Article 1 =================================== Independent filmmaker Gregg Araki may not be a musician, but he approaches his films as though he plays in a garage rock band. As the mild-mannered, yet maniacal mouthpiece for Generation X, thanks to his apocalyptic teen trilogy that comprises Totally F***ed Up (1994), Doom Generation (1995) and the current release Nowhere (1997), Araki has co-opted the DIY sensibilities of his favorite punk musicians and channeled them into movie making. "I'm much more into music than movies," says the director, whose latest picture was lauded at the Sundance Film Festival and features tracks by Hole, 311, Radiohead, Massive Attack, Sonic Youth, NIN, Portishead, Marilyn Manson and Suede, among others. "A lot of the themes--the spirit--of my movies comes from music. That's my major source of inspiration." Araki harks back to a 1981 concert at the Whisky-A-Go-Go by seminal LA punkers X as the gig that changed his life and helped formulate his approach to movies. In fact, his production company, Desperate Pictures, was named for a lyric in a classic X song. "That show was a transcendent experience," Araki recalls, noting that he has yet to work with X guitarist-cum-movie-actor John Doe. "Everything about them was great: the vision, the intensity." The director's current Fine Line feature Nowhere, which stars James Duval, Rachel True, Kathleen Robertson, Christina Applegate and Jeremy Jordan is described by Araki as an "episode of 90210 on acid," and clearly possesses a vision and intensity that is pure punk. The chaotic picture details a surreal and hallucinogenic day-in-the-life of some insecure and disaffected teens who encounter everything from alien abduction and car-jacking to murder and S&M. Cosmic cameos from such random actors as Charlotte Rae from The Facts Of Life, Lauren Tewes from the Love Boat and Eve Plumb and Christopher Knight from the Brady Bunch weave in and out of the psychedelic storyline like dreamy images from a bad trip. "I really am a pop culture junkie," Araki admits. And though he claims an affinity for music over movies, Araki cites French new wave artiste Jean-Luc Godard as a key influence during his seven-year tenure in film school. This outrageous teen trilogy really started because he wanted to do a film about gay and lesbian kids, he says. "Godard made this movie called Masculine Feminine and Totally F***ed Up was my tribute to that," says Araki. "Out of that experience and working with those kids, I decided to make a trilogy and each of the three movies gets more apocalyptic, twisted and crazy." Much of Araki's exaggerated visual sensibility is steeped in his ongoing obsession with comic books. "I wrote my own comics when I was 10, and anyone who's seen my movies tells me they can totally see that in my graphic aesthetic," he says. And even though he's an "adult" now and technically a graduate of the Gen X circle, Araki notes that he enjoys making films that speak to that angst-ridden audience. "I'm beyond the realm of 18- or 20-something angst because I'm 35 now," he says. "I definitely relate, but since I'm older and wiser and more experienced, I'm removed. I can be more objective and look at these kids from a different perspective, which is important for my films. It gives me a certain advantage. I mean, if I was 18 and tried to make Nowhere, I couldn't see the forest for the trees." Coming up are three projects in various stages of development, and it's just a matter of timing to determine which movie--and what music--will next emerge from this punk filmmaker's camera. "It's not important to me to become the biggest director in the world," Araki says. "In 10 years, I'd just like to be able to say I made 10 more movies." ======================================== Article 2 ======================================== Meet the man behind "Doom" mayhem By Michael Horowitz Daily Bruin Senior Staff He rounded up a million dollars to make a "heterosexual" film with no stars about teenagers blowing people's heads off, having lots of raunchy sex, and eating convenience store food that, if rated, would have have been lucky with an NC-17. Struggling filmmakers, meet your new god. His name is Gregg Araki and he's coming to Melnitz tonight with his latest, "Doom Generation." The writer-director-producer-editor behind the "The Living End" and "Totally Fucked Up," two acclaimed indie films of the last few years, Araki has earned a reputation for his guerrilla style and next-to-nothing budgets. On "Doom," foreign backing allowed him a full crew, production design, and even location permits. "It's cool to do stuff like ("Doom's") checkered hotel room," he says. "You just can't do that with $20,000." But as Araki talks to The Bruin it becomes clear that he's not such a fan of larger budgets. "You lose some spontaneity," he says, "and that sense of being on the run. Outwitting everybody and beating the cops to the punch, all that." "One of the cool things about working in an independent, low-budget way is that people are doing things for the right reasons," he says. "When you're paying people a lot of money, a lot of times they're just there because their agent tells them to be there and the paycheck was there." Not that anyone wasn't committed to the "labor of love" that was "Doom." Araki confirms McGowan's reports of a nightmarish shoot and his picky ear for dialogue, but he's not willing to dish out much sympathy. "Filmmaking's a dirty job," he says. "My movies are kind of intense and out there. I really require that my actors be kind of bold. They've got to be willing to take a risk and dive in." He explains that his firm hand over casting and performance have to do with a clear vision of the film he's already finished in his head. "A lot of my directing is in the casting," he says. "I don't really believe in performances that are built from all these external ticks and mannerisms - Meryl Streep, that kind of acting to me is sort of annoying. I'm interested in getting that type of essence." While he admits he'll need a star or two in a $50 million dream-project he's working on, he refuses to surrender any creative control. Araki's not big on letting anyone tell him what to do. "I don't think it's anyone's place to tell anyone what to do," he says. "I get a lot of flak from the P.C. patrol about `positive gay imagery,´ yada yada yada. I have this `forum´ and I have this voice and I should use it for the good of gaykind or whatever." "That's not what I'm about, that's what the right-wing Republicans are trying to do," he says. "I'm not a fucking propagandist. I'm an artist - or at least I try to be." Ironically, it's Araki's position in what is referred to as the "queer new wave" that makes so many people feel they can approach him. "I don't really believe there is a queer new wave," he says, "but I think that even though it didn't really exist it definitely did some good." "`The Living End´ and some other movies helped pave the way for whatever, `Philadelphia,´ and in a sick way, `To Wong Foo´ and all those other movies," he says, but that doesn´t really make him proud. "I understand, as a gay person, the importance of visibility and positive imagery, and people being out, and people in Middle America finding out that gay people aren't demons, yada yada yada," he says, laughing. "Just personally, on a level of art, these movies suck."