And, its definitely one of the reasons that changing the name to Lloyd Vogel worked, because I think that things sort of drift towards magical realism at that time. and turned the clattering train into a single soft, runaway choir. Matthew Rhys' character, the cynical Lloyd Vogel, is only loosely inspired by real-life journalist Tom Junod, hence the name change. He was not a dogmatic person, but he was dogmatic about thatthat media should not be used as a distraction. Folks at Disneyland got extra Saturday night, as they watched parts of Tom Sawyer Island go up in flames. My sister didnt have a wedding. And though he admits that his father was as much a boozy philanderer as Lloyds is, in the case of the Junods that fact didnt drive father and son apart. In order to evoke who Fred Rogers was, the film focuses on how he helps a cynical, anti-social (largely fictional) journalist to understand his feelings and come to terms with his deep-seated issues. ESQ: I mean, you said that if he grew up in the age of Twitter, you can expect what he would have done. But the only certainty we have is the certainty we had at the start: At fifteen seconds after 9:41 a.m., on September 11, 2001, a photographer named . This was a deeply disciplined man. Ive had people take issue with that. Of all the aspirations a magazine writer might entertain, even the most ambitious could not anticipate that a story he wrote for Esquire in 1998 would be transformed into a big-budget movie 21 years laterand that he ostensibly would be the protagonist of the film. Junod lives with his wife and their daughter, Nia, 12, in Marietta in suburban Atlanta. We recommend you to check the . While they did become close friends and have many exchanges in person, on the phone and via email the movie's conversations are mostly fictional. But the notes also offered a peek into how Rogers was able to be so good, seemingly all the time. Is Mr. Rogers like his television persona, or is he an impostor? After another long awards season of Hollywood doing what it does best ignoring Black art I, This story contains heavy spoilers for Creed III. Thats the image featured in the ads and trailers for the upcoming holiday release, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Last week, Junod was in New York to walk in a charity fashion show for his alma mater, SUNY Albany, so I tried to get a hold of him for an interview about his Esquire story and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. At the time Spacey described the profile as "mean-spirited" and "homophobic" and called for a boycott of both the author and publication. They exchanged no fewer than 70 emails during the first year of their friendship alone. But this is only half true. Marquee narrative writer Tom Junod delivers a Stephen King-esque mystery with "The Hero of Goodall Park," and rejects one-size-fits-all detachment. A fact check reveals this to be accurate. Does it mean anything? Junod also appeared in the critically acclaimed documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? TJ: I think you try to put it together in one person. I mean, I find prayer somewhat problematic. And hes still going even, Junod is currently a senior writer at ESPN, where hes written about his, When he met Mr. Rogers, he was married, but had no children. Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) is a heavily fictionalized and re-named version of journalist Tom Junod. Of course you do. While it seems like a nice movie moment that's hard to believe happened in real life, it actually comes straight from Tom Junod's article. Toms estimated net worth is $1 Million. You are fighting for power, of course but if your marriage is healthy, you will fight to restore the balance of power between you and your wife, instead of fighting to destroy it. At a pivotal moment in Vogels journey from skeptic to believer, Rogers asks Vogel to sit with him in silence in a crowded restaurant for a full minute to think of the people who have loved us into being.* Similar to the train scene, this actually happened but in a different and perhaps even more surprising context. This story is around 1,400 words.) The film comes to theatres across North America November 22. In addition, he is the recipient of two National Magazine Awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors. Here's the True Story Behind A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Read Tom Junod's Iconic Mr. Rogers Profile. He made connections everywhere he wentwith a young fan with cerebral palsy, with the famed gorilla Koko (also an ardent fan). The real-life journalist, Tom Junod, admits that he was broken back then, but he says, "I had never uttered those words to Fred in my life." TJ: I grew up Roman Catholic too. As Lloyd does in the movie, Junod became close with Rogers after the childrens TV host saw something special in him. In exploring the A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood fact vs. fiction, we learned that Fred Rogers really was a vegetarian. Theres not a whole lot of information about Junods wife, Janet, in either of his pieces. Tom Junod Education Upon graduating with his high school diploma, Tom enrolled at the State University of New York at Albany in 1978. Further, he had a controversial article about Kevin Spacey for Esquire that more or less outed the actor in 1997. Though of all races, the schoolchildren were mostly black and Latino, and they didnt even approach Mister Rogers and ask him for his autograph. But he lived a life of prayer, and he wanted us he wanted me to pray.. