As the 2nd innauguration of President Barack Obama is about to take place in Washington, DC, THE MAN is going to Baltimore, MD for a FREE screening and discussion led by Clayton LeBouef.
DATE/TIME: Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 2 PM WHERE: Enoch Pratt Free Library (Central), 400 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD, Tel. (410) 396-5430
Information LINK
The script, written by Rod Serling (best known as the creator of the classic television series “The Twilight Zone”) is based on the novel of the same name by Irving Wallace, and directed by Joseph Sargent (“Something the Lord Made,” “Warm Springs,” “Taking of Pelham One Two Three”). The film was intended to debut as a television movie, but received a short theatrical release in 1972 with an opening run at Baltimore’s Charles Theater.
The presentations of THE MAN is part of a preservation campaign to rediscover and redistribute “lost films.”
Introducing the MTPC Project –
MENACE THE PUBLIC CONSCIENCE/
MAKE THE PUBLIC CONSCIOUS Project Saturday, May 26 (12noon – 4 PM) No Admission Fee
Presented with:
The Martin Luther King Memorial Library
901 G Street, (Lower Level)
Washington, DC 20001
“THE MAN” stars James Earl Jones who through the law of succession, becomes the first Black President of the United States. Janet MacLachlan, Martin Balsam, Burgess Meridith, also star. The film directed by Joe Sargent, is based on the book by Irving Wallace with a screenplay by Rod Serling.
“UPTIGHT” stars Julian Mayfield, Roscoe Lee Brown, Max Julien, and Ruby Dee (who co-wrote the screenplay). Based on the 1935 film “THE INFORMER” by John Ford, this 1968 release deals with the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and was directed by Jules Dassin.
MTPC is the name of a new project led by actor Clayton LeBouef (“Something The Lord Made,” “Homicide, The Wire”) and taken from a quote by Rod Serling.
“The writer’s role is to menace the public’s conscience. He must have a position, a point of view. He must see the arts as a vehicle for social criticism and he must focus on the issues of his time.”
Mr. LeBouef, is partnering with eclectique916.com to reintroduce films reflecting a storyteller’s willingness to roll the dice and deliver a message about the human experience. The MTPC project includes a “people’s campaign” to bring lost works back to life through public screenings and re-releases on DVD or video streaming. You can get involved.
MTPC project is presenting “The Man” June 17 at 1 PM with the LakeArts Foundation Film Festival “Politics Goes to the Movies” in Chautauqua, New York. More information is available here.
More information about the MTPC Project will be available at the May 26 event. Email events[at]eclectique916[dot]com And Stay Tuned!
Douglass Dilman is “The Man” and the first Black President in the 1972 drama based on the novel by Irving Wallace and staring James Earl Jones. The film is back in limited distribution through independent collaborative efforts and coming to National Geographic (Grosvenor Auditorium – 1600 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036) Tuesday, February 7 to kick off Nat Geo’s “Tuesdays at Noon” Black History Month events.
In “The Man,” Senator Douglass Dilman (James Earl Jones) through the law of succession suddenly becomes the first black man to occupy the Oval Office. “The Man” remains unique in that the film presents the black president as the central dramatic character confronting the political and social weights of his position. Sound familiar? In addition to Jones, the film features actors from television and film’s “Golden Age”: Burgess Meredith, Jack Benny (in a cameo), Janet MacLachlan as Dilman’s activist daughter, George Stanford Brown, Martin Balsam, Barbara Rush, and William Windom. The screenplay for “The Man” was written by Rod Serling (“The Twilight Zone,” “Requiem for a Heavyweight”) and directed by Joseph Sargent (“Something the Lord Made,” “A Lesson Before Dying”).
Eclectique916 continues to campaign for “The Man,” a film that is less than 50 years old and yet practically obscure. According to the documentary film “These Amazing Shadows” about the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry, 50% of films produced are lost. This spans from the silent film era at the top of the 20th century to the present. Feature films produced in the last 50 years are also vanishing. “The Man” is considered one of them. To date, only three 16 mm copies of “The Man” have been identified/found. It is highly likely the original film is 35 mm. To date, the location of that 35 mm reel is a mystery.
The book was taken out of print then re-released in 1999, the year after President Bill Clinton’s “impeachment” by the House of Representatives prompted by the “Monica Lewinsky scandal.” The Senate acquitted President Clinton. In the book, but not so much in the film, Dilman also faces impeachment.
James Earl Jones wrote the introduction to the 1999 version of “The Man.”
His [Dilman] intention is to be president of all the people. He has no axes to grind, even racial axes. He simply cares for the national good.
James Earl Jones
The book went back out of print but recently re-emerged as a Kindle edition. The film is not available on DVD, Blueray or streamed. Thanks to the efforts of persons like Clayton LeBouef (“Something the Lord Made,” “Homicide: Life On the Street,” “The Wire”), who will talk about preservation of films like “The Man” February 7, the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation and this blog, “The Man” is back. It’s the beginning of a project to bring attention to significant films (many recent) that deserve extended distribution. If not for an informed and conscious audience, these films will be lost forever.
Vote for “The Man.” See “The Man” for yourself February 7 at National Geographic “Tuesdays at Noon.” Additional screenings (including outside DC) are TBA.
Don’t miss the final night for the free presentation of Rod Serling’s 1972 film “The Man,”Sunday, November 28 at 8 PM at Busboys and Poets (5th & K Streets, NW), part of the Focus In film series.
Latoya Peterson, owner and editor of Racialicious, a blog that keeps tabs on the intersection of race and culture joins Clayton LeBouef for the Q&A following the film. The film is FREE and open to the public. Dinner service will be available.
Washington’s Talking….
Black presidents have been a television and movie staple for years, hopeful looks forward to the day that was realized in January 2009. But in 1972, a black president was just as unheard of in entertainment as it would have seemed to most of America in reality. — Ian Buckwalter, DCist
Amazingly, the film predicted the future: Things do not go smoothly for the nation’s first fictional black president, either. We hope that President Obama will consider attending a screening or two to take some solace in this fact, at least. — Washington Post Express Night Out