By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com
The Masterpiece Around the Corner: Rosefelt Revisits 'Stranger Than Paradise'
More than a couple of readers have forwarded the link to local publicist Reid Rosefelt’s splendid essay about how Jim Jarmusch and Stranger Than Paradise emerged from mid-80s NYC art-squalor to international acclaim. There is plenty of history to study here, from the saintly Paul Bartel plugging a budget hole with his wallet to Rosefelt’s initial ambivalence about Jarmusch (“He was so disgustingly cool that he made me feel ashamed of myself. I would literally cross to the other side of the street to avoid his towering coolness.”). Throw in a few cameos by Janet Pierson (née Perlberg), Adam Brooks, Jeff Lipsky and others and you have a fascinating glimpse into a seedbed of modern independent film.
And for all of you budding marketers interested in tracing the geneology of swag, consider starting here:
Early on, I took the film’s three stars, John (Lurie), Richard (Edson) and Eszter (Balint), out for lunch, to discuss the plans for the film. As I laid out buttons, t-shirts and other Lipsky-created doodads on the table, Eszter looked at me incredulously.
We were more innocent then. This was before worldwide conglomerates produced “indie” films, before product placement blanketed Sundance like snow, before anyone even knew what goodie bags were.
Eszter stared at the t-shirts and buttons in stunned disbelief.
“You’re kidding, right?”
So there you have it. Place blame or credit accordingly.
(Photo of Jim Jarmusch and Reid Rosefelt: Zoom In Online)