Not wanting to upstage Cupid, things are a little bit quieter on the local arts and culture front, making this week's six
FilterD picks all-the-more enticing (especially for those going stag this weekend). Top of the top picks is
Luciana Souza's concert at Rackham Thursday night. A chanteuse of the samba and rhumba, her airy alto sends shivers down your spine, especially on Antonio Jobim's "Agua De Marco" (a personal fave). It's
musica muy romantico, and bound to earn you points with your one and only.
If kink is more your thing, be sure to make the trip into Detroit for
The Dirty Show, an annual celebration of artsy-fartsy smut and provocation. Don't mistake this for a porn convention. The Dirty Show features serious artists tackling the subject of erotica, body image, and sensuality. It also brings with it cabaret-style performances. The event is so successful that its organizers have brought it to L.A. and attracted celeb-artists like Clive Barker.
For those who are looking for a more tongue-in-cheek view of love, 826Michigan brings back its ever-popular
Love Hangover event, a day-after celebration for those who are smitten and/or those who've had enough. Local musician pair up in unlikely duets to express their feeling through cover tunes. It's at Ypsi's Elbow Room, the perfect venue for drowning your amorous sorrows or getting on one knee and making the proposal.
Of course, the lovelorn can always find solace on the silver screen too. And the Michigan Theater has two flicks worth your time and attention. The first is Colin Firth's incredible (and Oscar nominated) performance in
A Single Man. The second is a special screening of
Chops, a documentary about a group of exceptional high school kids who have an ongoing love affair with jazz.
For director (and U-M alum) Bruce Broder,
Chops is a labor of love... and not just because his son is one of the musicians. A native Detroiter, Broder and Hollywood director Lawrence Kasdan (
The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist) were roommates, sharing a passion for film. But when Broder graduated in 1971 he became an ad man, working as a copywriter/producer then creative director at Doner Advertising. Before long he opened his own shop with Chato Hill -- Bruce & Chato Advertising. A big fan of jazz, he became a weekend regular at Bakers Keyboard Lounge. It seems only inevitable that his two interests --film and jazz-- would eventually dovetail. What makes it particularly personal, however, is his son's interest in music (he's been playing since he was 4 years old) and how that led to the creation of
Chops.
Broder graciously agreed to answer some of my questions from a hotel lobby in Miami.
CONCENTRATE: When you began shooting, Chops had a different focus, didn't it? What was it and why the change?BRODER: That's true. I was initially interested in following a group of seven kids who had formed a jazz combo in middle school. In particular, I wanted to chronicle what would happen to these kids--who were wildly and single-mindedly committed to their music--when they hit high school and the mix of responsibility and emotional upheaval that comes with it.
Though I stayed with some of these original kids, and added others, the focus of the movie changed when they decided to compete in the highest level jazz competition (for high schoolers anyway) in the country. The camera was in the room when they transformed themselves and their playing. So really, the movie stayed on the subject of Love of Music, but the details and characters changed according to circumstances.
CONCENTRATE: Documentaries that center around little-known competitions seem to have become quite popular. Your film both capitalizes on the trend and deviates from the traditional approach of juxtaposing personal portraits with competitive drama. Was that a conscious decision? How did you settle on the film's final narrative?BRODER: I wanted from the beginning for this to be entertainment. After all, these kids, with their talent and their enthusiasm and their amazing insight, entertained me for the entire time I was filming them. But everyone who worked on
Chops was also into making a piece that would stand as a movie, with structure and plot and character development. We did our utmost to show rather than tell. And in the end the characters revealed themselves through the way they dealt with the circumstances of the competition. Unlike most of the competition films you allude to in the question, these characters were in it for reasons that went far beyond winning or losing.
CONCENTRATE: For many years you worked in advertising. Why film now? Why this film? Is this a new professional chapter for you and, if so, what's next?BRODER: The subject of
Chops was perfect for me. I love the music (jazz), the setting (high school), and the characters (my son and his friends). Like a lot of ad guys, I've always wanted to make a movie that was longer than :30 seconds and didn't revolve around a product. So yes, I'm hoping to do more of that. But I still work in advertising and still enjoy it.
CONCENTRATE: You were roommates with Lawrence Kasdan here at U-M and remain close friends today. Was film a part of your relationship? Did he play any role in bringing Chops to fruition? BRODER: Yes to both. Larry was head of the Cinema Guild back in our U-M days and we thought about and talked about movies all the time. that has continued ever since. I showed him some of the earliest footage I shot for
Chops, and then later successive cuts of the film, and his encouragement and advice were enormously helpful. Same thing goes for the invaluable help provided by his wife and my life-long friend, Meg.
CONCENTRATE: Michigan passed a very aggressive film industry incentive package hoping to lure productions to the state. Some argue we shouldn't be allocating much-needed resources to Hollywood. Others think it's necessary to help diversify our economy and retain young talent. What do you think?BRODER: Until last year, I served on the Jacksonville (FL) Film and Television Council and wrestled with exactly these issues. Worse, we had to compete with Michigan! I know from that experience that whatever resources are allocated to bringing in film production are payed back in spades.
You can read my very positive take on
Chops here. For those of you attending, see if you can spot the scenes in A2's now-closed The
Firefly Club.
Until next week,
Jeff Meyers
EditorBTW, Concentrate is now on
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