One Tough Bastard Lead Character Shane Moxie On Starring In the Novel & More

Ed. Note: In case it is missed within the context of this interview, Bryan had a unique opportunity to “interview” the fictional lead character of Adam Howe’s new novel One Tough Bastard. You can check out Bryan’s review of the book here. Enjoy the interview; I certainly did! –Jeremy

The 411 Interview: Shane Moxie

Shane Moxie, “The Mox,” was at one time one of the biggest action stars in the world. Hailing from the small southern town of Toad Suck, Arkansas and now residing in Hollywood, California, Moxie exploded upon the movie world with 1988’s One Tough Hombre directed by Rowdy Harrington (yes, that Rowdy Herrington). The Mox followed up the unexpected mega success of One Tough Hombre (the movie was designed as a tax dodge for producer, the now sadly late Maury Sussman) two years later with Armed & Dangerous, Unarmed & Deadlier (directed by William “Bill” Lustig), and then Amishing in Action (directed by George P. Cosmatos) the next year. Moxie would also star in Class Dismissed! for James Glickenhaus, the Christmas themed Craig R. Baxley classic Gung Ho-Ho-Ho, the sci-fi action flick Clone Star for Andrew Davis, American Sumo for Mark L. Lester, and the dance themed Lambadass for Renny Harlin (Moxie co-starred in Lambadass with L.L. Cool J). Moxie’s biggest hit was next, the pre-historic cop comedy Copsicle with Duke the super intelligent chimp. Copsicle should have led to even bigger movies and bigger stardom for Moxie, but things would only get worse after the success of Copsicle. A serious drug habit, multiple divorces/relationship issues, and just general “bad boy celebrity” behavior seriously slowed whatever momentum he may have generated up until that point. And then Moxie’s career suffered a fatal blow with his next effort (and his final major theatrical release) the outrageous KKKop, a racist piece of trash movie that resulted in nationwide riots, among other horrible things.

Moxie then spent the next several years trying desperately to rehab his image and get his career back on track. After two reality show stints (The Mox appeared on both The Celebrity Apprentice and Celebrity Rehab) and a series of direct-to-video movies (One Man Jihad, Alabama Curb Stomp, and The Disposables, among others), it looked like Moxie would never regain what he once had.

And then One Tough Bastard happened. Written by Adam Howe, One Tough Bastard recounts Moxie’s real life involvement in the notorious Klaus Kaiser story (Kaiser, of course, was himself a big deal action star, before his big criminal scheme was revealed, shocking the world). Alongside his former co-star Duke, Moxie found himself deep in “action movie plot in the real world” territory. The book also exposed some things the world in general may have not known about Moxie.

In this exclusive interview, Moxie talks with this writer about One Tough Bastard, his career, the aftermath of the events of One Tough Bastard, and more.

**

Bryan Kristopowitz: How are you today, Shane (or do you prefer to be called The Mox?)? How has life been treating you?

Shane Moxie: Only my friends call me Mox, kid. Let’s see how this here interview goes before we drop the formalities. Right now I’m living off the grid in an undisclosed location, waiting to see how this China Virus shit plays out, which is why I insisted we conduct this interview via ham radio… Over.

BK: What do you think of Adam Howe and his book One Tough Bastard ? Do you think he depicted you fairly?

SM: The book’s a total hatchet job. First off, there’s the title. Naturally I assumed it applied to me. But the way Howe uses it, either it’s ironic (the lowest form of humor; give me a good Polack joke any day) or the title refers to Duke! Now as a writer myself—
[Moxie is being atypically modest; he is an award-winning screenwriter, having scooped the Worst Screenplay Razzie for KKKop at the Golden Raspberries.]
—as a writer myself I understand that sometimes dramatic license is called for… but Howe makes me look like a goddamn buffoon! I consider it a personal betrayal that directors I’ve worked with – people I considered… not friends exactly, but colleagues… guys I threw a bone to like Mark Lester, Craig Baxley, Sam Firstenberg – have endorsed this piece of shit. Most scurrilous of all is that Howe has perpetuated the myth that during the making of Copsicle, I was knocked unconscious by a chimpanzee, and that I soiled myself. It never happened! The cast and crew of Copsicle would tell you that themselves, were they not bound by nondisclosure agreements. So you’re just gonna have to take my word for it, as an officer and a gentlemen, it never happened.

