Hi everyone, your old pal Will Sloan here. On this special episode, I'm going to be talking to the

editors of a new book about Roberta Findlay. If that name sounds familiar, you've probably

already gone down the rabbit hole. But if not, Roberta Findlay is one of the most prolific

American female filmmakers of the 20th century, and one who oversaw every aspect of her films as a

director, writer, cinematographer, producer, and entrepreneur. But Findlay has been a difficult

figure to canonize for a few reasons. She worked exclusively in exploitation films, first in soft and

hardcore pornography, and later direct-to-video horror.

Some of these films are good, others less so, but all were conceived primarily to make money,

and it can be difficult to trace Findlay's authorial voice. There's also the fact that

Findlay herself resists canonization.

In interviews, she'll say that she hates her films, that the people who watch them are stupid.

She rejects being labeled a pioneer, and she often strikes an anti-feminist posture, saying that she dislikes women and won't hire them.

Here's an excerpt of her interview on the Essential podcast, The Rialto Report. You know, some would make a case for you being a pioneer in film.

Well, I'm sure you can, but I don't know what it is that I discovered, learned, or did that was new,

or something that had never been done before.

And what a feel to be a pioneer.

You have no regrets, though, about what you've done, do you?

Well, yeah, I do.

It's a big deal.

I don't know why I couldn't get out, but I never got out.

I wish I'd done something worthwhile.

What would have you have done?

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