Article by Joseph A. Ziemba

Heart, zero pretension, and solid dedication. Three things any person in the world would be proud to claim in their line of work. Three things Fred Olen Ray has in spades.

Through his colossal body of film work and with Retromedia, his fab DVD company, Mr. Ray has provided lovers of absolutely bad cinema hours upon hours of good times. Since the mid-70s, Fred has become the epitome of trash cinema legend, directing over six dozen films and having hands in numerous others. He’s done it all -- zero budget filmmaking with no stars, big budget filmmaking with David Carradine, and casting his five-year old son as an alien monster (!); living to tell about it with both feet planted firmly on the ground. Although he hasn’t slowed down in regards to film production, the introduction of Retromedia as a steadily developing DVD company has added a new line to Mr. Ray’s gigantic resume. But that’s not all.

Retromedia has quickly become one of the most prolific and eclectic genre DVD companies out there, not to mention one of Bleeding Skull’s most prized. Through the big “R,” I’ve been introduced to dozens of obscure classics that I never even knew existed. So how does he do it?

It’s with great pleasure that Bleeding Skull interviews Mr. Fred Olen Ray during July of 2004.

Bleeding Skull: When did Retromedia begin to take shape and what were the company’s origins? Did starting up the company take away from your commitments to filmmaking? How do you juggle the two, time-wise?

Fred Olen Ray: It was about the time I felt the independent film industry was about to take a nose-dive and thought I'd better start looking around for some other things I was interested in. I owned about 20 movies and wanted to get them out on dvd, but most companies were only interested in cherry-picking their favorite titles, which didn't work for me at all. The obvious solution seemed to be to start my own dvd company, which has, in fact, slowed down my filmmaking career, but not completely derailed it, as I've been quite busy lately.

BS: Being an independent company, how do you obtain the rights to films that you release? Is it hard locating master elements for DVD production and how does that process work? How do you “go after” a film once the decision has been made?

FOR: If we don't already know who the owner is, a copyright search will sometimes reveal that. We then contact them and ask about the rights. Sometimes they are already gone, but other times we are able to make a deal. Amazingly enough, a lot of producers do not have good elements available, even though they may own the film itself.

BS: Retromedia maintains a pretty eclectic release schedule, everything from the creaky 40s mysteries of Phantoms Of Death to the skin-e-max type sleaze of Curse Of The Erotic Tiki. Is this direction based strictly on your personal tastes?

FOR: Pretty much so. I'm always on the look-out for films that have not been out on video, laser or dvd before -- like PHANTOM OF 42nd STREET and PHANTOM KILLER. In the case of EROTIC TIKI it's really a matter of us already owning the rights, so it's foolish NOT to bring them out.

BS: People can sometimes obsess over minute print details in regards to uber-rare films on DVD. I don’t get it. Personally, I’m just happy to have stuff like Shriek Of The Mutilated and The Alien Dead on disc, as I’d have no chance of seeing them otherwise. Not to mention the time saved in tracking down crusty old VHS tapes. Do you ever feel pressure regarding this aspect of DVD production and does it impact your release decisions?

FOR: You and I think alike. I have always believed that people would rather have the best you can get, than not to get it at all. And we've always tried to get what people have asked us for -- such as SHRIEK OF THE MUTILATED, which we were deluged with requests for, but great materials were not available.

I would be more likely to pursue this back when Retromedia was completely independent. Now that we're hooked up with Image Entertainment I am much more quality conscious about what we release, but sometimes think the fan suffers from this. Some fans do complain that the movies aren't always from pristine negative film transfers, but they're the same people who would've paid $20 for a 5th generation vhs dupe at a comic book convention a few years back and thought themselves lucky. Now they pay $9.95 to $14.95 for a dvd and they're bitching and moaning.

The transfers are good enough apparently for other DVD companies to scramble to rip-off Retro's titles -- witness the Retro lifted NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST and FANGS OF THE LIVING DEAD from other (unnamed) companies.

BS: Retromedia has recently released special editions of two of your own earlier features -- Alien Dead and Scalps. The commentaries you provided on those releases are thoroughly entertaining, unpretentious, and provide a wealth of information regarding no-budget filmmaking. I loved ‘em. What’s your attitude regarding the release of your own films? Will all of your early work (The Brain Leeches in particular) eventually see the light of day?

FOR: I don't own all of my old films, being a director for hire on many of them. BRAIN LEECHES I let go out through Sinister Cinema as a lark. I have no plans for a wide release of that monstrosity.

BS: You seem to be carving a niche in unearthing and releasing the oeuvre of very obscure, no-budget horror filmmakers. You’ve introduced me to Ed Adlum (Shriek Of The Mutilated, Invasion Of The Blood Farmers) and Don Dohler (Fiend, Alien Factor) among them. Is this something we can expect more of in the future?

FOR: I'm really kind of following my own head on these things and digging up films I think people will enjoy. Our Halloween titles are great and include the previously unreleased BLOODY MOVIE and ZOMBIE DEATH HOUSE with John Saxon, which includes a SHOCK INSURANCE CERTIFICATE valued at a whopping $1000.

BS: Have there been hardships involved with bringing any particular film to DVD? What one release has been the most fulfilling for you?

FOR: We are probably most proud of DEATHMASTER, the old AIP film that was a challenge to track down and a pleasure to put together into an extras rich disc. We are probably most displeased with BLOOD HARVEST inasmuch as we paid an advance for it, released it and then learned the producer didn't actually own it! It's caused no end of trouble for us.

BS: What’s in the future cards for Retromedia? Any new release in the pipeline that you’re really excited about?

I am always excited about what we bring out. I'm delighted to have GLASS MOUNTAIN with Amber Tamblyn, which we have high hopes for. Also, through Image, we will be creating Box Gift Sets from some of the older Retro titles, many of which have been out of print for some time now -- starting with QUEEN KONG/KONG ISLAND in November.