Here are just some of the topics covered in John Wilson's feature-length debut, "The History of Concrete": Elizabeth Street Garden, the colonization of Mars, Vickie Paladino, the Bed-Stuy Aquarium, Hallmark movies, and sudden death.
In many respects, "Concrete" does not mess with the recipe that made Wilson's "How To" series on HBO so good. The story—most of it rooted in the five boroughs—takes many strange and hilarious detours before arriving at a character who becomes the emotional center and delivers a poignant message—just as planned! (Read our capsule review of the movie in this edition of Hell Gate's biweekly newsletter, Cultural Capital—subscribe today, it's free!)
But "Concrete" dabbles in some thornier questions that the "How To" series largely avoided, mostly surrounding new housing construction, "affordability," and preserving the city that Wilson has spent years meticulously documenting.
We asked Wilson about all of this (and more) in a 15-minute interview. "The History of Concrete" is in theaters starting this Friday.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
Hell Gate: At the beginning of the film, you tell us that unlike your HBO series, you weren't able to have a big team of camera people at your disposal. Why is that? You'd think that with a feature film, you'd have more resources.
John Wilson: Yeah, you'd think that. I didn't. I had a really hard time getting this movie financed, and I had a few kind of ride-or-die friends from the show that offered their time and their energy to try to get this thing off the ground. Like my friend Nellie [Kluz], she shot some gum on the street for me. Little things, here and there. But it was like, 99 percent just me filming by myself the entire time.