Friday, July 23, 2010

Back Stage Blog Stage
BYLINE: Jenelle
(Nielsen Business Media)—

I was finally able to see the short film “Sparks” that Gordon-Levitt premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.  The film is only available on the Wholphin No. 9 DVD, which I managed to get through Netflix.  Based on a short story by Elmore Leonard, “Sparks” is a really fun and original piece of filmmaking starring Eric Stoltz as a man investigating a failed rocked star (the excellent Carla Gugino) who may have burned her own house down.

I learned about the film when I recently interviewed Gordon-Levitt, and he explained that he met Elmore Leonard’s granddaughter when he was shooting the film “Killshot,” based on a novel by the author. “She wanted to adapt this short story of his and asked me if I wanted to direct it. It was perfect because the material was solid, I didn’t have to second-guess myself on any of that.” While he says he identified with both characters, he intentionally didn’t want to make a particularly personal film. “I’m glad that on my first try as a director I didn’t try to plumb the depths of myself, because it was such a learning experience. Having done it now, I feel ready to do something more personal.”

Gordon-Levitt has a real eye behind the camera; “Sparks” is a visually striking film—bright and colorful—with sharp dialogue and some creative staging that I highly recommend. He also gets great performances out of his two leads. Most of all, the film begs the question: why isn’t Gugino a bigger star?

—Jenelle Riley