Having just enjoyed a fine read known as, The Mega Book of Revenge Films: Volume One, I was happy to respond to the invitation in the back pages to contact its author, Danny Marianino.  I wanted to ask this fellow some questions, since I was certain his answers would be interesting.  So, without further ado, let’s get to it!

How did you decide you were going to write The Mega Book of Revenge Films and how difficult was it to determine which films would be listed in Volume One and which would have to wait?  Did you know right away that you wanted to write a series of books, or did it just take shape that way?

I have always had an obsession with revenge films.  As a product of the 80s I can tell you it was impossible to avoid the subject in every genre of film.  Movie studios like Orion Pictures, Cannon and New World Pictures dominated my childhood and pushed out revenge films of all spectrums.  So when I decided to start working on my second book and wanted to use good old fashioned payback as the basis, I was surprised to see it was uncharted territory.  I originally planned on doing one book but there are so many films that have revenge as a theme it just wouldn’t work.  My buddy Jay who did the cover suggested I do volumes because of the sheer amount of films I started taking out of the book due to it being a million pages!  Juggling which movies to put in the first was hard and I left out some real big ones.  I figured it was better to space some of the films out and continue to mix old classics in with new releases for years to come.

How much do you miss the rad cover artwork that used to be a standard in the VHS days?  I know you mention in the book that there have been several titles you’ve snagged over the years, just from the covers.  Would you share some of your personal favorites with us?

So much more creativity came when a cover had to sell a movie!  You didn’t get to see the trailer before you rented the film; you just had to judge a book by its cover.  It was so exciting!  Some of my favorite VHS cool cover scores are The Video Dead, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Creepshow, Hands of Steel, The Deadly Spawn and Mutant Hunt because according to the VHS cover: It was too gory for the silver screen!  Haha!  I remember Chopping Mall having such a rad cover and it was like Short Circuit but not as cool!  It’s hard to land my favorite one because it changes too much.  Currently my super bright Dawn of the Dead Directors Cut VHS signed by Tom Savini is my favorite!

What’s your best film-hunting story?  Is there any particular swap-meet or flea market that you recall fondly?

There was a place called Scottsdale Video not far from my house that closed some time ago.  He had EVERYTHING when it came to old school action and horror on VHS in stock.  I had a DVD player but kept renting old school films like The Alien Factor and Faces of Death there, weekly.  On Tuesdays he had a rent one get another free deal.  It’s not a happy ending though… Like most independent video stores, he closed.  I bought a bunch of stuff off of him for almost nothing.  But I loved going there, even if I didn’t rent a movie.  Just looking through his giant mess of movies was like Christmas.  Josh Schafer, who owns the zine Lunchmeat and did my forward for the book, sent me a VHS copy of a Mexican 80s knockoff of The Birds called, Beaks.  That’s up there on a cool favorite.

Tell us a few of your favorite reactions you’ve witnessed from showing some of these films to friends that were unaware of what they were about to go through.

Showing Black Devil Doll one year on Thanksgiving after dinner to my family was pretty amazing.  I’m surprised they talked to me ever again.  My wife isn’t really into B Movies and is usually shocked when I watch films like Polyester and The Human Tornado.  She surprised me this past Halloween when we watched The Toxic Avenger and she said, “Wait…I’ve seen this. Does the guy have a mop?”  I was shocked.  One time I went to a book signing with Bruce Campbell and he also showed The Man with the Screaming Brain.  My mom called and I told her I was heading into the movie and she responded with, “There is no movie with a title like that!  What are you really going to see?”

 

How did you get involved in getting obscure films shown in actual theaters?  How many titles have you tried to get screened, only to be shot down by uptight owners?

My friend Brandon and I started showing films with our friend Andrea who is known as The Midnite Movie Mamacita here in Phoenix.  She is a film collector and can tell you about all kinds of films that are obscure.  She may not know why Axel Foley put a banana in a tail pipe in Beverly Hills Cop, but she can tell you everything you want to know about Danger: Diabolik!  She opened up a theater and now works for The Film Bar in Phoenix.  As for film owners, they all have been pretty cool.  When we showed Street Trash, I got Roy Frumkes to write up a cool thing about the film and I gave it to all the attendees.  Same with director Kamal Ahmed and his film God Has a Rap Sheet.  If it was a larger studio film, like when we showed Return of the Living Dead, we rented the prints directly through the studios.  But when we showed stuff like Deadbeat at Dawn, I contacted Jim Van Bebber directly and sent him a check in the mail.

For the most part an independent filmmaker is going to be hyped someone respects his hard work and wants more people to see his film, so renting them for a weekend isn’t too tough.  It’s getting people to go that’s the real hard part.  I rented Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead and it cost me around $300 out of my pocket because of the horrible turn out.  It’s easy to lose your ass.

Considering your age and participation in Metal/Punk Rock, combined with your writing style, I am curious if you were ever involved in writing fanzines?  Are there any zines from the past you recall enjoying and are there any in existence today that you dig?

I wrote for some small local zines in Phoenix.  I used to write a column called Tales from The Hardside on punk and hardcore news for a paper that’s long gone.  I owned a website called ICanSmellYourBrains.Com and wrote about movies, books, music and other cool pop culture stuff.  I read Lunchmeat, Horror Hound, old music ones like Rumpshaker, Oriental Cinema and I love Weird NJ. I collect old Fangoria, Rue Morgue, Gorzone and The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu!

What can we expect from your next release that’s due in March?  Other than more volumes in your Revenge series, are there plans for more film-related books in the future, covering different genres, perhaps Musicals or G-Rated Puppet Films?

My next book is so ridiculous.  It’s similar to my first book in the autobiographic sense, but it’s about me having issues with shitting in public and stories about hilarious accidents at the worst times you can imagine.  It’s really funny.  I still haven’t found a good way to explain it without it sounding insane, but I can tell you it’s one of the funniest books imaginable.  The Mega Book of Revenge Films Volume 2: Gleaming the Cube should be out in mid to late 2016.  Most of it is already written because it’s movies I couldn’t fit in Volume 1!  I’m not so sure about Musicals and G-Rated Puppets… Well, does Meet the Feebles count?

In your opinion, who has the most kick-ass mustache: Charles Bronson or Chuck Norris?

Fucking Bronson, no question!  That takes some expertise in grooming.  That shit is so skinny.  Anyone who takes that much time in making the most unique mustache takes the cake in cake ass facial hair!  Have you seen this?  Look closely!

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions!  I’m looking forward to checking out more of your work in the future!

No sweat Nathan, keep in touch!