Lloyd Kaufman

Troma Entertainment is proud to announce that Lloyd Kaufman, President of Troma and creator of The Toxic Avenger, will deliver a keynote address at Mediatech’s Packaged Media and Beyond conference in Las Vegas on April 20, 2012. Kaufman will also appear at the Las Vegas screening of Father’s Day that evening at Theatre 7.

The conference focuses on issues facing physical media and the ever-changing media landscape as digital media becomes part of daily life. As consumer media usage evolves, traditional media manufacturers like Troma are transforming their business models to find new revenue streams in the new media marketplace.

“When home video first came in, we saw the potential for the magic – being movie nuts ourselves. We immediately loved it and embraced it.” Remembers Kaufman of the home video revolution in the early 1980s. By that point, Troma had been in business for nearly 10 years and had accumulated a robust catalog for a renting public. “The Toxic Avenger was the first horror-type film, although it’s not really a horror film, to get VHS treatment. Vestron released it, and it was a huge success.” says Kaufman. “We understood that home video was a way to embrace our fans and for the fans to embrace us, and we got in ahead of the majors.”

Not surprisingly, Troma also jumped on DVD early. “Being movie nuts, we liked that we could do commentary tracks and put a humorous, interactive tour of the Troma film studios as a bonus extra to go along with the movie. We also went back and interviewed actors for featurettes. Unfortunately, we spent a fair amount on DVD before people actually had machines in their homes. It was pretty stupid, but at least we were there.”

Kaufman points out that Troma DVDs are all-region with no territory restrictions. “We want as many people to see our movies as possible, which will eventually pay off financially for us.”

Troma titles never were available in Blockbuster-owned stores, Kaufman notes, but they were in many of the chain’s franchisee outlets, which were able to determine their own stock. Troma titles are now available via Netflix, iTunes, Sony PSP, and Xbox, and there’s a dedicated Troma YouTube channel, which features daily updates.

Adapting to the digital age, Troma now streams its movies. In the same way that the MPAA opposed home video, the Hollywood movie studios’ association came out against Net Neutrality, a principle that advocates no restrictions by Internet service providers or governments on consumers’ access to the Internet. Kaufman is 100% on the other side of the issue. “We believe the business models are going to have to change. The big studios trying to squeeze every nickel out of the fans are making a mistake. We’re on the side of sharing our art.”

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