Craig Schlattman
Encyclopedia
Craig Schlattman is an Award winning American director, writer, producer, and cinematographer, best known for his Independent features, At Ground Zero
starring Thomas Jane
(credited as Tom Elliott), and The Seller
starring Brian Brophy.
Throughout his still photo career, Schlattman was producing [avant-garde], experimental films that were earning him a reputation in the art film world. The short subjects Slap and Bag, both funny, brutal, and formalist
in context, won Directors Awards at the Sinking Creek Film Festival (now known as the Nashville Independent Film Festival), and traveled all over the world in many film programs and festivals, including a traveling show with Stan Brakhage
, and Michael Snow
, and screenings at the Museum of Modern Art
. Schlattman has called Submitting (produced by Rutger Hauer) "the worst film I've ever made", but it nonetheless went on to win a Silver award at the Houston International Film Festival, a Bronze Award at the Athens International Film Festival, and a Certificate of Merit from the Chicago International Film Festival
, which were the only festivals entered. Heroic and Furious, two hard to get documentaries about filmmaking behind the scenes of big Hollywood productions, have been shown at the Ann Arbor
and Wiesbaden Film Festivals, and have the reputation of being very unconventional films in cinéma vérité
or direct cinema
style, which is not what the studios would like to have seen about their films, hence the problem in showing and purchasing them.
Very much a part of the resurgence of independent filmmaking in the early 90's, Schlattman has said that he waited a couple of years with a feature script he wanted to shoot before running into two actors he thought perfect for the part; Thomas Jane
, and Aysha Hauer. Schlattman met them through a mutual acquaintance shooting something for a new director and thought they were perfect for the parts of Thomas Pennington and Aysha Almouth in his first feature, At Ground Zero
. He picked for his subject marginal characters tied together by love and drugs in an extended traveling family on the road. At Ground Zero
premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival to enthusiastic, full houses, and went on an extensive festival run in the US and Europe.
Schlattman has said that he made mistakes along the way, let too much of the pressure put on him seep out to his actors. "Tom and Aysha are wonderful actors, and worked hard in difficult parts. I loved working with them and I'm sure they will go on to great things." After making the festival circuit, At Ground Zero
had a small theatrical release and Schlattman started his second feature, The Seller
.
A difficult story about marginal characters, The Seller
opened at The Chicago Underground Film Festival
to reviews of;
and:
Unfortunately for audiences, the film had an unpublicized, un-marketed release and did not get "a much larger audience."
Undaunted, Schlattman proceeded to write "Guerrilla Filmmaking 101" articles and post them free on the internet (www.proletariatpictures.com) as a way to give back to filmmaking, and help other filmmakers to a successful completion of their Indie film. He has said "I couldn't get past an agent on the freeway with my scripts - no big stunts, no nudity, just difficult compelling characters. Fat chance you get financing without Nick Cage
signed on." He then went on to make Asymmetry, an extremely difficult film praised by those that have seen it, but ignored by the distributors.
Schlattman is seeking financing for a new film about family tragedy and insanity. He is a 2008 recipient of the prestigious Bush Fellowship and is in pre-production on 2 new feature films.
The Seller
(1997)
At Ground Zero
(1994)
"Kauai Project" (2010)
Red Lake Diaries (2008)
Heroic (1993)
Furious (1992)
Submitting (1989)
Boat (1987)
Evidence (1987)
Slap (1987)
Bag (1986)
Bike Film (1985)
Honest (1979)
Title (1978)
3 (1977)
Edit (1977)
Fun House (1977)
ID (1977)
Synco (1977)
What? (1976)
At Ground Zero
"At Ground Zero" is a 1993 Independent feature film directed and written by Craig Schlattman from an original story. It stars Thomas Jane , and his then wife, Aysha Hauer , as a couple on the run across America to find ‘home’. Also featured in the film are Brian Brophy as Carman, and Schlattman as...
starring Thomas Jane
Thomas Jane
Thomas Jane is an American actor known for his roles in the 1999 film Deep Blue Sea, the 2001 TV film 61*, the 2004 film The Punisher and the 2007 Stephen King adaptation The Mist...
(credited as Tom Elliott), and The Seller
The Seller
The Seller is a 1997 Independent feature film written and directed by American director Craig Schlattman. It stars Brian Brophy, Mink Stole, Arthur Roberts, and Kathy Morozova in her first film role.- Plot :...
starring Brian Brophy.
