Caleb Emerson Interview
Caleb Emerson Interview
by Gary Salford
In 2005 Caleb Emerson released his first feature film ‘Die You Zombie Bastards’ ,
‘Die You Zombie Bastards’ was awarded ‘DVD Of The Month’ by Fangoria Magazine in 2007. Caleb’s second feature was ‘Frankie In Blunderland’ ,in 2009 he was also a writer, Guest star and Editor on Vh1’s reality show ‘Scream Queens’. Caleb has often collaborated with Troma Entertainment as an Actor and Assistant Director. Since 2010 he has also been an editor and regularly appears in bits as an actor on Comedy Central’s ‘Tosh .0’ . Caleb was kind enough to spend some time with Gary for Wicked Spins Radio.
WSR – Hi Caleb thank you for taking some time out to speak to me for Wicked Spins,
I interviewed you a few years ago just after you released ‘Frankie In Blunderland’ you have been rather busy since then with more work with the Legendary independent Cinema production company Troma entertainment and also on Tosh .0 for Comedy Central, How are you finding working for a company as big as comedy Central after working for an independent like troma?
Caleb – Well, I haven’t worked for Troma in almost a decade since Poultrygeist. I went up to Niagara Falls a few summers ago for an afternoon to play a part in Return to Nuke’em High, but the part shrunk once I got there, and then the one or 2 lines that I had got cut out. So that was a bit of waste of time, but I got to be nostalgic for a day and see my old friends Lloyd and Debbie. I’ve been working on Tosh.0 since 2010 and it’s a good job. I don’t really “work for Comedy Central” though. The show is paid for and airs on Comedy Central, but our show has it’s own offices and it’s own small staff most of who have been here since the show started in 2009. In some ways it’s different, and in some ways it’s similar. Troma is a little more democratic I guess, but they both try to push boundaries and never shy away from a dick joke. Tosh.0 pays a hell of a lot better though!
WSR – Do you find much of a difference freedom wise between your own movies and working on Troma productions ? With Troma been independent I would assume they encourage people to work with a fair amount of freedom.
Caleb – Troma definitely encourages people to be creative an contribute for sure. You’re encouraged to always speak your mind and try to contribute what you can. But, of course making your own movie is a whole different experience. On “Die You Zombie Bastards!” it was just me and Haig Demarjian writing and producing and we had 100% creative freedom, and we never even really disagreed with each other on anything I don’t think. We had backers, but they were purely financial. And on “Frankie in Blunderland” I didn’t even have a producing partner, so I didn’t answer to anyone. I don’t know if that was always a good thing, cause I wound up doing a lot of nonsense, but it was certainly artistically satisfying for sure.
WSR – Whats it like working with the Independent Cinema legend Lloyd Kauffman ?
Caleb – I’ve worked with Lloyd quite a few times between 1999 and 2005. I was in Citizen Toxie and wore a few hats on the production end of that movie. I was his Assistant Director and played one of the bigger parts in Poultrygeist . I also assisted him with a couple of his master classes at the Rhode Island Film Festival (I lived in Providence for a decade) and I also travelled to AFM and Cannes with Troma. Lloyd is an amazingly generous person, and once you have proven yourself (and sometimes, before you have) he puts huge amounts of trust in people and listens to everyone. He can also be difficult to work for because he expects and demands an enormous work ethic and level of dedication. He also thrives on chaos in a strange way and sometimes seems to sabotage his own productions to get that chaos, but it’s been working for him for 40 years, so that’s an observation, not a criticism. It can be frustrating at times though. But overall, I learned almost everything I know about film making from him, and I would trade my time at Troma for anything. If I were 10 years younger I’d go back in a second and do it again.
WSR – You have rather a few strings to your bow, directing, acting, editing and writing. Which do you prefer over all?
Caleb – I like them all. Acting is fun (I’m not very good at it, and i hate watching myself on screen) but I like acting like an idiot in movies. Directing can be great. I don’t really like editing my own projects, but I do enjoy editing other peoples things…sometimes solving a problem in a unique way is gratifying. I shot a few movies as well…again, I’m not an especially good cinematographer, but I like doing it.
WSR – Since the release of the movie Grindhouse a lot of bigger production companies have released movies that are going for a more low budget cinematic style with an emphasis on gore and cheesy writing ,Do you feel this has helped or hindered independent Cinema?
Caleb – I guess it’s good? I don’t like movies that are intentionally bad. There’s a difference between campy and just bad. I also don’t like when movies spend a lot of money and try to make it look like they don’t. But at the end of the day, I love movies and I go into every one I see hoping to love it. And the older I get the less outraged I become over things. I used to get furious about remakes etc. Now, if I don’t like the look of a movie I just won’t see it, or if I’m watching something tat sucks I just turn it off and find something better.
WSR – What does the future hold for you? Any more directing or acting in the pipeline or other projects ?
Caleb – I’m writing a new feature screenplay right now which I’m pretty excited about. I’m also directing a segment for the upcoming anthology film “Grindsploitation: The Movie” which I’m looking forward to. And Im still on Tosh.0 (we’re about 1/3 of the way through season 7 at the moment if you can believe it)
WSR – You earlier mentioned the Cannes film Festival ,how important do you see film festivals for independent film makers?
Caleb – I have had very mixed experiences with film festivals. They seem very incestuous. When I finished Die You Zombie Bastards! in 2005 I entered dozens of festivals and spent hundred and hundreds of dollars on submission fees and press packs and shipping and I literally did not get in to ONE film festival. But someone at Troma recommended the film to the Lausanne Underground Film Festival in Switzerland who requested a screener. They accepted it (and we wound up winning best feature film) and Mitch Davis from Fantasia was a judge there, and then he invited us to screen at Fantasia in 2006 (even though we were rejected in 2005, and i found out that they never even watched our submission in ’05) and after that we astride getting invited to festivals left and right. DYZB! screened and won awards all over the world, but not until a couple of bigger tests gave it the okay. I understand that, but I found it a little discouraging. Then with Frankie in Blunderland, I also entered a ton of festivals (including Tromadance who didn’t even send me a rejection letter) and the only one I got into was the Boston Underground Film Festival, and I’m guessing I only got into that cause I kind of know them and I was a judge there in ’06. So…I haven’t had great experiences with them, and I;m probably not the guy to ask. Although, Lausanne treated me like a rock star which was flattering. They flew me to Switzerland, put me up, paid for my food and drinks and then gave us a cash prize for winning the festival.
