Rod Webber
Encyclopedia
Rod Webber is an American musician, filmmaker and actor. Though, in his early music career he shared the stage with anti-folk
acts Daniel Johnston
(The Devil and Daniel Johnston
) and Kimya Dawson
, (former Moldy Peaches) Webber is probably best known for his improvisational films and documentaries, many of which were created using Webber's personal manifesto which is sited in various publications about the filmmaker.
Webber has twice directed former mumblecore
, actress Greta Gerwig
, first in his film I Thought You Finally Completely Lost It, and next in Northern Comfort
, both shot primarily in a three-day shooting frenzy. Webber has also collaborated frequently (three times) with Doug 'Tiny The Terrible
' Tunstall, an outsider politician, WWE wrestler and the subject of Webber's documentary A Man Among Giants
. In addition to his filmmaking, Webber has released several successful musical endeavors.
, and Universal Records
, but ultimately stuck to his indie roots, and continues to release records without the help of a major.
In 2005, Webber began directing Monkfish starring Lloyd Kaufman
, and Tiny The Terrible
, which debuted May 11, 2005 at The Paradise Rock Club in Boston. Webber followed up Monkfish with A Man Among Giants, a documentary in which Webber trails Monkfish star Doug 'Tiny' Tunstall AKA Tiny The Terrible
in his quest to unseat James E. Doyle, the Mayor of Pawtucket
Rhode Island
. After Tunstall was arrested in 2009 for creating a disturbance in a courtroom, Webber bailed him out of jail. Tunstall was subsequently committed to a prison mental hospital, resulting in a year-long effort by Webber to have him released. Unsuccessful in helping Tiny's case through legal channels, Webber released a new feature-length documentary, American Psych Ward about Tunstall's unlawful imprisonment. After 4 days of packed screenings, Tunstall was released.
Webber's effort to have Tunstall released from prison indefinitely postponed the release of Northern Comfort
, which he had shot with indie 'mumblecore
' queen Greta Gerwig
the previous year. The film was delayed until May 28, 2010, by which time, Gerwig had gone on to her mainstream acting career with titles such as Greenberg
starring Ben Stiller
. Despite the delay, Northern Comfort met with favorable reviews. According to the Boston Globe, Webber and Gerwig create "ornery sparks", and The Weekly Dig called him the "Anti-James Cameron
" as a result.
Next, Webber began filming Milkweed, a drama starring Webber and Ali Bell who helped him to produce Psych Ward, the year before. Again, despite Webber's speedy filming technique, the film was delayed to promote the release of My America, a politically charged drama which was shot in the spring of 2010 after the production of Milkweed began. The Boston Globe called the film, "a shocking drama on the subject of racism." Time Out Boston described My America as "chilling."
According to IMDB, Webber Milkweed is scheduled for release later this year, and also stars Mark Wahlberg
's eldest brother, Arthur.
Anti-folk
Anti-folk is a music genre that takes the earnestness of politically charged 1960s folk music and subverts it. The defining characteristics of this anti-folk are difficult to identify, as they vary from one artist to the next...
acts Daniel Johnston
Daniel Johnston
Daniel Dale Johnston is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist. Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. He currently lives in Waller, Texas....
(The Devil and Daniel Johnston
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
The Devil and Daniel Johnston is a 2006 documentary film about the noted American artist Daniel Johnston. It chronicles Johnston's life from childhood up to the present, with an emphasis on his experiences with bipolar disorder, and how it manifested itself in demonic self-obsession. The film was...
) and Kimya Dawson
Kimya Dawson
Kimya Dawson is an American singer-songwriter, best known as a solo performer and as one half of The Moldy Peaches. In Swahili, "Kimya" means "silence" or "silent".-Career:...
, (former Moldy Peaches) Webber is probably best known for his improvisational films and documentaries, many of which were created using Webber's personal manifesto which is sited in various publications about the filmmaker.
Webber has twice directed former mumblecore
Mumblecore
Mumblecore is an American independent film movement that arose at the turn of the 21st century. Filmmakers associated with the movement include Andrew Bujalski, Lynn Shelton, Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, Aaron Katz, Joe Swanberg, and Barry Jenkins....
, actress Greta Gerwig
Greta Gerwig
Greta Celeste Gerwig is an American actress and filmmaker. Gerwig first came to prominence through her association with the mumblecore film movement...
, first in his film I Thought You Finally Completely Lost It, and next in Northern Comfort
Northern Comfort
Northern Comfort is a 2010 American improvisational film starring Rod Webber and Greta Gerwig. Shot primarily in three days for a paltry three thousand dollars, the film is the second of Webber's films based on a manifesto which has been likened to DIY Dogme films which use limited equipment and...
, both shot primarily in a three-day shooting frenzy. Webber has also collaborated frequently (three times) with Doug 'Tiny The Terrible
Tiny The Terrible
Tiny The Terrible is an American wrestler, little-person, actor and now politician who is probably best known for being the subject of A Man Among Giants, a documentary film directed by Rod Webber. Tiny The Terrible was born Douglas Allen Tunstall Jr., is of African American descent, and is a...
