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Of course everyone remember's Angela from the original Sleepaway Camp, and who'd blame you?!  With an ending like that, it's highly unlikely that you'd ever forget it.  But I have to say my favorite character in Sleepaway Camp is Ricky.  You know, Angela's smartass cousin?  Well there's no doubt that even to this day that Ricky's one liners in the movie get me everytime.  So here for my fellow Bloodtype readers I give you an interview with the man, the myth, the legend, Ricky himself.....Jonathan Tiersten!

ED - How did you get into acting?

JT - I was actually more of a jock in my younger days.  My parents got divorced and I remember my whole world changed.  Everything seemed to happen in a blur.  One day The Pepsi Cola people came to my high school and at the very last minute two friends of mine dragged me into the principle's office to sign me up for an audition.  There we were 1700 hopeful kids sitting in the cafeteria.  We had no idea what we were getting into.  Three days and about five cuts later they picked about a dozen of us to be in the commercial.  Only then did we find out it was starring Gabriel Kaplan from Welcome Back Kotter.  It was right after he had done the movie Fast Break.  He was one of my heroes.  It was a basketball themed commercial and I just loved it. He was so down to earth and kind (of course he left the business shortly thereafter).  After that I convinced my parents to let me try and get an agent.

ED - Tell us about the casting process for you in the original Sleepaway Camp?

JT - The main criteria was being able to ad-lib tell off Robert Hiltzik.  I knew when I walked out that I got it.  I had a lot of pent up aggression.  Pretty pissed at my parents, God, Ronald Reagan, etc.

ED - So would you say that it's a safe assumption to assume that the character of "Ricky" was actually pretty close to your own personality at the time?

JT - No I was far more polite and less self assured than Ricky.  I wrestled in high school, but Ricky would be in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and kicking ass.  I think I am growing into him these many years later.  I am learning not to care what people think as much.  As an actor and a musician I have been such a slave to public opinion and that can be a terrible way to define yourself.  I read a book recently that really helped me called 'The Four Agreements'.  It is Toltec philosophy.  Look it up.

ED - Did you have a chance to read the entire script before shooting? If so, what did you think of the ending of the film or was that even
revealed?

JT - I read the entire script.  I was one of the only people to get the real ending.  I don't think Robert was worried about my reaction because he knew I was kind of twisted.  I thought he needed counseling.  My brothers thought it was stupid, but they thought everything I did was stupid so I really didn't give the whole thing a second thought.

ED - What were your thoughts on the ending after you read it compared to when you first saw it?

JT - I really didn't give it much thought.  Maybe because when you are a teenager you are such a jumble of mixed up hormones that nothing seems so bizarre when it comes to sexual shit.  I knew that the whole trans gender thing was weird, but I also grew up around NYC and the time of Dr. Renee Richards who was a very famous transsexual tennis player.  I don't know why it didn't seem so strange.  Seriously, people kill their own children all the time.  Now that is messed up.

ED - What was the shoot like?

JT - Best time of my life.  I fell in and out of love.  I got drunk. I got coddled.  I got yelled at.  Seriously, I still know most of these people.  That is a life changing event.

ED - Any funny on set stories you'd like to share?

JT - I am not so sure if this is funny or sad.  I always tell the story of the weeping college student getting his body shaved by wardrobe while they ply him with Jack Daniel's preparing to do the final scene on the beach.  I am sure he is emotionally scarred to this day.  I mean do you really think he tells his friends or his kids for that matter that he was in "Sleepaway Camp"?  That's a party starter. I don't think his name is anywhere in the credits.

ED - Did you ever feel that the film would have a cult following?

JT - I could say no, but that wouldn't be entirely true.  We knew something weird was happening.  The timing was right and nobody had done a film with kids who actually looked like kids before.  It captured camp because we really felt like we were at camp.  We had great veteran actors (Kellin, Earl Jones) and we had a director who couldn't care less about Hollywood convention.  We also had the same crew that did "Creepshow" and that has a cult following as well.

ED - Can you tell us about the first time that you saw the film?

JT - I am trying to remember.  I think it was in Jersey with my brothers.  I was pretty drunk.  What was really cool was when I went to NYU the following year and it ran on 42nd St. for 17 weeks.  You wouldn't believe the folks who gave me props.

       Having been a fan of horror and exploitation films of the 70's/80's most of my life. At an early age I was introduced to many memorable films over this time that forever instilled moments of entertainment that make me very proud of who I have gotten a hold of for this interview. Giovanni Lombardo Radice AKA John Morghen is one of the most prolific, entertaining and memorable actors to ever grace this genre with his roles in some Spaghetti horror classics such as House on the Edge of the park, Cannibal Ferox and The Gates of Hell AKA City of the Living Dead. Recently I’ve had the pleasure to catch up with a man that I have long admired and was able to ask him some questions that had always been in the back of my mind should the opportunity arise that I ever get the chance to talk to someone like him. Giovanni was a pleasure to meet and a greater pleasure to interview. Ladies and Gentleman without further ado here is the interview broken down by the films that fans most wanted to hear about and questions that were submitted to me by some bloodtypeonline fans as well as questions that sprung curiosity after chatting with Giovanni a bit.

JW - You have studied Physiotherapy and are fluent In how many different languages? You also work as a translator?

GLR - I studied Ballet for many years and for a short time I was uncertain if taking acting or dancing. But an accident in ballet class took care of my doubts. I injured my back, not seriously, but enough to decide. And in the ballet school we had to study some physiotherapy anyhow (very wise). So when I said goodbye to my professional dancing dreams. I took up the intensive course and got a diploma in sportive physiotherapy. I was and am a very good masseur and keep doing it from time to time. Lots of my friends are addicted to Giovanni’s hands...

I was raised trilingual with Italian, English and French. It was a longtime family tradition, and when I was born (1954) Fascism and Nazism were a fresh memory. My parents had been active in resisting Mussolini and feared Nazism could come back. So they wanted me to be able to escape to free countries like England, USA or France anytime, mastering the local languages even better than what tradition imposed to us. This might sound pretty cool, and it is, but with some collateral effects, such as being often confused because my thinking in one language and speaking in another one or switching from one to another. As to say that when I’ll finish answering your questions it will take me five minutes to answer whatever question in Italian without sounding mentally retarded...And the other way around. Only my French grammar and spelling is good, because of my grandmother being in charge of this and the dear old lady being a sweet Nazi general.  In Italian and English I can make many mistakes. I worked as a translator since early youth, mostly with American and English plays, both staged by myself or by other directors (complete list at my site - Nice side - Traduzioni - Original titles mentioned)

JW - You are also a writer and a director? Is your directing experience mostly with plays? Have you ever written a horror script?

