Today on Word Balloon, we’re joined by one of the true originals of independent cinema, Lloyd Kaufman, the co-founder and driving force behind Troma Entertainment, the longest-running independent film studio in the world and the home of cult classics like The Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke ’Em High.

For more than five decades, Lloyd has made movies completely on his own terms, low budget, high attitude, zero apologies. In this conversation, we talk about how Troma survived outside the Hollywood system, why embracing the underground still matters, what it really takes to stay independent, and how creativity thrives when you stop waiting for permission. This isn’t just a trip through cult-film history, it’s a master class in doing it yourself and sticking around long enough to prove it works