Being in a band has gotten me back into music in a big way. Up until about 6 or 7 years ago, I kept up with music, both popular and underground and one day, in a disgusted rage, just up and quit rock and roll. Then I moved to Boone, NC and just kind of quit everything for a bit. Call it a personal intervention away from pop culture. I learned to love my record collection at the time more.
But in the past year or so, I've been seeking out more new music. And now being in a band, I'm back on it full bore. Myspace is great for finding new music by a bunch of kids in a basement somewhere in Dubuque, Iowa but also a little disheartening. So much stuff and most of it sucks, a whole generation lost to Hot Topic-approved corporate rock and roll. But there's still some good underground rock and roll out there and oddly enough, some of the bigger names are putting out more vital and exciting music than their younger counterparts.
So now I'm gonna (at least) once a week give you the SERIOUS EXPLOITATION APPROVED SONG OF THE WEEK. And here's the first one:
TINTED WINDOWS-MESSING WITH MY HEAD
TINTED WINDOWS is the power-pop supergroup with Taylor Hanson (Hanson), James Iha(Smashing Pumpkins), Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne) and the great Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick).
Figures Adam Schlesinger would be spearheading this. I'm a huge Fountains Of Wayne fan, whose last album kind of blew but had a pretty spectacular run of AM-fueled power-pop up to WELCOME INTERSTATE MANAGERS. I always hated Smashing Pumpkins so it's good to see James Iha in a decent band. Taylor Hanson. Well, let's say I wasn't a fan but I appreciated the bubble-gum throwback at the time and the fact they could play their own instruments. Bun E. Carlos? He's the drummer for fucking Cheap Trick, man!
In a perfect world, this song would be blasting out of car speakers on the way to literal and figurative beaches all over the world all summer long. It now has what could possibly be a dubious honor as the inaugural SERIOUS EXPLOITATION APPROVED SONG OF THE WEEK.
So much for a movie blog.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
"Hey rats, The film broke!"
Two things I want to talk about here.
First, the McVickers Theater in Chicago. Check out this picture:
What a great looking place. Even better is this August 2008 entry about the McVickers over at Cinema Treasures by a member named David Zornig:
" I was unfortunately at the McVickers during it's decline. I was the ride to a heavily advertised, short-run showing of "Make Them Die Slowly" in late 1982 or early `83. A campy horror film billed as "Banned In 31 Countries!".
The tag line apparently worked, as the by then decaying structure was clearly overwhelmed by the those who showed up.
The restrooms were located in the basement. Needless to say the archaic plumbing was no longer up to the task of large crowds. As the ensuing flood approached the grand stairwell upwards, management saw fit to only rope off the area, instead of closing and/or causing chaos/losing money.
As with most of the downtown theatres already in decline, rodents could be heard and felt under foot during the feature presentation. So much so that at one of the many points the film stopped, rowdier patrons would yell: "Hey rats, the film broke!", as if the rodents were somehow in charge or running the projector.
It was sad to see the once grand, vintage facade and ornate interior in such disrepair. Running "Make Them Die Slowly" sadly became a fitting end to a glorious theatre history.
As previously documented, the McVickers closed shortly thereafter."
Pure gold. Read more about the McVickers at Cinema Treasures here.
Second thing I want to talk about is where I got that picture from. A place online called American Image Classics.
It's truly one of the greatest things I've found onlne and it's chock full of movie theater pictures from all over America. They'll sell you prints of them too. I've already found a ton of Miami theaters I'd never thought I'd see again as well as pictures of ones I'd only heard about while living in Atlanta. I'm sure you'll find something from your neck of the woods.
Check out American Classic Images here.
First, the McVickers Theater in Chicago. Check out this picture:
What a great looking place. Even better is this August 2008 entry about the McVickers over at Cinema Treasures by a member named David Zornig:
" I was unfortunately at the McVickers during it's decline. I was the ride to a heavily advertised, short-run showing of "Make Them Die Slowly" in late 1982 or early `83. A campy horror film billed as "Banned In 31 Countries!".
The tag line apparently worked, as the by then decaying structure was clearly overwhelmed by the those who showed up.
