“Public Enemies” hits theaters this week, and one of our regular contributors at Scene-Stealers—blogger extraordinaire Whitney Mathews—was reminded that her great aunt witnessed a Murder, Inc. mob hit in 1932, around the same time as the film takes place. The hit itself and having to testify in front of the hitmen who committed the crime in open court were terrifying for the 17-year old girl, who is now 94.

Whitney found some great historical photos, added music from the time, and put together this great video interview with her Great Aunt Ellie Halberg (Tootsie) about the crime last month. Here is the video, followed by her original text, posted at WhitneyMathews.com.

Here’s Whitney’s original text:

The movie Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp hit theaters yesterday and my friend Eric Melin has a bangin’ review of the flick on Scene-Stealers.com.

The release of the movie got me thinking about my family history. My maternal great grandparents came to St. Paul, Minnesota from Sweden in the 1910s. They had a sh*t ton of kids. Like… they should’ve started a Von Trapp-style music group or something.

Anyway, in 1932 the youngest girl, my Great Aunt Ellie Hallberg (aka Aunt Tootsie) witnessed a mob hit at the height of organized crime in the Twin Cities. As a teenager, she testified against two Murder, Inc. hitmen.

No one in our family has ever recorded the story for future generations, so over Memorial Day weekend we visited her. She gave us some fantastic cookies and spilled the details. I put it together in video format. Enjoy.

Tags: 1932, Abe Wagner, ben, Bugsy, ellie, George Young, hallberg, hit, hitmen, inc., interview, Joseph Schafer, killers, murder, Siegel, st. paul, trial, witness

One of my Top 3 favorite movies of all time is Spike Lee’s provocative and controversial 1989 film “Do The Right Thing.” It takes place on the hottest day of the summer in one Brooklyn neighborhood and has more heart, laughs, tension, and drama than most movies today. This year marks its 20th anniversary.

If you’ve never seen it, now is the time to go out and rent the sucker. You’ll see early performances by Samuel L. Jackson, Rosie Perez, John Turturro, and Martin Lawrence. You’ll witness Spike Lee at the top of his game as a screenwriter, actor, and director. You’ll hear Public Enemy’s anthemic “Fight the Power” in the context that it was meant to be presented in. You’ll wonder at the vibrant colors in Ernest Dickerson’s cinematography.

You’ll see late actors Ossie Davis and Robin Harris, who have never been better. You’ll be presented with tons of likeable characters and watch the mounting racial tension with dread. You’ll ask yourself a lot of questions and struggle with the answers.

The Root has devoted a large part of its website to celebrating the film, and editor-in-chief Henry Louis Gates sat down with Lee for a series of interviews. It’s a great conversation (with clips from the movie), and I learned something else that people don’t talk about too much: Michelle and Barack Obama’s first date was a screening of “Do the Right Thing” at the Chicago Art Institute!

Fight the power indeed.

20 years later, the Obamas are in the White House, and “Do the Right Thing” remains one of the most influential of modern films. I have the Criterion Collection DVD, but it looks as if i might have to buy another one, because the new 20th Anniversary DVD contains a lot of the same extras and a new commentary track from Lee.

Have you seen “Do the Right Thing”? How recently?

Tags: 20th, anniversary, date, Do the Right Thing, First, interview, lee, obama, root, spike

Eric interviews writer/director Rian Johnson (”Brick”) about his newest con-man comedy “The Brothers Bloom,” starring Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel Weisz. This is an in-depth look at some of the secrets behind “The Brothers Bloom,” and since Johnson’s commentary was so interesting and thought-provoking, we decided to present the whole interview. If you are a true film fan, this is fascinating stuff, as Johnson discusses the challenge inherent in con-artist movies, why storytelling is important to our lives, designing one character with a lack of dialogue, a heightened stylistic reality, and Johnson’s new project, a sci-fi movie called “Looper.”

Read Eric’s review of “The Brothers Bloom” here.

