It’s all about DANCES WITH FILMS FILM FESTIVAL this week on BEHIND THE LENS, and most particularly, the opening night gala presentation, APPLE SEED.
Now in its 22nd year, DANCES WITH FILMS is truly one of the last celebrations of independent film and the creativity and struggle that goes into making a film and seeing it through to a big screen appearance. Known for showcasing films which are traditionally lo budget/no budget/micro budget, DWF shines a light on filmmakers who know how to tell emotionally and visually appealing stories while getting the most bang from their limited budget bucks. The festival is once again held at the TCL Chinese 6 complex at Hollywood & Highland in the heart of Hollywood and runs from June 13-23, 2019.
Take a listen as I talk about some of my early faves in the festival, most notably: 90 FEET FROM HOME from director Brett Brentman and starring WWE legend Shawn Michaels, Eric Roberts, and Dean Cain and is a powerful emotional tale a former MLB player returning home to face his past, his brother, and his stepfather; the dark comedy DRIVEN from director Glenn Payne and writer Casey Dillard is filled with demons and drivers in this Lyft and Uber-filled world of today; Director Tom Morris brings us BLOWING UP RIGHT NOW, the story of a couple celebrating their 5th anniversary but instead may break-up, that is until they get an alert that a ballistic missile is inbound to Los Angeles (talk about metaphor!). What happens when Shep and Mandy are forced to shelter in place?; WHERE WE DISAPPEAR is a period piece set during WWII with young mother Anastasia who tries to leave her abusive husband. With no other way out, she stabs him, and is sent to a gulag as being an enemy of the State. Writer Arthur Jolly and director Simon Fink explore the delicate balance of existence for the women at the gulag as Anastasia struggles to survive; visual splendor is found thanks to writer/director Ace Thor and co-writer Sam Fox and their somewhat experimentally-stylized WOWZERS filled with ethereal VFX, color, and some dark psychedelic self-exploration. How can you say “no” to a film that has a character identified as “Top Hat Pig Nose Man”.
But then our attention turns to the DWF Opening Night Gala film – APPLE SEED.
From writer/director/actor MICHAEL WORTH, APPLE SEED takes on particular poignancy; not only because of its charm and celebration of Americana and the journeys each of us face in life, but because of the film’s star – RANCE HOWARD. A veteran character actor with almost 300 films and tv shows to his credit before his passing in 2017, Rance is a familiar face to all, and not just because he is father to Ron and Clint and grandfather to Bryce. But with APPLE SEED, this is the first time Rance has been the lead actor in a film – and, the first time he has ever appeared with his son Clint where they played father and son.
I spoke exclusively with RON HOWARD several weeks ago, and call it serendipity or a gift from the movie gods, but Ron and the whole Howard family had seen an earlier cut of APPLE SEED, so we were able to talk about the film, his dad, and director Michael Worth. And as you’ll hear, I had the privilege of telling him the film would be opening DWF. Take a listen to our conversation about APPLE SEED and see if you don’t get a lump in your throat or a tear in your eye listening to Ron. But then, I spoke with CLINT HOWARD who was an open book filled with joy, laughter, energy,and love as he talked about his dad, working with him on APPLE SEED, Ron as a director and a brother, advice and anecdotes from Rance, Clint’s own thoughts on acting, and so much more. What you hear now are excerpts of our conversation culled down from two hours of fabulous fun with Clint.
Following on the heels of the Howard brothers’ thoughts, MICHAEL WORTH joins us live talking about the seed of an idea that blossomed into APPLE SEED, the “road trip”, casting, cinematography, editing, score and music needle drops and, of course, the 20/20 hindsight of Rance and Clint together as father and son and this final film being Rance’s first lead role.
