FINAL: Daniel Robitaille (Candyman) vs. The Thing (The Thing)

PROPAGANDA FOR DANIEL:

"The romantic of the slashers. Yes, he might kill you, but he would romance you first and paint your portrait as well. He’s the best killer and character imo. The bees/honey association, the hook, the romance of it all, *chefs kiss*"

PROPAGANDA FOR THE THING:

"We don't understand it. It's sentient and intelligent, but unknowable. Does it just want to survive? Does it just want to sleep? Is assimilation a defense mechanism, or does it truly wish malice upon us? Was it Keith David at the end of the film?"

"This movie scares the hell out of me to this day and it's just some of the best body horror anybody has ever done. Nasty and spooky and we love a movie where you never figure out what the killer even is"

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more

2008 – Agokwe by Waawaate Fobister opens Buddies in Bad Times Theatre's 30th season.

Waawaate Fobister (b.1984) is a Canadian playwright and actor, whose debut work Agokwe won six Dora Mavor Moore Awards in 2009. The play, which premiered at Toronto's Buddies in Bad Times theatre in 2008, is a gay-themed play which explores the burgeoning attraction between two aboriginal teenagers, one a traditional Ojibwe dancer and the other a hockey player.

Fobister's solo, multi-character debut play focuses on the attraction between the two vastly different Aboriginal teens. Jake is a lively and animated grass dancer from one reserve, while Mike is an emotionally distant star hockey player from another. The two have eyed each other before, but it's only during one momentous hockey tournament weekend in Kenora that the secret spark they once shared begins to ignite — with disturbing results.

Fobister played all of characters in the Buddies production, including both teenagers.

An Anishinaabe from the Grassy Narrows First Nation north of Kenora, Ontario, Fobister identifies as gay or two-spirited. Agokwe, the title of his debut play, means "two-spirited" in the Anishinaabe language.Fobister says it was important to him to share his experience of growing up queer in the isolated Grassy Narrows reserve. "I wanted to touch on the homophobia that exists because I've personally experienced gaybashing on my rez, by another native guy," he says. "They beat me up, and put me in the hospital for three days. There were other times — just in Kenora I got attacked by some white people calling me 'Faggot, faggot, faggot,' and then they punched me."

1961 – John Logan is an American playwright, screenwriter, and film producer. He is openly gay.

Logan was a successful playwright in Chicago for many years before turning to screenwriting. His first play, Never the Sinner, tells the story of the infamous Leopold and Loeb case. Subsequent plays include Hauptmann, about the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, and Riverview, a musical melodrama set at Chicago's famed amusement park.

His play Red, about artist Mark Rothko, was produced on Broadway, where it received six Tony Awards in mid-June, 2010, the most of any play.

Logan wrote Any Given Sunday and the television movie RKO 281, before gaining an Academy Award nomination for co-writing the Best Picture-winner, Gladiator in 2000. He gained another nomination for writing 2004's The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese. Other notable films written by Logan include Star Trek: Nemesis, The Time Machine, The Last Samurai, and the Tim Burton-directed musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, for which he received a Golden Globe Award.

Logan's most recent feature films include Rango, an animated feature starring Johnny Depp, the film adaptation of Shakespeare's Coriolanus directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes, and the film adaptation of The Invention of Hugo Cabret directed by Martin Scorsese. Logan wrote the script to the James Bond film, Skyfall, along with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. He also wrote the next Bond film, Spectre (2015).

1899 – William Dobell (d.1970) is regarded by many as one of Australia's greatest portrait painters. After a modest beginning to his artistic career, Dobell achieved legendary status in Australian art history with his controversial receipt of the 1944 Archibald prize, Australia's premier award for portraiture. While Dobell's oeuvre is replete with homosexual subtexts, the artist spent his life hiding his sexuality from what was then a very conservative Sydney society, wary of the potential harm to his career that an open display of homosexuality could cause.

Born in New South Wales on September 24, 1899, Dobell grew up in a large family in a working class suburb of Newcastle, two hours north of Sydney. As an adolescent he spent much of his time in pursuit of art, rather than young women. At the age of fourteen, he left Cooks Hill School, where art training was limited, to pursue a freehand drawing course at a local technical college. After taking up an apprenticeship with an architect in Newcastle, Dobell went to Sydney in 1924, where he worked as a draftsman and attended evening art classes at Julian Ashton's Sydney Art School.

Dobell's winning of the Society of Artists Travelling Scholarship in 1929 allowed him to further his training at the Slade School of Art in London. Dobell used London as a base from which he travelled to museums in Holland, Belgium, and Paris.

Many of Dobell's most important life studies of the male nude, including Study, Boy on Beach (1933), were produced at this time, and suggest Dobell's delight in the physicality and sexuality of his male models.

On returning to Sydney in 1939 the still relatively unknown Dobell taught at East Sydney Technical College. With the outbreak of war, he took up a position with the Civil Construction Corps, becoming an unofficial war artist. It was during this time that Dobell produced some of his most famous portraits. These include The Cypriot (1940), The Strapper (1941), and The Billy Boy (1943), the latter providing one of Dobell's most iconic references to homosexuality. The painting depicts the weighty torso of laborer Joseph Westcott, his flabby, pink flesh barely covered by a diaphanous, loose, white singlet.

The Billy Boy

In other paintings produced during the war, such as Emergency Loading at Night, Perth (1944), Barrowman, Perth (1944), and Concrete Consolidation Workers, Sydney Graving Dock (1944), Dobell also idealized the masculinity of fellow Construction Corps workers. His paintings glorify the men's physical prowess, casting them as sexualized, heroic workers.

Dobell's receipt of the 1944 Archibald Prize for his Portrait of Joshua Smith made him an Australian household name. Even mainstream society, ordinarily uninterested in the politics of Australia's small artistic community, was intrigued by the often viciously personal debate initiated by the awarding of the prize to Dobell.

Portrait of Joshua Smith

The incident was also noteworthy because beneath a thin veneer of high-minded aesthetic discussion lurked a voyeuristic curiosity about the true nature of the relationship between Dobell and his sitter, Joshua Smith, a friend and fellow artist.

Traumatized by the intense public scrutiny of his personal life, in late 1944 Dobell retreated to the relative isolation of Wangi Wangi on the New South Wales central coast. He won the Archibald Prize two more times.

Self-portrait

He was knighted in 1966, but died four years later on May 13, 1970. In accordance with the artist's wishes, much of his estate was used to establish The Sir William Dobell Foundation, an institution that continues to benefit and promote art in New South Wales.

1482 – Switzerland: Richard Puller von Hohenberg is burned at the stake along with his servant Anton Matzler in Zurich. They are accused of having a homosexual relationship.

1731 – Twenty-two men are strangled and burned for sodomy in Faan, the Netherlands. Two die under torture. A total of 96 Gay men are

executed in the years 1730-1731.

1957 – An Austrian committee recommends repeal of that nation's sodomy law, but it will take 14 years for the repeal to happen.

what is it about candyman people like so much? is it the allure of someone supernatural? or the whole 'you're going to die, but i'm going to make it oh-so worth it' thing?

Hey! Okay so full disclosure I've only seen the first movie and im also not like the biggest or most knowledgeable candyman fan i can kind of answer this, but anyone who has more to add please feel free!

So the things you've pointed out also add to it but also I feel like those apply to a lot of other slashers in general, like so many slashers could make it worth my while before I die sgsjdjjdjddj But for Candyman, or Daniel Robitaille, a lot of my interest in him comes from his backstory. It's incredibly tragic, being lynched and having his hand cut off and being killed by bee stings because he fell in love with a white woman and her family found out. He isn't JUST a spooky serial killer, he died so horrifically and tragically that his soul can't rest. His chemistry with the main lead Helen is really good, and even better when it's found out that Daniel's former lover looks a LOT like Helen and it's hinted that she's a reincarnation of this woman. So you get the tragedy of this romance that was torn apart and that they were meant to be together. Not to mention Tony Todd is very attractive and he kills it in this role as he always does, plus his voice is so sexy it really just draws you in.

So thats some of my thoughts, again I've only seen the first movie but I have to say of you haven't seen it you really should. I highly recommend it and it's a really good film overall, Clive Barker (who also created and directed Hellraiser) really knows how to create an atmospheric film as well as just making his films so grandiose and ethereal.

The thing i like with 70s/80s horror is that theyre always kinda goofy and have hot guys. I dont really watch them to get scared, i just watch them to look at attractive men and have fun. The only slightly older horror movie i saw that really scared me was Candyman, and even then I was getting butterflies over Tony Todd (and also Ted Raimi but hes an asshole in this movies :/) this new shit though, like Hereditary, Midsommer, and Us REALLY fucks with me, yknow??

YEAH i know!!! folk horror is definitely in it's prime right now because everyone REALLY wants to be freaked out and whatnot......... lupita nyong'o is also very pretty........ i still haven't seen us but i like the concept a lot....... the only goofy horror now comes from people who REALLY want to replicate the 80s but just sorta end up parodying tbe basic stuff instead of following a similar structure to those and that makes me so annoyed...... i think we should have more dudes who cry in horror. because we don't have enough of that nowadays........

THE LUCIE ARNAZ SHOW

April 2, 1985

Produced by Sam Denhoff Productions and Taft Entertainment Television

Producers: Susan Seeger, Kathy Speer, Terry Grossman

“The Lucie Arnaz Show” was based on the British television sitcom “Agony” (1979-81) starring Maureen Lipman as Dr. Jane Lucas. The original series ran for 20 episodes on LWT (London Weekend Television). Guest cast included actors like Bill Nighy, Rosalind Ayres, Miranda Richardson, and Phyllida Law.

On “Here’s Lucy” there was an attempt to spin off Lucie’s character of Kim Carter for her own sitcom. In 1972, the last episode of season 4, “Kim Cuts You-Know-Who’s Apron Strings” (HL S4;E24), essentially served as the pilot for a story that had Kim moving to her own apartment, introducing a new cast of characters, one of whom was Lucy’s brother Herb, an uncle invented for the new series. CBS did not pick-up the pilot for production and Arnaz remained part of the regular cast of “Here’s Lucy” in seasons 5 and 6. While it seems unlikely that Lucille Ball was incapable of convincing CBS to pick up the new series, most likely Ball didn’t want to pressure CBS due to Vivian Vance’s sudden illness. Without Vance to fill-in as Lucy’s side-kick, Lucie was needed on “Here’s Lucy.” 

After viewing the pilot CBS made a six episode commitment to the show, but recast everyone but Lucie and Karen Jablons-Alexander (Loretta). Broadway’s Chip Zien was one of the casting casualties. CBS aired all six episodes (with a two-month break after episode 4) but they declined to pick up the show for their Fall 1985 schedule. 

CBS also made the executive decision to change the title from “Agony” to “The Lucie Arnaz Show,” a decision Lucie was conflicted about. While she was flattered to have her name on a show she felt good about, she felt it was not a show about Lucie Arnaz, but Jane Lucas. In England, the term ‘Agony Aunts’ applies to those who give advice, much like Dear Abby or Ann Landers in America. CBS insisted the title was too short to be quickly found and understood in the TV listings. 

Unlike her mother’s sitcoms, the show was NOT filmed with three cameras in front of a studio audience, but on location in New York City with one camera. 

Between the time the pilot was shot (late 1984) and production resumed after CBS gave the show the green light, Lucie Arnaz became pregnant with her third child, Kate. Production was sped up and Arnaz’s wardrobe successfully hid her pregnancy from viewers. Coincidentally, Lucille Ball herself was pregnant with Lucie when filming the pilot for “I Love Lucy” in 1951. 

CBS picked up the show as a replacement series for “Alice”, a sitcom starring Linda Lavin that ended its 9 season run on March 19, 1985. Although Monday nights had been lucky for Lucille Ball, Lucie Arnaz was given Tuesday evenings, taking the 8:00pm time slot of “The Jeffersons” which moved to 8:30pm for its final months on the air. “The Jeffersons” aired its final episode on June 25, two weeks after the end of “The Lucie Arnaz Show,” so CBS moved it back to 8pm and aired it alongside a rerun of “Alice” at 8:30pm. 

Series Premise 

“Advice Radio 88 - Your spot for music and mental health in the afternoon”.

Lucie Arnaz plays Dr. Jane Lucas, a radio call-in host in New York City, who also writes a newspaper column and holds down a private practice. She has to deal with her eccentric secretary Loretta, her chauvinistic boss Jim, her immature co-host Larry, and her interfering sister Jill. 

“The always ingratiating Miss Arnaz as a psychologist who not only writes an advice column, but also takes calls from listeners on her own radio program." ~ New York Times

The show features Jane contending (by phone) with her over-protective mother. Viewers cannot help but think of the real-life mother Lucille Ball, who looms large over the CBS sitcom world. In fact, promo material for the series touted 'You'll Love This Lucie!’ 

In the mid-1960s, CBS employed Abigail Van Buren to bring her “Dear Abby” advice column to the airwaves just as Dr. Jane Lucas did on Advice Radio 88′s “The Love and Lucas Show” in the mid-1980s.

CBS also recruited Lucille Ball to do a daily 15 minute talk show (as herself) titled “Let’s Talk To Lucy”.  Although not strictly an advice show, Ball was known to speak her mind if she was so inclined. 

In addition to her co-hosting duties at WPLE, Jane writes a column for the Daily Mirror, which was also the name of the newspaper that Lucy Ricardo read about Rosemary in “Lucy is Jealous of Girl Singer” (S1;E10).

Although it was a real-life newspaper, New York’s Daily Mirror ceased publication in 1963, making it fictional in Jane Lucas’s New York, but not Lucy Ricardo’s! 

Jane lives in Apartment 4A on East 70th Street. From 1951 to May 1953, the Ricardos lived in Apartment 4A on East 68th Street. 

