“I have a few, um, empty spaces,” understates Jasper Mall manager Mike McClelland, during a scene in a new documentary film.
Subtitled, “A year in the life of a dying shopping mall,” the doc “Jasper Mall,” is now streaming on video on demand platforms. Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb are the film’s co-directors. They shot “Jasper Mall” throughout 2018.
The doc's trailer is a poetic two-minute watch just by itself. Easy listening music echoes through empty mall corridors. Seniors get their morning walks in. Outside at daybreak, a post-apocalyptic barren parking lot. Inside under harsh incandescent lighting, McClelland handles maintenance and other mall matters in solitude, as if he's marooned alone on another world, like in that 2009 Sam Rockwell astronaut movie, "Moon."
For "Jasper Mall," Thomason and Whitcomb were a film crew of two, although a couple others were brought on to help during a few busier sequences, including a carnival scene and one involving a bored Santa Claus. In addition to sharing director and producer tasks, Bradford was the film's editor and Whitcomb cinematographer. Visually, at times "Jasper Mall" resembles an indie feature or Netflix limited series. The filmmakers' primary tools included a Sony FS7 camera and Fujinon MK18-55mm lens and Adobe Premiere editing software.
With an 84-minute running time, “Jasper Films” is being released via Window Pictures. Rock music fans might have seen Window’s fun 2019 release “Lost Weekend,” a documentary short about two Pennsylvania teens who won an MTV contest and got to party with Van Halen for 48 hours.
"Jasper Mall" pivots on McClelland, a former zookeeper. As he puts it during one moment in the doc, "I left a zoo, now I'm in a jungle." In addition to McClelland, "Jasper Mall" viewers get to meet shop owners and mall patrons. "Mike is probably the most compelling character," Thomason says, "because he's what holds the mall together. He's our guide and he only gets more interesting as he reveals how he came to work at the mall."
Jasper Mall opened in August 1981. The 350,000-square foot mall was designed to hold about 35 or so stores. Although the filmmakers can't say for sure how many patrons visited Jasper Mall during its, prime, Whitcomb says, "There's a photo of the mall parking lot on opening day and it's completely full. We got the impression the mall was very busy through the '80s and '90s."
It's well documented consumers have gravitated to online shopping in recent years and shopping malls are looking extinction in the eye. According to Jasper Mall's website, the facility still houses around 20 business ranging from chains like Belk department stores to local ventures such as Robin's Next florist. "Mike is doing a great job of keeping it alive," Thomason says. "He truly cares and takes pride in the work he does there."
Below are more edited excerpts from my recent interview with the "Jasper Mall" filmmakers.
What inspired you to make a documentary about the Jasper Mall?
Bradford Thomason: All of our films are inspired by something nostalgic from our childhood, and usually we try to take a look behind the curtain of that nostalgia, so to speak, to see how these things have impacted individuals or continue to impact individuals in the present day. Malls and "Jasper Mall" with its untouched '80s aesthetic fit the bill perfectly.
Brett Whitcomb: I think the way the mall looked inspired us the most. It had an aesthetic that we both loved and it reminded us of the malls of our youth. Then when we spent time in the mall and met the people inside, we felt pretty confident that this would be our next project.
Did malls serve a social role for you growing up? I remember being a tween and young teen and malls were a place to meet up with friends, girls, etc.
Thomason: Of course. Once we got old enough to go by ourselves, we'd get dropped off at the mall and spend the entire day there hanging with friends. Brett and I both went to Almeda and Baybrook malls in Houston, Texas. For us it was all about the arcades, Tilt and Aladdin's Castle. My parents always visited the department stores, so I spent a lot of time in JC Penney, Palais Royal and Sears. And of course, the food courts. Piccadilly Cafeteria in Alameda Mall was a big one for me.
Whitcomb: I grew up in the ’90s going to Baybrook Mall in Clear Lake City, Texas. I would always get my mom to drop me off there for hours and I would watch a movie, eat pizza or if I had enough money eat at Luby’s, play video games at Aladdin’s Castle, shop for CDs at Sam Goodie, walk around Radio Shack. And stare at the Reebok Pumps I desperately wanted before school started again.
What's your connection to Alabama?
Thomason: We're both Houston natives and I moved to Birmingham when I met my wife at (Birmingham's) Sidewalk Film Festival.
Whitcomb: I followed Brad here.
If malls eventually go extinct what do you think we'll be missing?
Bradford: We'll lose that feeling of community that comes from shopping in an indoor space. Maybe we've already lost it as malls become more and more scarce and online shopping takes over.
How is the ongoing pandemic affecting indie films and documentaries, as far as getting them out there, distribution, building buzz, etc.?
Thomason: It's definitely presented some chThomasonges. One of our favorite things for us when we make films is having the chance to watch them in a packed theater. We're just not sure when that'll happen again. "Jasper Mall" had its world premiere at Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Shortly after our premiere COVID-19 happened, and we decided that the best plan of action would be to release the film digitally as we were already talking to distributors who were eager to release it.
A few of your favorite all-time documentaries?
Whitcomb: This is a hard and fun question. I could make a very long list, but some that have really stuck with me lately are: "Paris is Burning," "Harlan County, U.S.A.," "Gates of Heaven," "Last Train Home" and Les Blank's "Always for Pleasure" box set.
Thomason: Some of the same ones Brett listed, plus "Marjoe," "American Movie," "F for Fake," "Crumb" and "Hands on a Hardbody."
What impact do you hope your documentary has on people who watch it?
Whitcomb: Documentaries have the ability to stay with you for a very long time. I remember watching “Vernon, Florida” for the first time and not being able to shake it for a while. We just hope people feel something after watching and remember the people in “Jasper Mall.”
What's your background in film?
Whitcomb: Films can change your life and we wanted to be a part of that. We didn’t go to film school or anything, we just rented lots of DVDs from Netflix and watched obsessively. And nothing much has changed except we don’t get DVDs in the mail anymore.
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