He’s a guy who’s been a punk athlete in high school, detention and a “Mighty Duck” coach. Now, Emilio Estevez is working in his most challenging location yet — a public library! He hit up SoFlo today, and Deco’s Dewey Decimal expert, Chris Van Vliet, is here with more.
In “The Public,” Emilio Estevez is a librarian faced with a big decision: either open the library to the homeless during a freezing night or send them back on the streets, where they might not survive.
We chatted with the “Mighty Duck” man himself about his new movie.
Michael Kenneth Williams (as Jackson): “There’s not enough shelter for us people on the street.”
Emilio Estevez (as Stuart Goodson): “Who is us?”
Emilio Estevez wrote, directed and stars in “The Public.”
We caught up with the triple-threat at the Miami-Dade Public Library, where he told us this project has been on his mind for a while.
Emilio Estevez: “So the idea for the film started [in] 2007. It began with an article in the L.A. Times.”
What Emilio found out became the basis for “The Public.”
Emilio Estevez: “Libraries were becoming de facto homeless shelters, and how librarians were now tasked to be first responders and de facto social workers.”
The movie tackles a lot of social issues that have been on the front burner for a while: homelessness, mental health and police brutality among them.
Emilio Estevez: “When you look at what’s been happening over the last 12 years, the movie has become more relevant.”
Deco favorite, Gabrielle Union, plays a news reporter who smells a great story and won’t let go.
Gabrielle Union (as Rebecca Parks): “The homeless man was found dead outside the public library.”
Emilio seems to like Gabby almost as much as we do.
Emilio Estevez: “She’s incapable of looking bad on film. She’s a great actress, and she’s playing a reporter, and she’s got some teeth in this. She’s playing kind of a ratings grabber.”
Alec Baldwin, Christian Slater and Jena Malone are also part of the big-name cast.
For the record, this isn’t the first time Emilio has made a movie inside a library.
Emilio Estevez: “There was a little movie called ‘The Breakfast Club.'”
Anthony Michael Hall (as Brian Johnson): “Uhh, excuse me fellas, I think we should just write our papers.”
Emilio Estevez (as Andrew Clark): “Look, just because you live in it doesn’t give you the right to be a pain in the ass, so knock it off.”
Sure, there’s some serious stuff in “The Public.”
It’s not all doom and gloom.
Emilio Estevez: “Because of the issues, because of the subject matter, libraries aren’t supposed to be funny, but this movie is very very funny.”
Character (in “The Public”): “So now is probably not a good time to come and get my library card?”
“The Public” hits theaters on April 5, and no, you can’t just show up at the theater with your library card.
You will need to buy a ticket.
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