PARK CITY, Utah ā Lin-Manuel Miranda knows that, for some, the story of his life is already written.
āIf I can put it absolutely morbidly, I know that āHamiltonā is the first line in my obituary,ā Miranda says with an unusually chipper tone for someone contemplating their death. āLike, good! Done! I know nothing will ever be āHamiltonā again and Iām fine with that. I think artists start to go off the rails when they try to chase that again and again.ā
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A pair of new documentaries premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this week capture a wider view of Mirandaās life through some of the people who have been most foundational to him. āSiempre, Luisā is a profile of his father, the tireless Puerto Rico advocate Luis Miranda. āWe Are Freestyle Love Supremeā documents the improvised hip-hop show that Miranda and several of his āHamiltonā collaborators regularly put on before āIn the Heightsā altered Mirandaās trajectory, and which they recently reformed on Broadway.
āLifeās not a linear narrative. Itās not this and this and this ascent. Itās all these side journeys,ā Miranda says in āWe Are Freestyle Love Supreme.ā āLife gets complicated and you keep going. Thereās no end point. Whatās that Orson Wellsā quote? If you want to tell a story with a happy ending, it depends on where you end the story.ā
Both films are, in a way, origin stories for the 40-year-old Miranda. But they are also stories that take some of the megawatt spotlight trust on him by āHamiltonā and deflects it onto those around him.
āMy son is the most collaborative human being that I know,ā says the elder Miranda. āFrom sharing the Kennedy Center award with his other collaborators to making sure that everyone who did something important to him and accomplish that next goal gets accounted for and acknowledged. I understand why. I have a wonderful wife of 42 years who is exactly like that. Itās part of his DNA.ā
āSiempre, Luis,ā directed by John James, is a profile of Luis Miranda, the longtime New York political player. It took some time for Luis to get accustomed to the cameras being focused on him.
āIāve spent all my life promoting a cause, an organization, elected officials, Lin-Manuel Miranda. So to all of a sudden be promoting myself is not a role Iāve had all my life. I was always pushing something, never being the center of attention. But Iāll tell you, though, it feels good! Itās like a narcissistās dream.ā
The film also depicts when son and father a year ago mounted āHamiltonā in Puerto Rico. For Lin-Manuel, Alexander Hamilton reminded him of his father, both immigrants who settled in New York.
āAnyone whoās seen āHamiltonā and wonders āHow much is this like its authorā will see my dad and go, āOh, I get it now. Heās playing his dad,ā says Lin-Manuel. āI saw in the sheer tonnage of what Hamilton accomplished in his lifetime ā he pushed through the Federalist Papers while also running a law practice -- and it reminded me of my father. When Iām playing Hamilton, Iām playing my dad.ā
Sometimes, Luis reminds his son almost too much of the fiery founding father. āIāve had moments with him where heās about to very curtly respond to an email and I go, āDad, donāt go Hamilton on them,āā says Lin-Manuel.
Andrew Friedās āWe Are Freestyle Love Supremeā traces the roots of many of the primary forces involved in āHamilton,ā including director Thomas Kail and actor Christopher Jackson, who originated the role of George Washington. But some of those who were part of āFreestyle Love Supreme,ā for various reasons, didnāt come along on the āHamiltonā journey. Utkarsh Ambudkar was then at a low point, dealing with drug addiction.
āSome people were on this rocket ship and some werenāt,ā says Lin-Manuel. āItā lovely to be on the other side of it because I think weāre closer for it.ā
As seen in the film, the members āFreestyle Love Supremeā reunited for a successful Broadway run of the show they used to perform in the basement of New Yorkās Drama Bookshop.
āItās been our go-to. Itās been a part of all our lives,ā says Lin-Manuel. āFor me, creatively itās the muscle groups that make everything I like stronger. You canāt indulge in writerās block if you're also getting on stage and creating a 90-minute musical with your friends.ā
Miranda, who also appears in another Sundance documentary (āMucho Mucho Amour,ā about famed Puerto Rican psychic Walter Mercado), will this summer see the big-screen adaptation of āIn the Heightsā in movie theaters. And he still presides over the vast empire of āHamilton.ā Rather than devote himself to trying to write another mammoth musical, he has largely followed his passions. Among them: composing the music for Disneyās live-action remake of āThe Little Mermaidā with Alan Menken.
āI only say yes to things that I would learn from and that I would kick myself forever if I didnāt say yes to,ā says Miranda. āIf youāre going to ask me if I want to write with Alan Menken on my favorite movie from my childhood, Iām going to say yes to that. You can look at the stuff from āHamiltonā as burdensome or freeing, and I try to choose freeing.ā
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP