Writing for Freedom
by: dominga martin

My first instinct when seeing the now critically acclaimed film Freedom Writers was: is this going to be another cheesy film about the great white hope saving bad a@$ kids?  To my surprise, it was so much more.  From start to finish, Freedom Writers was a journey through the lives of a group of classmates, all from different sides of the tracks, who clashed and didn’t care about the wreckage they were leaving behind.

The film reminded me about a period in my life, as a young teenager, when most of my friends were dying due to senseless gang violence, yet, I had to go to school, most often attending a funeral after the final bell rang. 

Like Freedom Writers, there was an Erin Gruwell in my life, a young woman named Rachel Martin (no relation to me) who came to my youth advocate center (where I was a peer leader) and asked if we would write a poem or story about where we lived.  I remember telling her that I didn’t know how to write, she encouraged me to try and I did…changing my life forever.

Freedom Writers is lead by Oscar Award winning actress Hillary Swank, who plays a teacher fresh out of water, daughter of a civil rights activist, with high hopes and big dreams of changing a system around.  A school system, which believes it isn’t broken.

She is joined by a bunch of fresh faces new to Hollywood as well as recording artist Mario, and Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy) who plays her selfish husband.

After encountering obstacles not just with her hard headed students, but a principal who believes that children from the “ghetto” can’t learn and most importantly are just criminals riding the wave of school years.  The backdrop is the harsh feelings about a school that was once lily white, now a victim of integration laws.

Yet, Mrs. Gruwell could care less about the way things were, she only wants to make a change for the better, starting with breaking through the callus hearts of these children who on the way to school, can be killed.  She starts with a journal, allowing them to write about their lives and promises to keep their secrets sacred.  These journals allow the children to open up and soon they all realize, no matter where they’re from, they are one in the same: human and all have a purpose.

This is a movie that should be seen by all parents, teachers and students, to learn about tolerance, justiceand basic human interaction.  I share with you some of the cast members, the director and a real freedom writer who tells their side of the story.

CM: Why did you choose to play this role?

Hillary Swank: It was a no brainer really.  I read so many scripts, I can’t tell you how many I read but 1 in 20 is stellar.  To find one of these like a Boys Don’t Cry or Million Dollar Baby (I put this right up there) is probably 1 in 50.  After reading it, I just got chills. 

I have such a deep connection to it on so many different levels.  It’s indescribable, there’s no word for it, I just felt it…for a lot of different reasons.  I related to the kids and what they went through. And I’m not saying that in my background I ever got shot at or knew someone who was shot at, but without comparing, I felt like an outsider as a kid and didn’t feel like I fit in at all because I had this idea of what I wanted to be in my life and had a mother who believed in me.  But having someone who believes in you is the whole power behind this film and how one person in your life can make a difference.

I hadn’t heard of the Freedom Writers or saw any of the article s about them, and when I heard about it, my first thought was ‘is this going to be like another Dangerous Minds?’ and I was struggling for a long time to even think of a movie that reminded me of this and To Sir with Love was the only one I could think of that was similar…I had to do it.

CM: Did you meet Erin before shooting and what were your conversations like?

Hillary Swank: We all went to dinner to celebrate when it came together and I got to meet her.  We spoke about life, her story, my story and how it was for her story to be told.  I told her how brave it was to have her story put out there.  We spoke about the kids, where they are now and what they’re doing.  She wanted to be seen as a human and not a hero--she felt the kids were the heroes.  I told her how scary it was for me to play this role because this was an incredible story and I didn’t want to mess it up.

CM: You have a knack for picking parts that will reward you somehow, what’s your process?

Hillary Swank: The last thing I ever do is think if this will be a reward movie because the second you put that kind of pressure on, you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.  I just try to find great stories.  I just think everyone has their own unique story and it’s fascinating to me, as a kid feeling like an outsider the only thing that made me feel understood was books and movies. I got into this business because I always wanted to connect with people and their stories…I just go off my gut.  We all have instincts and one of the challenges everyday is to trust my instincts and I just hope that my instincts are right all the time.

CM: I know that the real Freedom Writers were moving on and progressing, how did meeting the children portraying them now (being that they have similar experiences) influence your role?

Hillary Swank: That’s a great question.  I’d definitely say that my experience with the actors in the movie (only 2 were actors, the others were discovered) was life changing in so many ways.  I’ve been in this business since 16 years old and I always try to enter everything I do with a new, fresh outlook.

I try to be open as possible to learning something new or doing it differently, just not playing it safe; but as much as I try, I still have my own experiences--what I’ve done in the past or how certain things work.  So, when I walked on the set with these kids who have never done it before, who have no expectations except being in the moment and so present and not trying to achieve anything…other than being.  It took me right back to the beginning and made me better; not only as an actor but as a human being. 

And the Director Says…

CM: Were there any challenges in making this film and making it different than what has been told before?

Richard LaGravenese: I made a promise to the real Freedom Writers not to make this like Dangerous Minds.  I knew it couldn’t be about a white knight who comes in and saves the ghetto kids.  So as I was developing it, I realized the kids teach the teacher how it is, and because they teach her, she was able to make a transformation. Teachers, as adults, tend not to respect teen-agers or give them credit for what they face everyday.  That to me was my in, plus using the actual words in the diary or based on interviews.  Nothing was made up.

CM: Were characters combined?

