IFH 682: How to Make Your Own Damn Indie Movie with Lloyd Kaufman

Alex Ferrari 0:07
Enjoy today's episode with guest host Dave Bullis.

Dave Bullis 0:35
This guy is the founder and president of trauma entertainment and the creator of the Toxic Avenger. I'm sure you already know who the guest is without even saying his name. But with guest Lloyd Kaufman.

Lloyd Kaufman 2:11
Yeah. Hi, Dave. How you doing?

Dave Bullis 2:12
Good. How are you buddy?

Lloyd Kaufman 2:14
Good. Thanks for having me on.

Dave Bullis 2:16
My pleasure, Lloyd.

Lloyd Kaufman 2:18
You know, my daughter, one of my daughters. They were the mutant middle child, one of the mutants and Romeo and Juliet. She started a company called kit split, which is an air b&b for a film gear for film equipment, film and video equipment. Kit split K I T. K is in Kaufmann. it.com. Her partner is named Christina and guess what the last name is? Coffin. Boo Delos. So Lizbeth Kaufman is my daughter, but her partner is Christina boo Delos kit split that calm we use it, it's great. It's if you own a camera, and you're not using it. Trauma might need a camera and can rent it from you through kids split, get very cheap and expensive insurance and get a price that's probably 20% of the exorbitant equipment houses so kids split that commas. Hearst media is one of their major investors and they they're in both the East Coast and the West Coast.

Dave Bullis 3:25
And you know, Lloyd I'll not only link to that in the show notes, but I wanted to ask you also about independent film, and just how everything has changed even you know, since we last talked, you know, our, you know, unfortunately, George Romero, he's passed away. Net neutrality has sort of passed away. So it's just a shame, you know, but so I wanted to ask you,

Lloyd Kaufman 3:48
I would like to pass away myself, frankly, I don't have the nerve to put a make an appointment with the business end of a shotgun a little scared of pain,

Dave Bullis 3:59
You know, that I can only imagine what the eulogies would be at your funeral. I mean, I could just imagine, there would actually be a line bigger than the Apple store or Starbucks. Just just to say, I'm serious. I mean, you you have always been a rock star of an indie film. And I just want to I wanted to ask you, what do you think of the current state of independence? You know, filmmaking? I mean, you just touched upon the rental houses, you know, has has things gotten a little better. Have they gotten a little worse?

Lloyd Kaufman 4:29
Well, it only gets worse. At least for trauma. The The problem is, as you know, the the democratic revolution of movies means that everybody can make a movie, and you don't really need money anymore. You know, you can make it on your phone. As you know, it's broadcast quality. And young people today have mastered the 1000s of people making movies out of 1000 movies. You're gonna have a few masterpieces. The problem is you can't live off your art, you can't pay the rent or eat. That is because the giant telephone and the movie, the media conglomerates, now AT and T owns Time Warner, you know that kind of stuff. They control all the sources of revenue. So and they want to own and the laws have changed. So they now can own all the sources of revenue. It used to be that the television networks were not allowed to own the content. But now they can own it. And they want to own it. So that is why Netflix is spending $8 billion on their own damn, they're making their own damn movies, and T shirt a T and TV shows. And, you know, there's only about seven big companies that control of all the medium. So it gets more and more difficult for trauma and for independent filmmaker. But the good news is that you young people can make movies for nothing, I can't, because I don't know how to do it. I'm stuck in the celluloid age. So I can only make $500,000 movies, which that model does not work. It used to but not anymore. So this one I'm going to do Shakespeare shitstorm, our version of the tempest of Shakespeare's Tempest, that's bound to be the last one because my wife and I have to put up the money. And I can't imagine we can keep putting up half a million bucks. So this will be I mean, returned to return to newcomers aka volume to trauma and our fans. Our fans helped us Kickstarter. We paid for the next one, though, traumas, has no money. So my wife, the Commissioner, and I will have to fund them.

Dave Bullis 6:54
You know, I actually helped back return to return to newcomer high volume to on Kickstarter. Lloyd.

Lloyd Kaufman 6:59
Yes, you did. I remember that. And thank you so much. You gave us $15,000. At eternally grateful to it was very generous.

