Forty years after the iconic'60s musical bash, Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee brings the spirit of Woodstock to theaters in his new film -- "Taking Woodstock."
James Schamus' screenplay for the film is derived from a book by Elliot Tiber whose efforts to save his Jewish immigrant family's dying motel in upstate New York did a lot to launch 1969's Woodstock Music and Arts Festival.
Elliot is a young gay man who unwittingly sets wheels in motion that swiftly overwhelm him. Comedy performer and writer Demetri Martin plays Elliot. The film is his first in a leading role.
"Taking Woodstock" is a low-wattage film about a high-wattage event. Lee delivers an entertaining light comedy about Elliot's journey and struggles.
Lee says that the 1960s for him present an "innocence" that he was keen to capture.
Director Ang Lee said, "I think to capture that spirit I think I want to take that, follow his lead, by thinking of it as a center of the universe, which is vague, somewhere far away, has to be light. And I want to see this human soup, set in a ball. That represents the universe. It's just such a fascinating idea; I thought the best way to describe Woodstock, at least from my point of view."
Martin said he was more excited by the idea of being in a Woodstock film than in playing Elliot Tiber.
Actor Demetri Martin said, "Then when I learned about Elliot, I thought that would be a really interesting challenge for someone like me. I'm not a trained actor and the chance to be in a movie and to be the lead of a movie, just which in itself is kind of a big step for somebody like me. The fact that the character is gay and living in a different time, there are different attributes that kind of make it more appealing as a challenge."
"Taking Woodstock" opens across the U.S. on August 28th.
