Benjamin Bratt - something of a 'Maverick'

I can honestly say I’ve ridden in an elevator with Jim Carrey and that I’ve walked up the stairs with Benjamin Bratt. The elevator ride was years ago when I was a student reporter for the Daily Trojan at USC. The stairs were just a few weeks ago at the California Theater for the Cinequest Film Festival’s Maverick Spirit Award. Bratt was conducting interviews with the press in the lobby of the downtown San Jose theater. Crowds were gathered around him, trying to get snapshots with their cell phones. I just happened to be walking up to the balcony seats with my parents when Ben departed the throng and headed up the stairs and behind the scenes.

It’s rare for me to see an interview with a celebrity on TV, in a magazine, or once in a while in person, and think, “Gee, that’s someone I might actually want to hang out with in real life.” But that is actually what I thought after sitting through the presentation of the Maverick Spirit Award for Benjamin Bratt at the Cinequest Film Festival March 4. And I’m not just saying that because he is so dreamy.

Bratt won me over with a few of his comments, but perhaps the thing that got me most was a jab at a recent vice presidential candidate.

“As a Maverick, I can tell you what I’m not going to do next and that is hang out of a low flying helicopter and shoot at wolves,” he joked.

But then on a serious note, he added, “The truth is I am really honored for what the award is – not a lifetime achievement, but kind like a mid-life achievement…Looking back eight years, it’s no chock to see my work got better after I met my family. They define who I am.”

Each year at Cinequest, a filmmaker or actor is honored as a maverick. I’ve been to a few of the award presentations, which often include a screening of a film and a Q&A with the honoree. I’ve seen William H. Macy, Edward James Olmos, Michael Keaton and Lili Taylor.

The event with Bratt featured a screening of his latest film “La Mission,” which opens in select theaters in the Bay Area April 16. A review of the movie, will appear in the April 16 edition of the Pinnacle (http://www.pinnaclenews.com/.) It also featured a short Q&A with writer/director Peter Bratt, Benjamin’s brother, who worked on the film, as well as the presentation of Bratt’s award.

Bratt then sat down with Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom and an actress/filmmaker, for a question and answer session. Bratt talked about how he got into acting, growing up in San Francisco, and more, all with an air of humor.

“I was born in the early ’60s, though I don’t look like it,” he said. “And not a lot of people looked like me on TV.”

He told a story of working with Michael Caine on the comedy “Miss Congeniality.”

They were both in Texas, near San Antonio, and the pair went shopping in a local mall. No one recognized Caine, but Bratt was surrounded by fans.

“Michael said, ‘Your like the Alamo. Every time I turn around you’re surrounded by Mexicans,’” Bratt said. “He is a wonderful, witty man.

Born in the U.S., Bratt’s mother was Peruvian and his father was German. His mother was active in native American causes, and Bratt narrated the PBS series, “We Shall Remain.” The four-part series followed Native American trials through history.It was Bratt’s father who first suggested he try out acting.

“I was a bit of a ham and he asked if I thought about trying out for a play,” Bratt said. “I said no.”

But then he realized he would have a chance to hang out with all the girls who also tried out for plays so he got involved in theater. He studied acting at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the American Conservatory Theater, in San Francisco.

“If all fialed, I’d have a degree to be a teacher,” he said.

He almost didn’t take his first break, when he was offered a tryout for an ABC pilot, “Juarez,” because he didn’t have the money to get to Los Angeles to audition.

“The casting director – I was driving super shuttles and working in a print shop – grabbed me by the lapels and said what are you studying for if not to have an opportunity.”

Bratt flew to L.A., was cast in the lead with a six-episode contract.

“We only made two episodes, but I paid off all my student loans,” he said.

Since then, Bratt has appeared in 43 movies, TV shows or miniseries, including two projects with which he worked with his brother Peter.

He said it is great to work with someone “who is so in line with you socially, spiritually, familially – is that even a word?”

Bratt added that Peter had always been the storyteller.

“There is no experience quite like working my brother,” he said, adding that it helps his performance to work with a director who is also the writer of the material, as his brother was with “La Mission.”


“I find that my brother creates roles that have weight to them, but in circumstances, sometimes like real life, you need a good laugh,” Bratt said. “He know how to tap into it.”


He added that at the end of the day, what he wants to achieve is “to make you feel something, whether it is a comedy, drama or Greek tragedy. There is a reason this craft is centuries old.”


Peter chose the Mission District for his film because it is the family’s favorite San Francisco neighborhood. The film shows footage of the homes, the murals, Aztec dancers on the street corners.


“The best thing about the Mission District, the one thing that makes it unique is it’s in a constant state of evolution,” Bratt said. “The lifeblood is very strong. There is a strong Latino presence…Yes, there is gang violence, but there is a vibrancy of culture, in the murals…”


The movie deals with some of that gang violence, as well as the Latino machismo ideal and homosexuality.


