By MCN Editor editor@moviecitynews.com

‘Clear Blue Tuesday’ Filmmaker Fights Back Against Critics Who Labeled Her Film the 9/11 Rock Musical

Posted Thursday, September 9th, 2010 - Comments Off on ‘Clear Blue Tuesday’ Filmmaker Fights Back Against Critics Who Labeled Her Film the 9/11 Rock Musical
Be Sociable, Share!
NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2010 — The independent film “Clear Blue Tuesday,” which opened Friday, September 3rd in New York at the Quad Cinema (34 West 13th Street), has caused an uproar among film critics, feature writers and bloggers – most of whom have not even seen the film before making negative comments about it and dubbing it the 9/11 rock musical film, according to filmmaker Elizabeth Lucas.

CLEAR BLUE TUESDAY is the story of eleven New Yorkers who are dealing with their sense of personal loss after 9/11, and who are forced to re-examine their dreams and relationships. The film stars a number of known actor/ singer/ songwriters from the Broadway and off-Broadway stage, and features original songs written and performed by the cast. One of the actors, Jan O’Dell, is a 9/11 survivor. The film was directed by Elizabeth Lucas, who is a highly accomplished stage director and a founding producer of the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Ms. Lucas strongly feels that her film has been misrepresented and mischaracterized as a 9/11 rock musical instead of what it really is: a character-driven story that deals with the emotional baggage of eleven New Yorkers over a seven-year period after the devastating events of 9/11. The film is a personal journey for the filmmaker, who herself has dealt with injuries from a bike accident in Manhattan, that became a catalyst for her to make the film.

There’s a lot of controversy that’s currently surrounding the film, but moviegoers who have actually seen the film are coming to the filmmaker’s defense on popular online sites.

Filmmaker Elizabeth Lucas: “The media has characterized my film as if it was a musical where people are singing and dancing as the Twin Towers collapse. I think that’s a terrible idea, too, and that’s not at all the movie I made. CLEAR BLUE TUESDAY explores the effects on a diverse group of New Yorkers in the aftermath of 9/11. The movie was developed by a community of creative New Yorkers. We drew on our experience of coming to terms with the 9/11 events.”

Executive Producer Al Parinello: “Both the director Elizabeth Lucas and I were extremely sensitive about making sure this film hit exactly the right tone, and that the storyline was respectful of the 9/11 tragedy. To now have the film mislabeled by media outlets, many of which have not even seen the film, is deeply hurtful and disappointing to all involved.”

The film will play in NY thru Sept 16th, and then expand into additional markets in the coming weeks.

For further information, reference the following articles:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/01/im-not-sure-what-to-think_n_701885.html
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/08/oh_look_its_a_trailer_for_a_91.html
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/09/01/clear-blue-tuesday-its-911-the-rock-musical/
http://gawker.com/5626522/just-what-we-needed-a-september-11th-rock-musical
http://perezhilton.com/2010-08-31-911-rock-musical
http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/08/31/clear-blue-tuesday-the-first-911-movie-musical/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2010/sep/08/clear-blue-tuesday-911-musical
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/31/911-musical-clear-blue-tu_n_701052.html

For the film’s trailer and press notes, go to: http://www.clearbluetuesday.com

Be Sociable, Share!

Posted in Movie City News, Press Releases | Comments Off on ‘Clear Blue Tuesday’ Filmmaker Fights Back Against Critics Who Labeled Her Film the 9/11 Rock Musical

Comments are closed.

Quote Unquotesee all »

It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon