All About Freedom Writers
After reading about Erin Gruwell and The Freedom Writers in a small piece published in the Los Angeles Times, “Primetime Live” news producer Tracey Durning was curious enough to take a trip to Long Beach to learn more about this teacher and her eclectic group of students.
“Something about that little blurb in the Times intrigued me, so I took a trip to meet Erin and the Freedom Writers and was totally blown away,” recounts Durning, who serves as executive producer of the film. “I was blown away by their energy, intelligence, and very special understanding of race and tolerance. It made such a powerful impression on me and was so moving that I knew I had to do the story.”
Director and Academy Award nominated writer Richard LaGravenese saw the “Primetime Live” piece; equally inspired by their story, he recognized the potential for a feature film. “I was extremely affected by the piece because it was about kids being transformed and the dedication of a teacher,” recalls LaGravenese. “I then read the book of diaries written by the students, and immediately called my producer, Stacey Sher, and told her that this was a project we had to do.”
“One of the things that drew us to making this film was the notion that one person really can make a difference,” explains Sher. “Erin Gruwell is a hero like anybody else can be a hero. She was frightened but saw that something had to be done and couldn’t turn her back on these kids. She empowered them with the tools to essentially help themselves.”
What most impressed LaGravenese was that Gruwell’s story is not one of a veteran teacher “rescuing” her students, but rather, a story of a teacher and students leaning from each other through collaboration, support, and mutual respect.
“There seems to be a tradition of films with a tough grizzled veteran teacher coming in and saving the poor children, but what makes this film different is that Erin had a unrealistic sense of harmony and integration,” one that the reality of the school’s racial dynamics soon makes clear to her. “Also, the kids put her in her place and showed her how to become a better teacher. This is their story as much as hers,” says Sher.
“I think it’s the first time that this story has been told where the kids teach the teacher the realities of what’s going on, and the teacher, to her credit, respects their stories enough to learn how to teach them,” says LaGravenese. “There is no self-righteousness and inherent superiority over the kids because after you read their diaries you recognize how raw and honest they are and how much they are artists in their own lives. It’s impossible not to have a great respect for them and it was important to me that the film reflect that.”
Two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank shared the filmmakers’ enthusiasm for the story and joined the project as star and executive producer. “The fact that this is a true story was amazing to me,” says Swank. “I’m a sucker for true stories – they’re stranger than fiction. After reading the script, I immediately fell in love with it and knew I had to be a part of this film.”
“Hilary was very affected by the script and felt deeply connected to it because of her background,” explains LaGravenese. “Besides being an incredibly powerful actress, she brings a quality that she shares with Erin Gruwell, which is absolute earnestness. That quality allows her to be self-deprecating and seem foolish in front of the kids, not really knowing how to be hip and use the right slang, which essentially makes her endearing and allows others to feel at ease around her.”
“Yes, Erin was a mentor to these kids and was an incredible source of unconditional support, but ultimately the kids had to go within and do the work themselves,” adds Swank. “They had to make the choice to make a change in their lives, to break the pattern of history, family, and society and defy all the odds. I think we all have the power to go within and face what scares us – this story illustrates that power.”
“The first time I saw Hilary wearing polka dots and pearls, I felt like I was looking in the mirror,” recalls Gruwell. “There’s so much that she embodies that I respect and look up to, and I knew that she was going to bring so much to this role that was pure and genuine. She’s so unassuming, unaffected, and willing to be gritty. This story is about somebody who’s willing to get in the trenches, have chalk on them, be vulnerable, and to go through that emotional journey.”
“There’s no better person to play Erin than Hilary,” says Sher. “She has such great passion for the project and understands why it is so much more than just making another movie. She understands that it is a movie about the status of education in our country, and her grace, humor, intelligence and inability to take no for an answer made her the perfect choice for Erin.”
To fill the classroom with as much realism and authenticity, the filmmakers went on a nationwide search for kids to bring the Freedom Writers and their stories to life. “We saw over two thousand kids,” recalls LaGravenese. “We looked on the West Coast, East Coast, in schools and on neighborhood basketball courts, because I wanted real kids and honest performances. For me, a lot of it was about the faces of the kids and what their eyes and expressions could bring to the part that my words alone could never bring.”
April Hernandez plays the pivotal role of Eva, a young Latina who, after witnessing her boyfriend committing a crime, becomes conflicted by guilt and the ramifications of testifying against him. Hernandez recognizes the importance of the journals and how the assignment helped Erin breakthrough with her students.
“Miss G gave out the journals as a way for them to express themselves privately,” she says. “They could say whatever they wanted to say and only she would read it. The kids felt like they were always being judged, but this situation had a comfort zone – no one was going to judge or grade them on their grammar or anything. It was a huge breakthrough.”