BK: Where does your personal style come from (the clothes, the hair, the attitude)? How long does it take to personally create all of it?

SM: It’s natural, aside from the hair, which requires a shit-ton of Aqua Net. I created the look – or as I like to call it, The Look – back in junior high. I knew right away it was a keeper. Why go messing with a good thing?

BK: What do you say to people who think you’re ridiculous? Are they just spiteful or are they sadly misinformed?

SM: Ridiculous how exactly? A lotta keyboard warriors like to talk tough on Twitter— [Moxie can be trolled on Twitter here @MoxieShane] But anyone with a death wish or dumb enough to call me ridiculous to my face would find himself wakin’ up with a ripped-off head and a neck full of shit! [Moxie is heavy-breathing like a Mel Gibson phone rant.] I don’t let the haters get to me.

BK: What do people get wrong about Shane Moxie?

SM: Hell, where d’you want me to start? People underestimate me; it’s usually their first and last mistake. Most recently, that me and Chuck Norris participated in the Capitol riots. Now I can’t speak for Chuck, but you want 100% proof that The Mox wasn’t there…? The coup failed.

BK: Is it right to say that Duke is your favorite co-star? Is he depicted fairly in Adam Howe’s book? Did Howe capture your relationship correctly?

SM: It’s a matter of public record that me n’ Duke didn’t always see eye to eye— [Moxie’s feud with Duke on the shoot of Copsicle is the stuff of Hollywood legend.] But after everything we’ve been through, savin’ the world n’ shit, all that’s water under the bridge. Me n’ Duke get along just fine nowadays.

As for my favorite co-star…? That’d be the lovely Natasha Henstridge, who I worked with on Mosquitosaur vs. Crabshark for the SyFy Channel. I deeply regret my behavior on that shoot – phencyclidine’s a helluva drug – apologize to Ms. Henstridge for any offense I may have caused, and hope that she will one day see it in her heart to relax that restraining order.

BK: What was it like working with Bill Lustig?

SM: Who the hell is Bill Lustig?

BK: He directed you in Armed & Dangerous, Unarmed & Deadlier.

SM: No kidding? Well, I was high as a motherfucker makin’ that one, I don’t recall there even being a director. ‘Bill Lustig.’ Huh.

BK: He also directed Maniac Cop.

SM: Right. Okay. He’s some trivia for ya: On Manic Cop 2, I was Robert Z’Dar’s jaw double. That was as a favor to Larry Cohen, who wrote Gung Ho-Ho-Ho.

BK: Do you have a favorite director you’ve worked with, both in your big Hollywood movies and in your less known direct-to-video movies?

SM: Workin’ with The Mox, a director’s job is easy. All they gotta do is roll the camera, put the ass in front of me, and let me at it… Wait – that didn’t come out right – you’re gonna have to edit that shit out.

BK: I will. Did you ever want to direct a movie yourself, or were you always content with being the star?

SM: I’ve worked with the best in the business – Rowdy Herrington, Renny Harlin, James Glickenhaus – not to knock them fellas but I’ve always said, if a job’s worth doin’ it’s worth doin’ right. So sure, I planned to direct. But after what happened with KKKop I just don’t see it happening anymore, which is a tragic loss to cinema.

Maybe it’s for the best. I still remember when the studio butchered my buddy Steve Seagal’s directorial debut, On Deadly Ground. The movie was supposed to end with Steve givin’ a fifteen-minute lecture on environmental pollution; when the suits cut his speech to under two minutes, he was devastated, I remember Big Steve, he cried in my arms like a fuckin’ woman. Maybe if Steven’s lecture had been released intact, there’d be no need for Greta Thunberg today?

