Hansi Oppenheimer | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Interview: Lizzy Walker Interviews Hansi Oppenheimer, Director of All Hail the Popcorn King

Hansi Oppenheimer is the director of the recently released documentary on Joe R. Lansdale, All Hail the Popcorn Queen, which we reviewed earlier this year. In addition to her interview with Lansdale, reviewer Lizzy Walker had the opportunity to interview Oppenheimer about her experiences with Lansdale and with making the documentary.

LW: How did your All Hail the Popcorn King documentary project come about?

HO: I have been a fan of Joe’s work since the 1980s. I finally had the opportunity to meet him two years ago when I was invited to appear at a con in Houston. I reached out to him to see if he’d be available for an interview for my YouTube channel, and he invited me to Nacogdoches for lunch and the interview. After the interview, I reached out to him for a piece on a short about Joe Bob Briggs that I was working on, and he wrote me the most beautiful, touching, funny piece, and got back to me in a day.

I was so grateful that I promised him my next film would be about him, and I’m so glad I did. I’ve never worked with anyone who was more honest, generous and collaborative.

LW: Why did you decide on the title All Hail the Popcorn King for the documentary?

The title of the film All Hail The Popcorn King is a reference to Lansdale’s The Drive-In, in which a group of people get trapped by an inexplicable force and chaos quickly ensues. Two of the characters get fused together (it’s a crazy book), don a popcorn bucket as crown and are blindly worshipped as The Popcorn King. Additionally, Joe came up with the story after a series of nightmares he had after eating popcorn that his wife used to make cooked in Kroger grease. The book has inspired dozens of writers, including Joe Hill, who has said when he read it as a kid, he decided he wanted to be a writer.

LW: When and where will the documentary be available outside of the film circuit?

HO: We completed the film and are working on some bonus features for the DVD. Right now, we don’t have a formal distributor. I expect that will change once the world gets back to some kind of normal.

LW: What drew you to Joe’s work?

HO: Joe’s been compared to Mark Twain and William Faulkner, won an insane amount of awards (see bio in the Press Kit) and has helped so many young writers with his advice or including them in anthologies. He’s a true American Literary Treasure and yet many people don’t know about him and his work. In part that is because he has never stuck to one genre. Joe Lansdale is his own genre. He has a singular voice which comes through in everything he writes.

He is also an incredibly good human being and there’s far too many documentaries about temperamental tortured artists. Joe loves what he does, and that’s a valuable message for anyone who wants to write.

LW: What is your favourite work of Joe R. Lansdale’s?

HO: My favorite books of Joe’s are The Drive-In and The Magic Wagon.

Check out the documentary trailer: https://youtu.be/pSvnb_Hzijk

Documentary Review: All Hail the Popcorn King directed by Hansi Oppenheimer

All Hail the Popcorn King directed by Hansi Oppenheimer

Squee Projects LLC, 2019

Not Rated

Run time: 55 minutes

Available: on the convention circuit currently; DVD preorders available through website: https://squeeprojects.com/

“If you’ve read Joe Lansdale, you love Joe Lansdale.”

–Mick Garris

Award-winning East Texas-based author Joe R. Lansdale is the focus of director Hansi Oppenheimer’s documentary film, All Hail the Popcorn King. Oppenheimer follows Lansdale as he discusses growing up in Nacogdoches, TX in the 1950s, and what influenced his love of storytelling. Lansdale also talks about how he embarked on his writing career, how he has woven personal experiences into his work, and how he created his own unique genre. Included in the film are interviews with Joe Hill, David J. Schow, Del Howison, Brian Keene, Rick Klaw, Don Coscarelli, Bruce Campbell, James Purefoy, and more.

Q & A at the Nacogdoches Film Festival

Watching the documentary, it is clear Lansdale loves history. His eyes light up as he takes Hansi through the community center that used to be the library, discussing historical figures such as Davy Crockett, whose portrait hangs in a display case behind glass. As he talks about his love of drive-ins and movies, especially reminiscing about watching but not hearing films being played at the drive-in from a window, with his mother making up the story unfolding on the big screen, it is apparent where his love of storytelling comes from. Of course, there is much conversation about his works, such as Bubba Ho-Tep, the Hap and Leonard series, The Drive-In, and more. Joe also discusses the martial science he developed, Shen Chuan. Bruce Campbell says of Lansdale, “Do not sneak up on Joe.”

Hansi and Joe at the Cocteau Theater in Santa Fe, with George R.R. Martin

In the summary of the documentary, it reads “We pay homage to one of the Great American Authors.” Indeed, the film accomplishes this. Oppenheimer does a great job weaving the interviews with Joe and everyone else with comic book and drive-in movie style graphics that add a unique touch to the content. Listening to Lansdale talk about his life and history will make anyone want to take it all in. All Hail the Popcorn King belongs on any bookshelf that contains his works, and also provides a great introduction to new and potential readers. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker