ORDINARY ANGELS PODCAST
When life blankets you in a snowstorm of challenges, sometimes the warmest embrace comes from an unexpected hero. We're rolling out the red carpet for a film that's a true testament to the human spirit, "Ordinary Angels," starring Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry, Million Dollar Baby) and Alan Ritchson (Reacher, Fast X). In a narrative steeped in the genuine kindness of community, we unpack the essence of everyday heroism and its profound impact on a widowed father and his daughter's battle for health. With the cast delivering performances that resonate with authenticity, we explore the emotional landscape of the story, one that mirrors a blizzard in Kentucky, providing a backdrop for a tale of familial love and determination.
A conversation with the stars themselves, Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson, along with insights from Tamala Jones as the heartwarming Rose, unveils the depth of the characters and their connections. This episode transcends the film's narrative, amplifying the voice of a community rallying together and the strength found in unity. Weaving through the emotions and relationships that shape the story, we celebrate the performances that contribute to this touching drama, while shedding light on the profound themes that challenge the typical Hollywood love interest archetype and showcase the diverse faces of human interaction.
Films have the power to stir our souls, spark debate, and unite us in ways only stories can. "Ordinary Angels" is one such film, igniting discussions on compassion, second chances, and the undeniable power of coming together for the greater good. As we wrap up our cinematic tour, we invite you to join the conversation and reflect on the inspiring tales of hope that surround us, urging us to become the ordinary angels in our own communities. So tune in, get inspired, and let's celebrate cinema's unparalleled capability to foster optimism and motivate collective action.
ORDINARY ANGELS PODCAST
When life blankets you in a snowstorm of challenges, sometimes the warmest embrace comes from an unexpected hero. We're rolling out the red carpet for a film that's a true testament to the human spirit, "Ordinary Angels," starring Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry, Million Dollar Baby) and Alan Ritchson (Reacher, Fast X). In a narrative steeped in the genuine kindness of community, we unpack the essence of everyday heroism and its profound impact on a widowed father and his daughter's battle for health. With the cast delivering performances that resonate with authenticity, we explore the emotional landscape of the story, one that mirrors a blizzard in Kentucky, providing a backdrop for a tale of familial love and determination.
A conversation with the stars themselves, Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson, along with insights from Tamala Jones as the heartwarming Rose, unveils the depth of the characters and their connections. This episode transcends the film's narrative, amplifying the voice of a community rallying together and the strength found in unity. Weaving through the emotions and relationships that shape the story, we celebrate the performances that contribute to this touching drama, while shedding light on the profound themes that challenge the typical Hollywood love interest archetype and showcase the diverse faces of human interaction.
Films have the power to stir our souls, spark debate, and unite us in ways only stories can. "Ordinary Angels" is one such film, igniting discussions on compassion, second chances, and the undeniable power of coming together for the greater good. As we wrap up our cinematic tour, we invite you to join the conversation and reflect on the inspiring tales of hope that surround us, urging us to become the ordinary angels in our own communities. So tune in, get inspired, and let's celebrate cinema's unparalleled capability to foster optimism and motivate collective action.
Because we now have the Cinema Judge. Hello, hello, hello and welcome to the Cinema Judge. I hope my voice finds you well. To all my regular listeners out there, welcome back and if you're new to the show, welcome aboard. Approaching the bench today we have ordinary angels. Here's a tagline inspired by the incredible true story of a hairdresser who saw the single-handedly rallies an entire community to help a whittled father save the life of his critically ill young daughter. In this movie stars Hillary Swank and Alan Richardson, and if you don't know who Alan is, he plays Reacher, an incredible show that you really should watch. You haven't seen it yet? Check out Reacher, but here's a trailer for Ordinary Angels.
Speaker 2:My name is Sharon. I'm just a ticked off hairdresser with a wooden headache. I'm good at plenty of things. Taking no for an answer ain't one of them.
Speaker 3:You just wandered into a lady you never met before as funeral. Why exactly Something about that?
Speaker 2:Little girl. It's just five and she already needs a liver transplant. Hi, sharon, remember me? Yes, ma'am, so she's gonna help out if you're not so weak.
Speaker 4:I met this woman. She's a mess. Perfect, she'll fit right in.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna put together a press kit for Michelle. Get corporate donations, that kind of thing.
Speaker 4:We don't need to be running around worrying about money and bills right now. I just want to be with my family.
Speaker 2:It's about saying yes and then figuring out how Girls help your daddy out.
Speaker 4:I'm not comfortable with this. I'm her father. I'm supposed to be the one taking care of her.
