Reel Talks: Director Ben Steinbauer on "Winnebago Man"
Once you've navigated past the cute kittens, past the laughing children, the bloopers, and the guitar solos, you may find yourself staring, mesmerized, at a YouTube clip that trumps all others, lodging itself in your brain and refusing to leave. The collection of promotional video outtakes known as Winnebago Man is such a clip.
Starring one Jack Rebney, the 4 minute video chronicles one man's descent into irritation, exasperation and anger as an RV promotional video shoot becomes an ordeal that he'd rather not have to deal with. Millions of views later, and the clip has become a bonafide cult phenomenon. One of those viewers, filmmaker Ben Steinbauer, took the phenomenon a little more seriously than most and set out to make Winnebago Man, a documentary about the clip, the nature of 'internet fame', and, of course, Rebney himself. We asked Ben to tell us more:
So, I'll start with the obvious question; how did you come across the story?
gt; I first saw the "Winnebago Man" outtakes in 2002 when a friend handed me a beaten-up VHS tape with a bunch of underground videos. The “Winnebago Man” clip was far and away my favorite. My roommate and I watched it almost every night for a year. I showed it to everyone I knew, I memorized it, quoted it...basically became obsessed. I wanted to know the story behind the video and discovered that lots of people were as curious as I was. Once I started seriously trying to unravel the mystery of the outtakes, I realized that what I really wanted most was to meet Jack. And that’s how the film got started. I later discovered that other people had tried to find Jack over the years, but no one succeeded. Why do you think the original clip created such a stir? How did the film evolve over the course of the three years you worked on it? Well, it began as a short film that focused on the story behind the outtakes and getting to meet Jack. After I finished the short, I began to imagine a feature that could explore the effects that viral videos have on the people who appear in them. But I soon realized that in real life--at that moment--there was a much more interesting and unexpected relationship unfolding between Jack and me, and I wanted to see where it would lead. How would you describe your approach to making documentaries? I follow my curiosity and it usually leads me to unusual characters. If I look back at the short films I’ve made, all the characters are in some way transcending their own reality. Usually, I find the stories by accident, but at one point, I ran an ad in the local paper with the headline: “Documentary Subjects Wanted.” I got a lot of funny messages, but it never led to a film. The closest I got was an elderly gentleman who called to pitch his life story that involved selling the bells that go in bell towers. He left a really interesting message on my machine, but forgot to leave his name and phone number. What kind of reception are you anticipating? It’s hard to make predictions, I mean, movies have a way of taking on a life of their own. But I do know that millions of people have seen the outtakes clip, and there’s so much curiosity about the clip and about Jack. I’m really excited about getting to see the film with a big audience at the Paramount, and getting to be surrounded by people who love this clip as much as I do. What lessons do you think you and Jack learned from each other? If you were to ask Jack, he’d probably say he hasn’t learned a fucking thing from me. But the lesson I learned from him is that the harder you try to steer something, the less control you have. Every time I thought I had a handle on the direction of the story, there was a new twist. I only found film’s ending when I stopped looking for it. If you knew then what you know now, what would you do differently? Well, if I'm ever on camera again, I'm definitely going to brush my hair and pull up my pants. Winnebago Man premieres 7:00 PM, Saturday, March 14 at Alamo South Lamar. The "Winnebago Man" outtakes clip can be found here
It’s Jack. His mannerisms, his diction, his way with words are so extraordinary that it almost seems scripted. Some people see the outtakes and think it’s some kind of mockumentary. But it’s all real! I love that Jack, even in the midst of melting down, doesn’t lose his sense of humor. And I think everyone can relate to feelings of extreme frustration--both directed at others and back at ourselves. The way the outtakes were edited--they have such an infectious rhythm, and like a pop song--a kind of melody that embeds itself in your brain, if you watch it enough. And there’s something about the speed and intensity of the profanity. Lots of people, famous and not so famous, have gotten caught on camera while they’re ranting and raving, but Jack Rebney is in a league of his own.
