 DVD Box Set | |
| Author | Lloyd Kaufman Adam Jahnke Trent Haaga |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Cinema |
| Publisher | St. Martin's Press |
Publication date | 2003 |
| Media type | print Paperback |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | 0-312-28864-6 |
| OCLC | 50072358 |
| 791.43/023 21 | |
| LC Class | PN1995.9.P7 K385 2003 |
| Preceded by | All I Need to Know about Filmmaking I Learned from the Toxic Avenger |
Make Your Own Damn Movie! is both a book and a DVD set about Troma Entertainment and independent film in general.
Make Your Own Damn Movie!: Secrets of a Renegade Director is written by Lloyd Kaufman (with Adam Jahnke and Trent Haaga) published by St. Martin's, in 2003. Kaufman is the co-founder of B-movie company Troma Entertainment and the director of such films as The Toxic Avenger , Class of Nuke 'Em High , and Terror Firmer .
Kaufman and Haaga had previously collaborated on the 1999 film Terror Firmer and the 2001 film Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV .
The A.V. Club called the book
"...mildly hilarious, not to mention full of actual useful advice for the would-be indie filmmaker struggling with a lack of experience and a nonexistent budget." [1]
Publishers Weekly stated,
"It is to the tremendous credit of Kaufman's profane, self-deprecating, caustic but charismatic sense of humor that the book's opening, closing and everything else in between manages to make the low-budget filmmaking process seem like the most glorious and noble of life pursuits." [2]
The foreword to the book was written by South Park co-creator Trey Parker. The introduction was penned by frequent Kaufman collaborator James Gunn. Gunn had previously co-written All I Need to Know about Filmmaking I Learned from the Toxic Avenger with Kaufman.
In 2005, Kaufman and Troma decided to expand the book into a 5 DVD set. The set, with more than 18 hours of material, [3] includes advice and interviews with Trey Parker and Matt Stone, George A. Romero, Stan Lee, John G. Avildsen, Eli Roth, James Gunn. [3]
The set also includes Kaufman's first major film The Battle of Love's Return . [4] in a deconstructed version. This was the only DVD version of the film until 2009, when the film was released as an Easter Egg on The Sexy Box, a DVD boxset of Squeeze Play!, Waitress!, Stuck on You! and The First Turn-On!. [5]
Troma also released a DVD series under the Make Your Own Damn Movie title that showcases amateur films by young filmmakers. However, the only film released to date is Pot Zombies. [6]
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.
Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them play on 1950s horror with elements of farce, parody, gore, and splatter.
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.
The TromaDance Film Festival is a free annual independent film festival organized by Troma Entertainment. Founded in 1999, TromaDance was originally held in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, operating concurrently alongside the Sundance Film Festival in order to showcase an independent alternative to Sundance's perceived mainstream offerings. Between 2010 and 2013, the festival had been relocated to various locations throughout New Jersey. Since 2014, TromaDance has relocated to New York City.
Guerrilla filmmaking refers to a form of independent filmmaking characterized by ultra-low micro budgets, skeleton crews, and limited props using whatever resources, locations and equipment is available. Often scenes are shot quickly in real locations without any warning, and without obtaining filming permits.
Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. is a 1990 American superhero comedy film directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz and distributed by Troma Entertainment.
Terror Firmer is a 1999 American comedy horror film directed by Lloyd Kaufman, written by Douglas Buck, Patrick Cassidy, and Kaufman, and starring Will Keenan, Alyce LaTourelle, and Kaufman. The film was produced by the Troma Entertainment company, known for distributing campy exploitation films.
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.
All I Need to Know about Filmmaking I Learned from the Toxic Avenger is the autobiography of Lloyd Kaufman, published by Berkley Boulevard, a subsidiary of Penguin Putnam, in 1998. Kaufman is the co-founder of B-movie company Troma Entertainment and the director of such films as The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nuke 'Em High, and Terror Firmer. The book was written by both Kaufman and screenwriter James Gunn; they had previously collaborated on the 1996 film Tromeo and Juliet. Gunn went on to more mainstream prominence as the writer of Dawn of the Dead (2004) and the writer-director of Slither (2006) and the Marvel Studios 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Toxic Avenger Part II is a 1989 American superhero black comedy film released by Troma Entertainment. It is the second installment of The Toxic Avenger franchise. It was directed by Lloyd Kaufman and features The Toxic Avenger in an adventure to Japan to meet his father. Devilman and Cutie Honey creator Go Nagai makes a cameo appearance. The film is also the debut of actor/martial artist Michael Jai White and musician/composer/performance artist Phoebe Legere.
Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV is a 2000 American superhero splatter comedy film directed by Lloyd Kaufman and written by Trent Haaga. It is the fourth installment of The Toxic Avenger franchise. Despite being the third sequel to The Toxic Avenger, Stan Lee's opening narration claims that Citizen Toxie is, in fact, the official sequel to the first film, disacknowledging the events of the first two sequels.
Trent Haaga is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for his work on independent horror films, such as Deadgirl (2008), Cheap Thrills (2013), and 68 Kill (2017).
The Battle of Love's Return is a 1971 American comedy film written, directed, produced, and starring Lloyd Kaufman, the co-founder of Troma Entertainment, his first major film after his student production The Girl Who Returned.
The Girl Who Returned is a 1969 American comedy film, notable as the directorial debut of Lloyd Kaufman, future co-founder and president of Troma Entertainment. It was made during his sophomore year at Yale University.
Croaked: Frog Monster from Hell is a 1981 American monster movie directed by Bill Rebane. The plot of Croaked involves a group of loggers terrorized by a vicious half-man/half-frog creature. The film was distributed by Troma Entertainment.
The Capture of Bigfoot is a 1979 horror film from Bill Rebane, the director of Monster A-Go-Go. Produced and originally released by Studio Film Corp, the film was re-released in 2010 by Troma Entertainment.
Michael Herz is an American film producer, director and screenwriter. With the director and actor Lloyd Kaufman, the two are the co-founders of Troma Entertainment, the world's longest running independent film studio, known for their comedic horror films, including the cult favorite Toxic Avenger series and Tromeo and Juliet.
The Toxic Avenger is a multimedia low-budget superhero comedy splatter film franchise originating with the 1984 film The Toxic Avenger, and continuing through three film sequels, a stage musical production, a comic book series from Marvel Comics, a video game and a children's TV cartoon. Two less successful sequels, The Toxic Avenger Part II and The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie, were filmed as one. Director Lloyd Kaufman realized that he had shot far too much footage for one film and re-edited it into two. A third independent sequel was also released, titled Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV. An animated children's TV series spin-off, Toxic Crusaders, featured Toxie as the leader of a team of mutated superheroes who fought against evil alien polluters. The cartoon series was short-lived and quickly cancelled. In 2019, it was announced that Legendary Pictures would be making a reboot of the film, with original creators Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz of Troma Entertainment serving as producers, and Macon Blair serving as writer and director.