Journal #4 - Feature Story

Mazen Hassan

Intro to Journalism

Reading Journal: Features

4/25/2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/movies/mark-ruffalo-and-christopher-thornton-in-sympathy-for-delicious.html?src=me&ref=movies

The reason I chose this article was because it is something that has always been of great interest to me : a profile (almost a behind the scenes look) of how two well-known actors started out their career in Los Angeles, how they got to where they are now, and why they chose to reunite now on the set of a much-delayed film almost 20 years later.

Immediately the article grabbed my attention, as it went back in time to 20 years ago, beginning with an anecdotal lede describing how Actor and Director Mark Ruffalo and fellow Actor and Screenwriter Christopher first met. They regale the reader with a funny story of how Ruffalo would light his shoes on fire while they were performing on stage together at the Stella Adler conservatory just to try and throw off/show up Thornton. I thought it was a very good way to not only intrigue the reader from the opening, but it also set up and established just what kind of relationship these two great friends share with one another. Unlike a hard news story which begins with the most pertinent, factual, and timely information from the beginning, I appreciated getting a little bit of context and history before delving into where they are now.

The author then describes how the two men lived and struggled together in L.A., going to auditions, living in a cramped space, trying to “make it” before a horrible incident occurred. Thornton fell while rock climbing one day, causing him to become a paraplegic. He wanted to give up on his career and his life in general, but Ruffalo intervened and created a play for the both of them, where he could be in his wheelchair – and Thornton fell right back in love with performing.

It also discusses the death of Ruffalo’s brother years later, and how that impacted him to want to leave the industry too; but it was Thornton’s turn to be there for his friend, and reel him back into his passion. I definitely think that sharing such deep, personal, and sad tales makes the story not only infinitely more interesting, but it draws the reader in and really connects them to these men. Eventually the author ties in how these horrible occurrences got them to write, edit, direct, and act in their own film that took over 10 years to make, and was released this past year.

It wasn’t necessarily deeply sourced, but there was definitely a lot of background reporting which gave the story gravity and history. Mainly, for me, it was the human aspect and the story of these two men who have endured so much but have never given up, that inspired me, motivated, and kept me reading until the end.

If this exact story were told in the context of a hard news story, I believe that so much would have been focused on the factual information or details (when/where Thornton had the accident, how long was he in the hospital for, what was the exact damage, how did Ruffalo’s brother die, how much money did the film make, etc.) while in the feature the focus was on the emotional aspect – the bond these two share, and how their resilience and heart got them to where they are today.