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Listen To Me Marlon
Listen To Me Marlon
LISTEN TO ME MARLON
Written, edited and directed by
Stevan Riley
Produced by
John Battsek
Produced by
R.J. Cutler | George Chignell
Running Time: 97 mins
Press contact:
Nancy Willen
Acme PR
1016 Pier Avenue Unit 2
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Nancywillen@acmepr.net
+1 310 963 3433 phone
+13103960423 office
Listen To Me Marlon
2015 Sundance Film Festival
Press Notes Page 2
THE FILM
With exclusive access to personal archive, this is the definitive Marlon Brando
cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career as an actor and extraordinary
life away from the stage and screen; the film will fully explore the complexities of the
man by telling the story uniquely from Marlons perspective.
SYNOPSIS
Listen to Me Marlon is much less a factual recital of Brandos acting career and
personal life, than a creative odyssey into the mind and motivation of an enigma.
Like an arch hypnotist Brandos own voice lead the storytelling - there are no
interviewees, no talking heads, just Marlon guiding us into the padlocked recesses of
his own memory, and through the story of his life.
In homage to the corkscrew personality of its subject, previously unheard audio
tapes reveal witty and unexpected turns of Marlons thinking; dipping between light
and dark, humour and self-psychoanalysis.
The non-linear approach leaps and drifts back and forth in chronology to help
illustrate memorys haunting effect on the present. Visually the film conveys hypnotic
states and quixotic departures as we lose ourselves in Brandos spoken daydreams,
playful asides and confiding whispers.
As Marlon looks back on his legendary career, film clips are woven alongside
personal archive; the young Brandos electrifying looks, raw performances and
brooding charm put us entirely under his spell, leaving no doubt why he once
skyrocketed to overnight stardom. In mid-life his meteoric comeback continues to
resonate, while the reclusive exile of later years offers up rare flashes of acting
brilliance from a waning supernova. The film draws narrative parallels between
Marlons screen performances and personal life. And, as screen and real persona
become increasingly blurred, his entire life becomes the stage. Throughout, Marlon
provides a surprising range of insights from his revolutionary methodology to his
relationship with his father to his politics. What emerges is Brandos intellectual
introspection, humour and sensitivity; a man in perpetual search for moral clarity.
The films undercurrent and final note will be one of celebration, a homage to a
creative genius. The film is emotionally complex, revealing and insightful, but
ultimately playful and surprising, moving between harmonious and discordant notes
with eccentric virtuosity. Like Marlon himself.
Listen To Me Marlon
2015 Sundance Film Festival
Press Notes Page 3
It's taken me 70 years to refrain from doing things that were destructive towards me and others. And to
resolve emotional conflicts and errant social behavior since I was a child
Marlon Brando
Listen To Me Marlon
2015 Sundance Film Festival
Press Notes Page 4
Listen To Me Marlon
2015 Sundance Film Festival
Press Notes Page 5
Success took away my sanity... I searched but never found what I was looking for. Mine was a
glamorous life but completely unfulfilling.
- Marlon Brando
Listen To Me Marlon
2015 Sundance Film Festival
Press Notes Page 6
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
For Listen to Me Marlon I had the gift of exclusive access to a wealth of previously unseen
and unheard personal archive.
What struck me most was the privilege of hearing Marlons own voice his unguarded
thoughts, ramblings, asides, anecdotes. This was something so immediately engaging and
intimate. As if Marlon was at my shoulder.
For the purpose of research I went out to the States to meet as many people from Marlon's
life with whom he was close: family, friends, fellow actors; personal assistants and other
staff. Conversations with all these people were extremely valuable and gave me a deep
and rounded insight into Marlon's personality. It became clear however that Marlon's life
was quite compartmentalised and many of his relationships ended up being separate from
one another. As such I came to detect different versions of Marlon Brando which revealed
certain knotty complexities and contradictions. This made me even more determined to
give voice to the only person truly qualified to reveal Brando's soul and essence - Marlon
Brando himself.
I decided on a supremely distinct approach. Could the story of Marlons life be told entirely in
his own voice?
Marlons personal audio archive existed in countless different forms that Marlon had
meticulously assembled throughout the course of his life - family recordings and other
private conversations; extensive creative notes that he made when preparing for film roles;
endless intimations and notes to self; and even self-hypnosis tapes. We then chased down
every single interview that he'd ever given on TV and radio from sources worldwide, as well
as uncovering rare tape recordings that some print journalists had kept stowed away.
