Day 3128
Woof. More than six months since I wrote on here. Time flies by.
I always keep meaning to write more long form essays, and apparently today is the day I start (or at least until another six months go by).
This quarantine is messing up a lot of people. I know that for me, my default position is to just sit at home and do nothing. It takes effort to go out and do stuff, whether that's a movie, dinner, concert, ball game, or any of it. But I make that effort because it's satisfying when I do. It makes me feel better. And now, the forced default is to stay inside. A good chunk of me is ecstatic. But there's still the part of me that realizes that it can be unhealthy. So I'm making safe little sojourns. I have to.
But what I want to write about here is things that make me happy. Today happens to be about books and food, but I have a lot of stuff rattling around, and I'd rather add something good, rather than something negative to this narrative of 2020.
I have a lot of favorite authors. I'm also a fan of mysteries/thrillers. Lawrence Sanders has written a bunch of them, and as I just finished the most recent book I was reading, I looked over my bookshelves, and saw "The First Deadly Sin" by Sanders. It's been probably more than 15 years since I last read it. I'm about 200 pages into it now. Creepier than I remember. But the main character, policeman Edward X. Delaney, is a character that's always stuck with me. One of the things he's done in the books is to make impressive sandwiches, sit down, and ponder the case he's working on. Ironically, he has yet to do that in this novel (so far), but that hasn't stopped me from doing it myself.
Yesterday, I went to Marcs and got ham, turkey, corned beef, swiss cheese, and lettuce. I also had bologna waiting at home. It takes about a good ten minutes of prep, but making two dagwood-sized sandwiches is worth it. I did it yesterday, and I did it today. Reading the book and eating the sandwiches are a wonderful experience. I don't do it for every book, but it just feels right whenever I read one by Lawrence Sanders.
Sunday, June 14, 2020
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Day 2884 - Rambo: Last Blood
First Blood
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Rambo III
Rambo
and now Rambo: Last Blood
I can't say I'm the biggest Rambo fan in the world considering I've never seen the second or third installments of the franchise. I think the first one is fine, but I thought the fourth one was great. So, my expectations were probably a little heightened for the newest one.
Don't see it. It's bad. It's Rambo meets Taken and not in a good way.
John's doing just fine on his ranch. He's raising his niece, digging tunnels underneath the ranch, and breaking some horses. It's a good life. But then his niece decides to travel to Mexico to find her dad, and ask him why he left. And things go very, very bad from there.
As it is, it's not a wholely bad setup. Rambo has to go down to Mexico to rescue his niece from some bad men. While there, Rambo gets his butt kicked. He's brought back to health by a journalist (played by Paz Vega) who has her own reasons to want to see those bad men taken down.
What follows is carnage. Lots and lots of carnage. And while that's usually something I'm all about, in this case, it just doesn't do it. Besides being a bleak film, it's also poorly written. That journalist from before, when we first meet her, she wants justice. When we meet her a second time, she wants Rambo to stay away. I shouldn't notice things like that in an action movie. When I do, you know the movie is getting lazy.
I guess what's most disappointing is that the movie doesn't feel like a Rambo movie. It just feels generic.
*
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Rambo III
Rambo
and now Rambo: Last Blood
I can't say I'm the biggest Rambo fan in the world considering I've never seen the second or third installments of the franchise. I think the first one is fine, but I thought the fourth one was great. So, my expectations were probably a little heightened for the newest one.
Don't see it. It's bad. It's Rambo meets Taken and not in a good way.
John's doing just fine on his ranch. He's raising his niece, digging tunnels underneath the ranch, and breaking some horses. It's a good life. But then his niece decides to travel to Mexico to find her dad, and ask him why he left. And things go very, very bad from there.
As it is, it's not a wholely bad setup. Rambo has to go down to Mexico to rescue his niece from some bad men. While there, Rambo gets his butt kicked. He's brought back to health by a journalist (played by Paz Vega) who has her own reasons to want to see those bad men taken down.
