Follow the bouncing reverend on today’s Music Video Monday.
The Rev. Neil Down has shared his new video for “If I Was You” from the album Eire of My Ways. The Memphis/Alaska rocker’s charisma is on full display, and he narrates his way through the song’s sax-y come-on. Take a look:
Music Video Monday: Rev. Neil Down
If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
We use the term “bogus ballot” to denote a species of advertisement sheets and/or four-page mailouts which contain the names and pictures of political candidates who have paid some local entrepreneur for the privilege of appearing on them — often in overtly devious ways that suggest, falsely, that the Democratic Party is behind the endorsements.
the new M. LaTroy Wiliams ballot in which he misspells his own name; note streamer line across top
Two of the entrepreneurs — Greg Grant and M. LaTroy Williams — are at it again this election season, though they have been enjoined by a court to cease and desist. Meanwhile, attorneys for the plaintiffs, who in 2019 sought and got an injunction against the balloteers, are taking the pay-for-play mischief-makers to court.
More of that anon: A brief time-out here to proclaim our astonishment at the streamer line that Williams appended to the top of his most recent “ballot.” It says, in bold capital letters: “JUDGE ORDERED M. LATORY [sic] ALEXANDRIA-WILLIAMS ON BALLOT AS DEMOCRAT NO ‘JIM CROW’”.
Not only is that claim wholly untrue regarding the congressional office Williams (or Alexandria-Williams as he now signs himself) was seeking until an April meeting of the state Democratic executive committee declared him invalid. It is a uniquely skewed falsehood in that the man manages to misspell his own name, which is “LaTroy,” not “LaTory.”
Anyone who cares to confirm that Williams’ name is not on the August 6th Democratic primary ballot for any office at all need only consult the website of the Shelby County Election Commission (shelbyvote.com). Yet on his own self-published “ballot” (more properly regarded, perhaps, as an advertisement sheet for the favored — or paying — candidates) there is a mugshot of Williams as a candidate for Congress alongside a mug of his son Marion Alexandria-Williams Jr., an actual candidate for the Democratic nomination for state Senate District 30.
The Williams ballot is labeled as the product of the “Shelby County Democratic Club” — with the first three of those words displayed prominently on the sheet and the climactic word “club” in relatively small letters underneath. The effect is to suggest the status of an official organ of the Shelby County Democratic Party — the very kind of claim that led the actual Shelby County Democratic Party, along with the Shelby County Young Democrats and John Marek, a 2019 candidate for the City Council, to file suit last year against Williams, his “club,” and his ballot.
In a sad and ironic twist, no sitting Shelby County judge was willing to hear the case. They had all either paid at some point to be listed on such a ballot, or they had no wish to embarrass their judicial colleagues. Or, in many cases, for both reasons.
Ultimately, a hearing was conducted before Judge Bill Acree, a retired Circuit Court jurist from Jackson sitting in as a special judge. A day or so before the election, Acree issued a temporary injunction against further distribution against “endorsement” ballots proceed by both Williams and Grant. The time-span of the injunction was indefinite and is still in effect, according to Jake Brown, who with Bruce Kramer represented the plaintiffs legally.
With things apparently setted, at least for the moment, Brown and Kramer had since moved to withdraw from involvement — for reasons “unrelated to the case,” says Brown. It was then, he says, that both Grant and Wiliams, “evidently deciding that all bets were off,” acted independently of each other and moved to issue new ballots for the current election, both ballots still implying a fictitious relationship with the official Democratic Party — Williams on behalf of the aforementioned Shelby County Democratic Club; Grant via the “Greater Memphis Democratic Club.”
Both are shell organizations, says Brown. Grant’s ballot at least had a disclaimer in fine print “that the ‘Greater Memphis Democratic Club’ operates ‘independently of the Shelby County Democratic Party and its affiliates.’”
At any rate, lawyers Brown and Kramer discarded their withdrawal motions (Brown: “We were frankly pissed off”) and re-involved themselves, asking Judge Acree to impose both civil and criminal sanctions against the two ballot entrepreneurs for “willful disregard” of the judge’s injunction. A status conference on the matter is set for Monday at 1:00 p.m., with financial penalties and possible (though limited) imprisonment at stake for the accused offenders.
Congressman John Lewis
John Lewis: Good Trouble provides an excellent overview into the life and times of the civil rights warrior and the 16-term Georgia congressman who passed away last week at age 80. This weekend, you can watch this important documentary and support the National Civil Rights Museum at the same time, courtesy of Apple. The tech company will donate their portion of the proceeds of rentals from their Apple TV streaming service to the Memphis museum, as well the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
“Representative John Lewis’ life and example compel each of us to continue the fight for racial equity and justice,” says Lisa Jackson, Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. “This film celebrates his undeniable legacy, and we felt it fitting to support two cultural institutions that continue his mission of educating people everywhere about the ongoing quest for equal rights.”
“The life and legacy of John Lewis, a National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award recipient, is celebrated throughout the museum,” says Terri Lee Freeman, President of the National Civil Rights Museum. “This timely contribution will help expand our digital platforms, allowing us to reach many more students, parents, and educators globally, and to continue as a catalyst for positive social change, as Rep. Lewis encouraged us all to be. We are grateful to Apple for this incredible gift honoring him.”
To stream director Dawn Porter’s timely documentary, you can click on this link or search for it in the Apple TV app on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or Samsung smart TV. A 48-hour rental is $6.99.