GLR - Yes to all ,. Or at least two and a half. I wrote many Tv movies and series and just one book in 1997. Not at all connected with showbiz. I also translated into Italian 73 of the Shakespeare Sonnets (with Italian verses and rhymes) and hope to translate them all and publish them soon. This last is what I consider my best achievement in life, my son apart...2 years ago I translated from Italian into English a monologue on Maria Callas, Written and performed by a great Italian actress, Mrs. Rossella Falk, who honors me with her friendship. As for Horror scripts, I didn’t write a real horror but mostly a ghost gothic story that I wrote with Michele Soavi. But it was never produced.

JW - Quentin Tarantino is a long time fan of your work? How did you hear of this?

GLR - Yes he is and he said very nice things about me in some interviews. I really would like to thank him for this, but I can’t find the right way to get in touch. I think it was John Martin mentioning it to me for the first time. He was the first one flushing me out after some ten years out of horror and he published a booklet on me “The Nastiest Man In The World” (Now on sale on the web without my knowledge...Everyone has his nasty nesses, it would seem...)


House On The Edge Of the Park (1980)


JW - House On The Edge of The Park marked your cinematic debut. Can you tell us what you thought about the character ‘Ricky” after you first read the script?


GLR - That it was very good acting material and it was a great luck to have him as my first character in a movie. He had more than one aspect of my own personality at that time (well I wasn’t that extreme, but...) And my quite wild youth had put me in touch with people of the same social level as Alex and Ricky. So I wasn’t watching them completely by an outside point of view.


JW - House On The Edge Of The Park is quite often a controversial movie for it’s over the top subject matter. Did you at any point think that something might have been pushed too far? Whether it be the sex? Or the Violence?


GLR - The violence, for sure. It was always borderline in between describing and I think indulging did prevail at times. Sex is always fine with me if it doesn’t concern children or animals.

JW - On House you got to work with some very prolific names in the horror/exploitation realm. Most notably David Hess. Can you describe your experiences with David?


GLR - David was some years my senior, but very much alive and always ready for a good time. Nice person, very friendly and a very good actor. He helped me a lot, considering I had no experience in the movies. He was a sport. He was always laughing, telling jokes and definitely  in love with Italian food. I’m a pretty good cook and I remember tons of pasta cooked for David. He was also very interested in the ladies. At that time he had recently married a girl much younger than him, but couldn’t take his eyes from every women passing by.

LW - On the subject of prolific names. Can you tell us your most fond moment while working with Director Ruggero Deodato?

GLR - His calling the crew the most funny names, unfortunately impossible to translate into English from thick Roman dialect...but I am a translator and so I will try....Hum, let’s say there was a costume assistant called Holly and that Holly was gossiping with other two ladies in a loud whisper, disturbing a rehearsal. Ruggero would shout at them: ‘Holly, Christmas Holly and Hollywood!!! Would you stick some Holly in your asshole and shut up?!” Ruggero is a fine director and he has a great sense of humor, something always essential to me.

JW - House On The Edge Of The Park is most often than not considered a moral story. It puts you in a situation where each character has a story to tell. Which is why a lot believe it has had longevity. Can you tell us aside from Ricky. What character you most sympathize with?

GLR - The great tragedian Jean Racine said “Real Tragedy occurs when nobody’s right and nobody’s wrong”. I think this applies to House. The rich kids are right because of what Alex did, but they are hateful and full of social snobbery. Alex is awfully wrong being a rapist and a sadist, but we can imagine what his background was and the social injustice he went through. Ricky...He’s a victim to be sacrificed on both Alex’s bossiness and the kid’s stupidity. If Alex hadn’t been killed, would he have repent after wounding Ricky? ...We’ll never know, and this is what makes a good plot. Aside from Ricky the character I sympathize more is Gloria. She is the kindest of the lot, she is Lorraine as a girl, before life could make her somehow hard, and she makes me fuck. What could I have asked more?

JW - Did you think that House would be as controversial upon it’s release? It was banned the world over. What are your thoughts on censorship?

GLR - Was it banned? I didn’t know. Compared to what can be on screen now or even a few years ago (“Seven” being the first that springs to my mind) it’s baby food...And I don’t believe much in censorship seriously preventing anything. From smoking to drinking or drugs or whatever. It must be applied for minors, of course, and, as above, sex with minors or animal torturing should be severely punished both in life and on screen. But this apart...It’s people’s minds that should be changed and Western Capitalism is the top in hypocrisy when, let’s say, preaching against pedophilia and making Barbie shoes commercials with girls ten years old dressed up like little whores. But I don’t want to get into politics...

The Gates Of Hell/City Of The Living Dead (1980)


JW - In this 1980 classic you played the role of “Bob”. I’ve been informed that this role (as well as the role of “Ricky” from House) was to be played originally by Michele Soavi. Can you tell us how you landed this role?


GLR - I think Deodato had told Fulci about me and Lucio saw the dallies of the movie. I don’t remember making an audition.

JW - The film is very dark, surreal and like traditional Fulci practice is genuinely challenging. Were you at any point bothered by any of the material in the script?

GLR - Not really. It was fantasy and fantasy never bothers me, even if horror fantasy is not my cup of tea. I was very careful in being assured I didn’t have to deal with worms and happily flew to Savannah.

JW - “Bob” is a very dark role with a tinge of sympathetic traits. How did you find the inspiration to play this character?

GLR - As I did with “Ricky”. The 2 aren’t too distant from each other if you think about it. “Bob” was a real dropout and patently crazy. But who can be sure that “Ricky’, surviving Alex’s knife wouldn’t have become a “Bob”?

JW - The head drill scene has always been a haunting moment in the film. Were you satisfied with how this scene came out?


GLR - Do you want the truth? I only saw it top to end on my computer with the most recent DVD I did extras for (The French one I guess). On screen and on TV at a point I was covering my eyes with my hands...Am I childish or utterly crazy? You tell me...Now to some fans (myself included) this is the honor of a life time to get the chance to play a zombie in a Lucio Fulci film.

JW - How long did it take to get all that make up applied? The zombie scenes in this film are among some of the best I’ve seen by the way. Great use of lighting and your haunting performance made it that much more enjoyable.


GLR - The average make up session for zombie make up is some 4 - 6 hours - maybe less than what needed for some aging female stars...But quite a long time, believe me. And no wonder you like the zombie scenes in The Gates Of Hell, cause Lucio spoke of them as if he had known them personally and closely. He knew how they walked and behaved...Whatever. And, as I recollected many a time, when Antonella and myself were in the van, covered with heavy zombie make up, She had the idea of having a joint, which flipped us out completely. We started looking at each other and scream...When it was over. I opened the van door...and found a six year old boy who started yelling: “mommy, mommy, the creature, the creature!” and wasn’t satisfied till I agreed to be photographed with him.

JW - Can you describe to the most curious fans out there what it was like to work with Lucio Fulci?

