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Troma Inc.

Type Private

Industry Films

Founded 1974

Founder Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz

Headquarters New York City, New York

Key people  Lloyd Kaufman

 Michael Herz

Website http://www.troma.com

Troma Entertainment is an American independent

film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in
1974.[1] The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror
genre. Many of them play on 1950s horror with elements of farce, parody, gore and
splatter.[2]
In 2012, the company officially released many of its films on YouTube.[3] Troma has
produced, acquired and distributed over 1,000 independent films since its creation.[4] Its
slogan in 2014 was "40 years of Disrupting Media".[5] Another slogan the company has
used is "Movies of the Future."[6]

Contents

 1Company information
 2History of Troma Studios
 3Work since 1995
 4Troma goes Hollywood
 5Other work
o 5.1TromaDance
o 5.2Kaufman's books
 6Films distributed by Troma
 7Films formerly distributed by Troma
 8Sub-divisions
 9Tromaville
 10References
 11External links

Company information[edit]
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Troma films are B-movies known for their surrealistic or automatistic nature, along with
their use of shocking imagery; some would categorize them as "shock exploitation films".
They typically contain overt sexuality, nudity, and intentionally sadistic, gory, and
blatant graphic violence, so much that Troma film has become a term synonymous with
these characteristics. Troma reuses the same props, actors, and scenes repeatedly,
sometimes to save money. At a certain point, however, this became another hallmark of
Troma. Examples include a severed leg, a penis monster, and the flipping and exploding
car filmed for the movie Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., which is used in place of any other car
that needs to crash and explode.
Troma produced or acquired early films featuring several rising talents, such as Carmen
Electra (The Chosen One), Billy Bob Thornton (Chopper Chicks in Zombietown), Vanna
White (Graduation Day), Kevin Costner (Sizzle Beach, U.S.A.), J. J.
Abrams (Nightbeast), Samuel L. Jackson (Def by Temptation), Marisa Tomei (The Toxic
Avenger), Michael Jai White (The Toxic Avenger Part II), Vincent D'Onofrio (The First
Turn-On!), David Boreanaz (Macabre Pair of Shorts), Paul Sorvino (Cry Uncle!), James
Gunn (Tromeo and Juliet), Trey Parker and Matt Stone (Cannibal! The Musical), before
they were discovered. Another Academy Award-winning director, Oliver Stone, made his
debut as an actor in The Battle of Love's Return.
Their latest productions, Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1 and its sequel Return to
Return to Nuke 'Em High AKA Volume 2, were released in 2013 and 2018, respectively.

History of Troma Studios[edit]

In the mid-1970s, Kaufman and Herz began producing, directing, and distributing
raunchy sex comedies such as The First Turn-On! and Squeeze Play!. Troma provided
production support for Louis Malle's My Dinner With Andre, for which Kaufman served as
a production manager.[7][8][9]
In 1985, Troma had a hit with the violent comedy horror superhero film The Toxic
Avenger. The film went on to become Troma's most popular, spawning sequels and an
animated television program. However, following the financial demise of the company
Troma itself, the sequels to the film were box office bombs, and the cartoon adaptation
quickly ended. The Toxic Avenger character is now Troma's official mascot.
Kaufman's follow-up film to The Toxic Avenger was Class of Nuke 'Em High, co-directed
with Richard W. Haines. The film was a hit nearly as successful, though it inspired two
unsuccessful sequels, both following the financial demise of Troma. At one time, it was
the highest-selling VHS release for Troma.
The Toxic Avenger was turned into a musical which debuted at the George Street
Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey and opened in New York in the fall of
2008. The Toxic Avenger Musical book by Joe DiPietro, the author of the long-running I
Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and All Shook Up, was released the same year.
The music is by David Bryan, keyboardist of the rock band Bon Jovi.[10]
Soon after Class of Nuke 'Em High was completed and distributed, Kaufman
directed Troma's War. Intended as a criticism of what it saw as Ronald Reagan's attempt
to glamorize war, the story concerns a group of everyday people who crash land on a
remote island, only to find it populated by an isolationist militia that intends to overthrow
the US government. Troma's War was a box office bomb. In the aftermath of the film's
poor performance, despite another stab at the superhero genre with Sgt. Kabukiman
N.Y.P.D., Troma experienced financial hardship and tried to reestablish itself as a smaller
company mostly out of necessity.
Today, the majority of Troma films are viewed for the first time on VHS or DVD, with
some theatrical releases for their films in smaller art houses, college campuses, and
independent cinemas.
In August 2012, Troma released over 100 of its back catalog films on YouTube, many for
free, some for 48-hour paid viewing.[11]

Work since 1995[edit]