Dave Bullis 7:09
My pleasure, I actually found the money in a, in the old story, the old burlap sack behind the 711

Lloyd Kaufman 7:15
Yup that once you took the severed head out of it, there was all that money, and thank you for giving it to help us. But our fans really raised about 80,000 bucks for the budget of return to return to New coma aka Volume Two, we had run out of money, and we had money coming in later. But we had a time where we either would have had to stop and lay people off in the editing department. But the fans came to the rescue and got us over the hump and then we were able to pay for the rest of the movie. So we built above for 400,000 Maybe. So the fans got it gave us at 20% of the budget. So it was pretty damn nice.

Dave Bullis 8:01
So as we talked about independent cinema, Lloyd and we talked about return to return to newcomer high volume to so, you know, where does the impetus for you? Where do you when do you decide, you know what movie you're gonna make? And you know, when you start actually starting to write, you know, you start to write the script and you actually have to get the mind to that for this, you know, what does that impetus sort of start from?

Lloyd Kaufman 8:20
Usually, it's it's born in the current events of the day. But Donald's moved next to the trauma building, there was a McDonald's that moved in next to our building on in New York, in Hell's Kitchen, Ninth Avenue in Manhattan, and they were horrible neighbors. They They destroyed, they damaged our building, and they and they had they brought rats the size of raccoons and and at the end it it it got me into reading Fast Food Nation and starting to think a bit about the disgrace that is called fast food, and how McDonald's tortures the animals. exploits the workers makes shit food that causes pubescent teenagers to get obese. There's nothing good about it. And of course, the McDonald's architecture is disgusting to look at. There's nothing good about it whatsoever. So that led me to want to make a movie about that issue. And I'm a big lover of Broadway musicals. And I always wanted to make a musical and Gabe Friedman, who was our editor for 10 years, our supervisor of main editor for 10 years, he suggested make it into a musical and and he pretty much wrote poultry guys night of the chicken dead. Oh, we wrote it together, but he really was the driving force. And, and he, in fact, I think he's the one who gave me Fast Food Nation to read.

Alex Ferrari 10:03
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor. And now back to the show.

Lloyd Kaufman 10:13
The movie cause Fast Food Nation didn't appeal to anybody but the small number of yuppies who read the book. So the movie was pretty boring. Whereas poltergeist is aimed at the younger generations who can change the world and maybe have in fact, McDonald's has, I think, cleaned up his act a little bit. I think they're raised their minimum wage a little and I believe they're trying to emphasize salads and healthier food, at least I hope they are.

Dave Bullis 10:44
Yeah, I haven't been to McDonald's in quite a long time. So I haven't really, I don't really know the menu too well, except for the only time I would go there to eat, he's to maybe eat breakfast or something like that really quickly. You know, you're kind of like, you know, in a rush, and you just kind of go in there to grab something, and then you eat it, and you go, Oh, I'm sorry, I ate that.

Lloyd Kaufman 11:03
Just because it's fast food doesn't mean it can't be good. You know, I mean, it's sad, nothing wrong with salad, nothing wrong with the protein, but to make this fatty, disgusting. And they of course, the animals are tortured and, and that's where poultry guys came from, in the case of return to return to New komyo aka Volume Two, that's the second half of my big event movie returned to Nukem high volume one and volume two. And the themes there were the they also concerned food and the fact that our high schools have been serving crap food. So they've contributed to the very bad health of the American teenagers. And you know, we have a huge problem with obesity. And also the bullying is a big theme of return to Newcomb high and of course, it's a less bionic love story and sugar cookies in 1971 was a lesbian, a lesbian. Vertigo was based on Hitchcock's vertigo. So we've always been sort of rooting for the underdog, and returned to Newcomb high volume wanting to deal with the underdog who gets bullied for being the, you know, in the LGBT Q department.

Dave Bullis 12:30
And I mean, you know, it's kind of like trauma right, Lord, you know, it's the underdog always fighting for the for the little guy trying not to get smushed by, you know, the the corporate giants,

Lloyd Kaufman 12:40
Trying to fight back and doing everything when King hands to change the world make the world a better place a little bit to be part of the actions and passions of his or her times, as Oliver Wendell Holmes stated back in the day, uses Supreme Court justice. very right wing though.

