Friends, Tromans, countrymen, lend us your ears! We have not come to speak for "the man". We have come to bury "the man"! We have come to talk about what we African-Americans have done in the Troma universe. Brothers like Samuel L. Jackson and sisters like Melba Moore have made their mark in various Troma movies like Def by Temptation, Squeeze Play, The Toxic Avenger Part II, and Bugged. (After all, how many independent companies have black films made with all black crews?) We now have a place to share our own Tromatic experiences and opinions of Hollywood on the web.
Our first feature is an interview with Ron Armstrong, the director and star of Troma's BUGGED!
Interview with Ron Armstrong Creator/Writer/Actor of BUGGED!
Troma: How long did it take you to
do BUGGED!?
Ron Armstrong: It took me 30 days to write. Then I expanded on it. It took 3 years to make. I would shoot, then raise money then shoot, raise money then shoot.
Troma: How did you like the outcome of BUGGED!? Were you proud of the outcome?
Ron Armstrong: I was very happy with the outcome.
Troma: How did you like working with Troma?
Ron Armstrong: I was happy all around with the overseas and domestic success of BUGGED!. Although I would have liked to see it have a theatrical release.
Troma: How was working with Lloyd
Kaufman and Michael Herz?
Ron Armstrong: I liked very much working with Lloyd and Michael. When I was making BUGGED! I wanted to work with a studio that would allow me creative control, and Troma allowed that. They weren't looking over my shoulder every instant, or asking for daily reports. I had the creative freedom that I felt was necessary for me to make the kind of movie that I wanted to make.
Troma: What are you working on now?
Ron Armstrong: I am working on a film called Killers. It's about a serial killer and these two police detectives searching for him.
Troma: What do you think of Hollywood and its' relationship with Black filmmakers?
Ron Armstrong: Hollywood is very racist. It really puts up walls if you don't produce films that fits their stereotypes. I just wanted to make a movie where color didn't matter. I didn't want to make a movie that fitted these stereotypes. It seems like all the actors today are former rappers. The imbalance does injustice to our filmmaking. I like working with independent film companies because they allow you the freedom to tell the story the way you want to tell it. The last good movie I saw by a black filmmaker was Hoodlum by Bill Dukes.
Troma: How was your Cannes Film
Festival experience with the Troma Team?
Ron Armstrong: It was wonderful staying with the Troma group. It opened my eyes a lot to the film industry. It was a very important experience. I found fellowship with other filmmakers. The Troma name helped me out a lot during my screening. Because the people who attend the festival know about Troma, it was standing room only at my screening. I was very nervous because there were so many people and so many different types of people that I didn't know if they would like or understand my movie, but during the movie they were laughing so I guess they did get it.
Troma: During that year your movie along with Spike Lee were the only ones there by black filmmakers, how did you feel about that?
Ron Armstrong: That was sad that there were no other black filmmakers. Lloyd and I had a chance to meet Spike before the festival. I talked to him at Cannes and he said that it is always like that. That there is always a lack of representation by black filmmakers.
Troma: Are you close with any other Black filmmakers? Do you feel that the Black filmmaking community is close?
Ron Armstrong: We aren't as close as we should be. It can be very competitive because everybody is trying to get their product out. Everybody's nice but because of the competition and limited space it's difficult. I've had my chance to meet many of the Black filmmakers that are out there like the Hudlin Brothers, Bill Duke, John Singleton, and Matty Rich. John Singleton told me to "Stop listening and to just do it."
Troma: Lastly what is your goal in filmmaking?
Ron Armstrong: My goal is to bring a new perspective to Black filmmaking. I want to place an emphasis on the story.
