Independent ‘King of New York’
Filmmaker Abel Ferrara talks to the Chronicle during his visit to Columbia

Courtesy of the David Leonardis Gallery One of two portaits of director Abel Ferrara, by Walter A. Fydryck, who made them by fusing acrylic into plexiglass, then mounting it over a color-penciled, ink-washed photo paper. It was recently sold through the David Leonardis Gallery, 1346 N. Paulina St.

By Michael Hirtzer
A&E Editor

During a screening of King of New York about a month ago in the Ludington Building’s third floor theater, someone shouted “the director’s in the house” just as the film’s main character and anti-hero Frank White shot and killed an old school mafioso without even blinking.

It was a definitive moment both because King of New York is an independent classic made to be digested and dissected by film students and because the director, Abel Ferrara, was in fact in the house.

He was upstairs in a sixth floor conference room lying on the floor. And when he did rise from his slumber for a brief—and exclusive—interview, he could barely keep his eyes open. However, he did make for a compelling interview, aside from his clamorous entourage, which included local artist Walter A. Fydryck, gallery owner David Leonardis and young filmmaker Mark Finney, who were nonetheless interesting as well.

While they, mainly Leonardi, caused a commotion and struggled to open bottles of Heineken, Ferrara quietly answered questions and sipped a Budweiser. He said the fanaticism surrounding King of New York is over-the-top. “To me, King of New York is a movie. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of people out there that [believe] King of New York is not just a movie,” he said.

Michael Hirtzer/Chronicle Abel Ferrara (center) poses with his entourage, including filmmaker Mark Finney (near right) and Walter A. Fydryck (behind Ferrara).

Not to be confused with Gangs of New York, Martin Scorsese’s drama about an 1800s gang, King of New York is the story of Frank White, an organized crime lord played by Christopher Walken. Upon his release from prison at the beginning of the film, White proceeds to take over New York, conquering both the Italians and the Colombian drug cartels.

The film is one of Ferrara’s most popular films. It rivals Scarface in its name-checks in rap songs. It was also men-tioned in several Gangs of New York film reviews and is considered a definitive New York film, as it captures both the grit and glamour of the city.

Ferrara is an independent filmmaker more by default than by choice, although his overall look and demeanor contribute to his independent mystique; on that cold night in January, Ferrara wore a black stocking cap over his scraggly gray hair and windbreaker under his black leather coat. His voice recalls that of Marlon Brando’s Don Vito Corleone—soft-spoken and scratchy, with a New York accent.

Nearly all of Ferrara’s films contain gratuitous nudity and are glaringly violent. They are rarely shown in theaters (his latest ’R Xmas opened only in New York and Los Angeles) and when they arrive in video stores like Blockbuster, they’re often censored.

Funding films has consistently been a battle, Ferrara said. The characters he portrays on film can serve as metaphors of filmmakers. “It’s a sense of independent power that one has ability to step up and take control of his life in a big time way,” he said.

Ferrara has maintained this mentality since the mid-1970s when he started shooting Super 8 films. “We were just bad guitar players who became filmmakers,” Ferrara said. “It was just a matter of will. It was something we wanted to do.”

Ferrara has never had what one would call “mainstream success.” However several of his films, such as The Funeral, his remake of Body Snatchers and his two collaborations with the late
Zoë Lund, Ms. 45 and Bad Lieutenant, achieved cult-like followings.

When asked what he thinks of the state of independent filmmaking, Ferrara said: “I’m thinking as optimistically as I can think. You say [Columbia] is one of the biggest independent film schools in the world and then there’s like three guys who made it in the business, that says everything there is to say. Nobody’s waiting with open arms, saying ‘Let me see your film.’

“I mean it’s not what I think of it, I am it,” Ferrara added, “So I can’t think about it. I’m just trying to earn it. I’m just trying to keep making films.”

It would seem like the 50-year-old Ferrara would have given up by now, but he presses on. Fydryck, an artist about Ferrara’s age who painted two portraits of him, said “Abel is a realistic person. He really applies himself to what he’s doing.”

Patience and realism are definitely key qualities in the hurry-up-and-wait world of filmmaking, especially for Ferrara, who currently has three projects in the works: a prequel to King of New York, a film about Mary Magdalene and a film called Go-Go Tales, which the young filmmaker, Mark Finney, said will make “‘The Sopranos’ look like a f---ing Nextel commercial.”

Ferrara said he doesn’t think about how his movies will be censored—and they will be censored—while he’s filming.

“If you’re already thinking you’re being restricted, they’ve already got you. We’ll shoot something; I’ll know how to edit it. At this point, we’ve done it so many times,” Ferrara said. “You know they want to tell me ‘your film has the mood of an [X-rated movie]’ because they can’t say specifically what shots they want taken out. A mood of an ‘X’ are you kidding me? How are you going to edit out the mood of an ‘X’? Tell me the exact shots you want out, we’ll take out. We make two versions anyway.”

Finney, who is now working on a film in Los Angeles, said that’s typical of movie industry jargon.

“I did a film with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Parker Posey and I come back to town and my agent calls,” Finney said. “He’s like—and if this is not the epitome of a Hollywood term—‘the film is temporarily indefinitely put on hold.’ How is something indefinite and temporary?”

Regardless, Ferrara and company will continue to churn out edgy films. He’s used to the initial public outcry. His masterpiece, King of New York, got laughed off the screen when it premiered at the New York Film Fest, Ferrara said, adding that New Jack City, a film with a strikingly similar story, won accolades only a few months later.

Paula Froehle, a short form and found footage instructor in Columbia’s Film Department, organized the screening and Q-and-A that followed. She said, “I think Abel Ferrara as a filmmaker is really quite brilliant,” adding “He’s not a traditional Hollywood filmmaker.”

For a full transcript of the Abel Ferrara interview click here.