FilmMonthly » byrnes.chad

Interview with Lloyd Kaufman

byrnes.chad — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:55:09 +0000

Lloyd Kaufman is a Producer, Director, Writer, Author and the President of the oldest Independent Film Studio in America Troma Films. Lloyd is that funny little guy in the tweed jacket and bow tie, harmless to look at but when his creative forces are unleashed he delivers poetic debauchery on film. Films such as “The Toxic Avenger”, “Class of Nuke ‘Em High”, “Sgt Kabukiman NYPD”, Tromeo & Juliet”, “Terror Firmer”, and his most recent film “Poultrygiest: Night of the Chicken Dead” have redefined the terms “exploitation and “B-Movie”. Lloyd was in Chicago Educating Film Students at Columbia College about producing, and talking about his new book “Produce Your Own Damn Movie”. This is my interview with the one and only Lloyd Kaufman.
Gary: Lloyd, before we get started I’d just like to thank you for teaching me how to make projectile vomit using Broma Seltzer and green food coloring.
Lloyd: Oh yes! From the books!
Gary: Yes from your first book, “Everything I Learned About Filmmaking I Learned From the Toxic Avenger!” I read that back in 1999 while I was still in film school after a friend gave it to me.
Lloyd: Great. Well thank you.
Gary: It amazes me that after 35 years there are still people who don’t know what Troma is, can you explain to us what makes your company different and what makes your films unique?
Lloyd: I guess the films that we make come from the heart and from the soul and every person is different. So if people are making movies that are personal films they will all be different. If people are making movies so they can sell action figures at Burger King, then things tend to all look the same. I think Troma is famous because we have made films that are a little bit ahead of the time. We’ve made films with new talent that often become big stars like Vincent D’Onofrio. In the case of films like”The Toxic Avenger “and “Class of Nuke ‘Em High”, the fact that we’ve mixed all the genres together made it difficult for the films to be classified so back when video stores were plentiful something like 2000 stores carried Troma Films and many had a Troma section because you couldn’t put our films in with any other genres. We mixed sex and horror and comedy and slapstick and Shakespeare, everything and now “Poultrygiest: Night of the Chicken Dead” my most recent film adds the musical component and correct me if I’m wrong “Poultrygiest: Night of the Chicken Dead” is the first chicken, Indian, zombie movie with singing and dancing.
Gary: And might I add the musical numbers are really good.
Lloyd: Well it took 3 or 4 years from starting that film to finishing it and we had a great cast. It was quite an experience.
Gary: Lloyd I’ve read all of your books. I find them informative and exceptionally entertaining. In your newest book “Produce Your Own Damn Movie” you focus on producing feature films. The main theme the book centers around is there is no clear cut way to get a film made. So you show us several different methods including the “Troma Way”, and the “Hollywood Way” among others. Can you elaborate a little more on this?
Lloyd: Well “Produce Your Own Damn Movie” about half of it shows how I’ve produced films for the past 35 years but it also has a lot of successful producers commentary on producing films of different budgets. For example we have commentary from the producer of “Blood Bath and the House of Knives”, which was made for like four thousand dollars and we also have the guy who produced “Rambo 4” for 80 million dollars and how he financed it. We’ve got the Oscar winning producer of “Crash”. You know, how did he do it, how did he get that film made? How did these guys get their movies done? The challenge of the book was to get them to talk about it. There’s so many different ways. Basically I’ve been doing it by raising money through limited partnerships. This was all before Clinton came along and got rid of the financial syndication rule. The movies were always on cable so people could make some money. These days it is very rare to make a living making five hundred thousand dollar movies. You either have to make one ultra low budget under 20K or make “Titanic”.
Gary: Is your plan to continue to go with your 500K shoot it on 35mm Troma style production model?
Lloyd: Well I can’t keep spending my wife’s retirement money on films (laughs). So you know “Poultrygiest”, which has been my best reviewed film and has played in over 300 theatres won’t make one cent of its budget back. It might make its distribution expenses back. We’ll lose the entire 500K. Most of which is ours.
Gary: Well with the state of the film industry what are you plans for your next film?
Lloyd: Well with our next film, the technology has actually gotten very good. With the RED Camera you can do a lot. In fact I interviewed Neveldine and Taylor who did “Crank 2” and “The Gamer”, both shot digitally. I filmed the behind the scenes for those films. And I was convinced with the results and I’m considering using it on my next project.
Gary: Anything in the works?
Lloyd: I’m working on two scripts, “The Toxic Avenger Part 5” and another script with Gabe Friedman who did “Poultrygiest” with me.
Gary: You’ve said that Troma is actually losing money compared to it’s heyday during the 80’s video boom, yet I feel like I see Troma more today than ever? You guys have always been cutting edge, “movies of the future,” you’re at conventions, you can purchase most of your library online at your website (www.troma.com), your movies are available on Netflix and such.
Lloyd: That’s great and I’m very happy people are watching but you really don’t make any money that way. We haven’t had a movie on American television in over ten years. Even “Cannibal: The Musical” which has sold over two hundred thousand DVD’s and has never been on TV. “Citizen Toxie” sold even more copies and hasn’t been on American television and that hurts. You can’t make any money off the Internet, I mean you can make a little but it’s not enough. Like I said with “Poultrygiest” which is the best film I’ve ever made, well reviewed, played in 300 theatres and it probably won’t make its money back.
Gary: You’re the chairman of IFTA the Independent Film and Television Alliance. How can that help independent filmmakers?
Lloyd: It’s the trade association of the independent community. The idea is that the trade association can do what the individuals can’t do by themselves. So we’re lobbying in Washington. We have a treasury and a lobbyist and we go to Washington. Last week I met with the new FCC chairman and we talked to him about how important it is that we re-examine the fact that the financial syndication rules that prevented the monopoly have been done away with and we need to at least have a hearing in congress and examine the issues. And the problem is that most of the attention is on the new technology and the fact that Comcast is buying NBC, Universal and all of that and then that gets into Net neutrality and the democratic diverse Internet which is great but there are these other platforms from cable, to theatrical to TV to MOD and all that stuff. All the old traditional platforms are the private domain of a small number of very wealthy executives and that’s not a good thing, so the Independent Film and Television Alliance is fighting to try and keep independent art alive but also looking at ways to fight piracy too. The trade association can do that.
Gary: Couple questions for Troma fans.
Lloyd: Yes!
Gary: What’s the word on the “Toxie Twins”, the fifth Toxic Avenger movie?
Lloyd: We’re working on a script. I’m not sure where it’s exactly going but I know that each Toxie movie he gets older and so in this one his kids are adolescences and his wife Sarah must deal with menopause and stuff. I don’t really have the actual plot yet, that’s the problem. I have pieces.
Gary: Will that be the next film you direct?
Lloyd: Either that or this other script I’m working on about the art of filmmaking.
Gary: You said “Poultrygiest” is your best movie, is that also closest to your heart?
Lloyd: No I think “Terror Firmer” is.
Gary: How so?
Lloyd. Well it’s about a low budget filmmaker that may or may not be good but at least he loves what he’s doing. That’s the most personal but Poultrygiest is the funniest and it’s got a lot going on in there. It exposes the phony limousine liberals; it opens the door to vegetarianism, it focuses on fast food. The whole metaphor of the zombies is about the media brain washing us to go like zombies to buy the action figures. The media puts the Kool-Aid in the water so the public goes to Burger King to get their action figures.
Gary: Any hopes for a Toxic Avenger Video game? A combat style video game where your characters can battle each other?
Lloyd: Nintendo and Sega did make a Toxic Avenger Video game back in the 90’s but now days I would doubt it. I think the video games are working with the big guys or they own their own, it’s very expensive to develop a game. It’s not something we could do on our own.
Gary: What about product placement?
Lloyd: Well nobody wants to be associated with us.
Gary: I like you guys.
Lloyd: Well I mean nobody with any kind of major product.
Gary: You’re friends with one of my biggest influences, Stan Lee.
Lloyd: Yes, a good buddy.
Gary: I saw a clip from the San Diego comic con of Stan Lee on stage roasting you? You’ve said Troma was influenced by the Marvel Universe. I always felt like Troma was the evil bastard doppelganger of the Marvel universe.
Lloyd: The Marvel universe definitely influenced the Troma universe. We have Toxie and Sgt Kabukiman going into each others movies. Tromaville itself, all our movies take place there and Stan has said that the Toxic Avenger did for the movie superhero what Spidey did for the comic superhero. Put a new face on the super hero. Spidey has to deal with worldly problems but also has to take care of his aunt and has to deal with peer pressure and all that stuff. Super hero Toxie has a significant other, but can’t hold a job and doesn’t really have much for super powers, I mean he has a mop and he’s kind of strong. I think what makes Toxie super human is he can solve worldly problems and that’s what Stan Lee said. Although Stan Lee can use the word “Superhero”, where we cannot because Marvel owns it. Stan is in a couple of my books too.
Gary: I don’t know if you realize this but you’ve actually become a film educator. To go along with you line of film production books you have a “Make You Own Damn…Everything” line of tutorial DVD’s.
Lloyd: Yeah, professors should be using my stuff. Most of these books that tell you how to make movies the writers haven’t made any movies. It’s a lot of hot air. At least I’ve made movies. And you won’t find my books in the classrooms. Either professors don’t know about it or they don’t…if I were a kid I would check out these DVD’s. It’s all behind the scenes stuff; check out Poultry In Motion the documentary about making Poultrygiest. You learn more form that than going to some …you know truth is stranger than chicken.
Gary: We know about the rumors that a major studio is in talk about remaking the Toxic Avenger? Please don’t let them do this.
Lloyd: Well what if they offer me 2 million dollars? A lot of remakes are better than the originals. Look at “Evil Dead 2”, they just remade one of our movie’s called “Mother’s Day” I think it comes out next year. It’s from the guy who did “Repo: The Genetic Opera”, maybe it’ll be great. The only reason we would give away the rights is so we could keep making our own damn movies.
Gary: What single piece of advice would you give to the next filmmaker who wants to be Lloyd Kaufman?
Lloyd: Well I’d say to thy own self be true. Do what you believe in and don’t compromise. I regretted compromising in Toxic Avenger 2 and 3. You can be a gun for hire, do what the big guys tell you, maybe make a lot of money, or you can do things on your own and struggle but have total control over it. I don’t really think there’s a middle ground.
Gary: Thank you for your time Lloyd.
Lloyd: My pleasure.
Writer’s Note: Lloyd Kaufman was joined by independent filmmaker Cory Udler who was promoting his low budget indie film “Incest Death Squad” which also stars Lloyd Kaufman. “Incest Death Squad” is playing at festivals around the world. For more info check out www.incestdeathsquad.com .
Gary Schultz is a filmmaker currently living in Chicago, IL.

