With the rise of new media technologies and the increasing availability of DV & HD cameras, there has been a concomitant rise in micro-budget feature filmmakers that find themselves competing for attention in an already saturated marketplace. With hundreds of shot-on-digital feature films being released each year, not to mention the many thousands destined never to see the light of day, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish one product from another. One producer, however, has come up with a successful strategy to draw attention to his micro-budget feature films and get them distributed around the world: (i) start an ‘erotica’ themed label to subsidise the rest of the production slate, then, (ii) produce ‘soft-core spoofs’ of all the latest Hollywood blockbusters.
Using this strategy, the founder and head of POP Cinema (formerly ei Independent Cinema), Michael L. Raso has executive produced over a hundred feature films including The Erotic Witch Project (John Bacchus, 1999), Gladiator Eroticvs (John Bacchus, 2001), Play-mate of the Apes (John Bacchus, 2002), Lord of the G-Strings (Terry West, 2003), Spiderbabe (Johnny Crash, 2003) and Kinky Kong (John Bacchus, 2006).
FIGURE 10.1 Parodying blockbuster appeal: the poster art for Gladiator Eroticvs
In the following interview, Michael L. Raso takes us through the unassuming beginnings of his company in a converted fax closet in Bloomfield, NJ, his strategy to create a ‘Seduction Cinema’ brand identity, his struggles to pursue his ‘first love’ of horror cinema, as well as discussing the production context and gender politics of his slate of ‘erotic’ features.
Iain Robert Smith: You began your career in the media making skit comedy as part of the Meadowlands Showcase. What were your main motivations in setting up ei Independent Cinema and moving into the soft-core market with your label Seduction?
Michael L. Raso: I spent six years producing Commercial TV spots for cable television. It was during those years that I produced Meadowlands Showcase (for the Cable Television Network) with John Fedele and a few other college filmmaking friends. By late 1994 I felt that I had done all that I could do with both my current job and the show. I was anxious to get back to filmmaking. I discovered that my friend J. R. Bookwalter was publishing a magazine called Alternative Cinema in Akron, Ohio. The magazine featured DIY filmmakers from all over the country. I quit my job, put Meadowlands Showcase on the shelf and soon started ei Independent Cinema. I immediately began producing, acquiring and distributing indie horror features to independent video stores. No easy task. Factory 2000 filmmaker William Hellfire (real name Billy Apriceno) was my first employee. He handled phone sales out of a converted broom closet in my first office!
I started the erotic film label Seduction Cinema in 1997 when ei released Caress of the Vampire (Frank Terranova), to much unexpected success on VHS. There was a demand and soon a follow-up film went into production. Seduction Cinema has been producing up to eight productions per year ever since. So, demand dictated the growth of Seduction Cinema. My fellow colleagues and I were concentrating on horror and comedy. We never intended to shoot erotica. The market demanded erotica, so we produced it. As you can see by the Seduction Cinema catalogue, most of it is horror-themed erotica, comedy-themed erotica or a combination of the two.
The Seduction titles have consistently gained international distribution, a rare feat for a low-budget film company. To what do you attribute the labels’ continued success?
I decided early on that I wanted to focus my energies on ‘branding’ movies produced by my studio. Seduction Cinema literally exploded onto the scene in 1999 with the release of our first two erotic parodies, Titanic 2000 (John Paul Fedele) and Erotic Witch Project. The films were released on VHS, DVD, US cable television and international markets. I made Seduction Cinema a top priority in the early years with the goal of establishing a ‘brand’ name. When you think of cola, you think of Coca-Cola. If a fan hears about a soft-core erotic film, I wanted them to think… Seduction Cinema. I also believe that the ‘ensemble’ studio system helped our early success. Think of the Seduction Cinema cast and crew as a musical group. The same cast and crew worked on over fifty films together between 1997 and 2004 and developed quite a fan following. Movies were available in every major video chain in the US and fans could meet the cast and crew at fan conventions all over the country.
FIGURE 10.2 Tolkien meets titillation: the poster art for Lord of the G-Strings (2003)
In many ways, the spoof becomes a perfect marketing tool – a way to distinguish your product in a soft-core marketplace which doesn’t allow for huge marketing campaigns. How significant a role do you feel the ‘spoof’ elements play in getting your films’ distribution?
I feel that our ‘spoof’ titles helped Seduction Cinema break into both the television and international markets. The fans have always supported the films on VHS and DVD, but TV and international markets eluded us because of their mainstream sensibilities. TV and international corporate buyers and fans want something that they are familiar with. The market is not as kind to small independents, so we started to develop erotic spoofs of mainstream blockbusters. How funny when you see a title like Lord of the G-Strings! So popular were our spoofs, that Lord of the G-Strings was mentioned on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno! With the success of the Seduction parodies, we became known in the industry as ‘the spoof guys’.