Dave Bullis 13:06
Because, you know, as we sort of talk about, you know, return attorney nuco, High Volume Two, I know, you know, once you finally got everything together, you know, and you and you were able to start the Kickstarter, and it was successful. You know, we were able to start shooting, you know, what were some of the challenges of making a film, you know, making an independent film nowadays. So what what were some of the big challenges that you came across? Well, while making the movie,

Lloyd Kaufman 13:28
The biggest challenge we have is we make $20 million movies for 350 to $500,000. And, you know, Trent Hager, right, you know, he wrote, citizen Toxie he just has a wonderful movie out called 68 Kill. And when we were writing citizen, Toxie, we had an investor who was going to put up I think, $2 million dollars for citizen Toxie. And we wrote it for that budget. And then the investor disappeared, and we had to make the movie for about half a million. And we, we did not change the script, we made the script that Trent wrote, and Trent was extremely, it's a fact he's in I interviewed him in one of my books, and he devotes a fair amount of the interview with how happy he was that we didn't cut anything out of the script. Due to budget, we figured out ways to do everything that was in citizen Toxie $2 million script, we figured out how to how to make that movie for 400,000 bucks and he was very, very happy with that. But that is the most daunting part of this movie we're about to make. Shakespeare shitstorm which is a version of The Tempest. It is huge. It's a huge deal. 1000s Well, it's like return to nuclear my volume to its enormous cast of special effects, costuming, transformations, explosions. People High Falls people on fire. I mean, it's a $20 million movie made for under half a mil, well, it probably three fifths of Volume Two, I think was 350 to maybe 400,000. Somewhere in that zone. But we won't make if it's as low as it is, we will lose it all because we're denied access to the revenue streams.

Dave Bullis 15:25
And I know you're having a lot of premieres, you're out you're sort of touring the film. Yes. Some of the you know, and I saw some of the screenings on the on the website for the film. But also, you know, I had David Campfield, our mutual friend, Dave Camfield, on the podcast, and he was, obviously he does the trauma now, podcast. So you started your own streaming service, by the way, it was a great idea, in my opinion, because I think that's where everything is going. So you know, everyone's gonna have their own content that's theirs, and just sort of go from there. So you're how has you know trauma now, you know, has that sort of come to what you wanted it to be, as you know, has you ever had a good response from that?

Lloyd Kaufman 16:03
Trauma now is great. The problem is, nobody knows about it. And we have no money to advertise, we have no money period, but we certainly don't have money to advertise. So it's all word of mouth. Ah, terrific. In fact, return to New KO my volume one, the first half of this event film is premiering on VOD, on trauma now at this very minute. And every month, we have two or three premiere movies, young world premieres. And then I curate about a dozen movies from our library, some of which are classics, or sometimes there's a theme. It's a great service, it's only 499 a month. And it keeps it drama alive, where we have we went bust, we're living on the memory of fumes, we're not living on fumes. We're living on the memory of fumes, and without our fans going on trauma now. I don't know how and you know, shopping at our studios store. Trauma, direct trauma direct is our store on trauma.com. You know, we are fans, the only reason we're still around, they support us and they subscribe to trauma now. And anybody out there who's listening, if you want to support new, brilliant, independent filmmakers, the next generation of James guns and, and the other famous directors who have come out of the loins of trauma, Eli Roth, Trent ageia, and actors like Samuel Jackson, and so on and so forth. Support trauma now and support the new filmmakers whose movies are premiering on trauma. Now. It's a great, great system, it's only 499 a month, first month is free. So but even if it isn't free, you pay the 499 let with the last independent movie studio with the last ones. And we're certainly the 44th year. And it's never been more difficult. And we're the last ones who even pay lip service to true independent filmmaking. There are no studios left to have any longevity. And and the ones that wanted to that do have longevity. It's all about money. There is no idealism or love of the art or it's all about who's in the movie and the packaging and the huge advertising campaigns where the last one Troma entertainment is the last one and when it's all thanks to our fans, we wouldn't be here without our fans. And net neutrality helps us do that free open and diverse internet, which unfortunately, FCC, the Federal Communications Commission director Ajit pi is named Pi was his last name for ship pi. He's decided to get rid of net neutrality. So that means the main conglomerates now AT and T Comcast, you know, these aren't even they're not even involved in the art. It's their phone companies, ISPs. But the point is they want to build a superhighway that Dale they will be able to afford to pay for and beyond. But we we will not be able to afford to be able to put our content on the superhighway. So no longer will everybody be equal. There will be an elite of rich people. It'll be a CBS, NBC ABC World. You'll have the homogenized baby food of the major conglomerates on this superhighway. And their vassals and then all the innovation and all the new people and all the brilliant James guns and Eli walls so the future will be on this dirt road. The Internet that will be a dirt road and well

Alex Ferrari 19:59
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor. And now back to the show.

