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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Friday 5 July 2019

The newcomers behind ‘The Last Black Man in San Francisco’

By LINDSEY BAHR Despite the knit cap on his than they realized. Talbot
Associated Press head, the T-shirt clad writ- would direct, and Fails
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s an er and star clearly wasn’t would star as his own al-
unusually chilly and over- expecting the gloomy ter-ego, also named Jim-
cast Sunday in Los Angeles weather. Thankfully Talbot mie Fails. They had most of
when the San Francisco was there to save the day, their crew in place too: A
filmmaking team and long- offering his friend his grand- lot of San Francisco friends
time friends Jimmie Fails mother’s houndstooth they’d worked with before
and Joe Talbot meet for a jacket off his back, which who knew the city and
rooftop brunch a few days Fails ended up wearing as were ready to commit as
after their hometown pre- a blanket after attempting fully as Talbot and Fails to
miere of “The Last Black to squeeze his arms into the this passion project. For
Man in San Francisco.” small coat. Jimmie’s best friend, Mont,
“It’s like it knew we were But the Northern California they found actor Jonathan
coming,” Fails laughed. chill was perhaps the ideal Majors — another revela-
tion who is just starting to
make a name for himself in
the business.
This photo provided by A24 shows Jimmie Fails, left, who stars as “I was the last piece to kind
Jimmie Fails and Jonathan Majors, right, as Montgomery Allen in of come in,” Majors said,
“The Last Black Man in San Francisco”, an A24 release. who was still able to weigh
Associated Press in on and tweak his char-
setting. After all, “The Last knew — yes, you need a acter. “The collaboration
Black Man in San Francis- script — and even gave was beautiful. We’re rally-
co” isn’t exactly a 72 and them notes before he ing behind humanity in this
sunny kind of movie. headed off to make “some piece, you know, and it’s
It’s a beautiful, poetic story movie in Florida” that would deep...This is man versus so-
about family, gentrifica- turn out to be best picture ciety and it’s a heavy role
tion and the meaning of winner “Moonlight.” to play.”
home and ownership from So Fails wrote a script They also got San Francis-
the minds of two total new- based on his own experi- co-native Danny Glover
comers that has capti- ences with losing his grand- to the role of Mont’s blind
vated the film world. Now father’s Victorian home in grandfather.
playing in limited release, The Fillmore district, which “It was important to get
“The Last Black Man in San he would continue to visit as many San Franciscans
Francisco” is expanding this frequently even though it as we could,” Fails said.
weekend and next. no longer belonged to his “We’re doing this for the
The film is the culmination family. city. We don’t want it to
of over five years of work They made a concept feel inauthentic.”
for Fails, 24, and Talbot, trailer, did a Kickstarter The response from the lo-
28, who met as teens in campaign and even got cal community has already
the public park that sepa- a short film directed by Tal- been more than they could
rated their neighborhood, bot into the Sundance Film have imagined. They’ve
discovered a shared love Festival. That’s where things also already made quite
of film and filmmaking and started to get real. It was in an impact in Hollywood,
“haven’t stopped talking Park City, Utah, that they with both having signed
since.” met with Brad Pitt’s pro- with power agency CAA.
But while both knew they duction company Plan B, But at the moment, they’re
wanted to make films, they who wanted to make “The just thinking about this film
didn’t have any useful or Last Black Man in San Fran- they made together. And
current connections (Tal- cisco.” Plan B also got the both are still riding high
bot’s grandfather, Lyle Tal- support of A24, who would from the San Francisco pre-
bot, was a B-movie actor help finance and distribute, miere at The Castro.
in the ‘30s and ‘40s, and, and suddenly it was go- “That was one of the best
later the films of Ed Wood). time with the very people nights ever in San Francis-
Neither went to film school. who made “Moonlight” co,” Fails said. “They say
Fails left college after his leading the way. it’s 6% natives left and I feel
first year, Talbot dropped “For years and years we’re like they were all at the pre-
out of high school and the working on it and refining miere.”
San Francisco filmmaking it like, ‘Someone give us a Talbot added: “We talk a
scene wasn’t as vibrant or chance! Someone give us lot about our fears of what
accommodating to indie a chance!’ And then they San Francisco is becoming.
newcomers as it had been go, OK, and we’re like, And to have that event
in the past. In an attempt ‘Wait are we ready? I don’t at this old cinema palace
to get some sort of advice, know if we’re ready yet,’” that we all grew up going
Talbot cold-emailed film- Talbot said. “It’s the hard- to and see packed to the
maker Barry Jenkins, who est city in the country to film brim with almost entirely
at the time had only made in. It used to be a very film natives all in one space felt
“Medicine for Melancholy,” friendly city, but it’s just got- like a celebration of San
asking for advice on how ten hard, especially for an Francisco in a way that left
to start. ambitious indie like ours.” us both feeling inspired for
Jenkins told them what he But they were more ready the future of the city.”q