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Bum Interviews:
The Trent Haaga Interview | The brain behind "Feeding the Masses" spent a few moments with our very own Rufus & Scraps to discuss the movie, cannibalism, and the ACLU.
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Scraps: The government and Torch had very different views of the role of media in our lives. Do you feel the news has a responsibility to warn us if they determine there's a threat, or should they just merely present the information and allow the viewers to form their own opinions?
Trent: Man, that's a hell of a question. And both of your scenarios aren't too bad, actually. Either way, the news would be acting as an autonomous entity, so they wouldn't be bad. If the news were to be able to make up its own mind it would be okay. If they were merely to present news in an unbiased fashion, that's be great, too. Unfortunately, the news is neither. News channels are now parts of multiconglomerates that have corporate sponsors and special interests to appease, so what you're really getting in most cases is a commercial for something, be it a right or left wing agenda. Either way, you're never really getting the full story no matter what. News is unreliable. What are you gonna do?
Scraps: "Masses" had a terrific story – and almost could have been told without ever seeing the undead. How important is the "gore" factor and FX to the movie?
Trent: Thank you! I love horror movies, but have to admit that the whole "zombie" thing is a little played out...even though myself and many others continue to return to it. Richard Griffin, the director, came to me with an idea: a news crew during a zombie
apocalypse. I was generally more interested in the news crew aspect of the story. There's only so much you can do with a zombie apocalypse, only so many creative ways to kill a zombie or have a zombie kill a human. So, yeah, the zombies ended up really taking a
back seat to what I felt was the real "story" in the movie. So, in this particular instance, I don't think that the gore and FX were as important in FEEDING THE MASSES as the other story elements.
Scraps: During the film, the viewer watches the hero, Torch, getting stoned. Was it important to show an attempt to escape his reality…or was it a chance to show off a really cool bong?
Trent: Hmmm . . . well that's just one of those things that slipped in during the writing. The character had to be John Carpenter-esque, meaning he didn't have any real
physical connection to the world even though he gave more of a crap than you thought he did. He had to be apathetic but angry at the same time. He would be conflicted and distressed. So, self-medication is his particular way of dealing with the pressure. Having him be a coke fiend or a heroin abuser would make him a less likable character. Everybody knows a harmless stoner. Plus, I like to smoke the herb and was simply giving Torch some of my qualities.
Scraps: If we are overrun by armies of the undead, do you recommend we leave it to the pros to handle or should we grab a weapon and start kicking zombie ass?
Trent: In any catastrophe, as history can clearly show us (like the recent hurricane), it's a fool's game to try and band together with other civilians or to rely on assistance. People panic in these situations and do things they wouldn't normally do. The best thing is to hide, scavenge, and stay level-headed. The guy in the original Night of the Living Dead who locked himself in the basement with his family had the right idea...except for the part about keeping your zombie-bitten daughter with you.
Scraps: Any other cool projects coming our way that you can let the Bums community know about?
Trent: I'm going to Texas next week to act in a movie with Michael Madsen and Edward Furlong. I've got a FRIDAY THE 13th novel proposal at New Line Cinema awaiting
approval, my script DEAD GIRL goes before cameras in early 2006 (Executive Produced by Chris Webster, who Produced HEATHERS and HELLRAISER) and I'm planning on making my directorial debut in 2006!
Scraps: "Masses" touched on several facets of modern life…what was the real inspiration behind the story?
Trent: My general cynicism about everything and Richard Griffin's initial concept.
Scraps: Do you think people taste more like beef or chicken?
Trent: If ever have to eat one, I hope it tastes like beef. Because every other meat seems to taste like chicken already!
Rufus: If the world was overrun by zombies, how much impact would the ACLU have?
Trent: I'm certain that someone would decide that the zombies have rights, too. Particularly if we started to use them for work-and-sex slaves.
Rufus: Which of these two are the worst zombie movie? Oasis of the Zombies or Hell of the Living Dead? (It's okay. We will not tell the directors.)
Trent: I'm gonna have to go with OASIS, since HELL at least had the good sense to steal bitchin Goblin music and had some gore and animal stock footage in it. But neither of em's really something I'd watch for a good time. I tend to like Bruno Mattei a lot more than Jess Franco, anyway.
Rufus: Giving you a open ended budget, what story would you love to bring to the big screen?
Trent: I've got a really kick-ass idea for a movie that would be great, but I can't talk about it - haven't written it yet. I can tell you, however, that whatever it was, it wouldn't be a sequel, a re-make, or a big-screen version of a TV show.
Scraps: You've got an afternoon to yourself...no deadlines to meet or pending obligations...how would you spend your day?
Trent: Go to the movies or watch some DVDs or read a book or some comics. Take a nap. I wish I could say "start a screenplay" or something like that . . . but free afternoons are rare and valued at my house!
Thanks for the interview, man! Good questions…refreshing to not answer one Troma question in an interview! |
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Updated Wednesday, September 28, 2005 Written by Rufus & Scraps |
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