News

03/2/2021

Poly on Film的特色是Rob Maylor ' 96,“短跑运动员”的制片人

保利社区分享了一个博彩网站排名 Sprinter, 联合编剧和制作的电影 Rob Maylor ’96, 在2月25日的保利电影系列的第四部分. Maylor和保利健身总监一起参加了一个小组讨论 Richard James, Head of Athletics Richard Corso, and alumna Keyonte “Kiki” Sutherland ’03, P’26.

Rob Maylor ‘96

Maylor 是心灵感应电影公司的首席执行官和创始人, an independent production company focusing on new narratives about the Caribbean and its diaspora. Sprinter, 由斯托姆·索尔特执导,是他们的第一部作品. 该片获得了奥斯卡最佳剧情片、最佳观众奖和最佳导演三项大奖 2018年美国黑人电影节.

Sprinter tells the story of Akeem Sharp, a high school track and field sensation in Jamaica. 他希望作为一名跑步运动员的成功能把他带到美国.S. where his mother, who has supported the family while living as an illegal resident for over a decade, lives in Los Angeles. 但首先,他必须克服国内的动荡和一个兄弟的影响, Germaine, who is a scam artist, 学习如何尊重女性. Fortunately for Akeem, his coach provides guidance, 告诉他戴上“精神眼罩”,专注于自己的目标. The film stars David Allen Grier, Lorraine Toussaint, and Dale Elliot and is available on Netflix.

Alumni-in-Film Series

Director of Arts Outreach Robert Aberlin ’62, P’00, ’03 主持讨论并欢迎小组成员. Aberlin began by asking Maylor about the trajectory of his career and whether he was interested in film during his Poly days. As a matter of fact, Maylor said, 他写了博彩网站排名博彩网站排名电影的毕业论文或毕业计划. 梅勒的父母来自牙买加,希望他成为一名律师. 梅勒最初的工作之一是与律师约翰尼·科克伦(Johnnie Cochran)合作. 他去了威廉和玛丽学院,想学习娱乐法. He moved to San Francisco for a job with a clothing line and then applied to USC and got a job at Magnolia Pictures. “我想成为一个讲故事的人,”他说. “你应该讲你最有资格讲的故事.”

Maylor said, “The hardest thing in the industry is to get people to read your script.” Fortunately, 剧本落到了威尔·史密斯和贾达·平克特·史密斯手里, 谁非常热情,成为了制片人 Sprinter. 梅勒说这个故事很普遍——这个男孩没有母亲.

小组成员分享他们对这部电影的反应

Richard James
Richard James

Aberlin asked Coach Richard James, 谁代表牙买加参加了2004年雅典夏季奥运会, Greece, 谈谈他在牙买加的亲身经历. James shared that he first saw Sprinter while he was working with a Nigerian team and was so moved by the film, it brought him to tears. He said it reminded him, “How much we as Black people have to work on a different level.他说这激起了他的愤怒, disappointment, and grief, 但“为我们如何看待种族打开了大门.” He said he had a feeling of having to “prove myself to be worthy of this space.”

In advance of the panel, James said, “I absolutely loved the movie as it highlighted the struggles of how immigration affects families. We can clearly see that the desire to reach the USA caused the splitting of a family. I can identify with Akeem as the young athlete who wanted to escape the chaotic world of Jamaica.  我能理解我们在寻找自我时的高度困惑.”

“生活是一场风暴,(年轻运动员) 应该找到合适的人来引导他们度过难关吗.”

James said young athletes should take this from the film: “生活是一场风暴,(年轻运动员) 应该找到合适的人来引导他们度过难关吗.“和阿基姆一样,詹姆斯也有一位信任他的教练. 他说:“奥拉尔·邓斯顿教练发现并培养了我的才能. “Had it not been for him and his encouragement, the story of my life would have been different. 他的话如同沙漠之水.”

Aberlin asked Keyonte " Kiki " Sutherland 03, P ' 26, 他是Elefterakis的助理,Elefterakis & 帕内克,她的人生轨迹. 萨瑟兰说,她的父母来到美国.S. from St. Vincent to go to college. 她回忆说,她的家人有几箱用品要寄回圣. Vincent. “这是我们文化的重要组成部分,”她说. 她说,她周围都是坚强的女性. “They held me to a high standard.”

