Author Archive
Posted by Michael in Home Page Top Story, Interviews, Latest News, Movies on August 18th, 2010
by Joe Nazzaro
What a difference two years make. When writer/director Guillermo del Toro first announced his plans to co-write and direct Peter Jackson’s long-awaited adaptation of The Hobbit, that news was met with a somewhat mixed response. While del Toro had often been associated with darker genre fare such as Pan’s Labyrinth or The Devil’s Backbone, there was little doubt that the gifted filmmaker would bring a unique sensibility to the project, which would be split into two films.
But earlier this summer, del Toro announced that he was leaving The Hobbit after working on the screenplay for both installments and overseeing most of the design for part one. The reason for his departure was the continuing lack of a start date for production in the wake of rights co-owner MGM’s continuing financial problems. With obvious reluctance, and no shortage of high-profile projects awaiting his attention, del Toro and his family returned to America.
It’s a few weeks later and the visibly weary filmmaker is sitting in a San Diego hotel suite, an untouched lunch in front of him as he finally nears the end of a long day of press interviews. He’s come to Comic Con International to promote the upcoming release of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, a remake of the little-known 1973 TV movie about a couple that inherits an old mansion inhabited by tiny demon-like creatures. The new version, which stars Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce, is directed by Troy Nixey and produced by del Toro from a screenplay he co-wrote with Matthew Robbins. While reaction to the film has been hugely positive, its coverage has been somewhat blunted by Disney’s recent announcement that del Toro would be tackling a remake of The Haunted Mansion, which had been previously made as a less-than-successful 2003 comedy starring Eddie Murphy. Not only that, but there is no shortage of questions about other del Toro-related projects, including The Witches, Frankenstein and At the Mountains of Madness to name a few.
For the sake of clarity, let’s get The Haunted Mansion out of the way first. “That’s not the next movie I do,” notes del Toro. “That’s the next movie we announced after The Hobbit. The next movie I’m going to do is actually going to be announced in two weeks and it’s a project that has been with me for 13 years.
“The reality is, The Haunted Mansion came as an opportunity and being a Haunted Mansion nut, I couldn’t pass it up. But it’s not even written; there is no screenplay yet. It’s just the announcement.”
Del Toro is much more interested in discussing Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, which will be released by Miramax on January 21, 2011. As far as the reason for remaking a semi-obscure TV horror film from the seventies, “When a movie is ingrained in you, in a way it becomes yours,” is the response. “The other day I finally found a story I read as a kid. For forty years I’ve been looking for it because I’ve never seen it reprinted anywhere else, so every bookstore I went, I looked for it and finally last week I found the damn story. I’ve been Googling it since Google came out and Yahoo before that and I finally found the story, but when I read it, I found that I had made up three-quarters of what it is.
“The same thing happened to me with Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. The movie I loved as a kid when I saw it again in the nineties, I said, ‘Jesus, I made up most of the stuff that I liked the most!’ The stuff that was there was great, but I felt I did have a different take on that story and I feel it’s a genuine take. It’s not driven by mercantilism or numbers; no one was clamoring for this remake. If you put all the people who know Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark in one room, it would not be a very large room and yet it was driven by a genuine desire to honor that story.”
For the remake, which del Toro had planned to direct himself at one point, the mythology of the original creatures was changed entirely. “The ambiguity is still there,” he notes, “but it’s an ambiguity that has a different origin.
“In the original story, they were creatures that nobody knew where they came from, nobody knew what they wanted and nobody knew what happened other than they absorbed the people in the house, and I loved that ambiguity, but I wanted to make them have a more Algernon Blackwood/Arthur Machen root, which is they are ancient fairy entities that predate mankind and that love dragging people down like the children in fairy tales. I always found the notion of the tooth fairies very creepy, so I thought it would be really interesting to let you come to the realization that these could be really nasty tooth fairies and that changes a lot of things.
“We took a very calculated approach, because originally I wrote this movie to direct myself, so I was incredibly tactful and careful in writing it; but after Pan’s Labyrinth, I thought it was a repetition to do another tale about a dark fairy universe, with a young girl in the center, so I thought I was going to let somebody else take a whack at it.”
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is the latest project that del Toro has taken on as producer, putting a promising young filmmaker in the director’s seat, in this case Troy Nixey. It’s a role he wants to continue while directing his own projects, assuming one doesn’t preclude the other. “It does if something goes wrong, and I’ve had both experiences. I’ve had the experience where everything goes well and you are essentially a glorified bodyguard and then when it goes wrong, you have as equal a share of weight as the director.
“What I love about doing this is I can take risks that a normal producer doesn’t. I can go and support mainly first-time filmmakers, which gives us stuff like The Orphanage or Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, or I can support a filmmaker’s dream project, like Vincenzo Natali and Splice. He had been trying to make Splice for years and couldn’t get the money, so fortunately I became a vehicle for him to get that money, so it’s a real privilege. From now on, I’m trying to concentrate on first or second-time filmmakers and continuing to do that and trying to concentrate on really beautiful stuff that I want to present.”
Turning the subject to his own next project as director, del Toro shakes his head impatiently as if sensing that A) he’s going to have to go through the usual checklist of long-standing projects and B) there isn’t all that much he could say if one of them was about to happen. But surely these films have become metaphorical millstones around his neck, where he is forced to address them over and over until they’re produced or abandoned? “That’s the way I am,” he insists. “With the exception of The Hobbit, I have never given up on anything in my life. I had to renounce The Hobbit, not give it up, so it was a renunciation out of pure need and my situation being not sustainable anymore.
“Other than that, I stay with the stuff. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark took over 13 years to get made; I wrote it with Matthew Robbins in 1998. The movie I’m going to do next has been with me for the same amount of time. I still carry Monte Cristo with me, The List of Seven, The Wind in the Willows, The Witches; all those things I carry around as long as I can keep them alive. I would love to make them someday but some of them go away.”
Among the projects that del Toro can talk about is the third and final volume in his best-selling vampire trilogy, which was begun in The Strain and continued in The Fall. “I’m having a blast with it,” he declares with genuine enthusiasm. “I really cannot emphasize enough how much fun it is for me to write fiction; I really enjoy it, and how much of a kinder blank page it is for me. With the blank pages of a screenplay, you know you’re going to be in a cage of present; you have to write everything in present and you cannot write anything that you cannot demonstrate with the camera, so you’re very limited and you cannot even put any purple in the prose. So I’m doing that right now.
“There are a couple of left field things that are going to come over in the next couple of months, but I’m going to be starting a movie in May-June so it’s already decided what movie it is. The people that are going to be doing it with me are great but we are not yet at liberty to discuss it.” The director grins mischievously. “You know, I would love to whisper it in your ear. But it’s something, as I said, that has been with me for so long.”
It’s now been a month since that conversation took place. Just after Comic Con, the news was “leaked” that del Toro’s next project was indeed his adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story, At the Mountains of Madness, which would be shot as a 3-D film for Universal with no less than James Cameron acting as producer. It’s a project the director has wanted to do for years, which certainly tallies with the hints in the previous interview. With that in mind, was del Toro ready to confirm that news?
Well, the answer is not just yet. With the deal just about done, he still can’t make a formal announcement, which means the rest of this chat has to fall into the realm of hypothetical for now. “We hope everything goes right, and it would certainly be a dream to find the opportunity to do Mountains the way I have tried for nearly 15 years, but it’s still premature to announce that it’s a fact. We will know soon enough, but it’s still in progress.”
One fact that can be reported is del Toro’s relationship with Cameron, a long-time colleague and confidante. “We’ve been friends for 20 years now, and the one project I’ve wanted to do for those 20 years, before I even got the rights to write the screenplay, has been Mountains of Madness. So we’ve discussed it over the decades plenty of times, but the fact is, I’ve always found a moment to show Jim my movies before I locked the cut and he’s always given me the privilege of seeing his movies in the early stages.
