Postcard from filmmaker John Waters, 1987.
From Tape Trading to Global Fame
In 1992, a former Maryland student named Mike Heath moved to San Francisco, taking four VHS copies of Heavy Metal Parking Lot with him. One of the tapes found its way into the music community when musician Bill Bartell became a fan, and often screened it at parties. Mike Dalke, soon to become a roadie for Nirvana, got a dub from Bill and brought it on the band’s tour. Another copy wound up in the hands of Colonel Rob Schaffner of Mondo Video A-Go-Go, a video rental store in Los Angeles that specialized in unusual fare. Mondo became a big booster of the film, renting it to all manner of customers including celebrities, musicians, and filmmakers.
Release form, Palomar Pictures, Sofia Coppola’s production company. June 28, 1994.
First national coverage/interview ever, August 1996, by filmmaker Sarah Jacobson in FilmZone, a website fanzine.
Sarah (1971–2004) was an important champion of indie-filmmaking and DIY culture. The Sarah Jacobson Film Grant gives annual grants to young female directors.
Homemade label for The Films of Jeff Krulik and Friends, Potomac Video, Cleveland Park. Artist: Audrey Robinson.
