Interviews cut from $30 Film School for length.
Nick Zedd and Noah Harald
NICK ZEDD
Photo by Annie Sprinkle
(This next one would seem like the rantings of a lunatic, if it were not for the fact that he really did influence a good bit of what’s on MTV, TV, Madison Avenue, and some of Quentin. --MD):
NICK ZEDD, the chief theoretician and insurrectionary mastermind behind the Cinema of Transgression (a term he coined) is the author of Totem of the Depraved, Bleed and From Entropy to Ecstasy. He has directed many movies including Police State, War Is Menstrual Envy, Why Do You Exist, Ecstasy in Entropy & Thus Spake Zarathustra.
His films are included in the DVD compilation ABNORMAL: The Sinema of
Nick Zedd, put out by Rubric in NYC. A new DVD of his movies is being released by MVD later this year.
Did you go to film school? Did you go to college? How
did you learn your craft?
I taught myself using my father’s 8mm Brownie.
What’s your favorite movie from Hollywood & your
favorite indie film? Why?
I reject the question. It presupposes that a movie from Hollywood would have any relevance to who I am or what my mission is as a filmmaker.
I don’t know what an “indie” film is supposed to be. I find the word loathsome. It seems to have something to do with a hypocritical co-optation in linguistic terms of a trendy notion that an “independent” cinema exists somewhere and that it must be in some way morally superior. “indie” to me means movies that cost a fortune starring mainstream actors like Parker Posey playing on the Independent Film Channel which isn’t independent at all. The rancid values of commercialism and professionalism dictated by dominant culture are firmly in place with the scum who perpetrate the fraud of “indie.”
I want them all murdered.
What’s wrong with the Hollywood system?
That is like asking a sperm whale what’s wrong with chimpanzees breathing oxygen.
What is obviously wrong is the craven fear of innovation and originality in Hollywood films, the reliance upon formulas driven by a desire to rake in billions in order to recoup investments. The endless remakes and sequels coming out of Hollywood indicate a spinelessness that is inherently evil and corrupt. Movies in general coming out of Hollywood seem to be elaborate propaganda vehicles which are part of a con game to suck in audiences starved for a substitute reality to the mundane nightmare of capitalism.
Thru the chemistry of substitution people are supposed to be lulled into acceptance of mindless consumption and paralyzing conformity.
What is right with it?
Its ability to suck massive sums of money from consumers of all classes even though most of its products are at their core, shit. Moviegoing has become an alchemical process designed to enrich the top executives and CEOs of multinational conglomerates running the entertainment industry.
Another thing that is right with the Hollywood system is its reliance upon sexual innuendo and violence to subvert the repressive values of religious fundamentalism worldwide as an agent of secular hedonism in its most vulgar manifestation.
What is wrong with the independent film?
There is no such thing, per se. It is a myth. All films are dependent on an audience. The audience exists to repay the investors. The “independent” movie is usually also dependent on storytelling devices and patterns of character development indistinguishable from traditional Hollywood products. Distribution systems in place for decades marginalize and bury anything radical and thought provoking, thus emasculating cinema as a subversive art.
What is right with it?
Theoretically, an independent film might radicalize segments of the population and send them on an undictated course that could lead to temporary autonomy.
What advantages do you see to making films without relying on backing from others?
The obvious ones. Integrity of personal vision uncompromised by capitalist values. A preference for truth might be made manifest in such a situation. Such lofty and idealistic advantages are rarely realized in the real world. Real artists are ignored, demonized and impoverished, for the most part.
What do you think is the lowest budget possible for a
good feature-length film? Why?
Zero. Anything is possible once you steal.
Do you think the
films shown at Sundance are really independent?
No. Not at all.
They are commercial products made with budgets in excess of several million dollars designed as springboards to conventional theatrical distribution. Many mediocre movies are rewarded with the imprimatur of Sundance. The rancid careerists rewarded by this system go on to produce more Hollywood rubbish after being camouflaged as “Indy” for awhile, hoodwinking students and pseudointellectuals before “selling out.’”
What advice do you have for people starting out in
independent film?
They don’t need my advice. They are probably already connected with money. Such people should give me money.
What would you do with 1.2 million dollars?
Invest it in a Nick Zedd movie.
How does the Hollywood system hurt the environment, the economy and our national pride?
It doesn’t. Politicians do that. I don’t believe in national pride. One can only be proud of what one accomplishes as an individual. Nationalism is a form of insanity used to kill people and increase profits for the government and those corporations that control it.
What would you like to see done differently in the
American film system?
Original ideas expressed by artists with conviction and style should be rewarded with financing. Experimentation and innovation, rather than spineless mimicking of formulas and constant remakes of stale stories should be encouraged. The greatest movies from the past broke new ground and were often controversial. They continue to generate income for those companies who own them. A smart business decision would be to fund and produce movies by experimental filmmakers who have dedicated their lives already to making underground films. In our insane world, this never has happened because movies have never been considered an art form. Until filmmakers with vision are treated as artists, and movies are separated from the recouping of money, cinema will remain leisure-time garbage. Truly independent filmmakers need patrons, not investors. They are nowhere to be found.
I’d like to add that I am disgusted and nauseated by everyone who is a participant in the motion picture industry, especially by those who make rock videos and who have never employed underground filmmakers whose work they have ignored or stolen from. I am equally enraged and disgusted by thieving creep directors in Hollywood & New York who have stolen images and music from my movies without acknowledging it and who have lied about it.
There is a special place in Hell for these maggots.
