By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Richard Elfman, the filmmaker behind the cult classic FORBIDDEN ZONE (starring Oingo Boingo, which he founded with his brother Danny) and Full Moon’s SHRUNKEN HEADS, has wrapped a new, oddball sci-fi comedy called HIPSTERS, GANGSTERS, ALIENS & GEEKS. He gave us some exclusive words and photos, which you can see past the jump.
To start with, the synopsis: “Eddy Pine [Bodhi Elfman] is a jaded actor dealing with the cancellation of his series. To complicate matters, he wakes up with the key to the universe stuck up his ass. Apparently an alien Clown Emperor [Verne Troyer] is in hot pursuit of this, as are his rivals, the Green Aliens. Professor von Scheisenberg [French Stewart] and his comely Swedish assistants, the Svenson sisters [Rebecca Forsythe as Helga, Angeline-Rose Troy as Inga], come to Eddy’s aid. If only Eddy hadn’t fallen for Helga, and then the aliens manipulate his mind to confuse her with Inga! And when the mad little Clown Captain [Martin Klebba] steps on the gas and shifts his spaceship into fourth gear, all hell breaks loose.”
“HIPSTERS was shot in a fast-paced, classic screen-comedy style, and was a total hoot to make,” Elfman, who also plays the clown Da-Beep (1st photo below), tells RUE MORGUE. “I had been working to develop a rather ambitious sequel to FORBIDDEN ZONE, and my producers and I had raised about half the money needed. They asked in the meantime if I had any other projects that would be quicker to shoot and less expensive; this would actually help put ZONE 2 over the finish line. So I locked myself in my little rooftop writing garret with plenty of whiskey and cigars—Punch Grand Cru Robusto de Robustos—blasted my favorite Oingo Boingo and went absolutely nuts for about 15 days and nights. Et voilà!”
Elfman describes the result as “fast-paced, with tons of zany twists and turns, yet grounded in a solid underlying three-act story structure. I literally laughed my ass off writing it. Then, lo and behold, the funding, although modest, came through rather quickly and the universe blessed me with an amazingly talented cast and crew, all graciously working at a fraction of their normal rates. I’m beyond pleased with what my team has accomplished. I loved the special moments when I got to tell my actors, ‘OK, we just got it perfectly the way it’s written in the script; now let’s do another take and totally play with it. I mean, do any fucking thing you want!’ And they often came up with gold! It was long hours, but the most fun I have ever had on a project.”
HIPSTERS is currently in postproduction, and targeting completion this summer. Notes Elfman, “We still have a few bloody heads to explode over at SOTA FX’s horror shop!”
