TSS Presents 15 Minutes With The Directors Of Rock The Bells Denis Henry Hennelly & Casey Suchan

"Fifteen Minutes With..."    By Gotty™ on April 18, 2007 at 4:37 am

TSS Crew member Ian M. sat down with Casey Suchan and Denis Henry Hennelly – directors of Beef I and II – and the new release Rock the Bells about one man’s Herculean attempt to organize a hip hop festival and reunite Wu-Tang for one show. The duo discuss hip hop documentary, controlling a hip hop riot, and trying to create the first great live hip hop documentary. A good read for any aspiring filmmaker or concert promoter.

TSS: How did this project come to be? How did you become aware of it? What was your initial draw?

Denis: We left QD3 and were looking to do something on our own for our company Open Road Films. We were looking for something related to hip hop because that is where our experience was. We were looking for something about the culture, not historical like our past work. Something that we could start off with and something that would be a punctuation mark. We wanted it to be contemporary, in-the-moment, visceral, more cinema verite. Rock the Bells summaries my understanding of hip hop culture.

We saw Rock the Bells and the variety of acts on the list, and thought it’s a really weird bill – from Sage Francis to Redman to Wu-Tang. We knew Chang [Weisberg] a bit because he manages Supernatural – who was in the Beef films. We called up Chang at Guerilla Union and said we wanted to meet about documenting the show. He was also thinking about doing something film related about putting on a show, but this was more about a behind the scenes take that was more interesting to us. We started shooting for 3 weeks. We shot with 20 cameras on the day of the event documenting what it took to put it together and the building up to that moment.

Casey: We feel like there hasn’t’ been a great hip hop concert film. When you go to a great hip hop show there is a feeling, an energy between what is happening on stage, there is an amazing connection we wanted to capture. We wanted a film that spoke to that and make you aware of who is involved. Show these people involved as characters, so you can have context was to what is happening so that when you see a performance, suddenly you are really invested in the characters.

TSS: What was the methodology here?

Casey: First thing is to decide what kind of movie you want to. We thought of films we like: Some Kind of Monster, Woodstock, I’m Trying to Break Your Heart. The camera people disappear and you get a fly on the wall perspective about process the subjects forget about you. We had camera people in and out of the office for a week. On the day of the show we hired people some we found online, some we knew. We shot on a Panasonic 100AG-DVX . It’s an affordable camera, we found cameramen who owned the them and had a meeting with them about what we were trying to make. We were interested in being on stage with those people. Communicating what you are trying to make to the audience. We didn’t want the artists talking to the camera, but to see the artists as real people, not hip hop celebrity. You see Redman being a father, you see Supernatural as a father.

Denis: The main thing is that documentaries are written in the editing room. There is being clear about the movie and choosing the subject. You have no control over what happens then you spend a year and half trying to make sense of what happened that is truthful and is balanced. That is difficult in a way that ties into universal storytelling that people expect and then being honest about what happened. With 200 hours of footage there is 5-6 different movies to make and we had different versions.

TSS: There are a few types of documentaries. Some are historical and some document an event as it unfurls. Rock the Bells is the latter. What are the main differences from a directorial perspective (you did Beef series) and is there any worry that since you can’t control the outcome it may not make for good film?

Casey: I didn’t have anxiety over whether it would be a good film. If you make your choices in the beginning and you choose to point the camera at something interesting it will turn out fine. After meeting Chang and Guerilla Union for the first day we knew these guys are interesting and the phones were ringing and there were knocks at the door and the pace was so fast. You knew it was going to be interesting. As far as the show, we didn’t know if Wu would show up. We tried to raise money for the film beforehand and we couldn’t get people to commit because they would be like “What if Wu-Tang doesn’t even show up?” The film is about one guy who believed he could do it when people didn’t think it was possible. It didn’t matter if they showed. You don’t know how it is going to end, you have to let go and freestyle, and that’s hip hop. Chang had to freestyle and as filmmaker we did too.

TSS: I am reading Jeff Chang’s new book Total Chaos… and it is about defining a hip-hop aesthetic and all the different forms that make hip hop. It doesn’t mention – at least not yet for me – documentary. Where does documentary film fit into hip hop culture?

Denis: Documentary is both and art and reportage. Part is journalism, part is art. The culture is so young as far as historical films I don’t think you could have done much before we started doing it. Welcome to Death Row was a good film about that company and there have been some great ones. There is a lot of drama on the surface of hip hop and there is a lot of subtext that makes it a wealthy untapped field for nonfiction exploration. There has not been enough examination. There is too much tendency to talk to the camera and the mainstream has made it exploitative. We try not to fall into this trap.

Casey: In hip hop you can’t bullshit. That’s what I learned. As someone who makes these films you can’t lie, you have to be honest. There is a demand for this. Both from the artists, and the purveyor. T hat is why Wu is an icon – because they spoke the truth. As far as documentary there is a respect and desire for the truth. Documentaries do well in hip hop for that reason…they keep it real. You can’t talk shit.

Denis: There is a lot of ego in hip hop just like in any celebrity market. There is plenty in hip hop, people like to seen in a certain way that is the enemy of hip hop documentary. We were clear with Chang that we need to see you not look good sometimes. Unless you see people in human moments, not making mistakes that will be fucking boring and that is what shit is. People would be like ‘I don’t look good there’, but that’s what real people look like.

TSS: From the trailer it looked like chaos was prevailing over cooler heads. What did you learn about mob mentality or human nature?

Denis: It was a day long event and the gates opened at four. They had one entrance to the venue and security was patting down people down. By seven there were three or four thousand people who had been waiting for hours. People who showed up early were still waiting and had bought tickets in advance. That created chaos. There was an hour and half after Redman and before Wu-Tang. The people waited. It was tense and scary because you have 10,000 in an airplane hangar that was 105 degrees. You have that many people with that much emotion and years of buildup for this group. I think everyone was calm in one way, at the same time it was scary and dangerous.

Casey: Sway and Tech and others were on stage in that time trying to keep crowd occupied and engaged. That is the connection. You want to engage people. That is what Chang does when he goes to gate. He tries to interact personally with people and calm them down. That is what was happening on stage, they took away sense of abandonment the crowd was feeling.

TSS: What is the broad message in this film?

Denis: Live performance still matters.

Casey: Why does it? You know without seeing the film, this is a way to spark this conversation. It is important to have communication.. That is what you see happen. Communication on what is happening on and behind stage. Chang has a quote about all these different parts that come together for one moment. There are plenty of themes: Change and his team were three or four people trying to pull off this immense endeavor and don’t have the resources and lacked experience. He refinanced his house and had his mom do sales. He had blind faith and believed in it and kept pursing it in a non-traditional and anti-corporate way. If show would have been shut down there would have been a riot. Chang personally engaged the crowd to calm down. There was a moment where he may have stopped a riot. Part of message is about communication here and personal communication and that is something we have moved away from as a culture. This is alive in underground hip hop.

For more info, visit www.rockthebellsmovie.com.

As and added bonus, if you’re in the NYC area, we’ve got TWO TICKETS to tonite’s showing of the movie @ the Pioneer Theater. Free tonite & want to see it?

The.Smoking.Section.Contests@gmail.com and you and a friend can be there.

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