Jane plays short-stop for the WPLE softball team. Lucy Carmichael and Viv Bagley played softball for the Danfield Volunteer Fire Department in “Lucy and Viv Play Softball” (TLS S2;E23) in 1963. 

Although she played music instead of dispensing advice, Lucy Carmichael hosted a radio show in “Lucy the Disc Jockey” (TLS S3;E26) in 1965. 

In 1981, the same year “Agony” ended in Great Britain, Desi Arnaz Jr. was in a TV movie titled “Advice to the Lovelorn” starring Chloris Leachman as an advice columnist named Maggie Dale. The telefilm served as a pilot for a series that was not picked up for production. 

In 1933, the same year Lucille Ball arrived in Hollywood, United Artists released a film adaptation of the Nathaniel West novel “Miss Lonelyhearts” titled Advice to the Lovelorn (later changed to Advice to the Forlorn), about a newspaper reported demoted to writing the lonely hearts column of his newspaper. It featured “I Love Lucy” character actor Charles Lane.  

In 1958, the story was remade again, this time with Montgomery Clift as the demoted reporter writing to the heartbroken. This version was titled Lonelyhearts and was adapted by Dore Schary, and produced by Walter Reilly, both of whom were characters on “I Love Lucy”. 

Finally, just a year before “The Lucie Arnaz Show” started filming its pilot, PBS presented a more faithful adaptation of “Miss Lonelyhearts” starring Eric Roberts as the writer. 

In 2020, “The Lucie Arnaz Show” began streaming on Tubi, a free TV streaming service. 

“I wasn’t anxious to do a television series. I have no desire to become any more famous than I already am--and I don’t mean that egotistically. It’s just that I’ve been well known for...well, really ever since I was born, because of whose daughter I was, and I’ve never had a burning ambition to be famous. I grew up with it; I know what it’s like.” ~ Lucie Arnaz, Los Angeles Times  

REGULAR CAST

Lucie Arnaz (Dr. Jane Lucas) is the real-life daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. She was born in 1951 just before the premiere of “I Love Lucy.” Lucille Ball was actually pregnant during the filming of the show’s pilot. Despite rumors to the contrary, Lucie Arnaz never appeared on “I Love Lucy.” Lucie played Cynthia (as well as other characters) on “The Lucy Show.”  She has been twice married, to actor Phil Vandervort (1971) and actor-writer Laurence Luckinbill (1980–present). She has three children  with Luckinbill: Simon, Joseph, and Katharine. She now lives in Palm Springs, California, near the home once owned by her parents. 

Jane is 31 years old and a graduate of New York University. Arnaz was actually 33 and did not attend college. 

Tony Roberts (Jim Gordon, Jane’s Boss) and Lucie Arnaz were both presenters at the 1981 Tony Awards aired on CBS.  Coincidentally, Roberts was on Broadway in They’re Playing Our Song, although he joined the cast after Lucie Arnaz’s departure, playing opposite Anita Gillette as Sonia Walsk. In March 1985, just prior to the airing of this sitcom, Roberts, Arnaz, and Lucille Ball were three of the “Night of 100 Stars 2″ at Radio City Music Hall. In 2018, Roberts and Arnaz were two of the many stage stars interviewed for the Rick McKay documentary Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age.

Karen Jablons-Alexander (Loretta, Jane’s Secretary) was born in 1951 in Trenton, New Jersey. Aside from this short-lived series, she only has two other screen credits, both in 1991: a day player on “General Hospital” and a background character on the film True Colors.  Aside from Lucie Arnaz, Jablons-Alexander was the only actor CBS retained from the pilot episode. 

Lee Bryant  (Jill, Jane’s Sister) is probably best remembered as Mrs. Hammen in both Airplane! and Airplane 2: The Sequel. From 1978 to 1979 Bryant starred in TV commercials for Yuban coffee, where she played a wife who can't understand why her husband never wants to drink a second cup of her coffee. She also played Fran, ex-wife of  “T.J. Hooker” (1982-83). 

Todd Waring (Larry Love, Jane’s Co-Host) made his series TV debut with this show. He has been continually working ever since. He is married to actor Eve Gordon and has two children. 

Tippy (Larry’s Invisible Dog) 

Each episode began with a different handwritten note from a listener, after which, the credits begin. 

EPISODES (aired in filming order)

April 2, 1985 - “The Old Boyfriend” (S1;E1) 

Synopsis: Discovering that her old beau had indulged in a few lies, Dr. Lucas decides that ''after 12 years, I can put down the torch.''  At the half-hour's end, she advises a listener that ''happiness is being aware of the fact that you're not going to be happy all of the time.''

Director: Ed Feldman

Writers: Susan Seeger

Rating 12.6 ~ In its first outing, the show attracted 20% of viewers, a sliver better than “Three’s a Crowd” on ABC, but well below “The A-Team” on NBC, which got 37%.

GUEST CAST

John Getz (Scott, Jane’s Old Boyfriend) is an Iowa-born theatre actor who appeared in the workshop and very first production of the musical The Robber Bridegroom. Goetz was standby for Robert Klein in Broadway’s They’re Playing Our Song starring Lucie Arnaz. One of Getz's earliest roles was as ‘Shampoo Man’ in a Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo commercial shot in the late 1970s. He has recently been seen on “Better Call Saul” and “Grace & Frankie.”

Gene Klavan (Mel, Engineer) was born on May 4, 1924 in Baltimore, Maryland. Klaven was a popular talk radio personality although on screen he was primarily a voice actor. He left radio in 1980 and died on April 8, 2004.

Thomas Quinn (Cab Driver) is best known as Desk Sergeant Martin on the CBS sitcom “Baker’s Dozen” (1981). 

TRIVIA

555-WPLE was the advice line phone number, adhering to the old film and TV practice of using 555 as a telephone exchange.  

The opening scene was filmed on location in front of the Ed Sullivan Theatre (above today), then home to the CBS sitcom “Kate & Allie”. Coincidentally, in 1987 “Kate & Allie” did an episode where Allie (Jane Curtain) dreams she is in “I Love Lucy.”

Across the street from the Ed Sullivan Theatre is the Broadway Theatre, where Anthony Quinn was performing in a revival of the 1968 musical Zorba. The revival ran from October 16, 1983 to September 2, 1984, which means the scene was shot sometime in late summer 1984.

On her office bulletin board, there is a Playbill for the musical My One and Only which opened on Broadway on May 1, 1983 and closed on March 3, 1985. It then launched a National Tour starring Sandy Duncan and Tommy Tune. Lucie Arnaz replaced Duncan on the second half of the tour. Lucie won the famed Chicago Sarah Siddons Award for her performance.

A view of the Empire State Building starts the final scene at the baseball diamond. Location footage of the Empire State Building was also seen in “Bon Voyage” (ILL S5;E13) as the helicopter carrying Lucy Ricardo toward the SS Constitution flies over Manhattan.

One of the most memorable episodes of “I Love Lucy” involved Lucy and Ethel (dressed as women from Mars) scaling the observation deck of the New York City landmark, although there was no establishing footage and the episode was filmed entirely in Hollywood. 

The final scene of the episode takes place at a Central Park baseball field. Could this be the same field where Lucille Ball played for the Broadway Show League in 1961, batting for Wildcat with Julie Andrews (Camelot) as catcher and Joe E. Brown as ump? 

April 9, 1985 - “Sisters” (S1;E2) 

Synopsis: Jane's sister visits her for the week while her family is out of town.

Director: Ed Feldman

Writer: Susan Seeger, Kathy Speer & Terry Grossman

Rating 10.5 ~ The show fell to third place in its time period, drawing just 16% of the audience.

GUEST CAST

Melissa Joan Hart (Sarah, Jane’s Niece) was an 8 year-old from Long Island when she made her TV debut with this episode. She is best known for playing the leading roles in “Clarissa Explains It All For You” (1991-94) and “Sabrina The Teenage Witch” (1996-2003). 

Sandy Schwartz (Billy, Jane’s Nephew, uncredited)

Gwyn Gilliss (Peggy Gordon, Jim’s Wife) is a NY stage actor who is best known as Lisette Grummond on over 800 episodes of the soap opera “Loving”.  She was also seen on the daytime dramas “All My Children,” “As The World Turns,” “Another World,” and “Ryan’s Hope.” 

Kate McKeown (Sister Bernadette) 

Richard Zavaglia (Sam, Engineer)

Douglas Seale (Mr. Beverly, Jane’s Neighbor) was born in London in 1913. He was a New York stage actor seen in the original casts of The Dresser (1981) and Noises Off (1985), which earned him a Tony nomination. He was the voice of the Sultan in Aladdin (1992) and the voice of Krebbs in The Rescuers Down Under (1990). He died in 1999 at age 85.

Jane attends an event at the Club El Morocco. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were just two of the many celebrities who spent evenings at the Club, known for its zebra-print banquettes. 

PRESS

“Will Miss Arnaz get better scripts to showcase her decidedly appealing personality? Perhaps only Sam Denhoff, the creator and executive producer, knows for sure.” ~ New York Times, April 9, 1985

April 23, 1985 - “Good Sports” (S1;E3) 

Synopsis: Jane gets a poor review from a Sports writer (Danny Aiello).

Director: Allan Baron

Writers: Kathy Speer & Terry Grossman

Rating 9.2 ~ The show was not aired the previous week due to the mini-series “Space”. This week the show was up against two repeats, and still lost its time slot. 

GUEST CAST

Danny Aiello (Dick Rosetti, Sports Columnist) was nominated for an Oscar of 1989′s Do The Right Thing. In 2016, Aiello and Lucie Arnaz were both voices in the animated film Henry & Me. He appeared with Tony Roberts in the films Key Exchange (1985) and Radio Days (1987). He died in 2019 at age 86.

Dick Boccelli (Dominick, Bar Patron)

Frank Gio (Frankie, Bartender)

Richard Zavaglia (Sam, Engineer)

April 30, 1985 - “Larry Writes the Songs” (S1;E4) 

Synopsis: Jane reviews Larry's song lyrics.

Director: Allen Baron

Writer: Bob Colleary

Rating 7.5 ~  Once again the show was up against two repeats, and still lost its time slot.

GUEST CAST

Ray DeMattis (Vitto, Mr. Gordon’s Barber) made his TV debut with this episode. He is a New York stage actor who was also seen in several TV shows featuring Bill Cosby. 

Melissa Joan Hart (Sarah, Jane’s Niece)

Sandy Schwartz (Billy, Jane’s Nephew)

Ted Schwartz (Buzzy Cone, Emcee)

Carol Siskind (Cookie, Stand-Up Comic)

Richard Zavaglia (Sam, Engineer)

Douglas Seale (Mr. Beverly, Jane’s Neighbor)

June 4, 1985 - “Jane’s Desperate Hour” (S1;E5) 

Synopsis: Jane helps a young woman with an abusive husband.

Directed by: Peter Baldwin

Written by: Len Richmond & Sam Denhoff

Rating 6.4 ~ Not only did the episode lose its time slot to reruns, it was the lowest rated show of the evening on all three networks.

GUEST CAST

Kit LeFever (Marie, Jane’s Patient)

Raymond Baker (Ralph, Marie’s Husband)

Clarence Felder (Rocky, Jane’s Patient)

Mark Kaplan (Cop)

Richard Zavaglia (Sam, Engineer)

Douglas Seale (Mr. Beverly, Jane’s Neighbor)

June 11, 1985 - “Birthday Blues” (S1;E6)

Synopsis:  Jane puts together a 'surprise' birthday party for Mr. Gordon.

Director: Peter Baldwin

Writer: Laura Levine

Rating 6.6 ~ Once again the show was the lowest rated show of the evening across the board. Although the rating share was up 2 tenths of a point from the previous week, it was too little, too late to give confidence for a fall 1985 renewal.

GUEST CAST

Douglas Seale (Mr. Beverly, Jane’s Neighbor) 

Richard Zavaglia (Sam, Engineer)

FAST FORWARD!

In 1991, Lucie Arnaz was part of another failed CBS series, “Sons & Daughters”. Lucie played Tess Hammersmith in all 7 episodes that aired. 13 episodes were filmed, but the show was canceled on March 1, 1991, with six episodes that never aired. Five years earlier Lucille Ball experienced the same disappointment when “Life With Lucy” was canceled by ABC with several episodes still un-aired. 

