A BIT OF GODARD BUT WITHOUT THE SHIT, A BIT OF JOHN WATERS 
 BUT WITHOUT THE DUMBNESS, A BIT OF WARHOL BUT WITHOUT THE LAMENESS, ETC. TO ME, 
  IT IS A MOST PERFECT SUMMARY OF WHAT IS AMERICA (SICK, MUSIC, CAPITALISM, BLONDE 
   TEENAGER GIRL WITHOUT PIMPLES BUT AFRAID TO BE PREGNANT).

ELEIN FLEISS: COULD WE COMPARE YOUR MOVIES TO AN X-RAY OF THE AMERICAN SICK 
 SOCIETY? VIOLENCE, CRIME, STUPIDITY, DEATH... 

JON MORITSUGU: YES. BUT AN X-RAY WILL ONLY SHOW YOU SOME BROKEN BONES, MAYBE 
 SOME DAMAGED ORGANS OR MUSCLES, NOT MUCH MORE. MY MOVIES ARE MUCH MORE 
  “HOLISTIC” - NOT ONLY DO YOU SEE THE BROKEN BONES BUT ALSO THE PARANOIA, MENTAL 
   DECAY, PSYCHOSIS, AND DEMENTIA OF THE AMERICAN SICK SOCIETY. MY MOVIES ARE AN 
    X-RAY COMBINED WITH AN IN-DEPTH PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION.

DO YOU SEE AMERICAN SOCIETY AS A BIG SELF-DESTRUCTING MESS? 

YES. BUT THE DECAY CAN BE BEAUTIFUL TOO.

ARE YOU TOTALLY NIHILISTIC OR IS THERE A LOCUS OF REDEMPTION OR OPTIMISM IN YOUR 
 MIND? ARE WE FOR EVER A “DEGENERATION”?

IF I WAS A TOTAL NIHILIST I WOULDN’T MAKE MOVIES... I WOULD BE A JUNKIE OR INVOLVED IN 
 THE FASHION INDUSTRY... MOVIES ARE STILL ONE OF THE THINGS INTO WHICH I CAN PUT MY 
  TIME AND ENERGY AND FEEL IT IS ALL WORTHWHILE. HOWEVER, THE “MOVIE SCENE” 
   IS LATELY BEGINNING TO RESEMBLE A SIXTH-GRADE PLAYGROUND, SO I AM PLANNING MY 
    ESCAPE.

DO YOU TRY TO SHOW AN AESTHETIC OF THE CHAOS? 

EXACTLY! TOO MANY FILMS LOOK LIKE THEY WERE MADE BY A CIVIL ENGINEER OR 
 MATHEMATICIAN... TOO MUCH ORDER, NEATNESS, COLD PRECISION (GREENAWAY, 
  HITCHCOCK, EISENSTEIN, ETC. )... I LIKE THINGS THAT ARE FUCKED-UP AND MESSY... THE 
   ANTITHESIS TO AN AUTOMOBILE COMMERCIAL THAT YOU SEE ON TELEVISION.

DO YOU SEE INTELLECTUALS AS RIDICULOUS, UNNECESSARY, FUNNY PEOPLE? 

NO, INTELLECTUALS ARE RIDICULOUS, NECESSARY, FUNNY PEOPLE.

WHEN I SAW YOUR LAST FILM “TERMINAL USA”, I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF JOHN WATERS, 
 HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF COMPARED TO HIM? 

JOHN WATERS...WHO IS THAT?

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE FILM MAKER?

I WOULD BE STUPID NOT TO SAY ME. OBVIOUSLY, PEOPLE WILL ACCUSE ME OF BEING AN 
 EGOIST... BUT MY MOVIES ARE THE MOST INTERESTING TO ME... IF THIS WAS NOT THE CASE 
  I WOULD BE A FILM HISTORIAN OR CRITIC, RIGHT?

IT SEEMS THAT A FEW ELEMENTS OF YOUR FILMS ARE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL. DOES YOUR FAMILY 
 LOOK LIKE THE ONE IN TERMINAL USA?

YES... MY FAMILY DEFINITELY HAS A LOT IN COMMON WITH THE FUCKED-UP FAMILY IN 
 TERMINAL USA. OF COURSE, THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE “FINAL CATASTROPHE” 
  HAS NOT YET HAPPENED TO MY FAMILY, AND MY WIFE AMY HAS NOT YET EXPOSED HER 
   TRUE ALIEN IDENTITY. BUT I ANXIOUSLY AWAIT THESE EVENTS...

DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS SOMEONE BETWEEN KAZUMI THE JUNKIE AND MARVIN THE 
 TORTURED GENIUS?

I DON’T KNOW... PART-JUNKIE, PART-TORTURED GENIUS DOESN’T SEEM LIKE A COMFORTABLE 
 PLACE TO BE... BUT CERTAINLY A GOOD PLACE TO MAKE ART.

MUSIC SEEMS TO BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR FILMS, HOW DO WORK WITH IT?       

