ROB ROTTEN

I approach Rob Rotten at the AVN Expo to ask him a few questions. Dressed as Hunter S. Thompson for the occasion, Rob is nursing some sort of alcoholic drink. Though a lot of traffic passes the booth he is sitting at, not too many people seem to be bothering him. This is a good thing for me. I hand him my card and introduce myself. He agrees to talk with me and I am invited into his little world.

ROTTEN TO THE CORE

CCF: Ok, before we get started I wanted to let you know I actually haven’t ever watched any of your movies…

RR: That’s fucked up. Why don’t you go watch one and come back? (LOL)

CCF: But, I saw the poster for “Porn of the Dead” and it really caught my eye.

RR: (LOL)

CCF: What can you tell me about this?

RR: Well, it’s a zombie movie and it’s also a porn movie. Its five little mini skits put together to make one. Metro cut it to fuck so part of it doesn’t make sense. They wouldn’t release part of it because they said it was too gory. But there’s still some really good stuff in there. There’s dicks getting bit off, disembowelments, hearts pulled out and eaten, fingers chewed off. Good stuff. It’s nominated for three awards and it has an all death metal soundtrack.

CCF: So as far as gore, you actually had a bit of trouble?

RR: Yeah, it’s fucking ridiculous. They didn’t want to fork out any money for this. Metro was horrified by this movie when I first showed it to them. Honestly, they were like, “Oh my God, we can’t fucking release this!”

CCF: (LOL)

RR: Hopefully the next one will be a lot more involved and be more of a feature.

CCF: What’s the response been like so far from fans?

RR: It’s doing great. We’re getting a great response from it. I’m really happy.

CCF: As far as horror movies, what are some of your influences?

RR: I watch a lot of really bad 50’s and 60’s horror movies. The “Undertaker and his Pals” is a movie I’ve been trying to rip off for years, but no company will ever allow me. They’re just, “How are we going to making a porno about a guy selling someone’s leg to a butcher?” But I think it’s fucking brilliant.

CCF: So what are some of the other movies and directors you are into?

RR: I like the Troma movies, but I’m not a big fan of the mainstream horror movies. The cheaper, the shittier, the better. They have a lot more heart.

CCF: You into Herschell Gordon Lewis any?

RR: I like… I can’t even remember his name now. Too many screwdrivers already. (LOL)

At that point our interview is interrupted by a female. She gets her photo taken with Rob and an autograph. Once she leaves, I try to get my train of thought back.

CCF: As far as doing this type of movie, do you see yourself as a pioneer, breaking new ground in any way?

RR: I do movies that peak my interest. I just do movies I want to see, whether or not people like them, they can go fuck themselves. But most of the time they actually do. I do punk rock movies. I like to incorporate music into them. I don’t know if its breaking new ground, but it’s definitely taking something in a new way. I like to hit all four corners of the envelope and see how far I can take it. It’s a lot of fun. The adult industry has gotten really conservative and they’re afraid to release a lot of things, but hopefully over time we are able to sneak a lot more in there.

More fans approach. This time they are looking for Ron Jeremy. Evidently it’s posted somewhere he is supposed to be at the booth Rob is at. “I don’t fucking know. I don’t schedule this shit,” Rob tells them. Back to the interview.

CCF: To hear you say the adult industry is conservative, that’s sort of a shock to an outsider looking in.

RR: Well, as far as the gore, it’s very conservative. It’s pretty rare for a porno. I was stoked they actually released this.

Another fan approaches. It’s a man in a business suit. He just wants to bother Rob about a Youtube rip-off website that lets users upload porn clips. The man gives Rob a business card and Mr. Rotten tells him he will have to get back to him. Once the man is gone, Rob takes the card and throws it, exclaiming, “Get the fuck out of here!”

CCF: That’s what you’re probably going to do to mine when I leave? (LOL)

RR: (LOL) No, no, that’s the garbage side and this is the keep side.

CCF: The thing I don’t get is there is an audience for these type of movies.

RR: Oh yeah, I believe there’s a big audience.

More business men approach. What, did the CES show next door just let out or something? These guys have a little handheld HD TV which has a hard drive that allows you to store movies on it. They show it off to Rob and he acts as though he knows them on a friendly level. Before he even sees a demonstration of the item, he says, “Fucking give me this. I want one of these.” One of the men goes through files on the hard drive and starts to show Rob clips from a porno, but he spots a file name he’d rather see. “Sponge Bob,” Rob says. “Play Sponge Bob. That’s what I’m talking about.” The man obliges. “Can I have this?” Rob asks. “Get me one of these.” One of the men asks for Rob’s autograph. It seems the man promised a friend he’d get some autographs at the expo and so he has decided to collect only male autographs to piss the buddy off. “Where’s the gay section,” the autrograph seeker jokes. Shortly there after, the men pry the gadget from Rob’s hands and walk off. Back to the interview.

CCF: So what about the “Pirates” approach and make a horror movie that just so happens to have porn in it and make it where it can be cut to an R?

RR: “Pirates” had a budget of a million dollars. I’m not getting that type of budget. To make this movie you could make it for the cost of a grade-b horror movie, but working on one of those, you don’t get paid. I can’t do that in porn. So whatever a grade-b horror movie costs, times it by 2.5 then you have a porno for that type of movie. So that’s the problem. Its porno, it’s not like anyone will do it just for the credit like other movies.

CCF: Oh, I see. So you can’t just do some “Blair Witch Project” with a few scenes of sex that can be removed.

RR: I’ve tried every different angle and you can’t do it. The thing is, I don’t want to do a movie where I’m not paying people. This movie actually cost a lot more than I ever expected. We used 12 gallons of fake blood.

More fans approach, so I look to wind things down.

CCF: But it’s nominated for three awards, so…

RR: Yeah, best videography, most outrageous sex scene and best soundtrack. But it ain’t going to win nothing. I don’t suck ass. I’m not over sucking somebody’s dick trying to get an award. I don’t give a fuck. I submitted a cool movie. Fuck the awards. They don’t increase sales. Who outside the porn industry even knows about the AVNs? They’re bullshit.

CCF: (LOL) Alright. Well, thanks for talking to me. It was fun.

RR: Yeah, man. Thanks a lot.

- CCF, February 2007