' Tunstall, an outsider politician, WWE wrestler and the subject of Webber's documentary A Man Among Giants
A Man Among Giants
A Man Among Giants is a documentary film directed by Rod Webber which documents the misadventures of Doug 'Tiny The Terrible' Tunstall, a black, republican little-person who ran for Mayor of Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 2006. As a former WWF pro-wrestler, and toy store elf, Tiny, a self-described...
. In addition to his filmmaking, Webber has released several successful musical endeavors.
Career
At 21, Rod Webber began climbing the college music charts with Burned My Feet On Meat Street. Webber followed up Burned My Feet with The You I Knew, featuring the lead track " Blue Hour". According to The Boston Globe, he began a courtship with major labels like Columbia, AristaArista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
, and Universal Records
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
, but ultimately stuck to his indie roots, and continues to release records without the help of a major.
In 2005, Webber began directing Monkfish starring Lloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman
Lloyd Kaufman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Kaufman also serves as...
, and Tiny The Terrible
Tiny The Terrible
Tiny The Terrible is an American wrestler, little-person, actor and now politician who is probably best known for being the subject of A Man Among Giants, a documentary film directed by Rod Webber. Tiny The Terrible was born Douglas Allen Tunstall Jr., is of African American descent, and is a...
, which debuted May 11, 2005 at The Paradise Rock Club in Boston. Webber followed up Monkfish with A Man Among Giants, a documentary in which Webber trails Monkfish star Doug 'Tiny' Tunstall AKA Tiny The Terrible
Tiny The Terrible
Tiny The Terrible is an American wrestler, little-person, actor and now politician who is probably best known for being the subject of A Man Among Giants, a documentary film directed by Rod Webber. Tiny The Terrible was born Douglas Allen Tunstall Jr., is of African American descent, and is a...
in his quest to unseat James E. Doyle, the Mayor of Pawtucket
Pawtucket
Pawtucket may refer to:* Pawtucket, Rhode Island* Pawtucket Falls , Lowell, Massachusetts* Pawtucket tribe* 2 ships named USS Pawtucket* Pawtucket Brewery, fictional brewery on the television series Family Guy...
Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. After Tunstall was arrested in 2009 for creating a disturbance in a courtroom, Webber bailed him out of jail. Tunstall was subsequently committed to a prison mental hospital, resulting in a year-long effort by Webber to have him released. Unsuccessful in helping Tiny's case through legal channels, Webber released a new feature-length documentary, American Psych Ward about Tunstall's unlawful imprisonment. After 4 days of packed screenings, Tunstall was released.
Webber's effort to have Tunstall released from prison indefinitely postponed the release of Northern Comfort
Northern Comfort
Northern Comfort is a 2010 American improvisational film starring Rod Webber and Greta Gerwig. Shot primarily in three days for a paltry three thousand dollars, the film is the second of Webber's films based on a manifesto which has been likened to DIY Dogme films which use limited equipment and...
, which he had shot with indie 'mumblecore
Mumblecore
Mumblecore is an American independent film movement that arose at the turn of the 21st century. Filmmakers associated with the movement include Andrew Bujalski, Lynn Shelton, Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, Aaron Katz, Joe Swanberg, and Barry Jenkins....
' queen Greta Gerwig
Greta Gerwig
Greta Celeste Gerwig is an American actress and filmmaker. Gerwig first came to prominence through her association with the mumblecore film movement...
the previous year. The film was delayed until May 28, 2010, by which time, Gerwig had gone on to her mainstream acting career with titles such as Greenberg
Greenberg
Greenberg is a surname common in North America, with anglicized spelling of the German Grünberg or the Jewish Ashkenazi Yiddish Grinberg, an artificial surname.Notable people with the surname Greenberg include:- A–C :...
starring Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
. Despite the delay, Northern Comfort met with favorable reviews. According to the Boston Globe, Webber and Gerwig create "ornery sparks", and The Weekly Dig called him the "Anti-James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
" as a result.
Next, Webber began filming Milkweed, a drama starring Webber and Ali Bell who helped him to produce Psych Ward, the year before. Again, despite Webber's speedy filming technique, the film was delayed to promote the release of My America, a politically charged drama which was shot in the spring of 2010 after the production of Milkweed began. The Boston Globe called the film, "a shocking drama on the subject of racism." Time Out Boston described My America as "chilling."
According to IMDB, Webber Milkweed is scheduled for release later this year, and also stars Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg is an American actor, film and television producer, and former rapper. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, and became famous for his 1991 debut as a musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He was named No. 1 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of...
's eldest brother, Arthur.
Other works
- Is the creator of UtopiaLand (2010), a new animated series.
- Created and organized a traveling event called "Circus of the Shattered Monkey" featuring live music, poetry, and sometimes films. The event was also known by its French name "Cirque Du Singe Brisé."
Trivia
- Rod's version of "Syd BarrettSyd BarrettSyd Barrett , born Roger Keith Barrett, was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter, best remembered as a founding member of the band Pink Floyd. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter during the band's psychedelic years, providing major musical and stylistic...