Transformers: The Complete First Season 25th Anniversary Edition DVD

byrnes.chad — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:31:52 +0000

“Four million years after crash-landing on an unfamiliar planet, sentient robots with the ability to disguise themselves as common vehicles awaken on present-day Earth. Engaged in a crucial race to find a new energy source for their home planet of Cybertron, the heroic Autobots must defend the innocent people of Earth against their arch nemeses, the power-hungry Decepticons.” Just in time for the release of the new Transformers movie “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” shoutfactory.com has released an affordable way to celebrate and collect the adventures of your favorite transforming robots with Transformers: The Complete First Season 25th Anniversary Edition.
Twenty five years since it all began comes this slick new edition. All 16 episodes are available on 1 slim disc. The episodes have been restored to there original broadcast format beginning with More Than Meets The Eye, Parts 1-3. Also included is a bonus disc full of extras most notably a documentary called Triple Changer: From Toy To Comic To Screen – The Origins of The Transformers which features the creators of the toys and cartoon talking about how it all began.
Many a die hard fan will remember that Rhino Home Video delivered a stunning boxed set of Transformers Season 1 some years ago. The Rhino boxed set features all 16 episodes on 4 discs and each episode was digitally restored and looks amazing. While this new version may not feature as much of the “collectors goodies” as the previous Rhino version, it is much more affordable ($24.98 on the shoutfactory.com website) and will no doubt help and avid Transformers fan get the next generation hooked on a 1980’s favorite, Transformers.
Get Transformers: The Complete First Season 25th Anniversary Edition at http://www.shoutfactory.com
Bonus Features Include:
• Restored To The Original Broadcast Versions With A New Stereo Soundtrack Created From The Original Audio
• Triple Changer: From Toy To Comic To Screen – The Origins Of The Transformers
• A Printable Script
• Rare PSA

