If you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve already read the weekly features on our main page chances are you stumbled across the ?¢‚Ǩ?ìFrom the Vault,?¢‚Ǩ¬ù piece on Susan Glover and Arthur Holden?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s lo-fi but none-the-less massively entertaining short doc ?¢‚Ǩ?ìPhilosopher Stoned.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù Arthur of course is the stoned philosopher himself and he was only too happy to donate a few moments of his time to answer a few questions about the film. His answers like the drug the film centers around may make you a bit giggly.

Doc: Where did the initial concept of the film come from and was it always
intended as a film project or just an experiment?

Arthur: Susan and I were working together on a comedy short called “Three’s a Crowd”, which we were going to submit to a local short-short (max. 6 minutes) film festival. It was the end of the summer of 2003. My 15-year-old son Jacob had just spent his entire vacation hanging out with friends and getting blazed way more regularly than I was comfortable with. We had this borrowed video camera, and the idea came to us of doing an interview film in which I talked about my feelings toward weed… then smoked the stuff. Originally it was just an experiment. We were hoping we’d get something we could turn into a second film for the festival - but we weren’t really sure what we’d end up with. As soon as we shot it, though, we knew we had something potentially more interesting than a short-short piece. We cut it in the most effective way we could. And the result was Philosopher Stoned.

Doc: Has the film screened anywhere or been seen by an audience
before? If so what was their reaction to it?

A: Philosopher Stoned has never been shown publicly except on the Documentary Channel. But we did use the raw footage to cut a 6-minute piece (entitled “Joint Venture”) for the short-short festival. It was screened once, in front of a couple of hundred people - and they loved it. Laughed and cheered. The judges didn’t give us any prizes, though. Technical merit counted for a lot at this festival. I was very bitter about that. Susan said I should get a life.

Doc: In the film you mention that your own son had used marijuana before has he seen the film if so what was his reaction to it?

A: Good question. I didn’t tell him about the film before shooting it, or for a few months after it was cut. Both Susan and Jacob’s mother said I owed it to him (and myself) to let him see it. Eventually, over the Christmas holidays, I gave him a copy. He didn’t like it at all. But he was 15 at the time. If you’d shown me a film of my father getting stoned when I was 15, I’m not sure I’d have liked it either. (By the way, Jacob is 18 now, studying social sciences at a local college. He still smokes weed… but less.)

Doc: Any plans for a sequel? The Stoned Philosopher goes on a Trip perhaps?

A: Susan and I have talked to some friends about shooting a group version of Philosopher. It would be kind of like Jon Favreau’s Dinner for Five, minus famous people, plus marijuana. But we haven’t gotten past the planning stage.

Doc: Have you any other documentary projects in the works?

A: No documentaries, but a possible dramatic feature. I’ve written a screenplay entitled “The End of Marriage” about a family that comes under strain, in part because there’s a teenager in the mix, smoking dope. I’d like to do it with the same low-tech (though maybe not quite so low) ethic as Philosopher. Susan and a great Montreal actor named Mark Camacho would star as the troubled parents. If I can find the time and financing, we’ll shoot it this summer.

So that’s that. And it’s definitely not that last you’ll be hearing from Arthur as he’s already agreed to take part in an interview for an up coming Doc Channel Podcast.

So I know i’ve mentioned this before but if you’ve been watching the channel with any degree of regularity you know that each month in addition to the other films we show we try to have some kind of a theme (you know like your senior prom but way cooler) last month for example was our tribute to Anarchy, which may seem like a strange thing to devote a block of programming to but we thought it was neat. And this month with mother’s day looming large on the horizon what better way to follow a bunch of anarchists than by celebrating the strange and wonderful creature that is woman. We’re doing it in style we have a number of great docs that you can only see here. From evil nuns (Women in Black), to legendary musicians (Speaking in Strings, The Legacy of Rosina Lhevinne) we’ll introduce you to ladies of all kinds and we even have a little room left over for political intrigue (USA vs. Tokyo Rose). So come mother’s day don’t forget to send your Ma some flowers and make sure the card instructs her to watch too she won’t want to miss it.

Chris here, writing direct from our Nashville homebase. Just wanted to take a moment to say that if you get a spare moment you should definitely seek us out at www.myspace.com/documentarychannel there you’ll find exclusive content and promotions that you won’t find anywhere else. Be sure to visit both our homes on the web regularly as we’re always going to have something interesting for you to take a look at.

Ok DOC Fans I’ve gotta admit I’m a little underwhelmed at your in class participation. I want you to comment and rebut and post forum strands and have web based documentary arguments but so far no one seems to be out there. We need you guys to help us bring our community and classifieds areas to life so go check ‘em out. While your at it make a stop at our petition page and if you haven’t signed it already do so. You won’t receive any junk mail we won’t sell out your identity to ne’er do wells and the satisfied feeling you’ll get afterward will last at least for a week (well I can’t guarantee that but I felt pretty good about it when I signed it). You can find the petition at www.documentarychannel.com/petition. It awaits you.

Evenin?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ folks, Chris here from the Docchannel Bat Cave in beautiful downtown Nashville. Just wanted to mention a couple of new developments in Doc territories. First and foremost, if you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve obsessively been watching our channel and love what we do so much that you have actually created your own Documentary Channel T-shirts, doggy sweaters, beer coozies, etc using only your wits (not to mention a few multi- colored sharpies and some puffy paint). While we salute you for your efforts we?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d like to direct you to the official home for all sorts of cool DOC stuff. Just go to http://www.cafepress.com/docchannel and you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ll find all manner of neat stuff emblazoned with the logo of the only channel in the USA dedicated to the Independent Documentary Film. So check it out and then go buy your significant other an attractive Doc Channel Teddy Bear or get a pair of Doc Channel boxers or t-shirts and be the envy of all those who are cool enough to know how cool we are.