THE GENRE ONLINE
INTERVIEW - CULT FILM GURU JOE BOB BRIGGS
By Mark A. Rivera
Cult
Film Guru Joe Bob Briggs is the world’s best-known Drive-In Movie Critic as
well as the only one to boot. His witty comments are matched by his passion for
genre films and a encyclopedic knowledge of the films he writes and speaks about
on a regular basis. Mr. Briggs was kind enough to grant me an interview that I
am proud to share with you all now.
GENRE
ONLINE: The most obvious question I have to ask is that I see that you have
multiple credits as a Writer, Composer, Actor, and of course TV Host as well as
the Joe Bob Report website. How did this all get started?
Briggs:
First of all, I'm not a composer! I've written some songs, but that's it. The
way it got started is that, at the age of 14, I got a job as an apprentice
sportswriter at the Arkansas Democrat in Little Rock, Arkansas. I would go in
before and after school and write my little hiney off. Everything comes out of
that. That's where I learned to write. Just by doing it on the job. I may be one
of the few writers who always wrote for money, from the very first day.
GENRE
ONLINE: According to IMDB.com your real name is John Bloom. Is this true?
Briggs:
It has an element of truth to it, yes, although nobody knows who John Bloom is.
GENRE
ONLINE: You have a gift for bringing humor and intelligence to your work when
you discuss films. I could not help but laugh when you were interviewing one of
Anthony Sidaris' babes and you keep saying "I don't know what's going on or
what the plot is," but with a charming sincerity so that it is not
insulting. How did you develop this gift?
Briggs: Well, I'm not sure it's a gift. I love Andy's films, but I've never understood a single plot he's ever written. He once called me and said, "Joe Bob, I just finished a new movie today, and the script is about two pounds. I think that's heavier than the last one." You have to understand the Sidaris Mind to know why he's telling a joke, and yet . . . he's NOT.
GENRE
ONLINE: What are your favorite films and the films you simply can't stand?
Briggs:
I love the original "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and pretty much the
classic horror standards like "Hellraiser," "Night of the Living
Dead," "Basket Case." I love "The Wild Bunch." Films I
can't stand: "A Chorus Line," best horror film of 1985. During
"Gandhi," I kept yelling "Kill him!"
GENRE
ONLINE: I saw your cameo in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" and was
wondering how you came to be involved in the sequel directed by Tobe Hooper and
also how you became involved in Stephen King's "The Stand" miniseries?
Were you on the Vegas side or Colorado side?
Briggs:
I got involved in "Saw 2" when I went down to Austin to do an article
on the production for Rolling Stone. Tobe Hooper and I were mutual fans,
and he knew that I had been pimping the original movie for a long time, and so
he thought it would be funny if I were in it. He just old me to write a scene,
and I did, and it was actually in the movie until about two weeks before
release, when Cannon was cutting down the running time and took it out. It still
made it into a few prints. And, of course, now it's on the director's cut DVD.
"The Stand" was, I believe, just a simple phone call from Mick Garris,
the director, saying he wanted to use me and that Stephen King had suggested me.
I had met Big Steve years before when he was the guest at a film festival I
threw in Dallas. We filmed in Utah, actually.
GENRE
ONLINE: Are you a screenwriter or fiction writer too? How do you balance your
career with so many occupations? It is quite impressive?
Briggs: I'm not really a screenwriter or fiction writer. I've written scripts for television that have never been produced. I was also, of course, the writer for my own shows on cable. I have one work of fiction, "A Guide to Western Civilization, or, My Story," which is a kind of picaresque novel. But I don't know, I just kind of slide into whatever's available.
GENRE
ONLINE: The trend has been more then ever in Hollywood, lets remake cult films.
There's New Line's remakes of "Willard" and "The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre" as well as Universal's remake of "Dawn Of The Dead." Do
you find this trend upsetting when Hollywood still won't give filmmakers like
George A. Romero the funds to produce his fourth dead film screenplay entitled
"Dead Reckoning?"
Briggs:
First of all, I heard Romero did finally get the funds for it. And actually, no,
it's not that surprising that they remake successful horror films, because they
remake successful ANYTHING. What I wish they would do is remake UNsuccessful
horror films, take projects that didn't work and MAKE THEM WORK.
GENRE
ONLINE: I see you comment a lot about current events. Being a native of Texas,
do you ever feel alarmed by the actions of George W. Bush?
