Dorkgasm Gonzo Is God

Kenneth Holm: Well, I’ll try to go easy on you for now.

Wayne Clingman: Thanks. Let’s go.

Kenneth Holm: So Wayne, how did you originally get started with “It Came From Lake Michigan”?

Wayne Clingman: “It Came From Lake Michigan” came about because fellow members of the Film Wisconsin group and myself were sitting together on a balcony in Madison, talking about how you get thing going in film. A wonderful man by the name of Will Edwards, who then worked for Raven software and who is now working for the film director (Robert) Rodriguez, the film director down in Texas, said that the best way to do that was to put on a genre film festival, such as a horror genre, science fiction, or fantasy. So, that’s how that got started and we just started moving forward with the whole idea.

Kenneth Holm: Okay, how long as ICFLM been around now?

Wayne Clingman: This is our second year.

Kenneth Holm: For those of us who missed last year, what were some of the highlights?

Wayne Clingman: Well, some of the highlights… We had Lloyd Kaufman (President of Troma); first time he’s ever visited Racine. We had Fred Olen Ray, whose only convention is ICFLM. We illustrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that the state of Wisconsin and the Midwest have talented, independent filmmakers.

Kenneth Holm: Very cool! So, what goes into making a film festival from the ground up?

Wayne Clingman: More work than can be possibly imagined. You have to do… No matter how much help you have, and this year I’ve had some really good help with William Zenobia among others, including Dorkgasm,
I have to wear many hats. I have to be everything from a programmer to a salesperson, to a marketing person. I have to run a bucket fire brigade. Everything ultimately falls upon my shoulders, as it should be, because ultimately the reward will be… As the reward can be shared among other people, as it should be. The risk is all my own, if that made sense.

Kenneth Holm: Have you liked horror and genre movies for pretty much as long as you can remember? You strike me as a well-versed man in the subject of horror.

Wayne Clingman: I liked… I’m more of a science fiction fan than I am… Let me tell you this. I liked the current sci-fi films out there. I think they’re really interesting because the line between what’s science fiction and what’s reality is quickly blurring. I mean, hell, 2001 could even come before I pass, ever since you had computers. We have the ability to destroy ourselves in interesting, unique ways. From bio-terrorism to nuclear weapons to all kinds of strange things. All the amounts of poisons that are injected into our food everyday, especially from the People’s Republic of China which before we were so gleefully stuffing into our pets and ourselves. You know, it could easily be Tales of Terror. At the same time, I love the horror movies of the 50’s through the 70’s. Are you familiar with the Hammer-type films?

Kenneth Holm: Of course.

Wayne Clingman: They didn’t need a lot of gore on the walls to scare people. It was really what was underneath the bed, what was in the closet. You know, what was in the shadows, what is it you didn’t know.
It was definitely more terrifying than going “Oh! There’s a girl! Let’s take her shirt off, let’s cut off her arms, and let’s watch her blood spurt all over”. Anybody… My cat could do that.

Kenneth Holm: (laughter)

Wayne Clingman: I’m sorry, my cat could do better than that. That’s my biggest complaint about the horror genre today is the “Torture Porn” elements. However, at ICFLM, we have a lot of films that don’t show that sort of thing necessarily and are very scary, very frightening films. It proves that you don’t need that flavor to make a successful film.

Kenneth Holm: I definitely agree. One thing I’ve noticed while looking into ICFLM and doing all the behind the scenes work that I’ve been helping with is that the festival feels like it’s actually going to be fun. Fun seems to be a big element that’s lacking from many of these bigger film festivals.

Wayne Clingman: Okay.

Kenneth Holm: This seems to be really fun, though. You’ve thrown together a really interesting lineup of people. How did you decide whom to try to get to come to the festival?

