Interview: Bram van Splunteren – Filmmaker and Journalist

Date of Interview: 05/14/2012

Bram van Splunteren is a Dutch filmmaker and journalist. His hip-hop documentary – Big Fun in the Big Town (1986) – captures a series of extraordinary events during an incredible week in New York: Doug E Fresh beatboxing and philosophizing on the street in Harlem, Grandmaster Flash scratching records on his living room table, and LL Cool J discussing love raps at his grandmother’s house in Queens. Twenty-five years after its initial broadcasting on Dutch public television, 5 Day Weekend has made this rare, historical footage commercially available for the very first time.

In support of Big Fun in the Big Town’s worldwide release (DVD: May 22, 2012), Bram van Splunteren spoke with Clayton Perry about his passion for filmmaking, early radio resistance to hip-hop music, and the vital support received from Def Jam publicist Bill Adler.

Interview: Don McGlynn – Acclaimed Music Documentary Filmmaker

Date of Interview: 05/05/2011

Don McGlynn is the director of Rejoice and Shout, a landmark documentary that explores the depth and breadth of America’s revered Gospel music history. With no historical precedent, McGlynn braved the arduous challenge of compiling multiple rich – and layered – narratives into a coherent two-hour product that spotlights beloved performance groups with as much care as its presentation of Baptist and Pentecostal traditions. The filmmaker’s passion was matched, of course, by a team of meticulous specialists that aurally and visually restored hours of archival footage from the personal collection of executive producer Joe Lauro.

In the midst of promotional media showings of Rejoice and Shout, Don McGlynn managed to squeeze some time out of his busy schedule and settle down for an interview with Clayton Perry – reflecting on the documentary’s research process, its impact on his spiritual relationship with God, and common misconceptions regarding the Gospel genre.