The restrooms were located in the basement. Needless to say the archaic plumbing was no longer up to the task of large crowds. As the ensuing flood approached the grand stairwell upwards, management saw fit to only rope off the area, instead of closing and/or causing chaos/losing money.
As with most of the downtown theatres already in decline, rodents could be heard and felt under foot during the feature presentation. So much so that at one of the many points the film stopped, rowdier patrons would yell: "Hey rats, the film broke!", as if the rodents were somehow in charge or running the projector.
It was sad to see the once grand, vintage facade and ornate interior in such disrepair. Running "Make Them Die Slowly" sadly became a fitting end to a glorious theatre history.
As previously documented, the McVickers closed shortly thereafter."
Pure gold. Read more about the McVickers at Cinema Treasures here.
Second thing I want to talk about is where I got that picture from. A place online called American Image Classics.
It's truly one of the greatest things I've found onlne and it's chock full of movie theater pictures from all over America. They'll sell you prints of them too. I've already found a ton of Miami theaters I'd never thought I'd see again as well as pictures of ones I'd only heard about while living in Atlanta. I'm sure you'll find something from your neck of the woods.
Check out American Classic Images here.
Fuck THE WRESTLER (2008).
A month or so back, I finally caught up with THE WRESTLER when a new all-digital multiplex opened up not far from my neighborhood.
I didn't like it. Had some moments but it was sunk by a horrible script. It's not as good as some have made it out to be. I'm right about this. I am.
Now with it's release on DVD, more and more folks come up to me and ask if I liked THE WRESTLER. In between the time I saw it and it's DVD release, I've grown to hate it more. It's a fucking chick flick for guys. It could be TERMS OF ENDEARMENT if you rearrange the pieces right. It's cliche-ridden, maudlin and creepy in ways it never intended (I thought he was going to fuck his daughter at a couple points).
While I don't doubt some people liked the movie, I'd have to ask them, especially with the passage of time and moments for rumination, was it as good as you thought? Seriously. If Rourke standing at a dead end street talking on a lonely pay phone doesn't make you go "Really?" out loud in the middle of a movie theatre like it did me, I can't help you.
If you want a good Mickey Rourke movie, try the forgotten POINT BLANK (1998.)
POINT BLANK image from kevingage.com
Friday, April 24, 2009
Something Weird selling 35mm print of FEAR NO EVIL (1981).
What's odd is how they're selling it.
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From their eBay listing:
35mm film "Mark Of The Beast" Color Vintage 1979 (ff3721)
35mm film; Feature Movies (Takes, retakes, outtakes) Marked "Laloggia Prod." 10 rolls (5720ft) original camera negative picture all on cores in 10 1000ft lab cans. Rare, unseen horror movie? Lost movie history ready for rediscovery, vintage, in lab can; Rare, No "Vinegar syndrome"; (see photo)
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I find it hard to believe that Something Weird doesn't know what this is. Even harder to believe is how confusing the description is.
Anyway, it's there if you want it.
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From their eBay listing:
35mm film "Mark Of The Beast" Color Vintage 1979 (ff3721)
35mm film; Feature Movies (Takes, retakes, outtakes) Marked "Laloggia Prod." 10 rolls (5720ft) original camera negative picture all on cores in 10 1000ft lab cans. Rare, unseen horror movie? Lost movie history ready for rediscovery, vintage, in lab can; Rare, No "Vinegar syndrome"; (see photo)
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I find it hard to believe that Something Weird doesn't know what this is. Even harder to believe is how confusing the description is.
Anyway, it's there if you want it.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Who do you think you're fooling?
After reading the Zooey Deschanel/500 DAYS OF SUMMER piece at the HEADQUARTERS 10 blog, I watched the music video author Matthew Kiernan embedded at the end. A She and Him video.
Um, I've heard this song before.
Um, I've heard this song before.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Things.
Looking around for stuff about Wildman Steve, I found his son Eric "Fats" Gallon, who lives in Stone Mountain, GA. Fats is a bad ass drummer.
You can read more about him and his pop at his website. There's a book he's written on his life I need to pick up.
THE GOLDEN BOYS opened here this weekend.
A limited release, THE GOLDEN BOYS opened up this weekend in Hyannis, MA, NYC, Charlotte, NC and a fuckload of theaters in Florida. Apparently, it's an old-timers film. I guess I'm an old-timer at 35. I plan on seeing it tomorrow.
