It is hard to believe that October, 2021, marks the 12 year anniversary of me making 'extra features' (and EPK content) for a number of international Blu-ray companies. In that time I have worked closely with someone else (Naomi, of course) to produce a wide amount of material - some of which occasionally pops up as illegal YouTube uploads which we have to keep getting removed. It is a backhanded way of being reminded that someone, somewhere is still watching.
Naomi continues to work hard on bonus material but as I have moved my life into academic research, which frowns on - and can even forbid - third party freelance work, I have had to take a step back and - as of 2021 - conclude that Naomi alone will produce any bonus content that comes to us. In short: I am no longer a 'director' or 'producer' of home video content and our new documentary Searching for Cannibal Holocaust marks a book-end of sorts (we began with Italian horror movies and I, at least, end with it too). It will have a German Blu-ray release soon and probably disappear into obscurity. Or that dubious YouTube infamy [see below - another one of our documentaries we had to have removed for copyright infringement].
That is actually fine with me, in a sense, as I never made any of my work for the purpose of being 'celebrated' and I have become used to a single one line back cover piece on a Blu-ray ("Includes 42nd Street documentary" or, as in the case with our All Eyes on Lenzi documentary - not even mentioned on the stellar American release of The Tough Ones). I concluded Searching for Cannibal Holocaust during my mum's passing, finishing it the day before she passed, and I always felt it was better being kept as a private thing, which it sort of will become now - although it appears to be doing the rounds on Torrent sites. If this sounds like hard shakes then it is not: I was long fatigued by the film festival circuit. The networking involved in festivals, when attending as a producer (however low budget your work is) is exhausting and whereas I once embraced my annual Cannes Film Festival jaunt as a twenty-something journalist (see below when I interviewed T.A.T.U for Record Collector after a VIP concert), these days I think I might rather opt for an early bed.
However, if there is one thing I have learned from all of this it is to get something in writing if you plan to assist anyone from a more privileged status (since this blog I have turned down two requests from different BBC series for assistance, based on what you will read here). Such was the case even recently when I failed to listen to my own advice. Someone from Canada, Brian Robertson, contacted me last year to ask me if I could help him with a series on Shudder called Cursed Films, directed by someone called Jay Cheel (who has never offered a very valid apology - remember: I was contacted here by them, not vice versa, and I did what I was asked). I had never seen Cursed Films and the feedback on my Facebook, when I asked about it, did not exactly fill me with hope (see a selection of it below - remember folks, listen to your friends). So I turned him down.
But several emails followed, along with a request for a phone conversation. Brian may have been playing me along when he asked "did they kill real people in this?", although he admitted he had not even bothered to watch the movie yet, but at this stage I became convinced I really did not want to be involved. Especially because our own Searching for Cannibal Holocaust documentary was unveiling a new 'true crime'' twist on the notorious Italian horror movie that I wanted to keep secret. We had gone all the way to Amazonia to find out some new stories and the last thing I needed was for our work to be overtaken by someone else, armed with the 'twist' in the Cannibal Holocaust tale that we had uncovered.
However, Brian was friendly, personable, relentless and even introduced me to Shudder kingpin Samuel Zimmerman who, on an email dated 1st December 2020, acknowledged knowing my work and stated he would be interested in screening our Category III documentary for possible streaming on Shudder (which we finished in 2017 for the Koch Films label in Germany). I had to point Samuel in the direction of Unearthed Films, who own the work for America, although this was never chased. But, naively believing it would be, instead of seeing this 'interest' for what it was, I said I would help with Cursed and thanked Samuel for his interest. The conditions were simple, however, if Brian was to film anyone we might need for our own work in Rome then our own camera person would be able to ask some questions at the end and continue the shoot with their own camera for us, if only for ten additional minutes or so. I should have known that would not be happening when Brian, after having put him in touch with a contact in Rome who assisted with getting him a rare sit-down with the Italian actor turned politician Luca Barbareschi, mentioned that any material for our use would be unlikely to go ahead (and remember I had assisted unpaid). Meantime I fended off increasingly easy-to-find-out-the-answer-to-questions, during a period where my mum was clinging to her life in her care home, such as "Can we film Lamberto Bava? He is credited as a producer on the movie..." (reply: if you read the FAB Press book on Cannibal Holocaust, released in 1999 and pictured below, which is the most basic research one can do, you will know what happened). This was all time wasting nonsense at a crucial point of finishing the proof read of my new academic press book, and personal challenges, but I reminded myself that there was still the possibility of our documentary on Shudder and that Brian Robertson was just a producer trying to get something made and probably appreciated the help. It was no big deal, really.
I had also been promised an interview with Cursed for the documentary. I therefore volunteered that Brian Robertson also interview a colleague of mine at the university, who has written extensively about exploitation cinema [see below]. Of course, Brian Robertson said yes. Bizarrely, however, and quite upsetting to myself, my colleague was later contacted and asked to come to London for the shoot (which he opted not to do, being collegiate and a mate and all that). At this point I was not contacted at all. Never again. At all. Despite the work (all unpaid) I had put in. I was not even given a final thanks nevermind a single, solitary email was sent to me regarding the status of screening our work for Shudder. Honestly, a mere 'sorry' would have gone a long way.
I emailed Brian saying I was surprised by this given that I was supposed to be interviewed and, yet, have had no reply (and I also mentioned my colleague need not go to London as he could be filmed here in Lincoln). However, there was no thanks and no further contact, clearly since he got what he wanted from me (and I hasten to add that I also got Carl Yorke and Francesca Ciardi involved in his series, with Samuel Zimmerman also offering no thanks - Carl, to his credit, has since indicated he would not have done this had he known how I was treated). No reply was forthcoming. No mention was given as to why someone I literally work alongside was being contacted and not me, who had introduced them. In other words: Shudder got what they wanted - the cast and crew from the film, part organised by me, for no payment, but a hollow 'promise' of looking at my work, allowing additional shooting time and presenting my story of the film in the final project (and stopping them from wasting the time of Lamberto Bava, see below, who did not have anything to do with Cannibal Holocaust). This is really 'first world problems', and I recognise this more than ever as the news plays out desperate Afghanistan refugees fleeing from a tyrannical authoritarian force. I absolutely understand that in the story of my life this is but a small footnote. A minor irritation. A blog post. However, I still do believe there is a lesson to be learned here.
Ultimately, none of this would have happened if, of course, I had demanded basic payment for what was, in effect, a production job. I politely and efficiently answered an endless series of emails, and even calls, about Cannibal Holocaust, some sent within seconds of the last. I placed Brian in touch with cast/crew and a translator and well-connected cult film author and documentary-maker in Rome. I even took his long, laborious phone calls - and I ultimately did all of this for nothing because I never followed my own advice: get everything in writing. I only have myself to blame, but in penning this blog I hope that I can stop others from letting their initial enthusiasm blind their common sense. Whilst I have no way of knowing what the Cursed Films episode of Cannibal Holocaust will be like (note: Jay Cheel did not offer even a thanks, despite all the groundwork I did for this episode for free, which is appalling), I hope that even those of you who enjoy it can understand how upsetting it is to not even receive a cursory 'thank you' for your work and to end up being ghosted. I never believed that my (obscure) documentary and 'extra feature' work provided me with any sense of importance or 'recognition' - and I hope that this is made clear in this blog. But simple pleasantries sure do go a long way.
Moreover, if someone from Cursed Films contacts you and wants your help: hang up.
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