Ask Mr. Pirro
AN ULTRA LOW BUDGET FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY
Feature films, music videos, trailers, commercials, etc.
AN ULTRA LOW BUDGET FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY
Feature films, music videos, trailers, commercials, etc.
Hi Mr.Pyro this is Taylor and Jasira film majors at purchase college and we have recently discovered your body of work, currently working our way through the movies, so far we have rectuma, the god complex, the curse of queer wolf, rage of innocence we have a few questions for you. What were your original aspirations as a young film maker, and how did that change throughout the course of the films you produced and directed and are your proud of the body work you have made? Our second question is how has your Relationship with your recurring actors developed… Read more »
Hi! I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on the chance of My Mom’s a Werewolf getting any kind of HD restoration or special edition? I realize somebody else wound up directing that film, but you still wrote it, and I’d love to see a high quality scan of it with a commentary by you one day.
PIRRO REPLY: I have nothing to do with that film, so I couldn’t tell you.
I just watched Rectuma and had a really great time. What should I watch next from your catalogue that has a similar vibe?
PIRRO REPLY: Hard to say. They all have their own charm. Maybe God Complex?
I’m curious to know if you’ve tried shooting anything on smartphone.
PIRRO REPLY:Actually we had to use a smartphone for one scene in my last film, The Deceased Won’t Desist. We had a bad video card and had to resort to the phone. It fit in the movie seamlessly.
Where can I find Se Cebon? I really liked your creepy puppet version.
PIRRO REPLY: Glad you enjoy our creepy puppets. You can find what you’re looking for here.
https://vimeo.com/947215581?share=copy
How about Altered Innocence, which is no longer partnered with Vinegar Syndrome? From what I read, Altered Innocence moved from VS’s main distributor to MVD Entertainer Group. Furthermore, it’s LGBT-focused AFAIK
PIRRO REPLY: I suppose anything’s possible. At this time, we’re just concentrating on restoring Polish Vampire.
Will CURSE OF THE QUEERWOLF be re-released on Blu-ray?
PIRRO REPLY: If the Polish Vampire Bluray release is successful there’s a chance that Queerwolf might follow.
What about Blu-ray and 4k UHD? Does Wildeye Releasing distribute movies in those formats?
PIRRO REPLY: Bluray yes. We did a 2K scan for Polish Vampire (4K would have been overkill for a film shot on super 8). It will be coming out in Bluray.
Have you thought about licensing Vinegar Syndrome or Arrow Video or another boutique company to distribute your films?
PIRRO REPLY: Vinegar Syndrome has my film Deathrow Gameshow. I was discussing with them about releasing Polish Vampire, but they kept dragging their feet so I went with a company called Wildeye Releasing. The ‘ultimate’ edition should be coming out later this year. We’re currently restoring it from the original film footage.
Je t’aime Mark !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PIRRO REPLY: Back at ya.
Just watched Curse of the Queerwolf after learning about it from my German professor during one of her lectures.
Great film 😀
ps. what was the casting process like
Best,
Brandon
PIRRO REPLY: Thanks for sharing your experience. We made Curse of the Queerwolf over 25 years ago, and it seems to be more relevant today than it was when we made it. Glad you enjoyed the movie. Actually most of the actors in the film were already friends. Only a few actors came from a casting call.
…and so we sit down at a meeting, thinking about a new Logo for our local queer club…the heraldic animal of our town is the wolf…the local bus-service is even called “lup” and our local soccer team are the wolves…
You know what happened next: someone came up with the idea of a QUEERWOLF and we googeled…watched the trailer and stuff.
We are even planning to watch this masterpiece at an upcoming movie night! It seems to be so incredibily funny…too funny to offend…
Greetings from the heart of Europe
Erwin
PIRRO REPLY: I’m flattered.
