Crickey, I'm tired! My life has been an endless circle of work, taxes, work, taxes, and more work. That and taxes. >:( (Since when did I become everyone's go-to person for tax forms & information, dammit.)

Anyway, NYCC is coming and I HIGHLY recommend that you check out the site. If you are in the northeast, try to get here, because the sheer volume of things to do is mind-boggling!! Not to mention

• Show exclusives,
• Swag,
• Previews,
• Premieres,
• Panels,
• Gaming, and
• Celebs from movies, tv, and comic books.

I've never covered an event of this size before, and I have to admit that I am more than a little bit intimidated by the sheer SIZE of the event. Needless to say, it should be interesting.

I don't know yet what I'll be covering, but I will definitely have a few choice items. If you'd like to know something specific about the event, let me know, and I'll check it out for ya.

If you are going, drop me a line. I'd love to meet you!

Presented by Anchor Bay, the Brutal Massacre panel was one of the highlights of MMX. A mocumentary/horror movie biz satire, Brutal Massacre stars David Naughton (An American Werewolf in London), Brian O’Halloran (Clerks, Clerks II), Gerry Bednob (40 Year Old Virgin), Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead, The Devil’s Rejects), Ellen Sandweiss (The Evil Dead, Satan’s Playground) and Gunnar Hansen (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre).

The movie follows Harry Penderecki, a B- (C? D?) Movie director, making a horror movie that may just be his last chance. The trailer was hysterical, with many nods to the more realistic aspects of the genre: crazy characters (on & off screen), insane premises (Sasquatch at the Mall? Inspired by Abbey Road?), idiot reporters, moronic fans, and more.

The panel included Director Stevan Mena, producer Tom Bambard, Brian O’Halloran, Gunnar Hansen, Gerry Bednob, and Michelle “MJ” DiBenedetti. After details about the movie’s release (see below), we learned that what was supposed to be a simple, if slightly cold shoot, turned into the coldest weather in 50 years, with below 0° temperatures at noon.

Surprisingly funny, both in the trailer and in person, was Gunnar Hansen, best known for his work as Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Cast in a role not usual for the horror icon, Gunnar plays Crenshaw, the owner (?) of the location set. Gunnar embraced the role, “Great Character to play,” even playing with the seriousness of the mocumentary-style by saying he “spent a lot of time researching this.” He goes on to say he “…thought it was a fun character for me to do…Problem I had with Crenshaw is that he says fuck in every 3rd sentence.” (Truly, Crenshaw really loves this word.)

Asked how much of the movie was scripted & how much was improvised, Mena, director of Long Island International Film Expo and NYC Horror Film Festival Best Feature winner, Malevolence, said it was about 70% scripted/30% improvised. It was ‘wind em up and let em go with these guys.’

Brutal Massacre will open mid-summer with exclusive, then limited theatrical release. The subsequent dvd will have cut scenes and more, but as for Easter eggs? "We'll tell you there's Easter Eggs, but there's not," said Gunnar.

Be sure to check out the trailer, as well as their MySpace page. If you are in the Los Angeles area, you can see the stars and trailer in person at Fangoria Weekend of Horrors.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Fri., Sat. & Sun. April 25-27, 2008
LA Convention Center
1201 South Figueroa Street
Join Fangoria for the “Brutal Massacre” PANEL
Director Stevan Mena, stars David (AMERICAN WEREWOLF) Naughton, Brian (Clerks, Clerks II) O'Halloran, Ken (Dawn of the Dead) Foree, Gerry (40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN) Bednob and all three ladies of the EVIL DEAD:
Ellen Sandweiss, Theresa Tilly and Betsy Baker.
See http://www.fangoria.com/special_events.php For more information.

I love franchise movies.

Well, except for the travesties that are Ep. 1-3 (and don't get me started).

And that Dukes of Hazzard trash. Daisy was INTELLIGENT you MORONS!! And no, you can't just cast someone who builds her ENTIRE PROFESSIONAL WORLD around being an idiot and hope she can act smart.