For all the “folk” in its title, Memphis songsmith Mark Edgar Stuart’s just-released EP Folk Beef boasts more electric guitars and horns than I’ve come to expect from the singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist. The result is excellent, and, if not a cure for the quarantine blues, at the very least a welcome distraction.
The EP was recorded by Pete Matthews and Toby Vest at High/Low Recording, and it rises to the high bar set by the recording duo.
“Color Wheel” finds Stuart doing what he does so well — grappling with life’s Big Issues and making them personal and approachable through the lens of his perspective. Sickness, death, love — the Memphis songwriter has handled heavy issues with dexterity before, and “Color Wheel,” Stuart’s account of his growing understanding about his own white privilege, is no exception.
“I’d rather be wrapped up with ya, baby, than to be out on my own. I got no plans. I’m happy at home,” Stuart sings on “Happy at Home,” a rockin’ number that sounds like it was written in quarantine. In fact, unless the great Dolly Parton released a quarantine anthem that slipped by me, I see no reason why “Happy at Home” shouldn’t be the official Tennessee tune to combat coronavirus. Somebody cut Stuart a check and put this song in a PSA about social distancing.
“99 Percentile Blues” finds Stuart having fun taking — and landing — shots at the current administration. “This land is my land, not your land, and your land is my land, too,” Stuart sings. The song doesn’t take itself too seriously, but Stuart’s lyrics have barbs.
With crunchy guitars, wailing horns, and faintly warbling keyboards, “Goobertown (Rerun)” is a delightful bop of an instrumental. It feels not unlike being over-caffeinated with nowhere to go.
Jamie Harmon
Mark Edgar Stuart
The gem of the EP is, to these ears, “Faxon Wizard.” The song is firing on all cylinders, but the harmony vocals (Luke White’s angelic tones, perhaps?) are the piece that pushes it over the edge.
“Over and over, like pages we all turn. Turn on each other until we crash and burn,” Stuart sings. “Crash and burn on your front porch. I’ve been here all night long. Don’t leave me hanging out here on my own.”
The so-called Faxon Wizard is a recurring character on Stuart’s social media — a be-robed and staff-carrying man who can be spotted walking in Stuart’s neighborhood. Whether the lament is from the perspective of the famous Faxon Wizard or only inspired by him — or just named after him, Stuart only knows. But sweet bearded sorcerer, the song is a boon to the ears and the soul.
I didn’t intend to do a song-by-song review, but here we are at the EP’s final track. “Superstar Hillbilly Nova” tells the tragic true story of Jimmy Ellis, an Elvis impersonator. It’s a late ’50s rock-and-roll shuffle complete with Jordanaires-esque backing vocals. It’s silly and fun.
Stuart’s knack with a clever word is a draw to listeners and musicians alike. The players on Folk Beef are an all-star cast of Memphis’ rock-and-roll, Americana, and honky tonk set. They include Art Edmaiston, Johnny Argroves, Landon Moore, Al Gamble, John Whittemore, Krista Wroten, Jana Misener, Luke White, Rick Steff, Alex Greene, Toby Vest, Scott Bomar, James Godwin, and Matt Qualls. Everyone’s contributions help Stuart fashion a textured and endlessly listenable little record.
And seriously, “Faxon Wizard” is so damn good.
More Than 8,000 Virus Contacts in Quarantine
*as of Thursday, July 23rd
Shelby County added 374 new cases of COVID-19 on test results reported since Wednesday morning.
The number is not the number of new cases on tests given yesterday. Tests results are now rarely returned within 24 hours and can take up to eight or more days. The new-case count comes from numerous tests over numerous days from numerous laboratories.
The latest weekly data available shows 15.5 percent of all tests were positive for the week of July 12th, a slight increase over the 15.2 percent of positive tests reported the week before. The weekly average positivity rate has grown steadily since the 4 percent rate recorded for the week of May 4th, just as the county’s economy began to reopen.
The county’s overall average positive rate for COVID-19 was 9.8 percent Wednesday, according to the latest information, on all test results reported since the virus arrived here in March.
The seven-day rolling average of daily tests rose above 15 percent on July 8th, according to the latest data. That figure was 15.5 percent on July 18th.
The total number of COVID-19 cases here stands at 18,058. Three new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. The death toll in Shelby County now stands at 259.
The total of known COVID-19 cases now diagnosed in Shelby County is 4,980. The figure is 27.6 percent of all virus cases recorded in Shelby county since March. However, there are 8,055 contacts now in quarantine.
All teams will be playing eight regular-season games before the playoffs. The Grizzlies will face the Philadelphia 76ers today (July 24) at 2:30 p.m. CT. The other two scrimmages will be against the Houston Rockets on July 26 at 7 p.m. CST and the Miami Heat on July 28 at 1 p.m. CST. The scrimmages will be shown live on Grizzlies.com with commentary from Pete Pranica and Rob Fischer.
When the season was interrupted, The Grizzlies sat in the eighth spot in the West with a 32–33 record — 3.5 games ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, and Sacramento Kings.
Here’s the play-in scenario for the eighth seed. If the team in eighth place is more than four games ahead of the team in ninth place, the eighth-placed team qualifies for the playoff berth. If the team in ninth place is within four games, those two teams would compete in a play-in tournament for the eighth seed in the playoffs. The ninth-place team must win two games before the eighth-place team wins one to clinch the eighth playoff spot.