GLR - Lucio surely had a bad temper and frequently mistreated people. He was very unhappy both for tragedies that had happened in his family and because he was unsatisfied with his career. Once I invited him to a party in my house. He went into the toilet and found out that whilst theatre posters were displayed in the living room, the horror movie posters were decorating the bathroom. He came back yelling, “Hey, people, I’m in the loo!” anyhow, he was a cultivated man and respected me for my family background and for my theatre credits. He was always very polite and friendly with me. His death was a great sorrow and I remember him fondly as a very unhappy man, fighting for what he loved.

Cannibal Ferox (1980)


JW - Now it’s no secret that your not happy at all with this film. Can you tell us what bothered you the most about Cannibal Ferox?

GLR - I hate it would be more precise and “everything” would be the correct answer to your question. But the present one is: the scene in which Zora and myself try having sex with the young natives. In the past I hadn’t focused on it in it’s entire nasty ness, maybe because pedophilia is something so far away even from my darker and hidden wishes. But in more recent past, with the web and so on, it has been discussed so extensively that, recently watching the blasted thing for the last time in my life (I swear on my soul), I jumped from my chair. Disgusting, stupid, useless, tasteless...Fell free to add.

JW - While listening to the Grindhouse Releasing audio commentary it sounded as though yourself and Lenzi did not agree on anything throughout the conversations. Was this conversation spliced together with both recordings done at different times? I can imagine it would have been a pretty intense 93 minutes if you 2 were side by side.

GLR - Of course it was recorded separately. I wouldn’t have said the same things with Lenzi by my side. I might have said even worse, but in all seriousness and not that flippant, out of respect to a man my father’s age. That recording was a funny thing anyhow. I was deeply involved with theatre and didn’t have time for anything else. And at that time I was seeing a lot of Luca Barbareschi - friend of mine since we were youngsters and the star of Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust- and Luca is renowned for putting up the most incredible jokes ever and for imitating voices. So, one day, on the answering machine in my theatre I found a message, with a very nasal American voice saying very fast ‘Hi, I’m sage Stallone, Sylvestor Stallone’s son and I am in Rome and I would like you to comment a laser disk of Cannibal Ferox and I’m producing so if you could call me back...ETC...”. And I was sure it was Luca having fun. So, when the telephone rang and I heard the same voice saying exactly the same things, I was on the verge of saying “Luca, why don’t you just piss off and get screwed?”- But my horror guardian Angel prevented me from speaking and, after a while, I realized it was the real Sage Stallone. Had I said my line and hung up, the audio commentary probably wouldn’t exist.

JW - Cannibal Ferox also marked a new era for you. You took on a tough guy role that no longer had you exposed as a victim. Can you describe how you approached the role of Mike? Were you ever fond of the script?


GLR - Fond?!...You must be joking. I thought it was the worst crap on Earth even just reading. But, as I explained many a time: 1) I was young and less conscious of one’s duties towards society than I am now. And I thought the thing would disappear into oblivion after three weeks in some second rate theatre in dead season. And I thought the animal torturing would have been faked and, and, and...2) I needed the money badly. 3) I was tempted by a different role, as you rightly underline. Lenzi had called me to play Mike’s friend (another victim) and if it had been that role I wouldn’t have signed by any means. Once I was in the game, I tried to make the best of it, From an acting point of view, but without great success, in my opinion. My acting in Cannibal is over the top and bombastic and that’s my final statement. Amen. 

JW - Have you in anyway retained contact with Umberto Lenzi? I was gonna ask if you had any fond experiences on this film or with the director but for now I’ll ask if there was anything you could change about the film. What would it be?


GLR - No contact whatsoever after writing a quite stupid comedy for him ages ago. And thank you for skipping the question about fond memories, the only one being bitching with Lorraine in French so as not to be understood. What would I change? Actually I would destroy every copy of it, but if I had to change something it would be the scene I mentioned above.

JW - We’ve also been informed that Cannibal Ferox was banned in 31 countries around the world. Were ever really surprised at this? How was the film received by those close to you?

GLR - I wasn’t surprised at the time cause I didn’t know. The shit was forgotten moment I landed from in Rome from Laeticia. Until John Martin and then Sage Stallone popped up many years later. The ones close to me ignored it for the 3 weeks it appeared on screen in some sordid theatre or smiled considering it was one of my many extravagances.

The Church (1989)


JW - The role of the Reverend in this film also further pushes your ability as an actor. You’ve gone from playing relentless maniacs to a sympathetic character known as the Reverend. Was it an interesting role to play? How did you approach this role?

GLR - Well...Changing is the name of the game isn’t it? Some actors keep doing the same role on and on, but in their place I’d commit suicide out of boredom. The role was far more interesting in the screenplay I first read. But apparently the movie was too long, and some bits that were giving a deeper insight of the character were cut out. Just to name one aspect, in the original script the Reverend tormented homosexuality was much more clear than in the final version. I approached him as any other role, with passion and understanding. And thinking of an animal he could be (some kind of shy night bird was my idea)

JW - You also got the chance to work with a young Asia Argento on this film. Can you describe the experience?

GLR - Asia was very young at that time, Thirteen I think. She was very pretty and very Lolita like. I remember her sitting on everybody’s lap (including mine) as if she had been eight. It was quite clear that she wanted to be an actress, but I don’t think that even now she cares a lot about being a major one. She is very creative and strange, as everybody in her family. She still could decide to leave everything and become a Nurse, a terrorist, a painter, or God knows what. As for now anyway she’s a happy mother as well and managed to be very sexy even with a seven months belly...

JW - Michele Soavi is quite a visionary director. Can you describe your experience working with him?

GLR - Michele is an airy spirit, always changing mood, dreams and ideas. I always thought he would be the perfect Puck in Shakespeare’s “A midsummer Night’s Dream”. He is not at all “adult” and that’s his charm, both as a person and as a director. He films what he dreams at night and what he paints (he is quite a good painter). He lives in a fantastic world of his own and tries to put his fantasies in his movies. That’s why he is surely much more of an artist than the other horror directors I worked with. So, working with him is fascinating, even if it’s not always easy to understand what he really wants. A bit like being directed by Chagall. As for now he is doing a lot of very serious tv (Crime Dramas mostly) but told me he is planning a horror comeback. You fans will be thrilled and if I am not in it I will chase him in the streets of Rome with an axe (laughs)

JW - Can you tell us about any future projects you maybe involved with?

