MacLaren & Meyer & Rotten & Vicious & Me - by Roger Ebert
 

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010...vicious_m.html

Roger Ebert discusses his involvement in 77 with Russ Meyer and Malcolm MacLaren and Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten while trying to film a movie with the Sex Pistols.

Roger Ebert is the worst. He gave Kick-Ass 1 star.

did you see why?
he does not like seeing an 11 year old girl murdering people, and he did not find it to fit with the cynical advertising gimmicks they are using to try and sell it as some sort of kids-try-to-ape-ninja-turtles flick.
it is one man's opinion. Ebert is always good for a read. I do not agree with him on some movie reviews, but he explains himself in a way that lets me know what the movie is really about. sometimes he hates flicks but the way he describes them make sme think I will like them. that is a GOOD critic.

the story I posted is great though man.

I fucking love Ebert's writing even though I don't think I've ever read one of his film reviews.
Read this piece the other day, quality stuff - "I don't think me Mum will like the part about the heroin." :)

Yeah I dug it.

This sums up why I read Ebert pretty well. I often disagree with him. But at least I feel he's serious about whatever he's reviewing, and justifies what he says in an interesting/well written way that actually conveys something of the tone of the movie...

Much thanks, Mr. Instigator.

ebrt wrote Beyond The Valley of The Dolls. that is allllllright

I think the character Seaman in BTVD is Ebert's alter ego.....

Anyone read the chapter about MacLaren on ''Rip It Up And Start Again'' by Simon Reynolds? I had always thought he was a wanker and after reading that I did even more. The guy was in many ways an enemy of musicians, this nonsense about him starting punk is the fabrication of people with short memories who aged very badly.

Indeed. I'm amazed how civil the reaction has been.

He didn't start punk, no. No one single person can truly be given that credit. But to say he didn't shape it would be false.

Malcolm did a lot to bring in the controversial aspects, I think. This likely includes his claims at "starting punk". It keeps things interesting.

If there is one thing that can make rock music grow boring at an incredibly fast rate, it's trying to keep things brutally honest. Controversy and myth have their place. I thank Malcolm for realizing this.

Other than that, fuck 'em. ha

if there is one thing Malcolm and Vivienne westwood did is really define PUNK visually. for good or ill.

I don't think anyone would argue that MacLaren wasn't a scumbag but he got things done, courted controversy and had a bit of wit and imagination about him. Pop music could probably benefit from a few more MacLarens right now, in my opinion. I wouldn't have employed him as a babysitter though.

I absolutely agree

Yeah, he'd be another Simon Cowell.

except you don't really believe that

Yeah, while I don't always agree with his reviews he's one of the only movie critics left that I find consistantly worth reading. (J. Hoberman for the Village Voice and Philip French for The Guardian being two others.) Ebert's early reviews are amazing. I think he's getting too conservative now but never at the expense of being interesting.

His scrips for Meyer back in the 70s (which included Up! and Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens as well as the already mentioned Beyond the Valley of the Dolls) are also really great.

I need to own a movie theater so I can have a Russ Myers appreciation festival.

I suppose the criticism there is that they basically commodified it. The thing is, I really don't think that hurt anything. 'Underground' punk was still able to survive in the background while more commercial genres like heavy metal, that were exposed to the more commercial end of punk, also made quite positive efforts to rethink themselves in response, hence the emergence of bands like Iron Maiden and the whole NWOBHM thing in general. MacLaren was a spark for some very talented people like Lydon and Westwood who, had they not made the connection, I suspect may not have amounted to all that much in comparison. Even if the full extent of their talent never really came through until after they'd parted company with McLaren.