The Grizzlies eight seeding games are as follows:
Here are five questions that face the Grizzlies as the NBA restarts:
1. The Grizzlies roster makeup has changed since the start of the regular season, and since the hiatus. Do you think the new-look Grizzlies can succeed?
Aimee Steigemeyer: It will be the core group of players that put together wins before the hiatus who will be the deciding factors in whatever success the Grizzlies have going forward. Having all those key guys healthy when the season resumes will be a huge asset in the team’s favor. The new additions are like sprinkles on a cupcake — nice if you can get it but not critically necessary.
Sharon Brown: Yes, I believe it will lead to success. If Gorgui Dieng or Anthony Tolliver can go in to knock down shots or defend to give the starters a bit of rest then it will be beneficial for the team. But make no mistake about it, success will ultimately rely on all the players that are there.
At the beginning of the season, Josh Jackson was in Southaven, playing for the Hustle, before he was called up to the main roster. Jackson had been performing well and was finding a groove before the season was suspended. In his last five games, the Kansas product averaged 16.6 points.
2. Speaking of success, how will the season be viewed if the Grizzlies make a playoff run — or not?
Aimee: Given where this team was “supposed” to be, the season is already a success. But it would absolutely make it much sweeter to see them hold onto the eighth seed and try to make whatever kind of splash they can in the playoffs. I know that I am still eating crow for my comments in January about the playoffs not being a realistic goal for this team. I don’t have a problem admitting when I am wrong, and I will happily wear my clown mask and root for a playoff run. I don’t think you put an asterisk on this season either.
And if ever there were a year when a young and hungry team could be a dark horse threat in the postseason, it is this year and this team. If by some chance #GrzNxtGen manages to run through the Lakers in the first round, it will not be the craziest thing to happen in 2020.
Sharon: The 2019–2020 will be a success for the team whether they clinch the playoffs or not. Memphis was supposed to be at the bottom of the league and projected to win 20 to 23 games. This is a fun team that fans can be proud of for years to come. This season will be something the players can build upon and grow to eventually become a championship contender.
3. According to a number of reports, the NBA informed teams that the 2019–20 NBA Awards (MVP, Rookie of Year, Sixth Man, Defensive Player, etc) will be based upon the regular season through the date the season was suspended on March 11. What are the chances the Grizzlies guard Ja Morant will win Rookie of the Year?
Aimee: I’d say damn near 100 percent. Morant should be the unanimous Rookie of the Year (ROY) and it’s not even close. I know the national media loves Zion Williamson, but it would be outright favoritism to consider him a ROY candidate having played less than two dozen games.
Sharon: Morant most definitely should be the Rookie of the Year and it should be a unanimous decision. Morant has put in the work and then some. He leads all qualified rookies in scoring (17.6), assists (6.9) and double-doubles (11). The three-time NBA Rookie of the Month for the Western Conference (October/November, December, January) is the only rookie this season to post a triple-double (with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Washington Wizards in February).
There’s more — the first-year guard also is Mr. Fourth Quarter. He ranks sixth in fourth-quarter scoring at 7.3 points.
4. Besides Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., who will be the X-factor in the season restart?
Aimee: [Justise Winslow could be another piece that fits.] That would have been my answer to this question before the announcement of his hip injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Said injury is unfortunate, but if you take into account that no one really expected Winslow to play at all until next season, I don’t think this puts them in any worse shape.
Brandon Clarke and Grayson Allen being healthy and available will be significant factor in any success the Grizzlies achieve during the restart. I also hope that Coach Jenkins has paid attention to the campaign to #FreeJoshJackson, especially now that he’s spent some time under Tony Allen’s wing.
Sharon: Dillon Brooks is definitely an X-factor. This season the Grizzlies are 18–4 when he scores 20 or more points a game and are 4–15 when he scores in single digits. Memphis needs Brooks to ball out along with the other young core in order to stay on pace to clinch its first playoff berth since 2017.
Also, the Grizzlies bench is a big key to victory and is ranked in the top five in efficiency. The Grizzlies’ reserves average 41.4 points a game, which ranks sixth in the NBA. The bench ranks first among benches in field goal percentage (.479) assists (12.1) and steals (4.1). The hiatus was a blessing in disguise since Brandon Clarke and Grayson Allen will be healthy and back in action.
5. Have your expectations for Memphis changed from the beginning of the 2019-2020 season through the hiatus and the season restart?
Aimee: Honestly, I will be happy just to watch some basketball again. That said, I hope to see them retain their position as the 8th seed. If they do, no one can say they didn’t earn it. (I’m looking at you, Pelicans Twitter)
Sharon: Of course. Many thought it would take years for this version of the Grizzlies to be successful. But somehow, the team found a way to win and are knocking on the door to the playoffs. The team collectively isn’t afraid to compete with any other team and has the mindset of proving everyone wrong. Jackson Jr. summed up that feeling back in February. He said, “Nobody really thought that we’d be in this position at this point. People just said to us, “Oh, you have time. Don’t worry about it! You’re young!” We kind of were just like, “We don’t care.” That’s how we play and how we are — we just don’t care.”
My apologies for doubting the team, Jaren. It won’t happen again.
Peter Sellers as Chance the Gardener in Being There.