Briggs:
Well, I've been alarmed by the actions of every president of my lifetime, but
this one does seem to have a knack for running off into every country of the
world with guns drawn. NOT a good thing. Even Teddy Roosevelt would be appalled.
GENRE
ONLINE: You and John Stanley are probably the best known reviewers of genre
films. In your opinion what makes a film, even a bad one, good?
Briggs:
I'm glad to hear you speaking up for John Stanley, I don't think he gets as much
credit as he deserves. I consider John the
GENRE
ONLINE: How do you define today’s genre films where we have action films
labeled as science fiction and horror films labeled as contemporary drama?
Briggs:
Well, the answer to that is that the genres never change and the genres always
change--or to put it more precisely, genres are constantly being combined and
redefined so that we end up with new packages for old plots. For a long time the
word "horror" was considered death at the box office. That's why you
see so many producers trying to avoid the horror label. Not so true anymore
after the last two years of great horror performances, though.
GENRE
ONLINE: Do you think filmmakers should be held accountable for what they
produce: I.E.: a guy sees a horror picture and then goes out commits a crime and
says the film drove me over the edge?
Briggs:
Alfred Hitchcock had the best answer to that. Someone asked him what he thought
about the fact that a man committed a murder shortly after watching
"Psycho." He said, "I understand that he also committed that
murder shortly after eating a cheese sandwich."
GENRE
ONLINE: When will your next "Joe Bob Briggs" Presents DVD be released
by Elite Entertainment and can you tell us what the film will be?
Briggs: The next film scheduled is "The Return of Captain Invincible," and I'm sharing the commentary track with the director, Philippe Mora. Meanwhile I've started doing commentaries for Media Blasters as well. The first six titles for them are "Samurai Cop," "The Chopper" (also known as "Blood Shack"), "The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher," "Warlock Moon," "Hell High" and "Hell's Angels '69."
GENRE
ONLINE: Do you have any heroes or people you think of as an example that have
inspired you?
Briggs:
Probably Roger Corman. He always did things his way, he treated people fairly,
and he knew exactly what his niche was.
GENRE
ONLINE: Are you often solicited by movie studios and whatnot who'd like you to
review their films?
Briggs:
All the time.
GENRE
ONLINE: Do you think there is a bit of truth to the claim that horror films are
very much like adult films in that there is a core audience that goes not so
much for the story, but for the gore and scares much like the way adult films
pretty much sell the "money shot" to patrons.
Briggs: No, there's no comparison at all, as has been proven many times when cynical producers tried to get away with showing a lot of gore with a film that has no plot to speak of. Audiences hate that, no matter how hardcore they are.
GENRE
ONLINE: In your opinion, who are some of the most gifted talents rising in cult
films?
Briggs:
That's a tough one. There are so many. We live in times when a lot of unheralded
digital filmmakers from the heartland are more talented than guys with
ten-million-dollar budgets. If I had to pick one, though: James Renner of
Cleveland.
GENRE
ONLINE: Ever watch a film like "John Carpenter's They Live" and say to
yourself, gosh this film seems more relevant today than ever?
Briggs:
Well, no, not really, because I think "They Live" is pretty firmly
grounded in the Reagan years that it was satirizing. Our problems today are a
little different.
GENRE
ONLINE: What new project can we expect to see in 2004 from or featuring Joe Bob
Briggs?
Briggs: I'm doing the sequel to my book "Profoundly Disturbing: Shocking Movies That Changed History." It's called "Profoundly Erotic: Sexy Movies That Changed History." And in the meantime I've hooked up with a new cable TV channel called Scream. I'm actively involved with the development of all their programming.
GENRE
ONLINE: Any advice to aspiring filmmakers or critics?
Briggs:
Never forget the three B's: Blood, Breasts and Beasts.
GENRE
ONLINE: Do you think of yourself as being a "Cult Film Guru" as you
have come to be known?
Briggs:
I think of myself as a clearinghouse for cult film information. There are lots
of guys who have watched more cult films than I have, but most of them write to
me or are in contact with me in some way. I'm the popularizer!
GENRE
ONLINE: Any chance of a new TV show like "Monstervision" on one of the
Turner Networks or maybe Sci-fi or Spyke?
Briggs:
There's an excellent chance. I've hooked up with the Scream Channel, a new cable
network that launches in January 2005.
If
you want to know more about Joe Bob Briggs and read his thoughts on a virtual
cornucopia of subjects than please visit his official website at www.joebobbriggs.com.
Very special thanks to Joe Bob Briggs for granting this interview. I look
forward to your next projects.
©
Copyright 2004 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.