“This interaction has given us both a really good taste of what it like to be working together so I do hope that everything comes to fruition and we do Mountains together, because it’s a great combination of a personal relationship. It’s also an incredible opportunity to get one of the finest minds on the planet going into the biggest adventure of my career.
“I think Jim is an ideal guy to bounce ideas off of; he loves the screenplay that Matthew Robbins and I wrote years ago, but I also have some really audacious ideas about designs and so forth, and you couldn’t ask for a better partner and sounding board than that, and it’s not just about the 3-D. It’s about having a really strong partnership in the moment when I feel I’m finally at a stage in my career and craft to tackle a movie this size.”
And while such discussions remain strictly hypothetical, it’s certainly worth mentioning that the technology finally exists to do justice to a film like At the Mountains of Madness, where they might not have been ready a decade or even five years ago. “I would agree with that,” concedes del Toro, “but it’s not just the technology; it’s also the fact that there are two or three movies in my list that are Holy Grails for me, that are mountaintops that I have to prepare to reach and Mountains is the one because as a director I feel that I finally have the tools to tackle it. It’s a very difficult movie from every perspective.”
While the status of Guillermo del Toro’s next project may still remain the subject of conjecture, there is no doubt whatsoever that the director is itching to get behind the camera again. “The reality is that part of the reason that made urgently needing to come back to Los Angeles was very direct,” he maintains. “I needed to start fulfilling the obligations and projects that were languishing or at risk of disappearing, so when I left New Zealand, I left with a very strong sense of purpose. I think what would be ideal is if my next film is a film I’ve been looking to do for a decade and a half.”
And that just leaves room for one more foray into the -ahem- hypothetical. “Look,” promises del Toro, “when we finally announce my next film, it may not be a surprising announcement. It may be something that people already know about, but it would be a complete and official and well-prepared announcement and hopefully won’t be just a leak or unofficial piece of news. I would love to be able to do a proper announcement on what my next movie is but as always, it’s taking more time than one expects!”
Discuss this story at the official Famous Monsters of Filmland Forum!
Comic Con photo credits: Eric Charbonneau
Posted by Michael in Arts, Books, Interviews, Latest News on August 2nd, 2010
by Jess Peacock
For most fans of the horror genre, Mick Garris (shown here at last month’s FM Con in Indianapolis) is perhaps best known as being Stephen King’s preferred darling director. Since 1992’s Sleepwalkers, Garris has adapted The Stand, The Shining, and Desperation for television, as well as a theatrical production of the novella Riding the Bullet. In addition, Garris is slated to direct the film adaptation of King’s superb supernatural mystery Bag of Bones.
What some might not be aware of, however, is that Garris has recurrently dipped his toes into the volatile world of dark fiction. His collected works of short stories, Life in the Cinema, as well as his full-length novel, Development Hell, are the result of a life inspired by the fantastic. “I was a serious reader from my earliest years,” he explains. “I always loved books and movies about the darker side. I grew up on Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson…Twilight Zone, the Universal classics…all of the stuff that litters the brain of a kid my age.”
“I think a lot of people in our genre are outcasts of a sort,” Garris continues. “They turn to books and movies and television for either a glimpse of a better world… or a worse one.”
Instrumental in Garris’ development as a genre aficionado was Forrest J Ackerman’s seminal magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland. “Famous Monsters was a huge influence!” he says. “This was the first time that I ever saw that there were other people like me who liked this stuff! It was a great awakening, and I hope the relaunch can instill the emotional connection to the genre that the magazine did under Forry.”
While filmmaking is Garris’ raison d’être, he has consistently written fiction as an outlet for his creativity. “I approach it as therapy,” he reveals. “Writing fiction is more personal than filmmaking as it only involves myself telling a tale to the reader. And the short form is a lot easier and a lot of fun.”
It was Garris’ passion for short stories that provided his first opportunity for publication with A Life in the Cinema. “I decided that I had enough short stories published that I could collect them and maybe get them published in a stand-alone book. A Life in the Cinema was a short story I originally wrote for David Schow’s collection, Silver Scream. I loved the character at the center of that story, and thought it was time to revisit him, so I wrote a sequel [Starf**ker] that picked up where the first had left off.”
A Life in the Cinema, published in 2000, is a dark, kinky, and altogether twisted collection of eight stories by Garris, dragging the reader on a bizarre excursion through the author’s id. From the murderous obsession of Chocolate (which Garris adapted for his Masters of Horror series), to the It’s Alive-inspired cinematic exploitation of a deformed baby, to horrific antics of necrophilia, Garris succeeds at creating unique individual narratives that convey the confidence of a far more seasoned writer.
“Development Hell came directly out of A Life in the Cinema and Starf**ker, Garris confides. “I still wanted to revisit that character and wrote another short story about him, picking up where Starf**ker left off. Every time I’d finish a film or something, I’d do another story in the same way.”
Garris took the bold step of allowing friend and sometimes collaborator Stephen King to read his collection of stories that chronicled an unnamed protagonist’s exploits in the fabled land of Hollywood. “He told me that it felt ‘like a loose novel’, and then the light bulb went off,” recalls Garris. “I finished the nine stories, knowing that they would all one day get published together. Then went back to the beginning and rewrote it with the mission of making it a self-contained novel.”
The resulting work, Development Hell (“It’s been surprisingly well received, even though it’s so profane and offensive”), emerged as a riotous violence and sex filled romp through “Lady Hollywood” by way of the significantly demented, yet uniquely informed lens of the author. Garris’ brisk prose guides the unnamed protagonist through a series of misadventures, ultimately discovering that, even in death, the bottom line in Tinseltown is the unforgiving judgment of the almighty Box Office.
Despite the modest success and positive feedback stemming from his two initial forays into dark fiction, Garris assures his fans that he is, foremost, a filmmaker. “There are many filters when you make a film,” he explains. “Directing is a creative explosion, where you’re…surrounded by stimulating, creative individuals all working hard to realize your vision.”
That doesn’t mean, however, that the director has abandoned the written word. “I’m writing all the time,” Garris says in response to his future writing plans. “This year I’ve written a couple of screenplays and a pilot and I’m still doing short stories. I had three of them published in collections this year. And I like all of it.”
Discuss this story in the official Famous Monsters of Filmland Forum!
Posted by Michael in Arts, Books, Comics, Home Page Top Story, Interviews, Latest News on August 2nd, 2010
by Jess Peacock
Few people within the entertainment industry have so successfully mastered and effectively entertained the masses across multiple forms of media as Rob Zombie. From his outrageously popular albums with White Zombie and as a solo artist, to his directorial efforts on movies such as The Devil’s Rejects and his Halloween remake (the highest grossing Halloween installment in history), to the animated feature film The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, Zombie has emerged as a prototype of the culturally savvy post-modern Renaissance Man.
In addition to his well-documented exploits in music and cinema, Zombie has additionally carved out a thriving niche in the aggressive world of comic books. Since 2003’s Spookshow International title, the man known by millions as the Superbeast has maintained a steady presence in the four-color format. “I started collecting comics in the early 70’s,” he explains. “I remember the first book I ever bought was a Fantastic Four. Growing up, my comic tastes were pretty limited to either Marvel or DC. It seemed like there were only about ten titles, so it wasn’t hard to collect everything.”
Along with a sturdy diet of comics, this period of Zombie’s adolescence was also profoundly influenced by another publication: Famous Monsters of Filmland. “Famous Monsters was a part of that weird time period I remember as a kid during the late 60s monster boom,” he recalls. “But there wasn’t that much to be had for a typical kid. It seems absurd now because everything is everywhere, but I remember convincing our parents to drive us somewhere so we could buy Famous Monsters because that’s all there was. And looking through them and thinking wow, check out all these movies that we’ll never see!”