GLR - I just opened my official site (www.giovannilombardoradice.com) and a myspace page (www.myspace.com/giovannilombardoradice). I should have done it many years ago, but I’m basically lazy and scared of technology. The results of the first twenty days fly beyond my highest hopes and I’m receiving tons of mail, requests for conventions, t-shirt businesses, and at least three interviews a week. So in the near future I think I’ll be pretty busy dealing with the horror side of my life. In July I should be filming in GB for one week. It’s a very violent thriller, with a great script giving the violence a meaning. So I just want to do it. But I didn’t sign a contract yet, so I can’t tell more. And next season (which in Italy means October to June) I am scheduled for a horror convention in Germany (December), I’ll go back to theatre for a couple of months, co-starring in Athol Fugard’s Road to Mecca, a very good production I’ve been in this past Fall and Winter and, As a director, I must fit in a week rehearsals for the second season of Alan Ayckbourn’s Absurd Person Singular I staged with great success last January. And I have some other theatre projects and my books...I have the great hope that my Italian translation of Shakespeare Sonnets will be completed and published and the only book I wrote in 1997 (Bello E Impossible- Handsome And Unreachable) will be re-published. And this time I hope it will be translated into English. And...as the great Voltaire said in a little poem: “To fail in our projects/ Is our nature’s fate? In the morning making plans/ During the day stupid thing” (Can’t find English rhymes, sorry).

JW - Is there anything in your career that you are most proud of? What is it and why?

GLR - Yes, I think I did something good. The Shakespeare translations have the podium (Sonnets and the Merchant Of Venice), as a director I’m quite proud of the many Ayckbourns I staged and acted in (starting the Italian fame of this theatre genius) and I rate Charlotte Keatley’s “My Mother Said I Never Should” and A.R. Gurney Jr’s “The Dining Room” as  great productions I will always remember with deep affection. As an Actor the podium is for my King Herod Agrippa in the Bible episode about Saint Paul (maybe available on DVD in Engish version), followed by Bukowski in Cannibal Apocalypse and Ricky in House On The Edge Of The Park.

JW - Can you give any advice to Aspiring Film makers, writers and actors?

GLR - I have been teaching acting for many years both in theatre schools and in the National Cinema School, so, yes I can give advice. Actors - Be humble in whatever phase of your career, there’s always something to learn and you can’t know in advance who from you’re going to learn it. Eyes and ears open, always, even on a bus. If you’re pretty or handsome don’t rely on just your looks- Beauty is a tricky lady, and it will fade away anyhow.

Writers- Don’t follow the fashions, put your heart in what you do. Even when your just writing for bread and butter you can try and say something worthwhile.

Film makers- Hire me, what are you waiting for?

And about giving advice, I’ll end this interview quoting Shakespeare’s Portia (The Merchant Of Venice, 1.2) “I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done than to be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching”.

Love and Peace

Giovanni Lambardo Radice/John Morghen

 

May you describe the difficult circumstances you dealt with growing up in Dayton, Ohio?

I grew up in Old North Dayton, Ohio which is basically a white ghetto. My alcoholic Father moved us there when I was five and I lived there for twenty years. To call the neighborhood a hellhole would be too kind in a lot of ways. I had guns leveled at my head by complete strangers before the time I was 8 years old. I had been robbed at gun point during one of those times. I grew up behind a cracker bar called The Sip N’ Nip which was a redneck hang out that drew a ton of violence. I had to walk through their parking lot to get to the grocery store. There were multiple instances when I would walk past pools of dried blood from the fights and shootings the night before. The sounds of gunfire from the bar were so common that it just became background noise. There was a car bombing there once too, that was exciting. The neighborhood was a cesspool of crime, violence, incest and rape. And all of that was before the onset of crack which sank it even further.

So with all of this as an outside background I grew up in an alcoholic home with an abusive Father who thankfully left when I was seven years old. The only down side is he left my Mom to raise three kids by herself in what amounted to hell. I mention all of this simply because it all informs my work in a big way. I’ve been accused of sensationalism in my work and considering what I grew up seeing, I sometimes think I’ve soft pedaled the truth at times.

I understand your stepfather was a horror fan. From what I understand he got you into the world of special effects after describing how they were done for The Howling. If you can remember, describe some of your earlier experience with special make up effects.

My step Dad was cool. After my real Father left I was terrified of everything. I couldn’t watch horror movies at all. I mean real life was scary enough and to have more frightening input was just too much. But when Gene my Mom’s new boyfriend (and my step Father later) came around he loved horror movies. His big thing was going to the drive in to see the all night from Dusk Till Dawn horror shows. Naturally I wasn’t willing to go along. But I was an artistic kid, always drawing and sculpting things, so he wisely sat me down and explained to me how the werewolves in The Howling were done with masks and bladders and things. That really rang a bell with me.

It wasn’t long before I was slapping latex all over my face and making monsters and finally watching horror movies. I took it slow at first easing myself in with things like POLTERGEIST. But it didn’t take long after seeing effects bonanza’s like AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON or JOHN CARPENTER’S THE THING for the bug to really bite me. And none of it would have happened without Gene’s pushing the idea with me.

When did you meet Jim VanBebber? And what projects did you work on with him?

Jim VanBebber had his studio in Centerville, Ohio which is a suburb of Dayton. So when I was about 17 I cold called him, having never met him at all. I read about how these local guys where working on a movie about Charles Manson. So I called him up asking if he needed an effects guy and got a meeting. He was doing all the effects himself, but he needed an assistant and took me in to help. No one was getting paid but I needed the experience. I ended up doing a little of everything, not just effects. I ran sound, worked on sets, pulled focus, helped with lights. I’m even in the movie briefly. This led to working on MY SWEET SATAN too, and even more of the effects for CHARLIE’S FAMILY. Though Jim was still the main effects guy. Basically I became one of his trusted crew people and one of his friends.

How big of an influence was he on your career?

I cannot stress this enough. I would NOT have what career I have without Jim VanBebber. He took me under his wing and guided me in ways that film school could never do. He was a mentor and a big brother and a close friend. He facilitated pretty much all of the behind the scenes machinations to get The Mutilation Man going too. He made sure I made my first film. He wasn’t gonna let me not follow my dreams. I owe a lot to him.

Do you still keep in touch with him?

Unfortunately we haven’t kept in touch. Once he moved to L.A. he and I sort of drifted apart for various reasons that in truth are pretty unclear, probably to either of us. Both of us have had to battle a number of personal demons, and I think that resulted in us drifting apart. I’m hoping that someday that will not be the case.

How was your experience in Film School?