Speaker 2:You're gonna have to get comfortable being uncomfortable, because this ain't about you, it's about your little girl. Michelle will need to fly to the children's hospital immediately.
Speaker 6:I've had patients who have missed that window because they couldn't get a flight.
Speaker 1:Don't lose your faith over this.
Speaker 7:Officials are saying be prepared for what they're calling the worst blizzard in state history.
Speaker 4:Is it today? Okay, we'll be there. We want to go on an adventure, yeah.
Speaker 6:That's too good.
Speaker 3:The roads haven't been plowed, the airports closed. Honey, listen, it's too dangerous.
Speaker 4:I have to make it. This is our last chance. If we don't take it, michelle dies. Someone's gotta do something, someone's gotta five-four.
Speaker 2:So one thing I know for sure, that little girl is gonna be there. She's gonna be there. She's gonna be there. She's gonna be there. She's gonna be there. She's gonna be there, she's gonna be there.
Speaker 3:She's gonna be there. She's gonna be there. That little girl now has the entire city rooting for her story.
Speaker 1:But sometimes you wonder what is true, what isn't, because we know in every movie they have to take creative license and that's. We all understand that. Later on in the show they're gonna reveal something I won't tell you now. You gotta wait, of course that there's this one part where you'd expect them to go one way, which most movies do, you know. Okay, now, that's fine, that's how it has to be. But they actually follow the true life situation of what happened in the situation, and I really like the casting in this movie from Hillary and Alan.
Speaker 1:You wouldn't think at first blush that those two would match up in this kind of movie, but they both have incredible performances. Hillary, no matter what she does, she is top-notch, and what I like about her career is powerful. It's insanely rich of great work, but she's quiet about it. She's not one of those kind of actors. They go out there and just screams and yells and look at me, look at me, look at me. She lets her work speak for herself. She just quietly goes along doing good projects time and time again, not out there creating all kinds of noise, for lack of a better word, and having Alan in this.
Speaker 1:I really love that choice because later on you can hear them talk about that too that they might think, whoa, this guy plays reach her. He's a, he kicks butt and he's in a wild, crazy TV show. But he's an actor and that's what I like about these kind of things they take a chance on somebody. They just don't stick them into a stereotype of, okay, he could kick butt, that's what only kind of movies you know he can make. No, the guy has chops, he knows what he's doing. So I really dig that. They took a chance on both these people and put them together to play real-life characters. Now, coming up first, we're gonna hear from the director in a couple of interviews. He's gonna talk about the title and he talks about researching the story and honoring those people who are real-life people. Here's a director John.
Speaker 6:Gunn, yeah, so when the project came to me it was called Angels and I was looking for a descriptive word to make that more specific and I really liked this idea that this is a story about ordinary people, broken, messy, struggling people in pain, working through their own problems, helping each other and often, you know you people like to talk about how we can all be angels for each other, and so I like that idea of just ordinary people fighting through difficult circumstances, helping each other and healing themselves in the process. So ordinary angels seemed like a sort of more specific and fun title for this particular story. I had never heard of it but you know, I did some research on it right away, of course, and there's a lot of news coverage of what was the worst blizzard in Kentucky history and this incredible true story of this family trying to save their daughter in the midst of that storm. So I was really, really compelled by that and by the the heart and soul of it, that it's a family story, that it's a father fighting to save his daughter and I have a daughter myself, so I really connected with the heart and soul of the thing and then also just this very colorful and dynamic character of Sharon. You know she's so much fun and she's you know she's a spectacular character I think to to portray and to watch, and so I was excited about that opportunity.
Speaker 6:As I was looking at the true story and looking at the real people, I feel like there's a responsibility and obligation to tell their story in a way that honors their life and because I've done a number of true stories, I take that responsibility very seriously. But I felt like at the heart of it it was a story about healing and I really liked that it was. It's a story about how helping other people is often how we heal ourselves, and I thought that was a great message to share with the world these days, because it's a movie that shows a community coming together to help somebody they don't know and in these very divisive times, I think that's a really beautiful message to share and because it's a true story, it's that much more powerful.
Speaker 1:Now you might be asking yourself what else has John Gunn done? Well, he's done a lot. He produced the 2015 film, the Week, and he directed a 2009 film like Danilion Dust. He also produced the 2004 film, my Date with True, and also most recently, he produced American Underdog in 2021. We actually did a podcast on that a while back.
