FRIGHT FEST DAY....? (A quickie)

Hi all,

Im sorry i haven't been able to update, but it's only because i've been in my hotel room for a total of 7 hours since I got here on Thursday. These horror fans know how to live it up! Despite losing about 10 pounds in water weight to my incessant sweating (to the point where I had to o purchase a Gayish Headband, dubbing me the "Jane Fonda" of the Fest by Cinema Guru/FF organizer Alan Jones (the cheeky bastard), its been such a great time here, and everyone has been so nice and supportive. I dont want to leave!

But I just wanted to let you know a quick status on the World Premiere...in short....



SMASHING!!!!

I think we KICKED ASS. Seriously, i'll go into detail later, but it was one of the most gratifying experiences of my life to watch a packed crowd eat every scene up, especially the deaths and of course, Sir Rollins. I think they really responded to the "Splatter" tone and seemed to get every joke, jump in all the right moments, and cheer with every gory demise. It was smashing!



Afterwards I did a Q&A and then got mobbed by the crowd, who I guess were all blown away..."Better than the original!"..."This was the shock of the Festival, I LOVED it!"..."This NEEDS to go theatrical here mate!"....it was more than any reaction i would have expected, seriously. I thought it would have played well here regardless since it was a die-hard horror crowd who would "get it", but not as killer as it actually did! I was so proud...it was a glorious moment for the film, and really, only the beginning.

Gotta run back to see Green's premiere of SPIRAL (so excited) and then DAY WATCH & THE ORPHANAGE...then try to get a LITTLE shut eye before my early morning flight. Wish me luck I dont pull a Vancouver and make the flight within minutes..or worse, a Tokyo where I left my passport in my hotel and didnt realize it till i get to the airport.



"See You Next Wednesday",
The American Werewolf

FRIGHTFEST, DAY 1 1/2

THURSDAY:
14:15 pm.



...just got in. The room is cool, the shower is odd (only half a shower door?) but refreshing washing the flight off of me. Long flight. Didnt help that SPIDERMAN 3 & THE LAST MIMZY were my only choices to watch, so i listened to some early Rollins spoken word (strange to hear him BEFORE 9/11 actually) and tried to nod off...again, and again...



Was picked up by a nice gent named Phillip (a doppleganger for actor Pruitt Taylor Vince) who took me from Heathrow to The Cavendish Hotel, located near Piccidilly Circus. Can't wait to hit there and see 'See You Next Wednesday"...and if you dont get that joke, Im sorry. Gonna meet up with Green and check out the lay of the land before hitting the Cinema and check in with the festival programmers.

Oh, if you haven't seen it, some "found footage" made it's way on the net. Curious....

you can link to it HERE.

OK Im out.

FRIDAY
17:07pm



Back at the hotel. It's the next day. Im fucking destroyed. Not drunk or dismembered mind you, just tired as fuck and jet lagged like a mofo. Its been amazing here. People have been so nice and excited for the film, the organizers (Ian, Paul, Alan and all their lovely help) have been nothing short of accomidating, and Im just chomping at the bit to show the movie tomorrow night.



Last night, I got in, dropped shit off and Green & I walked over to the Odeon, where FrightFest is being held, and when i walked inside the theater, I literally gasped. It was HUGE. Like the way they used to make movie theaters before multiplexes compressed the experience into smaller rooms.



This is where some of the great classic films held their premieres, so it has a ton of history. When i went down stairs, I was thrilled to see the British actually had the sense to call the new DIE HARD film DIE HARD 4.0;



Brilliant bastards...After saying hi, doing the requisite shakes and hugs, Green and I sat down for the first film...



BLACK SHEEP: Like the lost Peter Jackson film before he got all artsy on us, BLACK SHEEP was a lot of fun. A little uneven in spots, but the WETA FX was impressive and there were some great fun moments. I'll never see a docile sheep standing still quite the same way again.



I ended up having to miss BLACK WATER (sorry guys) as I was struggling to fight exhaustion and jet lag, so we decided to go out for a bit and ended up in the New Zealand Royal Embassy, were there was a small but raucus reception. There i got to meet Jake West, who did the brilliant EVIL ALIENS, who saw WT2 early and loved it. Sweet! Then met up with Neil Marshall, who we were much less "geeky" over and shared some talk time while looking out at one of the most brilliant vista shots of London I've ever seen ...seriously, 70mm Imax wouldnt have done it justice.




