When he was 20 years old, future Saturday Night Live writer and comedian Tom Schiller was traveling and living in Europe trying desperately to be an artist … of some kind. “It was kind of pathetic, and laughable in retrospect,” said Schiller in a recent email interview. “All I knew was one of the components of being a great artist was suffering. I was truly tortured – though of course I can’t remember by what, other than this preconceived, silly concept. During a train journey I must have looked so distraught that a man sitting across from me noticed my pained state, identified himself as a Swedish architect and said, ‘You will get everything you want in this life, only you won’t get it in the way you expect.’ And, I swear, it came true.” The stranger’s prophecy found its way into Schiller’s 1984 film Nothing Lasts Forever, which, fittingly enough, follows the journey of a young man, Adam Beckett (played by Gremlins‘ Zach Galligan), on a quest to become an artist … of some kind.
Never heard of the movie? You’re not alone. Despite the presence of SNL players Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray (playing a flight attendant to the moon), Schiller’s funny and surreal first film was never released or distributed on VHS or DVD. “I think it just wasn’t the kind of comedy film [distributor MGM] was expecting,” said Schiller. “It’s not exactly commercial.” But with an optimism characteristic of the film’s protagonist, Schiller sees a silver lining to the film being “lost” for so long.
“Perhaps it is an unexpected benefit,” Schiller said. “If it had had a theatrical release when I made it, maybe it would have flopped and become more obscure than it is now. The fact that it receives a rare showing here and there, and has a limited group of fans, and is shown from time to time in neat movie houses like the Ritz, it can remain a special film seen by those for whom it was intended.” And as Schiller pointed out, “It does have a cult following: my brother and a few people on South Congress.”
Count Alamo Drafthouse programmer Zack Carlson a member of that cult. Carlson, who will host a special screening on Dec. 23, called the film one of his top three favorites. “Nothings Lasts Forever has haunted the periphery of movie goondom for a while and was more renowned for being a ‘lost film’ than a great one. I was curious about it for the usual reasons that tie in with that type of thing – unseen curiosities, etc. – but I guess I never expected it to be just so goddamn good,” he said. “It’s smart but not cynical, heartbreaking but hilarious. It’s beautifully made but constantly mocks all the pretenses of hoity-toity art. Plus it celebrates the real things that make life worth living: grandparents, hillbillies, true love, hobos, chasing unrealistic dreams – all that stuff.”
This article appears in December 21 • 2012.