Speaker 1:But coming up next we have a feature at it and, if most of you know, in these featureettes the studios they send me this pre packaged mini commercial with interviews, clips from the movie on a set footage, things of that nature, and at the end of this show I'm going to give you a website in case you want to watch the TV show, so you can watch this feature at interviews Also, you get to see what's going on in that little feature at, and I'll give you that at the end of the show. But this one primarily just talks about the story and you're going to hear from a lot of people involved in this film. In the order that they come out, first will be Hillary Swank, alan Richardson, tamela Jones, john Gunn, john Irwin, dave Stone, kevin Downs and then after that they'll repeat some of those later on in more of the interviews, but just so you get to know what their voices sound like. Then you know who's coming up next. So that feature yet is coming up right now.
Speaker 8:I think Ordinary Angels is the perfect film to follow Jesus' Revolution. Jesus' Revolution is a film about spiritual awakening and revival. Ordinary Angels is about how can we become known as Christians by how we love people in our communities.
Speaker 5:I actually got to be there when the helicopter took off and be a part of the shoveling of that parking lot. It's pretty amazing to see it now on a big screen.
Speaker 9:What inspires me the most is how this community really rallied together. When a community puts their mind to it, anything can happen.
Speaker 8:Sometimes the people that do the greatest work are the most unlikely heroes. Sharon, who portrays so well, was that unlikely hero.
Speaker 2:I wish there were more movies like this. I completely believe that angels are amongst all of us.
Speaker 4:The broken toys of the world have the power to change us, to heal us, to help us.
Speaker 6:This is a story about ordinary people broken, messy, struggling people, helping each other.
Speaker 3:It's just a feel-good movie based on a true story, so it should really touch home.
Speaker 5:Sharon was a uniter and on that day she brought a community together and it made a big difference.
Speaker 9:This is the story of an ordinary woman who does an extraordinary thing to be able to impact and change people. It's a nail-biter.
Speaker 8:it's a race against time, but what I love about it is this church and this group of friends pulled their sitting together to save a life, because we can all be an ordinary angel in our community.
Speaker 4:You're not just worthy Sharon, You're a miracle.
Speaker 3:How did it become your responsibility to save her? Because I'm here, because I can.
Speaker 1:So what do you guys think? Sound like something you want to see, Even if you don't see the theater? Do you think it's something you'll see on demand? That's what we do this show for. You just never know what you might find. You might find that little gem that you might say, hey, I never knew this movie existed, I'll give it a whirl.
Speaker 1:Well, coming up next we're going to hear from Hilary Swank, and she just covers a myriad of things from the character, the inspiring of the story and just playing somebody real. And let me just give you a little heads up here too In that future. You heard little blips of interviews. Well, later on in the show coming up next from Hilary Swank, some of those little blips. You're going to hear the full version of that interview here. So it would be a smidgen overlay of redundancy, but I think you understand that of why, and now you get the full feel of that said interview and it's going to be that way throughout the show too. You're going to hear other interviews from other people that had that snippet, and you already know how this works and you already know how that plays.
Speaker 1:I just want to let you know in advance and if I haven't said it enough, Hilary Swank, could you imagine sitting down with this woman and having a conversation, the story she could tell, and I think she'd be just totally cool with it. She would be sitting there going I can't talk to you about that or no, I'm an actua. I think she's down to earth and she could talk to anybody. Again, I can be way wrong. I'm a guy sitting here in my basement talking about movies. So I don't know any of these people or what they're like, but in my mind's eye, I always tell myself I think, Hilary Swank, I bet she's so cool to talk to. And again, the stories, the information, the experience that she's had, and she's humble about it. Well, final for yourself, here's an interview with Hilary Swank.
Speaker 2:I certainly love a real life character, especially when it's like almost stranger and more beautiful than fiction. You know, a lot of the roles that I've played and chosen to play fall into that category, and Sharon is definitely one of them. I mean just to think that what she gave from her heart and just like the work ethic that she had to get to the finish line, is so inspiring. And I also loved the characters. I loved everybody, everyone involved, and how well written they were. And, you know, every single character brought something to the way I was feeling. I could see their points of view. But I also just like I said was before I was just taken by the fact that an ordinary person going through life just found that grace in their heart to want to help another human.
Speaker 2:I just find that, especially right now nowadays, with all that we're seeing in the news and a lot of well, a lot of stuff that is upsetting to see, this goodness that's out there and happening as well just really really spoke to me. Sharon walks into the life of these unknowing human beings who are going through a crisis and a very difficult and sad time. They don't know what the future is going to hold and she walks in through her heartstrings, getting pulled by seeing an article in the newspaper, and she just kind of shows up and kind of says I've been called to do something to help these people. And then she walks and she doesn't leave until she does what her heart is asking her to do.
