| Pootie Tang |
| Well, what can I say about Pootie Tang? This movie is probably the best thing that ever happened to me and at the same time it was a very painful kick in my ass. Making the movie was an exhilerating experience. All of the actors were great and I loved my crew. However, when I started to edit it became imminently clear that the studio and I had very different movies in mind. I was making a very weird little low budget movie that I expected would open at Sundance or some place like that, and they were making the next Austin Powers. Subsequently, neither of us got the movie we wanted because they did not provide me the freedom to make the film I wanted and I did not provide them with the footage to make theirs. So they, being the folks who pay the bills and own the movie, added a couple of music videos to the front and back, put in voice over and added some weird stock footage, to try to create a new film out of the one I tried to make. I will say that most of the scenes themselves still resemble the way I cut them, and the jokes are still working, but it's the overall package that was their idea and not mine. Well, the result is pretty monstrous BUT at least they released the film, partly due to the tenacity and courage of one Chris Rock, who hung on and kept working with them, finding a way for them to like the film again. I'll always be grateful to Chris for getting Pootie made and getting it released.The only thing I wish is that, when they released the film, they had let folks know that it was a low budget film. Anyone who thinks I spent more than 3 million on Pootie Tang would think that I'm a pretty shitty filmmaker. Anyway, it was a tremendous learning experience. I don't blame anyone but me for the lack of quality in the film. I mean, even if you did enjoy it, you have to admit it's a pretty fucked up picture. It would be easy for me to say that they took it away from me and that they messed it up. But the fact is that, as a director, part of your job is to shepard your film through the studio process and have it come through intact. It was my first studio film and it was a very aggresively non-linear, unconventional movie so I really created quite a task for myself, but it was still my job. And I believe that when you sign a contract stating that you serve at the pleasure of the studio, you can't then complain when they do what they want with their property. The great thing about movies is that, unlike TV shows, they never get cancelled. Also, movies never stop building a fan base. It's been a great success on Video and HBO and I never stop hearing about it from people all over. I'm really happy that it's taken off. Just because it isn't in the form that I wanted it to be in, and just because I vomit every time I watch fourteen seconds or more of it, doesn't mean I'm not really happy that people are watching it and loving it more and more as time goes on. It's still my Pootie Tang that I thought up. It's still my story that I wrote and directed. It's still my very good friends up there being intensely funny and I can say in many ways I'm very proud of the film. About the language.... I get a lot of people asking me if there is a dictionary to Pootie Language or what certain words mean. The thing is, his language doesn't function like other languages. To Pootie, words don't have meaning, they are merely an instrument he plays to express himself. It's kind of like if Miles Davis is playing a "C" or an "A" it means wildly different things every time he plays them. He isn't saying to his audience. Hello, C, A, G minor, B. He's using those notes to say something else. This is true of Pootie also. I have a lot more to say about this and I plan to write something a lot longer soon to explain it, but that's a start. SO, thanks for watching Pootie Tang. I hope you enjoyed it. Below are some of the better reviews the film got. I know a lot of the links are broken. Sorry. I'll update it when I can.
regards,
Louis C.K. New York Times (Elvis Mitchell) B. Fatt and Lazy Movie reviews ** The Seattle Stranger (click here then scroll down to bottom of page) Second article in the Stranger after closing pulsetc.com (MINNEAPOLIS) |
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