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MacDonald:
The sound is different too. There's no narration.
Mekas:
There's very little of my voice, maybe because I did a lot of taping there and had enough other sounds.
MacDonald:
Were you drawn to Cassis just because of the friendship with Jerome Hill?
Mekas:
Jerome Hill had a little outdoor theater there on the shore of the Mediterranean. Usually he brought over some musicians, like the Julliard Quartet. But in 1966 he persuaded the city of Cassis to cosponsorhe sponsored part of it himselfthe Living Theater's production of
Frankenstein
. A special theater was built outdoors for the performance. Jerome wanted somebody to record the event; I agreed to help him. I filmed
Frankenstein
and
The Mysteries. Frankenstein
was the greatest performance I have ever seen. Not the one that was brought to New York, but the one in Cassis.
MacDonald:
Was the
Cassis
section in
Walden
done at another time?
Mekas:
That was done in 1966.
MacDonald:
Is
Paradise Not Yet Lost
finished, or is it part of a larger film?
Mekas:
I am not sure. I have been thinking of changing it. I may make it into a two-screen film.
MacDonald:
Is the amount of material that you have for all the other years similar to what you had for
Paradise Not Yet Lost
? That's a pretty big film.
Mekas:
I have as much material from every year. There is a whole Cincinnati film.
MacDonald:
Cincinnati?
Mekas:
Yes. I stayed there for a while. Also, I spent a lot of time around Jackie Kennedy's and Lee Radziwill's children. I have a lot of footage from that period.
MacDonald:
How did that come about?
Mekas:
After Kennedy's death Jackie went through some difficult years during which she was concerned about the children. She wanted to give them something to do. Peter Beard was tutoring them in art history at the time. He suggested that I teach them some filmmaking. I got them simple cameras and made up some basic examples, which they had great fun executing. It proved to be just the thing they needed. Caroline has since turned to photography and cinema. When John was still in school, he made some very exciting four-screen 8mm filmsactually one of the most exciting four-screen films I've ever seen, almost as good as Harry Smith's.
MacDonald:
Are you to the point where the footage feels like a weight you carry, or is getting back to it something you look forward to?
Mekas:
I really live only in my editing room. Or when I film. The rest