Still 'Toxic' after all these years

The Toxic Avenger, the mutated and crime-fighting superhero from Tromaville, N.J., was first unleashed on the movie-going public in the 1985 cult classic that bears his name. It has been reborn in several different incarnations during the last 23 years, including the lead of a Saturday morning children's cartoon show and as the protagonist of a comic book series.  

This month, the character affectionately known as "Toxie" will move to his most startling medium yet: musical theater. Running from Sept. 30 to Nov. 2 and featuring music by Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan and a book and lyrics from "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" author Joe DiPietro, "The Toxic Avenger Musical" takes the story of an outcast transformed by toxic waste to the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick. 

Metromix Jersey Shore recently spoke to "Toxic Avenger" creator Lloyd Kaufman, who co-wrote and co-directed the original film, about the origins, legacy and future of the Garden State's favorite crime fighter. 

The first seeds of "The Toxic Avenger" came about the time you were working on "Rocky," right?
Yes, I think that's exactly correct. ... My wife and I used to go camping, and we'd see these McDonald's plates and cups and things. No matter where we were, there was that kind of trash and it was not biodegradable in those days. ... Today you read blogs on the Internet, but I used to get a fair number of (what) I considered forward-looking newsletters, and one of them in particular was talking about toxic waste dumps ticking away like time bombs and how children in South America would go to the dump and play with this "pixie dust," which actually turned out to be X-ray power or something from the old x-ray machines that they'd dump; it was radium, basically. 

Anyway, since most of my films deal with political or sociological themes, I thought that the environment would be a good theme. When I was (a pre-production supervisor and actor) on "Rocky," of course that was all about training and building your body and at the same time the organic food movement was beginning, gyms were becoming fashionable. At the same time that our big blue marble was being defiled, people were paying attention to their bodies. I just thought that would be an interesting theme for a movie, and "The Toxic Avenger" kind of grew out of that interest. 

When you were working on that first film, did you have any idea that this character would last for so long in so many different incarnations?
I had a hint when we were filming "The Toxic Avenger" that there was something magical there because when we were filming, no matter where we were, children, rather than being frightened by the Toxic Avenger, would run after him, little kiddies. And also, I noticed that females were attracted to the Toxic Avenger. 

I don't think that I could predict that it would lead to comic books and 25 years later the New York Times would use the name in its editorials. Basically, "Toxic Avenger" is part of the American lexicon at this point, with no advertising. It's purely word of mouth, purely just some kind of magical chemistry. 

But I did notice, when the movie came out, that whereas most movies that have one foot planted in horror usually just (appeal to) young men, in the case of "The Toxic Avenger," it was couples, that's why it did so well. And I know that I have seen with my own eyes that people who wear the mask at the Cannes Film Festival and places like that, people who dress as Toxie, they get dates. They get a lot of dates. So, "The Toxic Avenger" has some kind of magic that I don't think any of us could truly predict. 

Do you know if the musical's plot is just the first movie or if it borrows from all four "Toxic Avenger" movies?
The movie has been rewritten by Joe DiPietro. It's clear that the character and the spirit of Tromaville are there, but it has been brilliantly reworked for the stage, so it's different from the film and it's obviously aimed at a more mainstream audience. The original movie appealed to mainly young couples, whereas I think this play will appeal to a broader demographic. 

So, how does it feel for you to see one of your creations in the hands of other artists?
It's amazing because "The Toxic Avenger" has never had any advertising budget, and it's one in a million. I mean, "The Toxic Avenger" was made into a children's Saturday morning cartoon show. This is a movie where a young boy's head is squashed by the wheel of an automobile. When that happened, I thought, "Whoa, will wonders never cease?" Apparently, wonders will never cease because it's being staged with unbelievably talented people involved, serious artists. 

Are you planning any future films for Toxie?
We just started ... beginning to write the fifth "Toxic Avenger" movie. As you know, Toxie gets older in each film. ... In the second movie, he's searching for his identity and kills his father; in the third movie, he gets married; the fourth movie ends with his wife giving birth and the fifth movie will deal with the twins Toxie and his wife have had. Toxie's a lot older, so the fifth will focus more on the generation gap between Toxie and his twins, one is a boy and one is a girl. 

The Toxic Avenger is unique in terms of super-human heroes, in that he ages, whereas most of the superhuman heroes do not age. ... The plan for "Toxic 5" --and again, it's a long way off because we're just starting to formulate the story and I haven't really found the magical theme yet -- but the idea is that we're probably going to shoot it as Webisodes and then it'll all be put together as a 35mm movie. We'll probably put the Webisodes on our Web site or online one at a time and then cut them together as a 35mm theatrical movie that will probably have scenes that were not in the original Webisodes. It should be an interesting exercise. Technologically, it's going to be very interesting.