By Molly Celaschi
Okay, so this may be a lame thing to admit, but this was my first Fango con I have been to. This is the first con they held in San Jose for 8 years and hopefully they will come back next year. I heard some grumbling from attendees (and a few celebs!) about the turn out, but I was very impressed myself. There were no long lines, I got to hobnob with some of my favorite actors, and brought home bags of cool horror paraphernalia.
WIL (HorrorYearbook editor) and I had an excellent adventure, sort of like Bill & Ted, but only with more alcohol and way more embarrassing moments. Throughout the con, WIL would repeatedly disappear from my side. I swear I would turn my head and he would be gone one minute, turn my head again and he was back!
On Saturday, we all drank a lot, so there is no telling what I said to anyone. Although I know for a fact that I pestered Sid Haig at least 5 times during the day. I was annoyed that he was getting annoyed, so I made the wise decision to talk to him over and over again. And it only took me 6 conversations and voila! 24 hours later I had the good first impression I was trying for. And I almost bought him a drink at the bar, but he seemed like he was in a hurry to get back to a woman he refers to as his fiancée. Hmm, oh well.
I have some good stuff here anyway. Check out previews for some great movies and crappy movies. See what other celebs I talked to while trying to wrangle WIL from the bar.
We watched these trailers and previews to let you know what to be on the look out for and what to avoid like a dong dipped in syphilis. Make sure to check out Molly & WIL’s picks for this year’s Must See Movies!
THE QUICK AND THE UNDEAD ** Molly’s Pick
Watch Trailer Here, Official Website
A zombie spaghetti Western. Enough said? No. It also stars a hot sharp shooter and features copious amounts of blood. An interesting mish-mash of Dead Alive, Plaga Zombie, and Once Upon a Time in the West. Unfortunately, we missed the screening.
On a side note, we met with Writer/ Director Gerald Nott (only 28 years old!), Lead Actor/ Co-Producer Clint Glenn, and associate producer John Reynolds of this film. They were absolute sweethearts.
Release: Already available in your local rental stores; released by Anchor Bay this past December.
PREMONITION starring Sandra Bullock and Julian McMahon (Nip/ Tuck)
An okay looking thriller involving visions of the future death of her husband, no wait, is it flashbacks of a death she never witnessed? Oh well. Looks like it could be good if they do not go the “Lifetime” route with this. I have a sneaking suspicion that Bullock finds out her husband died while cheating on her, initially tries to prevent the death from happening, then later changes her mind. Molly says, “Let the cheating bastard die.”
Theatrical Release: March 16th, 2007
THE HOST from North Korea!
A gigantic CGI monster attacks people. That is basically the premise, but people are saying that they loved it anyway. Supposedly well written characters with many humorous moments. I am willing to give this shot. And if you are too, then hurry up because Magnolia has picked up the rights for a big budget US remake. Akk!
U.S. DVD Release: January 26, 2007
SHEITAN starring Vincent Cassel (Irreversible)
I have no idea what this is about (details are scarce), but I do know it involves some kids stumbling upon a Satan-worshipping shepherd. I heard it is nasty, racist, and sexist. Whether you think this is a good or a bad thing, I think I might check it out.
Release: Already on DVD! Find it online you sickos.
PLANE DEAD ** WIL’s Pick
No Snakes here! A group of passengers are stuck on a plane when some of them become infected. While they are refused a landing, they must battle with the infected flesh-eating passengers. The trailer and pics sport good effects.
Visit: www.plane-dead.com. Sorry no details on a release date yet, but is supposedly finished.
THE NUMBER 23 starring Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen
A man becomes obsessed with the number 23 after finding a book he believes was based on his life. I am iffy on this one. Has potential to be good if Schumacher goes darker ala 8mm, but will suck monkey balls if it goes the Batman & Robin route. I am a fan of Carrey’s, but do not like A-list actors digging into horror; it usually turns out badly (reference: Halle Berry in Gothika).
Release: February 27th, 2007
300 **Molly’s Pick
This film I guess is about 300 Spartans lead on a suicide mission to defeat 1 million Persians, but all I could pay attention to were the half naked men with gigantic phallic symbols, uh I mean, swords. Directed by Dawn of the Dead’s Zack Snyder, who will follow this up with Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six. The lighting is amazing, the people are stunning, and the camerawork is spectacular. The trailer is orgasmic…
Trivia: Shot mostly on green screen in Montreal.
