I decided to visit my good friend Meg Lee for the 4th of July. She's always got a fine selection of adult beverages at her parties, and there's always people there that I'm happy to catch up with. However, my experiences at Megan's parties can best be summed up by what happened immediately after my arrival.
I pulled up on the curb across the street from her house. Everyone was standing in the driveway watching the neighbors set off an obscene amount of fireworks. That pungent firework smoke was everywhere. Another batch went off right as I got out of my car and I could have sworn if I stood there any longer than 5 seconds my hair would soon be on fire.
I bounded across the street and there Meg Lee standing with a smile on her face and a plate full of chocolates.
"You look so good! You keep getting thinner!"
"I know, but let's fix that a bit, shall we?" I replied while grabbing three chocolates off her plate and shoving them right into my mouth. Nom, nom, nom, nom.
"Um, are you sure you want to do that?", Meg smiled.
"Meah, saw, I muv 'orkluts." I sort of replied, my mouth full.
"Oh, ok...because there's shrooms in those."
Spit take.
"I need water! Somebody get me water." I spat, and spat, and spat. "I can't have that!"
"I know, that's why I told you."
Oh Meg Lee..
I managed not to swallow any of the offending confectioneries, I certainly didn't get high. Naturally I was very cautious about what I consumed the rest of the evening, and frankly, I was a little surprised that the bean dip didn't contain any pharmaceuticals.
I've sort of been holding this in the last few weeks except to close friends and those who see me everyday, but I've made the remarkable and wonderful decision to head back to school to finish my education.
So if I've seemed off, cold shouldered, absent minded, distant, or like a pod-person you know why. It was an easy decision to to go back, but my minds been all aflutter with things I haven't had to think about in a dogs age (literally - 7 years) such as arranging admission, getting student loans together, affording tuition, academic advisement sessions, as well as the truly daunting idea of what it will be like to balance a full-time job with part-time school.
However, I've finally managed to finalize everything this past week. My readmission to Hofstra and registration was completed several weeks ago, but my student loans and tuition payments (really, that is the hardest part) were finally settled only today and with that I can officially state that I am returning to Hofstra University to finish my film degree this September.
I'm exceedingly excited to return to school and am finally starting to feel an extraordinarily positive and motivated energy returning to me.
I know that I've accomplished a lot over the last 5 years with Icons of Fright. I may be going back to film school one of the remarkably well-networked film students imaginable! Still, call it a strange psychological quirk: Not finishing that degree has been eating away me for the last 2 years. I tried to get back into school in '05, but I guess my own lack of confidence, financial issues, family issues, the timing wasn't right and plans fell through. My incomplete education has been a tiresome burden that I've carried for far too long.
But finally, I'm ready to go back. Here's to a successful re-start of my education!
It's too bad all my friends graduated ahead of me. I'm sure things haven't changed.
Most of you who’d read this are horror fans, so by now you’re probably rather familiar with director Uwe Boll. He, of "House of the Dead", "Alone in the Dark", and a few other really, really bad movies. He’s also known for the "Raging Boll" boxing matches, in which he challenged several of his harshest critics to take him on in the ring. For real:
I caught one of his latest "Postal", a comedy, at the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors last summer. Uwe was sitting a few rows behind me and I thought, shit, I’d better enjoy this movie because a punch in the face? I won’t enjoy that. Fortunately for my gorgeous cheekbones and fabulous bone structure I thought "Postal" was wildly inappropriate, rude, completely politically incorrect and funny. Great movie? No way, not by the standards I’m sure most of you would set, but it’s a lot like a Troma film--in-your-face, gross-out low humor with a shitty narrative but a vicious political satire at its heart. But I digress, I’m not going to re-review the film here, if you want you can read my review on Icons of Fright.
Knowing my review would be kind I spoke with Uwe after the screening and told him that I was going write a review and he wouldn’t want to punch me. We exchanged cards, and I forwarded him a copy of my review. I got an short email from Uwe thanking me and another email back later that week asking if they could use a quote from my review ("It’s like a Live-Action South Park!") for the marketing. Yes. Yes, you can. I like to see my name or site on things. And as a connoisseur of bad-to-awful cinema I really dug the notion that the first time I’d be quoted from a review would be for Uwe Boll film. I know, I’m a total geek.
