A transcription of my interview with Lloyd Kaufman can be found here.
Thanks for all the question suggestions, and especially thanks for Fat Guy Loves Dinosaur. There were quite a few other questions in my notes, but his answers were so full and complete that by the time I was ready to ask them he had answered them already.
#1 by Chris S. on January 20, 2009 - 10:47 am
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Royalty-free??? Goddamnit …
#2 by Blake Matthews on January 20, 2009 - 12:08 pm
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So how many B-masters have met and talked to people associated with B and cult films?
#3 by El Santo on January 20, 2009 - 3:19 pm
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Hmm… In person, I’ve met Lloyd Kaufman and a peripheral member of the old John Waters cicle named George Figgs. I’ve also had e-mail correspondence with Douglas McKeown (writer/director of The Return of the Alien’s Deadly Spawn), Teegan Clive (the killer outer-space android in Alienator), Kasey Rausch (the closest thing Zombie Bloodbath had to a lead actress), the girl who starred in The Cheerleaders under the pseudonym “Stephanie Fondue,” and (as everyone who reviews his movies eventually seems to) Todd Sheets, the no-budget crap-horror king of Kansas City.
#4 by Nathan Shumate on January 20, 2009 - 3:37 pm
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Let’s see. Aside from the email correspondents who know me well enough to recognize my name in their inboxes (J.R. Bookwalter, Dave DeCoteau, Danny Draven…), I once hung out with Fred Olen Ray for an hour while he was working on a movie in SLC, and I’ve spoken on the telephone with Ted Nicolaou. (And spent some quality time with Alvin Ecarma, director of Lethal Force!)
#5 by The Rev. D.D. on January 20, 2009 - 7:19 pm
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I’m guessing the super-cute gal in the picture is Mimi?
And now I know what one more Cabalist looks like…cool. (Unless that’s not Mr. Shumate…)
#6 by Nathan Shumate on January 20, 2009 - 9:57 pm
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The person whom you think is me is indeed me, but the person whom you think is Mimi is not Mimi. That’s Jennifer Wilson, local liaison for the out-of-town TromaDance people. (Mimi was behind the camera.)
#7 by Chris S. on January 20, 2009 - 11:31 pm
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It looks like Kaufman is about to start taking bids on her.
#8 by KeithA on January 20, 2009 - 11:59 pm
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I think I might still like Lloyd Kaufman without liking Troma movies. Well, except maybe for Surf Nazis.
As for famous people, Cash Flagg, Jr. is one of three people on the Teleport City forums. I went to high school with the director of Blood Oath. He was actually the guy who helped me start my video collection. And I had lunch with Tiffany Shepis. That’s about it. I think our focus on bizarre films from other parts of the world means we haven’t attracted much attention from people we might actually meet. I somehow doubt Feroz Khan or Cuneyt Arkin are reading our thoughts on their work and thinking, “You know, I should drop by and introduce myself to these guys.” We are still on the outside looking in.
I know people in “the biz,” but they are mostly tech types — sound engineers and such. I was on a train once with Misty Mundae, and I amused Henry Rollins to no end by having an entire conversation with him in which I referred to him as Glen Danzig, just to see what he would do. Other than that, my exposure is limited mostly to seeing people on the street in New York, but even that is a pretty paltry sampling compared to some: Will Smith, Sandra Oh, that fat skinhead VJ from MTV2.
I have however, had my picture taken with Michael Berryman, George Lazenby, Cynthia Rothrock, and Bill Hinzman, the guy who played that first zombie in Night of the Living Dead. ANd Lou Ferrigno once patted me on the back and said, “Excuse me, buddy, but I need to get tot he bathroom.” Ahh, back when I still thought the Chiller Theatre convention was fun.
Oh yeah — I once got email from Robert Dunham’s granddaughter, who told me lots of stories she’d heard about her grandfather’s amorous conquests while working in Japan. Apparently, that guy was kind of a stud.
#9 by Gentle Benj on January 21, 2009 - 12:47 am
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I amused Henry Rollins to no end by having an entire conversation with him in which I referred to him as Glen Danzig, just to see what he would do.
But doesn’t Henry Rollins derive his only amusement from pounding faces?
…oh…
#10 by The Rev. D.D. on January 21, 2009 - 8:34 am
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It looks like Kaufman is about to start taking bids on her.
Is this where I “humorously” chime in, “Now I’d buy that for a dollar!”
#11 by Chris S. on January 21, 2009 - 10:50 am
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“And here we’ve got a twenty-something redhead, and cute as a button! Do I hear ten? Ten in the back! Do I hear twenty? Twenty-five? Do I hear thirty, for this lovely young lady? The man in the hat says thirty! Now, do I hear thirty-five?”
#12 by Todd on January 21, 2009 - 11:46 am
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I think our focus on bizarre films from other parts of the world means we haven’t attracted much attention from people we might actually meet.
The closest I’ve come by way of writing for Teleport City is when one of the children of the director of Tony Falcon, Agent X-44: Sabotage commented on my review of it. I kind of wish that person would get back in touch, because his/her father also directed The Killing of Satan. I mean, who wouldn’t want a bit of explanation for that one?
My time living in L.A. turned out to be a big, cosmic joke in terms of celebrity sightings (among other things). Rather than seeing any of the cool people I might have, I seriously ended up being in close proximity to Gary Coleman on like eight different occasions. It was like reverse stalking. I also shared elevators with Michael Ironside and Erik Estrada.
My most treasured celebrity encounter was having breakfast with Joe Strummer. He happened to be in the same diner, and the friend I was with knew him from working on a movie with him. Rather than risk coming off as a fawning idiot, I took the path of pretending that I had no clue who he was. Really nice guy, though.
#13 by Nathan Shumate on January 21, 2009 - 12:31 pm
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Imagine the two of them in an elevator together. That’s how the action movie of my dreams starts.