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The Plot: Evel Knievel begins at the Ontario Motor Speedway in California. The date is Feb 28, 1971. The speedway is all but empty when a man walks onto the raceway pushing a motorcycle. A few minutes pass and a limousine pulls up and Evel Knievel (George Hamilton) steps out to begin the film proper.
Next we see Evel at a young age as the older Evel narrates his childhood antics and experiences. We quickly learn that Evel has an attraction to daredevil’s and the stunts they perform in front of large crowds. Some years pass and we see Evel in a bar telling his friends that something big is going to happen later that night. Shortly after this, he stages a fake robbery just to entertain his friends.
As the film progresses, Evel makes his first jump at a small rodeo. Two pickup trucks placed end to end, successfully I might add. Moving forward we get to see several ‘real’ jumps from old film footage. Some jumps successful, some not so successful. This is all building up to his big jump at Caesar’s Palace where he unsuccessfully completes the jump breaking nearly every bone in his body.
The Takeaway: It’s been years since I last saw Evel Knievel and honestly I remembered very little of it. With that said, it was like watching it for the first time and I have to say that I’m not entirely a fan of the film. The film itself is odd in that it focuses more on Evel’s relationship with Lynda more-so than it does his jumping career. To that, most of the film is told in flashback from Evel’s viewpoint. Lastly, this film makes Evel out to be a pompous jackass and I don’t know that to be the case. Had the film focused on his jumping career more than his relationship with Lynda it would have been far more interesting.
Film Facts: Evel Knievel was directed by Marvin J. Chomsky and written by Alan Caillou. The film was distributed by Fanfare Films and was released in September of 1971 and grossed an estimated $4M. As a director, Chomsky has 66 directorial credits on his resume and most of that work was in TV. Writer Caillou also worked in TV for the most during his career but did manage to pen the B-Movie sensation Kingdom of the Spiders (1977).
Thoughts In My Head: - George Hamilton is good look’n, and tan too - I hate seeing Evel Knievel walking with a cane, I feel sad - I love this movie, why, I have no idea - Bobby Knievel, see he did have a real name - Somehow I feel there will be no boobs or deaths in this film - Oops, I spoke too soon - Oh stop fucking crying Evel. You didn’t even know the guy - They’re making Evel out to be some sort of pompous ass - I have a feeling these doctors have worked on Evel before - Although I love and grew up with Evel Knievel, this film is a bit too slow for me - I don’t really like this movie
Favorite Badass or Badass Moment: Sorry kids, no badasses in this one Favorite Boobs or Boobs in a Scene: Sorry kids, no boobs in this one Favorite Death Scene: Only one death here and it’s extremly uneventful
Boob Count: 0 pair Body Count: 1
IMDB Rating: 5.1 / 10 My Rating: 4.0 / 10
Final Thoughts: An interesting take on the life Evel Knievel and his wife Lynda. But his stunts and daredevil career take a backseat in this one.
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The Plot: Pink Flamingos begins by introducing us to Divine (Harris Glen Milsteade) or Babs Johnson if you will. We also get to meet her son Crackers (Danny Mills), Cotton (Mary Vivian Pearce) and their fat gross mother whom sleeps in a child’s play-pen, Edie (Edith Massey). All of these miscreants live in a small pink trailer set in the middle of the woods.
Elsewhere, we meet Raymond (David Lochary) and Connie Marble (Mink Stole). We see that Raymond and Connie have just read the latest supermarket tabloid in which Divine was named the ‘Filthiest Person Alive’. This infuriates the married couple as they too are in the business of being filthy. After all, they do enslave women and in turn rape and impregnate them selling their babies nine months later to happily married lesbian couples for 5K a pop.
Back on the Divine ranch, or trailer if you will, Divine hears that the Marble’s are making a run at her new title ‘Filthiest Person Alive’. This angers Divine as she holds the title dear to her heart and will stop at nothing to keep the title, including killing the Marble’s if need be.