I haven't put anything new up in the sections lately because A) I'm lazy and B)I'm lazy. However, if you haven't poked your nose around the sections for awhile, you may find something, especially in the Miami section.
Also, Lee Madden, director of HELL'S ANGELS '69 and ANGEL UNCHAINED died. Back in the day when my friends and I used to dig through video store garbage for posters and such, we would trade posters amongst each other like baseball cards. GHOST FEVER was a running joke. "I'll trade you GHOST FEVER!"
Nobody wanted to get stuck with this poster.
You can read more about him and his pop at his website. There's a book he's written on his life I need to pick up.
THE GOLDEN BOYS opened here this weekend.
A limited release, THE GOLDEN BOYS opened up this weekend in Hyannis, MA, NYC, Charlotte, NC and a fuckload of theaters in Florida. Apparently, it's an old-timers film. I guess I'm an old-timer at 35. I plan on seeing it tomorrow.
I haven't put anything new up in the sections lately because A) I'm lazy and B)I'm lazy. However, if you haven't poked your nose around the sections for awhile, you may find something, especially in the Miami section.
Also, Lee Madden, director of HELL'S ANGELS '69 and ANGEL UNCHAINED died. Back in the day when my friends and I used to dig through video store garbage for posters and such, we would trade posters amongst each other like baseball cards. GHOST FEVER was a running joke. "I'll trade you GHOST FEVER!"
Nobody wanted to get stuck with this poster.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
I can't sleep...5th Greatest Music Video Ever Made.
Bonus video below which may have made the list at sometime but unfortunately the quality is terrible. You may have noticed, we're all about quality around here.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Upcoming Fox Movie Channel curios.
Call me a shill but just don't call me late to watch these movies.
COVER ME BABE (1970)-Robert Forster as a pretentious student filmmaker. From Noel Black, the director of PRIVATE SCHOOL (1983) I've already seen this on here and the print ain't so hot but how else areyou going to see it? Worth watching then forgetting. On Tuesday April 14th, 4:30am
CAPONE (1975)-Ben Gazzara as Capone in this Roger Corman-produced, Steve Carver-directed gangster film. Cassavetes, Stallone, Dick Miller? What more could you want? On April 20, 2009, 2:30am
WILD TIMES (1980)-the Richard Compton directed mini-series starring Dennis Hopper, Sam Elliott, Ben Johnson, Cameron Mitchell and LQ Jones. From a novel by Brian Garfield. On April 25, 2009, 4:00pm
Check the FMC schedule online. They've got a weird idea about time.
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COVER ME BABE and CAPONE poster art from MOVIEPOSTER.COM
WILD TIMES still from STARZ
COVER ME BABE (1970)-Robert Forster as a pretentious student filmmaker. From Noel Black, the director of PRIVATE SCHOOL (1983) I've already seen this on here and the print ain't so hot but how else areyou going to see it? Worth watching then forgetting. On Tuesday April 14th, 4:30am
CAPONE (1975)-Ben Gazzara as Capone in this Roger Corman-produced, Steve Carver-directed gangster film. Cassavetes, Stallone, Dick Miller? What more could you want? On April 20, 2009, 2:30am
WILD TIMES (1980)-the Richard Compton directed mini-series starring Dennis Hopper, Sam Elliott, Ben Johnson, Cameron Mitchell and LQ Jones. From a novel by Brian Garfield. On April 25, 2009, 4:00pm
Check the FMC schedule online. They've got a weird idea about time.
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COVER ME BABE and CAPONE poster art from MOVIEPOSTER.COM
WILD TIMES still from STARZ
99 and 44/100 DEAD (1974)
Just caught this on FOX MOVIE CHANNEL in a nice widescreen print. Didn't fucking record it though. I hope they show it again because it was a blast.
Richard Harris as Harry Crown is one of the most badass action heroes I've ever come across. It's weird to see a movie that truly is ahead of it's time and somehow remains so fresh and alive in the face of modern cinema. Chuck Connors and Bradford Dillman only add to the goofy nihilism.
This is the kind of movie I love most: the movie that inhabits it's own world and never tries to be logical, like ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL and NEVER BACK DOWN for a more recent example. Yet somehow it feels more real than my own life and my surroundings. It got into my head in all the good ways.
I've seen two great movies this weekend: one new, one old. Things are looking up.
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CHUCK CONNORS PICTURE pilfered from BRIAN'S DRIVE-IN THEATER.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Holy Andy Milligan! Peep on this!
I think Jimmy McDonough is falling on hard times!
Check out this here.
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THE ULTIMATE ANDY MILLIGAN COLLECTION
I am selling off a large part of my Andy Milligan collection. These items were in his personal collection and given to me before he passed away in 1991. There are several one-of-a-kind items you won’t find anywhere else in the universe.
--The jewel of the collection is the only known 35mm print in existence of Andy’s 1970 shot-in-England black and white sexploitation opus NIGHTBIRDS, maybe his most personal film. There are a few minimal cuts to the print—I believe this answer print was utilized for a trailer—but nothing major.
--The 1979 35mm workprint/ mag soundtrack (four double reels and one single reel) of HOUSE OF SEVEN BELLES, Andy’s incomplete Civil War horror picture, shot on Staten Island and starring the great Hal Borske (see rare still below). Milligan told me the film was complete save for a finale he was unable to shoot. This is all that exists of the film. The workprint reels bear Andy’s handwritten labels.
--Two 16mm black and white print reels of COMPASS ROSE, Andy’s unfinished satire on the Warhol/Caffe Cino crowd. Features rare footage shot inside the Caffe Cino and stars many Andy regulars: Hal Borske, Annie Linden, Candy Hammond, Gerry Jacuzzo and the late, great Matt Baylor. This is all that exists of the film.
--Extremely rare (and near-pristine condition) two-reel 35mm print of VAPORS, Andy’s legendary 1965 bathhouse epic.
--Color 35mm print of 1970’s GURU, THE MAD MONK.
--Color 35mm print of 1970’s THE BODY BENEATH. Both GURU and BODY have seen some use but seem to be in good shape. No vinegar smell, good color. The BODY print was used for its original VHS release.
--3/4” video masters (circa 1980s) of CANDIDA, NIGHTBIRDS (which Andy had tinted sepia), BODY BENEATH and GURU. Note: these masters were stored away in a shed before they were rescued and the edge of the tape reels have tiny spots of Milliganoid fungus or mold in places. The master of CANDIDA (starring Neil Flanagan) is all that exists of the filmed-in-Staten-Island production.
--Andy’s Nagra and microphone. Yes, the actual recorder used to capture that trademark crappy Milligan sound, at least on the later 35mm films. Can’t vouch for the working order.
I didn’t want to damage any of these materials before a release was undertaken so they have remained intact and generally untouched since I received them. The prints still have their handwritten address label (see photo) for delivery to Andy’s Troupe West theatre.
Please note: I’m not breaking up the lot. It’s the whole enchilada or nothing at all. It is hard for me to part with this stuff, hence the astronomical reserve. I’m certain it’ll piss off Milligan fans—all twelve of you. For various reasons I was unable to unleash this stuff on the world. If there happens to be a winning bidder, I hope they will do just that. I'll provide scans of whatever campaign material I have (see pictures, originals not included) if need be.
No rights are given or implied to the films themselves, just the physical materials.
Payment is due within seven days of auction. The sale is final, no returns.
Please IGNORE THE SHIPPING CHARGE LISTED BELOW. I will ship Fedex insured. Due to the weight, the three 35mm prints will be shipped minus their metal cases unless you want to pay for it. I estimate it'll be four or five boxes worth of stuff and it will be carefully packed. I'll be responsible for anything over $200 for shipping in the US (if the actual cost is less than $200, I'll refund the difference). International will be more, please contact me.
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Check out this here.
------------------------------------------------
THE ULTIMATE ANDY MILLIGAN COLLECTION
I am selling off a large part of my Andy Milligan collection. These items were in his personal collection and given to me before he passed away in 1991. There are several one-of-a-kind items you won’t find anywhere else in the universe.
--The jewel of the collection is the only known 35mm print in existence of Andy’s 1970 shot-in-England black and white sexploitation opus NIGHTBIRDS, maybe his most personal film. There are a few minimal cuts to the print—I believe this answer print was utilized for a trailer—but nothing major.
