ISSUE #55
BEAM FROM THE BOOTH | GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY
[EDITED BY: GRIFFIN SHERIDAN]
Hello and welcome back to an all-new installment of BEAM FROM THE BOOTH brought to you by GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY!
To start, we are thrilled to announce that not just one, but two of our upcoming events will feature LIVE Q&As with actors involved in the films.
First, joining us for our MAY 10th screening of THE PEOPLE’S JOKER, is the man behind this film’s iteration of The Penguin, NATHAN FAUSTYN! We had the pleasure of speaking with Nathan already for a special interview which you can find further down in this very issue!
Then, in just TWO WEEKS on MAY 13th, we are celebrating the 45th ANNIVERSARY of George A. Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD — and are so excited to be joined live by actress JEANNIE JEFFERIES for a special meet-and-greet and Q&A!
Before both of those, however, we have another Monday night screening NEXT WEEK (5/6): George Lucas’ 1971 feature debut, the atmospheric sci-fi THX-1138. Here are some thoughts on the film from yours truly...
ENTER THE ELECTRONIC LABYRINTH: CONTEXT FOR THX-1138
[BY: GRIFFIN SHERIDAN]
“Aspiring experimental filmmaker” is hardly the title most would attribute to George Lucas today, but upon his arrival at the University of Southern California in the early 1960s that is exactly what the young Lucas would have preferred to be called.
It was in his time at USC that Lucas first conceived the world of THX, working from a short treatment crafted by fellow students Matthew Robbins and Walter Murch. Using resources at his disposal as the student instructor for a Navy filmmakers class, Lucas shot the 15-minute short film Electronic Labyrinth: THX-1138 4EB. The short would go on to garner a number of accolades and also caught the eye of Lucas’ future contemporaries, including Steven Spielberg.
[Note: This short film more or less presents a compressed version of the final act of its feature-film counterpart. If you want to go into our screening “spoiler free,” I suggest skipping this for now.]
Just a handful of years later, Lucas found himself riding around the country in the back of a van driven by none other than Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola was developing into a mentor figure for Lucas as he helped capture behind-the-scenes footage for Coppola’s The Rain People (1969). It was Coppola, through his production company American Zoetrope, who would give Lucas the opportunity to produce his first feature, all but sneaking a THX feature into a seven picture deal Zoetrope had just struck with Warner Bros. While Warner was somewhat hesitant about the idea, the deal came at just the right time as independent films from young, up-and-coming filmmakers were starting to pay off at the box office with hits like the aforementioned The Rain People and Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969).
(This exciting period in Hollywood would be brief, and THX-1138 would serve as one of the final nails in that particular coffin.)
Lucas loathed writing; instead, he fancied himself more of an editor. Walter Murch returned to help put together what would end up being the final draft of the film, which would go on to have a 40 day shoot in the fall of 1969.
Regardless of the satisfactory way in which the rookie Lucas brought the film in on time and on-budget, Warner Bros. despised the film on account of it not being commercial enough. Even Coppola couldn’t make heads or tails of the film his pupil had put together. After a year of back-and-forth with a stubborn Lucas, Warner eventually hired another editor to arbitrarily cut four minutes from the film — no doubt in some focus group-fueled attempt to make the film more generally appealing. This incident began Lucas’ disdain for The Studio™, and later served as the genesis for Lucas’ habit of revisiting his films to reconfigure and make them into what he “originally intended.”
While most audiences at the time didn’t quite get THX when it finally released in the spring of 1971, it garnered a small following that has only grown since. The film serves as perhaps the most interesting work in Lucas’ small yet mighty filmography. Its uneasy atmosphere and minimalist production design are far cries from the nostalgic warmth of his sophomore effort, American Graffiti (1973), or the iconic set pieces of the Star Wars series. With THX-1138, Lucas sought to bring his love for science fiction serials, experimental film, and movements like cinéma vérité to a mainstream Hollywood release, but it just didn’t...click. That dissonance between Lucas, the studios, and the audience would ripple throughout the rest of his career.
For better and for worse.
Be sure to join us for what I consider to be a bizarre masterpiece from one of cinema’s most influential (and yet somewhat mysterious) figures when we screen THX-1138 THIS MONDAY!