Speaker 1:That's a classic act right Now coming up. Next we're going to hear from the very talented Alan Richardson, who plays Ed, and this is just a great interview. I love his honesty. I love what he talks about, what we talked about earlier. These kind of roles don't come across my desk much, just hearing somebody say that he's like, wow, this is great, that this kind of role I know I could do and now I have this opportunity. But then he also talks about the story and it's just a really solid interview.
Speaker 4:This story never come across my world, of course, having read the script. The script is so. There's so much drama in the script that you're like this can't be real. This is like like if somebody's trying to create the craziest, most dramatic, painful story in the world. This is maybe what you try and come up with, and I was shocked to find out that this is not only a true story, but that in all actuality, this man lost his wife, he lost one daughter and then he had to fight to keep his other daughter alive. You know, what I love about the story is that it's one of the rare love stories that's completely platonic. I mean, there's nothing sexual about this relationship. It's just a beautiful story of people helping each other because it's the right thing to do. And, as painful as it is to watch the drama unfold, at the end of the day I think it's one of the most redemptive stories that there is just watching an entire community rally around this little girl to try and save her.
Speaker 1:For the producers and makers of this film, getting these two famous great actors to play in this film from Alan Richardson and Hillary Swink those are two major gets. To get somebody on that level to be in this kind of film, that's a big deal. So, coming up next, we're going to hear from several people talking about Hillary Swink, not just about getting her to play this role, but what she brings to it. First we're going to hear from the director, john Gunn, then executive producer, rick Baker, and then we're going to hear from Hillary Swink talking about the character, sharon, that she plays, the real life person. And then we're going to hear a little bit more from the director talking a little bit more about Hillary, and then we're going to hear from Kevin Downs, the producer.
Speaker 6:I was so excited about Hillary Swink. You know you get your hopes up when you're in the casting process and you know when her name came up and when I heard that she was possibly interested, I was kind of holding my breath, hoping it would all happen. I have genuinely been such a big fan of hers for so long. A million dollar baby is a movie that I've seen many times and really love and the gift and boys don't cry. A lot of her work that I'd seen and some of her earlier films that aren't as well known that where she's very funny and she's very always honest and complex, and so Sharon needed to be someone who could be funny and strange and beautiful and sad and all of those things together, and I said that to her right away. I was like I've seen all of these notes and flavors and tones in your work, but not all in the same role.
Speaker 7:I was really floored when Hillary Swink got the you know agreed to play the part because she's got the acting chops to do it. You know she's won an Academy Award for good reasons. Everything she's done has been done with tremendous range, you know, and heart. And she you know, she kind of reminds me of Sharon. She's got that sort of innate toughness.
Speaker 2:Sharon is a go-getter. She is someone who doesn't like to sit down, she likes to have fun, she likes to really attack life with all of herself. She gets in there and wants people to be their best and is flawed by any human being and she is trying to figure it out, like we all are, and yet with such heart and such determination and a lot of care.
Speaker 6:I think this is a great opportunity for her to show how funny she can be and how interesting and compelling. But all of that as she bulldozes her way through this story is done with such honesty and humanity, and so I'm. I've just been thrilled, and she's spectacular in the role. It's something I'm excited to share.
Speaker 9:Hillary just brings a gravitas of talent that you just love. In fact, when we first started talking about her, we weren't even sure if she would be totally interested, but I've loved her body of work. I mean, you know what's not to love about all the movies that she's done? They're just so. She has a way of really drawing you into a story as a, as a, as a film watcher, and keeping you there, like holding you there in a way that you really want to know your, your, your pulled in and you really want to know what's going to happen. And so for me it's like it's a gift to be able to have her as a part of this cast, because she brings it's kind of this, this strength that Sharon has in real life, that's shown on the page, and Hillary has that strength in her repertoire.
Speaker 1:Now we just heard them praising Hillary Swink. Now it's Alan's turn. We're gonna hear from John Gunna, director Alan Richardson himself talked about reading that script for the first time. Rick Baker, the executive producer. Then we go back to Alan talking about the character, specifically Ed, and then we return to Kevin Downs, the producer. I just love hearing these stories about these the creators of the story going. I can't believe we got this guy, because the guy is so talented and I hope the rest of Hollywood sees his performance. It knows that he can do more because we all know, if you've ever seen the show reach her, the guy knocks it out of the park. But we know he could do more and that's what I'm glad that we're all gonna be able to see.
Speaker 6:Alan was a great surprise in this movie. It's not at all what I imagine the character to be to begin with, just because I was thinking of sort of an everyman and somebody who's a hard-working blue-collar guy who's, you know, arguably not as large as Alan is. You know he's a big guy. And so when, when the idea first came up, I had seen reach her and I was really excited that they were making the show with him as the lead, and Then one of my producers had met him and said you should meet this guy, and I thought, well, is he really the right thing to play the everyman? And then, when I met him and spoke to him instantly, I was like, oh yeah, this guy understands what it is to be a father and wants to show this side of himself that he doesn't get to show in all of his action movies and action roles.
