Today's big event was the NOTLD 40th Anniversary panel, which didn't have much news to report for obvious reasons. Still, it was a nice day, and not without highlights:
- Brett Leonard missed his own panel because he was upstairs with me (well, not WITH me, the man has no idea who I am) watching The Dead Pit. I kind of admired this - if a director walks out of his own movie, what sort of example does that set? Kudos, sir.
- The writers of Toolbox Murders and the upcoming Mother of Tears previewed their film (co-writer Adam Geirasch is making his directorial debut) Autopsy. It looks like a sick and bloody good time, and thus I look forward to it. Having folks like Michael Bowen and Robert Patrick in the cast doesn't hurt. Gierasch also said he would be doing a remake of Night of the Demons (make it, you know, good) and working on the Saw video game, which better be a hell of a lot better than any other horror movie based video game ever made (OK, Nightmare on Elm St for the NES was kind of fun).
- Ray Wise gave a fan his water. What a nice guy. I understand he always puts his fans first.
- Feast 2! Oh man I can't wait for this. I assume they have let Gulagar and co. make the film his way without any interference (his brother is in the cast, so he's already gotten his way there; the producers refused to let him be in the first film). They showed a perfectly graphic scene, and also showed "just the beginning" of what is in store for Honey Pie, who left the other survivors for dead at the end of the first film. How Clu Gulager's character managed to survive was not made clear, but who cares? I can't wait for this (and part 3 is already shot!).
- The NOTLD 40th anniversary panel was nice, if a bit underwhelming. Nothing against the cast members, but they really don't have much to say, and it was kind of a bummer to see Romero up there, patiently waiting to talk while John Russo and Bill Hinzman told the same old stories we have heard from them at every single Fangoria convention for the past decade or so. No actual news was revealed here, other than a bit of the extra feature on the upcoming 30,556th release of the film on DVD (to be fair, it looks worth the price of the disc - a recollection of the film by modern horror icons like Greg Nicotero).
All in all, a good con. I'm kind of jaded on certain things nowadays (like getting autographs, other than my Fangoria "Directors" series I have no desire to wait in line to have someone sign something, usually at a cost), but it's still just a blast to have so many fans and filmmakers hanging out together for 3 straight days. I really dislike the fact that the move to the LA Convention Center put a serious wedge in after-convention plans (tonight I just went home after the NOTLD panel instead of partying, like usual). There is simply nothing to do down there; no restaurants, no bars, nothing! It's all (closed) office buildings and apartment high-rises without reasonable parking. In Burbank, there was always stuff going on, but it was not the case here. Hopefully next year the con will just go to Pasadena, which is plenty big enough and in a good location to boot. Cross your fingers!
- Brett Leonard missed his own panel because he was upstairs with me (well, not WITH me, the man has no idea who I am) watching The Dead Pit. I kind of admired this - if a director walks out of his own movie, what sort of example does that set? Kudos, sir.
- The writers of Toolbox Murders and the upcoming Mother of Tears previewed their film (co-writer Adam Geirasch is making his directorial debut) Autopsy. It looks like a sick and bloody good time, and thus I look forward to it. Having folks like Michael Bowen and Robert Patrick in the cast doesn't hurt. Gierasch also said he would be doing a remake of Night of the Demons (make it, you know, good) and working on the Saw video game, which better be a hell of a lot better than any other horror movie based video game ever made (OK, Nightmare on Elm St for the NES was kind of fun).
- Ray Wise gave a fan his water. What a nice guy. I understand he always puts his fans first.
- Feast 2! Oh man I can't wait for this. I assume they have let Gulagar and co. make the film his way without any interference (his brother is in the cast, so he's already gotten his way there; the producers refused to let him be in the first film). They showed a perfectly graphic scene, and also showed "just the beginning" of what is in store for Honey Pie, who left the other survivors for dead at the end of the first film. How Clu Gulager's character managed to survive was not made clear, but who cares? I can't wait for this (and part 3 is already shot!).
- The NOTLD 40th anniversary panel was nice, if a bit underwhelming. Nothing against the cast members, but they really don't have much to say, and it was kind of a bummer to see Romero up there, patiently waiting to talk while John Russo and Bill Hinzman told the same old stories we have heard from them at every single Fangoria convention for the past decade or so. No actual news was revealed here, other than a bit of the extra feature on the upcoming 30,556th release of the film on DVD (to be fair, it looks worth the price of the disc - a recollection of the film by modern horror icons like Greg Nicotero).
All in all, a good con. I'm kind of jaded on certain things nowadays (like getting autographs, other than my Fangoria "Directors" series I have no desire to wait in line to have someone sign something, usually at a cost), but it's still just a blast to have so many fans and filmmakers hanging out together for 3 straight days. I really dislike the fact that the move to the LA Convention Center put a serious wedge in after-convention plans (tonight I just went home after the NOTLD panel instead of partying, like usual). There is simply nothing to do down there; no restaurants, no bars, nothing! It's all (closed) office buildings and apartment high-rises without reasonable parking. In Burbank, there was always stuff going on, but it was not the case here. Hopefully next year the con will just go to Pasadena, which is plenty big enough and in a good location to boot. Cross your fingers!
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