Ep. 20 - Rushmore with Grant Ellis and Roseanne Caputi

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This week on Fabulous Film and Friends we’re fully embracing our inner ironic film geek by discussing one of our favorite Wes Anderson films, the 1998 Bill Murray Jason Schwartzman/Olivia Williams romantic and philosophical charmer, Rushmore, the film that put Mr. Anderson on the map and marked a career resurgence for Bill Murray.  

I’m Gino Caputi, your host and joining me is Eastern Oregon’s original hipster, my sister Roseanne Caputi, who wore a suit and tie to prom back when that meant something and here for his first Triple FFF appearance, the mighty Grant Ellis, whom I met in 2010 on the production of the faith-based film I’m in Love With A Church Girl. 

Go ahead and and scoff, but that little indie film boasted an all star cast including Jeffrey “Ja Rule” Atkiins, Adrienne Baillon, Vincent Pastore, Michael Madsen, Stephen Baldwin  and the Cobrai Kai Sensei himself, Martin Kove! 

It was on that film that I dubbed Grant “the Max Fischer of the Church Girl Set,” since, as memory serves, he started as an intern then as Casting director and Extras Coordinator and ended up as Key Set PA, and helped with Craft  Service, Transpo, Art Department and anything else you could throw at him, in addition to having his own production company as well as just starting a family. 

Since that time Grant produced  

The Right Regrets, Line Produced  - Hercules Saves Christmas (An Animal Planet feature). was 1st Assistant Director Licks (SXSW nom best narrative feature) 2nd Assistant Director Seeker & Fetch, Key Set PA – on the TV show Alcatraz ... 

And produced over 500 scientific videos for 98 different institutions (Oxford, Stanford, Hospital for Special Surgery, Harvard, and Georgetown 

Currently Grant is the Creative Director of PGP, a global leadership firm, so it’s clear he’s still a man of  many talents and hats.

Before we dive in, the all-important synopsis 

 Rushmore depicts the events in the life of one Max Fischer, Rushmore Academy’s most ambitious, big dreaming, big talking, overachiever whose penchant for starting clubs while not doing his schoolwork puts him on academic probation. 

Right at this juncture, Max befriends two towering figures in his life Rosemary Cross, a thoughtful, sensitive 2nd grade teacher at Rushmore, who is also a recent widow. And Herman Blume, a millionaire industrialist, Vietnam Vet and father to two of Max’s more repugnant classmates.

Falling head over heels for Ms. Cross, Max gets Mr. Blum to invest money in an Aquarium on the Rushmore Campus in order to impress her. 

Unfortunately,  Max breaks ground on the project without ever clearing it with Dr. Guggenheim, Rushmore’s president, and Max is summarily expelled from Rushmore. 

Starting a new life in public school, things get even stickier for Max when Mr. Blume himself starts to develop feelings for Rosemary Cross and lo’ Max’s trusted mentor and friend becomes his arch enemy and the two find themselves locked in an epic and sometimes deadly duel of wits for the heart of Ms. Cross. 

Where does it go from there? What’s it all mean? 

Find out!