A Strange Idea of Entertainment: Conversations with Tom McLoughlin

by Tom McLoughlin

In 2011, you were involved with a few other film projects that didn’t work out. What happened?

  Lucky Christmas was a Hallmark Channel movie — a light but well-written Christmas comedy. I thought it would be a lot of fun for me to do comedy again, so I committed to it. The producers and I put together a crew and we were going to shoot it in Michigan. Then the new governor of Michigan decided that there would be no new tax incentives for filmmaking in Michigan, and they couldn’t make the movie on the budget we had without those tax incentives. They hired another producer, who knew that the only affordable way to make the movie was to shoot it in Canada. In the end, there wasn’t enough money to bring me to Canada as the director. Despite three months of work, time and dedication — all unpaid — it was over.

  When I got the news, I sat there in shock and anger for about ten minutes. Then I got up, went to my computer and started searching for producers in Ireland. I just decided, I’m an American director with an Irish passport and I would love to make a movie in Ireland. For some reason, that became my next big goal. I felt like I needed to make a some kind of major change like that. I must have sent out fifty letters of inquiry. Basically what came back was: “You’re overqualified, but we don’t have enough work for our own directors. If you can find a project and a producer…” And then I was right back to needing to find a project. So I turned my focus to script writing.

  For years, I had carried around this desire to tell a story about the rodeo. I wanted it to have a sense of the family mentality that is part of a rodeo world and when I pitched that idea to my friend Nancy Miller, she said well let me bring it to my agent at William Morris. Her agent said we represent the Professional Bull Riders association (PBR), and I can set up a meeting with their CEO. So that motivated me to produce a pilot script.

  When I started doing research on the PBR, I realized these guys are like the Oscar winners, an elite group. And they want to be perceived as squeaky clean, all-American athletes. Not dirty cowboys. In fact, they work very hard to get away from the cowboy image. They do their shows in arenas, not in rodeos. Which was less appealing to me…I thought, You can do a movie about Hollywood royalty or you can do Rocky. I wanted to do Rocky. And when I added the darker elements, the CEO of PBR basically said, “We can’t endorse this. It’s just not the way we present ourselves.” So that hasn’t gone anywhere yet.

  My friend Peter Desberg and I developed an eight-part cable series idea about nineteenth century Italian composer Niccolò Paganini. You could say he was the first Elvis or Hendrix. People clambered to see him; women fainted. He did all these mysterious things like rehearse in cemeteries at night, and stare down the audience before he started playing. Rumor was that he had made a pact with the devil. In the end, he became a victim of his own publicity. At the time of his death, the Catholic Church refused him the last sacraments and refused to bury him. Our story was about his son trying to learn who his father really was. So it was a very unusual biopic.

  This was around the time you started singing in a band called The Sloths. Were you making a conscious attempt to refocus on music?

  Not exactly. What happened was an attorney named Jeff Briskin, who played with me in a band called The May Wines back in 1966, hired a private detective to track down his old bandmates. I was the easiest to find, because I had an agent and a show business profile.

  Before he was in The May Wines, Jeff had been in a band called The Sloths. They got together in 1965, recorded one song (“Makin’ Love”) and then disbanded. Jeff and some of the other members formed The May Wines. I joined them and, for a while, we played the exact same songs and opened for a lot of the same bands. Then Jeff left and The May Wines morphed into TNT. That was the end of The Sloths until 2011, when a copy of “Makin’ Love” sold for $6,500 on eBay.

  At the same time, this guy named Mike Stax — who runs a ’60s music magazine called Ugly Things — was looking for The Sloths. He tracked down Mike Rummens, who had played rhythm guitar in The Sloths and The May Wines. One of The May Wines was never found. Two of The Sloths had passed away. The rest of us got together at IHOP one historic night.

  It was surreal to suddenly see these guys again after almost forty-five years! We did the interview for Ugly Things and I said, “Well, wouldn’t it be cool to get together in a garage someday, just for the fun of it, and see what happens?” For a while, we kind of let it go at that. Then one day I got a call from the drummer Bob Krasnow, who said, “Do you guys want to do this or not?” Jeff and I really did!