The Takeaway: 2013 is the year I promised myself to get more familiar with director John Waters. I had only seen two of his films prior to Pink Flamingos ( Serial Mom (1994) and Pecker (1998)) and thought that Pink Flamingos would be a good starting point for me. I had heard this film was beyond bad so I picked it up to decide for myself. In all honesty, and despite the film being a bit too long, I thoroughly enjoyed Pink Flamingos . Yes, it wreaks of low budgetness, amateurism filmmaking and at times feels slow in terms of its pace, but each character inside the film, in particular Divine and Cracker, is a lot of fun to follow. If you haven’t seen Pink Flamingos , I’ll warn you of a few things you’ll see, or may not want to see. There’s a rather violent sex scene with a willing woman, a chicken and Divine’s son, Cracker. There’s a man who gets naked to talk through his asshole (up close with cock and balls included). You’ll also experience Divine giving head to her son Cracker. Last but not least, and to prove that Divine is indeed the ‘Filthiest Person Alive’, you’ll get to see her/him eat actual dog feces.
Film Facts: Pink Flamingos was written, produced, photographed and directed by John Waters. It’s original release date was March 17 1972. It was said to have had a budget of $10K and to this day has grossed $7M worldwide through multiple distribution outlets. I could go on and on about John Waters and his influence on filmmakers to follow, but I won’t. Just Google the man to get caught up on his history of filmmaking. I will say that Pink Flamingos was one of those “handful of films” that defined the midnight movie scene in the 70s. It was the film that replaced El Topo (1970 – Alejandro Jodorowksy’s drug infused western) and would later be replaced by the incredible The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).
Thoughts In My Head: - 1:47 left to go, oh, wait… - Divine is sexy, she, he, or whatever, must have been breast fed by mum - Would you ever name a kid ‘noodles’ - This must be the first lesbian adoption ever - Divine could lighten up on the make-up - Whoooa buddy, I didn’t need to see your cock and balls - There’s too much cock in this film - This pink trailer has clear plastic sheets for windows, classy - There are plenty of disgusting people in this film, but Edie takes the cake, or should I say the egg - OK, I didn’t need to see the inside of this guys asshole, or his cock and balls for that matter - UGG, I didn’t need to see Divine suck her sons cock - Divine’s red dress is stunning - Please don’t eat that dog shit, DAMMIT, I said please…
Favorite Badass or Badass Moment: Sorry kids, no badasses in this one Favorite Boobs or Boobs in a Scene: I love boobs, but there’s nothing attractive in this one Favorite Death Scene: The Marble’s
Boob Count: 3 pair Body Count: 7
IMDB Rating: 5.9 / 10 My Rating: 6.0 / 10
Final Thoughts: Pink Flamingos won’t be for everyone. The film is chock full or perverse sexual acts, complete lunacy and a drag queen you’ll soon not forget. With that, this may be the very reason you need to see Pink Flamingos. I say live life on the edge today, go pick it up!
The Plot: Gummo begins by showing us a small tornado stricken town somewhere in Ohio. We see torn littered streets, foundations missing houses and are introduced to a handful of young degenerates running around unsupervised in the streets doing what they want.
Next we meet Tummler (Nick Sutton) and Solomon (Jacob Reynolds) as they’re riding their bicycles looking for cats to kill. It appears they have some sort of kill code as they don’t kill house cats, but only kill feral cats. We then learn that the killings are for cash and and in turn for payment of prostitution, prostitution from a down syndrome prostitute whom is being whored out by her older brother.
As the film continues, it begins to string together scene after scene of interview style segments that in turn show us how people in this small town spend their time. Much of this time is sitting around describing stories about the bad things that have occurred to them. In a nutshell, Gummo follows both Tummler and Solomon and their antics growing up in a town ridden with poverty.
The Takeaway: Gummo is a docudrama style film that follows the residents of a small impoverished town somewhere in Ohio. While you can consider both Sutton and Reynolds leads in the film, there doesn’t seem to be any sort of cohesive plot here. It literally goes from one degenerate scene to the next showing us what happens when you have way to much time on your hands with no parental supervision. Despite the films content, in particular the animal cruelty, it’s a well made film that flows nicely and each scene of depravity feels very, very real.
