I’m Back
Hey there. Over the last few months I have needed to take a break from the internet. Sometimes one just needs to step away. It’s nice to think about things without all of the mental clutter that comes with the internet.
I may leave some social media behind, but I am going to stick with Substack. I like that what I write here goes straight to people that follow me. And it’s a place for me to about write things that interest me, and hopefully interest you as well.
I appreciate my audience here and on my website blog, and I’m hoping you continue to appreciate and support what I do here. So let’s get back to it.
A while back my buddy Chris Martin, @buildcuriosity, and I watched some films that had interesting themes and discussed them as pairs. I got to see a bunch of films I haven’t seen in a long time so that was fun and then we discussed them for Chris’ podcast. Here is the most recent one that was posted...
If you’re looking for a fascinating double feature, look no further.
In this episode, we travel to South America with filmmaker Werner Herzog and documentarian Les Blank for the double feature: Fitzcarraldo (1982) and Burden of Dreams (1982).
I still remember seeing this film in the theater and it was certainly a memorable experience. I walked out of the film thinking, “How the hell did they do that?” I had seen some of his other work and always found something amazing in it. Even back in 1982 it seemed like this is a filmmaker like no other. I certainly still believe that.
Les Blank brought Burden Of Dreams to the NW Film Center a few months later. That film was just as mesmerizing to me as Fitzcarraldo. Getting to see some of Herzog’s thought process and the real struggles he had making this film. There is a tenseness around the shooting of the film and there are times when you think the indigenous people he is employing are going to turn on him and the entire crew. At one point after a major fight between Herzog and Klaus Kinski the rumor was that the indigenous people offered to kill Kinski for Herzog. We were all waiting to see if that was on film, but it was not.
A great treat in the film was seeing some very early footage that Herzog shot with Jason Robards, in the Kinski role, and Mick Jagger as his side kick. Robards suffered a heart attack and his doctor refused to allow him to go back to the jungle and Jagger’s part was eventually written out of the film when, due to delays in filming, Jagger was no longer available.
After the documentary screening, Les Blank took questions, but he also set up a merch table at the front of the theater where he sold t-shirt and copies of his other films. I remember at the time thinking, “How sad that a filmmaker of Blank’s stature would be hawking merchandise from his films to make a living.” Little did I realize that he was doing what so many of us filmmakers would soon be doing, trying to monetize our work in other ways. I have probably sold more Angry Filmmaker merchandise over the years than copies of my films. Les was so far a head of the curve on so many things.
Anyway. Here’s what Chris wrote about our conversation...
It’s one thing to watch a film where the main character moves a giant ship over a mountain, it’s another to watch the documentary revealing the painstaking process of making cinema magic come to life. In a world that seemingly pushes us toward the easy and the comfortable, watching films about making impossible dreams come true unleashes a flood of questions: Where would we be without dreams? Where would we be without dreamers? What role does madness play in the pursuit of our dreams? Can you make art without suffering? How do dreamers evolve as they grow older?
Enjoy this conversation with Chris and I about art, madness, dreams, dreamers, and the cinema of hardship. The link is below.
https://byi.show/art-madness-the-cinema-of-hardship-with-kelley-baker/
___________________________________________________
So what else is going on with me?
I’ve just finished reading, Stories Of A Different Dark, by Mark A. Nobles.
Most of you know that Mark and I published a collection of short stories a while back, From Arrah Wanna To Mule Shoe, Misfit Stories From Misspent Lives.
Stories Of A Different Dark is Mark’s new book and I loved it. Mark is an incredibly visual writer. I can see and feel the gritty, and sometimes hopeless environments in his stories. His vividly drawn characters are outcasts and ne’er-do-wells looking for something. It could be redemption, revenge, companionship, an escape. Whatever they might be looking for, it never turns out in a way they had hoped for.
It’s the kind of short story collection that after reading each story, you put the book down because you need to wrap your head around what you’re just read. And I mean this in a positive way. Mark is a wonderful writer and I hope you check him out.
You can find all of Mark’s books at - https://www.markanobleswriter.com/
I’ve also been doing a lot of picture editing and sound design on some documentaries by Jean Donohue, Fred Johnson, and Melissa Rue.
I’m almost finished writing my next short story collection, Blow Torch Nachos And Other Bad Decisions. I will be bringing that book out in the spring.
____________________________________________________
Just a reminder, as we come up on holiday season, please support small businesses and individual artists. Buying from them keeps the money in the community where it helps everyone.
And remember, Amazon may be convenient, but Jeff Bezos does not need your money.
Thank you all for reading, subscribing, and supporting me and my writing.
Don’t let the bastards get to you!
Please Support Independent Artists! Even the crazy ones.
If you want to check out any of my books, and yes, I really wrote them, as well as my films, or Angry Filmmaker merchandise head on over to my website. www.angryfilmmaker.com
Follow me on Substack - https://substack.com/@kelleybakerangryfilmmaker
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/angryfilmmaker/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kelley.baker