Working for 'the Man' to rebel against my anti-Hollywood dad

Lloyd Kaufman has been the father of anti-establishment filmmaking for over 50 years. His production company Troma Entertainment is known for its gory, controversial and politically-charged movies. His daughter Lily-Hayes grew up on the sets of these bizarre and often quite gruesome Troma films. She had her first on-screen role at the age of 4 in one of Troma’s biggest hits – the 1984 horror-comedy The Toxic Avenger – a film about a nerd who turns into a mutant superhero after falling into a vat of nuclear waste. But the chaos of the films was not mirrored at home in New York; Lily-Hayes and her sisters went to an Upper East Side all-girls private school, sweets were strictly rationed, and life was kept in order.

When it came time for Lily-Hayes to pick her own career path, she wanted to push back against her father's anti-establishment line of work. But how could she rebel against the ultimate rebel? Well, she went into investment banking and forged a ‘normal’ life on the trading floor. One day she witnessed a colleague take part in a chicken nugget eating contest. It was a scene that would rival even the grossest scenes she’d seen on a Troma set and it pushed her back towards the call of the Tromaverse.

Presenter: Asya Fouks
Producer: Andrea Rangecroft

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(Photo: Black and white medium shot taken looking up at father and daughter filmmakers - Lloyd and Lily-Hayes Kaufman of Troma Entertainment. On the left, Lloyd wears a dark checked jacket with a polo shirt underneath and a slight scowl on his face. On the right, Lily-Hayes has a blonde bob, black t-shirt with a pendant. Credit: Nicola Rinaldo / TROMA Entertainment, Inc)