--The 1979 35mm workprint/ mag soundtrack (four double reels and one single reel) of HOUSE OF SEVEN BELLES, Andy’s incomplete Civil War horror picture, shot on Staten Island and starring the great Hal Borske (see rare still below). Milligan told me the film was complete save for a finale he was unable to shoot. This is all that exists of the film. The workprint reels bear Andy’s handwritten labels.
--Two 16mm black and white print reels of COMPASS ROSE, Andy’s unfinished satire on the Warhol/Caffe Cino crowd. Features rare footage shot inside the Caffe Cino and stars many Andy regulars: Hal Borske, Annie Linden, Candy Hammond, Gerry Jacuzzo and the late, great Matt Baylor. This is all that exists of the film.
--Extremely rare (and near-pristine condition) two-reel 35mm print of VAPORS, Andy’s legendary 1965 bathhouse epic.
--Color 35mm print of 1970’s GURU, THE MAD MONK.
--Color 35mm print of 1970’s THE BODY BENEATH. Both GURU and BODY have seen some use but seem to be in good shape. No vinegar smell, good color. The BODY print was used for its original VHS release.
--3/4” video masters (circa 1980s) of CANDIDA, NIGHTBIRDS (which Andy had tinted sepia), BODY BENEATH and GURU. Note: these masters were stored away in a shed before they were rescued and the edge of the tape reels have tiny spots of Milliganoid fungus or mold in places. The master of CANDIDA (starring Neil Flanagan) is all that exists of the filmed-in-Staten-Island production.
--Andy’s Nagra and microphone. Yes, the actual recorder used to capture that trademark crappy Milligan sound, at least on the later 35mm films. Can’t vouch for the working order.
I didn’t want to damage any of these materials before a release was undertaken so they have remained intact and generally untouched since I received them. The prints still have their handwritten address label (see photo) for delivery to Andy’s Troupe West theatre.
Please note: I’m not breaking up the lot. It’s the whole enchilada or nothing at all. It is hard for me to part with this stuff, hence the astronomical reserve. I’m certain it’ll piss off Milligan fans—all twelve of you. For various reasons I was unable to unleash this stuff on the world. If there happens to be a winning bidder, I hope they will do just that. I'll provide scans of whatever campaign material I have (see pictures, originals not included) if need be.
No rights are given or implied to the films themselves, just the physical materials.
Payment is due within seven days of auction. The sale is final, no returns.
Please IGNORE THE SHIPPING CHARGE LISTED BELOW. I will ship Fedex insured. Due to the weight, the three 35mm prints will be shipped minus their metal cases unless you want to pay for it. I estimate it'll be four or five boxes worth of stuff and it will be carefully packed. I'll be responsible for anything over $200 for shipping in the US (if the actual cost is less than $200, I'll refund the difference). International will be more, please contact me.
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Disney Marketing at it's Spectacular Worst.
The worst ad campaign in recent memory was PRIMEVAL.
At what point does that trailer tell you there's a killer crocodile?
In what way does that poster tell you this movie is about a killer crocodile? It's so bad I should pretend that the poster isn't even next to these words.
I go back and forth nowadays between paying attention to what's playing at the multiplex and just ignoring it all, hoping it will go away. But had you told me at the time, Walt Disney, you were releasing a movie about a giant killer crocodile, I'd have been there opening night.
Oddly enough, Miramax Pictures, owned by Walt Disney as well, has just released the worst ad campaign since PRIMEVAL. The Disney marketing machine is really outdoing themselves over there.
At no point does this trailer even hint at the movie you'll see should you choose to go and watch ADVENTURELAND. I figured it was some dopey nu-comedy in the Judd Apatow vein, especially touting SUPERBAD's Greg Motolla direction.
The poster is just as bad. So much so I'm going to pretend it's not even next to these words.
When we complain about modern moviegoing and the shit we have to sit through or what garbage people vote for more of with their box office dollars, remember that ADVENTURELAND played in theaters and you ignored it. Because of that trailer, I almost did too. Please don't be like me. I have seen the light.
This'll probably be the best film I see this year.
Most importantly, it made me happy.
Super special thanks to the MOON IN THE GUTTER "ADVENTURELAND" REVIEW that pointed me in the right direction.