Wayne Clingman: Ah, let’s talk about that. What’s really interesting was with Uwe Boll, because he’s our headliner this year and I have a lot of respect for Mr. Boll. I really do. The reach out feel of his e-mail... Somehow, I got a hold of his e-mail and I wrote him an e-mail to see if he was interested. He said of course he’d love to come, and that took off from there. I think that’s fascinating. That was him. We got (Lloyd) Kaufman because he said if you wanted to do this again, he’d be happy to at least show up. Everybody else that we have were people who I know who are either doing something in the independent horror genre or science fiction / fantasy or trying to get something done. We don’t have to go there because you probably know who’s all coming better than I do. (Note: He’s probably right). We looked at the list of people and that’s how we decided who was going to come. You know if they were nice, or had a reputation of being nice to fans. Their reputation of having fun was one of the main criteria. Too many times I’ve heard from festivals, such as the Fangoria one or the one called Flashback Weekend down in Chicago. You know, the stories about stars being rude to fans. I’m sorry. It’s the fans that are paying your salaries, so why be rude to the people who are ultimately paying your bills? I don’t understand that, and that’s something we avoided.

Kenneth Holm: Well, that’s good news for everyone who’s planning to attend this year’s festival. Now, is there anything you think the fans should know about?

Wayne Clingman: This is a great opportunity for the fan who wants to get an idea of what it takes to make a movie, to come own and talk to people who will be more than happy to talk to them about what it takes to make a film. You know, or those people who may have made a couple of movies with their friends to see what it takes to make a film on that level. It’s a good opportunity to talk to people who make films on a one-on-one basis. When you look at the lineup of people we have here, they’re pretty much from the Midwest. Not all of them per se, for example, Scarlet Salem is from the Minneapolis area. She’s done one or two films. She’s trying to do something, and she’s trying to be someone who’ll be in movies. She’s out there getting it done. We have a guy here by the name of Bryan Braun; called Bryan Bloodsoaker is his stage name. He’s a local Milwaukee filmmaker who has a couple of projects going, just to see what he can’t get done. He showing up to say “This is what I’m doing. How can I help you get something done, too?” We have James Zahn, who I think you know, right?

Kenneth Holm: Yes. We met at the fundraiser for ICFLM.

Wayne Clingman: You know, and he… Not only has he been a great help to ICFLM, but also he’s the type of person who’ll help anybody. You got an idea, you need it done, give him a call. Send him an e-mail. You know, they’re there to help get your project done. He wants to help you do better. I think those things are important as what we as individuals… not only us, but also what we can share as filmmakers, and get our questions answered. You know, going into a situation and being able to talk to Jim or talking to Mark Metcalf, who was The Master on Buffy, and saying what was it like to work in Hollywood? You’ll get an answer.

Kenneth Holm: Which is why I like these smaller film festivals a lot better. They’re more accessible. They’re not “Here’s that guy I wanted to talk to, but his fifteen bodyguards won’t let me near him”.

Wayne Clingman: Last year, at Flashback Weekend, there was one of the stars from House Of 1000 Corpses, and you couldn’t even say hello unless you had money in your hand. Come on. I just paid to get in. I talked to Adrienne Barbeau, and even though she was there selling her book, I talked to her for fifteen to twenty minutes. Not once did she say “Hey, buddy! You want to talk to me; you have to buy my book!” It was nice to have that kind of interaction. That’s one of the things I wanted to bring to ICFLM. We don’t play that, nor will it be tolerated. It’s just for fun. Some people may be selling pictures, or soup labels, but they’ll just talk to you for nothing. They’re just selling their stuff to make some money.

Kenneth Holm: That’s awesome, because it let’s some people talk to stars that they wouldn’t get a chance to talk to normally. It might enrich their lives, you know? It’s a very cool happening. Now, feel free not to elaborate on this, but can we expect any surprises at the festival? You know, like secret goings-on.

Wayne Clingman: I can neither confirm nor deny any rumors that may be floating around.

Kenneth Holm: Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait until the festival, huh? So, now if you don’t mind, how did William Zenobia get involved with ICFLM?

Wayne Clingman: Bill and I have only known each other for a short time, but I want to show you what a great man he is. When I was having a huge crisis last year, Bill Zenobia stepped out of the shadows and saved me.
I had no hope. None. Zippo. The Lord provided Bill Zenobia as an avenging angel. He has no problem says “No. You’re wrong”. He’s a great person to have in your corner.

Kenneth Holm: so, depending on this year’s festival, will we see one next year?

Wayne Clingman: Yes. It will probably be at the same venue, too.

Kenneth Holm: Well, Wayne, I want to thank you for taking the time out of your day to talk to me today.