Release: March 9th 2007. Check it out here: 300themovie.warnerbros.com
GHOST RIDER
Fresh off annoying horror fans in The Wicker Man remake, Nicholas Cage stars as a dude that rides a bike and kills people, I think. This is based off a Marvel comic and is brought to you by the same man who made Elektra and Daredevil. Costarring a sourpuss Eva Mendes. (Hint: This will get bad reviews).
Release: Who cares? Oh, I mean February 16, 2007.
BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON **WIL’s Pick
This is a pseudo-documentary. Starts off funny as a reporter follows Leslie as he plans for his rise to fame as a serial killer, but takes a dark, nasty turn in the last half when he begins his plan and she is no longer just a voyeur, but a possible victim too! I am sure this will make for great social commentary and instigate the audience in the crimes as well. Starring Robert Englund.
Release: February 14th 2007. Ahh, on Valentine’s Day. Make sure to bring your sweetheart. You can visit them here: www.behindthemaskthemovie.com
Here are two other movies I don’t feel like talking about:
THE MESSENGERS
THE REAPING
Uhhh, we did not watch some panels because we were either 1. too busy to attend on Friday, 2. too drunk on Saturday, or 3. too lazy on Sunday. Note: WIL also ditched me repeatedly on Sunday to drink, hit on a girl, and watch movies.
[Editor's Note: No comment on any of this!]
2001 MANIACS PANEL
with Director Tim Sullivan, Ryan Fleming, Dylan Edrington, Kodi Kitchen, Cristin Michelle, and Adam Robitel
We were treated to the Unrated European Trailer first. I have not seen the film myself, but WIL insists it is good (“2001 Maniacs” Made Our “Clas of 2006″ Read Here). Sullivan was pretty charismatic on stage, while most of the cast remained pretty quiet. Sullivan says he was shocked that Maniacs skated by with an ‘R’ rating instead of Unrated.
News: The sequel “2001 Maniacs: Beverly Hellbillys” is set to star Robert Englund, Tony Todd, and Bill Moseley. Tom Green is making an appearance as a pesky sheriff that gets nailed inside a barrel and sent downhill to his death. The new story takes the maniacs on a trip in a bus. They set up a carnival in a new location and reenact the slaughter. Paris Hilton-types are set to die and will bring new meaning to “Brokeback Mountain”. Sullivan says Eli Roth is NOT involved in the sequel because he is too busy.
They will be debuting their comic book “Curse of the Confederacy” by Avatar in summer of 2007. A Special Panel will be held at Comic-Con in July with Robert Englund in tow and includes 5 minutes of new footage from the movie.
There is also a third film in this proposed trilogy called, “2003 Maniacs: Buckman vs Bin Landen”.
[Editor's Note: Are you sure that wasn't a joke?]
HorrorYearbook Interview with Cristin Michele (House of the Dead 2, Wanted: Undead or Alive) to follow….
DARREN LYNN BOUSMAN (Saw II & III)
Okay, now we were here when he did his thing and talked about the DVD release of Saw III, but this one falls under the “We were drunk” category. I think we chose the bar over this panel. But I did see him eating breakfast with his lady friend (wife?). I have him a wink and the ‘ole one-two. Yeah, we shared a moment….
DOUG BRADLEY (Hellraiser)
Ummm…He was here the entire weekend, but I didn’t talk to him for some reason.
THE HAMILTONS PANEL
with The Butcher Brothers, co-writer Adam Weis, Cory Knauf, Joseph McKelheer, Samuel Child, and Mackenzie Firgens.
Read Molly’s Interview w/ Butcher Brothers & Cory Knauf, Hamiltons Review
News: The DVD release will be on March 27th 2007 by Lionsgate. The Butcher Brothers are currently working on their next horror feature titled, “Black Sunset”.
Note: These are cool guys. Ran into them at the bar and restaurant. Heard they were hopping around at parties later that night. Too bad we left early like good little kids…
BLOOD & CHOCOLATE PANEL
with Actress Agnes Buckner (Venom, The Woods) and Writer Ehren Kruger (The Ring, Skeleton Key)
This was the quietest panel of all. It was as though the screenwriter and was not used to talking to people and the actress had stage fright. Overall, the experience was awkward. But leave it to WIL to ask the relevant questions such as “Is there any werewolf sex or nudity in the film?” This is especially funny considering they just said it was rated PG-13, directed by a female, and was NOT about werewolves, but rather people that completely transform into wolves. The trailer looks pretty good, so I think I will check it out.
Release: Released in theaters June 28 2007.
News: Buckner next stars in Last Resort (Aug 2007) where a killer pits 5 friends against each other in a house. They have until 6am to have only one survivor left or they all die. Next up for Kruger is Stephen King’s The Talisman, which is a 6 hour miniseries on TNT in the summer of 2008.
