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Director Hits Back at Hollywood
Martin King draws from his own tough experience of trying to make it in Hollywood and creates a potential cult comedy
It remains one of the true journeys for modern day filmmakers - take your talent (however insignificant this may be), pack your suitcase, leave your hometown without and head toward the Hollywood hills in search of fame and fortune.
Once there you may slum it for a while, spend your day knocking on doors and slave away in a restaurant at night, all the while planning to eventually ‘make it'.
Of course, one day disaster may strike and you realise that the unforgiving machine that is Hollywood has sucked you in and spat you out, leaving you penniless and desperate on the sidewalk. As director Martin King's new comedy Attack of the Slime People proves, completing a film requires unrelenting determination, a message that rings true with regard to King's own struggles.
Attack of the Slime People is the satirical story of a washed up Hollywood director named Buddy Flavinoid (played by Robert Tiffi, who co-wrote the film) who plans to make his big comeback and ensure his place as a great director of his time. Flavinoid begins to make a monster movie about slime people, though as the film progresses he becomes a monster himself, murdering anyone who threatens his "uncompromised vision."
You would not be mistaken in thinking that this plot sounds like a professional way to ‘vent' as a director. When asked if Flavinoid is in any way a reflection of himself as a moviemaker, King replies, "Naturally. To get any film made requires visceral determination and a crazed obsession that doglegs between mental illness and violent love, especially with a miniscule budget."
Attack of the Slime People was made for just under $100,000, perhaps a similar amount to what Michael Bay spent on Optimus Prime's right leg. King admits it was tough-going: "It was extremely difficult, but that's part of the challenge. Instead of throwing dollars you don't have at problems you can't afford, you adapt and improvise on the fly."
The film was initially exposed to audiences through the festival circuit in America and was even given national airplay on The Jay Leno Show.
King is currently in the initial stages of releasing the film in the United States but has not yet found a distributor for Australia. However he is keen for our audiences to see the film, which has been dubbed by some critics as a cult comedy. "I would love to see it before an Australian audience. I spent some time in Sydney and I think they would really appreciate it."
For more on Attack of the Slime People, check out their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Attack-Of-The-Slime-People/121753708888