Chosen for the role of Andre, a tough teen who is dealing with his brother being sentenced to life in prison and a mother suffering from fading health as a result of extended drug use, was Grammy-nominated artist Mario. In preparing to play the role, the young actor was at first intimidated, as the character’s experiences are similar to his own and strike close to home. In the end, however, he realized that he could draw on that well of personal experience to give an emotional, honest, and true portrayal. “Because of everything I experienced growing up, with my mother’s substance abuse problems, I didn’t know how it would affect me, or even if I’d be able to finish the movie,” he says. “But, I figured that would be best for me – if I do a movie role, do one where I can connect with the character. It’s like that for every kid you see in the movie – every actor actually experienced the same things they’re acting. They’d leave the set and go to these same types of situations.”
While a few members of the young cast had some acting experience, several had never acted before and went to a general casting call just for fun. For Jason Finn, who portrays Marcus, one of the “writers” who has been living on the street after his mother threw him out, the experience of trying out for the film was something he lucked into. But to Jason, his decision to audition was a harbinger of some divine correction in his life which was no accident.
Jason had dropped out of high school and was living on the streets. In a bout of remorse and realizing the futility of his situation, he “dropped back in” to school and wandered into a video production class. There, he found he was able to “vent my anger and frustration,” he says, over a shootout he’d been involved in that nearly cost him his life. One thing led to another, and in turn, a production class interview led to an invitation by a student filmmaker to get involved in an independent film, “Mercy Street.” He really got involved, playing the lead role and even helping with the script by adding details from his own life.
One day, while filming “Mercy Street,” Jason visited his old high school the one he had dropped out of and a teacher named Mr. Pullum, he says, asked him what he was “doing with his life.” He answered, “I’m doing an independent film,” to which the teacher responded that he should “try out for a real movie.” That project he tried out for turned out to be “Freedom Writers.” After three auditions, Jason received a call from a casting assistant, who cautioned, “If I were you I wouldn’t cut my hair.” From that day forward, Jason’s vocation was set.
“The newfound world of moviemaking and performance,” says Finn, “changed me on the inside and forced me to believe that I still had a chance to make it without selling drugs or living the street life.”
Sergio Montalvo, who plays Freedom Writer Alejandro, went to audition without any expectations and never dreamed that he would actually get the part. “I was in summer school and one of my teachers told me something about a film and about the role of Alejandro and I thought it kind of sounded like me and might be fun,” remembers Montalvo. “I never really thought I would get the part, but I had nothing else to do. I could have either gotten a burger where my mom works or go to the audition and I remember thinking that I could get a burger any day, so I went. I didn’t change the way I looked, didn’t change my voice. I thought, `If they’ll want me, it will be for who I am.”
Jaclyn Ngan, who plays the role of Sindy, a Cambodian teen who spent years in a refugee camp, is a student at Los Angeles’ Fairfax High School and also had no prior acting experience.
“Three weeks after my last audition, I had totally forgotten about it,” recalls Ngan. “When I got the call I thought they had made a mistake, I was totally speechless.”
To remove any anxiety the non-actors may have had walking onto a film set for the first time, director LaGravenese reassured them that they were chosen for what he saw within them.
“The first time we all met for the big cast reading I thought it was important to tell them that they all belonged there and that nobody had anything to prove,” recalls LaGravenese. “I told them that I loved who they were and that whatever we did together started from that moment forward.”
“The first thing Richard said to me was, `You’re here because there is no better person to do this part.’ It put me at ease to know that he really believed in me,” Mario remembers. “He already knew what he wanted for this film and what he wanted to see; getting us all together was really emotional for him. You could see it in his eyes.”
The actors were not only chosen for their acting ability but for potentially sharing something with their character that they could bring to the role. “I live in South Central and the lifestyle that I live is the same as my character Alejandro’s,” explains Montalvo. “I live in what society calls a bad area, where you hear gunshots every day and cops talking through megaphones. I grew up believing that cops were the enemy and falling asleep to the sound of helicopters. In my life, I walk outside of my doorstep looking for member of a rival gang, hoping I won’t get shot.”
“The film takes place right after the riots, when there was so much anger,” explains Hernandez. “These kids came from such intense backgrounds and no one had ever asked us how they felt. Miss G showed them that someone actually cared.”
After making such a strong connection with her students during their freshman and sophomore year, the thought of passing her class of Freedom Writers onto another teacher was too much to bear for both Erin and her students. Knowing that the administration, school board and fellow teachers wouldn’t be supportive of her effort to continue teaching her students for junior and senior year, Erin enlisted the support of educational superintendent Dr. Carl Cohn and argued her case. Considering the unconventional nature of what Erin was trying to do, it was important to writer/director Richard LaGravenese to present a fair and even outlook on all sides of the argument, whether they were pro-Erin or not.