As the beer flowed freely, we hung out with some of the nice ladies who were working the festival, who told us that Maurice, the owner of a cool little pub down the street (The Phoenix), so we ventured forth to our own little "Winchester" for a pint or 7. Great times, we of course grossed the girls out with mentions of "Rusty Trombones" , my new favorite word "Blube" (ask me about it) and of course, the term of the night....

"Face Rape".

Doesnt that just roll off the tounge?

Around 2:30, all of us well liquored up and Adam and I barely holding onto consciousness, we headed back to the hotel. Two new friends, Jen and Max, stuck around in my room as we geeked-out some more until I kicked them out, ichatted with Bri a bit (thank god we at least have that as my phone still doesnt work...bollocks! Wait, did I just say that?) and then hit the sack.



I woke up late, rushed out the door, missed the free breakfast downstairs so i could make the HATCHET commentary. Originally, I was supposed to be part of it, but in a wise move by Alan (who was the co-host of the recording) he said I couldnt do it for rights reasons, but honestly, hearing Adam spew about HATCHET, he needed NOONE else to bounce off of. It was great to see on the big screen again, but unfortunately, a lot of people came who didnt see it originally so most of the great jokes and character moments that make HATCHET special were lost in the conversation. No matter, they got their fill of gore so hopefully they will appreciate the script upon future screenings...but it went really well. I think Adam was pleased.



Afterwards, a nice gent named Andy took me out for a pint to talk about the movie, which I happily obliged. Free beer in my empty stomach seemed fine at the time. In retrospect...not so much. But it was great chatting with the guy, who i met on mypsace, and we gabbed about the amazingly underrated EXORCIST 3, and he showed me his amazingly under-pant leg DAWN OF THE DEAD tattoo. Very cool. Man, the British take their horror VERY seriously.



Oh! Before the commentary started, a tall drink of scary came up to me and asked me to sign something...the German one sheet for WRONG TURN 2!!!



I had never seen it before and so funny how they did it up. I love how they have completely different headliner names on the top...cause Steve Braun is HUGE in Germany!



Get back, Green's doing autographs withe the new killer HATCHET UK poster. It's gorgeous, and Adam's eyes lit up when he first gazed upon it. Im sure he was proud. But he was still busy so I went into the next flicK, which i missed the first 10 minutes but still wanted to see.

SWORD BEARER: While I missed the key reason as to why the guy has a fucking sword coming out of his arm like Wolverine, I really enjoyed this Russian Fantasy/horror hybrid. I actually liked it more than NIGHT WATCH, which i thought was cool but had way too many stylistic blasts to really get what was going on. The filmmakers here were much more subtle with the style, but it had a great look, and the love story made me miss my wife so fucking much. THAT's a good love story; when it can make you reflect on your own heart, and this film tapped into that. I love how suddenly, the Russian film industry is getting out there, and this is a solid entry. I love also how the recent Russian films I've seen have such a grand scope, and this is no different. Def reccomendation.

Then, a film I was HIGHLY anticipating...

THE SIGNAL: Prett great, compelling variation of the curent "monsters are us" genre that kicked off with 28 DAYS LATER. This is closer to King's book THE CELL, but it's told in a unique style; Three directors took 3 seperate acts and directed each, interweaving storylines as a mysterious "signal" begins to permeate through our TVs, cel phones and other electronics. It makes you "crazy" which doesnt mean you're a mindless Zombie; rather, your perception has changed which makes you hallucinate or see things in a skewed perspective, usually with violent results. In short, I thought the first part was a strong set-up with great efficency and dread (all called "Transmissions" using a Leone Freeze Frame which i loved). The second "transmission" was more skewed towards Gallows humor but it was told with amazingly deft style and great gore moments, yet the final "transmission" just couldn't compare with the first two and wasnt able to sustain the breakneck momentum for the first two acts. It's not bad, but compared to the first two, it just lacks the punch. Overall, THE SIGNAL is pretty fucking solid, a great debut. I would love to see these guys continue this formula, just find a better tonal balance.

After that, I realized i only had BEER in my stomach since i woke up, so we went back to the hotel (sorry 1408, gonna have to catch you on DVD; Im pretty bummed I had to miss it again), and of course instead of eating (aside from the kick-ass Cookies Bri made me, thanks baby!) Im sitting here writing. Love my priorities.

Be back soon, although probably not until after the World Premiere. Hopefully with some food in the belly. Tonight we're seeing TEETH (a last minute addition when P2 had to be dropped), ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE (can't wait) then possibly SHROOMS....

Let me just say that seeing all these horror films, being with great people in a city Im loving more and more by the minute, it makes me so happy to be alive, and so proud to be part of the horror family.

