EP068 - You Must Be Weird Guys w/ Chris Metzler

Keith goes coastal this week, walking the foggy cliffs of Point Lobos, California with Bay Area filmmaker Chris Metzler—co-director of PLAGUES AND PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA, EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: THE STORY OF FISHBONE and RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE. Chris and Keith go back to 2008, when they met at the PBS Producers Academy at WGBH, and their cohort reads like a Sundance roll call: S. Leo Chiang, Su Kim, Christine Turner and more. We dig into how a kid from Independence, Missouri who "hated documentaries" got converted by Errol Morris' FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL, picked up a Canon GL1 with his USC dorm-mate Jeff Springer, and spent four years in Final Cut Pro 1 making a comedy about an ecological disaster. Then the twist: a VHS-tape finds its way into the hands of John Waters, and PLAGUES AND PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA finds its voice. Chris breaks down exactly what that narration changed—tone, trust, discoverability, and a cult afterlife that now includes Joe Rogan and John Mulaney thinking it's a Waters film. We also get into the birth of RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE, why co-directing is a relay race (& a play on Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's "co-directors take-turns" model), and Chris's honest math on client work: independent films don't pay, but "award-winning independent filmmaker" brings clients to the table.  Along the way there are sea birds & sea lions (and barking filmmakers), a check-in with a plein air oil-painter, spotting a legendary Ansel Adams cypress, and enough rocky, coastal views and 65-degree breezes to cool you down no matter where you're tuning in from. Plus: insight into Angelo and Norwood from Fishbone, the early days of the Documentary Channel, and not-enough time spent talking about SFIndiefest and SFDocFest, the festivals that Chris helps program and run. DISCUSSION LINKS: PLAGUES AND PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA (2006) | RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE (2017) | EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: THE STORY OF FISHBONE (2011) | FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL (1997) | BARAKA (1992) | AMERICAN MOVIE (1999) | OKIE NOODLING (2001) | SEVENTEEN (1983) | EYES ON THE PRIZE (1987) | THE EYES OF ME (2009) | A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES (2009) | HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING (2018) | HOMEGOINGS (2013) | AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (2006) | GREMLINS (1984) | FOLKTALES (2025) TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Sea otters, selfie sticks and a high-five slate at Point Lobos 00:43 Treasure Island's real coastline (and the guano) 03:00 Meet Chris Metzler 04:05 How we met: the 2008 CPB Producers Academy at WGBH 05:08 Judith Vecchione, Kathy Lo and the ITVS system 06:35 KQED, Truly California and a DIY festival tour 07:50 Keith on PLAGUES AND PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA 09:15 Jeff Springer and the rock-star cohort 12:09 PBS is an amoeba 13:48 Finding a cohort without film school; the Ansel Adams tree 15:41 "I hated documentaries": FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL, BARAKA, AMERICAN MOVIE 16:40 Tom Neff, USC music videos and America's Treasures 18:00 Sonny Bono, a Canon GL1 and 200 festivals 19:42 An extra VHS for Ann Alexander's neighbor 21:12 Strange moss, and what a John Waters narration changes 23:00 Joe Rogan, John Mulaney and the long tail of a cult doc 25:25 Bombay Beach Biennale: the Salton Sea becomes a destination 26:49 Meeting plein air painter Coraly Hanson on the trail 29:57 Painters, patience and the serendipity of RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE 31:50 Thomas Gonzales checks h