Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Interviewing Jon Moritsugu is an adventure. Since Giant Robot 1 until now, this man and wife Amy Davis continue to be interesting. As strange and odd that their films are, so are their interviews. It’s energy many times over and the text nearly conveys the sounds of their voices. Jon will sea, “yeah man!” fast. Amy Davis will say “woohoo, and some retort that’s either from 2020 or 1985. Yes they could be from the future. Making films since the early 90s, Jon has fought the indie fight and years later, there’s still no ballads. A romantic comedy? Sure, almost all of his films have that, but pigs, blood, engines, and experimental energy? Yes, that goes with it too. A champion in the underground film communities world wide, 2011, video and faster filmmaking has finally caught up. Maybe now people will understand his movies.
GR: Tell me about your relationship with the TV on the Radio dude?
JM: Kyp Malone is our old bud. Amy and I met him in 2000 in Frisco and cast him as a lead in our flick, SCUMROCK. A few days after we wrapped, he split for NYC and yadda yadda the rest is rock n’ roll BRKLYN history.
He got in touch with us for this project and wanted to tap into our duo-creative-team-vision… (we now co-run APATHY PRODUCTIONS). Project totally rocked – HARD. Kyp came up with the concept and then we ran with it. He wanted “Conservative American Bandstand” morphs into “Daggering Day Glo Feathered Sequined Sweating Glitter Ressurection” He wanted a sex- laced, confetti-dusted catharsis… dance while guru Michael Musto) sweeping up all the pop cultural messiness… like he does every day. Ahhh semiotics… delicious.
(see the video here)
GR: What’s it like making a music video for a band that’s gigantic?
JM:Really no different than shooting anything else, right?! I mean, you gots some people, some equipment, you shoot and then you edit. Only amateurs get wigged out by concerns like, “oh this band it gigantic.” It’s all just people… and Amy and I, as directors of the project, are really just trying to create a “safe space” for actors and crew so that the KUNST can be created… Ya gotta be there for the kids.