BK: What do you think your best movie is as an actor?

SM: Maybe Clone Star, where I play an ex- Special Forces geneticist turned Texas Ranger who clones himself to tackle terrorists. Few critics noticed the subtle nuance I gave each clone, with each one having his own personal cuss word that he’d use to cap a post-kill quip. Like, “You have the right remain dead… asshole.” (The key to a good quip is that dramatic pause.) But I mixed it up by using “cocksucker,” or “motherfucker,” or “dickwad,” or— I could go on?

BK: I think I get the idea.

SM: “Jerkoff.” “Shitface.”

BK: Got it.

SM: “Fuckhead.”

BK: Did the Academy recognize your efforts?

SM: No, but the BEA did.

BK: You won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award?

SM: It was an honor just to be nominated.

BK: You worked with LL Cool J in Lambadass. How was he to work with? Is he cool?

SM: It’d be hard for even The King of Cool his own self, Steve McQueen, to get a look-in when The Mox is around, but yeah, I guess LL is pretty fly. Course, we got off to a bad start on account of he arrived on-set singin’ “Mama Said Knock You Out,” and that’s fightin’ talk where I come from: I decked the sumbitch.

Not many people know this about LL, but that parakeet he has in Deep Blue Sea, that’s LL’s own bird, he travels with it everywhere.

BK: We all know that KKKop essentially destroyed your career. I totally understand why we’ll never see that movie on home video. But what about your other big-time movies, why are they currently unavailable?

SM: Beats the hell outta me. Cuz I could sure use the residual checks. You woulda thought after me and Duke saved the Free World – and it was mostly me, I’m not one to brag but let’s be real here – you woulda thought some enterprising video distributor would re-release my movies in Mos Def on lazerstream or whatever it’s called nowadays. I can’t understand it why Hollywood would continue to freeze me out like this. I was talkin’ with Mel about this, and we both agreed it had to be some kind of Zionist conspiracy; it’s the only damn thing makes sense.

Yes, I once made a quote-unquote “racist” picture that provoked nationwide civil unrest. Let it go! I have!

BK: Can you explain why KKKop was ever a good idea? I mean, yeah, hindsight is always 20/20 and all that, but Jesus Christ.

SM: I’d like to see you write a screenplay on angel dust, smartass!
In my defense, KKKop was badly misunderstood—

BK: Some might say badly conceived…

SM: I still remember the day we did makeup tests for the undercover brother I played, Jericho Payne. Rick Baker said, “Good God, what have I done?” I agreed it was his finest work. I went and tried out the makeup in public. Found a bar in South Central and had a Colt 45 with the brothers, see if they’d accept me.

BK: How did that go?

SM: Well, I hadn’t found my character yet – the walk, the jive talk – so it was pretty much just me in makeup.

BK: You mean blackface?

SM: Yeah, people were confused.

BK: And angry?

SM: Real angry.

BK: You’ve apparently put your name and likeness on lots of products over the years. Do you know exactly how many?

SM: No idea. For a long time, out of financial necessity – due to alimonies, and the lawsuits resultin’ from the KKKop riots – I was forced to put my name to a lot of products I didn’t fully endorse. Put the contract in front of me, I’d sign it.

The only products I continue to vouch for are:

Shane Moxie’s Musk. If you don’t like pussy, don’t wear this cologne, cuz you’ll drown in the stuff. And I’m proud to report that German scientists are currently analyzing my Musk as a possible vaccine for the China Virus. You’re welcome. I may be retired from active duty as a Special Forces operative, but I like to think I’m still doin’ my part.

The Shane Moxie Waffle Rustler. Coulda-woulda-shoulda been the next George Foreman Grill. I still maintain the Rustler makes one helluva waffle.

And finally the Shane Moxie Urban Assault Slacks. Made in Guam, USA for barroom brawlin’ and bedroom ballin’. They’re like Chuck Norris Action Jeans but with more room in the crotch. Wearin’ a remaindered pair right now.

