Make Me Famous

TYPE: Documentary Feature
GENRE: Documentary
STATUS: Completed

LOGLINE

An investigation of Edward Brezinski, an ambitious, charismatic Lower East Side painter hell-bent on sucess, who thwarted his own career with antics that roiled NYC’s art elite.  Brezinski’s quest for fame gives an intimate portrait of the art world’s attitude towards success and failure, fame and fortune, notoriety and erasure.

SYNOPSIS

Painter Edward Brezinski came to N.Y.C., highly trained, charismatic and above all, ambitious. The early ‘80s on the Lower East Side was a communal time when young artists could afford to live out their bohemian fantasies.  Poverty was rampant but commercial success found the privileged one percent. Careers ignited overnight. Brezinski was hell-bent to become one of the chosen.  Ever on the edge of success, he would thwart opportunity by erupting in righteous anger against perceived hypocrisy in the art world. Brezinski demanded to be accepted both as a gay man and as an accomplished artist. In full public view, he had a shocking confrontation with Annina Nosei, the gallery owner that first catapulted Basquiat to fame. Banished from the prominent galleries, Brezinski started his own gallery in his fifth-floor Bowery apartment across from a men’s shelter.

Brezinski's most scandalous incident occurred after the art world took a sudden shift towards Conceptual art. At artist Robert Gober’s opening, Brezinski became enraged with the art:  Wedding Dress, Bag of Kitty Litter, and Bag of Donuts.  Edward reached in the bag and shoved a donut into his mouth. Taking deconstruction to a new level, he ate the art.

A series of eccentric characters reveal the unsung painter by their memories of both Edward’s antics and his extreme artistic drive while exposing the history of the Lower East Side art movement from an insider’s point of view. Among others, we hear from David McDermott, Peter McGough, Marguerite Van Cook, James Romberger, Eric Bogosian, and Kenny Scharf. Through an investigation in the south of France we unearth the truth about what happened to Brezinski and his mysterious ‘death’ in the Cote d’Azur.

 The film was shot in NYC, LA, Detroit, Ireland, France, and Berlin.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT

The film brings forward a popular era while unearthing many artists, photographers, and stories that have seldom been in the public eye. The 1980s art scene is famous for breakout artists like Basquiat and Keith Haring, but there were many other artists who made a powerful impact. Set during arguably the last great art explosion in American history, “Make Me Famous” tells the story of painter Edward Brezinski in his quest for fame. Told by the artists and gallery owners themselves, the film is in the vein of the groundbreaking art documentary of the ‘70s, “Painters Painting.” Our film gives an intimate portrait of what it was like to be an artist in N.Y.C. in the 1980s.  It delves into the spirit of the artists themselves, what drove their generation and what they were up against.

As a Juilliard trained actor, my process for character study has always incorporated my own sketches to envision the characters I play. I have always been fascinated that unlike actors, artists have a greater capability to create on a whim. As Eric Bogosian states in the film, actors are always “waiting for the phone to ring. But in the art world, you can get up in the morning and say, what am I going to make today?”

Brezinski’s art and his devotion to painting makes a lasting impression, but so too do the stories about his self-sabotaging, all-or-nothing attitude, and his impulsivity to react to hypocrisy. Wanting to succeed is a great motivator. To continue trying in the face of adversity is heroic. “Make Me Famous” will make art history come alive for viewers and make the case that a life devoted to art is worth exploring.

With the support of the artists and photographers of the movement, the film is a rich time capsule of the ‘80s art world from a moment in time when creativity was the ultimate goal.  Over seven hundred cleared images have been compiled from the era. Original art was commissioned for the film by ‘80s artists Richard Hambleton, James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook. “Make Me Famous” brings together never before published video archival from the ‘80s art world and clips of the era’s highly influential art films, “Downtown 81” and “Underground USA.” The film will include an original New Wave score by Jeremiah Bornfield (“Hitchcock/Truffaut,” “Diane.”)

KEY CREW

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