Director calls 'Lovers' a more honest drama about affairs

<h3 class="briefHead">Why 'Lovers' director bans cellphones on set</h3>

Writer/director Azazel Jacobs' "The Lovers" provides sharp, poignant insights into why both members of a middle-aged married couple (Debra Winger and Tracy Letts) are engaged in affairs. The strong, well-acted drama expands to suburban theaters this weekend. I hit Jacobs with five questions during a recent visit to Chicago.

<b>Q.</b> Why did you ban cellphones from the set of "The Lovers"?

<b>A.</b> It came from my own experience on the set, calling "Cut!" and seeing everyone's head, including mine, go straight down into their phones. It wasn't really a ban. I was asking the crew, who've I've been with for a long time, just to put phones aside while we're on set, just with the hopes that it would keep the energy in the room.

I found it frustrating and I found it depressing that the minute we stop shooting, everybody goes back into their own lives. It felt like there was something going on that was better than what we were actually doing.

<b>Q.</b> What inspired you to think of this no-phones policy?

<b>A.</b> I carried around the idea for this film for a while. But it wasn't until I found a coffee shop that didn't have internet that I was able to finally sit down and write it all. I was able to do it by taking these four-hour breaks from having the world at my fingertips.

<b>Q.</b> You start "The Lovers" by throwing us into the middle of a domestic spat, and trust us to catch up on the back story as we go. Isn't that risky?

<b>A.</b> This film sort of comes from other movies in a lot of ways. So I was able to use that as shorthand. The audience that I'm hoping to attract needs to come toward me a bit. The right audience for this movie would be hungry for that. With the actors I have, I could fully take advantage of a lot of stuff being said between the characters without it being said out loud.

<b>Q.</b> You're 44, been married 22 years, and have parents who've been married for 60 years. Where did you get the empathy necessary to understand adultery so well?

<b>A.</b> I've always thought that most movies treated affairs not truthfully. I liked the idea that this movie starts where those movies end, at the point where the affairs become more work than the relationship you were escaping from. I think this is a more honest way of seeing it.

Tracy told me something interesting, that people have affairs to make themselves feel better. You might feel mesmerized by the other person, even loved, but in reality, it's more about how you are feeling, much more so than the other person.

<h3 class="briefHead">Barrington Area Local Film Fest opens for biz</h3>

The historic Catlow Theater hosts the Barrington Area Local Film Fest starting at noon on Saturday, May 20, at the theater, 116 W. Main St., Barrington. The fest hosts movie shorts (30 minutes or less) made by local filmmakers.

Tickets cost $6 and can be purchased at Boloney's (next door) and the Catlow Theater or through thecatlow.com.

Top prize of $500 will be awarded to the best entry, decided by three judges, one of whom will be your friendly neighborhood movie critic. We'll also award $250 for second place.

<h3 class="briefHead">A sensory-friendly 'Wimpy Kid'</h3>

A sensory-friendly screening of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul" will be shown at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 20, at the Paragon Theater, 53 S. Evergreen Ave., Arlington Heights. The music will be at a lower volume, and the lights will be on for this showing. Go to paragontheaters.com for info.

<h3 class="briefHead">Smokey's on the flip-flop good buddy, 10-4!</h3>

It's the 40th anniversary of Hal Needham's high-speed action comedy "Smokey and the Bandit," racing into select theaters at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on both Sunday, May 21, and Wednesday, May 24. Go to FathomEvents.com for theaters and tickets.

"Smokey" stars Burt Reynolds (the nation's biggest box office star back in the day) as the Bandit with country singer Jerry Reed as sidekick Cledus "Snowman" Snow, Jackie Gleason as Sheriff Justice, and eventual Oscar-winning actress Sally Field as the obligatory romantic interest.

"Smokey and the Bandit" became the second-highest-grossing film of 1977. First place? A little sci-fi fantasy thing, "Star Wars."

<i> Dann Gire's column runs Friday in Time out!</i>