Anyway, as I was saying, I especially adore movies based on series I loved as a child. I mean, I cried with joy watching Transformers, cried with sadness that Thundercats was going to be CG animation, and STILL want to be one of Charlie's Angels.

Being such a fan, I was delighted to learn that IGN.com has just as much love for these movies as I do:

To laud the highly anticipated release of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for Nintendo's new Wii console, we thought we'd have a little fanboy fun and play studio boss... plotting our own movie version of the long-running fantasy videogame franchise. While there isn't an actual film based on the game series in development, we think it's high time that Hollywood and Nintendo got hip to the idea of a Legend of Zelda movie. Who knows? Maybe they'll read our picks for writer, director, cast, etc., and get inspired.

Whether it's true or a classic April Fool's prank, I want the movie!

LEGEND OF ZELDA TRAILER

April 1, 2006 article: Legend of Zelda Movie Trailer Premiere
Original November 20, 2006 post: The Legend of Zelda: The Movie!

WOW! What an amazing weekend!

I have so much stuff; it will take me the rest of the week to tell you about it all. I have Q&A recaps, announcements, vendor information, a movie review from the con, reviews of stuff I got AT the con, and more!

But since I also have a day job (dammitdammitdammitseriouslydammit), I will have to weed through the mass slower than I'd like.

In the meantime, I can regale you with a quick, personal recap. So, here's how my weekend went down and what you can look forward to in the coming days:

Friday

• Miss the Ben Chapman tribute. V. upset, as the man was a wonderful, genuine person who was very proud of the work he did.

• Arrive about 7:00 p.m. No small feat since I had no idea whether or not I was going to be leaving Friday until about 1 hour before our actual departure.

• Settle in, buy ticket, and take pictures for my broham as he gets his autographs. Unlike other conventions, I actually didn't buy ANY AUTOGRAPHS!!! Very unlike me.

• Meet some great people!
  

• Stroll the vendors checking out the wares. Score a bitchin' Army of Darkness lunchbox, with thermos, for the exclusive Dirty Santa "Boardie" party held on Saturday.

One of the greatest things about Monster Mania is the community. On the MM bulletin boards, you meet tons of people who you then meet up with at the con, either informally or at events like hotel parties and the Dirty Santa gift exchange.

Note:The Dirty Santa is NOT an XXX event. It's a secret santa-type event, but with thievery. Also called a White Elephant gift exchange, Yankee Swap, etc.

• Watch the world premiere of Chronicles of an Exorcism.*

Saturday

• Up early. Uber-excited. Hair totally cooperates. Still have money left. Annoying my roommates with my alarm? Icing. :)

• Eat, finish getting autographs, gab with some peeps, mill about. (Giving too much detail here, but what the hey.)

• Brutal Massacre panel with Brian O'Halloran, Director Stevan Mena, Producer Tom Bambard, Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface, Texas Chainsaw Massacre), reps from Anchor Bay, and M.J. DiBenedetti.*

• Women of Horror panel. Wouldn't you know I freaking missed half of this and then my recorder went on the fritz! Yes, if you were getting really pissed at someone who kept beeping, that was me trying to fix the damned thing. Sorry!*

• Fight my way through massive crowds to the Out of the Cabin panel with Bruce-who-needs-no-introduction-in-my-book-Campbell.*

• Got a Jay? panel, which turns out to be a Where's Jay? panel with 80s music videos which turns into a Brian O' Saves the Day panel about him and his other new movie Cluster.*

• Texas Chainsaw Massacre Reunion panel.*
  

• Impromptu Dave Hagan panel due to the lateness of Mr. Feldman. Dave is the organizer of Monster Mania. A.K.A. Da MAN!*

• Lost Boy Found Q&A with Corey Feldman.*

• Change clothes for Dirty Santa.

• Meet brother for a drink in bar.

• Buy Brian O'Halloran a drink. Brother claims drink is from him (dirty rat), but still get to talk to the amazingly easy to talk to Brian O. TOTALLY crushing. Which I hope he didn't notice. Or maybe I do. Heehee.**

• Meet some fabulous people!
  

• Miss Dirty Santa I'm having so much fun. Now own lunchbox. Co-workers simply WON'T understand.
  

