Freedomland

[doobrah]

Someone on IMDB posted that they did a preview at Mann's Chinese Theatre, trying to give away tickets to it. I bet it was a rough cut to gauge audience reaction, as it's not supposed to open until Jan 2006.

[maggiethecat]

doobrah said:

Someone on IMDB posted that they did a preview at Mann's Chinese Theatre, trying to give away tickets to it. I bet it was a rough cut to gauge audience reaction, as it's not supposed to open until Jan 2006.

Funny! That would be a neat trick, seeing as how it's in post production i.e., not finished!

Anyone else read the book? RE has *got* to be playing Danny Martin, a pissed-off, alcoholic, troubled, complex . . . get this . . . cop. Problem is, the character in the book had a mullet . Pleas tell me Ron's not gonna go all Method on us -- I just couldn't bear a mullet! Then again, he did forego the ragged mustache Lester had in the book of "House of Sand and Fog" so there is hope . . . .

[Katryna]

maggiethecat said:

doobrah said:

Someone on IMDB posted that they did a preview at Mann's Chinese Theatre, trying to give away tickets to it. I bet it was a rough cut to gauge audience reaction, as it's not supposed to open until Jan 2006.

Funny! That would be a neat trick, seeing as how it's in post production i.e., not finished!

Anyone else read the book? RE has *got* to be playing Danny Martin, a pissed-off, alcoholic, troubled, complex . . . get this . . . cop. Problem is, the character in the book had a mullet . Pleas tell me Ron's not gonna go all Method on us -- I just couldn't bear a mullet! Then again, he did forego the ragged mustache Lester had in the book of "House of Sand and Fog" so there is hope . . . .

.


I read the book, too - The whole time imagining who Ron would play. The other problem is though Danny Martin's character is mentioned throughout the book, he really isn't part of the "action" very much. I wonder if the screen play would have increased the number of his appearances? I would hope so - if that is who Ron is actually playing.

[Katryna]

I received a Google alert on Freedomland today - here it is:

'Freedomland' Sneaks Into Theaters Before Oscar Deadline
Mon, Aug 22, 2005, 11:08 AM PT
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com)- The long list of late-December Oscar-bait releases has just gotten a little longer, with "Freedomland" sneaking in with a limited pre-Christmas launch.
According to media reports, Columbia Pictures will open "Freedomland" in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 23 in order to make the film eligible for Academy Awards consideration. As was previously planned, the drama will expand nationwide on Jan. 13.

"Freedomland" was produced by Revolution Studios and directed by Revolution bigwig Joe Roth ("Christmas with the Kranks"). Scott Rudin is producing Richard Price's adaptation of his own novel.



Originally published back in 1998, "Freedomland" has taken a long path to the big screen. At the time, the book featured a ripped from the headlines plot about a white single mother who stirs up racial tensions in a New Jersey project by claiming that a black man kidnapped her son.

The film stars Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne Moore and Edie Falco

[doobrah]

kathy said:

I received a Google alert on Freedomland today - here it is:

According to media reports, Columbia Pictures will open "Freedomland" in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 23 in order to make the film eligible for Academy Awards consideration. As was previously planned, the drama will expand nationwide on Jan. 13.

Which means that you folks in LA & NY will get to see it several weeks before the rest of us. (Guess I'll be celebrating Festivus.)

[Duchess of Lashes]

I don't know if anyone saw the post over at R-E.com but it has been confirmed that Ron is, in fact, playing Danny Martin. Now, if only someone could confirm that he isn't doing it with the mullet!

As to the Lester's moustache, he showed up to start filming with the lopsided facial hair -- but lost it before the first cannister of film roled - apparently it made him look a little "too off". (His interview on the special features of HoSF is very, very funny - he's adorable - *SIGH*)

LongLashes

[anna]

longlashes said:

Now, if only someone could confirm that he isn't doing it with the mullet!

There are some pictures of him around the time of the filming on Wireimage. He is carrying some extra weight and some unflattering facial hair, but I didn't see a mullet.

[doobrah]

Just got a google alert with the official synopsis for "Freedomland":

Based on the bestselling novel by Richard Price (Clockers), Freedomland is a grim look at inner-city desolation in New Jersey. The story begins with Brenda Martin stumbling into an emergency room, bruised and bloodied from injuries. The woman says that she has been carjacked, and that the black man who stole her car managed to get away with her four-year-old son in the backseat.

Lorenzo Council is a veteran detective assigned to the case, and believes Brenda's story may have some holes. Nonetheless, he begins an all-out search for the child. Even as he does so, an ambitious local newspaper reporter named Jesse Haus also has suspicions about the woman's story, and befriends Brenda in an effort to cover what might wind up being the biggest story of her career. Making matters extremely difficult, however, is the fact that as the search for the carjacker grows ever more intense, racial tensions between two cities, one predominantly black, the other primarily white, threaten to explode into violence.