Speaker 4:I didn't know about this, this the story you know, before reading the script. So when I was reading the script it was sort of a every page turn was a surprise and the emotional roller coaster was almost too much at times. You know, on page one I laughed out loud twice, which so I was like, oh, it's kind of a funny, fun story. And on page two I had tears in my eyes and I was like what are we in for? And I remember, on page 23? I started crying reading, because you start to see how this story is affecting the world around them and how people are starting to pull together to root for. You know you, just you start to root for this story, the, the family, and you know it's it sucks you in.
Speaker 7:I just watched him on Reacher, you know. So I'm sitting at home and I didn't know he was cast in the part. I said, man, this guy's gonna be a movie star. It's the first time I saw him on TV. I had no idea he was, and, and I was just telling my wife that and I told a couple other people, I said I just watched this. Get told my son, you know. And then, lo and behold, they said oh, guess who? We can't ask for Ed. It was it rich Alan Richardson. And I went my gosh. What a weird coincidence that is a blue-collar Roofer.
Speaker 4:He is a Guy who's trying to mine his own business and just take care of his family. He's a he's a good guy. That's dealt with a ton of pain. Ed Loses his wife that he cared about very much and struggles to keep his family together with little to no resources, which is Unfortunately a story that All too many people have these days. I think a lot of people struggle with resources. Getting by is a day-to-day uphill battle, and when you start to throw in the tragedy of losing somebody that you love it, it can make it feel unbearable at times. So, and it personifies that, Alan Richardson.
Speaker 9:What is not to love about him? I mean, he's the biggest surprise to me out of everybody, because he's, you know, my only Familiarity with him was watching the Amazon series, reacher, and so he plays this certain character and and when we, when I first met him, I'm like, oh my goodness, he's not the most lovable big guy I've ever met. I mean, he's just got a heart of gold. He wants to give Everything he receives away. And it comes across on screen where it's like, how do you not root for this guy? He's such a loving, caring, giving man, and to have those attributes in your own persona comes out so easily for him. And that's who Ed is you gotta love that high praise.
Speaker 1:That alone says a lot. Excuse me, guys, as I'm talking here my voice is kind of falling in and out, so I apologize about that. I just had this raging headache and I'm kind of losing my foot, my voice, so bear with me for that. I apologize now coming up next, we're gonna have several interviews that deal with Trauma in these two characters who are entirely different and Holly mashed together but yet worked together. So we're the first here from Alan Richardson.
Speaker 1:He talks about that to clash of these two strong characters, and I love his great quote on a mission without permission. That could sound grating, but in some situations that's probably a good thing, but obviously not all the time. Not every situation Demands a mission without permission because that could cause serious problems, as we've seen through his, as we've seen through history. And then we're gonna hear from producer Kevin Downs and he talks about those two clashing like that. He talks about how the director really captures that energy between Ed and Sharon.
Speaker 1:And then we're going to hear from Hilary Swank talking about the character Sharon and her relationship with his daughters, and we can't forget this is based on real life people. So we're going to hear from Alan again and he talks about trauma and faith and how sometimes these things go hand in hand or they can split apart and makes you question things. And I love how he talks about that, how in his mind he feels sometimes it's good to question things, not just blindly go straight forward. There's a difference between faith and blind faith, if that makes any sense. But here those are the clash of the tidal waves.
Speaker 4:We've got a man who can't ask for help, refuses to ask for help and doesn't want any, and Sharon who will insert herself like a common the middle of a sentence that doesn't want one. She has decided to make this family her mission without permission, and I think part of the fun of this movie is seeing if she'll be right in her quest. Will she pull off these miracles that she's promising these strangers? If she's wrong, it's like salt in the wound and I think it would be rather tragic. If she's right, this becomes a special, unique and beautiful kind of love story that she devoted herself and worked tirelessly to do whatever it took to help.
Speaker 9:The way John Gunn has just captured some of the moments where Sharon just doesn't want to give up, even when Ed. He's like Ed fights, fights, fights. But then you sometimes see a little bit of a crack, but Sharon's right there. She's like no, we're not going to give up in this moment. I know that you're facing impossible odds, and to be able to see Sharon as just sort of a shadow of who Ed, that void that Ed needs in his life because he lost his wife and they're sharing this angel out of nowhere, like it's like, what motivation does Sharon have to be able to do what she does, but one that is completely selfless, because she has no selfish motivation in her entire effort to be able to lift this family up in their most dire need and to save the life of this young little girl. I mean, it's just a beautiful, beautiful story.
