THE GRINDHOUSE DATABASE - AN INTERVIEW WITH THE CREATORS

Over the years I've been a regular visitor to a couple of website's two pals of mine manage, Sebastian and Peter. Now in essence, each of their sites are fairly diverse in content, despite possessing one unifying theme through and through. A theme, I might add, related to GrindHouse. Want to know more? Of course you do. So go ahead. Check this out.





1) What are your own origins, Sebastian and Peter?   PETER: I grew up in the suburbs of Central Massachusetts in the 1980s, and at an early age I was a big movie and TV geek, and watched all kinds shown on VHS and then DVD. It wasn't until I was in my teens when I really got into film more seriously, and of course, I began collecting them and studying the different genres and directors. The Grindhouse Database is a completely personal and passionate project of mine, one I created out of a respect and interest in the movies.

SEBASTIAN: I grew up in southern Bavaria, far removed from big cities, so I didn't exactly live in a cinematic educational environment. But starting in high school I grew into a movie afficionado, and after starting The Quentin Tarantino Archives back in 1999, I quickly followed up with The Spaghetti Western Database in 2004, and from then on in, I just kept discovering and discovering.

By the way. Me and Peter first met over on the Tarantino Archives’ forum.

2) What inspired the creation of the ‘Grindhouse Database’?   PETER: Well, the site was mainly inspired by two things. One: The Spaghetti Western Database, which I was a big fan of. And Two: My own love of and interest in classic exploitation / cult cinema. I thought these kinds of wild, offbeat movies would make a great subject to celebrate and archive online. I'm very happy with how it's grown and become a special film site since we started in 2007.

SEBASTIAN: Peter's built an exploitation magazine and we talked a lot about different ideas. So following in the footsteps of the SWDB, concept-wise it seemed like a good idea. Basically we were two fools with nothin’ to lose, and we delved into it. So I think it turned out great, even though it’s not finished, and it never will be.

3) Can you briefly tell us what your site is all about?   PETER: The Deuce, Grindhouse Cinema Database is an online encyclopedia that celebrates classic-international exploitation and cult cinema from approximately the 1930s to the late 1980s. We decided to have a cutoff point around the time drive-ins and grindhouses were being torn down and / or replaced by the modern multiplexes. We wanted to specifically limit it to the authentic old-school B-films and cult movies. So we won't be putting movies from the 90s to the present in our database.

4) Off the top of your heads, what would you say were the top five grindhouse movies of all time?   PETER: Well, I wasn't around in the grindhouse days (born in 1974), so I'd have to give you 5 favorite movies I consider to represent that era from a purely film geek point of view: Coffy (1973), The Streetfighter (1974), Death Race 2000 (1975), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and I Spit on Your Grave (1978).

5) What song would you say best represents your project and why?   PETER: It would definitely be a funky song so I'd pick: "One Nation Under A Groove" by Parliament Funkadelic.

6) If you could get a celebrity – either living or dead – to promote your wares, who would you choose, and why would you want to choose this particular person?   SEBASTIAN: A couple of years ago, Quentin Tarantino handed me his own personal list of top grindhouse movies so we would put them up on the site. Being the cineast he is, it was very important to him to get his own list out - on the Deuce nonetheless (he had done the same for our Spaghetti Western Database). So I would say a cineast like director Tarantino, who is an avid film collector, connoisseur, theater owner and film festival programmer, knowing that he knows and digs the site, there are few others than him that make for a better promoter.

7) During your time in this field, what is the one thing that has kept you in good stead?   PETER: I think it’s been my pure interest in the movies and just being involved in creating something cool. I really enjoy working on a project like this one that combines my love of movies and being online. I have to thank my friend Seb for all his technical work behind the scenes. He's had a lot of upgrading and arranging to do with all the sites he owns.

SEBASTIAN: In reality I don’t know half the movies Peter knows, so for me just discovering movies is a joy in itself. Knowing that not only am I discovering new films but with this website we would help others discover them, and thus also help overlooked gems gain some new fame. I think that's a tremendous mission we’re fulfilling, and that’s what keeps me up nights fixing things, pouring money into it, and promoting it. It’s a hobby with purpose, and it’s tons and tons of fun.

8) If ‘Grindhouse DB’ had a motto, what would it be?   PETER: Tune in, Turn On and Freak Out!

And on that grind-er-rific note, dear reader, I'd like to thank both Peter and Sebastian for telling us about their sites, before encouraging you to check them out as well as their twitter, facebook, and g plus pages.