Tags: adrien, bloom, brody, brothers, interview, johnson, mark, rachel weisz, rian, rian johnson, ruffalo, The Brothers Bloom, video

“Best Worst Movie” is the documentary about the phenomenon of “Troll 2,” widely regarded as the worst movie ever made. Eric caught up with director Michael Paul Stephenson, star George Hardy, and Zack Carlson from Austin, Texas’ Alamo Drafthouse at the world premiere of “Best Worst Movie” at SXSW 2009. This in-depth interview was recorded directly after the premiere, just as George Hardy and Zack Carlson had seen the film for the first time. “Best Worst Movie” is currently making the rounds at film festivals across the country, and there are plenty of clips from both “Best Worst Movie” and the cult classic that spawned it, “Troll 2,” in this video. Learn more about “Troll 2” director Claudio Fragasso and his feelings about how “Troll 2” has been received and hear about a trip to mysterious “Troll 2” star Margo Prey’s house in this interview as well. Nilbog fanatics unite! “Best Worst Movie” is currently playing at film festivals everywhere.

Read Eric’s original journal entry about “Best Worst Movie” from SXSW 2009 here.

Tags: 2, 2009, Alamo, austin, best, Best Worst Movie, clips, documentary, drafthouse, george, hardy, interview, Michael, movie, paul, premiere, Stephenson, SXSW, Texas, troll, Troll 2, Worst

Eric interviews Seth Rogen the morning after the red carpet premiere of Rogen’s new movie “Observe and Report” in Austin, Texas. At SXSW 2009, Eric picks Rogen’s brain about the new Jody Hill-directed film, “Freaks and Geeks,” Scorsese, and lots more. We also have exclusive interview footage with some details on Rogen’s new project “The Green Hornet.” With Michel Gondry behind the lens, it will be exciting to see how this unfolds.

Tags: 2009, austin, Freaks and Geeks, green hornet, interview, Jody Hill, Michel Gondry, Observe and Report, scorsese, SXSW, Texas, The Green Hornet.

On the first day of SXSW 2009 at the Lake Creek Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX, Eric Melin interviews Trevor Moore and Zach Cregger from The Whitest Kids U’ Know on a live sketch comedy tour to promote the Fox Searchlight comedy “Miss March.” Is there a Whitest Kids U’ Know movie on the horizon? Will IFC renew the absurdist comedy troupe for a fourth season? Trevor and Zach answer these questions and talk about writing and directing “Miss March,” getting bottles thrown at them on The Whitest Kids U’ Know tour, and how cool it is that kids have to sneak into theaters to see their rated-R teen sex comedy.

Tags: 2009, alamo drafthouse, interview, miss march, SXSW, Trevor Moore, video, Whitest Kids U' Know, Zach Cregger

 What’s the point?

I called it without ever having seen any video of him rapping, but it’s pretty clear that Joaquin Phoenix’s self-imposed retirement from acting to pursue a career as a rapper is a hoax. As soon as the news broke that his brother-in-law Casey Affleck would be directing a documentary about his decision, it was pretty obvious that some “Borat”-style shenanigans were going on. Ironically, to prove my point in my original blog, I posted a video from “Late Night with David Letterman” of Andy Kaufman’s similar wrestling hoax (in which he conspired with real-life wrestler Jerry Lawler).

Well, 20-some-odd years later, here’s Phoenix, ostensibly promoting his newest (and supposedly last) film “Two Lovers” on Letterman last night:

It’s pretty obvious Dave knows something is up. This kind of stunt is nothing new. What’s weird is that Phoenix doesn’t have anything remotely funny to say about it. What’s the point of his satire? It doesn’t necessarily count as satire without one. Here’s his Vegas rap performances:

…falling off the stage…

…and rapping poorly.

