Taking Woodstock

• Re-live the 60’s with Ang Lee’s ‘Taking Woodstock’ on DVD December 15th, 2009!

  Published on: October 15, 2009

  By Shannon  Nystedt
  MovieSet.com
  
  From Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), comes Taking Woodstock, a new comedy inspired by the true story of Elliot Tiber and his family, who inadvertently played a pivotal role in making the famed Woodstock Festival into the happening that it was.

  Its 1969, and Elliot Tiber, a down-on-his-luck interior designer in Greenwich Village, New York, has to move back upstate to help his parents run their dilapidated motel. The banks about to foreclose; his father wants to burn the place down, but hasn't paid the insurance; and Elliot is still figuring how to come out to his parents. When Elliot hears that a neighboring town has pulled the permit on a hippie music festival, he calls the producers, thinking he could drum up some much-needed business for the motel. Three weeks later, half a million people are on their way to his neighbors farm in White Lake, NY, and Elliot finds himself swept up in a generation-defining experience that would change his life, and American culture, forever.

  Pick up the DVD for exciting bonus features including deleted scenes, feature commentary with director Ang Lee and writer James Schamus, behind the scenes easter eggs and more! Taking Woodstock stars Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton, Emile Hirsch, Paul Dano, Eugene Levy and Liev Schreiber.
  
  Read more about Taking Woodstock on DVD here.

  Read More »

   

• The MovieSet Review of ‘Taking Woodstock’

  Published on: August 28, 2009

  By Phillip Nakov
  movieset.com
  
  Synopsis: From Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), comes Taking Woodstock, a new comedy inspired by the true story of Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin) and his family, who inadvertently played a pivotal role in making the famed Woodstock Music and Arts Festival into the happening that it was.
  
  Stars:    Demetri Martin, Emile Hirsch, Live Schreiber, Imelda Staunton
   
  Written by: James Schmaus
  
  Directed by: Ang Lee
  
  Distributed by: Focus Features
  
  Opening on: August 28, 2009
  
  EXPECTATIONS
  What I'd Seen – A terrific campaign with 70’s-inspired graphics and logos. This movie was one of the few English language films included at this year’s Cannes film festival (I did not get to see it there) and the buzz was quite big back in May. All along I’d seen a careful and well planned marketing campaign for a movie that speaks to the adults of today who were teens back then and will hopefully want to go back in time to that much simpler era.
  
  What I'd Heard – That Ang Lee had yet again managed to create a movie that was worth seeing and that captured the essence of what Woodstock was all about. Without treading down the path of poorly imitated musical acts or focusing on the stars on stage, Lee focuses his energy on the attendees and the people behind the scenes of this historic event.
   
  What I Wanted – A complete escape. I wanted to be able to feel and breathe the weekend at Woodstock and witness the evolution of this moment in time. I was not around yet so I could not attend, but something as momentous and historic as this, I feel compelled to learn what I can and would love to witness its birth.
  
  EXPERIENCE
  What Turned Me On – The unexpected casting of Demetri Martin as the lead of an Ang Lee film. I would have never thought to put this Comedy Central stand up comedian as the star of a big Hollywood picture, much less stepping out with Ang Lee on a movie about Woodstock. Needless to say I was surprised at just how endearing Demetri’s portrayal of this character is and just how he perfect he is as the almost hapless bystander in the making of this musical event. I especially enjoyed the people cast in this movie and the gentle ease of the telling of this story. I felt as if I was transported through time to become a bystander getting a behind the scenes look at history.
  
  What Turned Me Off –Very little. I did not feel the parents could possibly have been so dislikeable and could possibly have been so dumb. They really are not portrayed in the most positive light, but since this is based on a true story, I can’t tell if they were really that way or if Ang Lee took his artistic license to their portrayal. I also never felt as if we witnessed an evolution in our central character. Granted Martin does play befuddled and clueless very well… but at some point I wanted to see his eyes light up as he realizes what he has become a part of and what he was responsible for creating. I also didn’t like the ending where a little more of a history lesson could have been given about the after effects of this weekend. Where are they now and what they look like would have been terrific to see. Why keep all that for the DVD extras? So many movies catch up with the real people and show us where they are and what they look like today.
  
  AFTERMATH
  I Left Thinking – I hope teens and kids will be as interested in seeing this as their parents will be. This movie certainly speaks to the generation that grew up with this music and that is now in their 50’s and 60’s. But they are not the ones always going to the Cineplex. They rent. I really enjoyed the story and the visual retelling of this story. It is accessible enough for the younger audience, but I am afraid they may not care enough and chalk it up to a history lesson about something their parents get all excited about when they mention it. Like Facebook and Twitter, most kids don’t want to do what their parents are doing.
  
  I Left Saying – Ang Lee is the master of reinvention. Moving from one genre to the next, this director is able to tell a story and create environments that are believable and engrossing. Lee is a director who is able to take an actor’s ability to new heights and bring out a performance we would have never expected to see.
  
  Expiry Date – I think we may have something close to an instant classic on our hands. This is something close to the definitive origins story on Woodstock and will live on quite well as the movie to see what this moment in our country’s history was about. A great film to add to the collection and watch with the kids… if you can get them to sit still long enough. 
  
  Days later – I was thinking about how great it must have been to have so many people congregate in once place for the sake of music and art in peace and harmony. I look forward to the movies they’ll be making in 2039 about Burning Man. Something to look forward to. Kids, take note, you’ll want to go and see that, but your kids will not.
  
  Enjoy the show and I’ll see you in line at the concession stand!

  Read More »

   

• ‘Taking Woodstock’ Talk with ‘Speed Racer’s Emile Hirsch

  Published on: August 25, 2009

  By Shannon Nystedt
  movieset.com
  
  At the Taking Woodstock press day in New York, Collider had a chance to catch up with actor Emile Hirsch and talk to him about his role in the new Ang Lee movie.  Hirsch plays a returning Vietnam veteran named Billy who takes part in the festival.  In the interview Hirsch talks about how Ang Lee prepared him for the role, working in different genres of films, and what future projects he will be working on.
  
  “…He gave all the actors this massive, almost comically massive binder filled with a hippy dictionary, hippy artwork, and hippy accounts of what it was like to be on acid, which was like gibberish…”

  Watch the interview here.

  Read More »

   

Click here to read our full news archive