Page 29 - atoday

PEOPLE & ARTS A29
In a time of progress, dramatizing a gay rights landmark
JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer
TORONTO (AP) — “Free-
held,” a gay-rights drama
about the turning tide of
social justice, was shaped
by the same currents of
change it depicts.
In the course of making the
true story about New Jer-
sey police detective Laurel
Hester’s fight for pension
benefits for her domestic
partner, Stacie Andree, the
Supreme Court ruled in fa-
vor of marriage equality
and one of the film’s stars,
Ellen Page, came out.
“Freeheld,” the story of a
landmark victory in an on-
going battle for LGBT rights,
is part celebration, part in-
spiration.
“Whenever you have these
really amazing moments of
progress or advancement,
there can be a backlash
to that,” says Page, also a
producer of the film. “It’s
nice to have this film now
to celebrate the joy and
celebrate the progress,
mixed with, of course, the
backlash that comes from
people that struggle with
the LGBT community.”
“Freeheld,” which opens
in theaters Friday, drama-
tizes the events of Cynthia
Wade’s 2007 Oscar-win-
Thomas Rhett brings retro
soul to country radio
KRISTIN M. HALL
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) —
The initial market testing
on a handful of new songs
from country singer Thom-
as Rhett, including his first new artist of the year at the opened for Jason Aldean
single, “Crash and Burn,”
wasn’t promising.
“So the feedback came
back on ‘Crash,’ I think
the feedback said ‘poor,’”
Rhett said of the funky song
with a beat emphasized
with whistles and snaps.
“So for us to put ‘Crash’ out music: a retro, soul-inspired and Burn’ live or how
with that kind of feedback
was kinda scary and risky at
the same time.”
But the song hit No. 1 on
Billboard’s Country Airplay
Chart and No. 2 on Hot
Country Songs. (His mother
In this Sept. 28, 2015 photo, Julianne Moore, left, and Ellen Page pose for a portrait to promote their
upcoming film “Freeheld” in New York.
ning short documentary
of the same name. Hester,
a 23-year police veteran
played by Julianne Moore,
was dying of terminal lung
cancer when she sought
to have her pension trans-
ferred on her death to An-
dree (Page), as would be
the case for a married cou-
ple. A panel of county leg-
islators — freeholders — ini- cancer; she died in 2006
tially refused, and the case
called the local country ra-
dio station in Nashville and
told the DJ, “You have to
listen to it three times be-
fore you can love it.”)
Now Rhett is nominated for
2015 CMA Awards, to be
presented Nov. 4 at Nash-
ville’s Bridgestone Arena.
The show will air on ABC.
With each single he’s re-
leased since his debut in
2012, Rhett has gotten clos-
er to his niche in country
danceable mix of arena-
sized tunes and hooky mel-
odies.
On his new album, “Tan-
gled Up,” the 25-year-old
trained his voice so he
could hit falsetto notes
became a national story.
The film, directed by Peter
Sollett and penned by Ron
Nyswaner, is about the re-
luctant entry of Hester and
Andree — both humble,
private people — into the
public struggle of the gay
rights movement. It oc-
curred simultaneously with
the rapid onset of Hester’s
at age 49, shortly after the Moore and Page, visiting
while still maintaining his
Georgia twang.
“There are a lot of songs
on this album that I cut
envisioning myself in an
arena,” said Rhett, who has
and Florida Georgia Line. “I pop singer Jordin Sparks
think live shows are where
fans make their memories
of you. They can hear you
on the radio all they want,
but they aren’t seeing your
face and they aren’t see-
ing how you sing ‘Crash
you do ‘Beer With Jesus’
stripped down.”
Jesse Frasure, a co-writer
on “Crash and Burn” and
an album co-producer,
said Rhett had a very clear
vision of the album, which
Friday 2 October 2015
the set and attending the
film’s moving premiere at
the Toronto International
Associated Press Film Festival.
It was also especially per-
freeholders reversed their sonal for Page, who joined
ruling. the project several years
“It is so personal, so, so in- before she, herself, came
credibly personal,” says out in 2014. The 28-year-old
Moore. “We were really en- actress credits “Freeheld”
trusted with an awful lot.” with helping her in her own
Such are the terms all in- struggles with being clos-
volved with “Freeheld” use eted. “Laurel and Stacie
to describe an unusually are really incredible people
emotional movie experi- who did something really
ence. Andree was involved extraordinary that created
with the film, meeting with a profound ripple effect for
change,” says Page. “To
be part of a story that’s in-
spiring and also personally
meaningful, of course, is a
pretty wonderful opportu-
nity to have.”
Moore said witnessing
Page’s experience gave
her a new perspective.
“Here was this young per-
son who’s been dealing
with this tremendously prob-
ably isolating experience,
and how liberating it was
for her to finally be play-
ing someone in a same-sex
relationship,” Moore says.
“I’ve had plenty of friends
who have gone through it,
but it was personalized for
me. I was touched by her
and her vulnerability and
her openness.”q
In this Sept. 15, 2015 photo, country singer Thomas Rhett poses
for a photo at Sinema Restaurant & Bar in Nashville, Tenn., to
promote his latest album, “Crash and Burn.”
Associated Press
includes contributions from “He had faith that it was
an unorthodox record, but
and rapper LunchMoney it was still country,” Frasure
Lewis. said.q