Moviefone Editorial

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  • ‘Stans’ Exclusive Interview: Director Steven Leckart

    Eminem (Center) and his fans at the New York City premiere of 'Stans'. Photo: Jeremy Deputat.
    Eminem (Center) and his fans at the New York City premiere of ‘Stans’. Photo: Jeremy Deputat.

    Premiering on Paramount+ August 26th is the new documentary ‘Stans’, which was directed by Steven Leckart and chronicles both the career of rapper Eminem (Marshall Mathers) as well as his relationship with his fans.

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    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Steven Leckart about his work on ‘Stans’, the decision to focus on the fans, finding them for the film, working with Eminem, the legacy of the song ‘Stan’, and the moment when Eminem became the GOAT.

    Related Article: Director Kevin MacDonald Talks Documentary ‘One to One: John & Yoko’

    'Stans' director Steven Leckart at the SXSW London Screen Festival. Photo: Joe Maher/Getty Images.
    ‘Stans’ director Steven Leckart at the SXSW London Screen Festival. Photo: Joe Maher/Getty Images.

    Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about how this documentary came together and was it your idea or Eminem’s to focus on his fans?

    Steven Leckart: So, the project predates me in terms of the original conceit, and Paul Rosenberg, who is Eminem’s longtime manager and is a producer on the film with us was an incredible collaborator. Paul has made it clear that they didn’t want to make anything conventional. They didn’t want to just look at his career and put him in a chair and tell his whole story. Paul has said very clearly and said this to me that the idea of doing that, I think it’s twofold. One, he’s such an unconventional artist that to do something so straightforward would be just not interesting, but also not very on brand for them. I think the other piece of it is, and Paul has said this, that apart from just that’s who he is as a person, you don’t necessarily do a whole retrospective of your career and life when you’re only in your early 50s and you’re still putting out music and doing things. The story’s not over. So why would you do that? So, I was delighted when I met them about five years ago and that they didn’t want to do anything conventional. Then because of the song ‘Stan’ and the way it’s impacted pop culture and become part of the ethos, so to speak, they thought, ‘Well, why don’t we turn the camera around on the fans?” Because if you know about the song ‘Stan’, it’s written from a fan’s perspective. So, when I came along, that was kind of all sitting there, but it was like, “Well, how do we navigate?” I think it’s important that we find a way to weave Marshall’s perspective through interviews and do some filming, but where’s the line in terms of when it’s him versus the fans? So, figuring out that balance is something we all collaborated very intensely on together, and as a filmmaker, it added to the challenge and that’s why I was so grateful and excited about this project.

    Eminem in 'Stans'. Photo: Paramount+.
    Eminem in ‘Stans’. Photo: Paramount+.

    MF: Can you talk about working with Eminem on this project and what was it like to sit down with him and interview him?

    SL: Well, by the time we sat down to do the interview, obviously we’d met each other and he’s a producer on the movie. It was a long time coming. So, by the time we sat down, it was like I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve for the film. We had already been in the edit. When I met everybody, my promise to them was that we would be incredibly mindful of his time, and we wouldn’t waste his time. That’s not just because I think that’s a better way to manage the situation. It’s just, as a filmmaker, I like to be efficient. So, I wanted to make sure that what we did was we got a lot of depth in as little time as possible while simultaneously serving the needs for the film to have some balance between just being fans and needing his perspective. Because the film, if you think about it, is very much about the double-edged sword of the relationship between an artist and the fans. So, to not have the artist’s perspective to come in and punctuate it at times would’ve been a real missed opportunity. So, by the time we sat down, one, I’d met him before and we had, I think from the beginning, a nice rapport. He’s incredibly funny, sharp, witty, and all the things you’d probably expect. But what I found to be profound for me and very moving, was the way he could turn on a dime and become incredibly sincere, earnest and thoughtful. I think that’s what will be ultimately surprising to a lot of people in the film is just how much depth is there. But if you go to the records, it’s there. We just don’t necessarily know that if you haven’t listened to all the records or if you just know the singles. It’s in the albums. So, to me, he was exactly what you see in the movie, and I’m proud of that interview.

    Katie in 'Stans'. Photo: Paramount+.
    Katie in ‘Stans’. Photo: Paramount+.

    MF: Can you talk about finding the “Stans” to interview for this project and did any of them alarm you?

