Kevin Smith Commends Troma's Lloyd Kaufman: 'I Can Only Pursue My Passion Because You Pursued Yours'

      Texas unexpectedly became the meeting place for two significant figures in New Jersey's film history as Kevin Smith and Troma Entertainment president Lloyd Kaufman encountered each other on Thursday at the El Paso Film Festival.

      While MovieMaker was conversing with Kaufman at the Rio Grande Outpost, a film production hub in El Paso, Smith walked in after finishing a podcast upstairs to express his admiration for Kaufman.

      The discussion was diverse, covering Kaufman's Troma cult classics like The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nuke ‘Em High, and Tromeo and Juliet, as well as topics ranging from giving James Gunn his first job to his childhood friendship with Oliver Stone, and even the time when Leni Riefenstahl, a filmmaker favored by Hitler, stayed with Kaufman’s Jewish family (Kaufman remarked that she seemed indifferent to their Jewish heritage, but he did note that she had “strong B.O.”).

      Smith subsequently entered the room to greet one of his idols, telling Kaufman, who is originally from New York, how significant it was to him that The Toxic Avenger was filmed in New Jersey. The movie is set in the fictional Tromaville, New Jersey, and was shot across various New Jersey locations.

      “I’ll never forget as a kid watching Eyewitness News report on a movie studio right across the river — the first superhero from New Jersey,” Smith reminisced.

      The Toxic Avenger narrates the uplifting tale of a gym mop boy who becomes a formidable hero after being submerged, in a tutu, in toxic waste.

      “You were the first independent filmmaker I’d ever heard of,” Smith remarked. “That stuck with me. It was a point of pride: ‘Oh, they’re not doing this in Hollywood. They chose New Jersey for The Toxic Avenger.’ All of that resonated — you made people feel represented in our region, particularly capturing my imagination at a young age. I was an early supporter.”

      He added, “I only get to pursue my projects because of what you did.”

      A new version of The Toxic Avenger has been released featuring Peter Dinklage, but that may not be the most significant indication of Troma’s impact on contemporary pop culture: Gunn's Superman is a summer hit, and he is now co-head of DC Films. However, his initial writing job was on Tromeo and Juliet after he worked as Kaufman's assistant in the ‘90s.

      Additionally, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone received their first film credit for Tromeo’s Cannibal: The Musical. Today, South Park is especially relevant, generating numerous headlines weekly for its satire of the second Trump Administration.

      Lloyd Kaufman Honored with the El Paso Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award

      (L-R) Troma president Lloyd Kaufman, Tower Productions chairman and co-founder Carlos M. De La Torre, Kevin Smith, and Tower Productions co-founder and chief creative officer Erik L. Sanchez. MovieMaker.

      Later, Smith reiterated his admiration for Kaufman onstage at the stunning Plaza Theater in El Paso, where the El Paso Film Festival honored Kaufman with its inaugural lifetime achievement award before a special screening of the original Toxic Avenger.

      Smith attempted to give Kaufman credit for providing early opportunities to Gunn and others, but Kaufman humbly declined. When asked about his past collaborators, Kaufman quipped: “Ron Jeremy.”

      Kaufman has built a career around challenging boundaries and disregarding who might be offended — The Toxic Avenger includes scenes of a child being intentionally run over, overt cheesecake, and numerous slurs — and he remains outspoken.

      When he began joking about Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, Smith interjected, “Are we still talking about that? Let’s focus on the here and now,” garnering laughter from the audience.

      Smith also shifted the conversation to Tower Productions, one of the teams based at the Rio Grande Outpost, to commend independent filmmakers everywhere.

      "It’s similar to what I discovered here with the Tower Productions group — a collective of individuals have come together to make films, and they’re doing it. They’re not waiting for permission, man. Troma has been on my mind throughout my entire career because Lloyd and Troma laid the groundwork for my journey for many years,” Smith expressed to the El Paso audience.

      He continued, “Some of the earliest reviews of Clerks referenced, believe it or not, The Toxic Avenger, because both were made on micro budgets. That provided legitimacy to someone like me, and it still does today.”

      The El Paso Film Festival, recognized as one of MovieMaker’s 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee and 25 Coolest Film Festivals, will continue through Saturday.

      Main image: Lloyd Kaufman and Kevin Smith at the Rio Grande Outpost. MovieMaker.