INTERVIEW: NATHAN FAUSTYN ON PLAYING THE PENGUIN
[BY: NICHOLAS HARTMAN]
Hey Nathan! First and foremost, thanks for taking the time to do this interview with me and congratulations on all the buzz that The People’s Joker is receiving!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Let our readers know who Nathan Faustyn is. What are your hobbies, likes, and dislikes?
I’m originally from Detroit, MI and am still a huge fan of my Detroit sports teams. As well I’m — unsurprisingly — a big comic book fan, an obsessive cinephile, and a novice cook. All told, I'm a bit of an epicurean, I love the arts and the pleasures of experience.
As for dislikes, I'm a bit of an everyday crank. My partner will tell you there’s a new dumb thing I find myself incredulous at daily. It's hard to totally pin down so I’ll just say broadly, and with exceptions of course, war movies just aren’t my thing.
Share your journey with us. How and why did you get into acting?
I kind of fell into it. I always wanted to be a serious art filmmaker, and spent the better part of two decades in exhibition and distribution of films while doing sketch comedy (Loosemeat.biz) work on the side. I found an incredibly supportive community of collaborators with Everything is Terrible and HLPTV. It just so happens that everybody who told me I should be an actor over the last 40 years was more right than what I thought of myself! A couple years ago, I quit my job of a decade and really leaned into performing and have now made two features and toured the US with an Art Comedy Troupe. I guess nearing 40 with no formal training was the perfect time to jump in!
As I mentioned, The People’s Joker is getting a lot of buzz. How are you taking all of this in? How does it all feel?
It’s incredible — I have been working in some capacity of film for my entire adult life and never thought I’d be at the Toronto International Film Festival, let alone the front page of Variety. I’m so proud of the film and cannot believe the footprint it has made, I truly am reminding myself daily to enjoy the ride. Of course, I’d love to do it all over, but there’s no guarantee so I’m precious about every experience and bringing it to my hometown and home state is really a great (Traverse City) cherry on top.
How did you get involved in the making of this film?
Vera and I have been friends and collaborators for a decade now, and we have done multiple projects together so when she announced she was making this I felt comfortable reaching out. I wracked my brain trying to think of who I could play in the Batman universe, and she said, “I wrote the Penguin for you!” So I was involved from the start of production.
As a filmmaker myself, I understand the difficulties of making a movie. There are so many moving parts. Can you share with us a difficult experience on set (if any) and if not, share a pleasant experience.
Eating a sandwich with the prosthetics on my face! That’s the minor challenge at least. As advice to other filmmakers: I think I’d more broadly say trust the filmmaker, the director of photography, and the rest of the team when you are doing something so green screen heavy. I spent a lot of time scratching my head on set, wondering how they were going to pull this off, and then two years later I had my jaw on the floor and tears in my eyes. Just stand where you are supposed to stand and let the professionals do the rest!
The People’s Joker is such a unique film and uses so many different techniques to bring the story to life. Being cast as The Penguin, what approach did you take with the character and how did you prepare for this role?
I definitely felt more comfortable with the Silver Age/Batman ‘66 realm of the character. I didn’t really do any research as I feel like I know the Batman universe backwards and forwards, but I knew that the Colin Farrell (and even the Danny DeVito) approach were a bit too dark for my Penguin, and being that I’m the supporting friend, I knew basically that getting laughs and supporting Vera’s story were my prerogatives, I think the only note she gave me was “think Kevin Smith” type, so I tried to make my Penguin a lovable passionate goofball.
Not sure how much detail you can go into this...but I know the film had some issues being released due to its relationship with Batman, DC, and Warner Brothers. I mean, there was even a NY Times article written about it! Have you had any recent issues arise now that it’s getting so much attention?
There was a pretty difficult couple of days in Toronto, and lots of hard work and passionate conversation — again by other great professionals — went into getting it played off. Because it is very clear that this is a work of satire and parody protected by the law, we have since continued to share this story with folks without incident.
What do you want people to take away from your performance if anything?
I hope folks can get a few laughs out of my performance, and hopefully see the love and friendship on display. I hope it also does my brother proud as the Detroit Area’s #1 ‘Batfan’ (I am more of a Doom Patrol, Suicide Squad, X-Men guy myself).
As a filmmaker/artist, I’m continuously inspired by other films, musicians, paintings, etc. Do you have any favorite films, songs, artists, etc. that stand out to you and help inspire your craft for acting?