Wish me luck!!!

Staying Awake,
Joe

OFF TO THE U.K.!!!

Well...
The bags are packed...the magnets and buttons in tow...I'm a ready for FrightFest! A nice 11 hour flight to catch up on some reading and off to the races...cannot wait!

Oh, got to stop by a newsstand and pick up the new Fangoria...


...and there it was, the first (of 2) articles on WRONG TURN 2...in fucking FANGORIA!!! Seriously, this was my bible from Age 7 on, so to see my name in there for a film I had a part in is a HUGE honor and quite a frikkin' rush.



So go pick up the new issue and read all about WRONG TURN 2...ad check out next month's issue for a splattery 4 page spread on the film!



Well, off I go to the airport. I'll be checking in on here as much as I can to give you the high (and low) lights from the festival. I'll be seeing a LOT of movies, so I'll probably have a say on a few, but I'll give you the blow-by-blow from the World Premiere for sure...wish us luck!

Now, Toss off!

Joe

'Bad' Ass

Hi all,


Saw SUPERBAD...which could be retitled SUPERBADASS. Seriously, can Judd Apatow do no wrong? Right now the dude is the new generation's John Hughes, even down to the point in that 80's auteur's too brief career when he was rationing off projects to other directors with his seal of approval (Hughes, titles like THE GREAT OUTDOORS, PRETTY IN PINK & or course, DUTCH...Apatow on SUPERBAD, WALK HARD, TALEDEGA NIGHTS, etc). I loved SUPERBAD on so many levels, even if its not directed to my "target demo". Great tight little "quest" story, believable characters, cute girls that I'd believe would actually give these dorks the time of day, and some of the funniest lines and set pieces in recent memory...oh and two of the most hilariously inept cops since BAD LIEUTENANT. I know you dont need me to say it, but SUPERBAD is a must see.



God, my trip to the UK can't come fast enough. Leaving tomorrow...can't wait.



Oh, just heard that WT2 is in the new FANGORIA. Shit, I gotta pick that bastard up for the flight. I plan on doing a LOT of reading catchup on the flight over. God bless European flights and the free booze. As long as Im not doing any interviews on the flight, Im good to go.


Bring on the Mushy Peas!

Staying Scary,
Joe

Smoke in my mouth

OK OK...well I tried for the every day thing, and just got caught up in work. My bad.

Looking forward to the weekend, need a few hours to recharge...but REALLY looking forward to being in the Jolly UK next week for FrightFestUK.



A week from today is the FUCKING WORLD PREMIERE. HOLY SHIT.

Seriously, I've been so stoked to get out there, I can't believe its finally time to trek overseas to show the movie for the first time with a huge crowd. My first film is world premiering in London, the home of the "Video Nasty". PHow crazy is that? I've always heard of FrightFestUK...it's not comprised of some snooty, Bourgerois film snobs ready to merely explicate and dissect the finer points of the thematic structure and the mise en scene...this is a crowd of rabid horror fans...my peoples! Not to say they wont enjoy diessecting the thematic structure and the mise en scene, but they're also more apt fo just sit back and have some fun. The movie was made for them, so if it goes over well...I know I've done a good job. Hope tpeouple come out for the screening, it would be killer to see it with a packed crowd. If you like, check out their snazzy site HERE

http://www.frightfest.co.uk/



Had to hit the dentist again for research on my "reimagining" of MARATHON MAN...actually it's THE DENTIST 2 (love those ECU shots of teeth massacre). No this was my second visit for the dreaded root canal...ROOT CANAL PART 2: THE TOOTHENING. Was actually even more dreaded this time, longer, more moments of "discomfort" (as they like to say instead of "this is gonna hurt"), hell my fucking eyeball went numb at one point, that was an interesting sensation...oh...



...um, was that smoke coming out of my mouth just then?



