Interview: Jason Eisener and Rutger Hauer (Hobo With A Shotgun)

This was an interview I was looking forward to for months. I first saw the original Hobo with a Shotgun when it won the SXSW Grindhouse trailer contest a few years ago. I was pleased to hear it was the same guys who did Treevenge, the Sundance short about, well, Christmas trees getting revenge. I remember the first time I watched the new trailer for the Rutger Hauer feature length version, I watched it on repeat a few times, making sure my girlfriend recognized the moment when he shoots the pervert Santa Clause as a reference to the original. That was important to me.

So I was excited to meet Jason Eisener and geek out on 80s trashy horror movies with him. Rutger Hauer, well, he’s Rutger Hauer. I even saw the movie he made with a cell phone that showed at Tribeca a few years ago (we discuss it in this interview) and he briefly mentions the other film that he was in that was also in Park City in The Mill and the Cross.

The premiere screening of Hobo was even more fun than expected. It reminded me of midnight screenings back in the day when only the really big movies premiered at midnight and fans lined up for seats hours in advance. There was cheering, chanting, dancing, it was great. The pumped the speakers up to the highest volume I’ve ever heard in a theater. The movie was also better than most in the sub-genre (read my thoughts on the film), which helped things just a bit. It’s the first grindhouse revival film to meet expectations in my opinion. Check out the interview, stay til the end, Rutger Hauer is hilarious.