#21
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PART 2
We made a quick stop to see Chris at the Rue Morgue booth ... my kid thinks he's the funniest guy in the world and i think chris gets a huge kick out of the knowledge that he can make him laugh no matter what he does. Then we run upstairs so i can get in line for the Dario Argento Q and A (with Chris moderating) My family buggers off because this kind of thing doesnt interest either of them in the least. While in the line-up i snapped a bunch of pictures of the passing anime and other dressed up people. I will say at this point that i hate it when they see your camera and snap into their premeditated rehearsed poses. I prefer candid shots of these guys - while they are walking around - dressed in these rediculously elaborate costumes out of character. My favorites are when they are tired, slumped against a wall, or eating french fries, or just strollling aimlessly etc. Miraculously I end up in the front row of the Argento session and am able to clearly tape the entire thing. Coralina joined the panel - Chris thought she may be needed to interpret for Dario, but he needed very little. Dario was very cool and down to earth. I really enjoyed the session and didnt for a second lose the sensation that it was a very rare and special time for any horror fan to see and hear Dario in this light. They showed a couple of trailers for his upcoming final entry in the Three Mothers trilogy 'Mother of Tears' looking forward to this one big time. The next guest I had to meet was Robert Beltran. The people at the con knew him from Star Trek Voyager .. I knew him from Eating Raoul and Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (2 very funny Paul Bartel films) and Night of the Comet. I get my copy of Eating Raoul signed ... this is a very cool guy. His Q and A turned out to be the most entertaining one i saw at the con. Next, Angela Bettis. Another tiny petite girl, very nice as well. She was in Vancouver BC to do Sick Girl with Lucky McKee and had some nice things to say about working in Canada. I felt instantly dissapointed with myself for not chatting with her at the party because she was so cool and approachable. Ok .. next - and i'm sticking with this story : we went back to see Adrienne Barbeau I wanted to get her in a picture with my son ... and she was wearing a new outfit Also I bout her autobiography and got her to sign my rare copy of swamp thing (the unedited version). I told her we were going to watch it when we got home and her eyebrows raised a bit - indicating my son ... so i explained to her that in our house nudity isnt promoted as a bad thing (when not presented in a sexual fashion - which we arent prepared to explain to our son quite yet) and we never understood the american mentality where nudity was taboo but violence was just fine ... she said she totally agreed. Next - we popped over to see Coralina one last time so I could get a picture of her with my wife and son (they both liked her CD - we played it on the way down to the con) the next thing up was the professional photography session with Dario Argento - part of the exclusive package. Last year it was done like a factory .. people would get in behind shatner and nimoy and get their pictures without so much as a hi from those guys. Not Dario - he greeted each person warmly - he's a genuinely nice guy. I brought my son and he was especially nice to him, making sure to shake his hand and say ciao. So we now have a very special picture that my son wont appreciate for another 10 years (until he sees Darios films) ... at which time it should blow his mind ! At this point it's now about 4:00pm. We go to the parking garage, grab our stuff and get our hotel room. This is the same as the year before. I go by myself Friday to get in the long lines, then we all come down saturday together and stay in the adjoining hotel overnight. this way my wife and son can wander off, go for a swim, etc when they get bored of the con. I ran back to see the Adrienne Barbeau Q and A hosted again by Chris (who is really good at these things) She was really fun and lively. Got most of this one taped. Back downstairs i went to the Chad Vader booth. I'd never heard of Chad Vader until i saw the name on the convention guest list. I looked into it and saw that it was an internet deal .. these little streaming films about Chad Vader (lesser known brother of Darth - who worked as a day manager in a grocery store. He looks and sounds just like Darth Vader .. and has the same powers of the dark side of the force. Very funny stuff ... takes the piss out of Star Wars. I picked up a DVD of their 1st season and it was signed by everyone at the table. Stopped to get a couple of quick shots of the Suicide Girls booth and Oderous - from Gwar. His butt was hanging out and he seemed perpetually