Speaker 2:Sharon's relationship with the girls is so fun. I think she brings some light into the gloom and doom that they're experiencing in their lives, understandably, with losing their mother and Michelle being just so sick and really struggling. But it's such the beauty of kids that they're so in the moment that they don't get caught up in the what-ifs. They really are just present. And I think that Sharon is the same. I think she's really a present person. So when she's with them there's a lot of laughter and she doesn't think about what the future is going to hold. She's just in the moment now. What can I do now? Yes, to make the future better for the people around me, but how can I make it better for all of us right now?
Speaker 4:There's so many colorful grays in between the black and white, as I think anybody would experience when dealing with trauma. I think we all, at one point or another, have our doubts, but I think at the end of the day, he believes in God but wrestles with that relationship as we should. I think God invites those conversations. I think God would much rather have us wrestle with him than ignore him or try to do this all on our own. And I think that's where we meet Ed. Deep down, he does have faith and I think eventually he comes around, as I think many of us do or will. But I think it's a real challenge getting there to the point where there's a relationship which is completely understandable.
Speaker 1:Now this movie just doesn't have Hillary Swank and Alan Richardson. It has another great performer, tamala Jones. She plays Rose. So next couple of interviews when I hear about Rose and a little bit more about Tamala.
Speaker 1:So at first we're going to hear from Tamala Jones and she talks about why she loved this story and what she says in here is really great and it makes a lot of sense because in so many of these movies it's that love interest and it's a lot of the cookie cutter. These two end up together and not all stories have to end that way, because this is a true story. And she talks about the script and how much that moved her, but it's mostly about a daughter, everybody joining together trying to help this little girl. And then we're going to hear from Kevin Downs and he talks about Tamala Jones and what she brings to this film and to the character. And then we're going to hear from Tamala Jones and she talks more about the character, rose, and then, right in the same line, hillary Swank will be talking about Rose and then Tamala Jones elaborates even more on the character. These are just really good interviews and I'm glad the studio provided such great ones.
Speaker 3:What I really loved was this was about a little girl that really touched my heart. This was about. This was a love story, but not about two people in love. It was about the love of this child, and I was when I got to the end and saw that the two main characters didn't hook up. I was even more happy because you rarely see this and the fact that is based on a true story really, really touched me that these are real people and this thing really happened.
Speaker 9:Tamala is a gift. I mean I you know she shows up and she does her thing and she nails it. And Rose is obviously, to me, is the heart and soul of this thing, and Tamala is such a great actress. I'm thrilled that she wanted to do it but again, feel really blessed to have her. This whole cast is just so talented that we brought together and what I love is that they're all equally passionate about the story, so they're not here just to hey, I get to act in a movie. But they actually love the message behind this story, which is, if we just put our own selfish desires down, we can come together and we can rally and we can do extraordinary things.
Speaker 3:Rose is the voice of reckoning. She is a no-nonsense but still very warm person. I think that we all know someone like Rose. You know she gives you the business as it is. She doesn't sugarcoat anything, but she wants you to know it comes from a good place. She's not here to judge you or to make you feel bad about who you are. We all know we're individuals and that makes us individuals. No one can be the same, but she wants the best for everyone around her.
Speaker 2:How Rose is this? You know they're yin and yang a little bit. Sharon's like let's go and she's like hang on, hang on, let's think it all out. So it's kind of nice that they bring that out in each other. But Rose is a great friend because Rose is shining a bright light on something that needs to be looked at in Sharon's life, and it's so important to have friends like that, who are honest with us and hold our feet to the fire when needed, especially with someone like Sharon who's like later, later, later, let's live now. So I think a friendship like that is a real blessing.
Speaker 3:She's like the body to Sharon's Clyde. If there's something that she really needs and it really has a purpose, she's going to rally the troops up and we're going to get it done. You know, give me a reason and a good one and it's done. You know, like when Sharon calls Rose and she's, you know, very upset about this little girl's position, if she happens to get on the list for a transplant, how are we going to get her there? She only has six hours. Don't worry about it, is Rose's thing. We're going to figure out a way and the ideas that they come up with together to make money, to kind of help, or, if money is not even a play in here we need people. We rally the people together. So I love that Rose is a ride or die for Sharon and for whoever else is in her life, but mainly Sharon.
