INTERVIEW for JUST LOOKING

with JASON ALEXANDER and MARSHALL KARP
at the Landmark Mayan Roundtable

On the eve of the Denver International Film Festival, Jason Alexander and Marshall Karp are guests of honor at David Kimball's Mayan Roundtable. Marshall Karp as writer, and Jason Alexander as director, would be presenting their feature film JUST LOOKING at the Denver Festival that same evening.

Clicking on some of the photos and text will run video clips of Jason and Marshall
Marshall remarks that the Landmark interviews in Dallas and Denver had been the best ones for them. Not a single interviewer had asked about Jerry Seinfeld. They seemed to be willing to let Jason move on in his career. At these interviews, they also found a greater openness (than found on either coast) to the authenticity of moments such as those experienced through Lenny's 14 year old eyes in JUST LOOKING.
As sirens blast by outside the Mayan, sounds and fragrances of coffee coming from the Mayan cafe, Jason remarks "if people who listen to this don't think you're in a Greek diner in New York . . . just listening to all of this . . . it's amazing . . ."
Marshall is adamant that there is nothing voyeuristic about Lenny and the teenage sex club's desire to "see them do it". It's all about innocent curiosity. "Back in the 50s, there wasn't the internet among other things . . ."
Nor is it Porky's IV, says Jason . . .

Marshall argues there is nothing perverse in Lenny's desire to see his parents "do it". One would rather see Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, but what are the chances of their showing up in the Bronx? They were shooting a PG-13 movie. The R rating came as a surprise.
JUST LOOKING initially appears to fit the genre of SUMMER OF 42. The Jason-Marshall collaborative development of the secondary characters bursts the nostalgia category. The secondary figures allow the viewer to feel part of a 14 year old world, from the POV of an older, as well as secondary player..
A cinematic technique of telling the story from Lenny's present day, rather than looking back on earlier times protects JUST LOOKING from the 'wonder years syndrome'. And it protects the viewer from the 'wonder years syndrome' in films.