Trailer queen: filmmaker, critic, and archivist Jenni Olson brings together hilarious coming attractions in her "Trailer Camp" compilations. (film).Jenni Olson's an expert on trailer trash trailer trash Noun Derogatory poor people living in trailer parks in the US . Movie trailers, that is. "There's trailer trash, as in bad trailers, which I guess are pretty much all contemporary trailers today that show everything in the movie while a big classical soundtrack plays," Olson notes. "And then there's the good version of trailer trash, in the sense of trashy old campy movies." "Bride of Trailer Camp," Olson's latest curated program of hilarious movie-trailer trash, provides an overview of campy female portrayals in films like The Blood Spattered spat·ter v. spat·tered, spat·ter·ing, spat·ters v.tr. 1. To scatter (a liquid) in drops or small splashes. 2. To spot, splash, or soil. 3. Bride, Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman, and BUtterfield 8. The compilation joins Olson's already outrageous lineup: the original "Trailer Camp"; the black-themed "Afro Promo"; the gay "Homo Promo" and "Neo Homo Promo"; and her Jewish compilation, "Trailers Schmailers." (Los Angeles's American Cinematheque The American Cinematheque is an independent, non-profit cultural organization in Los Angeles dedicated exclusively to the public presentation of the Moving Image in all its forms. It is considered among the premier organizations of its kind in America. screens the two "Trailer Camp" compilations on February 21.) "Trailers are a completely separate animal in relation to the film they're promoting--art forms in themselves," Olson attests. "You have approaches like William Castle promoting Homicidal hom·i·cid·al adj. 1. Of or relating to homicide. 2. Capable of or conducive to homicide: a homicidal rage. and saying, `If you tell anyone the ending of this film, your friends will kill you, and if they don't, I will!'" Olson doesn't just hitch trailers together--she's a multitasker of magnitude. Cofounder co·found tr.v. co·found·ed, co·found·ing, co·founds To establish or found in concert with another or others. co·found of PlanetOut.com and its film site, PopcornQ, she's authored a reference tome (1996's Ultimate Guide to Lesbian and Gay Film and Video); written for The Advocate and The San Francisco Bay Guardian The San Francisco Bay Guardian (also known as the SF Bay Guardian, Bay Guardian, and the Guardian) is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper is owned mostly by its publisher, Bruce B. ; founded Minnesota's queer-film festival and codirected San Francisco's; shepherded numerous queer auteurs
The term auteur (French for author) is used to describe film directors (or, more rarely, producers, or writers) who are considered to have a distinctive, recognizable style, because they (a) repeatedly ; and is a filmmaker in her own right of acclaimed shorts. Born in Minneapolis, Olson acquired the beginnings of her film fetish fetish (fĕt`ĭsh), inanimate object believed to possess some magical power. The fetish may be a natural thing, such as a stone, a feather, a shell, or the claw of an animal, or it may be artificial, such as carvings in wood. while looking through her stepfather's copious collection of classic movie stills. (He'd been a theater usher in Verb 1. usher in - be a precursor of; "The fall of the Berlin Wall ushered in the post-Cold War period" inaugurate, introduce commence, lead off, start, begin - set in motion, cause to start; "The U.S. 1936.) Years later, while attending the University of Minnesota (body, education) University of Minnesota - The home of Gopher. http://umn.edu/. Address: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. , she decided to collect actual celluloid, and through a collectors' newspaper, Big Reel, found that trailers were affordable. "The first one I bought was The Killing of Sister George for 10 bucks," she recalls. "And it was just so satisfying to hold this thing in my hands." To date, Olson has amassed approximately 1,000 trailers. Currently, Olson is riding a wave of awards as the producer of Harriet Dodge and Silas Flipper's Sundance hit By Hook or by Crook. Olson met Dodge and Flipper, founders of lesbian culture-performance hub Red Dora's Bearded Lady Cafe, when she moved to San Francisco in 1992. Itching to move into film, the pair pitched Olson By Hook or by Crook, and she signed on as producer. "The particular aspect [of the project] that was so remarkable was that it was a butch buddy movie," Olson says. "These are characters we've never seen before, and they're heroes. Butch heroes. One with a beard, no less." However, Olson has shifted her focus away from other people's films--and trailers--for now. Her own feature, The Joy of Life, which she describes as "a static landscape film about being young and promiscuous in San Francisco," is priority number 1. And she's also making time for Julie Doff, her partner of eight years, and Hazel, their 3-year-old daughter. With all these activities, is there anything Olson doesn't do? "Well, I don't clean toilets," she volunteers with a grin, "but I can fix a broken gasket and change a diaper with the best of them." Find more on Jenni Olson, her trailer shows, and PopcornQ at www.advocate.com |
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