Meer Ted Passon! Eerste deel van het interview vind je hier.

Hip-hop is pretty macho. Do you think Plastic Little is understood by people who listen to 50 Cent and Mobb Deep?
'Honestly I don’t think that Plastic Little is understood by the people that listen to Plastic Little. They’re friends of mine and I can’t really say I understand them. Plastic Little does have some pretty misogynistic lyrics that I won’t defend but what separates them from folks like 50 Cent and Mobb Deep is that they know what they are saying is fucked up and ridiculous. They are not trying to advocate any kind of lifestyle and they definitely don’t take what they are saying seriously and don’t expect anyone else too.'

Ok.
'Undoubtedly some people do have a problem making the transition. Max Lawrence who runs Free News Projects (Plastic Littles’ label), just sent us this quote the other day from a blog run by two white kids, who I guess usually like the “gatt-tastic” kind of rap, who reviewed Plastic Little and the Dopeness video:

“This shit was so disturbing to my macho heterosexuality that I pretty much dusted off the Screw CDs and listened to nothing but bass heavy gangsta shit for a week, usually with a tall can of Negro Modelo in my lap, riding around just trying to wash the feeling of faggotry out my earlobes."'

Hahahaha. Sad. How long until you won't answer your mail personally anymore and have a PA who rejects all interview requests?
'Probably sometime after I stop worrying if I’ll make my rent.'

What's so cool about photography?
'1.) It focuses our eyes on the details of our everyday lives that we often take for granted. 2.) It shows us how micro moments can inform us about macro contexts. 3.) It’s pretty. 4.) You can create a visual representation of pretty much anything you imagine. 5.) There’s new reasons all the time.'

Aha.
'For me it’s a great break from video and film because you’re just interested in a one particular instant and it reminds you how much you can say visually in a single frame. With moving pictures it’s easy to add lots of stuff that’s unnecessary. Also it’s cool because I can upload dumb pictures of myself to MySpace with my head on other bodies, which never seems to get old to me.'

Could you give MonoBrow readers a sneak peak at something you're working on right now?
'I’ve got a few things in the works right now. I’m just about to finish a music video for Peggy Honeywell (the music project of the super talented artist, Clare Rojas). It was directed by Andrew Jeffrey Wright and I produced and edited it. I’m also starting two new music videos soon. One is for The A-Sides on Vagrant Records and Tender Forever on K-Records.'

Sounds good!
'I’m also finishing up a little experimental/documentary/performance piece about falling in love in France and I’m working on a treatment for a longer documentary I’ve been shooting so I can hopefully look for funding at the Rotterdam film market in your fine country in January. Maybe one of your readers can give me a couch to sleep on?'

Een tijdje terug heb je de clip van Plastic Little's Dopeness op MonoBrow kunnen zien. Ik was onder de indruk en fixte een MiniMail met Ted Passon, de regisseur. Die man heeft passie voor z'n werk, niet normaal. En blijkt ook nog eens goed met een fotocamera te zijn. Tijd voor het eerste gedeelte van het interview. Morgen meer.

The video for Dopeness looks pretty slick: lots of extras, big set, special effects: expensive to produce?
'Believe it or not the budget was very small. That video was made for a fraction of what it should have cost. When we did actually pay for something we rarely paid full price. Many people worked for free or for a very reduced rate, the location was free, and we pulled in lots of favors.'

That's cool.
'This video was just another example of why I love the creative community in Philadelphia. This wouldn’t have been possible without the generous help of lots of people who are just genuinely excited about making things happen just because they want to see them happen and not worrying about the return.'

What's the best thing about being a director?
'Being at the receiving end of that kind of generosity and excitement – all for an idea you had – is one of the best and most humbling things about being a director. It’s such a good feeling and it really keeps you on your toes cause you think “All these people have given so much of themselves – I better not fuck it up!” It’s a great reminder that groups of people can accomplish big things when they can work together well. Now lets all go make world peace happen!'

Haha. What is it that you have to explain to people again and again about yourself?
'I think the question I get asked most when people meet me in person is “What happened to your eyebrow?”. Half of my left eyebrow is totally white. People usually think I it’s a birthmark or that I was hit by lightening, but it’s just a weird condition where you lose a cluster of pigment in your skin. It popped up on my head one day when I was 13. Most kids my age were getting pubic hair and I got a white eyebrow, but it’s cool. I became a man eventually.'

That's good.
'What most people don’t know is that the eyebrow is magic. Anyone who kisses me gets a secret dream of their’s granted in the future. People can email me to try it.'

What's your favorite thing to do when you travel by public transport?
'Usually I just read. It’s where I get most of my reading done. Sometimes though I like to look at the other people around me and make up stories about their lives. Some times I daydream about what would happen if there were an accident on the train or plane I am riding and I was somehow stranded with all the people around me and we all have to figure out how to survive together. I try to figure out who would be the leaders, who I’d probably want to hang out with, who I would want to date or have kids with, and what our little “Lord of the Flies” society would look like.'