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Robert Patrick Spruill—Taking us to the Terrordome

Robert Patrick Spruill is a documentary filmmaker of the coolest kind.  While some documentaries trek the jungles looking for forgotten reptiles or explore some ancient relic, Mr. Spruill gets to hang around the world with Public Enemy, perhaps the greatest rap/hip-hop group in existence.  He gives the planet the documentary Public Enemy Welcome to the Terrordome. 

In the 1980’s Public Enemy changed the face of this young art form from party music and into a political statement machine.  Chuck D when he uttered on the mike “Bass, how low can you go? Death Row.  What’s a brother know? To be Public Enemy number 1” threw down the gauntlet that Grand Master Flash never saw coming.  With hits like “Welcome to the Terrordome” and “911 is a Joke in Your Town” PE flipped this party music on its ear and made it a dominate form of civic speech.  With Flavor Flav and Professor Griff taking a comic and militant roles on the stage, this group roared at a time when most music was politically silent.

This documentary covers, with celebrity interviews and some archival footage, both where PE has come from and where they are going.  It is honest and direct, with all the members talking about themselves and the group.  There are also songs from places like SXSW.
Public Enemy Welcome to the Terrordome is a part of the AFI Film Festival.

Why a documentary on Public Enemy?

Well, Public Enemy are a living legends and besides they asked me to. It was like growing up and hoping to meet your idol, and then getting the job to follow them around for years. Just a dream gig.

How did you convince Public Enemy to participate?

I didn’t have to convince them, I had shot a couple of Music Videos for them a few years back and I just never stopped shooting or gather footage. When their twenty-year anniversary came around I finally was able to finish it.

What was the hardest part of putting this project together?

The hardest part was watching hundreds of hours of footage, and then having to cut it out. There are some brilliant little things out there that I couldn’t quite fit into the movie. Even my own personal favorite Public Enemy Song.

This film has many interviews. Who was your favorite and why?

Probably Henry Rollins or Tom Morello. It is really a tie. Tom Morello, because I would definitely make a movie on him and his band Rage Against the Machine, I am such a huge fan. But Henry was always there with the perfect thing to say. To me he kicks of the movie when he says, “His Favorite song is Welcome to the Terrordome”

What interview did you want but didn’t get?

That is a huge list. It’s hard to get people some people to open up and talk. But I had wanted RUN DMC for ever and right before I finished the movie my friend Josh Fink got me an interview with DMC…perfect next to the Beastie Boys.

How did you opinion of Public Enemy change after making this film?

I am just so proud of the band and what they have accomplished. I think that people don’t realize they are a group, a group of brothers like a dysfunctional, but functional family.

This film has archival and newer footage. How much did you shoot and how much was already available?

In terms of running time we probably shot 80 percent. The early day’s footage all belongs to Def Jam so we couldn’t go there at all. We have bits from lots of other filmmakers who have been shooting with the group since 1998.

What are your secrets to capturing such a spontaneous live performance?

My secrets to shooting live stuff…well shoot a lot of different shows with as many cameras’s as you can. Back in the day, in seventies and eighties they were using three film cameras and that’s it. We have a show shot in Austin where we had fifteen camera, where each on had a least a little bit of gold on it.

What advice would you give to a young filmmaker wanting to make a documentary?

Make sure you like the subject matter a whole lot. Docs Take years to make and who so you are stuck in an edit room with these people for a long time so make sure you like it a lot!

Do you think that Rap has been fairly portrayed in film?

Yes.

What is your opinion of rap today as compared to when Public Enemy first came on the scene?

Today it is commercialized. Back in the day, even Def Jam was run by people who loved the music first. Rick Rubin and Russel Simmons. The record companies today work using corporate methods and groups like Public Enemy can’t be heard on the radio.

What do you thing the legacy of Public Enemy will be and will this film change that?

I think we explain Flavor Flav in a way that allows audience to “get it”.

What is your favorite Public Enemy song and album?

Night of the Living. Baseheads.

What are your plans for the DVD of the film?

I hope to make all sorts of bonus features off all the stuff I cut out. Maybe a little on disc twenty-year book. That would be cool.

What are you working on now?

I am working on the green broadband network Garden Girl TV: Urban Sustainable Living. Just trying to help save the planet!

Public Enemy: Welcome To The Terrordome
Deep Ellum Sounds
(USA, 2007, 100 mins)
DigiBeta
No Premiere

Directed By: Robert Spruill
Featuring: Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Beastie Boys, Henry Rollins, Tom Morello
Producers: Lathan Hodge, Walter Leaphart

Public Enemy’s 20-year career has had a monumental impact on the music world. Robert Patton-Spruill’s Welcome to the Terrordome chronicles their legacy, their history and what icons of the music world say about their influence.

Two decades later, the most controversial rap group of the 80’s is all grown up…and still touring. Their ability to weave serious messages of activism and societal ills into completely accessible songs revolutionized rap and hip-hop. Artists such as the Beastie Boys, Tom Morello (Audioslave, Rage Against The Machine), Henry Rollins, Talib Kweli and Jonathan Davis of Korn reflect on the group’s power. With live concert footage from near and far—Moscow, Rio, Italy, Spain, the UK and finally Austin—Public Enemy demonstrates they still have the power to get the crowd on their feet with insanely infectious music and relentless beats.
So raise your fist in the air and don’t miss this historic, must-see music documentary.

Screening Times:

Sunday, March 30th 10:00pm
Angelika 7

Tuesday, April 1st 7:15pm
Angelika 6

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