~ 22 PLANET OF THE ARTS / DECEMBER 1995 Baby All Gone Real working dumper! 5.6 km/h forward and reverse. Battery and Charger included. Ages 2-7. 713244 loving. Ages 3 up. Soft Huggable body. 15 °° Burner Baby John Piersen, continued from previous page... model. Harley's a guy that's playing with dialogue and his audience doesn't seem to mind. And that leaves Spike. He gets all the credit was such an influential film. A great character piece that takes place all in the span of one day and one block. In Clerks it's a block of stores, but in Do the Right Thing it's a block." And there was the perfect model. So, | think that's so cool. A Hollywood film guy — an Animal House, Star Wars that kind of Hollywood movie — movie brat type kid, he’s got this writing instinct, so later in life one particular film opens a whole new doorway. SS JP: Yeah, that's it, that's my point. It seems to me, | feel a little bit like a crank, 0.K., but when you see great films, the great films of cinema history, and that can be Nanook, that can be Citizen Kane, that can be Vertigo, that can be Red Desert, it could be The Seven Samurai which | was just talking about at dinner... KM: That's a good one. JP: That's a great film. That's one for me. | saw that on the film Odyssey series on PBS in like, 1970. Like, that night changed my life. It was like Oh, my God, this is so great! How could | not have known that there was something like this out there? Until that night. KM: It's something that makes you go AAAWWW!!! [gestures] JP: A’right, but you do that, right? You see films like those, and your response is cer- tainly not to think, well, | could knock Baby Loving Feelings Look into her heart to see if she is feeling happy, sad, tired or 7.2V Radio Control Super With flip up missile launcher and Telescoping cannon, working rocket launchers and pop-up engine. 27° illustration by Chris Nash that off. You think, Wow, that was really great, that’s what | want to do. KM: MM-hmm. JP: And maybe, maybe, maybe if | work really hard, if | have some talent and | work really hard, that's what | can aspire to. I'll never be Kurusawa, but if | could just try to be like that...Okay, that's a real- ly pure motivation. You can have that motivation and still make a really lousy film, but to me your heart would still be in the right place and the likelihood of creating quality would be higher. As opposed to theory two: Holly wood makes this, look at this, look, bad film. You could do this the same way, jealously, with a lot of the Indie films. There's room for every- body to have a different take on a lot of individual titles...(tape glitch)...virtually every independent film that's out and say, "that's not very good, that’s not very good, that's terrible, these Hollywood films suck, that's crap," y'know... KM: It's like they're coming from a nega- tive place...| was sort of inspired by that article you wrote, and | went out and | said, "| want to start a distribution com- pany,’...the idea that, it's almost like you have to go out and re-discover the American dream, or something like it, something else. You're not looking at everything with derision...you're not com- ing from a place of well | can do better than that, you're coming from a place of, "Wow, maybe if | keep this in mind...” But just the tone of that article was neat, You said there are a lot of people with screen- plays, but nobody looking at how things get produced. | found that really inspiring last year, it got me thinking about how to _be business-like. Because that's one thing too, that bothered me about the forum today, was that there seemed to be a lot of people with scripts, but there wasn't anybody creating any structures, which is Douglas Coupland: Life After Art School Wow! A lecture from a successful Emily Carr Graduate about what its like out there! This could be good. Good, except for the $20 entrance fee. Pretty expensive for a pep talk geared towards poor art students. Oh well, maybe there’s a way to get in for less... Douglas Coupland graduated with a studio diploma in sculpture in the mid 1980's. After trying to ‘make it’ as a visual artist without much luck, he switched vocations and became a writer. It would seem an even riskier career choice except that his first novel, Generation X, went on to sell millions of copies, is printed in something like 15 languages, and coined a phrase that defines a generation. Not bad for a first novel; not a bad ‘life after art school’ He went on to write several other books, his most recent being Microserfs. A tribute to the humanization of high tech startups and the exoneration of nerd culture, Microserfs is a wealth of witty reflections on our emerging high pace, high stress world (where people no longer have lives). Reflections which Coupland transposed into modern day fears for his talk at Emily Carr, fears which define “Life After Art School”. He methodically laid out these contemporary caveats, dispelling each one as he went: the fear of obsolescence, the fear of technological elitism, the fear of losing our cultural creativity - just to name a few. Humanity’s collective fear of technology acted as the subtext beneath all of these, counterbalanced by Coupland’s confidence in the future. He speaks of “endlessly different tomorrows,” tomorrows