HorrorYearbook Interviews to follow….
DRIFTWOOD PANEL
with Director Tim Sullivan, stars Cory Hardrict and Connor Ross
The story revolves around David who is sent to a camp for troubled youths and is haunted by a ghost of another boy.
Well, just when Sullivan was building up steam with 2001 Maniacs, he gets weirder. He then says that a goth chick burned sage every night to keep the spirits away and to protect him. (I do not believe in ghosts, so you can only imagine what I am thinking here)
Actress Lin Shaye admitted she sent away her own son to a camp and felt quilt, so she wrote her own dialogue for her character. Her scene where she rescues her son is real emotion.
Included a Special Screening that WIL wanted to see, but I didn’t. The movie features a bunch of guys huckle-bucking each other in a confined space. Stars a Laguna Beach grad and a wrestler. I am thinking this will be bad.
News: After a great LA premiere, Image decided to do a limited theatrical release 2/13/07. Following that is the DVD release, plus will air on Starz!
JEFFREY COMBS
Combs was very engaging with the audience and seems genuine. He had 5 special Re-Animator syringes from Anchor Bay to commemorate the release of the DVD and would give them to who ever asked the best questions. And who won the last one? Yours truly for asking the ingenious, “ Did you get inspiration for your Herbert West character from playing a doctor in The Man with Two Brains?”
Well, I also got his autograph sort of by accident and by cheating. After he was done talking, he went around the corner to sign autographs. I walked over there to talk to him about doing an interview and I got stuck in a line. Then I realized that this was for Gold Pass members only and they check your tickets. Plus, you need something for him to sign like a poster or DVD. So after much complaining on my part, a nice young gentleman behind me by the name of David gave me his extra pass. I then made Combs sign my Fango schedule and strong-armed him into an interview.
News: A Special Edition of the Re-Animator is coming from Anchor Bay March 20th 2007 and includes extra interviews from the cast. No date on the From Beyond DVD release yet. It was a Charles Band movie, went through multiple lawsuits, and is now lost in the MGM library. He already recorded commentary for the new release, which may be later this year. Necronomicon is also stuck in a vault somewhere and Combs is unsure of a release date. There is talk of a sequel though.
See Anchor Bay Re-Animator DVD Here
Jan. 19th is his Showtime debut of Masters of Horror” The Black Cat directed by Stuart Gordon. Also coming up is Blackwater Valley Exorcism where he plays a sheriff. Extra footage was shot for Return to the House on Haunted Hill (where he reprises his role of the doctor) to enable DVD viewers to choose the paths of their characters.
Parasomnia is about a boy obsessed with a girl with parasomnia (sleeps all the time) and steals her from a hospital, which leads to some nasty problems.
It is a no-go on the Re-Animator sequel. The original backers seem to have lost interest, possibly due to the script, which is political and involves reanimating the President.
HorrorYearbook Interview with Jeffrey Combs to follow….
DEATH ROW PANEL
Director Ed Quiroz, Veteran Actor Joe Estevez, Jose Rosete, Elias Casillo, Chris Angelo, FX Artist/Teacher Ed Martinez, Editor/Cinematographer Rocky Robinson
Including Special Screening, which we missed but will get a screener from Ed Quiroz.
Read Molly’s interview with Ed Quiroz.
[Editor's Note: I did make the screening of "Death Row" and will have a review soon.]
KEN FOREE
We missed his audience interaction, but I ran into him repeatedly throughout the convention and he has talking to no less than one cute girl every time. I swear this guy is a pimp. He was kind enough to take pics with me before he left.
GEORGE ROMERO
NO SHOW! Boooo. But I could probably guess how the interaction would go.
Molly: “Hello. I am -“
George: “Molly. My God, I have been waiting so long for you…”
(You cannot view the rest of what would transpire because I believe in protecting the Innocent)
BILL MOSELEY
Spoke of the usual films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and The Devils Rejects. Says Karen Black would not come back for Rejects because of money. His favorite movie since he made Rejects is Alphabet Killer.
Trivia: Starred in Thr3e and later found it was a “faith-based production” meaning no swearing, blood or sex. Was set to star in Dead Man’s Hand, but later went to Sid Haig. Got his inspiration for his role of Johnny in Night of the Living Dead by watching Boris Karloff in “Die, Monster Die”.
News: Making an appearance on Day of Our Lives this Thursday & Friday as the “Nerdy Morgue Attendant”. Stars in Fallen Angels and gets killed by demon Kane Hodder by having his eyeballs squeezed out. Evil Bong is available now on DVD where he plays a Mafia-type character. Leslie Easterbrook plays his wife in House also starring Michael Madsen and set for release in 6 months.