Since the summer I’ve corresponded with Uwe on a few other occasions, either when I found out the poster for "Postal" had been circulated online, when I reviewed "Bloodrayne 2" (which I really didn’t enjoy), and last week when I was MonsterMania and actually saw the physical poster for the first time. He’s a good guy, although, very German, very efficient: Almost all of his emails are 1 setenence and written entirely in the subject field. That’s how he’s able to make 9 movies a year and why the Germans build Beamers and we build...what do we build?
I can’t tell you how stupifyingly giddy it makes me to know that not only am I quoted as a critic on one of Uwe’s movies, but it’s in what I like to call "Red Comedy Font". Every comedy produced in the last 10 years gets a big old Red Comedy Font poster. And there’s my quote, in glorious Red Comedy Font! I hate Red Comedy Font!
Tonight I headed into the city tonight for the NY city premiere of the film, which is finally set to release into theaters this May (up against the new Indiana Jones film.) During the Q&A after the film, a few questions came up about the response the film was getting.
Uwe says that the South Park guys liked the film. I thought that was interesting, considering the quote they used and all. Later in the night I found out that in order to use the quote from my review they actually had to screen the film for Trey Parker and Matt Stone to approve the use of the name "South Park". And they did. I thought that was pretty amazing that they’d go through that kind of trouble just to use my lousy quote, but I kind of hope that led Matt and Trey to check out Icons of Fright...you know, and maybe get a quote from them!
So here’s my buddy Uwe and myself in front of the poster. Less than 10 minutes later, we both took out John Torrani and Rob G. by TKO. (Bryan Norton, you’re next.)
My Ex-Fiance’s Grandfather’s Ancient Fertility Idol Makes Everyone Uncomfortable
My ex, whom I haven’t seen in a dog’s age, had an interesting family. Her grandfather was an archeologist. He once dug up what I’m told is a fertility idol, although I can’t remember the details on where he dug it up. I know found this while on a dig sometimes in the 1950’s. It’s not kitsch though, it’s real.
I also can’t remember how I ended up with sole custody of my ex-fiance’s grandfather’s ancient fertility idol. He is creepy. I used to store him in my basement, but I felt a little guilty, especially if it ends up being several hundred years old. I thought he deserved better. He lives in my bedroom now, but I can’t handle his face so I always store him backwards, facing the wall, and out of my direct line of sight. Right now he lives next to a DVD shelf, by the stairs.
I’ve thought about trying to bring him on the Antiques Roadshow everytime they’re in town, but I never seem to get a ticket in. I’m curious to know exactly where it’s from. Unfortunately, he makes everyone I show him to incredibly uncomfortable. (I think it’s the penis.)
He actually makes me incredibly uncomfortable sometimes. I kept him in my closet for a few years, but everytime I’d go and clean it out I’d forgot that it was in there and he’d fall out from behind a pile of clothes and scare me. You don’t want this popping out of nowhere. It can startle a person.
I’m not a superstitious person, except on airplanes, but I am curious of the effect my ex-fiance’s grandfather’s ancient fertility idol has on my dogs. They have serious trust issues with it.
We had some time to kill in Philly on Friday so I decided, as a history buff, to give you all a tour of the sites surrounding the Philly Museum of the Arts.
Horror/Fan Convention Stars Who Have Yelled At Me
Current mood: betrayed
I was talking to Rob about my Love Boat bulletin today, and he said he never knew I was a fan. I told him, "Well, don't you remember the Chiller Convention when I met Bernie Kopell and Jill Whelen?" He didn't. I did, I told him, it was the one where I was yelled at by Corporal Klinger and Hot Lips Houlihan.
That got me thinking. Rob's right. I have been yelled at by a lot of stars at the horror conventions over the years. For example.......
Jamie "Corporal Klinger" Farr and Loretta "Hot Lips Houlihan" Swit: Date: Sometime in October of 2003 Place: Chiller Convention Why?: Well, Rob says I have this problem where I go up to these people and, while I'm genuinely passionate, it might seem like I'm making fun of them. It was 2003 and I was up to my eyeballs in one of my chintzy obsessions: 1970's game show phenomenon "Match Game", of which both of them had done episodes of.
