Girls, Girls, Girls - Part II

by Eugene Hernandez

To read the first part of this article, click here.

In a decade when being an independent filmmaker is the latest trend, Jim rejects the movement explaining that, "a lot of people who really aren't quite ready, make a feature film rather than...a short, and a lot of people are really impatient to be a film director and that's because of the celebrity that is put upon filmmakers. You really have to have an idea that means a lot to you," he warns, "The idea for the film meant enough to me that I would bust my ass and put out my own money and put everything on the line for it." He hopes that articles about "Girls Town" and its collaborative process will inspire filmmakers to work another way. He adds, "I would like to see a re-evaluation of the term independent filmmaker."

Jim admits to being resentful of the "indie" facade used by those who are simply interested in cashing in on the current popularity of independent filmmaking. "The minute someone says this how its supposed to be done, is the minute I go back and say I don't want to do it that way," he declares. But after talking with McKay you realize he is less a rebel for the sake of rebellion than a missionary on a crusade to make a difference. Equating the indie film movement with the alternative music scene he declares tremendous respect for bands like Pearl Jam and filmmakers like Jim Jarmusch and John Sayles -- all of whom have remained relatively pure in the face of incredible money and fame.

Since completing the film, McKay has been living on credit cards and staying rent-free at a friends' downtown New York City apartment, and he wonders, "How many people can afford not to pay rent for a month." He goes on to warn, "We have to really think about how that's limiting the people who are actually getting into filmmaking in the first place and therefore limiting the stories that are being told."

McKay is also outspoken about the "dumbing of American youth by mainstream Hollywood movies" and is critical of the way Hollywood plugs in all the elements they think are needed to get young people into theaters. He explains that "kids go to (those films) because there is not a whole lot else out there, and they accept those images of themselves."

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Jim goes on to say, "I read a comment from one of the people at one of the mini-studios when we were writing our script and he said 'Girls don't buy movie tickets, girls go to boys who buy movie tickets and decide on the movies, this is a person who is buying and making films for a big company and my feeling is as long as people like him continue to make shitty movies that girls don't really have a stake in choosing, well then maybe they're not going to choose the movie. There might be a little bit of truth in that," he admits, "but that's like saying 'well all TV sucks, so lets make sucky TV'. You can go to work every day and be a part of that process or you can go to work everyday and try to change that." "The frustrating thing for me is when you make something that actually does show them as they are its that much harder to get them to go," he continues, "its that much harder to get it to them because they have been trained and have this impulse to go to the big stupid movie." As a result Jim is ready to employ non-traditional techniques to get the word out about "Girls Town". While he admits to being fairly unfamiliar with the Internet, he seems aware of its power and has been enthusiastic about using the medium as a way to further explore the issues raised in the film, the collaborative filmmaking process, and as a way to directly respond to viewers questions or opinions of the film. To read the next part of this article, click here. posted on August 21, 1996 |Share