    SL: No, there was no one that was scary to me, and there was nobody that I was concerned about being in a room with, partially because we just vetted people quite a lot on the front end. We did casting-tapes and calls with people. So, we started with a link that went out over Eminem’s social media, which was fantastic because basically we put out this link to a questionnaire and we presented all the questions. So, we were able to kind of go through all of that and get a sense of each person already. Then we also asked for a 60-minute video. So, then we sort of culled from that. Then we worked with a great casting team, and they would go through the stuff, and they’d set up Zooms with people, and we would talk every few days about, “What are you seeing? Who are you finding? This person seems charming. Okay, but do they have all the story points that we’re looking for?” The thesis in POV of the movie is one of the lyrics from the song ‘Stan’, which is, “I’m just like you.” So, Stan in the original song writes to Marshall in his letter and says, “I’m just like you. Here’s how I’m just like you.” So, we looked through the profiles for people who felt they were just like him and could articulate why they were just like him. We found people that reflected on different parts of his life. Some people were like Venn diagrams, they had it all. Some people only had one kind of piece. Then we were looking for people that just popped off-screen, people that would be memorable, whether you like them, or you’re intrigued by them or you’re not sure. That was really by design. But everyone by and large was incredibly sweet. Then there were several people that I also talked to before we went to film with them, partially because I understood that if you’re going to make a film about people who will open-up about very deeply personal things, I wanted them to know who I was before we showed up on set. It was important to me to sort of, I think give them a safe space, and made them feel like they knew the interviewer before they showed up. It’s been great seeing and hearing from so many of them since they all now seen the film and that feels good that they expressed such vulnerability and they’re okay with it. Some people could feel a little either embarrassed or exposed, but they’re just like Eminem in that way because Eminem exposes so much of his own vulnerabilities in the music. It’s an interesting fun house mirror.

    (L to R) Eminem and Zolt at the New York City premiere of 'Stans'. Photo: Jeremy Deputat.
    (L to R) Eminem and Zolt at the New York City premiere of ‘Stans’. Photo: Jeremy Deputat.

    MF: Can you talk about the legacy of the song ‘Stan’ and how it has managed to stay in the pop culture zeitgeist for so long?

    SL: I mean, I think it’s a perfect storm and confluence of everything that you hear in the song coming together. You have this Dido sample, which was a huge pop song that wound up in this movie ‘Sliding Doors’ with Gwyneth Paltrow. It’s just a love song, and it starts with a conga beat, and it’s just so soothing and gentle. Yet to make something that takes that and flips this on its head in terms of the narrative that was created by Eminem and his rapping, that’s what makes it so fascinating because it’s dark and light running together. I think that’s what we wanted to do in the movie was to have dark and light running concurrently together. I think what’s made it sustain is the fact that there was really nothing like it at the time. The song’s also been prophetic. Having a major artist write something about fame was I think a little bit interesting and new, right? Because he was newly famous when he wrote that song. I think that struck a chord, and then the video itself, which was co-directed by Dr. Dre, is cinematic. They shot on film; they had a crane. I mean, there’s stunts involved where a car is driving over a bridge. I think at the time it came out, people were really stunned by it and shocked. Then I think even people discovering it today, it’s just a masterpiece.

    Eminem performing on stage in 'Stans'. Photo: Paramount+.
    Eminem performing on stage in ‘Stans’. Photo: Paramount+.

    MF: Finally, since you’ve done so much research on Eminem and his career, when do you think was the exact moment that he went from a respected rapper to the GOAT?

    SL: I’m trying to remember if I can, when I feel like I heard about the GOAT conversation coming up, but I can’t remember exactly. I think looking back, I really think ‘8 Mile’ solidified the legacy and the legend of him because it gave a glimpse of where he came from, which is battle rap, which so many fans didn’t know about, but for fans who did know, it provided a sense of deep authenticity to him to come from that scene. I think the movie made average people who don’t know anything about hip hop aware of it. I think for people who are hardcore, I’m going to argue with you about this rapper versus this rapper, to see his old battle raps, which you can do on YouTube now, and find those raps, you realize just how preternaturally talented he was. I think the other aspect more recently that’s become clear about him as why people argue he’s the GOAT, is that he treats it like a 9 to 5 job. He goes to the studio in Michigan five days a week and works five days a week on music. I’m not the first person to say that. People know that. It’s hard to imagine any other rapper that’s going to work as hard as he works to create the art that he creates for as long as he’s planning to create it. I think that’s the other aspect that leads to people feeling he’s the GOAT. To me, he’s certainly on the Mount Rushmore. That’s not debatable.

    Eminem at the New York City premiere of 'Stans'. Photo: Jeremy Deputat.
    Eminem at the New York City premiere of ‘Stans’. Photo: Jeremy Deputat.

