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Bob Sirott interviews "Out of the Pit" producer Butch Campbell on Monday, January 26th at 7:00 p.m. on Chicago Tonight.
Check the schedule.
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WTTW's Image Union offers up season number 26 of locally focused fare, featuring dogfights, the Riddler and the long-lost Ralph Macchio.
One of the first pieces of footage aired on WTTW's Image Union was "Media Burn," a video of a fully decked-out Cadillac careening through a fiery pyramid of burning televisions. Throughout the show's 26 years and literally thousands of films, they have featured topless cellists, Nancy Reagan urging the youth of America to succumb to the wonders of drugs and Jim Belushi brandishing firearms at a very stoned and confused ice cream cone afficionado.
The brainchild of Chicago producer Tom Weinberg, Image Union is touted as the "longest-running independent film and video showcase in America." Focusing on everything from outlandish animation and experimental video to award-winning documentary material, the show has offered more than one aspiring local filmmaker an entré into big screen success.
"Image Union is a great outlet for Chicago filmmakers to get their start," says current Image Union Producer Colleen Finn.
"Over the years, we've had a lot of celebrities and people who have made it big from being on the show. Everybody knows about Jim Belushi, Joe Montegna and Gary Sinise. Janusz Kamininski, the Academy Award winning cinematographer ("Schindler's List," "A.I.") who works for Spielberg, had a film on when he was a Columbia College student," says Finn.
Other notable local filmmakers appearing on Image Union include Reginald Huston, whose original "House Party" (yeah, the one with Kid N' Play) aired on the show well before the pair with the hair took it prime time. Recent films have featured Minnie Driver, Alan Cummings and cutting-edge comedian David Cross.
That the show has consistently been willing to program challenging works from both Chicago filmmakers and little known international talent is a testament to the station, the show's founder and a long list of independent producers and volunteers willing to support the station beyond any commercial concerns.
"There's currently no underwriters for Image Union," says station program director Dan Soles. "It's part of WTTW's budget. The show's main expense is acquiring the films from various producers. That's where the bulk of it comes in."
"I think the station doesn't want to part with Image Union," says Finn, "because it's really the first of its kind. Ever. I mean, nobody really aired short film before we did. And we’ve carried it now for 26 years, so there is that sense of pride in what we're doing."
Like many producers before her, Finn's role sprang from an interest in the material and a willingness to lend a hand.
"I just volunteered. I grew up on Image Union and I had worked with Jay Shefsky for years and he was producing and I just asked him if I could help screen. And then he wanted to move onto make documentaries and I just kept rolling."
The Changing State of the Union
From the beginning, Image Union has prided itself on a willingness to go places other stations wouldn't go.
"We're very open to everything," says Soles. "Nothing is restricted. We've aired things in the past that were very controversial."
Case in point is a piece run by former show producer Jay Shefsky.
"We ran this documentary about a dogcatcher. He was a really nice guy and you could tell he really loved these dogs and he loved his job. But at the end of the day he had to go and put some of the dogs to sleep. The film showed the dogs getting gassed," says Shefsky.
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002: WTTW's Image Union
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