ROB ZOMBIE: 'I Want To Do Films My Own Way'

ROB ZOMBIE recently spoke to the Poughkeepsie Journal about his upcoming film, "The "Devil's Rejects", and his headlining stint on the second stage of this year's Ozzfest, which kicked off yesterday in Mansfield, MA. Several excerpts from the interview follow:

On his first film, "House of 1000 Corpses", being dropped by both Universal and MGM before being picked up by Lions Gate Films:

"These decisions aren't made on what's best for the movie. It's what's best for marketing."

On whether watering down the constant and sadistic violence in "The "Devil's Rejects" was an option:

"If this was watered down, what would we be watching? It'd be ridiculous. I want to do films my own way for what I think fits."

On his current concert tour:

"There are no big props or otherworldly atmospheres this time. The show has been stripped down to make it more interesting.

"I just wanted to do a scaled-back sort of thing. We used to have these massive stage shows where suddenly it's like Siegfried & Roy. I've seen huge acts, like KISS and ALICE COOPER, in a situation where there's nothing. It's 10 times more interesting."

On the direction of the music industry and being angered at the thought of bands being "thrown away" if they can't score a quick buck:

"The music industry made this horrible shift five or six years ago. Like movies, it became about a record's opening week. That's not the way music should function. The labels have no artist development and the bands become total failures."

On THE RAMONES being a big influence for Zombie early on:

"THE RAMONES are everything. They were the reason I wanted a band. They were true to what they were. For me, you can't think of New York and not think of THE RAMONES."