Cult movie lovers rejoice as there's a new three-part documentary series set to scratch every conceivable itch you've got!Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Timewas a true passion project for producer Paul Fishbein, whose credits include Showtime'sSubmission,Sex with Sunny Megatron, and the two-parterX-Rated: The Greatest Adult Movies of All TimeandX-Rated 2: The Greatest Adult Stars of All Time. This new three-part series features—to crib from Louis B. Mayer—more stars than there are in the heavens talking about some of the greatest, weirdest, most hilarious, most heartwarming, and most infamous movies ever made.
Following April'sVol. 1: Midnight Madnessand last month's Vol. 2: Horror Sci-Fi, June 23 sees the release of Vol. 3: Comedy Camp, featuring some of the funniest, craziest, zaniest, campiest, most far-out flicks of all time. It is available to stream right nowviaiTunesandFandango Now!
All the heavy hitters of thecomedy andcamp genres are here fromMonty Python and the Holy GrailandFast Times at Ridgemont Highto Showgirls and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. However,Fishbein and director Danny Wolf also pull some deep cuts with smaller, but no less rabid and devoted fan bases from Valley Girland Kingpinto Eating Raoul and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. In other words, if you think you've seen and heard every story there is to tell about these films, you're in for the surprise of your life!
Everyone from directors like Amy Heckerling, Martha Coolidge, Kevin Smith, and Mike Judge to the stars of the films like John Cleese, Gina Gershon, P.J. Soles, and Mary Woronov is here chatting about their experiences making these films, watching them get dismissed, and then finally finding the love they so deeply deserved all along. Therearesome pretty legendary stories here about how Cheap Trick was almost the band in Rock 'n' Roll High School, how one eager test audience member desired "more muff" in Fast Times, and the apparatus used to make Vanessa Angel's breasts fight Woody Harrelson in Kingpin.
Once again, the four-person panel headed by Joe Dante (Gremlins) is on hand to shoot the breeze and give some crucial context to these films, withIlleana Douglas, Kevin Pollak, and John Waters helping him to set the table in the glorious fashion. Coupled with talking head interviews from the film's directors, Hollywood luminaries, and highly respected film critics like David Edelstein and Amy Nicholson, it makes for comprehensive and entertaining viewing from beginning to end.
Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time Vol. 3—Comedy Campis available to stream now viaiTunesandFandango Now, and you can prepare yourself to experience it by checking out thefinal part of our three-part interview with Paul Fishbein below. Click here to read part 1 and Click here to read part 2!
Thrustin Hoffman: Porky’s vs Fast Times at Ridgemont High is one of the biggest cultural dividing lines of the early 80s. Why do you think Universal essentially tried to bury Fast Times when in the immediate wake of Porky’s it could have been huge?
Paul Fishbein: Amy Heckerling said that Universal felt it was more aregional movie, more tailored to the California audience and that the people in the midwest and east wouldn’tget it. Obviously they were over-thinking it.
TH: Is Amy Heckerling’s “More muff” comment the best test screening comment you’ve ever heard?
PF: Yes, Amy is also one of the bestinterview subjects we encountered. She is funny, forthright andknowledgeable.
TH: How different do you think Rock 'n' Roll High School would’ve been with Cheap Trick instead of The Ramones?
PF: Without the Ramones, it’s not the same movie. I meanCheapTrickmight have been funny but The Ramones were a spectacular choice.
TH: Do you think it’s any small coincidence that some of the best and most beloved high school movies of the 80s, like Fast TimesValley Girl, were directed by women?
PF:It makes no sense that we have to even think about the fact that those two films were directed by women. That so few studio films in general were directed by women is adisgrace in it itself. Amy went on to doClueless, anotherterrific comedy that became a cultural phenomenon. Ijust neverunderstood the mentality of not having those female voices. Hopefully that’schanging, but ever so slowly.
TH: Is there a story behind John Gries (Napoleon Dynamite's Uncle Rico and Real Genius' Hollyfeld) and that parrot who was present with him during his interview?
PF: It looks like John’s parrot goeseverywhere with him. The parrot was great, but only a few lines.
