Let's start at your very beginnings: What got you into filmmaking in
the first place, and did you receive any formal education on the subject?
I hate this question. I've been asked it a million times before.
I'll make it simple. I grew up watching horror and sci-fi flicks on New
York TV. Whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up,
I'd simply say I wanna be Roger Corman [Roger Corman bio - click
here]. I got thrown out of the film
program in college. They said "You have no aptitude for it." I
said "Fuck You."
Roger
Corman - what's it like working under him, and in what way has he
influenced your filmmaking style? See answer one. I love
Roger. He's a tightwad, skinflint and one of the best film makers it's
ever been my pleasure to know. Taught me everything.
According to my rather
conflicting information, your first movie as a director was either The
Lost Empire or Chopping Mall - so I guess I'll just have to
ask you to talk about both movies for a bit, and how did they come into
being?
The
Lost Empire was the first movie I directed,; but
it was not for Corman. I used his studio, however, to build many of the
interior and exterior sets. Roger hated it, but acknowledged I'd put the
camera in some very interesting places and the girls were pretty.
Chopping Mall was next and that was done for Corman's lovely and talented
wife, Julie. She's an amazing producer and gave me free reign on the set.
Before production began however, Roger took me out to a 3 hour lunch and
gave me 'pointers' that I wrote down on a yellow legal pad - which I still
have to this day. There was more good, solid film-making knowledge thrown
out at that lunch than in an entire semester of film school. Is the rumour true that for Not of This Earth,
you made a bet with Roger Corman you could shoot the movie in even less
time than he shot the original [click
here] - and what else can you tell us about the
film? This story is so outlandish, you might think it's a
tall tale. Well you know what they say in the newspaper biz, when the
history seems boring ... always print the legend. As for Not of This Earth,
it brought me together with one of the sexiest ladies in Hollywood, Traci
Lords - whom I'm still good friends with today. We had a twelve day schedule on
that one, but I got through nearly a day early, so I went back to several
sets and re-shot many scenes with Traci again - since she'd improved so
much since the first day of filming.
Beginning with Scream Queen Hot Tub Party,
you have worked with fellow exploitation director Fred Olen Ray time and
again over the years - so what can you tell us about working with him?
Fred
is one of my best friends, and a fine film-maker in his own right. We shot
Dinosaur Island together as a directing team and he produced
Sorceress for
me. You
started your career in what many would label the classic scream queen era,
and have worked with most of the "original" scream queens. So
what was it like working with them, and in your eyes, what makes an
actress a scream queen? The term is archaic, you're living
in the past. This is 2013, not 1983. Your films are often of the
horror and/or erotic variety - out of choice, or rather out of economic
necessity. And what kind of movie do you enjoy to direct the most? I
enjoy all genres, and I think I've run the entire gamut since first
starting back in the '80s. I love horror and sci-fi because it's what I
grew up on as a kid. I love the soft erotic genre because it brings me in
contact with the sexiest ladies in Hollywood. Also,
many of your movie have a comical edge to them - so how would you describe
your movie's brand of humour? I'm afraid my films have
become somewhat 'branded' with my humor over the years. So be it! it comes
out as I go along scene by scene - can't help it. The only time I kept in
totally in check was while shooting The Haunting of Morella, the Edgar
Allan Poe adaptation I made back in the early 90s. Over the years, you have
cast quite a few porn stars in your erotic films, most notably perhaps
Jesse Jane, Nikki Nova and Sunny Leone in Busty
Cops - so what kind of quality do they bring to the table, and (if
you excuse the question) did you ever consider going hardcore?
Jesse
Jane hadn't gone hardcore yet when she did Busty
Cops and neither had
Sunny Leone. And I don't think Nikki Nova has ever done hardcore. (If you
know different, let me know as I'd like to see it!) So to respond to your
question, I'm not a fan of hardcore and have no interest in making it. Looking
back onto a career of more than 25 years, how would you say the industry
has changed over time, and how do you as a director manage to stay on top
of things? These questions are getting more and more boring
as we go along. C'mon, you've got my ear - ask me something juicy - not
these mundane interview questions that have been asked over and over to
everyone in Hollywood. I'm falling asleep here. Of late, you have made quite a few films for SyFy
- when working for television, does your directorial approach at all
differ from when working for a straight-to-video or even theatrical
release? No. (That's what you get for asking another
'snoozer' question.) You seem to put out movies at a rather
breathtaking speed - so what keeps you going, and where do you find the
energy? Are you implying I'm getting old? Hope not. I'll
sic Julie Strain on you. But then again, you may like that. Of all the films you made - any you're
particularly fond of? It's always the one I'm about
to make. All the others are 'babies' that for one reason or another I have
fond memories of.
And any you wish you wouldn't have made? Just
one, Vampirella. It was one cluster fuck after another. I can look back on
it today and just say "Oh well", but back when the memories were
fresh and the blood on the floor was yet to dry, it was painful to even
edit.
What went wrong??? Wrong choice for the star, massive union problems in
Vegas, studio interference, theft, accidents, 112 degree heat, you name
it, we had it happen. But as least I got to see Soupy Sales perform. Any
future projects you'd like to share?
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Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned) |
The links below will take you just there!!!
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Hypnotika - an erotic
version of Total Recall. Tornado Alley - an efx show for Lifetime. Cobragator
- for Roger Corman.
Heartland Strike - Red Dawn remade correctly.
Your dream project
- what would it look like (no matter how inconceivable)? A
remake of Sinderella and the
Golden Bra with me as Prince Charming. How
would you describe yourself as a director? Rich and almost
famous. Filmmakers
who inspire you? Roger Corman [Roger Corman bio - click
here],
Russ Meyer,
Don Siegel,
Sergio Leone,
Sergio Corbucci. Your website,
Facebook, whatever else? None, no and nothing more I
suppose. Thanks for
the interview!
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