Watched VACANCY earlier this week. For under 90 minutes, I enjoyed (most of) it. It oozed creepiness down the BARTON FINK-esque walls, and the suspense was actually genuine. Im not a big Kate Beckensdale fan (I mean, her acting thus far...Im fine with the surface level) and Im more privvy to laughing at/with Owen Wilson than seeing him pull off the everyman-in-peril character, but they were effective enough to allow us to put ourselves in their position. We've all had to endure the shitty motel night, and it taps into the "what would you do?" factor well enough. I'm pretty sure I WONT be watching this in a hotel anytime soon...besides, theres much better in-room Gonzo to enjoy instead. With an effectively creepsville turn by Syracuse local-boy-made-good Frank Whaley and some amazing DP work by one of my favs, Andrej Sekula (RESERVOIR GODS, PULP FICTION, OLEANA), the movie did a pretty effective job of emulating the old-school craft of Hitchcock with a Michael Heneke edge on the snuff films the couple discovers, right down to the title sequence and classicly stringy score. It's a shame the film ends with the anti climactic aftertaste of Red Herring. (BTW: If you can handle it, check out the full versions of the videos on the special features...pretty disturbing and effectively realistic)



Holy shit. I just saw that one of the SLEAZIEST aisan horror flicks that I'd seen in some time was just officially released on DVD..THE EBOLA SYNDROME. I wont go into specifics, but this is one fucked up flick. A friend from Troma lent it to me when I worked there a few years back, and it really eye-raped my senses. Think if the shocking tone of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST was chased with a twisted sense of humor, wok'd with soy sauce. The flick is totally uncompromising and morally bankrupt, even more so than the more factual THE UNTOLD STORY/BUNMAN, and Anthony Wong makes Patrick Bateman look like Mother Theresa. Seriously, the main character in this film is the epitome of "Sleazevil", yet you cannot take your eyes off the flick as he rapes, murders and spreads Ebola through the city with a devilish grin on. You will feel dirty after one viewing.



"You have Ebola!!!"

...and with that, I bid you a good weekend.

Staying Scary,

Joe

We have nards

Pretty un-eventful day. Dental work kinda prevented me from enjoying any of the fun goings-on last night at the E! party so I went home, dulled the pain and enjoyed a final dinner with Gordon "You fucking Donkey!" Ramsay. But what I did forget was to mention a major highlight that occured on Friday night, one that perfectly fit into the "flashback" weekend that occured....

I got to finally see THE MONSTER SQUAD on DVD.



Holy god.

What an amazingly fun flick.

Sure, it's dated, it's so 80's in the clothing, style and verbage ("Nards"? "Been 'dorked'"? Shane Black at his dialogue-spewing finest), and some scenes have an odor of fromage, but for a PG-13 GOONIES knock off, NIGHT OF THE CREEPS director Fred Dekker and co-scripter Black went 10 steps further and made a worthy successor to THE GOONIES while also playing with the Universal Monster franchises (using some amazingly original and effective creature designs from Stan Winston)...and making one hell of an exciting movie.

Seriously, seeing it again in beautiful 2:35:1 widescreen (the first time it was presented as such anywhere), it was like viewing the film for the first time, enjoying every frikkin moment and having fun "re-casting" each character with our group of horror buddies as if we were reforming the SQUAD for one more adventure. These kid characters in the film...they were so US. The dorks who knew of every monster mythology, every rule of each horror franchise, hell made their own t-shirts to show their horror love, the kids who in the film you wouldn't normally give the time of day to, let alone think could save the world...yup, I was one of 'em, and Im sure many others out there can relate to it and wish they had more friends at the time who were willing to be into horror and gore and scary flicks....and now, the kids who WERE these dorks in the film in real life-well, not the actors but all the kids like us who could relate-now we're all grows up and grows up...well not entirely, but that's the point. The "Kids" are coming to power, and it's up to us to keep the love alive for the future SQUADS to enjoy.

...just felt great to want to make movies when THE MONSTER SQUAD first came out and 20 years later, knowing with pride that my first film will share DVD space with a childhood favorite that inspired me. if you haven't seen M.S. in a while or ever, I couldnt reccomend a movie higher to instantly put a smile on your face, unless you have a distate for 80's flicks...if that's the case, fuck the fuck off, thanks.

Not to steal from another kiddie adventure of the time...but...

"This is our time"

Staying Scary,
Joe

PS: This is just badass...another tapping of the 80's vein.

"Bring the Funky"

...Just got back from a press conference with Van Halen. Pretty amazing to see Diamond Dave, Eddie and the gang again on-stage. I remember fighting with my mom to get me 1984 on cassette; a compromise was struck and after 10 bags of raked leaves, I was bopping to "Panama" along with every other kid and teen that year. Seeing the band (with new member-and Eddie's spawn-Wolfgang in tow on Bass) again was a thrill, the cherry on the top of my "flashback" weekend. How's that, you ask?



