By
James
Latham
Among the several
short films we’re screening this year is Public
Museum, a comedy
about a smug and jaded museum curator who’s been downsized. Dropped from a
prestigious big city museum of natural history due to an exhibit he did on
lesbian lizards, he finds himself in a “transitional job” at an oddball natural
history museum somewhere in small-town middle America. Seeking to revive his
career, he must confront an embarrassingly bizarre museum collection, an
eccentric staff, and his own pomposity and fear of failure.
George Bradshaw wrote and directed Public Museum, and I wanted to talk with
him about the film and some related issues, including his career in marketing
and advertising. George has had over fifteen years of experience working as a
Creative Director specializing in entertainment, fashion, and sports. Public Museum is his first film.
James Latham: You’ve screened Public Museum at some other festivals, including Cannes’ Short Film
Corner, and are now developing
a feature-length version as well as a documentary on the contemporary
democratization of art. But your
professional background is in marketing / advertising. What motivated you to go
into filmmaking, and how has your background helped or challenged you in that
process?
George Bradshaw: Initially, what
motivated me to go into filmmaking was watching Star Wars at a drive-in from the hood of my parents’ car in 1977. The wish of someday working with / for George
Lucas is also why I went to graduate school at Pratt Institute for my MFA in
Computer Graphics. I guess you could say
I owe a lot of inspiration to the other “George.” In the end, I chose a different path as a
Creative Director on Park Avenue in the marketing world. It was a great way to cut my teeth as a “big
idea” generator, copywriter and business person, as well as the director of a
group of talented creative people…all transferrable skills to filmmaking.
JL: Is this a career
change for you, or are you keeping the day job and adding filmmaking to your professional
repertoire?
GB: I currently divide my time evenly between being a creative
director, filmmaker and songwriter. I
have so many creative ideas that I perpetually feel like I am running out of
time. At this moment, specifically, I am
doubly focused on the film side because I am very proud of Public Museum and hope to bring joy to people by showing it.
JL: It’s a little
simple to say, but Public Museum sort
of mixes aspects of Night at the Museum
with Fargo. What inspired you to do
this particular film? Have you or your
colleagues on the film worked much in museums, or lived in small-town America?
GB: Firstly, I am humbled to be in the same sentence as those
two terrific films. Thank you. The initial inspiration for Public Museum came from an art installation in Grand Rapids, MI
called Michigan: Land of Riches, the
great film This is Spinal Tap (obviously)
and my own life as a New Yorker who moves to the mid-west. My brief experience working in an actual
museum was an internship at The Cape Ann Historical Association in Gloucester,
MA, which is a terrific little museum. But
I did grow up in a family of artists and musicians in a small-town, and then spent
many years in the Big Apple, so I have always been surrounded by art and
culture. I can’t tell you how many times
I had to sing and/or play my guitar in front my whole family at Christmas! Fortunately, I had my brother Robert Bradshaw to commiserate with, who
has since gone on to become one of the world’s most recognizable living
classical composers. He was gracious enough to do the music for Public Museum. Isn’t nepotism great?!
JL: It can be.
Did you get to film in an actual museum?
GB: We had the generous support of the Grand Rapids Public Museum, who
granted access to their former headquarters – a historic Art-Moderne, WPA-era building – for our location. The building
is extraordinary and added to Public Museum’s authenticity. It also became
another very interesting character in the piece.
JL: For the main
character in Public Museum, his new
job is a personal and professional hell. But there are in fact advantages to working in
small, obscure places. For instance, it can give you freedom to experiment and grow
yourself and the organization without all the pressures, bureaucracy, and
politics of a big institution. What’s your experience been with the merits of
working in small and obscure vs. big and famous?
GB: That’s a difficult question. There are merits and
challenges to both. The philosopher Confucius said, “Choose a job you love and you will
never have to work a day in your life.” Nice
work if you can get it. Our main
character, Spencer Cheese, would probably say that he prefers “big and famous”
companies over “small and obscure” ones for the remuneration, growth and networking opportunities – none of
which he has in his new job at Public
Museum. I have been fortunate to have
the opportunity to work with huge, global clients during my days as an
Executive Creative Director in a Park Avenue ad agency. I
have been equally fortunate to juxtapose this experience with my newer
experience working on short films and documentaries. Both provide fulfillment
and enrichment for different reasons.
JL: You screened the
film at the Short
Film Corner organized by the Festival de Cannes. How does your
experience there compare to the other festivals you've done?
GB: It was truly an honor to be a part of Cannes in a small
way. The Short Film Corner is a professional area not in competition. Public Museum has also screened at the
Grand Rapids Film Festival, and we are very excited to be a part of The Valley
Film Festival, too. It is a privilege to
screen at every festival because there are so many talented filmmakers making
movies. The good news is that there are a
lot of festivals to choose from and advantages to screening at both small and
large. One might attract bigger names. The other might be friendlier and more
approachable. I have only attended a few
festivals, so I am by no means an expert, but every festival that I have taken
part in has been run by a supportive community championing the art of
filmmaking. The trick is to make a good movie and get in.
Another
notable festival in which I have participated is the Nantucket Film Festival,
which was an amazing experience. My
writing partner, Stephen Garvey, and I wrote a script called 9/11 Kevin that was honored with a
staged reading in 2005. We are currently
working with Jace Alexander, Tom Cavanagh, Jim Gaffigan and their excellent
teams to bring it to the big screen.
JL: Are you planning
to expand Public Museum into a
feature?
GB: I have a feature
version idea that I am very excited about. Hopefully, someone in the movie biz will see
the possibilities in Public Museum (the
great Paul Feig, are you out
there?) and reach out. But as Rick Page
says, “hope is not a strategy,” so I am going to work really, really, really
hard, too.
JL: I worked for
several years at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, first as an intern and
then a gallery lecturer, and can say that your film does capture some of the
oddities of museum culture. But there
are a lot more character types, issues, and situations that you could
potentially mine for laughs. Any ideas for doing that?
GB: I think that Spencer
would join a Klezmer band that
plays all Beatle covers called The Maccabeatles. Just kidding! We have created a funny and interesting sandbox
with Public Museum and I would
welcome the chance to play in it for 90 minutes. There are a million ways to go
because the museum world is so unique and ripe for parody. That said, it is
also an incredibly relatable world because we have all had to negotiate the
political waters of a job we hate at some moment in our careers. This is
Spencer’s moment.
JL: Tell us about the
documentary you’re developing on the contemporary democratization of art. What issues are you addressing? What’s your POV?
GB: This is a passion
project of mine that will ask the question, “What is the public’s role in art?”
I am sure that if Spencer was asked, he would
turn up his nose and snap, “None at all!” Coming from the point-of-view of an
artist who wants people to experience and enjoy his work as much as possible, however,
I’d have to disagree with him…respectfully, of course.
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