PENELOPE SPHEERIS A serious person! Who also made Wayne’s World.
  • PENELOPE SPHEERIS A serious person! Who also made Wayne’s World.

There are filmmakers who capture vital moments, and there are filmmakers who make lighthearted comedies like Black Sheep and The Beverly Hillbillies. Penelope Spheeris is both. While she got paychecks for movies like Wayne's World, the meat of Spheeris' career is The Decline of Western Civilization trilogy: Each documentary covers a corner of Los Angeles' music scene, from punk rock (1981's The Decline of Western Civilization), to hair metal (1988's The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years), to the gutter punk lifestyle (1998's The Decline of Western Civilization Part III).

This weekend, the Hollywood Theatre is showing remastered versions of all three films, with Spheeris in attendance. The director discussed the trilogy with the Mercury—along with the creative curse of Wayne's World and the possibility of a Rodeo Drive killing spree.

MERCURY: Why did you call the first film The Decline of Western Civilization?
PENELOPE SPHEERIS: When I called it that, it was meant to be... let's just say ironic. A little bit smartass.

What was the catalyst behind the first Decline film?
I guess just that I was going to all the punk shows. I had always been interested in music. I've been going to concerts since I was a kid, and I had never seen anything like what happened at punk shows.

Because people thought the punk scene was a negative thing?
Exactly. As time's gone on, it's unfortunately fulfilled its tag, because when you see Decline III, you say, "Oh dear, it is declining!"

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