWg.

It's All About Ray...Lamontagne

My latest piece for the wonderful arts & entertainment website Culture Sonar takes a look at the very talented singer-songwriter Ray Lamontagne. You can check it out by following the link below the photo. Feel free to use the search function to check out my other articles! Thanks for reading!

http://www.culturesonar.com/ray-lamontagne/

The Sounds of "Muscle Shoals"

The best stories, whether they’re fact-based or fictional, give you a true sense of their place and time. That's one of the strengths of the fascinating music documentary, Muscle Shoals, which was originally released in 2013. The film gives us an in-depth look at the Alabama town where two well-regarded studios have given us classic music by Percy Sledge, The Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett, Arthur Alexander and many others. It’s also the story of producer Rick Hall, a fascinating man who survived quite a bit of personal tragedy and went on to open the celebrated FAME studios. Hall was a determined, driven man, who changed the shape of his own destiny, as well as the lives of many others. He gathered together a talented crew of studio musicians that came to be known as the Swampers, who became the backbone of the “Muscle Shoals sound.”

For many of those interviewed in the film, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Steve Winwood and reggae icon Jimmy Cliff, the town and its atmosphere have as much to do with the sounds they created and recorded there as the music itself. They all talk about the special energy of the place, and how being there affected them. Many artists found that the trajectory of their careers were changed by recording in Muscle Shoals, including Aretha Franklin, who was having trouble finding a sound on record which matched the intensity of her live shows. Until she headed to Muscle Shoals, and did a session with the Swampers for the song “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” and her career changed forever. That’s just one of the classic tunes that were recorded at FAME studios.

Another interesting fact brought out by the film is that many people thought the Swampers were black, due to the funky, R&B laced grooves they were creating; in fact, they were mostly white. But they were playing and recording with many black artists at a time when the civil rights movement was at its height. Hall points out that there were no color lines in the studio, and everyone got along with each other. The Swampers became one of the most in demand backing groups in the business, even attracting the attention of Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler, who eventually brought them to LA to play on some sessions.

That success caused a rift with Hall, and the Swampers eventually broke off and founded their own studio, Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. They became just as successful in their own right, and the town found it now had two studios producing memorable music by Paul Simon, The Staple Singers, Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan and many others. The film is filled with excellent performance clips, and that footage, coupled with the intimate behind the scenes stories, really make the movie worth viewing. There’s also some interesting background on Lynyrd Skynyrd, who made some of their first recordings in Muscle Shoals, and famously name checked the Swampers in their classic song “Sweet Home Alabama.”

Muscle Shoals is about a remarkable town, an amazing group of people and the wonderful music they made. The story of Rick Hall (who passed way earlier this year) the Swampers and the songs that sprang from this celebrated location is essential viewing for rock and roll fans. The film was produced and directed by Greg 'Freddy' Camalier. Along with Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, 20 Feet From Stardom and The Wrecking Crew,  this is one of the best recent documentaries about the people “behind the music” I've seen. The movie is now available on DVD, Blu-ray and for online viewing at various sites. Here’s a link to the film’s trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UDe4JrFAIQ.