What follows is carnage. Lots and lots of carnage. And while that's usually something I'm all about, in this case, it just doesn't do it. Besides being a bleak film, it's also poorly written. That journalist from before, when we first meet her, she wants justice. When we meet her a second time, she wants Rambo to stay away. I shouldn't notice things like that in an action movie. When I do, you know the movie is getting lazy.
I guess what's most disappointing is that the movie doesn't feel like a Rambo movie. It just feels generic.
*
Day 2884 - Soylent Green
Soylent Green is supposed to be one of those movies that has a "Gotcha!" ending. And while it does, as I watched it, I realized that's not what the movie is about. What it's actually about is Charlton Heston's Detective Thorn, a police officer in a society where there is population overload and food is at a premium. I find it incredibly interesting that at night while the streets are empty the buildings are overflowing with people sleeping in the stairwells.
Heston's cop is crooked, but not overly so. He pretty much takes anything not nailed down at a dead guy's apartment (mostly food). He beats up suspects. But he's assigned to investigate a murder, and he does. This movie isn't about "Soylent Green," it's about a cop who realizes that his existence is there only to slow the wave of inevitability. Society is at a tipping point, and he's in the midst of it. And the knowledge he ends up with creates a righteous anger that will only let that wave come crashing down.
Now I'm reading much more into this movie than it probably intends, but Charlton Heston thrives in this role, and that makes our journey through this dystopian future easy to navigate. And he's ably complimented by Edward G. Robinson as Heston's best friend whose discovery of this world's secrets break him so completely is fantastic in his final role. Leigh-Taylor Young is great as the prostitute/piece of furniture who falls into/is forced into a relationship with Heston's character.
This isn't a perfect movie or even the most perfect sci-fi film. But the reason it has lasted in the public psyche as long as it has, is because it creates a very real world (the production design and the use of extras is tremendous), and the acting lets us believe it.
***
Heston's cop is crooked, but not overly so. He pretty much takes anything not nailed down at a dead guy's apartment (mostly food). He beats up suspects. But he's assigned to investigate a murder, and he does. This movie isn't about "Soylent Green," it's about a cop who realizes that his existence is there only to slow the wave of inevitability. Society is at a tipping point, and he's in the midst of it. And the knowledge he ends up with creates a righteous anger that will only let that wave come crashing down.
Now I'm reading much more into this movie than it probably intends, but Charlton Heston thrives in this role, and that makes our journey through this dystopian future easy to navigate. And he's ably complimented by Edward G. Robinson as Heston's best friend whose discovery of this world's secrets break him so completely is fantastic in his final role. Leigh-Taylor Young is great as the prostitute/piece of furniture who falls into/is forced into a relationship with Heston's character.
This isn't a perfect movie or even the most perfect sci-fi film. But the reason it has lasted in the public psyche as long as it has, is because it creates a very real world (the production design and the use of extras is tremendous), and the acting lets us believe it.
***
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Day 2863 - Meatballs 4
So, as I was talking to people on Saturday, I discovered that most people know about the movie Meatballs. I mean, Bill Murray is in it, and that's enough to garner happy memories, whether the movie is good or not. But those same people don't realize that the series made it to 4(!). I mean, obviously the quality of the movies declines with each installment, and when the quality wasn't that high to begin with, the results for the fourth installment are really only for the most hearty of moviegoers.
So why review it at all? I don't know. I also don't know why I have seen Meatballs 4 much more than one time. It's honestly not that good or worth the amount of time I've watched it, or even the amount of time I'm going to spend writing about it. But, maybe writing about it will be funny (unlike the movie).
I'm going to spend as little on the plot as I can, simply because it's simply the framework for a staggering amount of water sports. And let me tell you, water sports are not something you want to build a movie on. Anyways, the movie is about a water sports camp, led by a post-Twin Peaks Jack Nance (more about him later), that's struggling to make ends meet. In order to drum up business, new/returning program director Ricky Wade is brought on. Ricky is played by everyones favorite 80's teen star Corey Feldman. Hijinks and lots (and lots) of water sports ensue.
