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28
Aug
2009
Big Fan writer/director Robert Siegel: the readandreact interview
Patton Oswalt and Kevin Corrigan star in Big Fan
Big Fan opens in select theaters nationwide today (Aug 28th), after premiering to rave reviews at Sundance earlier this year. It tells the tale of Paul Alfiero – a 35-year-old parking garage attendant from Staten Island who describes himself as the “world’s biggest Giants fan”. One day, Paul finds himself face-to-face with his favorite player, and things don’t go quite as planned, leading Paul to question everything he holds dear. (ed. note – our excitement for this film is already well-documented. Watch the trailer here)
Writer/Director Robert Siegel first made his mark on pop culture as editor-in-chief of the satirical publication The Onion, but really burst into public consciousness in 2008 with his screenplay for acclaimed film The Wrestler. Clearly this guy is on a roll, and he makes his directorial debut with Big Fan, which he also wrote the script for.
For some inexplicable reason that we choose not to question, Rob was kind enough to take the time to answer a few of readandreact’s questions about football, film and this wacky world we live in.
As such, we are thrilled to present you with Robert Siegel: The readandreact interview:
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Robert Siegel: life long Steelers fan
Q: The trailer shows evidence of time spent in the parking lot at the Meadowglands. Being from Long Island, are you yourself a Giants fan? Have you personally attended many games there?
RS: I’m not a Giants fan. I’m a diehard, lifelong Steelers fan. Back in the late ’70s when I came of football age, none of my friends were into the Giants or Jets. Everybody liked either the Steelers or the Cowboys, and for me it stuck. But I’ve definitely spent my fair share of time out at the Meadowlands, I’ve got a lot of friends with Giants season tickets, and I usually go to one or two games a year. Unfortunately, though, they usually invite me to that crappy Week 15 game against the Texans when the Giants have locked up a playoff berth and Eli’s not starting. That tends to be the one where an extra ticket magically opens up.
Q: With Plaxico Burress heading to prison, Michael Vick returning to the game just months after getting out of Leavenworth, and Donte Stallworth suspended after DUI manslaughter, your film is incredibly relevant to today’s sports landscape. How much of this story was pulled from the headlines?
RS: There definitely seems to be a lot of that stuff going on right now. But in reality, it’s always been happening. Ten years ago, you would’ve been asking me if this movie was based on Rae Carruth or Ron Artest. If it seems like today there’s more bad stuff going on, I think it’s just because the media scrutiny has intensified. More people are getting busted, and when they do, more attention is being paid to it. But I don’t think there ever was a time when athletes were model citizens. You think Mickey Mantle never drove drunk?
Q: You raise some vital questions about priorities in our society today, and what people are willing to forgive in the name of athletic talent … do you think our values are a bit out of whack?
RS: Singers, actors… It’s the same with all celebrities, not just athletes. They’re our heroes, and as a result, we give them a free pass. Or at least try to look the other way. I’m not really sure why, I guess it’s just human nature.
Q: What do you hope people take away from watching Big Fan?
RS: Mainly, I just want them to enjoy it. I’m not looking to take anybody down. Despite what I’ve said here, it’s not like I’ve got some agenda, some axe to grind against pro football. I’m a fan. I love football. But you can love something and still be aware that it’s flawed.
6
Apr
2009
Cleveland Rising
This week, READANDREACT spoke with web-journalist Barry McBride, the undisputed figurehead of THE ORANGE AND BROWN REPORT (www.theobr.com), a site dedicated to the Cleveland Browns and their diehard fans. His site, launched with sheer grit and determination in the 1990s as a way to galvanize the city and help engineer the return of the Browns to Cleveland, has transformed into today’s top-flight source of news, rumors, and coverage of the Browns… ANYWHERE. Barry, always humble, gives us his thoughts about Brady Quinn, Braylon Edwards, Eric Mangini, and the team’s glorious (and inglorious) past, as well as their chances of ever getting back to the playoffs (and maybe the Super Bowl?) before we leave this mortal coil.
Barry, thank you for being with us. These days, most people take a site like www.theobr.com for granted. But the site well-represents a shift in sports journalism. Your site’s stories have been lifted by the mainstream media. Did you ever think that might be the case when you started this whole thing?
It’s been an amazing journey, and proof that a website or any other media outlet will be just as good as the people writing for it. We’ve been particularly blessed there.
Back in the 90s, I certainly never thought we’d be at the point where we were battling toe-to-toe with some of the major players in this town for stories and opportunity. The website was started for fun, a sense of adventure, and the vague notion that appreciative readers would buy us beer. We didn’t have any big plan to replace any of Cleveland’s major media players.
In terms of how we’ve been treated by the mainstream media, it’s been a mixed bag. Like any group of people, you’ll have folks with great integrity and folks who lack any at all. You try to learn from the former and ignore the latter, although it can be frustrating or depressing at times.
The Browns have been through 20 years of turbulence. On bad days, the team feels like a franchise slowly rotting from the core out. Is Coach Mangini the one to turn things around? Does he get how much this could mean to the city and the league?
Mangini seems to understand how important this franchise is to Cleveland, and Randy Lerner certainly does. The team’s owner desperately wants the town to be proud of the team again.
The question with both isn’t whether or not they understand how important this is, but rather if they’re capable of making the right detailed decisions to get things back on track.
Mangini, for example, borrows his style from his mentors Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick. The OBR’s Steve King did a neat article not too long ago, which compared Mangini’s arrival in Cleveland to that of Bill Belichick in the early 90s. (The article can be found here: http://cle.scout.com/2/847469.html) The parallels are eerie. But under their surface similarities, will Mangini make the right personnel decisions like Bill Parcells? Is he capable of developing a game plan as effectively as Belichick? On both questions, the results in New York were mixed and the jury remains out. If Mangini builds a winner here, he’s redeemed in the eyes of the NFL. If he doesn’t, Browns fans will suffer through another re-boot in three or four years time.
Along those lines, we’ve seen Winslow shipped south for picks… we’ve heard whispers that Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, and Braylon Edwards are all available for the right price. Is Mangini confident enough to start from scratch? And, if the team parts ways with its “stars,” would this roster reset be a surprise to Lerner?
We met and talked with Randy Lerner earlier this off-season, and the Browns owner is convinced that the most important decision he can make is to get the right coach. He believes that Bill Belichick was the key to the Patriots turnaround, and that Chuck Noll took the Steelers from perennial losers to one of the league’s top franchises. His instinct tells him he made the right choice in Mangini, and he’s going to let his coach do things how he feels they need to be done.
Mangenius has arrived.