The process of piecing together Marlons voice required the patience and sensitivity of a
psychoanalyst, and I had to be nimble enough to keep pace with the tangential whims of his
creative mind. It was no small feat, made harder by the web of deception and mistruth spun
by the media and Marlon himself. Breaking everything down into a digestible form from
which to build the narrative was also monumental task and took a couple of months
alone.
Once done, it allowed me to construct separate tracks of story which run
concurrently in the film, exploring all ages of Brando - Marlon the young boy from Nebraska;
Marlon the actor; and Marlon the elderly man looking back on his life from his Mulholland
Drive retreat.
Given that the film's key construction is the perspective of Marlon Brando himself, I wanted
to craft a cinematic landscape of Marlon's own thoughts and internal dialogue. The audio is
tightly coupled to the film's visual presentation. Carefully selected archive, graphic imagery
and originally filmed material provide the palette. At times direct, other times abstract, the
intention is that the audio-visual mix draw the audience into the workings of a conflicted
mind. The passage may not always be smooth, alternating in time, space and mood to
reflect Marlon's capricious nature. Suspicion and conviction swap places as we disentangle
the knots of a supremely intelligent and eccentric mind.
Listen to Me Marlon's biggest achievement will be to pull down the mask and reveal the
truth of Marlon's soul. I sincerely hope his legacy and dying wish will be complete. I hope he
would be proud of this film.
-
Listen To Me Marlon
2015 Sundance Film Festival
Press Notes Page 7
PRODUCER'S STATEMENT
When I first started trying to put the film together I went straight to Showtime as I
knew they had had some interest in Marlon a while back. From the very first meeting
they were completely reengaged with the subject and the potential of being involved
in making the film.
Once we had agreed to actually make the film together Showtime were incredibly
supportive and collaborative. Specifically they immediately bought into our ambition
to try to do something bold and original and when that developed into the idea that
the film be entirely in marlons voice they didnt bat an eyelid. They just went for it
with us giving us full support and license to do whatever we felt was necessary in
order to try to make this approach work.
They were incredibly patient with us because the nature of making this film meant
that we werent able show anything at all for much longer than would normally be the
case. It gave all of us on the production side such confidence in what we were trying
to do to have the constant support from the team at Showtime, because the way we
made the film was something of a leap into the dark for us all and to know that
people with their experiences and skills were backing us all the way was a huge
support and boost.
Once we were able to show them the film coming together, happily they were as
excited as we were by what they were seeing and the process of discussing the film
and working through their notes was always a very gentle and positive one.
Ultimately Showtime have proved to be a really wonderful partner tohave on this film,
they have from day one helped us follow through on our original ambition and vision
for the film and we look forward to enjoying the life of this film with them and hope to
make more films in collaboration with them too.
-
Listen To Me Marlon
2015 Sundance Film Festival
Press Notes Page 8
FILM TEAM:
Writer, editor & director STEVEN RILEY
Stevan's first film, Rave Against the Machine (Channel 4), uncovered the story of
musical youth in war-torn Sarajevo, was awarded at nine international festivals. Riley
shot and edited his second film, feature documentary Blue Blood (Warner Bros)
which was released in UK cinemas to widespread critical acclaim, featuring in the
UK's top 20 best reviewed films of 2008.
Stevan went on to direct Fire in Babylon which charts the glorious supremacy of the
West Indies cricket team through the 70s and 80s. 'Fire in Babylon' won a Grierson
award for Best Historical Documentary as well as a nomination for Best
Documentary at the British Independent Film Awards. It also won the UNESCO
Award for best feature documentary; Durban Film Festival Audience Award; the
Jamaica Film Academy Award for Outstanding international film; and the UK Focal
Award for best use of footage in a cinema release. BBC film guru, Barry Norman,
listed it in his Top 10 Sports Films of all time.
Stevan recently directed the first ever cinema documentary on the James Bond
phenomenon Everything or Nothing (MGM/UA). Featuring candid interviews from
the key film makers; Bond stars and President Bill Clinton, it dramatically tracks the
twisting saga of how Bond has survived 50 years. Everything or Nothing was a
critical success and has since led to Stevan directing a feature documentary on
Marlon Brando for NBC Universal for 2014. Listen to Me Marlon is the second
feature documentary Stevan has written, edited and directed.