I LIKE... MOSTLY “UNDERGROUND” STUFF I CREATE... WITH TERMINAL USA, I HAD A LARGE 
 BUDGET SO I WAS ABLE TO USE MUSIC I HAD ONLY DREAMED ABOUT USING, WHICH WAS 
  FUN, BUT ALSO DEPRESSING... FOR INSTANCE, I OBTAINED THE RIGHTS TO A COUPLE SONGS 
   BY THE BIRTHDAY PARTY. THE SAD PART IS THAT THE GROUP NO LONGER OWNS THE 
    RIGHTS TO THEIR OWN MUSIC -A HUGE “PUBLISHING COMPANY” IN NYC OWNS THESE 
     RIGHTS, SO MY PRODUCER, ANDREA AND I ENDED UP PAYING THIS COMPANY A LOT OF 
    MONEY FOR THE MUSIC, KNOWING FULL WELL THAT THE BIRTHDAY PARTY HAD NO 
   CONTROL OVER THEIR VERY OWN MUSIC... IN FACT, THE PUBLISHING COMPANY AT FIRST 
  DIDN’T EVEN KNOW WHO THE BIRTHDAY PARTY WAS. I GUESS IT JUST GOES TO SHOW 
 THAT YOU REALLY HAVE TO PROTECT YOUR MUSIC OR YOUR ART BECAUSE IT CAN EASILY CHANGE 
HANDS / OWNERSHIP LIKE A USED CAR. 

EVOLUTION OF YOUR CINEMATOGRAPHIC WORK? 

EVOLUTION OF MY CINEMATOGRAPHIC WORK : BIGGER AND BIGGER BUDGETS, MORE AND 
 MORE COMPLICATIONS AND PROBLEMS, THE “WORK” SLOWLY SLIDING DOWNHILL, ETC. I AM 
  TRYING TO REVERSE THIS EVOLUTION AND MY FIRST VOW IS TO NEVER AGAIN MAKE A MOVIE 
   WITH A BUDGET AS BIG AS TERMINAL USA. 

YOUR VISION OF THE YEARS 2000? 

THE YEAR 2000... EVERYONE WILL HAVE A ROBOT MAID, PILLS INSTEAD OF MEALS, TIME 
 TRAVEL, ETC. NO, NO, IN AMERICA, I SEE THINGS GETTING A LITTLE WORSE, MUCH MORE 
  VIOLENT, “CULTURE” ONE STEP CLOSER TO SHIT BUT PEOPLE A LITTLE BIT STUPIDER AND MORE 
   AGGRESSIVE.

IN YOUR FILMS WE FEEL THAT ART IS NOT ONLY USELESS, BUT THAT IT DOES NOT EVEN EXIST... 
 IN HIPPY PORN, ONE OF THE CHARACTERS SAYS "FUCK ART", DO YOU TAKE IT AS AN IRONICAL 
  PUNK STATEMENT? 

“ FUCK ART” IS HOW WE SHOULD ALL LIVE OUR LIVES! “FUCK ART” IS HOW I TRY TO LIVE MY 
 LIFE. BUT SINCE I “MAKE ART”, AM I CONTRADICTING MYSELF? NO... IT IS LIKE BEING 
  ATTRACTED TO THAT WHICH REPULSES YOU- THE FASCINATION OF HIGHWAY ACCIDENTS, THE 
   STRANGE MUSK FRESH SHIT, THE UPPER CLASS... IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE TO 
    “MAKE ART” THAT CRIES OUT “FUCK ART!”

AMY DAVIS, THE MAIN CHARACTER IN YOUR LATEST FILM TERMINAL USA, IS A FASHION 
 PHOTOGRAPHER AS WELL, DOES HER WORK INFLUENCE IN SOME WAYS YOUR AESTHETIC? DO 
  YOU WORK OFTEN WITH HER? 

NOT ONLY DO I WORK OFTEN WITH HER, I ALSO LIVE WITH HER! ACTUALLY, AMY HAS EXPOSED 
 ME TO THE FASHION INDUSTRY (VIA HER PHOTOGRAPHY), WHICH HAS BEEN QUITE SHOCKING. 
  BASICALLY, THE DECADENCE/MONEY/EGOISM IN FASHION IS ONE-THOUSAND TIMES 
   GREATER THAN IN THE MOVIES (HOLLYWOOD)... PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT 
    THE DECADENCE IN ROCK-N-ROLL OR THE FILM INDUSTRY - THEY’RE WRONG - FASHION IS THE 
     WORST! OR THE BEST! OBVIOUSLY, I AM TRYING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS TWISTED 
    “SCENE.”

Filmography
1986 Mommy Mommy Where’s my Brain 10 mn
1987 Little Debbie, Snack-Whore of NYC 3 mn
1987 Braindead 1 mn
1987 Der Elvis 23 mn
1988 Sleazy Rider 23 mn
1989 My Degeneration 72 mn
1991 Hippy Porn 
(collaboration with Jacques Boyreau) 95 mn
1993 Terminal USA 57 mn
1994 Mod Fuck Explosion 70 mn