Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Film Podcasts - Vol. 2: Mondo Movie

by ERIK MCCLANAHAN

Daniel Auty and Ben Howard are the go-to guys for genre podcasts. Their show Mondo Movie is a celebration of all things gore and guts. If you’re looking for a show that stays away from mainstream releases, this is it. I spoke with the two podcasters through email correspondence many months ago.

The Aspect Ratio: I'd like to get some biographical information. Where you went to school, what you studied, current day jobs or careers, etc. Things like that.

Daniel Auty: Went to school in near Reading, Berkshire, Coventry and Glasgow... moved around a bit as a kid. Studied English Lit at Glasgow University. Currently work freelance as a web/print designer.

Ben Howard: Went to school and grew up near Reading. Studied Media at Royal Holloway, London University. Worked as head of video at Cnet Networks UK.

The Aspect Ratio: Where does the title for the podcast derive from? I know it has something to do with a genre of horror movies, but what specifically?

DA: Strictly, a Mondo Movie is an exploitation film that purports to be a real life documentary - films like Mondo Cane, Africa Addio and Faces of Death are all 'mondo movies', mixing shocking real life footage and faked material. However, in the sense that we use it, we simply mean 'world films'... movies from around the world that are a little bit unusual, obscure or outside of the Hollywood mainstream.

The Aspect Ratio: How did the idea for the show come along? What got you into podcasting? How long has your podcast been running?

DA: The first episode of Mondo Movie went online in October 2005, so we've been going nearly three years.

The Aspect Ratio: How did the idea for the show come along? What got you into podcasting?

DA: It was Ben's idea - we'd spent the afternoon in the pub discussing movies after watching Cronenberg's A History Of Violence and he'd been listening to podcasts for a bit. So the next day he suggested we do our own show since we always talk about films whenever we get together anyway. At the time there were no other podcasts covering the sort of movies we were in to, so it seemed like a good idea.

The Aspect Ratio: Why a film podcast?

DA: Because that's our first love - we became friends in our teens because we loved movies, and we talk about that subject more than any other. We're both big music fans as well, but films are more fun to talk about!

The Aspect Ratio: What is your goal or mission statement with the podcast?

DA: The main intention is to hopefully highlight some little known or underappreciated movies and introduce them to people. The best emails we get are when listeners say they've gone out and bought or rented a DVD on our recommendation. Other than that, it's just great to be able to sit and talk about films and have film fans from around the world take an interest in what we have to say!

The Aspect Ratio: Give me some insight in to the state of podcasting. Since it is such a young medium, where do you see it going? What can we expect of podcasting in the future?

DA: I think podcasts will continue to grow, but at a slower rate than in the last three years. The most popular shows will continue to be celebrity hosted ones, or ones tied into a popular magazine or broadcasting network. A lot people know what a podcast is now and have their favorites, so there's a smaller audience for new shows to tap. I'm not sure how the medium can really change beyond what it is at the moment - video podcasting will increase, but for the most part I think it will remain as it is.

The Aspect Ratio: Will it become more than a free downloadable internet radio show?

DA: It's very difficult to actually make money from podcasts, and that's what will keep it at the level it's at.

The Aspect Ratio: What do you love about your podcast, and the act of podcasting itself? What drives you to do it? Also, what do you hate (or what bothers you) about podcasts and podcasting?

DA: The idea of hundreds of people around the world listening to what we have to say is the main thrill, plus the idea of communicating with like-minded people that I'd never normally get the opportunity to talk to. There isn't that much that bothers me about podcasts as I don't tend to listen to that many other shows - it's inevitable that there will be some shows I don't like but then I don't listen to them any more. There are loads of terrible shows out there, but that's true of any medium, especially one where ANYONE can start their own podcasts. At the end of the day though, it's only the good/popular ones that will end up sticking around.

The Aspect Ratio: Where do see your show going? How long do you think it will last?

DA: Hopefully we'll be able to stick to putting out two shows a month for the time being. I'd like to get some interviews on the show, but it's a matter of finding the time to set them up - it's hard enough as it is to get a show out every other week, watch all the movies and maintain the website! As for how long it'll last - who knows? Ben and I have no plans to stop at the moment, but I guess if, say, one of us were to move from London it might make things more challenging. But we almost never talk about the show long-term... we rarely know what we're doing on the show after next!

The Aspect Ratio: How has the show developed since its inception?

DA: The show has remained essentially the same, with tweaks here and there. When we started we were doing it twice-weekly and covering four or five movie a time. We went weekly after a few shows, but then dropped back down to twice a month in May 2008... It was getting too hard to get the shows out weekly and we'd dropped down to once a month for a while. There have been different features along the way - movie homework, festivals, competitions, movie war. We like to try things out to keep the format fresh while keeping the show essentially the same overall. The sound quality has improved greatly since we started, and it really helps that we record at Cnet's offices where they have a specially built podcasting studio. I think we've also improved as presenters.

The Aspect Ratio: Do you think podcasts should follow a set of rules, with say length, structure, things like that?

DA: I don't think they 'should' as such... it's a hobby and no one is paying for the podcast. We take suggestions on board, but ultimately, the show has to make us happy before anyone else, otherwise there's no point doing it. That said, in order to maintain a steady listenership, things like a regular format and schedule help... if the show is totally different every time and comes out at completely irregular intervals, people will quickly get bored and turn off.

The Aspect Ratio: What podcasts (filmic or not) do you listen to?

DA: Cinemaslave, Plan Nine Rock Show, Hollywood Saloon, Genrebusters, Mark Kermode Boagworld web design podcast are the main ones.

The Aspect Ratio: Tell me the most fucked-up thing you've ever seen in a movie whether it be violence, sex or any thing else. What disturbs you?

