Great World of Sound (2007)

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Directed by R. Craig Zobel, Craig Zobel.

Starring Kene Holliday, Pat Healy, Robert Longstreet, Rebecca Mader.

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Filmmaker Craig Zobel explores the shortcuts that some folks are willing to take to become famous while simultaneously exposing the unscrupulous manner in which others take advantage of these desperate souls with this story of two men who set out to train as record producers. Excited about the prospect of helping to sign undiscovered artists, Martin (Pat Healy) answers an ad to train as a record producer. Over the course of his apprenticeship, Martin is paired with like-minded trainee Clarence (Kene Holliday) -- a middle-aged man seeking out a new career path. Upon graduating from the program, Martin and Clarence are assigned the task of traveling to towns where the company has placed newspaper ads searching for untapped talent. For a fee, these emerging talents can have their music heard by an increasingly larger audience. Though at first everything seems to be going great with their new jobs, a few unsettling developments soon lead Martin and Clarence to suspect that the company may not always have the artists' best interests in mind. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

How much do you believe in your ...
by JScott in JScott Blog

liked it.

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"Craig Zobel writes and directs this film produced by independent film maker David Gordon Green about a small record production company also called "The Great World of Sound" or GSW if you want to make a check out to them. Martin (Pat Healy) joins the new company in hopes to make a difference and get some pointers in the world of business to help promote his wife/girlfriend Pam's (Rebecca Mader) arts and crafts that she makes. Clarence (Kene Holliday of Matlock fame) is Martin's partner as they both learn the ropes of the industry together. For the record, Clarence is by far the most entertaining character in the film. The most true and talented artist of the entire film is Gloria a waitress at a bar in Indianapolis played very convincingly by Robert Longstreet.The film is about the choices made when faced with adversity. It shows the proverbial "slippery slope" when dealing with morals and success. From the small lie of using a cell phone as a camer ... " [More]

Window On A World That Ain't So ...
by slipofthetongue in SlipOfTheTongue Blog

is neutral about it.

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"I'm not sure where GREAT WORLD OF SOUND falls in the anthology of film. It has an understated, documentary quality which is admirable. It is at times funny but never strains for laughs. Perhaps its best achievement is in creating a seemless world of struggling losers who are at once believable and even in some regards likeable. This occurs even as the above said characters are seen duping apspiring local musicians and theme acts out of their very limited assets.Props for director Craig Zobel and to Kene Holiday for his engaging portrayal of a salesman who sees no shame in exploiting the grey areas in his dealings with would be clients. Pat Healy is low key in all the right ways and is belieavable as a somewhat likeable loser who is trying to improve his life. The annoying thing about this film (in retrospect) is that we are never actually sure while it plays out whether or not our two leads are in on the con or not. Are they slightly aware? Do they even have suspicions ... " [More]

Trade Roughage 11/28/07
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

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"Special guest SpoutBlogger Joe Swanberg already passed along the news that Ronnie Bronstein won the Gotham Award last night for Best Film Not Playing At a Theater Near You. Other Gotham winners: Into the Wild took Best Feature, Sicko took Best Doc, and Craig Zobel won the Breakthrough Director award for his wonderful Great World of Sound. From the Onion Headlines Come To Life file: a bunch of striking horror film scribes got together in LA yesterday and staged an exorcism in front of the Warner Brothers lot. Scott Kosar, who makes a living writing remakes of movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, used a bullhorn to ask God to “repel the greed that bewitches these studios.” Oh yeah — the strike’s still on, and no one but Nikki Finke has anything of substance to report. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog " [More]

Quiet City, Frownland Get Spiri ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

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"I’m sure a press release will be forthcoming, and when I get it I’ll post it, but here’s what I deem to be the exciting news from this morning’s Independent Spirit Awards announcement, most of which involve friends and/or pet projects of Spout: Aaron Katz’s Quiet City is nominated for the John Cassavetes Award for the best feature made for $500,000. Also nominated in that category: Shotgun Stories and The Pool, two films I’ve heard great things about but have yet to see. The Monastery, which was disqualified for Oscar consideration after it was broadcast against the filmmaker’s wishes on European television, got a Spirit nomination for Best Documentary. Ronnie Bronstein (director of Frownland and star of Joe Swanberg’s upcoming Spout web series Butterknife) and Ramin Bahrani (director of Man Push Cart and Chop Shop) have both been nominated for the IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award, which comes with a grant worth (I think) $20,000. Craig Zobel and Julie Delpy were nominated for Bes ... " [More]

In Search of a Voice
by Demndiary in Demndiary Blog

is neutral about it.

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"Craig Zobel’s Great World of Sound is an account of a scam by the fools instructed to orchestrate it. It is a moral film about two men desperate for a job that seems to give hope to others. Martin and Clarence meet in training and hook up for the road trips. It is Clarence who delivers the final revelation. Pat Healy’s Martin is self- deprecating and moping in his life. Kene Holliday’s Clarence is a powerhouse of emotion and slick sales. Together they function on the road signing new artists. The auditions they conduct are reminiscent of the audition scene in Miike’s Audition where the good and bad are seen so fast it is both humorous and sad. It is also the standout point of the film. Martin’s girlfriend Pam (Rebecca Mader) seems under used on film. Their relationship is not fleshed out in the scenes it is given. Robert Longstreet’s Layton is slick and clean, and the hard sell. Great World of Sound is filled with many problems. T ... " [More]

Zobel, Scorsese, Lumet: Trade R ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

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"New indie production/distribution company Elephant Eye is teaming with Palm Pictures to produce Craig Zobel’s follow-up to the Gotham-lauded Great World of Sound. Zobel co-wrote Turkey in the Straw with Barlow Jacobs, who wrote and starred in one of my favorite underseen films of the year, Low and Behold. The Hollywood Reporter says the project is expected to have a higher budget than Sound and to “include more A-list stars.” Following in the illustrious footsteps of Clint Eastwood and, um, Ben Affleck, Martin Scorsese’s next project will be based on a Dennis Lehane novel–this time, it’s Shutter Island. Scorsese will once again direct lil’ buddy Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead. Sidney Lumet will receive a Career Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association at their annual awards gala in January. Marc Graser reports on how the Southern California wildfires are impacting Hollywood life. You’ll take some comfort in knowing that although flames threatened to shut down ... " [More]

What are your favorite Mumbleco ...
by csprague in Mumblecore

hasn't rated it.