Film Facts: Gummo was written and directed by Harmony Korin. It was distributed by Fine Line Features and was released in August of 1997. The films budget was said to have been 1.3M and grossed an embarrassing 17K upon release. Prior to this film, Korin penned the film KIDS (1995). KIDS is similar in style and nature to Gummo but tackles an all together different subject matter, though there are similarities in content with Gummo . About the only performer in Gummo to move on to other things successfully, was Chloe Sevigny. Sevigny went on to appear in films such as Boys Don’t Cry (1999), American Psycho (2000) and Zodiac (2007) to name a few.
Thoughts In My Head: - You have a lump in your titty… - How nice, these guys don’t kill house cats - Solomon has amazing hair - Wow, the mullets in this film are spectacular - A gay, black, midget, not something you see every day - Most who watch this film will certainly have issues with the cat killings - Props to the kid for wanting to be clean, but fuck me, look at that bath water - Dinner time, yes, in the dirty ass bathtub no less - Don’t buy candy from these kids, they’re liars! - Have some dessert, a chocolate candy bar dropped in the dirty ass bathtub water - Oh shit, Bunny Boy you’re the man!
Favorite Badass or Badass Moment: Sorry kids, no badasses in this one Favorite Boobs or Boobs in a Scene: Dot (Chloe Sevigny is so cute) Favorite Death Scene: Sorry kids, no deaths in this one
Boob Count: 2 pair Body Count: 0
IMDB Rating: 6.2 / 10 My Rating: 6.5 / 10
Final Thoughts: Gummo won’t sit well with most people due to the animal cruelty in the film. And while the missing plot is an issue with me, it’s a really well made film and a film that makes you think twice about the impoverished areas in this fine country we live in and the effects this has on the people living in those areas.
The Plot: The World’s Greatest Sinner begins by introducing us to Clarence Hilliard (Timothy Carey) and the rest of his loving family as they frolic atop a horse around the families yard. This introduction is done by the golden voice of Paul Frees whom is slithering around on the ground in the form of a serpent. The following day while at work, Clarence gives all of his employees the day off. He then tells his boss that he’s tired of the insurance game.
Once fired, Clarence heads home and informs his wife of what transpired that day. We also see that Clarence is very lost in terms of where his life is headed. Clarence then heads out for a night on the town and discovers music. This inspires him to learn to play the guitar and to hit the streets to start his campaign to become GOD and preach about eternal life as he’s formed a new political party called “The Eternal Man’s Party”.
Once sitting down with his small group of followers, in turn, they become his campaign organizers and advisers, they set a plan in place to create the new political party and for Clarence to run for President. Clarence then goes on the campaign trail where he speaks publicly in order to further his cause. He also throws small rock concerts to appease his followers and ends up sleeping with multiple women along the way.
The Takeaway: The World’s Greatest Sinner is truly a one of a kind film and until recently was a film that was difficult to get your hands on (now available via iTunes). It stars character actor Timothy Carey and is about a man who wants more out of life, a man who wants to change his life, a man who wants to be GOD and a man who wants to become President. Now, with that said, and despite the strong screen presence of Timothy Carey, the film is all over the place in terms of plot, direction, editing, pacing and cinematography. In fact, you might say that the film as a whole is rather inept upon seeing it for the first time. However, the film somehow works in terms of what it’s trying to say. This is in large part due to Timothy Carey and his ability to command every scene he’s in (and he’s in nearly every scene). In wrapping this up I’ll say this, if the part of GOD Hilliard in The World’s Greatest Sinner were played by anyone other than Timothy Carey, it would have been a complete wash. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, the man’s voice and his sheer physical presence could have given Christopher Lee a run for his money in any of the Hammer films Lee found himself in. In particular, the role of Dracula Lee played so often. It’s a shame this never happened.
