To Stay Alive: A Method | |
---|---|
Directed by | Erik Lieshout Arno Hagers Reinier van Brummelen |
Screenplay by | Erik Lieshout |
Based on | "To Stay Alive" by Michel Houellebecq |
Produced by | Marc Thelosen |
Starring | Michel Houellebecq Iggy Pop |
Cinematography | Reinier van Brummelen |
Edited by | Reinier van Brummelen |
Production company | Serious Film |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 70 minutes |
Country | Netherlands |
Languages | French English |
To Stay Alive: A Method is a 2016 Dutch documentary film directed by Erik Lieshout, Arno Hagers and Reinier van Brummelen. It is based on Michel Houellebecq's 1991 essay "To Stay Alive", about struggling artists, the role of the poet, and mental health problems. It features marginal artists as well as Houellebecq and the rock singer Iggy Pop, who reads from the original essay.
The director Erik Lieshout had first met Houellebecq when he interviewed him for Dutch television during the promotion of the novel The Possibility of an Island , and ended up directing Last Words, a behind-the-scenes documentary for Houellebecq's own film adaptation of the novel. [1] Lieshout then asked Iggy Pop if he could possibly provide a track for the film, with little hope; but to his surprise, the singer replied very enthusiastically: in the meantime he had actually read the book (as well as a selection of Houellebecq's poetry), and loved it, finding many parallels with his own life and state of mind, to the point that it inspired him a whole album, named Préliminaires , quieter than his usual output, partly sung in French, with several tracks directly related to the novel. The two artists first met in 2009, during the promotion for the album, and shared their admiration for each other's works. Indeed, Houellebecq has been a devoted fan of The Stooges since he was a teenager, contrasting with his reputation for apathy and languid intellectualism.
To Stay Alive: A Method was produced by Serious Film with co-production support from AT-prod and VPRO. It was completed in April 2016. [2]
The film was screened at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam on 19 November 2016. [3] It was released in Dutch cinemas on 2 February 2017. [4]
The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, and also known as Iggy and the Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander. Initially playing a raw, primitive style of rock and roll, the band sold few records in their original incarnation and gained a reputation for their confrontational performances, which often involved acts of self-mutilation by Iggy Pop.
Intervention, Interventions, The Intervention or An Intervention may refer to:
James Newell Osterberg Jr., known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1967 and have disbanded and reunited many times since. Often called the "Godfather of Punk", he was named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR. In 2010, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Stooges. Pop also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 for his solo work.
Michel Houellebecq is a French author of novels, poems and essays, as well as an occasional actor, filmmaker and singer. His first book was a biographical essay on the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Houellebecq published his first novel, Whatever, in 1994. His next novel, Atomised, published in 1998, brought him international fame as well as controversy. Platform followed in 2001. He has published several books of poetry, including The Art of Struggle in 1996.
Submission is the acknowledgement of the legitimacy of the power of one's superior or superiors.
Gary Lucas is an American guitarist, songwriter, and composer who was a member of Captain Beefheart's band. He formed the band Gods and Monsters in 1989.
Michel Velleman, known by his stage name Professor Ben Ali Libi, was a Dutch magician who was murdered in the Sobibor extermination camp during World War II. Dutch poet Willem Wilmink wrote a poem about his being murdered by the Nazis.
Mikhail Vartanov was an Armenian filmmaker and cinematographer who made significant contribution to world cinema with the documentary films Parajanov: The Last Spring and Seasons.
The Possibility of an Island is a 2005 novel by French novelist Michel Houellebecq, set within a cloning cult that resembles the real-world Raëlians.
Eric in the Land of the Insects, originally called Erik of het klein insectenboek in Dutch, is a 1941 Dutch children's novel by Godfried Bomans. It is widely seen as a children's classic and Bomans' magnum opus.
Threes Anna is a novelist, theatre and film maker.
Préliminaires is the fifteenth studio album by American rock singer Iggy Pop, released in Europe on May 25, 2009 by record label Astralwerks, and in the US on June 2. It was inspired by the singer's reading of Michel Houellebecq's novel La Possibilité d'une île.
Manifesta, also known as the European Nomadic Biennial, is a European pan-regional contemporary cultural biennale.
ARTZUID is an international large-scale sculpture exhibition which takes place every two years in Amsterdam.
Funky Bones is a public artwork by Atelier Van Lieshout, a Dutch artist collective led by Joep van Lieshout, located in the 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park, which is on the grounds of Newfields in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The artwork, primarily made from fiberglass, consists of twenty white and black bone-shaped benches.
Erik Gerardus Franciscus van Lieshout is a Dutch contemporary artist most widely known for his installations. In 2018, he won the Heineken Prize for Art.
The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq is a 2014 French comedy-drama film directed by Guillaume Nicloux, starring Michel Houellebecq, Mathieu Nicourt, Maxime Lefrançois and Luc Schwarz. It tells the story of how the famous author Michel Houellebecq is kidnapped and held for ransom by three men during a promotional tour in 2011.
Submission is a novel by French writer Michel Houellebecq. The French edition of the book was published on 7 January 2015 by Flammarion, with German (Unterwerfung) and Italian (Sottomissione) translations also published in January. The book instantly became a bestseller in France, Germany and Italy. The English edition of the book, translated by Lorin Stein, was published on 10 September 2015.
Cornelis Bastiaan Vaandrager, who generally published with only his initials as C. B. Vaandrager, was a Dutch writer and poet who lived and worked in Rotterdam. Later he came to be known simply by the shortened version of his name as Vaan.
Interventions is a collection of texts by the French writer Michel Houellebecq, including essays, interviews and polemical articles. The book exists in three versions, published in 1998, 2009 and 2020. The later versions are mainly expansions with new material, although a few texts only appear the earlier editions. The third version, Interventions 2020, was published in English in 2022.