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Cinemassacre / Films:

If you were able to successfully be an independent film maker, would you continue to do so or would you instead actively pursue working with a major studio? What are the benefits of independent film-making?

It's all about creative control. That's why Cinemassacre is independent. If there was a project that could only be done on a monster budget, or if it was a franchise (sequel/remake) that I believed in, I would go with the studio.

Let's say you're given a huge break and one of the major film studios offers you the chance to direct the next installment or a remake of a major Hollywood film franchise. Which would be your dream to direct?

Oh wow, one answer just rolled into the next question. I always dreamed of writing/directing a Universal Studios monster movie, whether it be a spoof or a very outdated followup to the 1930's/40's films starring Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and the Wolf Man.

I watched the Cinemassacre 200 film. Film-making is clearly a huge desire of yours. Are you ever afraid of being boxed in and labeled as the AVGN?

I see the effects it takes, that the majority of internet audience see the Nerd at face value, but it's also gotten a lot of attention to my past work, so it's done no harm.

Many of the videos on your website are retrospectives of movies produced in either the 50s or the 80s. What, in your opinion, was the true "golden age" of film-making in America, and how does the current state of film-making compare?

It's hard to say, but I feel the true golden age is between the 20's and 40's. There was no television, the only way to see a movie was to leave your house. The movies of that era have a timeless quality, the fact that they prevailed through the Great Depression and World War II, makes those movies seem more magical to me. They were about escapism.

As someone who is very familiar with video games and movies, you're likely aware of the atrocities of most video game to film adaptations. Why do you think so many fail, and is there any hope for a good conversion? What game(s) do you think could work?

Movies based on games... I gave up on that a while ago, so to be honest, I haven't kept up with most of the recent ones. I remember going to see Super Mario Brothers: The Movie, and it wasn't anything like the game. Street Fighter and Double Dragon were also ridiculous. But the one that satisfied me was the Mortal Kombat movie, because it had a lot of fighting and it was actually reminiscent of the game, rather than completely straying from the source material. Nowadays, it seems it's all Resident Evil and Tomb Raider, games made after the golden age of gaming, for me personally. I always wanted to see a Zelda movie made in the same style as Willow or Clash of the Titans. I also wanted to see a Metroid movie done in the style of Aliens. But honestly, now it's too late.

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Most viral video stars tend to fade away fairly quickly. The Afro Ninja is likely waiting tables, "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" reached its peak with a mention on Family Guy, and let's pray to God that we've seen the last of Chris Crocker (I'm ashamed to even know his name). Yet one Internet favorite has managed to grow exponentially in popularity and success since his first video debuted four years ago. What started as a simple decimation of Castlevania 2 on a VHS tape for friends has grown into one of the most recognizable features in the Internet gaming culture.

James Rolfe, better known as the Angry Video Game Nerd, is a New Jersey native who has entertained web viewers for the past four years with eviscerations of awful games. Every two weeks, he produces a new admonishment of an old-school abomination for ScrewAttack. What you might not know is that he's an aspiring filmmaker with a passion for the medium unrivaled by most directors with astronomically larger budgets. His hard work hasn't gone unnoticed, as the MTV-owned GameTrailers.com now sponsors his AVGN videos and Spike TV has commissioned him to produce non-AVGN related content.

Wii Fanboy recently tracked the man down during production of his latest video, a scathing look at the Philips CD-i. We discussed gaming old and new, the AVGN character, and his independent film studio known as Cinemassacre. Find out more about the man behind the glasses and Rolling Rock after the jump.