Speaker 1:Now the next set of interviews. We're going to deal with themes, messages and faces that we wear to different kind of people. But first we're going to hear from Alan Richardson and he's going to talk about the character of Sharon a little bit more, but then he moves into there's two kind of films and he talks about what kind of film this is, and then we hear from Hilary Swank talking about the themes of the film, then Kevin Downs, the message of the film, then Rick Baker, the executive producer he talks about and this is really kind of a fun one too. He talks about the different faces that we all wear, and we know we all do this. We wear different faces for our parents, for our brothers, sisters, friends, whomever it is. We all have roles that we play and we put these masks on just to get through that certain relationship.
Speaker 1:But in the end we all have one core mask and not many people get to see that and that's who you really are. And when does that come out? When does that core come out and shine or not shine, because not every core is a good core, and that's what's interesting when it comes down to that fight or flight situation or anything that comes along in your life, what's your core mask and I think that terrifies a lot of us and I know it terrifies me because I am very guilty of all these things there's times where that mask comes on and I'm like who is this clown? And then sometimes I'm like whoa, hey, who is this guy? You just never know what mask might come out. And then we're going to hear from the director, john Gunn, and he talks about what he hopes this film does. What's his hopes for this film?
Speaker 4:The character of Sharon is Ordinary is a difficult word because there's nothing plain about her. She's rather a rainbow. She's vibrant In the world that we're in. Of muted colors she's the brightest one. But that can be unmanageable for some people and toxic for others, and so there's conflict there. But at the end of the day, she represents what many of us feel like we are, which is powerless.
Speaker 4:Who are we to change the world? Who are we to make miracles? We're all ordinary in that sense that we lack the divine magic wand to say poof, whatever you need, here it is. But through our efforts and our collective endeavors we can wave a kind of magic wand. In a way, we can really affect the ether and the lives of those around us in great and small ways. And in that sense we're all ordinary and we all have the potential to be angels to somebody else. So you know, I think it's a title to aspire to.
Speaker 4:There's two kinds of films. There's the popcorn films that offer us a chance to escape, and we need that. Those are important. Then there's the films that really remind us or awaken something in us, remind us of who we are as our humanity and what we're capable of. That sows the seeds of important conversations in our lives that we should have or that we can have. And this is that. This is that kind of thing. It awakens in me, when I working on this and having read the script. It awakens in me an important sense of optimism that we can do wonderful things together.
Speaker 2:I'd say some of the themes in this film are to never judge, because we never know what someone else is going through. To give a wide berth to people, to give people a second chance to believe in miracles, to love like there's no tomorrow and to try and keep being better all the time.
Speaker 9:I think the message is if you know, time is short, time is so limited while we're here on this earth. I mean we realize that when we lose loved ones that are really close to us, and so the power of people coming together, we can do more together than we can do by ourselves in one single unit. And the more people that come together, I mean if we hold hands, we can literally lift the entire world up. And so this is what this movie shows is that if we die to ourself and we put ourself below the importance of other people in our life, that we can do extraordinary things and even heal people in their weakest moment of life and really lift them up.
Speaker 7:We have one face that we show. You know, when you're talking to your mother, to your friends, to your boss, whatever, we all have sort of masks that we put on, but when the mask is down and you're just the core person that you really, really are, sometimes you realize that there are things inside you that can rise up and that you can do meaningful things. You can do more than just exist and watch TV and go to bed, and I think that people are looking for moments when they can shine and I think that people may find strength in this film that they didn't know they had.
Speaker 6:I hope this is a film that will inspire others, because we live in very divisive times. I feel like a true story. An honest, heartfelt, grounded, human story about people helping other people, people they don't even know, is very inspirational. I mean, sharon mobilized an entire community of people to help this family and so, yeah, I would love to think that people watch this movie and go. That really happened almost 30 years ago, and it's the kind of thing that maybe we should be thinking of doing for each other more and more. You know, I feel like it's so easy these days to draw lines in the sand and to turn on one another, but this is a story of people supporting each other and helping each other, and so I would hope that it would inspire people to do the same.
Speaker 1:So what do you guys think? Is this the kind of movie you'd like to see? Did I give enough evidence? Would you have seen this without hearing this? I would love your feedback and input, because I can't grow if I don't know. So anytime you have any questions, comments, concerns any way to improve the show, feel free to let me know. Cinemajudgecom. Or you can go to YouTube.