The Perfect Sleep Review

byrnes.chad — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:29:49 +0000

“The Perfect Sleep” is the latest release from Unified Pictures and this is absolutely not your average independent film. “The Perfect Sleep” is a bizarre mixture of film noir and martial arts featuring a nearly indestructible character known only as The Narrator. The Narrator brings us along on his spiritual journey as he is faced with the agonizing task of trying to save Porphyria, the one woman he has always loved but knows he cannot ever have.
“The Perfect Sleep” is an ambitious indie film directed by Jeremy Alter, beautifully photographed, with amazing set design and a powerful cast. Oddly enough the screenwriter and unknown actor of “The Perfect Sleep” Anton Pardoe plays The Narrator and not only holds his own with some of Hollywood’s finest, at times he blows them away. Anton Pardoe is exceptional in this movie both emotionally moving and ironically comedic but played with film noir grit necessary for a tortured character such as The Narrator.
Playing The Narrator’s Muse Porphyria, is the beautiful Roselyn Sanchez. She becomes the driving force behind The Narrator’s quest and his single motivation to continually take one hell of an ass-whoopin’ throughout the story. The cast includes an assortment of complex and intriguing characters. Tony Amendola plays the deadly Dr. Sebastian. Fight Coordinator Dominiquie Vandenberg plays Keller the unstoppable badass and the main antagonist behind it all is Nikolai played with intimidation by Patrick Bauchau. And to my pleasant surprise Michael Paré of “Eddie and the Cruiser’s” fame plays Officer Pavlovich which is so damn cool.
It’s refreshing to see this kind of production value in low budget independent film. This appears to be the Unified Pictures calling card, low budgets, high production value and take artistic risks. “The Perfect Sleep” isn’t a typical film noir, it has an almost dreamlike quality, and it requires the audience to allow themselves to become completely submerged into its world in order to clearly understand its intentions. Gary Oldman referred to “The Perfect Sleep” as ‘film noir on crack’. If this is something you desire, then seek out “The Perfect Sleep” at a theater near you and support a true independent film with a unique vision.
Contact http://www.unifiedpictures.com for more info.

Fangoria Weekend of Horror’s Convention 2009!

byrnes.chad — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:38:22 +0000

The Fangoria Weekend of Horror’s Convention in Chicago.
March 6th, 7th, & 8th, 2009.
Happy 30th Birthday Fangoria.
Fangoria is the most celebrated horror magazine of the past 3 decades and is the single name that ties all things horror related together. Fangoria represents every facet of horror, horror movies of all varieties, horror comic books, novels, scary art, fandom, anything you can think of horror related. I’ve been to several “Weekend of Horrors Conventions” and I ask you if you love scary movies of any and all kinds and you have not been to a Fango Con what the hell are you waiting for? Seriously stop saying you’ll go next year. You are completely missing out.
The Fangoria Convention is a horrific 3 day event. The Weekend of Horror’s was programmed and championed by Fangoria Editor In Chief Tony Timpone and his amazing staff and featured George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead), Herschel Gordon Lewis (The Gore-Gore Girls, She-Devil’s On Wheels), Lloyd Kaufman (Toxic Avenger), Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust), Lamberto Bava (Demons) and FX artist/director Sergio Stivaletti (Mother of Tears). And that’s not even half of the weekend’s line-up. Doug Bradley (Hellraiser), Tom Savini (Grindhouse, From Dusk Till Dawn), Tim Towles(House of 1000 Corpses) and Bill Mosley from “The Devil’s Rejects” plus Marilyn Burns and Caroline Williams from “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” fame all were in attendance. This year also featured live music by Mushroom Head and Fashion Bomb.
Only at the Fangoria Convention can you attend lectures and Q & A’s with nearly every horror icon in attendance. You can meet and get autographs and pictures with everyone. And if you’re an independent filmmaker it’s a chance to network with like-minded individuals. I spent several minutes talking with Herschel Gordon Lewis the Godfather of Gore. I even gave him and copy of my own short film, “Hellcat and Tala”. Only at Fangoria can you meet, talk and get some even-if-brief-straight forward advice from legendary directors and writers.
Another completely cool thing is this year Fango had at least a half dozen tattoo artists set up. People were lined up all weekend getting inked. There were a lot of artists this year selling unique and limited horror themed prints. One of my favorite parts of Fangoria is the Dudgeon, held in the basement where you can meet and greet the underground of aspiring artists and filmmakers and it is here where you just may discover the next John Carpenter or Lloyd Kaufman. Fangoria is exceptionally interactive with its fans. They want to know who you want to see at future conventions and constantly ask the crowd for feedback. This is cool because it gives the audience a true voice. For the first time this year I attended the Fangoria Auction on Sunday and watched them auction off everything. I mean everything, shirts, posters, a guitar, and the very banners on the stage. That was a lot of fun.
My notes for Fangoria are as follows, I would love to see Rob Zombie, Robert Englund, and Jack Hill at a convention. My girlfriend would like the vendors to sell more shirts for women and I was astonished to find that not a single vendor had a copy of John Carpenters “They Live” available because I’m still looking to replace my ancient VHS copy. See you at next Year’s Weekend of Horrors Convention!
This convention is the first event planned for FANGORIA magazine’s 30th Anniversary 2009 Tour. Other cities will include Los Angeles April 17-19 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and New York City, June 5-7 at the Javits Center.
For further information, call Creation Entertainment, 818/409-0960 or visit our website at
www.fangocon.com.

Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors

byrnes.chad — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:11:17 +0000

“Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors”
Brings Three Monstrous days to Chicago, IL March 6-8, 2009

Exciting guests and programs for Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors include top terror directors:
George A. Romero, director of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, DAWN OF THE DEAD, CREEPSHOW, MARTIN, KNIGHTRIDERS and THE DARK HALF, will have the first news and footage from his latest zombie flick; Toby Wilkins, director of SPLINTER and THE GRUDGE 3; R.W. Goodwin, director of new sci-fi comedy ALIEN TRESPASS, as well as THE X-FILES and TRU CALLING; Tobe Hooper, director of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, POLTERGEIST,’SALEM’S LOT and episodes of MASTERS OF HORROR;
Gary Sherman, director of RAW MEAT, VICE SQUAD and DEAD & BURIED; Herschell Gordon Lewis, Godfather of Gore and director of BLOOD FEAST, TWO THOUSAND MANIACS!, WIZARD OF GORE and many others; and Lloyd Kaufman, Troma president and director of POULTRYGEIST, TERROR FIRMER, TROMEO & JULIET and the TOXIC AVENGER films.
Special Horror events to be highlighted at Fango include:
 TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE Movies Reunion with director Tobe Hooper; Bill Moseley (“Chop-Top”); Marilyn Burns (“Sally”); Caroline Williams (“Stretch”); Bill Johnson (“Leatherface”); John Dugan (“Grandpa”); and Tom Savini, makeup FX legend!
Masters of Italian Horror Panel with Ruggero Deodato (CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST), Lamberto Bava (DEMONS) and FX artist/director Sergio Stivaletti (MOTHER OF TEARS)
Scare stars not to miss include: Doug Bradley, HELLRAISER’s Pinhead and featured in the new Clive Barker film BOOK OF BLOOD; Tom Towles, actor from HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, HALLOWEEN and GRINDHOUSE; and Sheila Larken, actress who played “Margaret Scully” on THE X-FILES.
On Friday evening at 9:00 PM, FANGORIA brings back the “Shock-N-Roll Spooktacular,” featuring music maniacs Mushroomhead, Fashion Bomb and DK Brianne, plus Fango’s spokemodel Shannon Lark.
The Chicago convention will host a costume contest and offer photo opps, autographs and a giant dealers’ marketplace. Also, stop by Fango’s jam-packed exclusive horror movie festival and watch advance previews of such films as THE GRUDGE 3, VINYAN, SPLINTER, PLAGUE TOWN, VINDICATION and many more.
This fright-filled three-day event will take place at the Wyndham Chicago O’Hare Hotel, 6810 North Mannheim Road, Rosemont, IL.
General admission tickets are available in advance for $20 or at the door for $20 on Friday and $25 for Saturday or Sunday. Advance tickets are available through www.fangocon.com. Tickets for children 6-12 are $15 at the door only, and children six and under are free with parent or guardian. Show hours are Friday 2:00 – 8:00 PM and Saturday and Sunday are 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM.
This convention is the first event planned for FANGORIA magazine’s 30th Anniversary 2009 Tour. Other cities will include Los Angeles April 17-19 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and New York City, June 5-7 at the Javits Center.
For further information, call Creation Entertainment, 818/409-0960 or visit our website at
www.fangocon.com.

An Interview with Kevin Heffernan and Paul Soter of “Broken Lizard”