From 1995 to 2000, Troma had a period of creativity and produced some of their greatest
work. Kaufman directed three independent films, all distributed in limited theatrical
releases: Tromeo and Juliet, a loose parody of Shakespeare's play; Terror Firmer,
a slasher film loosely based on Kaufman's book All I Need to Know about Filmmaking I
Learned from The Toxic Avenger, and an independent film sequel to The Toxic
Avenger trilogy titled Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV.
Troma's financial hardship worsened after the botched funding of a low-budget video
feature titled Tales from the Crapper, which cost $250,000 despite most of the footage
being completely unusable.[12] India Allen, one of the producers, backed out of the film
halfway through, and sued Troma, citing breach of contract, slander, sexual harassment,
trade slander, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Kaufman supervised a
reshoot in an attempt to salvage the film, dividing the footage into two parts and recasting
the film as a double feature. Tales from the Crapper was released on DVD in September
2004.
Currently, Troma produces and acquires independent films, despite financial hardships
and limitations. Troma Films has distributed many films from third parties including Trey
Parker's Cannibal! The Musical. Lloyd encourages independent filmmaking,
making cameo appearances in many low-budget horror films, occasionally without fee.
Among his more recent appearances is in former collaborator James Gunn's directing
debut, Slither, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Kaufman's long-time editor Gabriel Friedman co-directed and wrote the screenplay to his
follow-up film, Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, a musical zom-com which made
its official New York premiere on May 9, 2008 (although the film had previewed
numerous times on single screens for over a year). The film opened to positive reviews
from Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times.[13] Financially, Poultrygeist was a
box office disappointment, with a low-box office draw of only $22,623 against a budget of
more than $450,000 (estimated)[14] The feature film was released in 2006 in theaters and
in 2008 on DVD.[15]
During the winter of 2010/2011, Troma produced a feature-length film Father's Day,
which Kaufman calls "a response film to Mother's Day".[16] The film was written and
directed by the Canadian filmmaking team Astron-6, debuting October 21, 2011, at
the Toronto After Dark Film Festival where it took home the top prize of BEST FILM, as
well as five other awards.[17] In 2012 Father's Day was featured on the cover of Rue
Morgue magazine[18] and won Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Male Performance,
and Best Special Effects at The Fantastic Planet/A Night of Horror International film
festival.[19] This is a rare and impressive feat for a film that cost only ten thousand dollars
to make.[20] On October 31, 2012, Father's Day was refused classification in Australia,
which makes it effectively illegal to sell or exhibit the film.[21] A second censored version
was eventually passed with an R18+ rating.[22]

Troma goes Hollywood[edit]

On April 7, 2010, Kaufman confirmed that a PG-13 remake of The Toxic Avenger was
happening and will be produced by Akiva Goldsman. It actually is not the first attempt at
a general audience-friendly version of the franchise, as Make Your Own Damn
Movie noted a prior deal with New Line in the early 90s for a live-action take on the Toxic
Crusaders. Another 1980s Troma classic, Mother's Day will also receive a remake and
will be directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and produced by Brett Ratner. At the time
Kaufman also said that he was negotiating a deal for a remake of Class of Nuke 'Em
High. Shortly after, Troma and Starz Entertainment entered into agreement for the
production of Return to Nuke Em High as a two-volume title. The first volume was
released in theaters and on home video release.[23] The second volume, delayed due to
funding issues, was stated on its Kickstarter website in January 2017 to be nearing
completion.[24]

Other work[edit]
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve
this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced
material may be challenged and removed.
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Protesters outside the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, demanding an award for Troma

TromaDance[edit]
Troma holds an annual Tromadance Festival, originally taking place in Park City, Utah at
the same time as the Sundance Festival to accentuate their true independence from the
mainstream. The festival screens submitted movies from independent filmmakers from
around the world, the best of which are usually released on DVD by Troma or compiled in
the Best of Tromadance series. In parallel, Troma acts as adviser to aspiring filmmakers
with Kaufman teaching classes, contributing cameos and often releasing the finished
films on DVD.
2009 marked the last time Tromadance was held in Utah; the festival was subsequently
relocated to Asbury Park, New Jersey. Additionally, Tromadance adjusted its annual
schedule to take place in April rather than in January as in previous years. In 2014, the
festival moved to New York City and took place in June.
Kaufman's books[edit]
Kaufman has also had some success with several non-fiction books and
a novelization of The Toxic Avenger. Released in 1998, All I Need to Know about
Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger is an autobiography of sorts co-written
with James Gunn. This book chronicles the history of the company, its films, and its
iconic figurehead. Kaufman continued to draw on his experiences as Troma chief in the
"how-to" filmmaking books Make Your Own Damn Movie!, Direct Your Own Damn
Movie!, Produce Your Own Damn Movie! and Sell Your Own Damn Movie!. A DVD box
set has been released to coincide with release of each of the three books. In the video
series, Kaufman interviews famous and infamous filmmakers about various filmmaking
subjects.
In 2006 a novelization of The Toxic Avenger was released. It was co-written by Kaufman
and long time Troma employee Adam Jahnke.