INTERVIEW - MICKO WESTMORELAND ON 'VELVET GOLDMINE' AND LIFE WITH THE MELLOTRONICS

Micko Westmoreland first came to the public's attention as the enigmatic Jack Fairey in the star-studded glam rock fake biopic 'Velvet Goldmine', and since then has done everything from making electronica as The Bowling Green to the sharp edged new wave of his current project Micko & The Mellotronics. With that band on the verge of releasing their second single, a double A-side with the timely 'Noisy Neighbours 'and 'You Killed My Father' (featuring the late Neil Innes), he spoke to Gigsoup to tell all... Starting at the beginning, you got your first break appearing in the film ‘Velvet Goldmine’…  Quite a baptism of fire! Yep, I was fresh out of film school with little acting experience. So I did a ton of research, suspended all activities other than glam rock ones; late mornings, blurry eyeliner, became a kind of ‘Our Lady of the Flowers’, to quote Jean Genet. I did appear on set however with well prepared sleeve notes. Ziggy/Hunky and early Roxy had been teenage territory. Toni Colette really helped me during filming, showing me where and how to move and stand in frame etc. which I really wasn’t aware of and she was such a wonderful person to hang out with. Ewan McGregor was enormous in the 90s but treated you like a complete equal. I’ve acted the fiction of being a sensational rock star, my embalmed alter ego is now moth balled and hermetically sealed for posterity. What do you make of the film’s recent re-appraisal – it was panned at the time but now it’s considered a cult classic A lot of the film heavyweights liked it at the time and have consistently sung its praises over the last 20 years, which has contributed to its legacy, plus Todd Haynes is now seen as a 24-carat auteur. 1998 wasn’t ready for a kaleidoscopic pansexual odyssey. Velvet Goldmine truly tapped into a teenage hormonal feeling, so the audience is responsible for its longevity I think, people have grown old with it and new fans have discovered it. You had quite a lot of success making electronic music as The Bowling Green but then switched tack to making more song-based stuff.  What’s the story there? The music I was making was becoming increasingly filmic, so I moved into movie sound tracks for a while and did two film scores and a few documentaries with my brother; acclaimed director Wash Westmoreland (Still Alice, Colette). One of them, Echo Park L.A., won best drama at Sundance in 2006! I was becoming more attuned to a literary narrative and was listening to Dylan’s Time out of Mind and Beck’s Sea Change at the time – couple that with improvements in technology that weren’t so reliant on sampler and keyboard. I started playing much more guitar again, my first love and now my primary instrument for writing. You made a couple of albums under your own name but then formed Micko & The Mellotronics – your first ‘band’ project.  What was the thinking behind that move? I was very much used to working on my own. I made a couple of solo albums, one which Terry Edwards (P.J. Harvey/Holy Holy) released on his Sartorial label called ‘Wax & Wayne’, and ‘Yours Etc Abc’, on my own Landline records imprint, which I believe was the main unconscious projection into putting a live act together. The person doing PR for it asked, ‘Who’s in the band?’ When I realized I didn’t have one, it made sense to look for folk to start pushing sounds around. How would you sum up the band to someone you hadn’t heard you before?  Can you name us a few bands that have influenced its sound? We get compared to the Buzzcocks quite a lot, I’ll take that. I’ve loved Magazine since teenage, Television too. I also dig Serge Gainsbourg majorly and bands like The Silver Apples. I’m really into Iso Tomita, the 70’s electronic musician and of course Mr. Eno too. People have commented that the double A side, soon to be released, is like early Genesis but I think it’s much closer to The Rutles. Patrick from R.O.C. said there was violence to the sound. I do pride the writing on an intricacy and eccentricity but without getting prog about it. Talk us through the Mellotronics members and their individual flavours... Nick Mackay a friend referred me to. He was playing in a two-piece called ‘Barricades’, and was clearly a very good drummer, real flare as a player/performer and had the magic ingredient for any band – he was a thoroughly decent chap you could spend a ton of time with. Jon Klein is our very own rock star hiding in plain sight. He has a CV better than the rest of us put together: Banshees, Sinead O’Connor to name a few and of course his own band Specimen. I lent Jon my amp when we were on the same bill. I gave him a copy of my previous album and he contacted me the next day, which I considered a big thumbs up. He’s very quick, obscenely talented and has revolutionized day-to-day working practice. In short a turbo charged V12 engine has been carefully placed inside a Hillman imp, with fresh brake pads added. Vicky Carroll the bassist also came through personal referral, Haydn Hades who does stand up. At the time she was playing in a band the ‘Owls of Now’, a very bright lady indeed. She really got what the band was about and had great style. The dynamic of now the band get on and its chemistry is essential to longevity. Having a woman on board was important to us, so we really lucked out by finding such a smart cookie in Vicky. So far, you’ve shared ‘The Finger’, your first single, and now two new tracks, which will (eventually) be released as a 7” single.  Talk us through ‘Noisy Neighbors’ and ’You Killed My Father’. Noisy Neighbours came about from my experience with dealing with serial complainers whilst living in a housing co-op. We shot the video with filmmaker Ashley Jones (www.thechaoesengineers.com) in the next door location the inhabitants of the song were occupying, so we had to be quiet. Of course some complaints are genuine but most were more telling of the complainant than complainee. There are control issues, which come about as a result of trying to micromanage your environment beyond your own four walls. I wanted to make a witty statement about that without being over critical or condemning. Raising a single eyebrow over that type of behavior. ‘You Killed My Father’, the double A side was inspired by Neil Innes R.I.P. (Monty Python, Bonzo Dog, The Rutles). So of course I was thrilled when he agreed to play on it. I was introduced to him through an artist friend Harry Pye. We inadvertly created a supergroup together called the Spammed and meet up once a year to record for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Last session Tony Visconti produced a cover of Bolan’s ‘Get it on’, for us. It comprises, Rat Scabies (The Damned), Horace Panter (The Specials), Neil when he was with us and actor/comedian Kevin Eldon on vocs, I play guitar. The song relates to my childhood, growing up in Leeds and has a Shakespearean quality. I checked the prose with an expert to make sure I hadn’t over egged the pudding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5iswf8GG6o You seem to be able to attract some interesting names to collaborate with - Horace Panter of The Specials and the late Neil Innes recently, but also members of The Blockheads, Madness, Stranglers and Goldfrapp in the past.  Who would be top of your collaborative wish list? I’d love to do something with Eno again. We became friendly during the mid nineties. I was tutored by him, whilst working on an art show called ‘Self Storage’ with Laurie Anderson but never made it into the studio. A wild card like Wendy Carlos, famed for the soundtrack of ‘A Clockwork Orange’ would be great too. Likewise, your videos have featured some interesting names from British comedy…  What do they bring to the party?  Anyone else you’d like to get on board if you had free reign? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDr7nkOQN9Q All the comedy connections came from Kevin Eldon initially, a super bright and truly wonderful guy. He introduced me to Paul Putner at a Specials gig. Paul’s a brilliant bloke and really likes the band. He found the remarkable Suzy Kane for us. All three have taken excellent roles. Suzy had a lot of input in Noisy Neighbours, suggesting wardrobe and even shots to Ashley as we were making it; we really have had tremendous fun with our contributors. Obviously, Chris Morris would be fantastic but I’m a little afraid to knock. We hear the debut M&TM album is close to completion – what have you got in store for us? A psychedelic mish mash of fable, sound collage and idea. With the new single, 3 of the songs are now out there. On a musical front Horace Panter out of The Specials has guested on a couple of tracks for us and of course we have one of Neil Innes’ last performances too. I’ve written a song about Imelda Marcos, she seemed like a person who was way ahead of her time, a modern template for a highly manipulative battle-axe. I have an author friend in his 60s who’s an eminent  psychologist, (Georg Eifert - Anxiety Happens) so I wrote a song called ‘The Fear’, with a lot of his theories in mind. There’s also one too called ‘Sick and Tired’, it’s not about what I’m eed up about, but like Noisy Neighbours it’s a comment about complaint. When writing I try to look at what gets talked about by everyday people and base some of the songs around those themes. Earwig on phone conversations on buses, pick up discarded bits of paper, when you get into the habit you’ll be amazed what you find. So I get on the 38 and set my brain to record. There’s also a fair amount about growing up on the record too, which I hope all can relate to. I think you have to start with a good idea, that’s on any level otherwise you’re unlikely to get far. From my art college days I got into the habit of noting things down, if you don’t it often escapes you. It’s difficult to marry a multitude of ingredients and let’s face it the world is full of plenty, pair it down and make it resonate. Anyone who tells you otherwise is telling porkies. To make something that stands the test of time is more difficult still. But I’m not afraid of the work and I enjoy ‘the doing’, for me that’s what it’s all about. I believe that as individuals we have a natural tendency to evolve, if we choose to see it that way and trust, it’ll ‘self fulfill’. If you’ll allow yourself to tap into that expansion creatively, you’ll always find inspiration. Micko & The Mellotronics release 'Noisy Neighbours / You Killed My Father' on Landline Records on April 17 with the 7" single schedule to hit the shops on June 27. Read the full article

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1: How tall or short do you wish you were? I wish I was like 5’8”

2: What’s your dream pet? (Real or not) dinosaur lol

3: Do you have a favorite clothing style? Not really. Jeans and a t shirt

4: What was your favorite video game growing up? Tony hawk pro skater and gta’s

5: What three things/people do you think of most each day: sex, food, and materialistic wants

6: If you had a warning label, what would yours say? “Damaged goods”

7: What is your opinion on [insert person/thing here]? You didn’t put anything lol

8: What is your Greek personality type? [Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, or Melancholic] sanguine

9: Are you ticklish? Very

10: Are you allergic to anything? Penicillin, avocado, and pineapple

11: What’s your sexuality? Bisexual

12: Do you prefer tea, coffee, or cocoa? Coffee

13: Are you a cat or dog person? Dog

14: Would you rather be a vampire, elf, or merperson? Merperson

15: Do you have a favorite Youtuber? No

16: How tall are you? 5’4”

17: If you had to change your name, what would you change it to? I wouldn’t

18: How much do you weigh? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!] under 200 lbs

19: Do you believe in ghosts/spirits? Yes

20: Do you like space or the ocean more? Both

21: Are you religious? A tad

22: Pet peeves? Lies, loud mouth chewing

23: Would you rather be nocturnal or diurnal [opposite of nocturnal]? Nocturnal

24: Favorite constellation? My cancer constellation

25: Favorite star? I don’t have one

26: Do you like ball-jointed dolls? What. No

27: Any phobias or fears? Moths and frogs lol

28: Do you think global warming is real? Very

29: Do you believe in reincarnation? Eh

30: Favorite movie? Sweeney Todd, love & basketball, rent, all the Batman movies lol

31: Do you get scared easily? No

32: How many pets have you own in your lifetime? Two

33: Blog rate? [You’ll rate the blog of the one who’s asking.] ?

34: What is a color that calms you? Blue

35: Where would you like to travel and/or live? Travel - Greece, Ireland, Scotland, Europe and live Colorado, Oregon, Washington

36: Where were you born? El Paso, TX

37: What is your eye color? Light brown

38: Introvert or extrovert? Both

39: Do you believe in horoscopes and zodiacs? Eh

40: Hugs or kisses? Kisses

41: Who is someone you would like to see/visit right now? My best friend

42: Who is someone you love deeply? My family

43: Any piercings you want? My nipples

44: Do you like tattoos and piercings? Very much so

45: Do you smoke or have you eiver done so? I’m smoking rn lol

46: Talk about your crush, if you have one! Negative

47: What is a sound you really hate? Screeching sounds

48: A sound you really love? The ocean

49: Can you do a backflip? No

50: Can you do the splits? No

51: Favorite actor and/or actress? Jason Mamoa, Dwayne Johnson, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler

52: Favorite movie? Refer to 30

53: How are you feeling right now? Pretty down

54: What color would you like your hair to be right now? I like my hair color

55: When did you feel happiest? When I’m conducting an ensemble or playing an instrument

56: Something that calms you down? Music

57: Have any mental disorders? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!] depression and anxiety but everyone has that now

58: What does your URL mean? My name and basketball number from hs

59: What three words describe you the most? Patient, understanding, and creative

60: Do you believe in evolution? Yes

61: What makes you unfollow a blog? Racist, sexist, homophobic, trump supporting all that shit

62: What makes you follow a blog? Stuff I like lol

63: Favorite kind of person: calm, curious, and artistic

64: Favorite animal(s): dinosaurs, whale sharks, jellyfish, octopus, and dogs

65: Name three of your favorite blogs. @thisismebeforeicomeundone @plastic-pipes @soyoumusik

66: Favorite emoticon: 🤔

67: Favorite meme: the girl yelling at the cat

68: What is your MBTI personality type? INTP

69: What is your star sign? Cancer

70: Can your dog roll over on command, if you have a dog? No she’s a bitch lol

71: What outfit out of all your clothes do you like to wear the most? Sweats and a shirt

72: Post a selfie or two? Maybe later

73: Do you have platform shoes? No

74: What is one random but interesting fact about yourself? I am double jointed in my elbows

75: Can you do a front flip? No

76: Do you like birds? No

77: Do you like to swim? Yes

78: Is swimming or ice skating more fun to you? Ice skating

79: Something you wish didn’t exist: trump

80: Some thing you wish did exist: dragons

81: Piercings you have? My ears

82: Something you really enjoy doing: making music

83: Favorite person to talk to: my roommate

84: What was your first impression of Tumblr? I can use this in high school lmao

85: How many followers do you have? 457

86: Can you run a mile within ten minutes? Hell no

87: Do your socks always match? Yes

88: Can you touch your toes and keep your legs straight completely?yes

89: What are your birthstones? Ruby

90: If you were an animal, which one would you be? Maybe a sloth or shark

91: If a flower could aesthetically represent you, what kind would it be? Hmm...idk I don’t know flowers enough

92: A store you hate? Burlington

93: How many cups of coffee can you drink in one day? Like 7 lol

94: Would you rather be able to fly or read minds? Read minds

95: Do you like to wear camo? Nope

96: Winter or summer? Summer

97: How long can you hold your breath for? Like 45 secs

98: Least favorite person? N/a

99: Someone you look up to: alondra de la parra

100: A store you love? Barnes and noble

101: Favorite type of shoes? Vans

102: Where do you live? Las cruces, NM

103: Are you a vegetarian or vegan? If so, why? I’m not lol

104: What is your favorite mineral or gem? Obsidian

105: Do you drink milk? Lactose intolerant

106: Do you like bugs? Nope

107: Do you like spiders? Nope

108: Something you get paranoid about? I don’t really

109: Can you draw: eh

110: Nosiest question you have ever been asked? If my parents were born in the states or not

111: A question you hate being asked? If I have kids

112: Ever been bitten by a spider? No

113: Do you like the sound of waves at the beach? Love it

114: Do you prefer cloudy or sunny days? Both

115: Someone you’d like to kiss or cuddle right now: n/a

116: Favorite cloud type: the ones that looks like waves

117: What color do you wish the sky was? Sunset colors

118: Do you have freckles? Yes

119: Favorite thing about a person: their eyes or lips

120: Fruits or vegetables? Fruits

121: Something you want to do right now: watch Star Wars

122: Is the ocean or sky prettier? Sky

123: Sweet or sour foods? Sweet

124: Bright or dim lights? Dim

125: Do you believe in a certain magical creature? Dragons lol

126: Something you hate about Tumblr: the ads

127: Something you love about Tumblr: the people I follow lol so my dashboard

128: What do you think about the least? Taxes and shit

129: What would you want written on your tombstone? Something with Batman

130: Who would you like to punch in the face right now? Trump

131: What is something you love but also hate about yourself? How indecisive I can be

