YVSS #34 - Steve Latshaw Your Video Store Shelf

When Steve Latshaw moved out to Los Angeles in the mid-90s at the age of 35 it was at a time when the ultra low budget market was virtually dead. Being able to make a movie in twelve days for $50,000 is a talent that men like Steve have, but unfortunately for him, no one was interested. He was told by those close to him that if he didn't make it in the business within two years, it may be time to head back to Florida. Luckily for Steve, his friendships with men like Fred Olen Ray paid off, and as a result he was hired to write the low budget family flick Invisible Dad for Andrew Stevens' Royal Oaks Entertainment. Steve didn't realize it at the time, but that wacky little film would lead him down a path that saw him become one of Andrew Stevens' go-to-guys for low budget scripts. Invisible Dad was made in 1997, and ten years later he has twenty-six writing credits to his name.

The last time Steve was on the show, which you can check out in the podcast archives under show six, we covered his career directing low budget films like Jack-O and Vampire Trailer Park in Florida. This edition focuses on Steve's move to Los Angeles and his subsequent success in the low budget market. Topics discussed include a man named Hugh Janus, the kindness of Fred Olen Ray, reasons for rewrites, getting flack for his military movies, how long it takes him to write a script, tough collaborations, the budgets of his films, the dangers of agents, lots and lots of fantastic talk about stock footage, how Jim Wynorski made an action film without shooting action scenes, the absurdity of using footage from Terminator 2, a thank you to Renny Harlin, pseudonyms, the importance of reliability, and his upcoming films Xenophobia and Planet Raptor, the retitled sequel to Raptor Island.