“Famous Monsters of that time felt like a cool club,” Zombie continues. “It wasn’t judgmental, because everyone reading it loved monsters.”
Bolstered by his devotion to comics and monsters, Zombie’s unique path through life was essentially assured. Before embracing superstardom, he worked as an art director for a porn magazine and as a production assistant for the television series Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, ultimately rocketing to national prominence with his band White Zombie. The success of his music career opened numerous creative doors that the tireless entertainer had been hoping to explore.
In 2003, Zombie and writer Steve Niles pooled their talents to form CREEP Entertainment International, a collective steeped in both men’s love of comics and all things horrific. “It is a rare moment when you can find someone to collaborate with,” remarks Zombie. “We did a couple of books together. The Nail was my idea, and we did another one, Bigfoot, which was his idea. And we each had one more thing but we didn’t get to go any further.” The venture at the time was intended to encompass movies and music, including a rumored Lords of Salem comic that would feature an album to be released in conjunction with the book. “For whatever reason we only did the two books. It was fun. We’re still friends and nothing ended for bad reasons. I had movies and he was busy with other comics.”
“I don’t feel like I’m up to speed enough [on comics] because I don’t really have time to read the books anymore,” Zombie says in regard to the current comic book scene. With a packed schedule of writing and recording albums, touring, publicity appearances, and writing and directing movies, it’s a miracle the horror rocker has time for any side projects at all. Fortunately, the storyteller in Zombie had something to say, and Image Comics gave him the forum to express himself with the recently released Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock?
“The inspiration came from living in Hollywood and from people I know,” Zombie explains of the eight-issue comic which reveals the fickle nature of celebrity through the story of Leon Stokes and his alter ego, the television horror host Baron Von Shock. “I don’t want to mention their names, but there are several people I’m friends with that are sort of that type of personality. They did a movie role 25 years ago and that’s their entire identity. One friend in particular…if a studio remade his movie and didn’t ask him to be in it he’d be so crushed, he would be destroyed.”
Unleashed on May 26, issue 1 of Baron Von Shock stunned the industry, and Zombie, by selling out in less than a week. “It took me by surprise, because you never know what to expect,” he says. “It’s not like playing a show and sensing what people are feeling. You just do the comic and it goes out into this vacuum. But the feedback has been amazing!”
More realistic in tone, Baron Von Shock eschews the signature creeps and beasties of Zombie’s previous comics work such as Spookshow International, Bigfoot, and The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, for a more dramatic, and surprisingly cinematic, storyline. “I kind of saw it as a movie,” he explains. “Baron Von Shock was something I had sitting around for a long, long time. And I hate when a project hangs in limbo. That’s why I thought I’d turn it into a comic, then a graphic novel, then you have something concrete that makes it getting turned into a movie that much easier.”
“With something like Superbeasto which was just every kid’s idea of what Scooby-Doo could be if it were filthy, there wasn’t a master plan,” he continues. “I would literally make it up as I went along. With Baron Von Shock I actually wrote the whole thing as a finished script from start to finish so it actually made sense. It’s more real life stuff, so there’s no cheap ways out of it.”
“The great thing about the people I’m working with on Shock,” Zombie adds, “Is that I was allowed to do whatever I wanted. My comics are a way of getting things out of my system, but it’s really hard to find people you can work with. We had one person who started the book and bowed out after a couple of pages. Some can’t draw nudity and some don’t like the language.”
With the release and success of Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock? (“It’s the classic Hollywood story”), Rob Zombie has once again proven that his appeal as a multimedia horror auteur has far from waned. With regard to potential future plans in comics, Zombie is open, yet noncommittal. “There are a few ideas I have partially written that, again, if I can find a good artist that gets it, I want to do. So I’m just looking for the right person.”
Discuss this story in the official Famous Monsters of Filmland Forum!
Posted by Michael in Books, Home Page Top Story, Latest News, Movies, Press on May 6th, 2010
Over 50 years and 249 issues (give or take!) in the making! Famous Monsters of Filmland is proud to present, for your entertainment, the sometimes inspiring and sometimes shocking, at turns awe-inducing and yet occasionally quite absurd, remarkable yet for the most part obscure, not-entirely-true history of perhaps the greatest (or at least one of the most ubiquitous) cameo and walk-on performers of all time: Forrest J Ackerman!
This special celebratory issue of FM is devoted to discussion of dozens of cinematic classics (and not-so-classics) from several decades of filmmaking — all seemingly unconnected, yet linked forever in fandom’s minds and hearts by the presence (however unnoticed) of the unforgettable Ackermonster. We’re talking Dracula vs. Frankenstein, Queen of Blood, Kentucky Fried Movie, the 1976 production of King Kong, Equinox, Return of the Living Dead Part 2, and many, many (too many?) more!
Our tongue-in-cheek salute to our Uncle Forry’s illustrious film career will close out the previous era of FM and point the way to the new. Join us, won’t you? Now available for ordering in our online store!
Discuss FM #250 in the official Famous Monsters of Filmland Forum!
NOTE: FM will be honoring all legitimate orders for FM #250 placed with Filmland Classics through March 31, 2010. Please see this page for more information. This issue will not ship before June 21, 2010.
Posted by Michael in Arts, Latest News, Movies on May 4th, 2010
By Joe Nazzaro
At first glance, it could be considered a thankless assignment: creating the elaborate prosthetic makeup for Jackie Earle Haley, who was playing Freddy Krueger in the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. After all, the character had already been played in nearly a dozen films, making him one of the most recognizable faces in horror history.
But that wasn’t about to stop makeup effects wizard Andrew Clement from Creative Character Engineering, who was able to create a look for Haley’s Freddy that was new and distinct while still paying homage to elements of the original. Clement recently took time to discuss his work on the film, which includes a couple of memorable moments that unfortunately didn’t make the final cut…
JN: How did you originally get involved in the Nightmare on Elm Street remake?
Andrew Clement: I had worked with one of the producers on Repo Men. He told me that it was going to be happening and wanted to get me in to meet some people, so I did a little research and discovered that there had been rumors for somebody else to be in the role. It was Billy Bob Thornton, so in preparation for whoever I was going to be meeting, I started knocking out a design or two based on Billy Bob, just to see how he was going to look in a version of the makeup. And then I met with [director] Sam Bayer and Andrew Form and Sam Fuller the producers and we really hit it off so I did some designs based on what we talked about at that meeting and ultimately they awarded me the film.
JN: I can’t help thinking this could be a no-win situation for a makeup designer, because you’re basically recreating an iconic character. Were you worried about that?
AC: I knew that it was sort of going to be a no-win situation with a portion of the fans, and I’ve always had a lot of respect for the original makeup. I thought Kevin [Yagher] and all the parties involved with it did a great job, but one of the things that I did when we started really talking about the new film, I went through my files where I had photos of all the Freddy makeups that had been done over the years, and I put them up on my bulletin board in film order so that I could see the arc of what Freddy was over the years and what somebody would accept. There have been a lot of different versions over the years, so I figured there was some room for a different interpretation. I knew that I wouldn’t please everybody, but I was hoping that I would please some of the people. And of course my biggest concern was pleasing the director and having everybody who was there confident with what they could work with.
JN: Was there anything they specifically wanted or didn’t want to see?
AC: In the beginning when I was first doing all the design iterations, I did everything from things that were really fantasy-oriented to things that were grounded in burn makeups; some very subtle things where the actor really showed through. At this point, I knew that they were really interested in having Jackie play the character and as soon as I heard that they were considering Jackie, I was like, “Oh, he’s the guy!” I hadn’t seen Little Children, but I had known his work from when he was a kid and I knew that he had played Rorschach [in Watchmen] and knew what he would be capable of, so I thought he would be perfect. So I really started focusing my designs on him. I also had Tully Summers doing some 3D concepts for me, and Constantine Sekeris was doing some concepts and we were all feeding off of each other, so that was a lot of fun and we ultimately got it down to this one design that everybody really liked.
