Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
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Very cool. Press release:
This year marks the 25th-anniversary of Heavy Metal Parking Lot, a documentary hailed by rock and film cognoscenti as one of the greatest rock documentaries of all time. To honor the occasion, the film will serve as the “opening band” for the touring comedy showcase, the Found Footage Festival, in a one-night-only engagement at the The Grey Eagle on Thursday, June 9 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.foundfootagefest.com.
Heavy Metal Parking Lot is a mid-1980s time capsule from the golden age of heavy metal. Directors Jeff Krulik and John Heyn, armed only with a camera and sound gear, braved the parking lot of a Judas Priest concert in 1986 and captured 16 dense minutes of raucous and unexpurgated interviews from teenage metal heads. For nearly twenty years, VHS copies of Heavy Metal Parking Lot were dubbed and passed around, slowly building a worldwide cult following. A bootleg copy allegedly became a band-viewing favorite on Nirvana’s tour bus, and Cameron Crowe called it “one of the greatest rock movies ever.” Since then, the film has garnered a new generation of fans with a special-edition DVD release and a reality-TV series, PARKING LOT. Always a crowd-pleaser, this 25th anniversary tour finally puts HMPL where it was meant to be seen: on the big screen with an audience.
Jeff Krulik & John Heyn have collaborated as filmmakers for over 25 years. Based in Washington, DC, they’ve worked together and independently on a variety of documentary programming and music videos. Their work together includes the cable TV series Parking Lot, which ran for two seasons on TRIO in 2004-05. Their most-recent effort is the 2010 follow-up documentary, Heavy Metal Picnic.
ABOUT THE FOUND FOOTAGE FESTIVAL
The Found Footage Festival is a one-of-a-kind event showcasing videos found at
garage sales and thrift stores throughout the country. Curators Pickett and Prueher host each screening in-person and provide their unique observations and commentary on these found video obscurities. From the curiously-produced industrial training video to the forsaken home movie donated to Goodwill, the Found Footage Festival resurrects these forgotten treasures and serves them up in a lively celebration of all things found.
ABOUT THE VENUE
The Grey Eagle is located at 185 Clingman Avenue in Asheville. Tickets are $10 and are available at the door or in advance at www.foundfootagefest.com.
Heavy Metal Parking Lot, the VERY funny short film shot by Jeff Krulik, is being shown in ADDITION to a brand new show by The Found Footage Festival, who are two completely different people but huge admirers of the film. They came here last year and absolutely slayed the Grey Eagle. I have never seen so many people laughing and holding their sides in my life.
This is another co-sponsorship between the Asheville Media Arts Project and Orbit DVD/TV Eye, and tickets should also be available at my two video stores plus Harvest Records.
These guys have basically been milking this one, 16-minute film for 25 years now, endlessly recycling the format ("Harry Potter Parking Lot"? Really?) and trying to re-capture the magic with found footage (the new flick).
Not to take anything away from the original HMPL, which is a great little time capsule and entertaining to view, but to call it "one of the great rock documentaries of all time" is over the top.
LOL Jeff. If you really ARE Jeff, how about a showing of King of Porn?
Is this any different than the Normal Asheville rehashing of every fad that was ever invented?
"These guys have basically been milking this one, 16-minute film for 25 years now, endlessly recycling the format…"
Guilty as charged!
This event needs some clarification.
Heavy Metal Parking Lot, the VERY funny short film shot by Jeff Krulik, is being shown in ADDITION to a brand new show by The Found Footage Festival, who are two completely different people but huge admirers of the film. They came here last year and absolutely slayed the Grey Eagle. I have never seen so many people laughing and holding their sides in my life.
This is another co-sponsorship between the Asheville Media Arts Project and Orbit DVD/TV Eye, and tickets should also be available at my two video stores plus Harvest Records.
See you there!
These guys have basically been milking this one, 16-minute film for 25 years now, endlessly recycling the format ("Harry Potter Parking Lot"? Really?) and trying to re-capture the magic with found footage (the new flick).
Not to take anything away from the original HMPL, which is a great little time capsule and entertaining to view, but to call it "one of the great rock documentaries of all time" is over the top.