132: Do you smile with your teeth showing for pictures? Sometimes

133: Computer or TV? Computer

134: Do you like roller coasters? Love them

135: Do you get motion sickness or seasickness? No

136: Are your ears lobed or attached? Lobed

137: Do you believe in karma? Yes

138: On a scale of 1-10, how attractive would you say you are? 5

139: What nicknames do you have/have had? Nat or natocato

140: Did you have any pretend or imaginary friends? Yes

141: Have you ever seen a therapist/shrink? Yes

142: Would you say you are a good or bad influence to others? Good

143: Do you prefer giving or receiving gifts/help? Giving

144: What makes you angry? Trump. Ignorant people. Cheaters

145: How many languages do you speak fluently? Two

146: Do you prefer boys, girls, and/or non-binaries? Boys and girls

147: Are you androgynous? No

148: Favorite physical thing about yourself: my lips

149: Favorite thing about your personality: my loyalty

150: Name three people you would like to talk to right now in person. Aaron, Krystal, and Andy

151: If you could go back into time and live in one era, which would you choose? Revolution era just to hear certain composers

152: Do you like BuzzFeed? Eh not really

153: How did you meet your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner? [If you have one.] don’t have one

154: Do you like to kiss others’ foreheads or hands for platonic reasons? Yes lol

155: Do you like to play with others’ hair? Yes

156: What embarrasses you? Nothing really lol

157: Something that makes you nervous/anxious: “I need to talk to tou”

158: Biggest lie you have ever told: that I had no marijuana in the car when I get pulled over lmao

159: How many people are you following? 583

160: How many posts do you have on your blog(s)? Too many lol

161: How many drafts do you have on your blog(s)? None

162: How many likes do you have on your blog(s)? Hmm idk

163: Last time you cried and why: earlier, some hurtful words

164: Do you have long or short hair? Long

165: Longest your hair has ever been: below my butt

166: Why do you like, dislike, or have neutral feelings about religon? Too many rules and money hungry organizations

167: Do you really care how the universe and world was created? Yes

168: Do you like to wear makeup? Hate it

169: Can you stand on your hands or head for more than thirty seconds? Yes

170: Did you answer the questions you were asked truthfully? Yes

537.

What do you believe happens to us after death? >> I don’t have a concrete belief. I tend to assume that our consciousness ends at the time of death, but I’m also very interested in all the alternate explanations and beliefs. There’s only one way to find out for sure, and we’ll all get there someday, so. Have you ever cheated on someone? >> Yeah. What are your plans for this weekend? >> I’m going with Sparrow to a wedding for someone in her family, and on Sunday we’re going to Grand Rapids Comic-Con so I can ogle Tony Todd. x) Does the thought of growing old frighten you? >> No, it interests me greatly. I’m very excited to find out what sort of people I will become over time. What is the best movie you’ve ever seen? >> I don’t rank movies like that. There’s just ones I liked, ones I didn’t like, and ones that affected me so deeply that “love” just doesn’t even begin to cut it.

Have you ever hurt someone for your own entertainment? >> No, which is kind of funny since I do have a sadistic streak. I just have a lot of healthy outlets for it. Also, I have been hurt for other people’s entertainment, and it’s actually made me less likely to want to do it to someone else. Unless they ask me to. ~ What is your favorite song of all time? >> I can’t even imagine having a favourite song of all time. Here is a random song I love, instead: This Old Heart of Mine by the Isley Brothers. Has anyone you’ve known died on a holiday? >> No. If you could write a book, what would it be about? >> I have no idea, which is why I’m not writing a book. Do you think most people understand you? >> I don’t know if anyone understands me, so I don’t take my thoughts on it seriously. I tend to be pessimistic about others’ desire to understand me, which means my assessment will always be unreliable. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? >> I’m fine the way I am, more or less.  What are some lyrics that speak to your soul? >> The entirety of There She Goes, My Beautiful World by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Are you in love with anyone at the moment? >> No. Have you ever been in love with more than one person at the same time? >> I’ve been interested in/entangled with more than one person at the same time. What is your favorite time of year? >> I don’t know. What is your ideal first date? >> --- What is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to you? >> I don’t know. Do you have any taboo fetishes or preferences? >> Sure. What is the thing you are most ashamed of? >> I don’t know, shame isn’t a feeling I really recognise in myself. What is the emotion you seem to feel most strongly? >> Melancholy. Do you think of yourself as a unique person? >> Sure. What is a movie from childhood that you loved? >> The Pagemaster. That shit was (is) awesome. Are you afraid of death? >> Yeah, sometimes. But that’s only one of my feelings about death. There are many others. What are your top three biggest fears, actually? >> Being institutionalised against my will (in a hospital, prison, whatever); dying a bad death; losing touch with the world in a way that I can recognise and be terrified by but can’t do anything about. Do you have an accent of any kind? >> Sure, because everyone does, but I just don’t know what mine would be called, or what regions it would represent. What do you want to be remembered for? >> --- What is your favorite number? >> 9 and 19. Do you have a favorite television show? If so, what is it? >> No, I have a lot of tv shows that I love. Hannibal is one. Are you currently sad about anything? >> I’m always sad on some level. But I’m not actively feeling sad right now. What was your first job? >> I worked in a casual restaurant. And what job do you have now? >> --- Have you ever changed your spiritual beliefs? >> Sure have. What is your favorite alcoholic drink? >> I couldn’t possibly choose. Do you ever talk to yourself? >> Yeah, but more often I’m talking to someone inworld and just happened to say it out loud. Have you ever cried yourself to sleep in your adult life? >> Yeah. What do you think is the meanest thing you’ve ever said to someone? >> I have no idea. How do you celebrate your favorite holiday? >> I don’t really have any set rituals and I’d like to change that eventually. I love rituals, but I guess since I’ve never had any for holidays and such, mine will have to happen organically over time. Do you have a favorite book? If so, how many times have you read it? >> No, I have a lot of books that I enjoyed. One of them is The Fountainhead, and I read that twice. Do you have any teachers from the past who inspired you? >> No. Do you prefer sad or happy music? >> I like both. Speaking of which, what is your favorite genre? >> I don’t have one. What is your best talent? >> --- Have you ever wished you were from another country? >> No. What are you thinking about currently? >> Just this survey. What is the closest red thing to your body? >> The underside of Erik the Phantom Bear’s cape is red. He’s near me on the bed. What is a subject that makes you uncomfortable to speak about? >> I can’t think of any right now. What is your favorite clothing store to shop at? >> --- Do you have anything you are extremely particular about? >> I sure do. Have you ever seen the ocean? >> I’ve seen the Atlantic. What is your most fond memory of your current S.O, if applicable? >> *shrug* Do you find yourself confused often? >> I don’t think so. Curious or intrigued, definitely, but not necessarily confused. What is your dream career? >> --- What was the best time of your life? >> --- Have you ever been on a cruise? >> No. Do you miss any of your exes? >> No. I sure do miss the parts of myself that those people gravely wounded, though. Growing those parts back is one fuck of a process. Who would you like to say something to? >> --- Are you religious? >> I have religious sensibilities, I guess you could say. I desire the social connection of a religion, that shared experience, and there’s one religion in particular that really interests me to the point where I often desire to convert, but I don’t know. It’s a complicated topic for me. Do you think you are attractive? >> Sometimes. How many people have you slept with? >> Too goddamn many. Do you consider yourself a catch? >> I don’t, but it’s not my opinion that matters in the end. Do you enjoy naps? >> No, they disorient the fuck out of me. What kind of sauce do you eat your chicken nuggets with? >> I don’t eat chicken nuggets. Are you happy? >> Sure, among other things. What do you think you could do to improve your life? >> I am not interested in “improving my life”. My life is fine. 

For the fic questions - I know I chose a lot, feel free not to answer all, but they were all so good (had to keep myself from listing more actually xD): 3,8,9,20, 45 and 51

3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

If I’m assuming this question is about the actual fandom and not the source material and the people in the fandom and its community as a whole? Probably the Percy Jackson fandom. Not really into it anymore so I don’t know the state of it now, but it was a pretty wholesome and positive community. Any community that calls it’s creator “Uncle Rick” has gotta be pretty dope.

8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

What even is my latest fandom? Um, we’ll just say Marvel because I’m really not into joining fandoms much anymore. Honestly, I was a big DC fan who felt the need to hate Marvel because no shit. Eventually, I just got sick of the absolute shit movies DC had and I decided I had nothing to lose by just watching Iron Man. When I watched it I realized “wow, superhero movies can actually be good???” and I just binged the entire MCU in one month and was ready to see the next movie in theatres and I think I’ve seen every single MCU movie in theatres since Civil War? Definitely since Homecoming. I gave up on DC movies. The new Aquaman looks like shit, I’m so fucking pissed they redid Mera’s look when she looked perfectly fucking fine before and now she’s oversexualized and it’s gross. I’m excited for the new DC Batwoman TV show because I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO SEE A LIVE ACTION BATWOMAN SINCE THE DAWN OF FUCKING TIME

9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

Probably the Tony Stark Defense Squad. As a collective whole, I think the Defense Squad is one of the sweetest, nicest corners of the fandom. We’re incredibly kind to each other, write great meta and fic, and it’s just a great community. Of course, there are assholes, but you know.

I might get flamed for saying this, but also the HYDRA Trash Party corner of the fandom is actually really nice? Like, they understand consent and abuse aftermath and all the real shit better than the rest of the fandom, not gonna lie. Like, for as dark as the fic is you’d expect the people to be fucking nasties, but I have never met a rude HTP enthusiast. Or even one who’s unaware of how consent and whump work. They’re all very aware and kind. It’s bizarre, considering the source material. They get an awful rep though.

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

I’ll do a different answer I thought of besides the first time I answered this. But Thruce was a big shocker for me. I didn’t even think about it during Ragnorak but then I saw an incorrect quote for it and I was like? Oh? This? This is a good, pure ship right here. The funny thing is, I actually wrote a fic with them as a side ship long before they hit it big so like, I was shocked when they came out of nowhere. But hey, I’m fucking here for it. I’ll probably never write it, but I’m here for it.

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

This is my third time so just to mix it up, we’ll say my favourite Marvel fic this time. It’s an OT3 that’s WinterIron with Jason Todd, so it is a crossover but it is so fucking good.  Do Every Stupid Thing by thepartyresponsible, it’s actually a series and hella long so you gonna have the time for it, but damn I fucking love it. It has a really interesting take on young!Tony that I deeply enjoy.

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

Hm, different thing to rant about.

I think a thing I dislike about the actual fanfiction community is its over-sexualization of gay characters and/or relationships, canon or no. If I see the things like “I’m sinning XD” or “my gay babies” I’m immediately turned off from that writer.

Maybe I just see it more because I’m a lesbian who doesn’t own a dick nor a liking towards them, but I just find it disgusting. You can usually tell when a writer is one of these types, they over-sexualize everything, everything is an innuendo, and the relationship barely exists outside of the sexual attraction. I just don’t like that kind of story, and I think it’s degrading to irl mlm relationships.

Of course, I’m not saying smut is a bad thing, or any sex scene is wrong and shouldn’t exist. I’m just saying sex is like the DLC of a video game. The video game should still exist and be a wholesome experience outside of the DLC. The DLC adds to the experience but is not required to enjoy the game. It’s the same way with gay fanfiction. The relationship is the video game, the smut is the DLC. Yeah, I enjoy the DLC, but I want the actual video game first.

And it’s so bad. I see it with LGBTQ+ girls just as much as straight girls. I see big-time writers who do this, maybe even unknowingly. If all they want to focus on is the “smut smuttiness goodness” then I don’t want to read their story. Like I said, I like smut. I read it, I write it, it’s enjoyable erotica. But if you can tell me all the extensive kinks in your ship but you can’t tell me who wakes up early to make the other breakfast or who proposes first or who makes a big deal out of the anniversary, I don’t want to read it. It’s like the fanfiction version of harlequin romance novels, it’s just gross. If you feel the need to sexual even the little things like how they wear a fucking t-shirt or every paragraph is the one character oogling the other character’s muscles, I don’t want it. Relationships outside of sex are interesting. Writer about that, I promise it’s just as fun.

Maybe it’s just me, I don’t know. And like I said, I’m not condemning all smut. But I just wish that certain fujoshi-type subset of fanfiction didn’t exist.

DOTV AU: An Exercise in Alternate History (Part VII)

Parts I, II, III, IV, V, and VI offer more detailed context. (To briefly sum up why these posts are happening: alt history – as in sci fi, not “alternative facts” – buff, one day got the idea that DOTV could have turned out hella different if Jim Steinman looked for a star lead in other places, decided to reason out how that might work.) This is still getting a good response, so I’m gonna keep the train rolling.

Parts of the AU timeline established so far:

Instead of stopping at recording two songs from Whistle Down the Wind on a greatest hits compilation, Meat Loaf wound up taking more of an interest in Steinman’s new theater work than he did in our timeline, and through a series of circumstances found himself volunteering to play Krolock in the impending DOTV when Jim poured out his woes to him about needing to find some sort of star to attract investors. At a loss for any better ideas, Jim accepted Meat’s impulsive proposal, but not without resistance from his manager, David Sonenberg, who proposed Michael Crawford as an alternate candidate. Through quick thinking on Meat’s part, and inspiration on Jim’s, Crawford left the room accepting an entirely different role than he walked in hoping to get, leaving Krolock still open for Meat.

There was a brief speed bump, when Meat disliked Jim’s English script for the show, but after meeting with the original German author Michael Kunze and convincing Jim to compromise, things were on the road to being back on track… at least until 9/11 occurred.

