Damon Packard
Encyclopedia
Damon Packard is an underground
American
film director
and actor
. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California
.
, Packard's mother actress Frances Pollock, was the daughter of long-time trade union
leader Sam Pollock
.
efforts included The Afterlife and Amazing Stories (1982–84), starring his friend/collaborator Paul Trainor, son of producer/casting director Chris Trainor, who was partners with Miles O'Keeffe
known for films such as Ator
, The Blade Master, and Lone Runner. His first notable effort was Dawn of an Evil Millennium (1988) which he partly produced as a 30 minute short for a film class and featured Miles O'Keeffe in small role. This was followed by other shorts such as Apple (1992), an elfquest-inspired fantasy film made in Hawaii while living in a tent for two years. In 1999, he made The Early 70's Horror Trailer, which included an early appearance by independent film actress Rachel Galvin.
After struggling for years to complete films out of pocket, living in cars and tents, Packard received a large inheritance when a relative died. He spent the inheritance on Reflections of Evil (2002), a long treatise on contemporary American paranoia
. The film featured Packard himself as an obese, overwrought watch salesman. Packard pressed 23,000 DVD
copies of the film and made them available for free. He also sent thousands of them to celebrities, whose reactions were recorded on his website. In the January/February 2006 issue of Film Comment, Reflections of Evil made the Editor's List for Best of 2005.
His Reflections spoof of a young Steven Spielberg, a director he claimed to admire, was matched by his later assault on George Lucas
in Packard's film The Untitled Star Wars Mockumentary (2003). The film intercut
actual footage of Lucas with staged shots of disgruntled Lucasfilm
employees.
Packard remains relatively obscure to the public, He is known for his sharp and highly pessimistic view of the movie business, often commenting on how directors have no control of their work and that artistic vision is sacrificed for profit. He also claims that creativity in film largely vanished after the end of the 1970s. Nevertheless, Packard says he admires the recent work of Lars Von Trier
and Alexander Sokurov
among others.
In May 2007, Packard completed SpaceDisco One. SpaceDisco One was screened at the New York Film Festival on October 6, 2007 and was also selected for the Hollywood Film Festival, The Lausanne Fest Switzerland, Lincoln Film Center NY, Berkeley Fest, Tulsa Overground, The Dark Room San Francisco, Il Corral L.A., Union Gallery London, and many other through 2007.
Packard completed his latest, Tales of the Valley of the Wind based on Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. At press time, the film was screened at the 2009 Antimatter Fest in Victoria BC in addition to a 4 week week show at Union Gallery in London.
In 2011, Packard began work on his long-gestating feature Foxfur, about a young girl involved with aliens from the Billy Meier
contacts.
Underground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre, or financing.-Definition and history:The first use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, "Underground Films." Farber uses it to refer to the work of...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Early life
Born in Akron, OhioAkron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, Packard's mother actress Frances Pollock, was the daughter of long-time trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
leader Sam Pollock
Sam Pollock (labor leader)
Samuel "Sam" Pollock was an American labor union activist and leader. He helped lead two important strikes in 1934, the Auto-Lite Strike and the Hardin County onion pickers strike, before becoming district president of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America.-Personal...
.
Career
Packard first became seriously involved with film at the age of 11. Packard spent his teens and twenties working on experimental shorts while supporting himself variously as a movie theater usher, security specialist and wrist-watch salesman. His early Super 8Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film is a motion picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format....
efforts included The Afterlife and Amazing Stories (1982–84), starring his friend/collaborator Paul Trainor, son of producer/casting director Chris Trainor, who was partners with Miles O'Keeffe
Miles O'Keeffe
Miles O'Keeffe is a television and movie actor. O'Keeffe got his first big break playing the title role in the 1981 version of Tarzan, the Ape Man.-Early life:...
known for films such as Ator
Ator l'invincible
Ator l'invincibile is a 1982 Italian film directed by Joe d'Amato, and the first film to feature the character Ator . It is a mockbuster of the film Conan the Barbarian, which was released in the same year.-Plot:As the film opens, Ator asks his father for permission to marry his sister...
