Pulp Features

Troma might well be the Little Giant of indy cinema, expanding from a small New York based indy company known for producing the lowest-budgeted films since the days of Ed Wood, to a major empire that spans the world. They have caught on; with an unexplainable cult following that would baffle some of the cinema purists. Their enthusiasts continue to build into an army even now. It is a strange tale.

Known for making crazy film and even admitting it, the group hit a fluke with their Toxic Avenger series, which featured the exploits of a nerd who gets thrown into toxic waste and emerges an uncanny super hero. Looking like a cross between the Thing in Fantastic Four episodes and Swamp Thing, this muscular mutant sat out not only to obtain revenge on people who bullied him before, but to fight crime a la Batman.

The Toxic Avenger series did indeed put Troma on the map. The first movie proved to be a real sleeper, spanning several more sequels, a line of memorabilia and a cartoon show. This also enabled Troma to start producing films with better special effects (though they maintained their reputation for grotesque humour and tackiness, never wanting to swerve too far from the course). Sergeant Kabukiman, NYPD, Rapid Grannies and other films followed, in the true line of Troma weirdness.

Having understood the pain of being lambasted in the media and the stereotypes associated with low budget cinema, as Troma grew, producer/director Lloyd Kaufman likewise started to enter the distribution business, helping others to gain exposure for their films. They obtained distribution rights for numerous works and not just small-time productions either. They even signed on for bringing some of Argento’s films into the USA.

Among the features Troma brought to light was a rarity called Cannibal, The Musical. This film featured the life of Albert Packer, a western era cannibal who may or may not have been guilty of the crimes he was accused of. The film was written by and acted in by a trio named Matt Stone, Trey Parker and Juan Schwartz, all of course famous now for the South Park cartoons. Always fixated by Packer, his trio created this film, full of black humour, long before their cartoons became a hit. In a line similar to Troma, they found success when it was least expected. This is nothing new for Troma.

Lloyd himself likes to stress how many obscure actors back then became well-known later on, including Samuel L Jackson and Marisa Tomei, both of whom played in Troma productions early in their careers. The group also did much to advance Brick Bronsky, a wrestler turned actor who played in many Troma films, sometimes as a hero and sometimes as a villain.

Lloyd and crew continue to make the rounds at numerous film fests and fan gatherings per year, having never forgotten their beginnings and remaining totally devoted tot heir followers. Though the money is there, where it always wasn’t before, they have maintained the “image” set by early Troma vehicles, even though they could expand into fancier productions. Graphic violence, big tits, sexual humour, black comedy and satire remain high priority items for everything they touch.

Bravo for Troma, a company proving what can happen by defying the critics and never giving up.

Producer, Nicholas Tabarrok, founded Darius Films - a Toronto based film and TV production company - in 1996 with the aim of producing high quality entertainment for film and television.

With this goal in mind, Nicholas produced the indie feature Garage in 1997 followed by the critically acclaimed dance film Caprice, which was chosen to represent Canada at the prestigious World Music Days 2000 in Luxembourg.

More than a dozen films have followed and many more are on their way. But for now, Nicholas has agreed to answer a few questions for Dale Pierce.

Dale: For those not familiar with Darius productions, which is your company, tell people about some of your projects and productions.
Nicholas: Darius Films is a small but very busy production company based in Toronto Canada. We have produced nearly a dozen films since our incorporation in 1996. Some of our films include the film noir Motel, the teen comedy Jailbait! and the comedy Stand by Your Booth.

Dale: You are also known for your work with the Christian films, Left Behind and so on, from Cloud Ten. These are geared toward a Christian audience, but caught on with secular fans, by nature of the “horror element” I think. You are not a Christian film-maker, but does it bother you when people erroneously typecast you as such, being these films are probably your best known achievements?
Nicholas: No, I wouldn’t say it bothers me. Aside from the content those pictures are the same as any other movies. Same crews, same budgets, good cast. They were a lot of fun to make. Of course, I’d like for people to know more about my other films, and I don’t want to be pigeonholed as a Christian filmmaker – especially as I’m not one. But those films were a lot of fun and I enjoyed working with the gang at Cloud Ten.

Dale: You are presently working on a film with drug elements, rock and role, and so on, , which couldn’t be further from a Christian theme, correct?
Nicholas: Ha ha, yes it’s true, my current pic is a Rock and Roll Mockumentary called The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico. It’s a very funny movie, and while it’s far from offensive, there is a fair amount of drug use, drinking, partying and wild behavior. Its Rock and Roll in the Seventies man, and that’s what was going on! We’re just being realistic.

Dale: Any idea when this project might be out?
Nicholas: We’re shooting now, and delivering to the distributor in August 2004, after that it’s up to them. Depending on the festival strategy we should be releasing some time in 2005

Dale: Your company has done many types of movies, like film noir, comedy and other genres. Do you have a personal favorite genre?
Nicholas: Yah, I love crime noir movies. My favorite films are The Usual Suspects, LA Confidential, Sexy Beast, The Limey and Heat. All of these films deal with the thieves, con men, bank robbers… I’m not sure what that says about my personality – probably nothing flattering! - but I really enjoy that genre. I’ve got a couple of pics in development now, Wierdsville and Plastic Owls, that are set in similar worlds that I’m really looking forward to seeing them get made.