Films distributed by Troma[edit]

Main article: List of Troma films
Also see List of Troma Team Video Titles for a complete list of films distributed by Troma
Entertainment. Below is a list of some Troma distributed films.

 B.C. Butcher
 Beware! Children at Play
 Blood Junkie
 Blood Sucking Freaks
 Cannibal! The Musical
 The Class of Nuke 'Em High series
o Class of Nuke 'Em High
o Class of Nuke 'Em High 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown
o Class of Nuke 'Em High 3: The Good, the Bad and the Subhumanoid
o Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1
o Return to Return to Nuke 'Em High AKA Volume 2
 The Children
 Combat Shock
 Crazy Animal
 Daddy's Deadly Darling
 Def by Temptation
 Dumpster Baby
 Escape from Hell
 Father's Day
 Ferocious Female Freedom Fighters
 The First Turn-On!
 Hanging Woman
 Heavy Mental: A Rock-N-Roll Bloodbath
 Hectic Knife
 Homeless Joe
 Killer Condom
 The Last Horror Film
 Lust for Freedom
 Mad Dog Morgan
 Maniac Nurses Find Ecstasy
 The Middle Finger
 Monster in the Closet
 Mother's Day
 Mr. Bricks: A Heavy Metal Murder Musical
 Nightbeast
 Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead
 Rabid Grannies
 Rednecks
 Redneck Zombies
 Screamplay
 Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.
 Sick Sock Monsters from Outer Space
 Sizzle Beach, U.S.A.
 Space Daze
 Surf Nazis Must Die
 Tale of Two Sisters
 Terror Firmer
 There's Nothing Out There
 The Toxic Avenger series
o The Toxic Avenger
o The Toxic Avenger Part II
o The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie
o Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV
 Tony Trombo's Hick Trek 2
 Troma's Monster Kill
 Troma's War
 Tromeo and Juliet
 Vegas in Space
 VHS Massacre
 When Nature Calls
 Yeti: A Love Story
 Zombiegeddon

Films formerly distributed by Troma[edit]

Some titles which have at one time, or another, been distributed by Troma Inc. have left
the catalog. For instance, My Neighbor Totoro was originally released by Troma's
subsidiary 50th Street Films, but only for a short time, and only for U.S. theatrical release.
Others were briefly licensed for distribution on VHS such as Femme Fontaine Killer Babe
for the C.I.A. which was one of Troma Team Video's original launch titles along with Sgt.
Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. and Class of Nuke 'em High Part III: The Good, The Bad and The
Subhumanoid. Some titles, such as Maniac Nurses Find Ecstasy, are included on this list
because they were previously listed but no longer appear in Troma's catalog.[25]

 Angels' Wild Women

 The Astro-Zombies (as Astro Zombies)
 Baby Doll Murders
 Blood of Ghastly Horror
 Breakin' in the USA (breakdancing instructional video)[26]
 Canadian Ballet
 Chopper Chicks in Zombietown
 Christmas Evil
 Club Life
 The Dark Side of Midnight
 Dracula vs. Frankenstein
 Dragon Gate
 Femme Fontaine Killer Babe For the CIA
 Fist of Fear, Touch of Death
 Ghost Ship (a children's feature film, not the horror film)
 Girls School Screamers
 Hi Mom!
 Hungry Young Woman
 I Spit on Your Corpse
 Invasion for Flesh and Blood
 Jakarta
 Mommy
 Mommy 2: Mommy's Day
 The Nick of Time
 Psycho A-Go-Go
 Pterodactyl Woman From Beverly Hills
 The Puppetoon Movie
 Recorded Live
 Rockin' Road Trip
 Romeo: Love Master of the Wild Women's Dorm
 Satan's Sadists
 Schlock (as Banana Monster)
 Space Freaks from Planet Mutoid
 Splatter University
 The Stendahl Syndrome
 Student Confidential
 That's My Baby!
 Together and Alone
 White Elephant: The Battle of the African Ghosts
 Wildrose

Sub-divisions[edit]
Troma has also created/acquired specialty distributors for its films.