Lloyd Kaufman 20:08
Take a long time to buffer and, and they'll slow us down and feed themselves. You know, it's gonna, it's it'll be over, be over and you'll they won't be any more innovation. Where did Kickstarter come from came from net neutrality on the internet. It's a free open and diverse internet democratic medium trauma has half a million people every month coming to my fan site and traumas website and store and Twitter and Facebook and at Lloyd Kaufman on Instagram, we have literally maybe more than 500,000 Every month, because they like it. And we have just as much opportunity on the internet as Disney if they liked Disney, they go to Disney, if they like trauma, they go to trauma, but everybody's equal. It's a level playing field. But if there's a superhighway, that's fat that you can get that delivers fast broadcasting to the consumer, and then the traumas on the dirt road, that takes a long time to buffer. Nobody's gonna nobody's gonna want to waste their time, it'll be like public access TV, people are going to want to go with a good quality broadcasting is and that's going to be on the superhighway, and we will not be allowed to be on it that mainly because we won't be able to afford to be on it. So I imagine will be done if indeed, the free open and diverse internet goes away. But nevermind, trauma traumas just a movie company, they are going to be cures for cancer, they're all these wonderful things that come out of the free open and diverse net neutrality that simply won't happen. The innovators have got to have to go through if you have a toothpaste that can prevent cavities really prevent cavities, you won't be able to go direct to your audience, right, the Angry Video Game Nerd gets millions and millions of views and makes and makes money from the net neutrality internet. But if the maybe he will be able to afford to be on the superhighway, but the the net, the YouTube stars of the future or new young first time YouTube stars who under normal net neutrality conditions might be able to attract millions of people because they've got something that the public likes something new and different. And that might change the world a little bit. They won't be able to have to go through one of the majors or the vessels of the majors, the toothpaste, the guy who invent stupid, the the gal or guy who invents to real cavity preventing toothpastes will have to go through Colgate, or polymer or the other one Procter and Gamble, and they won't be permitted to make very much money, they'll they'll you know, they'll get the tiny, you know, you know how it is who, right, if you want. So, you know, and there'll be a lot of innovation that won't happen because nobody will know about it or that the gatekeepers in the cartel and the monopolies won't have the imagination. You think that the monopoly that got the cartel, you think that they would have understood how great Kickstarter could be? Right? Kickstarter started with nothing? Nothing? Yeah. Right. It's cool, because the public wanted it, they knew there was a need for it. But the establishment wouldn't understand that they're not going to they certainly and they certainly don't want competition. Netflix wouldn't be here without net neutrality. Now they're, well, now they're part of the elite. And they're part of the, the they're probably going to close the gate. They're probably close the gate and not you know, now that they're inside the, the treasure house and probably a bar us from, you know, they'd probably go against net neutrality. Google, I think is four minutes early. And I think Facebook is too. So that's good.

Dave Bullis 24:01
Yeah, that's actually something to hear. Because you think they'd also be a be against it. But you know, that's why what have you on here, Lloyd? Because, again, you're fighting for the small guy. You know, like when people ask me, how do you promote a podcast and I go, I have no clue. I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. So that's why I have people like you, Lloyd. Because you're out there fighting the good fight.

Lloyd Kaufman 24:22
Well, you have a good podcast and you've done 75 or more chapters, episodes. And obviously, whatever you're doing, because of net neutrality and the Democratic level playing field of net neutrality, you're, you're able to attract viewers if you didn't, if your podcasts were not interesting to people they use, you'd be gone.

Dave Bullis 24:45
Well, thanks. Well, thank you. I appreciate that. By the way, your episode. This episode we're recording right now is going to be episode 205. Wow. Can you believe it?

Lloyd Kaufman 24:55
That's great. When will it air?

Dave Bullis 24:57
It's going to air next week. Week. So it'll be plenty of time to, you know, for everyone to hear about the premiere and everything. But you know, I, you know, I saw the video you by the way, Lloyd. I know we're starting to run out of time but I saw a video you you and it was called Kevin or it was called Lloyd Kaufman bothers people at Hugo's premiere. So I have to ask, you know,

Lloyd Kaufman 25:19
What was it again?

Dave Bullis 25:21
It was called Luke coffin bothers Kevin Smith. And it was just, it was no, it was funny. It was, it was good, all good stuff. And I just wanted to ask, you know, you know, growing grassroots campaigns like that, you know, I, you know, I've wanted to have Kevin on this podcast, he seems like such a good guy. Is he a good guy in person? Lloyd.

