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June 16, 2007
CAM ARCHER INTERVIEW
by K-Y-M
Cam Archer is the director and producer of the new film Wild Tigers I
Have Known (Co-produced by Gus Van Sant). Wild Tigers I Have Known is
a portrait of the horrors of American Junior High School. The film
deals with painful desire, confusion, adolescent longing, curiosity
and teenage isolation. We follow 13 year old Logan who starts to dress
up as a girl in order to get closer to Rodeo, an older cool kid in
school. Logan pretends to be Leah, and they get closer trough phone
calls, until one day they decide to meet. Time to get the wigs out.
The film was awarded official selection at the Sundance Film Festival
in 2006 and it was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in
2007 for its cinematography.
K: The screen shots looks amazing, who was your director of
photography? How much were you involved in the visual aesthetic of the
movie?
C: Aaron Platt, who I've been working with for years, shot the film.
We met in film school. I'm always involved with the visual aesthetic
of my films. That would be like asking a singer if they were involved
with how their album sounded, wouldn't it?
K: I was thinking more of how much you were involved technically.
C: Aaron helps me make my ideas a reality. Sure, some ideas just
won't work on camera, but that's part of the process. Thecla Niebel,
who was the production designer on the film and Stephanie Volkmar, who
did the costumes for the film, also had a large part in contributing
to the final look of the film.
K: I get the feeling that there is something personal behind this
movie, is the film partly auto biographic? What inspired you to write
'Wild Tigers...'?
C: Well I remember once I found a dead mountain lion just outside of
where I live. It had been shot by a neighbour of mine and animal
control had yet to come and take it away. It was a horrific sight and
stays with me to this day. I have also been making short films that
were similar in theme and tone to what 'Wild Tigers' would become.
Somehow...the two worlds collided and it made perfect sense to me.
Also, at the time I was writing 'Wild Tigers', I had a restraining
order filed against me by my friend Sarabeth Tucek for phone
harassment. I continued to call Sarabeth, even after the complaint,
using a different voice each time I would call her. That stuff made
it into the film as well.
K: The casting of Malcom Stumpf is brilliant, he truly is Logan in the
98 minutes (or 88, in the cinema version of the film) Wild Tigers
last. How did you find him?
C: My casting director Julia Kim remembered Malcolm from an audition
she had held a few years earlier. He was the first kid I met face to
face for the lead role of Logan and I immediately liked him. It's
difficult to find kid actors. So few kids really are actors. There
was a naturalness to Malcolm that I loved and I tried my best to have
that side of him make its way into the character. I think there are
times in the film where he's not a character at all, but
just...himself. For me, there could be no greater result in film.
K: It's great isn't it, when a project or something you do becomes
you, and you become the project. Even only for a little while. It's
very consuming and I think that is when the result turns out
inspirational and with that little extra touch. Which film makers or
photographers inspire you?
C: Romeo Padakis has inspired me for years. It's so difficult to find
his films. When I watch his work, it makes me nervous. It almost
like his images entire my soul and just won't let go. I like art that
in some way violates me, or disrupts my sense of well being. It's
inspiring, you know?
K: Speaking of disrupting you sense of well being; have the film
caused any controversy or reactions in the US for having a young boy
as Malcom dressing up and playing gay? I know how the morals are over
there, and can guess someone has reacted -but then again you haven't,
as I understand, showed the film 'mainstream' or put it out in shops
on DVD so it might be a bit early to say?
C: Yes, it's probably still too early to tell. I think American
audiences can handle the film's content...but the style? The style of
the film will probably not work with most audiences. It's an
unconventional film, visually speaking. The film really is meant for
young people. In my experience, they get the most out of it and are
ready for something different. The film will never be embraced by the
mainstream, thank god. So-called middle America is still debating
whether or not they should pull 'Brokeback Mountain' from the video
shelves.
K: It's ridiculous isn't it? Some people instantly try to ward off
anything that might challenge them. I don't really understand it. But
tell me about the soundtrack and the drawings I've seen on the
official Wild Tigers web page. Did you use people you already know or
did you look for work online or in any particular scene?
C: The soundtrack for the film comes mostly from friends. Current 93,
Six Organs of Admittance, Comets on Fire, Anders and Woods, Djuna bel
and Pantaleimon were all kind enough to lend their music to my mess.
Emily Jane White wrote the song 'Wild Tigers I Have Known'
specifically for the film. To this day, that song is my favourite
'product' of the entire experience. I think it's absolutely
heart-breaking. My brother Nate and I created the sound design for
the film, which comes off more like a horror film at times than
anything else. Nate also created a lot of the original music in the
film. We've always loved Goblin, John Carpenter and Tangerine Dream.
I think those were three of our first inspirations when it came to
creating sounds and music for the film.
K: Yes, Emily Jane White's song is heart-breaking. It's very fragile
and elusive, almost like a fainted childhood memory coming carefully
back to you. What music did you listen to in your younger teenage
years? Any important bands that had a central role in your life?
C: I had the absolute worst taste in music in junior high. I obeyed
by the radio, unfortunately. If you go back and look at what was
popular in 1994 and 1995... you might just throw-up. 'I Saw The
Sign', anyone? I remember liking Nirvana, but being a bit intimidated
by them too. I wish there had been someone in Junior High who
would've ripped the Tom Petty tape out of my hands and replaced it
with something, anything from The Stooges. I didn't discover anything
remotely challenging or different until I got into high school.
Malcolm Stumpf has excellent taste in music. He's been exposed to so
many great genres and artists. I think it has everything to do with
his mom. She knows... There's something to be said for being turned
onto good music at a young age.
K: I listened to a mix of Chinese pop songs, Madonna and Marilyn
Manson in when I was ten in 95. I don't know if that was good or bad
for me, but I think it defiantly did something.. Anyway. Your film
fits the world of slightly introverted outsiders that you find in Gus
Van Sant's films, can you tell us a bit more about how you got him on
board as a co-producer?
C: I had been sending Gus my short films and music videos for years...
He typically responded well, or positively to my work and so one day
I asked him if he would lend his name to 'Wild Tigers' with the idea
that it would increase exposure of the film. Gus was also an
excellent mentor throughout all stages of making the film. He's such
an accomplished artist, you can't help but be inspired.
K: It's a very good name to have on the bill indeed. His films also
work around youth, and in particular boys and growing up, so just to
finish off; how old are you yourself?
C: Hehe, I just turned 26. They say 26 is now the typical age for
adults to first experience depression. Let me tell you, I'm feeling
it...
LINKS
Wild Tigers I Have Known
Cam Archer
K-Y-M
The Wild Tigers I Have Known soundtrack is out on Durtro records
Durtro records
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