Marblehead High School senior Wyatt Foley, who co-wrote and directed the movie “Currently a Paperboy,” says leading an intergenerational film club at the Council on Aging has made him a better filmmaker.
“Totally. By hearing different perspectives, your work can be more dimensional,” Foley told the Current. “That way, your movies can have something everyone can relate to.”
Foley and several MHS students met with seniors at the COA every week, January through March, to watch and discuss movies. In what they call the Discover Movie Magic Club, they have watched everything from “Dr. Strangelove” to “Good Will Hunting,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley” to “Marie Antoinette.” Of course, they watched Foley’s movie, “Currently a Paperboy,” too.
When asked what criteria he used to pick the movies, Foley said, “I wanted films with good stories that would create a debate and give us things to talk about. Also, ones that were done well technically.”
Foley especially appreciated watching Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” and the discussion on race relations that came after.
Lee Mondale shared her memories of watching TV coverage of Civil Rights leaders being beaten as they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965.
Vincent Carotenuto talked about the tense race relations in New York City when he was growing up there decades ago.
“Each movie was different,” said Pinny Randall. “We discuss when it was made and tie it into events happening around us.”
In addition to race, discussions touched on wealth inequality, power and mental health.
Foley said it was interesting to watch the movies with a new perspective.
“It’s great to be able to understand things from an older person’s point of view,” he said.
Foley also shared movie-making tips with the seniors, which gave them a greater appreciation for the art.
“Now, I try to imagine the editing and filming,” Mondale said. “‘Oppenheimer’ just won an Oscar for Best Sound, and I want to go back and watch it again to pay more attention to that.”
Most of the older folks agreed that Foley’s “Currently a Paperboy” was their favorite movie to watch and discuss.
“I loved seeing the way you used the scenery, all over town,” Randall said to Foley. “It was really cool how you brought in a lot of the community.”
Mondale added, “It was a great look into teen life today. It is definitely different from my teenage years.”
Carotenuto, who comes to the club with his wife, Harriet, said he appreciates how Foley organized each meeting and discussion.
“He’s learning from the perspective of older people, even though we know teenagers know it all,” he said with a laugh. “He was humble.”
Carotenuto got a kick out of how Foley would fast forward through sex scenes.
“I was embarrassed,” Foley said sheepishly.
Foley graduates this spring and will study film at Wesleyan University. MHS students Quinn Scheib, Matias Watts Cruz and Phineas Jakious will take over the Discovery Movie Magic Club next year.
“Currently a Paperboy” played several sold-out shows at the Warwick Cinema and can be viewed at youtube.com/watch?v=6detdZn9Dpk.