Lloyd Kaufman 25:41
I don't know him. Well, I certainly admire him. And he certainly one of our greats. But I can tell you, there's a show that he has called comic book men. And they have a episode coming up in the fall, I think with a it's trauma for one of their episodes where they were all there. And it's terrific. It's very funny, and how nice of men and Mang and Brian Johnson and Kevin Smith you know, they were nice to devote an episode to trauma entertainment. Toxie and kabuki man and I and, and I think Katherine Cochran and Elizabeth ambrozy Oh, you know, we had a trauma episodes very, I can't talk too much about it, because I've been pledged to confidentiality. You know, they don't want me to be a spoiler, obviously. But it's a very funny, they did a great job. It's hilarious. So keep an eye out for comic book Men and the trauma. So how nice is Kevin Smith? You know, allow a trauma episode.

Dave Bullis 26:44
And it's speaking of that load, too. You mentioned Toxie. I don't know if you could actually talk about this. But one question I wanted to really ask you is, you know, I know there was a talk about a remake about there was actually be a remake of The Toxic Avenger. How is there any more news about that?

Lloyd Kaufman 27:01
Well, they've got Conrad Vernon as the director. And he is great. He loves trauma. He did the sausage. He did Sausage Party. He did Shrek. He's, he loves movies. You know, he's one of the unique establishment people who actually love movies, and are in it for the art not for the scum soak their red carpet rape culture. So he's a good guy, and you can have a conversation with him. He knows film history, and he's going to do a great job. I I am not confident that the movie ever is. I think their deal runs out make. So so far, they've not put it together. Akiva Goldsman who was the big shot on the case. It's been about 10 years and I think, I think they have not been able to make it happen. They got a couple of a few more months to run. And if they you know, I think it's gonna take a miracle.

Dave Bullis 28:06
Because at some point, John Travolta was was attached to it, right?

Lloyd Kaufman 28:10
They had John Travolta, they had, what's his name? Pumping Iron guy was Arnold, the governor. Yeah. He signed, he signed. Apparently they announced it at the Cannes Film Festival years ago. And then he quickly unsigned for he unsigned because he, he got offered a $60 million remake. He was getting $60 million for a remake of something. One of his maybe it was a Terminator, whatever it was, it was shaped. But unfortunately, that was it. So far, they've come up with nothing. You know, and they, they, I mean, they have Conrad Vernon, he's great. But I think I don't think it's gonna happen. To ship if it had, if it happened, we would have gotten a big check. Or they've got they've got to make so if that's how it goes, we get a big check. And then we can make not only can we make Shakespeare shitstorm which we are making but we wouldn't be able to make the fifth Toxic Avenger, Part Five grime and punishment, which takes a lot of which takes place in Chernobyl. And but we don't have the $800,000 to make toxic five. So I don't think that will get made. I think good Shakespeare's shitstorm might well be in my lap if I get through it if we actually make it the summer. It's very daunting task. Like all movies, movies, Shakespeare shitstorm is $20 million movie being made for three or 400,000. So it's a hell of a project. So that may well be the end of it because I can't keep putting up my wife and my money to make good movies.

Alex Ferrari 30:03
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor. And now back to the show