Richard LaGravenese: There were 150 students, so when I read the book, I had to figure out who jumped out at me the most.  It was the writing that grabbed me and some of the words just grabbed my heart and squeezed it. 

CM: Was it difficult to structure?

Richard LaGravenese: This was the hardest adaptation I’d ever done; how to tell it and find out what the story was.  I wanted to make it more about getting to a moment when she (Mrs. Gruwell) earned the kids trust. 

When I interviewed the real Dr. Cohn, he believed what she did with creating families in the classroom is the key to transforming what’s happening in schools, (like Columbine and he specifically mentioned that).  It was creating a family for kids who didn’t have one outside of the classroom.

CM: Are there any plans with making this a learning tool in schools?

Richard LaGravenese: Yes, it has already begun.  Erin has a pilot program and does workshops and my nephew is a high school teacher in Queens with at risk kids, and he  was doing the same thing before I started production, like playing music in class etc.  he has become a teacher in the workshop.  It’s the teachers that are beaten--not by the kids, but by beurocacy.  Dr. Cohn says that the school system is taught based on the last model which is test them, score them and if the numbers aren’t right they fall through the cracks. 

A Harvard study says that there are at least 8 different ways that a person can learn a lesson: some are linear, three dimensional but our system only does one and the kids who don’t learn that way are overlooked.

The Real Freedom Writers and the People who played them…

CM: How do you feel seeing your life on screen?

Maria (portrayed as Eva): I feel blessed.  In a world that told us we could not make it, I love to show people that it’s not true.  I love to tell people that it’s not the dark that empowers you; it’s the light because it shows you how powerful you can be.

CM: How was it in class with the real Erin Gruwell?

Maria:  We made her tough and she made us idealistic. She was humble enough to listen to us and although she understood nothing about our world, she brought in books that transcend race and backgrounds.

CM: What did you learn most about yourself after filming this movie?

April Hernandez (EVA): Trust.  While playing the trust game, which is in the movie, I couldn’t believe how hard it was to let someone catch you or to know that if you fall someone would be there to pick you up. It was something we all needed to do…to know that if we fall someone will be there to catch you.

CM: What was your biggest challenge in this film?

Mario (ANDRE): My 1st week and adapting to the role of Andre and also writing our own journals.  I had never written that deep before.  Looking back at what I wrote, I never knew all the emotions I had inside.  I still don’t know why the director made us do it, but it broke us down and allowed us to release a lot of stuff.

Freedom Writers is in Theaters now.

The Best Man for the Job

Morris Chestnut is the type of actor that steps on screen and makes all the ladies melt.  Now, you get your chance to see him live and in person as he makes his theatre debut in the David E. Talbert (The Fabric of a Man, Love on Lay-Away) play, “Love in the Nick of Tyme”; a stage play, sponsored by BET about love and being stuck in the middle. 

He shares the stage with Ellia English (Jamie Foxx Show) and recording artist Avant. While in New York promoting the play, we had a chance to talk with David and Morris about the beginning of their partnership, which has now transformed into a production company.

CM: How did you guys get together to do this project?

David Talbert: We met on the set of the Jamie Foxx Unpredictable Special. I always wanted to work with him because I write a lot of romantic musicals and Morris is the leading quintessential man.

We got together after he finished a movie with Queen Latifah and Terrance Howard.  After approaching him I found out that he was a fan of my work, so we got together and read the script and was ready to go.

CM: A lot of veteran actors say how working on the stage really enhances their performance in film; do you feel the same way and if so, how has that directly affected your performance?

Morris Chestnut: This is my first stage play, and one of the reasons for that is that I got into a rut for the past years of how I approached acting and haven’t really been excited about acting for a while.  So, when David presented me with this opportunity to do the play, that was an exciting opportunity and I knew I had to step up my game.

When I do film I know I get 1-30 takes. I know this time, I get one take and that take has to be money every night. Then you have to deal with the element of the live audience. So my level of concentration has to be heightened and that’s where the whole honing of your skills and your craft are derived from. I know several people who have worked with David and have become better actors, and that’s one of the reasons why I selected to be part of this play.

CM: Tell us a little about the play.

David Talbert: Its’ a love story. Tyme is a female character who owns a salon and is in a 17 year relationship with the father of her son.  Morris plays the father whose name is Marcellus.   

Marcellus doesn’t really want her but at the same time, doesn’t want anyone else to have her.   It’s a journey of how to let go of something that once felt good to you in order to find something that is good for you.

CM: How do you feel about taking on a romantic role on stage?

Morris Chestnut: That character is different.  He’s not like any other romantic roles I’ve played in a film. He doesn’t always do the right thing, and he doesn’t always do good things. Which is why his love interest Tyme is going to have to struggle with her feelings for Marcellus in order to do the right things for herself.

CM: What’s the name of the production company you two formed, and what types of projects are you producing?

Morris Chestnut: It’s called Prism Entertainment and the reality show that David and I are doing is called Black Stage.

David Talbert:  It’s like Fame meets The Apprentice. We’re going to 7 cities and going to find people from those cities that are aspiring singers and actors and take them across the country on tour with the Nick of Tyme.

Some of them will be assigned to do hair and make up. Some will hand out flyers in the street.  With this reality show, it will show the people the whole perspective of putting together a stage show. The final two; which will be a male and female will star in the upcoming play.