DANCE, ENNIS, DANCE!: The Peoples History of Tromadance
Issue 205 / January 2006 More from this Issue
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BY ERIK "TITTIES" LOPEZ
Troma. Dance. Troma.dance? TROMADANCE! Amidst Hollywood's A-List mannequins and card-toting "edgy" directors lays Lloyd Kaufman's truly original, truly "for the people" film festival, Tromadance. Trey Parker, who challenged Kaufman to make a festival built around the same principles as Troma, inspired Tromadance 1999. Trey Parker, of South Park fame, had just completed Cannibal: the Musical, submitted it to Sundance ($75 processing fee and all), only to find out later that he wasn't accepted nor would his money be refunded. Enraged, Parker rented out a theatre for the day and had a one-day film festival showcasing his own film. Allegedly, Sundance founder Robert Redford lashed out with vitriolic words against the renegade filmmaker. Neither parker nor Redford could be reached for comment as of press time. That is the humble turd that fertilized a whole festival.
Many of today's major stars, directors and writers began their careers in Troma movies, and many more have grown up with them, absorbing the influence of the Troma-tic touch. The first efforts of Kevin Costner, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert DeNiro, among others, can be found in Troma's valuable film library (sadly enough, Madonna got turned down by Troma early in her career). While other "dances" have failed Tromadance has endured for seven sexy and sultry years. Tromadance is Troma's response to the evils and excess of the corporate "kino eye."
"We get hundreds and hundreds of submissions each year, and it's that accessibility that people embrace and admire. These filmmakers spend a lot of their own money just trying to get their stories filmed, and then they're expected to pay festivals across the country 50-75 dollars apiece, on the off-chance that their work might get accepted and seen? It's a flawed system that favors "independent", that is to say, "studio-independent" movies."
The difference between this year's Tromadance and years previous are numerous. First, there probably won't be any arrests. Second, they have expanded coverage including an extra night at Brewwvies, and a night at the Salt Lake City Library to show a retrospective of the Best of Tromadance amongst all the other "Troma-tivities" in Park City. Lastly, the array of films will be more foreign in their flavor.
Troma is the leader of independent films, having continually been making movies for the past 30 years on shoestring budgets, highly charismatic fundraising, and the blood and sweat of the ineffable many that make movies possible. This year also hosts a panel on the idea, aesthetic and principles of "independent" film.
"Our filmmaker's panel in Park City will be addressing [the issue of independent cinema], as the topic for this year's Q&A discussion is "Filmmaking in the Era of $15 million Independent' Movies." Independent movies as they exist today are irrelevant to directors working with actual low-budgets."
Dedicated volunteers, good sponsorship, and boundless creativity have kept Tromadance around for the last seven years (and it is still TOTALLY FREE!). What more can be said about Troma, its founder, and the Saturday Night Fever of film festivals, Tromadance? To find out I gave good ol' Lloyd Kaufman a call on his super cellular phonea nice personal touch to the "touch-and-go" emails of others. So with that said, FUCK ART LET'S TROMADANCE! In short: My conversation with Lloyd led to me admire him as the amazing uncle I should have, but don't. His erudite wit, bankrupt and corrupting stories, and compassion for "the little guy" make him a better "dancer" by far.
www.tromadance.com
Troma. Dance. Troma.dance? TROMADANCE! Amidst Hollywood's A-List mannequins and card-toting "edgy" directors lays Lloyd Kaufman's truly original, truly "for the people" film festival, Tromadance. Trey Parker, who challenged Kaufman to make a festival built around the same principles as Troma, inspired Tromadance 1999. Trey Parker, of South Park fame, had just completed Cannibal: the Musical, submitted it to Sundance ($75 processing fee and all), only to find out later that he wasn't accepted nor would his money be refunded. Enraged, Parker rented out a theatre for the day and had a one-day film festival showcasing his own film. Allegedly, Sundance founder Robert Redford lashed out with vitriolic words against the renegade filmmaker. Neither parker nor Redford could be reached for comment as of press time. That is the humble turd that fertilized a whole festival.
Many of today's major stars, directors and writers began their careers in Troma movies, and many more have grown up with them, absorbing the influence of the Troma-tic touch. The first efforts of Kevin Costner, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert DeNiro, among others, can be found in Troma's valuable film library (sadly enough, Madonna got turned down by Troma early in her career). While other "dances" have failed Tromadance has endured for seven sexy and sultry years. Tromadance is Troma's response to the evils and excess of the corporate "kino eye." "We get hundreds and hundreds of submissions each year, and it's that accessibility that people embrace and admire. These filmmakers spend a lot of their own money just trying to get their stories filmed, and then they're expected to pay festivals across the country 50-75 dollars apiece, on the off-chance that their work might get accepted and seen? It's a flawed system that favors "independent", that is to say, "studio-independent" movies."
The difference between this year's Tromadance and years previous are numerous. First, there probably won't be any arrests. Second, they have expanded coverage including an extra night at Brewwvies, and a night at the Salt Lake City Library to show a retrospective of the Best of Tromadance amongst all the other "Troma-tivities" in Park City. Lastly, the array of films will be more foreign in their flavor.
Troma is the leader of independent films, having continually been making movies for the past 30 years on shoestring budgets, highly charismatic fundraising, and the blood and sweat of the ineffable many that make movies possible. This year also hosts a panel on the idea, aesthetic and principles of "independent" film.
"Our filmmaker's panel in Park City will be addressing [the issue of independent cinema], as the topic for this year's Q&A discussion is "Filmmaking in the Era of $15 million Independent' Movies." Independent movies as they exist today are irrelevant to directors working with actual low-budgets."
Dedicated volunteers, good sponsorship, and boundless creativity have kept Tromadance around for the last seven years (and it is still TOTALLY FREE!). What more can be said about Troma, its founder, and the Saturday Night Fever of film festivals, Tromadance? To find out I gave good ol' Lloyd Kaufman a call on his super cellular phonea nice personal touch to the "touch-and-go" emails of others. So with that said, FUCK ART LET'S TROMADANCE! In short: My conversation with Lloyd led to me admire him as the amazing uncle I should have, but don't. His erudite wit, bankrupt and corrupting stories, and compassion for "the little guy" make him a better "dancer" by far.
www.tromadance.com
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