On Monday October 20, “Low Down” directed by Jeff Preiss premiered in New York City at the Sunshine Landmark Theater. Set in Hollywood in the 70s, the biopic is based on the life of jazz pianist Joe Albany, who struggles with a drug addiction, told from the prescriptive of his teenage daughter Amy.
Based on the memoir by Amy-Jo Albany, “Low Down” is a look at that complex relationship between Amy-Jo played by Elle Fanning and her father played by John Hawkes. Attending the screening were director Jeff Preiss, lead actor John Hawkes, writer Amy-Jo Albany and executive producer and actor Flea. Check out our exclusive interviews with the cast and crew themselves.
Jeff Preiss
Q: How did you first come in contact with Amy-Jo’s memoirs and when did you know that you wanted to turn this into a feature film?
Amy worked on my crew. I was always a fan of Joe Albany’s music. When I found out that she was his daughter, I became interested in her stories. The memoir in came out of the conversations we had about Hollywood in the ’70s, the music, and her interest in being a writer. The memoir was published by Tin House and optioned by Bona Fide Productions, by Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa. I spoke with Albert about making it into a film. They knew that I knew Amy well and that I was really interested in the material and Joe’s music but found out after we started producing the film that I advocated for her stories from the beginning.
Flea
Q: How did you come across this project?
They sent me the script, I read it and my mind was completely blown because it was a story of a young girl growing up in the 70s in Hollywood with a Jazz musician parent with a substance abuse problem – I grew up in the 70s with a jazz musician parent with a substance abuse problem blocks away from where she grew up. It was like my story, I couldn’t believe it literally. I was like shaking when I read it. Amy-Jo and Jeff invited me to be a part of the film. That really meant a lot to me, the fact that the script really resonated with me so powerfully personally. It made me want to do anything I could do to help with the movie.
The jazz musicians of that time were these incredible musicians who dedicated their lives to this incredibly sophisticated music form and they grew up in the 40s and 50s idealizing Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and all those Jazz greats of the time. Come the 70s, they had mastered this craft and there were incredible artists, the best artists the world had to offer but nobody gave a shit. It was not cool anymore and no one cared. The ones that were luckily enough to go to Europe where they still cared about it were able to make a living. For a lot of these musicians they couldn’t.
Q: Did you know Amy-Jo growing up?
Funny enough no. We have a lot of mutual friends and it’s really crazy that we became friends since this started. It’s really surprising to me that we didn’t meet back then. We are the same age; grew up in the same town going through very parallel lives.
Q: Is your character based off a real person?
I think he’s a composite of a couple of guys. I grew up around these guys. In my house it was these jazz guys just like the guy I played that were in and out of my house all the time jamming and playing in my living room. I really grew up with those guys. Some of them were really bitter because they couldn’t make a living and they saw these musicians that they could play circles around, like rock musicians really getting paid and they just couldn’t pay rent or eat and had to play really shitty music jobs.
John Hawkes
Q: What initially drew you to this project?
I got to met Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger who are the producers of the film and they had the book. They handed me the book years before the film was made. They were pulling it together and asked me if I’d play the lead character. I read Amy’s memoir and I kind of set it aside and one day it came up as an offer to do and I was really happy to do it.
Q: I know you reenacted the performances and your fingers were matching the keyboard exactly. How did you teach yourself?
Ohad Talmore taught me a lot. I just worked really hard. There’s no fakery. I’m not a great piano player. It was shot cleverly enough that it’s only my hands and there’s no computer stuff.
Amy-Jo Albany
Q: What was it like seeing the film told through your perspective? Do you feel like Elle Fanning did a good job?
She did an amazing job; I’m not just saying that. I really think she’s an incredible actress. Especially she’s trying to relate to a world that’s really different than anything she’s experienced or known. I wonder where that comes from in someone so young with limited life experiences. She’s intuitive and has wonderful instincts.
Q: How did you begin to write these memoirs of your father?
I was working on a set with Jeff and he just engaged me in conversation. He found out that Joe Albany was my dad. He’s a huge jazz nut. He wanted me to tell him stories. I started writing him letters because he lived in New York and I live in Los Angeles and all those letters lead their way to a publisher, it was just a really bizarre surreal process.
Following the screening, guests made their way over to The Handy Liquor Bar for drinks, canapés and live piano music by Chris Pattishall. The film hits theaters this Friday on Oct. 24, 2014.
-Yanique Bourjolly