Tags: Andy Kaufman, casey Affleck, continues, david letterman, hoax, interview, Joaquin Phoenix, late show, Letterman, mockumentary, on, Phoenix, rap

Mickey Rourke, up for a Best Actor Oscar that he richly deserves at this year’s 2009 Academy Awards ceremony, is not your usual, play-it-safe kind of actor. (To enter our Oscar prediction contest, go here!) Just today, the Huffington Post put a up a slide show of recent promotional appearances Rourke has made in the last month during his run for gold with Darren Aronofsky’s stellar film “The Wrestler.” They are calling it a Hand-In-Pants Retrospective. I think you’ll enjoy it; here’s a taste:

So, the question is: Will Oscar voters want to give this guy a chance to get up onstage on February 22 during an internationally televised event and be himself?

Sunday night at the BAFTA Awards, Rourke won Best Actor and dropped the f-bomb repeatedly as nonchalantly as ever. The British crowd didn’t seem to mind. Here’s his speech:

And after his win at the Golden Globes, he looked as rough as ever, thanking both his dogs and his director. When the camera cut to Aronofsky, he gave Rourke an aptly timed middle finger which the network was not quick enough to edit. (Don’t think they could have CGI-ed over it fast enough– maybe cut to Brad Pitt instead?) Here’s that infamous Golden Globe moment:

Finally, before the SAG Awards (which he lost out to Sean Penn for), Rourke let slip to an interviewer that he would be wrestling at the upcoming WWE Wrestlemania event. A publicist has since retracted the comment, but you know as soon as the Oscars are over, Rourke will probably buff up and go right back in the ring. How surreal is that? Here he is not heeding the advice of a publicist:

So, as Oscar night rolls around, all I can say is, “Let the best man win!” In my opnion, that’s Rourke, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I can’t wait to see what he’s going to say.

(For the record, I predict Penn will win.)

Tags: 2009, academy awards, aronofsky, controversial, interview, mickey rourke, middle finger, Not your usual Oscar bait, speech, wrestlemania, wrestler

This is the coolest news of the week. Our old touring buddies from the Ultimate Fakebook days have invited my new band, The Dead Girls, to play two shows at the last minute on their current U.S. tour. Motion City Soundtrack are on tour now supporting their new record, “Even If It Kills Me,” and we’ll be lucky enough to rock the socks off of their audiences in at The Blue Note in Columbia, MO and Liberty Hall in Lawrence, KS this Thursday and Friday night, respectively.

How cool are the Motion City guys? Here’s evidence right here from three years ago when we first starting interviewing touring bands about their favorite movies, what they were seeing on the road, etc. They were coming through town on the “Commit This to Memory” tour, playing at The Granada Theater, and I caught up with them for a quick interview. There’s also some great live footage here. Ironically, the guy who edited this piece is Bill McShane, Ultimate Fakebook’s lead singer!

Nick, UFB’s bassist, is in The Dead Girls with me, so this is pretty cool for us. If you are anywhere near Kansas or Missouri and are a fan of upbeat, catchy rock with hooks that’ll leave you on the floor, you should try to make one of these shows. Until then, enjoy this encore presentation of the MCS interview from 2005.

Tags: eric melin, interview, motion city soundtrack, rock, scene-stealers.com, the dead girls, ultimate fakebook

Jason Sudeikis (”30 Rock,” “Saturday Night Live”) is so good as the rock-band manager in the new movie “The Rocker” that he pretty much steals the show. Being rockers ourselves, we wanted to do something a little different than the normal junket interview. Sudeikis was in town promoting “The Rocker” (starring Rainn Wilson), so we ambushed the comedy star with a homegrown rock n’ roll quiz to see how much of his portrayal was a result of Method acting. As it turns out, this didn’t quite go exactly as planned. This is probably the last time we try to quiz a movie star. Yikes! Maybe we should just stick to the regular junket questions. Anyway, enjoy this very uncomfortable interview with Jason Sudeikis from a dirty hotel room somewhere in Kansas City.

Tags: 30 Rock, entertainment, interview, Jason Sudeikis, news, rock quiz, Rocker, Saturday Night Live, SNL, The Office, trivia, uncomfortable, web series