Blues" is the original version released in 2004, and came out a year before The Black Angels (band)The Black Angels (band)- History :Formed in May 2004, the band's name derives from the Velvet Underground song "The Black Angel's Death Song".In 2005, the Black Angels were featured on a dual-disc compilation album of psychedelic music called Psychedelica Vol.1 from Northern Star Records...
"Syd Barrett Blues," which takes the concept of Webber's ode to Barrett in the vein of Barrett's tribute to Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, "Bob Dylan Blues."
- When starting out, was caught making one of his films without a permit. He was forced to shut down his production for use of a plastic toy pistol, and decided to instead release Burned My Feet On Meat Street.
- For a brief stretch in 2004, Webber wrote songs for his friend Michael Swasey, the host of The Swasey Show at WFNXWFNXWFNX is a New England commercial alternative rock radio station. The station began broadcasting on Monday, April 11, 1983. It was one of the first American commercial stations to play alternative rock and has become a leading radio station for breaking new alternative music.WFNX broadcasts on 101.7...
.
- In 2007, Webber helped to document fellow Bostonians The Dropkick Murphys for their The Meanest of TimesThe Meanest of TimesThe Meanest of Times is the sixth album by the Dropkick Murphys. It was released on September 18, 2007 by their new vanity label, Born & Bred Records, a division of Cooking Vinyl Records...
DVD.
- A longtime resident of Boston, Webber's 20-minute documentary of Brian McNameeBrian McNameeBrian Gerard McNamee is a former New York City police officer, personal trainer, and strength and conditioning coach in Major League Baseball who is most notable for testifying against former New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens at a 2008 United States Congressional hearing that concerned the...
shot in Everett, MA helped to break news on the Pro-Baseball steroid scandal in 2008, and was posted by The Boston Herald on their website March 27 of that year.
- Webber has written, arranged and produced music for a handful of musicals and other theater productions. In 1998 he wrote the music for David Hanbury's Talking To Maybe, and co-wrote a number of songs for Personal Instrument in 2000, also by David Hanbury. He worked as music producer for cousin Jake Oliver's Viva Los Bastarditos.
Filmography as director, cinematographer, composer
| Year | Film | Job | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Monkfish | Director | Actor: Stewart Tanner |
| 2006 | Postcards From The Den Of Failure | Camera | |
| 2007 | The Meanest Of Times The Meanest of Times The Meanest of Times is the sixth album by the Dropkick Murphys. It was released on September 18, 2007 by their new vanity label, Born & Bred Records, a division of Cooking Vinyl Records... |
DP | Short Documentary |
| 2008 | Brian McNamee speaks at ANC | Director | Short Documentary |
| A Man Among Giants A Man Among Giants A Man Among Giants is a documentary film directed by Rod Webber which documents the misadventures of Doug 'Tiny The Terrible' Tunstall, a black, republican little-person who ran for Mayor of Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 2006. As a former WWF pro-wrestler, and toy store elf, Tiny, a self-described... |
Director | Documentary | |
| Sweetie | Composer | Short directed by A.T. Sayre | |
| I Thought You Finally Completely Lost It | Director | Actor: 'Rod' | |
| 2009 | American Psych Ward | Director | Documentary |
| Virgil & Caesar | Director | Short | |
| Harmony Korine & The Malingerer Fish | Director | Short Documentary | |
| Bo Diddley & The Bout With Mike Tyson | Director | Short Documentary | |
| 2010 | Northern Comfort Northern Comfort Northern Comfort is a 2010 American improvisational film starring Rod Webber and Greta Gerwig. Shot primarily in three days for a paltry three thousand dollars, the film is the second of Webber's films based on a manifesto which has been likened to DIY Dogme films which use limited equipment and... |
Director | Actor: Horace |
| DeathWorld Deathworld Deathworld is the name of a series of science fiction novels by Harry Harrison including the books Deathworld , Deathworld 2 and Deathworld 3 , plus the short story "The... |
Director | Short | |
| Do It Again Do It Again (documentary) Do It Again is a 2009 documentary film directed by Robert Patton-Spruill and produced by Boston Globe reporter Geoff Edgers. The film follows Edgers on his quest to reunite British rock band The Kinks... |
Camera | Kinks Documentary | |
| UtopiaLand | Director | Actor: Various | |
| 2011 | Milkweed | Director | Actor: Lonny Robards |
| My America | Director | Actor: E.J. Winston | |
Discography
- 1997 – Math & Emotion
- 1998 – Telepath
- 1998 – Ascent
- 1999 – Burned My Feet On Meat Street
- 2000 – The Death & Burial of Rod Webber
- 2001 – Incandescent
- 2001 – Folk Songs
- 2002 – The You I Knew
- 2003 – Paper Slipper Shuffle
- 2004 – Eastertown
Awards
- Rod Webber won "Choice Award" for A Man Among Giants at Ruff Cutz Indie Film Conference.