American Movie (1999) - October 18, 2022

[ak4984]

Originally Posted by ak4984

Excited to see how this looks in HD…finally!!

I’ve met with Mark numerous times in the Milwaukee area and I can say he’s one of the nicest, most sincere guys you’ll ever meet. I can tell you first hand that his personality and quirks from this movie are legit and sincere. It’s the real deal.

I actually went to the same school for film (Wisconsin-Milwaukee) that Mark edits Coven in. I used the exact same equipment (moviola, splicers etc) that are seen in this movie.

Later in film school, I was able to write for our campus paper and secured an interview with him to discuss some of his acting roles. It turned into a 3 hour conversation BSing about movies and life. His stories and enthusiasm were amazing.

Quick update. A couple weekend's ago, I ran into Mark at a Christmas Parade (of all places) just outside of Milwaukee. As always, he was super friendly and engaging. I had to jog his memory a bit, but he seemed to remember me from our previous encounters. We talked at length about numerous topics (movies, family, Milwaukee). There were a few things that stuck out.

Apparently he hadn't been as close with Mike Shank in recent years. He did attend his funeral/wake, but from what I could tell, they grew apart over the years. Same thing when I mentioned some of the other guys from the documentary (Ken Keen for example).

I mentioned the new American Movie blu ray and he seemed to have no idea it had come out and obviously wasn't approached to participate in any new extras. He does own all rights to COVEN, but it sounds like Sony didn't approach him to include it on the new blu ray. He made jokes about getting lawyers involved if that was to happen.

His dad passed away about 10 years ago. I think he kept close with him. I remember running into both he and his dad outside a local bookstore maybe around 2010-11 or so. His Dad was super sweet. His mom is still alive.

I had always assumed that he grew up in the Menomonee Falls suburb (as depicted in the doc) but apparently this wasn't true. He grew up/lived in Milwaukee (city) his whole life.

Surprisingly, we exchanged phone numbers! My work office is fairly close to his home and I mentioned being able to keep in touch and he actually asked for my number first!

Mark is such a good, genuine guy. As I've said before, what you see in the documentary, is exactly who he is. He exchanged pleasantries with my wife and kids as well. I got a good photo with him that I will try to upload here if I can figure out how to do it, lol!