Well on Saturday Bri, Green, new friend B.J. and I went to see RATT & POISON at the Gibson, which was pretty fucking radical. Great crowd, good tunes, lots of hairspray. CC was crazed, Brett swiveled the pelvis, and of course there were plenty of half-naked chicks and strategically-torn t shirts. As the show is going, I scream in Bri's ear "MAN...I REALLY WANNA WATCH THE DECLINE OF THE WESTERN CIVILIZATION PART 2; THE METAL YEARS RIGHT NOW!!!" (Yes I blurted all that).

Lo and behold, not half an hour after we got back from the concert, the seminal Speehris documentary was on IFC! So of course we watched that as well, as Chris Holmes from W.A.S.P. drowns himself in a bottle of Vodka and a pool and how many of the teased-hair hopefuls never got their shot at fame they so proudly declared was theirs. If you haven't seen this documentary, you need to. Now. At least for a good laugh.




Seeing the POISON guys in that doc, professing their "party" attitude, just coming back from a POISON show 20 years later, it's amazing to see one of these bands actually enduring. Still kicking ass, taking names, selling swag, finger-banging the ladies...all in the name of Rock N Roll...brought to you by Verizon, Clear Channel and GE or course.

..and of course now seeing VH on-stage, announcing their (3rd) reunion tour. I feel like a kid again. A very old kid.

Joe

PS: Before the RATT/POISON show (how awesome is that bill? Great word choice boys) Bri and I were walking around CitiWalk as we happened on this Hammer-esque gent who kept proclaiming that "...in 10-15 minutes, Im about to bring the Funky". So we waited as Sir Funky did his Pre-Funk stretches...you know, so he doesnt pull a Funky Hammy.

What a flake

Hey all,



Sorry I havent been very vocal on here, its been madness the past few weeks, what with Comic-con, getting the other festival and promo stuff ready AND working on "the future".

Starting Monday Im going to try to write every day on here, and see how it goes. Even if it's like "Today sucked money taint" and that's it. I want to get more involved on this as we're ramping up for some crazy happening for the film that I'll be part of.

Plus, I miss you.

So stay tuned. Hopefully I'll have something profound to say...



I will say that despite some bad Fajita consumption that turned my Comic-con Saturday night into me "windmilling" all night (if you watch SOUTH PARK you'll know what I mean), the convention was a resounding success for the film. I think we got a lot of people jazzed for the flick and the swag was killer, literally.



Oh, and Im starting a new photo album for all things WRONG TURN 2 related, including the poster for the movie that my good friend Conor and his buddy Shawn [sic?] designed that the WT2 myspace czar Jeremy added to. I LOVE this poster. It perfectly fits in the 80's type mood that I was going form, and the tagline is so sleazy and exploitation it's perfect. Hope you guys dig it too...and there's more pics and other goodies to come. Go to my myspace page and check out the album, some fun to be had.

In other news, my tooth is killing me. I totally want to pull a BUG and just tear that fucker out. Oh jesus I hurt.



Went to the Kwik-E-Mart in Burbank. Fun times, bad donuts. Maybe THAT's why my teeth hurt. D'oh!



Just saw DISTURBIA. For a "Best of Spielberg ideas" flick (seriously, there's POLTERGEIST, THE BURBS & even TEMPLE OF DOOM in there) I really dug it for a PG-13 thriller. That Leboof kid is on fire these days!



New must own album: DEVILDRIVER's new disc. Fucking intense stuff. Their best album yet. No Im not bias.

Met one of me heroes last week. It was surreal to chat with him for hours on end, and he was really cool and fun to talk to. Walked away feeling pretty inspired. Then I walked into SUNSHINE and by the end of that, the inspirado was pretty much sucked out. Shame...while I liked the movie, especially it's sparse and moody first half, it suddenly lost my interest when Danny Boyle was given a new set of funky music video-esque filters and lenses midway through and then the film turned into 2010 meets NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 5. I love Boyle's work, but the ending almost ruined my SUNSHINE experience.



BOURNE was amazing. Greengrass is a god. Funny how he's shot to the top of my "heros" list from only 4 films (of the ones I've seen(BLOODY SUNDAY, BOURNE SUPREMACY, UNITED 93 & BOURNE ULTIMATUM). The man knows his "Visual Verite"...and I love it.



The Banz turned 5 last week as well. Her birthday is also signifigant in that it's a marker for how long we've been enduring (he)L.A. Thank god we have her in our lives. Sure she's a bit crazy and hyper; she's simply justifying her moniker. But this little dog has been our rock out here. She's "da bomb" as they say in Idaho.



Ok Im out. I promise to be back on Monday for my big blogging experiment. For now Im going to punch myself in the nuts to divert my attnetion away from my grill.

Staying Scary,

Joe