•

Camp David

CAMP DAVID JUNE 2006

By • Jun 1st, 2006 • Pages: 1 2 3 4

Share This:

VICE AND VERSA

Long ago in a Hollywood far away, when I was still actively seeking subjects for my “Sinister Image” cable show, my dream list of possibilities always included the enigmatic filmmaker Donald Cammell. Like my old friend Kenneth Anger, Donald was a wasted genius having lived a remarkable life creating at least one masterpiece, not to mention a twisted trail of perverse films and manuscripts in his wake before killing himself in May of 1996.

I met with Donald on several occasions to try and convince him to do an hour with me on tape. He agreed on principal and then we would meet late at night on the Sunset Strip and sit for hours in those sidewalk cafes talking about what we would talk about on camera. Sometimes he would give me advice, like how to get Kenneth Anger out of my apt and back to New York, or complain about the endless bullshit he was going through trying get his scripts developed and make some dough. Finally we did at least do an audio tape concerning his career before he called me late one night to say “David I would love to do your show, but after I get this film (JERICHO) I am working on done, otherwise I will jinx everything by bringing up the past”

He never got to make that film and we never got to do that show. However my interview, one of his very last, was published in Video Watchdog No 35 the year he died, 1996.

Not too long after this I received a visit from a journalist who introduced himself to me as Sam Umland, who was about to do a book on the life and films of Donald Cammell.

Sam Umland and I became great friends that weekend, and soon I would meet his writing partner (as well as his wife) Becky, and their young son John. In record time I willingly became part of their ongoing quest for the truth about this fascinating artist from Scotland and his lethal walk on the wild side.

The book became a wild quest for the Holy Grail as the Umlands researched for the better part of ten years. In that time they journeyed back and forth from the United Kingdom as well as Scotland to meet Donald’s family and friends. Sam and Becky interviewed all the remaining suspects in uncoiling this mystery of Donald’s life and death…the results are now available to us all in their remarkable work “DONALD CAMMELL—A LIFE ON THE WILD SIDE” from Fab Press www.fabpress.com .

I received my copy a few days ago and just put it down long enough to add this information to Camp David. This is without a doubt the definitive study of this unique man and his films, and I predict it will be much quoted in the future. I am honored to have been a part of it and in a small way it makes the fact that Donald and I never got to have that little chat before the camera a bit easier to bear. So screen a copy of PERFORMANCE or WHITE OF AN EYE on DVD, then find a comfortable place to read this engaging insight into the artist who put those unforgettable images on the screen.

“BEEFCAKE BABYLON”

The iconography of the Sword and sandal epics

“It’s not easy being a God”
Steve Reeves 1926-2000

On July 14th The Dark Room Gallery will for the third time this year co-host a Pop Culture exhibit using images from The Del Valle Archives.

This time the ‘peplum’ films, as they came to be known, began in 1958 and continued until the mid-sixties. These films will be examined with the aid of rare stills and posters from all over the world. The genre came into its own with the surprise success of “Hercules” (1958) starring the amazing Steve Reeves, who achieved international stardom with this film. Afterwards literally hundreds of these films flooded theaters from Italy with no end in sight until a certain ex-cowboy star from television put on a poncho creating the ‘Spaghetti’ western and with it the end of the sons of Hercules and all they represented.

If any of you Camp David readers are in the Los Angeles area on July 14th please come down to The Dark Room Gallery and say hello. Our reception will begin at 7pm until 10pm. Free valet parking.
The gallery is located at 2121 North San Fernando Road suite #3 phone 323-223-6867 or go online www.drkrm.com

Until next time may all your dreams be in High definition and enhanced for 16×9!!

Continue to page: 1 2 3 4

Tagged as: , ,
Share This Article: Digg it | del.icio.us | Google | StumbleUpon | Technorati

Comments are closed.