Interview:
Allan Arkush,
director,
"Get Crazy"
Few directors are as defined by the music they love and feature in their film and television work as Allan Arkush. A native New Jerseyite, and one of many filmmakers to mentor under the legendary producer Roger Corman, Arkush discovered his passion for music as a young boy, worked at promotor Bill Graham’s Filmore East concert venue while studying film at NYU, and sought out collaborations with iconic singer-songwriters and musicians from the moment he received his first opportunity to direct a film. After cutting trailers for Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, Arkush paired with Joe Dante to make their directorial debut with the 1976 Corman-produced independent filmmaking satire Hollywood Boulevard, which featured a performance by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen and a score by the country rock band’s saxophone and fiddle player Andy Stein. Arkush also recruited Stein and the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Gracia to score Deathsport, the 1978 Death Race 2000-inspired sci-fi sports thriller that Arkush stepped in to complete for Corman. Working from a story he conceived with Joe Dante, Arkush directed Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, the 1979 cult classic teen musical built around The Ramones and featuring many of Arkush’s repertory players, including Mary Woronov, Paul Bartel, and Dick Miller. After making his major studio debut with the 1981 critical and commercial flop Heartbeeps, Arkush returned to his roots with Get Crazy, a music-driven comedy inspired by his time working on- and off-stage at the Filmore East. Set before and during a New Year’s Eve concert at the fictional Saturn Theater, Get Crazy follows the efforts of Ed Begley Jr.’s unscrupulous music promoter Colin Beverly to steal the lease to the concert venue from Allen Garfield’s owner and operator Max Wolfe. Get Crazy also stars Gail Edwards as Wolfe’s daughter Willy, Daniel Stern as stage manager Neil, Malcom McDowell as British rock star Reggie Wanker, and Lou Reed as folk singer Auden. The film includes appearances by Fear’s Lee Ving, the Turtles’ Howard Kaylan, jazz singer Bill Henderson, and Lori Eastside from Kid Creole and the Coconuts, performing as Nada. Get Crazy will screen at 7 p.m. April 17 at the AFS Cinema with Arkush in attendance. After Get Crazy, which developed a cult following despite a stymied theatrical release, Arkush began his successful transition to television, directing episodes of Fame, The Twilight Zone, L.A. Law, St. Elsewhere, and Moonlighting. In 1994, he re-imagined 1956’s Shake, Rattle and Rock! as a cable TV prequel to Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, casting a young Renée Zellweger as an aspiring singer fighting against a parent-led crusade to ban rock and roll in her high school. Arkush also directed the 1995 Frank Sinatra tribute romantic drama Young at Heart, the 1997 mockumentary Elvis Meets Nixon, and the 1998 NBC miniseries The Temptations, which earned Arkush an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing. Arkush, whose last theatrical release was the 1988 flop Caddyshack II, continued to work in television until 2019, directing episodes of Dawson’s Creek, Heroes, The Good Fight, Nashville, and A Series of Unfortunate Events, among others. He currently is a senior lecturer at the AFI Conservatory in L.A.
Aired: April 16, 2025. Web sites: https://www.facebook.com/aarkush/ https://www.austinfilm.org/screening/get-crazy-with-director-allan-arkush/ |
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