"Troll 2" Documentary "Best Worst Movie" Now Available on DVD - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

JamesG · 03-22-2009, 10:06 AM

Troll 2: Talking with the Alabama dentist who helped make the 'Best Worst Movie' of all time
Mar 11, 2009, 08:00 AM | by Clark Collis

"We were just trying to be good citizens of Utah, helping this Italian crew make a movie" says part-time actor -- and full-time dentist! -- George Hardy of his participation in the 1990 movie Troll 2. What he actually helped make is what bad-film aficionados widely agree to be among the worst movies of all time. Troll 2 is a ludicrously scripted, appallingly acted B-movie that is also, confusingly, not a sequel to the Sonny Bono-starring 1986 flick Troll. In fact, this straight-to-video film doesn't even feature any trolls. Rather, it concerns goblins in the town of Nilbog (yes, that's goblin spelled backward) who turn humans into vegetables, which they then eat. (The goblins are vegetarians.)

Troll 2 has attracted a growing army of fans over the past few years who have packed screenings around the country. The film, and the cult that has sprung up around it, is now the subject of a documentary. Titled Best Worst Movie, the film was directed by Hardy's Troll 2 costar Michael Paul Stephenson and will debut at the SXSW Film Festival on March 14. EW spoke to the none-more-genial Hardy about Troll 2, his unlikely status as a cult movie icon, and, of course, teeth.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How's it going?

GEORGE HARDY: Great. I'm very honored to be talking to Entertainment Weekly. Although this is my second interview with you. Back in 1995, someone there interviewed me about these movie-viewing glasses that I had for my dental office. You put these glasses over the patient's eyes and it looks like there's a big screen. I was one of the first dentists in the United States to do it. I would show people Troll 2 while I was drilling on their teeth.

Isn't it bad enough that you're drilling their teeth without making them watch your terrible movie as well?

Exactly! Exactly! I know! [Laughs] But, I remember extracting someone's tooth once and they wanted to stay after the extraction to watch the rest of the movie. They were so enthralled by it.

So, how does an Alabama-born dentist end up starring in an Italian-made, Utah-shot horror movie?

I had a little background in acting at high school. But I went into the dental field because I like working with my hands. Shortly after, I ended up going out to Salt Lake City. One day, a patient comes in -- she was an actress -- and she said, you ought to audition for things. So, I got an agent, and she calls me and says, "George, there's this movie going on up in Park City." I auditioned to about nine or 10 Italians in this smoke-filled room -- no one spoke English –- and a day or two later I get the phone call saying I'd gotten the second lead.

My heart almost came out of my chest. It was a three-week shoot for me. I would kind of alternate days of going into my dental practice and then going out and shooting with all these Italians. Very few of them spoke English, except Laura Gemser who was our wardrobe lady. She was famous from a lot of Italian porn films.

Were you aware at the time that she had previously appeared in the likes of Emanuelle: Queen Bitch and Emanuelle in Hell?

No, little did we know. But she was very sweet.

What was the shoot like?

Michael and myself would sit over in the corner and try to decipher the script. We just couldn't understand what it meant. Literally, we had no clue.

What exactly was the problem?

The way it was written was not the way Americans speak. One of us would say, to Claudio [Fragasso, Troll 2 director], this is not the way you say this in America. But they would say, "No, no, no, this is the way you do it." We just did what we were told. I think that was because of the language barrier. How can you argue with someone who doesn't understand what you're saying?

Is it true that, originally, you thought the movie was going to be called Goblins?

Yeah, all of us did.

How did they get away with calling it Troll 2 when it is in no way connected to the original Troll?

It is my understanding that Italians will do a film that rides coattails of another. They do it all the time.

When did you first realize that you were the star of a terrible film?

My sister called me and said, "George, your movie's out and I've got to tell you something: It's bad." I go, "Well, how bad is it?" She says, "Well, it's really bad!"

Then one of my patients brought me a copy. I watched it in my dentist's chair. I looked through the viewing glasses and watched the very first scene. I almost got this sick feeling inside of me. I thought, Oh, s--- and put it away. I put it on the shelf and let it collect dust for almost 16 years.

But now you're a cult movie icon who gets treated like a rock star at screenings!

It's amazing. When I meet fans, they literally are shaking. If you go to a screening in Boston or New York, everyone knows the lines. When I started to laugh with it, and not look at it as a serious situation, that's the point I really embraced it. I don't run from it anymore. It's pretty cool being in the worst movie ever.

For Best Worst Movie you and Michael tracked down Claudio in Italy. What was that like?

Honestly, we went with kid gloves on. We didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings. But, how do you break the news to someone that they are the director of one of the worst films in the history of all cinema?

He does seem a little irked during various parts of the film. But I think there was a shift in Claudio when we brought him over to the U.S. and we took him to the screenings and he saw the thrill on people's faces. People would go up to Claudio and say, "This is genius!" And, hey, what is genius, anyway? It could be genius. [Laughs] It could be!

Clearly, Claudio considers Troll 2 a good film. And one with a message! In fact, he told me, via e-mail, that the film is really a polemic against fanatical vegetarianism. Did he mention that during the shoot?

No.

He also said that the actors in the film recite their lines in an intentionally parodic manner.

That wasn't my experience. I was trying to do my best!

The documentary ends with the announcement that Claudio is planning a sequel called Troll 2: Part 2. Would you be prepared to once again put down the drill and pick up a script?

I think so, yeah. Why not? But, how could you catch lightning in a bottle twice? How would you be able to repeat that?

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2009/...-2-how-an.html

Trailer for the upcoming Best Worst Movie - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqRccOQjmVQ

Torgo · 03-25-2009, 11:07 AM

That's cool, I'd like to see that docu.

Though I wouldn't call Troll 2 the worst movie ever made- because of its badness it provides entertainment. I love 'so bad they're good horror movies', 'Pieces', 'Don't Go In The Woods', 'Attack of the Beast Creatures', 'Woodchipper Massacre', Monster Dog, etc.

I recently picked up the double-feature DVD of 'The Last Slumber Party' and 'Terror At Tenkiller', two ultra lowbudget slashers from the 80's. I watched 'The Last Slumber Party' last night- wow, hilariously bad. First slasher I've seen without any screaming, and all the actors had zero emotions. I've never seen someone getting their throat slit look so calm.

And I'm waiting for my 20th Anniversary Edition DVD of Redneck Zombies to arrive in the mail.

But there are horror films I've seen that can't even manage to entertain(at least for me, I know there is an audience out there for them, and some of these films have cult followings)- 'Night of Horror'('78) I would rank as one of the worst I've ever seen, followed by- 'The Brainsucker', 'Hellgate'(sorry, Ron Palillo), 'Backwoods'('01), 'The Maize: The Movie', any film by Todd Sheets, Freeway Maniac....

JamesG · 03-27-2009, 04:37 PM

^ Yes, I've been waiting for this documentary to come out for a while now.

Troll 2 is definitely GOLD. You just can't get any better ..worse.. than this movie.
It is definitely the best worst movie ever.

This scene here just speaks for itself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZabXGe2ayA

JamesG · 12-09-2009, 02:15 AM

Here is a recent clip of Conan ordering us, as the "New Oprah", to watch Troll 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_02lIvkkIU

catlover79 · 12-09-2009, 02:26 AM

Wasn't that the movie where Michael Moriarty and Shelley Hack played a married couple??

JamesG · 12-09-2009, 02:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

Wasn't that the movie where Michael Moriarty and Shelley Hack played a married couple??

You actually asked me that before lol..
They were in the original Troll.

catlover79 · 12-09-2009, 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesG

You actually asked me that before lol..
They were in the original Troll.

Ooops, my mistake.

I bet they're glad they weren't in Troll 2.

JamesG · 12-09-2009, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

Ooops, my mistake.

I bet they're glad they weren't in Troll 2.

Well I like Troll and Troll 2 so..

And Troll is actually being remade I hear.

catlover79 · 12-09-2009, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesG

Well I like Troll and Troll 2 so..

And Troll is actually being remade I hear.

What ISN'T being remade these days??

JamesG · 03-23-2010, 11:56 PM

Here is a new trailer for "Best Worst Movie", the documentary on Troll 2.

