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When, as a
boy, I watched THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD in a darkened
theater, I knew my life had changed forever. At the Saturday
matinee, Westerns were giving way to sci-fi monster movies and
I was intrigued by their imaginative narratives. By the end of
the 1950's I strived to see every fantasy film I could. Many
were great but I embraced even the worst of them harboring the
idea that maybe even I could make a film as good as that.
Buying a used movie camera I started making my own monster
movies in high school and continued to do so at Florida State.
Graduating from 8mm to Super 8 to 16mm, each production became
more elaborate though all were extremely low budget. In the
mid-1970's after I had completed location filming on my sci-fi
superhero film, ASTRON, STAR WARS was released and in one fell
swoop rang the death knell on ultra low budget movies. I spent
the next decades in publishing but my love for low budget
imaginative films never waned.
In recent years I have returned to film making via digital
video in an attempt to fulfill a life-long dream. CultRetro is
a site through which I am able to release new digital video
productions along side the old films of my youth. Here also
are many of the old monster movies, action cliffhanger serials
and black and white TV shows that inspired me to become a
filmmaker. At an age when most slow down and retire, I am
working harder than ever and loving every minute of it. Why?
Because making movies is thrilling to me. It's a natural
extension to my long career in art. Frank Zappa defined art as
"making something out of nothing... and selling it." That's
what I'm doing here.
Nothing on CultRetro will be anything like STAR WARS and
that's the way I like it. It is our goal to release a new,
original production here every two months. We at CultRetro are
working very hard at making something out of nothing and
having a ball while we're at it. Hopefully you will find our
efforts to be fun and entertaining.
Bill Black
Nightveil Media Producer / Director / Writer
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THE THING
FROM ANOTHER WORLD? Never saw it. Saturday matinees? Long dead
before my time. I’m part of that Star Wars generation that
grew up on the flash and spectacle of big budget special
effects films. If you’re like me, or perhaps even younger, you
may be wondering if these old movies have any relevance to
you. Just dusty old nostalgia flicks for old guys, right? But
Star Wars and Indiana Jones and their summer blockbuster
offspring all come directly from these old classics. There’s a
whole lot of Nyoka Gordon in the adventures of Dr. Jones, and
Star Wars is quite simply the most expensive serial
cliffhanger series ever made. I like watching this old stuff
because it gives me a fresh perspective on the movies that I
like today. And you may discover, as I have, that more than a
few of the classics are just good movies in their own right.
I’m also a Star Trek fan, which I think is probably what draws
me to Bill Black’s original features. I am absolutely
fascinated by the ambition of the original TV series with Kirk
and Spock… though that was before my time as well. At that
time with that low budget and at that low level of effects
technology, the Star Trek TV series played with some pretty
big ideas and occasionally pulled off some pretty spectacular
stuff. Sure it wasn’t ALL good, but there are some great
MOMENTS in there that are unforgettable… moments that
transcend the limitations of time and budget and technology.
That’s what I see in what Bill is putting together here.
Anyone can make a movie if they have a million dollar budget,
but take a look at what Bill is doing for under a thousand
dollars in 2009! Smarty Pants Entertainment may never be able
to give you a great movie, but every now and then we hope to
give you some pretty great MOMENTS and a laugh or two along
the way.
JohnJG
Assistant Director |
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Hey,
everybody welcome to the site! I hope you enjoy these movies
as much as I did performing in some of them. Bill Black is an
incredible guy to work with. Not only is he talented and fun
but he keeps an open mind and is always ready to take a risk
and follow his dreams. He is truly an inspiration and one of
the reasons why I am now in Los Angeles. Enjoy!"
Maria Paris
Actress - Nightveil, The Blue Bulleteer and many others |
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I came
along too late to truly be a child of the Saturday matinee. In
fact I can only recall attending one, very near the end of the
heyday of the experience. I was exposed to the creepy classics
of another era via another tradition of American
entertainment: The Horror Host.
When I was six, I was introduced to scary films through their
airing on “Shock Theater” featuring the legendary Ernie
Anderson as “Ghoulardi”. With his acerbic asides and flawless
timing, Ghoulardi ushered me into the world of the B-to-Z
grade horrors of the previous generation. With him, and with
such hosts as Hoolihan and Big Chuck (And Lil’
John), Super Host, The Ghoul, Sir Graves Ghastly, Frank
and Drac, and many others. I grew to love not just the
respected classics, but also those – let’s say “inexpensive”
films which were often more fun than fearful, and served up
silly along with scary.
Slam-bang action serials came along with the monster movies.
Each week, I eagerly settled in front of the TV for another
chapter of Flash Gordon, feeling much the same excitement that
kids of the fifties must have had in their theatre seats.
(Except that Ghoulardi would appear and read along the teaser
opening of the episode.)
Somehow, in our modern time, we seem to have lost our
appreciation for the charm of a film driven mostly by
imagination and heart. No producer seems willing to stand up
and champion a style of innovation, inspiration, and
resourcefulness. Most would rather solve problems by throwing
money at them, usually resulting in a production less
memorable than the “old clunker” films of the fifties and
early sixties.
Pardon me, I should have said “No other producer.”
For into this creative void steps now Bill Black. Scorning big
budgets and technical hurdles that could derail a lesser
filmmaker, Bill brings back the boiling energy and commitment
to just telling a fun story that was the hallmark of the
movies he loved and still loves.
I have had the happy experience of acting in a few of Bill’s
more recent works, and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more if it
had been a major studio release with all the trimmings. Thanks
to Bill I have been able to appear in the kind of productions
I always wanted to do as a child. Often just the way I wanted
to do them!
Here at Cult Retro, you can shake free of the modern blinders
that insist that only the glossy and slick have value. Join us
in this effort to restore wide-eyed wonder to fantastic films
and return to the energy and charm of an era not quite lost.
“Cult Retro, go-go-GO!”
Mike Acord
Actor - Lon Madnight, The Cloak and many others |
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