Anyone who knows independent film history also knows “Spike, Mike, Slackers and Dykes,” a memoir by seminal producer’s rep John Pierson of his role in launching the careers of filmmakers such as Kevin Smith, Spike Lee, and Richard Linklater. Between 1997 and 2001, Pierson had a new way to spotlight talented filmmakers with IFC’s “Split Screen.” Now FilmStruck has acquired “Split Screen” streaming rights and, starting this Saturday, the original episodes will become available, with six episodes added every six weeks. Pierson spoke to IndieWire by phone and shared his thoughts as to why the show still belongs on your radar.
The Late ’90s Were an Optimistic Moment
Whether it’s showing somebody you know, somebody you should know, or somebody you may never know because we featured some wacky people who never went anywhere — that sense of optimism permeates most everything we did. To me, this is a nice...
The Late ’90s Were an Optimistic Moment
Whether it’s showing somebody you know, somebody you should know, or somebody you may never know because we featured some wacky people who never went anywhere — that sense of optimism permeates most everything we did. To me, this is a nice...
- 12/9/2016
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
★★★★☆In 1998, independent director Steve Yeager chronicled the lifework of transgressive eccentric John Waters in Divine Trash. The documentary's success manifested itself into a warranted trophy at that year's Sundance Film Festival for Best Documentary. Yeager comfortably capsuled the work of Waters' subversive world and scrutinised the workings of his gregarious troop of deviants, the Dreamland crew. Amongst the director's habitual go-to's was the 300-pound transvestite accredited with the now lionised stage name, Divine. Of all of Waters' malformed masterpieces, Divine - or Harris Glenn Milstead as she was christened - was the most schismatic, carnal and pivotal to the destruction of conformity.
- 9/1/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
While there hasn’t been an explosion of documentaries made about the great underground filmmakers, the fact that any have been made about these groundbreaking, but still mostly obscure to the general public, directors seems like a great accomplishment.
Plus, these seven documentaries listed below are all available for easy viewing on DVD or VOD, which is more than can be said for many of the subjects’ actual movies.
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis, dir. Mary Jordan. (Amazon | Netflix) Jack Smith is one of the most complicated figures in underground film history, but Jordan’s documentary provides an in-depth portrait of this reclusive artist who ended up alienating his closest friends and ardent supporters. Turning his back on the film world after directing one of the most notorious movies ever made, Flaming Creatures, Smith would go on to be an admired performance artist who would act sporadically in others’ art films.
Plus, these seven documentaries listed below are all available for easy viewing on DVD or VOD, which is more than can be said for many of the subjects’ actual movies.
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis, dir. Mary Jordan. (Amazon | Netflix) Jack Smith is one of the most complicated figures in underground film history, but Jordan’s documentary provides an in-depth portrait of this reclusive artist who ended up alienating his closest friends and ardent supporters. Turning his back on the film world after directing one of the most notorious movies ever made, Flaming Creatures, Smith would go on to be an admired performance artist who would act sporadically in others’ art films.
- 1/10/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
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