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Todd Livingston: Horror Meets Comedy Meets Collecting
"I have a pretty addictive personality, so I'm a natural collector. Plus, I'm part Irish, part squirrel, so that helps, too," Livingston laughed. "I also don't like to give things up or throw stuff away. Girlfriends are always on my case about this. I tell them 'I'm not a slob. I'm a collector,' but I was aware of the potential value of my comics. When I was in my teens, I bought a copy of Atom #4 for like $10 bucks, knowing it was going to be worth more. I think Overstreet has it for about $400 now. Ha-ha, in your face, babes!" Over the years he's collected many different types of items, including some closely related to the film business. Livingston's early love of a local TV horror show lead him to a career in entertainment ranging from working at a radio station in high school to the comedy club circuit to directing films. His love of comics, his friendship with writer/director Robert Tinnell, and a chance encounter with artist Neil Vokes lead him to get into creating comics and collecting them again. Together with Tinnell and Vokes, he co-created The Black Forest. The recent Image Comics graphic novel has already sold out its first printing and is rapidly moving toward doing the same with its second. The team has other creative projects in the works, and Tinnell has others on his own as well. Scoop talked with him about collecting, creating, and the link between the two. Scoop: What types of things have you collected over the years? Todd Livingston: Apart from comics and Slurpee cups, movie posters, lobby cards primarily from classic horror films, books, DVDs (and before that, laserdiscs and videos). I have a pretty healthy autograph collection, actually! I was heavy into that for a few years, but it's kind of been on the back burner for a while. I have a couple of binders full of signatures and autographed photos. I also have a...well, let's call it an obsession with '40s actress Martha Vickers. She was the village girl who got killed in Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man and Lauren Bacall's younger, wilder sister in The Big Sleep. I have a huge collection of her publicity photos and stills. I was a touring comedian for several years, and that allowed me to amass a pretty decent collection of comedy club waitress telephone numbers. I have a couple of those that are valuable, too. Scoop: Did other members of your family collect? Were they supportive of your collecting? Todd Livingston: My family has been supportive of everything I've ever done. I don't think Edison could have invented a better support machine. They don't know about the waitresses, though. Until now. Scoop: You're associated with horror and comedy, not always two things that go together. How have each of them worked in your career thus far? Todd Livingston: Comedy was my first love. I credit Monty Python And The Holy Grail with having the most influence in directing my young mind. Also as a teen, I became a fan of a horror movie host show, Dr. Madblood's Movie, which was really funny, so in the same program I got comedy and horror. That show was also a significant influence. I used to go see tapings and eventually got a regular extra role on the show. The cast was made up of local radio DJs and one of them taught me the ins and outs of radio. So, in high school, I was lucky enough to get a job on a station. There, I began writing and producing radio comedies, then became and actor and comedian. I eventually graduated to screenwriting and directing and bought a Mercedes. Scoop: Your film, So, You've Downloaded A Demon, premiered at Cannes in May 2004. How'd that go over? What was the experience like? Todd Livingston: It was like a dream! A documentary crew traveled with us to chronicle taking this small movie to the biggest festival in the world. That generated a ton of interest wherever we went! The company that runs the JumboTron there wanted to use a live feed from the crew. So, at one point, I'm being interviewed at the Palais and it's being broadcast on the giant TVs. It was just absurd! I also ate a lot of food and drank half the wine in southern France. Anyway, the movie screening was well attended and really well received. The French loved it. But the French also love to eat snails, so you have to take that with a grain of salt. Salt, by the way, kills snails. Scoop: How have your creative pursuits fostered or hindered your collecting? Todd Livingston: In autograph collecting, when I chase after Leonard Nimoy with his photo and a Sharpie, I can tell him I'm not just a fanboy geek. I'm a fanboy geek with a resume. Scoop: A lot of collectors spend some time away from collecting as they grow up. Did you, and if so, how long and what brought you back? Todd Livingston: I did when I was on the road doing comedy. That was a whole different lifestyle and lifetime. I didn't begin autograph collecting until the Dracula 97 convention in Los Angeles. Veronica Carlson was my first one. Don't know why I did. Ingrid Pitt was the second. After that, it kind of steamrolled. I