New Films From Underground Artist Mike Z

He’s filmed homeless snuff, deathbed confessions, presidential leaks, anarchist instructionals, and even acted in one where he severs his family jewels on-camera and mails them to his boss - all fake.

And Mike Z is at it again.

The first, a short entitled FOCUS GROUP, world premiered at the Austin Underground Film Festival in May ‘06 unannounced and sans credits, resulting in much consternation and speculation. It was then released on YouTube, with the following synopsis: “My uncle Raymond Estaver suffered a stroke while he was participating in a focus group last May. This tape was acquired as part of the trial discovery. We lost the suit but this is what happened.” The film consists of an overhead shot of a man at a meeting as he polls several members of a focus group about their gut reactions to certain terrorist scenarios, such as a “nuclear bomb going off in Disneyland,” and executive contingencies, like making it illegal for the press to publish anything critical of the government’s actions in times of such crises. He also tests out various anti-terrorist slogans on the group, until one of the people, who has been fidgeting uncomfortably the whole time, keels over off his chair and the meeting is understandably adjourned. The film caught the attention of Infowars.com, the website of imminent conspiracy theorist/documentarian Alex Jones, which struggled to determine its authorship, and has been viewed over eleven thousand times on YouTube with users debating its authenticity as well as its contents. It is, of course, a hoax, albeit a carefully orchestrated one, and it is in this where Z’s talent lies. For in provoking viewers, he is able to focus a spotlight on subjects that an ordinary indie film with no money or stars would probably not otherwise attract, and in all likelihood would not have the guts to tackle. Incidentally, the main speaking part in FOCUS GROUP is played by one Ze Frank, whose daily podcast has since caught the attention of Hollywood. Mike has worked with other notables, such as Wayne Gurman (who also directed 2006’s highly enjoyable BOTTOM FEEDER), but this may be the first instance where one of his actors has gone on to be a star.

And now, for something completely different.

Mike’s other effort, THE WALT GOLLENDER STORY (2007), is a change of style for him, in that it’s a straightforward narrative documentary. And it demonstrates, among other things, that he’s equally adept at more traditional formats. The eponymous subject of the hour-long film may be most simply described as Man With The Worst Luck In The Music Industry. This would be doing him somewhat of a disservice, however, by reducing his fascinating tale of brushes with near-fame and almost-success as he attempts to make it as a producer in a cutthroat field. Whether it was writing pop songs that were then made famous by other musicians’ covers, or getting no love (or money) back from the acts he helped to launch, Walt Gollender couldn’t catch a break to save his life. As the stories mount, a potential theme emerges: the guy might just be plumb too nice to make it in American music. When a man like this fails, it’s certainly a sad comment on the behind-the-scenes workings of a job most of us take for granted. Mike Z can clearly relate to a fellow artist working on the fringes of an industry he loves, but with a love which, as of yet, remains unrequited. The only question is, where will he strike next?

-Andy Gately, October 2007