Interview: Robin Bougie, author of Cinema Sewer Vol.3
A few years ago I made the trek to the best exploitation movie convention on Earth, Cinema Wasteland in Strongsville, Ohio. While there a buddy of mine picked up a book called Cinema Sewer Vol.1 by Robin Bougie and we sat around the hotel room marveling at the sleazy content, hilarious illustrations and surprising knowledge of adult, horror and exploitation films. A while later, I reached out to Robin in hope of scoring a copy to review (READ IT HERE) for Cinesploitation and he came through with a slightly water damaged copy but drew a wonderfully offensive cartoon inside the cover to “explain” the damage. From there I was completely hooked on the books and liked Robin instantly. From “knowing” him on various forums and Facebook, he is a genuinely funny, driven and talented guy, if not a little obsessive (just look at the tiny hand-lettered issues of Cinema Sewer!).
I received the new Cinema Sewer Vol. 3 with an amazing cover by artist Vince Raurus from FAB Press a little while ago and zipped through it in a matter of days. I can’t tell you how excited I get reading this offensive smut. Robin’s trashy tastes hit me right in my bikini area. This edition collects issues 17-20 of the self-published fanzine as well as 80 pages of “never-before-seen interviews, rants, comics, hard-to-find classic movie advertising, and graphic illustrations by Bougie and a host of his talented friends” in a high quality, graphic novel-like book. That’s 186 pages of content plus a very handy five-page index. While reading through this edition, I thought to myself how redundant a review of this book would be if I just rambled on and on about the different articles and how much I fucking loved it. So I decided to take a chance and see if Mr. Bougie cared to answer a few questions via email to promote the book and I’ll be damned if he didn’t.
I thought I may have to do some follow-up questions to drag some details out of him, but as you can see, Robin isn’t shy about himself or the sensational product he puts out. So kick back, relax and enjoy the show!
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Greg B.: How did you first learn of your love for exploitation and adult films?
Robin Bougie : There were two key moments that diverted me towards exploitation movies, and those were the witnessing of an episode of Miami Vice where a teen prostitute has sex on a burning stage and murders guys by tying them down and cutting them up. It was presented in a really gritty trashy way, and the young woman who played the whore was a teen music star in the 80s named Fiona. I tracked her down for an interview, and did a 3 page comic book about the whole experience, and it is one of the very first things in my brand new book — Cinema Sewer vol. 3. The other moment of truth was seeing THE TERMINATOR for the first time. It’s since been ruined in many people’s minds by the lacklustre sequels, but the original movie is low-budget, gritty, violent, high concept, sci-fi-trash. Instantly I wanted more of THAT. Whatever “that” was, I didn’t know — I just knew it was very exciting. The mid eighties were such an awesome time to start getting interested in that, and there were so many movies to choose from.
It’s the same for the porn. When you’re a kid, you don’t know exactly what you’re responding to when you, for the first time, see a woman in a photo getting fucked. At first you’re totally confused about what you’re looking at, but there are these primal stirrings in your gut and I remember that it even made me a little dizzy to look at smut at first! I’ve asked different porn stars about that — how does it feel to be so many young people’s first look at sexuality? For the most part they just shrug, and it’s really the best answer when you think of it. Some of them, like Vanessa Del Rio, are totally honoured by it. I mean, shit, kids always find a way to see this stuff, no matter how impossible the odds are. XXX is all over the net now, but I don’t know if a lot of my younger post-internet friends really get what we had to go through to see some titty or ass crack back in the day. My first porn was an old water-damaged magazine that I and a couple of little girls found while we were playing in the woods back in grade 2. After that, there was another memorable incident in grade 5 in Calgary when my friend Chris and I spent one glorious evening pouring over issues of Cheri, Gallery, Hustler, and Penthouse with the full blessing of an entire house of adults. They were all in the next room getting high and drunk, and were absolutely thrilled that we had found something that got us out of their hair, even if it was splayed hair pie and ass cheeks. Haha! Smut is a fantastic baby-sitter, I guess. I reminded my mom about that incident years ago, and she had no memory of it at all. Gotta love that reefer! Haha!
GB: What made you decide to start your very own fanzine, Cinema Sewer?
