The Movies Column: I Sit Down with BadMovieArt

July 18, 2011• bySeattle Gay Scene

On Friday I interviewed Jason Miller of BadMovieArt and Co-Programmer at Central Cinema. Since 2008 BadMovieArt has brought the so-bad-it’s-good as well as the you-know-it’s-bad-but-you-love-it-anyways films to big and big-ish screens in Seattle. What started in the back room at the sadly missed McLeod Residence, then moved across the street to the Rendez-Vous’ JewelBox Theatre, now has a permanent home at Central Cinema. The only criteria for BadMovieArt films is that Jason has to love it, which has paid off with a devoted cult following for the monthly series. In our interview we talked about what it means to call movies you love “bad,” the enduring gay love for Pia Zadora and what’s next for the beloved film series.

Ryan: When researching for this interview I realized that if you Google “bad movie” the 2nd option that autofills is BadMovieArt. Did you know that?

Jason: Yes, but oddly the first Google result is a Yelp review from the Grease 2 sing-along at the McLeod Residence. That was the first film that people came who weren’t my friends. Maybe that’s what got the whole thing started. I also remember that show, because Charlie [the McLeod Resident’s owner’s toy poodle] kept unplugging the projector. I think he was trained to do that.

R: Where did the name BadMovieArt come from?

J: I worked really hard to come up with a name that wasn’t “snarky.” I wanted it to be fun, but not just about laughing at bad movies, but at the same time it has enough wink wink that you know you’re allowed to laugh at it too. In truth there is some art in all of the movies I show. They all had cinematographers. I often think what it must have been to be the cinematographer on Lady Terminator. Did he take his job seriously? I also like the name, because you can easily get to BadMovieFart. It also looks like Braveheart–a real bad movie, and one of my least favorite films ever made.

R: Is there a conflict when you show movies that you love but call them “bad”?

J: Yes, I’ve worked through this a lot. What I consider “bad movies” are always the movies my parents thought were bad when I was a kid. I never understood it, because I loved these movies. Grease 2 is a good example. I was also obsessed with the movies that my dad watched, because he never watched movies. He loved Red Sonya and Beastmaster, so I had to show them. I had some dad issues to work out.

Nerd Girl: finally getting the recognition she deserves

R: Is there an agenda behind BadMovieArt? Is it your quest to bring more gay camp to Central Cinema for example?

J: It’s not really an agenda, more of a motivation to bring movies I love to a wider audience so I can share them with people, and I can see how others react to them. Seeing people react to nerd girl [from Grease 2] was great.

R: On that note, tell me about some of the films that were the most rewarding to bring to the big screen.

J: Roller Boogie [the 1979 Linda Blair vehicle] was really big for me, but Pipe Dreams was the most rewarding, because before I showed it, it had no fan base.

R: Does it have a fan base now?

Pipe Dreams: Photo courtesy BadMovieArt

J: No, but it was still a miracle to see it on the big screen. Also rewarding was Chopping Mall when we showed it at McLeod Residence. It was really fun to watch it with people I didn’t know, and just showed up because they were fans of the movie. Then when I had my one year anniversary at Central Cinema I showed Moving Target. That felt really important, because I never thought I’d last that long.

R: What were the biggest crowd favorites?

J: Sellouts were Teen Witch and Gymkata. They were completely sold out. They already had fan bases, but don’t ever get screened in Seattle. We’ve sold out Teen Witch twice now, and no one could predict how big Gymkata would be. We had gays, girls, straight boys and a group of little children at that show. Earth Girls Are Easy was also a huge hit, and it surprised me.

Julie Brown: not everybody is a fan

R: Why?! That movie is genius.

J: I know, but it’s also really obnoxious. Face it–Julie Brown, who I love, is totally obnoxious. But Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum are so talented; they knew what they were doing. They save it.

R: What films did you really have to fight to get shown at Central Cinema?

J: I’m really lucky. The other programmers at Central Cinema give me a ton of freedom to program what I want. Not everything I’ve programmed has been a hit. Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 didn’t go off as well as I wanted, and hardly anybody came to The Bodyguard. Now I’m fighting to bring Mannequin 2: On the Move to the theatre.

R: Can we get an online petition going to make sure that happens?

J: Yes! Do it.

R: On Monday, BadMovieArt is presenting The Lonely Lady. How many times have you seen it?

The Lonely Lady: Trash filmmaking at its sleaziest

J: Over 75. It’s up there in the all time viewing list with Roller Boogie, Grease 2, and Hairspray. When Richard [Jason’s boyfriend] and I lived in San Diego we were so bored we would sometimes watch it twice in a row. That’s how bad it was there. I think we once even saw it four times in one day. On Monday I’m really excited to see the marquee at Central Cinema say “Lonely Lady and Hobo With a Shotgun.”

R: That’s real Grindhouse!

J: I’m also going to show the My Tutor trailer before the screening, which is a reference to anybody who knows The Lonely Lady from VHS. Once you see all the boobs in the My Tutor trailer, you’ll be ready for The Lonely Lady.

R: Are you nervous to bring such a trashy movie to Central Cinema?

J: I’m always nervous. When I showed it at the Rendez-Vous, Dave Schmader actually wrote it up for the Stranger Suggests. It really helped me get noticed. It’s the closest to good luck as The Lonely Lady can get.

R: Central Cinema definitely loves its Grindhouse movies, but do you think there’s a hesitation to program sexploitation flicks?

J: The truth is that a lot of sexploitation just isn’t fun, and I should know because Linda Blair made a ton of them. Especially when young women are doing it just for the money. It’s exploitative and ugly. Also no one wants to eat a burger while watching a young woman get brutally raped and tortured. Pia Zadora saves the Lonely Lady, because she obviously wasn’t doing it for the money. She was already a bazillionaire. She could do whatever she wanted to do, and she chose this.

Pia Zadora: sexploitation actress and 80s music video queen

R: What’s so special about Pia? Why do gays love her?

J: She just does what she wants to. She married young and rich, and it gave her endless freedom. She sang. She made music videos. She went on Solid Gold. She did everything the gays want to do. Now that I’m friends with Pia on Facebook, she commented on the Lonely Lady Facebook event. She wrote “get some ripe tomatoes to throw at the screen.” I love her, because she’s not embarrassed by it. Why be embarrassed? She doesn’t give a shit.

R: What’s next for BadMovieArt?

J: Next month we are doing to BMAs–The Hand That Rocks the Cradle on August 8 and Space Mutiny on August 29. We had space on the schedule, so I thought why not program two BMAs. They are so different from each other that I think it will work. Later on we’re doing Exorcist II on Halloween night, The Net and Hackers in Hecklevision. I also can’t say the title, because it’s not confirmed, but I’m trying to coordinate a special Barbra Streisand film screening. It’s going to be super classy–much like when I screened Trog.