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No frills film school
Topics: Troma, Poultrygeist, Bakotopia, Bakersfield, los angeles, Hustler, Hollywood, Premiere, July 13 2008, Sunset Blvd., Lloyd Kaufman, Toxic Avenger, Review, Elske McCain, Count Smokula
Posted by Bakontributor Mon Jun 23, 2008 17:33:24 PDT
Viewed 1006 times
0 responses 0 comments Location: 8920 Sunset Blvd. , West Hollywood, CA., CA 90069

No frills film school
Troma Studios takes young film students on Z-movie tour - LIVE from 'Poultrygeist' movie party, Hustler Hollywood -6/13/08

Above from left: Writer Greg Goodsell and The Toxic Avenger


By Greg Goodsell, Bakotopia.com contributor

The Toxic Avenger, or “Toxie” to his friends, is here tonight in all his mutated glory waving his trusty janitor’s mop.

Yiddish vampire comedian Count Smokula is on hand with his trusty fez and accordion working the crowd. He’s there with the very twisted twisted balloon artiste “Rainbow,” whose colorful get-up calls to mind Strawberry Shortcake Left Out in the Rain. Additionally, there are countless “enhanced” actresses out for more than just a little exposure in barely-there dresses.


Rainbow

These colorful bits of flotsam all gathered at upscale “marital aids” supermarket Hustler Hollywood this past Friday the 13th for the West Coast premiere of Troma Studios’ “Poultrygeist” starring porn legend Ron Jeremy.

Anybody who has prowled movie rental racks is on intimate terms with Troma Studios’ product.


Above from left: Unidentified Tromette and Lloyd Kaufman

This New Jersey-bred movie machine is known for such exotically titled mess-terpieces as “Surf Nazis Must Die!,” “Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.,” “Stuff Stephanie in the Incinerator,” and many others.

As any seasoned viewer will tell you, the typical Troma B-movie is far closer to a Z - with nonexistent budgets, shooting schedules that hover under the two-week mark, and featuring actors pulled off the sidewalk, if not the cesspool.


Word...

Led by avuncular producer Lloyd Kaufman, Troma Pictures culls the bright and impressionable teen and 20-something film student eager for hands-on experience.

Kaufman, who appeared at a Bakersfield bookstore several years ago to promote his how-to manual “Make Your Own Damn Movie!: Secrets of a Renegade Director,” is up front on how to secure talent: don’t pay anybody.


Above: Rainbow and Count Smokula

Any Troma set is rife with crew horror stories: food covered in mold - if offered at all; lengthy 16-hour shooting days with mass employee defections following any day off; and independent producers spending their life savings on their projects, foregoing all monetary compensation in exchange for Kaufman distributing their work.



At the party this writer attended, I was taken by the large assortment of young people focused on their dedication to Uncle Lloyd. A wholesome young blonde, face glowing told me that she doesn’t mind the hard work without pay in order to be involved with Kaufman’s no-budget antics. Her cheerful, innocent demeanor was a stark contrast to the knick knacks and plain, brown-wrapper books on display at Hustler Hollywood.



While Troma continues to release films from other independent producers, in-house productions have slowed to a trickle. “Poultrygeist” - about vengeful chicken spirits wreaking havoc on a fast food restaurant built on a sacred Indian burial ground - is a definite anomaly in today’s exploitation film market.



Shot on 35mm film, and boasting a limited theatrical release, “Poultrygeist” takes a more high profile route than the usual digitally-shot dreck cluttering up Blockbuster shelves. One has to give credit to Kaufman and his colleagues for pursuing this less cost-effective campaign.



Still, there is a pervasive level of hucksterism still at work at Troma. I was enticed into attending the soiree by the promise of appearances by adult film star and reality TV moonlighter Ron Jeremy, along with a long list of other sub-Hollywood notables - none of whom appeared by midnight for an event set to end at 1 a.m.



Rushing out the door before I turn into a pumpkin, I ask the 19-year-old event coordinator about the non-appearance of the promised-for stars.

The young man stalled, and then admitted, “Well! They were all invited! It doesn’t mean that they were going to show!”

That’s show biz, Troma style.



Story also printed in Bakotopia magazine, issue 31, 6-26-08

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