Film Facts: The World’s Greatest Sinner is produced, written, directed and stars Timothy Carey. According to Wikipedia, The World’s Greatest Sinner has never seen a proper release and was considered an underground film that never sprouted the legs required to take it anywhere. The films score was composed by a very young Frank Zappa whom later called it “the worst film ever made” (un-rightfully so in my opinion). As a character actor for most of his career, Timothy Carey can be seen in numerous film and TV productions ranging from the years 1951 to 1990. That’s nearly 40 years in the sometimes rough and tough business of Hollywood. I could go on and on about the talented Timothy Carey as I grew up watching the man on so many TV shows of the 60s, 70s and 80s (many of these in re-runs). Instead, I’ll point you in the direction of The Timothy Carey Experience where Marisa Young keeps his name and memory alive on a daily basis through her amazing Timothy Carey Experience blog.
Thoughts In My Head: - No… Clarence… you’re not gonna make it with that old lady are you? - Thats it Clarence, grow a beard, that will get you elected - As Clarence, Timothy Carey puts it all on the line in terms of his acting performance - Boy, GOD is a horny devil isn’t he (somehow that sounds so wrong) - GOD Hilliard might be going off his rocker! - The very thing Clarence wanted to become has destroyed him as a man
Favorite Badass or Badass Moment: Sorry kids, no badasses in this one Favorite Boobs or Boobs in a Scene: Sorry kids, no boobs in this one Favorite Death Scene: Sorry kids, no deaths in this one
Boob Count: 0 pair Body Count: 0
IMDB Rating: 6.7 / 10 My Rating: 4.0 / 10
Final Thoughts: The World’s Greatest Sinner wont be for everyone as it’s a film that’s rough around the edges in terms of its production and filmmaking qualities. However, Timothy Carey makes the film more than watchable as his passion for making this film and performing in it, really shines. In my opinion, that goes a long way if wanting to watch The World’s Greatest Sinner .
As a side-bar to EP18: Bad Taste in District 9 of the Badasses, Boobs and Body Counts.com Podcast with guest Mike White of the Projection Booth (dropping on 12/28/12), I present you with these two archived interviews.
These two interviews with Pete O’Herne and Mike Minett where conducted by myself (Mike Murphy) in late 2001 when the Anchor Bay special edition Bad Taste DVD was released.
On a recent trip to New Zealand, I was lucky enough to run into Pete O’Herne of Bad Taste . Pete agreed to sit down for a spell and conduct an interview on Bad Taste .
Here’s how things went…
Mike Murphy: What did you do for a living during the four-year period it took to shoot the film?
Pete O’Herne: Whoa that’s an easy one to answer, I was working for a government department. At the time it was called the Ministry of Transport, it was a dead-ender that managed to pay the bills. So if Pete needed me through the week, I didn’t have too much of a crisis or conscience when it came to throwing a sick day. But even then it was all wrapped up in great times and great people.
Mike Murphy: What about now? Are you at the same job or have you moved on to other things?
Pete O’Herne: No, it was all kind of weird. Bad Taste was finished in 87 and I got married in 88. Then the Govt. department was changing big time, and in 89 I injured my back and I went on ACC which is a kind of benefit for injured people here. I left work in January of 89 and haven’t worked since. Then in 2000 ACC had a change of policy and I was unable to stay on it. But it was ok as I decided to sign up at a gym and rehab the injuries myself, and it seems ok. Pete asked me if I wanted to work on the various films he made over the years but because of the situation I was unable to.
Mike Murphy: Outside of Bad Taste , have you done any other work in the film industry? If so, what?
Pete O’Herne: Unfortunately no, but that in itself has been because I don’t think the time was right in the industry. Growing up with Pete we were fans of the old school style of films and as such our subject matter or style was not really acceptable to the trends of the nineties. I submitted a few scripts at the time but they were turned down due to the fact they were UN-filmable or not within the genre required. But to me, what goes around comes around and if certain genres are not in place it creates a desire to have them back at some stage. I get a lot of people who say to me that they don’t make films like that any more, and these are just teens.
Mike Murphy: How did Bad Taste come about? Was it Peter’s idea, or was it collaboration amongst friends?
Pete O’Herne: Pete Came up with the idea for what ended up as Bad Taste . I remember we were filming a movie over in Pauatahanui (pronounced as Pawatahanooee) and I was dressed as a zombie. It was about the end of the days filming when Pete said, “You know, it would be cool to shoot a battle scene where these S.A.S. guys raid a house and rescue someone”.
