Home PageI enjoyed the privileged of attending three screenings of MacArthur Park, and the Q&A sessions afterwards. (I also got to vote for the film three times!) At each discussion Billy had every member of his team who was present join him on stage, and encouraged them to speak and to take direct questions. But first he shared the story of how he came to be involved with the script. Billy had been doing an unrelated documentation of the homeless. He explained that he would carry a video camera, and aim it at his subject, who usually responded agreeably. Then he'd interview them, and give them some sort of compensation for cooperating.
While working in MacArthur Park he was approached by a woman who took him back to her improvised residence, and pulled an envelope from under her mattress. It had the address and ID number of a Prisoner of the State written on it, which turned out to be author Tyrone Atkins. It contained a 352-page script, written in pencil. Billy contacted Atkins, and picked him up from Prison when he was released.
The film has been a project of Billy's for approximately six years, but they only had 21 days to actually shoot in the park, and did so on a very low-end budget. But what they managed to accomplish with these limited resources is miraculous. Yet the project was not without its setbacks.
They lost the Director of Photography, but Kristian Bernier stepped in and shot the whole thing, without the least sign of suffering for the change. They also lost half of their funding about 30 days out, which left them scrambling. (Billy was quick to point out that they didn't so much lose it, as just didn't close the deal for it. He wanted to be sure the source wouldn't bear undue blame.)
All the while they were still prepping and casting and struggling to pull things together. In fact, Brandon Adams, who plays a key roll as Cody's son, was cast on the very day they started shooting. The one reason they were able to pull it all off, according to Producer Maricel Pagulayan, is that they felt that they were working as a family. The faith they all shared in this project and its message of hope for even the most desperate or crushed soul was what kept it alive.
A direct quote from Billy: "But it didn't rain!"
And one from the producer: "Billy does not take 'no' for an answer. There WAS no 'no'!"
The extras in the film are actual residents of the park. Some days they paid them to participate, and some days they paid them to stay out of the shot (for the sake of continuity.)
The crew also provided them with healthy meals. One boon they were able to enjoy was the cooperation of the LAPD. As it turned out, there was an internal investigation going on in the local department, and the cops were making every effort to make a good impression and improve their reputation.
A question was addressed to Atkins concerning the dealers and gang members who live in the park. His answer was definite. "Drug dealers are cowards. When we came in, they went to the other side of the park."
The entire cast expressed their gratitude for being able to be involved in this prodigious venture. Carlton Wilborn, who plays St. Louis, was asked a question about how he was able to play a crack addict so convincingly. He said that his training as a dancer was helpful because he just opened himself up to the energy of the park and let it filter through him. He also avoided things like watching the dailies and internally analyzing the work he had done that day so he could just be "lost," because that is the best way to describe the condition of an addict.
Rachel Hunter described her character Karen as the personification of hope. Her character has been clean and out of the park for two years, and she radiates with joy and panacea.
Billy shared a couple of interesting behind-the-scenes stories about production. The author Tyrone Atkins plays a cop who doesn't have any lines, but participates in a raid on the park. Billy bemusedly pointed out that when Tyrone busts the character who is based on himself, he puts himself on the hood of the car, frisks himself, and lets himself go.
On a more serious note, while Atkins was back in jail during the shoot, he called Billy and they connected with Atkins' son on a 3-way call. Atkins had not been in contact with his son for nine years. "So it was kind of like "Life imitating Art." (I wouldn't be surprised to find that there may have been many such surreal moments during this production.)
To listen to them speak about their experience is to believe that
wonderful things can be accomplished. They stressed at every screening that, most importantly, this is a story of hope. It is a beacon of cold truth, and a warning, and an entreaty to be prudent in your experiencing and sampling of the world. It is the testimony that the individual is strong enough to find his or her way through, and survive the Dark Night of the Soul. As Tyrone Atkins proclaimed, "Let go, let God, and believe in yourself!"
Julie