Thanks so much to Mr. Kaufman for the memories and to the MacGuffin Podcast crew for getting it on video for posterity. And confidential to Lloyd: We don’t appear to have that film you mentioned wanting to get here, but we’ll try to get it for your next visit.

Kaufman is of course the co-founder, president and spokesman of Troma Entertainment, the world’s longest running independent film studio. Known for their goofy titles, tasteless humor and copious gore and nudity, Troma movies are one of the few remaining brand names in exploitation cinema. Their distinct approach to filmmaking and sense of humor have inspired a slew of imitators over the years (check out our “Pseudotronic” section to see some of them) and they’ve helped spawn the careers of people like Trey Parker (South Park) and James Gunn (Slither, Dawn of the Dead remake).

Kaufman directed many of Troma’s best and most famous movies, including The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nuke ‘Em High, Troma’s War, Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., Tromeo and Juliet, Terror Firmer and last year’s Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. But in recent years he’s turned much of his attention to helping other people to make movies. Not only does he have the DVD set, he also wrote a memoir (All I Needed To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger) and two instructional books (Make Your Own Damn Movie and Direct Your Own Damn Movie) full of inspirational advice.

If you’ve ever enjoyed a Troma movie (and let’s face it, you love the Toxic Avenger even more than I do) you owe it to yourself to come out on the 8th. We’ve had him in the store before and he’s always been full of hilarious stories and encouraging words.

We’ll have Troma DVDs along with copies of the new Direct Your Own Damn Movie 4-disc DVD set and book for sale.