Video tour by a guy who lives in an abandoned hotel

[Video Link] A dapper fellow by the name of Augustus Gladstone (is that his real name?) posted a video to Youtube showing the room he lives in. It's a whimsically decorated place, but it's not until he takes you out into the empty hallway that it gets a little weird. He explains, "There ain't really any people who live here no more; I've got my one little place and that's about it." He goes on to tell us about the potential of moving into other vacant rooms and stealing electricity from the basement. Toward the end, he says, "No one is aware that I'm here."

Be sure to check out his other videos, too. He is quite a character.

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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jorum

I like the stacked TVs and eclectic decor.
It’s like living the post-apocalyptic livestyle without all the hassle of going through an actual apocalypse.
- lorq
  
  My first thought was that this guy seems like a character from Samuel Delany’s “Dhalgren” — some oddball who has drifted into the mostly deserted, ambiguously post-apocalyptic city of Bellona and set up a little life for himself there.
  
  Alternatively, J.F. Sebastian from “Blade Runner.”
  - Lolotehe
    
    My thoughts exactly. It made me wonder if there was a film version finally being made and this was some kind of viral for it.
    
    Also, how is it that no one has mentioned the steady-cam?
  - the Other michael
    
    upvoted
brillow

Accent sounds fake. The key to spotting a fake “southern” accent it to realize that there are dozens of regional accents, which commonly are mixed together by actors into one.

A good example of this is to watch Steel Magnolias. These women, sisters raised in the same town, all have different accents.
Anonymous

This screams fake, but it’s somewhat intriguing anyway.
- jeremyhogan
  
  I agree. From his hair and look on his face in the opening, to his fake sounding accent. Plausible? Sure. Probable? Not so much.
knoxblox

Nicole really does seem like a sweetheart!

I dunno though…stage makeup, elaborate affectation…could this be some sort of new-fangled community theater?

The person who applies the makeup is very skilled, though. Very Lana Turner-ish.
salsaman

Hmmm. Acts and dresses like a 60-year-old but looks like he’s 30? brillow, what tipped you off about his accent, what’s it a mix of?
- brillow
  
  I am not expert enough to tell you just what it is. But I was born and raised in the south, and no one talks like this. He’s mixing a somewhat mincing affectation with a tone which is rather brutish.
JArmstrong

Anyone else think “Tom” is chained neatly to a furnace?

Also, brillow, I don’t think a lot of the accents in Steel Magolias are fake. I mean, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, and Julia Roberts are Southerners. So, yes, they might have different regional accents, but not fake accents.
- Anonymous
  
  My thought exactly “…it rubs the lotion on it’s skin..”
  
  And FWIW, I’m hearing a slight British or possibly Aussie accent underneath that saccharine drawl
- brillow
  
  Yes, and Julia is from Georgia, but the way she speaks in the movie is not how she spoke when she still lived there, in fact, the way she was speaking is not spoken by anyone alive today. Most actors are taught to drop their R’s and speak like plantation owners. The people who actually talked like that are long dead.
  
  There’s a good segment of This American Life about this, see “Drawl” here: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/138/the-real-thing
  - Antinous / Moderator
    
    Similarly, most of the world thinks that people from Massachusetts speak like the Kennedys, when in fact they have their own intramural accent.
Anonymous

I’m gonna go ahead and say after watching a few of his other videos, I think he’s a damn comedic genius. Love him!
Anonymous

Wow, reminds me of Sebastian in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep….
Anonymous

Art/theater project.
rsplatpc

He sounds and kinda looks like Thomas Lennon’s character from Reno 911
MonsterMan

Fake viral (they hope they will be anyway) videos incoming!

Well, I don’t know, but I definitely get a fake-y vibe from the whole thing.
nuschu

I don’t really think this is fake… Personally I think his accent is awesome and it’s cool to see how well he dresses and how he has eeked out this nice place in this abandoned building. If anything, some of his videos may be a bit on the naive side, but he’s a pretty charismatic guy and he has a cool look to him. It’s almost like he hit a point in his life and time stopped moving.
- jeremyhogan
  
  The base accent may be real, but he’s “playin’ it up a spell.”
Anonymous

>It’s like living the post-apocalyptic livestyle without all the hassle of going through an actual apocalypse.

It’s after the end of the world, don’t you know that yet? – Sun Ra
Noah Nickels

yeah, totally fake. I imagine its a viral video for an upcoming mockumentary or even feature film. someone who lives in that type of an environment wouldn’t have such perfectly coifed hair and makeup. some quick googling indicates the movie might be potentially named “the immortal augustus gladstone.” plus that picture of his mom would make her like 100 years old or something.

the acting is fairly good, but he’s not “crazy” enough to be living like that.
Anonymous

There is a now-defunct website called ‘The Immortal Augustus Gladstone that looks like it was built to support a film of some sort about this very fellow….
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:3Z2F2i1uJLYJ:theimmortalaugustusgladstone.com/The_Immortal_Augustus_Gladstone/SYNOPSIS.html+augustus+gladstone+blog&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com&nucr=CAEQz628wZeiwv11GNuCk_EE

He has a Facebook page, which indicates he is living in Portland,
https://www.facebook.com/people/Augustus-Gladstone/100001977776261

This definitely *feels* like performance art to me.
Anonymous

It’s a viral video for theimmortalaugustusgladstone.com/ (now removed).
knoxblox

I don’t think the style of living is in itself “crazy”, though I’d be a little worried about the precarious placement of things around his “house”.

