Is Patty Cakes A True Story

In 1998, the tardily, slap-up, heavyweight rapper Big Pun blew minds with a memorable verse on "Twinz (Deep Cover '98)," which included the following tongue-twisting couplet:

"Expressionless in the eye of Little Italian republic, picayune did we know / That nosotros riddled two middlemen who didn't do diddly," Pun rapped.

Nineteen years later, fans of '90s hip-hop will recognize an homage to those Pun bars in writer-director Geremy Jasper's coming-of-historic period hip-hop comedy "Patti Block$," starring Danielle Macdonald as an aspiring rapper name Killa P/Patti.

The Australian actress plays a suburban New Bailiwick of jersey rapper in the Fox Searchlight indie, which was one of the breakout films of this twelvemonth's Sundance Picture Festival and hits theaters August xviii. And that'due south no coincidence — that song played an instrumental part in giving Macdonald the confidence and skills to rock the mic.

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"I'm pretty sure I did 'Twinz' like three times," Macdonald told TheWrap. "I sent [Jasper] three dissimilar versions of it with notes each time. That was kind of the first time he realized I could practice something like that."

It helped convince Macdonald too, who had fallen in dearest with the script the first time she read it — just had plenty of questions about how she'd ever become the pic's protagonist. Killa P is very much a product of the New Bailiwick of jersey hip-hop scene, working dead-cease jobs while making music with R&B singing sidekick Jheri (Siddharth Dhananjay) and beat-maker Basterd (Mamoudou Athie) as she tries to catch her big interruption.

"I read it trying to meet myself in it the showtime time," she told TheWrap. "That was hilarious. I just couldn't honestly. I didn't see how on World I could ever do it. I can't rap and that's a skill this girl has to take. I didn't know how to exist absurd. I didn't know how to have swag."

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But after Jasper reassured her that he wanted a talented extra who could larn to rap, and not vice versa, Macdonald settled into the role. And so it was fourth dimension for rap school, which naturally began with a little homework.

"I listened to a ton of new artists I'd never heard of before," Macdonald said. "I watched videos of random rap battles online."

Jasper also gave Macdonald a test when they started production. In one case the moving-picture show got funded, he said he had virtually two-and-a-half months to essentially cut a hip-hop tape. And he had to brand sure his frontwoman could actually spit.

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"I did an a capella that was an early version of what Patti and Jheri do on the motorcar," Jasper told TheWrap. "It was a very early version of that just it had that style and I just needed to see if she could handle that. Information technology'south not super complicated, but it would take a little work to become it. She performed information technology for me and information technology was rough, only she had a good sense of rhythm, which was the most important thing. If she didn't have rhythm, nosotros'd be f—ed."

Jasper's hip-hop curriculum and then took Macdonald through some of the genre'due south canonical — and challenging — works. Literature students examination themselves past parsing James Joyce. Aspiring rappers like Macdonald go natural language-tied imitating Kendrick Lamar.

"The commencement song I call back doing was [PTAF'due south] 'Dominate Donkey Bitch,'" Macdonald said. "We did and so many. I did pretty much every artist yous could think of. Concluded upwards doing Kendrick Lamar's verse on [Big Sean'due south] 'Command.' Definitely not doing well with information technology. He is an conflicting considering there is no way any human could do that."

Also Read: Fox Searchlight Buys 'Patti Cake$' for $nine.five Million

"We did [Nicki Minaj'southward verse on Kanye West'southward] 'Monster,'" Jasper added, running through some of the other notable lessons. "We did [Dr. Dre and Eminem's] 'Forgot Nearly Dre,' which I thought she did an first-class job on. We did [Notorious B.I.G.'s] 'X Crack Commandments.'"

And Patti'southward rapid-burn rhyme style, a la "Twinz," wasn't planned either — it actually turned out that it was easier for Macdonald to emulate that type of flow than a more leisurely cadence.

"Danielle would say that songs that had more space in them were more than difficult," Jasper said. "That's where a rapper'south personality comes in. What you do with the holes, what you do with your breath. That's where style comes in. But if you're doing chopper style super-fast, sometimes it's just similar — it's so technical it'south almost like gymnastics."

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As Macdonald gained more than conviction, she and Jasper kind of formed a workflow. Brooklyn rapper Skyzoo as well joined the team, serving as a rap coach for the budding MC.

"I would write the initial laissez passer for me, and then I would demo information technology and record the rhymes," Jasper said. "So Danielle would come up in and then we would modify it. Information technology was a process. I never knew what was going to sound great coming out of her or what was going to audio lame. And then I was constantly tweaking."

And as can be expected from someone who has never really rapped before, turning Macdonald into a passable MC had plenty of ups and downs. "We would like stumble and information technology wasn't working and I would blindside my head against the wall and she would be getting frustrated," he said. "[I'd say] let's try information technology ane more fourth dimension. And then she would only smash it and it felt correct. To me it was when it felt like, 'Oh, information technology wasn't Danielle, that's Patti. There she is coming out of the speakers.' Nosotros were always chasing that."

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Becoming Patti gave Macdonald a newfound appreciation for Big Pun, but specially another late New York rap icon. She was a fan of his back in Australia, but taking on "X Fissure Commandments" while preparing for "Patti Cake$" fabricated her appreciate the brilliance of the Notorious B.I.G. even more.

