Hollywood’s Biggest Stars Shine in Commitment to Life

Time can be a cruel gift. No matter how much of it we have, we always want more. Millions of our LGBTQ+ family had time ripped away from them in the prime of their lives, leaving scars in our community that may never heal. All we can do is memorialize them, love them, and promise them that we will do better.

It’s a promise that echoes through Commitment to Life, a brilliant and bracing account of how AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) rushed to help when nobody else would.

Great cinema manages to balance the intimate with the epic. Filmmakers can punch in for quiet human stories and then pull back to reveal how these tales weave together to form the fabric of the big picture. This is the mystifying magic trick of Commitment to Life. We spoke to the documentary’s director, Jeffrey Schwarz, and executive producer, Ron Sylvester, to learn how they brought the past into sharp focus and how Outfest helps pave their way to a shimmering future.

RON SYLVESTER: Many stories have been done about the New York fight against AIDS and what happened in San Francisco, but no one had really told the LA story. What was LA doing? How did Hollywood and celebrity play into the whole thing?

JEFFREY SCHWARZ: This is really the story of a city and the story of a community within the city. And within that city, there’s all these different aspects of different folks that were affected by this. You’ve got the white guys in West Hollywood. You’ve got the communities of color in other parts of town. You’ve got the celebrity and Hollywood quotient, and you’ve got the medical community. You’ve got the activists. So, there’s a lot going on here.

How did you balance the star-studded, glitzy elements of the film with the fact that you never lose the wounded humanity of what you’re telling? How did you strike that delicate balance?

RS: I have to really credit Jeffrey for that. Because I was always about this film being about as much star power as possible, and about Hollywood and the entertainment community. And it wasn’t until I saw the first or second cut that I really appreciated what he did… You feel a connection to these individuals who were on the front line, who, in two cases, were early contractors of AIDS and are still alive today and they tell their story. You really understand the heart that goes along with it. And, at that point, I realized, okay, it’s crucial that we weave those two stories together. Because I think the Hollywood story, alone, would’ve been interesting, but it would not have been as touching.

JS: It definitely was a challenge to try to foreground the right stories. So we tried to pick representative voices from each of these groups of folks. Michael Gottlieb was an obvious person to talk about the medical side of things. Phil Wilson was an obvious person to talk about communities of color, as was Jewel Case Williams. These stories are amazing. Everybody is incredible. We’re so lucky to have this cast of characters.

It truly is a treasure trove of talent, from luminaries like Tom Cruise, Sharon Stone, and Tom Hanks, to quirky character actors who spoke up when the world was smothering us with silence. Could you discuss some of the best pop culture gems you mined during your creative process?

JS: I was familiar with people like Alison Arngrim. I knew about her involvement, but I didn’t know just how deep it went. And I didn’t know about her co-star in Little House on the Prairie, who she was very close friends with and who was gay and one of the earliest people that she knew who got sick. She took it upon herself to step up. I was really happy to talk to her and have her tell her story, because I think she needs to be acknowledged and she needs to be celebrated. And Zelda Rubinstein, I mean, I think growing up in the ’80s, of course we all loved Zelda Rubinstein from Poltergeist. And I’m really happy people are going to get to know the role that she played, appearing in APLA’s earliest public service announcements about safe sex and that she was such a friend to the community.

RS: Being one of the first AIDS organizations in Los Angeles, we really felt like we could tell our story… Like, wow, we have hours and hours of A-List stars. We realized we had something… We had a bigger story to tell. And we had a good piece of that story to tell through Commitment to Life and APLA’s interaction with Hollywood and celebrity. So we made the decision to really go for it.

Speaking of the title, could you discuss its origins and significance?

JS: I became aware of the name of the annual fundraisers that APLA had, which was called Commitment to Life. And that idea came very early on, and Elizabeth Taylor was involved in the first Commitment to Life, and it just kind of stuck as a title for their fundraiser. And it really did sum up the mission of APLA and the mission of everyone who was trying to help people with HIV and AIDS at that time. And that title just sort of was a working title. And then it just stuck for us too. We never came up with anything better. And it always seemed like, well, this is really what the movie’s about.

RS: So many people have forgotten the trauma, and the fight that went on to be seen, to be heard, to invite other people to the fight to help solve this issue. I mean, when we recap the Reagan era, which was a disaster. I mean, this is a guy who wouldn’t even say the word until eight years into his presidency. And I think the only reason he did it is because Elizabeth Taylor beat the hell out of him. God bless Elizabeth Taylor.

The Oscar-winning icon triumphs in archival footage that showcases her humor and rage. In one poignantly irreverent moment, Ms. Taylor openly voices her inner dialogue and exclaims, “Do something, bitch!” It’s a mantra that desperately needed to be heard back then as well as in the queer-and-now.

RS: I strongly believe that our history is dying every day. Not only that, they don’t teach this in schools anymore. And in most states in the country, they are actively legislating not to teach this in school, which just kind of blows my mind.

JS: Our primary mission was to make sure that the story isn’t forgotten, and also to try to make a movie that was engaging. I wanted you to experience the gut punch on those early years and the horror of those early years. But also, the sense that people coming together can basically do anything.

RS: You have to understand that we did win the fight. Maybe we didn’t cross the absolute finish line, but we most certainly showed people what we’re capable of. For the younger generation, it’s a must watch. I think if you’re a young member of the LGBT community, you have to understand your history. You have to understand where the older generation came from. And you’ve got to watch the movie, and you have to understand what we went through.

JS: These are just average people. Some of them were famous and some of them were not. And they all had a common interest to help their friends when the government wasn’t doing its job. And to sort of combat misinformation and to combat homophobia and transphobia. These are all issues, obviously, that are on the front page every day today. I think it’s a hopeful film, and I think that ideally it will inspire young people to get into the fight and just to be more more aware of on whose shoulders we stand.

Due to the urgent and passionate aesthetic of the film, promoting the film feels less like an advertisement and more like a celebration. How has the reception been thus far?

JS: We had a private screening a few months ago in West Hollywood that APLA health organized. And a lot of the folks that we interviewed got to see the movie for the first time and also got to see each other for the first time in a long time. And these were people that were intimately involved in each other’s lives for a very intense period of time. Those relationships have sort of changed over the years, as the epidemic has changed. So, for me, just as a filmmaker, I had experience interviewing these folks one-on-one, but to get to see them kind of reunite with each other and to get to see their heroism reflected back at them from that big screen was really one of the most amazing moving experiences I’ve ever had.

Looking forward, what are your expectations for Outfest and beyond?

RS: We have a screening on July 15th at the DGA main theater, which holds about 600 people. I would like to see it filled.

JS: It’s an incredible experience to get to see your film with such a loving, supportive community on that big Director’s Guild screen. And I’m counting the days until our screening. I really can’t wait. I think if anyone’s going to see this movie, the best possible way to see it is on that big screen.

RS: I want to talk about the movie as much as possible. I want people to know about the movie. And, ultimately, our goal is a streaming deal for the movie so that people all over the country, if not the world, can see this movie, and learn, and educate, and remember.

Commitment to Life is a euphoric eulogy that exhumes the spectres of the past and elevates them into celestial celluloid status. To ascend with them, be sure to attend Outfest and share the love, loss, laughter and legacy.