Interview:
Macon Blair,
writer/director,
"The Toxic Avenger"
A fan of The Toxic Avenger since discovering the Troma superhero parody franchise in his early teens, Austin-based actor and filmmaker Macon Blair did not necessarily jump on the opportunity to give the chemically altered mop boy a 21st-century makeover. Once assured he could maintain the tone and spirit of Troma's comically bloody franchise, while putting his own spin on its style and mythology, Blair dove head first into a Toxic Avenger remake that represents his follow-up to his 2017 crime comedy I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore. The Fantastic Fest 2023 opening night film, The Toxic Avenger finds Peter Dinkage assuming the role of the lowly maintenance worker who becomes a green-skinned super-powered mutant after being dumped in toxic waste. Dinkage’s Winston Gooze seeks revenge against those responsible for his transformation, including his boss, Bob Garbinger, a bio-booster manufacturer whose negligence as a factory owner has led to a high rate of pollution-related cancer deaths in St. Roma’s Village. Kevin Bacon stars as Garbinger, Elijah Wood as Garbinger’s brother and henchman Fritz, Taylour Paige as whistleblower J.J. Doherty, and Jacob Tremblay as Winston’s stepson Wade. The Toxic Avenger screens at 11:35 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Alamo South Lamar during Fantastic Fest. Austin-based actor and filmmaker Macon Blair previously directed the 2017 crime comedy I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore, which also starred Elijah Wood, and wrote The Monkey’s Paw, Small Crimes, the new Josh Hutcherson-Morgan Freeman thriller 57 Seconds, and the upcoming Peter Dinklage-Josh Brolin comedy Brothers. Blair has collaborated as actor, a writer, or a producer with his childhood friend, filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier, on Murder Party, Blue Ruin, Green Room, Hold the Dark, and the upcoming Rebel Ridge. Blair has appeared in Gold, The Florida Project, Logan Lucky, The Hunt, and I Care a Lot. He recently starred as one of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s attorney Lloyd K. Garrison in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. He will next be seen opposite Peter Dinklage in the adaptation of Joe R. Lansdale’s western The Thickest.
Aired: Sept. 27, 2023. Web sites: https://2023.fantasticfest.com/ https://www.legendary.com/film/the-toxic-avenger/ |
|