In the words of George Hardy, “You don’t piss on hospitality,” even if it’s only awarded on the basis of one’s questionable fame.
Hardy, star of what is generally regarded as one of the worst movies ever made, Troll 2, received a standing ovation for his appearance at Ottawa’s Mayfair Theatre Nov. 12.
The Mayfair was screening a double bill of the 1989 B-movie and the recent acclaimed documentary about it, Best Worst Movie.
Troll 2 isn’t just considered bad, but the Holy Grail of cinematic failure.
“It’s a perfect synergy of terrible movie making and honest effort,” described audience member and Carleton student John Tripp [which year/program?], who said he was seeing the movie for the third time.
The film sees a family go on vacation to the town of Nilbog (“Goblin” spelled backwards), where the family discovers that the town’s citizens are in fact vegetarian goblins, who use special food to turn any visitors into vegetables.
The work of Italian director Claudio Fragasso, the film was shot in Utahwith a team of wannabe actors really trying to do their best, Hardy explained.
With little direction from the Italian film crew, though, the film became a disaster — so bad, in fact, that until recently Hardy had never seen the film in its entirety.
“After about five minutes I ejected the VHS copy,” Hardy said of his first attempt viewing the movie. “It just [collected] dust and went behind my TV for about 16 years.”
Little did he know, though, that over the years the movie had become a cult phenomenon.
When a friend called and told him, he said couldn’t believe it.
“He said ‘You have to go to [Internet Movie Database],’ ” Hardy recalled, adding with a chuckle: “I didn’t even know what that meant.”
In order to understand the story of the worst movie ever made, one has to understand Hardy’s story — prominently featured in Best Worst Movie, directed by Troll 2’s former child star, Michael Stephenson.
Hardy has run a dental practice for the majority of his adult life, and was so committed he nearly turned down the offer to act in his one and only feature film role.
“I just remember my heart jumping out of my chest, and I thought, ‘I just can’t do this,’ ” Hardy said. “I just went into my heart though and said: ‘You’ll probably never get a chance like this ever again. Go for it.’ ”
This attitude toward life was summed up perfectly as Hardy sat back, relaxed, in the tiny office at the Mayfair, snacking on popcorn and Coke.
In fact, Hardy said he had been up for more than 24 hours straight at that point, having left his office in Alabama the night before to catch a red-eye flight out of Atlanta— something he said is just all part of the ride.
And what a ride it has been ever since Stephenson contacted Hardy back in 2006 about his interest in making a documentary about the film and its cult success.
Stephenson shot over 420 hours of footage for the film, with Hardy being there for most of it. The documentary afforded Hardy the opportunity to travel the world, meeting fans of Troll 2 all across Europe, Australia and North America. To boot, the doc has even garnered Academy Award buzz.
But Hardy said he takes his newfound fame for what it is.
“I don’t feel that I’m a celebrity, because I’ll leave this and I’ll go to the airport and nobody knows who I am,” he said.
So when he is asked to recite his famous line from the movie, “You can’t piss on hospitality, I won’t allow it!” for the millionth time, he said it’s like, “ ‘Hey, I’m joining in on the fun with you.’ ”
“Life’s too short not to go along with the experiences of it all,” he said.
Following the screening of Best Worst Movie, Hardy fielded some questions from the audience before the showing of Troll 2.
At one point, he decided to call up Stephenson, putting the phone on speakerphone next to the microphone.
When he didn’t pick up, Hardy ended his voicemail message in true Troll 2 fashion: “You just piss on hospitality!”