 

I have huge mixed feelings about film school. I went to Wright State University here in Dayton and they are a pretty well respected school. The department is headed by an Academy award winning filmmaker. I learned a lot while there, especially in the areas of film theory, which has been invaluable to me over the years. I cannot stress enough how important it is to understand WHY films work the way they do, and film school taught me that. I also learned a lot of nuts and bolts of filmmaking too and got to shoot on film which is not a regular experience these days. So all of that was positive. But, and this is the big problem, I was very much shunned there for the types of films I wanted to make. I was kept from continuing in the film program there. The official reason was that I did not fit the criteria to move on to the later years of the program. Never mind the fact that at least half of the people who did move on didn’t meet the criteria either. It was made perfectly clear to me during the audition process why I was not allowed to move on further into the program there when I was basically told that I was making the kinds of films I was making to be sensationalistic. I showed a 16mm film I did about heroin addicts as my audition film and was grilled about my abusive child hood by the teachers afterwards then told I was lying about all of that to get attention! The whole process was basically an attempt to break my spirit and drive me away from the school all because they didn’t want someone there making these “dark and horrifying” works. This was before RESERVIOR DOGS made this kind of movie cool. In fact it was one year before that happened. If I had waited ONE YEAR I would have probably not had this negative experience. Anyway I stayed at the school and took my argument to the dean who refused to even read the case, so I went to the ACLU but they said I had no chance in hell of making a case with it because the main teacher who had an open beef with me, (who accused me of having behavior problems and learning disorders and things of that nature, none of which were true) was gay AND had tourettes syndrome! So I hung around and took what film theory classes I could and eventually took all that anger and rage and poured it into the screenplay of THE MUITLATION MAN.

 

What are your views on censorship? Why do you think grown adults care what other grown adults watch?
I think the roots of the problem are much deeper than censorship. The question isn’t why do people of “control” want to censor what we watch, listen to, etc.. The question is; How are they censoring what we think? Censorship is the beginning of thought crimes, the dream police if you want to put it that way. Censorship is just another way to control people, and once people are under control then they are easier to manipulate and bend to the will of those who are in control. But you will notice how these things work is totally twisted and corrupt and makes little or no sense. Movies that get NC-17 ratings generally are having sexual situations truncated these days. Almost all below the waist public nudity on women is a no no anymore in an R rated film for example. Yet if you turn on E! entertainment there are TV programs that are dedicated to rich people getting plastic surgery that regularly feature women having their labia shaved off. The actual vagina is pixilated or blurred but the big piece of labial meat that they slice off is held up for all the world to see. So what’s the message here? If a woman in a natural situation of showing pubic hair or in a natural love scene (take the movie THE COOLER for example where the love scene was forced to be cut due to the pubic nudity of the female lead) then it is branded wrong for GROWN ADULTS TO SEE. But here on broadcast cable TV during prime time hours anyone can tune in and see a rich, wealthy person getting surgery on their privates to make them a more marketable product. Not a better person, but a more desirable product. And that is the ultimate goal. To sell people as a commodity. Real sexuality is devalued and shown to be evil, wrong and dirty, stigmatized and demoralizing, especially if it is attached with loving relationships. But if the sexuality is attached to money, wealth, celebrity or fame then it is not only acceptable it is pushed into our faces to prove to us how inferior we are as human beings. That way we buy into the sales pitch and buy more clothes, make up, perfumes, bullshit, plastic surgery and crappy entertainment that makes us feel this way in the first place.

The sanitizing of violence is very similar. Though it has finally backed down with horror film in recent years. But there was a time when every horror film that came out was censored. The more realistic the depiction of violence the harder the MPAA came down on it. Yet you have movies like the James Bond films where people are shot and killed with no blood or fuss that get PG-13 ratings. Hollywood’s sanitized version of violence is passed on as okay while bloody, horrific violence is censored and kept secret.

But with the onset of war, and the impossibility of keeping those wartime images off the internet we have seen less of that in recent years. In fact I believe the rise in violent horror films is a direct correlation to the wartime situation we are in. I think these films are peoples way to deal with the real life horrors in a vicarious way. Hence why these so called “torture” horror films have flourished since the Abu Garib incidents a few years ago. The films are reflecting real life, which is something good horror films do.

But when the culture catches wind of that the censors tend to try and shut it down. I suspect there will be a backlash very soon on these kinds of films. So be prepared to fight for your genre in the near future. But anyone who cares about freedom of any kind should be prepared to fight censorship and the methods of control.



All your experiences brought you to a movie that I really enjoyed, Mutilation Man. The subject matter was rough and some scenes were really graphic and intense. May you describe your inspiration whether it be from your personal life and what filmmakers inspired you to not censor yourself?

THE MUTILATION MAN is my most personal work and probably always will be. The themes of childhood abuse playing themselves out as entertainment for other people as an adult are a pretty apt description of myself in a lot of ways. At that time I was coming to terms with a lot of my abuse as a child, though I never witnessed things as awful as in the film, I never was sexually abused or saw my Father murder a family member, I did see a lot things that a child should never see. After years of talking to other people and realizing I was not the only one I knew it was time to put that shit in a movie. Purge it from my soul. Bleed it out if you will.

The movie was hugely influenced by the Kafka story THE HUNGER ARTIST and the work of ALEXANDRO JODOROWSKY who is like a God to me. THE HUNGER ARTIST is a very similar tale about a guy who starves himself as a work of art. The germ of THE MUTILATION MAN probably came from reading that story. The whole feel and look of the movie came from ingesting Jodorowsky’s work. As far as not censoring myself, I had already been kicked out of Film school for not censoring myself, so why start then? I had nothing to lose. Plus this was right around the time when films like NEKROMANTIK and TETSUO where big in the underground so uncensored freeform art/horror hybrids were getting attention, so that was the road I took. Its funny to think about that film now in terms of censorship because I faced a bunch with it. Nick Palumbo likes to make a big deal about how his film MURDER SET PIECES was thrown out of labs for being too violent and outrageous but I beat him to that punch by ten years with MUTILATION MAN. It was thrown out of several labs for the very same reasons. I ended up having to have some old man in his basement do some of the film to tape transfers because no labs would touch it!

 

What do you think of Murder-Set-Pieces as a film by itself?

I thought it was okay. The effects are great, and Jade Riser gives a terrific performance but it really doesn’t have a very compelling story. If you’re looking for splatter it delivers, but not much else. I think if Palumbo gets someone to write a great script for him he can deliver a great film someday.

Have you kept in contact with any of the cast?

I still talk to Kristie Bowersock who’s now married. Greg Dodson who co-produced and I had a falling out but have recently patched things back up and talk pretty regularly these days. Occasionally I’ll talk to Pucket.

Are you proud of Terek Puckets performance?

Fuck yeah!!! I think he’s is terrific in the movie. He’s a hell of an actor. I wish he did more of it. I could be wrong, but I think the movie is his only leading role. He deserves to do much more of those. I think he is concentrating more on a writing career these days.

Where was it first screened and how did people respond?

We had the premiere here in Dayton at the local Art house theater. It played right after the X-FILES movie in fact. I’m not sure people knew what to make of it. We had nine walk-outs, which I took as a compliment! Overall people liked it, but that was a biased crowd to be sure. A lot of friends, family and people who worked on the movie.

Any negative criticism?

Not at the premiere. But over the years? Hell yeah. Most people who don’t like it have two complaints. One, that the movie “looks like shit” which hopefully when the new DVD comes out in 2008 will be rectified to a degree. Ye, it is supposed to look fucked up to a certain point, but there were a lot of problems with transfers and things that make it look worse than it should. I’m going back to the original film elements for the new DVD. The other complaint is that it is too much an art film. Gore hounds seem to get really pissed off when you make art films. Not all of them, but some.

