Author Q&A

Q&A with Jeff Lispky
Writer and director of Flannel Pajamas

"Flannel Pajamas is one of the wisest films I can remember about love and human intimacy. I will not forget it."—Roger Ebert

Jeff Lipsky is the writer and director of Flannel Pajamas. A 30-year veteran in the independent film world, Lipsky is internationally known for his expertise in independent film marketing, acquisition and distribution. Co-founder of two successful film distribution companies, October Films and Lot 47 Films, Lipsky shepherded over 200 films into the marketplace. The best known of these titles include “My Life as a Dog,” which earned Lasse Hallstrom his first two Academy Award nominations; Jim Jarmusch’s feature debut Stranger than Paradise; Sid & Nancy, which introduced actor Gary Oldman to the world; and Sweet Land, the recent winner of “Best First Feature” at the 2007 Independent Spirit Awards.

Lipsky’s distribution career began at the age of 21 with the literal start of the independent distribution business when he set sail with his mentor actor/writer/director John Cassavetes to distribute A Woman Under the Influence, which, in 1974, became the very first specialized film ever to be distributed nationally, bypassing the archaic and obsolete sub-distribution network. In 1979 Lipsky became general sales manager at New Yorker Films where he distributed Wayne Wang’s first film, Chan is Missing; Louis Malle’s My Dinner with Andre; R.W. Fassbinder’s The Marriage of Maria Braun; and Jean-Luc Godard’s Every Man for Himself. In 1983, Lipsky became vice president of distribution for Samuel Goldwyn Films where he distributed Dance with a Stranger, Three Men and a Cradle, Gregory’s Girl and Stranger than Paradise.

In 1987, Tom Skouras hired Lipsky as president of the Motion Pictures Division of Skouras Pictures. While there, Lipsky distributed Mission: Impossible; screenwriter David Koepp’s first film, Apartment Zero; My Life as a Dog; and High Hopes, the movie that introduced Mike Leigh to the U.S. and that forged a second mentor relationship for Lipsky, this time with Leigh’s long-time producer Simon Channing-Williams. In 1990 Lipsky co-founded October Films which immediately rose to the ranks of the most highly regarded independents, releasing films such as Leigh’s Life is Sweet, Gregg Araki’s The Living End, Alain Corneau’s Tous Les Matins Du Monde and John Dahl’s The Last Seduction.

After a two year return to Goldwyn, where he released Adrian Lyne’s controversial Lolita, in 1999 Lipsky co-founded Lot 47 Films. Lot 47’s releases included Tim Roth’s directorial debut, The War Zone; Venus Beauty Institute, Audrey Tautou’s debut film and the winner of multiple French academy awards; Im Kwon-Taek’s Cannes competition entry Chunhyang; Michael Cuesta’s debut feature L.I.E.; and the best reviewed live-action film of 2002 (source: metacritic.com), Zacharias Kunuk’s The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat).

A 50-words-or-less bio? 

Jeff Lipsky wrote and directed the 2006 Sundance Film Festival Dramatic competition Selection Flannel Pajamas and is a 30-year veteran of the independent film world. Among the more well-known films Jeff Lipsky distributed are My Life as a Dog, Stranger than Paradise, Sid & Nancy, My Dinner with Andre, L.I.E., and The Last Seduction. His first directing effort was Childhood’s End.

Random personal fact? 

I give better massages than any man alive.
 
"Elevator Pitch" for current projects? 

What’s an elevator pitch? If it’s what I think it is, the project probably isn’t worth it.

Favorite location for writing? 

The great lawn in Central Park on the first sunny, seventy-two degree day of the year.

Inspiration for recent film? 

My last film.

Your favorite writers? 

Philip Roth, Margaret Atwood, Paddy Chayefsky, Ernest Lehman, Ingmar Bergman.

Best piece of writing advice you've received? 

What most people say is not what most people are thinking.
 
What you like most about being a writer? 

Inventing fictional characters who resonate so realistically with my audience.

What you like least about being a writer? 

The cost of three-hole punch paper.

If you weren't a writer, you would be? 

A Second Baseman

If your writing came with a soundtrack, which musician/s would compose the 
music? 

Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman, Joanna Newsom, Billie Holiday and Bob Marley

Next project? 

Memorabilia
 
Your motto? 

People who burn bridges are the only ones who can be trusted.
 
What's the one question you thought WIW should have asked you, but didn't? And what's your reply to that question? 

Q: Who’s the sexiest woman alive?  A: All of them.