Rogue Cinema - An Interview with Chris Watson

Chris Watson and Lloyd Kaufman endorse bottled drinking water.

I've been speaking to Chris Watson on the World Wide Web for a few years now and he's been keeping me up to date on all of his film projects. While it seems that some of his work will never see the light of day (i.e. Mobdaze), Chris has recently had two of his newest feature films picked up by Troma. His production of Slaughter Party, was just released on Troma DVD back in February, and his directorial debut Zombiegeddon (which I also reviewed for this issue of Rogue Cinema) is set to hit Troma DVD on July 11th. I managed to bug Chris enough to answer some questions concerning his career in the independent film biz. Needless to say he was more blunt than I expected, (which was a breath of fresh air) especially when talking about the aforementioned Slaughter Party. I think you’ll agree with me when I say that Chris’ straightforwardness makes for a damned good read!

Thanks again for taking the time to answer some questions Chris! This interview has been a long time coming especially since I've been speaking to you over the net for what, four years?

Sounds about right. You are like my imaginary friend.

Hahaha. All righty, the main thing I'd like to know, is how you broke into the independent film scene and what drew you toward becoming a film maker in the first place? Did you just wake up one day and decide, "I'm going to make movies!" or has this been something you've been yearning to do since your childhood?

I've always enjoyed films. I lived in the middle of nowhere so films were basically my only real form of entertainment other than sports. I remember begging my parents many times to drive 20 miles to the video store so we could rent a few movies. It's too bad Netflix wasn't around then. Then I always enjoyed writing so I kept that up writing for a couple of tiny magazines that never went anywhere but this allowed me to meet up with a great writer named David Lawson. We teamed up for a short film that eventually got turned into a feature. We got a great response from the script so we knew we were capable of writing a good script if time allowed. Then I ended up putting together a small cast/crew and we made it. Unfortunately the director didn't seem to be ready to do features yet and seemed to have ulterior motives for being on set so it didn't turn out so hot.

Now the first time we ever spoke, you contacted me concerning your (then) latest production of a film called "Mobdaze," in which a group of guys armed with a potato launcher seek revenge against the mobsters that killed their friend. Where'd you get the idea for this film and will it ever see the light of day?!

We've actually talked about changing the script around and shooting it again but it hasn't happened yet. Monumental Pictures owns "Mob Daze" so you'd have to ask them I guess as to when it'd see the light of day.

In "Mobdaze" you worked with cult film stars like Robert Z'Dar and Joe Estevez. How did they become a part of the project and what was it like working with those two? Also, did working with them on this film allow you to secure both b-movie thespians for your latest film, "Zombiegeddon?"

I met Robert Z'Dar through our photographers the Zwaduk's. They had met him somewhere and hooked me up with him. He was a blast to work with on "Mob Daze." Z'Dar, of course, has worked with Estevez many times previously so Z'Dar just called him and asked him to come out and help us. Estevez is a very underrated actor and a great professional. I started exchanging calls with both of these guys often to where I could just call them up for "Zombiegeddon". I think it helped a LOT having these two attached early on.

Moving on then, let's talk a bit about your directorial debut, "Zombiegeddon." This movie has been in production for quite a while, but the final product is pretty impressive considering the budget constraints. My main question is how did you manage to get so many cult and indie film celebrities for starring roles and cameos?! And just out of curiosity, who has been your favorite b-movie celeb to work with over the past few years?

The cameos have various stories. In some cases it involved a bunch of research to track them down. In the case of Edwin Neal, I just walked past him at a convention and figured why not ask him. Ron Jeremy I bumped into while on a trip in LA. Some were friends of other actors who were in the film. Otherwise I just emailed them, gave them the basics of the production and made an offer. I actually had one actor who almost didn't come because he thought I was making up the cast we had coming in.

As a fan boy, my favorite to work with would probably be William Smith. He's just in so many movies that I absolutely love. I would love to work with him again.

Among the odd moments in "Zombiegeddon" there are two that just stick in my mind. First off, where in the hell did you manage to get a pair of real life tigers to appear in the film?