Ultimately, this is a movie that is about 8 years too late, which would have put it squarely in the midst of the 80's teen comedies of which it's clearly trying to be. There's shower scenes, making fun of the fat camper, the evil owner of the competing camp, her two ineffectual henchmen, montages, and a skunk. This is a movie that should have known better by this time.
But the cast - Corey Feldman has been both a good actor and a punchline. And I love him for both of those things. He's clearly not giving the movie his all, but neither is he phoning it in. He seems to be just acting as himself. Nothing wrong with that. And Jack Nance - this is Erasehead himself. I've read enough about aging actors and their willingness to take roles based off time, location, and money. I mean, I understand why he was hired. It's just so disconcerting to see him and hear his trademark delivery in a movie like this. But maybe that's one of the reasons I keep coming back. I don't know. And the evil owner of the other camp - yeah, that's played by Sarah Douglas who was Ursa in Superman 2. She doesn't have nearly as much charisma in this as she did as Ursa, but she's still a quality villain.
But does any of this explain why I own the movie? Let alone have watched it more than once? No. No it doesn't. This isn't one of those reviews where I'm trying to convince you to see something. And I'm not telling you not to see it, either. Although to be fair, you probably weren't going to watch it anyway, unless I said it was the greatest underrated comedy you've never seen. It's not. But it's so dumb and odd, that I feel I'm doing a disservice by not writing about it.
* (just because)
So why review it at all? I don't know. I also don't know why I have seen Meatballs 4 much more than one time. It's honestly not that good or worth the amount of time I've watched it, or even the amount of time I'm going to spend writing about it. But, maybe writing about it will be funny (unlike the movie).
I'm going to spend as little on the plot as I can, simply because it's simply the framework for a staggering amount of water sports. And let me tell you, water sports are not something you want to build a movie on. Anyways, the movie is about a water sports camp, led by a post-Twin Peaks Jack Nance (more about him later), that's struggling to make ends meet. In order to drum up business, new/returning program director Ricky Wade is brought on. Ricky is played by everyones favorite 80's teen star Corey Feldman. Hijinks and lots (and lots) of water sports ensue.
Ultimately, this is a movie that is about 8 years too late, which would have put it squarely in the midst of the 80's teen comedies of which it's clearly trying to be. There's shower scenes, making fun of the fat camper, the evil owner of the competing camp, her two ineffectual henchmen, montages, and a skunk. This is a movie that should have known better by this time.
But the cast - Corey Feldman has been both a good actor and a punchline. And I love him for both of those things. He's clearly not giving the movie his all, but neither is he phoning it in. He seems to be just acting as himself. Nothing wrong with that. And Jack Nance - this is Erasehead himself. I've read enough about aging actors and their willingness to take roles based off time, location, and money. I mean, I understand why he was hired. It's just so disconcerting to see him and hear his trademark delivery in a movie like this. But maybe that's one of the reasons I keep coming back. I don't know. And the evil owner of the other camp - yeah, that's played by Sarah Douglas who was Ursa in Superman 2. She doesn't have nearly as much charisma in this as she did as Ursa, but she's still a quality villain.
But does any of this explain why I own the movie? Let alone have watched it more than once? No. No it doesn't. This isn't one of those reviews where I'm trying to convince you to see something. And I'm not telling you not to see it, either. Although to be fair, you probably weren't going to watch it anyway, unless I said it was the greatest underrated comedy you've never seen. It's not. But it's so dumb and odd, that I feel I'm doing a disservice by not writing about it.
* (just because)
Monday, September 16, 2019
Day 2857 - Messiah Of Evil (just a wacky 70's horror flick)
I wasn't intending on writing anything tonight, but, hey, the Browns are on television right now, and I don't need to pay that much attention to them.
So, Messiah of Evil. I'd never heard of this film before Friday night. After watching it, I understand why. It's not a bad film by any means, but for a movie about a town full of zombies, it's monstrously (heh) slow paced. The plot is pretty simple - a young woman heads to a small seaside town to check in on her father, who's gone missing. While there, she meets a guy and his two female traveling companions. Then you find out that the entire town is made up of zombies.