, The Blade Master, and Lone Runner. His first notable effort was Dawn of an Evil Millennium (1988) which he partly produced as a 30 minute short for a film class and featured Miles O'Keeffe in small role. This was followed by other shorts such as Apple (1992), an elfquest-inspired fantasy film made in Hawaii while living in a tent for two years. In 1999, he made The Early 70's Horror Trailer, which included an early appearance by independent film actress Rachel Galvin.
After struggling for years to complete films out of pocket, living in cars and tents, Packard received a large inheritance when a relative died. He spent the inheritance on Reflections of Evil (2002), a long treatise on contemporary American paranoia
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
. The film featured Packard himself as an obese, overwrought watch salesman. Packard pressed 23,000 DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
copies of the film and made them available for free. He also sent thousands of them to celebrities, whose reactions were recorded on his website. In the January/February 2006 issue of Film Comment, Reflections of Evil made the Editor's List for Best of 2005.
His Reflections spoof of a young Steven Spielberg, a director he claimed to admire, was matched by his later assault on George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
in Packard's film The Untitled Star Wars Mockumentary (2003). The film intercut
Film editing
Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
actual footage of Lucas with staged shots of disgruntled Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
employees.
Packard remains relatively obscure to the public, He is known for his sharp and highly pessimistic view of the movie business, often commenting on how directors have no control of their work and that artistic vision is sacrificed for profit. He also claims that creativity in film largely vanished after the end of the 1970s. Nevertheless, Packard says he admires the recent work of Lars Von Trier
Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion....
and Alexander Sokurov
Alexander Sokurov
Alexander Nikolayevich Sokurov is a Russian filmmaker. His most significant works include a semi-documentary, Russian Ark , filmed in a single unedited shot, and Faust , which was honoured with the Golden Lion, the highest prize for the best film at the Venice Film Festival.- Life and work...
among others.
In May 2007, Packard completed SpaceDisco One. SpaceDisco One was screened at the New York Film Festival on October 6, 2007 and was also selected for the Hollywood Film Festival, The Lausanne Fest Switzerland, Lincoln Film Center NY, Berkeley Fest, Tulsa Overground, The Dark Room San Francisco, Il Corral L.A., Union Gallery London, and many other through 2007.
Packard completed his latest, Tales of the Valley of the Wind based on Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. At press time, the film was screened at the 2009 Antimatter Fest in Victoria BC in addition to a 4 week week show at Union Gallery in London.
In 2011, Packard began work on his long-gestating feature Foxfur, about a young girl involved with aliens from the Billy Meier
Billy Meier
"Billy" Eduard Albert Meier is a citizen of Switzerland who claims to be a UFO contactee and prophet. He is also the source of many controversial UFO photographs, which he states are evidence of his encounters...
contacts.
Actor
- Dawn of an Evil Millennium (1988)
- Reflections of Evil (2002)
- Mock Up on Mu (2008)
- Dozers (2008)
- Hallelujah! Gorilla Revival (2008) (watch)
- The Theatre BizarreThe Theatre BizarreThe Theatre Bizaree is a 2011 horror anthology film. The six segments are directed by Douglas Buck, Buddy Giovinazzo, David Gregory, Karim Hussain, Tom Savini and Richard Stanley.-Cast:*James Gill as Donnie*Kaniehtiio Horn as The Writer...
(2011)
Director
- Amazing Stories (1983)
- The Afterlife (1984)
- Dawn of an Evil Millennium (1988)
- Apple (1995)
- The Early 70's Horror Trailer (1999)
- The Untitled Star Wars Mockumentary (2003)
- Reflections of Evil (2002)
- Lost in the Thinking (2005)
- SpaceDisco One (2007)
- Tales of the Valley of the Wind (2009)
- Foxfur (2011)
External links
- Mondo Bizarro Filmmaker Damon Packard on Hollywood Investigator