byrnes.chad — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000

It’s November 9th, 2007, and I’m in my office in Chicago, waiting for a phone call from the Broken Lizard crew. I think to myself, How the hell am I going to know who’s talking? Whose voice belongs to whom? Sure, I’ve seen their films (Super Troopers, Club Dread, Beerfest), but there’s, like, five of these guys, and it will be hard to tell them apart on tape. Luckily, I am only interviewing Kevin Heffernan (Landfill from Beerfest, Farva from Super Troopers) and Paul Soter (Jan Wolfhouse from Beerfest and Foster from Super Troopers). Jay Chandrasekhar, who writes, acts in and directs all their films released thus far, was supposed to join us, but he was caught in traffic giving mustache rides. Kevin, especially, was a lot of fun to talk to. He laughs a lot, or maybe I’m just that funny. This is my crazy interview for Film Monthly. Remember, I ask the hard questions. Thanks for reading.
GARY SCHULTZ: Hey, how are you guys doing?
KEVIN HEFFERNAN: Hey Gary, how’s it going?
GS: Awesome, so Broken Lizard crew…Broken Lizard, shouldn’t that be Lizard(s)? Plural? There’s more than one of you, correct?
KH: (laughs)
PAUL SOTER: We think of ourselves as a five-headed single person, as opposed to five separate people.
GS: How does that work with your sex lives?
KH: (laughs)
PS: Oh, the women love it.
GS: You guys have Puddle Cruiser, Super Troopers, Club Dread, Beerfest–you guys are everywhere. Let’s talk about your next feature film, The Slammin’ Salmon…where the hell is Potfest?
PS: We’ve been trying to set it up. We get stopped on the street everyday with people asking us, “When’s Potfest gonna be made?” We would love to make it. I think it’s a no-brainer. I want to do it animated. Maybe that would be cool. We’ve been pursuing some animation companies about doing that. It could be a very psychedelic movie; that’s why we’ve been looking into it.
KH: Yeah, the Yellow Submarine version.
GS: So, what is your new movie, The Slammin’ Salmon, about?
KH: It’s basically about a restaurant owned by a former famous athlete. He pits his staff against each other in a Glengarry Glen Ross-type competition. In the course of one night, the waiter that earns the most money wins an additional ten thousand bucks. And the waiter who earns the least is fired at the end. Hilarity ensues.
GS: This is your feature directorial debut?
KH: Yeah.
GS: Are you nervous?
KH: Naaaa.
GS: A guy I work with has a message for Erik, who is not joining us today. He said tell Erik, “Coop wants his suit back.” Can you explain that?
KH: (laughs) Yeah, we go way back with Kevin Cooper. Erik would have to explain that. Maybe “suit” is another word for “condom.”
GS: (laughs) So, I was thinking if you guys were the A-Team, who would be B.A. Baracus, Murdock, and who would be the Faceman? And who would be the fifth man out?
PS: You know, it’s funny you brought that up. There was a point they were developing a feature version of the A-Team and asked us if we might be interested. So I sat down and tried to figure out who would be who.
KH: Am I B.A. Baracus or what?
PS: Jay could also be BA Baracus because he’s dark. So do you go big guy or dark guy, let me see? (thinking it over)
KH: Really?
PS: I felt like I was the odd man out. I would be the villain.
KH: Yeah, I think Steve Lemme would be more the Faceman and Erik Stolhanske would be Murdock.
GS: (laughs) This question is going to bug you guys for the rest of the day, you know.
KH: Yeah, probably.
GS: You guys have independent roots and are walking the very sweet line between making studio films and independently financed films like The Slammin’ Salmon and Super Troopers. How the hell are you guys pulling that off, and do you have any advice for up-and-coming filmmakers?
KH: We were talking about it the other day. It’s almost a mystery how you pull it off. Our first real studio movie was Club Dread, and we went to a studio and said, “Hey, we want to do a movie at a resort,” because we felt like going to a resort, and they bought it. Then, we went to Warner Brothers and got a deal because we said we wanted to make a movie about beer, and they bought it.
PS: Now we have to go independent again, so maybe they’ve figured us out. But you know, it’s still very difficult. Each movie has been set up uniquely. Doing something indie is great, because it’s nice to do something without interference.
GS: You guys all met in college at Colgate University. Who approached whom first and said, “Hey, let’s starting writing and performing comedy”?
KH: Chandrasekhar, like you, is from Chicago, actually, and he was doing things with the Improv Olympic guys and the Second City guys and stuff like that. He came up to Colgate and some student said they would give him some money to put together a comedy show. So he went and started rounding people up. So Chandrasekhar kind of started it.
GS: How did you guys come up with the Broken Lizard name?
KH: Good question. We always kind of go back and forth on whether or not to make up a really good story for this. Do you have one?
GS: (laughs) You gotta come up with one. Come on, you guys are writers.
KH: I remember a couple of times in our careers we all sat around, an all-nighter, trying to come up with great names and Chandrasekhar would get up the next day and make posters, and then we would come up with something completely new. We came up with some of the greatest names ever imagined.
GS: (laughs) And then?
KH: And then we used Broken Lizard. We could, right now, be named Chocolate Speedo.
GS: (laughs) Actually, that’s pretty good. I loved Beerfest. It’s my favorite of your films. Kevin, I was completely engulfed by your performance as Landfill, and especially Landfill 2.
KH: (laughs) Oh, thank you. Acting skills.
It’s around this time that our connection loses Paul, or he decides to go skydiving.
GS: For you guys, which of your films, your children, do you love the most?
KH: Oh man, I don’t know. They’re all such a capsule in time. I’m not sure. I tend to love the last one we’ve done.
GS: Since Jay isn’t here, maybe you can answer a question about him?
KH: Sure.
GS: When you guys were editing the Jessica Simpson/Daisy Duke infamous ass-shot scene in the Dukes of Hazzard movie, was Jay ever caught masturbating in the editing room?
KH: (laughs) I’m sure he was, and I’m sure he had ample opportunities to masturbate on set as well. He was sneaking away a lot to his trailer. They had to get a female editor.
GS: (laughs) And then she started masturbating, as well?
KH: Exactly.
GS: Is it safe to say you guys have been making Jay look good for years?
KH: Oh, hell yeah! And you’ll see on The Slammin’ Salmon.
GS: You guys start shooting in January?
KH: Yeah January 7th, out here in L.A.
GS: So, Kevin, I make films here in Chicago, and I’m very photogenic. Do you have a part in The Slammin’ Salmon for me?
KH: We have a lot of patron parts. Do you like fish?
GS: No, I hate fish, but I would eat it for you guys.
KH: Maybe we’ll get some prop fish.
GS: Dynamite. Thanks for your time Kevin.
KH: Thank you.

Mr. Skin’s Skintastic Video Guide

byrnes.chad — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Mr. Skin, the guy that’s famous for locating and resourcing what movies you can find your favorite celebrity naked in has published a book called Mr. Skin’s Skintastic Video Guide: The 501 Greatest Movies for Sex and Nudity on DVD. Mr. Skin skips right to the good parts with a new book that compliments his popular website. If you’re a statistic geek like me who loves film facts, and you like sex and nudity in movies, this book might be of interest to you. Mr. Skin breaks down his favorite 501 movies on DVD. Each movie listed is accompanied with a title, release date, director, what nude star is featured, along with what and how many nude body parts are featured. Mr. Skin spends a lot of time counting breasts and asses just to let you know how many are featured in each listed film.
This book actually includes a pretty wide variety of films, no X rated features here, all R rated and below. This Skintastic guide includes teen sex comedies like The Last American Virgin and Porky’s, horror films like Last House on the Left and I Spit On Your Grave, B movies like Death Race 2000 and Savage Island, and also dramas like Monster’s Ball and Breathless. You can search the appendix if you’re looking for a particular actress or actor and Mr. Skin provides fun lists, like Mr. Skin’s Top 69 of All Time, and Mr. Skin Top 69 Movies NOT on DVD yet. There’s also an actress and director “skindex.” This is an ultimate resource listing the best sex and nudity in American Cinema. Check it out.

Hello, Mr. Zombie: An Interview with the Director of ‘Halloween’