It will be coming to select theaters this summer and the home release hasn't been announced as of yet.

www.bestworstmovie.com

The trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTEgCaElKD8

Torgo · 03-24-2010, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesG

Well I like Troll and Troll 2 so..

And Troll is actually being remade I hear.

Yep, John Carl Buechler is remaking his own film.

The funny thing is that because it has a character named Harry Potter, and witches and wizards the JK Rowling fans who aren't aware of the original Troll will be calling the new Troll a rip-off.

JamesG · 03-24-2010, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torgo

Yep, John Carl Buechler is remaking his own film.

The funny thing is that because it has a character named Harry Potter, and witches and wizards the JK Rowling fans who aren't aware of the original Troll will be calling the new Troll a rip-off.

Yeah, there hasn't been any official word on that in a while.

The recent news came from Sept. 2009 when he said that the remake was still happening and that he will be begin shooting in the coming February.

So if that still remains true they should have already started with this...

Torgo · 03-24-2010, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesG

Yeah, there hasn't been any official word on that in a while.

The recent news came from Sept. 2009 when he said that the remake was still happening and that he will be begin shooting in the coming February.

So if that still remains true they should have already started with this...

Maybe he's having funding problems. That or he's battling the studio because they want the long awaited Troll IV.

JamesG · 03-24-2010, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torgo

Maybe he's having funding problems. That or he's battling the studio because they want the long awaited Troll IV.

Well according to the last news bit it was "financially secure" with everything ready to go...

and yeah, I heard there is an unofficial "Troll III" and I've never seen it. I believe it's been called Contamination .7 and The Crawlers.

JamesG · 04-06-2010, 06:36 PM

Best Worst Movie Official Poster
Source: Shock Till You Drop
April 6, 2010

Best Worst Movie - or, the making of Troll 2 - is ready for its theatrical run and an official poster has been revealed.

"In "Best Worst Movie" Michael Paul Stephenson makes his directorial debut by exploring one of the worst and most critically panned movies ever made, "Troll 2", which he starred in twenty years ago as a child.

In 1989, Italian director, Claudio Fragrasso cast small-town dentist Dr. George Hardy and a group of unwitting Utah actors in the ultra-low budget horror film, "Troll 2".

Soon after its disastrous release, Dr. Hardy retired from his short-lived acting career and returned to dentistry in his hometown of Alabama, unaware of the legions of fans that would one day recognize him as a cult movie luminary.

"Best Worst Movie" reveals the improbable heartfelt story of an Alabama dentist-turned-cult-movie icon and an Italian filmmaker as they come to terms with their internationally revered cinematic failure."

Here's where you can find the film!

April 23 – Austin, Alamo Drafthouse
May 14 – New York City, Village East Cinema
May 21 – Los Angeles, Landmark Nuart
June 4 – San Francisco, Landmark Lumiere
June 4 – Berkeley, Landmark Shattuck
July 2 - Washington D.C., Landmark E Street Cinema
July 16 - St. Louis, Landmark Tivoli
July 23 - Atlanta, Landmark Midtown Art Cinema