Craig Brewer is Memphis’ most successful filmmaker. His 2005 film Hustle & Flow earned
For this edition of Never Seen It, we sat down to watch a classic movie he had somehow missed over the years: Hal Ashby’s 1979 masterpiece Being There. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Chris McCoy: What do you know about Being There?
Craig Brewer: I know that it is a movie with Peter Sellers, and I know it’s the movie that, when I say I haven’t seen it, I get the most shocked looks and a little bit of consternation and judgment.
McCoy: What do people say? What’s their judgment?
Brewer: Well, they assume that I’ve seen it. They assume that I love it, and that I will love it. They always bring up Hal Ashby. I like his movies, so why haven’t you seen this one? And to be honest with you, I never associated it with Hal Ashby. I’ve owned it both in VHS and DVD and Blu-ray, and I have the Criterion release in L.A., but I don’t know why I never popped it in. I see images from it constantly.
130 minutes later…
McCoy: Craig Brewer, you are now somebody who’s seen Being There. What did you think?
Brewer: I really enjoyed it. It made me think about a lot of other movies. There’s what I enjoy about watching it, and then there’s what I’m kind of in awe of that has nothing to do with me just sitting down, being a normal viewer. That’s knowing how difficult one particular job was on this movie. If you watch the credits — and unfortunately, you don’t get to really see her credit because there’s this reel at the end of an outtake that you can’t help but enjoy. But it is very hard to get a single credit during a scroll in a movie. Not many people get that. I remember having to fight to get Sam Phillips, because I dedicated Hustle & Flow to Sam Phillips. Hustle & Flow has a scroll in its closing credits, but I wanted there to be a completely blank moment where it says this film is dedicated to the memory of Sam Phillips. I had to kind of jump through hoops to get that kind of credit. I don’t know if you’re aware, but there was one in the scroll.
McCoy: I was watching the blooper reel.
Brewer: Yeah. It’s Dianne Schroeder. I want to learn everything I can about her because she had the hardest job on this movie. She was in charge of collecting all of the television footage. I think that’s a third of what makes the movie what it is. I may be even short changing her contribution. That’s the one thing about movie-making that I’ve really come to understand: There’s so many people that you don’t know who they are, but they made something great. I will never forget this moment when we were shooting Black Snake Moan, and I said, “Hey, let’s do one of those Jaws vertigo shots. Do y’all know what I’m talking about?” And the crew starts giggling and they start pointing at the dolly operator. “Well, Craig, why don’t you talk to him about this? Because he’s the one who did it.”
Never Seen It: Watching Being There with Craig Brewer (7)
So there’s all these people that are responsible for a Steven Spielberg movie, a Hal Ashby movie. You know, not that I’m anywhere near that, but a Craig Brewer movie is all these other people contributing something. I’ve had to ask, what do you want on the television? I remember on Dolemite Is My Name, sitting down with the woman who’s in charge of television research. I said, “Well, I know that in the movie Rudy Ray Moore is filming, he’s going to be shooting at the feet of somebody like ‘Dance, motherfucker, dance!’ It’s an iconic Dolemite moment. I feel like I’ve seen that somewhere before, and it’d be great if it was on the TV in the background, while Rudy Ray Moore is on the phone. Can you get me something like that?” And this woman — I’ve forgotten her name, much like Dianne Schroeder—this woman went through everything she could find in television and movie history of where someone’s shooting at someone’s feet in the same “Dance motherfucker!” way. The closest we got was apparently a Bugs Bunny short that we could not procure the rights to. But she did find this old, black-and-white Western where a guy was shooting at somebody’s feet. And it is on in the background in that scene. But I mean, we’re talking weeks of her scouring, trying to find that one moment. And then the rest of it is me getting a big ole reel of stuff and saying, “Do you want this commercial?”
Never Seen It: Watching Being There with Craig Brewer (5)
But in Being There, sometimes what is happening on television — he likes to watch television — is actually enhancing the scene that we are seeing in the movie. Like if that wonderful scene with Big Bird singing wasn’t that song, then I don’t know if that scene would be as good. So I’m very curious about which came first, the chicken or the egg? Was the director saying, “You know what be good is if we had this Gatorade commercial be the button on this.” Or, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could get ‘Basketball Jones?’”
McCoy: If I could come up with something as good as “Basketball Jones” in my life, I could die happy and fulfilled. That was amazing.
Never Seen It: Watching Being There with Craig Brewer
Brewer: Well, there’s a whole movie to talk about, but I think that’s the thing that I’m left with the most — my fascination with Diane Schroeder. Whoever this woman is, she’s responsible for me loving this movie. It would not be good without her. Here’s this guy, Chance. It’s just him coming in and leaving, and no one knows who he is. And everyone he comes in contact with is either challenged or made better. You could look at so many movies, like Forrest Gump.
McCoy: It’s a “Man from Mars” story. In science fiction, you drop the man from Mars into human society. And then everybody has to explain, like, why there’s insurance. You know what I mean? It’s a way to force everybody to look at everyday society, or just their everyday lives, differently. It’s Stranger in a Strange Land without the, you know, space polygamy.
Brewer: Or to just think how odd an elevator is.
McCoy: You get to see The Beginner’s Mind. I think that’s what’s so fascinating. He’s kind of a mirror to everybody.
Never Seen It: Watching Being There with Craig Brewer (6)
Brewer: I don’t know if I would have been as brave as to direct Peter Sellers — if perhaps one can — to be as restrained as he was.