PRIMEVAL poster from worstpreviews.com. I don't frequent the place but they came up first in the Google image search for PRIMEVAL posters. I know nothing about them. They could be satanists.
ADVENTURELAND poster from the kick-ass IMP AWARDS!
At what point does that trailer tell you there's a killer crocodile?
In what way does that poster tell you this movie is about a killer crocodile? It's so bad I should pretend that the poster isn't even next to these words.
I go back and forth nowadays between paying attention to what's playing at the multiplex and just ignoring it all, hoping it will go away. But had you told me at the time, Walt Disney, you were releasing a movie about a giant killer crocodile, I'd have been there opening night.
Oddly enough, Miramax Pictures, owned by Walt Disney as well, has just released the worst ad campaign since PRIMEVAL. The Disney marketing machine is really outdoing themselves over there.
At no point does this trailer even hint at the movie you'll see should you choose to go and watch ADVENTURELAND. I figured it was some dopey nu-comedy in the Judd Apatow vein, especially touting SUPERBAD's Greg Motolla direction.
The poster is just as bad. So much so I'm going to pretend it's not even next to these words.
When we complain about modern moviegoing and the shit we have to sit through or what garbage people vote for more of with their box office dollars, remember that ADVENTURELAND played in theaters and you ignored it. Because of that trailer, I almost did too. Please don't be like me. I have seen the light.
This'll probably be the best film I see this year.
Most importantly, it made me happy.
Super special thanks to the MOON IN THE GUTTER "ADVENTURELAND" REVIEW that pointed me in the right direction.
PRIMEVAL poster from worstpreviews.com. I don't frequent the place but they came up first in the Google image search for PRIMEVAL posters. I know nothing about them. They could be satanists.
ADVENTURELAND poster from the kick-ass IMP AWARDS!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
4th Greatest Music Video Ever.
Due to the fact I had to work tonight, I missed .38 Special at the Clay County Agricultural Fair. In honor of the hometown heroes, Serious Exploitation presents the 4th Greatest Music Video Ever.
EXTRA ADDED BONUS !:
EXTRA ADDED BONUS !:
Monday, April 6, 2009
It's official: ST. IVES Is Bronson's best film ever.
I'm going to have to go on the record here and say ST. IVES is my favorite Bronson film. Big Lots got in the DVD for $3 new. Couldn't wait for the TELEFON double feature on 5/19, which has a pretty generic cover by the way.
Haven't seen it in a few years but I always think about it. I love that cafeteria he hangs at. I want a cafeteria like that here in town so I can go and drink beer out of a goblet with beans and knockwurst. What happened to this country?
Marquee swiped from boston.com.
Friday, April 3, 2009
The Ballad Of Lou Perryman.
Image from CINEMA WASTELAND.
Sometime in 2007, I wrote an article for American Vulture about Eagle Pennell. Nothing major. Just lamenting on how LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO affected me and how much I wanted to see the THE WHOLE SHOOTIN' MATCH. Since American Vulture will unfortunately cease to exist after April 13th, 2009, I'll reprint it here:
------------------------------
THINKIN' ABOUT EAGLE PENNELL
by Eric M. Harvey
Whenever I think about making a movie, Eagle Pennell comes to mind.
Eagle was the guy who directed THE WHOLE SHOOTIN' MATCH, a movie that Robert Redford famously championed as the reason he started Sundance. He was also the guy who directed LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO, one of my all-time favorites even though I never mention it when somebody asks, "What're your favorite movies?" (I usually draw a complete blank anyway).
Working at Movies Worth Seeing in Atlanta, LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO hung out in the sleeper section, a catch-all for quirky indie stuff from the 70's up. It was a Continental Video release in the huge big box so it stuck out like a sore thumb. If you read the synopsis on the back and check out the stills, you get a "this could go either way" feeling. Luckily, it did go the way of greatness.
At the time, I'd describe it to the customers as "the redneck CLERKS" just to pique their interest. It also stars Lou Perryman, L.G. from TEXAS CHAINSAW 2, so what more do you really need. For TEXAS CHAINSAW completists, Kim Henkel wrote, produced and co-edited it.
