the ARKOFF formula: which is the most important element when making a crappy/awesome exploitation movie?

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[American International Pictures co-founder] Samuel Z. Arkoff related his tried-and-true "ARKOFF formula" for producing a successful low-budget movie years later, during a 1980s talk show appearance. His ideals for a movie included:

Poll Results

Option	Votes
Fornication (sex appeal, for young adults)	8
Revolution (novel or controversial themes and ideas)	5
Action (exciting, entertaining drama)	1
Killing (a modicum of violence)	1
Oratory (notable dialogue and speeches)	1
Fantasy (acted-out fantasies common to the audience)	1

― jesus christ (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Thursday, 24 May 2012 00:30 (thirteen years ago)

go ahead and guess what my vote is

― I want L'interieur chicken, not Hausu chicken (jjjusten), Thursday, 24 May 2012 00:36 (thirteen years ago)

anyone who doesn't vote fornication is lying btw

― jesus christ (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Thursday, 24 May 2012 00:37 (thirteen years ago)

i love him throwing "oratory" in there mainly because he couldnt think of anything else that started w/O.

― I want L'interieur chicken, not Hausu chicken (jjjusten), Thursday, 24 May 2012 00:43 (thirteen years ago)

come on, man. olivier smashed it in "marauding mini-skirt mamas from helltown, u.s.a."

― jesus christ (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Thursday, 24 May 2012 00:44 (thirteen years ago)

fornication is pretty boring in exploitation, tbh
action/killing, can't decide, because the latter is usually part of the former

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, 24 May 2012 02:03 (thirteen years ago)

yeah but "fornication" is not the sum extent of sex appeal in Arkoff ime

― ┗|∵|┓ (sic), Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:10 (thirteen years ago)

lol was about to say i'm all about the fornication

― ahhhhhhh shit here comes the motherfuckin thread cops (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:11 (thirteen years ago)

JARKOFF formula more like

― tim machine (get bent), Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:13 (thirteen years ago)

wasnt there a thread about this somewhere

― A Little Princess btw (s1ocki), Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:47 (thirteen years ago)

im having ilx deja vu

― A Little Princess btw (s1ocki), Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:47 (thirteen years ago)

was there? i had no idea about this brilliant and fool-proof formula til i was reading the american int. pictures wiki tonight.

i feel like i could have used this in film school. i might not be broke now.

― me so fat (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Thursday, 24 May 2012 03:50 (thirteen years ago)

You say you want action satisfaction?
Movies with the real Z-grade attraction?
Production on the cheap, it's an affordable style
Arkoff's gonna shlock a long long while

― spextor vs bextor (contenderizer), Thursday, 24 May 2012 05:30 (thirteen years ago)

what kind of cruel poll would make me pick only one bcz I choose ACTION KILLING FORNICATION :D

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 24 May 2012 05:34 (thirteen years ago)

Surely the appeal of action movies centers around the fantasy, no? cf Indiana Jones. There's lots of killing and things blowing up and fornication and all that, but the attraction is more that I wish I could find ancient artifacts and kill the bad guy and get the girl while looking super-cool and suave.

I suppose I'm saying that action movies = escapism = fantasy.

― give me back my 200 dollars (NotEnough), Thursday, 24 May 2012 10:04 (thirteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

― System, Thursday, 31 May 2012 00:01 (thirteen years ago)

you fornicators have no respect for the revolution

― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 31 May 2012 00:20 (thirteen years ago)

A+, dr. morbius.

― one dis leads to another (ian), Thursday, 31 May 2012 00:45 (thirteen years ago)

dr. morbius, do you want to see MEN IN BLACK THREE?

― one dis leads to another (ian), Thursday, 31 May 2012 00:45 (thirteen years ago)

have you met me?

Battle Royale maybe

― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 31 May 2012 00:47 (thirteen years ago)

i can never tell what kind of nonsense you're going to like.

― one dis leads to another (ian), Thursday, 31 May 2012 00:47 (thirteen years ago)

i knew it was a longshot tho.

― one dis leads to another (ian), Thursday, 31 May 2012 00:47 (thirteen years ago)

I wd be confused as I haven't seen its predecessors

― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 31 May 2012 00:55 (thirteen years ago)

i don't think the plot is that involved tbh

― one dis leads to another (ian), Thursday, 31 May 2012 01:29 (thirteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

― System, Friday, 1 June 2012 00:01 (thirteen years ago)

FRAKOF

― emil.y, Friday, 1 June 2012 00:33 (thirteen years ago)

i like how the arkoff formula assumes only young adults are interested in sex appeal

― me so fat (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 1 June 2012 02:56 (thirteen years ago)

eight years pass...

A few days after Larry Cohen's “Q” was screened at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival (under its original title, “The Winged Serpent”), the following conversation took place between Samuel Z. Arkoff, the film's producer, and Rex Reed, the critic.

REED: Sam! I just saw “The Winged Serpent”! What a surprise! All that dreck--and right in the middle of it, a great Method performance by Michael Moriarty!

ARKOFF: The dreck was my idea.

― huge rant (sic), Thursday, 24 December 2020 11:21 (four years ago)

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