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Five guys. One safe. No brains.
Every small-time
crook in the rough and tumble Cleveland neighborhood of Collinwood
dreams of the perfect crime. In local lingo, it's called a "Bellini,"
a job so rich and simple that any fool with the right information
can pull it off. When it comes to a Bellini, belief and desperation
are two sides of the same coin.
Collinwood is one of those
rust-belt neighborhoods ringing Cleveland's once vibrant industrial
center. It's the kind of neighborhood where streets form boundaries
between bristling ethnic and racial enclaves. It's the kind
of place that yuppies and urban pioneers don't invade, where
Starbucks doesn't sell coffee and happy-meals are only served
from the parish soup kitchen. In Collinwood, it might be 1960
or 1990-change comes slowly, if at all. It's not a real nice
place, but it is an authentic place, an American place.
In Welcome to Collinwood, the first feature film
from Cleveland natives and co-writer/directors Joe and Anthony
Russo, Collinwood is not just the landscape for a rare mix of
tragedy and comedy, it's a part of the cast. "We set the
story in a traditional working class neighborhood of Cleveland,
the kind of neighborhood that's interesting because of its archaic
feel," says Anthony Russo, who, along with his brother,
won the attention and support of Academy Award-winning director
Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven, Traffic, Erin Brockovich)
after he saw their student film Pieces at the 1997 Slamdance
Film Festival. "Because this story is a fable, we didn't
want a specific or recognizable time setting, and Collinwood
was perfect for conveying something indefinite in time and space."
Soderbergh, who produced Welcome to Collinwood
with partner George Clooney, agreed that the proper atmosphere
couldn't be captured on a studio backlot. "I thought shooting
on location was very, very important, because I didn't want
it to feel like other movies, and I didn't want it to look like
other movies. Welcome to Collinwood doesn't look like your typical
film because it's shot in Cleveland and Collinwood, which results
in an authenticity that is really integral to the movie."
The Russos' journey from their Cleveland roots to directing
their eight million dollar action adventure comedy is, according
to Collinwood executive producer Casey La Scala, "a fairy
tale - with two fairy godmothers - Steven Soderbergh and George
Clooney."
Their amazing Cinderella story began in 1997, when Soderbergh
caught a screening of the film Pieces, a black comedy about
three crazed Italian brothers in a failing Cleveland hairpiece
business. A week later, the brothers received a phone call from
Soderbergh. "We couldn't believe it," remembers Joe.
"Steven said that he wanted to produce our next project,
and he told us, 'there are two routes you can take in Hollywood:
you can write your own script to direct - or we can try and
get you connected to another screenplay.' We said we would prefer
to direct our own material, and we began writing intensely over
the next couple of years." Anthony then takes up the story,
explaining that "when Steven and George formed their Section
Eight production company, they brought us in and said they wanted
to make one of our films. That film ended up being Welcome to
Collinwood."
"When I saw Pieces," Soderbergh relates, "I thought
it was energetic and creative, but also very well thought out
and organized - not just a collage of effects. Then when I read
Collinwood, I liked the structure of it; it had a plot and an
approach to the characters that I thought was well developed,
with a great set-up and payoff. Intelligent comedies are very
hard to write and I thought it was really well built."
Collinwood is evocative of the ensemble comedies
of the 1930s - the terrible conditions that existed during the
Great Depression drew storytellers to the most hard luck neighborhoods
and the desperate situations of the people who lived there.
"These movies, like the Dead End Gang movies, were some
of our favorites," says Joe, "because of their simplicity
and innocence and faith in the human spirit to transcend even
the most absurd of life's conditions. It was the stories of
the people from places like this that drove us to write and
direct Collinwood."
"Collinwood reminds me of Preston Sturges'
films," comments Soderbergh, "such as Hail the Conquering
Hero or The Miracle of Morgan's Creek - the sort of multi-character
comedies in which you have a real sense of each person. The
audience spends some time with them and they're very well drawn."