The problem with the movie, is that the people who made it had no money to spend. So in order to be effective it had to rely on acting and atmosphere. And, to be fair, there are two solid set pieces where people are attacked by the zombies. The first is in a grocery store, and it's effective because the store is well-lit, and there's still no escape for the victim. The second is in a movie theater. And it builds just like the scene in The Birds, as moviegoers slowly enter the theater surrounding their unsuspecting prey. But that's all you get. The rest of the movie moves at a glacial pace. Scenes extend for no real reason. The dialogue is uninvolving. And most of the actors are uninspiring.
Except for Michael Greer. He plays the guy with the two companions. I can't really explain it, but every time he talks, he commands the screen. Yet, every time he's just on screen, with no dialogue, he's just a lump. I've never seen anything like it.
So, let's just call this an interesting failure. I'm happy to have seen it, because my early seventies horror knowledge is sorely lacking. But once is easily enough.
**
So, Messiah of Evil. I'd never heard of this film before Friday night. After watching it, I understand why. It's not a bad film by any means, but for a movie about a town full of zombies, it's monstrously (heh) slow paced. The plot is pretty simple - a young woman heads to a small seaside town to check in on her father, who's gone missing. While there, she meets a guy and his two female traveling companions. Then you find out that the entire town is made up of zombies.
The problem with the movie, is that the people who made it had no money to spend. So in order to be effective it had to rely on acting and atmosphere. And, to be fair, there are two solid set pieces where people are attacked by the zombies. The first is in a grocery store, and it's effective because the store is well-lit, and there's still no escape for the victim. The second is in a movie theater. And it builds just like the scene in The Birds, as moviegoers slowly enter the theater surrounding their unsuspecting prey. But that's all you get. The rest of the movie moves at a glacial pace. Scenes extend for no real reason. The dialogue is uninvolving. And most of the actors are uninspiring.
Except for Michael Greer. He plays the guy with the two companions. I can't really explain it, but every time he talks, he commands the screen. Yet, every time he's just on screen, with no dialogue, he's just a lump. I've never seen anything like it.
So, let's just call this an interesting failure. I'm happy to have seen it, because my early seventies horror knowledge is sorely lacking. But once is easily enough.
**
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Day 2857 - The Peanut Butter Falcon
So, The Peanut Butter Falcon, a movie about a 22 year old guy with Downs Syndrome, who wants to go to a wrestling school in Georgia, could have come off as being very forced and/or saccharine. But, instead, it has a real charm to it. It's also bolstered by some terrific performances, and the story, while having some fairy tale elements, never lets you forget some of the real anger and regret that these characters carry.
Zak is in a nursing home, because the state really has no other place to put this young man with Downs Syndrome. He has a video of The Salt Water Redneck, a wrestler, who's hawking his school for wrestlers. Zak breaks out of the nursing home to make his way to the school and meets up with Tyler (played by Shia LaBeouf). Tyler is on the run from two brothers because he's raided their crab traps, and, well, he also burned them up. He has his reasons, but it's still an overreaction.
As with all buddy movies, Tyler wants nothing to do with Zak at first, but eventually they bond, and Tyler promises to get Zack to the wrestling school. Oh, and Zak's caretaker, Eleanor, is on his trail to bring him back to the nursing home. It all sounds so forced.
But it's really not. The Beouf does an amazing job at portraying a man who has run out of options due to his own actions and guilt. Taking care of Zak is not only a way for him to address some of that guilt, but also give him a semblance of direction. In the thankless role of Eleanor, Dakota Johnson exhibits more charisma in this role than any of her 50 Shades movie combined (I'm guessing). And Zak, played by Zack Gottsagen, plays more than just himself. He imbues his character with real determination and depth. His perseverance drives the movie, and it's utterly believable, charming, and funny.
There's a lot of reference to Mark Twain, and, yeah, tonally the movie cribs from him a bunch. There's a lot of raft riding and meetups with eccentric characters while on a quest. It's not a bad thing to try and emulate, and the movie does well with it.