Me too! I am obsessed with finding new and new-to-me music that I can feel inspired by, to the point that I create an annual playlist that I share with my friends on my birthday. Lately, I have been really inspired by a French band, Martin Dupont, who released a few albums in the early 1980s that found a bit of a following recently and reformed after 35 years to tour. I love when folks find their audience, even if it takes a lifetime. I’ve really been enjoying more dance music lately, artists like Shari Vari and that mid-80s disco-infused R&B like Stirling March and Tommy Mandel. Otherwise, I have been enjoying NTS radio which lets other folks all over the world find me good stuff while I work.
As for film, I have Passion of Joan of Arc and Charlie Chaplin tattoos, and I will always be inspired by the late 90s Christopher Guest mockumentaries Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, those movies truly changed my life for the better — and as an actor and comedian, they never disappoint. As for form, in college at Wayne State, I had a slavic film class and the work of Dusan Makavejev absolutely scorched my brain. The collage of film, text, documentary, and absurdism just woke me up to all sorts of great experimentation. I’ve also always been inspired by cinematic bombast, folks who put everything into their one shot like World’s Greatest Sinner, The Rapture, or Southland Tales — I love ambitious films and even more so love work that even the IT person has to leverage everything to make. I’ve also been really inspired by more indie and DIY work, whether it be the experimental absurdity of Symbiopsychotaxiplasm or more recent work like Stanya Khan’s It’s Cool, I’m Good. Making a film with no money makes you really appreciate films made for no money.
I’ll spare the reader any more since I could go on for days!
What’s next for Nathan Faustyn? Any new roles you’re preparing for and how do we stay up-to-date with what you’re doing? Any socials you want to promote?
I’m working on getting a release in motion for my first starring role in a picture called Saddled, I’m continuing to produce sketch comedy work with my comedy groups LooseMeat.Biz and HLPTV in Los Angeles, and getting ready to launch a very stupid and very ambitious project...and you can visit an incredibly fun and stunning art project I’m part of in Denver called THE CONVERGENCE STATION where you’ll see me in the Pizza Pals Playzonee.
You can see what I’m doing and hear my birthday mix on my linktree.
And follow me on Instagram & Twitter @ loosenate.
Thanks for taking the time do this interview, Nathan! We wish you nothing but success, and we all look forward to seeing what your next accomplishment is.
***
Remember, if you want to ask Nathan a question of your own be sure to join us for our The People’s Joker screening event on MAY 10th where Nathan will be in attendance for a special LIVE Q&A!
UPCOMING EVENTS
THX-1138 (Lucas, 1971)
WHAT: George Lucas’ feature debut! In the future, mankind lives in vast underground cities and free will is outlawed by means of mandatory medication that controls human emotion. But when two citizens stop taking their meds, they wake up to the bleak reality of their own existence and fall in love with each other in the process.
WHEN: Monday, May 6th, 8:00pm
WHERE: Wealthy Theatre
THE PEOPLE’S JOKER (Drew, 2024)
WHAT: A law-breaking comedian who is grappling with her gender identity forms a new anti-comedy troupe with a friend and finds herself battling a fascistic caped crusader. (Featuring LIVE Q&A with actor NATHAN FAUSTYN!)
WHEN: Friday, May 10th, 8:00pm
WHERE: Wealthy Theatre
DAWN OF THE DEAD (Romero, 1978)
WHAT: A special 45th ANNIVERSARY SCREENING of the horror classic from George A. Romero! (Featuring a LIVE Q&A with actress JEANNIE JEFFERIES!)
WHEN: Monday, May 13th, 8:00pm
WHERE: Wealthy Theatre
BELLY (Williams, 1998)
WHAT: Ever since they were kids, Sincere (Nas) and Buns (DMX) have lived life close to the edge, doing whatever it takes to survive. Featuring a Hype Williams music video pre-show and panel discussion!
WHEN: Monday, May 20th, 8:00pm
WHERE: Wealthy Theatre
And so we’ve arrived at the end of another BEAM FROM THE BOOTH! We appreciate you taking the time to read it and truly hope you’ll continue to do so. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to get each issue in your inbox every MONDAY (usually), and stay up-to-date on all things GRFS.
Plus, join us on social media! We’d love to chat with everyone and hear YOUR OWN thoughts on everything above (you can also hop in the comments section below).
Know someone you think will dig BEAM FROM THE BOOTH? Send them our way!
Look for ISSUE #56 in your inbox NEXT WEEK!
Until then, friends...