Hello there I recently saw the film Deathrow Gameshow and it was absolutely amazing. I had some ideas about a sequel and was wondering if you’ve ever thought about doing one in this day and age. Would love to discuss it with you. Cheers, Samael PIRRO REPLY: Glad you enjoyed Deathrow Gameshow. Back in the day, we’d considered making a sequel called Skidrow Gameshow, but abandoned that idea almost as quickly as it came up. I’m not really interested in attempting to revisit that concept today as it appears the world has almost caught up to the movie, and it’s… Read more »
My roommate and I’ve been watching old episodes of USA’s Up All Night
and tonight we caught your film A
Polish Vampire in Burbank and were blown away by it! It was really funny
in a way that seemed not yet that popular at the time but would be
later on (forward looking in it’s (subversive’s not the
exact word I mean but the best I can
think of at this late hour) sense of humor) and I just felt compelled to commend you on it (not that I’m sure other’s haven’t). Any ways we really enjoyed it and appreciate
that you spent the time making it!
Only the best,
David and Dakota in northern Idaho
PIRRO REPLY: Hello David,
Glad you and your roommate enjoyed A Polish Vampire in Burbank. However, if you watched the USA Up All Night version, then you missed a lot of the movie. Numerous cuts had to be made for that presentation due to copyright issues, censorship restraints, and time. You can see the complete unedited movie on TubiTV (as well as many of our other, better films).
https://tubitv.com/movies/517785/a-polish-vampire-in-burbank?start=true
Thanks for your feedback.
Hey Mark.. you don’t know me but I just ordered curse of the queer wolf from Amazon this week and it arrived today and I just watched it with my husband.. I have to say.. We haven’t laughed so hard at a movie in forever.. well done.. thanks for bringing your talents to life.. we’re probably going to order all your movies now lol.. just thought I’d give a shout out to you.. you just became my favorite movie producer/director PIRRO REPLY: Hey David, Glad to hear that you enjoyed Queerwolf. At the time we made it back in 1988,… Read more »
Hi, Do you think there is a nostalgia for the super 8 aesthetic? Do you think it brings memories of your youth?
PIRRO REPLY: Not for me. I couldn’t get away from that crappy medium fast enough.
Mark,
How on earth did you get the rights to the movie clips and music in PVIB on just 2500 bucks? Not to mention getting Eddie Deezen.( He’s my favorite nerd.)
PIRRO REPLY: I’m not sure if I understand the question. I own all rights to the film, so clips and music sort of go with that. Deezen wanted to star in the film, but that all changed once under production.
Hi mark, I was wondering what your thoughts were relating to film making with super 8 on your film Polish Vampire? Thanks
PIRRO REPLY: Shooting super 8 was the most inexpensive format to shoot a film in back in those days. I would never use an archaic medium like that today.
I was a member of AFTRA in the 1980’s when I was a writer-producer at a TV station in the Midwest. I later accepted a promotion into management which meant withdrawing from the union. All these years later, I just discovered I could have been eligible for an AFTRA pension–and STILL COULD BE–if I can get paid just $2,000 more for covered work! And I do have an offer for voice-over work by a production unit that can pay into AFTRA’s Health & Pension fund. Problem is, there’s no AFTRA now, just SAG-AFTRA and while AFTRA has all my past… Read more »
Hi the pictures of the making of the dead want desist look very cool could I please ask what the camera is you are using to film it please
PIRRO REPLY: I think it was a Canon 5D, but not completely sure. You’d have to ask our Cinematographer, Bruce Heinsius (who can be easily found on Facebook).
Hello, sir! Thank you for your cinematic insanity. My question today is, who painted the poster for Deathrow Gameshow?
PIRRO REPLY: Sorry to say I have no idea. That was commissioned by the folks at Crown International Pictures, who financed the film.
