Two years after his film Bobby somehow went from overrated to award worthy Emilio Estevez is finally ready to go forward with a new film, this one is called The Public and is described as a social drama set in a public library that he wrote and will direct. Ooh, a library drama eh? Exciting!
Actually, the film doesn’t sound a whole lot different than Bobby, at least in terms of storytelling style. The flick is loosely based on a Los Angeles Times op-ed piece written by Chip Ward, a retiring librarian in Salt Lake City, which discussed the epidemic issue of libraries becoming de facto shelters for the homeless and the mentally ill in light of many social program cuts.
Basically, it sounds to me like we are going to meet a variety of people from different class levels and hear their stories. The idea, overall, isn’t much different than the ensemble piece Estevez put together with Bobby surrounding the fate of the late Senator Robert. F. Kennedy. The problem I had with that film was that the strength of a couple of the storylines were so much better than the others the rest of the film faltered, especially considering it never really created much of a tension for the climax. However, I did think Freddy RodrÃguez deserved far more attention for that film than he got, same for Laurence Fishburne. The kitchen storyline dominated that film.
The Public is said to need 16 characters for the ensemble piece as it is currently eyeing a March 26 start date in Los Angeles.
The story for is set in Los Angeles and takes place during a 48-hour period on the two coldest days in the city, with the library overwhelmed by people seeking shelter. After getting rebuffed by the administration to keep the doors open, one librarian stages an act of civil disobedience. He ends up dealing with the library’s new inhabitants, many of them mentally ill.
Estevez is hoping to get permission to shoot part of the film in the downtown library despite a moratorium on shooting indoors. He overcame similar hurdles with Bobby when he secured permission to shoot at L.A.’s Ambassador Hotel, which was just months away from the wrecking ball.
As much as I didn’t enjoy Bobby Estevez showed promise and I hope this one impresses me more than his last one.