So it was getting late in the day at the convention and Hot Lips and Klinger looked like they about ready to pack it in and call it a day. I'd been in their room a few times that day and it was always busy and crowded and they were signing away, busy getting their $20/picture. I didn't really want a picture, so I just waited my time, so as not to waste theirs. Finally, I came back in and I think it may have been a case of unfortunate phrasing. I approached Hot Lips and Jamie:
"Hey there, nice to meet you. Look, I'm not really looking to buy a picture or anything. I remember you both from MASH, but I'm really looking for any information on episodes of The Match Game that you did. I've heard that was a lot of fun to work on and you both did the show in the 70s"
Now first off, Loretta makes me feel like a complete douchebag, "I never did that."
"Oh, I thought I saw..."
"No. I never did that. I was never on Match Game. Jamie you did Match Game, didn't you do Match Game?"
Klinger looks over at me, annoyed, "Yea, what it was days work, that's all. It's all work."
Well, I'd remember reading up on stories about cast members getting a little stinky between the episodes, and casually asked, "Wow, well I heard some people were known for getting, you know a little tipsy backstage".
"Well, I can tell you, that never happened. Look--that was a days work and that's it. Nothing much fun about it." Oh...geez, sorry I asked. So thanked Jamie and left the room, feeling a bit more of a dork than usual. Oh but you know what...Hey Loretta.... BLANK your face:
The Two Times I Made Linda Blairs Head Spin (Skip right ahead if you're one of the many people Rob has made me tell this story to over the years...) Date: October 2003/October 2005 Place: Chiller Convention Why?: Oh Boy! Well, take a look above for incident 1. It was, I believe Chiller 2004, same convention I got yelled at by Jamie and Loretta. I thought it would be a great idea to bring Linda Blair a can of pea soup to autograph. Hey, it made a nice collectible over the years, I love it. She wasn't so hot about the idea. It was like I added one can of cold water to her day and stirred briskly for 5 minutes.
I was nice about it, I mean, look I'm always a little starstruck. I know I've done these things for a million years and at these cons the stars are all kinds of money grubbing and washed up but I still look up to these folks with admiration. So I'm always a little awkward when I approach the stars. Knowing her to be a vegan I even made sure the can of soup that I picked up at the supermarket was veggie only. However, after brief introductions and greetings I pulled out the can of soup from my bookbag and it was out with the smile and in with the pursed lips.
"So...would you mind signing this can of soup?"
"Oh."
"Yea, look I made sure it was veggie."
"Oh.", she said, and took the can away from me and handed to her manager while they discussed the proper amount of money to charged to autograph some Campbells. A picture was $20, your own item was $10, but she didn't have a pricing option for "canned goods". I'm sure she thought this thing was going straight to eBay, but they decided it would be $10. And she did sign it, despite her obvious misgivings about it.
Now I was very excited, because this really is a neat little trinket that I now had, and I was putting it back into my bookbag when she shouted, "HEY! You know you're gonna want to let that dry because I am NOT doing that again." Umm...ok...yes, you're right Miss, thank you.
Now the second time I got a real good tongue lashing from Pazuzu was a year later. To know me is to know that I love a good old fashioned terrible movie. You also know that I sometimes fall in love with a movie that is generally regarded as being terrible, but I just don't see it that way. I feel that way about "Exorcist II: The Heretic". I genuinely like that movie. It's got problems, I know that. It's hard to follow, sure. But visually, it's a very beautiful movie to look at. The music and score is unbelievably good. If you give it a chance it starts to grow on you and maybe, just maybe, you'll even start to catch onto what it just might be all about. Hey, look, you can knock it down but if Martin Scorsese can say he enjoyed it more than the original then it has to have some merit.
Ok, the subject of "Exorcist II" is another blog altogether. And a long one. What I did know is that it wasn't a very pleasant experience for Linda Blair during the making of the film, and the fallout from it was especially harsh, still, I wanted to know a few things to satisfy my curiosity. So I waited on line to meet her for almost an hour. She'd taken a lunch break, but I stayed and I waited until she got back. I finally got up to her.
"Hey Linda, would you mind signing my copy of "Airport 1975" Oh boy...mistake 1.
"Sure......"