• Catch up with some elusive people in elevator. Get invited to their room for party. Head to my room to freshen up. Promptly forget their hotel room # after stepping off elevator.

Sunday

• Leisurely brunch of mozzarella sticks. My stomach pays dearly for these weekends of fast & mainly fried foods. Dearly.

• Get some great advice from Scott at FearWerks.

• Spend the day trying to find - at various times, sometimes desperately, but never at the RIGHT time - Dave for questions, Stacey for an interview, my cousin Niki to thank her for offering me a ride (truth be told, I rudely invited myself along when I lost my ride. Either way, I am eternally grateful for her acquiescence), and, as always, my brother. He's mighty elusive at times.

• Get yelled at cause I completely blow by someone in my quest for the above. Make amends.

• Win DVD from FearsMag.com. Splee!
  

• Sadly leave.

Well, that's a weekend in the life of this Monster Mania convention goer. What was your experience like? Who did you see? What did you do? Where did you party? Are you still hung over?

* More later
** More about why having a normal conversation with a celebrity is such an amazing feat for me.

It was a nightmare getting here, but I have arrived at Monster Mania X safe and sound!

In the coming days, I will be updating you all on the status of events here including the stars, sights, and news, as well as a review of Chronicles of an Exorcism, a movie written and directed by Nick G. Miller and starring Days of Our Lives star, Matthew Ashford.

In fact, the premiere is about 20 minutes from now, and I haven't eaten all day! Too excited. So I'm signing off for now to grab some grub, and will update you later tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday with more.

The 10th Monster Mania convention, a.k.a. Monster Mania X, is set to begin on March 14th with guests galore!

This year's Monster Mania convention circuit begins strong with the legendary Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, Burn Notice) headlining the guest list. Other fantastic guests include:

• JoBeth Williams (Poltergeist, Dexter)
• Corey Feldman (The Lost Boys, Friday the 13th)
• Malcolm McDowell (Rob Zombie's Halloween, A Clockwork Orange, Heroes)
• Heather Langenkamp (Nightmare on Elm Street)
• Zach Galligan (Gremlins, Waxworks)
• Keith David (They Live, The Thing)
• William Ragsdale (Fright Night, The Reaping)
• Jason Mewes (The Tripper, Scream 3)
• & More!

Reunions
Each convention, the folks at Monster Mania have highlighted a special reunion of guests, and this year is no exception with a collection of stars from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre!

Events
Events include Question & Answer sessions with all the guests and a special tribute to Ben Chapman.

Ben Chapman Tribute
Ben Chapman, one of the creature stars of The Creature From the Black Lagoon, was a frequent guest of Monster Mania and a truly sweet man. He will be honored on Friday night with a special tribute.

"Sadly our good friend BEN CHAPMAN has passed away. We mourn his passing and miss him terribly. Ben was the person who was instrumental in helping us launch our first Monster-Mania and we owe everything to him."
-MonsterMania.net

Films
The film list includes the WORLD PREMIERE of Chronicles of an Exorcism with an introduction by the star, Matthew Ashford (Days of Our Lives). Other films include the Evil Dead trilogy, Madman Pondo: Wrestling Behind the Scenes, Rob Zombie's Halloween, and more.

The Nitty & the Gritty:
What: Monster Mania X
Where: Cherry Hill, NJ (outside of Philadelphia)
When: March 14-16, 2008
Who: Anyone can attend. It might be of note to parents that some, if not all, of the films have R ratings.
How much: Ticket costs run from $20 to $40. A pre-show pass is also offered. Check for specifics.
Why: Because you love horror movies, everyone involved in making them, shopping, and making new friends!

Check back for more about Monster Mania X!

With Love from Yahoo! Movies, the OFFICIAL Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull trailer!

If that's not enough for you, here are some more Indy resources:

• Indiana Jones on Yahoo! Movies

• The Indiana Jones 4 Blog

• The Raider.net

• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull MySpace Page

• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Facebook Page

"One of my first films was 'Mister Rogers Gets a Tonsillectomy,'" Romero says, "Possibly the scariest film I ever made."

