INTERVIEW: The Cinematic Passions of Fred Olen Ray

When you think of cinephile director’s, the names that usually come to mind are Joe Dante, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino...but what about Fred Olen Ray? Ray is the filmmaker behind such video store classics as EVIL TOONS, HOLLYWOOD CHAINSAW HOOKERS, and ARMED RESPONSE, but he’s also a massive film fan. He wrote a book called THE NEW POVERTY ROW about independent distributors, casts forgotten stars, like Bowery Boy actor Huntz Hall, in his projects, and he also runs a DVD distribution company RETRO MEDIA where he’s released films like PLANET OF THE DINOSAURS, THE ALIEN FACTOR and THE BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE with brand new special features. Fred was nice enough to take some time to have a chat with me about his film fandom and directorial career, so I hope you enjoy the discussion that jumps right into his answer to my question “How do you cast your pictures?” RETROMEDIA'S FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/The-Official-Fred-Olen-Ray-Page-113544948689048/ THE BET OF FROM THE JACK-O COMMENTARY TRACK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1rirOuQsDg