On the surface, this is a funny and charming movie. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments (Zak holding his breath underwater while Tyler and Eleanor figure out what the next step in the journey will be is a great piece). But underneath that there's sorrow, and guilt, and redemption, and the movie doesn't shy away from the ever-present threat of violence. And that's what elevates the film and makes it pretty great.
But the characters - they're all so real and well-defined. All of them. Even the ones we don't like. It's a real treat.
***1/2
Zak is in a nursing home, because the state really has no other place to put this young man with Downs Syndrome. He has a video of The Salt Water Redneck, a wrestler, who's hawking his school for wrestlers. Zak breaks out of the nursing home to make his way to the school and meets up with Tyler (played by Shia LaBeouf). Tyler is on the run from two brothers because he's raided their crab traps, and, well, he also burned them up. He has his reasons, but it's still an overreaction.
As with all buddy movies, Tyler wants nothing to do with Zak at first, but eventually they bond, and Tyler promises to get Zack to the wrestling school. Oh, and Zak's caretaker, Eleanor, is on his trail to bring him back to the nursing home. It all sounds so forced.
But it's really not. The Beouf does an amazing job at portraying a man who has run out of options due to his own actions and guilt. Taking care of Zak is not only a way for him to address some of that guilt, but also give him a semblance of direction. In the thankless role of Eleanor, Dakota Johnson exhibits more charisma in this role than any of her 50 Shades movie combined (I'm guessing). And Zak, played by Zack Gottsagen, plays more than just himself. He imbues his character with real determination and depth. His perseverance drives the movie, and it's utterly believable, charming, and funny.
There's a lot of reference to Mark Twain, and, yeah, tonally the movie cribs from him a bunch. There's a lot of raft riding and meetups with eccentric characters while on a quest. It's not a bad thing to try and emulate, and the movie does well with it.
On the surface, this is a funny and charming movie. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments (Zak holding his breath underwater while Tyler and Eleanor figure out what the next step in the journey will be is a great piece). But underneath that there's sorrow, and guilt, and redemption, and the movie doesn't shy away from the ever-present threat of violence. And that's what elevates the film and makes it pretty great.
But the characters - they're all so real and well-defined. All of them. Even the ones we don't like. It's a real treat.
***1/2
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Day 2852 - Horrorhound Indianapolis 2019
Man, I used to write nearly every single day. It's amazing what happens when life happens. But I have some cookies, a 7UP, and Oingo Boingo playing in the background, so I figure now is as a good a time as any to start writing again.
While I want to write a piece about television in all its forms, I still need to let that thought simmer just a bit. So, instead, I figured I'd write about my current trip to Indianapolis to attend the Horrorhound Convention.
Quick update for those of you who may not know - Horrorhound is a convention where a number of celebrities, from A-list to D-list, attend selling autographs and pictures. This particular convention was notable for reuniting nearly the entire cast of Scream.
Before I go to one of these, I always have to figure out a few things. 1. Who do I want to meet? 2. What do I have them sign (there is always the rare occasion when I know I'm going to buy an 8x10 from the celebrity's table)? 3. How much money do I have to spend? This is always a point of contention for me. As these shows keep getting larger and larger, the autograph prices keep getting higher and higher. Some day I'd love to find out who's done the actual math on these things. Because if, say, Matthew Lillard's autograph is 50 bucks, is he making more money selling just one autograph to me and people like me, or would he make even more if he charged just 30 bucks, leaving the potential for people like me to just suck it up and spend the extra 10 bucks to get two items signed? But this is a rant for another time. 4. What do I say to the people when I meet them?
I finally got smart with number 4 this year. On the way down, I wrote out questions for the people I wanted to meet, so I could seem smart and also get something other than a token response. It really worked and I highly recommend it.
The big draw for me this year was getting to meet Robin Tunney. Most people know her from The Craft, Empire Records, or "The Mentalist." I appreciate all those, but for me, she's in a wonderful hidden gem called Cherish. And as I keep writing, you'll notice that I have a quite a few of those hidden gems. Anyways, she's who I wanted to meet first, and, of course, she wasn't there on time. So adjustments were made.
