Kevin Danzey Interview

[Andrew]

Kevin Danzey, who worked in the special effects shop for "The Brain" gives us a behind the scenes look at the movie and talks about the friends he knew and worked with.  Making the movie was obviously a lot more than just a paycheck or way to gain experience for Kevin.

Click here to go to the Interview

[Robert Skotak]

I used to know both Mark Williams and Kevin Danzey. Do you have any idea how I might be able to get in touch with Kevin? I
have been working on  a piece involving his old friend and mentor Arthur Pierce, and would like to talk to him a bit.

thank you,

robert s.

[Andrew]

I will send an email to the last good address I have for Kevin, letting him know about your post here. 

UPDATE:  No good, email returned.  I do not have a good contact for Kevin.  Hopefully he will stop by and read your post sometime, if you do not find him through other means.

[KRD]

Thanks, Andrew. Robert found me.

[Andrew]

Thanks, Andrew. Robert found me.

I don't believe I was much help, but thank goodness the gentleman was able to contact you.  I've lost touch with a couple of friends over the years, and it can be like chasing a ghost trying to find them.

Hope you are doing well.  I'm still waiting (impatiently) for a DVD release of "The Brain."

[KRD]

Well, thanks for caring enough to *try* to contact me, how's that?

When I realized that I'm now older than Carradine was when The Cosmic Man was made, I figured it was time to pick up a camera again. Shot a feature in 2005 (unfinished), completed an 18-minute short recently, and am shooting a no-budget feature in October.

I've given up on ever seeing The Brain make it to DVD. Still have two copies on old VHS tapes, but that's it.

[KRD]

Having re-read our now nearly-decade-old interview, a few corrections/clarifications:

- THE BRAIN director Ed Hunt attended film school at UCLA, not USC (my bad).
- Of the film zines I wrote for, Ray Young's MAGICK THEATRE was truly the best of the best, and I am honored to have been published in its pages.
- At the time of our interview I stated I'd made about 70 films, but after a recent recount, it's more like 90+, the vast majority shot on film (the rest on video).
- In addition to making films again, I'm mentoring a few beginning filmmakers.
- Mark Williams left us a decade ago, and he is still missed.

To filmmakers, my favorite quote comes from author Michael Dean: "All you need is a camera, a friend, and a dream."

And so it is.

Cheers.

[John]

Hi everyone.

I see that Kevin Danzey has been on this site relatively recently. Is there any other way to contact him? I've been eager to talk with him for years, if he agrees, about The Brain.

Best wishes,
John

[KRD]

Emailed John today. 

[Josh Martin]

Hi this is a great interview i read it years back and have it saved in my favorties.I had a few questions for Kevin on the brains contruction.Im a huge fan of the late great mark williams, and would love to know the ways they created some of the brains for the film.
Was most of all of them created out of foam? What was sculpted out of caly then molded? Would really love to hear some stories!
Thanks again,
Josh Martin

[Kevin]

Josh,

The different stage brain "faces" were originally sculpted full-size (either clay or plasticine, can't recall) by Mark, then plaster molds made on those sculpts. The inside of the molds were given several coats of latex, then backed with polyfoam. The rest of the brain forms were made of sheet foam rubber, cut and sculpted, then formed on frameworks made of stuff like PVC pipe, chicken-wire, or in the case of the largest brain, even plastic shower curtains. These were coated with a lot of liquid latex, painted, and eventually airbrushed. I'd have to say that Mark did most of the real creative work himself. I made the tentacles from Marks' concept, and did a little bit of latex work on the "big daddy" brain as well, as some of the photos show. When we worked on Larry Cohen's "Wicked Stepmother" about 6 months later, I did the same procedure, this time making oversized tree roots instead of tentacles.

Kevin

[Robot Ears]

Really enjoyed reading this, thank you. This movie The Brain doesn't have a lot of information to be found about it online at all, especially not information this intimate, so I thought it was interesting to read. I love this movie, and I agree, this type of horror can be more fun than the slasher stuff in my opinion.