Lloyd Kaufman 30:12
Where the major media and major media not only doesn't give us any outlet for revenue, but doesn't even cover us after 50 years of making movie. I've been doing this for 50 years. And New York Times. Never said never put the word trauma has not been in the New York Times or any newspaper. 25 years. We had our 40th year a couple of years ago, four years ago, no New York media covered it not a word. No Hollywood Reporter No, no variety. You know, there hasn't been an independent movie studio that has existed for 44 years. There hasn't been one in history this done what we've done and left such a mark, the cultural map, right? Look at all the directors from James Gunn, to Eli Roth. To the guys who did Deadpool to Takashi meet gay to the guy who did the stillness, the whatever it is a water, Del Toro, right they all love traumas. Peter Jackson is a trauma fan. Hayao Miyazaki, the guy who did my neighborhood doctor was a huge fan. Right? The Deadpool guys talk more they talk about right you can see their influence of trauma there yet, with the fact that we live for 30 years, survive for 30 years totally independent, totally independently with no, you know, we don't make movies for lifetime, which is a division of one of those conglomerates. We're totally on our own. No, no interest because we don't and we don't have the money to advertise. So the New York Times has no interest in us, nor does the New York Post note it was nor do any of them have the media. The only reason they're interested is when there's some advertising, right variety. If you take a page and variety of advertising, they might give you if you're independent, you might get a little article, you know about what you're doing at the Cannes Film Festival, same with Hollywood Reporter But apparently the you know, we just we are not anything we don't exist. We do not exist return to Newcomb, high volume to return to return to Luca y2k Volume Two, it doesn't exist doesn't matter that Lloyd Kaufman has been making 50 has 50 years of experience making movies like The Toxic Avenger requests of nuclei or squeezely Waitress first turn on movies that have clearly influenced a huge segment of our mainstream talent. And that brought forth Samuel Jackson, Oliver Stone got into this industry because of me. I mean, there are tons of people who wouldn't, who wouldn't be around or who who are heavily influenced by the trauma of yet. Nobody cares. Nothing. We are we are we are not, we don't exist. We do not exist. And it's especially damning. In New York where we've, you know, we own a building, we got to payroll, we've we've made movies in New York State for 50 least I have for 50 years, and the fucking bastards don't even acknowledge that we exist. The critics review us and they always give us very good review and the Museum of Modern artists, premiering returned to New come i and, and the Museum of the Moving Image here premiered return to return to New komyo aka Volume Two, but only the critics of the times are the poster, whatever, give, you know, they pay attention, they review the movie, but again, they when they review the movie, they stick. It's usually stuck in the ghetto, where the guy is making a documentary about a left handed mattress worker or, you know some kid who's made his first horror film and you know, but it's politically correct kind of person that that's, you know, that's called you know, they stick it in the, the section. It's like a ghetto, which and the people reading the paper of the New York Times, you know, they don't even read that section.

Dave Bullis 34:24
Yeah, you know, and that's why again, what I wanted to have you on, I think it's so important to support trauma, because you actually release one of my favorite movies of all time which is cannibal the musical, which is Trey Parker Matt Stone. You know they for everyone listening Casio knew that name those names they do Southpark

Lloyd Kaufman 34:42
We discovered them we discovered them and helped them make cannibal the musical we distributed it nobody else would nobody. We helped them finish it and you'll see the opening of cannibal the musical is very trauma ish and the rest of the movie is much better taste candidates a brilliant film that they were able to use the VHS box to help them get credit, credit credibility. So when they were pitching South Park and all that stuff, gave them a little bit of professional, you know, professional air. And I'm in some of their early I'm in orgazmo. And they're great guys are terrific. They're wonderful. They're great. They were great. But that's only another example of like, when there's an avalanche of people that have come out of trauma. It's unbelievable how we are totally ignored. I still can't get get over. Oh, and then the thing that really pisses me off David is and I again, I'm grateful you know, James Gunn gave me two seconds in his wonderful Guardians of the Galaxy, which is a masterpiece. That's a beautiful film. And I have a two second shot. So all you know, all the recognition I've gotten more recognition for my two seconds in Guardians of the Galaxy than for my 50 years of you know, killing myself to make poultry guys night of the chicken dead or traumas war, or terror firmer. You know, it takes me about five years to make a movie returned to New kamayan Return to return to New Komai aka Volume Two, it's a two part event film similar in the same way that Kill Bill is two volumes. I spent seven years on that. Right the seven years that's all that's the only movie I made in seven years. So you know these people right there get plenty of attention to Suicide Squad, which is plenty of attention to Batman Forever. Plenty of attention to whatever scum white the Weinstein, Robert Redford, Sundance, rape, red carpet worshipping culture of the so called independent world, right that we don't even own the world end of the word independence in any word anymore. Right? The movies, the $12 million movie made by celebrities that get shown at Sundance, that people forget after 10 minutes. That's where the that's what it's all about worshipping Harvey Weinstein up on the right. He's up on the hill and everybody's in. at Sundance, they're all in awe of him and look at the scum. Look at the world they live in. Look at the Robert Redford Sundance Harvey Weinstein worshipping world, right and yet, and yet trauma ignores us. They were ignored. We are ignored. We have been doing this for 44 years. Right? We have a fan base that goes out there and books, our movie theaters. Our fan base are the only reason we're still here. Right? Right. We have a brand new trauma. Trauma is a brand. I don't think people go to see it Fairmont movie, because Paramount's name is on it. In fact, nowadays, that's such a filthy culture that they've got. Right.

Dave Bullis 37:59
You know, I also was talking to some friends Lloyd. And I apologize. I know we're running out of time. But just in just in closing. I know. I know. You have to run. But I was talking

Lloyd Kaufman 38:09
I can give you another 10 minutes. Oh, cool. Awesome. Aiden said that he just came in and said it's okay.