Matthew Lillard had the biggest line and he was high on my list, so that was the first line of the day for me. Joining me on this trip, as always, was my college buddy, Jason. I appreciate his company more than he knows. But he's a great photographer when the need arises, and, as you'll see, can come up with some great questions, too. With Lillard, I was ready to ask why he didn't have a picture of Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies go to College out to sign, but I couldn't because he did! I still brought that up to him, and his response was that truthfully he had never signed a single one (which almost had me get one - almost). He had actually gotten the picture from somebody else. It wasn't even his. (And I can talk about that movie, because I have seen it - more than once.) Then I asked about "Twin Peaks". He said it was really, really hard. Huh. She's All That - he got the gig because he asked Freddie Prinze Jr. for a job, and Prinze recommended him for the part he plays in the movie. Then Jason said that Summer Catch was a great movie. The look of genuine condescension was wonderful. "No, it's not." I said, "It's a fun movie." He turned to me and said, in all seriousness, "There's a difference between great and fun." Honestly, that whole interaction was wonderful. (And I had him sign an original Scream movie poster.)
Also, to be fair, there's probably going to be some paraphrasing and mixing up of who signed before who, but you weren't there, so I get to tell the story as I want to.
Mary Lynn Rajskub was next. I walked up to her table and unscrolled a video release poster for Punch Drunk Love which made her smile. While she was signing, I asked what she thought about being one of the most indelible characters in television history. She seemed to think that was pretty great, and we spent a good amount of time talking about Chloe O'Brien from "24." She said the character was about 80% her. She did think that it was possible that Chloe might die at some point in the series, because the producers made no bones about the fact that anyone on that show could die. And the character was so well-defined that when the writers tried to make Chloe a bad guy in the final Jack Bauer season, they couldn't, because it didn't work. And she got the part in Punch Drunk Love because Paul Thomas Anderson would come to the club she was at and watch her perform and wrote the character for her. (Then we talked about Paul Thomas Anderson movies.) It was great.
Now, if you know Elizabeth Berkley it's probably because of either "Saved by the Bell' or Showgirls. Getting into a good conversation with Ms. Berkley required something besides talking about either of those, and I went with a great film called Roger Dodger which made her light up. (I had her sign the DVD cover.) I got her to talk about getting the part. It was from a first-time director who called her to say that he had written the part for her, and she liked it, but it took calling Jennifer Beals, who was also in the movie to fully convince her to do it. And then she praised Campbell Scott (who is amazing in the film).
I am an unabashed fan of "Gilmore Girls" and judging from the line Scott Patterson (Luke on "Gilmore Girls") had, many other horror fans were as well. He was there ostensibly because he was in a number of Saw movies, but I didn't care. LUKE! I had him sign my season one DVD set, and asked him who he hung out with most on the set. He gave the generic "everyone" answer, but then we talked about Sean Gunn (Kirk on the show), and how cool he was on the set and in real life.
It was impressive how many people in Jackie Earl Haley's line wanted him to sign Watchmen items. And his performance as Rorschach is pretty perfect. But I went with the classic Bad News Bears DVD. Because I wanted to know if he knew about Water Matthau or Vic Morrow before working on the movie. He knew about Matthau, oh, yeah. But Morrow he looked up afterwards. And then I got to ask him if he knew how to play baseball before getting the part. He did. He just wasn't as good as his character was supposed to be. Then Jason asked a great question - "Did you know how to smoke before getting the part?" Apparently he did. But the trick was, his parents didn't know. So he had to act like he knew how to smoke, but make it look to his parents that he didn't. It was very meta.
I've read Rose McGowan's book "Brave." It's rough. And the way she's been treated in the movie industry and on a lot of the sets is pretty reprehensible. So my question to her was this - "Is it okay for me to like movies like Doom Generation and Planet Terror now that I know how uncomfortable your experiences were on those films." She looked up and directly in my eyes and said, "Absolutely. I'm proud of my performances in those films." We then talked about how uncomfortable Doom Generation made my friends when I showed it to them. She smiled wryly at that. She was my second autograph on my Scream poster.
