One of the strangest films that I have ever seen is Jeff Leiberman's 1978 film Blue Sunshine, which I remember sitting on the shelf at West Coast Video on VHS in the late 1980's.   I was always intrigued by the cover art, but I didn't have occasion to see it until it was released on DVD and a friend loaned it to me.  I was impressed with it and read with glee that it had developed a cult following. The transfer left something to be desired as it was sourced at the time from less-than-stellar elements. 

Fortunately, the film's original camera negative is not only still in existence but it has recently been unearthed, leading to a new restoration in 4K and a future release on Blu-ray.  The full details can be read here.

Seven-time Oscar winner Rick Baker, the make-up artist of many films including King Kong (1976), Star Wars (1977), The Funhouse (1981), Videodrome (1983), and Ed Wood (1994), announced his retirement from show business last week citing a drop in demand for his services.  Since the industry-wide shift to computer-generated imagery (CGI for short) which permits movies to be made much quicker than the time it requires to put full makeup on a performer, Mr. Baker, who patterned his work after his idol and friend, the late great Dick Smith, will probably continue to act as a consultant and work on special projects in the future.  However, he is no longer interested in running a full studio.  This is a great shame as those of us who grew up watching his work as well as the work of the aforementioned Mr. Smith and Jack Pierce will never forget how we felt when we saw his work in our favorite films. 

I remember seeing Vincent Price and Kim Hunter give Mr. Baker the Academy Award for Best Make-Up on March 29, 1982, the first time that the category had ever appeared.  It seems like only yesterday!  Click here to watch his acceptance speech.

Can it really be forty years since Chrissy Watkins seduced a young man on the beach by stripping off all her clothes and diving into the water and unwittingly into the mouth of a Great White Shark?  Jaws, arguably Steven Spielberg's best film and my vote for The Greatest Summer Movie of All-Time, opened on Friday, June 20th, 1975 to an unsuspecting public on to the then-unheard-of 500 movie screens.  To celebrate the release of one of the most successful films of all-time, Universal is re-releasing Jaws on 500 movie screens across the country.  The film will be shown on Sunday, June 21 (Father's Day) and Wednesday, June 24 in selected theaters at selected times. 

This is an excellent opportunity to allow young moviegoers to experience one of the cinema's greatest achievements on a big screen with an audience.  From the press release:

Dare to relive the terrifying masterpiece? Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment invite you to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the one of the most popular American thrillers of all time when Jaws (1975) returns to select cinemas nationwide for a special two-day only event on Sunday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 24 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. local time.

It's a hot summer on Amity Island, a small community whose main business is its beaches. When new Sheriff Martin Brody discovers the remains of a shark attack victim, his first inclination is to close the beaches to swimmers. This doesn't sit well with Mayor Larry Vaughn and several of the local businessmen. Brody backs down to his regret as that weekend a young boy is killed by the predator. The dead boy's mother puts out a bounty on the shark and Amity is soon swamped with amateur hunters and fisherman hoping to cash in on the reward. A local fisherman with much experience hunting sharks, Quint, offers to hunt down the creature for a hefty fee. Soon Quint, Brody and Matt Hooper from the Oceanographic Institute are at sea hunting the Great White shark. As Brody succinctly surmises after their first encounter with the creature, they're going to need a bigger boat.

Click here for more information and to order tickets from FathomEvents.com.

Betsy Palmer, who played the notorious Mrs. Pamela Voorhees in Sean Cunningham's 1980 film Friday the 13^th, passed away on Friday, May 29, 2015 in a hospice care center in Connecticut, according to her manager Brad Lemack.  She was 88 years-old.  Mrs. Palmer was in show business for over 50 years, a remarkable feat for anyone. 

She began acting in many television roles in the 1950's and became a regular on the game show I've Got a Secret.  A 1979 incident that left her without a car led her to reluctantly accept the role as Jason Voorhees's mother in one of the most successful horror film franchises in the history of the medium.  The money she received for appearing in Friday the 13^th, a film that she assumed would never see the light of day, allowed her to buy a new automobile.  It also permitted her to shed the wholesome roles that she played for many years and try something different.  As luck would have it, the film did phenomenal box office and she scored legions of fans for her role as the mother hell bent on killing the teenagers of Camp Crystal Lake who behaved like the teens who were preoccupied with themselves years earlier, causing her son Jason to drown.  Many years later, she drew long lines of autograph seekers at conventions that celebrated science fiction and horror films.  Incredibly, a lot of people never know of her career prior to this film!  The film brought her much fame and notoriety. 

In 2005, Mrs. Palmer appeared in Bryan Norton's excellent short film Penny Dreadful as Trudie Treadwell, a congenial psychic who attempts to help a couple who have moved into a new home that might be haunted.  Penny Dreadful is an excellent showcase for tip-of-the-hat moments for genre fans, and Mrs. Palmer shines in one of her last screen roles.  

Mrs. Palmer was one of the nicest and most interesting personalities to talk with at the conventions, and she will be truly missed.  Fortunately, we have her wonderful performances to enjoy for years to come.

The Saturday Nightmares Groovie Horror Event will take place in Jersey City this Saturday, May 2, 2015.  The convention opens at 1:00 pm at runs until midnight, however some of the festivities will start at 11:30 am.  It will be held at the beautiful Landmark Loews' Jersey Theatre at 54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ, opposite the train station.  The event schedule, which is zombie-based in theme and will resemble Dawn of the Dead (1978), is as follows:

Saturday May 2nd, 2015.

11:30am - 12:45pm 
Zombie Walk meetup

Meet at Journal Square across the street from the Theatre. Look for SN booth for check in. FX Make-up artists will be available if you wish to purchase professional zombie make up. 

1:00pm 
Zombie Walk lead by Mike Christopher (Hare Krishna Zombie from Dawn of the Dead) begins

We estimate that the zombie walk should take about 20 - 30 minutes. It will lead from the meet-up point, across the street and into the theatre. 

1:00pm 
Theatre doors open 

1:00pm - 7pm
Horror pop-up shops open

Peruse through our ghoulishly exciting Horror Vendors and FX Artists booths! Food by Lucky Larry's Luncheonette and cash bar by LITM. DJ Cryptmaster Chucky spinning Horror beats.

1:00pm - 7pm
Special guests meet & greet signing and photos

Meet your favorite Dawn of the Dead actors David Crawford, Jim Krut, Mike Christopher and Roy Frumkes.

7pm
On stage in main auditorium: A conversation with David Crawford, Jim Krut, Mike Christopher & Roy Frumkes.

7:50pm
Main auditorium: Screening of Dawn of the Dead with live intro Reenactment with David Crawford & Joseph Early. A tribute to the late David Early.

10:00pm
Zombie Party in the lobby with DJ Cryptmaster Chucky and pop-up cash bar by LITM. Featuring costume contest.

12:01am
Doors close at the stroke of midnight. An after party at LITM in downtown Jersey City. 

Click here for more information.