The Mihigan Daily - Weekend etc. - Thursday, March 9, 1995- 5 'the four corners' :0 The little film that could By Alexandra Twin Daily Film Editor Your brother's old girlfriend had a cameo in the Blind Pig scene. The guy down the hall was one of the hippie guitarists in the Diag scene. You stood outside Espresso Royale that morning in the summer of 1993, hoping to be an extra in one of the rmany caf6 scenes. Whether you were in it, knew someone in it or just saw them filming it, "the four corners of nowhere," a wholly locally -ade film, has bolted through Ann Arbor, swooped about the country and re- emerged at its source, cut, assembled and ready to be viewed by the people it was made for. "We're really excited. We feel like we're coming home," said writer-di- rector-producer Steve Chbosky at an early morning breakfast at Amer's, the only local cafd that will let the wired young filmmaker smoke. Chbosky -ablend of midwestern friendliness and California-esque good looks - was joined by his star and co-producer, Mark Maclain Wil- son, who plays Duncan, aphilosophi- cal nomad and the film's core charac- ter. (Wilson proceeded, inexplicably, to hum "Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon" sporadically throughout the interview.) They were also joined by Julia Thaxter-Gourlay, the actor who plays the feminist Doreen, a support- ing yet pivotal member of the group of Ann Arborites whose lives the film chronicles. All three werejoined by one sleepy reporter who attempted to both con- sume a lot of caffeine very quickly and begin to grasp the motivation and struggle that drove on this unusual, inventive first film, one that was re- cently screened at the prestigious Sundance film festival. What happened was a young Uni- versity of Southern California (USC) film student (Chbosky) was sick of seeing glossy versions of his so-called life being portrayed by big Holly- wood movies. He wanted to write something more genuine, more sub- stantial, but he wasn't sure how to approach it. He took a road trip, dis- covered America and the films of independent maverick Hal Hartley, and eventually found his way back to Ann Arbor, his surrogate college ex- perience and the residence of his best pal from home (Pittsburgh), Univer- sity theater student Mark Maclain Wil- son, and his group of acting buddies. Finally, in this environment, Chbosky was able to write the script that he'd always wanted to. "I finally came of age and I said, you know what? I'm sick of all these angst- ridden things. I'mjust gonna have fun and write characters that are happen- ing now and just have a blast." The script burst into existence and the group teamed up, seeking money, equipment and support whereverthey could find it. 50 percent of the cast and crew ended up coming from Ann Arbor, 75 percent from Michigan. Nobody was paid at the time. "We're all friends and that's how this got started. We're people who have all chosen to have this life, to be actors or filmmakers. There's just a core there that's held us together...," said Chbosky, who wrote the script for his struggling actor friends, if not di- rectly about them. "I wanted to give them an opportunity to celebrate a lot of their spirit, not necessarily who they were but where they're coming from." Paramount and New Line Cin- ema, two major production compa- nies, were impressed enough with the completed script that they were will- ing to buy it from Chbosky, give it a hot director and actors and market it as the latest Generation X film. But that was just the opposite of what he was looking for. "It's funny," said Chbosky, "'Slacker' came out and everybody heard about it and Hollywood went 'Oh shit. New target audience. Easy marketing.' They create the myth, they tell us 'This is what you are, by the way, in case you didn't know.' Then, God forbid, the films that they put out for us don't make money, like "Singles" and they go 'well, never mind about that group They don't exist We'll put out "The Mask" instead."' "I think that people have been frustrated with these (Gen-X) films because they're all about our sup- posed lack of direction, lack of drive" said Wilson. "We're the psychology generation. Everything's about find- ing your inner sense of things and this film is too, but a lot of that has to do with timing. Most people I know are very motivated. They'd like to do some- thing. They're just not sure what yet." So the guys decided to do some- thing different and make it genuine. The finished product is a humorous, engaging, half-parody, half-heartfelt narrative about a lost young drifter who arrives in Ann Arbor, figures the town out, helps its lost, kooky young inhabitants gain a better understand- ing of themselves, falls