My name is Enrique Villena and I am high school senior at Newton North High School who is currently doing a report on B movies. In the paper I will be discussing their impact on the movie industry and American culture. I was hoping to have an interview with a movie reviewing ninja guru like you to attain a unique perspective on this topic. If you accept, I could either send you a set of questions or we could have wonderfully awkward skype call. Hope to hear back from you soon.
Brian Salisbury <[email protected]> Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 3:43 PM To: Enrique Villena <[email protected]> Enrique, It would be a pleasure to assist you. Please feel free to send me your questions and I'll answer them as best I can. I'm honored that you think so highly of me. Cheers. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Enrique Villena <[email protected]>Mon, Mar 12, 2012 at 10:37 AM To: Brian Salisbury <[email protected]> Hey Brain, I know your busy with SXSW. You can answer these questions whenever you have the time. No rush. If you have a questions or you think a question is too general(or stupid) please tell me. I won't be offended. As I said before, the paper I'm writing is about the importance of B movies and their effect on american culture and the movie industry.
Here are the questions: ( I also shared a google doc with you.)
What do you consider your first B movie? What specific elements make it a B movie?
What do you think is the most popular B movie? Why do you think it was able to permeate popular culture?
What do you think attracts people (and you) to B movies?
How do you personally define a B movie?(you can be broad if you want) What elements are necessary?
Who do you think is one of the most influential B movie directors and why? (I know you’ll probably answer Roger Corman)
What do you think is the best example of a modern B movie?
Do you have a movie that you consider a B movie that others usually don’t?
What effect do you think B movies have on cinema in general?
Why do you hate George Clooney? Is it because he is more handsome than you?
Thanks, Enrique Villena _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Brian Salisbury <[email protected]>Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 8:54 PM To: [email protected] Enrique,
Sorry it took so long, but here are my responses to each of your questions. Hope you can still use them. Thanks again for seeking my advice, I am honored. Let me know if you have any further questions.
Cheers.
What do you consider your first B movie? What specific elements make it a B movie?
My first B movie experience was probably Halloween. It was a movie that my parents and I watched every, well, Halloween from the time I was very young. While now it's heralded as a classic, as it damn well should be, when it was released it was something of a b-movie. It was a low budget slasher film geared toward teens and borrowing heavily from other films (Touch of Evil, Psycho, Rio Bravo). Few people praised it as high art when it first hit theaters.
What do you think is the most popular B movie? Why do you think it was able to permeate popular culture?
Easily the most popular B movie is The Rocky Horror Picture Show. To this day, nearly every city has a running performance, weekly or otherwise, of this tawdry little cinematic nugget. I think the reason it's survived as long as it has is that it incorporates so many elements of audience participation so any performance becomes a major event for those whose tastes run to the decidedly perverse.
What do you think attracts people (and you) to B movies?
When a studio movie, with its enormous budget and a-list cardboard actors, stinks, it smacks of laziness and of a squandering of all the components that are SUPPOSED to ensure film success. With B movies, there is no such monetary crutch or, often, attention-grabbing celebs to aide in its box office success. B movies live and die by the tireless efforts of either the unappreciated or the supremely untalented. With B cinema we are being presented with the product of people who are really trying, and sometimes failing miserably, and that's what I love. Whether they manage to be unexpectedly brilliant or entertainingly awful, there is something purer about B movies than big studio flicks that I absolutely adore. It's also, in a sense, like being a cinematic archeologist, digging these unsung, mostly awful, movies out of dusty obscurity. You never know what you'll turn up, how long it's been since anyone has seen it, or which respectable current artists may have contributed to its creation.
How do you personally define a B movie?(you can be broad if you want) What elements are necessary?
This is one of the most difficult questions to answer, because it's completely nebulous. B movies harbor so many idiosyncratic definitions and connotations. For me, a B movie is as much a question of aesthetic and spirit as it is budgetary constraints, want for acting talent, and poor effects. My contention is that any movie that relies upon fantastical genre elements and is unconcerned with pristine quality, whether that lack of concern be intentional or a consequence of budget, could potentially qualify as a B movie. Basically, anything that unabashedly plays to the groundlings and looks as gritty and patched together as an old quilt. There is a visual quality to those films that fall into the more traditional classification as well, not just poorly shot and lit, but seeming perpetually lost and unsure how a conclusion will possibly be reached.
Who do you think is one of the most influential B movie directors and why? (I know you’ll probably answer Roger Corman)
Well, you're right. But that's because Corman redefined the entire B movie industry. His ability to get the very best out of so little means is legendary. Even when his movies are outright terrible, there is usually still something of worth to be gleaned from them and he NEVER lost money on a picture. He was also responsible for launching the careers of some of the most respected artists of our time: Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, Jonathan Demme, Jack Nicholson, Joe Dante, the list is near infinite. Case in point, Battle Beyond the Stars, which I maintain is a very cool sci-fi flick regardless of its shortcomings, saw most of its ships constructed by a lowly effects lackie by the name of James Cameron.
What do you think is the best example of a modern B movie?
I think Mandrill, from Chile's Ernesto Diaz Espinoza (of Mirage Man and Kiltro) falls neatly into that category both because of its miniscule budget and its cribbing from 70s action and spy flicks. However, despite its limitations, Mandrill manages both a compelling story and phenomenal action sequences. I feel the same about Gareth Evan's The Raid. On a more deliberate level, Jason Eisner's Hobo with a Shotgun is a great example of retro-sploitation. He, more than most who've tried of late, has created an honest facsimile of the trash films of the era with reverence and maniacal glee.
Do you have a movie that you consider a B movie that others usually don’t?
Star Wars. Because it fucking is.
What effect do you think B movies have on cinema in general?
Comercially, B movies will always have a built-in audience and nearly always make money. We know this to be true, otherwise the SyFy channel and The Asylum film company would be out of business. From the perspective of a film fan, B movies are essential to developing a well-rounded appreciation for cinema. You can't fully understand the nuance and mastery of a great film until you've seen enough trashy, low-rent material get all those things completely wrong. Plus, there will always be that little part of our id that craves the visual comfort of a B movie. This is exactly why I created Junkfood Cinema on Film School Rejects. Much like with junk food, we know these movies are bad, but we ravenously consume them anyway.
Why do you hate George Clooney? Is it because he is more handsome than you?
Hahaha. I actually love Clooney, he's one of my favorite actors. I detest that I've been assigned this position as a Clooney hater just because his 2011 fare did nothing for me. Besides, he IS the star of Return of the Killer Tomatoes for crying out loud! See what I did there? I brought your tangential question full circle. You're welcome.
Enrique Villena <[email protected]>Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 10:16 PMTo: Brian Salisbury <[email protected]> Brian, I must say your responses have blown me away. This is the only way I can express my immense gratitude: