So wait...Robert Crumb hates Crumb?
#1
So wait...Robert Crumb hates Crumb?
I was reading up on the coming Ghost World Criterion release and read that Robert Crumb hates the movie Crumb. The article focused on Ghost World so it didn't go into detail. I tried to find information online about what he had to say about the movie and came up with nothing.
So...why does Robert Crumb hate the documentary so much? Did he hate it right away or come to loathe it some years later? I am curious to know what he has to say about this movie!
So...why does Robert Crumb hate the documentary so much? Did he hate it right away or come to loathe it some years later? I am curious to know what he has to say about this movie!
#2
DVD Talk Hero
Re: So wait...Robert Crumb hates Crumb?
In real life, Robert Crumb is a well-toned Adonis who's into tackle football, doing Jager-bombs, and nailin' sorority babes. The documentary was edited to make him look like a big nerd. I'd be pissed too.
#4
DVD Talk Hero
Re: So wait...Robert Crumb hates Crumb?
Crumb is way too taboo for Robert Crumb.
#6
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Re: So wait...Robert Crumb hates Crumb?
I was reading up on the coming Ghost World Criterion release and read that Robert Crumb hates the movie Crumb. The article focused on Ghost World so it didn't go into detail. I tried to find information online about what he had to say about the movie and came up with nothing.
AVC: Did you have any conversations with Crumb while you were shaping the film? Or did you keep him in the dark until it was complete?
TZ: I didn’t really want to show it to him until the picture was locked and he couldn’t really say, “Could you take this out?” I didn’t want to be in that position. And I think he was okay with that. It’s a major pain in the ass to have somebody following you around with a film camera, especially if you value your privacy, but part of him was always willing to do things for the sake of art, and that helped quite a bit. But I didn’t show it to him until it was actually on videotape. I think he was already living in France at that point. And I said, “What did you think of it?” And he said, “It was mortifying.” I said, “Is it a bad film?” And he said, “No, but I’m looking at myself in a mirror, so what am I supposed to say? Is it good? Is it bad? I just don’t want to look at it.” Something like that.
But I don’t want to misrepresent him or what he thought of it. There’s a lot of publicity and stories still circulating on the Internet that we had a big falling-out, but there was never any falling-out, there was never any argument about anything. It’s typical. They don’t even have my birthday right on the Internet.
TZ: I didn’t really want to show it to him until the picture was locked and he couldn’t really say, “Could you take this out?” I didn’t want to be in that position. And I think he was okay with that. It’s a major pain in the ass to have somebody following you around with a film camera, especially if you value your privacy, but part of him was always willing to do things for the sake of art, and that helped quite a bit. But I didn’t show it to him until it was actually on videotape. I think he was already living in France at that point. And I said, “What did you think of it?” And he said, “It was mortifying.” I said, “Is it a bad film?” And he said, “No, but I’m looking at myself in a mirror, so what am I supposed to say? Is it good? Is it bad? I just don’t want to look at it.” Something like that.
But I don’t want to misrepresent him or what he thought of it. There’s a lot of publicity and stories still circulating on the Internet that we had a big falling-out, but there was never any falling-out, there was never any argument about anything. It’s typical. They don’t even have my birthday right on the Internet.
#7
DVD Talk Hero
#8
Re: So wait...Robert Crumb hates Crumb?
Thanks! That was rather interesting.
I always wished Zwigoff could do a follow up to this movie with Crumb in France and all. I think it would be fascinating to see how the culture there has changed him and document that to film since the first movie documented him being fed up with the American way of life. Since they didn't have a falling out and it sounds like Robert just doesn't like the movie because he doesn't like watching himself maybe one day it could happen.
I always wished Zwigoff could do a follow up to this movie with Crumb in France and all. I think it would be fascinating to see how the culture there has changed him and document that to film since the first movie documented him being fed up with the American way of life. Since they didn't have a falling out and it sounds like Robert just doesn't like the movie because he doesn't like watching himself maybe one day it could happen.
#9
Re: So wait...Robert Crumb hates Crumb?
After the movie came out Crumb published two comics detailing his life in France.
You can order it from the publisher http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.p...mart&Itemid=62
It has to be impossible for Robert Crumb to judge the movie. If a documentary was made about you, I can't imagine you could look at it in terms of how good a movie it was.
I remember reading an interview with Terry Zwigoff where he mentioned a couple of times that Crumb tried to sabatoge the movie. According to Zwigoff, he was trying to get Crumb to talk his mother and brother into allowing themselves to be filmed. Crumb tried asking them several times, but in each instance came back saying he did his best, but they didn't want to go for it. Then during the shooting, Zwigoff asked Crumb to try calling and asking them again. Crumb went into the other room to make the call, but they had left the microphone clipped to his shirt. Zwigoff eavesdropped on the conversation and heard Crumb telling his mother over the phone, "Oh, you don't want to let them come in. They have this HUGE camera crew with all kind of people."
You can order it from the publisher http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.p...mart&Itemid=62
It has to be impossible for Robert Crumb to judge the movie. If a documentary was made about you, I can't imagine you could look at it in terms of how good a movie it was.
I remember reading an interview with Terry Zwigoff where he mentioned a couple of times that Crumb tried to sabatoge the movie. According to Zwigoff, he was trying to get Crumb to talk his mother and brother into allowing themselves to be filmed. Crumb tried asking them several times, but in each instance came back saying he did his best, but they didn't want to go for it. Then during the shooting, Zwigoff asked Crumb to try calling and asking them again. Crumb went into the other room to make the call, but they had left the microphone clipped to his shirt. Zwigoff eavesdropped on the conversation and heard Crumb telling his mother over the phone, "Oh, you don't want to let them come in. They have this HUGE camera crew with all kind of people."
#10
Re: So wait...Robert Crumb hates Crumb?
I will have to look for those comics at a local comic book store. I really despise ordering directly from Fantagraphics...the last order I placed from them took nearly an entire month to get to me after they charged my card for the transaction.
#12
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