Monday, September 6, 2010

Interview with... G. Larry Butler

I interviewed G. Larry Butler some time ago now, and today received his autograph in the mail.

The photo was from one of his many movies, showing him holding a plastic bag with a bloodied-head inside.
With that in mind I figured I better get this interview up on the blog site, quick!



1. You’ve appeared in some big hits, and some direct to DVD films. Which film has been the most rewarding for you?

The most rewarding film to me has been FRANKENSTEIN VS THE CREATURE FROM BLOOD COVE because it was my first starring role in a movie. It also won Best Feature at the World Horror Festival in San Francisco in 2006, which got me quite a bit of attention.

2. Some of the movies you’ve appeared in have some great titles. Frankenstein Versus The Creature From Blood Cove is just one example. Does the name of the production have much appeal for you to be involved?

The title has some appeal but any actor worth his salt is attracted to the role and the script itself more than the title. I always salivate when I am offered a a very juicy role where the character is full of flaws, defects and conflicts. I specialize in psychotic personalities...seemingly normal individuals who crack under pressure and kill everybody with an axe( DOWNSIZED) or delightfully kooky perverted bums like Al Purplewood in THE DOUBLE D AVENGER. I have played everything from a cannabilistic hillbilly to a pompous professor who is hiding a demonic secret.



3. What do you think is the appeal of the horror genre?

Horror appeals to the children in all of us who were terrified of the dark, afraid to look under their beds, and absolutely sure that there was a monster in their closet. We feel like a rabbit staring at a snake, fascinated but frozen with fear...and we love it. If there were no monsters it would be necessary to invent them...and we have. When we invented religion to explain the mysteries of the universeand entertain ourselves, we invented the realm of the macabre as well for much the same reason. Read my book HERE LIES MADNESS which explains it in much greater detail.

4. Have you even been to a Horror convention?

4. I have been in several Horror conventions: to name a few--THE WORLD HORROR FEST, DRAGON CON, OMEGA CON, FRIGHT NIGHT, FANGORIA, SACRAMENTO HORROR FEST.



5. What would be a dream role for you?

A dream role for me has already been created in the guise of Dr. Monroe Lazarof in FRANKENSTEIN VS THE CREATURE FROM BLOOD COVE, a tribute to classic horror from the 1940s. He slowly goes mad throughout the course of the movie. Another one is Mr. Garrity, a seemingly mild mannered boss who snaps and destroys most of his staff in DOWNSIZED. I enjoy playing people who go through this meteoric metamorphasis emotionally, and create chaos. But I always hunger for other roles that surprise people. I love to shock people out of their emotional constipation, to move them to tears or convulse them in belly laughs or rivet them with revulsion. I want to shake the audience out of its stupor, make them think, make them blink. After all, that is why they come to the theater...to live a harrowing adventure vicariously. If they aren't intrigued or intimidated on some level then I feel the movie has failed them. I don't want to just do another horror film...I want it to be unique and original, and I want my character to be memorable as well.

6. What’s coming up next?

I have an enormous amount of films coming out in the next few months. First and foremost are 23 Japanese animation projects from the 1980s remastered and dubbed into English, spearheaded by none other than William Winckler who is an absolute genius.I had major speaking roles in all of them and I will mention a few: GAIKING (I play Daimanji, the lead scientist and Keyla, the alien general, CAPTAIN HARLOCK (Yattaron--a pirate,and Kirita), DANGUARD ACE (Dr. Oyedo and Cook, the flamboyant chef), NADJA (George, a circus friend and Duke Preminger, Nadja's grandfather), FIST OF THE NORTH STAR ( Raul, the lead villian, Kaio, his brother, Ogai and the Narrator), STARZINGER (Don Hakka, a cyborg), LUN LUN (Grandpa, Old shoemaker, Gasker and The Detective), KITARO'S GRAVEYARD GANG (Nurarihyon).
A movie which has been 5 years in the making is NIGHT TERRORS in which I play a psychotic,cannabilistic hillbilly. I used method acting for that. John R. Carpenter (the director) served me raw meat and locked me in a cabin in the mountains to prepare me for the role. Then there is a movie which has been 16 years in the making called SHYSTERS, a slapstick comedy about two imposters paroled early if they see a psychiatrist on a regular basis. They drive him and the audience crazy with their antics. When I was helping to edit it I almost didn't recognize myself. Jason Crowe's HELLHOUSE is coming out on Halloween, in which I play a cranky judge who sentences juvenile psychopaths to prison for life, who eventually escape with revenge on their minds.
Also, PANMAN, directed by Tim Pelleri (my arch nemisis in DOWNSIZED) will be out Halloween as well. Professor Hunter is my most demanding role since FRANKENSTEIN VS THE CREATURE FROM BLOOD COVE. The plot is convoluted and creepy. It is a thinking man's horror film. Just when you thought you figured it out, you haven't. More than a few twists and turns and a very big surprise ending. Who you thought were good are evil and vice versa. Quite demonic! Check out the trailor on whoispanman.com. CELLMATE, directed by Mark Cummins, where I play a sympathetic jailor to a serial killer.



I want to thank G. Larry Butler for his time and his very interesting responses.
I just hope he likes the look of this interview, as he now has my home address!

What did you think of this interview? Please comment, or email me directly at mgbouw@yahoo.com.au
Until next time!

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