"The Elephant King" Screening @ The Angelika
Last night, I went to an official screening of “The Elephant King” at The Angelika Theater with my friend & client, actor Shashi Balooja, as his +1. Shashi “goes way back” with the cast & crew, and is a huge supporter of the indie film movement, so this experience was a real treat.
While I loved the plot, the theme, the message, the direction, and the beautiful Thailand setting of this film, for me–it was really the believability of the acting that stood out the most.
This amazing indie flick features newcomers Tate Ellington, Jonno Roberts, and (the ridiculously beautiful) Florence Faivre along with the exceptionally respected Ellen Burstyn, and was written & directed by hilarious first-timer Seth Grossman.
*Shashi Balooja with Florence Faivre
After the screening of the film, the entire cast & crew took the stage for a Q&A session with the audience, and it was thoroughly enjoyable to witness the camaraderie among them and how individually funny they each were. Tate & Jonno told us how they managed to play two incredibly believable brothers with a bond that seemed like they really had known each other for years–they met on set in Thailand, got drunk together within 2 minutes of their first meeting, and began filming quickly thereafter! It was all downhill from there, so they say. Ellen Burstyn, who I love, also told a few hilarious stories from the set, and got more serious when she discussed her love for working with first time directors, before they become jaded. Ellen was, in the eyes of Seth, a wishlist item, if he could have anyone he wanted to play that role, and it was to his surprise, that they were actually able to secure her for the film.
*Ellen Burstyn in The Elephant King, via IMDB
The elephant, which is the national animal in Thailand, was a symbolic gesture throughout the film, which could be looked at in a few different ways. When asked about this post film, the writer/director shamelessly admitted that he wasn’t even sure of all the ways the elephant could have been interpreted but that he thought of it as ‘the elephant in the room,’–these two brothers were not talking about, dealing with, or taking care of their own relationship–and here was this neglected dying elephant, a microcosm of the bigger picture.
*Tate Ellington, Florence Faivre, Shashi Balooja, and Jonno Roberts @ Country Club.
Afterward, we headed to the official after-party @ Country Club with Jonno & Tate. It was really fun to briefly get to know these people (who knew Jonno was from NZ and had a kiwi accent!?), all of whom, I am sure are going to be really big stars.
If you find The Elephant King playing in your area, go out and watch it to support an independently distributed film, which is becoming a dying breed of our generation (or a dying elephant, so to speak).
(Alyson Campbell for Its All Very PR)
Tags: Alyson Campbell, amp3, AMP3 pr, AMP3 Public Relations, Elephant King, It's All Very PR