    What is the plot of ‘Stans’?

    A revealing, edgy, and disarmingly personal journey into the world of super-fandom, told through the lens of one of the world’s most iconic and enduring artists, Eminem, and the fans that worship him.

    Who is featured in ‘Stans’?

    'Stans' premieres on Paramount+ August 26th .
    ‘Stans’ premieres on Paramount+ August 26th .

    List of Rock and Roll Documentaries:

    Buy Eminem Movies On Amazon

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  • Apple, Dr. Dre Team Up For Scripted TV Series About His Life

    Universal Pictures And Legendary Pictures' Premiere Of "Straight Outta Compton" - Arrivals“Straight Outta Compton” … and into Apple.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dr. Dre (aka Andre Young) is teaming up with Apple for its first original television show. It’s based on his life and will star the rap mogul. Sources tell THR that the scripted series, titled “Vital Signs,” consists of six half-hour episodes, “with each episode focusing on a different emotion and how Dre’s character deals with it.”

    And despite the episodic length, “Vital Signs” is a dark drama filled with violence and sex, including an extended orgy scene. All six episodes will debut at once, a la Netflix. The show would likely stream on Apple Music; the service has already experimented with video, such as a Taylor Swift music video.

    Apple has been eyeing entree into the world of scripted television, though it has no studio or TV development arm. THR notes that Dr. Dre conceived of the project himself, and pitched it to partner Jimmy Iovine. The two men sold Beats Electronics to Apple in 2014 for $3 billion.

    It’s been a good year for Dr. Dre — he executive-produced “Straight Outta Compton,” which achieved stunning box office success, and he released his first album in 15 years.

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  • ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Star Corey Hawkins Lands ’24: Legacy’ Lead

    Universal Pictures And Legendary Pictures' Premiere Of "Straight Outta Compton" - ArrivalsUp and coming star Corey Hawkins, who already has a hit movie and hit TV series under his belt, just landed another high-profile gig: The lead in Fox’s upcoming “24” reboot, “24: Legacy.”

    The network revealed Monday that Hawkins — who played Dr. Dre in summer smash “Straight Outta Compton,” and who has a recurring role as Alexandria supply runner Heath on AMC’s “The Walking Dead” — will play Eric Carter on “Legacy,” a former Army Ranger whose past comes back to haunt him, who then seeks out the help of “24” agency CTU, the former home of Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland).

    “There’s a time jump, a new organization, a completely different story,” said Fox co-chairman and CEO Dana Walden at the Television Critics Association press tour last week. “It’s a contemporary story about the potential to activate sleeper cells in the United States. There are nods in the pilot to prior CTU agents, but no ongoing characters.”

    That means that Sutherland isn’t expected to appear on the new series, though he may serve as an executive producer on the reboot alongside the original creators. Fox has only ordered a pilot so far, though if it’s picked up, “Legacy” is planned as an event series with 12 episodes, similar to the run of the most recent “24” iteration, 2014’s “24: Live Another Day.”

    [via: TVLine]

    Photo credit: Getty Images

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  • 7 Reasons Why ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Surprised Hollywood at the Box Office

    During N.W.A.’s brief existence, the group and its members made a career out of being underestimated. A quarter century later, the underdog rappers have been underestimated again, even by the studio releasing their victory-lap biopic.

    Going into the weekend, Universal’s predictions for “Straight Outta Compton” were modest, projecting a debut of about $25 to $30 million. Granted, studios routinely lowball such estimates so that everyone can be pleasantly surprised if the movie surpasses them, or at least not disappointed if it doesn’t. But even the more optimistic industry insiders who predicted an opening weekend of $40 million turned out to be way off, since “Compton” actually opened with an estimated $56.1 million.

    That’s an impressive number for a release with no movie stars, in the depths of August, with a hard R-rating, a running time of two-and-a-half hours, and a theater count below 2,800 venues. (“The Man From UNCLE” opened on nearly 900 more screens, its 3,638 theater count standard for a summer action blockbuster-hopeful, and yet it did less than a fourth as much business as “Compton.”) All of those should have counted as strikes against “Compton,” so how did the film become a smash well beyond the most optimistic projections? Here are some of the ingredients of the film’s success.

    1. Very Strong Reviews
    Critics have been mostly kind to “Compton” (its Rotten Tomatoes score stands at 88 percent, while its Metacritic reviews are 72 percent favorable). Word-of-mouth has been even stronger, with the film earning an A grade at CinemaScore. To the extent that the movie needed to win over older viewers — particularly those old enough to remember N.W.A. from its heyday more than a quarter-century ago — those positive notices matter.