Producer JOHN BATTSEK
John Battsek is one of the most prolific feature documentary production companies
in the industry. From conceiving and producing Academy Award-winning One Day in
September in 1999, Battsek has since been involved in over thirty high profile
documentaries, including: Searching for Sugar Man (Academy Award winner
2013); The Imposter (BAFTA winner 2013); Restrepo (Academy Award nominated
2011); Sergio (Academy Award shortlisted 2010) and The Tillman Story (Academy
Award shortlisted 2011). In 2014, Battsek and Passion Pictures had four films
premiere at the Sundance Film Festival including The Green Prince which opened
the festival and went on to win the Audience Award. In the same year, The Great
Invisible won the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW. In 2015, Passion launched three new
films at the Sundance Film Festival - the companys ninth successive year launching
new films at the prestigious festival. The titles are: Stevan Rileys Listen to Me
Marlon - the definitive Brando cinema documentary uniquely told from his own
perspective; Ilinca Calugareanus Chuck Norris Vs Communism a film about the
underground video phenomenon during Ceaucescus communist regime, and
Douglas Tirolas riotous Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead the National Lampoon
Story. Battsek has been nominated three times for a PGA Award and was the
recipient of 2013 prestigious Grierson Trustees Award for Outstanding Contribution
to Documentary.
Listen To Me Marlon
2015 Sundance Film Festival
Press Notes Page 9
Listen To Me Marlon
2015 Sundance Film Festival
Press Notes Page 10
SHOWTIME
presents
LISTEN TO ME MARLON
A PASSION PICTURES PRODUCTION
A STEVAN RILEY FILM
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ROLLER CREDITS
Associate Producer
Olivia Percival
Associate Editor
Peter Ettedgui
1st Edit Assistant
Jeanna Mortimer
Art Department
Art Director
Rebecca Milton
Props Buyer
Eddie Hecht
Standby Props
Philip Bull
Graphic Designer
Joshua Douglas-Bagley
Tech Support
Tim Sargent
Art Department Assistants
Katerina Michail
Nigel Selby
Set Construction
Philip Barber
Set Painter
Paul O'Neill
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Carpenters
David Sawyer
Jerrard Moore
Jon Boylan
John Jefferies
Props provided by
Superhire
Mr & Mrs Allen Levy
VISUAL EFFECTS
Original VFX
Technical Director/VFX Supervisor
Scott Billups
Technical Artist
Jon Greenhalgh
Cyberware Engineer
David Addleman
Cyberware Operator
Stephen Addleman
CG Production Company
Passion Pictures
CG Executive Producer
Alex Webster
VFX Supervisor
Neil Riley
Head of CG
Jason Nicolas
Head of CG Production
Ryan Goodwin-Smith
CG Supervisor
Christian Mills
SFX Supervisor
Jamie Franks
CG Producer
Mariano Melman
Kate Goodwin
CG Production Co-Ordinator
Suzanne Forward
CG Modelling
Alex Huget
Mattias Bjurstrom
CG Rigging
Morgan Evans
Lead Animator
Wesley Coman
Animators
Aldo Gagliardi
Chris Welsby
Lighting / Rendering
Dan Adams
CG Editor
Anne Monnehay
CG Production Assistant
Kingsley Bailey
Performer
Robert Ashby
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Special thanks to
Susan Mizruchi
The Godfather
The Men
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Bedtime Story
A Countess from Hong Kong
The Night of the Following Day
Taza Son of Cochise
Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLC
ARCHIVE
ABC News
Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
AP Archive
BuyoutFootage
Clips and Footage
Robert Donnolla
Mike Dunham-Wilkie
ESPN
Footage Farm
Getty Images
Larry Grobel
ITN Source
Kevin McCarthy courtesy of The Winfield Works, Inc
Maysle Films, Inc.