  We got together in Bob’s garage and started playing the songs that we had played when we were sixteen years old on the Sunset Strip. Old Rolling Stones songs. Yardbirds songs. Animals songs. Jeff hadn’t really played in forty-five years. I had not sung in just as long. Thank God we didn’t make a tape of it because it probably sounded like shit — but it was amazing how many songs we remembered. We kept getting together for a while, again just for fun, but I really didn’t expect it to lead anywhere. I thought it was the equivalent of a Wednesday night poker game.

  Your first concert was on October 1, 2011, at a club called Eleven in San Diego. What was it like performing on stage again, after so many years of being behind the camera?

  That was an experience that, if I put it in a movie, the reviewers would go, “This is just too unbelievably corny.” A guy in his sixties getting up on stage with a bunch of other guys in their sixties, playing the music they were playing when they were sixteen. I never thought I’d get back on stage again, much less be performing like some Mick Jagger-esque punk. But there I was, looking out into the audience and seeing Nancy, Shane and Hannah…and the looks on their faces made it all worthwhile. None of them had ever seen that side of me, because that part of my life happened so long ago. To our amazement, the audience reception to the reborn Sloths was phenomenal.

  When it was over, I figured: That’s a once in a lifetime experience. But from that show, another offer came. And then another one. Which shocked all of us. Ever since then we’ve been playing gigs whenever and wherever we can get them — whether it’s for fifty people or 500 people. We even went back to the Sunset Strip. We’ve played On the Rox, The Echo and The Vex. We’ve also played in San Francisco and Oakland, and we just did a big music festival in Reno. And we have two festivals coming up in New Orleans and Spain later this year. Being in an unsigned band that’s going to Europe — especially at a time when so many young bands can’t even get into a local club without paying for their own tickets and selling them to family and friends — is overwhelming.

  So why is this happening? Who knows. It’s just sort of happening and we’re going along with it. Around the time we did our sixtieth show, I had to accept that this is not just a passing thing. By then I had decided take up the harmonica, which is an instrument that I started to learn when I was a teenager. Then I started taking flamenco dancing lessons. Most people don’t start flamenco dancing at sixty-one, but I wanted to incorporate certain moves into my performance during our shows. I also learned how to play the castanets. I also started taking singing lessons. If I’m going to do this, I want to be as good as I can be. I recently reconnected with Wenndy MacKenzie, my vocal coach, through Facebook. I was very close friends with her back in the ’60s. She’s a phenomenal singer and teacher.

  Then I’ve always wanted to play an Irish instrument, so I started learning how to play the bodhran — the Irish drum. I found I had a natural aptitude for it, and that was an incredible revelation. I’d always believed that musicianship was one talent I didn’t have, so I never really pursued it. I am still far from a good musician on any of these things, but the more I practice and play, the more confident I become. These discoveries have been extremely exciting for me.

  At this point in your life, are you now thinking of yourself more as a musician than a filmmaker?

  No. No way. I never for a second will let go of filmmaking…I’m still writing, and trying to develop and discover something new. The problem is that the TV movie b
usiness has really changed in the last few years. When A&E took over Lifetime [in 2009], they made it very clear that they did not want to keep making the same type of movies with the same people. That was a big door that closed on me. I had to move on. Then, last year, a new Lifetime project came out of left field — a biopic about Stephanie Lazarus, the L.A. policewoman who was convicted of murder. I thought that was a really interesting project, but it just seemed like something kept holding it back. I spent about five months working with the producers and Lifetime on the script. We went into what’s called “soft prep.” But by the end of 2012, Lifetime passed.

  I met with the executives at ABC Family Channel about a couple of movies they wanted to do with me. That led to a long, long, long wait, only to find out that ABC Family has gone the route of most other TV networks, which is they only want to do one or two movies a year and otherwise concentrate on series, because there’s more longevity and more money in a series.

  I then spent the first half of 2013 developing a very unique take on the [Boston mobster] Whitey Bulger story, but that fell apart as well. So I continue in this transitional phase, wondering what’s next. My feeling is that I’ll be back in the feature film world.

