Rolling out the red carpet for local premiere of ‘Taking Woodstock’

Oscar-nominated director and screenwriter Courtney Hunt was among the first in line for the 6 p.m. showing of “Taking Woodstock.” Hunt joked that it was notable that Our Daily Bread restaurant was staying open later than usual to accommodate the event. 

Hunt said she remembers Focus Features Producer and Screenwriter James Schamus from film school. “He was a teacher when I was a student,” Hunt said. “He taught a class called No-Budget Film-Making. I wish I would have taken his class. I had to learn it the hard way.”  

When asked if she had seen the film, Hunt said, “I’m going to see it now. I’ve heard it’s wonderful. It’s so great for the community. That a little town gets the excitement of unveiling a movie here, especially with James [Shamus] and Ang [Lee] is just great. I really admire them for that.”

Chatham Film Club President Sandi Knakal and FilmColumbia Festival Director Calliope Nicholas said they thought the event will bring awareness and much needed shekels to the Crandell Capital Campaign’s goal of $1.5 million.

“This is what the Woodstock Festival was all about,” Knakal said. “To have the premier here is so fabulous. It’s so wonderful to bring over a thousand people to the Crandell and a wonderful opportunity to publicize the Capital Campaign and the Columbia County community. We’ve got people here from out of state who are here to participate.”

“Focus Features has been so generous with us,” Nicholas added. “This is a wonderful premier, not the Hollywood type. So many local people were involved with this film and can now see the results of it. It’s brought a real sense of community to Main Street.”

Next door to the theater, a cocktail party at Rich Kraham Design featured local professionals who played lawyers, real estate agents and chauffeurs in the movie. The anonymous background actors in the Lee/Schamus production sipped on champagne and chatted excitedly as they swapped stories on the making of “Taking Woodstock” and wondered if their characters made the final cut of the movie.

“The only scene of the movie I’ve seen is the trailer,” said Jack Devine, a real-life attorney who also played the role of a lawyer in the movie. “We had such a great time doing this. Ang Lee was fantastic to work with and so respectful of us. There were no Hollywood egos and everyone was always thanked for what little we did.”

When asked what it was like to see a red carpet rolled out in front of the Crandell, theater owner Tony Quirino said it was overwhelming. “My adrenaline is up,” he said. “I never thought that it would come to this. It is so amazing what is happening here.”

After almost an hour waiting, members of the press were given the opportunity to talk with Oscar-winning Director Lee and Schamus, along with writer Elliot Tiber, who’s memoir, “Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life,” was adapted into the movie’s screenplay.

Before there was Woodstock, there was Tiber, said one reviewer. And indeed there was. According to the industry magazine Variety, the movie is an adaptation of his memoir. It was Tiber “who played a role in helping the historic 1969 music fest unfold on his neighbor’s farm. Demetri Martin (‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’) plays Tiber, an aspiring interior designer in Greenwich Village obliged to run the family business, a Catskills motel. In summer 1969, he found himself at the center of a generation-defining experience when he volunteered the motel to be the home base for Woodstock concert organizers after his neighbor, Max Yasgur, made his farm available for the event.”

As a young, gay Jewish man who happened to be the local chamber of commerce president, Tiber was instrumental in helping the Woodstock promoters get their official event permit for the historic 1969 music festival on his neighbor’s farm. The book is his personal journey through the days that led up to the concert, as well as his own views about himself, his family and his life.

Tiber volunteered the El Monaco motel, which belonged to his parents, to be used as the headquarters for the concert organizers. Tiber, who had been an aspiring Manhattan designer, moved back to Bethel to help his parents from losing their hotel to foreclosure.

According to Tiber, after Woodstock, the motel was burnt to the ground. “They didn’t want any trace of me,” joked the writer/comedian at the premiere. “I have taken Woodstock with me all these years. We didn’t know it then, but that three-day festival still resonates all over the world.”

When asked about the adaptation of his book to the movie, he said that Schamus did it faithfully. “He’s also from New York with a Jewish sense of humor,” he said.

Both Schamus and Lee told reporters why the book’s story resonated with them. For Lee, it was a reprieve from the heavy scripts he had previously worked on.

The director recalled that when he met Tiber, he was a perfect match for his temperament at the time. “I felt like the hangover after Woodstock,” he joked. “We just seemed to click,” he said of Tiber. “Schamus was also part of it and New York gave us a good tax incentive.”

Lee said he decided not to go back to the old site to shoot the film, but instead found a hotel in New Lebanon to use as the centerpiece of the movie. “We invaded the town,” he said. “It’s a great story. Like Elliot’s book, a big production comes to town. The difference is that we didn’t meet with much resistance. People here saw us as an economic boost to the area.”

Schamus agreed. “We found the perfect place,” he said. Schamus, who has had a house in Hillsdale for more than a decade, said he considers the region as his home. As for why the Crandell Theatre was chosen as the site for the premiere, the producer said that the theater is one of the true gems of New York. “It would be disastrous to lose this theater,” he said. “The impact of this space is magnificent.”

Schamus said that he first got involved with the Crandell more than 10 years ago when he took his daughters to see films at the theater. “This is where the film festival started,” he said. “It is where I’ve shown many of my films, including ‘The Pianist,’ ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and ‘21 Grams.’”

As Lee, Schamus and Tiber walked into the theater, loud cheering and applause broke out.

“Forty years ago a guy made a call from Bethel,” Schamus said about Tiber. “Forty years later, Ang Lee took that call.”

Lee told the audience that he did six tragedies in a row and after he was promoting his last movie, he realized that he wanted to do a comedy. “This movie is about innocence, happiness and chaos, which is just what I was looking for. Elliot took about six minutes to sell it to me.”

A commercial and movie-short entitled, “Wouldn’t you miss the Crandell,” kicked off the screening. Local Producer David Newhoff shot the commercial pro bono for FilmColumbia’s Capital Campaign to Save the Crandell. The commercial featured several local residents. There was more applause as people recognized their neighbors on screen.

Both movie screenings were sold out with 535 seats per showing. At $25 a ticket, half will go to the Capital Campaign Fund and the other half to the Northeast Food Pantry.

Peter Biskind, a writer and FilmColumbia’s vice president, said that he thought the premiere was fantastic. “It was a really charming movie,” he said. “It has a really good spirit and really conveys the Woodstock experience. As an authentic 1960s person, it made me feel right at home.”

Later, at a party under a tent set up in the village green, the movie’s photographer, Ken Regan, sat next to Millbrook resident Cari Swanson, whose horse, RJ, was featured in “Taking Woodstock.” Although Regan and Swanson were part of the filming process, they had not seen the movie prior to the screening.

“It was actually quite beautiful,” Swanson said. “I was really surprised. [Lee] touched on so many important elements. He can really tell a story and pulled together quite a cast.”So far, the movie appears to be gaining in popularity among critics, Schamus said during a later interview. “It’s blown us away. When you say Woodstock in the title, people think concert. But they really love it when they realize it’s about people.”

He said that the reception has been much like ‘Crouching Tiger.’ “In the states they were expecting a movie about the Woodstock concert,” he said. “But the press reviews have been spectacular.”

Just then, Schamus whipped out his phone. “I haven’t had the chance to check reviews today, but let’s do it while you’re here.” He scrolled down the list. “Look here: LA Press: ‘LOVED IT!’ in all caps! Here’s another: ‘Taking Woodstock’ is really sweet!’ I’m not making this up,” he laughed. “It’s about people. That’s Ang’s thing. And people respond to it.”