“It was important in writing the script that everybody’s point-of-view was established and evenly based,” explains LaGravenese. “Those who were against Erin had to have balanced points-of-view so that it wasn’t so black and white that Erin was right and everyone else was wrong. What’s happening with education is a difficult situation; there are no easy answers, and I wanted to illustrate that.”
To play the role of Margaret Vail, Erin’s superior teacher and greatest adversary, the filmmakers cast Academy Award nominee Imelda Staunton to flesh out the complex character. Like many teachers who’ve taught in the system for several years, Margaret is threatened by change and only knows how to function within the existing system.
“My character, Margaret, has been teaching for thirty years and is very old-school,” explain Staunton. “She is a very good teacher but is very stuck in her own ways. She doesn’t understand what Erin is trying to do and finds it very threatening. It seems to me that a lot of schools are stuck with bureaucracy and red tape, and some feel that if children can’t meet the standards, then there’s no sense in wasting precious resources to educate them. Erin challenges that notion and Margaret tries to stop her.”
Gruwell’s commitment to her students included helping to supplement the lack of funds for resources by taking additional part-time jobs to help buy books and finance special outings. Spending many late nights in the classroom or working at another job didn’t allow for a lot of time and energy for her marriage. Although Erin’s husband, Scott, was hugely supportive of her work, he was ultimately unable to go on the journey with her and had to let her go.
“The real tragedy of any hero’s journey is the things that are sacrificed on the way,” says Sher. “When Erin made the decision to dedicate herself to these kids, she was forced to sacrifice her personal life. Unfortunately, it’s hard to be on a journey like this and also be someone’s wife.”
“When some of her students wanted to stay late after school and admitted to not having anywhere to go at night, how do you say, `I’m sorry, you can’t stay. You’re gonna have to figure it out?’” says Swank. “If they don’t have a place to do all the reading and writing you’re asking of them, then you have to give them that place. That kind of commitment took a toll on her marriage. Sometimes people’s callings are so strong that there’s not enough of a person to go around.”
Chosen for the role of Erin’s husband Scott was film and television star Patrick Dempsey, who is currently starring on the critically acclaimed television drama “Grey’s Anatomy.”
“I really wanted to be a part of this project because I think the ultimate message is more important now than ever,” explains Patrick Dempsey. “I think we have to take a look at the educational system in this country and revamp it. A lot of kids are getting lost in the system and we need more teachers like Erin Gruwell to step up and challenge the system, because it’s not always so black and white.”
Although it would have been easy to portray Scott and a bad guy and an unsupportive husband, the subtlety of Dempsey’s performance offers insight into the loving nature of their relationship and the sorrow of its demise.
“Scott was extremely supportive of Erin and is an important character in the story because it illustrates what she ultimately sacrifices for her work and the kids,” says the actor. “As the relationship with her students grew, it took them down two separate roads. What we tried to do was to develop the love, warmth, and intimacy of their relationship and progressively show it falling apart. When you’re that committed to something, there’s always a sacrifice on some level. Nothing comes easy.”
“There are so many characters in this film; to flesh them out and make them complete humans in a short amount of time is a difficult task,” explains Swank. “The role of Scott was a difficult one in that sense, but Patrick did so much with limited story time. As an actor, he embodies a lot of the attributes that make Scott a great character: he’s charismatic, smart, easy-going, and really cares. I think he did an amazing job.”
Scott Glenn rounds out the cast in the role of Steve, Erin’s father. A man whose liberal credentials have given way to a more conservative attitude, Steve begins to see Erin’s students as the survivors they are. Glenn says that Steve’s relationship with the students was mirrored on the set. “I’m amazed at these kids’ stories,” he says of his young co-stars. “Their real stories are as moving, as harsh, as the stories of the people they play in the movie. They all have enormous potential; they just need some of the weights that have been hung around their necks removed so they can run their own race. Their loose and irreverent, funny and honest, challenging and in-your-face.”
The veteran actor also has high praise for Hilary Swank. “Hilary never gives a cheap shot,” he continues. “She’s passionate, but at the same time, has a blue-collar mentality about the work she does. She is always right there, in the moment with you, and prepared always. She’s great.”
Freedom Writers (2007)
Directed by: Richard LaGravenese
Starring: Hilary Swank, Imelda Staunton, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, Mario, Kristin Herrera, Jaclyn Ngan, Vanetta Smith, Gabriel Chavarria, Hunter Parrish, Kristin Herrera
Screenplay by: Richard LaGravenese
Production Design by: Laurence Bennett
Cinematography by: Jim Denault
Film Editing by: David Moritz
Costume Design by: Cindy Evans
Set Decoration by: Linda Lee Sutton
Art Direction by: Peter Borck
Music by: Mark Isham, Will.i.am
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violent content, some thematic material and language.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: January 5, 2007
Visits: 171