Wish it were real, I’d like to ask if he minded if I took up a room in another part of the building.
Anonymous

Brillow’s probably right. I noticed right away that his accent is fake. It sounds like he’s trying to do a northwestern North Carolina accent (think of Andy Griffith), but he’s adding inflections you’d only ever hear in some parts of Alabama (Jim Nabors) or parts of south Georgia (Jimmy Carter).

The whole thing seems like amateur theater. I’d like to see if there’s actually a plot to develop from Augustus’ arrangement, or if it’s just an exercise in exposition.
Anonymous

Also found this from a guy who has a “Production Sound & Assistant Editor” on his resume. The Immortal Augustus Gladstone is listed as a Fiction Feature Film.

http://www.media-match.com/usa/profile.php?uid=794749

Based on all available evidence, it’s pretty much 100% certain this is a viral video for a fictional documentary about a guy who’s been alive since the Civil War.
Anonymous

This guy. https://www.facebook.com/people/Augustus-Gladstone/100001977776261
fnc

Tommy’s in the bath just right now.

Decomposing.
knoxblox

Sooo…while we’re waitin’ fer Tommy, would you like a Co-Cola?
Jack

To add to the â€œthis is some kind of indie film production thingâ€ chorus, Angela J. Smith has â€œThe Immortal Augustus Gladstoneâ€ listed on her resume here:
http://www.angelajsmith.com/resume.php

â€œRepublic of Tinselman Productions/ Joe Rynearson: Production Designerâ€

Even if this is fake, itâ€™s a pretty interesting concept. Wonder what happened?
Anonymous

Also improbable: an abandon building that hasn`t had all copper ripped out and resold by crack heads.
- tincansongbird
  
  Now that’s the clincher.
  - Anonymous
    
    Actually Anon @#29 nailed it. This is just a “synopsis” I found cached on Google.
Anonymous

In May, 2011 AUGUSTUS GLADSTONE began posting a series of YouTube videos from a vacant hotel in Portland, Oregon where he still lives as a squatter. After these videos gained some attention online, we decided to pay Augustus a visit. We found a man who, according to his own accounts, was born during the American Civil War, was murdered once and shot hundreds of times… a man who personally witnessed countless events of the last century. We found a man who claimed to be friends with French Noblemen, an enemy to carpetbaggers, and a muse to the worldâ€™s greatest artists. This is story of THE IMMORTAL AUGUSTUS GLADSTONE.
Aaron

There’s a quarter-baked website: http://theimmortalaugustusgladstone.com/

The WHOIS entry for it points to a small-time production company in Spokane, headed up by this fellow:
https://plus.google.com/103747200148784059844/about
hatters

Erin Walters appears to have done the makeup according to her resume found here:

http://www.erinwaltersmakeup.com/resume.html

Robyn Miller is also the domain holder of the website: http://theimmortalaugustusgladstone.com

It would be pretty snazzy if this was a real documentary and not some set-up.
- Anonymous
  
  Robyn Miller, also known as one of the two brothers (along with Rand) who created the game Myst!
gwailo_joe

I like his book shelf…

Now ol’ Augustus seems like a genial enough fellow, and how much of his act is an act remains to be seen…but if he really has his own free set up in an abandoned hotel; why advertise it?

He has exponentially increased his chances of getting busted; stuff trashed, evicted…possibly prosecuted.

I hope that don’t happen a’course, but still…the common human desire to say ‘look what I got/did/etc!’ combined with the Interwebz too often becomes an exercise in foot shooting…

But if it is just all for lulz, well…more power to ya Gus!
Anonymous

Apparently the documentary is already circulating as there’s an item mentioned in the Las Vegas Journal (http://www.lvrj.com/blogs/vegasvoice/SHOOTING_STARS_Fox_poker_show_finds_new_home_in_Las_Vegas.html)

“Quick hits: Also expected in town this week: The documentary â€œThe Immortal Augustus Gladstoneâ€”
joe blough

hope it’s just a coincindence but the g+ profile of the owner of the production company has a link back to mark’s other blog…
Anonymous

Never mind the accent – surely that man is wearing a wig!
Anonymous

http://www.erinwaltersmakeup.com/resume.html

The makeup artist’s resume. Director is Robyn Miller.
lewis stoole

he reminds me of a young doug michels. maybe augustus gladstone was cloned from his tongue?
Mythus

Couldn’t they have gotten a better wig?
dainel

Any special reason why there is electricity in the basement, but not anywhere else?
miss_emelia

Here’s the fake tipoff for me – “Here’s my mom.” The woman in the picture is wearing a circa 1860 dress. He’s clearly not over 40. Unless his mom is a Civil War reenactor, or he’s a vampire, this isn’t a real scenario.

Anyone know where this is supposed to be?
jbldb

Apparently he not only gets his electricity from the basement, but there’s a well down there where he keeps his “skins” until they’re skinny enough…
Nawel

It looked all too theatrical from the beginnging. The hair, the eyebrows, the makeup… the videos are edited as well (he claims he knows nothing about this)…anyway, it looks like an interesting movie, if it’s ever made.