 50th Street Films: distributes independent films aimed at a mainstream audience;

distributed My Neighbor Totoro in theaters
 TromaDance: distributes films from Troma's film festival
 Roan Group: distributes digitally remastered releases of classic films
 EG Sports: distributes golf instructional films by Michael Jacobs

Tromaville[edit]
Most of the films made by Troma Entertainment take place in the fictional New
Jersey city of Tromaville, known as the "Toxic Chemical Capital of the World." Examples
include the Toxic Avenger films and the Class of Nuke 'Em High films. Another film worth
mentioning takes place in a post-apocalyptic Tromaville titled A Nymphoid Barbarian In
Dinosaur Hell. The following is a list of films that either take place in, or mention,
Tromaville.
 The Toxic Avenger
 Class of Nuke 'Em High
 Troma's War
 The Toxic Avenger Part II
 The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie
 A Nymphoid Barbarian In Dinosaur Hell
 Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.
 Class of Nuke 'Em High 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown
 Class of Nuke 'Em High 3: The Good, the Bad and the Subhumanoid
 Tromeo and Juliet
 Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV
 Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead
 Father's Day
 Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1
 The Return of Dolphinman (short film)
 Dolphinman vs Turkeyman (short film)
 Dolphinman Battles the Sex Lobsters (short film)
 Return to Return to Nuke 'Em High AKA Volume 2

References[edit]
1. ^ "Horror Showman". New York Magazine. November 27, 2000. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
2. ^ "TROMA". The Daily Horror; Horror Film Splatter Gore News DVD Bluray Reviews.
3. ^ "Troma Celebrates Upcoming 40th Anniversary by Giving Fans Free Movies on Troma
YouTube Channel". Troma.com. December 6, 2012. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
4. ^ "FAQs". Troma.com.[permanent dead link]
5. ^ Robin, Miranda (April 7, 2016). "FILM: First-Person Review: B.C. Butcher". Topanga
Messenger. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
6. ^ "Kung Fu Necktie". KungFuNecktie.com. Troma Entertainment. 2016.
Retrieved February 8, 2017.
7. ^ Kaufman, Lloyd; Jahnke, Adam; Haaga, Trent (2003). Make Your Own Damn Movie!:
Secrets of a Renegade Director. L.A. Weekly Books. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-312-28864-8.
Retrieved 2012-09-03.
8. ^ Rausch, Andrew J. (2008). Dequina, Michael (ed.). Fifty Filmmakers: Conversations
With Directors from Roger Avary to Steven Zaillian. McFarland. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-7864-
3149-6. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
9. ^ "Kings of the B's". Spin. SPIN media; online at Google Books. 3 (6): 70. September
1987. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
10. ^ Ouzounian, Richard (2009-12-06). "Toxic Avenger found his bard in Bon Jovi". Toronto
Star. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
11. ^ Sharwood, Simon (August 31, 2012). "Schlockmeister Troma's back catalog hits
YouTube". The Register. Retrieved 2012-09-02.
12. ^ {https://www.popmatters.com/the-art-of-ploys-four-terrific-troma-documentaries-
2496206525.html
13. ^ Lee, Nathan (2008-05-09). "Going for the Finger-Licking Gusto". The New York Times.
Retrieved 2010-05-11.
14. ^ "Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead". BoxOfficeMojo.com. IMDb.
Retrieved February 8, 2017.
15. ^ "Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead". Entertainment Weekly. May 22, 2008.
Retrieved 2009-07-24.
16. ^ "Lloyd Kaufman on Father's Day movie! (part one)". YouTube. 2010-08-06.
Retrieved 2012-09-03.
17. ^ "Award Winners 2011". torontoafterdark.com. Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2011.
2011-11-04. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
18. ^ Rue Morgue March 2012 cover (JPG). Listal.com.
19. ^ "Fantastic Planet/A Night Of Horror - Award Winners 2012".
Fantasticplanetfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
20. ^ "Father's Day". Astron-6.com. 2011-10-21. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
21. ^ Quinn, Karl (November 2, 2012). "'Dad rape, maple syrup and friendship' movie
banned". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
22. ^ "Film Censorship: Father's Day (2011)". refused-classification.com.
Retrieved December 29, 2013.
23. ^ Raffel, Lawrence P. (April 7, 2010). "He Finally Hit Puberty! 'The Toxic Avenger'
Remake Confirmed". fearnet.com. Horror Entertainment, LLC. Archived from the
original on April 5, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
24. ^ "Update from Tromaville! We're nearly there!". Kickstarter.com. Troma Entertainment.
January 20, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
25. ^ "Films". Troma.com.
26. ^ Kaufman, Lloyd; Gunn, James (2008). All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned
From The Toxic Avenger. Berkley Boulevard Books. ISBN 978-0-425-16357-3.