RB : Well, I’d been self publishing my own comics since 1991 when I was 17, and it was a natural fit to start self publishing a movie zine that utilised my drawing skills and my passion for getting the word out about movies I loved. I started C.S. in 1997 with printing 200 photocopied issues, and it has been growing ever since. It’s now offset printed with glossy color covers, has a print run of 2000 copies, and there are book collections from FAB press available in book stores all over the world. Cinema Sewer just turned 14 years old on Oct. 15th, by the way. Haha, it’s a teenager now.
Robin diligently working on the new issue of Cinema Sewer
GB: Do you have any training or degrees in journalism or art?
RB : No training whatsoever. Instead of a student loan or an art grant, I went on welfare, and instead of looking for a job I spent the time — 8 hours a day, 5 days a week — getting better at my craft. Learned what I needed to know from the library, from other comic artists who were older, wiser, and had worked professionally, and put my nose to the grindstone. In comics, there is a saying: You have to create 1000 pages of shit before you’ll ever do anything of value, and took that to heart. I knew I had to get my 1000 pages out of the way, learn what I needed to learn via experience, and do it that way, rather than going deep into debt at school. My wife and I opened a comic store/hand painted t-shirt shop in a mall with virtually NO start-up capital (kinda just talked our way in), and spent a couple of years doing art for the public that way as well. Also great training. As far as journalism goes, getting to work for SCREW magazine in New York (I wasn’t in New York, I just sent my shit in through the mail) was pretty much all I needed for learning the ropes. Again, learning as you go and powering ahead seems to yield the best results for honing a craft or learning a skill, at least in my line of work anyway.
GB: Who was the first actor or actress to be interviewed for CS? Who was your favorite and why?
RB : Wow, I can’t even remember now! Must have been Jack Hill. I found his email in the liner notes of the first SPIDER BABY dvd, of all places! Haha! So I just emailed him, and he was sweet as could be. Love Jack Hill. Love him, and his movies. My fave interview would probably be with Gary Sherman, which is on page 42 to 45 of the new book. That was fun, because I met him in his motel, and we lounged around on his bed like we were having a sleepover. I was so fucking tickled, because I’d just discovered VICE SQUAD a year earlier, and it had quickly become one of my 5 favourite films of the 80s — and then out of nowhere I’m chilling with the director, and he’s telling me all kinds of nutty shit about this sleazy movie I adore so much. I was like a pig in poop, and again — the sweetest guy. Very friendly and down to earth fellow.
GB: What is the most fucked up thing you have come across since publishing Cinema Sewer?
RB: Oh, I don’t know. In movies you mean? The harrowing shit I randomly see online is way more “fucked up” than in most of the movies I see — even counting the mondos and death films. I get that question a lot, but I’m not really into trying to witness or one-up the most shocking thing I’ve ever seen. Maybe when I was a teen I was, but after a while that feels like a hollow goal. There is so much more to like about these movies.
That said, it’s so much fun to just happen upon a totally “whaaaaaat did I just see??” moment in a film. That keeps it so much more interesting, you know? It’s great to have those sprinkled in there. On top of that, I love really confusing porn — the kind of XXX that makes you not sure if you should even be aroused or not. I love porn that takes elements of exploitation cinema and works those in, further blurring the boundaries of genre. I mean, exploitation is a funny concept, in that it can be used for both good and bad. Case in point: Do I think that adult movies victimize anyone? Not at all. No more than a catchy song victimizes anyone by making them want to dance. Do I think that adult movies titillate and manipulate the viewer, tapping into primal parts of the brain the same way a baker makes you salivate and gets your belly rumbling simply by letting you smell that tasty tray of cinnamon buns? Hopefully! I’m a pornographer myself, in that I draw dirty comics, and it would be utterly fantastic if my work could do that. That is the fucking goal, my friend.
GB: Are you circumcised or a helmet head?
RB : Circumcised. Also: my penis is very unremarkable and a totally average size. I quite like it, however. He’s been good to me.
GB : Thanks Robin!
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In case you don’t yet own Cinema Sewer Vol.3, pick it up now from Robin himself (HERE!) and get a personalized drawing on the inside cover! While you’re there, pick up the first two volumes as well… you will glad you did!