Hello Mark! I’m interested about low-budget filmmaking and polish motives in whole cienema. Now i writing a post about Polish Vampire for my blog. Your first movie is a great exaple for that. I found your full debiut Polish Vampire few years ago and it was very cool experience for me. I have a few questions about it! It will be great if you can answer for those questions. Who came up with the idea with the polish origin of your vampire and why he doesn’t know about it ? Who came up with the idea with the name dupah and… Read more »
Mark, I have been looking for Polish Vampire in DVD for years. My parents have it on VHS. Unfortunately, I am overseas. Can your company deliver DVDs of your movies overseas? I am, and have been, a massive fan for years and love everything you have made. Please help a fan out and tell me what I need to do to get it overseas. Your movies are great game night/hookah smoking movies when I bring my co-workers over. PIRRO REPLY: Yes, we can ship DVDs overseas and often do. Just go to our products page and place your order checking… Read more »
Yes, Simitar was its first video release. Then it was released by a company called EDDE ENTERTAINMENT, then the MTI DVD and then finally the remastered 25th-anniversary version. The alteration of the running time is mainly because the original release had ‘frame hops’ at practically every splice, which were removed in the remastering. Since the film was edited using the camera original, the film would jump a bit just before a splice went through. You can see it blatantly in the Simitar version. When the film was remastered, all splices were eliminated, and some of those eliminations involved anywhere from… Read more »
To be honest, I don’t recall what the remastered version of the DVD is. I think it’s 4:3, but it’s been so long since we did it, I don’t remember. The version on TubiTV is from a digital remastering that I gave them. The picture might be slightly cropped to eliminate any obvious splices that were visible.
I need to add to what I posted earlier, Mark. I now have no less than 3 different versions of Polish Vampire on video. One is from the 80’s VHS release by Simitar (the first video release?) which has a running time of 83:00. Then I have the first DVD release from MTI (the “mosquito” cover) which runs 79:00. Finally, I have the 720p HD version I got off of Tubi, which runs 80:00. I realize frame rates can affect running times, but are you aware of anything else that may or may not have been chnged to affect the… Read more »
Mark, I asked you here 7 years ago regarding that faux widescreen version, but wasn’t aware you had cropped it for the more recent DVD release (I used to have that old “mosquito cover” release). I’m still puzzled by your decision (it is your movie after all, though) to crop it to 16×9 when the film logically was never composed for or intended for a widescreen viewing. In most instances of an older 4×3 ratio film, at least on Blu-ray, they retain the original intended ratio by centering that ratio/image in a 16×9 screen. I haven’t seen your remastered version… Read more »
Sounds fun. I’ll respond to you via email.
Mr. Pirro,
I co-produce a Horror Host internet TV show called Mistress Peace Theatre. We are very interested in hosting your movie, A Polish Vampire in Burbank, on our show. We feel it would be an excellent movie to feature as it very much fits in with the style and feel of our show. We appreciate any consideration you give this and hope to hear back from you soon.
Monica
Actually, there was a stage adaptation done in 1995, which ran for four months in Hollywood. Four additional songs were added, plus a romance between the two main kids was embellished.
Mr. Pirro, has there ever been a stage adaptation of NUDIST COLONY OF THE DEAD? If not, how would you feel about it being adapted in that medium?
The remastered version was slightly altered to fit better on HD televisions. It’s not a true 16X9 though, just slightly masked. The camera original was 4X3, which only exists on the old VHS tapes.
Mark, I bought the new updated version of PVIB and it’s 16×9 and I’m curious if your older version was 16×9 or 4×3?
I’m actually curious to get the old version now to see the difference.
You can get it through this website. It may get on ebay again in the future.
Hi Mark, I was going to buy a copy of the DVD “The God Complex” on eBay but I saw today it’s no longer listed. Could you list it again or contact me via email so I can purchase it? My original copy is worn out. By the way I was an extra in it. Thanks.
Ass burgers? Never heard of it.
