Too much gratitude for just one premiere
Oakland’s Boots Riley introduces debut film on both sides of bay
Bother most directly After of You” Boots to the a cast, nearby to Riley an journalists Oakland introduced ballet studio crowd and his publicists for Thursday movie interviews “Sorry walked night, to and But photos. Riley, longtime frontman for the Oakland hip-hop collective the Coup and first-time filmmaker, ducked back into the Grand Lake Theater for a few more minutes. “I wanted to see their reaction to it,” he said later. “It’s kind of like if you have a kid, and you see them every day, and they’re growing little by little, you don’t necessarily notice how much they’ve grown — as much as someone who hasn’t
seen them growing and suddenly they’re tall.”
That sums up the journey of “Sorry to Bother You,” the centerpiece San Francisco International Film Festival presentation that played in staggered shifts Thursday night at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco and the Grand Lake in Riley’s hometown, Oakland.
More than 15 years in the making, the film won the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and was bought by Annapurna Pictures, which has been aggressively marketing it. The absurdist comedy/ science fiction/romance/social satire, about a struggling young Oakland man (“Get Out” and “Atlanta” star Lakeith Stanfield) who faces a moral crisis as he rises through the telemarketing ranks, opens nationwide on July 6.
The unusual SFFilm program sent the rapper and filmmaker on a high-wire act to introduce both screenings, walk a red carpet and then host post-credits Q&As — one by Skype — for San Francisco and Oakland audiences in a tight five-hour period.
(Adding to the degree of difficulty: After the 6:30 p.m. live Castro introduction, he crossed the Bay Bridge by car during rush hour to get to the Grand Lake in advance of the 8 p.m. Oakland screening.)
It was clearly an emotional homecoming for Riley, a proud Oakland native who has embraced the city’s physical locations and counterculture vibe in songs including “My Favorite Mutiny,” “The Guillotine” and “Me & Jesus the Pimp in a ’79 Grenada Last Night.” Riley received two standing ovations from the packed Oakland crowd, after the movie and again after a lengthy and personal post-film question-and-answer session.
The Grand Lake crowd was an odd mix of SFFilm regulars, Oakland residents and (as Riley pointed out) a large number of people who helped make “Sorry to Bother You.” He told the hometown audience that he insisted that SFFilm, which usually hosts centerpiece films at the Castro, add the Grand Lake. The double screening was a first in the 61-year history of the festival.
“It took so many people to make the movie,” he told the group, “I’m sure half the crowd here was in the movie.”
“Sorry to Bother You” was filmed in Oakland locations including the 19th Street BART Station, an Oakland Technical High School locker room and a house around the corner from Riley’s own home. The plot was born out of some thoughts Riley wrote down in a notebook in the early 2000s. He started writing the screenplay in 2011, naming his band’s next album “Sorry to Bother You” to generate interest in the project. (Riley dedicated the film to his fellow Coup member Pam the Funkstress, who died of organ failure late last year.)
Riley said a “war of inches” was waged after that, with SFFilm, Oakland’s Kenneth Rainin Foundation, the Sundance Institute Directors Lab and author Dave Eggers all providing money, resources or guidance.
Riley and cast members Terry Crews, Jermaine Fowler and Oakland actor Michael Sommers were on hand. Riley told a story about each cast member, including Crews, a longtime Coup fan who sat the director down for a twohour motivational speech after he signed on to the film.
“I was ready to work out, start a pyramid scheme, build a house,” Riley said.
“What’s up?” Crews said, when it was his turn to come on the Grand Lake stage. “You build that house yet?”
Riley’s heartfelt Oakland address was a nice companion piece to the speech by “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler, who flew into town in February and surprised a Grand Lake crowd when that blockbuster premiered. Coogler mentioned seeing “Boyz n the Hood” at the Grand Lake with his father while still in grade school.
Riley’s dad was a little less relaxed with the rules.
“I remember going past when ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ was on the marquee,” Riley said, referencing Spike Lee’s breakthrough small-budget 1986 film. “I didn’t see it there; I remember my father said, ‘You’re too young for that.’ But I knew it was some kind of independent film.”
Now Riley has made the hot indie. And the Bay Area is behind him.
“I’m actually in ‘Deadpool 2,’ but I get more reactions and more people who are waiting for this movie than that one,” Crews said on the red carpet. “The energy and vibe — it reminded me of when Spike Lee first came on the scene, and did his thing, and became a force of nature.”