My favorite scenes are the Jim Van Bebber 8mm scenes? Anyone think these scenes were too brutal?

Not really! Most people like those scenes. They are the heart of the movie really. Without them the movie is just a guy fucking himself up. Though I sometimes wonder if we needed him to bite that nipple off. Maybe we went over the top there…

How did Sub Rosa get involved?

Very simply. I sent them a tape and Ron Bonk really liked the movie and wanted to release it. I learned a lot from that release.

 

Since you got the rights to Mutilation Man back are you looking to have another DVD company distribute it. What company do you think would do a great treatment for it?

Well you’re getting the fucking scoop here. I’m putting it on DVD myself and self distributing it like I have THE ATROCITY CIRCLE. I’ve had enough success with that release that it only makes sense to do that with MUTILATION MAN. The cool thing is that technology has finally caught up with me that I am able to go back to the original elements and reconstruct the movie so it looks like it was intended and not like a fifth generation vhs dupe which the current DVD looks like. I’m planning on releasing this in a 2 disc special edition in 2008 for its 10 year anniversary with a shitload of new extras including new commentaries, interviews and documentaries. As for involvement of others that is still to be decided. But I guarantee it will be kick ass and the definitive release.


I’ve read that movies like Mutilation Man and Black Sun are pieces of therapy for you? Artistically does that make you feel successful and how mainstream would you like to be as a filmmaker?

These are some complicated questions. I think any artist who is honest about thier work sees it as some sort of therapy or at least sees themselves in the work. BLACK SUN is much more of a personal film for me, so much that I think it makes very little sense to anyone but myself! It really is like a patch of my brainwork from that time of my life, something I HAD to put on screen. Unfortunately I still wrestle with those demons I was trying to put down with that film. Do I find that kind of personalized work artistically fulfilling? Yes I do. But that goes back to something Jim VanBebber taught me. He told me once that you can make anything you want but you have to have a REASON for it. Because you have to live with it when its finished. You made it and if you plan to call yourself an artist then you better understand or at least know within yourself that you had good reason to make what you did. I’ve lived by those words. I doubt he even knows how much those words have impacted my life.

Would I go mainstream?

 

Yes in a second. Because the best way to subvert a system is from within. I can try to change the world by doing my underground work all I want but at the end of the day its preaching to the converted. I love that I’ve gained an audience, but for change to really take hold, and believe me I want the world to change, I need to be able to work on a bigger canvas.

Your Documentary Freakshow Deluxe about a performance art duo lead to your modern rape/revenge exploitation film “Atrocity Circle”. How did you come up with the story?

Well they didn’t lead to each other. I’d been friends with The Reverend Tommy Gunn and The Wolf for a while and had planned to use them both in THE ATROCITY CIRCLE which I was in preproduction for. At that point the movie was still called HER NAME WAS SAMANTHA. They had started doing these sideshow acts at the local haunted trail and named themselves FREAKSHOW DELUXE. I was getting kinda frustrated at how it took so much effort to do movies at that point. So much planning, so much scheduling, getting actors, supplies, locations, shit like that. So I just took a camera and my then girlfriend as assistant and went and shot one of their shows and all the preparation leading up to it. I got a couple of interviews with the guys and viola! A few weeks later I had a documentary. Its funny because that documentary is so weak compared to what they do now. The Wolf still lives here in Dayton and has a troupe of performers and Tommy lives in L.A. and has a troupe and they are so much more advanced than the little show they did in the doc.


Sub Rosa’s involvement and departure from the project?

 

 It’s kinda complicated. Sub Rosa was trying to launch some sub labels at the time for product that they would “produce” themselves. One of the labels, the only one that really took off was an “Extreme” label that was run by Eric Stanze, which is why it took off because he is a talented dude and has access to a lot of talented people. Anyway Stanze and I have always admired each others work and wanted to work together so I proposed this rape revenge project for the Sub Rose Extreme line. The original idea was that I would direct the move, basically shoot it and do all the pre and actual production work. Then it gets handed over to Stanze for all the post production. Then Sub Rosa Releases it. Quick, dirty and to the point. Sub Rosa wanted a certain amount of violence and nudity so it would make foreign sales etc. etc. But the catch was that Sub Rosa put NO money into the project. It all came from my end. But I went for it anyway.

The movie gets 90% shot and there is some communication breakdown with Sub Rosa that I can’t really go into too much. Then on my end there is some personal issues with the producer of the film that grind shooting to a halt. These two things cause a big problem and eventually we all agree its best for me to handle the movie on my own. Sub Rosa got to keep the title HER NAME IS SAMANTHA. I finished the movie under the title THE ATROCITY CIRCLE and release it myself to great reviews and brisk sales. I’m not even sure Sub Rosa exists anymore. And they don’t own the rights to any of my work. Though hopefully someday I still will get to work with Stanze!

What performances were you happy with?

I’m overall happy with all the performances. I’m especially happy with the female leads and the villains though. Those are the performances that get the most notice.

 

How did you cast the lead Telsa?

Once again Cinema Wasteland. She was cruising my table when I was looking for people for ATROCITY CIRCLE and I asked her when she would audition. She did and all worked out well. I think she did a great job.

How do you feel working on digital instead of film?

Well you gotta remember I’m an old film guy. I put myself through college working as a projectionist at movie theaters so I have a sort of spiritual connection to film. I’m one of those weirdos that likes the medium itself. I like to work with it, I like how you can do things directly to the film itself like scratch it, or write on it. That’s the experimental filmmaker in me talking. I even have a paltry film print collection.

But digital is certainly easier and cheaper in a lot of ways and the resolution is really good if you can afford to go for something that high end. I’ve not gotten to work with HD or anything that high end yet. But want to really badly. But at this point I’ll work with what ever I can to get the project done.

You did all the effects right?

Yes. I’m not the greatest effects guy around. I can get the job done. But its not my main focus so the effects suffer for it. I wouldn’t want to do effects for someone else’s movie anymore. I haven’t kept up with materials and techniques enough to be up for the job. I’ve done it over the years out of necessity more than anything. Though I wouldn’t mind designing for someone though. That could be fun.

Were you comfortable making more of a linear piece opposed to making an experimental picture again?

Yeah I was. Though when I was editing (THE ATROCITY CIRCLE) I kept jumping the narrative back and forth and was worried people wouldn’t follow and would think I was up to my old tricks. But audiences are smarter than the media wants us to believe. So a little bit of a challenge narrative wise is okay. There are a lot of flashbacks in THE ATROCITY CIRCLE but I think it flows really well, especially with the pay off in the final act. But I was very comfortable doing a narrative piece. I’ve written a lot of narrative work but none of it has been made do to I require larger budgets for those scripts.

