You really have to admire Jack Hill’s resume. From blaxploitation classics, to horror hits to B-Movie favorites, he’s done it all. He’s the writer-director of Foxy Brown, Coffy, Roger Corman’s The Terror and a Quentin Tarantino favorite, Switchblade Sisters. He worked with Jack Nicholson, Pam Grier, Sid Haig and Francis Ford Coppola when they were just young pups. I had the pleasure to interview Jack Hill recently

Mike: Thanks for agreeing to this interview Jack. What was it like starting your career off working with Francis Ford Coppola and Roger Corman and how do you think it affected you as a film maker?

Jack: What was it like? Francis was a great talent and inspiring in that sense, especially as he had had — unlike me — a lot of experience in the theater and I must say I learned quite a bit from him about working with actors. But working for Roger was also a great learning experience, mostly in the ability to achieve a maximum of effect with a minimum of means. He knew the importance of making a set, for example, look large and spacious, working with composition in depth, getting every nickle on the screen, as they say. And the importance of careful planning to achieve efficiency in the
shooting schedule.

Mike: You’ve been involved in a lot of classic films. Can you tell when working on a film if it has the right ingredients to be succesful?

Jack: Nobody knows that, no matter what they may tell you, especially when working on a film. Other than what we all know: good pacing, good cast, well-written dialog, and that certain magic that eludes definition. Roger used to say that his first requirment was, “Something has to happen in every scene.” My mentor at UCLA, Dorothy Arzner, told me that if you have three really good scenes, you’ve got a picture. Films have a way of fooling you; some of mine that I felt at the time were not working right were my biggest hits, and vice-versa.

Mike: How has film making changed since you’ve entered the industry?

Jack: Digital and home video have changed everything drastically in terms of the techical aspects of making films, as we all know. What hasn’t changed, and what never will change, is needing a good story and good players.

Mike: You would often shoot films in two or three weeks and finished Foxy Brown early. Does it amaze you some of the budgets and long productions film makers are working with today?

Jack: No. There have always been your Cleopatras and your Apocalypse Nows. What really amazes me is that with digital, you can shoot a movie much faster. A friend of mine just directed a remake of “King Solomon’s Mines” in South Africa in nine days — with a lot of CGI afterwards, of course.

Mike: You’ve done blaxploitation films, horror films and even films involving hot women with switchblades. Are these the type of films you love and what were some of your favorite films before you got into film making?

Jack: Most of my favorite films were the Warner Bros. and RKO films of the forties, mostly what they now call “noirs.” Especially “White Heat,” which I think is one of the really great American crime movies; and some British noirs of the same era, most notably “Odd Man Out.” Nowadays, I prefer the better French and British films to almost anything that’s coming out of Hollywood. But what I personally really want to do now is romantic comedy — but I’m finding that a “Jack Hill romantic comedy” seems to be something of an oxymoron in the industry. Well, I shall overcome

Mike: It seems like many genres you work in get unfairly criticized by the media and mainstream critics but are loved by lots of fans. Why do you think that is?

Jack: Because critics are a different breed from the fans; they mostly want to show off how much they think they know. They’ve never been kind to me until recently, when some of my films that got trashed in reviews at the
time are now being taught in universities and analyzed for hidden messages.

Mike: Many critics labeled your blaxploitation films as just black films and didn’t even bother seeing them. What was your reaction at the time and looking back?

Jack: One Los Angeles critic actually saw “Coffy” in a drive-in theater, and remarked about how the patrons all blew their horns after certain moments and lines of dialog — “dirty lines,” as he put it, actually. I found the
audience reactions in theaters quite thrilling, actually, even bordering on frightening at times. Enough said about that. The thing about my kind of negative reviews, however, is that they were “money” reviews, that is the critics expressed such outrage that it made you want to see what all the fuss was about.

Mike: You’ve seemed to have had a positive influence on film making with Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez citing you as influences and clearly paying homage to you in many of their succesful films

Jack: Apparently. Though I don’t see a question there. And I’m not at all sure it’s been all positive.

Mike: Sid Haig has been in nearly all of your films. How did you discover him?

Jack: Dorothy Arzner recommended him for my UCLA student film, “The Host.” He had been playing Othello at the Pasadena Playhouse. He’s been my favorite player ever since.

Mike: You’re acting in a new film with director Scott Madden. What can you tell us about “The Kiss” and your role in the film?

Jack: I played a very nasty high-school teacher, modeled after some of my own. I stole the show, they say. I supposed it’s because I’m such a ham.

Mike: What made you want to be apart of the film?

Jack: Well, Scott is an old friend of mine, and I sometimes play in films as favors to friends.

Mike: Is it odd for you being in front of the camera instead of behind it?

Jack: It’s odd, all right, but rather satisfying, if I think I’m doing well.

Mike: So you want to make a romantic-comedy. What can you tell us about that?

Jack: I sure do. Know anybody who’d like to finance a Jack Hill Romantic Comedy? Nowadays I only want to make films with a positive slant, something that will make viewers feel they’ve gained something from the experience instead of feeling assaulted, like most films I see — and walk out on — today.

Mike: Are there any new projects we can expect from you in the future?

Jack: Indeed! See jackhillpresents.com for info on the Boris Karloff homage, remakes of the four pictures that I worked on with him in 1968. Then, there’s my romantic comedy, “A Perfect Wife,” which is set in England; I’m keeping hope alive.

( Editors Note: Speaking of “The Kiss”, be sure to check out director Scott Madden and actress Lourdes Colon tonight at 8pm EST / 5pm PST as they will be guests on the debut of HorrorMovieFans.com Indie Radio with Parrish Randall and Bianca Barnett. You can find it here: www.blogtalkradio.com/HMFradio )