"When I did that song, I realized that this guy makes me feel more like Patti," she said. "I started listening to all of his stuff. He's then cool and confident."

Jasper may exist one of the biggest hip-hop heads in directing (he and TheWrap spent a few minutes after the interview breaking down the latest Kendrick Lamar album), simply after filling stacks of notebooks writing rhymes while making "Patti Cake$," fifty-fifty he needed a piffling boom bap break.

"I'one thousand listening to other stuff at present," he said. "I want to mind to country and western. Classical music or something."

14 Hottest Sundance Movies for Sale: From Degenerate Nuns to Sexting Angelenos (Photos)

Park City, Utah, is about to be affluent with greenbacks -- and we're not talking about ownership apres-ski gear. Here are the about promising sales titles of the 2017 Sundance Picture show Festival.
"Brigsby Conduct"
Kyle Mooney ("SNL") leads an impressive ensemble in what seems to be a millennial take on "The Truman Show." The championship refers to a children's Tv bear witness made for an audition of one -- a boy named James, whose life changes after the show'southward sharp end. Dave McCary directs from a script by Mooney and Kevin Costello. Claire Danes, Mark Hamill, Greg Kinnear and Michaela Watkins co-star.
"The Big Ill"
Socially relevant fare that's based on a truthful story is often a winning combination for Sundance features. "Silicon Valley" star Kumail Nanjiani and girlfriend Emily V. Gordon wrote this true tale of bridging cultural divides amongst their families while navigating their careers and romance.
"Beach Rats"
Multiple programmers, sales agents and content buyers told TheWrap they're all peachy to see this thoroughly modernistic drama from Eliza Hittman. The flick stars Harris Dickinson as a Brooklyn teen with a grim home life, a budding romance with a female friend and a predilection for meeting up with older men he connects with online.
"A Ghost Story"
David Lowery reunites with his "Ain't Them Bodies Saints" stars Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck for a bedchamber drama virtually a man who dies, and is forced to watch his loved one grieve over expanses of time.
"The Hero"
Sam Elliott stars every bit an aging land legend confronting his demons (territory that netted Jeff Bridges an Oscar in 2010 for "Crazy Eye"). The film also stars "Orange Is the New Black" star Laura Prepon, which may brand it hard for Netflix to resist scooping it up.
"Roxanne, Roxanne"
Every bit he keeps chugging along the road to the Academy Awards, "Moonlight" star Mahershala Ali comes to Park City with "Roxanne, Roxanne" -- the story of Lolita "Roxanne Shanté" Gooden, who became a trigger-happy rap boxing queen at age xiv. Chante Adams stars in this real-life story from writer-director Michael Larnell.
"The Yellow Birds"
Alexander Moors ("Blue Caprice") offers up this tale of young Iraq war veterans, which boasts hot upwards-and-coming stars Alden Ehrenreich (the new Han Solo) and Tye Sheridan. The tale unfolds as a mystery, with a fallen hero's mother (Jennifer Aniston) and a tough-equally-nails military official (Jason Patric) searching for answers in a young man's death.
"Pace"
Ane of numerous hot docs in Park City, Amanda Lipitz's opus follows a team of step dancers in Baltimore — an inspiring group of inner-city girls living in the midst of social unrest.
"To the Bone"
Marti Noxon, a longtime symbol of female empowerment in Tv for her work on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "UnREAL," makes her feature directorial debut with a pitch-black comedy nearly her own struggle with anorexia. The film stars Lily Collins and Keanu Reeves.
"Landline"
Director Gillian Robespierre reunites with her "Obvious Child" star Jenny Slate for a tale of lying, cheating and Manhattanite family bonds. Slate produces; Edie Falco, John Turturro, Finn Wittrock and Jay Duplass co-star.
"The Polka Rex"
Jack Black descends on Utah with a meaty function as a Bernie Madoff for the indie music scene. In Maya Forbes' indie Black plays Smooth immigrant Jan Lewan — who became the "King of Pennsylvania Polka" in the 1990s, bribing and cheating investors forth the way.
"The Footling Hours"
Director Jeff Baena continues to surprise, this time with a quiet riot of a film virtually extremely misbehaving nuns in an Italian hamlet. Reunited with his existent-life girlfriend and star Aubrey Plaza ("Life Subsequently Beth") and producer Liz Destro, "Fiddling Hours" sees a medieval convent get insane after a sexy twenty-four hour period laborer (Dave Franco) moves in.
"Golden Exits"
Director Alex Ross Perry and star Emily Browning help bring two infighting New York families together. A prototypical indie drama with full-blooded, it co-stars Mary-Louise Parker, Lily Rabe, Jason Schwartzman, Chloe Sevigny, Adam Horowitz and Analeigh Tipton.
"Newness"
Drake Doremus ("Like Crazy") returns to Sundance with some other drama about young romance. This time, his "Equals" star Nicholas Hoult and newcomer Laia Costa play a gimmicky L.A. couple navigating "a social media-driven hookup culture," whose human relationship pushes multiple boundaries.

Streaming companies and indie distributors volition battle it out for these movies

Park Metropolis, Utah, is about to be affluent with greenbacks -- and we're non talking well-nigh ownership apres-ski gear. Here are the most promising sales titles of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.