which will certain- ly include technology. It’s all around us; you can’t escape it and it’s not going away. “So there really isn’t anything to fear. Technology is good for us, in fact we need it. Hug a computer today.” Ok, I’m paraphrasing, but I’m not being satirical; I'd like to believe him. I think he’s a brilliant man, a source of inspiration, not because of his success, but because of his talent for observation. He pulls profound concepts from the most banal things; a sort of pop-culture prophet... -Dan Vogel “®& how these scripts are going to happen. | was thinking if you could distribute on video, just show some weird stuff on video... JP: Any sort of delivery system you can come up with, to get whatever it is you make into the hands of enough people, to spread the word at some level, provide some funding to keep on doing it, is fan- tastic. KM: It could just feed itself. JP: | have this film right now, it's the only film I've really fallen in love with all year, of the new stuff I've seen...I've felt a lot of disappointment this year... KM: (into mike) Pay attention here... JP: (laughs) | saw a film called American Job by this guy in the Midwest, he lives in Milwaukee now... | love the film, it's a film of painful hilarity about a guy who can't keep, doesn't want to keep, a string of five different minimum wage jobs, start- ing in a plastics factory and ending up telemarketing. There are stops along the way at a fast food chicken joint, some box factory where their taking inventory on the third shift, the like, midnight to 8am shift, where they have to have these perky little lunches at 3am...0h God. KM: (laughs) JP: ..and what else? Oh yeah, cleaning motel rooms. It's so deadpan, it's so dead- pan that | didn’t realize for months after watching it how funny it was (beginning to chortle...) Now this is a marketing chal- lenge, because | have to figure out, having now decided that it's the funniest movie I've seen, | mean well, | think that Clerks is really funny, but this is as funny any movie as I've seen in a long time, and really a poignant and telling movie about what America's like right now...It works on two levels...it's sort of a pointed commen- tary without being heavy handed at the same time. But the fact that it takes a month for me to start thinking how funny it was is not a good sign when it comes to the audience. It's like how are you going to get them to laugh while their watching the movie. a Zoran Dragelj: And if you were a critic it would be kind of hard to come after a ~ month and change you article. JP: Exactly. KM: You could write a postscript..."about that article | wrote a month ago..." JP: But that happens, that’s the beauty of it.. Just like Moby Dick, was not an acclaimed novel until many decades after Melville dies, y'know, it happens in litera- ture all the time. It happens in film some, too. Even in more recent times there are sort of landmark, trend-setting, pace-set- ting films y'know, like Blade runner, which was not just not that huge, but it was pretty much excoriated by a number of critics in it's time. | remember another film by Robert Altman, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, widely misunderstood in it's time, and of course we could go back through some of the greatest films in cinema his- tory, like, what the New York Times said about Bonnie and Clyde was, this is dis- gusting. Opinions do change over time, but it's hard when you're dealing with a product... KM: You've got to sell it. JP: It's hard when you've got a product in the market-place, to use good old lingo. The thing is, that this guy Chris Smith told me that his circle of friends spent so much time going out and shooting their videos, that they had so many hundreds of hours of films on video that they'd made that they didn't have time to watch them. [laughs] | thought that was funny, because he says that he’s got a band as well, and they're always playing, and they're recording a lot of that as well, and he says that they don't even have time to watch these tapes or listen to the record- ings of the band. | thought, “That's totally cool.” KM: That's where | come in and say, "send me this stuff,” You could just sift through all the dross, and take the thirty percent that's good and start putting it out on low end video tapes for rental in like, comic shops. Just because it's so accessible. But then the film snob part of my personality says, "aww, video?” -Kacey McDougall “@ 22. rower or re ns J oxceeen 1995 rooms Baby All Gone Real working dumper! 5.6 km/h included. Ages 2-7. 713244 inch, loving. Ages 3 up. Soft Huggable body. 157° Burner Baby With fli John Piersen, rode Hare 2 guy that’ playing with Gilogue and hs audence doesn't sem to riod Ad that leaves Spike. He gets all the rit wa uch anneal fl. A reat character pec that tats plce al in the span of one day and one block. In (erst a block of stores, btn Do the Aight Tingits block And there was the perfect model, So think thats 0 coo. A Hollynoad fim guy = an Anime! House, tor Wars that kindof Holtood move ~ move brat type id he's got this wrtng instinct, 50 ater in life one particular lm opens whole new dooray. 