Finally, by this time, Robin Tunney showed up. The line was solid, and just as I get to the front, they stopped it. She had to go to a photo op, but she would be back soon. As disappointing as that was, I took solace in the fact that I was now first in line when she came back.
In 2002 I caught a movie at the Cedar Lee Theatre called Cherish, starring Robin Tunney, Tim Blake Nelson, and Jason Priestly. It's a small and great film. And after I saw it in the theater, they had a bunch of mini posters they were giving out for free. I've had one of those posters for, sheesh, 17 years. But that's what I had her sign. "I love this movie!" was her response when I showed her the poster. There's a scene where she's running like Tom Cruise, trying to get back home, and I asked her about it. "It was the last day of shooting, and I had a bunch of sangria with my girlfriends, so when we were done filming, I threw it all up." She also commented - "I don't think that's my real (butt)" on the poster. And then we talked about Jason Priestly for a bit.
Honestly, I could have spent a ton more money meeting even more people, but due to some not showing up, some not coming till Saturday (I went on Friday), and just being a tiny bit responsible, I stopped there. But even with that, it ranks as one of the best I've ever attended. And, hey, it got me to write again. So there's that.
While I want to write a piece about television in all its forms, I still need to let that thought simmer just a bit. So, instead, I figured I'd write about my current trip to Indianapolis to attend the Horrorhound Convention.
Quick update for those of you who may not know - Horrorhound is a convention where a number of celebrities, from A-list to D-list, attend selling autographs and pictures. This particular convention was notable for reuniting nearly the entire cast of Scream.
Before I go to one of these, I always have to figure out a few things. 1. Who do I want to meet? 2. What do I have them sign (there is always the rare occasion when I know I'm going to buy an 8x10 from the celebrity's table)? 3. How much money do I have to spend? This is always a point of contention for me. As these shows keep getting larger and larger, the autograph prices keep getting higher and higher. Some day I'd love to find out who's done the actual math on these things. Because if, say, Matthew Lillard's autograph is 50 bucks, is he making more money selling just one autograph to me and people like me, or would he make even more if he charged just 30 bucks, leaving the potential for people like me to just suck it up and spend the extra 10 bucks to get two items signed? But this is a rant for another time. 4. What do I say to the people when I meet them?
I finally got smart with number 4 this year. On the way down, I wrote out questions for the people I wanted to meet, so I could seem smart and also get something other than a token response. It really worked and I highly recommend it.
The big draw for me this year was getting to meet Robin Tunney. Most people know her from The Craft, Empire Records, or "The Mentalist." I appreciate all those, but for me, she's in a wonderful hidden gem called Cherish. And as I keep writing, you'll notice that I have a quite a few of those hidden gems. Anyways, she's who I wanted to meet first, and, of course, she wasn't there on time. So adjustments were made.
Matthew Lillard had the biggest line and he was high on my list, so that was the first line of the day for me. Joining me on this trip, as always, was my college buddy, Jason. I appreciate his company more than he knows. But he's a great photographer when the need arises, and, as you'll see, can come up with some great questions, too. With Lillard, I was ready to ask why he didn't have a picture of Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies go to College out to sign, but I couldn't because he did! I still brought that up to him, and his response was that truthfully he had never signed a single one (which almost had me get one - almost). He had actually gotten the picture from somebody else. It wasn't even his. (And I can talk about that movie, because I have seen it - more than once.) Then I asked about "Twin Peaks". He said it was really, really hard. Huh. She's All That - he got the gig because he asked Freddie Prinze Jr. for a job, and Prinze recommended him for the part he plays in the movie. Then Jason said that Summer Catch was a great movie. The look of genuine condescension was wonderful. "No, it's not." I said, "It's a fun movie." He turned to me and said, in all seriousness, "There's a difference between great and fun." Honestly, that whole interaction was wonderful. (And I had him sign an original Scream movie poster.)
Also, to be fair, there's probably going to be some paraphrasing and mixing up of who signed before who, but you weren't there, so I get to tell the story as I want to.