    2. Weak Competition
    “UNCLE” was the only other wide release this weekend, and it underperformed even its modest expectations (predictions ran near $19 million), opening in third place with an estimated $13.5 million. The three-week-old “Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation” fared better, earning an estimated $17.0 million.

    In retrospect, it’s hard to imagine how Warner Bros. expected to score with a franchise-launcher based on a 50-year-old TV spy series that no one in the target demographic could be expected to remember with fondness — or at all. Director Guy Ritchie does excel at this sort of action picture, and reviews were good (not great), but anyone who wanted to watch an action thriller based on a half-century-old Cold War spy show could go see “Mission: Impossible,” which not only is better-known now as a well-established present-day franchise, but also stars Tom Cruise.

    “UNCLE” couldn’t boast that kind of star power. Sure, Henry Cavill played Superman in “Man of Steel,” and yet he’s still not a household name. And “Lone Ranger” star Armie Hammer is Hollywood’s equivalent of “fetch” — the industry keeps trying to make him happen. He’s not going to happen.

    3. Personal Branding
    “Compton” had even less star power than “UNCLE,” but even audiences too young to remember N.W.A. know the rap group’s co-founders, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre. They’re still dependable entertainment brand names, and their oversight of this project lends it credibility. (It doesn’t hurt that Cube is played in the film by his own son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., essentially a living extension of Cube’s personal brand.)

    Don’t forget about the brand-name filmmakers behind the camera, either. Director F. Gary Gray (pictured above) is a 20-year Hollywood veteran, whose association with Cube goes all the way back to Cube’s 1990s music videos and the beloved 1995 cult comedy “Friday,” which helped transform the rapper-actor’s screen persona from scowling menace into non-threatening comic straight man.

    And then there’s executive producer Will Packer, who’s shown a knack over the past five years for making crossover hits out of low-budget movies with predominantly black casts (often comedies starring Kevin Hart, though he also made the hit “Ride Along” with both Cube and Hart). At a reported $29 million, “Compton” has an unusually high budget for a Packer production (most cost less than $20 million; only action thriller “Takers,” cost more at $32 million), and yet it’s clear that Packer has managed to wring the maximum entertainment value from what is still, by Hollywood summer movie standards, a meager budget.

    Packer’s not a household name, but his name in the credits is also a stamp of reliability.

    4. Clever Marketing
    Universal’s marketing team is certainly on a roll, having helped make hits of four other huge movies this summer, from “Trainwreck” to “Jurassic World.” (Only “Ted 2” has been a misfire.) “Compton” had the benefit of an especially viral online campaign that included the meme generator that allowed all your Twitter friends to make their own “Straight Outta…” album cover. (Even Bette Midler got into the act.) So there was no escaping awareness of the film.

    5. Something for Everyone
    You might expect an R-rated movie about rappers known for their misogyny (both in its lyrics and offstage behavior) to have little appeal for younger ticketbuyers or women. But “Compton” proved to be a draw for almost everyone. In fact, exit polls showed that, while audiences were almost evenly split between men and women, and between viewers over and under 30, there was actually a slight edge for female moviegoers (52 percent) and under-30 audiences (51 percent). But how did that happen? Well…

    6. Smart Scheduling
    Opening the film in mid-August was wise; all the other major summer releases are out of the way. There’s also the notion that August is no longer a wasteland. Recent August releases “The Help” and “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” have proved that the dog days of summer are actually a good time to release serious movies (like, awards-contender serious) that appeal to both men and women, and to older and younger audiences. Not coincidentally, they’re also historical dramas about the struggles of black people in America. And that leads, in turn, to…

    7. Relevance
    Sadly, the #BlackLivesMatter movement has made “Compton” especially timely. It can’t be lost on viewers that the kind of police harassment the film’s characters faced and turned into songs three decades ago is still common enough today to be debated on cable news and to inspire protests and activism.

    In that sense, “Compton” isn’t a nostalgia piece at all. No wonder younger viewers have flocked to see it.
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  • Does ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Get Street Cred from Critics?

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    “Straight Outta Compton” showcases the lives of a young Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella growing up on the gang-related streets of the L.A.-based city in the mid-’80s. This drama shows the rise and fall of their rap group N.W.A., which led them to becoming cultural phenomenons.

    According to critics, life at this time was depicted fairly accurate, with Rotten Tomatoes giving the F. Gary Gray-directed film a 92 percent. Although, the 2.5-hour movie – which stars Cube’s real-life son O’Shea Jackson, Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Aldis Hodge, Neil Brown Jr. and Paul Giamatti – apparently excelled in the first half more than the second.