"You know I wanted to ask you something. I know a lot has been said over the years about "Exorcist II", but I wanted you to know that I actually really like that movie. I think it's actually very interesting, I think your very good in it. I know it's gotten a bad rap over the years but there are people like myself who think it's a good film, and I was just curious: Do you ever look back on it and think, hey, maybe it deserved better?"
Now, I was all wrapped up in my speech and I did sort of notice she was getting a very tiresome look on her face, but I was in the midst of a major geeky, very passionate tirade and I think my friends Rob and Ian described it best. They were across the room and as they look in my direction Ian said, "Hey, what's going on with Mike and Linda Blair? She doesn't look too happy..." That's when they saw her lift up and point her finger right at me and say...
"You know what you can do? You can read all about that movie in my autobiography..." she said sharply, and actually kind of sarcastically. I did not pick up on her inflection.
"Oh, wow, ok, is that coming out soon because..."
Then it happened. She looked over at the little kid next to me who was waiting his turn, puckered up her lips, and began to point more aggressively...
"You know I don't normally talk this way in front of children, but that movie, THAT movie is a piece of SHIT. It's a piece of shit and it is NOT the movie that me and Richard signed on to do, it's not the movie I first read, it's a piece of SHIT." Oh. Lord. If she'd stood up, pissed on the floor, smacked me across the face and yelled, "Your cunting daughter" I wouldn't have been surprised. I took my "Airport 1975" DVD and said, "I'm sorry...I didn't know..." and walked away.
Now...to her credit...and because I guess I felt bad I went back over to her and we had a more civil exchange. I explained to her, actually, I sort of apologized, for bringing up the subject. I told her that I didn't want her to think I was making fun of her, just that I really, honestly, truly, liked the movie. She stopped and apologized to me, and said after I left she turned to her manager and said, "Oh my god, I just told off a fan...". Again I told her I didn't realize she still hadn't made her peace with the film, and left.
But you know what...next time I see her, I'm totally asking her to sign my copy of "Roller Boogie" and giving her a DVD of the version of "Exorcist II" that I re-edited last year. BOO-YA BLAIR!
Gaylen Ross: Date: January 2005 Place: Chiller Convention Why?: This was a near miss, actually. I went up to her table and said, "Hey weren't you in that movie Madman?" And she looked up at me and said, curtly, "Yeh!".
I just walked away, man, I just walked away... Pick your battles wisely, conventioneers.
Tim Thomerson Date: May 2006 Place: MonsterMania Convention Why?: I don't know! This was an unprovoked attack by Jack Deth! I was wearing my cool David Bowie shirt, and I was walking past his table when I just heard, "Da-vid Bowwie? DAVID Bowie?". Who the hell? I turned around there's Tim Thomerson. Heckling me. Actually...heckling my shirt. I'm not a fool, and I'm not slow and I give what I get, friends.
So I turned to him, "Ok Tim Thomerson, if you're going to make fun of my shirt, then I'm going to come over there and make fun of Trancers 5. And I know you were in Rhinestone, Tim. I know you were." You know after that, we kind of hit it off.
So that about sums it up, I think. I mean there have been other incidents at conventions for me. There's those times when I'm at afterparties where I apparently keep blowing off the guy who played Leatherface in "Texax Chainsaw III", or so Johnny Torrani tells me. I dunno, I just didn't know who he was at this party, and not to be ironic but in real life he kind of looks less like a Leatherface and more like a Leather Daddy.
Then, there was also that time when Margot Kidder grabbed me by the arm when I took a picture with her, looked me dead in the eyes and said, "Oh! I just got a flashof you as a little boy! I bet you watched these movies as a little boy, right!". That's another blog too. And another long one.
If you've spoken with me at any length about my love of bad movies surely you'll be familiar with my admiration for any bad movie that knocks me cold. These are the movies that are so bad even I can't sit through them all the way through.
Look, I've got years of experience under my belt. On one recently very lazy Sunday I sat through a marathon of "Avalanche", "The Nightcomers", and "Mannequin 2: On The Move". I am no amateur.
Some movies though, they're like those first two Sphinx statues in "The Never Ending Story". "Dune", for example, can see straight into my bad movie loving heart and find the dormant or hibernating DNA of a snobby cinephile and zaps it, briefly, back to life.
