Episode 211: Salvaging 'Accidental Art' with Dan Halsted of the Hollywood Theatre [Interview]

Dan Halsted is one of the premier film programmers in the United States. In addition to his role as head programmer for the historic Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR, Dan has amassed a collection of some of the most vital kung fu and exploitation films in existence. He’s salvaged the only known prints of several classics, he holds one of a small handful of many more, and he’s attracted the company of figures like Quentin Tarantino and RZA along the way. We talked to Dan just before AN EXPLOITATION EXTRAVAGANZA, an exhibition of several such prints in February 2023, including one film (Joseph Kuo’s 1977 kung fu classic 7 GRANDMASTERS) and a bunch of old trailers on film. In this conversation, we chat about the program, how Dan came to know and love the Trylon, the shifting demographics for film screening, and what it’s like to look back on a career of rescuing films firsthand before they’re lost forever. Get tickets to AN EXPLOITATION EXTRAVAGANZA (Feb 3-5, 2023 at the Trylon): https://www.trylon.org/films/category/an-exploitation-extravaganza/ Get tickets to GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933, presented by film programmer Chantell Halsted (Feb 5 at the Trylon): https://www.trylon.org/film/gold-diggers-of-1933/ Visit the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR: https://hollywoodtheatre.org/ Support the Hollywood Theatre’s goal of purchasing two Norelco AAIIs to ensure they can keep showing film well into the future: https://prod3.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/info.aspx?doninfo=742~5f969332-ec94-41af-822d-5c7ec8f2ca2b&epguid=78f97749-fa19-4772-a914-f346d99cc5f3& Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: "Magic Fly" by Space from the SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW (1978) soundtrack. Timestamps 0:00 - Episode 211: Salvaging Film History with Dan Halsted of the Hollywood Theater [Interview] 1:53 - Bringing one-of-a-kind film prints to the Trylon 6:06 - Why’s 7 GRANDMASTERS (1977) so special? 9:01 - Showing grindhouse trailers at the Trylon 17:20 - Dan’s connection to the Trylon 19:28 - What it’s like to program at the Hollywood Theatre 23:56 - What makes Portland a “movie-watching town” 30:09 - Showing 70mm at the Hollywood 35:16 - Why Gen Z audiences are drawn to film 37:55 - The growth of interest in film during the pandemic 43:06 - Outreach & getting people to come out for film 46:12 - Dan’s film programming white whales 50:17 - How it feels to be one of the most notable film programmers in the US 57:30 - What’s next for Dan