stopped collecting comic books when the price jumped considerably when I was a kid. I said I'd never pay more than $1 for a comic. Of course now, I drop $25-30 bucks a week on the things, and that's just new comics. Thank [Black Forest co-creator] Bob Tinnell for that. He re-introduced me to them by bringing Alan Moore's League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen to my attention. Stupid Alan Moore. Stupid Bob Tinnell. Scoop: What types of things do you collect at the moment? Todd Livingston: I still collect the same things. I'll be at the comic store Wednesday. I troll for stuff online daily. I frequent auctions to get autographs. I am not hurting for hobbies. Scoop: Any particular favorites from those categories? Todd Livingston: Not really, no. I like to spend the money, so any chance I get I'm right out there in the trenches looking to add something. Of course, any psycho-analyst will tell you what I'm really looking for is love -- not material items. However, few women have ever given me the pleasure that I get from my Saturn Girl slurpee cup. Hmmm...now that just sounded naughty and perverted. But I think you know what I mean. Scoop: What are the prizes of your collection? Todd Livingston: My Colin Clive signature. I have the Wolf Man proverb handwritten on a piece of parchment by Curt Siodmak that's also autographed, a page of The Black Forest art by Neil, an original Mummy's Curse lobby card, with Lon Chaney carrying Virginia Christine out of the tent, and a Karloff signature I have matted with a photo from Bride of Frankenstein. Scoop: What type of link is there for you between creating and collecting? Todd Livingston: Well, obviously I hope to create something that people feel is worthy of collecting. But I collect things for different reasons. Comics just make me happy. The movie memorabilia makes me feel connected to the experience of discovering the film for the first time -- and of actually participating in it. In writing The Black Forest, I really felt like I was working under a Universal contract in 1943. I felt a part of those old movies that I love. What was the question? Scoop: How did you get into creating comics? Todd Livingston: There's only one person responsible and that is Neil Vokes. I wouldn't be involved in creating comics at all if he hadn't wanted to adapt our screenplay for The Black Forest into a graphic novel. One day I suppose I'll thank him. Scoop: What's an average day like for you, if there is such a thing? Todd Livingston: You know what? There really isn't. I have so many things going on that it's difficult to get into a routine. Which is frustrating, because I desperately need one. But I always find time to do two things: eat 3 meals a day and make fun of those less fortunate than myself. I'm just kidding, of course. I eat 4 meals a day. Scoop: What can you tell us about your upcoming project with Neil Vokes and Robert Tinnell, The Wicked West? Todd Livingston: As excited as I was for The Black Forest to come out, I'm even more anxious for The Wicked West. I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl with a Hello Kitty gift certificate. The book is a lot darker than The Black Forest and fans of Neil are gonna freak out! The work he's doing on this book is amazing! And the story has an added element that will appeal to classic horror and film fans as well as fans of westerns! Scoop: In The Black Forest, it seems like you mixed 1940s action films with horror classics and a war story. This time, it's western meets horror. What attracts you to blending genres? Todd Livingston: The artist in me is driven to at least attempt to create something that people haven't seen before. I am revolted by how a majority of new movies are sequels and remakes. Yeah, seen it, what else ya got? I think that mixing genres is a good exercise to get that result. Scoop: When is it due out? Todd Livingston: It will be out October 13, just in time for Halloween, which is my favorite holiday. Actually, I have found that I enjoy the month leading up to Halloween more than the actual day itself. Weird, huh? Hey, you know what I else I enjoy? Cheese. Scoop: What else are you working on? Todd Livingston: Several graphic novels of my own: The Sisterhood; a gothic horror/adventure, The Horizon; a sci-fi/action, The Monster Show, a contemporary thriller. I'm developing another movie. Plus, I'm slated to direct a television series this fall, while trying to fit in convention appearances and quality time with my Saturn Girl Slurpee cup. For more information on The Black Forest: http://www.theblackforest.net/theblackforest/ http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews/critiques/041204/blackforest.shtml http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews/snapjudgments/041204/blackforest.shtml http://www.cinema-nocturna.com/blackforestreview.htm For more information on The Wicked West: http://www.theblackforest.net/theblackforest/ http://imagecomics.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?main=news&sub1=press&sub2=thewickedwest070708
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