chop, chop, chop

"Former Hangouts" has been a journey and getting rid of a lot of the material--in order to keep the documentary within the span of generally 1 hr and 30/45ish minutes--isn't fun.  Around a month ago, the cut that I was working with was over 4 hours which certainly wasn't the intent with this project.

Here are a few of the segments that are getting killed off (sigh):

-the full Margie's Candies ice cream scene

-the inversed funhouse mirror parallels between Capone as an historic figure vs. Jay Gatsby as a fictional creation; a lot of great material that I have to get rid of

-plenty of strong takes regarding the how/what/when/why's of Chicago and it's connection to the Outfit

-multiple roadhouse/bordello locations

-Capone as one of the guys in "Guys and Dolls"

-Alphonse, milk man extraordinaire 

-more interviews with significant figures

-a sketchy jaunt to a specific location within the woods of northern Wisconsin (it's a long story)

But, despite how I felt about taking those scenes out, I quickly forced myself to get over it, pushed the Delete and Save buttons, and that's that.

Interesting segments with rich information content--even if they're not perfect-perfect--are taking precedence over visually pretty scenes.  I think that makes the most sense considering the subject.

However, there are a few musical moments that ARE staying in as intended because they absolutely convey the feel and outlook of the Capone era more than a lot of philosophical takes.  The 1920's/early 1930's were weird.  A little bit weirder, darker, and grittier than I think most of us realize.....and the music of that period pulls us back in time.  One of my goals with this project was to bring you inside of the 1920's--not our interpretation of that decade but some of the genuine, unfiltered sights and sounds of that time--because that helps explain how Scarface was able to do the things that he did and how that particular era enabled him.  There are times when, as you will see, the Roaring 20's was as much like The Addams Family as it was The Great Gatsby.