In honor of tomorrow's release of George Romero's Diary of the Dead, I highly recommend you get your hands on a copy of Vanity Fair's March 2008 edition, The Hollywood Issue.

Buried deep within the pages, is "Killer Instincts" by Jason Zinoman, a fabulous six page look at the horror movie.

...George Romero's Night of the Living Dead gave shocking birth to the modern horror movie. Romero, Tobe Hooper..., Wes Craven..., and John Carpenter...look at the billion-dollar result.

-Vanity Fair, March 2008

Also included in this issue is the fabulous, though slightly miscast (Robert Downey, Jr. as Cary Grant?! WTF? Are you MAD?!), Hollywood Portfolio: Hitchcock Classics. (The website has a 'behind the scenes' of the shoots.)

Grab a copy, and tell us what you think.

UpcomingHorrorMovies.com has a trailer for the long awaited flick My Name is Bruce. My Name is Bruce stars the amazing Bruce Campbell as, well, Bruce Campbell.

In the film, small town teenagers are up to their usual tricks: releasing an ancient Chinese curse. So the town brings in an expert. Evil maniacs, evil aliens, evil mummies, evil dead. The man has fought them all. The expert? Bruce Campbell.

He may not be a hero, but he's played one in the movies.

The movie has been screened and had a release date for 2007, but there is no further information.

Variety reports that Sienna Miller has been cast for the upcoming Paramount Pictures live-action G.I. Joe movie. Ms. Miller can be seen in such films as Stardust and Casanova. (Personally, I loved her in the short-lived Keen Eddie.)

Read more at Variety.com and keep up with all the latest G.I. Joe news here.

And speaking of the Baroness...

Check out this hysterical clip from G4's Attack of the Show.

With the Halloween season almost over, you still have time to enjoy Film.com's free Horror Film Festival

"With nine horror classics to choose from in our Free Horror Film Fest, you're bound to find something that will chill you to the bone."

Titles Include:
Night of the Living Dead
Dementia 13
Horror Hotel
Black Sabbath
The Ape
I Eat Your Skin
Mania
My Son the Vampire
Countess Dracula

Free Horror Film Festival

Check out the celebrity Halloween costume gallery, too! Yet more proof that Neil Patrick Harris is freaking awe....wait for it....SOME!!!

Celebrity Halloween Costume Photo Gallery

Scream 2007

Posted Sep 12, 2007

The Best in Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror and Comics voted by you! Tune in Tuesday October 23rd at 10pm for the Scream 2007 only on Spike

Actor Bruce Campbell is featured on Portland's Live Wire! October 20 at the Aladdin Theater. Campbell has starred in such cult classics as "Evil Dead" and "Bubba Ho-Tep."

Campbell will be joined by Mike Richardson from Dark Horse Comics to discuss their collaboration on the upcoming zombie-riffic film, "My Name is Bruce," due out soon this fall.

Also appearing on Live Wire! this month is Viva Voce, the band Venus magazine called "a dark and seductive fuzzed-out pool of rock." Live Wire! is the last Portland appearance for the band before it launches its East Coast tour on October 26 with Jimmy Eat World.

Loch Lomond, Portland's own chamber folk ensemble, plays Live Wire! in support of its new cd, "Paper the Walls," on Hush Records. The national release for "Paper the Walls" is October 17.

Rick Huddle, storyteller extraordinaire, joins the line-up to regale the theater audience with another personal and hilarious tale.

All these fabulous guests, plus original sketch comedy from Faces For Radio Theater, music from Ralph Huntley and the Mutton Chops, and host Courtenay Hameister.

Details:
Saturday, October 20 at Aladdin Theater (3017 SE Milwaukie Avenue)
Doors at 7 PM; Show at 8 PM
Tickets are $12 advance, $15 day of show
Available through Aladdin box office or http://www.aladdin-theater.com

For more information, contact Amy Stephens at 503.297.0621

About Live Wire!
Live Wire! is a radio variety show recorded in front of a theater audience at the Aladdin Theater and broadcast on Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB).
The show includes original sketch comedy, illuminating interviews and local and national musical guests. www.livewireradio.org