Where is She Now? The Decline of Penelope Spheeris

I have always thought a DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? would be amazing. I mentioned this to filmmaker Penelope Spheeris when I interviewed her in '98 for Punk Planet magazine. And again when I met her at a Women's film fest in SF in the early 2000s. She always said she would never do a WHERE ARE THEY NOW? for various reasons. One being that the folks from her first two movies thought she made a bunch of $$ off them -- but she didn't. So she didn't think they'd be in another film for her.

Early this year I was thinking about it and decided to make a DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? website. Figured I don't have time or resources to make a movie but I COULD make a killer website and go through each movie and do little head shots with quotes... and links to what people are doing NOW. Thought it would be hilarious. Especially some of those in the Decline #2 The Metal Years who claimed they were GOING to be rock stars and make it big.

So I made the site. Started watching the movies and filling it out.

Then I saw in the paper that Penelope Spheeris was coming to SF to show Suburbia and Decline #3 and do a Q&A. Cool!

I went to the show and met her while she was selling and signing posters in the lobby. Told her about my website I'd started and was immediately met with a very defensive "YOU CAN'T DO THAT." She told me that she is working on a WHERE ARE THEY NOW? movie. WOAH!!! I had NO idea!! I have always wanted to see that so was VERY stoked!! She was not however, stoked on my project. I told her that I'd send her a link and that it was just a website, maybe it would help promote her product. Talked to her daughter a little too, who was also there with her, and is working for her mom now. (Her daughter Anna put together the recent DECLINE box set that just came out.) They told me to send them an email via Penelope's filmmaker website.

So I did.

In the email I sent her links, wrote what I thought was a very nice and heartfelt, genuine email -- expressing my love of her movies. I told her I'd like to continue my site but of course would take it down if she objected as I'd never want to piss her off. Told her it was a labor of love (labor is right, it was a painstakingly time consuming site to fill out) and I wasn't making money off it or anything.

A few weeks later I got an email and letter -- from her lawyer. Telling me to take site down. So I did.

I feel really bummed that after talking to her AND sending the email to her, she (or a fucking assistant) couldn't have just sent me an email back herself and asked me to take it down.

I guess because I considered myself a kindred spirit, not a douchebag.

I am realizing now though that I am not a kindred spirit... because I would not have treated someone like that.

I feel disappointed. Not in having to take the site down, I said I'd do that. But in how she "replied" to me.

Fucking Hollywood. Bleeeech.

--Beth

Here are some screenshots of the website template I made... it was gonna be funny! Was gonna cover everyone who got interviewed in all the Decline movies. 

--Beth