Joe Roth takes time out of his busy schedule of heading up Revolution Studios to direct this one, and he has a pretty stellar cast with which to work.. Samuel L. Jackson has the role of Detective Lorenzo Council, and Julianne Moore portrays Brenda Martin. Edie Falco breaks type from her role as Carmela Soprano to play the newspaper reporter.

Main Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne Moore

Supporting Cast: Edie Falco, Ron Eldard, Anthony Mackie, Aunjanue Ellis

[doobrah]

Here's three photos from the time period that Ron was shooting Freedomland:







And just to bring you back to reality (or a semblance of the Ron we all know and love), here's a shot from his appearance on the Kimmel show from a few weeks earlier.

[maggiethecat]

Thanks, Doobrah!

I think the beard looks great, and if it's a compromise to the character of Danny Martin having a mullet, all the better! In fact, he looks slightly dangerous, sort of like Johnny in Sleepers. Works for me . . . ;D

[Duchess of Lashes]

The beard thing is not that bad (he looks a little rugged).....but given the alternative (a mullet?), it works! Of course, as these pictures confirm, it only heightens the appeal of those incredible eyes.

As to the dark side of Ron's characters, they may possess some sinister aspects, but those choir boy eyes allow you to forgive him just about any transgression!

LongLashes

[housemouse]

doobrah said:

Here's three photos from the time period that Ron was shooting Freedomland:

Is it me, or does he really like that black leather jacket? Could he be channeling Ted? Or maybe Ted was channeling Ron.

Here are a couple of quotes from IMDB where he talks about his being able to get away with playing dark characters.

"I can play really terrible human beings, and I seem to have a quality that people can, if not necessarily forgive me those sins, at least cut me some slack." (US, April 1997)

Longlashes, would you argue that "quality" is his eyes?

"I feel blessed that I am able to play really dark guys in a business where they usually want you to play the same character over and over. Poor Michael Rapaport will being playing white homeboys till the day he dies. That's not the kind of career I want." (Calgary Sun, January 4, 2004)

[dott]

These photos definitely emphasize his "icy dark blue eyes" description from "Bastard Out of Carolina".

[Duchess of Lashes]

Dott....I wouldn't argue that the "quality" is his eyes so much as it is what he is able to reflect with those eyes. It is there that we see so much of the emotion of the characters he plays.

Honestly, I can't say that I have seen Delivered or Sleepers, but I have seen Bastard Out of Carolina, several times, and his eyes are either full of hate or full of hurt. And in those moments where the emotion is so evident by the look on his face and the look in his eyes, it is what is reflected in those amazing "choir boy" eyes that I see the "quality" that might allow me to "cut him some slack."

So much of what Ron Eldard does is captured without words; one of the best scenes in BlackHawk Down is his, sitting against that stone wall, alone, watching what is going on outside and contemplating his own fate. There isn't a word spoken - there doesn't need to be because of what is written on his face and reflected in his eyes. In House of Sand and Fog when he is sitting on the step with that bloody shirt clutched to his chest, another scene that is all him, without a spoken word - everything he is feeling is there on his face and there in his eyes.

Perhaps the eyes aren't everything, but they are so much a part of what he does and what he is able to convey.

LongLashes

[mlm828]

longlashes said:

Dott....I wouldn't argue that the "quality" is his eyes so much as it is what he is able to reflect with those eyes. It is there that we see so much of the emotion of the characters he plays.

Honestly, I can't say that I have seen Delivered or Sleepers, but I have seen Bastard Out of Carolina, several times, and his eyes are either full of hate or full of hurt. And in those moments where the emotion is so evident by the look on his face and the look in his eyes, it is what is reflected in those amazing "choir boy" eyes that I see the "quality" that might allow me to "cut him some slack."

So much of what Ron Eldard does is captured without words; one of the best scenes in BlackHawk Down is his, sitting against that stone wall, alone, watching what is going on outside and contemplating his own fate. There isn't a word spoken - there doesn't need to be because of what is written on his face and reflected in his eyes. In House of Sand and Fog when he is sitting on the step with that bloody shirt clutched to his chest, another scene that is all him, without a spoken word - everything he is feeling is there on his face and there in his eyes.

Perhaps the eyes aren't everything, but they are so much a part of what he does and what he is able to convey.

LongLashes

You are so right! RE's eyes are so expressive, and he uses them so effectively -- which only makes his performance in the role of Jim Dunbar more impressive.