Lloyd Kaufman: The CFQ Interview

Llody Kaufman, channeling his inner Ed Wood.
Lloyd Kaufman, channeling his inner Ed Wood.

For close to forty years, the New York-based studio Troma has been a perverse, gory thumb in the eye of all that’s staid and safe in mainstream Hollywood. It’s co-founder Lloyd Kaufman has built a fan-base by directing such twisted, low-budget epics as THE TOXIC AVENGER, CLASS OF NUKE ‘EM HIGH, TROMEO AND JULIET and POULTRYGEIST, as well as distributing films with such indelible titles as SURF NAZIS MUST DIE.
Lloyd and I go way back — he was my first assignment for Cinefantastique, back when he was directing TOXIC AVENGER PART II, and with each step in my career, I’ve checked in with him to get his take on the state of the art. I was happy to reconnect with him for the show, to hear what he’s up to at Troma’s present digs in NYC’s Long Island City production nexus, and get some idea of how an indie outfit built on the bedrock principles of more boobs, more blood can make a way for itself in the current, cord-cutting media environment.

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