YVSS #33 - Brian Trenchard-Smith

"The whole reason genres exist is because people want to see certain cinematic forms over and over again, with new wrinkles, surprises, developments, bigger, better, etc. The western, the war movie, the spy thriller, the monster movie. They are the meat and potatoes of the broad cinema audience’s diet."

Brian Trenchard-Smith has been around the block in this industry. Getting his start in the business cutting trailers in the 1960s, Smith soon found his way into directing. His first feature, the Australian kung fu flic The Man From Hong Kong, was made in the mid-70s. Since then Smith has never stopped chasing his love. Now in Hawaii prepping his 37th film, the Valley of Gwangi-inspired Tyrannosaurus Azteca, Smith has no qualms about his position in the industry as a director of genre films. With many of his films he strives to both satirize and celebrate particular genres, and this is exactly what I love to see filmmakers do. He has an admirably upbeat attitude about his career, and this show is a testament to that.

I began my interview with Brian under the assumption that the Hawaiian phone lines would present us with too much static to have more than a fifteen-minute interview. Thankfully Hawaii was calm on this Saturday morning, so Brian and I had the chance to talk for over 50 minutes. Among the topics discussed are the upcoming Tyrannosaurus Azteca, his love for genre films, the effect of low attention spans on movies, ’sandwich films,’ how he got started in the business, making The Man From Hong Kong, the story behind how he convinced Trimark to produce Leprechaun 4: In Space, pitching penis bursting, mandatory breast shots, his idea for Leprechaun 5 (definitely not In The Hood), his ’genre cocktail’ pet names for movies, the genre greatness of Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, making ’gay’ versions of his movies, and even some political talk.