See What I'm Saying movie
So, anyway, last night Matt and I went to the premiere of the documentary See What I'm Saying in Hollywood. I'm going to plug the movie I saw last night becaues it was so good.
It's a peak into the lives of four deaf entertainers, CJ Jones, Robert DeMayo, TL Forsberg, and Bob Hiltermann. CJ Jones, who is famous in the Deaf world but nearly unknown to the hearing, is trying to break into mainstream comedy as a black, Deaf comedian. Actor Robert DeMayo struggles to find enough work to survive and despite his great talent, ends up homeless. TL Forsberg is a rock singer with a lovely voice who feels isolated as an outsider to both the Deaf and hearing worlds as someone who straddles between the two. Bob Hiltermann, the drummer for the all deaf band Beethoven's Nightmare is trying to plan a mainstream concert. Everyone in the film but CJ Jones was new to me (I've seen him before in various things, small stuff), but they were all very likeable people and it was very easy to feel for their stories. Robert DeMayo's story in particular really stuck with me; he is obviously an extremely talented man.
Some parts were just so tragic, just stunningly sad, but overall it was not depressing. The term "inspiration" is shamefully cliche, but it really was moving -- and not in a lame "Lifetime" way. There was definitely a lot of positive things too, and it ended on a high note. (Although at the Q&A after the show, asked what he was currently doing, DeMayo's answer was sadly "nothing")
The films has had some really great reviews despite it's limited exposure. They've done a few private screenings around the country but last night was the world premiere in Hollywood. All the performers were there, and even more showed up to entertain in the courtyard before and after the show. It's going to be playing for two more weeks locally in LA at a regular theatre. In a few weeks, they'll do another premiere in NYC and, I presume, it will also open locally there for a couple weeks.
If you have any deaf friends or family, or an interest in Deaf culture, or even if you just really like film and/or documentaries, you should really go see it if it's near you. Find the DVD when it's out. The community can use the support and I'm sure the entertainers themselves could really benefit from the exposure and, most obviously, it's just plain good. It's also the first movie in history that is totally open-captioned by default, so you'll be able to follow whether you speak English or ASL (the movie is a mix of both). I've always been a bit of a film buff with a fondness for documentaries, plus my love for ASL, so I was all over it.
BTW, if you are in LA and want to see it, it's playing at Laemmle's on Sunset, five showings a day for the next two weeks.
I also have to mention Nedoslov Deaf Theatre because they totally blew my mind in their brief clip during the International Sign Language Festival that CJ organised in the movie. You should see if they're on YouTube or something, find some clips. They were in the film maybe less than thirty seconds total, but when Matt and I got out, we were both turned to each other and were like "The Russians! Whoa!" at the same time. I guess they're pretty famous because googling for their URL turned up a lot of stuff.
Anyway.
I ran into my old buddy Kevin (mentioned here lots of times) and his fiancee Nicole, both deaf, and her parents. It was really nice to see them; we're both so busy that it doesn't happen very much. Nicole was running around mingling with everyone because Deaf people know every other Deaf person and she had 975498589 people to say hello to. Some of my classmates from the ASL class I'm taking were there, and I also saw my professor. We all chatted for a bit after the show in the courtyard. Everyone really liked the movie.
(so tired, didn't get home until late and then up at 6.45 to get ready for work)
It's a peak into the lives of four deaf entertainers, CJ Jones, Robert DeMayo, TL Forsberg, and Bob Hiltermann. CJ Jones, who is famous in the Deaf world but nearly unknown to the hearing, is trying to break into mainstream comedy as a black, Deaf comedian. Actor Robert DeMayo struggles to find enough work to survive and despite his great talent, ends up homeless. TL Forsberg is a rock singer with a lovely voice who feels isolated as an outsider to both the Deaf and hearing worlds as someone who straddles between the two. Bob Hiltermann, the drummer for the all deaf band Beethoven's Nightmare is trying to plan a mainstream concert. Everyone in the film but CJ Jones was new to me (I've seen him before in various things, small stuff), but they were all very likeable people and it was very easy to feel for their stories. Robert DeMayo's story in particular really stuck with me; he is obviously an extremely talented man.
Some parts were just so tragic, just stunningly sad, but overall it was not depressing. The term "inspiration" is shamefully cliche, but it really was moving -- and not in a lame "Lifetime" way. There was definitely a lot of positive things too, and it ended on a high note. (Although at the Q&A after the show, asked what he was currently doing, DeMayo's answer was sadly "nothing")
The films has had some really great reviews despite it's limited exposure. They've done a few private screenings around the country but last night was the world premiere in Hollywood. All the performers were there, and even more showed up to entertain in the courtyard before and after the show. It's going to be playing for two more weeks locally in LA at a regular theatre. In a few weeks, they'll do another premiere in NYC and, I presume, it will also open locally there for a couple weeks.
If you have any deaf friends or family, or an interest in Deaf culture, or even if you just really like film and/or documentaries, you should really go see it if it's near you. Find the DVD when it's out. The community can use the support and I'm sure the entertainers themselves could really benefit from the exposure and, most obviously, it's just plain good. It's also the first movie in history that is totally open-captioned by default, so you'll be able to follow whether you speak English or ASL (the movie is a mix of both). I've always been a bit of a film buff with a fondness for documentaries, plus my love for ASL, so I was all over it.
BTW, if you are in LA and want to see it, it's playing at Laemmle's on Sunset, five showings a day for the next two weeks.
I also have to mention Nedoslov Deaf Theatre because they totally blew my mind in their brief clip during the International Sign Language Festival that CJ organised in the movie. You should see if they're on YouTube or something, find some clips. They were in the film maybe less than thirty seconds total, but when Matt and I got out, we were both turned to each other and were like "The Russians! Whoa!" at the same time. I guess they're pretty famous because googling for their URL turned up a lot of stuff.
Anyway.
I ran into my old buddy Kevin (mentioned here lots of times) and his fiancee Nicole, both deaf, and her parents. It was really nice to see them; we're both so busy that it doesn't happen very much. Nicole was running around mingling with everyone because Deaf people know every other Deaf person and she had 975498589 people to say hello to. Some of my classmates from the ASL class I'm taking were there, and I also saw my professor. We all chatted for a bit after the show in the courtyard. Everyone really liked the movie.
(so tired, didn't get home until late and then up at 6.45 to get ready for work)