drunk out of his mind. 6:00pm .. i head back to the hotel. my family had just come back from a swim in the hotel pool... I had to head to a Dario meet and Greet at a private function across the street in an irish pub. Chatted with a fellow from america (a lot of people from montreal and the USA at this convention - lessening the number of toronto horror fans probably by half - worse than i thought. Toronto is not a horror town. There are some rabid fans - but not that many. with a huge asian population here, anime and sci fi are the huge draws to the con. I would say that the horror fans are the smallest faction. This is why we cant have an exclusive horror only convention. And most of the guests have a lot of cross over roles in sci-fi, and why guys like gunner hansen, h.g. lewis, Coralina Cataldi Tassoni can have completely empty lines for most of the con. These guys are gods in american cities. Anyway ...At the meet and greet we were to line up (once Dario was all set) and have a chat with him one at a time, getting an object you brough signed, as well as a promotional Rue Morgue Festival of Fear 2007 poster signed. I brought my Suspiria limited edition DVD. There was a Rue Morgue guy there who was using your camera to take a picture with you and Dario if you wished .. who was 'a great photographer - a filmmaker !' the picture he took of me and dario was so out of focus it could have been any 2 guys. unfortunately i didnt check the shot until later ... oh well ... cant wait to see this 'photographers' next film. I head back to the hotel .. i'm bagged. There's a public Rue Morgue party where Chris and H.G Lewis would be performing the theme from 2000 Maniacs together live but I'm too tired and I'm asleep by 10:00, after reading some of Adrienne Barbeaus autoibiog. I should mention at this point that on Friday at the same booth where i purchased the H.G. Lewis boxset I also snagged the Kill Bill diaries book by David Carradine. EXCELLENT read .. I also picked up eight Predator 2 toys (5$ each from another vendor) SUNDAY : Sunday is going to be a full day. I have a schedule i have to keep in order to fufill some obligations. I hustle the family out early - pack up the car (praying that no one breaks in and takes my treasures) and we head back to the con. On the way in I just happen to see Mr Brett Kelly out of the corner of my eye as I'm hustling for the lineup and go over for a chat. I wanted to see Prey for the Beast that he was screening but It conflicted with the Ear for Fear music panel Chris was involved with and it was the only thing my wife and son wanted to take take part in. I was glad to be able to say hi for a few minutes. After saying good morning to H.G. Lewis to ask how his musical performance went the night before - I jumped into George Romero's line. Finally got my Day of the Dead signed by the great man who made it. another very nice gentleman. I know it's an old cliche but it still amazes me how nice these guys are - who make these violent horrific films, and how evil and vicious the corporate guys are - that i work with on a daily basis. It's certainly an arguement in favor of Chris Alexanders theory that expressing horror through art is purging and therapeutic because these souless bastards in the corporate world do not have the calm exteriors you see on these filmmakers. (although i'm not seeing these directors at work .. so that might not stand up in court)
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#22
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PART 3 The very last signing I wanted to get is Jonathan Frakes. My father in law is a huge fan of the Star Trek next gen. series. (he's in his 80's) I got him a signed Gates McFadden picture last year and was hoping to add to the collection. we were 2 people from seeing him when he had to leave for his q and a. as luck would have it by the time i got back from all of my other commitmnents - he was gone and i never got him. He did pass by me and gave me a smile and a nod which was kind of funny He was also a very lively guest.. he was hollering at the other guests and the crowd from time to time to get them going. I was sorry i missed out on him. The ear for Fear panel was coming up so I couldnt wait for Mr Frakes and popped upstairs to the room where it was held. At first it was just Chris. Another composer was supposed to join him as well as Maurizio Guarini but both were MIA. After Chris kept things going for the audience for about 10 - 15 minutes (nice job) Maurizio found his way in and proceded to give a great talk on Goblin and scoring for films in general. Also it turns out he's based in Toronto now .. very cool. From there i rushed back downstairs to get another signing by Dario for a friend and then rush back upstairs for the Robert Beltran Q and A. All weekend long this guys line was