Weird War Stories, Gross Humor, and Informed Advice in MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE!

A how-to book for would-be filmmakers and a useful guide for movie fans who want to painlessly learn how it's done. Kaufman and his co-writer co-conspirators make atrocious low-budget movies from the independent Troma production company, have prepared a guide filled with gross-out humor that tackles the subject thoroughly. Based on an Amazon search, it appears it is one of several such guides Kaufman has turned out, drawing on considerable experience gained over 30 years with Troma, an incredible survival story.

Kaufman explains such topics as financing your product, hiring your crew, preparing a script, pre-production, shooting low-budget on location, recording sound, stunts, low-rent special effects, publicizing the movie, post production, and more. You can learn the functions of those crewmembers whose titles you see at the end of the movie. Not just director, but producer, assistant director, director of photography, and so on.

You have to know Troma to know that they not only make low budget movies, but real crap like Toxic Avenger, Tromeo and Juliet, Surf Nazis Must Die (a title I must admit I adore), that sort.

Even so, I will bop over to Amazon any day now to order Citizen Toxie, the latest Toxic Avenger sequel which is filled with hours of extras about shooting the movie. (In fact, that's one of Kaufman's tips: shoot everything. If nothing else, it gives you some great extras with behind the scenes footage, actor's screen tests, and other bits of business the budding filmmaker or movie geek can learn from.)

You have to understand that I find the fascinating effort that goes into low budget movies, even if it is so stinky even Roger Corman (ca. 1953) would have turned his nose up at it. These guys are trying to turn a buck while driven to do something they like with no money, turning out a marketable product, even if all they get is Robo Monster. (Felt a chill crawl up my back on that one!)

Troma does have its fans, many with brain damage. They catch all the movies, some of them even form a volunteer corps to help out in production, traveling to locations including film festivals like Cannes, on their own dime.

Above all, Kaufman shows his passion for making movies. He champions the small filmmaker, attacks the bloated Hollywood mainstream, even savages Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival with its elistist selection process that automatically rejects Troma product. (Of course, as Kaufman goes off on these targets, you can run a list through your head of reasonable defenses they'd offer against his charges.)

On the other hand, when Kaufman talks about filming his vision, you wonder if he's been snorting bleach through his nose...we're talking about a guy who made Toxic Avenger and Sergeant Kabukiman NYPD.

The fact is, this book and other movie making books he has done may be the best service that Lloyd Kaufman ever performs. If you've seen Toxic Avenger (available to view for free on Hulu through the Troma website), you realize that's not saying much. There are plenty of books on making small movies and even magazines on the subject. But Kaufman's book, with numerous anecdotes from his own admittedly vast experience, and his humor, and his passion, is about as painless and coherent a way to learn about the ins and outs of actually turning out movies as I can think of. I even broke the 11th commandment and paid full price for this book at Borders...and it was worth it.