McCoy: That was one of my thoughts too — the sheer genius of just dialing Peter Sellers all the way down.
Brewer: So much so that when you get to the second old man dying, you actually get a true emotional reaction from him that you did not have in the first one, even though it’s just red around his eyes. With the tears going down his face, you feel that there has perhaps been movement in his soul. But you didn’t think there could be any movement for him, because he played everything pretty much … Usually, when you say someone played something in one note, it’s kind of a bad thing. But that’s what I thought was rather refreshing. You’re almost waiting for that one moment for him to break out of it. And perhaps he can find some epiphany on his own. But in every single scene, he does not do that. It’s not written that way. He doesn’t play it that way. I feel like the only scene that I see that, the only moment I see it in is when that guy passes in front of him. And he says, “Yes, this happens to people. I’ve seen this before.” I think he was truly moved in that moment.
McCoy: Chance has got to be on the autistic spectrum somewhere.
Brewer: I would imagine so. But what’s great about having not known anything about the movie is that you think to yourself, is there some issue he’s dealing with? Or is he truly a person who has been raised inside that house? The way we feel in the beginning of that movie, where you do not know that you were in that neighborhood, you might be in some gorgeous, New York estate with a nice little garden. Then you walk outside and you realize, “Oh, wait a minute. I had a completely different idea of where I was.”
McCoy: You don’t know you’re in D.C., right? But it’s kind of believable in that, it’s an old house. The owner has been there forever. And it’s the 1970s, so the neighborhood’s falling apart around him. So the very first thing Chance is confronted with when he leaves the house is poverty and racism. Once again, it’s the Man from Mars thing. You drop a man from Mars in the middle of an American city, and the first thing they would ask is, “How come this guy didn’t have anything? And why is this Black guy being treated so bad?”
Brewer: There is startling commentary, both spray painted on the wall and what the date [1976, the American bicentennial] is saying.
Never Seen It: Watching Being There with Craig Brewer (2)
McCoy: Then there’s that moment where the maid sees him on TV, and she just lays it down: They only listen to him because he’s a white man.
Never Seen It: Watching Being There with Craig Brewer (3)
Brewer: I think when you’re watching a movie, there’s this natural feeling to want to figure it out. So it’s like, well, obviously he’s the son of the old man, and the old man kept him from civilization, or something like that. Perhaps he’s not dealing with some social awkwardness or a mental issue. He’s just truly a naive person that has been raised in a place where he’s never been in a car. These are his true feelings and thoughts. But then you get to him walking on water at the end. You’re in a different place of like, “Wait a minute, did this already happen with him? I just saw the death of this old man. Was he someone that came into that life of where he was at the beginning of the movie and was there a whole other movie comparable to what we just saw? Is he existing in a plane that truly, he doesn’t have a beginning or end? Or he doesn’t abide by the laws of gravity or art or science? Really?”
McCoy: Is he like the cat in the old folks home in Doctor Sleep that goes in and hangs out with you while you die?
The final shot of Being There.
McCoy: Peter Sellers, is, like you said, completely restrained and so subtle through the whole thing. It just shows you what control he had. I think a lot of people associated him with the Pink Panther stuff where he’s so wacky. But that’s control, too. It looks goofy to people, and you don’t think about it on that level, how much control it takes.
Brewer: I was young and watching Dr. Strangelove. I did not know much about Peter Sellers other than I grew up watching all of the Pink Panthers. They were a big deal between me and my dad when I was young. We’d love watching him fight Cato … So I finished watching Dr. Strangelove. I’m in high school, and I’m walking out to my car with my friends, and I go “I don’t quite understand why they gave Peter Sellers top billing on this thing. He was kind of funny as that British guy and everything, but I mean, George C. Scott!” And they’re like, “Craig, he was Dr. Strangelove and he’s the president, too.”
Sellers and MacLaine
Brewer: Shirley MacLaine. She’s a national treasure. She’s so good in this. I think that being funny and sexy at the same time, just to watch it in motion, is one of the best things ever. To see her rolling around on that bear rug, and she’s laughing and she’s discovering she’s sexy, but you’re not like lusting after her. You’re just watching. And it’s alive, and it’s real, and entertaining at the same time.
McCoy: And it’s not shot all male gaze-y like porn, either. It’s zoomed out, and there’s comedy. Half of the frame is Sellers doing comedy, and half the frame is her doing her thing. I love that scene because there’s such contrast. Like you said, the sexy and funny thing, like Goldie Hawn or Madeline Khan. And it shows you that everybody’s talking to themselves when they talk to him.
Brewer: The walking on water, can we get back to that?
McCoy: I’ve never really known what to make of it. I accept it as just beautiful, you know? Maybe it doesn’t have to be anything but that.
Brewer: I know, it’s magical realism, which is just a bullshit term for, I don’t know what he’s trying to do. I’m not meaning to grab at some certainty. I’m just saying, the authors made a choice to do that. Why did they do that? And the more I think about it, the more it calls into question what I was feeling and thinking about everything that went on. I love it. I’m glad it’s in there. I don’t think that something like that could happen today in a studio situation. “Uh, we had a pretty well-testing movie, and then you guys did that at the end, and there’s a lot of questions about it.” Would you say though that walking on water, other than it being kind of like the, “Oh, he thinks he’s so awesome. He walks on water or something like that.” Don’t you think that is specifically both narratively and spiritually related to Jesus?
McCoy: It’s gratuitous Christ imagery.