empty. He's such a good actor it frustrated me that no one knew who he was and i felt really bad. I went to the q and A 20 min early to be the 1st in line not expecting anyone else to be there. To my suprise there was a HUGE lineup.. i ended up sitting in the back ! Robert Beltran was visibly suprised as well when he walked into a packed room. They didnt have a moderator for him and he immediately began to do a q and a by himself which turned out to be the best one of the con for me. the guy is very intelligent, funny, and honest enough to give a definate unglossy look at the Voyager series which horrified 90% of the crowd but had me laughing out loud the entire time. this guy is one cool cat. I missed out on the Malcolm McDowell Q and A and bailed on the Argento/Romero combined Q and A (i would have been in the back again and i was getting tired and wanted to bail.) The Robert Beltran Q/A was the right one to leave on .. I was fortunate enough to see him on the way out and told him so ... I said he must have alienated over half of the room and he laughed because he damn well knew what he was doing So the only thing left to do was to pick up the Argento professionally done photograph (where he and my son look great and i look like an ass) and then head home. Each year i learn a little more about how to make the experience a little better than the one before. It can be like hard work at times ..but i really enjoy the brief meetings and building a collection of signed movies and pictures I'll one day pass onto my son. I look for the high points to remember ...and this year there were several unforgettable moments. So as crazy and tiring as it gets, i'll be first in line for the tickets next year ... no two ways about it
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#23
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sci-fi portion guest list announced !!
BUZZ ALDRIN Apollo 11 Astronaut Historical Icon of the 20th Century KATE MULGREW Captain Kathryn Janeway Star Trek: Voyager EDWARD JAMES OLMOS Admiral William Adama Battlestar Galactica BRENT SPINER Lt. Cmdr. Data Star Trek:The Next Generation MICHAEL ROSENBAUM Lex Luthor Smallville SEAN ASTIN Samwise “Sam” Gamgee Lord Of The Rings LAURA VANDERVOORT Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) Smallville JAMIE BAMBER Lee “Apollo” Adama Battlestar Galactica RENEE O’CONNOR Gabrielle Xena:Warrior Princess KRISTY SWANSON Buffy Summers Buffy The Vampire Slayer (film) JEREMY BULLOCH Boba Fett Star Wars Special Guests HENRY WINKLER The Fonz Happy Days
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#24
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Quote:
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#25
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Quote:
looking forward to it. so far I'm pumped about EDWARD JAMES OLMOS BRENT SPINER SEAN ASTIN KRISTY SWANSON HENRY WINKLER little disappointed that none of the Firefly people will be here this year.
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#26
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Didn't you have some festival pics up here before? Or were they somewhere else?
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#27
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ditto :mad: I miss out on the best people.
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#28
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Quote:
http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a1/urgeok/ they can be found here
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#29
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bumb .. so 'The Best' might notice the answer to his question.
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#30
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at last - the horror guests have been announced (some crossover with sci-fi
WES CRAVEN GUEST OF HONOUR A Nightmare On Elm Street, Scream, The Hills Have Eyes SID HAIG House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, Spider Baby BRAD DOURIF The Exorcist III, Lord of the Rings, Child's Play RUGGERO DEODATO Cannibal Holocaust, Cut and Run, Phantom of Death TURA SATANA Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Astro Zombies, The Doll Squad KRISTY SWANSON Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Deadly Friend, The Phantom SHAWNEE SMITH Saw, Saw II, Saw III, The Blob Special Guests LLOYD KAUFMAN The Toxic Avenger, Tromeo & Juliet, Poultrygeist SEAN ASTIN Lord of the Rings, The Goonies Special Appearances THE CREEPSHOW Canada’s Horrorbilly Musical Sensation JOHNNY HOLLOW Sonic Alchemists MELANTHA BLACKTHORNE Death Race, Sinners and Saints GASLIGHT STUDIO Special Effects Team, 300, Diary of the Dead SUICIDE GIRLS Wizard of Gore GORD ROLLO The Jigsaw Man
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