  In December 2012, you reunited with the L.A. Mime Company for one night at The Magic Castle in Hollywood. Was that like reuniting with the band?

  No. Completely different. For one thing, I was once married to Katee. And the group was really like my extended family.

  Over the years I’ve stayed in touch with everyone. Tina and her husband Mike Caveny are friends with magician Rob Zabrecky, who was booking shows for The Magic Castle in 2012. One day he said, “What do you guys think about doing an L.A. Mime Company tribute?” Tina looked at me and said, “What do you think?” I said, “Well, I’m performing again. You and Mitchel never stopped. It’s a question of whether Katee and Albert would want to do this.” I figured the least we could do was ask. As it turned out, they loved the idea of a reunion.

  Months later, when the great day finally came, it was pretty surreal. It felt like we all just totally picked up right where we left off decades ago. The only difference was hair colors…and the amount of hair…and wrinkles. Mitchel is still the exact same character. Katee still has her same energy and spunk. Tina is basically the same, but much more confident than she had been in the old days. Albert is still the boy who refuses to grow up, which is why I love him. We all got together at Tina’s house, had dinner, and started putting a show together. We voted on a skit that we could do at the end of the tribute. It had a bit of a magic trick involved in it, so it was perfect for the Magic Castle and the occasion.

  When the night was over, it was like the end of making a movie. Everyone is looking at each other, going, “It’s over? We have to stay in touch…” And, just like after a movie shoot, we did that for a couple of weeks. Then everybody slowly disappeared back into their lives. But it was an incredible experience. I really love them.

  You’ve talked about the Hollywood Forever birthday party as the setup for your third act, and so far the third act seems to keep bringing you back to where you started…

  Just proves that God has the final draft and the final cut, right? When The Sloths reunited, it really was a lark and I didn’t expect it to last at all. But it did. It’s only getting bigger. I’m realizing everybody secretly wants some kind of second shot, but we don’t dare to say it out loud. It’s an impossible dream. In the big scheme of things, how can we possibly succeed? But The Sloths keep moving on. We just recorded two new songs and I listen to them and I think, They’re not bad. But are they any good? Who knows?

  One of the songs is called “Lust.” It’s a classic hard rocker with a rebellious attitude. What we called “rebel rock” is now called “punk rock.” The other one is “Wanna New Life.” It’s about the idea that your future was once filled with all these opportunities and possibilities, but somewhere along the line somebody changed the game and now you want a second chance, a new and better life. I tried to write it so that it sort of speaks to you whether you’re sixteen or sixty.

  Guitarist Mike Rummens came up with a new blues riff called “Before I Die.” He said, “People used to say they wanted to die before they got old. Right now, I’ve got all this shit I wanna do before I die.” It’s a reversal on The Who. I took that and created the lyrics, which are about how people of our generation do not want to let go. I’m not slowing down. I’m speeding up. There’s so many new challenges out there that I still want to go for. I keep doing things that I never dreamed I would ever do. That’s my life now. In a way, the movie I’m making right now is me.

  I just took a job as an adjunct film professor at Chapman University. I never thought I would be teaching cinema, but the truth is I’m really excited about working with the next generation of filmmakers — not just as a teacher, but as a student. In my first class, looking at this eclectic group of future filmmakers, the first thing I said was, “I’m still a student too. We’re gonna teach each other.” I know that’s how it will be, because I genuinely believe what Chaplin said in Limelight. “We’re all amateurs. We don’t live long enough to be anything else.”

  23. The AMC series premiered in October 2010 and went on to become one of the highest rated shows on television.

  24. The zombie rom-com was released in early 2013 to the tune of over $100 million in box office receipts.

  25. The “woman in black” is a Hollywood legend. Every year, on the anniversary of Rudolf Valentino’s death, a mysterious woman in a black veil visits the star’s final resting place and places roses on his tomb.

  Tom among the Masters of Horror.

  Cathedral Mausoleum at Hollywood Forever.

  Nancy, Tom, Shane and Hannah McLoughlin at Tom’s sixtieth birthday party. Photo credit: Bern Agency.

  Tom and his fake crypt on the set of One Dark Night.