Tell us about some of the shorts you’ve directed?

I directed a short segment for an upcoming anthology film called URBAN REALITY that involves cannibalism and reality video. It’s kind of my reaction to the BUMFIGHTS tapes. It’s very, very gory and very in your face. That should be seeing the screen soon. I’ve done some experimental shorts including one called AMERICAN GULAG about the live on the air suicide of Penn. State Treasurer Budd Dwyer in 1987. That’s one of my favorite pieces of mine that I’ve done. It’s an extra on the BLACK SUN dvd. I tried to explore the non-western concept that sometimes suicide is an act of defiance and not defeat. And I also wanted to show this man as a real human being, not a punchline to a politician joke, or a gorehound meat shot for a compilation tape. I think I succeeded.

My favorite short I’ve done is NEPHEW OF SHAFT a half hour or so comedy I did for public access that is a Blaxsploitation parody. I was asked to do the awards show for Public Access that year so I combined my love for Blaxsploitation and the awards show into a short film that had the staff from the station playing roles. It’s my best made piece and I think really funny. It shows that I can do humor as well as all the other stuff. But unfortunately if will be rarely seen because it breaks all kinds of copyright issues.

Other than directing horror films, what do you do for a living ?

I work in Public Access TV. At the station I work at I train people who want to make their own TV shows on how to run the equipment. I’ve spent the last year or so teaching people how to use the AVID editing system to edit their shows. Public Access is interesting because it is under attack right now by the corporate entities AND the FCC who have banded together to try and shut it down because they want the actual stations and channel allotments for their own useless commercial needs. Never mind the fact that the same shit is on 35 channels at any given moment. Fox wants the little guys out of the picture so they can put their shit on there too. So I dunno how much longer I’m gonna have a job. Or anyone else in the industry. But it’s sad because it is all about peoples freedom to go on TV and speak their mind. That is what is really being taken away. And make no mistake the corporations and the FCC know that, which is why they are fighting so hard to dismantle it.

I take it your not a fan of Bumfights?

As I mentioned before I made a whole short film expressing how much I detest them. But I don’t mind ranting further about it. I fucking hate BUMFIGHTS and I think the scumbags who made them should get a taste of their own medicine. That’s basically the gist of the short film I made is, but in horror terms. I finally saw a brief glimpse of a subhuman toadstool that made BUMFIGHTS not too long ago and he is exactly what I figured he was. Some rich fuckwad whose daddy has money enough to insulate him from real life, so he goes out and fucks with those who aren’t fortunate enough to be able to fight back. Those tapes aren’t just them having bums fight each other, there are scenes where these rich kids hogtie homeless people and throw them in rivers, make them drink piss, spray paint them, tie them up and basically torture them.

I would LOVE to see those guys end up in a real prison where Daddy’s money can’t protect them from big scary men whose only pleasure in life is taking advantage of them day in and day out. That would be poetic justice.

Any up and coming directors you admire?

Lots actually. It’s funny in this industry because its so insular that at this level the people you admire end up becoming your friends. I’m a big admirer of ERIC STANZE, FRED VOGEL, ANDREY ISKANOV, BRIAN PAULIN to name but just a few. A couple of recent short films I’ve seen that rock are GOLDEN AGE from a cat named CULLEN CARR which is awesome and THE GOAT SUCKER by MATTHEW REELI thought was phenomenal too. Those dudes are going places.

What movie would you make with a budget of lets say 15 million?

Wow! Fifteen million… If I got five or six million I’d do my dream project about kids working at a drive-in movie theater. That script is ready to go actually. If I have 15 million there is a fantasy/horror I’ve had in my head for years about one of the roman soldiers that had to go around decapitation all the first born children when Christ was born and how he was cursed by God to walk the Earth forever and an arachnid mutant man who is his nemesis…Pretty strange stuff. Very heady, black magick, Clive Barker-esque. Or maybe I would make a Gangster film about the White Trash gangsters I grew up around.

Are you going to be at Cinema Wasteland this March?

 

Oh yeah. I’ve only missed on one show since 2001!

 

Looking forward to any of the screenings or guest at the 2007 Cinema Wasteland?

I’m not sure what they’re screening this time around but I’m actually pretty excited about the guest list. I’m a big fan of Russ Meyer’s films and definitely am down with meeting the gals from FASTER PUSSYCAT KILL KILL. I’m also hoping to meet Camille Keaton from I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. But usually I don’t make a big deal about meeting the guests . I have more fun talking to the fans and people who are there just to have fun.

What do you think of people who talk in theaters?

I think my Russian friend ANDREY ISKANOV (director of NAILS and VISIONS OF SUFFERING) said it best when he said “I would like to rise up and KILL THEM!” I think movie going has become something people take for granted these days. People seem to think that a movie theater is the same as their living room, so they talk out loud, play with their fucking cell phones or video games, run around like fools and these are the adults! You would think higher ticket prices would stop this but instead it seems to make people think they are allowed to act like fuckheads since they paid so much to be there. I say we need to arm the ushers and start throwing people the fuck out or hitting them with Tazers.

 

Favorite Films of 2006?

I didn’t go to the movies nearly enough last year. Seems I go less and less every year as I get older. I dunno if it is because less and less good movies are being made or I just am getting choosier. But I loved THE FOUNTAIN and THE DEPARTED, those are probably my picks for the two best movies of 2006. I also really really liked BORAT, V FOR VENDETTA and THE DESCENT. In fact I think THE DESCENT is one of the ten best modern horror films ever made. I still have yet to see PAN’S LABYRINTH though. I suspect that will fall in my list too.

 

Is there any mainstream directors stuff your into? (For example Eli Roth, James Gunn. Lucky McKee, Rob Zombie and Brad Anderson are some of the names constantly thrown around)

I really liked Brad Anderson’s Masters of Horror episode but I haven’t seen any of his films! Rob Zombie is pretty good but I find his insistence on putting goofy comedy in his films off putting. DEVIL’S REJECTS works really well until it gets to scenes like the chicken fucking monologue and then it stops dead in its tracks. He’s another one who needs a good co writer. I am NOT a fan of Eli Roth and I’ll leave it at that. I would say the only mainstream horror director I am a big fan of right now is Guillermo Del Toro. I think he’s amazing. Even a movie of his that I wasn’t crazy about, like HELLBOY, still had a lot of great stuff in it. The director I’m obsessed with at the moment is Richard Stanley of HARDWARE and DUST DEVIL fame. I’d love to just sit and have a conversation with that dude. He’s a true genius.

Favorite Exploitation Films?

