Who says film festivals have to be full of stuffy foreign films about the meaning of life? The Tribeca Film Festival, back this Thursday and running through Sunday, April 27, may have a few of those, but it’s also jam-packed with some serious crowd-pleasers. From an opening-night doc on the game-changing rapper Nas to a closer that sees Adam Levine bearded and belting out songs, these are the movies that can’t be missed.
(Schedule and tickets available at tribecafilm.com.)
The pioneer: NAS
Twenty years ago, his album ‘Illmatic’ changed the rap game. Now, it’s being celebrated on film.
In May of 1992, Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones was on the upswing. As an 18-year-old rap protégé, he’d been signed to Columbia Records, had started recording his debut album and looked like he might break out of the violence and urban decay that had surrounded his childhood in Queensbridge, Queens.
But one night, Nas (as he was more commonly known) was in a friend’s apartment and heard gunshots outside. When he went outside to investigate, he realized the fatal victim was his best friend, Willie “Ill Will” Graham, while Nas’ brother Jabari Jones (a k a Jungle) narrowly survived.
“If Will was still around, the first album would have been more like party music — louder and more hardcore,” Nas tells The Post of “Illmatic,” the 20th anniversary of which is being celebrated with an expanded double-disc reissue featuring demos and rare remixes. There’s also a new documentary, “Time Is Illmatic,” which will open the Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday.
“Illmatic” turned out to be a watershed moment for hip-hop. It documented the tough, crack-afflicted landscape of New York City in the early ’90s through both a gritty, minimal sound and Nas’ advanced approach to lyricism.
“Before Nas, people would rhyme things like ‘cat’ and ‘hat,’” remembers Large Professor, who produced several “Illmatic” tracks. “But Nas would say things like, ‘Guess who got shot in the dome-piece/Jerome’s niece on her way home from Jones Beach’ (from “One Love”).” In the Marcy Projects, a young Jay Z was certainly taking notes, and when his debut “Reasonable Doubt” emerged in 1996, it was clear Nas’ intricate, introspective style had rubbed off on him.
But if the label bosses had had their way, “Illmatic” might never have been. The album took two years to record, with Nas often going AWOL. “Illmatic” finally came out in April of 1994 to blanket acclaim, particularly for the song “N.Y. State of Mind,” with cinematic lines such as, “The city that never sleeps, full of villains and creeps/That’s where I learned to do my hustle, had to scuffle with freaks.”
“I definitely channelled Sinatra’s ‘Theme From New York, New York’ when I was recording that,” says Nas. “I sang [Sinatra’s song] at my 6th grade graduation with all the other kids in my grade at PS 76 in Queensbridge. So it kind of came full circle.”
“Illmatic” performed respectably on the album chart, peaking at No. 12. Nas’ next two albums were more commercially successful, but the influence of “Illmatic” is still everywhere, with acts such as J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar citing it as a huge influence. Nas continues to enjoy success — his last album, “Life Is Good,” hit No. 1 in 2012.
“I signed 2 Chainz to a publishing deal,” says Faith Newman, the A&R rep who signed Nas and now works at the publishing/management company Reservoir Media Management. “When I told him I signed Nas, he was bowing down to me!” Twenty years from now, it’s likely a new wave of rappers will be paying their respects to Nas in a similar way.
— Hardeep Phull
The trend: Food flicks
“Famous Nathan”
Coney Island’s beloved, nearly 100-year-old hot dog joint gets the documentary treatment in this look at how Nathan Handwerker created a culinary legend. Director Lloyd Handwerker has an “in” — he’s the founder’s grandson.
“The Search for General Tso”
Who was the military man with the heart of a chef — and how did he make his chicken so damn tasty? That’s the query at the heart of this examination of the enduring sweet-and-spicy Chinese dish.
“Fishtail”
Montana’s Fishtail Basin cattle ranch supplies some of the free-range beef sold at your local Whole Foods, and it’s a far cry from NYC. Harry Dean Stanton narrates a look at the lives of the cowboys who work the ranch during one calving season. Good luck eating a burger after this.
“Chef”
Jon Favreau wrote, directed and stars in this comedy about a frustrated chef who decides to branch out on his own — and mend his fractured family — with a food truck. Here’s betting it ends on a sweet note. Sofía Vergara and Scarlett Johansson co-star.
— Sara Stewart
The musical: ‘Begin Again’
It’s about time we talked about a soundtrack that’s not “Frozen.”
Tongues will be wagging over the enchanting music of “Begin Again,” the new movie from “Once” writer-director John Carney. Closing out the festival, the film (formerly titled “Can a Song Save Your Life?”) stars Mark Ruffalo as a record label guy in New York who comes across a dejected singer (Keira Knightley) after her boyfriend (Adam Levine) cheats on her. Catchy songs and findings of self ensue.
Carney, Gregg Alexander and Glen Hansard (who starred in and wrote the songs for “Once”) wrote the seven tunes in the film, whittling down from about 25. The only instructions Carney gave the group: Don’t try to make another “Falling Slowly.”
“I didn’t want to do anything too singer-songwritery — I didn’t want it to be compared to ‘Once’ music,” Carney tells The Post. “I thought [Keira’s character] would be more like a girl you’d see in the band.”
The soundtrack will be released as an album before the movie hits theaters July 4. For now Carney is still working on choosing a single, hinting that there may be one each for both Levine and Knightley (who, yes, really does sing the songs).
— Gregory E. Miller
The cult of Legomaniacs
The vibrant doc “Beyond the Brick: A LEGO Brickumentary” shines a spotlight on the curious world of adults who also happen to be master builders with the classic children’s blocks. Forty-year-old Alice Finch of Seattle, a full-time mom, is one AFOL (“Adult Fan of LEGO”) featured, here with her re-creation of Rivendell, an Elven village from J.R.R. Tolkien’s books. She estimates she spent about $10,000 for the 200,000 pieces.
— Gregory E. Miller
First-time directors
Directing yourself is no easy task — especially on a budget — but getting people to know you as someone other than Dr. Danny on “The Mindy Project” is even trickier.
So for Chris Messina’s directorial debut “Alex of Venice,” in which he also stars, he called in for some
backup in the form of his pal, fellow actor Matthew Del Negro, who led Messina’s on-camera scenes. It was a world of difference from the time Ben Affleck had directing himself in “Argo,” which also featured Messina.
“It would have been nice to see myself, but we didn’t have playback. We did have someone film the scene on an iPhone to see it a couple times,” he tells The Post. “When we did ‘Argo,’ Ben could go back after and watch the take, and he could make adjustments.”
It’s all the more reason for Messina to be proud of his final product, a movie about a work-obsessed lawyer (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) whose husband (Messina) leaves her, forcing her to reevaluate her life.
Messina’s not the only television star stepping behind the camera for the first time. Courteney Cox, of “Friends” fame and currently on “Cougar Town,” is making her feature film debut with the comedy “Just Before I Go,” starring Seann William Scott as a man who’s made up his mind to kill himself, but first will head home to face the people he blames for his crappy life.
“I really like some of the more edgy, ‘offensive’-style humor in the script,” says Cox. “That is always the funniest, and it contrasts with the heaviness of some of the subject matter.”
But the hardest part? Finding the time to get everything done.
“I would wake up at 3 in the morning with an idea for a shot and I wouldn’t settle until I had it,” says Cox. “It can be all-consuming, and it can be difficult to let it go and to keep balance in your everyday life.”
— Gregory E. Miller