Net-Film
Oddball Film and TV
Passion Planet
Prelinger Archive
The Charles Rossi Collection, courtesy of Emily Rossi-Snook
and Elena Rossi-Snook
The Ed Sullivan Show courtesy of Sofa Entertainmen
T3Media
J. Willard Marriot Library, University of Utah
The Dick Cavett Show courtesy of Daphne Productions / Global Works Images
Ella's Archive
Film Images
Gaumont Pathe
The Gilman Estate/Michael Gilman
INA
Kino Library
Thomas Mumey
NBCUniversal Archives
NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)
The Great Plains Motion Picture Co
Pond5
Susan Salerno/Skip E Lowe
Seduced and Abandoned LLC
Harry Ransom Centre/University of Texas
Unitel GmbH
The WPA Film Library
White Rabbit Films
STILLS
Alamy
Bruce Ballenger
Emilie Blincoe
Corbis Images
Serge Kakou
The Gordon Parks Foundation
The Lisette Model Foundation
Image Collect
Milton Greene/The Archives LLC
Mary Ellen Mark
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The National Gallery of Canada
Nat'l Geographic Cartographic Division/National Geographic
Creative
Press Association Images
Photofest Inc
Richard Avedon
Walker Evans - Scala, Florence
Art Shay
Topham Picturepoint
Bob Willoughby
AP Images
Sid Avery
Howard Bingham
Carol Cheh
Edward Quinn
Getty Images
The Granger Collection
Graeme Mitchell
The Saul Leiter Foundation
Kobal
MPTV
Mirrorpix
Luis Marden/National Geographic Creative
Timothy Perisho
Philippe Halsman/Halsman Archive
Rex Features
The Ronald Grant Archive
Shaw Family Archives
Steve Schapiro
John Swope Trust
Time Life Inc
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POST PRODUCTION
2nd Edit Assistants
Joshua Fairbairn
Ed Harber
Chris Gent
Post Production Facilities
Molinare TV & Film Ltd, London
Matt James
DI Co-Ordinator
Theresa Crooks
DI Conform Editors
Tim Drewett
Michelle Cort
Steve Owen
Tom Cairns
Johnathan Dickinson
Lizzie Newsham
Data Co-Ordinator
Mike Andrews
Data I/O Manager
Dave Kent
Re-Recording Mixer
George Foulgham
Assistant Re-Recording Mixer
Nas Parkash
Dialogue Editor
Claire Ellis
Sound Effects Editor
Tom Foster
Supervising Sound Editor
George Foulgham
Music Editor
Nas Parkash
Voice Over Artist
Regina Reagan
Additional graphics
Emma Thornton-Grant
Transcription Services (UK)
Bye Jones Productions
Production Accountant
Anne Davin, 101 Film and Television Accountants
Nyman, Libson, Paul
Production Insurance
Natasha Boyd, Media Insurance Brokers
Completion Guarantor
Film Finances
Ruth Hodgson
James Shirras
Tatiana Wait
Filmed on location at
West London Film Studios
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MUSIC
INFRA 1
Performed by Max Richter, Louisa Fuller, Natalia Bonner,
Nick Carr, Ian Burdge
and Chris Worsey
Written by Max Richter
Published by Mute Song Limited
Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon
Under licence from Universal Music Operations Ltd
SHOOTING
Performed by Stefan Wesolowski
Written by Stefan Wesolowski
Published by Mute Song Limited
Licensed courtesy of Stefan Wesolowski
INFRA 2
Performed by Max Richter, Louisa Fuller, Natalia Bonner, Nick Carr, Ian Burdge
INFRA 3
Performed by Max Richter
INFRA 4
Performed by Max Richter, Louisa Fuller, Natalia Bonner, Nick Barr, Ian Burdge
SLEEPER
Performed by Eluvium
OFTEN A BIRD
LORETTO
Performed by Rachel Grimes
Written by Rachel Grimes
Published by Mossgrove Music
Licensed courtesy of Metisse Music
A WOMAN IN LOVE
Performed by Marlon Brando
Written by Frank Loesser
Courtesy of Frank Music Corp. (ASCAP)
Licensed courtesy of The Samuel Goldwyn Jnr Family Trust
ARCADE
Performed by lafur Arnalds
SARAJEVO
Performed by Max Richter
THE TREES
Performed by Max Richter, Tilda Swinton, Louisa Fuller,
Natalie Bonner, John Metcalfe, Philip Sheppard and Chris
Worsey
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UNA MATTINA
Performed by Ludovico Einaudi
OLTREMARE
SPRING 01
Performed by Max Richter, Daniel Hope, Kozerthaus
Kammerorchester Berliner
and Andre De Ridder
KIDNAP
FYRSTA
Performed by lafur Arnalds
Written by lafur Arnalds
Published by Nettwerk One Music Ltd
Licensed courtesy of Erased Tapes Records
NEW BEGINNING
Performed by Deaf Center
Written by Erik K Skodvin & Otto A Totland
Published by Copyright Control
Licensed courtesy of Type Recordings
BLOODROOT
Performed by Rachel Grimes
Written by Rachel Grimes
Published by Mossgrove Music
Licensed courtesy of Metisse Music
JYAKU
Performed by Ryuichi Sakamoto + Taylor Deupree
Written by Ryuichi Sakamoto & Taylor Deupree
Published by Sony/ATV Tunes LLC & 12k Music / Touch Tones Music Ltd
Licensed courtesy of 12k
MURDER
SINGLE CARD
A PASSION PICTURES PRODUCTION
LOGO
PASSION PICTURES MOVING LOGO
SHOWTIME SECOND MOVING LOGO
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Listen To Me Marlon
2015 Sundance Film Festival
Press Notes Page 17
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