Dear Mr. Pirro,
You still stand on the fact that you don’t have any respect for South Park, right? And that you still like Family Guy? Hopefully you didn’t go full-on “Ass-burgers” and 100% retconned everything you said
There was once a time when we offered CDs of Nudist Colony of the Dead, but not anymore. Sorry. Anyway, glad you enjoyed the movie. I hope you saw the remastered version, which is much improved over the original 1991 version.
My family just discovered Nudist Colony of the Dead, and we’re hooked! We try to watch a few low budget horror films a month, and we’re going to have to work our way through your filmography now that we’ve discovered it.
We were completely sold on the music. Is there anywhere that the soundtrack can be purchased, either physically or digitally?
Thank you for a very nice letter. It’s always great to hear from those who appreciate our work. We’ve been dedicated to our filmmaking craft for many decades and still haven’t lost the passion for it. Glad to hear it shows and you were able to pick up on it.
oh, and it’s not Puerto…I don’t think.
Dear Mr. Pirro, A friend of mine invited me to your Celluloid Soul movie premiere last night. I went in with low expectations because I’ve seen low budget movies and find many of them to be either self absorbed, cheap feeling or just plain boring. Your film took me completely off guard. It touched me in a way that I never expected and brought me to tears by the end. I know so many people who strive to make a success of themselves and for reasons beyond their control don’t succeed. They do everything right but somehow success eludes them.… Read more »
Glad you enjoyed the movie. Since every character I create in movies comes out of my head, naturally they all carry a part of me, but understand that this is pure fantasy; from the main character’s obsession with Ida to his finally accepting miracles, which in the real world is utter nonsense. But in fiction, you can go anywhere and make the impossible possible. That’s what I love about filmmaking: anything goes. But everyone who sees any movie will gather what they can out of it, since everyone comes to every movie with their own set of life’s filters. As… Read more »
Dear Mark: It was a pleasure to attend your premier of Celluloid Soul last night. Good to see old friends and relatives and met some new ones. I enjoyed the film very much and saw so much of you in the main character. Sort of like your life in review and where these mature years are taking you in filming. We often reflect in our (mine not yours) golden years. The if only’s that one second mistake, that alters our lives forever. This causes some of us living with denial and regret. I feel you that your movie script caught… Read more »
Hey thanks. I have no way of checking where orders come from or where they go, but I appreciate the support. It’s always great to hear that people out there appreciate our little dog and pony shows.
Mr. Pirro-I am a fan. If you doubt, I bet your largest video rental outside of California is New Braunfels, TX. Just check. LOVE your work.
Glad you enjoyed Queerwolf. Of course, it was almost 30 years ago since we made it and technology has certainly improved. Back then, we were lucky to just get an exposure. Things have come a long way since then, and I’d like to think our filmmaking has improved substantially. Please keep me posted as you discover our other works. Hopefully you will find them as entertaining as you found QW.
I recently stumbled across Curse of the queerwolf, I was expecting a low budget exploitation movie sold purely on it’s name and not it’s content. I was wrong, very very wrong, it was absolutely bloody fantastic. A self aware comedy that left me aching with laughter and several of my friends at the same time. We do a movie night a couple of times a week and have decided we’re going to try and watch one of your movies every week until we have seen them all and can look forward to the greatness that Celluloid soul must entail. >… Read more »
Really?? Wow. What were they selling it for? That’s gotta be an almost 40 year collector’s item. I wonder how it made it all the way to Connecticut.
I found an original “The Spy Who Did It Better” t-shirt at a thrift store in central Connecticut! Hilarious! Looking forward to catching up with your work.
If you’re talking about our early films, since their budgets were so low; yes, the HD remastering would definitely exceed the original production and processing costs.
We’re always looking into putting out remastered versions of our early works. There is an HD remastering of Deathrow Gameshow, which comes out the end of October 2016, and the Queerwolf master footage is being looked at by a restoration company in Rochester, NY.
Sir! brother and I were wondering if the costs of HD remastering and processing exceeds the costs of original production and processing?
Any possibility of a future “definitive collection”? Thank you for making manifest your creative visions.