by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
Tim Massett is not happy with me. In the late 90s I was determined to open my own art theatre and draft house. At the time I was working at the San Marco Theatre and because I was a Woody Allen fan, rented Bergman and Fellini films, and saw The Crying Game at the Multiplex, I thought I was Jacksonville's movie afficianado. Then Massett came to town and I lost my crown to someone that had a far better understanding of the art film scene and who had already been part of an art theater and draft house in Texas. At first I was jealous, and later I came to appreciate him.
Last week in my article, Cinematic for the People (Issue 213), I told the story of Massetts arrival in the River City the way I remembered it. That memory was not entirely accurate, so forgive any facts that may have been misrepresented, but as I always say, I am not a journalist, I am a writer. Tim Massett had absolutely no part in that article, so I am solely to blame for anything that was said in it.
When Massett came back to town, he righteously fumed over my article, reluctantly accepted my flattering words, then answered these questions in earnest.
EU: What year did you begin programming for the JFF?
TM: Well..the first year I was approached in early December to help pull it together with Joan Monsky in '02 and have been with the festival ever since.
EU: At what point did you realize that there was an audience for underground cinema in this town?
TM: Um...Underground cinema? This is a word that is bandied about recklessly and used as a meaningless marketing device. There really is no underground. In the eighties it could refer to the cinema of transgression. Works by Zedd, Kern, Lunch, Beth B. and others. In the sixties, work by Jacobs, Smith and Warhol. There are films that are made that exist in the exhibition margins, but "underground"? No. You can understand that the word has no meaning when you look at the museum's [Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art's] underground film (presented on video) series where they include titles such as Touching The Void, which screened at the former Pablo Cinema and the San Marco and grossed more than 5 million in the box office. Is that underground? Let's put that useless label to death once and for all! Nothing against JMOMA, it's good to see someone else bringing in smaller titles. Heck, I got that series off the ground a few years ago.
I think what you are getting at is repertory titles and titles that have marginal distribution in this market. When did I realize there was an interest? I didn't really. When I moved back home in 2000 from Austin to take care of the pops, there was an absolute dearth of anything interesting going on cinema-wise. That's when I began to program midnight movies at the San Marco and oddball, experimental work at Fuel in Riverside, and later at The Pit. People are interested, it's just a matter of awaking the cinemaphile in everyone.
EU: Was the concept of "The TALKIES" your idea?
TM: Yes...I like the idea of cinema striking back and taking something that the inferior DVD experience offers (the alternate commentary track) and making it much better in the cinema. First you get to see the film the way it was intended to be seen, in 35mm, and then the next night not only bring in the filmmaker, but have him skip on down memory lane without an annoying nerd prompting the questions. Allowing the filmmaker to travel to the past in-person with the audience. You can only have this experience in the cinema.
EU: How do you get the attention of national filmmakers such as John Waters and David Lynch?
TM: Well, I have yet to hear from Lynch's assistant, but these things take time. With Waters it was quick. After bringing in Herschell Gordon Lewis for the first TALKIES, the next logical invite had to be Waters. Waters has been a huge fan of Lewis since before his filmmakin' days and was influenced by him. I recalled that a filmmaker I brought to town for the Film Festival had used Waters for some voiceover work on his film Plagues and Pleasures of the Salton Sea and Chris Metzler was happy to hand over the assistant's email address. I outlined the idea and they responded much more quickly than I was prepared for. In addition to having Waters here to skip down Polyester memories, I also got my hands on enough "Odorama Cards" for everyone to smell along with the film too!
EU: Has the JFF provided any exemplary opportunities for you?
TM: Sure they have. I get to program some of the best work I can get my hands on, and because we have enough great sponsors, we can market this event and it translates to people in seats watching something they would never get a chance to see on the big screen in this market. This, in turn, helps what I am doing year-round when I program smaller titles such as Shortbus, Half Nelson, or Who Is Bozo Texino?. It takes time to build a film-going community, I have been working earnestly for six years on it, and the greatest thing, I think, is for people to overcome the notion that these smaller films are somehow not for them because they aren't driven by the Hollywood marketing machine. The films we include in the festival may not be for everyone, but everyone will come away with at least one enriching cinematic experience, which will change their relationship to filmmaking. One thing I also want to make clear, there is a time and a place for Blockbuster films. I just wish they were all in 3D. Did you see Superman in 3D? It was fantastic.
EU: What are your proudest accomplishments with the Film Festival (favorite movies programmed or artists met, etc..)?
