Oakland’s a riot as film set for Boots Riley, director
It appears to be a peaceful summer afternoon in Oakland in the middle of July, but what greets anyone coming out of BART’s 19th Street/Oakland Station is a welter of picket signs and apparent chaos. However, because this is Oakland, a Bay Area hot spot for socialjustice activism and protest, the sight of a crowd holding signs aloft is not so unusual.
But look closer. What are those big reflectors and cameras? What is that tent in back equipped with what looks like TV monitors? Why the mysterious totems costumed to look exactly like the protesters, many wearing Afro wigs with Coke cans stuck in them and blue T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Shut ’em down”?
There also is a man with a megaphone, directing the crowd.
“This is a strike scene,” says the man with the megaphone, writer-director Boots Riley, who is in downtown Oakland shooting “Sorry to Bother You,” his debut feature. “Telemarketers have gone on strike and are facing private security who are breaking their strike line.”
Producer Nina Yang Bongiovi adds, “The last few days we’ve been shooting the riot scenes, and a lot of people who work around here, because they’re so
used to people protesting or standing up or speaking out about things, they thought it was real.”
Riley, 46, is best known as an activist and the frontman of the hip-hop groups the Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club, but before his musical career took off, there was film, which he studied at San Francisco State.
In 2016, he was among the directors chosen for the Sundance Directors Lab. Closer to home, Riley received a residency at the San Francisco Film Society’s FilmHouse, and “Sorry to Bother You” is the recipient of a $25,000 grant from the Film Society and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.
He also has put together an all-star cast, who have agreed to cut their usual fees for the modest production — including Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Omari Hardwick, Steven Yeun, Terry Crews, Jermaine Fowler and Armie Hammer. The film also has attracted a host of producers, including Significant Productions, the partnership between Bongiovi and Forest Whitaker that began when they came to the Bay Area to make Ryan Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station.”
Riley worked as a telemarketer, so his story is grounded in that reality, but what Bongiovi describes as a hybrid of magical realism, dark comedy and political statement takes off from there. A black telemarketer with poor self-esteem stumbles upon an unusual key to success, but as he begins climbing the corporate ladder, labor unrest breaks out and he makes some shocking discoveries about the company.
With his headphones around his neck and megaphone in hand, ready to put the actors and extras through their paces, Riley looks completely at home on his set. This is day 15 of his 28-day shoot, day four of shooting this riot scene. In between takes, extras mill about, but stay close to their marks. Off to the side, an actor in full militarized riot gear as a member of the private security force practices with a baton, miming busting heads. Fowler, one of the familiar faces among the striking telemarketers, passes the time by jogging a short distance back and forth through the crowd.
“Do we want smoke?” a crew member calls out as Riley prepares to call action. Wisps of smoke duly appear as Fowler, Thompson and Yeun take their places, pinned down against a dumpster. Pandemonium erupts as the cameras start rolling, strikers and strikebreakers facing off. It is action repeated with variations over and over until a half-hour lunch break is called. Not that Riley will be eating. After he ambles over to talk to a reporter, it is off to a production meeting.
During filming of “Sorry to Bother You,” people on their way to Kaiser Permanente or other businesses near the shoot pass by and linger a few minutes, watching the action unfurl. At the same time, there is a desire to retain some mystery. Photography is strictly limited. The film and the actors’ roles are described in only the most general of terms. Riley is playing it close to the vest: no spoilers.
The proud Oaklander will allow, though, that location is key.
“The story and my understanding of the world and everything springs out from this geographical spot.”