I had the pleasure yesterday afternoon of chatting with producer Peggy Rajski over at Boom Noodle on Capitol Hill. (More on Boom later.) Peggy produced a set of John Sayles films in the 1980s, including my favorite Sayles, "The Brother From Another Planet." (Babyfaced Fisher Stevens’ magic trick on the A train is worth the price of admission.) She also produced "The Grifters" and Jodie Foster’s excellent "Little Man Tate." More recently, she exec produced "Towelhead."
Peggy is here in Seattle shooting her latest film, “Grassroots,” directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal and starring Jason Biggs, Cedric the Entertainer and Tom Arnold. In spite of the actors’ pedigrees, the film is described as a buddy movie/coming-of-age film in the style of James L. Brooks so we’re likely to see actual acting with some depth of feeling and genuine emotion. (Actually, I’m a big fan of the high-strung Arnold, who constantly works and frequently manages to land pretty interesting roles. I assume this will be one of those.)
“Grassroots” is based on a memoir by former Seattle Stranger writer Phil Campbell, who managed fellow ex-Stranger writer Grant Cogswell’s campaign for Seattle City Council in 2001. It’s a story about idealism and activism and people who actually lead rather than follow (which fits right in with my rant from the other day).
The really exciting thing about “Grassroots” (an appropriate title not just for the story but for the production itself) is that it contains all the right ingredients to have a major positive influence on the independent film scene.
From my conversation with Peggy, they’re making all the right moves. If they continue along the path they’re on, “Grassroots” might well become the elusive finance/production/distribution blueprint the community’s been groping for. It’s a pretty big IF, but I’m rooting for them as hard as I can and so should you.
The first thing they did right was maintain the integrity of the story by budgeting appropriately. The movie is called “Grassroots” for a reason. (It’s a low-budget film.)
Next, they didn’t spend forever in development. True, it’s based on a memoir, but there are no rules in development hell. The process moved along relatively briskly and momentum in anything is always good.
Casting is interesting. I’m going to assume that Gyllenhaal and Rajski have seen proof that Biggs and his co-star, Joel Moore, have the chops to pull off quirky roles with the necessary gravitas that this flavor of storytelling demands. (I know Tom Arnold can.) So granting that, it’s important that Biggs, Cedric the Entertainer and Arnold all have the juice to make social media pay big dividends.
Plus, the production recognizes how important a role social media can play here and they’re arming themselves with all of the appropriate in-production tools for both immediate and ongoing implementation.
Which is all well and good. But by far the most exciting tidbit Peggy shared is that she just secured a relatively sizable chunk of cash for distribution and marketing.