http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news...s.php?id=14764

03-22-2009, 10:06 AM	#1
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,230	"Troll 2" Documentary "Best Worst Movie" Now Available on DVD Troll 2: Talking with the Alabama dentist who helped make the 'Best Worst Movie' of all time Mar 11, 2009, 08:00 AM \| by Clark Collis "We were just trying to be good citizens of Utah, helping this Italian crew make a movie" says part-time actor -- and full-time dentist! -- George Hardy of his participation in the 1990 movie Troll 2. What he actually helped make is what bad-film aficionados widely agree to be among the worst movies of all time. Troll 2 is a ludicrously scripted, appallingly acted B-movie that is also, confusingly, not a sequel to the Sonny Bono-starring 1986 flick Troll. In fact, this straight-to-video film doesn't even feature any trolls. Rather, it concerns goblins in the town of Nilbog (yes, that's goblin spelled backward) who turn humans into vegetables, which they then eat. (The goblins are vegetarians.) Troll 2 has attracted a growing army of fans over the past few years who have packed screenings around the country. The film, and the cult that has sprung up around it, is now the subject of a documentary. Titled Best Worst Movie, the film was directed by Hardy's Troll 2 costar Michael Paul Stephenson and will debut at the SXSW Film Festival on March 14. EW spoke to the none-more-genial Hardy about Troll 2, his unlikely status as a cult movie icon, and, of course, teeth. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How's it going? GEORGE HARDY: Great. I'm very honored to be talking to Entertainment Weekly. Although this is my second interview with you. Back in 1995, someone there interviewed me about these movie-viewing glasses that I had for my dental office. You put these glasses over the patient's eyes and it looks like there's a big screen. I was one of the first dentists in the United States to do it. I would show people Troll 2 while I was drilling on their teeth. Isn't it bad enough that you're drilling their teeth without making them watch your terrible movie as well? Exactly! Exactly! I know! [Laughs] But, I remember extracting someone's tooth once and they wanted to stay after the extraction to watch the rest of the movie. They were so enthralled by it. So, how does an Alabama-born dentist end up starring in an Italian-made, Utah-shot horror movie? I had a little background in acting at high school. But I went into the dental field because I like working with my hands. Shortly after, I ended up going out to Salt Lake City. One day, a patient comes in -- she was an actress -- and she said, you ought to audition for things. So, I got an agent, and she calls me and says, "George, there's this movie going on up in Park City." I auditioned to about nine or 10 Italians in this smoke-filled room -- no one spoke English –- and a day or two later I get the phone call saying I'd gotten the second lead. My heart almost came out of my chest. It was a three-week shoot for me. I would kind of alternate days of going into my dental practice and then going out and shooting with all these Italians. Very few of them spoke English, except Laura Gemser who was our wardrobe lady. She was famous from a lot of Italian porn films. *Were you aware at the time that she had previously appeared in the likes of Emanuelle: Queen Bitch* and Emanuelle in Hell? No, little did we know. But she was very sweet. What was the shoot like? Michael and myself would sit over in the corner and try to decipher the script. We just couldn't understand what it meant. Literally, we had no clue. What exactly was the problem?** The way it was written was not the way Americans speak. One of us would say, to Claudio [Fragasso, Troll 2 director], this is not the way you say this in America. But they would say, "No, no, no, this is the way you do it." We just did what we were told. I think that was because of the language barrier. How can you argue with someone who doesn't understand what you're saying? *Is it true that, originally, you thought the movie was going to be called Goblins?* Yeah, all of us did. *How did they get away with calling it Troll 2* when it is in no way connected to the original Troll? It is my understanding that Italians will do a film that rides coattails of another. They do it all the time. When did you first realize that you were the star of a terrible film? My sister called me and said, "George, your movie's out and I've got to tell you something: It's bad." I go, "Well, how bad is it?" She says, "Well, it's really bad!" Then one of my patients brought me a copy. I watched it in my dentist's chair. I looked through the viewing glasses and watched the very first scene. I almost got this sick feeling inside of me. I thought, Oh, s--- and put it away. I put it on the shelf and let it collect dust for almost 16 years. But now you're a cult movie icon who gets treated like a rock star at screenings! It's amazing. When I meet fans, they literally are shaking. If you go to a screening in Boston or New York, everyone knows the lines. When I started to laugh with it, and not look at it as a serious situation, that's the point I really embraced it. I don't run from it anymore. It's pretty cool being in the worst movie ever. For Best Worst Movie you and Michael tracked down Claudio in Italy. What was that like?** Honestly, we went with kid gloves on. We didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings. But, how do you break the news to someone that they are the director of one of the worst films in the history of all cinema? He does seem a little irked during various parts of the film. But I think there was a shift in Claudio when we brought him over to the U.S. and we took him to the screenings and he saw the thrill on people's faces. People would go up to Claudio and say, "This is genius!" And, hey, what is genius, anyway? It could be genius. [Laughs] It could be! Clearly, Claudio considers Troll 2 a good film. And one with a message! In fact, he told me, via e-mail, that the film is really a polemic against fanatical vegetarianism. Did he mention that during the shoot? No. He also said that the actors in the film recite their lines in an intentionally parodic manner. That wasn't my experience. I was trying to do my best! *The documentary ends with the announcement that Claudio is planning a sequel called Troll 2: Part 2. Would you be prepared to once again put down the drill and pick up a script?* I think so, yeah. Why not? But, how could you catch lightning in a bottle twice? How would you be able to repeat that? http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2009/...-2-how-an.html Trailer for the upcoming Best Worst Movie - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqRccOQjmVQ Attached Images
	Last edited by JamesG; 11-17-2010 at 12:54 AM.