Dave Bullis 38:16
Okay, awesome. I didn't want Hayden to break my legs or anything.

Lloyd Kaufman 38:21
He's the best. It will he loves you. And thank you. He's very thankful that you're giving me some time too and thank you.

Dave Bullis 38:28
Oh, oh, Lord, anytime. Because the first time I ever met you, I remember. I I wanted to like this because there's so many things I wanted to say to you. And we met on the set of cross bearer, which is the film in Philly. And I was just covered in fake blood and you were like, I walked up to you as a Lloyd you're like, please don't get any of that blood on me. Because you were wearing a new jacket. I remember and I was like, oh, sorry. I forgot I was covered in blood. But

Lloyd Kaufman 38:54
Thank you for preserving my jacket.

Dave Bullis 38:56
No problem. Those are the memories I cherish forever. Lloyd. The first. The first memories don't touch me kid. No, I'm just kidding. Oh, I love you. I love it.

Lloyd Kaufman 39:05
At least at least I didn't touch you see? That's what the mainstream right all these agents and facilitators. And and right, it's a successful talk about this. Drain the Swamp. Oh my god, the mainstream cartel? It's a cartel. It's a monopoly. And I don't I think it's just disgusting. And it's a it's hundreds of millions of dollars of lobbying in Washington to get the rules against monopoly changed. And all this worshipping of a conspicuous consumption. You know, the the they'd rather put it, they'd rather publicize a $25,000 wedding cake in the New York Post and talk about the fact that trauma just achieved its 40th anniversary.

Alex Ferrari 39:55
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor. And now back to the show.

Lloyd Kaufman 40:04
They'd rather have a piece about Brianna's fur coat and how one of these fashion models in $200,000 dress skirt wardrobe, wants to have the fur coat that the fur coat that Rihanna us has been wearing. Right, just the idea of a fur coat is obscene. But you know, that it's, it's, it's the it is the value system, the E entertainment value system, the the whole, the whole thing is filthy. And we saw back in the 60s. You know, it's, it's money, it's old 99% of the industry. And again, I I think I'm an expert at 99%. And more than 99% of the people in our industry are scum of the earth. They're crooks. They're lazy. They hate movies, they're there for because they think it's easy. And it's a fast, it's an easy and they and they're there for the for the velvet, velvet, ropes. Keep the real people out. There, they're propelled by flying. Sorry about the pun that propelled by flying, you know, business class to the Cannes Film Festival, and then bragging about how Oh, I didn't read my shoe. You know, and, you know, that's a restaurant that they you know, it's like $800 for for people, you know that that's the world they live in? That's the world they live in. Right. Yeah. And, you know, get young people to blow them, you know, casting couches, and, you know, you hear about all that stuff. And it's true. It's disgusting. It's horrible. But the worst of it is, from the from the point of view of art, is that we're getting a world of homogenized baby food. Yes, politically correct, I suppose. And that's good. But that stuff that's going to change the world is not getting to the public.

Dave Bullis 42:14
Yeah, it's a real art.

Lloyd Kaufman 42:16
That genuine artists, yes, there's a tiny amount there's a tiny number. James Gunn, Eli Roth, Jon Voight, you know, those people, the best people in the world, a tiny, tiny number, genuinely love the cinema. But the rest of them, they are going straight to hell, they are gonna burn in hell.

Dave Bullis 42:40
You know, because one of the things that you just touched on was, there's so many people you meet in this industry who call themselves producers, they make a producers card, they pass out at networking events. And you always say, you know, where are these movies that you're making? You know, where are the scripts that that you're, you know, you're talking about where's this work? I, you know, where the hell is all this stuff. If you start to scratch that surface a little bit, Lloyd, you start to see that it's all just a facade built on bullshit. And it's just, it's all about going somewhere and being seen and that's what they really want. They just want to be famous. They don't want to actually put work in they don't love movies or anything else. They will be a storyteller. It's just about being famous. You know what I mean?

Lloyd Kaufman 43:20
Or the Yeah, exactly. Yeah, basically, right. Money, money, power, money and power, money and hookers and mansions and you know, drive around a Rolls Royce that you don't even own no fucked up values. None of them none of them knows that Daniel ortho on is

Dave Bullis 43:42
Or even Takeshi Mecca like you just mentioned. Or you know, like if you mentioned somebody like that or or even Miyazaki like they wouldn't know who those people are.

