I broke the interview down into three sections. Here is Part One. I will post the others shortly. Some editing is needed.
I would once again like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Petit for taking his time to answer these questions. Thank you!
PART 1-Questions by Damian Pring:
1. What are your current projects? Do you plan to publish a biography on Jess Franco?
That's already done. Between 1994 and 1995, I self published a 6 part "fanbook" called "JESS FRANCO ou les Prosprits du Bis" aka "the Manacoa Files". More or less than 100 to 150 samples were printed and almost immediately sold out. That work was not complete because I planned to add a large dictionary and an updated Filmography. (Volume 6 ended with 1982). In 1998, Pierre Charles, late editor of the famous french fanzine CIn Zine Zone (he passed away on December 25, 2003, may gods bless him) had the idea to reissue the 6 issues of Manacoa, with more illustrations from his personnal archives and a brand new rough sketch. The result was published as "Manacoa Files" 1 to 8, a "de luxe" reissue inside Cin Zine Zone issue 117 to 124. This reissue was updated, included the Franco Dico (dictionary in two volumes!) and the updated filmography. I was very happy with the graphic result (color covers, beautiful documents, etc...) but did not really approve the way Pierre was diffusing it. So, in 2002, I decided to put an end to our collaboration. I understand even with these two publishings, very few readers have had access to what should have been a REAL book.
To answer your first question, I plan to update my work, Jess Franco being a perpetual moving subject, there is still a lot to do. Tons of new information has appeared in the past years, lots of interviews, lots of Bonus features on DVD, plenty of contradictions and false information are still running wild. The main problem with my work is the original language. If I had the ability to write it into english language, I would certainly had found a decent publisher somewhere. If anyone is interested....rights are available and I am very reasonable but I won't translate it myself. (it's going to take me hours to answer to these questions guys!)
2. What is your involvement with the Spanish DVD company, DIVISA? (Note: I misunderstood a statement that Alain made during our correspondence. I thought he was involved with Divisa.)
No involvement at all. I am very unhappy with the LAS VAMPIRAS and EL PROCESO DE LAS BRUJAS dvds they just released. Divisa only put spanish credits and language over images taken from American or English dvds. By doing so, they put spanish versions in the ash-can. They could have used the old master from the VHS release of LAS VAMPIRAS as a bonus and the overseas fans of Jess Franco would be able to appreciate Maria Rohm's suicide attempt (only seen in Spain and France) in BLOODY JUDGE on a spanish dvd. This release is a mess and I am not sure spanish customers will be happy with it. Customers from outside Spain should boycott!
3. You mentioned once working for CANAL PLUS. Can you tell us about your history with them?
Well, I have worked for nearly 9 years for one , then two, TV shows called "Cinma de Quartier" & "Quartier Interdit". The first one was devoted to everything we like: European popular cinema from 1950 to 1975 (sword & sandal, Euro Western, epic movies, spy films, Hammer films, fairy tales, etc..). The second one was devoted to "on the edge" pictures: gore pictures, erotic movies, Psychotronic cinema everything you are not supposed to watch on TV at noon.. In fact it was a Midnight show, but it seems that it was not that popular (and hated by the new leaders of Canal Plus). We had lots of complaints (for having shown FEMALE VAMPIRE, FLAVIA THE HERETIC, I ZOMBIE, PREMUTOS, BLOOD FEAST and some other trashy pictures uncut ) and the show stopped shortly before I was put in disgrace. I was some kind of a bounty hunter, in charge of selecting films, looking for rare forgotten ones, I had something to see with the definitive programming of the show, I wrote texts of presentation, prepared press books, etc... During that period I helped the programing of nearly 600 films on Canal Plus France, some of these films being very dear to my heart and are not that easy to find or show.
4. Your 8-part series of writings for Cine-Zine-Zone are hard to obtain. Can you tell us about the history and details of this project?
I partially answered to that question above. This project was born in early 90's. You know, Jess Franco has always been my favorite director. I was deeply moved when I first saw THE AWFUL DR ORLOF in the mythical theatre "Midi Minuit" in Paris in 1963 (the same day I saw Jerry Lee Lewis in concert. What a day to remember!) and when I published my first fanzine "Le Masque de la Meduse" in December 1970, there was a long study about ORLOF. Six months later I published issue 3, that was a double volume devoted to Jess Franco. In 1973 I was a contributor to "Cinema Bis", a half magazine published inside the French edition of Warren's VAMPIRELLA. There I published a large file (in issue 13), devoted to Jess, with interviews, files about Lina Romay & Soledad Miranda. So I never stopped appreciating Jess' films. My interest continued to grow when I finally was asked to work for/with him. So in the early 90s, I had the idea to work on a large project and to find an interested publisher. At that moment I asked Lucas Balbo (who was one of the rare "frenchie" to share the same interests as I) to help for a common work. I would have been in charge of most of the texts and Lucas would have taken care of a smaller part of texts and illustrations. He came see me in L'Isle Sur la Sorgue where I was living at that time and I explained to him about plans and projects I had for the book. But before we did anything, we had to find a publisher. Nothing seemed to work in a good way as publishers contacted by Lucas were not interested..... So I started working alone anyway. Later, Lucas told me he had been contacted by German publishers that wanted him to work on a similar project but without me. I understood parts of the cake would have been smaller if I were in that trip and that certainly was the reason I was kept out of this project. You must understand that, at that point, I was vexed and felt bitter towards the OBSESSION project.
But I kept the faith and being certain that my own work would be VERY different from what anybody else would do (after all I was friends with Jess for nearly 20 years and that allowed me to know a lot of things others would not). I decided to publish my own work. As I had no budget at all, I opened a 6 issue subscription through adverts in fanzines that specialised in Fantastic Cinema. When I had 50 potential readers and the necessary amount of money , I started publishing "The Manacoa Files". This way to proceed was inspired by a former experience. In 1980, I published "20 ANS DE WESTERN EUROPEEN" the very first book (fan book in 5 parts) ever published in France about the European Western. I knew it was a safe way of having my texts published but the medal reverse is that, using that alternative, you have absolutely no control on what happens to your "child" or recognition as author. So anybody can take your information and make it their own. That is what happened.... I only have the satisfaction of knowing that a few people, here and there, are aware of the truth and don't hesitate to say what they think of my work, starting with Jess himself.
5. a) Did you perform more than one duty during the making of DE SADE'S JULIETTE, MIDNIGHT PARTY and TENDER FLESH?
No, I was just asked to act.
b) What was the mood or atmosphere surrounding these pictures?
Very different from one film to another. JULIETTE had a very tight atmosphere because it was the very first explicit sex movie Jess made and nobody had really experimented in that field. MIDNIGHT PARTY was a really happy and easy shooting. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed every moment . TENDER FLESH was some kind of a challenge for Jess as it was his first American production in a long time, he had a very limited budget and wanted to give his best. There were a lot of problems to cross over during the shooting so it was a very tough experience especially for Lina and, in a lighter register, for me as we had to shoot "Live" with an english soundtrack, without any preparation (I mean I had the script in hand when arriving in Malaga, two days before the shooting started).
6. Franco now works with much smaller budgets than he has in the past. Have you noticed a difference in how he approaches a film like DE SADE'S JULIETTE compared to TENDER FLESH?
Both films had microscopic budget and both were "premires". DE SADE'S JULIETTE was self-produced by Jess (as was NIGHTMARES COMES AT NIGHT and SEX CHARADE) and as I said before, this was his first attempt in XXX cinema. TENDER FLESH was the first film produced by his fans.... I remember that Jess was very serious, not to say anxious, but very motivated during the shooting of both films as they were both possibly opened doors on other works to come.
I would once again like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Petit for taking his time to answer these questions. Thank you!
PART 1-Questions by Damian Pring:
1. What are your current projects? Do you plan to publish a biography on Jess Franco?
That's already done. Between 1994 and 1995, I self published a 6 part "fanbook" called "JESS FRANCO ou les Prosprits du Bis" aka "the Manacoa Files". More or less than 100 to 150 samples were printed and almost immediately sold out. That work was not complete because I planned to add a large dictionary and an updated Filmography. (Volume 6 ended with 1982). In 1998, Pierre Charles, late editor of the famous french fanzine CIn Zine Zone (he passed away on December 25, 2003, may gods bless him) had the idea to reissue the 6 issues of Manacoa, with more illustrations from his personnal archives and a brand new rough sketch. The result was published as "Manacoa Files" 1 to 8, a "de luxe" reissue inside Cin Zine Zone issue 117 to 124. This reissue was updated, included the Franco Dico (dictionary in two volumes!) and the updated filmography. I was very happy with the graphic result (color covers, beautiful documents, etc...) but did not really approve the way Pierre was diffusing it. So, in 2002, I decided to put an end to our collaboration. I understand even with these two publishings, very few readers have had access to what should have been a REAL book.
To answer your first question, I plan to update my work, Jess Franco being a perpetual moving subject, there is still a lot to do. Tons of new information has appeared in the past years, lots of interviews, lots of Bonus features on DVD, plenty of contradictions and false information are still running wild. The main problem with my work is the original language. If I had the ability to write it into english language, I would certainly had found a decent publisher somewhere. If anyone is interested....rights are available and I am very reasonable but I won't translate it myself. (it's going to take me hours to answer to these questions guys!)
2. What is your involvement with the Spanish DVD company, DIVISA? (Note: I misunderstood a statement that Alain made during our correspondence. I thought he was involved with Divisa.)
No involvement at all. I am very unhappy with the LAS VAMPIRAS and EL PROCESO DE LAS BRUJAS dvds they just released. Divisa only put spanish credits and language over images taken from American or English dvds. By doing so, they put spanish versions in the ash-can. They could have used the old master from the VHS release of LAS VAMPIRAS as a bonus and the overseas fans of Jess Franco would be able to appreciate Maria Rohm's suicide attempt (only seen in Spain and France) in BLOODY JUDGE on a spanish dvd. This release is a mess and I am not sure spanish customers will be happy with it. Customers from outside Spain should boycott!
