Troma Entertainment - Other Work

Other Work

Troma holds the annual Tromadance Festival in Park City, Utah at the same time as the Sundance Festival to accentuate their true independence from the mainstream. The festival screens submitted movies from independent filmmakers from around the world, the best of which are usually released on DVD by Troma or compiled in the Best of Tromadance series. In parallel, Troma acts as adviser to aspiring filmmakers with Kaufman teaching classes, contributing cameos and often releasing the finished films on DVD. 2009 marked the last time Tromadance was held in Utah; the festival was subsequently relocated to Asbury Park, New Jersey. Additionally, Tromadance adjusted its annual schedule to take place in April rather than in January as in previous years.

Kaufman has also had some success with several non-fiction books and a novelization of The Toxic Avenger. Released in 1998, All I Need to Know about Filmmaking I Learned from the Toxic Avenger is an autobiography of sorts co-written with James Gunn. This book was significant to those interested in Troma and Kaufman because it signified the first time a book had chronicled the history of the company, its films and its iconic figurehead. Kaufman continued to draw on his experiences as Troma chief in the "how-to" filmmaking books Make Your Own Damn Movie!, Direct Your Own Damn Movie!, Produce Your Own Damn Movie! and Sell Your Own Damn Movie!. A DVD box set has been released to coincide with release of each of the three books. In the video series, Kaufman interviews famous and infamous filmmakers about various filmmaking subjects.

In 2006 a novelization of The Toxic Avenger was released. It was co-written by Kaufman and long time Troma employee Adam Jahnke.