For the past thirty years, the New York-based Troma film studio
has produced some of the most repulsive, hilarious, offensive and
brilliant independent films ever made. During its rich history,
Troma has the honor of producing films like Fat Guy Goes Nutzoid,
Buttcrack, Class of Nuke ‘Em High, and helped
begin the careers of actors like Robert DeNiro, Kevin Costner and
Samuel L. Jackson. Under the direction of a fast-talking Yale graduate,
president Lloyd Kaufman, Troma remains one of the only truly independent
film studios left in this country. In a time when the big studios
own the theaters and cable stations, Troma still exists as a force
outside of Hollywood, mainly through DVD orders made off its
website, Troma.com. Kaufman and his Troma team also host an alternative
to the Sundance festival called Tromadance and invade the ritzy
Cannes Film Festival with a parade featuring classic Troma characters
like Sgt. Kabukiman. Kaufman has also authored several best-selling
books, including 2002’s Make Your Own Damn Movie,
which explains how you too can use the Troma method and go out and
make an independent film.
Kaufman will be hosting a Troma retrospective April 9 and 10
at Madstone Theaters, which will screen Troma classics
like The Toxic Avenger, Citizen Toxie and Cannibal:
The Musical.
Ann Arbor Paper: So how are things in Tromaville
today?
Lloyd Kaufman: Well, we’re doing everything
we’ve been doing for the past thirty years. We’re making
new movies. We just finished Tales from the Crapper featuring
all of the Troma Family including the 3-foot penis monster, Harry
Balls. Its world premier will be at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.
We’ll also be resurrecting an old classic Samuel Fuller mystery
Shark and releasing that onto DVD soon. That one features Burt
Reynolds before he grew that gay mustache.
A2P: How does it feel that Troma is now in its
30th year?
LK: In our 30th year, Troma has emerged as not
just a movie studio but an artistic movement. All these directors
out there like Peter Jackson, Sam Raimi, Guillermo Del Toro, Japan’s
Takashi Miike are all out there making their own damn movies. All
of them got their start as Troma fans making little splatter movies
and they are now running the whole show. Lots of young directors
have been able to walk through some of the doors we’ve opened.
The screenwriter of our film Tromeo & Juliet, James
Gunn, wrote the screenplay for the recent Dawn of the Dead
remake. He worked for us for two years and now he’s got the
number one movie in the country.
A2P: Speaking of Dawn of the Dead, are
zombies that can run still zombies, or are they then demons?
LK: I would say that they are still zombies, but
if their noses run they’re zombies with sinus congestion.
A2P: How is the business of making independent films different
than it was thirty years ago?
LK: When I began making movies in the ’70s,
there were many little Tromas around making interesting and different
types of movies. None of those exist anymore. All the independent
studios today are owned by some larger studio and they control the
entire market. It’s a horrible time for the arts
today. If the courage to make independent art has
been subverted then all the arts suffer, including film. These days,
unless your independent film comes from Miramax or somebody like
that, then forget it. It won’t play in theaters. The things
they put out have become stale too. My Big Fat Greek Wedding,
what is that? It’s cinematic baby food. You could live on
that shit, but it’s boring. Troma is like the jalapeño
pepper to Miramax’s baby food. We’re the jalapeño
pepper in the pizza of independent cinema.
A2P: Troma has a lot of fans in this area. Why
do you think that is and what are some of your impressions of Ann
Arbor?
LK: I love Ann Arbor. I’ve actually been
there a few times lately while promoting my book. I think it’s
great. It’s got lots of democracy-loving young people. It
seems there’s a real attempt going on there to search out
the meaning of life. I really admire people who try to figure things
out. The people I meet are always well-informed and always want
to seek out independent film, not just what has Vin Diesel in it.
There are people there who know there’s more to art than Art
Van Furniture.
A2P: Do you find that Troma films play better in
some parts of the country than others?
LK: Oh no, our films, when they can be seen, do
well all over the world. We get over a million hits on web site
a month and those come from Japan, America, everywhere. The only
problem is actually getting our movies to our fan base. Our films
don’t get played in theaters much anymore. They won’t
have us. But when we do get screenings and things, it’s great.
I went to one in Phoenix, Arizona and there were a shitload more
people there to see Citizen Toxie then there was to see
that twin movie, Stuck on You. People all around the world
know when they’re going to see a Troma movie they’re
going on an adventure.
A2P: Who would win in a fight, the Toxic Avenger
or Sgt. Kabukiman?
LK: That’s a question scholars have been
debating for years. We explored that idea in our film, Citizen
Toxie. It’s tricky because, you see, they’re both
good guys. It would have to be a parallel-universe fight where one
of them was evil, because I don’t know if they could fight
each other otherwise.
A2P: I loved reading Make Your Own Damn Movie,
do you have any plans to write more books?
LK: Yes, you know we won over a lot of new fans
with that book. Right now, we’re actually hard at work on
Toxic Avenger The Novel. It’s a novelization of the
first film which, as you know, has now become part of the cultural
lexicon. Most novelizations come out when the movie is released,
but we’ve brilliantly waited twenty years for this one!
A2P: What can we expect in the next 30 years of
Troma?
LK: We’re going to continue to make the movies
we believe in. People can dismiss our movies because we have these
goofy characters and all this sex and violence, but because of us,
lots of young major directors are now basically making Troma movies.
We will continue to make these movies to empower young film makers
to try to make movies from the heart. In the next thirty years,
Troma will continue the truly independent moment and try to give
art back to the people.
A2P: How would you sum up Troma in four words?
LK: One of a kind. A2P
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