3. You mentioned once working for CANAL PLUS. Can you tell us about your history with them?
Well, I have worked for nearly 9 years for one , then two, TV shows called "Cinma de Quartier" & "Quartier Interdit". The first one was devoted to everything we like: European popular cinema from 1950 to 1975 (sword & sandal, Euro Western, epic movies, spy films, Hammer films, fairy tales, etc..). The second one was devoted to "on the edge" pictures: gore pictures, erotic movies, Psychotronic cinema everything you are not supposed to watch on TV at noon.. In fact it was a Midnight show, but it seems that it was not that popular (and hated by the new leaders of Canal Plus). We had lots of complaints (for having shown FEMALE VAMPIRE, FLAVIA THE HERETIC, I ZOMBIE, PREMUTOS, BLOOD FEAST and some other trashy pictures uncut ) and the show stopped shortly before I was put in disgrace. I was some kind of a bounty hunter, in charge of selecting films, looking for rare forgotten ones, I had something to see with the definitive programming of the show, I wrote texts of presentation, prepared press books, etc... During that period I helped the programing of nearly 600 films on Canal Plus France, some of these films being very dear to my heart and are not that easy to find or show.
4. Your 8-part series of writings for Cine-Zine-Zone are hard to obtain. Can you tell us about the history and details of this project?
I partially answered to that question above. This project was born in early 90's. You know, Jess Franco has always been my favorite director. I was deeply moved when I first saw THE AWFUL DR ORLOF in the mythical theatre "Midi Minuit" in Paris in 1963 (the same day I saw Jerry Lee Lewis in concert. What a day to remember!) and when I published my first fanzine "Le Masque de la Meduse" in December 1970, there was a long study about ORLOF. Six months later I published issue 3, that was a double volume devoted to Jess Franco. In 1973 I was a contributor to "Cinema Bis", a half magazine published inside the French edition of Warren's VAMPIRELLA. There I published a large file (in issue 13), devoted to Jess, with interviews, files about Lina Romay & Soledad Miranda. So I never stopped appreciating Jess' films. My interest continued to grow when I finally was asked to work for/with him. So in the early 90s, I had the idea to work on a large project and to find an interested publisher. At that moment I asked Lucas Balbo (who was one of the rare "frenchie" to share the same interests as I) to help for a common work. I would have been in charge of most of the texts and Lucas would have taken care of a smaller part of texts and illustrations. He came see me in L'Isle Sur la Sorgue where I was living at that time and I explained to him about plans and projects I had for the book. But before we did anything, we had to find a publisher. Nothing seemed to work in a good way as publishers contacted by Lucas were not interested..... So I started working alone anyway. Later, Lucas told me he had been contacted by German publishers that wanted him to work on a similar project but without me. I understood parts of the cake would have been smaller if I were in that trip and that certainly was the reason I was kept out of this project. You must understand that, at that point, I was vexed and felt bitter towards the OBSESSION project.
But I kept the faith and being certain that my own work would be VERY different from what anybody else would do (after all I was friends with Jess for nearly 20 years and that allowed me to know a lot of things others would not). I decided to publish my own work. As I had no budget at all, I opened a 6 issue subscription through adverts in fanzines that specialised in Fantastic Cinema. When I had 50 potential readers and the necessary amount of money , I started publishing "The Manacoa Files". This way to proceed was inspired by a former experience. In 1980, I published "20 ANS DE WESTERN EUROPEEN" the very first book (fan book in 5 parts) ever published in France about the European Western. I knew it was a safe way of having my texts published but the medal reverse is that, using that alternative, you have absolutely no control on what happens to your "child" or recognition as author. So anybody can take your information and make it their own. That is what happened.... I only have the satisfaction of knowing that a few people, here and there, are aware of the truth and don't hesitate to say what they think of my work, starting with Jess himself.
5. a) Did you perform more than one duty during the making of DE SADE'S JULIETTE, MIDNIGHT PARTY and TENDER FLESH?
No, I was just asked to act.
b) What was the mood or atmosphere surrounding these pictures?
Very different from one film to another. JULIETTE had a very tight atmosphere because it was the very first explicit sex movie Jess made and nobody had really experimented in that field. MIDNIGHT PARTY was a really happy and easy shooting. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed every moment . TENDER FLESH was some kind of a challenge for Jess as it was his first American production in a long time, he had a very limited budget and wanted to give his best. There were a lot of problems to cross over during the shooting so it was a very tough experience especially for Lina and, in a lighter register, for me as we had to shoot "Live" with an english soundtrack, without any preparation (I mean I had the script in hand when arriving in Malaga, two days before the shooting started).
6. Franco now works with much smaller budgets than he has in the past. Have you noticed a difference in how he approaches a film like DE SADE'S JULIETTE compared to TENDER FLESH?
Both films had microscopic budget and both were "premires". DE SADE'S JULIETTE was self-produced by Jess (as was NIGHTMARES COMES AT NIGHT and SEX CHARADE) and as I said before, this was his first attempt in XXX cinema. TENDER FLESH was the first film produced by his fans.... I remember that Jess was very serious, not to say anxious, but very motivated during the shooting of both films as they were both possibly opened doors on other works to come.
