Lloyd Kaufman is under no delusions. He knows films like Surf Nazis Must Die aren’t going to start a revolution in independent film, and that they aren’t going to be making many ‘best of’ lists. He isn’t Claudio Fregasso, and his company, Troma Entertainment, isn’t Golan-Globus, producing schlock, calling it a masterpiece, and then blaming the audience for not ‘getting it’. What he does believe is that Troma is one of the last refuges for independent film and filmmakers, and that by fostering his community, his cult of ‘b-movie’ lovers, he is offering a strong alternative to the studio system.
That’s a major part of why Troma has been producing and distributing content for over 40 years, and remains one of the last true independent movie companies in the United States.
BEFORE THERE WAS TROMA
Lloyd Kaufman studied at Yale University. He majored in Chinese studies, and planned to become a social worker, until he became friends with Robert Edelstein and Eric Sherman, who introduced him to cinema.
After a year spent in Chad as a pathfinder for the Peace Corps, Kaufman returned to America, and eventually started working at the infamous Cannon Films. While there, he produced and directed films that received strong positive feedback from reviewers (a certain rarity for people associated with Cannon), including lesbian thriller Sugar Cookies with fellow Yale graduate Oliver Stone.
THE FOUNDING OF TROMAVILLE
While working on major studio projects, Kaufman and colleague Michael Herz decided to set out to create new, innovative content on tightly controlled micro-budgets. Focused on a 16-35 year old male demographic, the films were often violent, sexual, goofy and, most of all, successful.
The 1985 film The Toxic Avenger was an international success, spawning two sequels, an independently-produced fourth film, books, video games, and a range of merchandise sold around the world. The film was not only a commercial success, but congratulated for its focus on environmental issues “before the environment became the puppy-dog of the media”, as Kaufman puts it.
As Troma grew, so did its cast of future stars. Directors including Trey Parker (South Park), Eli Roth (Hostel) and James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) got their start with the company, which was willing to give them budgets for projects that would never have been made otherwise (such as Parker’s hilarious Cannibal! The Musical).
While the company was a success, the industry often stood in its way. While Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were willing to review Kaufman’s Sgt. Kabukiman, NYPD (they weren’t fans), many other outlets refused to view the movies. Even when Troma’s affiliate company, 50th Street Films, released the Japanese animation classic My Neighbour Totoro, reviewers refused to see the movie based on its connection with Troma Entertainment.
This blind rejection of Troma didn’t come as a surprise to Kaufman, but he found it insulting all the same. “I don’t make crappy movies. I spend two or three years making a film. I don’t take myself seriously, but I take my movies very seriously.”
The mainstream may have turned a blind eye to Kaufman, but his legion of followers was strong. They rejoiced as members of what Kaufman called ‘Tromaville’, a fictitious, satirical city in which Troma films were set. The citizens weren’t just the characters and filmmakers, but the audience themselves, and this connection with their viewers kept Troma Entertainment relevant.
MOVIES OF THE FUTURE
Even when companies like Blockbuster refused to put Troma films on its shelves, Kaufman was not dissuaded.
“Troma is the herpes of the entertainment industry. We won’t go away.”
The company’s motto of ‘Movies of the Future’ has rang true throughout the last four decades. Troma were not only the first to release their films on DVD, but the first to establish a website in order to sell their films and keep their fans updated in realtime. It is a system that has allowed them to stay viable at a time when there are very few independent film companies left in the United States.
Kaufman puts much of Troma’s success down to the company opening their door to filmmakers who have gone on to work for the studios that are so keen to pretend the company doesn’t exist. “If you talk to Quentin Tarantino, or Peter Jackson, or Shinya Tsukamoto, or Kevin Smith, they will tell you that they appreciated what Troma did with movies likeThe Toxic Avenger or Class Of Nuke ‘Em High, and that we wedged the door open a little bit so they could use elements that we had pioneered to create world-class masterpieces.”
STANDING STRONG
As of 2016, Troma Entertainment has produced and/or distributed over 1000 films. Kaufman has written six books about creating and selling independent movies (starting with Make Your Own Damn Movie!), and is a key figurehead in protecting Net Neutrality, which he considers to be the final frontier for independent cinema.
Ironically, several of his films are currently in the process of being remade by major studios, including a new version of The Toxic Avenger produced by A Beautiful Mind’s Akiva Goldsman.
For more information on Troma Entertainment, visit Troma.com.
You can follow Lloyd Kaufman on Twitter or visit his fan-run website.