JN: If you’re basically creating what amounts to a stylized burn makeup, is there a line you have to be careful about so it doesn’t become too horrific?
AC: You’re absolutely right, but I think we’re actually saved by the virtue of the fact that it is a makeup. To look at an actual burn victim on screen — I have some unfortunate reference material that’s really difficult to look at it and it’s very heartbreaking. They’re so far gone that it’s difficult to believe that somebody could survive with their face looking like that. You just couldn’t look at them, but I have Jackie’s eyelids and his humanity still there. I couldn’t really get rid of his lips with a regular makeup without going to a false front or pulling them back ridiculously far with silk or something like that. But I think you’re right, and we tried to keep it bloodless so it wasn’t dripping and oozing and all these terrible things. It was fairly dry and it was a healed burn so I think we ended up striking a nice balance that doesn’t go too far.
JN: Was there a lot of other work on the film aside from the Freddy makeup?
AC: For the re-shoots, we actually did a makeup of Jackie being burned, so there’s a shot of him in the process of becoming Freddy. They called me up and said, “We want something to show that this is happening, so what can we do?” I actually dragged out some of my original concept art that I had done and said, “Well, this looks like Jackie on the way,” and they said, “Perfect!” So we did one full-face silicone appliance that we glued on, that was nice and subtle, so you can still see it’s Jackie, but you can also see that he’s on his way to becoming Freddy. We also did Freddy’s victims, so we did all of the traditional four-slash appliances from his blades.
We also did six or seven full bodies of people, some of which were pretty complicated. One of them was the character of Chris for whom we made this whole mechanical rig inside the dummy. Freddy is supposed to kill her by smashing her head into the ceiling so I said, “Let’s do it so when she bashes that ceiling, her neck can get broken in a way that he’s clearly broken her neck!” We built an aluminum and steel armature into the dummy so you could slam it into the ceiling and the head would telescope and bend down so the shoulders could actually hit the ceiling. They ended up never using it so that was a shame, because we spent a lot of time getting it just right.
There was another effect that got cut, where the character of Quentin is seen in a dream and we did a little riff on something that Sam had done for a music video, where someone unzips their head and another character is inside, but in this film, it was supposed to be Quentin who unzips himself and Freddy comes out. What we had to do was make an oversized Quentin head, so we took a life cast of Quentin and tooled it up and then we made a silicone negative that we swelled in kerosene until it was large enough that we could actually make a Quentin skin that Jackie could fit inside and actually unzip himself out of. It’s unfortunate it was cut from the film because it looked really nice.
JN: What are you happiest with as far as your work on Nightmare is concerned?
AC: I’m really happy with the entire film. I think for as incredibly compressed as pre-production was… we didn’t get Jackie until the 11th hour; we were stuck in negotiations, so my build on that makeup was incredibly tight. I needed to stay on my feet and be aware of all the changes, so to come up with what we came up with was really nice. I’m terrifically proud of everything we did on that film. Working on that makeup is like looking at the Star Destroyer from Star Wars: you’ve got people who analyze every little piece of plastic that’s put on this thing, and even trying to reproduce it, so I really want everything to be carefully thought out and not fudged at all. It’s definitely going to be compared to something, but I think this makeup does stand on its own.
Discuss this story at the official Famous Monsters of Filmland Forum!
Posted by Michael in Latest News, Press on April 19th, 2010
Update:
In a deal finalized with a signed agreement on Sunday, April 18, 2010, Famous Monsters of Filmland (in the person of Philip Kim) acquired the rights to publish FM #250 from former publisher Ray Ferry. Contrary to internet rumors, no physical copies of this issue were ever printed. The delivery was in a PDF format of print ready files. After reviewing the PDF material, the FM staff has decided to prepare and produce an issue in line with fans’ expectations. This won’t take long, we ask for your patience.
We are going to fill all legitimate orders of issue #250 originally placed with Filmland Classics. To claim your copy (or copies), you must have ordered and paid in full for the issue prior to March 31st, 2010. You must also submit proof of purchase, such as dated PayPal payment confirmation and/or canceled check, that is dated on or before March 31st, 2010. The claim must match Filmland Classics’ order manifest to claim the magazine. IMPORTANT: No cash orders, or orders that were paid for after March 31st, will be filled. Philip Kim and Famous Monsters of Filmland reserve all rights to scrutinize and/or refuse fulfillment of issue #250 for any reason.
You may submit your proof of purchase digitally to:
FM250@famousmonsters.com
or, physically, by postal mail to:
Famous Monsters of Filmland
PO Box 19123
Encino, CA 91416
Do NOT send original receipts to the PO Box. They will not be returned. Send photocopies only. Also, please be sure in all cases to provide your mailing address.
Please note that this offer ONLY applies to FM #250. If you have any other outstanding orders with Filmland Classics, including posters, you’ll have to contact them directly. We purchased only the rights to FM #250. In the event that you have placed an order for other items along with your copy (or copies) of FM #250, please provide the proof of purchase as noted above, but be aware that the only part of your order we will fulfill will be for FM #250.
Additionally, no refunds for this issue will be offered by FM for any copies not originally sold by us. If you choose not to receive the issue, you need simply not respond. Chances are we’ll contact you anyway — we can’t simply assume that everyone who placed an order will see this post, and we’ll do our best to track down anyone on the manifest we haven’t heard from. Again, though, fulfillment of this offer will consist only of the printed edition of FM #250. Please note also that any orders placed with Filmland Classics for FM #250 after March 31, 2010 will not be honored.
At this time we are taking new orders for #250.
We’ll leave this thread open to answer any further questions that you may have. We hope that you’re still looking forward to it as much as we now are!
Posted by Michael in Press on April 13th, 2010
Famous Monsters of Filmland is seeking contributions from fans, any age, anywhere, to help us celebrate the legacy and legend of Forrest J Ackerman.
In keeping with our promise to continue the traditions that have made FM beloved for generations of Monster Kids, we are planning to honor Uncle Forry in our upcoming relaunch issue, #251 — but we need your help. If you have recollections of Forry — whether you knew him for years, you’d corresponded with him or just met him in passing – we want to preserve those memories and those relationships.
THE ACKERMONSTER SHALL NOT DIE! …and with your generous and heartfelt help, he never will.
So what can you do? And how? Glad you asked. At the bottom of this very article, you’ll see an orange box that offers you the chance to “Make a Comment.” Simply enter your name (your real name, please), a valid email address so we can get back to you if we have any questions, and then tell us whatever you’d like to tell us about Uncle Forry. When finished, click the “Post Your Comment” button. You won’t see your comment, but we will. Please do not post your Comments on our Forum — we’ll only be looking for them here.
We’ll be collecting comments throughout the remainder of April, but the sooner you contribute yours, the better the chances of it seeing print. We should say upfront that it’s very unlikely that we’ll be able to print all the comments we receive, but when #251 sees print in July we’ll see what we can do about making more of them visible here on the site. Trust us. We know the editor.
And now, the necessary legalese:
By contributing statements to the Comments section below, you (the contributor) agree to give Movieland Classics, LLC, without compensation or guarantee of publication, unrestricted usage, right and permission to copyright your statements at Movieland Classics, LLC’s discretion. If you do not agree, please do not contribute!
Thank you!
UPDATE: The Comments section is back up and running. Thanks for your patience!
Posted by Michael in Latest News, Press on April 6th, 2010
The staff of Famous Monsters of Filmland is pleased to announce the arrival of Jessie Lilley to its ranks as Editor.
As a publisher and editor of small press magazines for over 20 years, Jessie brings an impressive wealth of experience to the pages of FM, and has already had an immediate effect on the production of #251, the relaunch issue scheduled for release in July. “I asked Jessie to write a piece for #251, and over the course of our discussions I think we both slowly realized that she had a lot to offer on the other side of the desk as well,” said FM Editor in Chief Michael Heisler. “We danced around the topic until, ultimately, her first achievement as Editor was to hire herself! Seriously, Jessie has joined us as we’re heading into the home stretch of putting FM #251 together, and we couldn’t be happier to have her aboard.”
Senior Manager Philip Kim adds “Jessie’s one more vital piece of the FM mosaic. She brings a familiarity with the established horror and sci-fi fan base, while completely understanding our plans to reach out to new fans. The magazine’s relaunch, along with our expanding web presence and our Famous Monsters Convention this summer, will introduce readers to an entirely new world of Famous Monsters.”
Jessie Lilley is organized, bright, intuitive, and shows a good deal of common sense. It’s a very good thing for the magazine that she was selected for the job.
– Laura Brodian Freas, Trustee, The Frank Kelly Freas Estate
Jessie is the best kind of professional in this field because she knows the deep need of fans to care about talented people who made the choice to be creative. Our heroes had many other choices than to build dreams so vividly that we rediscovered our own imaginations. Jessie moves effortlessly between the world of fantasy and the world of hard work.
– Brad Linaweaver, Prometheus Award Winner
Famous Monsters of Filmland #251 will ship in July from IDW Publishing, but Jessie’s presence will be felt immediately at our new online message board, the Famous Monsters of Filmland Forum. Join us there!
Posted by Michael in Latest News, Movies, Reviews on April 2nd, 2010
So there’s this 3D movie starring Sam Worthington, playing an outsider who joins up with a group of folks desperate to save their homeland from, as it turns out, Sam’s own people. Sam goes to some effort trying to convince his new allies that they needn’t fear or suspect him, and along the way he fights a bunch of strange monsters and even gets to soar into battle on the back of a flying mount. And this movie is not called Avatar. Still with me?
In all fairness, I’m sure that the filmmakers behind the new remake of Clash of the Titans (opening today nationwide) weren’t looking to so strongly evoke the themes and situations of James Cameron’s gazillion-dollar grossing pic; in fact, there are any number of literary experts, film historians and/or conspiracy theorists who’ll be only too happy to turn that comparison on its head and tell you the original source of every frame in Avatar. On the other hand, it wasn’t Cameron who added trendy 3D effects to his film at practically the last minute (and I’m sorry to say that that’s exactly how they come across in Titans: as an eleventh-hour afterthought).
Worthington stars as Perseus, the foster son of a poor fisherman (Pete Postlethwaite) who discovered him as a baby, abandoned off the coasts of Ancient Greece. Perseus is raised to adulthood without the slightest clue as to his true origins, until the day when his family’s boat is wrecked, and he left the only survivor, during what amounts to a temper tantrum by the god of the Underworld, Hades. Seems the pantheon of gods, led by Zeus (represented here by the mortal form of Liam Neeson), is none too happy with the diminishing quality of worship they’ve been receiving from their earthbound children. Hades has gotten the bright idea of reinstilling, literally, the fear of god(s) back into the human race, and he visits the royal hall of the city of Argos to give them the choice of either sacrificing the lovely princess Andromeda or seeing the entire city destroyed by the fury of the sea-dwelling behemoth, the Kraken. Because Perseus happens to be in the hall to witness this ultimatum, Hades also does him the favor of informing him that his true father is, in fact, Zeus. This being Ancient Greece where this sort of thing was commonplace, no one, including Perseus himself, questions this revelation for a second.
The Argosians are understandably less than thrilled to have one of the gods’ immediate family members among them, but Perseus, seeking revenge upon Hades over the loss of his foster family, convinces them that their enemy is also his enemy. So begins our adventure…and unfortunately, so the film begins to lose its way.
I’m of the opinion that critical analysis of a film should put aside any concerns as to whether it’s a remake (or a sequel, for that matter). There are films that are less entertaining than this one, and there are films that are more entertaining this one; into which category the original falls is really no more relevant to an assessment of the film at hand than into which category any other film lands (it’s okay, by the way, if you don’t agree; I’m just telling you how I get to here from there). However, there’s an aspect to these films that can’t escape a direct comparison, and that’s the effects work employed to create the monsters and mythological creatures that rear their heads throughout the telling of the stories.
The original film is notable for the classic stop-motion animation overseen by one of the true masters of the form, Ray Harryhausen. In 1981, this painstaking method of capturing the impossible on celluloid was already on its way out, thanks to the groundbreaking computer-assisted work done on Star Wars, CE3K, Superman: The Movie and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, among others. But it still had its charm, and more importantly, a real sense of “how’d -they-do-that?” You knew the monsters weren’t real. You knew the Kraken wasn’t a hundred feet high. You knew those weren’t real snakes in Medusa’s hair. But you also saw them all interacting with genuine grade-A human beings that you knew were real. So even on the rare occasion when a Harryhausen monster failed to impress, you still got a goofy grin on your face as you marveled at the attempt to create an image that most filmmakers would leave to the pages of a comic book.
With CGI, this is no longer than the case. When Perseus goes after the Medusa, spinning and flipping through the air with sword in hand, it’s just as likely that he’s a CGI creation as she. Now this is all well and good; every single inch of Wall-E was CGI, after all, and I still loved the movie. But that’s because I was given a reason to care about the characters and their fate, and this is where Titans falls down. Perseus is accompanied by a group of Argosians, many of whose names failed to register with me, assuming they were ever given in the film at all. Performances are almost interchangeable, with only Mads Mikkelsen (as Draco) and Liam Cunningham (as Solon, whose name I truly didn’t know until the credits rolled) standing out. Polly Walker is gorgeous, stately and impressive in a brief turn as Queen Cassiopeia, but there are three other brunettes that I could barely tell apart. Olympus and its gods are similarly vaguely defined; Neeson is appropriately regal as Zeus (though his costume is disappointingly unimaginative), and Ralph Fiennes makes the most of his role as Hades (even if, at times, you expect him to start ranting about Harry Potter), but the rest of the Pantheon might as well have been in the audience watching the film for all the effect they had on the story’s proceedings. Lastly, Perseus himself is a hero difficult to root for. Worthington plays him mainly with an unreadable glower, apparently resigned to his mission and somewhat resentful about the insistence of his fellow travelers that he take advantage of his demi-godly powers. There’s barely any hint of emotional intensity to his performance, and almost zero tension regarding his ability to achieve his goals and win the day.
Apart from the group’s journey to the Underworld — strikingly imagined, and Medusa is very well realized — there are few sequences that truly stand out. Director Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk, Unleashed) supposedly talked early choice Stephen Norrington into letting him helm this film instead, due to his familiarity with, and affection for, the original. Ultimately, however, the film might have been better served by a director exploring uncharted ground, hoping to infuse the audience with a sense of wonder, rather than one looking to emulate a childhood favorite.
Though I have to say that there’s an in-joke for fans of the original that definitely makes this version worth at least a rental.
For tickets and showtimes in your area, visit Fandango’s page for Clash of the Titans.
All images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. ©2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Legendary Pictures.
Posted by Michael in Events, Latest News on April 2nd, 2010
FamousMonsters.com is pleased and honored to re-present Steve Vertlieb’s touching tribute to our dear departed Forrest J Ackerman. We’re also very happy to report that Steve’s story is a finalist in this year’s Rondo Awards! Please visit the official Rondo Awards site for the chance to cast your ballot for this and many other outstanding nominees. Also, be sure to check out The Thunder Child, where Steve’s story originally ran.
THE MOST “FAMOUS MONSTER” OF THEM ALL
A Personal Remembrance of Forrest J Ackerman
by Steve Vertlieb
In a child-like land of dreams and dragons dwelt a Pied Piper of imagination, a Santa Claus of fantasy and horror, who lived in the mythical kingdom of Horrorweird, Karloffornia. His name was Forrest J Ackerman but, to his friends and colleagues, he was simply “Forry.”
A generation of wide- eyed children grew up under the spell of his magical influence beginning in 1958, at the tail end of the horror, science fiction and fantasy cycle of motion pictures that had dominated movie screens across the country.
Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine made its premiere appearance on news stands that year, an enchanted pictorial ticket to a fantasy domain unprecedented at the time.
Famous Monsters, or FM as it came to be known, was the first magazine devoted entirely to the horrific legacy of classic horror films, covering five decades of the misunderstood genre with loving attention. For lonely, imaginative children all over the world, Famous Monsters became a wondrous destination. Within its modest pages dinosaurs returned to life, werewolves and vampires stalked the vivid tableau of illustrated nightmares, and gargantuan creatures reached out from beyond their printed domain and pages to excite and exhilarate the senses. Famous Monsters of Filmland became home to millions of boys and girls, a refuge from the mundane, and a tantalizing invitation to unrealized realms of wonder and imagination.
Born November 24th, 1916, Forry reportedly picked up an issue of Amazing Stories Magazine in a drug store located at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Western Avenue in Hollywood at the age of nine, and was instantly hooked. At least, that’s the legend.
In 1929 he began the “Boy’s Science Fiction Club” and, by 1932, had become a founding member and Contributing Editor of The Time Traveler, the original fan publication devoted to science fiction. First Fandom seems to have begun in Clifton’s Cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles with the formation, by Ackerman and others, of “The Science Fiction Society,” a celebration of the genre by teenaged boys who included Ray Harryhausen and Ray Bradbury.
Their amateur magazine, Imagination, edited by a youthful Ackerman, published the first story by Ray Bradbury in a 1938 issue. During the Second World War, Ackerman edited a military newspaper at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro and, by the end of the war, had opened up his own literary agency. His reputation, honesty, and love for the genre attracted many of the top writers in the field to his representation, including Bradbury, Hugo Gernsback (the avowed “Father” of modern science fiction), Isaac Asimov, A.E. Van Vogt, and L. Ron Hubbard.
The original publication of Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine ran from 1958 until 1983, under the auspices of publisher James Warren and Warren Publications. As the magazine continued to garner success, it was joined by a happy coterie of brother and sister publications such as Monster World, Screen Thrills Illustrated (devoted to Saturday matinee cliffhangers, and edited by Sam Sherman), and Spacemen (devoted exclusively to science fiction films).
Forry was officially credited with inventing the term “Sci-Fi,” claiming that the inspiration came to him while listing to the radio in his car with wife, Wendayne, one afternoon out on the road. The disc jockey on the air referred to a recording as being played in “Hi-Fi.” Hence, a youthful generation of fans came to regard their cherished genre as “Sci-Fi.”
I began buying copies of Famous Monsters Of Filmland at the news stand and at my local pharmacy, either with issue six or eight, but quickly ordered the previous back issues as soon as I came to understand what I had lucked into.
I was immediately lost in a special treasure trove of joyously terrifying apparitions, and poured over each new issue as an archaeologist might have relished the discovery of an ancient Egyptian mummy. It was somewhere around 1964 when I first encountered Forry Ackerman.
Growing impatient for a more serious or scholarly approach to imagi-movies, and immersed in the cocky deceit of adolescent arrogance, I wrote him a self- righteous letter decrying the juvenile approach of the magazine I had once loved without judgment. To my utter delight, (yet astonishment) came back a lengthy, two-page letter in scholarly defense of my petty diatribe. “Every couple of years or so,” he wrote, “someone writes me this same kind of complaining letter about the magazine, and I’ll be happy to tell you what I have told them.”
He went on in a genuinely kindly manner to explain that he would have preferred to take a more scholarly approach to the subject, but that both his young readers and his publisher had made it clear that they wanted an easier, more accessible approach to the subject of monstrous movies, and that his hands were tied.
I was immediately struck by his gentle honesty and felt guilty that I had been compelled to attack a man and a concept that had given me such immeasurable delight and pleasure over the past four or five years. We began a wonderful correspondence over the next twelve months which I treasured and enjoyed.
Then, during the early days of September, 1965, I received a tiny envelope post marked from New York. It was addressed to the Vertlieb Brothers and, despite its eastern origin, led me to suspect that it was from Forry. Inside was a note in gold printing that read, simply, “An Invitation from Forry Ackerman.” With mounting excitement I opened the folded paper and gasped as I read its contents.
The folded note beckoned my little brother Erwin and I to come to New York City for the first Famous Monsters Convention. It was billed as the 1965 New York Monstercon, and was being held on September 18th of that year from 1 pm until 4 pm at Loew’s Midtown Motor Inn at 8th Avenue and 48th Street in Room 201. I was just nineteen years old. My brother was sixteen. We had never ventured outside of Philadelphia by ourselves. My father had taken us to the New York World’s Fair the year before, but we had never made this kind of an epic journey by ourselves.
I can still remember the nervous excitement we felt the evening before. I lay awake all night, unable to sleep. As morning approached, we bravely boarded a bus to 30th Street Station and stepped onto the Pennsylvania Railroad car to the biggest city in the world.
We were strangers in a strange land, innocents abroad, maturing quickly as we walked the busy streets of the sprawling metropolis in search of our monstrous destiny. We arrived at the hotel early, and bravely rode the elevator to the 2nd floor. As we walked through the empty corridor my heart pounded so loudly that I thought it would burst through my chest.
There…we found it….Room 201. There was no noise emanating from within and, when I reached down my hand and grasped the door handle I found that it was locked. Were we too early, I wondered? Was this the right room? Were we even in the right hotel? We walked back to the elevators and pressed the lobby designation. We were lost and scared, knowing no one in New York. The doors parted when we reached the lobby and there, staring back at us, was the grinning face of an older man I’d come to recognize from the yellowing pages of Famous Monsters.
There he was in the flesh…well, sort of…glasses, moustache, dark hair…wearing a jacket and dark tie.
He was 48 years young, and his face bore a faintly mischievous grin. Although I was Jewish, I knew that I had just come face to face with Santa Claus. My brother was busily staring at the elevator floor when the door parted. I nudged him with my elbow, and he looked up. I pointed in a not terribly nonchalant manner at the Draculean figure blocking our path to the lobby. As I did so, the distinguished gentleman before us gave me the “finger,” as well, in mock recognition of the importance of this historic moment, pointing to us as I had done to him. “Forry,” I asked? “Yes,” he answered with a grin. “Are you the Vertlieb brothers?” “Yes,” I answered. I was eloquent even then, you see.
Forry joined us on the elevator as we rode once again to the second floor. By this time, the door had opened to Room 201 and several guests had already arrived. For me and, I suspect, my brother, this was to be a magical afternoon and our introduction to the world of organized fandom. There were many of Forry’s adopted children there and it was, I’m sure, the beginning of a wondrous, fanciful voyage for them, as well. There were young fans by the unlikely names of Allan Asherman, George Stover, Gary Svehla, and Walter J. Shank who preferred to be called “Wes.”
We all reached out to Forry and to each other, as brothers finding our elusive twins after a lifetime of separation. We were no longer different, or alone. We had found others like ourselves, and it was an invigorating realization. We had found a homeland that none of us ever wanted to leave again.