Brewer: I’m just thinking, okay, walking on water, where does that come from?
McCoy: How many people does he save, spiritually? He saves the president, and Shirley MacLaine, and the doctor …
Brewer: I go even further back. I’m going to the maid saying, “I raised that baby.” So it’s not like he’s been that age forever. He was a baby. We don’t know anything about his parentage. There’s nothing about him. He shows up as a baby in this world and causes all this spiritual introspection from people around him, by just basically saying things that almost sound like an error. And you have a bunch of disciples saying, “Jesus, give the answer to our political situation. What do we do? What are we doing?” He goes, “Well, there’s some seed …”
Never Seen It: Watching Being There with Craig Brewer (4)
Tennessee Shakespeare Company’s (TSC) 13th season will get underway next month fully accepting the mandates of the ongoing pandemic while employing as much creativity as possible.
First off is the Dr. Greta McCormick Coger Literary Salon Series, which begins August 30th and will explore more than 40 writers and literary works against a backdrop of seasons, holidays, and events.
The Free Shakespeare Shout-Out Series will visit eight outdoor locations in October with a Romeo and Juliet production. TSC founder and producing artistic director Dan McCleary says it “embraces (and masks) the Elizabethan quarantine Shakespeare refers to in his text.”
Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night takes the Tabor Stage in February, followed by the Elizabethan Feast benefit party, which was cancelled this past season due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Salons and performances will take place on the Owen and Margaret Wellford Tabor Stage with online simulcasts for each performance, filmed by one camera.
TSC will enforce all state and local health safety criteria, including social distancing, family groupings of no more than six, reduced seating capacity to 33 percent, required distance from audience to performers, multiple entry/egress ways, hand-sanitizer stations, and mandatory face-coverings. The Tabor Stage will seat 54 patrons.
“As the world has shut down and our health has been endangered, we have learned how essential classical theatre and education is to our community,” says McCleary. “We thought they were very important. But in fact, they are necessary. What William Shakespeare, great artists and philosophers, daring social protesters, and quarantined inventors have endured and produced before us should serve as lessons. We need each other, our creativity, and our compassion to live together.”
For more information, go here.
After a tough return to action in Birmingham, 901 FC had a lot to work on in the next game against Atlanta United 2. In response, the team came firing out of the blocks against a young Atlanta squad. While the game was full of moments that could have swung the result either way, a 2-2 draw meant that Memphis earned its first point of the season.
There are two truths from last Saturday’s performance: the defense still needs work, and our strikers definitely have goals in them this season. On the attacking end, we saw some recognizable patterns of play that should stick around as the season continues. Let’s take a closer look at what worked, and what didn’t, during key plays from the match.
Photo courtesy Atlanta United 2
Memphis’ Liam Doyle wins a header over Atlanta’s Phillip Goodrum
In the first half, Memphis used its superior strength to win both physical and psychological duels with players. Centerback Liam Doyle led the charge with aggressive challenges on Atlanta attackers to win balls near the halfway line. This caused them to hesitate when going into challenges. In the 15th minute, this manifested with Segbers intercepting a ball in the final third and kicking it out to Pierre da Silva on the right wing. Segbers, playing at fullback but traditionally a winger, used his attacking instincts to make a run down the inside right channel into the box. This pulled attention from several members of the Atlanta defense, giving da Silva time and space to pick out a cross to forward Brandon Allen on the far post, which he headed over the bar.
While that pattern didn’t produce a goal, there were several similar instances throughout the game on both flanks with Allen on the end. Those sequences didn’t pay off today, but enough chances and Allen (one of the highest-scoring active players in the USL at the moment) will put them away. He did, however, get the equalizer at 1-1 when nodding in at the back post during a corner kick.
Working the flanks also paid dividends when 901 FC equalized to make it 2-2 in the 93rd minute. University of Memphis alum Raul Gonzalez (making his first appearance for 901 FC after sustaining a season-ending knee injury last pre-season) whipped in a cross off the right flank for new signing Cal Jennings. The substitute forward collected the ball on the edge of the box and took it to the byline, where he cut back and squeezed a shot in at the near post to make it 2-2. When a team has smart forwards like Allen and Jennings, they can take advantage of space in the box in crucial moments, as we saw last Saturday. On another note, Memphis is great at creating shooting chances at the top of the box. Many of these opportunities have been blocked or off target, but eventually, they’ll start to go in.
The defensive side of 901 FC’s game, however, still needs some fine-tuning. The first goal conceded was well worked by Atlanta, but Memphis keeper Jimmy Hague (standing in for Tim Howard) probably should have done a bit better since the shot was directly at him. Atlanta’s second, however, came from poor positioning in the second half.
Opposing defender Mo Jadama burst forward looking for a pass, and Doyle stepped up to put pressure behind an Atlanta attacker. Fellow centerback Triston Hodge (filling in for the suspended Zach Carroll) stepped up with Doyle, but fullbacks Segbers and Rece Buckmaster both maintained their previous positions, breaking Memphis’ defensive line and allowing Jadama to slip a through-ball to 16-year-old (!) Coleman Gannon. The forward raced into the box, both onside and completely unimpeded, to put Atlanta ahead.
There are other defensive issues to sort out, as well. The defensive line hasn’t been as steady so far this season as it was last year. On the right and left side, both fullbacks occasionally over-commit to aerial balls, leaving attackers swathes of space to charge toward the box. Covering midfielders should be aware of these tendencies and be able to adjust accordingly. It’s a big ask, but having a vocal presence, either in goal or the backline, will help players be in the right place at the right time.
