Ken Burns of the Bizarre
"Ever since I was young," Jeff Krulik says, "I always loved the unusual, the weird, and the strange, and I gravitated towards those who marched to their own beat."
As a filmmaker, Krulik has become a chronicler of the wacky and obsessed. His subjects have included Ralph Whittington, a retired Library of Congress curator who catalogued, indexed, and cross-referenced his massive collection of pornography, then sold it to the Museum of Sex; and Neil Keller, whose life's mission is to gather souvenirs about Jews anywhere in public life--whether they're singers, gangsters, or bullfighters.
Krulik's film Hitler's Hat, about a Jewish GI who found Adolf Hitler's top hat in the Fuhrer's Munich apartment, has been lavishly praised. "In the film, the hat becomes both souvenir and symbol," the New York Times' A.O. Scott writes, "suggesting that fascism was defeated not just by courage and force of arms, but also by pluck and good humor."
But Krulik has made a virtual franchise out of his cult hit, Heavy Metal Parking Lot, an embarrassing record of the drunken antics of Judas Priest fans. The TRIO cable television network bought the concept and shot episodes about fans of Cher, 50 Cent, and other entertainers. And Krulik has continued to make his own spin-offs, including Harry Potter Parking Lot, Neil Diamond Parking Lot, and his current project, Michael Jackson Parking Lot, filmed at Neverland Ranch and outside hearings in the singer's child molestation case. That last project is scheduled to show on TRIO in September.
"Cult status is a good thing," Krulik says. "It's better than not being recognized at all. But even with the recognition, it's still been difficult for me to find mainstream commercial work."
With the exception of two shorts paid for with grant money, Krulik's works have been self-financed. He works as an independent TV producer and freelance archival researcher. He worked on the Academy Award-winning documentary Fog of War, finding historical footage at the National Archives.
Krulik's style consists of pointing his camera at his subjects and letting them explain themselves, then interspersing that footage with archival film footage and screens of related text.
"I was doing reality TV before it existed," Krulik says. "I never put words in people's mouths; I'm never judgmental about people. Everybody's in on the joke."
It's a style that's aided by digital video technology. Because videotape is so inexpensive, Krulik can simply let his camera roll, capturing his subjects more naturally than if he were shooting on film. The unfortunate consequence of this strategy is the countless hours of footage the filmmaker has to sift through when he finally sits down to edit a project.
As a documentarian, Krulik doesn't have to deal with the vagaries of volunteer actors. But his real-life subjects will sometimes derail a project. A recent project about Faith Dane, a perennial Washington mayoral candidate and former Broadway star, started with great promise. But Krulik never had a written agreement with his subject. After he shot many hours of tape, the two had a disagreement, and the project remains in limbo.
Krulik streams all of his films for free on his Web site, www.planetkrulik.com. The novel distribution technique "generates no income," Krulik says with a laugh. "But I like the technology. It's like having your own television station."
Jeff Krulik
Photograph: Katherine LambertAge: 43
Home: Washington, D.C.
Most successful film:
Heavy Metal Parking Lot, a documentary about drunk and stoned rock fans partying in a parking lot before a 1986 Judas Priest concert.
Current budget: $10,000
Hardware: Canon XL1 camcorder, Canon ZR50MC camcorder, IMac G4
Software: Avid Xpress DV, Apple IMovie, and Apple Final Cut Pro (all video editing)
Web site:
www.planetkrulik.com
Day job: Freelance TV producer and archival researcher for documentaries such as Fog of War.
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