  Tom and his real crypt at Hollywood Forever.

  The May Wines in 1966.

  The Sloths reunited, 2012. Photo credit: Cheryl Zeichik.

  The Sloths play The Stork Club in Oakland, May 2012. Photo credit: Tiger Lily.

  L.A. Mime Company in the 1970s.

  L.A. Mime Company in 2012.

  “To die will be an awfully big adventure” — Peter Pan.

  Filmography

  SLEEPER (THEATRICAL FEATURE, 1973) — ACTOR

  THE INCREDIBLE MACHINE (DOCUMENTARY, 1975) — ACTOR

  “VAN DYKE AND COMPANY” (TV SERIES, 1976) — ACTOR /WRITER

  PROPHECY (THEATRICAL FEATURE, 1979) — ACTOR

  THE BLACK HOLE (THEATRICAL FEATURE, 1979) — ACTOR

  THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING WOMAN (THEATRICAL FEATURE, 1981) — ACTOR

  ONE DARK NIGHT (THEATRICAL FEATURE, COMPLETED 1981, RELEASED 1983) — WRITER/DIRECTOR

  ALICE IN WONDERLAND (TV MINISERIES, 1985) — ACTOR

  FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES! (THEATRICAL FEATURE, 1986) — WRITER/DIRECTOR

  “AMAZING STORIES” — “GO TO THE HEAD OF THE CLASS” (TV SERIES, 1986) — WRITER

  “AMAZING STORIES” — “SUCH INTERESTING NEIGHBORS” (TV SERIES, 1987) — WRITER

  DATE WITH AN ANGEL (THEATRICAL FEATURE, 1987) — WRITER/DIRECTOR

  “FREDDY’S NIGHTMARES” — “IT’S A MISERABLE LIFE” (TV SERIES, 1988) — DIRECTOR

  “FRIDAY THE 13TH” — “MASTER OF DISGUISE” (TV SERIES, 1988) — DIRECTOR

  “FRIDAY THE 13TH” — “THE PLAYHOUSE” (TV SERIES, 1989) — WRITER/DIRECTOR

  “FRIDAY THE 13TH” — “THE PROPHECIES” (TV SERIES, 1989) — WRITER/DIRECTOR

  “THE STEVEN BANKS SHOW: HOME ENTERTAINMENT CENTER” (SHOWTIME SPECIAL, 1989) — DIRECTOR

  “THEY CAME FROM OUTER SPACE” — “MALIBU OR BUST!” (TV SERIES, 1990) — CREATOR/WRITER

  “SHE-WOLF OF LONDON” — “SHE-WOLF OF LONDON” (TV SERIES, 1990) — CREATOR/WRITER

  STEVEN KING’S SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK (THEATRICAL FEATURE, 1991) — DIRECTOR


  IN A CHILD’S NAME (TV MINISERIES, 1991) — DIRECTOR

  SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR: THE ALISON GERTZ STORY (TV MOVIE, 1991) — DIRECTOR

  THE FIRE NEXT TIME (TV MINISERIES, 1993) — DIRECTOR

  MURDER OF INNOCENCE (TV MOVIE, 1993) — PRODUCER /DIRECTOR

  THE YARN PRINCESS (TV MOVIE, 1994) — DIRECTOR

  LEAVE OF ABSENCE (TV MOVIE, 1994) — DIRECTOR

  THE LIES BOYS TELL (TV MOVIE, 1994) — DIRECTOR

  JOURNEY (TV MOVIE, 1994) — DIRECTOR

  THE TURN OF THE SCREW (TV MOVIE, 1995) — DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

  A DIFFERENT KIND OF CHRISTMAS (TV MOVIE, 1996) — DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

  FAIRY TALE: A TRUE STORY (THEATRICAL, 1997) — WRITER /PRODUCER

  THE THIRD TWIN (TV MOVIE, 1997) — DIRECTOR

  “LEAVING L.A.” (PILOT ENTITLED “INTERMISSION,” 1997) — DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

  BEHIND THE MASK (TV MOVIE, 1999) — DIRECTOR

  ANYA’S BELL (TV MOVIE, 1999) — DIRECTOR