MIKE JEKNAVORIAN National Interviews

BRUCE LABRUCE

From cleaning toilets at a nuclear power plant, to becoming one of the pioneers of the New Queen Cinema, no one makes movies quite like Bruce LaBruce does, including his new film Saint-Narcisse.  But beyond his cinematic proficiency, what does LaBruce have in common with a former king of Scotland?

PHOTOGRAPH BY CAMO

By Mike Jeknavorian

Where did you grow up?  I grew up on a farm near Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula.  The farm is gone; I miss it.  Where do you live now?  In Toronto.  What’s special about Toronto that isn’t common knowledge?  “Bore-onto” can still be provincial.  Or maybe that’s common knowledge…  If you had to live somewhere else, where would you live?  In Colombia.  Which one of your old jobs least prepared you for what you do now?  Cleaning toilets at the Bruce Nuclear Power Development Station.  How did you come up with your name?  I was born in Bruce Township—which is in Bruce County, at the base of the Bruce Peninsula—and to pay for university, I worked at the Bruce Nuclear Power Development Station.  I’m also almost a direct descendant of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland.  I added the “La” to add a feminine touch.  What would your drag name be?  I used to do a tiny bit of drag back in the day.  My drag name was Judy LaBruce or Fonda LaBruce.

ADVERTISMENT

A young man begins exploring his attraction to much older men while working a nursing home. A festival hit the world over, Bruce La Bruce’s unmissable Gerontophilia is arguably his boldest and most accomplished work to date.
PHOTOGRAPH BY SAAD AL-HAKKAK

What’s the strangest film that you studied at York University?  The Ceremony, by Nagisa Oshima.  What’s the most extreme film that you ever saw?  Bambi.  Does film censorship help society in any way?  No.  What’s the sexist film set that you’ve ever been on?  My short film, Purple Army Faction, because it had a three-way between Francois Sagat, Arad Winwin, and Dato Foland.  Who’s the most underrated film director?  Richard Fleischer.  Who’s the most overrated film director?  George Lucas.  What’s your favorite film that you made?  The latest one that I’ve made.  Other than one of your own films, what’s your favorite film?  Looking for Mr. Goodbar.  Other than yourself, who’s your favorite film director?  Frank Perry.  Who would you love to work with?  Beatrice Dalle.  What story would you love to tell that you haven’t been able to get off the ground yet?  The Wilhelm von Gloeden story.  Considering your short film Scotch Egg, have you ever run into a bachelorette party at a gay bar?  Yes, at a defunct gay male strip bar in Toronto. There were two floors, so I could escape to the gay section.

WITH KARL LAGERFELD

Who’s your favorite punk or hardcore band?  Feederz.  What’s the best punk or hardcore show that you ever went to?  Husker Du at Larry’s Hideaway in Toronto, in 1985.  What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during the quarantine?  Wanking.  Will you ever retire?  No.  What’s the weirdest question that a fan has asked you?  Is “Bruce LaBruce” your real name?  What other celebrity did you act like a “fan” around?  Karen Black.  What’s the last thing that you looked at online?  Porn.  What’s the best place that you’ve ever visited?  Bogota.  What are you an expert at?  Procrastinating.  If God were to take you tomorrow, how would you like to be remembered?  Take me where…?  What do you want to live long enough to see?  Teleportation.  What’s your current state-of-mind?  Horny.  What were you doing before you saw this email?  Sleeping.  What’s your idea of perfect happiness?  Good dick.  What’s your greatest fear?  Simulation hypothesis.  Either living or dead, who’s the greatest political figure in America or Canada?  Judy LaMarsh.  What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older?  That you don’t have to worry so much.

What did you learn from your parents?  Love.  Who’s your favorite performer?  Kembra Pfahler and Ron Athey.  What’s your best characteristic?  Resilience.  How do you enjoy spending your time?  Existing.  What celebrity do you have crush on?  Bryce Dallas Howard.  Who do you admire?  My Mom and Dad.  If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be?  River Phoenix.  Where would you go in a time machine?  To 1972.  What would your last meal be?  An egg salad sandwich.  What do you worry about?  Homelessness.  If you were a musical instrument, what would you be?  A cymbal.  Are you more like a sheep or a wolf?  A wolf.  Who depends on you, and for what?  My family, for just showing up.  Who are you closest with?  That’s classified.  What would your autobiography be called?  I already wrote a premature memoir called The Reluctant Pornographer.  The next would be called Wondering.  What’s on your bucket list?  To visit mainland China.  What’s your greatest regret  in life?  Everything.  What’s something secretive about you that people don’t know?  That I’m not an exhibitionist.  Where can we see you?  In your dreams!