Q & A with Prince of Swine Creator Mark Toma

Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself, your background, highlights of your career so far, how you got into this crazy business, and how you became involved with the movie.

MT: I was minding my own business as a humble starving artist in DC. My girlfriend kept bitching at me that she didn’t want to marry a starving artist, so why didn’t I go to law school? I took the LSATs just to shut her up and ended up acing them, getting a full scholarship to NYU Law. While there I met some crook who later invited me out to Hollywood to write the script for his wife’s movie. They ended up butchering my script and I got my ass handed to me by those damn criminals business wise, but that’s how I learned production.

Q: Tell me about your role (cast or crew) in the movie.

MT: I wrote, directed, produced and star in it, so don’t blame me if it’s crap. It’s not, by the way, it’s a lot of fun. How much fun? So much fun it rips the very fabric of space and time with the sheer overpowering force of its brilliance. So much fun, it’s proof Jesus did not die in vain. I’m stealing most of these jokes but the script is entirely original. Here, I'll give some props, I stole some of these jokes off these two guys above.

Q: In your own words, what is the film about?

MT: It’s about a 100 minutes. I never know how to answer that. A great movie, the entire universe and all eternity are reflected in its arc. Prince of Swine contains the cure for cancer, world peace, the rebirth of feminism, liberalism, and the resolution of the global economic crisis too.

Q: What was it like working on a low budget film?

MT: Much like being anally made love to by a charging rhinoceros.

Q: Where there any interesting obstacles or/and creative quick thinking on the set?

MT: Other than sweet talking the rhinoceros to let me out of bed each morning, no, nothing.

Q: Did you learn anything about yourself or others from the experience?

MT: I’ve got one tough ass. It takes a lickin’, and keeps on tickin’.

Q: What was your favorite moment working on the film?

MT: Once I fell asleep during a love scene. My lead actress was very understanding, and didn’t take it personally, I hadn’t slept in days. Plus the crew had bribed her not to wake me up, because they were tired of hearing me pontificate about art. That was about the only sleep I got that shoot so I really enjoyed it.

Q: Are you a feminist?

MT: Which answer will get me sex? I hate Sex and the City, Sex and the City 2, and all things Sex and the City, does that count as being a feminist?

Q: Is it men or women who rule Hollywood?

MT: What you all don’t understand is that we lie and cheat and steal and rip each other’s throats out, and it’s all for you baby! We do it because we love you!

Q: Do you believe in the battle of the sexes?

MT: I believe in peaceful co-existence, mutual respect and harmony between the sexes, where each gives the other unconditional love and acceptance for all eternity, without expecting anything in return, and neither sex, power, fame, nor money can ever get in the way of that or cause any sort of tension or conflict between us, ‘til death do us part. I believe such an ideal is expressed in every frame of my movie. I believe that Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big live happily ever after in the Sex and the City 2 universe, and never once does he cheat on her with someone younger nor does she leave him or even think about it if he should ever lose his money. I believe real life is just like Sex and the City and if you like Sex and the City, you'll love Prince of Swine.

Q: Is Prince of Swine a movie about men or about women?

MT: Nell, my lead actress, said it was my love letter to myself, since the young feminist idealist is sort of based on me at an earlier age. I prefer to think it’s my love letter to feminists and women in general. Totally, I worship real feminists, that's the message of this movie, a real feminist like say, Katheryn Bigelow or Jane Campion.

Q: How was the casting process?

MT: I didn’t get laid once. How the F do you cast a movie like this, thousands of the most gorgeous women in the world, all lining up to please you, and still manage not to get laid? That takes some sort of talent and incompetence. Nothing. Not even a hand job. I'm the proverbial priest at the F'in orgy, even the PA's were getting more sex than me.

Q: How did you work on the arc of your character?

MT: All the actors kept laughing at me, saying I wasn’t a real actor, I was just playing myself. They’re all a bunch of pretentious idiots – Witt is normal, I’m insane. You know how much acting talent it takes to behave normally, when you’re actually insane?

Prince of Swine opens at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in West Hollywood on the Sunset Strip at Crescent Heights, Memorial Day Weekend, for a limited engagement, May 28th to June 3rd.

Get tickets for Prince of Swine online at the Laemmle Sunset 5 or the Prince of Swine website http://www.princeofswine.com/ (discounts available for advance and group purchasers).

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Visit Prince of Swine at http//www.princeofswine.com