Product Description

In 25 years, Lloyd Kaufman has built up TromaStudios into a legendary production studio,responsible for such camp cult classics as TheToxic Avenger and Class of Nuke Em High. Now,Kaufman takes his independent studio style offilmmaking and puts it in the reader's hands,showing them how to: develop and write a knockoutscreenplay; raise funds for production; findlocations and cast actors, crew, equipment,permits and music rights; cheap but incrediblespecial effects; and make a bad actor act sobadly, they're good.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #203640 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

Brilliant! But then again... it's from TROMA, of course!
Winner of the lifetime achievement award for his body of work and important contribution to the filmindustry at this years's prestigious Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, Lloyd Kaufman is a genius making masterpieces on a budget that would barely be enough to pay for one day's catering on an average Hollywood producton and he does it for thirty years now. In a world where low budget independent filmmaking means manymultimillion dollar productions by subdivisions of Warner and Disney, Lloyd Kaufman survived for three decades (and counting) with his truly independent filmcompany Troma and in doing so directed, produced and/or wrote dozens of brilliant films (plus distributed hundreds more works that would otherwise have been totally neglected) without which the world would be an even less happy place! Heck - his work provided loads of "inspiration" (i.e. rips-off-ism) for the big ones who simply aren't creative enough to come up with their own masterpieces.
Want to know how he does it? Interested in learning from his expertise making true art and surviving in an industry that is almost entirely taken over by those big conglomerates? Need to know how you can make your own film you have been dreaming about for so long, but felt discouraged by the way the world has turned out to be? READ HIS BRILLIANT BOOK "MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE"! If there is one person alive (or dead, but they usually don't say too much to begin with) who can actually tell you how to overwin all possible obstacles you might -and will- encounter realising your plans, it is Lloyd Kaufman. He has lived it, he is still doing it, and every film he makes is better than the previous one, even while the problems are getting bigger.
Kaufman does not only tell you HOW you can go about making your own damn movie, reading this book his enthousiasm about the art of filmmaking may even get you encouraged to do so even if you didn't have any such plans at all. Apart from that, there are loads of anecdotes from his thirty-plus years in the business and he is one of the most entertaining, witty and funny writers I have ever encountered.
Footnotes, additional info and insight in how rewarding working with Lloyd can be (and how good his pay is) are provided by some of those other Troma-people he collaborated, like co-writer/assistant-director on Kaufman's latest masterpiece CITIZEN TOXIE: THE TOXIC AVENGER IV, Trent Haaga and others.
For those who want to learn about the business, for those who want to know about Troma and the filmindustry from the inside, and for those who want to have a damn good time reading, this book is an absolute MUST. I found it to be unputdownable and like his previous book "ALL I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FILMMAKING I LEARNED FROM THE TOXIC AVENGER" I am sure I will read it many more times. So don't rent it, don't borrow it, but support independent cinema and buy this one. It's a damn good value for your bucks (probably as much as buying the action- and extra's packed brilliant region-free double DVD-set of CITIZEN TOXIE)!!

Most Inavaluable. Literally.
This latest pile of entertaining information from El Tromatique Presidente Senior Kaufman is an invaluable resource for the aspiring (and perspiring) everyday independent film maker.

From scriptwriting to auditioning, filming to editing and vomiting to head-crushing, "Make Your Own Damn Movie" soars above anything Syd Field ever wrote on the subject and will surely grace the back pocket of every film student for years to come.

The most prominent and stand-out feature in the book is Kaufman's witty repartee - a marvellous textual raconteur with an eye for deep description. "Make Your Own Damn Movie" even soars above and beyond Kaufman's previous effort "Everything I Need to Know About Film Making I Learned from the Toxic Avenger" - providing a more rigid and cohesive structure on his subject in a more "How-To" kind of a way: something which will be infinitely helpful to those who wish to avoid inevitable dangers of their next production.

Consider a full FIVE PAGE war between Kaufman himself and Troma regular Trent Haaga argue over film and video and which is the better format to shoot on: a war which certainly outlines both the pros and cons of such formats but also develops (or is that deteriorates?) into an all-out personal war! This is true nitty gritty stuff from the team who take pride in satarizing retarded kids shooting each other up Columbine-style.

Overall, MYODM is essential reading for the more serious wannabe film maker or even those with an interesting in the subject and are simply up for a curious giggle on how Troma make their stuff:- it's an excellent starter's guide for beginners and a timeless definitive, if a little disgusting, recap for those already in the know.

Andrew Mackay.

damn movie was amazing!
This book is not only very informative, but also an extremely fun read. as a film studies student i read many texts on the subject of filmmaking and most of them are very droll and hard to get through, using complex film terms and language most of us won't understand. This book does not, it is written for everyone and contains useful advice and entertaining anecdotes. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to go out and make films, and also to anyone who loves Troma, and wants to know more about Lloyd and the workings of his great company!
Can't wait for the next one!