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Into the Zone
Topics: Forbidden Zone, Richard Elfman, movie, Bakotopia, Greg Goodsell, American Cinematheque, Hollywood, July, 300, 2008, interview
Posted by Bakontributor Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:43:25 PDT
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Into the Zone
‘Forbidden Zone’ director Richard Elfman spends some quality time with Bako


By Greg Goodsell, Bakotopia.com Contributor

People who stumble on to the cult movie classic “Forbidden Zone” are usually shocked and awed by a parade of dancing frogs, mad queens (actress Susan Tyrrell), midget kings (played by TV’s “Fantasy Island” Herve Villechaize) all set to a pulsating soundtrack by The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.

The ’80s New Wave band - which later dropped “Mystic Knights” from its name and was headed by Danny Elfman long before he became the multi-zillionaire composer of movie soundtracks - was the inspiration behind the film.

But it was through Danny’s older brother Richard Elfman that this black-and-white fever dream came into existence in 1980 when it was originally released, immediately becoming a cult classic.

The big news is that Forbidden Zone is now coming at you in a bold, new colorized version from Legend Films on DVD.



We sat down with director Richard Elfman, after a special screening of the film at American Cinematheque in Hollywood on July 30, 2008.

Q. You say that a lot of Forbidden Zone was inspired by growing up in Southern California (I detect a lot of that in the classroom scenes). Was your and Danny’s childhood a traumatic one?

A. Mine wasn’t too traumatic. Except for getting beaten and bloodied by anti-Semitic kids and taunted and ridiculed for being a Jew through much of my early youth.

And maybe the time a few years later, when Dorsey High won a football game at Manuel Arts High here in South Central L.A. when an angry mob pulled me and few friends out of the broken car windows and stomped us (lucky the police arrived) ... but other than that and several dozen other incidents - nothing too traumatic. (Danny, a few years my junior, seemed to get off easier in terms of harassment.)


Above: Director Richard Elfman

Q. There’s a myriad of influences at work in the film: Fleischer Bros., underground comix, vaudeville, Yiddish theatre, silent films. Is there one element in “Forbidden Zone” that has escaped notice by critics’ audiences?

A. Late 19th Century French absurdist theater, maybe French theater in general - and The Ascended Masters, of course!There’s a lot of very dark subject matter in Forbidden Zone. In the first 10 minutes alone there’s drug abuse, dysfunctional families, crime, racial unrest, even (presciently) guns at school!


Above: American Cinematheque in Hollywood on July 30, 2008 with members of original cast..

Q. Was it your intent to present a lot of unsettling themes in a relentlessly cheerful manner?

A. Among the things that I wished to portray in “Forbidden Zone” (besides simply a filmed version of an entertaining stage musical) was an Absurdist satire on contemporary amorality and society’s utter lack of ethical responsibility. My next door neighbors at the time were a poor white trash family - the drunken father would scream at he mother, who yelled and slapped the teenage piggy slut-daughter, who beat her younger brother, who threw s#*@ at the dog.



Q. This may be a question best left for Susan Tyrrell. When I interviewed her in 1989, she told me how much she hated Herve Villechaize, but in subsequent interviews it appears that they were at one time an item. Do you have any insight into this?

A. I have tons of insight (and you don’t know Susan very well). Susan and Herve loved each other. If you knew Susan better, you would know when she was putting you on or saying something for shock value, as she is wont to do. The two loved and admired each other profoundly. Yes, they had some tempestuous chemistry as a couple, but the love was always there.



Q. You have a lot of familiar faces in the cast (Tyrrell, Villechaize, Joe Spinnell), as well as extras that plucked directly from Skid Row. How were you able to assemble all the diverse players for such an unconventional project?

A. Matthew Bright (Toshiro Boloney) was a classmate of my brother Danny. Matthew’s roommate at the time was Herve. Herve’s ex-girlfriend was Susan. Matthew also was friends with Joe Spinell. Pa was in the Mystic Knights with me. The Princess did a bit in our stage show. The inebriated gentlemen you refer to were sitting on the casting sidewalk that day on 4th and Alameda, awaiting some bottles of acting booze.



Q. While “Forbidden Zone” was intended for midnight movie crowds, the majority of first-time fans (of which I was one) first caught it on cable TV. In your estimation did the film garner its cult reputation through midnight screenings, cable TV, or video?

A. It was condemned by the politically correct when it came out, banned from PC campuses; arson threats drove it from theaters. The original cable version was a piece of *#^@ low-res dupe of a rough cut that I had my lawyer pull off the air. Most people saw s!%#&y bootlegs that I wasn’t aware of. It was only a few years ago that Fantoma Films put out a decent version and now Legend Films has done this new amazing color job on the film.



Q. How did you raise the money for the film?

A. Buying and refurbishing old houses, credit cards and help from Ugh-Fudge Bwana and producer Carl Borack.

Q. Who is the kid who does the “Bim Bam Boom” song? Is he still around?

A. He was neighborhood kid in Venice, Calif. Very, very shy. He froze up in front of the camera, so I had to superimpose Squeezit Henderson’s lips over his.



Q. In the colorized version, are you going for the “hand-painted black and white postcards from another era” effect?

A. No, we choose a more “realistic” looking route. The film is cartoony enough already in terms of art direction, etc.



Q. Movie screen, video, DVD and now colorized - what crazed new permutation will “Forbidden Zone” take on next?

A. 3-D, then holograms in your living room. And finally, hallucinations inside your head.

Q. With every cult movie favorite, there are always obsessed fans, “shadow cast” (à la The Rocky Horror Picture Show), and weird homages. What was the most remarkable fan adulation that you saw over Forbidden Zone?

A. Maybe the time those three 19 year old Playboy triplets, all dressed as the topless Princess tried to sneak into my bed one night when I was particularly drunk (and single). They did lewd things and tried to provoke me - but of course I told them that such behavior was unchaste, and I ran straight away to the Rabbi for guidance. I told the Rebbe what had occurred. He said I was full of s%!# and didn’t believe my story. I offered him my fingers to sniff, to prove my innocence. He left the room ... and returned dressed like Susan Tyrrell in “The Queen’s Revenge.” He lashed me with whips and forced me to recite 20 Hail Marvens.



Q. You’ve directed one other film that I know of, “Shrunken Heads.” What is Richard Elfman doing these days?

A. Actually, there have been other films - “Modern Vampires” is my favorite. I’m also editor-in-chief of Buzzine Magazine. I’m also working on several new film projects.

www.forbiddenzonethemovie.com

www.richardelfman.com

www.buzzine.com

ALSO PRINTED IN BAKOTOPIA MAGAZINE, ISSUE 35, 8/21/08

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Comment From: AnnieLWhite

the best, thank you =D