Alright folks, this is it. There’s a lot of stuff I want to get to in this column, including finally getting through my Comic-con coverage, and then I’m officially kicking off the Halloween season right away. There may not be a lot out there lately worth watching, but at my house I’ve been packing in the Martial Arts mayhem, and right now I’m prepping for my annual Horror movie marathon. Then to finish the year out, we’ve got a full slate of awesome coming, from Avatar to Black Dynamite to Ninja Assassin, plus new movies from Peter Jackson and John Hillcoat. Things are looking up. Plus, there’s a few surprises along the way.
Before we can get to all that though, I’ve got some stuff to wrap up, so here goes…
The Visionaries
“James Cameron and Peter Jackson get together and talk about movies for an hour.” That’s what they could have just called this panel. Two of the Kings of Geek came together and talked about everything from the state of movies to the stuff that influenced them personally and I got to sit 30 feet from them and hear the whole conversation. And yet, I almost didn’t even want to sit through this.
Now don’t get me wrong. I love the work of these two men and consider them both film geniuses. I would imagine a panel in the ’80s with Spielberg and Lucas would have been like listening to these two. On the other hand at the time of this panel, which was the very last one of the evening, I had been sitting in Hall H for about 10 hours or so, and had very little to eat and due to the awful seating, I was having a hard time sitting down at this point. These weren’t plush office chairs or even movie theater seats. These were your run of the mill convention chairs and after a number of hours the discomfort gets kind of bad.
Yet, if I had left I would have missed the absolute best panel of the entire convention.
It’s kind of a geek’s dream to just get to sit there and hear the two of them talk about pushing the envelope of the medium they work in, Cameron even campaigning for a 3D version of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, while the two of them discussed how motion capture was going to change the business. One of my favorite bits was when the two of them discussed the upcoming Tin Tin films and how they were coming along, as well as Cameron’s trip to the film set and getting to hang out with Jackson and Steven Spielberg. Apparently there was some time spent prank calling George Lucas, which is exactly how I would hope these men would spend their time.
There was a scary moment when an apparent crazy person rushed the stage with a water gun, and took a drink of water from the glass of Peter Jackson before security carted him off. Thankfully, nothing really happened and the two of them went on as if nothing happened. Hopefully, this won’t discourage them from attending future events.
At the end of the evening though, I couldn’t have been happier with the results of this panel. Getting into the mind of these two at the same time was something that I don’t think any other audience or festival crowd had ever been able to do before, and that’s a lot of what Comic-con is about. That’s what makes it special, and I hope I’ll get to go back.
Screenings!
Now, onto some movies! In addition to the panels at Comic-con, I also had the privilege of attending some screenings while I was there and there’s one I’d like to get to here in this column. I did have fun at the premiere of Green Lantern: First Flight, which was hosted by Justice League Unlimited creator Bruce Timm, in which I had a total geek out moment as Timm lead a few thousand of us in reciting the Green Lantern Oath. I also had a memorable experience at the world premiere of Thomas Jane’s new film Give ‘em Hell, Malone, which was certifiably awful, and finished with a panel in which Jane was sitting on top of a table, barefoot, babbling a bit, with an unlit cigar in his hand.
Screening #1: Trick ‘r Treat
The best film I saw at the con by far though, was Trick ‘r Treat. Heading to home video in the next few weeks, Michael Dougherty’s Horror anthology is, without a doubt, the best movie about Halloween since Michael Myers first visit to Haddonfield in 1978. This is a fully realized film that succeeds where movies like Creepshow and Twilight Zone: The Movie failed before them. With four interlocking stories, we get some classic Horror hijinks that is pretty much non-stop fun from beginning to end, with terrific performances from Brian Cox, Anna Paquin, and a creepy as all get out turn by Dylan Baker. I suppose the less you know about the film the better, but I’ll say that if you’re into monsters, ghosts, creepy kids, creepy kids with pumpkin heads, and well written Horror movies that bank on atmosphere instead of gore, this should be right up your alley.
This is one of the most egregious examples of a studio handling a film’s release that I can think of. Really, why wasn’t this released theatrically this Halloween instead of releasing on home video? The movie’s garnered nothing but positive word of mouth, and the response at my own screening was so overwhelmingly positive that it absolutely befuddles me that Warner Bros. is burying this movie. Do they not like potential franchises? Do they think that no other horror films can succeed in October except for the Saw series? You really dropped the ball this time WB.
Still, I got to see the movie on a big screen and the movie is finally going to be out on DVD and Blu-ray this month, so at least people will get to see it, just not with the same experience I got.
Scarefest and Screening #2: Friday the 13th, Part VII: The New Blood
So from one convention to another, the best event that comes to my backwater part of Kentucky, Scarefest, had its second annual affair a couple of weeks ago, and again I had a blast getting to see some of my favorite Horror movie icons up close. Sure, it’s not Comic-con, but for Horror fans, it’s a terrific time. Danielle Harris, from various Halloween sequels and remakes was there, as was Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and Kane Hodder, who is responsible for my favorite portrayals of Jason Voorhees, having played the hockey-mask-wearing psycho from Friday the 13th, Part VII through Jason X.
My favorite of the bunch though, was getting to meet Ken Foree. For those that don’t know, Foree is the star of films such as the original Dawn of the Dead and Leatherface – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, and each time I’ve seen him on screen, the guy is an unstoppable force of awesome, tearing through bad guys and zombies alike. I’m a huge fan of his work, and I think he’s the absolute best part of some of his recent outings, including his supporting role in The Devil’s Rejects and his cameo in Rob Zombie’s version of Halloween. Getting to meet the man was a real treat, and it’s an awesome experience to meet a person who you’ve admired and find out how gracious they are.
While I was getting his autograph, a person also stole a poster from his table and I wished I could have stuck around to see Foree catch and then beat the crap out of said scumbag. I also got to pick up a signed copy of Foree’s short film Black Santa’s Revenge which is just as awesome as it sounds and was somehow looked over by the Academy this year in that category. The absolute highlight of the festival, I hope to see Mr. Foree kicking ass in something new as soon as possible.
Lastly, my Scarefest experience closed this year with a screening of Friday the 13th, Part VII: The New Blood, which is my absolute favorite of the series. The movie is the prototypical zombie-fied Voorhees vs. your regular crew of unsuspecting teens plus one girl with telekinetic powers. In a “Jason vs. Carrie”-like setup, you get an awesome showdown with our heroine really doing a number on Voorhees throughout the film, only to watch Jason come back again and again for more. I really wish Freddy vs. Jason had been this much fun.
Also of note, Weekend at Bernie’s Terry Kiser stars as the girl’s abusive psychiatrist in the movie, and this is as slimy as a Friday the 13th character can get. He even sacrifices the girl’s mother in an attempt to escape, only to fall victim to Jason’s very special gardening techniques with a weed whacker. If only somehow this movie were the prequel to Weekend at Bernie’s, but oh well.
Alright, that’s it for this week folks. Be back soon with more Horror movie awesomeness.
