Half-Assed Internet Research
Filmed mostly at a 1900s farmhouse near Round Rock; art director Robert A. Burns collected the remains; Gunnar Hansen cut Marilyn Burns' finger for real; the gas station is now a horror-themed barbecue attraction; mob and Deep Throat money financed the film and the cast lost its share
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:27Read transcript
- They filmed mostly at a 1900s farmhouse near Round Rock, Texas, and the art director who drove around picking up the cattle remains was Robert A. Burns.
- In his book Chainsaw Confidential, Gunnar Hansen admitted that after several failed attempts he secretly removed the protective tape from the knife and cut Marilyn Burns' finger for real, which the hosts call an OSHA violation.
- The gas station featured in several scenes is now a horror-themed attraction at a Texas barbecue restaurant and motel, closer to Austin, still with the vintage We Slaughter Barbecue sign; a live show there is floated.
- Short of money to finish, the production got financing from basically the mob and the company behind Deep Throat, which needed to wash money; the cast was promised a piece, got only half of what was claimed, signed it away, and the owners lied about how much it made.
- Nobody from the film slingshot into an acting career, unlike the Obsession argument that you get paid on your next job; the company that owed the money had gone bankrupt and New Line Cinema belatedly gave them some money.
- A recurring theme is that nearly everyone involved made no money, was emotionally scarred and stayed bitter, except Gunnar Hansen; they had to make it their crowning achievement, giving interviews in rooms of memorabilia and signing chainsaws at conventions.
- Earlier, the hosts read that the finger cut was real and it was her actual blood because they could not pull off the cut with fake blood.