David Ramser of The Artists Company is best known as a comedy director. But in-between those humorous ad jobs, he has donned a reporter’s hat, turning out mini-documentaries which he directs, shoots and edits. We thought it appropriate in the context of our Directors Issue to focus on one helmer’s personal filmmaking pursuits during his spare time.
“There’s an old saying, ‘Dying is easy. Comedy is hard,'” related Ramser. “So for fun, I wanted to take on other kinds of projects that directly affect me, that have been brought to my attention by some relationship to the subject matter. For me, this is fun. This wasn’t a directorial decision so that I could skip out on comedy and get more work of a different sort. I love comedy–that’s what I do professionally. But I wanted some passion projects to express myself in other ways, to explore interesting things I care about or that just strike my imagination.”
One passion project in particular, The Foreclosure of Cristina Ramos, has struck a responsive chord upon being covered in The Huffington Post, putting a human face on the housing meltdown as Ramser interviewed Ramos, a housekeeper whom the director has employed twice a week for the past 15 years. She and her husband bought their South Los Angeles home six years ago with $15,000 down on a $425,000 sales price. The home’s value has plummeted to $170,000. Refinancing and loan modifications have been denied. And auction dates have been set for the house only to thus far be postponed.
Ramos explains she isn’t angry, just sad and depressed. She said the realtor wasn’t forthright, telling them they were qualified for home ownership with “no problem” and that their monthly mortgage payment would remain stable. Instead, the variable rate shot the mortgage from the former Countrywide up from $2,300 to $3,000. Ramser’s seven-and-a-half minute documentary notes that from 2007-’10, nearly half of all foreclosures involved Hispanic borrowers. (Bank of America, which has since bought Countrywide, paid $335 million to settle allegations that its Countrywide unit discriminated against African-American and Hispanic borrowers during the housing boom.)
“I just tried to show how a person and her family have been impacted. I wasn’t looking to take sides in a fight or make a political statement,” said Ramser who noted that online feedback for the most part has been either empathetic or derisive. In today’s polarized era, Ramser observed that he wished more moderate people were vocal.
Still, the film serves as food for thought. Conversely another mini-documentary from Ramser, Bug Nation, serves as thought for food, profiling Mathew Krisiloff, a college student who teamed with others to form Entom Foods, short for entomophagy, which is the eating of insect meat. Introducing bugs to American cuisine, Krisiloff contends, is healthy, good for the environment, economical and believe it or not, tasty.
As for what’s next, Ramser plans to do a follow-up piece on Ramos. And at press time, the director was headed to Watts to explore the Urban Compass program which helps provide elementary school kids with productive activities during the vulnerable 3-6 p.m. daypart so that they will be more inclined to continue their education and not get detoured into gangs or drugs.
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More