Still work to be done, but last Saturday’s draw was a much-improved performance after the loss in Birmingham. Getting both strikers on the score sheet is a fantastic lead-in to a trio of games at AutoZone Park. 901 FC’s first home match of the restart is this Saturday against Charlotte Independence, who has yet to play since the USL season resumed. For some live game updates that evening, catch me on twitter: @ciccispizza.
901 FC plays at home against Charlotte Independence this Saturday, July 25, at 7:30 p.m.
Courtesy: Jerred Price
The Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) announced plans this week to help revive Mud Island Amphitheater. The group formed a committee to begin working to ultimately bring concerts back to the 5,000-seat amphitheater.
The venue is part of the massive Mud Island River Park, opened in 1982 at a cost of $63 million. When it opened, the park included three restaurants. While those are closed, Mud Island still features an indoor museum (now closed because of COVID-19), a boat launch, a monorail with two terminals between a suspension bridge, and a five-block long scale model of the Lower Mississippi River. 
The Tennessean/1982
Here’s how it was described in a 1982 full-page ad in The Tennessean right before it opened: “Not a theme park. Not an amusement park. Mud Island is a 50-acre Mississippi River adventure built by the people of Memphis.”
Mud Island River Park is one of several riverfront parks managed for the city by the Mississippi River Parks Partnership (MRPP). The group was criticized earlier this week by DNA president Jerred Price for allowing the park to fall into “despair” and allowing the stage at the amphitheater to remain unused since 2018. The group proposed finding a corporate sponsor who would get naming rights to the venue for money to fix it up. (See below.)
Courtesy: Jerred Price
George Abbott, director of external affairs for the MRPP, said the amphitheater is special but should be considered a part of the entire Mud Island River Park. To deliver the venue as a “minimum viable product” — for safety upgrades to even allow shows back there at all — it would cost $2 million. But to do it right for modern productions, it would cost more than $10 million. He said MRPP asked city leaders for the money this year but couldn’t blame them for not approving it. — Toby Sells
Memphis Flyer: What do you think about the DNA’s plans for Mud Island Amphitheater?
George Abbot: There’s no denying that the amphitheater really sits in an incredible location and has a beautiful backdrop behind it. As such, it’s an important asset for our city.
But I think it’s very hard to consider the amphitheater in isolation. Mud Island was really built as a complete experience. I wasn’t alive when it opened. But I’ve heard people talk about it. You went there to eat at one of the restaurants. You visited the museum. There were shows every hour in the amphitheater. (The amphitheater) was really designed as a piece.
(The MRPP has) been in place for just over two years. We’ve had multiple discussions with venue operators about what can take place in the amphitheater, what needs to happen, which upgrades need to go in there. There hasn’t been a show in the amphitheater since 2018. [Allison Krauss and Widespread Panic were among the last shows there.]
MRPP: Mud Island Amphitheater Fix ‘Complicated’; Will Cost $2M-$10.5M (2)
If you look at the cost-assessment, you begin to see how it’s inextricably tied to the rest of the island. You’re looking at roughly around $2 million in capital expenses, that needs to be put in [the amphitheater] to achieve a minimum viable product. That’s only the amphitheater itself.
Then, you begin to ask the question: Well, how do people get there? Then you start looking at some of the capital expenses for the two [monorail] terminals on either end. Then, you start asking questions about the monorail, and about the parking lot, and the escalators and elevators. It all adds up. We’ve worked with a couple of different firms to do cost estimates for all of Mud Island and they can get up to more than $20 million in capital expenses.
The discussions we’ve had with venue operators, and promoters all took place in a pre-pandemic environment. Looking ahead to the future, who knows what what the concert industry looks like and what the live-event industry looks like.
That, to me, actually creates a very exciting opportunity for the amphitheater. This could be a prototype of the new concert-going experience. But to get there, you need a little bit more understanding of what the landscape looks like. You need a very savvy, smart, and experienced operator to partner with us to get there.
[pullquote-1] I don’t think there’s really anyone who disagrees with the fact that we’ve got an asset on our hands. The discussion really is, again, we need the right partner to be in place, to operate this at a level that we all want to see here in Memphis. We’ve spoken of some of those offerings and we’ll continue to have those discussions. But it takes some time and I don’t think really any concert promoters or operators are looking very far in the future right now.
Courtesy: Jerred Price
MF: As far as priorities right now for the MRPP, are Mud Island and the amphitheater, maybe No. 2 or No. 3 and Tom Lee Park is No. 1?
GA: I wouldn’t necessarily rank them because we’ve been working on both of those projects at the same time.
We are stewards of public assets. As such, it is our responsibility to steward public assets in the way that brings the most benefits to the city. That’s one of the reasons I find it difficult to recommend spending that. … Let’s say you do the minimum viable product for the amphitheater. It’s about $2 million.
We actually asked for that money in the (the city’s Capital Improvement Program budget) this year. The city didn’t give that that money to us. But, to be fair, I don’t really blame them so much for that. That delivers you the safety upgrades inside the amphitheater itself. That doesn’t do anything about access.
Some of the operators we’ve spoken to have estimated that you’d need about $8.5 million on top of that $2 million for the upgrades to the amphitheater — things like raising the roof so you can fit in modern productions — to really make it a competitive facility.