Speaker 1:I love hearing your messages on YouTube, tiktok, instagram threads, you name it. I'm there and I would love to hear from you. But if you want to watch the TV version of this, so you can watch the interviews, go to bitlyc B-I-T-D-O-N-Y-S-T-I-N-O-M-A-J-U-G, and on that you don't see or hear me at all. It's strictly show. That's why I do this here, because you don't know who's coming up next, so that's why I have to be your navigator, for lack of a better word. Now, this is one of my favorite parts of this show. This is where I thank you the listeners who listen to the podcast. This doesn't cover people who watch it or listen to it on YouTube. That's a whole different animal. But if you want to follow me there, that's really super. Or follow me on any podcast, whatever platform you have, that's great, or both, I mean, it's really great to have subscribers to both the YouTube and this, but again, no pressure. I don't want to be that guy, but I love hearing about where, when or how you listen to this show, because some of you might listen to that first week, some people might listen two weeks from now, two months from now, two years from now, and I try to keep it a little bubble here.
Speaker 1:A little movie, oasis, a place where you can just come and listen to a movie, not even care about what time of the year it is. I would like to have you come in here, listen to this show and not have any realization of when I recorded it. Every blue moon the world seeps in. That just has to happen sometimes. But I want to provide a place where you can come in from out of the noise, because the world is full of so much noise. That's not what I like to do here. I'm not here to yell, scream, complain, cry about Hollywood, tell you not to see a movie. I would never tell you not to see a movie, because any movie is somebody's favorite movie. Who might have told you not to see a movie? That's ridiculous. I love going out there searching for a movie that maybe everybody hates, and I go why. I want to find out for myself. I'm not going to have some group tell me not to see a movie. I don't care what group it is, what side of the universe we're talking about here. I want to find out on my own. That's the joy of cinema TV, anything like that Finding out for yourself and that's what I like to try to provide for you, because I like to journey too. I love hearing these interviews from movies that I might not see normally and I go whoa, this really sounds interesting. That's my goal here To bring you and me together and we can just sit here in one little space and talk about something other than all the noise. Leave that to the professionals. So, wherever, whenever or whatever you're doing, this is for you.
Speaker 1:All my listeners from the United States, germany, you guys are out of control. You guys are always there. Same thing with the Netherlands, nigeria, france, poland, canada, united Kingdom, minneapolis, minnesota, amsterdam, zainville, ohio, bloomington, minnesota. That doesn't happen every time. So hey, hey, wait, wait to go to Bloomington. Kat, cena State, crefffield, north Rhine, westphalia, frankfurt, aman, hesse, nuremberg oh man, I'm gonna butcher this one. Guys, byd, g-o-s-z-c-z-k-u-j-a-w-k-o, pomer-ski. Thank you very much for listening. I'm very sorry about that. St Louis, missouri, blackwood, new Jersey, halifax, nova Scotia Hello, nova Scotia. Maple Grove, minnesota, gilbert, arizona, houston, texas, charlotte, north Carolina, st Paul, minnesota, las Vegas, nevada, halifax, calderdale that's just the name of you.
Speaker 1:But to every solitary one of you out there, you took time out of your life to listen to this show. That blows my mind away, because I can't always say here I am, I'm sitting in my basement middle of the night just talking to well, you, but I don't know who you are, when you are, where you are. But here you are, you're listening to the show. So my deepest, deepest thanks goes out to you, and today's bourbon shout out goes out to Lauren. Thanks for chatting with me about movies. I'm sorry that you were sick last time I saw you. I hope you're doing better. But to you, lauren, cheers.
Speaker 1:Now, like I mentioned earlier, this is always the TV show first. That becomes this, the podcast. But what I'm doing, the TV show, it's me, the movie I'm editing and I'm just blaring tunes. I'm just sitting here just basking away in it. That's just. That's just my perfect mojo, my happy place movies and music. And I can mash them together like I do when I'm editing the TV show man, what more do I need?
Speaker 1:And this week, as you well know, sometimes I try to go polar opposites of the theme. Sometimes I stick right with it, but this time I'm like, eh, why not mix it up? Keep my, keep me on my toes, since this was more of a faith based, religious based movie. So what I did was I played Black Sabbath paranoid album and then I had to play a little Ronnie James deal because he was at one point in Black Sabbath. But sometimes his solo stuff is really exceptional and I just love his stuff Holy diver, the last in line, heaven and hell, rainbow in the dark, and I could go on and on. But Ronnie James, he had some great tunes. And then they also had to play some Metallica, injustice for All. What a great album that one is. I remember going to that concert tour back in a day, seventh row, having a blast. I said some great memories with that one. So I listened to Injustice for All, great album.
Speaker 1:Well, that's it. My voice is almost gone. So thank you for putting up with me, guys. So, but that is it. My glass awaits. I'm thirsty. So cheers to you and to the movies. So until next time, be well, be good. And I'm gone. I'm, jeff. Thanks for listening to the Cinema Judge.