Programming note, and movie magic.
I’m a little worried, gang, that writing a weekly column (it’s here) will cut deeply into S. 12th writing time, and that this blog that we have all enjoyed together for so many years will devolve into an anemic gallery of links to “look what I am doing!”-type things.
I won’t let that happen, though! I promise! I will still post boring stories from my youth and hastily written tributes to marginal figures in American culture, and make occasional veiled allusions to my troubled personal life.
But all the same, there are exciting film-related ”look what I am doing!”-type things to tell you about, and that’s just what I am going to do.
First: my old colleague Michael Fallon and I are excited to launch a new monthly film series at the Trylon Microcinema in South Minneapolis on Wednesday nights. Every Hundred Feet offers moviegoers a chance to engage with a rarefied film genre: documentary films about art and artists! These films depicts figures both living and dead; artists who stand both inside the temple and outside. The stories may be pieced together in retrospect, or they are told as the events unfold on screen. It’ll be great!
First up, on March 7, is THE ART OF FAILURE: CHUCK CONNELLY NOT FOR SALE (2008, HD, 79m, directed by Jeffrey R. Stimmel). It’s the story of Chuck Connelly, a son-of-a-bitch New York painter whose star rose briefly in the ’80s until he (you guessed it) spiraled into drug-addled self-destruction. It follows the narrative thrust of many documentaries about musicians, obviously, but the rhythms of a film about a visual artist are a lot different. It’s really enjoyable. Buy tickets here!
Second, also at the Trylon: I was delighted to be asked to host an evening of Take-Up Productions’ The Defenders series. This is a series where local, uh, “personalities” are asked to screen a secret film that they love, and then defend their choice to an angry audience afterward. The identity of the film isn’t known to you, the audience, until the title flickers onto the screen. So you’ll just have to trust my taste. And you should, because the film I have chosen is so awesome it will blow your pants off. I am vibrating with glee just thinking about it now.
Better yet, half the proceeds from The Defenders go to a charity or nonprofit. I’ve selected the Isanti County Historical Society, an hour or so north of Minneapolis. They’ve helped me a great deal with a project I’m working on. Tragically, last year, an arsonist burned down their building and heritage. As a result, they lost most of the archival material — public records, clothing, documents, almost everything. So by attending, your hard-earned money will be going to a good cause.
But I promise you again, the secret movie I have selected is awesome. It will make your eyes bleed with piercing ultraviolet rays of pure movie magic.
