Special Report: By Hook or By Crook (2001)

Special Report: By Hook or By Crook (2001)

From The Projection Booth by Weirding Way Media

September 8, 2026 · 20 min · Season 1 · Episode 745

About this episode

Harry Dodge and Silas Howard discuss their film By Hook or By Crook and its journey through restoration and release.

Harry Dodge and Silas Howard talk with Mike about By Hook or By Crook, their 2001 queer-cinema landmark, now touring U.S. theaters and streaming on VOD in a new 4K restoration. The pair met working at a dyke-run cafe in late-1980s San Francisco, and trace the film's origin story to an absurdly literal turning point: Dodge getting a cigarette-littering ticket that forced a thirteen-hour drive to Portland and back, during which the idea for a buddy story about Shy (Howard) and Valentine (Dodge) started to take shape. They talk about writing the script out of their own friendship rather than research, shooting for thirty days on dot-com money borrowed from newly flush friends, and staffing the crew almost entirely with fellow San Francisco artists and musicians. They also get into the year-long restoration process — producer Steak House rebuilding the film from raw footage into an entirely new timeline — and why a movie about two "outsiders of the outsiders" still doesn't feel dated twenty-five years later. By Hook or By Crook is currently playing in select theaters and available on-demand from Altered Innocence, with a Blu-ray and DVD — featuring a new commentary track with Dodge…

People in this episode

Host: Mike

Guests: Harry Dodge, Silas Howard

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Altered Innocence, Weirding Way Media, Steak House

Books & works: By Hook or By Crook

Places: San Francisco, Portland

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