Keyonte "Kiki" Sutherland '03, P’26
Keyonte “Kiki” Sutherland ’03, P’26

“作为一名年轻运动员需要耐心, confidence, and most important dedication,萨瑟兰在专家组面前说. “有时看着我的朋友们出去玩很难受, while I was at practice, 有时感觉我“错过”了一些难忘的时刻. I can remember constantly struggling with wanting to work harder on the field or the track, 但我也希望自己有更多的时间去探索其他兴趣. I ended up not participating in any athletics during my freshman year at college, 但回到赛道上的冲动让我回到了我的团队.”

“Having teachers and coaches that constantly pushed me to be better and do better and that I knew would always catch me if I happened to fall made all the difference in my life.”

萨瑟兰分享了她对保利大学教练的回忆. “我永远不会忘记我的第一次400米比赛. I was a freshman and Coach [Bart] Moroney said something along the lines of, ‘Kiki you are going to run the 400-meter dash. 就绕着赛道跑一圈. Just follow Raquel (a senior at the time) and push through that last 100-meters of the race.’ What he forgot to tell me was that by the time I hit the 300-meter mark I would be in excruciating pain almost wanting to collapse and quit, 但说实话,如果他说了,我可能会假装胃痛. Coach Moroney made me feel like it was possible to do and be successful at any event and I would often go to him for advice and support on and off of the track. We kept in touch well after my graduation from Poly and he was always one of the first people I searched for when I returned. Having teachers and coaches that constantly pushed me to be better and do better and that I knew would always catch me if I happened to fall made all the difference in my life.”

“作为一名学生运动员,我必须学会如何管理我的时间,”萨瑟兰说. “I think being a student athlete gave me a focus that carried me from Poly to law school and beyond.”

Richard Corso
Richard Corso

Aberlin asked Charles Polizano P ' 18,技术主管,分享电影片段. 这是阿基姆的教练告诉他必须戴上“精神眼罩”的场景.” He counseled, “There is no shortcut, not in track and field, not in life—mental blinkers!阿伯林问迈勒是否需要用精神眼罩来完成这部电影. “是的,我必须非常专注. 从2016年到2018年,我没有想太多其他的事情.”

Corso, who has coached Olympic water polo teams, said, “This film really struck a chord.” He said it showed what can happen to kids “when you give young student-athletes an opportunity.”

梅勒说,展示一个“牙买加工人阶级家庭”很重要.” Earlier, Maylor had explained, “I am the first generation in America of Jamaican immigrants. Every summer and break from Poly, I found myself back in the country of my parents and it was not a home-away-from-home, it was home for me. My parents have always split time between the island and New York and are now retired here in Jamaica. As an adult, 我和爸爸会定期参加冠军锦标赛, the annual Jamaican high school track meet whose competitive atmosphere rivals the Super Bowl or NCAA March Madness. 当编剧兼导演斯托姆·索尔特分享了他对 Sprinter, I knew it was a story I was uniquely qualified to help tell and bring to audiences around the world.”

艾柏林注意到了电影中坚强的女性角色. “这对我来说并不新鲜,”萨瑟兰说. Women in the culture see opportunities to support their families and have to take them, the way Akeem’s mother did.  “这深深植根于文化结构中,”她说. “这是一个需要被讲述的故事.”

“每一位女性都被描绘成正面的形象,”梅勒补充道. 詹姆斯指出,牙买加有很多女运动员. He said his mother and grandmother were strong women who “exposed him to what college is” and kept him on a straight path. “看这部电影,我看到了女性的力量.”

A film clip screened showed Akeem suffering an ankle injury while escaping from the scammers. 梅勒指出,这场戏是由特技替身拍摄的. Even though the scammers wave guns, Maylor said, “Not a single shot gets fired” in the film.

Another film clip shows Akeem’s mother meeting up with him when he is with his fellow athletes heading to competition. She just wants to touch his face. “Why did you leave me?” Akeem asks her. “我所做的一切都是为了让你今天能在这里,”她回应道.

阿伯林问梅勒接下来要做什么. 梅勒说,他正在努力在牙买加建立一个摄影棚. He said a Sprinter TV series might be a possibility. “还有很多故事要讲,”他说.

“以开放的心态观察你周围的世界……”

迈勒分享了对保利年轻电影人的建议. “Read, journal, and observe. Read a variety of scripts and books to understand how other people tell stories and learn about worlds foreign and familiar to you. With books and movies, 记下什么对你有用,什么对你没用, 什么会引起情绪反应, and why you think this happens. Observe the world around you with an open mind… Cinema is a language of its own and only by engaging with it on its own terms are you able to become a practitioner.”


The next Poly on Film discussion event is The War and Peace of Tim O’Brien 由89岁的艾伦·马修斯执导,于4月21日上映. 这部纪录片将很快在亚马逊上播出.

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