One film in particular inspired the Russo brothers' story about
down-and-out characters trying to pull off a too-good-to-be-true
robbery. "Collinwood borrows very heavily from Big Deal
on Madonna Street," says Joe, "an old Italian comedy
that we transplanted to Cleveland. We've been enormous fans
of the film all of our lives, and we thought it was such a tragedy
that American audiences had never really experienced this classic
comedy. That of course led us to the notion that by remaking
it, we could potentially bring the story to people who would
never see it otherwise."
The support of producers Soderbergh and Clooney has been instrumental
in affording the Russos an opportunity to further develop their
potential as filmmakers. "Steven and George are trying
to create an environment where you can combine the best of the
studio world and the best of the independent world in a single
vision," says Anthony. "That's exactly what we've
always wanted to do. They've created a company that can support
filmmakers like us, and it has been an extremely valuable resource."
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CASTING
Besides attracting financing and mentoring the Russos,
Clooney and Soderbergh also helped to secure a stellar cast. "Steven
identified the Russo brothers as extraordinarily talented directors,
and that drew in these very experienced actors who typically have
their pick of projects," notes executive producer Ben Cosgrove.
"And the fact that George chose to play a small role in the
film was very influential in Warner Bros. Pictures' and Gaylord's
decision to finance the movie."
Although they wrote the screenplay with the intention of attracting
high-caliber talent, the Russos are nonetheless amazed at how
successful they were. "The movie, at its essence, is an actor's
piece," says Anthony. "That was our approach to casting.
We really wanted to find 'actors' actors' to play these roles
because we felt the script needed it."
"We've kept a mental list of all our favorite actors from
over the past decade," says Joe. "And those are the
actors that we went after for the film. Insanely enough, they
actually said 'yes.' At first, being on set was incredibly intimidating,
but everyone treated us with such a high level of professionalism
that we were able to move beyond our awe and get down to business."
"If you ask me why I was attracted to this project, I'll
tell you 'It's the script,'" says veteran character actor
William H. Macy. "It reads like it's contemporary and at
the same time like it's a Thirties comedy. It moves wonderfully,
with great humor and great affection towards the characters, and
with an underlying morality, which I found completely disarming.
I've always been attracted to the story of losers who get their
shot."
Soderbergh also feels that a lot of the film's strength
lies in the way the actors' performances persuade the audience
to root for the hapless criminals. "When you have some sort
of emotional investment in the characters the outcome becomes
important to you. And that's where I think Collinwood really stands
out - once they get to the last part of the film you desperately
want them to pull this thing off because you know how much they
need this to happen."
INDEPENDENCE
In addition to the high-powered cast, the filmmakers
and crew worked for close to scale on the project. "Everybody,
across the board, took a significant pay cut to do this film,
including George Clooney," executive producer Cosgrove reports.
"He was actually the lowest paid person on the production.
He made less than the production assistants did.
"In fact," reveals Cosgrove, "George and Steven
contributed their entire producing fee to the production, and
then put in their entire producing fee from Insomnia as well.
So they're actually investors as well as producers."
Of course, when you're working with a budget of
eight million dollars, you not only have to make difficult choices,
you have to make good ones. "We didn't have any cranes. We
didn't have a lot of Steadicams. We didn't have any of the toys
traditionally associated with films typically produced by Warner
Bros. Yet I think we delivered a film that looks like we spent
a lot more money than we had," co-producer Scott Shiffman
boasts. "Tom Meyer, our production designer, did a fantastic
job of stretching dollars. That's true for props and wardrobe
as well."
Indeed, for a number of the actors, Welcome To Collinwood's
independent feel and independent-size budget were advantageous
to the filmmaking process. Sam Rockwell describes a tight shooting
schedule as "Good for the work. I think it's actor-friendly
when you move faster because you stay consistent and focused;
it improves concentration."
