Kirk J. Lodes is the author of the recent book, Cheesy, Sleazy, Mixed-Up Astro-Zombies: The 100 Worst Actors and Directors of All Time (Publish America, March 24), and a resident of nearby Ballwin, Mo. Though this is the local author’s first book, Lodes recently released his second piece of literature: The American Soccer Guide, Vol. 1.
Lodes said his two favorite hobbies are sports and film, so he wanted to write about both subjects. He currently writes in his free time and has a day job at a Dierbergs market.
The actors and directors he lists “have talent the size of a pea,” he said. “[But they also had] a lifelong obsession to make movies . Rather than live a humdrum life and work a 9-to-5 job, [they] went and followed [their] dreams.”
A combination of the life and work of notorious filmmaker Ed Wood, along with the show “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” which was particularly big in the early ’90s, initiated a love of the genre in Lodes.
At first, Lodes was just a fan of the show, but it eventually, “got [him] interested in finding out about the people in the movies,” he said.
Lodes wanted to know about the lives and the careers of the people in these films that were often considered lower than B-movie quality. Lodes said that the films he referenced are often “so bad that they can be funny” and have started to become popular in many circles, often gaining cult-classic status. In doing his research, Lodes found out a lot of interesting things about the stars, directors and producers of these failed films.
“Almost everyone in [100 Worst] had strange odysseys going through their careers,” Lodes said.
The book, available at kirklodes.com, originally started as a collection of mini-biographies on the people behind the features, but Lodes eventually condensed the work and gave the movie-makers his own personal rankings.
The not-so-coveted top spot of the best of the worst went to someone known only by a select few: the obscure writer and director Coleman Francis.
“[Francis is] the Ed Wood of the ’60s,” Lodes said. “A lot [of people] have nominated [Wood] as the worst director of all time, but Coleman Francis is worse.”
Francis was originally a bit actor, often having one-line roles, but he was eventually able to make three movies with the help of producer Anthony Cardoza, who also made Lodes’ list.
Francis’ first film, The Beast of Yucca Flats, starring actor Tor Johnson-also on Lodes’ list-can be considered a case study in poor filmmaking.
“Coleman couldn’t afford sound . so he had actors hide their mouths,” Lodes said.
The film had to be entirely dubbed, with 90 percent of the film being narrated by Francis. It made for a very bizarre film, Lodes said.
Readers may note that there are not many current actors or directors on the list. Lodes said that this is because the industry isn’t quite the same these days.
“Adam Sandler doesn’t show up . because his movies are professional-looking,” Lodes said.
Though Lodes is not expecting to be able to quit his day job as a result of his work, he is excited that he was able to produce and publish something he is passionate about.
It was a work eight years in the making for Lodes, and, like several of the actors and directors he features, he went out and did something he really wanted to do-something he’s proud of.