It was as though the “Book People” in Ray Bradbury’s visionary tale of Fahrenheit 451 had discovered others like themselves and had settled into a new reality in which “monsters” were not only okay, but loving and respectable. Frankenstein and Dracula were, in sweet actuality, soft spoken actors bringing culture and artistry to their profession, while The Wolf Man and The Mummy brought simplicity to the screen in their portrayal of very normal human insecurity and fear.
We learned that day that being “different” was being special. It was a healthy education, presided over by the gentle writer and film fan seated at the head of the class. We grew to know him as Uncle Forry for he was, indeed, the kindly uncle we had never known; generous, giving, and able to visualize hitherto unknown worlds that sparkled radiantly within our young imaginations.
A year or two after that memorable afternoon, perhaps in 1967, Uncle Forry was appearing at a Philadelphia convention as a guest, I believe, of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society. I asked my mom if I could invite Forry to lunch at our house, and she said yes. I then asked Forry if he’d like to join us for lunch at my house because I wanted to show him my own small, but growing collection of movie and fantasy memorabilia.
He agreed to come, but was concerned about the menu. He had recently suffered a slight heart attack, and was feeling understandably fragile.
A tuna sandwich on white bread seemed to fill the bill, and he joined us for a couple of unforgettable hours in my personal dream domain.
I couldn’t believe it! Forry Ackerman was appearing live and in person at my house. I would have announced it to the neighbors, had they known who he was. I took Forry upstairs to my bedroom where I had proudly displayed my own movie treasures, and he politely acknowledged their importance. I had a small record collection of movie soundtracks, and wanted to play “Name That Tune” with my infamous guest. I pulled out my used recording of the suite from Things to Come by Sir Arthur Bliss on RCA records and he, of course, recognized the familiar themes immediately. The Ackermonster was a guest in my house, and I couldn’t have been more proud and happy.
I had always enjoyed writing, and probably began a journal when I was a little boy, writing entire plots for the films I had seen in order to preserve them in my memory. It was the nineteen fifties, and at least one or two hundred years before the advent of home video.
I had attempted more serious excursions in writing by the mid sixties, and had brazenly put together a mercifully short story intended as an unofficial sequel to Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. It was called Dracula Revisited, which wasn’t, in retrospect, the most original title for a sequel. Forry liked it, however, and wrote me about a major horror anthology that he was editing for a Spanish publisher in Barcelona. He asked if I’d like to have my short story included in the volume. At his request, I worked very hard at tightening and revising my original story.
Las Mejores Historias De Horror appeared on book shelves in Spain in 1968, and 1969, with a cover credit that read “Recopiladas por Forrest J Ackerman.” It was a massive paperback edition that featured a virtual who’s who of horror authors and literature, compiled by Forry himself, that included stories by Tennessee Williams, Bram Stoker, Ray Bradbury, A.E. Van Vogt, Theodore Sturgeon, Robert Bloch, John Wyndham, Jack London, Donald Wandrei, Donald Wolheim, Val Lewton and, for fifteen glorious pages beginning on Page 79, the newly titled The Second Death Of Dracula by a youthful writer by the name of Stephen Vertlieb.
I was never directly involved in either the creation or production of Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine, merely its loyal servant. However, during the run of its sister publication, Monster World, I achieved a dubious fifteen minutes of fame in the Fang Mail, or letters to the editor section, in which the assistant editors would often fill the column with fabricated letters from friends. They would change the names, however, in order to protect the innocent. One such name that appeared periodically, you should excuse the expression, was “Steve Liebvert.” Ron Borst and Mark Frank had tremendous enjoyment poking fun at their friends and fellow fans in this manner.
In the many ensuing years, I spent considerable time with Forry. We’d meet frequently at conventions held in New York City, and would often talk until dawn about films, actors, music, and our favorite monsters. We’d usually follow up these marathon sessions by going out for breakfast at four or five in the morning at a nearby café or diner. Forry loved to tell stories about his friendship with Boris Karloff, or about owning the Lugosi Dracula ring and cape.
However, his favorite story was of once having attended a lecture by the immortal H.G. Wells. Wells, he related, was in his latter years and spoke in a high-pitched, rasping voice. Forry mastered his impression of Wells with studious effort, wishing to preserve the legacy of one of our greatest writers by duplicating his voice for future generations to hear. He would grow quiet for a moment, as though emerging from a portal to another dimension, and begin… “I wish to speak to you for about an hour.” It was a thrilling moment as Wells spoke to us softly from beyond the grave.
I’d sometimes find invitations from Forry to birthday parties held in his honor, usually in New York. I joined Allan Asherman for one of those memorable evenings in which we were regaled by stories of his youth and love for the genre. Publisher Jim Warren was there, as well, and thanked everyone for coming. I couldn’t help feeling special for being asked by Forry to join him at these storied events.
During my first trip to Los Angeles in 1974, I found myself honored to be in the company of two of my own personal heroes and friends. I had begun a passionate correspondence with Robert Bloch, the celebrated author of Psycho, in 1970. Bob wrote me that if I ever visited the city of angels, he’d volunteer to act as a tour guide, and drive my brother and I all over Hollywood to see the landmark sites. When I arrived, Bob was true to his word.
We drove to Paramount and walked the western streets that John Wayne had once commanded, and visited George Pal’s office where the legendary producer/director was working on a teleplay for CBS based upon In The Days Of The Comet by H.G. Wells. Among our stops was a trip to the Ackermansion where Forry Ackerman played host to Bob, Erwin, and I. It was an afternoon I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
Forry’s mansion was a gargantuan museum of treasured, priceless artifacts from the golden age of cinema and science fiction, and he was a jovial, congenial host, pointing out and highlighting the most famous crowns in his fantasy jewel of a home. The day ended with a dinner invitation from Bob and his lovely wife, Elly, to their home for a wonderful evening of conversation and food.
In the early nineties at a Fanex sci-fi convention, either in Baltimore or Virginia, I was asked to host “An Hour with Forrest J Ackerman.” Gary and Sue Svehla had put the convention together with loving hands and, knowing my friendship and history with Forry, asked if I’d consider hosting the hour long presentation. I happily agreed, and spent a delightful hour seated next to the irrepressible story teller.
Knowing Forry’s penchant for puns and corresponding punishment, I began the hour by telling the assembled crowd that I had searched high and low for my guest throughout the hotel grounds, but was unable to find him. I walked out into the hotel parking lot, adjoining a nearby park, but “I couldn’t find Forry for the trees.” Forry stood up, pretending to be offended by the joke, and started for the door. I pulled him back to his chair, promising to control myself in future.
Then Forry uttered a terrible, groan worthy pun and, in revenge, I arose in mock outrage and headed for the door. He pulled me back to my seat as the audience laughed in understanding approval. When the hour ended, Forry asked me if I’d provide him with a copy of my remarks for his files. I did so happily.
Not long after that, Forry returned to Virginia for The Famous Monsters Convention held, I believe, in 1993. It was an all star conclave featuring hundreds of his best friends. Among the guests was Robert Bloch who, now frail and fragile, mesmerized the crowd with his tales of working on Boris Karloff’s Thriller television series. Sadly, I realized that it would probably be the last time that I’d ever get to spend time with Bob. It was.
During the course of the weekend, there was an affectionate presentation to Forry from each of the countless magazines and fanzines he’d happily inspired. Among these was Cinemacabre, a wonderful magazine I’d played a small part in producing and creating, along with publisher George Stover, and editor John Parnum. John made the speech honoring both Forry and his influence on us “kids.” George and I accompanied him to the stage, however, and when the time came for us to leave, I reached down and kissed Forry on his forehead. He smiled, and the audience laughed. It was just my way of saying thank you to a gentle soul who had changed my life.