I think it was at that time we stopped filming the Zombie one and Pete concentrated on what became Bad Taste . After the initial concept, Pete welcomed any ideas that would enhance the film. I have to say that we were all fans of the entertainment industry having grown up with Pete it was easy to share his desire to make films. If Pete wasn’t where he is today, I am sure we would all still be out there every weekend filming. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Mike Murphy: S.A.S? Could you explain?
Pete O’Herne: S.A.S stands for Special Air Services Squadron. Kind of like a military S.W.A.T. team. We liked the military style rescue and decided to make the short film that ended up being Bad Taste .
Mike Murphy: You have a couple of different credits in the film, one being a camera operator, what exactly did this entail?
Pete O’Herne: Pete would sometimes be just the director or he was in the shot as either Robert or Derek and it was either Ken or me who would operate the camera. A lot of the times when Robert was hanging upside down I was the dude filming him, those clifftop scenes were quite exhilarating to say the least. Also there were scenes there where Ken had to double as Robert as Pete played Derek, so some of the long shots I was filming. Other times Pete would ask me to film while he was offside setting up the scene.
Mike Murphy: You’re also credited as being a 3rd class alien. In which scenes can you be seen as an alien in?
Pete O’Herne: I am in quite a few scenes as various aliens. One of the aliens I play is the alien who gets his guts sliced open on the deck. I had to wear a fake stomach that Pete made with the entrails exposed. Wow to be honest, its been a while and I am not sure who I am in there anymore… HaHaHaHaHaHa! But I was in a lot of shots that didn’t make the final cut simply because Pete had a load of footage for the film. He has over 9 hours of out takes… teehee
Mike Murphy: When shooting Bad Taste did you or the crew ever think it would turn out to be a cult horror flick? In other words, did you know something special was happening?
Pete O’Herne: Well, I remember that we would joke about it as we were filming. Pete would joke “hey we are all going to be famous and there will be people outside our houses with lit candles”. That’s what it was like when filming. We were big fans of horror comedy and sci-fi and fantasy films. We wanted to be a part of it, but to be honest I never really questioned Pete’s abilities. I always went over to his place and did so since I was about 9 and it was a great time. I will always look back on those times as being special.
Mike Murphy: What was your reaction after seeing the edited film for the first time?
Pete O’Herne: A lot of what we did was out of sequence, so when I watched the film in its entirety for the first time I totally suspended the fact I was in it and enjoyed the film as a fan. The icing on the cake came when we showed it to the public and the film was greeted with cheers and standing ovations.
Mike Murphy: Can you put to rest the rumors of Bad Taste not having a script?
Pete O’Herne: Well I know for a fact that Pete would go over what he planned to do a few days in advance. Pete would quite literally be planning the following weeks filming, while we were shooting. A lot of Bad Taste was ad-libed on the day, but we didn’t just go out there and go, ok, what shall we do It was more of a plan that would change as we went along or quite simply we came up with ways of doing things better while we were there, as I say, what is in the final cut is kind of a drop in the ocean to a lot of what we did. Any lines I had were always thought out way before, by Pete. The film was shot on silent camera and Pete kept a record of what we said so we could do voice over later. I do have a script here though
Mike Murphy: Well, that ends that rumor Ok, the film was shot without sound, are the voice-overs yours and the rest of the crews?
Pete O’Herne: Oh yea that’s us all right. We went into the studio and did all the voice-overs in one sitting. Took most of the night though. I was in the booth with Pete as we were doing the dialogue from Barry to Derek. The sound techs were getting a little frustrated with us tho as we couldn’t stop laughing or making jokes, we were always doing that tho. When it was time for one of us to be serious, the other would be off scene trying to make the other laugh. Like my wedding day, I asked Pete to video it for me and he did, and I was nervous as hell, because there he is in the distance trying to make me laugh. HAHAHAHAHA. I’d also like to add, all other cast members contributed with their own voices with the exception of Doug Wren, Lord Crumb. Doug became sick and was unable to work in the studio. So Peter Ver-Jones did the voice over for the Alien leader.