Dale: You have also done some acting, correct? I seem to think you played a minion to the Antichrist in Left behind II?
Nicholas: That’s true. I was an actually an actor before becoming a producer. It’s only a hobby now, and just for fun, but when it’s appropriate and so long as it’s a very small cameo, I still enjoy taking a small role in the pictures I produce.

Dale: Gordon Currie, who plays the Antichrist in the Left Behind series, was quite well known, was he not, before this, at least in Canada?
Nicholas: Yes, Gordon is a great actor. In my opinion one of Canada’s best. He’s worked on some great films up here in Canada and he’s a great guy too.

Dale: What was he like to work with, with whatever involvement you had with him?
Nicholas: Gordon’s great. He’s a really smart actor, one of those guys who really gets into a character. And off screen he’s great. A nice guy and fun to have on set.

Dale: Since your function has been mainly in the production realm, did you feel uncomfortable in the acting realm?
Nicholas: Not at all. As I said above, these days it’s just a hobby for me. If I had to make a living as an actor, I’d probably be terrified! But I have been acting longer than I’ve been producing so I’m perfectly comfortable in front of the camera. Doesn’t mean I’m any good as an actor, just that I’m comfortable!

Dale: You also did commentary on the Tribulation Force, Left Behind II DVD, right? Do you plan on doing this more, with some of your other DVDs?
Nicholas: Definitely. I think these days those kinds of features are more and more expected by DVD buyers. It’s become fairly standard to provide those features. And I enjoy it to. It’s fun to remember the making of the picture and to re-tell the stories that happened during production. And there are always stories!!

Dale: Have you, yourself, ever thought of going on the road so to speak, taking your movies and showing up at horror fanfests or festivals? While producers are always key players behind the scenes, no one in the audience seems to pay them much heed. Don’t you think it would be nice to meet fans, make yourself more known to them and the like, or does it matter?
Nicholas: I’d love to, trust me. I’d love to get out there and meet with the audience more and I’ll take any opportunity I can to further the exposure of myself and my company. But as you say, we’re the low guys on the totem pole. When it comes to who the audience wants to know about it’s cast first and directors second. Not many people even know what a Producer does.

Dale: When deciding to take an option for a screenplay, what do you look for?
Nicholas: Do I like it first, and can I get it financed, second. If I read a script that I don’t like, I don’t care how commercial it is or how easy I may think it would be to get made, I don’t want to do it. For a Producer, making a feature films is at least a three year commitment, and often much longer. To commit that kind of time, it has to be material that I like. Then I have to ask myself honestly, can I get it made? If I read a script that needs $40M to make – and trust me a lot of scripts do – I simply have to recognize that I’m not in a position yet to raise that kind of dough. Put it this way, if I had the opportunity to option The Lord of the Rings, of course I’d want to. I loved the books, and I loved the films, but I know I couldn’t have raised $270M to make those films. No matter how good the sources material is. So I have to be realistic about the position I’m in too.

Dale: What do you deplore more than anything in regard to submissions or suggestions from people or companies looking for producers?
Nicholas: Oh I wouldn’t use the word deplore, that’s too strong. But some people – most people even – have very unrealistic expectations of how quickly and easily a picture can get made. I get writers sending me script all the time and when I tell them that if we’re lucky and things move smoothly we’ll be in production in two years. They can’t believe it. They think we should be shooting in a few months. And sometimes writers and directors don’t understand why we can’t make offers to Brad Pitt and Jack Nicholson, they think their material is so good, why can’t we? It’s tough, I really prefer working with experienced writers who understand how long the process is and what a long shot it is to get anything made. Wide eyed optimism is great, but it has to be tempered with realism in this business or you’re just going to be disappointed.

Dale: Closing comments?
Nicholas: Thanks for the opportunity to share a little bit about my company and my films with the world.

Janet Leigh, star of probably the most iconic murder scene of all time – the shower scene in Psycho – died earlier this week at the age of 77.

But her acting career, which started in 1947 with The Romance of Rosy Ridge and included highlights such as The Manchurian Candidate was both long and varied.

In no particular order, here are a few memories from a seven decade career.

Two Tickets to Broadway

The first comment on the IMDb describes this film – in which Leigh starred as a small town girl looking for love - as “charming and ridiculous”, which is probably a fair comment on Leigh’s early career which was marked by slushy romantic roles.

Touch of Evil

Orson Welles Touch of Evil – in which a Mexican narcotics officer clashes with a corrupt American cop - was the film that turned the young Janet Leigh from a starlet into a star with her compelling role as the young wife of the Mexican, out of her depth in a small border town.

The Vikings

Not only did Janet Leigh marry Tony Curtis, but she also starred with him in three films, including this one in which two Viking brothers compete for the throne of Northumbria (it was worth having back then) and the attentions of the princess Morgana.

Psycho

That unforgettable scene.

Leigh spent seven days in the shower for this film, and never took a shower afterwards for the rest of her life.

The Manchurian Candidate

Recently remade, The Manchurian Candidate still stands as one of the most compelling Cold War thrillers of its time.

The Fog

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Janet Leigh’s output dropped off considerably, but she made a couple of exceptions – most notably with this John Carpenter film in which the victims of a past crime rise up to claim retribution.

The Fog was the first – but not the last – film in which Janet Leigh appeared with Jamie Leigh Curtis, her daughter.