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.
I just watched Rectuma and had a really great time. What should I watch next from your catalogue that has a similar vibe?
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.
I’m curious to know if you’ve tried shooting anything on smartphone.
Glad you enjoy our creepy puppets. You can find what you’re looking for here.
https://vimeo.com/947215581?share=copy
Where can I find Se Cebon? I really liked your creepy puppet version.
I suppose anything’s possible. At this time, we’re just concentrating on restoring Polish Vampire.
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
If the Polish Vampire Bluray release is successful there’s a chance that Queerwolf might follow.
Will CURSE OF THE QUEERWOLF be re-released on Blu-ray?
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.
What about Blu-ray and 4k UHD? Does Wildeye Releasing distribute movies in those formats?
Back at ya, whoever you are.
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.
Have you thought about licensing Vinegar Syndrome or Arrow Video or another boutique company to distribute your films?
Je t’aime Mark !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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.
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
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.
…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
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 not quite as novel a concept as it once was.
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
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.
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
Hey David, Glad to hear that you enjoyed Queerwolf. At the time we made it back in 1988, we all thought it was pretty funny too. Naturally, I think we’ve made funnier films since (ie Rectuma, God Complex), but it’s nice to know that our older films can still entertain.
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
Not for me. I couldn’t get away from that crappy medium fast enough.
Hi, Do you think there is a nostalgia for the super 8 aesthetic? Do you think it brings memories of your youth?
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.
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.
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.)
Hi mark, I was wondering what your thoughts were relating to film making with super 8 on your film Polish Vampire? Thanks
I’m not up on SAG/AFTRA’s current rules, but my reading of the situation is that if you’re willing to pay the ransom, they will happily take you back. They will never turn down money, even from a castaway.
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).
Sorry to say I have no idea. That was commissioned by the folks at Crown International Pictures, who financed the film.
Sorry about the late reply. Been working on my latest movie and haven’t had a lot of time to check in here. You post a lot of questions for a simple reply, but I’ll answer them as briefly as I can. I came up with all ideas. The name Dupah just sounded exotic enough for a vampire, and since it’s the Polish word for ass, seemed even funnier, as a joke that some people would get, and to others, it wouldn’t matter. The movie was originally entitled “Virgin Vampire,” but when Eddie Deezen left the project, the rewrite started to… Read more »
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
Hello, sir! Thank you for your cinematic insanity. My question today is, who painted the poster for Deathrow Gameshow?
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 »
Yes, we can ship DVDs overseas and often do. Just go to our products page and place your order checking international shipping. That’s all there is to it.
I think we took care of you.
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.
Hello. I am looking for film or photos from Judy Tenuta’s Prom show at The Grove Theatre, Upland, January 2020. My husband and I were crowned Prom King and Queen and we had a great time onstage with Judy. Thank you.
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.