“It’s about a young man deciding to stand by who he is at the risk of losing his father and extended family, Bratt said.


Bratt is continuing to promote “La Mission,” which opens at the Camera 12, in San Jose, the AMC Mercado, in Santa Clara, and some other select theaters April 16. For more on the movie, see their facebook page by searching for “La Mission” or visit the movie’s homepage http://www.lamissionthemovie.com/.


As for his next project, he said he has a few things in the work.


“Maybe a comedy,” he said. “It’s a long process. I used to go to the new Mission Theater and see Bruce Lee movies – double billings. I gotta do a martial arts movie. I need to kick something.”

Dinner and a show

I meet up with a couple of college friends - and their friends and family - for dinner and a show in San Francisco this weekend.

The first time I saw a real theater production - not including the Ronald McDonald theater program my mom used to take me to when I was little - I was 14 and a freshman in high school. My French teacher planned a trip to see "Les Miserables" in the city.

My friends and I all showed up in jeans, sneakers and hoodie sweatshirts to the consternation of the upperclassmen attending the show. They were all dressed in slacks and button-down shirts. Despite our fashion faux pas, it was the first of many theater experiences for me, and I was glad to expand them this weekend.

My friends and I saw "Beach Blanket Babylon," which somehow I had heard about in passing though I had never actually realized what it was about. In my head it was filed away as a musical set in the '60s with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, perhaps because of the 1960s film "Beach Blanket Bingo." Or perhaps because Funicello did make an appearance in "Babylon" during one of their anniversary shows.

The show is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, and creator and producer Steve Silver made a short video that is shown to audiences about the inception of the play. He says it is meant to be entertaining escapism to get people away from "all the bad things newspapers report on." As a journalist I cringed a little, but I get it. Even I was a little depressed after the series my paper ran on budget cuts last week.

"Babylon" has a loose storyline that can be easily adapted to fill in for any pop culture references, current events or popular songs - and it is full of crazy, oversized wigs. Snow White is searching for her prince and she searches for him through a montage of different skits that are prompted by some aspect of what she wants in a man. She says she might want a politician, and that kicks off a piece that includes characters dressed as Obama, Palin, McCain, Hilary and Bill Clinton. They even updated the show with a reference to Hilary's not-so-subtle snap at a press conference in Africa a couple weeks ago about how she is Secretary of State, not her husband.

My favorite scene in the movie is a parody of "One Day More" from "Les Miserables," in which the politicians again take the scene, and sing about the economy and the tanked housing market. It was great because I know the play "Les Mis" really well and their rendition was spot on - except that the lyrics were totally different.

For dinner we headed to a restaurant that my friend chose based on two criteria - it was close to the theater and could accomodate a large party. We ended up at Mangarosa, a restaurant that dubs itself a fusion of Italian and Brazilian cuisine. From my viewpoint, most of it was very Italian. Some of the diners skipped the show and met up at the restaurant, and as they were running a few minutes late we had plenty of time to peruse the menu. It include a healthy serving of salads and appetizers, and I opted for a plate of hand-battered artichoke hearts with aioli while others tried pastries stuffed with beef, cheese

and chicken, and a crab dip.

The main courses ranged from meaty dishes such as lamp chops, osso bucco and short ribs to pasta dishes such as raviolis stuffed with ricotta, parmesan and goat cheese or a risotto with shitake mushrooms and chicken in pesto sauce. It is the first time I've ever seen my favorite cheese, teleme cheese, on a restraurant menu so I give the chef chops for that. There were some vegetarian options, but some of the seafood options may be misleading to less knowledgeable diners. One person in the party considered the scallops with speck, treviso and calvados butter even though the only ingredient he knew was the main one. He said he figured speck was an herb or a vegetable of some sort since those would be the two most likely candidates. Turns out speck is actually a type of cured ham, almost like prosciutto. But no need to worry since the diner was not a vegetarian, and actually skipped the scallops in favor of lamp chops.

I ordered the shiitake mushroom and chicken pesto risotto as my entree and it was rich and creamy, as a risotto should be. Others at the table said they enjoyed their meals. I sampled the raviolis and they were tasty, though the sauce was a bit bland.

The main thing to recommend the restaurant is that they easily accomodated a party of 17 in a area set off from the main dining room. The waitress was patient as members of the party arrived. She was fairly prompt with filing the wine glasses, and the group was allowed to leisurely enjoy the food and company.

Photos by Melissa Flores

From top: A friend stands outside the Fugazi Theater with a bust of 'Beach Blanket Babylon' creator Steve Silver

Appetizer special, hand-battered artichoke hearts with aioli sauce from Mangarosa.

Warm spinach salad with goat cheese, pears and carmelized onions.

Focaccio bread.

Shiitake mushroom and chicken pesto risotto.

Tender soft beef short ribs in red bell pepper sauce.