RIP Bill Olsen( AKA Banana Man/Code Red)

[Dick Ringeisen]

More about, "Septic Cinema".

After my post above, I searched and found one of Bill's posts about it. He said it had something to do with a contract. So, straight from Bill's mouth, on the Latarnia Forums, in 2011:

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thel...4.html#p128472

[Dick Ringeisen]

who is the guy in the toilet ... johnny depp in his willy wonka outfit?

I'm pretty sure it's one of the characters in one of the stories from the anthology film, "Encounters with the Unknown".

Also, I could be wrong, but if I recall correctly Bill or someone posted someplace explaining the, "Septic Cinema" thing. We're talking 10 or more years ago, about something I hadn't thought of in ages, so my memory may be a bit foggy concerning the exacts as to the, "Why" of it. Anyway, I think it had something to do with whomever provided the funding, for certain releases. It had something to do with money from another party, not Bill, I am pretty sure, as I recall Bill, or someone saying something about how he/Bill was still obliged to have X amount of other titles under the, "Septic Cinema" banner. It could all be, well, bullshit, but that's what I recall. Something with money from another party wanting, I guess for giggles, certain titles under, "Septic Cinema".

The "Septic Cinema" thing never bothered me as it did some other people. I recall when I first saw it being like, "Okey Dokey....", and then I moved on. Bill was a character, and not much surprised me with him.

[killer must kill again]

who is the guy in the toilet ... johnny depp in his willy wonka outfit?

[Jason C]

Thank you Dick. That Septic Cinema thing has been driving me crazy. I put in more than a dozen discs looking for it.

[Dick Ringeisen]

Bill used the, "Septic Cinema" menu stuff with, "Night Child" and "Encounters with the Unknown/Where time Began". Possibly others.

Bill was alright, het got a lot of stuff released. I didn't care that he didn't seem to like the films he released, i was just glad he did what he did. Something he should have done earlier on is ignored the trolls, as once he started over-reacting....

I also recall ordering from one of his handles on Amazon Marketplace, a DVD release he apparently pulled due to people bitching, and on the invoice, whose name? Bill's! I recall a few other people catching that, with the way Amazon delivered Marketplace purchase information, and Bill denying it.... C'mon Bill, how many people have your first and last name, selling some Code Red shit on Amazon Marketplace? lol...

He was a character, and most all of his releases I enjoyed. Messiah of Evil getting a proper release, Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, Shakma... When I take into account the positives and the negatives, the positives outweigh it all. I only had 2 e-mail exchanges with him, many years ago, both times were brief, to the point, and since I wasn't being an asshole to him, he wasn't an asshole to me. So, he was fine with answering a few questions I had 10+ years ago through e-mail.

Oh, another gripe about him, the Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker, "THIS IS NEVER GETTING A BLU-RAY RELEASE, SO BUY THE DVD!". I recall posting either here, or DVD Maniacs, that if he is going this route, since I'd rather buy a Blu-ray of it, I don't want to see some months after I buy a damn DVD the Blu-ray getting released. I think he waited a few years and then cranked out a Blu-ray of it, which I did buy.... Fair enough.

Bill had a weird way of doing business at times, but, the positives outweighed the negatives. At least for me.

[killer must kill again]

I wish I could remember which DVD had that Sewage Cinema menu. It was discussed on Horrordvds.com years ago but it appears they are defunct now.

man, I too wish you could remember it ... have to see it now!

the only thing I can remember are those god awful unskippable blu-ray intros he tortured us with + when he released that ultra obscure giallo on bru-lay (pretty high on my wish list back then) and ruined it by adding odd computer sound effects during the most important scene in the movie.

[killer must kill again]

Don;t be surprised if Damon Dave posts a video violating Banana Corpse in various unspeakable ways while flexing and threatening Roger Ebert.

back in 2020 I thought he'd sell his corpse online

gross! imagine that wrestling dude selling banana mans corpse on his dark force superstore after his demise … totally gonna happen.

Yeah, I bet the guy who buys it will whine about the quality.

the guy will be disappointed that it comes without a limited slipcover!

The banana suit is the slipcover.

[agent999]

I share what Matt posted above but just want to correct something that a number of people have said. Bill really didn't have a vast knowledge of the field. His criteria was either what rented in his store or what his contacts, when he was buying rights, told him were good. Of course that helped to create low sales for those titles (the producers were just trying to pawn off titles no one else wanted). But, it did result in him releasing titles that would have never seen the light of day otherwise.

I may be mis-remembering, but when people were trying to identify some unknown slasher film from a poster, wasn't it Bill who identified it as an obscure regional retitling of The Prowler? He certainly kept on top of who had rights to just about everything, or why rights weren't available for titles. Agreed that he could be cajoled into picking up some terrible titles that everyone else saw would never sell 300 copies.

[Darcy Parker]

RIP in peace banana man! he's gone to nutsack tadpole heaven now, complaining about damn kids and overseas terrorists.

I'm expecting a facebook live stream of demon dave (standing in the morgue flexing his muscles) any minute now.

Don't be surprised if Demon Dave posts a video violating Banana Corpse in various unspeakable ways while flexing and threatening Roger Ebert.

[Derrick King]

I've long wondered why he didn't just close down his label or pass it on to someone capable of looking after it -- but who knows what combination of personal/financial issues made that impossible.

During one of his meltdowns he said he wanted to sell Code Red and Synapse said they were interested in making a deal, but Bill never responded

[Jason C]

Here's hoping he's in a better place now. I remember getting upset with Bill really early in my DVD collecting when I came across one of his releases that had a DVD menu called something like "Sewage Cinema" and when you selected something it would be covered in shit. And some guy was in a trash can. It had nothing to do with the film. I ended up calming down over time and realizing that while he was difficult, he was also releasing films no other labels would. Genre film fans owe him a debt of gratitude even though he hated us and would troll us every chance he got.

I remember the back of one of his DVDs had a blurb saying no one was going to buy this film. He was an odd cat.

I wish I could remember which DVD had that Sewage Cinema menu. It was discussed on Horrordvds.com years ago but it appears they are defunct now.

RIP

[Thomas Wood]

I share what Matt posted above but just want to correct something that a number of people have said. Bill really didn't have a vast knowledge of the field. His criteria was either what rented in his store or what his contacts, when he was buying rights, told him were good. Of course that helped to create low sales for those titles (the producers were just trying to pawn off titles no one else wanted). But, it did result in him releasing titles that would have never seen the light of day otherwise.

[killer must kill again]

RIP in peace banana man! he's gone to nutsack tadpole heaven now, complaining about damn kids and overseas terrorists.

I'm expecting a facebook live stream of demon dave (standing in the morgue flexing his muscles) any minute now.

[BW Haggar]

Sad news, but probably not unexpected at this point.

Given that ten years ago he seemed like a fairly reasonable guy who put out decent releases and was happy to sell them to people, I've long assumed that his subsequent shenanigans must have largely been the result of deteriorating physical & mental health, and it's been horrible to witness, even second hand through forum banter etc.

I've long wondered why he didn't just close down his label or pass it on to someone capable of looking after it -- but who knows what combination of personal/financial issues made that impossible.

Anyway, Code Red's releases of 'Stunt Rock' and 'Messiah of Evil' remain amongst my most treasured & frequently viewed discs, so RIP to the man who made 'em happen.

[f.ramses]

Real sorry to hear this, Bill ran a great label and was by far the most entertaining guy in the DVD/BD scene. While he never appeared to be wildly successful I’ve always really admired him for being able to act the way he did and stay in business for so long.

RIP