Lloyd Kaufman 43:51
You have to dumb down your conversation with the people are getting there's a very small number with the greatest people in the world. Conrad Vernon, you can actually talk about movies. You don't have to dumb yourself down. Obviously James Gunn, obviously. Trent Hager loves movies and loves, you know, you can have a conversation without Don't you know, you have to dumb yourself down for the so called professionals. Now the gatekeepers the gatekeepers?

Dave Bullis 44:23
Yeah. And that's why I you know, I'm glad to see you're still making movies, Lloyd. And, you know, so you know, return to return Nukem high volume to you actually just announced the date at the Trocadero theater theater here in Philly. You know, and you haven't going TO to having a premiere out in Los Angeles as well as the Beverly Hills. And I also want to link everybody in the show notes to all those theaters. We can buy tickets online, you go on,

Lloyd Kaufman 44:50
How is it possible? How is it possible that Romeo and Juliet written by James Gunn that way selected by the Museum of Modern Art to be in their Shakespeare series. They only showed three Romeo and Juliet movies, one of which was to Romeo and Juliet. How is it possible that movie has never been on on any TV or any of the show times in HBOs and blah blah blah? How is it possible that returned to Nokia my seven years of my life which is a very well reviewed the time New York Times liked it. The critics they're certainly don't do us any favors. They wrote a great review. It's never been on any cable system. Nothing totally blackballed. Only because we're independent. How is that right? That's right. There's plenty of shit they put on. Right? They got plenty of shit. They got some good stuff to HBO, Showtime, whatever. The only one that showed any of our movies in the last 20 years. The only thing the only kind of broadcast we've been on was Robert Rodriguez, his channel El Rey, and he's a filmmaker. He's an artist and he loves trauma. And he's, he's one of the people that really love movies. Yeah. But, you know, why is it you know, it's a cartel. It's a monopoly. It's disgusting. And thank you, David Budos for helping us promote blehm Lee's fine art cinema mark, march 8 and LendLease Noho. Seven clicks March 9 to 13th in LA and I'll be there with the cast. And I think we're gonna see some from James Gunn, and John voids making a video and Trent haga will have celebrities trauma alumni there, the cast Katherine Cochran, and other Zakka Miko and some of our stars will be there. It's going to be great. We have an art show by the way. The hyena gallery in Burbank has organized an art show for a month of March with all the paintings and sculptures are all inspired by returned to Newcomb high and returned to new comer. Hi, sorry, returned to return to New Kumite. About 20 artists have created paintings and sculpture all inspired by the class of nuclear my legacy the franchise or whatever you want to call it. And then there's going to be a big party on the ninth of March at the club Cobra, which is a club next to very almost next door to the lovely Noho in North Hollywood. So it's going to be quite a trauma festival. And then march 1, you go to the Trocadero, I'll be there with Katherine and, and some of the stars. And we're going to have a great premiere at the Trocadero in Philadelphia for return to return to New coma, aka volume two. And this is all thanks to our fans. Our fans go to the theaters and tell the managers they want to. They want Lloyd's movie. And so if there any fans there, thank you. And thank you for going if they're fans listening, and now go to your local cinema I can very often show up.

Dave Bullis 48:08
Yeah, and I'm going to link to the shownotes everybody where you know, you can go to the screen, or you can go to your local theater, and you know, ask for Lloyds movie there. And then you can actually do that. So I'm going to link to all that in the show notes. Lloyd. I get thank you for going over the time, by the way. I know.

Lloyd Kaufman 48:24
Hold on. Hold on one second, please. Oh, wait. Yeah, let's wrap it up. I see that. Something's happening here. Can you I've run over. But thank you very much.

Dave Bullis 48:35
My pleasure, Lloyd. And again, I can't wait to have you back on again. When you when you make Shakespeare's shitstorm. We'll have you back on for the third time. That'll be the trifecta.

Lloyd Kaufman 48:44
Wonderful. And come and visit Tomago one of these days.

Dave Bullis 48:48
I am going to take you up on that. I want to go to York. Give you a tour. And I want to take you to lunch. I want to I want I want to come up there and I want to take you to lunch Lloyd.

Lloyd Kaufman 48:56
Beautiful. Let's do it. Anytime. That's great. And you'll get a kick out of trauma visiting we get a lot of tourists, too. They just ring the doorbell and come visit the trauma building and beautiful Long Island City queens. Alrighty, see you soon, David. Thanks.

Dave Bullis 49:11
Take care, Lloyd. Best wishes. Bye bye, everybody. Bye!