— When I was a kid in the ‘90s, we had one television and when it was my mom’s turn to watch something, she’d always go to the Turner Classic Movies channel. The first, non-kid movie I remember sitting through was Some Like It Hot by Billy Wilder, from 1959, and well, you know how it goes next — we stay who we were as kids or teenagers, as far as the things we have affection for, and so my love for that movie and moreover that period in film and TV grew. Now, it’s two projects from the 1950s that I think about the most for So Far Bound’s style and tone. And I know — for fundraising, I should be Marvel-izing the references for Bound, but for now, I’ll tell the truth.
how bound could play: Like it’s hot.
— Before we get into the movie, let’s talk about its director, Billy Wilder. From 1950 to 1960, my guy went on an all-time hot streak making three, stone-cold classics in Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot and The Apartment, plus great “second-tier,” historical films like Sabrina and Stalag 17. You’d call each of the projects listed a comedy first, but each blended elements of drama, sincerity and more. For Bound, we also want to have a good time first, and much like Wilder, be able to deftly slide into moments of drama or mania, or quiet or sensuality when the story calls for it.
Hot is the primary reference, not just because I saw it first, but because of its plotting of two guys on the run from the mob and their journey from Chicago to Florida. The characters from Bound aren’t on the run, per say, but they were happy to get away from home and they’ll feel the same displacement as the protagonists in Hot. Also, the movie is, in my opinion, the pinnacle of a fun time which Bound, even with its sometimes weightier themes, should ultimately try to be.
How bound could Feel: Like summertime.
— Again, before the movie, let’s talk about its director, David Lean. Two of my all-time favorite movies are The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia. Each is a sterling example of the “epic” movie with Lawrence being the pinnacle. The films feel like rich, vista paintings, even when they’re in more intimate, interior spaces. After Bridge on the River Kwai, Lean mostly stuck to epics until the end.
But before he made Bridge, he made Summertime (1955). The film follows a spinster from Ohio who travels solo to Venice, Italy, and finds romance. It’s a smaller, more personal story but, to me, you can feel Lean start to explore a more “epic” style. There’s a sort of grandeur and grace to Summertime’s filmmaking, lifting up an otherwise simple story. (Of course, Katharine Hepburn also brings a whole bag of grandeur and grace). For Bound, even though it’s also ultimately a more personal story (or eight of them), we’ll also try to mine its built-in sense of adventure and create a vibrant, full style of our own.
bonus: how it could rock.
“People Get Ready” by Aretha Franklin
— How ‘bout music? If I had it my way, the whole, damn series would open with a set piece featuring this song from one of the best albums ever. A good picture’s gotta have some soul, ya know? It comes from writing and acting, sure, but also you could just cheat and bring in Aretha to make ya face scrunch and ya knees buckle.
“Caramelos” by Tito Puente
— All my life, I was a rap/rock/soul head. Anything jazz-y was off the radar. When I started writing Bound, though, I wrote it with a Caribbean/Atlantic setting in mind, and so, I listened to a lot of Afro and Latin jazz/music and now I think it’s maybe the most vital music on Earth. Ideally the score of So Far Bound will have such influences.