byrnes.chad — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Everyone at this point knows I love Rob Zombie, how influenced by his art I’ve been, and how excited I was to finally get to talk with him. I watched the minutes tick by on the clock, waiting for my phone to ring, and then it did. I let it ring once, to not appear desperate, and answered. It was Amy, from Rob’s management team. She asked me a few questions and put me on hold. Then, some really good reggae music started on the phone while I was on hold. I’m not sure what I expected to hear while on hold, but for some reason, not reggae (which I love). Then, Amy came back: “Gary, I’ve got Rob here…” This is my interview with the one and only master of monster-rock and metal, director of House of a 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects…ROB ZOMBIE!
Gary Schultz: Rob, how’s it going?
Rob Zombie: Good. How are you doing?
GS: Fantastic. I have been following your career for almost 20 years. Your career has been so vast, and there’s so much I want to talk about, so let’s get started with the obvious, Halloween.
RZ: Sure.
GS: Everyone knows your passion for horror, and in a day where remakes are everywhere, what made you choose to tackle re-imagining not only one of the most recognizable horror films of all time, but the biggest horror franchise in history?
RZ: Well, I suppose if you’re going to do it, you might as well start at the top, right? (laughs)
GS: (laughs) Good point.
RZ: No sense in remaking a movie nobody cares about. It was just the opportunity that arose. What I liked about it…well…the main thing was, a lot of these remakes don’t have a central character within them. Something like, say, Dawn of the Dead is about the concept of the whole thing, but there isn’t a central figure. What I like about Halloween is, there is a central figure, Michael Myers, who’s like Frankenstein or Dracula. He’s an iconic movie monster at the center of it all. That’s what’s most exciting–you get to retain a classic element. No matter how much you change it, you still have that.
GS: Would you call this a dream project?
RZ: Um…it’s pretty surreal. I had never thought about it before. This isn’t something that I had thought I wanted to do or had ever imagined. When it came up, it was kind of out of the blue. But it’s pretty cool to be able to do…well, you know, it becomes that more and more as it progresses. There’s so much work that you are just doing and you don’t really think about it. But if I stop and do think about it, you know, it’s Halloween, I have Malcolm McDowell–you realize it is pretty amazing.
GS: What can the fans expect from your version of Halloween?
RZ: What I was trying to accomplish was, I wanted to make it different than the original, because there’s no sense to make it like the original, but I wanted to retain the classic elements. And the main thing I wanted to do that I felt, as I think a lot of people did, is that Halloween and Michael Myers had really gone down the drain after seven sequels, and really was one step away from being sentenced to direct-to-video land. So what I wanted to do was go back and make a serious film that takes the subject matter seriously again.
GS: So, basically, after The Devil’s Rejects kicked everyone’s ass, the studios came to you and said, “Do you want to do Halloween?” Is that pretty much how it went down?
RZ: Well, I mean, many things came to me over the course of the year following The Devil’s Rejects, and this was definitely the most interesting.
GS: I love the way you cast your movies, long time horror and cult film stars, old television stars and actors with gritty aged faces. Malcolm McDowell is probably the only guy in the world that could replace Donald Pleasence. Can you talk about some of the amazing cast you have in Halloween?
RZ: I mean, I like to cast people that I’m a fan of. Even if it’s just from one movie, that’s all it takes. I mean, there’s so many great actors out there, like Ken Foree. Ken Foree is an amazing actor, who’s is just so under appreciated and so under seen. William Forsythe is an incredible actor. I like really interesting character actors who have a really strong presence. And I think for a lot of people that works against them, because if you put William Forsythe on screen with Tom Cruise, he’s gonna eat him alive because a lot of these guys, they’re just so magnetic that they just can’t work like they used too. But you know, if you watch an old Clint Eastwood movie, there will be Clint Eastwood with lots of these incredible character actors and that is just disappearing. I like to use all of them. I just think there are so many great people out there.
GS: This had to be probably the largest budget you’ve worked with. Has the studio been cooperative with the film?
RZ: The studio’s been amazing. The film is one hundred percent what I wanted to do. They gave me the money and gave me the freedom, and I pretty much ran with it. You know, you hear stories all the time about everything, but really, they’ve been great.
GS: That’s dynamite, especially after all the struggles of House of 1000 Corpses getting released.
RZ: The Devil’s Rejects was a great experience with Lions Gate, and this has been a great experience with Weinstein.
GS: One of my favorite features on The Devils Rejects DVD is the behind the scenes making-of documentary, 30 Days in Hell. It’s, like, two hours and follows everything. It’s almost a mini-film school. Any plans for something similar on the Halloween DVD?
RZ: Well, we shot one in very similar fashion, where we started in preproduction and shot everything. We haven’t edited it together yet, so I don’t know how it’s turned out, but we have it in the can.
GS: Did John Carpenter have any involvement in the remake of Halloween?
RZ: No, nothing at all.
GS: I know there’s a comic book, but what is going on with your animated film, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto?
RZ: Basically, nothing at the moment. I was working on that before Halloween came about, and I just had to put it on hold. I think they’re doing a little animation and still kind of working but it’s pretty much on hold. I couldn’t do two things at once. I wanted to focus one hundred percent on Halloween, so I didn’t even want to think about El Superbeasto until this was completely finished.
GS: Is this something you’ll finish after Halloween runs its course?
RZ: Oh, yeah, a lot of the movie is finished. All the voices are recorded, Paul Giamatti and the actors, most of the animation is done. A lot of it is finished. One good thing about animation: it can hold. It can sit on a shelf and it’s not going to affect it.
GS: I’ve seen you in concert, since 1994, about 20 times. I saw you last fall here in Chicago with the new band, a stripped-down stage show, and I thought it was the best I’ve heard you sound in years. I was blown away. What’s the plan with your music career? Will you completely phase it out or will you still continue to put out albums and tour?
RZ: Well, I have a live record coming out finally that we recorded on the last tour. Starting in October, I’ll be back on tour.
GS: Any plans for a new record in the next couple of years?
RZ: Yeah, I’m sure. I don’t have anything scheduled at the moment. I’m gonna do the live record, tour, and see what happens.
GS: You’ve been a songwriter for years. What is you’re approach to writing a screenplay, compared to songwriting?
RZ: They’re totally different, and totally the same. I mean, it’s a totally different animal, but at some point, you just have to sit down and start writing. With a screenplay, I’m working on one now, and what I do for a long period of time is, as I think of things, I write them down. I have tons of notes. Oh, this could be a cool situation, this could be a cool character, this could be a cool this or that…I slowly start compiling it all and making sense of it.
GS: I have some fan boy questions for you. Who are some of your favorite film directors?
RZ: Arthur Penn is one of my favorite directors. Don Siegel, Howard Hawks, John Ford, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg those are some of my favorites.
GS: Do you have a favorite horror film? Or is that too vast of a question to answer?
RZ: As far as more modern stuff, and by modern I mean still kind of old…Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, Tobe’s Chainsaw Massacre, but as far as classic stuff, you know, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein–those are always my favorites.
GS: Any films you love that people may not know about or heard of?
RZ: Well, I don’t know if that’s possible with DVDs now, but there’s a Paul Schrader movie called Hardcore–George C. Scott is this Christian guy and his daughter runs away to L.A. and gets involved in pornography. It’s an older film I just love.
GS: You have legally changed your name to “Zombie,” right?
RZ: Yeah, like one thousand years ago.
GS: So when the electric bill comes to the house it says Rob Zombie…?
RZ: I don’t know what it says. It never seems to come to the house. I think we’re getting free electricity.
GS: Are you planning a cameo on Entourage anytime soon?
RZ: Not as far as I know. Although I do really like that show.
GS: I think everybody likes Entourage.
RZ: It can be stressful to watch.
GS: The constant cliffhangers at the end of each episode?
RZ: No, just because what’s going on in the show sometimes is going on in my real life. It’s the same thing as watching Spinal Tap when you’re on tour–sometimes it isn’t funny. It’s just stressful.
GS: Rob, Halloween comes early this year.
RZ: Yeah… August 31st.
GS: It’s been a pleasure, Rob. Good luck with the film.
RZ: Yeah, man, thanks a lot!

