Almost There: Weird Grey Areas

Movie Meltdown - Episode 330 This week we are joined by our special guest co-host Dan Rybicky, a filmmaker and professor in Cinema Art and Science at Columbia College Chicago. Dan is also the co-director of the documentary "Almost There", an unflinching look at the aging years of outsider artist Peter Anton. Dan and his co-director Aaron Wickenden enter Peter's dilapidated house to take a look at his accumulating collection of art. But before they know it they find themselves not only knee deep in an over-whelming 8-year process of shooting footage, but they also inadvertently become part of Peter's life. Which becomes even more troubling when they are forced to deal with the harsh realities of Peter's past and current existence. It's a fascinating film, and we talk with Dan about not just the film itself, but also filmmaking as a whole, and how things have changed as both a director and teacher in the new digital age. Plus we delve into some grand questions about the future and some scary realizations about ourselves. Plus as we search for the world's largest pierogi, we also mention... Grey Gardens, Martin Scorsese, voyeurism, Henry Darger, Steve James, demanding stardom, very personal stories, Robert Zemeckis, Ordinary People, talking to the camera, Richard Linklater, isolation, the invasion of the selfie-stick, David Lynch, and a lot of cats, getting roped in, blurring the lines, 5 terabytes, are we crossing a line?, Slacker, a cautionary tale, Man on Wire, I'm not a project, three dumpsters full, look around in your neighborhood, in Korea, everyone is famous, great art isn't something jammed down your throat, do you stay impartial?, the ways that people document themselves, the fine line between hoarding and collecting, the age of the selfie, James Benning, can you help other people, every culture has a dumpling, bearing witness to our lives, John Sayles, the rhythm of what his life was like, adhering to the social norms, I was an intense kid, Werner Herzog, stop talking to us and Pringles. "I'm more interested in the conversations that happen after movies a lot of times, then the movies themselves." For info on "Almost There" as well as the trailer, go to: http://www.almostthereproject.com/