Following a brief hiatus, everyone involved met to re-assess their options. The current game-plan was to put the new script on paper, schmooze with potential investors or producers, and put together a new creative team. Preferably not all at the same time, but with the crunch on, they’d do whatever needed to be done.

So far, the schmoozing has gone well, but everybody that Meat, Jim, and the crew would like to be involved is tentative. The newest conclusion is that they need to show them there’s a working show, and a concert of selections from the score seems to be the route they’re taking, possibly financed by an unlikely source.

Continuing the alternate DOTV timeline, a little differently this time! This time we get a feature on the concert from the New York Post’s own Michael Riedel. Take it away!

VAMPIRES: NEW MUSICAL BLOOD by Michael Riedel

If you’ve heard the buzz on the Rialto of late, you’d be forgiven for wondering if you were having a particularly nasty acid flashback. Dance of the Vampires, a new $15 million musical of the macabre based on the 1967 Roman Polanski movie The Fearless Vampire Killers, is already a monster hit in Austria and Germany, and it’s starting to gather steam here in the States as well, with some... we’ll call it unlikely... star power attached. After all, what other musical (even in a preliminary concert presentation) can boast Courtney Love as an emcee slash investor, and such disparate names as Meat Loaf and Michael Crawford as co-headliners?

Admittedly, Meat Loaf’s presence is slightly less surprising, as the driving force behind the show is Jim Steinman, who wrote Mr. Loaf’s classic Bat Out of Hell albums as well as the lyrics for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Whistle Down the Wind.  He has written the score and is co-adapting the book for Vampires with playwright David Ives (All in the Timing), who is also currently at work with Steinman for Warner Bros. on a musical version of Batman, from German dramatist Michael Kunze’s original script. He also co-directed this concert with Starmites composer Barry Keating, though early reports that Steinman would be co-directing the eventual Broadway run with Jane Eyre creator John Caird have ultimately been dismissed.

“Roman directed it in Vienna, but he can’t work here because of his legal problems,” Steinman said, referring to Polanski’s indictment for statutory rape in the 1970′s. “He may be the first director who can’t work over here because of a statutory rape charge.” When queried about who then would be directing the New York run, Steinman was tight-lipped, but among those in attendance at the evening’s proceedings was Urinetown’s Tony-winning helmer, John Rando, who is now rumored to be in talks for the slot. Said Rando of the new show, “It takes the vampire myth and pokes fun at it, but it also embraces it. Its message is about the excesses of appetite. It has wit and an edge to it. I’d love to be involved!”

The presentation (at the 499-seat Little Shubert Theatre, about half a mile west of Broadway; events like this cause us rightfully to wonder why it doesn’t see more use) for a by-invitation-only crowd was kicked off by Ms. Love, Hole rocker and widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, in memorable form. Says a source in attendance, “You could sum it up in two words: too drunk. She was literally falling over. She wasn’t coherent at all.” Managing to gather herself enough to announce that Dance of the Vampires is a musical for people “who think musicals suck,” she didn’t manage to say much else of importance. “It just became a little too sloppy, and she was removed.” Insiders report that Steinman’s manager, David Sonenberg, who is also one of the show’s producers (and a first-timer at that), worried that those involved would be seen as taking advantage of a troubled addict. Ms. Love’s performance did little to dispel this perception. Lucky that representatives from noted L.A.-based promoter Concerts West, major music manager Irving Azoff (who numbers The Eagles, REO Speedwagon, Journey, Christina Aguilera, and Sammy Hagar among his clients), film and music mogul Jerry Weintraub, and Broadway’s own Barry and Fran Weissler were in attendance; a cash infusion from such sources may well be needed to save face if she can’t “live through this,” to twist a phrase from her 1994 album of the same name.

In addition to Sonenberg, already attached to Vampires on the producing side are Andrew Braunsberg (another first-timer, who also produced Polanski’s 1971 film version of Macbeth), Leonard Soloway, Bob Boyett (Sweet Smell of Success, Topdog/Underdog), Lawrence Horowitz (Electra, It Ain’t Nothing But the Blues), and Barry Diller and Bill Haber’s USA Ostar Theatricals. Boyett, a TV producer turned legit entrepreneur, used the phrases “trial by fire” and “going to war,” perhaps because while some novice producers just put up the money, get the credit and run, Boyett says he’s been taking the process very seriously: “I went to all the meetings and learned, like it was grad school.” While some Hollywood types find Broadway “less cutthroat,” Boyett finds it “more restrictive.” He mentions the sheer physical space of the theaters but also all the rules and regulations: "I’ve dealt with unions all my life, but I do find Actors’ Equity is very restrictive to the creative process.” Further, he regrets that Vampires will not have an out-of-town tryout. “I loved the experience of taking Sweet Smell of Success to Chicago,” he says with real enthusiasm, as if the project ended happily. “It was helpful to have the critics say what they did.” Not that Boyett thinks the right message from the critics got to the creative team. 

As for Boyett’s teammates, Bill Haber attended on behalf of USA Ostar, and although he wouldn’t consent to a formal interview, he couldn’t resist answering one question -- and it has nothing to do with Dance of the Vampires. Why is Haber’s other fall production, Imaginary Friends by Nora Ephron, being called a play if it has six songs by Marvin Hamlisch and Craig Carnelia? “It has nothing to do with how many songs there are,” he shot back. “It has to do with the fact that if you took all the songs out, it still works and you still have a play.”

And all this before we even get to the show itself. Vampires is your typical erotic musical about an innocent girl (played this evening by impressive newcomer Mandy Gonzalez, currently standing by for the role of Amneris in Aida and late of Off-Broadway’s Eli’s Comin’) choosing between two lovers, in this case an older, aristocratic vampire (Loaf, whose appearance here marks the first time he has worked with Steinman in theater since the early Seventies) and a hunky young grad student (Max von Essen, who reportedly also appeared in the Steinman/Caird-helmed reading in April 2001) under the tutelage of a rather intensely wacky vampire hunter (Crawford). Given the level of Loaf’s obvious commitment to the piece, it is surprising that his manager (Allen Kovac, of Left Bank Management) was a no-show, and in that light, rumors that Loaf has yet to formally sign on the dotted line for Vampires (in spite of previous announcements to the contrary, no less) prove even more curious. Calls to Kovac’s office were not returned. The rest of the cast, boasting some fine voices indeed, was filled out by assorted Broadway names and members of Meat Loaf’s long-time touring band, The Neverland Express, which also provided accompaniment for the evening under the crisp musical direction of veteran rock bassist Kasim Sulton (best known for his work with Todd Rundgren and Utopia, among others).

Speaking of the music: the score, as per Steinman’s usual style, is appropriately big and Wagnerian, with plenty of luscious, operatic melodies, including one familiar favorite that sticks out like a sore thumb: Steinman’s famous “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” under whose operatic pretensions I swooned as a teenager. “I couldn’t resist using it,” he says of a song that goes, ‘Once upon time there was light in my life / But now there’s only love in the dark.’ “I actually wrote it for another vampire musical that was based on Nosferatu, but never got produced.” Close listening to the CD sampler for interested investors also reveals a rehash of the vigorous “Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young,” his song for the film Streets of Fire, which I saw in Los Angeles in 1984 and sent me racing along Mulholland Drive to keep up with the propulsive beat.

As for the new stuff, maybe 50′s rock ‘n’ roll with a 70′s preen isn’t what the 80-year-olds who constitute Broadway’s audience want to hear (and Jim’s rock-mock-Wagnerian shtick admittedly tends to play better in London and Las Vegas than in Manhattan), but my sources say they knew from the first number --  an angelic trio with a beguiling (what did they used to call it?) melody and some expert (the Andrews Sisters used to do it) harmony -- that this would be my kind of score. Frankly I’m glad; since the prehistoric vinyl days, Steinman has been the guy I keep calling for to rejuvenate, or just plain juvenate, the Broadway musical, in a world where the musical theater establishment pronounces old ABBA records a hip pop sound.

The book, while reportedly in better shape than the April reading, is something else again. From the excerpts on display last night, the mix of bawdy humor and eroticism still needs fine-tuning. Says Sonenberg, “By the time we open, it will be a new version of the show, significantly changed with a view toward a New York audience, but right now it plays very much like the original in several respects.” Adds David Ives, “The German production is probably more faithful to the film, but it’s a fairly humorless show, with people getting hit on the head with salami. And I’ve been brought in to take out the salami and put in the chorus girls, without veering into camp in the process. Now it’s just a question of finding the balance, which, needless to say, isn’t easy. But I like what we’ve accomplished so far: Meat’s character is vastly different, a much more multifaceted, dynamic, complete figure. We’ve also made other changes and cuts and restructured the show into a book musical, with dialogue; the original is all sung. I think we’ve made it a much more interesting story.”

Time, as always, will be the ultimate arbiter of fate.

“Did you know that Russian dolls are actually Chinese?”or how I learned to do the Time Warp in Alphabet City

Cut to: Tompkins Square park. A location that any professional dog walker worth their sidewalk salt inflicted dog paws has worked as a dog walker in New York City should be very familiar with. An area of Manhattan that  has a gravitational pull to it whereas most of Manhattan prefers to hold you at a distance or tickle you with a sweat soaked strap on and cackling finance bro pit stains.  

Back in the year 2019 (Otherwise known as The Year Of Loose Ends)  there was some sort of New York city public access event advertised on the nyc based the skint featuring Natasha Lyonne that I really wanted to attend.  NYC’s  the skint dot come is a digital guide to the scrappier and disingenuous side of nyc attractions. I am sure they will be broadcasting official boho Soho Covid-19 fashion bomb galas, sweaty stand up and inept wine tasting. Unfortunately my former roommate decided to leave the apartment completely unlocked because she was just that kind of witch and I had to course correct and miss the whole interview. A pretty weak New York missed connection but one that still rankles me, because who knows when we’ll be able to freely trot out our Hollyw00d starlets safely out into the public again. 

Natasha Lyonne is like if Joe the Camel were a Lioness (Joanne the Lioness?) adorned with a  flambeau crown of messy locks and a borrowed short king’s Columbo jacket. I haven’t smoked a cigarette in years but seeing Lyonne wield a cigarette in hand I am overcome every time with a second hand nicotine rush. The same way Jon Hamm makes me go ham for rye and vodka sodas. On her 2019 Netflix original curio Russian doll,  the series finds Lyonne delivering as a full force and auteur directing and overseeing the entire first season. A first season of TV that feels completely devoid of any studio exec middling and is actually filming on location. Russian Doll is one of the last and only interesting Netflix comedies focusing on original and interesting woman-centric stories. RIP Tuca and Bertie. RIP Lady Dynamite. Holding my breath for you Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings. 

This year Parks and Rec is sugar footing itself back into the NBC pasture and Amy Poehler in general feels  removed from the network (I guess she’s still making arts and crafts with Offerman which seems like a missed Covid content opportunity). Her latest  hands on deck executive produced project is a banal and ugly adult animated comedy The Duncans (or is it Dunceville, one can never remember these things). And lest we forget that she’s also in the adult swim orbit with Three Busy Debras. Remember 2019 Wine Mom romper Wine Country on Netflix? Poehler is operating at peak polarity. And unlike her SNL and award show gala gal pal Fey she hasn’t had to deal with any black face scandals, but instead had been quietly profiting off of the backs of countless thankless voices of the myriad talented people. Her UCB empire has since dried up and turned into something of a Wal-Mart of alternative comedy. As competitive as ivy league schools with even less reward.

Who can really blame Poehler of wanting to relinquish and brush away her origins in the UCB? Poehler is now a TV mogul and while she doesn’t have a Shondaland level keys to the kingdom she does still manage to have a growing pasture of content. How else could her brother have had the opportunity to foist his Swedish sitcom on an uncaring public? Bottom line, You don’t want to see Natasha Lyonne doing a Harold. That’s what. makes the Poehler collaboration a fun choice because clearly Poehler is putting her name on Russian doll as a means to an end to be in the same conversation as Lyonne.  In an interview with the LA Times (https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-russian-doll-amy-poehler-natasha-lyonne-20190201-story.html ) Poehler calls Natasha Lyonne her personal Tony Soprano.

Russian Doll is a show built from the ground up by an exclusively female based creative team. I think it may explain why Doll’s depiction of New York  free of your typical white fuckbois and dilettantes that occasionally bog down these kinds of shows. All of the men in this Doll House are more or less leaning towards the unconventional character actor axis, and it’s Charlie Barnett’s performance as Alan that leads the pack. Barnett’s Alan makes for a perfect foil for Lyonne’s  Nadia and it might be due to the actor coming from a storied an interesting childhood raised on a sail boat in The Longboat Keys in Florida. As a twentysomething mostly cis white male I found these casting choices exhilarating. I suffer from representation fatigue and much prefer my creative outlooks contain perspectives I normally wouldn’t have direct access to. Like Nadia’s two besties, the artsy as hell queer and lesbian Maxine and Lizzy portrayed by two HBO alums Greta Lee (a brief but satisfying arc on High Maintenance, a show Russian Doll has a lot in common with) and Rebecca Henderson a similar brief arc on West World (a show i have not  been desperate enough in quarantine to revisit. Sorry to what I am sure is the horde of West Heads reading this right now). Also shout to Brendan Sexton III who is doing one of the most tasteful homeless performances since the Fisher King, and it blows me mind that he was one of the kids in cult classic Welcome to the Doll House. And there’s another fun Todd Solondz crossover with the smoky sexy dragon voiced therapist Elizabeth Ashley was in Happiness. 