Mike Murphy: Was Kaihoro an actual town? If so, was this the town we see in the film? If not, what town do we see in the film?
Pete O’Herne: Actually, the fictional town of Kaihoro was made up of a few towns. The name of Kaihoro (pronounced K eye horror) means in the indigenous people’s names “To Eat Hungrily” a gag Pete put in. Where Derek is up on the clifftop looking down, this was filmed in Pukerua (Pookeerooahh) Bay. The scene where I am walking around the deserted town was shot through a weekday when everybody was at work, that town was called Makara (Mackarrahh). The shot of the road sign where you see the name Kaihoro and Castlerock were fake, this was Pete’s tribute to Stephen King, too which we are fans of.
Those road signs were a hoot! We put them up, did the filming, then took them down and went home. Halfway down the street the cops pulled us over, they had a report from a concerned citizen saying that a group of guys were stealing road signs. HAHAHAHAHA, Pete worked it all out though.
Mike Murphy: Speaking of cliff top scenes, Derek falling from the cliff-side has to be one of the best, non CG falls ever put to film. Where did the mannequin come from, how did you guys manage such a convincing fall, and was this shot using more than one camera?
Pete O’Herne: Pete made the Derek dummy; he made it out of aluminum tubing and sobo rubber, and of course a head of Pete. The dummy was made in a crouching position, for the gag as he falls, he makes like squeaky toy noises as he falls. It was quite a difficult scene to shoot and I am sure that Pete has all the outtakes. But basically we had to let the dummy roll with his own body shape, unfortunately the dummy would get caught up in shrub only a small way down so we had to climb down and retrieve it, bring it back up and try again.
On one of the takes that worked, the dummy went way down the bank and there was no way we could climb all the way down to get it. So we walked back down through the reserve where we were filming, then walked through Pukerua Bay then down to the beach to about the position where we let the dummy fall. Of course we were way at the bottom of the cliff and the dummy was still way up there, so we got Ken to climb up and throw it the rest of the way down. But that didn’t really work either as there was so much shrubbery (I sound like Monty Python now) that the dummy got caught all the time. We had my Walkie-Talkies on me so we were able to talk with Ken while he was up the cliff side.
But in the end, Pete had to film it in three or four scenes as a progression of falling. The final shot just before the Derek dummy crashes to the rocks was filmed on a giant rock down on the beach. The dummy was thrown off and halfway down the frame for the dummy broke and gave the appearance of Derek twisting uncontrollably as he crashes. All of this was filmed on the one camera, which was the Bolex, and we didn’t really know how it looked till we saw the developed film, which looked great.
Mike Murphy: What was the Gruel made out of?
Pete O’Herne: The Gruel was made of Muesli, green food coloring, yogurt and frozen vegetables. Some of the guys said it tasted ok too
Mike Murphy: Who’s Capri (the car) did they blow up?
Pete O’Herne: The Capri was Mike Minett’s, he was very proud of the car and Terry who played Ozzy liked Holden’s. They were always razzin each other about Ford’s or Holden’s. So Pete worked the joke in the film. And the car that was blown up was a cleverly disguised Datsun. Teehee
Mike Murphy: Is Peter Jackson a lot of fun to work with, or in reality is he a manipulative, dominating, slave driver?
Pete O’Herne: Pete was and always will be a mate! He is a load of fun too work with. He is a big fan of Monty Python and he has a warped sense of humor. So it was only fitting that we got on with each other. As I say I knew him since we were kids so we were doing all this before Bad Taste even happened. Very funny times
Mike Murphy: Do you still stay in touch with the rest of the boys? You know Terry Potter, Craig Smith, Mike Minett and Peter Jackson?
Pete O’Herne: Oooh yea, I speak with Craig and Mike all the time and Terry rings or stops in. Pete, I spoke with in ‘99 but with LOTR in the works it was difficult to get in touch. But we usually hook up sooner or later…..
Mike Murphy: Alright Pete, one final question! Have you seen the new Anchor Bay Bad Taste DVD? If so, what are your thoughts?
