John Wilson spent three seasons on HBO turning New York’s sidewalks and small talk into ‘How To with John Wilson,’ a documentary comedy narrated in his own nervous stammer. His first project since the show ended drops the how-to conceit for a subject: ‘The History of Concrete.’ Wilson discussed the film with Interview magazine in a conversation published Sept. 17 that ranged over anxiety, city life and his flat refusal to use artificial intelligence in his work.
Wilson has long been open about the discomfort behind his filming. ‘I have a lot of social anxiety about what to talk to people about,’ he said. He treats that unease as fuel rather than a problem to solve. ‘Anxiety drives a lot of my art, I think, and art in general,’ Wilson said. The pursuit of a good moment keeps him pointing the camera. ‘The excitement is seductive,’ he said. ‘A feeling you really can’t get anywhere else.’
His work lives on hyper-specific observation, and he offered a fresh example of it. ‘The difference between the blue and gray Citi Bikes is the difference between heaven and hell,’ Wilson said, referring to the city’s bike-share fleet. His method with strangers turns out to be simpler than his anxiety might suggest. ‘Someone can stop being a stranger very quickly if you just ask them questions about their life,’ he said.
The new film gets personal about money. ‘It should be affordable,’ Wilson said of housing. ‘In my new movie, I give very specific facts and figures on what I charge in rent.’ He also described a wariness of authority that shapes where he films. ‘I don’t like to be in an environment with a ton of cops telling me where to go,’ he said. The digressions, as ever, double back toward how ordinary systems shape daily life in the city.
Wilson drew a hard line on artificial intelligence in filmmaking. ‘I have never used A.I.,’ he said. ‘Partially because I just don’t care, but most of what I see is from bad actors.’ ‘How To with John Wilson,’ which counted Nathan Fielder among its executive producers, built a cult following for its digressive style before Wilson ended it after the third season. ‘The History of Concrete’ carries that same method into one single, unlikely topic.