That was easy actually. We had friends who had some tigers. [laughs] A news story ran on the movie and they asked if they could help. I'll never forget pulling up and they had a long trailer parked in our friend's driveway filled with a variety of tigers for us to choose from. They donated their time, which was awfully nice of them. Terrific people.

The other scene I want to question you about is your short on-screen cameo where you and your buddies are pulled over by Officer Cage (played in the film by Ari Bavel). As Cage threatens you and your friends while casually holding a gun, you're forced to french kiss the kid sitting next to you in the back seat. Granted this scene is funny as hell, but why did you do it and did you throw up afterwards?!

Well, this was supposed to cut before we get to each other and then you were to see the guy's reactions in the front seat to cover up the kiss. If you watch closely you can see my grossed out reaction and my head backing away as the guy did it. I guess someone forgot to tell him we weren't actually doing it. But the scene has gotten a great reaction so I'm glad we did it. And I'm glad I was intoxicated at the time. I think in the original scene I would have had to suck my own cock. I don't know which would have been worse. [Side Note: Chris probably couldn’t have pulled off a “self-fellatio,” unless he was trained by the legendary pornstar Ron Jeremy.]

Another of your film's peculiarities is that the zombies themselves are shape-shifters (for sake of a better word). Where did you come up with that idea? It's new! It's outrageous! It's genius!

I hate remakes is the simple answer. But 9/11 happened around the time I was writing the first draft and became this thing of anyone could be a bad guy--your neighbor, your boss, the guy next to you. So you see a lot of that scattered around the script. I did not want to make the same movie again, which is what the majority of people want whether they admit it or not. The studios know it which is why we're being hit over the head with remakes and movies that are rip-offs of others. I've seen people constantly protest remakes but then they go see every remake that comes out and everything original is left to find it's audience on video. It's annoying really for anyone that wants to see something different.

Chris Watson and

I couldn’t agree more Chris. I too hate remakes... but still see them all anyway, mostly out of curiosity I suppose. Anyway, how did you manage to get "Zombiegeddon" picked up for distribution by Troma? Did it have anything to do with Lloyd Kaufman's role in "Zombiegeddon" as a homophobic college janitor? And how was your experience with Troma in regards to their treatment of your film and the amount of work that went into the DVD extras?

I actually had a lot of offers from the crappy straight to video companies. However, there were things done in post that screwed up a lot of things to where we were no longer capable of fixing it. Most companies wouldn't take a movie for these reasons. So I asked Lloyd if they would be able to fix it and release it. He acknowledged it would take a while if they had to fix it up but they'd take it.
The main reason I was quick to ask them was because they had handled “Shitty Party” (i.e. “Slaughter Party”) nicely even though it was crap. So if they do at least as much for Zombiegeddon as that crappy movie, then I'll be happy. But I haven't seen the DVD yet so I'm not sure how the extras are. I'm sure they're great.

During your work on "Zombiegeddon" you were also producing a fright film with a more serious tone called "Minds of Terror." I managed to see the first half of the movie and was fairly impressed with it. Are there any future plans to get it released on DVD, because I really want to know how it ends?!

This one is also owned by Monumental Pictures now. They were talking about a July 2006 release but I think it just got pushed back.

Just last year, you produced the low-budget slasher flick "Slaughter Party," that boasts, among other things, a killer midget! Again, I'm curious to know where you come up with these weird plots for your films. What possessed you to write a script for a killer midget film?

The midget replaced this crappy actor at the last minute actually. He was originally going to play the bartender. I wrote the original draft which got overhauled by like twelve people. As everyone knows, when a movie has too many writers it slowly turns to crap. Throw on some more problems, like someone taking home all the props and effects you've been preparing for months and you have “Shitty Party.”

Ok, so its obvious that you feel that "Slaughter Party" was a cinematic failure that unfortunately, has your name in the credits. Was there anything you felt that could have been done better on the film to "save" it?