Career
Schlattman started his career in photography, shooting black-and-white photographs and printing mural size prints, and large-scale color photographs of particular beauty with an interest in experimentation and movement. After exhibiting in numerous group and one-person shows, he was picked up by the Susan Spiritus Gallery in Newport, California with a body of work depicting pseudoscientific experiments full of humor, intelligence, and a sort of political whimsy.Throughout his still photo career, Schlattman was producing [avant-garde], experimental films that were earning him a reputation in the art film world. The short subjects Slap and Bag, both funny, brutal, and formalist
Formalist film theory
Formalist film theory is a theory of film study that is focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film: i.e., the lighting, scoring, sound and set design, use of color, shot composition, and editing...
in context, won Directors Awards at the Sinking Creek Film Festival (now known as the Nashville Independent Film Festival), and traveled all over the world in many film programs and festivals, including a traveling show with Stan Brakhage
Stan Brakhage
James Stanley Brakhage , better known as Stan Brakhage, was an American non-narrative filmmaker who is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th century experimental film....
, and Michael Snow
Michael Snow
Michael Snow, CC is a Canadian artist working in painting, sculpture, video, films, photography, holography, drawing, books and music.-Life:...
, and screenings at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
. Schlattman has called Submitting (produced by Rutger Hauer) "the worst film I've ever made", but it nonetheless went on to win a Silver award at the Houston International Film Festival, a Bronze Award at the Athens International Film Festival, and a Certificate of Merit from the Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
, which were the only festivals entered. Heroic and Furious, two hard to get documentaries about filmmaking behind the scenes of big Hollywood productions, have been shown at the Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor Film Festival
The Ann Arbor Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Ann Arbor in the U.S. state of Michigan. Established in 1963, it is the third-oldest film festival in North America ; and the oldest experimental film festival...
and Wiesbaden Film Festivals, and have the reputation of being very unconventional films in cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
or direct cinema
Direct Cinema
Direct Cinema is a documentary genre that originated between 1958 and 1962 in North America, principally in the Canadian province of Quebec and the United States...
style, which is not what the studios would like to have seen about their films, hence the problem in showing and purchasing them.
Very much a part of the resurgence of independent filmmaking in the early 90's, Schlattman has said that he waited a couple of years with a feature script he wanted to shoot before running into two actors he thought perfect for the part; Thomas Jane
Thomas Jane
Thomas Jane is an American actor known for his roles in the 1999 film Deep Blue Sea, the 2001 TV film 61*, the 2004 film The Punisher and the 2007 Stephen King adaptation The Mist...
, and Aysha Hauer. Schlattman met them through a mutual acquaintance shooting something for a new director and thought they were perfect for the parts of Thomas Pennington and Aysha Almouth in his first feature, At Ground Zero
At Ground Zero
"At Ground Zero" is a 1993 Independent feature film directed and written by Craig Schlattman from an original story. It stars Thomas Jane , and his then wife, Aysha Hauer , as a couple on the run across America to find ‘home’. Also featured in the film are Brian Brophy as Carman, and Schlattman as...
. He picked for his subject marginal characters tied together by love and drugs in an extended traveling family on the road. At Ground Zero
At Ground Zero
"At Ground Zero" is a 1993 Independent feature film directed and written by Craig Schlattman from an original story. It stars Thomas Jane , and his then wife, Aysha Hauer , as a couple on the run across America to find ‘home’. Also featured in the film are Brian Brophy as Carman, and Schlattman as...
premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival to enthusiastic, full houses, and went on an extensive festival run in the US and Europe.
"An impressive debut. With dark, dead-pan humor, experimental visual techniques and solid performances, At Ground ZeroAt Ground Zero"At Ground Zero" is a 1993 Independent feature film directed and written by Craig Schlattman from an original story. It stars Thomas Jane , and his then wife, Aysha Hauer , as a couple on the run across America to find ‘home’. Also featured in the film are Brian Brophy as Carman, and Schlattman as...
is a promising first feature."
Jamie Painter - Film ThreatFilm ThreatFilm Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
.
"Powerful and distinctive. Impressive. ...a raw, edgy tale, shot through with dark humor... Schlattman directs with terrific wit and immediacy. Well acted...winning portrayals."
Kevin Thomas - LA Times.
"Life on the road with a couple of junkies doesn't get much more interesting than in this impressive first feature by Craig Schlattman. This is a small treasure of independent filmmaking."
Matt Langdon - LA WeeklyLA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
.
