What was your inspiration for the film?
I was really on a ridiculous Warren Oates trip at the time, which was a lot of my inspiration. It also reminded me of Clint Eastwood in "Every Which Way But Loose", but with the character Cyclona as my monkey. That was what we were striving for: basically your classic Western hero. The film was a very strange and organic process for me. I memorised the whole script and became obsessed with it.
The film faced a lot of controversy at the time. What happened?
I don't know if there was controversy so much as the crew in Toronto, where we shot, hated us being so out there and involved with something that just seemed dirty to them. I don't think they got the humour in Matthew Bright's script. You know, why are midgets, transvestites, and molestations funny? Mostly, we were up against a lot of battles with our own crew.
Any other difficulties?
The weather was weird. We were wearing about 40 layers of thermals, which is why we all look puffy.
Did your agents ever advise you against taking the project?
I think that they are aware that at a certain point they lose control. It's my choice. My agent at the time clearly understood why I wanted to do this. Also part of the appeal was that this other movie I had just done, "But I'm a Cheerleader", was such a polar opposite to this. One was a tough girl from prison with dementia, and the other was full-blown cheerleader.
