#The alchemist cookbook oscilloscope full#
#The alchemist cookbook oscilloscope series#

WeвЂ™re all products of a hostile environment. He makes that pretty clear.Дo you see your charactersвЂ™ behavior as the natural response to such hostile systems? I think the only character that is consciously fighting against a system is Cam in Relaxer. Everyone sees the world differently, and these characters are just trying to right some very small wrongs, I think. ThereвЂ™s no such thing as вЂњnormalвЂќ or вЂњhealthy.вЂќ ItвЂ™s all a matter of perspective, and everyone pretty much thinks theyвЂ™re doing whatвЂ™s right. They donвЂ™t come from broken homes, but just regular American homes that are usually broken already. To what extent are they molded by the вЂsystemsвЂ™ at play in their daily lives? ThereвЂ™s obviously a combination of both nature and nurture at work in your charactersвЂ™ psyches. We always talk about why, which is the most important factor for behavior, but not where or how. I prefer an actor who lives on the page, as written. Josh and I talk very little about this stuff, as I think it often clouds the performance and the actor overthinks the moment. I have a certain roadmap in my head of how they came to be in this place at this time, but I prefer the characters to exist mostly in the present. How much of these вЂstoriesвЂ™ do you write ahead of time, how much do you encourage Joshua Burge and your other actors to do the same? You only provide scant biographical details, but itвЂ™s clear all of your characters are carrying some traumatic, or at least troubled, baggage. IвЂ™m finally there, not as an act of rebellion, but an act of independence.

IвЂ™ve spent my entire life trying to get people to leave me alone. I live in Michigan because itвЂ™s my home, and where my friends live, and going to LA means IвЂ™d be working for other people, which has never been my thing. IвЂ™m just making movies that I want to see that donвЂ™t exist yet. To what extent are your films acts of rebellion? Filmmakers want as many eyes on their films as possible, so youвЂ™re unfortunately always trying to climb awful rickety ladder. IвЂ™ve always tried to do things like that, but IвЂ™ve never really felt much of a system holding me back. I think a lot of people see themselves as radical, but Ian Mackaye is about the only guy around that actively pushed back against the industry he was in and affected the way artists thought about their art and commerce. I donвЂ™t really see how someone can fight against some type of invisible вЂsystem,вЂ™ whatever that even means. (Oscilloscope Laboratories)Д®ach of your characters fights against вЂthe system.вЂ™ Do you see yourself as working in opposition to a вЂsystemвЂ™ of any kind?

#The alchemist cookbook oscilloscope series#

1 of BennettвЂ™s series on Joel PotrykusвЂ™ Midwestern Monsters: ApeВ and Relaxer Joshua Burge in Buzzard. I donвЂ™t care if anyone likes or hates these guys, but I want them to try to figure them out. I love them and most of all, I understand them. I think thatвЂ™s the key - donвЂ™t look down on your dudes. Sometimes people are curious about them, but for the most part, I hear complaints about their negativity and lack of motivation. I never try to write a character that people will want to see, or learn about. What do you think makes them so uniquely compelling? Obviously, your characters arenвЂ™t easy for everyone to relate to or sympathize with, but theyвЂ™re also hard to look away from. IвЂ™m about to eat a jar of peanut butter in a minute. Nutrition was most definitely not a factor. But at this point, IвЂ™m down with the ethics and canвЂ™t see myself going back. I joined halfway for her, not ready to give up cheese and all that good fat stuff.

#The alchemist cookbook oscilloscope full#

Joel Potrykus: I mostly gave up meat because my girlfriend, and producer, Ashley, went full vegan about five years ago. What made you give up meat? Is it safe to assume nutrition wasnвЂ™t a big factor? Split Tooth Media: YouвЂ™ve self-described as a вЂњjunk food vegetarianвЂќ - a term IвЂ™ve stolen for myself - and each of your characters follows the same diet. I only wish IвЂ™d thought to inform him that - in Philadelphia, at least - Chuck E. I spoke to Potrykus about how his charactersвЂ™ diets overlap with his own, how his films straddle the line between genres and whether itвЂ™s actually possible to fight a system. Over four features, the Michigan-based director has rebuilt the slacker archetype, mostly in frequent collaborator Joshua BurgeвЂ™s image. Joel Potrykus doesnвЂ™t expect you to like his characters, but he hopes youвЂ™ll try to understand them.

ThereвЂ™s just something off, something both compelling and repellent.

Even at their depraved and desperate worst, theyвЂ™re a lot like us.

I, for one, have tended to see them like reflections in a hall of mirrors. In this interview he discusses the importance of trying to understand characters, ditching genres and the art of ending a filmДЄ less-than-charitable viewer might call the protagonists of Ape, Buzzard, The Alchemist Cookbook and Relaxer losers. Through the 2010s, Potrykus has created a unique character type: the Midwestern Monster.