I've sat down for countless runs on WPIX (in both the theatrical and extended version) back in the 80's and 90's, purchased a VHS copy in '97(lost it), one borrowed VHS copy from a friend (still have it), and even bought the special edition DVD. Still have yet to make it past the first 20-25 minutes of it. But why do I keep going back? Over and over again, year after year for damn near 25 years. Still, I don't hate "Dune", I actually rather admire it. It defeated me. It knocked me cold in ways something like "Exorcist II: The Heretic", an equally incomprehensible film, failed to do.
Same sentiment went for a picture like "Xanadu", which I recently defeated thanks to a rowdy midnight crowd. I loved "Xanadu" for being every bit as awful as the "Sgt. Pepper" movie, but truly admired it for being such a formidable, though now defeated, foe.
So, what's the point to all this? Well, I'm about to sit back and, for the 3rd time in my life, watch "Smokey and the Bandit 3". I think tonight will be the night that I make it through. I hope I do. I mean, this movie blows my mind. When they failed to get Burt Reynolds back for it, they actually shot the movie with Jackie Gleason in duel roles, as Buford Justice, and as the new Bandit. The intent was to release it as "Smokey IS The Bandit", which is, pardon me, bad movie genius, but test audiences just couldn't wrap their brains around it.
So they reshot almost the whole damn movie putting Jerry Reed, Cletus of the first two films, now playing the Bandit. Holy shit, you have no idea how big a flop this movie was. Here's how bad: "Bandit II" had an opening weekend of $10 million dollars, and "Bandit III" had a total gross of $5 million.
Enough of about the movie though, I'm going to sit back and try to watch it. I have hope. I watched all of "Megaforce" last night. If anything could prepare me for "Smokey and the Bandit 3", it's "Megaforce". Also, if I learned anything at all from that one it's all about "deeds not words", my friends. So, until later....
I got one of those jury duty notices in the mail last week, a summons. This would be my first time being summoned to jury duty, and I've waited patiently for it to arrive. "Jury Duty" is far and away my favorite Pauly Shore movie (and Shelley Winters and Abe Vigoda are in it!). So I decided not to call in a postponement and do my civic duty and show up. Partly because I never have and was mildly interested, to be honest, and partly because if I postponed it I thought I might have to serve during the busy holiday season. Since that includes crazy dayjob hours, and my brothers wedding, I thought I'd just go and get it over with.
Over the last two weeks countless friends have offered numerous creative ways to get out of jury duty: "Tell them you're racist!", "Show up in sweatpants!", "Say you're pregnant!", "Get drunk during the lunch break!". I really wasn't interested in "getting out of it" though, most people go and are out in a day or two anyway. Besides, my company pays my salary for up to 12 days of it, and let's face it, I'd rather be in a courtroom than the mall. Of course, I'd rather be on trial than be at the mall.
I arrived at the court a few minutes before 2pm, the schedule start time (strange, I thought, I figured they keep you there all day). I was hurried into a crowded courtroom, where everyone was taking a seat while a clerk rewound a video tape. All those taxes we pay and they can't afford a DVD player? After we all were seated the clerk announced, "Good afternoon and welcome to the Grand Jury selection."
Oh, really? What is this "grand" jury? Have I won a prize?
She continued, "The term for this grand jury will be..."
Three days?
"...each Tuesday and Friday from September 20th until March 13th."
Then I had to watch a video starring Ed Bradley from "60 Minutes" about what grand juries do. Ed Bradley, by the way, is dead. Also on the video was Law and Order's Sam Waterston. I was secretly hoping the also deceased Jerry Orbach might make a token appearance, ah, but no.
What does a grand jury do? They hear evidence and decide whether there is enough evidence to send the case to trial. I was selected to be on the grand jury for the Public Corruption Bureau, aka, Dirty Politicians. Well, as much as the idea of sending crooked politicians to the clink appeals to me, the dates were going to be bad. Every Tuesday and Friday until March 13th conflicted directly with my brothers wedding. So, they started forming a line for people who were not US citizens (they're not eligible) or people who don't speak English well enough. A big line started to form.