TM: Two things standout, one was finding a 35mm I.B. Tech print of Joseph Losey's spectacular bomb Boom! with Liz Taylor and Richard Burton. Boy, that was fun. It somehow was mentioned on WJCT that the film was this fantastic lost film by Taylor and Burton. It is fantastic, but in a perverse sense. We just about sold out the San Marco Theatre for this lovely disaster that wasn't lost, it was just under some wigs in Universal's closet. I thought within the first twenty minutes folks would leave in droves, but after about that long, folks began to get into the rhythm and enjoyed the pill-poppin', alcohol-soaked celluloid.
The other was having the pleasure of including a small and earnest film- Cocaine Angel written by, and starring, Damien Lahey in '06. It is super-exciting to see good work coming out of Jacksonville and recognized not only by our humble festival, but recognized by the big guns such as Rotterdam and SXSW [South by Southwest]. I even had the chance of giving the film its only theatrical run at the San Marco Theatre. It was pretty great to hear the showtime recording at the San Marco Theatre then..."we are pleased to present two films this week. First, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 at 7:15 and Cocaine Angel at 9:30." I can't say what I am trying to do here in town, exhibition-wise, any better than that.
EU: What are your proudest cinema-related accomplishments in Jacksonville outside of the film festival?
TM: Being able to eke out a living doing what I love to do in this strange but charming town.
EU: I've heard that you are in the beginning of negotiations with some big directors to come and host TALKIES, who are they?
TM: Richard Linklater, David Lynch, Kevin Smith, Werner Herzog, and the list keeps growing.
EU: Is this series a trend that will gain national steam? Couldn't you book a "speaking tour" for these directors in theatres nationwide to bring the TALKIES to a larger audience?
TM: It is already gaining national recognition, and it will gain even more, but why take it elsewhere? Creating a series unique to Jacksonville for Jacksonville only. That's money in the bank! Folks will eventually be coming in from out of town to Jacksonville to see something that isn't done elsewhere. I think it's fantastic to create something this fun in a town that no one has heard of unless they watch football.
EU: Where do you hope to see your aspirations in film take you in the next ten years?
TM: To have been running a cinema drafthouse for nine years screening blockbusters and a unique calendar program as well with a full on kitchen and wait staff. Similar to what I helped to get off the ground in Austin, Texas: The Alamo Drafthouse.
EU: Will you ever make a movie?
TM: Probably not. There are enough filmmakers in the world but not enough programmers and exhibitors to show them. The question should read, when will I get my own cinema?
EU: What is the worst film you saw this year? Best film?
TM: The worst film? Well..I think Fast Food Nation was one of the worst. It was stilted and a lazy attempt to capture the consequences we are facing with industrial agriculture. I enjoyed The Departed very much, it was great to give that a short run at the San Marco and have the chance to watch the film over 20 times. Another film that has some really great moments was Interkosmos by Jim Finn. It's a mockumentary of sorts, based on the failed East German space program and it's a musical.
EU: What would it take to get the JFF to transcend the local community and become a film festival of the stature of the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah or the Toronto Film Festival?
TM: Even though I find this question irritating, I am glad you asked it. Who wants to be Toronto, Slamdance or Sundance? I want to be a part of a festival that finds its own identity. This town needs a jolt of self-esteem. All the filmmakers that come have a great time because they are treated better than "bigger" festivals treat them and they get to share their work with a population that most likely would never see their work. And folks that attend our festival really want to see the work. The biggest hurdle our festival has to overcome is convincing folks that it's a worthy place to screen, because that's the only reason they would include their film. They aren't going to meet anyone in the "industry". There is a time and place for the "industry," but it's not at our festival. Out of all the festivals, and there hundreds, I would like to aspire to be similar to Telluride. They are in the middle of nowhere and it's hard to breathe there, but damn if they don't provide some of the best programming in the world.
EU: What would it take to be at least as reputable as the Florida Film Festival in Orlando?
TM: We are as reputable, they have just been around for 12 years.
EU: What film are you most looking forward to presenting in the JFF this year?
TM: Well, the only thing we have solid is THE TALKIES with John Waters, which will be a special sidebar that I am super-excited about. I am also working on getting Neil Gaiman's film Stardust for a premiere. I have heard from Jessica Rovins at Paramount, and it may happen, but I am not holding my breath.
EU: What midnight movies are coming up?
TM: Night of the Living Dead. El Topo and Holy Mountain (they have finally released new prints. The company that held the rights had not allowed screenings in North America for 20 years or so, but now they have unleashed these hallucinogenic Mexican masterpieces). Last House on the Left.
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