It wasn’t long after that that Forry suffered what may have been a stroke. He never entirely recovered from his illness. He continued to make appearances along with his lifelong friends, Ray Bradbury and Ray Harryhausen, but his health had grown precarious and he appeared skeletal in photographs I’d seen of him. He was forced to give up the Ackermansion, and sell much of his storied collection. He moved into a quiet bungalow, retaining merely a few of his most precious possessions.
In 2007, during the Labor Day Weekend, I read that Forry was attending World Con, the world science fiction convention in Los Angeles. A film that I had appeared in, Kreating Karloff, was being screened at the convention, and I wanted Forry to have an opportunity to see it. I contacted his personal assistant, Joe, and asked him to make sure that Forry was seated in the auditorium when the film was presented. Dutifully, Joe notified Forry of the screening and he sat through the one hour documentary. The following week I sent Forry an E-Mail asking if he had enjoyed the movie. He wrote back that he enjoyed it very much, but that he was perplexed by the appearance of the gray-haired old gentleman in the movie who bore my name. I chuckled, and wrote back that “You should talk.”
At Thanksgiving, 2008, we all learned that Forry was, perhaps, ringing down the final curtain of his celebrated life and my prayers, as well as the prayers of thousands of boys and girls around the globe, went out to him.
“Little Stevie Spielberg,” George Lucas, and John Landis were among the countless fans, friends, and admirers who reached out to Forry in his final days to thank him for a lifetime of imagination. I telephoned him, but he had retired for the evening, exhausted but gratified at the expression of love and homage filling both his telephone and mailbox. I left a lengthy message on his machine in which I told him of my love and affection for him, and how deeply he had impacted so many generations of creative artists. I spoke with Joe the next day to ask if Forry had heard my message. He told me that Forry had indeed listened, and that he had smiled at the sound of my voice.
Forry seemed to rally for another couple of weeks, confounding his doctors and, for a time, it appeared that he was growing stronger. I thought that he might beat the odds after all. I put it out of my head for a few hours. I was visiting some old friends in Baltimore on Friday, December 5th when I heard the news. As fate would have it, I was sitting in George Stover’s living room, seated next to the friend I had first met those endless years ago in New York at the very first Monster Con in 1965, when the text of a heartbreaking E-Mail message appeared on his screen. Forry Ackerman had died. We both sighed. It was a very sad and deeply felt sigh. Uncle Forry was gone. The lives we had so joyously inherited from this sweet, youthful old man would simply never be the same again. He’s resting now in the fabled “Metropolis” of his favorite film, traveling above the futurian cities of a fantasy sky line along with Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Sr., Lon Chaney, Jr., Bela Lugosi, Peter Lorre, and Fritz Lang. The narrator’s voice is a familiar one to Forry, as H.G. Wells and company welcome him home at last.
Posted by Michael in Latest News, Movies on March 13th, 2010
Fox unveiled its official site for the upcoming summer release Predators earlier today, bringing the sneak peek that was shown at SXSW last night online.
Produced by Robert Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellan, and directed by Nimród Antal (Armored, Vacancy), the story has its roots in a treatment that Rodriguez developed years before the Aliens Vs. Predator films. Adrien Brody stars as Royce, a mercenary leading a group of elite warriors brought to an alien planet to serve as prey for a new breed of Predators.
“The idea with the film was to not make it feel like it was the fifth or sixth movie in a series, but the first,” says Rodriguez.”You can’t compete with Arnold Schwarzenegger, so it’s much better to go the other direction and do something the audience isn’t expecting.”
The cast also includes Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo, Walton Goggins and Oleg Taktarov. One of the actors under the Predator mask will be Derek Mears, a guest at our very own Famous Monsters Convention July 9-11, the weekend that Predators opens.
According to the site, the first full trailer will available for viewing online on March 18, while Rodriguez expects the theatrical version to be attached to Repo Men, opening next Friday. Keep checking the film’s site and FamousMonsters.com for more news!
Posted by Michael in Latest News, Movies, Reviews on February 26th, 2010
Another February opening, another horror remake. However, unlike Universal’s The Wolf Man, which is justly regarded as a classic of horror cinema, George Romero’s original take on The Crazies is, well, not. This is not to say that the film is without its effective moments, clever ideas, and the subtle jabs at American society that Romero is well known for — but 37 years down the road, it’s more notable for the role it plays in Romero’s evolution as a storyteller, falling as it does between the brilliant Night of the Living Dead and its hugely influential sequel, Dawn of the Dead. Not coincidentally, the ‘73 version explores themes similar to both of these seminal zombie flicks, but it’s burdened by far too many stagey and talky scenes, a score consisting almost entirely of a martial drumbeat that wears thin after the first 30 seconds, and a performance by Richard France so ferociously scenery-chewing that it’s a wonder there aren’t visible tooth marks on the screen.
The update, apparently blessed by Romero in his position as Executive Producer, fares better. Writers Scott Kosar and Ray Wright relocate the action from Western Pennsylvania to the quiet farming community of Ogden Marsh, Iowa, where the opening of high school baseball season is interrupted by a local who wanders on to center field casually brandishing a shotgun. Given his past history as the town drunk, it’s assumed that alcohol is the cause of his behavior. But after a blood test reveals he hasn’t touched a drop, Sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) begins to worry that something may not be quite right in his jurisdiction, a suspicion that seems to be confirmed when a similar case shows up in the offices of his pregnant wife, Dr. Judy Dutton (Radha Mitchell). After the discovery of what appears to be a military plane submerged in the main source of the town’s drinking water, David begins putting two and two together — unfortunately for him (but fortunately for the film’s running time), not soon enough to prevent tragedy.
Olyphant and Mitchell share a quiet moment in sleepy little Ogden Marsh.
Sooner than you can say “trust no one,” all forms of communication within the town are shut down, all escape blocked, and David finds his authority completely usurped when U.S. intelligence forces arrive to take control. This doesn’t sit well with the sheriff, and he and his trusty deputy Clank (Joe Anderson) manage to extricate themselves and Judy from the makeshift hospital/prison that the Ogden Marsh high school’s been turned into. Cedar Rapids is their goal, assuming they can elude both the military and the random “crazies” still popping up all over town; of course, there remains the nagging matter of contamination to take into account. Is Judy running a fever as a natural side effect of her pregnancy, or…?
Radha Mitchell and some unfriendly representatives of the federal government.
Despite the larger budget, the 2010 film maintains a smaller focus than the 1973 film, preferring to follow the Duttons and their companions rather than give us any real insight into the background of the infection; but then, we’ve been witness to quite a few government conspiracies, both real and imagined, in the decades since and don’t really need this one spelled out for us. Ironically, telling the story through the eyes of this small handful of survivors makes this version even more like Romero’s Dead films than the original was, but it’s a formula that still works. Director Breck Eisner crafts both scenes of slow creeping dread and sudden shocks with equal dexterity, and gives us just enough oh-crap-there’s-someone-in-the-corner! moments without overdoing it. Fans of Deadwood will be happy to see Timothy Olyphant wearing a sheriff’s badge and taking no nonsense once again, while Radha Mitchell continues a string of fine performances in genre films that includes Pitch Black, Silent Hill and Surrogates; Joe Anderson is a welcome source of comic relief amidst dour circumstances. As for the assorted crazies themselves, makeup and special effects carry the day successfully without ever going overboard. The Crazies has justifiably received an R rating from the MPAA for its amount of violence, but this is not the kind of movie that requires graphic beheadings to make its point.
One of the neighborly folks that gives this film its name.
What with The Wolfman, Shutter Island and now The Crazies — three solid, smart and respectable attempts to make us squirm in our seats and cover our eyes — February’s been awfully good to horror fans. If you’re still reading this, it’s time you closed the browser and went to the movies!
For tickets and showtimes in your area, please visit Fandango’s page for The Crazies.
All images ©Overture Films, LLC and Participant Media, LLC.