7 Yeah, that’ ta’ my pont. It Seems tome, | fee ait bit ke a crank, (OK, but when you se grat fms the yet lis of Sema history, an that ‘ante Noreok that canbe Citizen Kor, that canbe Vertigo, that can be ed Desert could be Te Sever Somroi hich was just taking about 2 ner Me That’ 2 good one. IP: Tha’ a great fim That’ one fr me. Ss that on the flim Oasey series on PBS in ke, 197. Like, that night changed my life twas ike Ob, my God, this is 3 eat How could net have koa that ‘here was something like this out thee? Unt that night i ts something that makes you go ARAWONVI gestures} BP: Right, but you do that right? You see msi those, and your responses cer- tai nt to think wel | ould oc Baby Loving Feelings Look into her heart to see if she is feeling happy, sad, tired or 7.2V Radio Control Super up missile launcher and Telescoping cannon, working rocket launchers and pop-up engine. 29°. forward and reverse. Battery and Charger 27°? illustration by Chris Nash that off You think Won, that was realy rat, that’s what | want to do. Mt the, JP: And ma, maybe, may if work really hard i have some talent an work realy har, ha’ what an aspire to never be Kurasana but if couls just ryt be ke that Okay, that’ real Iy pure motivation. You can have that rotation and til mak 3 realy lousy fim, bt to me your heart woul sil be in the it place andthe ikelnoo of creating quality would be higher As ‘opposed to ther tw Helly wood makes this look at this ook, bad fl. You could this the same way, jealousy, with alot of the Ine fms. Thee’ oom forever body to hae a diferent take ona lot of individual tes. (tapegith).virualy ver independent fim tha’ cut and say, "That's nat very good thats not ver p04 thats tele these Holywood fms suck, that's cap know ME ike theyre coming from a eae tie place! was Sort of inspired by that article you wrote, and | went out nd | 8," want to start 2 dstibution com ante idea that, it almost ite you have to go out and e-scover the ‘American deam,o something the it Something ese. You're not ooking at ‘renthing wth derison-youre ot com Ing fom a place of wel can do better ‘than that, yu coming rom a lace of “Won, maybe if keep this in mind.” But Just he tne ofthat ate was neat You ‘aid ther are a lat of people with sreen- plas but nobady looking a how things ‘et produce. Youn that ely inspiring Int yar it got me thinking bout how to ‘be busines. Because that's one thing too, that bothered me about the forum ‘day, was that there seemed tobe alot ‘of people with scripts, but thee wasnt amjbody creating any structures, which Douglas Coupland: Life After Art School Wow! A lecture from a successful Emily Carr Graduate about what its like out there! This could be good. Good, except for the $20 entrance fee. Pretty expensive fora pep talk geared towards poor art students. Oh well, maybe there's a way to get in for les. Douglas Coupland graduated with a studio diploma in sculpture in the rid 1980's. After trying to ‘make it’ as a visual artist without much luk he switched vocations and became a writer. It would seem an even riskier career choice except that his fist novel, Generation X, went on to sell millions of copies, is printed in something Ike 15 languages, and coined a phrase that defines a generation. Not bad fora fist novel; not bad life after art school: He went on to write several other books, his most recent being Microserf. A tribute to the humanization of high tech startups and the ‘exoneration of nerd culture, Micraserfs i a wealth of wity reflections on our emerging high pace, high stress world (where people no longer have lives). Reflections which Coupland transposed into moder day fears for his talk at Emily Car, fears which define “Life After Art School He methodically Iaid out these contemporary caveat, dispelling each one as le went: the fear of obsolescence, the fear of technological elitism, the fear of losing our cultural creativity ~ jut to name afew. Humanity’s collective fear of technology acted asthe subtext beneath all ofthese, counterbalanced by Coupland’s confidence inthe future. He speaks of “endlessly different tomorrows,” tomorrows which will certai ly include technology. I's all around us; you can't escape it and it’s not ‘Boing away, "So there really isn't anything to fea. Technology is good for us, in fact we need it. Hug a computer today” Ok, I'm paraphrasing, but 'm not being satirical; ' like to believe him. I think he's a biliant man, a souree of inspiration, not because of is success, but because of his talent for observation. He pulls profound concepts ftom the most banal things; a sort of pop-culture prophet... =Dan Vogel. how these scripts are gong to happen. was thinking if you could stribute on Video, jut show some weird stuf on video. Zoran Drage: An if you wera eiteit ‘woud be kindof hard to come after 3 ‘month and change you ate 3 rat, 1 Any sot of delivery system ou ean ‘ome up with, o get whatever itis you ‘mate int the hands of enough people to Spread the word at Some lee, provide some funding to keep on dein iti fane taste Me You could wie a posscrptabout that ate | wate a month 99" But that Rappers, that’s the beauty of ‘Juste Moby Dik was not an acclaimed navel uni many decades fer Melle des, know, it happens i itera tute al the time. happens in fm some, JP: have this fm right nomi the only to. fim ve realy fn in love with al year, ofthe new stuf Fe seen_Ive fla lat of