Russian Doll like most recent streaming network offerings feels more or less lost and jumbled into the mix of content. Now in the throes of neverending Quarantine these Groundhog remixes and reimagining tickle a different portion of the imagination now than they did back in February 2019. Last year during its initial premiere  Happy Death Day 2U (the unexpected sequel to a mild campy horror comedy Happy Death Day) came out a week later.  I definitely recommend checking these movies out if you enjoy this series but not because they are all that similar besides the glaringly obvious overlaps in premise. Both creations focus on spotlighting a woman who is more or less a complicated anti-hero. There is a third Happy Death Day (Happy Death Day To Us!) in development and I have a feeling that it will realistically come out before there is another season of Russian doll. 

Will there still be able to be New York based TV and cinema set in and around New York with actors and background actors filling up sidewalks and parties again? Netflix has an annoying business model of swiping the table settings out from underneath series that are starting to get their footing. Netflix also seems more interested in making a viral season of reality television instead of an original scripted conceptual dramedy. The most spiritually connected property in Netflix’s cache is Black Mirror and a choose your own adventure style twist would be pretty satisfying set inside the Russian doll verse. Is that a feasible creative strategy filming every series into a choose your own adventure styled special? I am sure no one else wants to know what happens to Nadia and friends more than the Harry Nilsson estate who probably hasn’t been this thrilled with a licensing deal since the Popeye movie. 

Dammit I think I forgot to lock my apartment! I went out looking for my pet iguana Trail Mix who’s usually reliably perched at the Iranian health food bodega, but now I’m not so sure. Also, haven’t we already met before?

SPOTLIGHT FILMS: 22 OF THE BEST FILMS AT  THE 2019 OUTSHINE FILM FESTIVAL FORT LAUDERDALE EDITION

Photos and film synopses provided by OUTshine Film Festival

ADAM (U.S., 2019) Director: Rhys Ernst In English

It's 2006 and awkward, self-conscious Adam Freeman has just finished his junior year of high school. His cool older sister Casey (Margaret Qualley) suggests he visit her in New York for the summer. Casey has enthusiastically embraced life amidst Brooklyn's young LGBTQ+ community and invites Adam to tag along with her to queer bars, marriage equality rallies and other happenings. When Adam falls at first sight for Gillian, a smart, beautiful young woman in this new crowd, she mistakenly assumes he is trans. Flummoxed and enamored, he haplessly goes along with her assumption, resulting in an increasingly complex comedy – and tragedy – of errors he's ill-equipped to navigate.

AND THEN WE DANCED (Georgia, Sweden, France, 2019) Director: Levan Akin In Georgian, with English subtitles

Merab is a talented dancer. His burgeoning romance with stage partner Mary is thrown into disarray by the arrival of the magnetic Irakli, leading to a forbidden sexual attraction that recalls those in Moonlight and God's Own Country. Georgia is a country that only celebrated its first LGBTQ+ pride event seven years ago and its society remains conservative. Because of this, And Then We Danced has stirred controversy and many involved remain anonymous out of fear. Amid the potential for socially explosive fireworks, Swedish director of Georgian heritage Levan Akin has captured something uniquely tender and personal.

BENJAMIN (UK, 2019) Director: Simon Amstell In English

In Simon Amstell's affecting, bittersweet comedy, a rising young filmmaker is thrown into emotional turmoil by a burgeoning romance and the upcoming premiere of his second feature. It's perhaps no surprise that the imminent release of Benjamin's sophomore feature plunges him into an existential crisis. In this heightened state of insecurity, even meeting his potential dream match, young French musician Noah, doesn't soothe Benjamin's fears and self-loathing. And that's before he has to screen his film to the merciless film festival audiences. Benjamin is a low-key, intimate film, exposing the contradictions of a creative culture while perfectly balancing drama and comedy.

DEFIANT SOULS (Cuba, Switzerland, 2018) Director: Fernando Pérez and Laura Cazador In Spanish, with English subtitles

Defiant Souls is based on the true story of a woman who, disguised as a man, became the first female surgeon in Latin America. In the early 19th century, Swiss doctor Enrique Faber (Sylvie Testud at her best) travels to Cuba to search for his son, who is said to have been killed in a slave uprising. The local population is jealous of Faber's success as a surgeon and his marriage to Juana, an attractive outsider. Before long, rumors spread regarding his high-pitched voice and his gentle features, and a drama of epic proportions unfolds around one of the most scandalous cases in Cuban colonial history.

EVERYBODY CHANGES (Panama, 2019) Director: Arturo Montenegro In Spanish, with English subtitles

The Ponce Family is the perfect family. They live in the quiet, close-knit mountain town of Bambito, where everyone knows everyone and, unfortunately, everyone knows everyone's business. Frederico is the successful father, Carol the loving mother, and they have three wonderful boys. Despite appearances, perfect might not be the best way to describe the family as Frederico and Carol share a secret: Lizzie, the woman that Frederico has always wanted - no, needed - to be.

FROM ZERO TO I LOVE YOU (U.S., 2019) Director: Doug Spearman In English

Pete Logsdon is just a guy in Philadelphia whose fear of intimacy creates his history of getting involved with married men. His father and his soon-to-be step-mother are on him to settle down and find someone who's actually available. Instead, he finds a man named Jack who is fifteen years into a perfect marriage, has two beautiful children and an enviable wife, and is firmly inside the closet. Could this be the one? Featuring strong chemistry between the leads, director Doug Spearman (Noah's Arc) creates authentic characters in this highly engaging, obstacle-filled romantic comedy.

HAM: A MUSICAL MEMOIR (U.S., 2019) Director: Andrew Putschoegl In English

In this dazzlingly filmed live performance of Sam Harris' award-winning one-man musical, Harris belts out original songs and beloved ballads while playing 11 different roles to tell his own life story - from growing up gay in Oklahoma's Bible Belt to his escape for Los Angeles, where his rendition of "Over the Rainbow" on Star Search led to fame, Broadway, television, platinum records and Carnegie Hall. But after the highs and lows of a life in show business, Sam ultimately learns to ask: when is enough finally enough?

LEONARD SOLOWAY'S BROADWAY (U.S., 2019) Director: Jeff Wolk In English

Through verité documentary footage, humorous storytelling, interviews and archival film material, Leonard Soloway's Broadway captures a Broadway few ever see as told through the eyes of a legendary Broadway producer you've probably never heard of. He lives an unconventional life on his own terms and, over a 70-year span, staged over 100 shows (and counting) which generated history making headlines, over 40 Tony Awards, 62 Tony Nominations, 21 Drama Desk Awards, 29 Drama Desk nominations and 3 Pulitzer Prizes, in addition to launching the careers of famous stars known the world over.

SELL BY (U.S., 2019) Director: Mike Doyle In English

Does every relationship have an expiration date? Adam and Marklin are about to find out. Their 5-year relationship has gone from a passionate flame to a medium burn, forcing them to reconcile with each other's shortcomings all while watching their support network crumble around them. But in this mess, hope springs eternal as they all muddle their way through to try and make life work. Featuring Scott Evans, Augustus Prew, Kate Walsh, and Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson, Sell By asks the timeless questions… how do you know who's right for you and how do you know when to let go?

SONG LANG (Vietnam, 2018) Director: Leon Le In Vietnamese, with English subtitles

An unlikely bond develops between hunky, brooding and tough debt collector Dung and Linh Phung, a charismatic young opera singer from a struggling Cai-luong troupe (traditional Vietnamese opera). The two meet when Dung comes to forcefully collect a debt from the opera troupe, but when their paths cross again, a friendship – and then more – develops, awakening surprising, tender feelings in both men. Their story, too, soon scales operatic heights. Director Leon Le has delivered a rich drama, a smoldering relationship between two apparent opposites set against the backdrop of a gorgeous, fading art form. Set in 1980s Saigon, Song Lang is a gritty underworld noir hiding a tender, romantic heart.

STRAIGHT UP (U.S., 2019) Director: James Sweeney In English

The path to relationship bliss is often filled with self-doubt, second guessing and other methods of self-sabotage, but Todd takes this to a whole new level. After all, he is questioning his sexuality… not a good start when forging a new relationship. Todd might be gay. Rory might not care. The result is a neat, romantic-comedy drama with a twist; this is a love story without the thrill of copulation. With wit, humor and poignant moments, coupled with some of the best rapid-fire one-liners in a movie, Straight Up is a feature film about intellectual soul mates.

THE PRINCE (Chile, Argentina, Belgium, 2019) Director: Sebastián Muñoz In Spanish, with English subtitles

Chile, 1970. During a night of heavy drinking, Jaime, a lonely 20-year-old young man, stabs his best friend in what seems a crime of passion. Sentenced to prison, he meets The Stallion, an older and respected man in whom he finds protection and from whom he learns about love and loyalty. Behind bars, Jaime becomes known as The Prince. But as their relationship grows stronger, The Stallion faces the violent power struggles within the prison. The Prince is brutal, raw and cold, yet also beautiful, sincere and honest.

THE SHINY SHRIMPS (France, 2019) Director: Maxime Govare and Cédric Le Gallo In French, with English subtitles

Matthias, an Olympic swimming champion at the end of his career, makes a homophobic statement on TV. His punishment: coach the Shiny Shrimps, a very flamboyant, very bad and very LGBTQ water polo team. They have only one thing in mind: to qualify for the Gay Games in Croatia where the hottest international LGBTQ athletes will compete. It's the start of a bumpy and joyful ride. If the Bad News Bears were a water polo team, and LGBTQ, they would be The Shiny Shrimps. Faster, higher, stronger… and fabulous.

UNSETTLED: SEEKING REFUGE IN AMERICA (U.S., 2019) Director: Tom Shepard In English

A remarkable look at the untold stories of LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers who have fled intense persecution from their home countries and who are resettling in the U.S. The film follows four new arrivals, each of whom have escaped potential peril in their native countries for being different. They've landed in the purported "gay mecca" of San Francisco, yet even there, building a new life in an adopted nation is a precarious undertaking. As new leadership in America continues to restrict immigrants and drastically cuts the flow of refugees and asylum seekers, Unsettled: Seeking Refuge in America humanizes a group about which few people know.

WHERE WE GO FROM HERE (U.S., 2018) Director: Anthony Meindl In English, French, with English subtitles

In Binghamton, an ESL teacher dealing with domestic abuse finds even greater violence at her school. In Orlando, two lovers drifting apart may be separated by the hate of another. In Paris, friends on an introspective night out are caught up in a brutal madness. Three acts of terror disrupt the lives of ordinary people. Will love win out over violence? With gripping performances and storylines all too familiar and frightening, Where We Go From Here is not an easy film to digest nor is it a question easily answered, but both are ultimately worth the effort.

MEN'S SHORTS

Black Hat  Director: Sarah Smith, U.S., 15 minutes

Softer Director: Lovell Holder, U.S., 10 minutes

The Proposal Director: Gerlando Infuso, France, 15 minutes

Thrive Director: JamieDi Spirito, UK, 17 minutes

Touchscreen Director: Arthur Halpern, U.S., 15 minutes

Vacaciones Director: Juan Olivares, Spain, 21 minutes

Wonder Director: Javier Molina, U.S., 16 minutes

This was originally published in Wire Magazine Issue 20.2019

MIDSUMMER SCREAM RETURNS AUGUST 3-4 TO LONG BEACH FOR FOURTH YEAR AND BIGGEST EVENT YET!

Midsummer Scream, the largest Halloween and horror fan convention in the world, returns to Southern California August 3-4 for a monstrous weekend of thrills, chills, and haunting fun. For the first time, Midsummer Scream will occupy the entire Long Beach Convention Center, doubling the show’s size for 2019.

Tickets for Midsummer Scream 2019 are now on sale at MidsummerScream.org including single-day General Admission passes, as well as the very popular limited-edition Gold Bat Weekend Pass, which enables guests to access the show floor, Hall of Shadows, and other areas of Midsummer Scream an hour early each day before the convention opens to the general public; front of line priority access to panel presentations and attractions throughout the venue; a collectible lanyard and credential; and a Gold Bat 2019 enamel pin.

Midsummer Scream is expected to draw over 30,000 fans of all things macabre to Long Beach, where they will find a greatly-expanded show floor featuring more than 350 unique vendors, Paranormal Pixie’s children’s activity area with Buster Balloon, a wide variety of live entertainment performances, and exciting celebrity appearances including the queen of Halloween, Cassandra Peterson (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark).

This year, Midsummer Scream celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, complete with a must-see panel presentation that includes Disney Legends Bob Gurr and Tony Baxter, vendors on the show floor in the Corridor of Creepy Creeps selling Mansion-inspired merchandise, and a Saturday night party, the Grim Grinning Gala, which promises to be the swingingest wake anywhere for both the living and the disembodied, complete with a movie screening of The Haunted Mansion with live commentary by the film’s Director, Rob Minkoff, and Producer, Don Hahn. Happy Haunts that materialize in costume Saturday night are invited to participate in the Grim Grinning Gala’s contest with a $500 prize being awarded to the ghost with the most creativity!

Deemed the “gateway to the Halloween season” by fans, Midsummer Scream will host presentations from many of Southern California’s major haunt attractions, including Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights, Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, and Knott’s Scary Farm, as they offer guests exclusive sneak peeks at what terrors they have in store this coming October across the Southland.

Other outstanding presentations will include The Curious Creators of Christine McConnell’s Show; a Tales From the Crypt 30th Anniversary reunion featuring the voice of the Crypt Keeper, John Kassir; the Winchester Mystery House; a look at Spooky and Strange Themed Bars of Southern California; Charles Phoenix and his all-new Halloweenland retrospective; the ever-popular Buzzfeed: Unsolved with Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej; and a look at JFI Productions’ attractions, from Creep to The Willows and beyond.

