FAQ
How long have you been making films?
Is it true you used to do professional wrestling?
Where did the name “Lord Kayoss” come from?
Why do you not upload to your youtube channel more often?
What exactly is the Lord Kayoss Shoot of the Week?
Why is the Shoot not featured on youtube?
Why do you take AVGN so serious as to produce films in response to his?
So, what are the RIR films exactly? Parodies? Tributes? Hate films?
What kind of music do you listen to?
What is a “rat”? You mention it on the Shoot and other things from time to time.
Why haven’t you responded to my email?
What are some of your favorite video games?
Why did you end the Shoot of the Week?
How do I get a thumbnail for my username to show up on your site?
Do you watch your videos a lot after making them? Which one is your favorite?
How long have you been making films?
As of 2009, about 15 years. The art of filmmaking has interested me since I was a child, but unfortunately most children lack the kind of money required to purchase necessary equipment so my dream was delayed a while until I could cobble together some basic hardware to begin experimenting and learning. My first films were shot with an old VHS camcorder and edited with two VCR’s and a stereo. Many of these, due to their primitive nature, have yet to see light of day on the internet.
Is it true you used to do professional wrestling?
Yes. I wrestled under the name “Kayoss” off and on for the better part of a decade. There are several clips featured on this site in the IOWF section as well as youtube. Additionally, there are several full-length matches in the video section of my myspace page.
Where did the name “Lord Kayoss” come from?
A portion of the name originally surfaced in 1991 while I was playing Final Fantasy II for the SNES. I was renaming Cecil, the main character, into something that sounded more menacing to me. I guess at age 11 the name Cecil just didn’t carry a lot of weight in my mind (and still doesn’t, for that matter). I was racking my brain trying to come up with a satisfying name I didn’t mind looking at for the entire game. Then I remembered the original Final Fantasy and the final boss of the game, Chaos. I thought to myself, “Hmm, Chaos…what a cool name. Sounds like it has some kind of power behind it.” After tweaking the spelling I came up with “Kayoss”. That became the name of Cecil, and thus would be connected with me for the rest of my life. I began using it as a pen name for my writings, then incorporated it into my wrestling character in the late 90′s, and finally carried it over into my films in the new century.
The “Lord” portion was added about mid-way through my tenure in professional wrestling. My favorite wrestler was The Undertaker, who was often referred to as the “Lord of Darkness”. Hence, “Lord Kayoss”. Inspiration can strike anywhere!
Why do you not upload to your youtube channel more often?
I work when I’m inspired. Often times I have the urge to produce a film, but no material that I feel is strong enough to work with. I’m not the type of artist to just throw something meaningless together just to get it out there and stay active. Youtube is a popularity contest to many users, but that’s not what it’s about for me. If I have a piece of work I feel is intriguing and will attract an audience, I’ll post it. If not, I won’t. Also, keep in mind youtube’s ridiculous perception of copyright infringement. That’s another factor in my channel seeing limited activity. One has to be extremely careful in what is uploaded there.
What exactly is the Lord Kayoss Shoot of the Week?
The Shoot of the Week is a weekly vlog I run on Facebook and my Myspace page, featuring me in a news desk role covering current events and anything else I find interesting that particular week. The term “Shoot” is derived from pro wrestling lingo. Of it’s many meanings, one specifically is it’s a raw, unchecked rant. A verbal tirade of opinion and emotion, which fits the video’s content perfectly.
For more inside info on the show, check out the film entitled Looking Down The Barrel.
Why is the Shoot not featured on youtube?
Again, think of youtube’s copyright policy. The Shoot generally features a copyrighted song in the background along with several copyrighted news clips and images. Although an episode appears on youtube every now and then, there’s no way it would hold up in consistency on a weekly basis. Subsequently, there’d be several of them getting deleted and most likely my channel being terminated (again, heh). The Shoot is hosted on my personal server, and streams quietly on myspace without violating their own policies.
Why do you take AVGN so serious as to produce films in response to his?
I suppose if I actually believed that James Rolfe walked around in real life, “wearing a white pressed shirt, stuffed with pens in the pocket, and saying ‘fuck’ all the time and talking about buffalos taking diarrhea dumps”, one could say I take the character too serious (and I’d agree). But in reality, using the AVGN character as a theme in my RIR films is just a ‘seed’ I plant and use as inspiration which then blossoms into the full picture and stands on it’s own. If you watch the RIR films you’ll see that Rolfe’s AVGN is only mentioned a couple times and bears little importance to the film’s main plot and final outcome. Essentially, anyone taking the time to write and say I’m taking the character too serious are in fact taking me too serious. The RIR films are just another form of entertainment. Nothing more.
So, what are the RIR films exactly? Parodies? Tributes? Hate films?
Above all, they are entertainment. A little bit of parody, but one that’s overshadowed by my own visions. RIR’s are basically movies mixed with game reviews/walkthroughs, ala AVGN. Similar concept, but that’s about where the parody stops. The game reviews/walkthroughs focus on some of the comedic exaggerations of AVGN’s take on a particular game which some viewers actually find misleading. I know what he’s saying is an act, he knows it’s an act, and most of you know it’s an act. But, there are several who take some of Nerd’s films for fact and in turn miss out on certain games they may have gotten some enjoyment from. I explain the inaccurate exaggerations and break the games down in simplistic form, noting they’re indeed playable and in most cases not nearly as confusing and frustrating as some have been led to believe. Why would I take the time to do that? It’s basically a labor of love out of respect for classic video games. The responses I get from people who thank me for turning them onto games that Rolfe’s character scared them away from make those portions of the films worthwhile.