Spider-Man 3

byrnes.chad — Wed, 09 May 2007 00:00:00 +0000

The third installment in Sam Raimi’s Spiderman trilogy is billed as the largest budgeted movie ever made and will destroy the box office with the largest opening weekend in movie history. The question is will audiences be satisfied with this third installment? The answer is…yes, I think audiences will be satisfied with Spiderman 3 but it won’t quite live up to its massive hype and is not better than the first two. The third installment in any successful movie trilogy is always the most anticipated and most critiqued. So let me briefly take you through the story without giving too much away.
At the start of the film things are great and New York loves Spiderman, minus J. Jonah Jameson of course. Peter Parker loves Mary Jane and Aunt May still bakes great cookies. Harry Osborn stills holds Peter responsible for the death of his father, the original Green Goblin and Harry tries to kill Spiderman about ten minutes into the movie in a fantastic opening fight sequence. Enter the rest of the villains: Flint Marko escapes from prison and is caught in a strange accident where an experiment that displaces molecules transforms him into the Sandman who is able to manipulate his body into any shape of sand he sees fit. Peter is enraged to find out that Flint Marko aka The Sandman was actually responsible for killing his Uncle Ben. At this time Peter discovers a mysterious black substance that has copied the form of his Spidey suit. When he wears the black costume it heightens his power and brings forth a darker side of Peter and Spidey.
Fueled by anger Peter starts to give into this new dark personality, and starts to abandon the ones he loves the most. After Harry’s fight with Spidey leaves him with temporary memory loss he soon regains his focus and takes over as the new Green Goblin. Peter and Mary Jane have a falling-out thanks to Harry’s manipulation and Peter’s own stubbornness. Peter attempts to hurt MJ with a romance with his lab partner, the beautiful Gwen Stacy but in doing so Peter sets off a rival Bugle photographer named Eddie Brock. Brock is obsessed with Stacy and obsessed with taking Peter’s job at the daily bugle. As Peter discovers that the black suit is changing him into something evil he rejects it and separates himself from it. But the mysterious black alien substance finds Eddie Brock, a man that hates Peter Parker as much as the black alien symbiote does. Brock is turned into Venom the most dangerous villain Spiderman will ever have. Peter is forced to become the hero he has forgotten about, the hero that was beloved by millions and face his darkest challenge yet.
It’s difficult to utilize a lot of villains in one movie. It was a disaster for “Batman & Robin” but Sam Raimi in my opinion is a much better suited director for this genre than Joel Schumacher could ever be. The balancing act for the story is a difficult one because in the limited amount of screen time you want to learn as much as you can about these characters and along the way you have to give the audience what it came for, some kick butt battle sequences. This movie is a lot of fun and reflects the aesthetic of the comic book very well. In the comic Spidey is always battling numerous villains and dealing with his relationships and problems at school. This movie takes on a huge amount of story telling and crams it into two and a half hours. This is the biggest flaw of this film. These are great characters and Sam Raimi tries to let the breath as much as possible but with so many great characters there’s just not enough time and so some of the storylines aren’t as developed as I would have liked. I thought Flint Marko’s stumbling into a sandpit and being transformed was all too convenient and the experiment should have been explained more.
Topher Grace is great as Eddie Brock the anti-Peter Parker and I wished I had more of him. Venom looked great but I really wanted something different with his voice to happen. And I’ll say that Harry’s storyline was my favorite. He was my least favorite character in the first two films but here in the third since his story has had so much time to develop everything comes full circle and makes him in most ways the best character in this movie. Sandman’s story is tragic and really parallels Peter Parkers relationship with Harry. As Peter has been trying to tell Harry that he didn’t kill his father, Sandman is trying to explain to Peter that he didn’t mean to kill his Uncle Ben. Neither will listen with revenge on the mind. I really enjoyed the battle sequences and when Peter is influenced by the black suit and becomes a darker figure the best moments of the film are played out.
The Bottom Line is Spiderman 3 is a good time. It’s fun, the action is great when it’s there and the love story just like in the first two Spiderman films is campy and cheesy but that’s okay because everyone loves their friendly neighborhood Spiderman. And even if Spiderman 3 isn’t better than the first two, it does at the very least hang in there and hold it’s own, especially compared to how many other 3rd installments in successful trilogy’s have been a complete let-down. I’ll give you examples: X3: X-Men United was a horrible mess, Superman 3 even with Richard Pryor was a lousy, Blade Trinity wasn’t as cool as the first two and dare I even mention the 3rd installment of the Matrix? Unwatchable garbage. So all you snobbish critics out their put on your teenage or kids size 3-D goggles go to an IMAX and remember the things you love about the Spidey comics. Enjoy Spiderman 3 it’s a lot of fun.