Everybody who took the plunge loved it. I feel bad describing it like that nowadays because it's so much better than that. It's what independent film used to be and I wish could be again: talented people using whatever they got to make a scruffy, likable, minor masterpiece which completely captures the region it comes from and makes film a viable option in life's pursuit of happiness. It's that inspiring.
Eagle Pennell died, pretty much thanks to his alcoholism, in 2002. Around that time, there was a retrospective of his works at the Alamo Drafthouse in his stomping grounds of Austin that included LAST NIGHT as well as THE WHOLE SHOOTIN' MATCH and his short film, A HELL OF A NOTE. His output was miniscule and other than LAST NIGHT, none of them were released on video (if you read this and should have a copy of WHOLE SHOOTIN' or any others besides LAST NIGHT, I'll definitely be your best friend).
Apparently, they're grizzled greatness at it's most sloppy. If they're anything like LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO, then they'd probably become favorites as well which I could blank on at the dreaded favorite movies question.
If you've seen it, I'm preachin' to the choir. If you haven't, do yourself a favor. Track down LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO.
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Because of that article, M.G. Wood, grand poobah of American Vulture, recieved an email from Lou Perryman. He forwarded it to me and to make a long story short, it pretty much was a thank you as well as an invitation to contact him further.
I never did. Equal parts laziness, equal parts fear. I don't consider myself a journalist and I'm scared about starting something I can't finish. I do it a lot and lose track of time. Also I think it was mostly fear. What the fuck am I going to say to Claude from LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO? L.G. from TCM2? Looking back, I remember saying to myself to contact him. And then I truly and honestly forgot. My life is a perpetual Bermuda Triangle of time.
My buddy Murphy called me tonight and told me about what happened. I was shocked. I'm even more shocked now that I've had time to think about it. And to read about how he died is even more infuriating, sad and confusing. He was supposed to be part of the TCM reunion at Cinema Wasteland this weekend.
Even more maddening is how underused and overlooked he was, not to mention the great Sonny Carl Davis, his cinematic partner in crime. They were the Matthau and Lemmon of Texas. Possibly even more important in the grand scheme of things for me. Because even though Matthau and Lemmon were schlubs every man could relate to, Perryman and Davis were schlubs every man from the South could relate to. Those characters they created in the Pennell films, I know those people. Those people ARE my family.
I've got a lot of dreams that die by my own self-defeatist hand but there's this script I have half-written that when I was writing it, I had Perryman in mind for the father role. Every time I wrote a line for the father character, all I could hear was Perryman's Claude character from LAST NIGHT AT THE ALAMO.
I tend to attach people to certain things based on the music or movies they make, and those people make me want to go there. In the late 80's/early 90's, The Replacements/Paul Westerberg's LEFT OF THE DIAL made me want to move to Georgia, which I did.
Perryman and Pennell in the late 90's/early 2000's made me want to move to Austin, TX, which I haven't yet. Now they're both gone. Pennell by his own selfish, fucked up demons (which sadly I can relate to, explaining my Westerberg/Pennell/Peckinpah worship that at most times nowadays I try not to wear as a badge of honor) and now Perryman because of pure insanity.
In a way, I'm glad I made no contact with Lou Perryman. If I had, this would have been more hard to take than it is. In the interviews I've read about him and the interviews I've seen with him, he seems to be one of the most honest and lovable gentlemen ever to walk the earth.
My heart goes out to his family and friends. Please seek out the available work he left behind.
LOU PERRYMAN DEAD at The Onion's A.V. Club.
LOU PERRYMAN homicide info at Austin's KXAN.com.
LOU PERRYMAN and SONNY CARL DAVIS interview at the Onion's A.V. Club.
My original article at AMERICAN VULTURE (while it lasts).
Goodnight, Mr. Perryman. I guess the only thing we can do is play you a song. And I couldn't even tell you why it's this one.
Maybe because I'm just a Florida boy who dreams of Texas.
And thank you, Lou Perryman, for helping make those dreams seem in reach as well as comfortable and familiar.
Fuck, I'm hammered = 3rd Greatest Music Video Ever Made.
The one thing about alcohol is it unleashes the shit you used to think about when you were on the pot. Things like watching KING FRAT and writing down the perfect cast to do a remake with (I know Dave Chapelle was involved). And fuck, remember that Remo Williams video?
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