Screentime: Lance Crayon Talks About "Spray Paint Beijing"
A video producer for China Daily by day, Lance Crayon spent his nights with some of Beijing's top graffiti artists to create Spray Paint Beijing, his first documentary. We asked him for his take on some other movies and TV shows.
Which character from a TV show/movie reminds you the most of you?
I identify with Roger Sterling (John Slattery) from the television drama Mad Men, but I could never write a book about my accomplishments because I don’t have any. I like how cynical Sterling is but yet he still knows how to be a human being when it counts.
What TV show or movie did you have to be coerced into watching but now readily admit that you love?
I didn’t think I’d enjoy 24 Hour Party People, but it’s a strong film whether or not you like the music. Great characters, dialogue and acting, and a fun ride of a story about surviving in the music world.
Is there a movie soundtrack or score that you use to get yourself into a certain mood?
I love the score from Walker (1987). I like to listen to it before I take a big trip somewhere. I think it’s one of the greatest film scores ever. It was composed by my personal hero Joe Strummer. I also like listening to it while driving.
What movie do you refuse to watch on principle?
I feel certain I would not enjoy the film Once (2006). Two unemployed Irish emo-freaks singing to one another for 85 minutes? No thank you. Films about love and people falling in love make me sick.
If you could only watch the films of one musician-turned-actor, whose would it be?
Lee Ving, the lead singer of the punk band FEAR, is a very good actor. I’ll watch anything he’s in.
What is the slowest paced movie you still enjoyed?
Andrei Rublev by Andrei Tarkovsky is very slow and beautiful and precise and everything.
What’s the last movie that made you cry?
The documentary Fortune Teller by Xu Tong didn’t make me cry, but I did get choked up, and that’s saying a lot.
What’s the finest breakout performance you can remember?
Peter Greene in Laws of Gravity (1992) is mesmerizing. He gives a powerhouse of a performance all the way through. He’s one of my favorite American actors to emerge from the 1990s.
Are you a re-watcher of films? Why or why not?
I have to watch films over and over again because I’m not that smart, and I really like watching films.
Is there a particular movie theatre that you have a sentimental attachment to?
The Daguanlou movie theatre in Beijing’s Qianmen district is one of the oldest movie theatres in the world. I go there on occasion just to hang out and smoke cigarettes. There’s a small museum on the first floor that has a few old projectors and photos from the first film ever made in China.
See Spray Painting China Friday night (May 9) at Modern MOMA, as part of SURGE Art Beijing. You can read more from Lance back when we interviewed him in 2012 here.
Photo: Lance Crayon
