Selling out is about as anti-punk as you can get, but for the director of cult punk documentary The Decline of Western Civilisation (and Wayne's World, of course) Penelope Spheeris, her foray into Hollywood afforded her a freedom in later life that she could only have dreamed of.
If you haven't seen the Decline trilogy of films about the punk era spanning from 1978 to 1998, you really should. Each documentary focused on different stages of the Los Angeles music scene. The first focused on the early punk scene. Spheeris visited tough clubs and basement rehearsal spaces to capture gritty interview footage and live performances from bands like Black Flag and Circle Jerks. The second looked at the metal years, while the third featured homeless ‘gutterpunk’ kids.
For many years Penelope refused to sell the rights for distribution. Only a few original VHS copies of the film sold for hundreds of dollars online. Punk fans spoke reverentially about the trilogy, though few got the chance to see them. When the first ‘Decline’ film was screened in Los Angeles it caused a riot, which only added to the myth.
At long last, the trilogy is to be reissued at the end of this month.
Speaking to Tom, Penelope recalled filming Decline One. "Sometimes people say the way the film was cut made it look more violent than it was, but honestly, I don't think I did that.
"It was a dangerous situation. When we started filming the cameraman said if you're gonna have me shoot anymore you'll have to get me a shark cage.
"It was jaw-dropping but I loved it too. I came from a pretty difficult upbringing - I had seven step-fathers and it was a violent household - so when I saw the punk scene I could totally relate to it.
Penelope went on to make Decline II - an examination of the metal scene featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper. Shortly after she was offered to direct Wayne’s World, a job that changed her life financially.
"I can't regret doing a goofy movie about heavy metal - and I have to admit it is - but for the most part I have to thank the Lord that I was actually able to make a living after that. I was 45 years old and I was borrowing money from my sister trying to pay the rent. Then I got Wayne’s World and I was a millionaire overnight.
"It was totally dramatic. I didn’t know how to handle it. I was some white chick from a trailer park and I was like uh I don't know what to do with all this money, I still don't 'cause in my brain I’m still poor."
Wayne’s World made more than $120 million at the box office, and suddenly Penelope found that the movie bosses were only interested in her work as long as she made comedies.
"I sold out, let's face it"
"I didn’t want to do them, but they started offering me more and more money. They don’t do that now. They get some kids out of school and pay them nothing. But they were offering me all this money to do The Beverly Hillbillies and The Little Rascals and I thought if I can’t do what I want to do, I might as well make some money. So I did. I sold out. Let’s face it."
However, Penelope used her money to make the film most important to her, Decline III.
She described to Tom how it came about. “One day I was driving down this hip street in LA, Melrose, and I saw this pack of kids walking along and they looked like they’d just stepped out of ‘Decline I’. I walked up to them and said I wanted to make a third Decline film and asked if they would help. They said you can't do that, Penelope has to do it. I said, well I am Penelope. And they said fine, then lets do it.
"We proceeded to make that movie and I thought it was going to be about that new round of punk rock but really what it turned out to be was all about homeless kids and I have to tell you that movie changed my life, I became a foster parent. After I did that movie I stepped away from Hollywood because all of sudden I realised what was important in life, and what was more important was helping people."
Listen to the full interview below
The Decline of Western Civilization DVD and Blu-ray box set is out on 31 August.