12-09-2009, 02:26 AM	#5
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	Wasn't that the movie where Michael Moriarty and Shelley Hack played a married couple??
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

04-06-2010, 06:36 PM	#15
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,230	Best Worst Movie Official Poster Source: Shock Till You Drop April 6, 2010 Best Worst Movie - or, the making of Troll 2 - is ready for its theatrical run and an official poster has been revealed. "In "Best Worst Movie" Michael Paul Stephenson makes his directorial debut by exploring one of the worst and most critically panned movies ever made, "Troll 2", which he starred in twenty years ago as a child. In 1989, Italian director, Claudio Fragrasso cast small-town dentist Dr. George Hardy and a group of unwitting Utah actors in the ultra-low budget horror film, "Troll 2". Soon after its disastrous release, Dr. Hardy retired from his short-lived acting career and returned to dentistry in his hometown of Alabama, unaware of the legions of fans that would one day recognize him as a cult movie luminary. "Best Worst Movie" reveals the improbable heartfelt story of an Alabama dentist-turned-cult-movie icon and an Italian filmmaker as they come to terms with their internationally revered cinematic failure." Here's where you can find the film! April 23 – Austin, Alamo Drafthouse May 14 – New York City, Village East Cinema May 21 – Los Angeles, Landmark Nuart June 4 – San Francisco, Landmark Lumiere June 4 – Berkeley, Landmark Shattuck July 2 - Washington D.C., Landmark E Street Cinema July 16 - St. Louis, Landmark Tivoli July 23 - Atlanta, Landmark Midtown Art Cinema http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news...s.php?id=14764 Attached Images

03-25-2009, 11:07 AM	#2
Torgo Omaha & Fritz Forum Star Join Date: Mar 06, 2004 Location: Oregon Posts: 19,050	That's cool, I'd like to see that docu. Though I wouldn't call Troll 2 the worst movie ever made- because of its badness it provides entertainment. I love 'so bad they're good horror movies', 'Pieces', 'Don't Go In The Woods', 'Attack of the Beast Creatures', 'Woodchipper Massacre', Monster Dog, etc. I recently picked up the double-feature DVD of 'The Last Slumber Party' and 'Terror At Tenkiller', two ultra lowbudget slashers from the 80's. I watched 'The Last Slumber Party' last night- wow, hilariously bad. First slasher I've seen without any screaming, and all the actors had zero emotions. I've never seen someone getting their throat slit look so calm. And I'm waiting for my 20th Anniversary Edition DVD of Redneck Zombies to arrive in the mail. But there are horror films I've seen that can't even manage to entertain(at least for me, I know there is an audience out there for them, and some of these films have cult followings)- 'Night of Horror'('78) I would rank as one of the worst I've ever seen, followed by- 'The Brainsucker', 'Hellgate'(sorry, Ron Palillo), 'Backwoods'('01), 'The Maize: The Movie', any film by Todd Sheets, Freeway Maniac....

03-27-2009, 04:37 PM	#3
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,230	^ Yes, I've been waiting for this documentary to come out for a while now. Troll 2 is definitely GOLD. You just can't get any better ..worse.. than this movie. It is definitely the best worst movie ever. This scene here just speaks for itself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZabXGe2ayA

12-09-2009, 02:15 AM	#4
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,230	Here is a recent clip of Conan ordering us, as the "New Oprah", to watch Troll 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_02lIvkkIU

03-23-2010, 11:56 PM	#10
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,230	Here is a new trailer for "Best Worst Movie", the documentary on Troll 2. It will be coming to select theaters this summer and the home release hasn't been announced as of yet. www.bestworstmovie.com The trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTEgCaElKD8