Jeff Krulik

Jeff Krulik is a director of independent films and a former Discovery Channel producer.

Krulik's work frequently explores the fringes of popular culture from an enthusiastic and appreciative point of view.

With warmth and humor, he crafts cinema verite portraits of super-fans, quasi-celebrities and ordinary folk in extraordinary times.

Biography

He is best known for his 1986 documentary "Heavy Metal Parking Lot," co-produced by John Heyn, a gently disturbing (but, for the most part, fun-loving) look into hard-rock fandom recorded at the Capital Centre parking lot in Landover, Maryland, before a Judas Priest concert. Most of the fans appear drunken and drugged, with "bare feet, muscle shirts, bare-chested, bleach blonde frizzy perms, mullets from hell, big hair, bad teeth, scar tissue, and by far the largest collection of late '70s Camaros ever seen in one location." [http://hmpl.home.att.net/about/about.html] Cult director John Waters said of the film, "It gave me the creeps." [http://hmpl.home.att.net/about/reviews.html]

"Heavy Metal Parking Lot," for a decade or more, circulated through word-of-mouth, via the internet and on second-to-nth-generation bootlegged copies. A 20th-anniversary DVD edition with sequels, outtakes, where-are-they-now bonus footage and other inspirations is now available for sale. [http://www.planetkrulik.com Planet Krulik (official website)]

In his first professional position, Krulik served as the Metrovision public access channel coordinator for the southern portion of Prince Georges County, Maryland, a community that has inspired several of his films, including "Public Access Gibberish" (1990), a "greatest hits" montage of the most bizarre acts during his tenure at the cable access channel. Other films are "Neil Diamond Parking Lot" (1996), about the fans before a Neil Diamond concert at the same stadium as "Heavy Metal Parking Lot", one decade later; and "Ernest Borgnine On the Bus" (1997), a documentary about actor Ernest Borgnine, his son and his custom RV; a compilation of many of the director's short films titled "Heavy Metal Parking Lot: The Films of Jeff Krulik" was released several years ago. Most of these films, along with flims made by Krulik's friends and some additional found footage, are viewable for free in streaming formats on his official website, [http://www.planetkrulik.com Planet Krulik] .

In 2004, the Trio cable channel began broadcasting a show by Krulik titled "Parking Lot", which expanded on the "parking lot" documentary series started in the 1980s. Created & co-produced by Jeff Krulik and John Heyn (in association with Radical Media), eight episodes were filmed, although it is unclear as to how many of them were actually broadcasted. It does not appear that the program will be shown again on the channel.

Also an aspiring poet in his early years, his most famous poem, "Ain't Love Grand" followed the life and death of fruit flies during a science experiment. Its most provocative line, "Part of the chain. Part of the chained." is reprised as a recurring theme in his movies.

Ain't Love Grand

The fruit fly stared back at meThrough the sticky, thin glassOf the vial.I wanted to itch my crotch.The fly just twitched and jerkedabout. What was it thinking?I thought of what generationIt could be,Fourth, fifth, tenth?It fell to the bottom,Grovelling among larvae and carcass.Part of the chain.Part of the chained.My decision was made...I brought out the gun.

"Good grief. Someone has a copy of a UofMD creative writing assignment. I definitely wrote this, I think in 1981, but it's terrible. I was inspired by some science class fruit fly experiment as I sat in my dorm room before I had to turn it in. And just for the record, I never aspired to be a poet." Jeff Krulik

Filmography

*"Hitler's Hat" (2003)
*"Jeff Krulik Picks the Weasel" (2002)
*"Trading Spouses" (2002)
*"Mall Endurance Day" 2001
*"Urology for Big Daddy" 2001
*"Jeff's People" (2000 or 2001?)
*"First Edition Barbara" (2000)
*"Harry Potter Parking Lot" (2000)
*"King Of Porn 2: The Retirement" (2000)
*"Obsessed With Jews" (2000)
*"Pancake" (2000)
*"Three Hour Tour" (2000)
*"The Brady Brunch" (2000)
*"Hire Me Spike!" (2000)
*"Tom Thumb In The Land Of The Giants" (1999)
*"I Created Lancelot Link" (1999)
*"Jewish Film Festival Trailers" (1999)
*"Memo from Reidy" (1999)
*"Follow That @#*! Torch" (1998)
*"Wanna Watch? (trailer)" (1998)
*"Neil Diamond Parking Lot" (1998)
*"Heavy Metal Parking Lot: The Lost Footage" (1998)
*"Legend of Forrest Tucker (trailer)" (1998)
*"The Manipulators" (1998)
*"Pigskin Orgasm" (1998)
*"Go-Go Girls Don't Cry" (1997)
*"Ernest Borgnine on the Bus" (1997)
*"King of the Freaks (trailer)" (1997)
*"Neil Diamond Parking Lot (work in progress)" (1997)
*"Katie Bar the Door: The Goodwill Book Sale" (1997)
*"Thank You Roma" (1997–2000)
*"Hop On The Bus Gus" (1996)
*"King of Porn" (1996)
*"Meet Fanboy" (1996)
*"Most Entertaining Person on Planet Earth" (1996)
*"Mr. Blassie Goes to Washington" (1995)
*"?" (1995)
*"Ilana Solomon Sings" (1993)
*"Public Access Gibberish" (1990)
*"Rock 'n' Roll Psychosis" (1988)
*"Monster Truck Parking Lot (unfinished)" (1988)
*"We Need a Staple Gun" (1988)
*"Twenty-Five Cents Before Noon" (1988)
*"An Afternoon with Zippy the Chimp" (1988)
*"Boxing Night" (1988)
*"Show Us Your Belly" (1988)
*"You Gotta Get a Gimmick" (1987)
*"Memories of Elvis" (1987)
*"Heavy Metal Parking Lot" (1986)
*"Forestville Rocks" (1985)
*"TVs From Outer Space" (1985)
*"The Scott And Gary Show" (1983–1989)
*"Welcome to Planet Krulik" (demo reel)
*"Animal Man" (demo reel)
*"America Sings!" (19??)
*"Ain't We Having Fun? (a.k.a Turkey Film)" (1975)
*"E.F. Sly Commercials" (mid-1970s)
*"Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls Movie Trailer" (1970)

External links

* [http://www.planetkrulik.com Planet Krulik (official website)]
* [http://www.heavymetalparkinglot.net Heavy Metal Parking Lot (official website)]
* [http://www.hitlershat.com Hitler's Hat (official website)]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0472679/ Jeff Krulik's IMDB Entry]
* [http://www.yuppiepunk.org/2008/10/heavy-metal-parking-lot.html Q&A on Heavy Metal Parking Lot]