That's when it hit me. All the sage advice friends kept giving me and I overlooked the one piece of friendly advice that matters. The one piece of advice that has never failed me. When in a bind, when the odds are against you, when your back is up against the wall remember the words of John Torrani:
"Pretend you're retarded"
So, I got up out of that seat, yes sirree, and I march my little butt onto that non-citizen, non-English speaking line, stood there with the tired, poor, huddled masses and made my way up to the nastiest, meanest looking court clerk I'd ever seen. She kind of looked like the first bailiff on "Night Court", you know not the black lady, or the lady with the curly hair and glasses. The chain-smoking raspy voiced woman who dropped dead 2 seasons in. Remember? And I handed her my jury summons.
"I'd like a postponement, please".
"Oh yea, why do you need a postponement."
"Well, I think this is a fascinating process and I'd really like--"
"What's the postponement for?!"
"My brothers wedding and holiday season and--"
"Next session is November-December and that's 19 days in a row."
"Well, I really like to, but do you have anything for January. Please?"
She scowled at me. I smiled. Time slowed down, my vision went fish-eyed. Wow, I thought. I've actually slipped into that strange dimension that 80's teen comedy characters go to when they're about to get their license or their SAT score. Neat.
"January 3rd." she whispered, "Don't tell anyone else."
I thanked her and left.
Whew. Well, for now. The elephant in the room is that I actually have to keep going back until I get picked for a grand jury. I do have the option of volunteering next time I'm in (I think I will) but there's really no getting out of it. It's kind of the jury duty equivalent of being drafted, either I have to serve or move to Canada. Not with the current exchange rate, I'm not.
STILL One of the Scariest Things I've Seen
Category: Blogging
The "Amazing Stories" movies were on Showtime tonight. They're just a few compilations of episodes from the far, far too shortlived 80's TV series, which was produced by Steven Spielberg.
"Amazing Stories" ran for two seasons between 1985 and 1987. It was an anthology series, but they were never short of good budgets and highly talented writers and directors (in edition to giving those who always wanted to direct a chance). Each episode was of the fantasy, sci-fi, and occasionally horror variety, there was even an animated episode "Family Dog" which was eventually spun-off into a short-lived summer series in the early 90's.
It ran on NBC, and was followed immediately by another short-lived series-a revived version of Alfred Hitchcock Presents-and was, for my fragile 8 year old mind, the single most terrifying hour of the televised week. There was an episode featuring a high school jock who suddenly becomes "magnetic", one with a crazy voodoo babysitter, another featuring Christopher Lloyd as an evil English teacher who students unsuccessfully try to kill.
Of all the episodes, however, none scared the sheer, ever loving crap out of me like the one entitled "Mirror, Mirror". It starred Sam Waterson, and it was directed by Martin Scorcese, with the story by Speilberg. It was about an author who one night starts to see some kind of phantom or zombie slowly creeping up behind him every time he looks into a mirror. Well, this episode happens to be included on the the "Amazing Stories" compliations running on Showtime this month (I think it's under "Amazing Stories: The Movie IV" if you want to try to record it). I was shocked to find just how scary the episode still really is. Unbelievably scary when I was a kid, and it still gave me chills today. How often does that happen?
I also found the episode was available on YouTube so you can check it out here, although I really recommend that if you do you watch it full-screen (the quality isn't so bad) or just wait until you can see it on a TV. Oh, and interesting trivia--That's a young, pre-"Top Gun" Tim Robbins playing the "phantom".
As Jsyn reminded me I really do miss the "______IN SPACE" horror movies. You know, where every horror franchise goes once it's worn out it's welcome and there' just no where left for it to go. "Hellraiser" went there. "Jason" visited the black abyss of space. Even the Leprechaun and The Critters blasted off into cold outer reaches of the solar system.
So what about the so-called "torture porn" genre. Box-office flops, a public generally tired of the same-old thing film after film. It's not looking good for this little subgenre. So...what do we have to look forward to?
Here's a few ideas I have to keep the genre going.
Space Turistas: A Russian mafia-like group sells tickets to the International Space Station. Steals organs in zero-gravity torture surgery:
The Right Saw: 6 former NASA test pilots wake up, trapped, in a former Air Force base.
Captivity Capsule: Due to a communication error Elisha Cuthbert is launched into space in grimy, out-moded NASA technology circa 1965. Never comes back.
And of course, this one needs no description:
(All the torture in space "posters" done by me. Please credit me if you share with friends)