Will Oldham star of Pioneer asks Todd Rohal director of The Catechism Cataclysm
Q. What drew you towards an alliterative title? and do you feel that it is necessary to add syllables to your films’ titles with each successive production?
A I tried to get a pleasantly terrible enough title with the ring of those Our Gang shorts
like Heebee Jeebees, Washee Ironee or Honky Donkey. It’s a good place to start when
the film’s title is something I couldn’t spell in the first try…I stepped it up this time and
made it unpronounceable. If the film doesn’t come out right, at least I get an upper hand
in the vocab department.
Q. Do you find Steve Little attractive, in a narcissistic sort of way?
A. Yes. I want him to write the book-on-tape version of my autobiography.
Q. You’ve got Louisville money in this film, or something, some kind of Louisville juice. do you think that makes you Louisvillian? if so, what do you make of this elevation of status, and if not, what’s your problem?
A. There is Louisville blood in there, but no, even my Ohio roots are drying up and I’m
ashamed of it. I went to middle school with a kid named Lou Villian and it wasn’t until
years later that I realized his full name must have been Louis and his parents pardoned
him the full burden by shortening his name and choosing not to live in Kentucky.
Q. You did a fairly intense and grassroots promotion of THE GUATEMALAN
HANDSHAKE; What efforts or methods have you brought, or will you bring, to
THE CC, either because they were satisfying or ultimately necessary?
A. I spent a very long time pushing The Guatemalan Handshake into the world. It was my
responsibility to do that after asking everyone to work for so much sweat and no money.
Letting that film die without being projected on as many screens as it was would have
been unforgivable. Even if I was showing it to seven people on a Thursday in Portland, it
just felt like that’s what needed to be done.
This film feels different – it’s getting out into the world in a much different way. My
hope is that we keep it in theaters longer than a normal release – by playing it a few times
a week over the course of months rather than weeks – but we’ll see – I don’t have the
guts to show up in Portland again right now.
Q. How have you been, pal? It’s been a long time…..
A. They’ve taken pieces, but it’s all still working.