The cinematic elements of the videos are tributes to classic film icons with original scripts. They are the meat n’ potatoes of the films, where I really get to jump in, get my hands dirty, and do what I love to do which is write, direct/shoot, act, and produce.
Impossible to pick just one. But, favs that come to mind are Sylvester Stallone, Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones, Michael Biehn, Emilio Estevez, Bela Lugosi, Dwight Frye, and Colin Clive. I love great dialogue. And these guys are some of the best ever at delivering their lines.
Again, not possible for me to pick just one. But here’s a short list:
Halloween (1978), Alien/Aliens, Back to the Future Trilogy, Terminator I/II, The Shawshank Redemption, Dracula (1931), Ed Wood, The War at Home (1996), Rocky (All), Rambo (All), Million Dollar Baby, Heist, Lean On Me, A League of Their Own, The Fugitive, Universal Soldier, Willow, Predator, Live From Baghdad, Sin City, Young Guns I/II, American History X, Sling Blade, Full Metal Jacket, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Gremlins I/II, The Karate Kid, Meteor, The Longest Yard (2005), Batman (1989), A Perfect Murder, Can’t Hardly Wait, Beetlejuice, The Blair Witch Project, The Devil’s Rejects.
What kind of music do you listen to?
Classic/hard rock (Def Leppard, Van Halen, Guns N’ Roses, Sammy Hagar, George Thorogood, ZZ Top, Billy Squier), old school heavy metal (Megadeth, 80′s Metallica, Slayer, Ozzy/Sabbath, etc) mostly. But, to quote my all-time favorite frontman (W. Axl Rose), “a great song can be found anywhere.” I elect not to stay confined to one particular genre. I have my favs, but great music is all over the place. Certain moods welcome different flavors (like Primus for instance). You just never know when or where a good tune will speak to you.
What is a “rat”? You mention it on the Shoot and other things from time to time.
Back to wrestling lingo. A “rat” is a groupie.
Why haven’t you responded to my email?
Be patient. I generally like to respond to every message I get. But, sometimes I’m just too busy to get to them all as quickly as I’d like. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to send their thoughts, well wishes, and feedback. Rest assured, your messages are being read and thank you for your interest.
Not likely. In order to legally do that, all copyrighted clips/music/bytes/images would have to be removed from all included films which would water them down way too much. Not to mention I do this for sheer joy and the satisfaction it brings me, not the money (unlike some).
Seeing how I could still be prosecuted, can’t specifically speak on that one. What I can say is that I took certain unlawful risks that endangered only myself in order to get certain scenes shot for the film.
What are some of your favorite video games?
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2), NCAA College Hoops 2K8 (PS3), Call of Duty (Modern Warfare series) (PS3), Final Fantasy II (SNES), Super Punch Out!! (SNES), Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (NES), Blaster Master (NES), River City Ransom (NES), Tetris (NES), Victory Road (Arcade), WWF Superstars (Arcade), and a slew of others.
Why did you end the Shoot of the Week?
Aside from the issues covered on the final episode , I was beginning to feel the show was on the verge of becoming redundant and stale, and I didn’t want it to veer at all in that direction. Also, as mentioned (worth noting again), I have other intriguing projects with potential that were sort of on indefinite hold while I focused on the weekly show. Though it may not seem like it, keeping up with a weekly show is a very deep commitment. Just producing one once a week is a challenge in itself. But, turning one out weekly that is both quality and entertaining is very tedious, and very time-consuming. Ending the Shoot for now gives me an opportunity to focus on other areas of interest. As paraphrased by Arnold, “I’ll be back.” You’ll see more Shoots in the future (i.e. this one ). I am certain of this. But, for now, the weekly era has closed.
How do I get a thumbnail for my username to show up on your site?
You have to create an account at gravatar.com. Signing up is easy. All you need to keep in mind is you have to sign up at gravatar using the EXACT SAME email address you used to sign up here or IT WILL NOT WORK. Create an account there and upload an image to set as your thumbnail. You’ll be asked by gravatar to rate the image (PG, R, X, etc) before you make it final. My site is set to display images up to an R rating, so you probably shouldn’t exceed that or it won’t show up here. After your account is created at gravatar and your thumbnail is set, it should show up here within 5-10 minutes. Easy peezy, ja-pa-neezy.
Do you watch your videos a lot after making them? Which one is your favorite?
Not really. I watch them a lot before releasing them, correcting mistakes or making general changes. Probably for that reason, by the time they’re released I’m sick of seeing them.
But, a personal favorite is Nightmare RIR. I was really happy with the way that film turned out. One of the biggest challenges as a filmmaker is getting the finished product as close to your mental vision as possible. I don’t think it could’ve been any closer with that one. What you see is pretty much spot on with what I saw in my head when writing the screenplay and imagining how the story would unfold.
