By Lindsey Bahr, Film Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Director Riley Stearns says he didn't realize he was making a perfect movie for 2019 when he started writing "The Art of Self-Defense " four years ago.
But his darkly comedic riff on toxic masculinity starring Jesse Eisenberg as a timid and "weak" man who takes up karate just kept becoming more relevant. The Harvey Weinstein allegations broke during the shoot in 2017 and the #MeToo movement became a phenomenon.
"It was kind of weird that this idea that I had been feeling was very personal to me was really starting to spread into a direct discussion," Stearns said. "More and more people are relating to the film in ways that I originally wouldn't have intended, which is hugely humbling and very interesting to see."
"The Art of Self-Defense" is currently in 540 theaters nationwide, where it's finding a healthy audience amid all the flashier blockbusters and superhero films in the multiplex.
Eisenberg's character Casey Davies is mocked even for his "feminine" sounding name. After getting brutally beaten one night by horde of masked motorcyclists, he stumbles on a local dojo run by an over-the-top alpha played by Alessandro Nivola and signs up for classes. And things take an unexpectedly dark turn.
"There's an absurdity to him because he's timid in such an extreme way and aggressive in such an extreme way," Eisenberg said. "Casey is a product of this very unusual world. As much as I loved the character I also loved the world he exists in which is a world where people speak in this very unusual, blunt, earnest way."
Imogen Poots plays the film's sole main female character, an instructor at the dojo who despite all her skills has not been promoted to black belt. Sterns did this knowingly, but also made a concerted effort to make sure his below the line team was predominantly women.
"It's a film about men, starring men, written by a man. Everything about it was so overtly masculine, which I knew, I was making fun of it, but still at the end of the day was not going to be on the side of films passing the Bechdel Test," Stearns said. "My intent then was to say, let's find the best people for the job to take on these department head jobs but also really try to focus on finding the best women for the jobs as well, to really try to counteract that. I just knew I didn't want it to be a set full of men. It was really important for me to have that female perspective."
Both Stearns and Eisenberg see some of the changes happening in the industry as many wake up to the injustices women have been subject to for too long. Soon after filming "The Art of Self-Defense," Eisenberg found himself on the set of "The Hummingbird Project," with Salma Hayek and Erika Rosenbaum, who both allege Weinstein sexually harassed them.
He remembers that the day that Hayek was writing her New York Times op-ed on set about the alleged harassment , something else happened in another department.
"This guy on set made some misogynistic comment in the wardrobe department and was fired on the spot," Eisenberg set. "And I remember thinking, 'This is amazing. This day fully crystalizes the changes that are possible: Two women bravely telling their stories about a person with outsized power in our field and another guy having to be held accountable for something he did that was awful on set… I just thought, if this is sustainable this is great."
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More