Note: Bill is by far my favorite guy there. He was so genuine and down to earth. When I asked him about the infamous Rejects scene where he molests Priscilla Barnes in the hotel, he talked to me for 15 minutes about how that scene took 10 takes and how it evolved and changed. He is the celeb that will run through everyone of his famous lines just to get a picture signed the way you want it. Quality person. Oh and one more thing – “Lick my plate you dog dick!”
SID HAIG
Gave the regular talk about meeting Rob Zombie at his wedding reception with Sherri Moon. House of 1000 Corpses had a producer on set every day approving the scenes, yet when the film was finished, they deemed it too scary. It was later distributed by Lionsgate.
Admitted he only made House of the Dead 2: Dead Aim “because they offered me a lot of money. I am a whore.”
News: Next starring opposite Ken Foree in Brotherhood of Blood and in the clown comedy, Little Big Top. Haig will be working with Quentin Tarantino on the upcoming documentary on Jack Hill.
Note: Haig appeared slightly grumpy this weekend, which may be due to the absence of publicist/ fiancée. I harassed no less than 5 times over the weekend and even tried to buy him a drink. At exactly 5pm on Sunday, he bolted from the con. He at least took pics with me and signed some clowns photos.
DEBBIE ROCHON
We missed part of the panel, but the remaining half consisted of her and Voltaire talking about Fangoria Radio.
Note: She is by far the sweetest woman there. When I asked her for an interview, she said she would meet me after the panel. She already had the movie “Something to Scream About” waiting for me. I had a good half hour conversation with her after getting her contact info. As she was packing her suitcase, she couldn’t fit everything in everything, so she asked if I wanted her weird baby doll. (This was sold to her from a vendor and sports a skull face, white head, and black limbs). I said sure and she seemed so excited. She signed the dress on the doll and posed for pics with me. Oh and she also slipped in a copy of Hellblock 13 for me as well. What an angel….
ADRIENNE BARBEAU
She spoke of the usual fare like meeting future husband John Carpenter on the set of “Someone’s Watching Me”. Their son Cody starred in both of Carpenter’s Masters of Horror episodes, “ Cigarette Burns” and “Pro-Life”. In 1998, she took a writing class, which lead to her current novel “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” and landed her on the Best Seller list. Her first story written was of the bad experience working on Burial of the Rats. Lists Carnivale as “one of the best experiences of my life”. Says she loved Mike Mendez’s film The Convent and would reprise her role as Adult Christine.
Trivia: She got a script she deemed too violent and could not even finish reading it, let alone star in it. The part later went to Priscilla Barnes and that film was The Devil’s Rejects. She says after seeing the hype the film got, she now regrets turning down the role.
News: Just finished the first of 2 vampire novels titled “Vampyres of Hollywood”.
Note: I was hanging out in a lobby and a nice woman came over to ask me for directions to the vendor hall. I did a double take because she looked familiar, then gave the directions. When I turned around, 3 of my friends said I just talked to Adrienne and didn’t even realize it. Doh!
VAMPIRA: THE MOVIE PANEL
We skipped this panel as well, and then WIL ditched me to go hit on a girl during the Special Screening. She shot him down. I finally found him after thinking for a good hour that he was lying dead in a ditch somewhere. He was drunk and embarrassed.
[Editor's Note: You had to mention this twice, why?]
VENDORS
I got my tarot card reading from Keith (TempestSomnus@yahoo.com). I do not usually believe in these sort of things, but he spooked me. Actually, he said something that hit so close to home that it led to an argument between Mr. X. Scary and me…
Bought myself the Deep Red magazine 15th Anniversary Edition and 2 issues of “Flesh & Blood”. Oh and of course the “Dead Girls Never Say No” bumper sticker.
Got signed headshots from the cast of Closet Space. Visit them here: www.closetspacemovie.com
See “Closet Space” poster Here
Bought myself the Porno Holocaust DVD and “Is it Uncut?” magazine from HollywoodBookandPoster.com vendors. (Yes, of course you can expect a review of Porno Holocaust shortly)
Met Grant, the “Chair” of SiliCon events. Maybe around at this even in Oct 2007 as well.
So that is my summary of the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors in San Jose. I had a blast and met some wonderful people. I sincerely hope Tony Timpone (editor of Fangoria) decides to come back to San Jose next year. And I halfheartedly say that I hope that all of you guys join me there next time. Hope everyone enjoyed the article. If you have any questions, drop me a line. I have interviews to get started on now…
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