"Just from looking at the Mumblecore map, I would have to say that I enjoyed Great World of Sound quite a bit. It was torn down and transparent, which I felt added to the overall realism and humor of the film. I also liked George Washington for a lot of the same reasons. When I watched it, I wouldn't have labeled it "mumblecore", but when I think more about it, the filmmaking reflects a lot of the same characteristics. Its interesting seeing how all of these films and directors are related. I would never have drawn the connection between HomestarRunner and George Washington:)So, what are your favorites? " [More]

Great World of Sound Tops Gotha ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

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"IFP has just announced the nominations for their Gotham Awards, which will be handed out in Brooklyn next month. I’m so happy to see that Craig Zobel’s fantastic Great World of Sound has been nominated in three categories–Best Feature, Breakthrough Director and Breakthrough Actor–the most nominations of any single film this year. Zobel’s feature, which Magnolia released with little fanfare last month, shares the Best Feature category with four, relatively “big” indie-arm titles: The Namesake, I’m Not There, Margot at the Wedding, and Into the Wild. I’ve privately bitched about the lack of publicity surrounding Sound (even the release date seemed misguided, as it fell right in the middle of the Toronto Film Festival and thus necessarily turned coverage of the movie by bloggers and other indie journalists of limited resources into an afterthought), so I’m hoping these nominations will give Magnolia the impetus to give the film a stronger push. According to the distributor’s website ... " [More]

Spout #6: Great World Of Sound
by TheWorkingDead in TheWorkingDead Blog

liked it.

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"Fame is an enticing drug, and it's attainment figures into the daydream of billions. In fact, anyone saying they don't want fame is either lying, or up to no good. Oh, I don't mean to say everyone wants to be Britney Spears or Leonardo Dicaprio, I mean that everyone wants to be noticed for their talents. To paraphrase Tyler Durden in Fight Club(I know, it's been done to death, but it fits here); we've all been raised to believe we'll be rock stars, or astronauts, or president of the United States, but for most of us, that stuff ain't gonna happen. That doesn't stop our dreaming, although it may stop our actually working for it. There are plenty of people out there playing on these dreams, shows like American Idol and America's Got Talent, and even Big Brother or Survivor style reality shows, all play on humanity's desire to be famous without too much exertion or talent. In fact, lack of talent is prized almost as much as actual talent in some ... " [More]

Great World of Sound
by analogzombie in analogzombie Blog

liked it.

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"Much has been out of the fact that Great World of Sound’s writer/director Craig Zobel is also a producer on David Gordon Green’s first film George Washington. You can chalk up their connection to their studies at North Carolina’s School for the Arts more than any major thematic similarities, though both film maker’s mix humor with sorrow in heaping doses. Great World of Sound is a biting comedy that not only delves into the dark side of the music industry and those desperate to break into it, but also the depths of those who are desperate for personal and financial success. Great World of Sound is a record label, at least in name. By placing ads in mid level city newspapers GWS draws prospective musicians to seedy hotel rooms for auditions after which they are hit up for 30% of the supposed production costs of their first cd. Of course the “producers” need that money now and preferably in cash. Moral dilemmas mount and cash runs out in this ta ... " [More]

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Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

liked it.

Great World of Sound is a soulful and shattering tragicomedy about the drive to succeed, belong, and find a calling as an artist and as an individual in society. The two main characters, Martin (Pat Healy) and Clarence (Kene Holliday), are unwitting participants in a "song sharking" scam. In depressed Southern cities like Birmingham, they audition aspiring musicians, who are then required to make a down payment as part of their "record contract" with a company called the Great World of Sound. The film is not really about a hunger for American Idol-style fame, as the musicians are so poor and struggling that they would like any meager recognition for their artistry. Director Craig Zobel used actual local musicians, and the scenes where they are auditioned and pitched by Martin and Clarence were mostly shot undercover with two-way mirrors. (The musicians were all briefed on the filming afterward.) This gives the central subject matter an authenticity and poignant humor, vividly creating the depressed and beaten-up Southeastern milieu of the characters. Martin and Clarence are participants in the scam while also being victims of larger societal constructs. Martin, a shy and rudderless young husband, is attracted to a job that seems to offer direction and meaning. Clarence, a gregarious but shunted poor black man, sees an opportunity to make money and move ahead. As the dry comedy of the first portion gives way to the disaster at its closing, Healy's and Holliday's performances vibrate powerfully with their characters' thwarted ambitions, reaching heart-rending levels when the realization of the moral comprises they've made begins to tear them apart. There is one major plot contrivance, in that it takes way too long for Martin and Clarence to figure out the scam, but the emotional arc is so convincing one may not notice. Great World of Sound was featured at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, the SXSW Film Festival, and the 36th New Directors/New Films showcase. ~ Michael Buening, All Movie Guide

Tags: con , auditions , Producers , songsharking , disillusionment
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