Rebirth of a Saylesman

by A.D. Amorosi

John Sayles has written and directed whip-smart budget-conscious maverick flicks such as Lonestar, The Brother from Another Planet and Matewan with his producing partner of 30 years, Maggie Renzi. When the pair come here to celebrate/benefit Scribe Video Center on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the Oscar nominee totes his 2007 Honeydripper — a tale of fire, brimstone and rock 'n' roll's birth starring Lisa Gay Hamilton, Danny Glover, Mary Steenburgen, Charles S. Dutton, Stacey Keach and Keb' Mo' — with him.

City Paper: My obligatory Writers Guild strike question: Since you pretty much write, produce and, to an extent, deign most of your films' reach and what rewards will be reaped, who is wrongest and why?

John Sayles: I suspect we are not dealing with movie studio executives anymore but the corporations that own them — who would like to turn the future entertainment business into Wal-Mart. We actually don't necessarily make what we should back from our movies — most have had to go through a traditional distributor, and they are in control of the accounting.

CP: Because you've mentioned not directing films anymore — in favor of writing novels or other things that offer a bigger range of opportunities — what must an idea have for you to see it through to film?

JS: It used to just have to be some story I really wanted to tell. I'm afraid now I am back to where I started — what could I make well on almost no money, or that I care enough to go through all the problems that entails.

CP: Were you completely at ease within a musical genre for Honeydripper?

JS: Since all of our movies have an important musical component, I worked with Mason Daring, composer of our other movies, again on Honeydripper and he takes care of the many things I — who don't read music — don't have a clue about. It was a lot of fun working with musicians, as always.

CP: What was the biggest challenge in mixing myth and symbol with the socially conscious and the real this time out?

JS: For me it's just another point of view — the mystical and the omniscient. This is something I've done before in some form in movies as disparate as Sunshine State and Men with Guns.

CP: Why debut this film in Philadelphia? And at Scribe to boot? What's your connection to both?

JS: We've often had nice runs in Philadelphia. Plus, it's always been an important music town. Lisa Gay Hamilton recommended Scribe to us and it seemed like a very good fit.

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)

Honeydripper premiere, Tue., Jan. 29, cocktail reception, 6:30 p.m.; screening, 7:30 p.m., followed by a Q&A with Sayles, Renzi and two of the film's stars, Yaya DaCosta and Gary Clark Jr.; International House, 3701 Chestnut St. Tickets are $25 and available at the door or in advance by calling 215-222-4201 or online at scribe.org or via ticketweb.com.