TH: What is it about Mike Judge’s movies that they don’t catch on immediately because Office Space and Idiocracy both bombed in theaters but are now amongst the most beloved movies? Is it the curse of being ahead of his time?
PF: I have no explanation whyOffice Space took so long to catch on. Maybe that it’s too subtle andunderstatedfor a general audience at first. Idon’t know. But I do agree that Office Space was ahead of its time and things like The Office did capitalize on the popularity of Office Space.
TH: It seems like every time we get talk about these docs, we’ve lost another legend that you interviewed and this time around it was Fred Willard. Any good Fred stories that didn’t make it into the movie?
PF: That sucked. Fred Willard was a comic genius.We had a lot of fun at his house the day we were there. We could have usedanother 10 minutes of sound bites from him and it would not have gotten boring. Maybe we’llrelease the outtakes at some time. He was just one long running commentary. And a really nice guy. So sad to see him gone.
TH: Maybe it’s because I was a theatre kid and Waiting for Guffman was such a huge cultural touchstone for people in my circle, but why did youshowcaseBest in Show instead of Guffman?
PF: I think both Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman are cult films and we had them both on the list. It was just a matter of picking one for time reasons and we would have been happy either way. I think it was the Fred Willard factor that made thedecision for us….the fact that hiscommentary in Best in Show is so classic and we had theopportunity to talk to him about it.
TH: I’m of the opinion that Kingpin is the greatest comedy of the 1990s and it’s nice to see it getting love here. It’s also great to see Vanessa Angel is still drop dead gorgeous. I’m not sure there’s a question here, but I just wanted to say thank you for including one of my all-time favorite movies.
PF:You know else was happy we picked Kingpin? Peter Farrelly.People really only want to talk to him about There’s Something About Mary and hewas pleased we saw the greatness of Kingpin.This was right before Green Book came out and we had him at the very right time. And Vanessa is asweetheart….just know that.
TH:I loved seeing Dolly Read, Erica Gavin, Marcia McBroom, and John LaZar talking Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Is there a chance there’s enough footage of just the four of them to make a full doc just about that flick?
PF:Iwould love to do a doc on Beyond the Valleyof the Dolls. And Ithink we could interview everyone again but without Russ or Roger Ebert around, I think it might lacksomething important. Goodthought though.
TH: Do you agree that the world owes everyone involved with the making of Showgirls an apology?
PF: I am not one of thosepeople who thought Showgirls was the worst film ever. I also don’t think it’s great either. I think it’s interesting that it’s become this cult phenomenon and and I do believe films often get tainted by bad press or other things that have nothing to do with the quality of the film. But we lovedinterviewing Gina Gershon so there’s that.
TH: There’s discussion at the end of the film about the future of cult films, but how do you envision cult films thriving in the age of streaming where it’s so much easier for content to fall completely by the wayside?
PF:I do think it’s more difficult for a film to gain cult status inthe age of streaming but you do see unusualfilms (and tv shows) find audiences and become sort of the 2020 version of cult movies. I thinkHuman Centipede is one example of a film that found itspopularity on VOD and word of mouth made it a cult phenomenon. Andthere have been a few films recently, likeMandy and Color Out of Space, both with Nicolas Cage, which seem to have theelements of a cultfilm and we just need time to see if they gain that status.
TH: If you do indeed revisit Cult Films in the future, what are some that you’d really like to cover in the future?
PF: Mostly the ones we missed because we didn’t have time or couldn’t get ahold of the right people. The Harder They Comeand ElTopowould be musts. Also Brian DePalma’s Phantom of the Paradise, From Dusk Till Dawn, King of Hearts, Donnie Darko, A Christmas Story—which has an unusual path to cultdom—Sweet Sweetback’s Badasssss Song, Mommie Dearest, Carnival of Souls, perhapsthe films of Hershel Gordon Lewis, includingBlood Feast and Two ThousandManiacs, and many many more.
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Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time Vol. 3—Comedy Camp is available to stream now...
iTunes
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*All non-Mr. Skin branded photos courtesy of Quiver Distribution
**Fred Willard pic from Best in Show courtesy of IMDb