For the young, ambitious Russo brothers, Welcome to Collinwood
is actually a step up in terms of project size and budget. "From
our background in very low budget independent filmmaking, making
an eight million dollar film was unbelievable. We had a crew of
a hundred people doing things on this production of which we were
completely unaware," laughs Anthony. "We've been used
to carrying our own equipment and setting up the lights ourselves,"
he says, before having his sentence finished by brother Joe, "and
breaking down the equipment at the end of the day. It's a very
different experience. This time we had a video monitor - we're
still getting used to that."
Tag-team talking is just one of many talents shared
by these highly focused, enormously talented Clevelanders; they
also co-direct their films, a seemingly daunting proposition that
the brothers manage to execute with ease. "We spend years
crafting our stories so that by the time we get into production,
we share a very detailed vision of the film. While we may occasionally
have disagreements on the set, we have a strict policy of handling
them in private."
Isaiah Washington describes his directors this way:
"It's as if you were to split a brain down the middle and
put it on two legs. One's very poetic and one's very visual. It's
like what might happen if your left hand and right hand had a
conversation with one another."
"At first, I wondered, why have two directors? Now, I think
of them as one," Patricia Clarkson adds. "Sometimes
Joe will give you notes, sometimes Anthony will give you notes.
Sometimes Anthony's sitting at the camera and sometimes Joe. When
I'm talking to one, I feel as if I'm talking to both."
For his part, William H. Macy focuses on the practicality
of team directors. "I think the net result is that there
are two people watching the helm," he concludes. "The
shots are well thought out, and when it comes to cutting the film,
every contingency has been considered. In fact, it's quite efficient.
They did a great job of keeping the reins pretty tight."
While the Russos were working like a well-oiled
machine, the less manageable aspects of location filming posed
some difficulties - production was complicated by Cleveland's
rainiest spring in recent memory. But the co-directors used the
potential setback to their advantage. "While it complicated
the production at times," explains Anthony, "the cloud-cover
actually helped us achieve a beautiful, muted hue. Filmmaking
is always about the process of adapting a given set of circumstances
to a particular story."
MUSIC
When choosing music for the film, the Russos were
intent upon finding material that could compliment Welcome to
Collinwood's unique tone. They found their perfect match in polka,
a genre of music very popular in Collinwood - the Polka Hall of
Fame is only 30 blocks from the heart of the neighborhood. "Toledo
Polkamotion" is one of the most popular bands taking part
in the polka revival that is currently thriving in the area, and
their fresh interpretation of the music brings a uniquely contemporary
sensibility to the story. "Polka lent a great sense of place
and purpose to our film," says Joe. "As a traditional
musical form, it can make the past feel very present, creating
a bridge between the two."
The lion's share of the Collinwood soundtrack consists of an original
score composed by Mark Mothersbaugh. Mothersbaugh grew up outside
Akron, and after forming his seminal New Wave band Devo at Kent
State University, he cut his teeth in the clubs of Cleveland.
"Mothersbaugh's music evokes both the whimsical and the classical,"
says Anthony, "conjuring both the high drama of a classic
caper film and the street soulfulness of a place like Collinwood."
The film is bookended by two songs from jazz singer,
pianist and composer Paolo Conti, who uses the unique device of
singing in several languages. Joe and Anthony feel that this multi-ethnic
effect nicely compliments Collinwood, which, as a neighborhood,
is notorious for its ethnic and racial balkanization - earning
it the nickname 'the Beirut of Cleveland.' "For us, our story
is madcap comedy undercut by the desperate failure of the characters'
lives," explains Joe. "Conti's music, which blends joy
with sadness, provided the perfect note, we felt, to begin and
end the film with."
CANNES
Welcome to Collinwood premiered at the 2002 Cannes
film festival, where it was well received as the closing film
in the 34th Director's Fortnight program. The Russos were particularly
thrilled to be invited to present their film in the Fortnight
section, which was founded by two of their greatest cinematic
heroes, French New Wave pioneers Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc
Goddard.
"Cannes will always remain one of the most
treasured moments of our lives," says Joe. "After experiencing
the unique passion of the audiences mixed with the absolute reverence
and formality that they bring to the presentation of cinema, we
feel that there's no better place in the world to watch or present
a movie."
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