Hijacking Hollywood

Kevin Conroy has a dream. He wants to make movies; his own movies. While work-ing as production assistant on the blockbuster ”Moby Dick 2 ”he sees his chance. He runs off with irreplaceable footage and demands a ransom, which he intends to use to finance his dream project.
When the independent film ”Hijacking Hollywood ”was first released in the US, Neil Mandt was already something of a sensation. At 21 years of age he had received awards nine times for production and direction. Are we talking wunderkind? Neil Mandt certainly does not lack confid-ence; he has written, directed, produced, and distributed his debut film all on his own, and he even acts in it. It is hardly surprising then that the form in ”Hijacking Hollywood ”is somewhat generational, and imbued with autobiographical qualities. A simple story, a lot of dialogue, the older generation takes a few punches, others are praised, and, of course, there are the references.
After the opening credits one can not help but pay a little extra attention. Right from the start Mandt develops his own approach that's impossible to define, whether it is ironic, serious, or haughty. How is one to react when he makes such crystal clear (in both senses of the word) reference to Orson Welles brilliant debut film?
But Mandt looks ahead, and hints at the mythical Hollywood, rather than reverting back to being a child and dreaming about the mystique of Rosebud. Similarly, he has let Henry Thomas play the lead, otherwise remembered for his contribution as the young boy, Elliot, in ”E.T”. Now he plays Kevin, a young guy from Detroit who dreams of becoming a filmmaker, a sort of Neil Mandt alter ego. This time he makes all the phone calls and not the other way around. The aliens are still there-of course-in the form of a plastic doll on the desk of the one taking the calls.
Mandt's narrative technique is direct, but permits small deviations that provide a little extra lift; forbidden sex, armed police in action. All the roles in the film are more types than they are characters and the dialogue doesn't seem to try and reach beyond that. The element of parody is always present and the music by Erik Lundmark from Sweden promotes this very successfully. It has an intrinsic ambivalence which both strengthens the sense of irony at the same time that it also deepens the effect of the suspense or the hopelessness.
Linda Hedihn

Premiärstatus
Skandinavisk premiär: Medverkande
Henry Thomas, Scott Thompson, Mark Metcalf, Neil Mandt: Producent
Neil Mandt: Manus
Neil Mandt, Jim Rossow: Foto
Anton Floquet: Musik
Erik Lundmark: Talat språk
English