There are the obvious things that could be done to make “Shitty Party” not look amateurishly shot and edited (plus it needs sound work) but no one wanted to do it. There was no fixing the writing. I think the bad acting that's in the film is passable in "shit cinema," although not in mainstream. So most of it could have been done in post. I was actually surprised they didn't ask them to redo certain things. Shocked actually. Fred [Rosenberg] redid the first ten minutes and they look pretty good. He cut in close ups, weird angles, added in some weird stuff with the doctor, foley, filmlooked it, and it suddenly plays more like an action-horror film. I think it would be interesting to include on a DVD, if Troma ever decided to release it again, which I can't imagine them doing.

On that note, were you involved in the creation of the “Slaughter Party” DVD extras features at all, or were you too ashamed to even let anyone know you were involved with this particular film? (Just kidding!)

I was a producer on the film so of course I helped out with the extras. I think you see me in the Seymore Butt's interview. And you can hear me laughing during the commentary. I think it's going to be a crappy movie no matter what but it could certainly look like a professional production with some work. I just don't think anyone is interested in putting that much effort forward for a movie that's about a killer midget.

Recently you've been working on a new genre film called "Evil Ever After." What exactly is this movie about and is it going to be released on DVD anytime soon?

First off, this movie kicks ass. Basically, Heidi Martinuzzi plays a psycho slut who accuses Randal Malone of raping her. So her father, Joe Bob Briggs, sends these screwed up cops after him. The cops put him in a dress and rape him. Then Heidi's teenage friends come over and take him into the desert and beat him to death... so they think. So Randal comes back in his dress and starts killing all these people with a samurai sword. Not that it's saying much, but this is easily the best movie I've worked on. No word yet on a DVD release.

I was just scanning the Internet Movie Database and in the "Evil Ever After" Trivia section, it says that Hollywood bigshot Tom Cruise was supposed to star in the film. That’s obviously a joke, right?

The IMDB only runs completely accurate information and would not lie.

Chris works hard to promote Zombiegeddon and Minds of Terror at a convention.

Chris works hard to promote Zombiegeddon and Minds of Terror at a convention.

Hahahaha! Indeed, if its one thing IMDB prides itself on, it’s the accuracy of all the movie info they provide! So Chris, of all the diverse tasks you've done during your movie-making career, what part of being a film maker do you enjoy the most? For example, do you prefer writing scripts over producing films? Or is acting your main area of interest? Come on man! Share yourself with the world and tell us what makes you tick!

Producing sucks. I do it because no one else will. I like the creative aspects the most. Writing can be fun. If the movie is any good, the post production can be fun to see it come to life and then see everyone's reactions. As far as acting goes, I don't step in unless no one else will. Directing can be fun with the right people and script. If you're trying to direct a bad script then your experience will be bad.

I've noticed that you play a recurring character in the films you work on called "Mute Boy." How did this character come about and will Mute Boy get his own feature film in the future?

For "Mob Daze" it was based on someone in high school who this kid called Mute Boy one day. For the others, I think it was just something to call me since I had no lines. There will never be a movie about Mute Boy, haha.

Oh great! Thanks for crushing my hopes and dreams Chris! So, with "Evil Ever After" in the bag, what other future projects do you have lined up?

I'm working on a romantic comedy called "Dead in Love" with a really great indie cast. It's a SAG project so I'm able to get some really great actors. I'm excited about this one. It's first one where I directed more than second unit since "Zombiegeddon" so it's a bit of a jump.

Well, I don't want to take up too much more of your time so I'll ask you one final question. (I must admit that I'm tempted to ask you a Leonard Maltin-esque question, like, "If you could be a Lucky Charms marshmallow, what kind of Marshmallow would you be?" or something to that extent.) Is there anything else you'd like to share before we say our goodbyes and continue on our separate ways? Do you have any advice for aspiring film makers, or a funny anecdote, or anything that you just want to get off your chest?

And now for the worst interview answer ever: Not really. Thanks, though, for all the support and entertainment over the last four years.

Hey no problem Chris! It’s an honor that you’ve kept me in the loop this long concerning all of your movie projects! Thanks a ton for doing this interview and good luck on your future productions!