One thing that marks out Seduction Cinema from its competitors are the collectible DVDs which are packed with extras. What made you decide to start offering directors’ commentaries, behind the scenes footage, outtakes etc?
I grew up as a fan of cinema. I know what it is like to be a fan, so I try to make every single release very special. Extras on a DVD are very important. It allows our fans to take a peek behind the curtain and see the real people making the movie. Our fans are the most important thing and we try not to forget that.
What was the intention behind offering both R-rated and Unrated releases of some titles?
We started shooting R-rated versions of our erotic films in 2003. We felt that we could reach a much broader audience if we trimmed down the sexual content and expanded the story and character development. It worked as demonstrated when Blockbuster stocked their shelves with SSI: Sex Squad Investigation (Thomas J. Moose, 2006). If you told me a few years ago that a Seduction Cinema film would be available for hire in the USA’s top rental chain, I would have laughed myself off of my chair! Really, who would have thought!
Over time the ‘soft-core spoofs’ have become much more elaborate with larger budgets and a greater emphasis on dialogue and narrative (especially in Lord of the G-Strings and Spiderbabe). Did you ever worry that the story would ‘get in the way’ of the porn?
No way. Story can only help develop the characters and therefore, make the film sexier. This is my opinion as I think that you would get very different answers depending on which of our directors you spoke to.
In many ways, star Misty Mundae came to be seen as the figurehead of Seduction Cinema. Why do you feel she was so popular in these titles?
Pop Cinema owns the character Misty Mundae, which is why she has become the figurehead. Erin Brown, who plays the Misty character, is the perfect ‘anti-sex symbol’. She doesn’t look like a typical California sex star. She is unique and has a very special screen presence. The camera loves Misty Mundae.
The female characters often take the dominant roles in your spoofs. Was this a conscious attempt to appeal to female viewers?
Not really. Early on, the Seduction films were all-girl films. We found that most of the women we hired preferred to work with other women. So, from the get-go we focused on female characters. The male characters, who did not participate in the on-screen sex, were strictly on screen for the gags.
More recently POP Cinema have moved into the cult/horror market with titles such as Shock-O-Rama [Brett Piper, 2005] and Skin Crawl [Justin Wingenfeld, 2007]. How have these titles performed in comparison with the Seduction titles? What changes did they necessitate in terms of promotion/distribution?
I originally started my company to produce independent horror films. Seduction Cinema was an unintentional detour. The films sold well and justified ‘green-lighting’ more. Once Seduction became branded, I was able to allow others to handle the ‘hands on’ while I concentrated on my first love, horror film production and launching a horror film label. I launched Shock-O-Rama Cinema in 2004 with our newly produced Screaming Dead, Skin Crawl, Bite Me (Brett Piper, 2004) and other films. Unfortunately, the titles did not perform as compared to Seduction Cinema titles. Our biggest and most expensive horror film, Brett Piper’s Shock-O-Rama, has been critically acclaimed but was commercially a flop. Our newest Seduction Cinema films are Kinky Kong and SSI: Sex Squad Investigation. Their combined budgets are not even close to what we spent on our film Shock-O-Rama, yet they are achieving much more commercial success. The world is glutted with horror films. It is a very, very difficult market. Discouraging, but we’re pressing on with our Shock-O-Rama Studio titles.
POP Cinema have often been compared with other low-budget film companies such as Troma and Full Moon. Do you see similarities/differences with these companies?
I know very little about Troma and almost nothing about Full Moon. I certainly can see the comparison to Troma because of all the comedy in our films. Most of my inspiration came from UHF TV’s The Uncle Floyd Show, Second City Television, SNL and classic Universal horror films. I have seen clips or scenes but have never seen an entire Troma or Full Moon movie.
Independent studios often work in a symbiotic relationship with Hollywood – offering what the major studios refuse to deal with. Do you see yourself as outside the Hollywood system? If so, what advantages does this offer?
We are so far outside of the Hollywood system that we’re on another planet! Hollywood doesn’t even consider our movies ‘actual’ feature films! We work in a parallel universe. Hollywood may be an influence but never do the two worlds collide, except of course on the DVD shelf in stores. Producer Sam Sherman was thrilled when he saw our release of his Blazing Stewardesses (Al Adamson, 1975] next to Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles [1974] in a Best Buy store!
