In 2006, I attended my first Toronto International Film Festival. at the premiere. Borat. Twenty minutes later, the projector broke. Michael Moore climbed over the seat to try to fix it. “What the hell is going on here?” I remember thinking. Cohen then stood up and performed stand-up comedy in character for 45 minutes. The projector was never repaired. No one cares.
That was my introduction to awards season. Tuxedo? Champagne glasses? The debate over which British actor best embodies royal drama and other so-called trappings of the season? Well, they are part of it too. But nearly twenty years later, this Borat That moment is an unforgettable memory of the film festival for me. A visionary filmmaking weirdo who pivots when the wind is not going his way.
A few weeks ago, I interacted with another filmmaker at another fall film festival.
Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof made a film called Sacred fig seeds. Rasoulof spent a long time in jail in Iran simply for making a film critical of the Iranian regime. No one will confuse Rasulov with Sacha Baron Cohen. Cohen plays a foreign dictator. Rasulov once suffered such pain.
Despite this, Rasoulof has continued to make films, including earlier this year when he gathered actors in secret locations in Tehran to secretly shoot his latest script, then deftly incorporated real-life footage from the 2022 Women for Freedom protests, A reality that adds an extra punch to it. When Rasoulof learned after filming that he could face eight years in prison, he decided it was too dangerous to stay in his home country.
He formed connections with dissidents he met in prison and plotted an escape route. He was able to cross into an unnamed neighboring country and then seek asylum in Germany. He edited the film along the way. (You’ll hear more about Rasulov in the next issue.)
For all the ways Rasulov no As a sly, profane British comedian sat in a restaurant near the New York Film Festival and nonchalantly described his chilling escape from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, I couldn’t help but think back to my own experience. Borat TIFF experience many years ago. Once again, a visionary filmmaking eccentric ready to pivot when the wind wasn’t going his way.
Because, at the risk of sounding a little pompous or Oscar-nerdy, isn’t that what Hollywood is all about? Isn’t that the compass for whatever we do in this industry (or indeed any industry)? We have an idea. No matter what obstacles come in our path, whether they are big or annoying, we have to persevere.
I imagine this concept will energize the awards coverage you’ll read in these pages over the next three months—stories about really bold ideas trying to hatch into a company that does its best to push them back into the egg world. In this issue, for example, you’ll learn about the inspired madman who made Demi Moore’s prosthetics in her art-exploring instant classic substance.
You’ll learn how Sean Baker, one of the most versatile men holding a camera today, realized a vision in the world of escorts and gangsters in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, Anorawhich features a 28-minute scene that goes from funny to violent so quickly you’d swear someone broke into the theater and drugged you.
You’ll hear how Cory Michael Smith, a theater kid from Columbus, Ohio, ended up on the big screen playing Chevy Chase in the 1970s. It also reflects this bold spirit.
If this all sounds a little embarrassing, don’t worry, we’ll have a good time too. Like, all the applause at European film festivals is tracked, just like your A1C results – does that really mean anything?
Also, wondering if secret meeting Will it really happen? We have the world’s biggest Vatican experts telling us, as part of our regular peek-a-boo feature called “Watchers.”
This season we’ll also have a regular segment called “The Snub I Can’t Get Past,” in which people from the entertainment industry tell us about Oscar’s oversights that still make their skin crawl. We all have one. (mine basketball dream. This thing practically invented a new art form and wasn’t even nominated.
This week, you’ll also hear from some TV personalities. penguin Colin Farrell is breaking down the Batman universe in every way he can. Kristen Bell talks about preparing to date rabbi on hit Netflix show no one wants this. Hannah Einbinder dissects Talmudic hierarchies in stand-up comedy special everything must pass.
I know it’s easy to roll your eyes at awards. Endless self-congratulation, a Saturday night designed to scrutinize which entertainment meets some arbitrary criteria, as if the fate of the republic hangs in the balance. Presidential election? That’s the stakes. Awards? That’s fluff.
Yet there must be a reason why millions of us pay such close attention to these things; certainly thing in some way. I think it probably goes back to my TIFF and NYFF experiences. Awards season is an attempt to capture the spirit of Boratti, Rasoulofi, and a touch of madness — something “no one in their right mind would actually try to pull off.” That”—and put it in a bottle for the world to drink.
Putting all these people together in a room isn’t just so a bunch of egotistical people can tell each other a job well done. This is to reassure us that the human tendency to overcome obstacles remains.
Because it’s fun to watch these stories on screen. How did they get there? This is very good.
This story first appeared in the November issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
