Fiction author Robin Brande talks about writing, reading, and other vital matters

This is what it’s all about. Four movies today, two of them stinkers, one way quirky, and then you get to see a movie like we saw tonight.

Black Snake Moan, written and directed by Craig Brewer, the same guy who wrote and directed Hustle & Flow last year. A white guy who specializes in writing about black rappers and black blues musicians. But that’s a teeny tiny fraction of what those movies are about. If you saw Hustle & Flow, you know all about the incredible energy and creativity Brewer brings to his stories. I mean, who would expect to love a pimp who wants to become a rap star? But at the end of that flick last year at Sundance, we were on our feet, screaming our heads off. And it was the same this time.

Briefly, Black Snake Moan is about two damaged people, played by Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci, who form the most bizarre friendship after both of them have been pushed beyond too far. The performances are incredible, the story is unlike anything you’ll ever see, and the music is rousing (we’re talking Samuel L. playing some mean guitar and singing some great blues–did you know he could sing?).

Tonight was the world premier, so after the screening there was a Q & A with all the principals, including the writer/director and the actors. So we got to see in person Samuel L. (the epitome of cool), Christina Ricci, (incredible, superb acting–we knew she was good, but this movie shows she’s great) and Justin Timberlake (another solid performance after last year’s Alpha Dog–definitely a cross-over star).

I love hearing how writers and actors come to their projects. Samuel told us how this movie ended up stalking him in various ways. First he’s at some event in New York, and one of the musicians for Letterman tells Samuel he ought to let her teach him to play blues guitar. Then a week later he takes a meeting with this director about starring in the movie, which would require Samuel to learn to play guitar. Then he’s at the Oscars shortly after, and in his goody bag is a gift certificate for a guitar. Then he starts filming either Freedomland or Snakes on a Plane (I forgot which), and one of the tech people on that was a master guitarist who then taught him more. So you see? When a part is right, details align to make sure you do the job.

And Craig Brewer talked about how he got the idea for this film–way too convoluted to go into right now–but it really sprang from two things: his frustration when he thought Hustle & Flow wasn’t going to get made after all, and also this urgency to “swing for the fences” with his movie career, since his dad died of a heart attack at 49. So he just kept writing, kept working, and now he’s getting standing ovations at Sundance two years in a row. Like that.

So be watching for the movie. It’s a treat you won’t soon forget.

Fleece Girl signing out for the night.

Technorati Tags: Black Snake Moan, Craig Brewer, Hustle & Flow, Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake, Movies, Sundance Film Festival, Films

Posted on Wednesday, January 24th, 2007 at 8:50 pm under Movies & TV . Subscribe to responses: RSS 2.0 Comment Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.