Penelope Spheeris — Actor (6)

Movie

The Kid & I (2005)
The Kid & I WikiData IMDb TMDB
other title: 小孩和我 / 孩子和我
Aaron Roman is a teenager with cerebral palsy who dreams of starring in a big-time action movie. When his father grants Aaron his wish for his eighteenth birthday, he experiences the reality a bit hard to manage.

Movie

Half the Picture (2018)
Half the Picture WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
艾米·埃雀恩 actor: 艾娃·德约列 / 吉尔·索洛韦 …
other title: 图片的一半 / 半壁江山
It’s 2018—the necessity of discussions surrounding women filmmakers and Hollywood’s gender bias should have diminished by now. But within the first few moments of Half the Picture, it is abundantly clear that discrimination against women filmmakers remains a highly relevant story. This is a fundamental civil rights issue: women in the industry are not offered equal opportunities as compared to their male counterparts. Gender-parity experts and academics discuss Hollywood’s dismal employment practices, and these conversations are woven between interviews with a wealth of prominent women directors (including Kasi Lemmons, Catherine Hardwicke, Penelope Spheeris, Ava DuVernay, and many others), telling their stories of breaking into a male-centered business. They confirm the double standards that still exist while eloquently outlining their career paths, their struggles, and their hopes for the future. First-time director Amy Adrion smartly deals with the inherent sexism in the industry and considers many of the stereotypes and biases that have prevented women from rising through the ranks. Amid the current political climate and recent cascade of sexual harassment allegations, the time to listen and act is now.

Movie

The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
The Decline of Western Civilization WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
★ 7.6 5 ratings
other title: 西方文明的衰落 / 서구 문명의 몰락 …
Unavailable on home video for many years (except perhaps as a grainy, nth-generation VHS bootleg), Penelope Spheeris' seminal document of the young 1979-1980 Los Angeles punk scene includes chaotic live performances by now-legendary groups like Black Flag (with short-lived lead singer Ron "Chavo Pederast" Reyes), X (giving themselves stick-and-poke tattoos) and the Germs (whose unpredictable lead singer Darby Crash would commit suicide before the film's release) interwoven with talking-head interviews with teenage punks and, most entertainingly, older club owners trying very hard to describe a growing form of music they were clearly unprepared for. The footage of Fear's confrontational set would later grab the attention of John Belushi, who snagged the band a 1981 appearance on Saturday Night Live (and resulted in $20,000 in damage to the studio). - Tom Fritsche