Pete O’Herne: I have it here but haven’t managed to watch it yet. But the feedback is that Anchor Bay did a great job restoring it. Anchor Bay were good to deal with too, and they were very keen to have commentary but it didn’t come too fruition because of the time span when they finally tracked us down. Also with Pete who said he would have loved to do commentary but was too busy to get anything together because of his of LOTR commitments.
Mike Murphy: It has truly been a pleasure taking with you. It’s not often we get to sit down with a so-called horror icon, and yes, I consider you and the rest of the cast members horror icons, to talk about old memories and good times. From the sound of it, you and everyone else, had a great time making Bad Taste , I envy you.
Pete O’Herne: Thanks, Mike, for allowing me to talk about those times. Indeed it was a great experience. Not just with Bad Taste but with all the growing up with Pete too. We had great fun all the way. Thanks also for the title of Horror icon! It’s what we were all about. We loved and still love the genre. If we weren’t out there making the films, we were running off to watch them… great fun
While in New Zealand visiting with my friend Pete O’Herne, I managed to stop by the Wellington Newspaper and catch up with Mike Minett. I caught Mike snacking on a bowl of gruel and decided to spend a few minutes talking with him about his role in Bad Taste .
Mike Minett: Well, Pete Jackson, Terry and I all worked at Wellington newspapers during that period. I think Pete left work so he could concentrate on the film and Terry went to Aussie for a while. I have stayed here ever since. I had a wife and kid, so I had to pay the bills and nothing else came up so I stayed (which I think now…was a good choice).
Mike Minett: I was on the local TV news the other night when LOTR opened in Wellington. All of 30 seconds hahahaha! We all waited for Bad Taste 2 to come along but it never did? I recorded a few songs for Ray Battersbyes album but that’s about all I have done. Still waiting for “Hollywood” to call (yeah right)
Mike Murphy: What about outside of your main character “Frank”, which 3rd class alien(s) did you play in the film, as credited?
Mike Minett: Oooooh! That’s a hard one. We all put on the old blue shirts and got shot at some stage. Ya might not know this but that was me and Terry playing “patter cake” in the room just before Ozzy opens fire in the house. And that was me falling out from behind the barrel when we peppered it with pistol fire. There must have been others but I can’t remember. HEY I DID all the shooting… hahaha at least I didn’t have to dress up in those ghastly alien suits
Mike Murphy: And what about your credit as part of the “Film Crew” what did this entail?
Mike Minett: Well the “crew” did everything we could to help. We all carried stuff around, played aliens, shot some film, went and got lunch down at the “Pukerua Bay” fish and chip shop. ANYTHING! Whatever was needed to be done we did it.
Mike Murphy: Something we’re all dying to know, was the gruel actually good? After all, it looks like you enjoyed drinking it.
Mike Minett: It was late at night and I don’t think we’d eaten all day so when I came to drink it, it tasted ok … Could’ve been warmer, and I didn’t get a chunky bit… It was only Meusli, so it was ok, haha!
Mike Murphy: Could you explain what Meusli is for us American folk?
Mike Minett: Meusli is a mixture of breakfast grains (like porridge) which you have in a bowl and pour milk over then eat. Very healthy… So we had this “Meusli” and some food colouring and some frozen peas all mixed up. To get the “steamy” effect, I blew cigarette smoke over the bowl while filming
Mike Murphy: Lets talk about the films music score, in particular Bad Taste . Was this something composed specifically for the film, or something that was already written?
Mike Minett: This is one thing I am proud of. Pete wanted Beatle music but they wouldn’t let him use it, so I said to Tony Hiles and Pete “Hey, if I can write a good tune will you use it?” and they said “yeah”. So I went home and wrote Bad Taste in about half an hour, dubbed it onto a four track and played them that, they said “ok” go, go, go.
I was rapt to go into the studio and record it. When it came time for my vocals the guys in the control room were like “awww man GET A SINGER” hahahaha, but I stayed on the finished track thanks to the great backing vocals of the “girls”
Mike Murphy: On the same topic, who are the Remnants? As they’re credited with performing the song for the film.
