About this episode

Filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman and his daughter Lily-Hayes discuss their contrasting lives shaped by the world of Troma Entertainment.

Filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman railed against Hollywood his whole career as the founder of cult B-movie production house, Troma, while his daughter Lily-Hayes dreamt only of fitting in. Lloyd Kaufman has been the father of anti-establishment filmmaking for over 50 years. His production company Troma Entertainment is known for its gory, controversial and politically-charged movies. His daughter Lily-Hayes grew up on the sets of these bizarre and often quite gruesome Troma films, such as Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. She had her first on-screen role at the age of 4 in one of Troma’s biggest hits – the 1984 horror-comedy The Toxic Avenger – a film about a nerd who turns into a mutant superhero after falling into a vat of nuclear waste. But the chaos of the films was not mirrored at home in New York; Lily-Hayes and her sisters went to an Upper East Side all-girls private school, sweets were strictly rationed, and life was kept in order. When it came time for Lily-Hayes to pick her own career path, she wanted to push back against her father's anti-establishment line of work. But how could she rebel against the ultimate rebel? Well, she went into investment banking and forged a…

People in this episode

Host: Asya Fouks

Guests: Lloyd Kaufman, Lily-Hayes Kaufman

Topics covered

• filmmaking
• family dynamics
• career choices
• B-movies
• rebellion
• investment banking

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Troma Entertainment

Books & works: Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, The Toxic Avenger

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