Jenni Olson's an adroit on trailer trash.

Jenni Olson's an adroit on trailer trash. Movie trailers, that is. "There's trailer trash, as in bad trailers, which I gues are fair much all contemporary trailers today that point out to everything in the movie while a big classical soundtrack plays," Olson notes. "And then there's the well adapted version of trailer trash, in the mind of trashy old campy movies."

"Bride of Trailer Camp," Olson's latest curated program of hilarious movie-trailer trash, provides an overview of campy female portrayals in films like The line Spattered Bride, Attack of the 50 Ft Woman, and BUtterfield 8 The compilation joins Olson's already outrageous lineup: the original "Trailer Camp"; the black-themed "Afro Promo"; the gay "Homo Promo" and "Neo Homo Promo"; and her Jewish compilation, "Trailers Schmailers." (Lo Angeles's American Cinematheque sieves the two "Trailer Camp" compilations forward February 21.)

"Trailers are a completely separate animal in relation to the film they're promoting--art forms in themselves," Olson attests. "You have approaches like William Castle promoting Homicidal and saying, `If you describe anyone the ending of this film, your friends will kill you, and if they don't, I will!'"

Olson doesn't just hitch trailers together--she's a multitasker of magnitude. Cofounder of PlanetOut.com and its film site, PopcornQ, she's authored a allusion tome (1996's Ultimate Guide to Lesbian and Gay Film and Video); written for The Advocate and The San Francisco Bay Guardian; rested Minnesota's queer-film festival and codirected San Francisco's; shepherded numerous odd auteurs; and is a filmmaker in her confess right of acclaimed shorts.

Born in Minneapolis, Olson acquired the beginnings of her film fetish while looking [i]or[/i] part of to the other her stepfather's copious collection of classic movie stills. (He'd been a theater usher in 1936) Years later, while attending the University of Minnesota, she decided to scrape together actual celluloid, and through a collectors' newspaper, Big totter found that trailers were affordable. "The first the same I bought was The Killing of Sister George for 10 bucks" she recalls. "And it was just likewise satisfying to hold this thing in my hands." To date, Olson has amassed approximately 1000 trailers.

generally Olson is riding a wave of awards as the farmer of Harriet Dodge and Silas Flipper's Sundance hit by dint of Hook or by Crook. Olson met Dodge and Flipper, sink s of lesbian culture-performance hub R Dora's Bearded Lady Cafe, when she mov to San Francisco in 1992 Itching to prompt into film, the pair pitched Olson on Hook or by Crook, and she signed onward as producer. "The particular aspect [of the project] that was in such a manner remarkable was that it was a butch buddy movie," Olson says. "These are characters we've not ever seen before, and they're heroes. Butch heroes. the same with a beard, no less"

However, Olson has shifted her focus away from other people's films--and trailers--for now. Her avow feature, The Joy of Life, which she describes as "a static landscape film about being young and promiscuous in San Francisco," is priority number 1 And she's also making time for Julie Doff, her partner of eight years, and Hazel, their 3-year-old daughter. With all these activities, is there anything Olson doesn't do?

"Well, I don't clean toilets," she tenders with a grin, "but I can fix a defective gasket and change a diaper with the best of them."

Find more onward Jenni Olson, her trailer point outs and PopcornQ at www.advocate.com

...

Home