The massive Hall of Shadows dark zone is themed this year to Tiki Terror - a monstrously ghoulish mash-up of Polynesian lore and everything evil that goes bump in the night! As guests pass through a foreboding jungle portal created by the incredibly talented CalHauntS group - complete with crashed airplane, crumbling temple ruins, and an erupting volcano - they will find a unique tiki vendor area featuring artists and merchants such as Jeff Granito, Sweet Siren, Tiki Tiki Monster, and McBiff. For those 21 years of age or older, libations can be found in the Drunken Devil’s Freaky Tiki Bar, where guests will mix and mingle with a kooky crew of castaways just dying for social interaction.

Also featured in this year’s Hall of Shadows will be over a dozen haunted attractions and displays, including Sinister Valley from Lake Elsinore’s Storm Stadium, Twisted Minds Productions, Hellsir Cemetery, Shattered Realm, and Wicked Pumpkin Hollow, to name just a few! Returning once again, the Decayed Brigade will thrill thousands of onlookers several times each day with sliding exhibitions that push the boundaries of gravity!

With more than 350 artisans and exhibitors, Midsummer Scream’s show floor has more than doubled in size, featuring unique artwork, props, Halloween accessories, clothing, and makeup supplies. Always keeping guest comfort in mind, Midsummer Scream has widened the show floor aisles to 15 feet for easier traffic circulation as fans visit their favorite vendors such as Trick or Treat Studios, Kreepsville 666, Bearded Lady’s Mystic Museum, Edyn Rashae Studios, and Dark Delicacies. Among the horrific hustle and bustle on the show floor, fans will also find Midsummer newcomers Madame Tussauds, Crypt TV, and Bloody Mary: Makeup to Die For.

Live entertainment is abundant at Midsummer Scream, from the show floor stage to the Theatre Macabre on the upper concourse of the convention center. Returning again this year to delight guests are Force of Nature Productions teasing their Halloween production; Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group presenting Urban Death for adults, and for the first time ever, Urban Death for Kidz!; a sexy horror fashion show by Poltergeists and Paramours; and Jimmy H as the creepy-but-coolMudd the Magnificent. Guests will also be wowed ‘40s and ‘50s-style by Dr. Zomba’s Ghost Show of Terror throughout the weekend!

For those looking to get a jump on the Halloween season or sharpen their haunting skills, Midsummer Scream offers a robust education program, completely included in the price of admission, with the exception of select make-and-take classes by the incredible SoCal Valley Haunters group, which has a dedicated workshop area on the show floor. Educational classes and presentations this year range from novice to advanced and include everything from projection mapping on a budget to cosplay ideas and tips, to the importance of audio for your attraction, taught by industry sound designer Dan Bieranowski. There’s even a seminar taught by Matthew Maldonado and Cassie Lopez, two themed entertainment professionals who will teach aspiring designers what it takes to break into the business of creating theme parks and scream parks!

New for 2019, Midsummer Scream has created a Podcast Studio, where fans can watch their favorite podcasters interview industry icons and personalities live in a relaxed, fun environment all weekend long! Programming includes Forever Midnight interviewing Miko Hughes (Gage from the original Pet Sematary); the Theme Park Duo Podcast featuring Jeff Schiefelbein of Sinister Pointe; Parks and Cons chat it up with Jon Cooke and Ted Dougherty of Plague Productions; Dizney Coast to Coastwith Kimberly J. Brown from Halloweentown; and Tales From the Fog hosting members of CalHauntS, who invite aspiring haunters to come at them with whatever questions they may have about effects techniques, creating yard displays or walk-through attractions, or prop-making in this very special So, You Want to be a Haunter? audience Q&A session; Fangoria will be hosting two podcasts as well - Post Mortem with Mick Garris interviewing horror legend Tony Todd, and Nightmare University with Dr. Rebekah McKendry, where she’ll deliver a crash-course on all things Hellraiser!  Creepy Kingdom Cinema Crypt Podcast will be joined by Lady From The Black Lagoon author Mallory O’ Meara, as they discuss the influential career of Milicent Patrick, the uncredited designer of the Gill-man from The Creature From The Black Lagoon and Chernabog from Disney’s Fantasia!

HorrorBuzz is back at it again, with wall-to-wall hand-picked horror flicks in the Screaming Room, where guests are invited to rest for a while, and take in all the gore-filled movies they can handle, including curated film blocks from Etheria Film Night,Crypt TV, and USC Film School.

This is Midsummer Scream’s fourth year partnering with Kitten Rescue Los Angeles in presenting the Black Cat Lounge, where guests can mix and mingle with adorable felines roaming freely through a decorated play space. The Black Cat Lounge gives guests looking to adopt a pet the perfect opportunity to bond with their new little friends and give them forever homes.

Tickets are now on sale at MidsummerScream.org.

What are you doing with Ghoulies II? Charles Band: That should be fun. Ed Naha’s writing the script. It’s still a bit early to talk about exactly what the plan is , but we’ll shoot this year and have it out next year. We’ll have some fun with it. Ghoulies not only did well at the box office not a blockbuster, but it did well but it has done huge videocassette business. It’s one of the top 10 or 15 video releases of ’85. and it has been sold to cable and syndication. That just means that for whatever reason, people like it. In my opinion, it’s a very weak film, but it had a few redeeming moments. I hope that in the sequel, we’ll be able to take what was good about the original and do that throughout the entire picture.

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Vicious Lips (1986) Sometime in the distant future, a fledgling band gets an opportunity for a breakthrough, if they can make it in time to a faraway planet to perform in a very popular club.

Ghoulies II (1987) Ghoulies are shanghaied by a priest who intends to exterminate them, but they manage to escape to a low-rent carnival. There they take up residence in “Satan’s Den,” a foundering, old-fashioned haunted house attraction run by Royal Dano, who fears he may lose ownership of the show due to sagging attendance. The presence of the ghoulies at first gives business a much-needed boost … until the slimy little buggers start dining on the patrons.

At first, Empire Pictures president Charles Band couldn’t find anyone who would touch the project unless changes were made in the script. something he was adamantly opposed to doing. Finally, he took it to the one person he knew he could trust to make the movie exactly the way he wanted it, a man with both the talent and experience in low-budget filmmaking to pull it off, the same man who had, in fact, taught him everything he knew about the motion picture business: his father, Albert Band, an old hand at horror.

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Ghoulies II, the director is completely in charge, seems quite happy with the results and expects that the sequel will do even better than its successful predecessor. Not that he really has the time to sit and worry about it; Empire Pictures has 12 more movies due before Christmas, which means everybody at Empire has to hustle. And nobody hustles with any greater enthusiasm or verve than Albert Band, the company’s executive vice president of production.

“Albert has as much energy as any of the teenagers in my crew.” praises John Buechler, whose ability to whip up monsters faster than a short order cook flips burgers has made him an integral part of Empire’s operation. Buechler has worked with Papa Band a number of times. “He has a strong background in filmmaking and he knows exactly what he wants.”

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He should, having been in show business for four decades as a producer, writer and director. “Actually.” confesses Band, producing is what I enjoy the most. I only became a director to save myself a director’s salary.”

“Albert wrote a helluva good script,” says Royal Dano, one of the cast members. In Ghoulies II, Dano portrays the drunken operator of a sideshow attraction who accidentally picks up the dreaded title creatures.

To that end, David Allen, whose special FX have enhanced many of Empire’s pictures, was brought onto the project. According to him, the reason the FX succeed is that Band was willing to spend whatever it took to make them that way.

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“I’ve never actually worked with him on the set.” Allen reveals, but I know he cares about the pictures. If he didn’t there have certainly been times, especially on Ghoulies II, when he could have made more economical choices.”

As with most Empire movies, the principal photography was completed in Rome, where near-freezing temperatures gave birth to one of the fastest-moving crews in movie history. “They wanted to get the hell out of there,” confirms actor Dano, who had the foresight to pack long thermal underwear.

Directed by Peter Manoogian, produced by Band and distributed by Empire. Enemy Territory (1987) Barry (Frank) is a formerly successful insurance executive whose career and life are being destroyed by alcoholism. As the day ends, he is sent to a notorious New York City housing project, the Lincoln Towers, to try and complete a life insurance policy sale to a nice elderly woman named Elva (Frances Foster). Meanwhile, a man named Will (Parker), a soft-spoken but tough employee of the telephone company, also heads to the building to hook up with his girlfriend and repair the phone lines. Unfortunately for Barry, while inquiring where Elva’s apartment is, he taps a boy, Decon (Theo Caesar) on the shoulder and quickly becomes the hated target of a savage, fanatical gang called the Vampires, who run the Towers. They’re led by their ruthless but charismatic leader the Count (Tony Todd), who runs his gang like a cult and is seen to be indestructible by himself and his followers. An attempt to kill Barry leads to the deaths of the building’s security guard and Decon. With Barry’s entrapment inside the building, he crosses paths with Will and makes his first reluctant ally willing to help him. They take safety in Elva’s apartment, but escape when the Vampires trap them. Leaving Elva behind, they find Elva’s determined granddaughter Toni (Stacey Dash), visiting with her neighbors. Toni suggests they go to the apartment of Mr. Parker (Vincent), a bigoted, crippled and unstable but yet still vicious Vietnam vet the gang fears (along the way Barry is forced to kill one of the gang members leaving him with mild PTSD). Paid for his help, Parker lets the trio in (revealing he’s modified a wheelchair with an arsenal of concealed weapons). Then Toni leaves to check on her grandmother, but when she arrives, she discovers Elva had been beaten and forced to reveal where Barry and Will are.

The Vampires, holding Elva and Toni hostage, arrive at Parker’s apartment with Barry surrendering himself to save them. As Barry and Will exit, Parker and the Vampires engage in a shootout. In the midst of the gunfire, Barry, Will, and Toni escape. When Elva and Parker retreat back inside his apartment, Parker is shot in the chest and a short time later dies as Elva struggles to save him. Next, the trio head to the apartment of Chet Cole (Deon Richmond), a little boy, living with his mother, whom they heard is the only one who knows a way out of the building that no one else knows, not even the Vampires. According to Chet, the way out is in the building’s basement, with Chet offering to show them, but his mother sends him to bed, leading him to sneak out.

After saving them from being killed by Psycho (Robert Lee Rush), the Count’s crazed relative (by knocking said gang member down a elevator shaft with a baseball bat), Chet joins the trio as they descend to the basement through said elevator shaft. In the basement, Chet shows them the way out, but the opening is too small for either Barry or Will to fit through. Toni however is able to fit through (but as she is leaving, gets grabbed by a badly injured Psycho who Barry forcibly finishes off with some power tools) and runs to get the police. But when she arrives at the station, the officers refuse to help, due to two cops being shot on a previous visit to the building.

While Barry and Will wait, Will comes up with another plan. Using the money that Elva gave Barry earlier in the film, they send Chet back upstairs. With sunrise approaching, Chet litters the money out a window to the Vampires guarding the basement door to the outside. At the same time, the Count and other Vampires realize that after checking every apartment in the building the basement is the only place left to look (on entering said basement the Count is stunned to see Psycho is dead). When the money distraction works, Barry and Will escape just as the Count and his remaining Vampires arrive, and Barry is shot in the ankle.

Outside, Will and a wounded Barry start running as they are being chased and tormented by the last of the gang (with the Count ordering his followers to let him avenge Decon and Psycho). Cornered, Will uses the one shot he has left in his gun to protect Barry and himself, he does this by having a final showdown with the Count. As the Count closes in, Will shoots and struggles with him, until he knocks him briefly to the ground. The Vampires are momentarily demoralized when they see the Count is not invulnerable, despite his claims he still is, with Barry using this distraction to slam a swing seat into his head repeatedly until the Count collapses and dies while the other Vampires, now enraged at their leader’s death prepare to gun down Barry and Will. But Elva, using Parker’s machine gun, fires shots at them from the apartment window to hold them at bay. Seconds later, Toni and the police finally arrive, with the remaining gang members fleeing back into the apartment complex. Having survived a deadly night against a vicious gang, the film ends with Will and Toni accompanying Barry as he is taken to an ambulance.

Catacombs (1988), Concept Art

Catacombs (1988) In the 17th century, an order of monks in Italy capture and entomb a demon that has possessed a member of their group. 400 years later, school teacher Elizabeth Magrino (Laura Schaefer) visits the monastery in order to do some research. What she and the current monks do not realize is that the evil hiding within the catacombs has unwittingly been released.

Despite a somewhat hackneyed story, an ancient evil buried in the title location beneath a remote monastery, and the utterly insane casting of Timothy Van Patten as a monk, this is a pretty good little film. Emphasis is on mood instead of gore and there is an honest attempt to develop the characters before they become victims of the revived terror. Director Schmoeller makes good use of his European locales and piles the atmospheric visuals on thick to make a film that could almost pass for genuine Italian semi-classic from the heyday of Mario Bava.

The film was the last officially completed film by Empire Pictures before the company was seized by Crédit Lyonnais for failure to pay on loans. As a result, the film’s release was delayed for five years. It was eventually given the new title Curse IV: The Ultimate Sacrifice by Columbia TriStar Home Video, and was released direct-to-video on VHS in 1993.

Transformations (1988) Wolfgang is traveling in outer space when a monster, which he sees as a beautiful woman, appears in his spaceship and makes love with him. Then the ship is forced to land on a planet which is a penal colony. Here he meets Miranda who falls in love with him. A group of prisoners uses him and his spaceship to fly away from the planet. But the monster which is by now inside Wolfgang arouses and only Miranda’s love can save him.

Arena (1989) Steve Armstrong (Paul Satterfield) is working as a short order cook on a space station somewhere in the galaxy. Overwhelmed by the volume of orders, he repeatedly fouls up and soon finds himself in a confrontation with an alien patron named Vang. After a fight which smashes up the diner and leaves the alien injured, Steve and his friend and co-worker Shorty (Hamilton Camp) are fired. As it turns out, Vang is an Arena fighter, and his manager Quinn (Claudia Christian) confronts Steve. Amazed that a human could beat one of her best fighters, Quinn offers him a contract, but convinced that humans no longer have a place in the Arena, Steve refuses, intending to make his way back to Earth.