Schlattman has said that he made mistakes along the way, let too much of the pressure put on him seep out to his actors. "Tom and Aysha are wonderful actors, and worked hard in difficult parts. I loved working with them and I'm sure they will go on to great things." After making the festival circuit, At Ground Zero
At Ground Zero
"At Ground Zero" is a 1993 Independent feature film directed and written by Craig Schlattman from an original story. It stars Thomas Jane , and his then wife, Aysha Hauer , as a couple on the run across America to find ‘home’. Also featured in the film are Brian Brophy as Carman, and Schlattman as...
had a small theatrical release and Schlattman started his second feature, The Seller
The Seller
The Seller is a 1997 Independent feature film written and directed by American director Craig Schlattman. It stars Brian Brophy, Mink Stole, Arthur Roberts, and Kathy Morozova in her first film role.- Plot :...
.
A difficult story about marginal characters, The Seller
The Seller
The Seller is a 1997 Independent feature film written and directed by American director Craig Schlattman. It stars Brian Brophy, Mink Stole, Arthur Roberts, and Kathy Morozova in her first film role.- Plot :...
opened at The Chicago Underground Film Festival
Chicago Underground Film Festival
Chicago Underground Film Festival, founded in 1994, occurs each spring at various venues in Chicago, Illinois in the USA.Over the last 18 years it has become one of the most respected festivals in the USA and is today well attended by critics and programers. The festival's stated goal is "to focus...
to reviews of;
"An astonishing fusion of stark landscape cinematography and wildly compelling close-ups, especially of Brophy as he delivers hypnotic monologues that seem to be about everything and nothing at once and that lay bare his character's internal processes without demystifying them. Schlattman has rarefied emotion instead of breaking it down - his characters are indelible because they retain their mystery even as they let you inside."
Lisa Alspector - Chicago Reader.
and:
"The festival's most gratifying find could be The SellerThe SellerThe Seller is a 1997 Independent feature film written and directed by American director Craig Schlattman. It stars Brian Brophy, Mink Stole, Arthur Roberts, and Kathy Morozova in her first film role.- Plot :...
which deserves a much larger audience. The meandering discussions they have about life, death, dreams and mortality have all the sizzle and wit you could ever hope to find in such a movie."
John Petrakis - Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
.
Unfortunately for audiences, the film had an unpublicized, un-marketed release and did not get "a much larger audience."
Undaunted, Schlattman proceeded to write "Guerrilla Filmmaking 101" articles and post them free on the internet (www.proletariatpictures.com) as a way to give back to filmmaking, and help other filmmakers to a successful completion of their Indie film. He has said "I couldn't get past an agent on the freeway with my scripts - no big stunts, no nudity, just difficult compelling characters. Fat chance you get financing without Nick Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
signed on." He then went on to make Asymmetry, an extremely difficult film praised by those that have seen it, but ignored by the distributors.
Schlattman is seeking financing for a new film about family tragedy and insanity. He is a 2008 recipient of the prestigious Bush Fellowship and is in pre-production on 2 new feature films.
Other work
Schlattman has been teaching classes on filmmaking to college students for the past several years.Filmography
AsymmetryThe Seller
The Seller
The Seller is a 1997 Independent feature film written and directed by American director Craig Schlattman. It stars Brian Brophy, Mink Stole, Arthur Roberts, and Kathy Morozova in her first film role.- Plot :...
(1997)
At Ground Zero
At Ground Zero
"At Ground Zero" is a 1993 Independent feature film directed and written by Craig Schlattman from an original story. It stars Thomas Jane , and his then wife, Aysha Hauer , as a couple on the run across America to find ‘home’. Also featured in the film are Brian Brophy as Carman, and Schlattman as...
(1994)
Short Subjects
"Cap 86" (2009)"Kauai Project" (2010)
Red Lake Diaries (2008)
Heroic (1993)
Furious (1992)
Submitting (1989)
Boat (1987)
Evidence (1987)
Slap (1987)
Bag (1986)
Bike Film (1985)
Honest (1979)
Title (1978)
3 (1977)
Edit (1977)
Fun House (1977)
ID (1977)
Synco (1977)
What? (1976)
External links
- Craig Schlattman at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Proletariat Pictures – official website
- At Ground Zero – official movie website
- The Seller – official movie website
- Asymmetry – official movie website
- Susan Spiritus Gallery – official website
- Athens Film Festival – official website
- Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival – official website
- Chicago International Film Festival – official website
- Ann Arbor Film Festival – official website
- Wiesbaden Film Festivals (now exground filmfest) – official website
- Aysha Hauer at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Quotes on Proletariat Pictures website
- Chicago Reader – the alternative news weekly's website
- Filmography on Proletariat Pictures website
- "Guerrilla Filmmaking 101" – indie filmmaking articles on Proletariat Pictures website