I love so many. I literally have dreams where I’m at drive-ins playing all night exploitation festivals or that I’m on 42nd st. in New York back in the early 80’s (which I never got to see. I got to be on the Duece in the mid 90’s right before Disney fucked it all up). LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET is probably my favorite. Its sort of a horror movie, but its more like a fucked up art/exploitation/horror hybrid. Its like someone popped the top of your skull and scrapped some nasty New York sludge in there and it became that movie. I fucking LOVE IT. I also love stuff like ILSA HAREM KEEPER OF THE OIL SHEIKS and TIGRESS OF SIBERIA, FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE, and many a Jess Franco movie, even though I should know better.

Favorite Horror Films?

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE hands down. Accept no substitutes. This was the film that made me want to direct horror films. I remember distinctly watching this (and THE EVIL DEAD) and thinking I want to make people feel the way I am feeling right now. It is still scary thirty years later. I HATE that remake with a passion. I think it is among the worst films ever made. Though I gotta say I found THE BEGINNING to not be bad at all. I’m also really fond of SUSPIRIA, MARTIN, NOSFERATU (1922), SANTA SANGRE and THE DEATH KING.

What is your favorite Blaxploitation film?

DOLEMITE MOTHERFUCKA!!!!!!! There are other movies from the era that are more important (SWEET SWEETBACK’S BADASSS SONG, THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR) and better made (ACROSS THE 110th STREET, CORNBREAD EARL AND ME) and more exciting (any Pam Grier movie) but DOLEMITE is the sassiest, flashiest most insane of them all. RUDY RAY MOORE is simply THE SHIT. The movie is endlessly quotable (“Yeah DOLEMITE with your fancy clothes and black bitches” “You forgot about the white ones!”) with great characters (who can forget The Hamburger Pimp!) and clothes so loud you gotta turn down your volume. Especially awesome is a boom microphone that is in the movie so much it deserves an onscreen credit. I’ve seen DOLEMITE upwards of 30 some times and I still love it each time. My first movie convention was Chiller and I drove 13 hours for the sole purpose of meeting Rudy Ray Moore.

 

What was Rudy Ray Moore like when you met him?

Awesome. He signed a whole bunch of shit for me and only charged like $5.00 for most items (this was ten years ago though). He talked to me for a while and made some jokes. My best memory of him was the next morning at the hotel breakfast he was so tired from meeting people that he kept almost falling asleep in his eggs. But he was cool. When I told him I was from Dayton he knew all about the town and asked me all about the places he had played there.

 

Have you seen Mario Van Peebles Baaadassss!?

Yes. I thought it was the best movie of 2005. Who would have thought that Mario Van Peebles would ever direct a movie that good? I think it is the ultimate movie about making movies. It shows just how much passion and drive a true artist has to have to make films. It also shows how we can sometimes get tunnel-vision about these things and have it effect our real lives too. Plus it got into the nuts and bolts of fighting the system and sticking it to the man, which is definitely something that makes me smile.

 

For my personal entertainment, Who would you work with first? Mickey Rourke, Vincent Gallo or Tom Sizemore?

Here’s the thing, all three of those guys are AMAZING actors. Simply amazing. Rourke has been so good in sooooo many movies that I love, from ANGEL HEART to JOHNNY HANDSOM to SIN CITY. Sizemore too. I love him in HEAT and NATURAL BORN KILLERS, and Gallo is truly amazing in the movie TROUBLE EVERY DAY which not very many people have seen, but should. But who I want to work with is the question. Gallo is a dick in real life and a raving lunatic Republican to boot so I doubt I would be able to get a long with him for more than a few minutes, so he’s out. Sizemore would be cool if he isn’t shooting H or beating up hookers but he seems to really like to do both of those things and that is not conducive to good movie making so unless he got clean I’d pass on him. So that leaves Rourke, who I would work with in a second as long as I had a role that would hold his short attention span. And had a role for his little dog, which seems to keep him happy too.

Are you allowed to discuss that Fred Vogel/ Andy Copp Project yet?

Not much I can say about it yet. Financers are interested but nothing is signed, so I gotta stay quiet. I can say that the script that I wrote is the darkest, most vile thing I have ever written. I wrote it during a time of my life that I consider probably my blackest period ever and the script definitely shows it. I dunno if I could ever write something this fucked up again. These are GOOD things mind you. The people who have read it have all commented on how dark, or pitch fucking black as they’ve said, it is. I can say it is dead serious, no humor. It is a narrative piece and when it gets made its gonna make all these so called “torture” movies going on now look like Child’s Play.

 

What do you think of Masters of Horror?

Boy have those been hit or miss haven’t they? The first season had a few that were just amazing. John Carpenter’s CIGARETTE BURNS was probably his best work since PRINCE OF DARKNESS, I though it was amazing, and I really liked Joe Dante’s HOMECOMING too, but it fit with my politics so that helped. There were a couple that were okay like Coscarelli’s and John Mcnaughten’s. I thought Stuart Gordon’s episode was too mean spirited for its own good actuall, and the rest were pretty much really horrible to complete dogshit. SICK GIRL was almost saved by Erin Brown’s great performance but the uneven tone killed it. I was crushingly disappointed with Argento’s episode.

 

What Genre Magazines and sites do you read and recommend?

I love SHOCK CINEMA, that is my favorite genre magazine hands down. There is a new one on the block called HORRORHOUND that I like a good deal too, though it covers mainstream stuff a bit too much, they cover a lot of other things like new horror toys or masks on the market. I like that diversity. As for websites I honestly check yours and that’s about it! I sometimes will look at Bloody Disgusting ( I wrote some reviews for them a while ago). The only other site I regularly visit is DVD Maniacs.

Anyone you want to praise or piss on?

How about I praise you guys for doing a kick ass site! You’ve only been going for a short time but have done a great amount of work. Lets see what else? I watched that movie CANNIBAL the other night and thought that was fucking terrific. Unearthed Films deserves kudo’s for putting that out, cause God knows it s gonna alienate just about everyone who see’s it. But I still Highly recommend it. As far as pissing on people, I haven’t the time for that, except the Bumfights asswipes.

 

I’ve seen Cannibal also and I gave it a glowing review. Do you think the dick scenes in that film beat your in "Atrocity Circle"?

There aren’t really any dick scenes in ATROCITY CIRCLE, just the dick in the box later and that’s just a glimpse so CANNIBAL has me beat by a mile on that front. But God Damn that scene in CANNIBAL is hard to watch. When they stop and try to eat the fried dick and it is all mushy and shit? Fuckin-A I thought I was gonna throw chunks. But it was cool that they paid that close of attention to anatomy with the scene and how the dick isn’t muscle but tons of blood vessels and would be just like they show it. But definitely one of the gross out scenes of the last few years. WAY more nasty and intense than anything in CHAOS or MURDER SET PIECES.

 

Where can people purchase Atrocity Circle?

They can get it directly from me at www.coppfilms.com and pay with paypal. If they are not comfortable with that for some odd reason it is also for sale from Xploited DVD and Diabolik DVD both of whom have done brisk business with it.

 

-Russ Rutter