Lacking sufficient money for a ticket, Shorty attempts to raise the cash by gambling in an underground casino. The game is raided by the authorities and in the confusion, Shorty pockets the money. Caught in the act by crime boss Rogor (Marc Alaimo) and his enforcer Weezil (Armin Shimerman), Shorty is held for ransom. Steve promises to pay off the debt, so he reluctantly returns to Quinn and agrees to a contract. Remarkably he wins his first match with an alien named Sloth in an upset. He continues fighting, determined to prove that a human has what it takes to be champion, and soon becomes a top contender. Despite Rogor’s multiple attempts to cheat, Steve ultimately wins the championship from Rogor’s top fighter, an alien named Horn (Michael Deak).

Deadly Weapon (1989) A teenager named Zeke, who fantasizes that he is from outer space, is bullied by some other teens at school and deals with a drunken father, runaway mother and a sister who delights in being nasty to him. He finds a lost experimental military weapon in a river near his home. The weapon fires anti-gravity X-rays. Zeke uses it for self-defense as a means to deal with his persecutors, both at school and at home.

An army team led by the overzealous Lt. Dalton, responsible for originally losing the weapon, is sent to recover the weapon before its unstable reactor overloads and causes a meltdown. The situation degenerates into a siege.

Michael Miner

Although planned as a sequel to Laserblast, while writing the script – and partially due to financial constraints, Band and Miner decided to make an original film, based on the central idea.

Michael Miner,  who had just finished co-writing RoboCop with Edward Neumeier, saw in that Deadly Weapon poster the chance to “blast the Spielberg mythical suburbia and the warmth of childhood,” to create a “neo-Lucas, neo-Spielberg flick.

More than that, it was a chance to direct, an opportunity Miner missed out on when his then in-production RoboCop blossomed from a low-budget picture into a big-budget, extravaganza that the studio felt had to be given to a veteran director.

So, Miner called a physicist friend, quizzed him about the kinds of weapons scientists have on paper these days, and found his deadly weapon-an anti-matter pistol powered by a “backpack reactor about the size of two shoe boxes.” Then, he and writer friend George Lafia started thinking-what if the transport train carrying this hi-tech weapon derails, and the gun is found by “a 15-year-old, heavy metal loser?”

They had their movie. A concept that Miner’s RoboCop partner Ed Neumeier neatly boiled down to four simple sentences: “He’s 15. He’s got nuclear capability. He’s got 24 hours to live. He’s the kid with the ray gun.” Charles Band was sold.

The film was shot in May and June of 1987 at various locations around Southern California on a budget of $2 million. Although the budget restricted Miner somewhat, he doesn’t resent the limitation. “Empire gave me the permission to make a dark film with a dark ending. I think it takes a little company like Empire to make a picture like this –people who want to make interesting pictures and are willing to allow the freedom necessary to do it.”

“The upside was I could pretty much do what I wanted,” says Miner. “I had a pretty long leash. The downside was I could only work with $3 million.”

The budget obviously limited the scope of the special effects used, but Miner made do with what he could afford. Whenever Zeke shoots the pistol, he’s hit by an air cannon and a reactive light, with the desired effect being that of an exploding concussion grenade. The pistol is used several times in the film, setting the target on fire each time, and there’s one particularly notable shot of a head bursting into flames and writhing (an articulated puppet head was used for this).

Miner sees Deadly Weapon as “science fiction meets Badlands” and insists it’s not just another exploitation flick. “At its root, it’s a personal film, but there’s a mean edge to it,” he says. “I’m very proud of Deadly Weapon. I think I did a good job.”

Miner hopes to reach a young audience with the picture. “The film starts off being a Charles Bronson type revenge picture and then takes that desire for revenge and puts it into the mind of a 15 year-old who is still wavering about what to do,” said Miner.

Spellcaster (1991) Orphaned siblings Jackie and Tom are elated to be chosen to participate in a treasure hunt alongside other players, for a prize of one million dollars. Set in an Italian castle owned by the mysterious Diablo, all they must do to win the contest is be the first to find the check. Also hunting for the money are several others that are highly competitive and willing to do anything to win. The contest is to be recorded for a MTV-esque music channel and sponsored by the recording company of pop star Cassandra Castle, who is to accompany the contestants throughout the hunt along with VJ Rex. Cassandra, however, is unwilling to spend any time with the contestants and prefers to spend all of her time drinking excessively in her private room. Upon a whim Cassandra makes a deal with Rex to hide the money on her person so none of the contestants can find it. Upon the end of the competition the two will split the winnings.

Once the contest begins the contestants begin a frantic search for the check, unaware of Cassandra’s duplicity or that supernatural forces are picking the players off one by one. Cassandra’s plans are waylaid when the forces begin to torment her and cause her to lose the check, which is carried throughout the castle on a magical breeze. Eventually only Jackie, Cassandra, and Tom are left, upon which point they are unable to ignore that something is very wrong. As Jackie frantically searches for answers she discovers a room at the top of the castle containing a crystal ball and Diablo, who reveals himself to be a demon. He also tells her that he has captured the souls of the other contestants in the sphere and will take them all to Hell, as well as that his next victim will be her brother. Meanwhile Cassandra and Tom have romantically connected with one another. He also discovers the check, which has landed near him and Cassandra. Tom is shocked when Cassandra chooses to burn the check and warns him that the money comes with strings attached that he wouldn’t want. She throws the check into a fireplace, only Diablo to magically summon her to his room and chastise her for ruining his plans, revealing that Cassandra had formed a contract with him and that he will be taking her soul to Hell as well. In exchange for her soul she gained fame and wealth, which she quickly realized was not worth the bargain and took to alcohol and drugs to numb herself to her reality. In order to save both Tom and Cassandra Jackie tries to bargain with Diablo, offering her soul in exchange for the both of them. Horrified, Cassandra chooses to destroy Diablo’s crystal ball, which puts an end to his evil plans and brings all of the contestants back to life. This also frees Cassandra, who reveals that she convinced Diablo to give her back her soul and to instead VJ at the music channel. The film closes with Diablo hosting a music broadcast and announcing a new contest that will bring him all new victims.

The film began shooting during July 1986 near Rome, Italy. Executive producer Charles Band allowed the filming to take place in a 12th century castle he had purchased for filmmaking, Castello di Giove. Spellcaster’s script was written by Dennis Paoli and Ed Naha, frequent collaborators with Stuart Gordon. The film was produced by Band’s Empire Pictures, which went defunct in 1988, and Spellcaster’s release was delayed until 1992, when it was released through Columbia TriStar Home Pictures.

Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1989) The U.S. government, eager to protect the nation’s avacado supplies, recruits feminist professor Margo Hunt to make contact with the Piranha Women, an all-female tribe who believe men are only good as a source of food. Accompanying Dr. Hunt on her trip are Jim, a guide of questionable competence, and Bunny, a student of unquestionable incompetence.

Robot Jox (1989) Retrospective The reasons for the prolonged delay for Robot Jox (1989) are numerous, all related to the toppling of Band’s Empire beneath the weight of a staggering $46 million in debts. Empire ran out of money when the company saw the film’s budget balloon from $7 to $9 million. Whether due to inferior product or the company’s attempt to distribute its own films, Band was forced to relinquish control of Empire and regroup under the banner The Band Company (its video arm called Half Moon Productions), where Gordon has an office on a film-by-film arrangement. (TWE now owns the Empire catalog, including films that were not yet complete at the time of the takeover.)

Gordon scoffs at the industry talk that Robot Jox was responsible for the fall of the Band Empire. “I don’t believe that this picture sunk Empire, though it certainly didn’t help,” he admitted. “It is true, however, that it was the most expensive picture Empire ever produced-three or four times their normal budget. It also had the longest post-production schedule. But even if everything had gone like clockwork, it would still have required a year of post. Charlie had envisioned that Robot Jox would put Empire on the map, financially speaking. Unfortunately we were not able to get the movie done in time to save the company.”

Even though Empire was clearly in the midst of severe financial woes by this time, Allen insists that he was never pressured by Band to finish. “He understood what we were battling, which was the weather. Empire’s loan money was costing them interest, but we weren’t that expensive-our effects came in at less than 25% of total budget.”

But Band’s video Empire was about to fall. Explained Band, “Basically, in a nutshell, we had some bad timing. We’d just set up a big operation in Italy and suddenly the dollar absolutely fell apart and the cost of living in Italy quadrupled, so suddenly we were in the wrong country in terms of getting a shop set up and making movies. We were there to save money, and the last few pictures we made at Empire cost 20 or 30% more than it would have to make them in this country, which is totally insane considering that just to shoot the picture offshore there is an awful lot of effort that goes into traveling, etc.”

Added Albert Band, “In the beginning, you got 2000 lira to the dollar. When we left, it was 600. The whole Italian experience marked us for life, me and my children, because those years were very formative, not just in growing up, but growing up in a different culture, living with a different language, making movies we liked, building an empire.”

What happened to Empire Pictures? Charles Band: The problems really were two-fold. There were all the normal problems with all the independents because the business has changed radically. These independents, including Empire, became too big too fast, driven by a worldwide home video fever that dried up. The fever mainly for B movies in the home video markets was very forgiving; anything sold. Today, it’s just not the case. It’s an A-driven market, but the occasional B movie will work. The premise of Empire in the early ’80s made sense, but in the late ’80s, it makes no sense. Control your own distribution? That’s not necessary today. Make 4,000 movies a year? You can’t do that anymore.

The other thing that happened to Empire is that in the early days, when we made a dozen or so video hits, pictures that did very well internationally as well, we sold the rights to several video distributors at a bargain price. Had Empire been able to control its own video destiny while the video world was exploding, and reaped the benefits of its video successes, it would not have had any financial problems.

Typically, we would make a picture on a small loss, assuming we would see overages from video, but the deal we made from video, which would sometimes help get the picture made, just didn’t have a chance of showing us overages because it was written in such a way that we would have to sell truckloads of tapes to make any money beyond the advance. It doesn’t take too many of those kind of movies to ultimately create a deficit. Empire never had any huge amount of debt, but the only way it would have been able to turn itself around would have been to get a lot more money to make bigger movies and do business differently. It got to be very wearying at the end, as well. You have to be on call morning and night to the banks you’re involved with, and that’s just not what I wanted to do.

So you were operating on a kind of brinksmanship policy that worked fine when the market was flush, but when the market went away, you toppled over the brink? Charles Band: Yes. Some companies went down in flames, other companies went bankrupt. Neither of these things happened to Empire. It was a graceful end to a five-year history of making 50-odd movies. And I left with an enormous amount of experience, hopefully some of it useful to me now, and with a rare opportunity in a whole new world to start again, in a sense, but doing things the right way. I’ve been very, very lucky. 1988 was a great year for me. I’ve no regrets.

The quality of the Empire movies varied, and tended downward somewhat over the years. Charles Band: I don’t know how to say it without sounding like I did everything over there, which I clearly didn’t, but the less time I spent involved in a production, the less the picture showed any real magic. We had good filmmakers and bad filmmakers; we took chances with a lot of new filmmakers, and some of those worked out real well and some were disappointments. The earlier pictures, even though they were all modest efforts, were better than the later ones, because for the last year and a half of Empire, I barely had five percent of my time and energy left to deal with filmmaking. That’s why with the new companies, I plan to do just one thing, and that is to make these pictures.

At Empire, I spent most of my time dealing with things that were outside what I love doing, which is making movies and being on a motion picture set. So I decided to set up my new life in a way that would really divide the two areas I wanted to concentrate in. I set up Bandcompany and Full Moon Productions. Bandcompany basically will be making one or two larger-budgeted films a year, the first one of which is Pit and the Pendulum , which Stuart Gordon is directing in Italy. There are a couple of others in preparation that will probably wind up being deals directly with studios, where we won’t be involved in any of the sales or marketing, but those movies are few and far between. Sometimes, seven or eight months go by between projects. Sometimes years, if you’re really unlucky.

Why were so many films still on the shelf when Empire was sold? Charles Band: Because for the final four or five months, the president of Empire, the chief financial operator and myself were trying to convince the banks to allow Empire to change course. There was a whole list of things we wanted to do, and it required more money. During that period, we had films that would have fit nicely into that new Empire; we didn’t want to give every last film away to various home video companies. We wanted to start off with a bit of a head start. So there was a kind of moratorium put on finishing certain pictures, selling certain pictures. We kind of kept everything to try and make this deal. When the deal didn’t work out the way I wanted it and this other offer came about, another four or five months went by, only because it takes that much time for new people to come in and figure out what they’ve got. So the pictures are being finished, and now through God knows what convoluted deal they are coming out. There were about seven or eight of them, the best of which, the absolutely last picture Empire made, was Robot Jox. It would be ironic if’ it became a big hit.

CREDITS/REFERENCES/SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY love-it-loud.co.uk Cinefantastique v13n06 Cinefantastique v12n02 Cinefantastique v15n04 Cinefantastique v15n02 Cinefantastique v16n01 Cinefantastique Vol 08 No 2-3 Cinefantastique v18n02-03 (March 1988)3 DELIRIUM#01 DELIRIUM#03 DELIRIUM#04 DELIRIUM#05 FANGORIA#30 FANGORIA#202 FANGORIA#190 FANGORIA#54 FANGORIA#56 FANGORIA#57 FANGORIA#215 FANGORIA#69 MONSTERLAND#39 MONSTERLAND#10 GOREZONE #8 starburstmagazine#03 mjsimpson-films Famous Monsters of Filmland#161 tomboftheunproducedhorrormovie comingsoon.com Starlog#127 Rue Morgue#136 Horrorfan#03 Femme Fatales v09n07 Draculina#14 The Dark Side#28

The History of Empire Films Part Six What are you doing with Ghoulies II? Charles Band: That should be fun. Ed Naha's writing the script.