Mike Minett: The REMNANTZ is really Dave Hamilton (guitars) and I. We played together a lot with a drum machine. Suman was our drummer but was never around when we needed him, for different reasons? We used to open for MadLight gigs, and sort of “roadie” for them, Madlight and the REMNANTZ were very close. We used to go onstage with our drum machine and people would yell out “GET A DRUMMER”. I got sick of that so I started saying “oh our drummer crashed on the way to the gig and couldn’t make it” – THAT SHUT THEM UP hahahahahahah!
Mike Murphy: This is probably something I should save for a Peter Jackson interview, but hell, I’ll ask you, any idea at all where PJ got the “WingNut Films” name from?
Mike Minett: Not really. But I always thought it was named after a rabbit I took to work in a box one day, which I’d named “wingnut”. Pete was there then, I’m sure he got it off that. I would really like to know WHERE he got it from though.
Mike Murphy: I’ve always been a Chevy Vega man, but also loved Capri’s, was that your actual car used in the film? If so, did it have a V6 in it? (odd question, I know)
Mike Minett: Not so odd mate, it was a V6 but Pete overdubbed a V8 sound on it, hahahahahahahaha, what a guy eh! And yeah it was my car but I had just sold it too DAVE H on the condition that he turned up at filming when we needed it. That’s how He got some dying parts in the movie. Terry wanted to use HIS car but I won cause mine was BETTER than Terry’s heap O’ s$%^, hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Mike Murphy: Always taking a poke at Terry aren’t ya? That’s what good friends are for I say! – When invading the house, or should I say the ship? was it midnight or ten to six in the morning? You go in at night and come out during the day. (Another odd question, I know, but I’m curious about the watch synchronization scene where the wrist watches show two different times. Could be PJ added that scene after seeing the night/day difference)
Mike Minett: I don’t think Pete cared about that, I think he was just pulling ya leg… The watch scene was MEANT to be wrong to make people laugh. Two different times, and one guy WITH NO WATCH AT ALL hahah. Pete was just cracking a funny. All through the film the “continuity” is wrong. Different socks, hairstyles, and in one scene I had a black eye from a party the night before so we could only shoot me on one side (my bad side) haha!
Mike Murphy: I laugh every time I see the scene with the watches! What was your reaction after seeing the edited film for the first time?
Mike Minett: The first time we all saw it was at the premier in Wellington. We had not seen the WHOLE movie… Well, it BLEW ME AWAY. I thought WOW, this is gonna go somewhere. People were cheering and clapping WHEWWW! I thought, here we go… But although the film is a classic cult movie we are still paying bills hahahaha!
Mike Murphy: Ok, Mike, one last question for you. Have you seen the new Anchor Bay Bad Taste DVD? If so, what are your thoughts?
Mike Minett: YEAH I got sent a copy (thanks anchorbay!) and I thought WOW this is REALLY good man. I love the packaging and I had a scroll through the movie and it looked so cool. I watched the doco for the first time in years and was impressed. 10 out of 10 I say!
Mike Murphy: Mike, I appreciate the time you’ve taken to answer these questions. So many of us have come to love the film, and the character you portray in it. Like many others, I keep Bad Taste at the top of my list when wanting to show people what a cult horror film is. Thanks for being in Bad Taste !
Mike Minett: YO!!!!! thank you my man!!!!!!!
RT @ ThePhantomErik : Badasses. Boobs. Body Counts. What more do you need in your films? badassesboobsandbodycounts.com @ digitalhorror 20 hours ago
@ TheJesseb83 the truth hurts! 21 hours ago
RT @ TheJesseb83 : @ digitalhorror ............................ Sigh. I will pretend I did not read those Cabin comments. LOL. 21 hours ago
My ★★★½ review of The Cabin in the Woods (2012) on @ letterboxd : boxd.it/1cYWx 21 hours ago
RT @ Brakywaki : [My Twt Best Fans] @ teh_tommy @ BigMaki @ CyraxSA @ digitalhorror @ TTBF @ Stevarow @ BMFcast twitpic.com/cqv125 via http://t.… 21 hours ago
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