BK: With underwear?

SM: Negative.

BK: What the hell is “gunplay intercourse”?

SM: A gentleman never tells.

BK: So, what the hell is “gunplay intercourse”?

SM: You ever see The Sopranos? (Good man, Jimmy Gandolfini; back in the day we used to arm rassle.) You remember how Tony’s sister and Richie Aprile would make love—?

BK: Jesus.

SM: You asked, pal.

BK: Why did you attack Michael Dudikoff in that nightclub?

SM: On the advice of my legal counsel, I really shouldn’t go into this. But any time you put a couple of alphas like Shane Moxie and Michael Dudikoff together in the same room, they’re gonna butt heads. Unfortunately for the so-called “American Ninja,” The Dude found out that The Mox is the wrong ninja to fuck wit!

[Director Sam Firstenberg, with whom Moxie worked on DTV vigilante movie Bleeding Heart, Smoking Gun, has given his own account of the Moxie/Dudikoff beef, and its aftermath. Check out that article here]

BK: Have you ever thought about getting into pro wrestling, maybe teaming up with Jon Moxley? You guys have almost the same last name.

SM: Nah, pro rasslin’ ain’t for The Mox. Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure if I turned my hand to it, I’d be champ in no time. Like how I won the kumite my first try. But rasslin’s fake and The Mox fights to kill. Brock Lesnar don’t want nunna this shit.

BK: Any moviemaking heroes?

SM: John Wayne: Greatest American who ever lived. I read his recent Playboy interview – the one from fifty-years ago that caused such a hullabaloo – and agreed with every word.

BK: Any upcoming projects you can tell us about? What is Captain FGM?

SM: Who’s “Captain FGM?” Only the greatest superhero ever! I play a mild-mannered gynecologist by day… and an avenger of female genital mutilators by night. Talk about high-concept—!

BK: You were high when you conceived this idea?

SM: No… I mean, yeah… But that’s not what I meant.

BK: And what stage of development is Captain FGM at?

SM: Pre-pre-production.

BK: What does that mean?

SM: Well, Marvel passed on the pitch and my concept art. And DC – like those fucking assholes are in any position to pick n’ choose! Right now I’m reaching out to independent producers, like Benny Shapiro at The Daily Wire. Maybe he can put me together with Gina Carano? I could see myself givin’ that gal a gyno exam!

BK: What do you hope readers get out of One Tough Bastard?

SM: I hope that readers see that Howe has unfairly maligned me, and cancel the jerk.

BK: When will we see the Shane Moxie autobiography? The Diffenderfer book, Shane Moxie: The Man, The Myth, The Mox, is apparently hopelessly out of print.

SM: It’s too soon for The Mox to write his memoirs. I know there are people who say Shane Moxie is all washed up, that he had his chance and he blew up, that he’s done, kaput, stick a fork in The Mox. I’ve got a message for those people: “The Shane Moxie story hasn’t even hardly begun… and fuck you!” (See what I mean about the dramatic pause? Really adds to the zinger.)

BK: Have you ever been an asset of the CIA? I know what Adam Howe’s book says but, come on, have you ever worked for the CIA?

SM: On the record: I can neither confirm nor deny that.
Off the record…? Take a wild fuckin’ guess, pal.

BK: Thank you for your time, Shane.

SM: Kid… you can call me Mox.

BK: Wow. Thanks?

**

A very special thanks to Shane Moxie/The Mox for agreeing to participate in this interview and to Adam Howe and david j. moore for facilitating it. Ham radios are pretty easy to operate once you get the hang of them.

One Tough Bastard will be available starting March 1st, 2021. Check out the book’s Amazon Kindle page here. The book will also be available in Trade Paperback form and via Audible.

Check out my review of One Tough Bastard here!

Check out Adam Howe’s Red Room Press page here and Twitter page here!

Check out Shane Moxie’s official Twitter page here!

All images courtesy of Shane Moxie and Adam Howe.