    “The story of N.W.A. remains relatable as Dre puts the idea in E’s head to invest money in their music and ‘reality raps,’ as they call it. However … once N.W.A. is formed and the guys are signing with their first record label, Priority Records, the film devolves into a series of quickly shifting scenes woven in between a few too many montages that involve parties, half-naked (and some fully naked) dancing women, and clowning around making records. There’s a lot of story that needed to be pushed out in two-and-a-half hours, but rushing through the material leaves little opportunity to explore more emotionally charged moments in these men’s lives.” — Nick Romano, CinemaBlend.com

    “As a narrative, the back half of this movie is completely off the rails, but fans of the music will probably be more engaged. There are appearances of other stars that do little more than give the audience a chance to say ‘Hey, that’s Tupac!’ and ‘Hey that’s Snoop!’ Those who don’t bring outside knowledge to the film will find themselves clueless at a rousing final speech, in which the eventual name of Dr Dre’s record label is invoked. Worse, though, is how it loses all its edge to become hagiography for these men. It’s as if the cheesy second half doesn’t trust the more emotional and realistic first half.” — Jordan Hoffman, TheGuardian.com

    “‘Straight Outta Compton‘ is a whole lotta movie. Part gritty drama, part road movie, part statement, part ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’ and part ‘Behind the Music’ melodrama—this biopic of the three main members of the rap group N.W.A. is incredibly alive, entertaining, and, occasionally, incredibly relevant. It does hit some of the music biopic clichés of witnessing the a-ha moments when iconic lyrics arrive, when paths with future stars intersect, when excessive living heightens growing emptiness—but F. Gary Gray’s sprawling biopic mostly gets away with it. This is our first big rap biopic that’s larger than one personality: Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E were the original ‘Empire.’” — Brian Formo, IGN.com

    “Straight Outta Compton” hits theaters Friday. Watch the trailer below!

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  • You Can’t Miss This ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Trailer (VIDEO)

    The upcoming drama “Straight Outta Compton” chronicles the highs and lows of the seminal West Coast rap group N.W.A., from their troubled beginnings to their incredible fame and growing notoriety.

    Newcomer O’Shea Jackson Jr. plays his real-life dad Ice Cube, alongside Corey Hawkins and Jason Mitchell as Dr. Dre and Eazy-E. Paul Giamatti plays their then-manager Jerry Heller, who co-founded Ruthless Records with Eazy-E in 1986. Ice Cube and Dr. Dre are producers on the pic, which is directed by F. Gary Gray (“Law Abiding Citizen,” “The Italian Job,” “Set It Off,” “Friday”). The supporting cast includes Alexandra Shipp, Orlando Brown, and R. Marcos Taylor as Suge Knight.

    Ice Cube described their story as “an American story of not only rags to riches, but David vs. Goliath. To me, when you talk about N.W.A, you talk about non-violent protests against things that we were trying to comprehend, so we ended up putting it in song.”

    “Straight Outta Compton” opens nationwide on August 14.

  • ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Red Band Trailer Reveals N.W.A. Origins (VIDEO)

    Straight Outta Compton
    The first red band trailer for N.W.A. biopic “Straight Outta Compton” has arrived, and the enthralling clip takes a no-holds-barred approach to telling the story of the controversial rap group’s origins.

    N.W.A. co-founders Ice Cube and Dr. Dre provide a short introduction to the clip, in which they talk about how today’s cultural climate made the timing right to finally tell the group’s story. “We let people know that it’s okay to say what you want to say,” the rappers explain of the group’s importance.

    The trailer begins in Los Angeles’s rough Compton neighborhood in 1987, as the trio including Ice Cube (played by the rapper’s own son, O’Shea Jackson Jr.), Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), and Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) begin forming N.W.A. We see the recording of iconic song “Boyz-n-the-Hood” and the pushback from some members of media, who deem the group’s songs, especially “F–k tha Police,” as glorifying drugs and violence.

    “Our art is a reflection of our reality,” Cube declares at a press conference.

    Later, in defiance of an order not to perform “Police” at a concert, Cube leads the crowd in raising his middle finger to the ban, then launches into a manic rendition of the incendiary track. It’s a goosebump-inducing moment in a movie that’s no doubt chock full of similar scenes.

    Check out the full (NSFW) trailer below. “Straight Outta Compton” is slated for release on April 14, 2015.

    [via: Rolling Stone]

    Photo credit: Universal

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