Aiden Dillard | |
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Born | |
Nationality | American |
Known for | Meat Weed Madness |
Aiden Dillard is an American independent film director and artist. He is known for using surreal humor and camp (style) within the confines of low-budget film. Aiden Dillard was born in Escondido, California, but grew up in Durham, North Carolina. Aiden Dillard's feature films and video art often deals with contrasts between a rural and urban area, and high culture and low culture. While studying at Cooper Union in New York City on a full-tuition scholarship, his student film "The Battle of the Burps and Farts" was screened at TromaDance 2004 [1] and was the only film in the history of the festival that was booed by everybody in attendance. [1] Upon graduation Aiden Dillard directed an outrageous psychedelic spoof of "Reefer Madness", titled "Meat Weed Madness", which featured set decoration by Joe Holtzman, the editor-in-chief of Nest (magazine), and crudely constructed props and stop-motion animation. "Meat Weed Madness" premièred at the Wolfsonian-FIU in December 2005 during Art Basel Miami Beach, and was released on DVD by Troma Entertainment in 2006. [1] Aiden Dillard's even more outrageous sequel Meat Weed America was released by Troma Entertainment on DVD in the fall of 2007, and features Troma's president Lloyd Kaufman, Debbie Rochon, and Peter Stickles. [2] In 2008, Aiden Dillard moved to Miami, and wrote, produced, and directed a psychedelic crime-drama about children with autism who see angels called Special Angelz, which premiered at Borscht Film Festival. [3] In 2009, Aiden Dillard wrote, produced, and directed an action-comedy spoof of Death Wish called Death Print, which was set in the Miami art-world and shows an art dealer, played by Ted Vernon, who battles a Cuban Communist terrorist, with the help of musician Otto Von Schirach. This movie had a sold out premiere at the Colony Theatre in South Beach. [4] From 2010 to 2012 Aiden Dillard performed in an art noise band, called Ballscarf, that incorporated video projections and Aiden Dillard's own nudity to produce an effect that was described as "nightmaris chaos". [5] In 2013, Aiden Dillard moved back to North Carolina and began to focus on visual art. In 2014 Troma Entertainment released Aiden Dillard's campy yet bloody slasher film Bikini Swamp Girl Massacre on DVD.
The Toxic Avenger is a 1984 American superhero black comedy splatter film directed by Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman and written by Kaufman and Joe Ritter. It is the first installment of The Toxic Avenger franchise. The film was released by Troma Entertainment, known for producing low budget B-movies with campy concepts and gruesome violence. Virtually ignored upon its first release, The Toxic Avenger caught on with filmgoers after a long and successful midnight movie engagement at the Bleecker Street Cinema in Greenwich Village in late 1985. It is now regarded as a cult classic.
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Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, such as The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Many of the strategies employed by him at Troma have been credited with making the film industry significantly more accessible and decentralized.
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Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead is a 2006 black comedy musical horror film directed by Lloyd Kaufman and co-directed by Gabriel Friedman from a screenplay by Friedman and Daniel Bova. The film centers around the takeover of a New Jersey fried chicken fast food restaurant by possessed zombie chickens after it is built on top of a sacred Native American burial ground. The film was distributed and released on December 29, 2006, and in 2008 on DVD by Troma Entertainment.
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Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise is a 2007 independent documentary film that captures rocker Meat Loaf and his life in rehearsals and on the road during his 2007 World Tour. It was directed by Bruce David Klein and produced by Bruce David Klein and Paulina Vera Williams by Atlas Media Corp. in association with Voom HD Pictures and 10th Street Entertainment. The film was an official selection of the Montreal World Film Festival in 2007 and of the USA Film Festival in 2008. In Europe, the film was included in the 3 Bats Live DVD. According to Allmovie, "as the stage show gets more and more involved, the singer battles ongoing health concerns."
Atlas Media Corp. is a New York-based independent production company of non-fiction entertainment. The company was founded in 1989 by Bruce David Klein and produces television series and specials, theatrical documentaries, and digital web series for cable networks like Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, E! Network, TLC, Food Network, A&E, History, WE, GSN, DIY Network, Investigation Discovery, Style, National Geographic, BIO, SyFy, and HGTV—as well as national syndication and international distribution in over 100 markets worldwide.
The Misled Romance of Cannibal Girl & Incest Boy is a 2007 independent short horror film directed by Richard Taylor and produced by the Denver, Colorado-based production company, Bizjack Flemco.
Not Another B Movie is a 2010 American satirical film written and directed by John Wesley Norton which peers into the processes of making a low-budget horror film. The film stars Byron Thames, Larry Thomas, James Vallo, David Faustino, Joe Estevez, and Ed Asner.
Atom the Amazing Zombie Killer is a 2012 American independent horror comedy feature film directed by Zack Beins and Richard Taylor, and written by Beins, Taylor and Tim Johnson. It stars Mark Shonsey, Lindy Starr, Zachary Byron Helm, and Lloyd Kaufman.
Meat Weed Madness is a 2006 film written and directed by North Carolina–based writer/director Aiden Dillard.
The Battle Between the Burps and Farts is a 31-minute long short film directed, written and produced by Aiden Dillard and distributed by Troma Entertainment. It was made as an expansion of a student film he made in his junior year which was, according to Dillard, he made the film in the wake of 9/11, calling it "his attempt to show the terrorists that they will never destroy the rotten, smelly core of the Big Apple".
Matthew Berkowitz is an American film director, writer, and producer. He has written and directed three feature films.
Human Hibachi is a 2019 American found footage horror film, written and directed by Mario Cerrito. It was selected by the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival and Philadelphia Independent Film Festival. The movie went on to win 2021 best feature film at the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival.
Mario Cerrito is an American filmmaker, writer and producer in the horror/thriller genre. He has directed seven feature films through Cerrito Productions. His film Human Hibachi was released in 2020 and won Best Feature film at New Jersey Horror Con and was nominated for Best FX.
A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell is a 1990 low-budget science fiction film from Troma Entertainment and directed by Brett Piper. It premiered at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Piper also worked on the special effects.