"Sweet Thing" directed by Alexander Rockwell The NY independent scene of the 80's and 90's was a magical time [Director's Interview Vol.158]

The 80s and 90s were a magical time

Q: Was the independent scene of the 1980s and early 1990s something special? And do you feel like it's lost its luster?

Rockwell: I think everything comes in cycles. Eras have certainly passed. Certain music has passed. Jazz is great music, and it still has its enthusiastic fans, but it used to be much more popular and huge, like the days of John Coltrane and Miles Davis.

It was a magical time for me in independent film. I was working in a little restaurant where rock and blues bands were playing. We weren't making a ton of money, but we'd make friends with people we met on the street and shoot our own films on the weekends.

Of course you need some money, but it wasn't all about the money like it is now. Back then, you'd be having coffee in a bar and Jim Jarmusch or Richard Edson would come in and say, "Will Patton is coming in." Now, if you want to talk to an actor, you have to prove to your agent that you have money. That doesn't seem like a good thing.

But it's going to change again. The audience will get tired of the same stories, the same superhero movies. And something new will happen.

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Q: Richard Edson was in Stranger Than Paradise (1984), right?

Rockwell: Yes. I played John Turturro's brother in Do the Right Thing (1989). He's an old friend and a musician. A lot of people were involved in rock and roll at that time. I remember watching Permanent Vacation (1980) in a little movie theater, and then I looked up Jarmusch's number in the phone book and called him. "Hello, is this Jim Jarmusch?" "Yes, yes." "Alexander Rockwell, you're a great director, you should make more movies." And he said, "But I want to do music." I said, "What are you talking about! That might be okay, but you should make movies." I'd like to take credit for that. At the time, Jarmusch said he didn't want to do Stranger Than Paradise(laughs).

the pure spirit of children