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ", Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, 1997 acceptance speech when he received the Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award, 1969 speech before congress asking for funding for public television. Playing Andrea Vogel, (but really Janet Junod, Tom Junod's wife), is This Is Us breakout star Susan Kelechi Watson. And I was really quite moved by it.. You are always fighting because you are fighting about always, which is to say about the permanence that you, as a married man, aspire to and at the same time dread. As of now, he serves as a Senior Writer at ESPN. The movie shows that Lloyd and Andrea have a newborn when the reporter goes to meet Mister Rogers. He joined the station in July 2016. [6] Junod has stated that his encounter with Rogers changed his perspective on life. Moreover, he has also served for Atlanta magazine, Life, and Sports Illustrated. This is the story of the predator who had come before. But the kind of fight that doesn't end is this: the kind of fight you win. I dont know if Im ever going to be as good at the active devotion whereas Fred would like me or us to be. And then there's the enormous influence of religion on Fred Rogers' life and career (he was an ordained Presbyterian minister but thought he could better spread a positive message to young people through public television).Christianity provided the foundation for Fred Rogers' message and it was the bedrock of his life. ESQ: Have the past two months been fulfilling for you? Ive had people say, I know a lot of people who are really kind, but theyre just not media people, so no one knows about their kindness. I mean, the point is that Fred was a media person, and he did have a platform, and he spoke to an extremely large audience that he made into an even larger audience. Marianne Paluso Our Woven Journey. "That story had the reek of bad faith to it, to be quite honest with you," Junod admitted when interviewed by Atlanta Magazine in 2019, noting that the negative response to his Kevin Spacey profile had stalled his career prior to his Fred Rogers assignment. But, in that same way, do you think he could have became what he did with social media instead of TV? "And, I guess you know, each morning I pray for you; I really do." And I called Joanne [Rogers] after that and said, What do you think about that? And she was like, You know, Fred would never represent that. That seems so obvious, but I think to a lot of people its not obvious because I think that the temptation of being able to think that yelling at somebody on the street, youre somehow striking a blow. When Junod first read the script for the movie, he believed that the writers had made him out to be a jerk, though he had a much more colorful term for that. How Mister Rogers changed the life of Atlanta writer Tom Junod, Block by Block: Stories from the streets that connect us, 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse, DINES: A Taste of the Citys Best Restaurants, Q&A: New editor-in-chief Leroy Chapman shares his vision for the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Journalism is struggling. You have reached your limit of free articles. and featuring Tom Hanks cutting that familiar cardiganed form, strikes the same chords as last years documentary except with a cynical, broken journalist serving as a surrogate for our cynical, broken times. Group, a Graham Holdings Company. ESQ: Another interesting thing in your piece is how you talk about how theres still a hunger for spreading goodness in the world. Since 1961, Atlanta magazine, the citys premier general interest publication, has served as the authority on Atlanta, providing its readers with a mix of long-form nonfiction, lively lifestyle coverage, in-depth service journalism, and literary essays, columns, and profiles. And I think that audience is sort of self-selecting and limited by definition, almost. There is a quiet rage simmering throughout A Thousand And One, threatening to spill out onto the changing streets of Harlem, from the, If you were expecting to escape the Oscars with dry eyes, were sorry to say that you definitely didnt make it out unscathed. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood did this regularly with children, using puppetry, songs and straightforward talk to help children understand their feelings. It stars Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Chris Cooper. Like the real-life Fred Rogers, the movies Rogers married an accomplished pianist named Joanne and fathered two sons. "A long time ago, a man had seen something in me I hadn't seen in myself.". I mean, one of the great surprises of my life is doing this. And the fact that Im talking to you at a fashion show with a turtleneck on, you know, the irony is not lost on me. Tom Hanks' mannerisms seem very accurate as well, including his slow way of speaking and use of silence, considering each word carefully and giving his audience time to ponder them. Thats where I was when I first met Fred.. For Junod, theres always been a bit of a misconception about Rogers. Tom is 64 years old born on April 9, 1958, in Wantagh, New York, in the USA. According to Junod, his first meeting with Rogers occurred at the latters New York apartment, which is shown later in the film. Then view a trailer for the Fred Rogers documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? -The Atlantic. Where Is Real Reporter From Mr Rogers Biopic In 2019? : Directed by Morgan Neville. Tom and his wife have been together for over 35 years. Firstly, Vogel's wife's name is Andrea, and she is somewhat modeled after Junod's wife, Janet.