In the past year, numerous films based on comic books including
“Hulk” and “The League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen” have been produced in hopes of achieving the box
office success of other comic book-based films “Batman”
and “Spider-Man.” As movie studios vie for the
opportunity to adapt another comic book for the big screen, along
comes “American Splendor.”
But “American Splendor” is the antithesis to the
big-budgeted, effects-driven comic book films of the past. The film
recounts the uncommon life of Harvey Pekar, a file clerk in a
Cleveland V.A. hospital who writes about his own everyday moments
in his infamous comic book series of the same title.
Over the years, Pekar’s ability to capture the mundane
nature of everyday life brought about a cult fame that would
eventually lead to a plethora of appearances on “Late Night
with David Letterman” and a stage adaptation of
“American Splendor.” Despite his paltry notoriety,
Pekar continued to document his simple, everyday life in his comic
books.
Similar to the manner in which Pekar chronicles real stories
about real people in his comic books, filmmakers Robert Pulcini and
Shari Springer Berman were compelled to tell the story of Pekar and
make a film as unique and unconventional as Pekar
himself.Â
“There are all these different perspectives of this one
guy which became how we approached this story,” says
co-director Pulcini. “Why not make a film that can be as
interesting in form as the comic books are?”
In order to capture the eccentric and sometimes erratic nature
of Pekar’s daily misgivings, the filmmakers decided to
integrate the real Harvey Pekar into the film through short
documentary moments.
“We believed Harvey’s indelible persona would add
texture to the film,” adds Berman. “We wanted to do
something with the narrative film with the real Harvey Pekar and
the real people popping in, commenting and debunking the
story.”
“American Splendor” was originally designed as a
film to be broadcast on HBO, but when the film premiered in
competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, it won the Grand
Jury Prize, which simultaneously led to its theatrical release.
“We thought this was going to be a tough film to sell to
Hollywood,” suggests Berman. “When the film got the
incredible response at Sundance, there were many people putting
offers for the movie.”Â
The success of the film at Sundance and other festivals like
Cannes along with its subsequent theatrical release surprised
everyone involved with the film, but especially Berman and Pulcini.
The two writers/directors, who had previously garnered little
attention for their documentaries, were unaccustomed to the
overwhelming response.
“It’s amazing, the life that the film has taken so
far,” says Pulcini. “We thought we were making a film
that no one would ever see.”
Berman and Pulcini claim they are filmmakers that only concern
themselves with the artistic nature of filmmaking, not the business
end.
“It’s such a low budget film,” comments
Berman. “We don’t have to worry about what
“˜Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle’ has to worry
about because our budget was the cost of Cameron Diaz’s
hairdresser. Bringing “˜American Splendor’ to life
turned out to be an adventure we’ll never forget.”