in love, and then goes on his way, stronger for the pitstop. "We had never made a feature film before," Wilson said. "Our background was trial and error," Chbosky said, "What really helped was knowing that because of the people cast, I could stumble around, I could fall on my face as a director but we'd still be able to pull it off because of those people." Despite this, the film still hacks a distributor. What that means is that even if they find out about it, most people will not get a chance to see the film. "We've had people tell us 'We like your film but we don't have any idea of how to market it,"' said Wil- son. "We'd tell them, 'You don't have to market it, just put it out there, people will come, it'll win by word of mouth.' But they really don't under- stand that, so it's a matter of us going out there and proving it to them." Ultimately, they want to form a production company called Ameri- can Platypus, Ltd. that would enable them to fund and help out with each other's projects. Chbosky - whose compositions and guitar work pepper the film - likens the idea to "a band situation where you work together, then go off and do solo stuff so that you can learn, then come back to- gether. I can already think of at least one film that I'd like to bring every- body back for." Although he admits to a penchant for ensemble pieces, Chbosky has recently completed a two-person ro- mantic comedy about a librarian and phone sex woman. He also wants to make a documentary called "Rusty the Anarchist" about "the most un- likely revolutionary ever." "Making a film," said Chbosky "is like having a child." But it's truly a labor of love "I think that film, at its best, can almost become its own religion...," he said, "where the experience becomes tribal, has that kind of resonance. Between the Internet and modern technology, everything is becoming smaller and smaller and film almost becomes a community for people." The same has traditionally been said of the independent cinema. "But this felt like the year inde- pendent movies died," said Chbosky. "Granted, there's been something of a surge in recent years, but it's almost reached its peak. If people want more independent cinema, if they're really excited about it, they have to start going to it." Yet, getting people to check out a small film that they don't know much about is difficult. "We've worked on this film for going on three years now," said Chbosky, "and if we can finally get an audience there that appre- ciates things, not necessarily likes or On the left we see Mark Maclain Wilson and Steve Chbosky in the center. dislikes but Just takes the time to appre- :i.e what we tried to do, then it was all wort h it It's worth the trade. An hour and 50 minutes for three years of our lives I mean, I don't even know how many 1ims are trying to do what we're doing. All we ask is that if people really love the il !at they spread the word." It seems ihat they already have. In a near-record Michiaan Theater turn- out, tied for second only with the premiere of "The Piano" in 1993, last Saturday night's premiere of "the four corners of nowhere" found people being turned away at the door. "the four corners of nowhere" will be playing once more at the Michigan Theater, this Friday night only, at midnight. For more information, call 668-8397. "-'. ~ - - 705 W. Cross 485-6720 (Ypsilanti) FN & SAte. Sunglasses After Dark *min. age 19 required* The cast of the local film "the four corners of nowhere" waits for sex. MICHIGAN CHEERLEADING TRYOUTS This is your chance to be part of the action, to get in the game. The Michigan Cheerleading Program will be holding open tryouts for new persons interested in joining us on the sideline in the 1995-96 season. So, if you're athletic, crazy for Michigan sports, like to travel, want a front row seat and are committed to being the best you can be - come on down and show your stuff at the Michigan Cheerleading Tryouts. If you were a cheerleader in high school, if you were a gymnast or tumbler, even if you've never cheered but are a good athlete - WE WANT TO SEE YOU! You could be great. Hey, you never know until you try! Dig out those tennis shoes and sweats, bring a friend and we'll see you there. MICHIGAN CHEERLEADING TRYOUT DATES - I.M. SPORTS BLDG. Tuesday, March 7, 1995 7-9 pm Sunday, March 19, 1995 6-8 pm Saturday, March 25, 1995 4-7 pm Sunday, March 12, 1995 6-8 pm Tuesday, March 21, 1995 7-9 pm Sunday, March 26, 1995 Tuesday, March 14, 1995 7-9 pm noon until we're done Hail to the Victors....The Champions,of the West! GO BLUE! For further info call. 313-525-1735 G wrl My r MVrC .. .a.Ta- J4 .w. L... WHAT HER? ilA. {.5 ' JESSICA LANGE UAT T r 1 D R DD V ;Il ~u. Ht 1," 1 -1 I- R~J~ MUMMEMM==