Mary Lynn Rajskub was next. I walked up to her table and unscrolled a video release poster for Punch Drunk Love which made her smile. While she was signing, I asked what she thought about being one of the most indelible characters in television history. She seemed to think that was pretty great, and we spent a good amount of time talking about Chloe O'Brien from "24." She said the character was about 80% her. She did think that it was possible that Chloe might die at some point in the series, because the producers made no bones about the fact that anyone on that show could die. And the character was so well-defined that when the writers tried to make Chloe a bad guy in the final Jack Bauer season, they couldn't, because it didn't work. And she got the part in Punch Drunk Love because Paul Thomas Anderson would come to the club she was at and watch her perform and wrote the character for her. (Then we talked about Paul Thomas Anderson movies.) It was great.
Now, if you know Elizabeth Berkley it's probably because of either "Saved by the Bell' or Showgirls. Getting into a good conversation with Ms. Berkley required something besides talking about either of those, and I went with a great film called Roger Dodger which made her light up. (I had her sign the DVD cover.) I got her to talk about getting the part. It was from a first-time director who called her to say that he had written the part for her, and she liked it, but it took calling Jennifer Beals, who was also in the movie to fully convince her to do it. And then she praised Campbell Scott (who is amazing in the film).
I am an unabashed fan of "Gilmore Girls" and judging from the line Scott Patterson (Luke on "Gilmore Girls") had, many other horror fans were as well. He was there ostensibly because he was in a number of Saw movies, but I didn't care. LUKE! I had him sign my season one DVD set, and asked him who he hung out with most on the set. He gave the generic "everyone" answer, but then we talked about Sean Gunn (Kirk on the show), and how cool he was on the set and in real life.
It was impressive how many people in Jackie Earl Haley's line wanted him to sign Watchmen items. And his performance as Rorschach is pretty perfect. But I went with the classic Bad News Bears DVD. Because I wanted to know if he knew about Water Matthau or Vic Morrow before working on the movie. He knew about Matthau, oh, yeah. But Morrow he looked up afterwards. And then I got to ask him if he knew how to play baseball before getting the part. He did. He just wasn't as good as his character was supposed to be. Then Jason asked a great question - "Did you know how to smoke before getting the part?" Apparently he did. But the trick was, his parents didn't know. So he had to act like he knew how to smoke, but make it look to his parents that he didn't. It was very meta.
I've read Rose McGowan's book "Brave." It's rough. And the way she's been treated in the movie industry and on a lot of the sets is pretty reprehensible. So my question to her was this - "Is it okay for me to like movies like Doom Generation and Planet Terror now that I know how uncomfortable your experiences were on those films." She looked up and directly in my eyes and said, "Absolutely. I'm proud of my performances in those films." We then talked about how uncomfortable Doom Generation made my friends when I showed it to them. She smiled wryly at that. She was my second autograph on my Scream poster.
Finally, by this time, Robin Tunney showed up. The line was solid, and just as I get to the front, they stopped it. She had to go to a photo op, but she would be back soon. As disappointing as that was, I took solace in the fact that I was now first in line when she came back.
In 2002 I caught a movie at the Cedar Lee Theatre called Cherish, starring Robin Tunney, Tim Blake Nelson, and Jason Priestly. It's a small and great film. And after I saw it in the theater, they had a bunch of mini posters they were giving out for free. I've had one of those posters for, sheesh, 17 years. But that's what I had her sign. "I love this movie!" was her response when I showed her the poster. There's a scene where she's running like Tom Cruise, trying to get back home, and I asked her about it. "It was the last day of shooting, and I had a bunch of sangria with my girlfriends, so when we were done filming, I threw it all up." She also commented - "I don't think that's my real (butt)" on the poster. And then we talked about Jason Priestly for a bit.
Honestly, I could have spent a ton more money meeting even more people, but due to some not showing up, some not coming till Saturday (I went on Friday), and just being a tiny bit responsible, I stopped there. But even with that, it ranks as one of the best I've ever attended. And, hey, it got me to write again. So there's that.
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