John Wilson's New Film Explores Concrete and Comedy

Filmmaker John Wilson is struggling to pitch his new feature-length documentary, 'The History of Concrete.' The project, which he describes as a fun challenge, has faced funding difficulties despite his previous success with the HBO series 'How To with John Wilson.' Wilson discussed the film and his artistic philosophy in an interview at Low Cinema, the micro-theatre he co-owns in Ridgewood, Queens.

Wilson's work defies easy categorization, blending comedy, nonfiction, and video art. For three seasons on HBO, he walked around New York filming mundane scenes-fire hydrants, soccer referees, public toilets-and narrated over them in a halting, ingenuous style. The show was a commercial pinnacle for the eccentric video artist from Queens, yet securing backing for a documentary about concrete proved a new hurdle. "I think I understood the absurdity of trying to pitch a concept like this in 2024," Wilson told The New Yorker.

The Challenge of Pitching

The filmmaker admits he still does not know how to effectively pitch 'The History of Concrete.' He typically starts with a title, and this one stuck with him for its gravity. His research revealed the title's inherent comedy: a search found a book on Amazon called 'The History of Concrete,' which turned out to be an empty container for storing valuables. Wilson found this hilarious, noting that not even the most determined thief would open a book with such a boring title. The funding landscape for such an open-ended nonfiction project remains difficult. Wilson explained that even with prior success, financiers require creators to prove themselves anew with each concept, as the perceived appetite of audiences constantly changes.

An Artistic Process Shaped by the World

Wilson's creative method is intentionally unstructured. He often begins filming without a clear final product in mind. "I feel like I never really know what I’m making or why I’m filming certain things," he said. He starts with a broad idea, leaves a large part of it empty, and allows the world to fill in the rest. By the end, the work becomes a hybrid of his original intention and what reality delivered. A typical day might start with filming potholes, but boredom leads him into a nearby store to chat with people. He finds that the farther a conversation gets from the core subject, the more interesting it becomes, illuminating the metaphor at the heart of his work.

Finding Epiphanies in the Mundane

His sensibility juxtaposes slapstick humor with poetic, profound observations. This blend creates what the interviewer likened to James Joyce's 'epiphanies'-glimmers of meaning found in small, everyday things. Wilson sees value in almost all movies, even if not for their intended reasons, and applies a similar philosophy to his own filming. He began using a video camera at age twelve or thirteen, after taking his father's Hi8 camera, and has essentially never stopped. In high school, he was part of a filmmaking collective that faced censorship from a conservative principal who misunderstood their anti-bullying movie, 'Layup,' as glorifying bullying.

Playing with Genre and Fame

Playing with genre is central to Wilson's approach. He believes knowing the rules allows you to break them and make things interesting again. His level of fame mirrors this in-between quality. He is famous enough to attend a banquet for Kim Kardashian and to have been a clue on 'Jeopardy!' in the 'Celebs' category, but only for a thousand dollars, and no contestant buzzed in. He is famous enough for his face to appear on a Times Square billboard, yet unknown enough to point it out to an unimpressed public-safety officer. He was behind the concession stand at his forty-seat theatre, preparing to work a shift, when the interview began.