Best Movie Studio Ever!
by Ezra Stead

Troma Team, the oldest surviving independent film studio in America, is absolutely my favorite movie company. Under the direction of the charismatic Lloyd Kaufman and the elusive, mysterious Michael Herz, Troma has produced some of the finest cinematic achievements (taking into consideration their limited budgets and facilities for good taste) of the last 30 years, including The Toxic Avenger, Tromeo & Juliet and Terror Firmer. In addition, they helped kick-start the careers of Hollywood legends like Brian De Palma, Robert De Niro, Samuel L. Jackson and (gack!) Kevin Costner, among others.

Troma is one of those rare movie studios where even the bad ones are pretty good. Of course, most mainstream filmgoers would argue that they're all bad, but they're just being mean. Mean and ignorant. The genius of Tromeo & Juliet cannot be earnestly denied by any serious scholar of Shakespeare, and Troma films are (in)famous for their insightful interpretations of important social issues such as nuclear chemical waste (The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nuke 'Em High), transgender confusion (Terror Firmer) and male domination of women (Bloodsucking Freaks).

I first met Lloyd Kaufman, the publicity-loving half of Troma, at Tromadance Film Festival 2002. Tromadance is held annually in Park City, Utah at the same time as Sundance, Slamdance, NoDance and all the other more well-known film festivals. The most notable difference is that Tromadance is 100% free: free admission, free screenings, free after-party, and no admission fee for films to be entered in the non-competitive festival screening selection. In an industry run by greed (as all large industries are), I found this unique and inspiring.

Lloyd (Mr. Kaufman just doesn't fit his personality) is extremely friendly and personable, especially for the co-president of a major film studio. Despite his notably short attention span, he will freely and vivaciously converse with anyone who approaches him; I am a case in point. I recall nervously greeting him on the second night of the film festival, wanting nothing more than to shake his hand and communicate my love for his films (especially Tromeo & Juliet). He graciously accepted my praise, then proceeded to tape me repeating said praise for an inchoate documentary, and went out of his way to present me with a complimentary screener of his latest feature, Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Part IV.

Ever since those amazing two days I spent at Tromadance, I have wanted to work with the Troma Team. As I originally wrote this, just over a year later, I was in Brooklyn. My top priority in going there? To visit the Troma building in hopes of securing an internship with this wonderful company. On my second day in town, I did just that and found the Troma staff to be every bit as friendly to an unknown fan at their home as they were at the festival. Jamie Greco, who was in charge of internships at the time, seemed more than happy to give me a tour of the building, with full photographic privileges regarding the variegated props and memorabilia contained therein. My favorite photograph is one of me puppeteering the famous "penis monster" prop first seen in Tromeo & Juliet, and subsequently in every Lloyd Kaufman film from then on. I was also given a complimentary DVD of The Best of Tromadance Vol. 2, containing some of the very films I had viewed the year before.

Unfortunately, due to financial obstacles, I have yet to realize my dream of working with Troma Studios. However, between the excellent films I have grown to love through the years and the utterly inspiring attitude and aesthetic of the whole Troma Team as I have experienced it, I sometimes think that watching Troma movies and reading Lloyd Kaufman's book, All I Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger (as well as his numerous essays on www.troma.com), have given me more enriching and educational experiences than any job or schooling I have thus far encountered.

Long live Troma!