An Interview with the ‘Hot Fuzz’ Crew

byrnes.chad — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0000

I previously interviewed the Hot Fuzz crew while they were promoting their previous film, Shaun of the Dead. You can read that interview right here on Film Monthly. Out of all the interviews I have ever done, these guys have honestly been my favorite during both interviews. They are down-to-earth guys, the kind of guys you would want to hang out with, have a beer and talk about your favorite action movies with. Their enthusiasm for filmmaking is infectious. I did my last interview solo. Now I’m in a press junket. Things have changed in the last few years. Their new movie, Hot Fuzz, is amazing and blew up the UK box office. Get ready, America, because if you didn’t know Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright already, you will very soon. These guys are going to blow up internationally, and it’s because their filmmaking is top-notch. Check out Hot Fuzz, and check out my interview with director Edgar Wright and the stars of Hot Fuzz, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
Gary Schultz: Guys, before we get this interview started, I want to say that Hot Fuzz is a fucking awesome movie.
Edgar Wright: (laughing) That’s two of our favorite words, “fucking” and “awesome.”
GS: Sorry, that’s pretty unprofessional of me…I also use the word dynamite frequently.
EW: No, man, it’s cool. Glad you liked the movie.
GS: Can you guys tell us a little about the film, Hot Fuzz?
Simon Pegg: Hot Fuzz is the tale of a very overachieving police officer who is making everyone else look bad and ends up being reassigned to what seems to be the most ideal, peaceful village in the UK. But it turns out to be the darkest beating heart of corruption throughout the country, and my character teams up with Nick’s character, Danny, to find out if his suspicions are correct. The film goes from being this little quaint English procedural picture to a full-blown, American-style action movie.
EW: From good ass to badass.
(everyone laughs)
Other Interviewer: Were you guys worried about the complete lack of zombies at this point in the film?
EW: You know, after about a 16-month press tour on Shaun of the Dead, we’re fucking sick of zombies.
(everyone laughs)
EW: We capped off our zombie fascination with our cameo in Land of the Dead, and that was it. It was the perfect way to end our zombie obsession.
GS: How did you prepare for the writing of this film?
EW: Well, first, we love the genre. We’re big fans, and to prepare, we made ourselves completely emerge into the genre. We watched something like 138 action films to get into that mindset to write that hackneyed dialogue. Because it’s kind of funny when you watch those old action films–I mean, you watch something like Out For Justice and think, Wow, somebody wrote this.
(everyone laughs)
GS: Richie, Richie.
EW: Exactly, and somebody wrote down the line “Yo, fuck nuts…”
Other Interviewer: That was probably Seagal.
EW: Was that a bit of method? He goes to the director, (Edgar does his best whispering Seagal imitation) “Hey, man, I got an idea for this scene. I go up to the guy and say, ‘Yo, fuck nuts…’”
Nick Frost: (admiring) You know, he’s almost a good an actor as that Steven Seagal…
(everyone laughs)
GS: Well, I mean, you’re talking Out for Justice/Marked for Death-era Seagal. He was still badass. Now he’s doing Mountain Dew commercials.
NF: He’s touring his bad around the UK.
Other Interviewer: I’ve seen his band, Thunder Box.
GS: Does he tour with Russell Crowe’s band?
NF: Yeah 30 Odd Feet of Grunts and Thunder Box. Those are some great names.
GS: Your approach to comedy is unique. Or even better, I would say that your films are very funny, appealing to a low-brow audience, while the humor is almost high-brow. You never talk down to the audience.
EW: We are encouraged and confident that the audience can get our humor. We don’t have to talk down to them. As long as it’s funny on a first watch, people will get it and allow it to resonate on different levels.
GS: It seems that could be taught to American comedy.
EW: Well, now, you’ve got The Simpsons. The Simpsons is an amazing show.
GS: Yeah, but The Simpsons is the best sitcom ever. I mean, almost 20 years running. It’s an exception.
SP: Arrested Development was very smart as well.
GS: Okay, so you got me.
SP: I wrote a joke back when we were doing our TV show, Spaced. It was in the first season, and the joke was about one of the characters’ dog goes missing, and he comes back and says it was put up into a crocodile. And it was in reference to when Scully from The X-Files‘ dog went missing, and I thought one person perhaps will actually get this joke, and they will be so fucking happy they did. They will feel the kind of delight of being spoken to personally by a television program and that has become the fundamental of the main body of all our work. We’re always being very personal, very specific and in doing that you’ll find that loads of people get.
GS: The audience then feels like they are connecting to something special. The inside joke.
EW: The thing about Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead aside from all the kind of riffing on genres, there are characters and character arcs that you can sympathize with. And I think that’s what makes these films work more than anything else. Look at the Scary Movie films–they exist from joke to joke. If the joke hits, it’s great, but if the joke misses, there’s nothing happening on the screen. You’re just kind of flatlining. And what we try to do with our comedy is make sure that there are characters that see you through the entire thing. Like you’re watching a proper film that does sort of have all these references from the genre. But really, you’re watching the story of Nicholas Angel and Danny. Shaun of the Dead, you’re watching the story of Shaun, Liz, and Ed. The characters glue it all together, and the rest is gravy.
GS: Both your films are great comedies, and then by the third act, Shaun turns into a truly scary horror film and Hot Fuzz is the same. By the third act, it turns into an amazing action film.
EW: Absolutely. What we wanted to do is really keep amping it up. I mean, with Shaun of the Dead, I’m really proud of it, but there are elements about the climax that, if we had a little more time and money, I would have really gotten a little bit further with some more carnage. With Hot Fuzz, we really wanted to go over the top in the third act with the action.
GS: I saw Point Break and went skydiving three times.
SP: Really?
GS: No bullshit. What is with the Point Break obsession?
SP: Point Break, along with Bad Boys 2, is kind of the essential over the top bad action movie. Very different films and very unpretentious. Point Break is a really interesting film, because it is thoroughly enjoyable and it’s directed by a woman, as well, which is interesting, because she doesn’t shy away from the sort of guy-on-guy mentality in the film that we also address in Hot Fuzz. Occasionally, we’ll write something wacky, and people will go, “What we’re you smoking when you wrote that?” Man, this film was powered entirely by black coffee.
GS: You are releasing the film on 4/20 here in the States, so what are you implying that the audience do before seeing the movie?
NF: I’d say, smoke a fat one and then eat a burrito and then go and watch it.