DA: What disturbs me most is simply when characters I care about suffer on screen. Otherwise it's just special effects - for example, the fire extinguisher scene in Irreversible is graphic and disgusting, but it's only there for surface-level shock effect - I don't know who the victim is, and I know I'm looking at some prosthetic make-up and CGI (although it is brilliantly done). By contrast, a far less graphic scene in a movie where I give a shit about the characters can be far more disturbing. There's nothing I wouldn't watch in a fictional context if it served the movie - and even if it didn't there is a place for pure exploitation.

The Aspect Ratio: I know you two love your gore (me as well), but what truly scares you in a film? Do you find it harder to be scared by a film these days since you've seen almost everything in the genre?

DA: The scariest thing in films has for me always been fear of the unknown - especially if there's the sense that there's something slightly outside of our grasp. This is why I think David Lynch is one of the scariest directors - even though he doesn't make 'straight' horror movies.

The Aspect Ratio: What are some films that you two love that most people would never guess?

DA: To be honest, I think most people know our tastes beyond the realms of obvious horror stuff, because we talk about movies generally on the podcast. I'm a huge fan of 80’s indie American cinema. Directors like Jim Jarmusch, Hal Hartley, Whit Stillman and so on – the slower the better!

BH: I’m a fan of musicals - Dreamgirls was one of my favorite movies of 2007, but, again, I spoke about it on the show. The Red Shoes is another of my favorites.

The Aspect Ratio: Favorite films, directors?

DA: My favorites are (in no particular order): Star Wars/Empire Strikes Back, Dawn of the Dead, The Wild Bunch, Dazed and Confused, Mulholland Drive, the Hustler, Videodrome, the Thin Red Line, Ran. Favorite directors - well, looking at that list, the obvious: Romero, Cronenberg, Kurosawa, Linklater, Jarmusch, Altman and Peckinpah. The usual people really!

BH: Jaws, Dawn of the Dead, 2001, The Thing, Videodrome, Once Upon a Time in America, Seven Samurai, Brazil...

The Aspect Ratio: When did you know that you loved horror films? Was it a specific moment from a film? Or a whole film that did it for you (mine was Jaws)?

DA: I really can't remember a moment when I knew I loved horror, but I can trace the origin back to growing interest in films (and the process that went into making them) when I was 9 or 10, combined with a desire to see stuff I wasn't allowed to. I'd see movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Flesh For Frankenstein in my local video shop around that time and be desperate to see them - even though my parents were pretty liberal with what I watched as I grew up, they weren't about to show Texas Chainsaw to a 9 year old! Alien was the first proper, adult horror movie I saw when I was about 11 years old and there was no going back from there.

The Aspect Ratio: Tell me about the recent re-formatting of the show? Why the change? What was the catalyst?

DA: We'd got a bit frustrated that we were only managing to get one show out every month or so, so decided to make each show shorter and more regular - and while we were at it, we though we might as well re-jig the format a little bit. The changes weren't anything major, but I think it's important to refresh the format every year or two to keep things from getting stale. At the end of the day, first and foremost we have to be into doing it, or there's no point - it's not like we're being paid or anything!

The Aspect Ratio: What has been the response to the new format?

DA: Good! As I say, I'd hesitate to call it a new format, as it's 90% the same show. But I think people are happier it's a bit more frequent.

The Aspect Ratio: What is your listenership at these days?

DA: About 2000 listeners per show, over the space of a month or so... we usually hit about 1000 downloads in the first week, and then it slows after that.

The Aspect Ratio: Talk about your past, and how you two came to love the films you talk about.

DA: I think the more you get into any type if art - music, film, art, books - you eventually want to start seeking out the stuff outside of the mainstream. That doesn't mean you can't love and enjoy films designed for a mass audience, but we both quickly discovered the most interesting movies were being made away from the glare of the mainstream. Horror is the most obvious start you can make in doing this -especially if you're young and want to watch stuff you're not actually allowed to - but this quickly led onto offbeat/non-mainstream cinema in general, whether it's exploitation, art house, foreign language or whatever.

The Aspect Ratio: Talk about your early days working on fanzines.

DA: I think neither Ben or I have ever been happy 'just' watching movies – we like to try to get involved in the process as well. That doesn't necessarily mean making films - although Ben has had a go at that as well - but by doing the fanzine we were able to write about and communicate our love of horror movies to a small but interested audience! It was a lot of hard work - more than doing a podcast - but massive fun, and it's great to be able to look back over some of those old issues from the early 90s.

The Aspect Ratio: I like the dynamic you two have for the show. You seem to respect each others opinion and argue / discuss intelligently about films. Tell me the biggest disagreement / argument you two have ever had about a film (and please don't use the Doom Generation as an example, as I know that one already - great episode by the way).

DA: This is going to sound ridiculous but that Greg Araki stuff genuinely is the biggest difference of opinion we've had. There are plenty of films that Ben loves that I think are ok (and vice versa), but I really can't think of a single other example of a movie that one of us loved and the other hated. Our tastes are obviously very similar, but we've each got our pet-loves that the other isn't so into (me with the American indie stuff, Ben with Brian De Palma and Paul Verhoeven). But it's not the case that Ben really dislikes, say, Jim Jarmusch, it's just not his thing so much. Sorry for such a lame answer!

The Aspect Ratio: No, that’s ok. So what are you two watching these days? What inspires you to be creative?

DA: I've been getting back into 50s and 60s horror a bit - the Roger Corman Poe stuff in particular. There's an atmosphere in those films that you really don't get thee days - and can't really be replicated without it seeming very camp. Elsewhere, I'm still finding exciting stuff in the Far East, and I love the new wave of French horror - Inside particularly.