So, I don’t blame (city leaders) for not approving that money while there isn’t some kind of a comprehensive plan in place for the island.
Our job as stewards of public assets is to invest in places where they can have the most impact, which is precisely why there has been a focus not just on Tom Lee Park, but on all of our parks that are adjacent to Downtown. As such, they’re accessible to many, many more people without necessarily having to drive and bringing the associated economic benefit to Downtown businesses.
One of the problems with Mud Island, for me, is that it was always kind of pitched as like the theme-park-type experience. It was difficult to access and most people would drive Downtown or you’d even drive directly on onto Mud Island, the parking lot over there, and that was kind of your day out. That’s what it was designed as.
Mississippi River Parks Partnership
You’d come Downtown. Experience the theme park. Stay in the theme park. Eat here. Entertain yourself here, and then get back in your car, and drive away.
If we think of how we build a successful and thriving Downtown, you want people to do multiple things on that trip. So, you come Downtown, maybe have dinner on the [Main Street] Mall. You visit a riverfront park and then go to a show at the Orpheum, all without having to get back into that into that car. Every time someone gets back into that car, it’s a potential that they drive away and they drive out of Downtown.
So, connectivity is key and that’s always been Mud Island’s weakness. And that’s why our focus in the past couple of years has been on those places that are accessible, that bring the economic impacts of Downtown, but that also are accessible and close to the neighborhoods to the north and south of Downtown that have been economically depressed for a long time.
For some people, visiting the riverfront is kind of the place where they find peace. It’s the place that is kind of the equivalent for a vacation. So, it makes sense to invest in places that are most accessible to them.
MF: Is Mud Island River Park open right now?
GA: It is. All of the riverfront parks are open. What is closed are the the inside facilities. So, that means that the (Mud Island) terminals and the walk bridge are closed, but you can still access the park from from Island Drive.
Mississippi River Parks Partnership
MF: What do you say to the folks who go over there and they see the cracks and the weeds and are concerned about the maintenance and upkeep of Mud Island?
GA: It’s important to make a distinction between maintenance and capital expenses. We could talk for a long, long time about Mud Island, but the program was built with an assumption of self-sustaining revenue. There was the ticket price. There were businesses there and restaurants over there.
Very, very quickly after it opened those visitorship projections didn’t didn’t bear out. And … it became a loss-making project. Four or five years after it opened, it was kind of kicked around. It was managed by various entities. I’m pretty sure [Pyramid developer] Sydney Schlencker managed it at one point before the [Riverfront Development Corporation] was created.
Because the revenue isn’t there, the backlog of maintenance issues began all the way back in the 1980s. There’s a point where it becomes a capital expense. What’s in our contract and what’s in our budget for the city is the general day-to-day maintenance. The things that are not in that are these … capital expenses.
We’ve done the cost estimates and baked in everything over there to get it to the 1982 standard. You’re looking at more than $20 million. But, again, it’s difficult for me to recommend that as a good use of public assets. Because that delivers you … Okay, we got Mud Island that’s just the way it was in 1982, with a program that that didn’t succeed in 1982. It’s now 2020.
Mississippi River Parks Partnership
You know there’s a very, very different recreation market and a very, very different concept market. [Mud Island] really needs kind of a comprehensive plan … I mentioned that connectivity was always a disadvantage of Mud Island, but it can also be an added advantage, depending on what you’re using it for. Like, you’re at once close but far away. So, you almost need to find that longtime use to take advantage of that.
There’s a lot of concrete over there. It was built with one idea of how it can be used. When that use didn’t pan out, it then became a problem. I think that that’s why you if you look at the Tom Lee plans, you’ll see that pretty much everything in the park is flexible and multipurpose, which is which is the way that we build nowadays.
That’s the way that we build kind of every project. There’s very few single-use projects. Even if you think of somewhere like (Crosstown Concourse). It’s that mix of shops, school, healthcare, and apartments. It has flexible sets that can be reconfigured depending on how the economy changes and how our tastes change.
That’s really the gold standard for public spaces now. We want to avoid building things like, like Mud Island to have one program and build things that are flexible and that can adapt and change over time.
MF: Is there anything you want to add or anything we left out?
GA: I would just like to make two additional points because I think I noticed in [the article on Jerred Price] there were these claims that we used to have hundreds of concerts a year at the amphitheater. We looked back. The last time there were double figures (for concerts) annually was 2011. The most concerts ever held in a year on Mud Island was 21 and that was back in 1997.
So, again, just thinking about how we’re spending dollars. That’s 21 nights a year. As good stewards, we’ve got to say, okay, what would it take to get us to 21 nights a year and could that even happen?
MRPP: Mud Island Amphitheater Fix ‘Complicated’; Will Cost $2M-$10.5M
Everyone forgets that it’s 5,000 seats over there with the bleachers. You take the bleachers away — the bleachers are terrible — it goes down to 4,000. Just as a comparison, the Landers Center is 8,000. Snowden Grove is 11,000. So, they’re really not competing on the same playing field.
There’s a question as to could you even get back up to that 21 nights per year? And then if you do, what’s the outturn you need to get there? What’s the return on that? This is a more complicated issue than it appears on the face of it.
I think a lot of people have memories of going to concerts there and if it could just be that again, it would be great. But then once you peek beneath the hood and look at the numbers, it becomes more complicated.