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Fango’s Weekend of Horrors: Through the Eyes of a Con Virgin (Day 1)
By The Rev
Jun 3, 2006, 23:31

Yes indeed ladies and gentlemen, this was The Rev’s first time going to a con.  I honestly didn’t know what to really expect ahead of time, and aside from looking at the amazing guest list, I really had no clue how it was really going to turn out.  Well, I can say without a doubt that I had a blast.  There were guests up the wazoo, tons of panel discussions, and too damn much stuff I want to buy.  Damn it why’d I have to be a college student instead of a self-made billionaire?  At any rate, the following is the summation of my notes, thoughts and things I actually wrote at the convention.  It was one helluva time, and I hope you enjoy.

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Day 1: June 2, 2006

All right, I’ve been driving around Burbank aimlessly for, what, twenty minutes not and still haven’t found the lot?  You know, I’ve lived here all my life, you’d think I should know a thing or two about how to get around, right?  Well, you’d be wrong.  My sense of direction rivals that of Columbus, though his luck was far better.

Finally made it, usually I’d be frustrated beyond all belief by now and ready to do some serious damage, but no, today I am not going to feel down.  Why’s that you might ask?  Well, today I’m going to be attending my first horror convention.  The sky could open up and rain fire and I’d still be in high spirits.  I mean, seriously, the lineup is so awesome that it’d take real effort to piss me off today.  Bruce Campbell, Lance Henriksen, Tony Todd, Mick Garris, Kane Hodder, Greg Nicotero, Tony Gardner, I mean, God Damn!  The event lineup looks fantastic, and though I’m not entirely sure what to expect, you could say I’m reasonably enthusiastic.  Though of course, by that I really mean fucking ecstatic, but you probably already knew that.

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Got in a bit late due to some car issues, no worries though, still got in and that’s all that really matters.  They’re filling out the convention center, and for a huge space you’d be surprised how jam-packed they got it.  An area the size of my high school gymnasium was filled with DVD and T-shirt vendors with the odd genre star signing autographs hidden in every little nook and cranny.  Next to that was a room with even more vendors and a corner taken over by the Sin-Jin Smyth people where Roddy Piper was signing autographs (more on that later).  Adjacent to these rooms was a large hall where they were doing panel discussions about every 40-minutes on pretty much anything and everything going on in horror these days, while on the other side of this you’d find two rooms with even more vendors.  I only brought a small amount of spending money with me, but I get the impression I might go over my limit today.

After parting ways with The Caretaker, I first sat in on a panel discussion for upcoming slasher flick Nightmare Man, with director/writer Rolfe Kanefsky and stars Tiffany Sheppis, Blythe Metz and Richard Moll.  Yeah, Bull Shannon from Night Court.  They’re a pretty fun group, Moll of course spent a good chunk of his time joking about being hired for the film only because he lived in the area, while the girls spent a good portion of the time complaining about how cold it was during filming.  That’s what you get filming in Big Bear at night.  They showed a clip and it looked pretty snazzy, I’d say this is one to look out for.  Of course I walk out and run into The Caretaker holding a pile of autographed 8x10’s and asking why I didn’t have any of my own.  So, it’s time to get out and start pressing the flesh.

Now, I’ve always been a huge fan of They Live, so I made my first stop Roddy’s corner.  There was a decent line of WWF fans, and then big geeky me which seemed to throw him for a loop for a moment.  I professed my genuine admiration for the film and plopped down my cash for a signed glossy from They Live and a Polaroid with the guy.  Let me tell you, best damn $20 I ever spent.  Piper is an incredibly nice, genuine guy, and he was clearly enjoying the event.

The rest was something of a blur of hitting table to table and trying to budget accordingly.  I found a table that was seemingly hidden among the rest with John Russo and Russ Streiner (Johnny from Night of the Living Dead).  They were selling genuine vials of zombie dirt from the original filming site, but I settled for a signed 8x10 of the “They’re coming to get you Barbara!” scene.  Richard Moll seemed a bit aloof signing things at his table, but given the fact that everyone was calling him Bull, I could see why.  Got Michael Bailey Smith to sign my The Hills Have Eyes ’06 poster and a cool pic of him with a mockup of his Pluto makeup.  Bah, just missed Bill Moseley, gotta head back to that one later.

There’s more stars here than just those in the booths or panels, some are walking around as fans too.  Eli Roth is walking around and developing quite a crowd.  Hung out for a bit with Lee Perkins who I did an interview not too long back for Katiebird, and surprisingly enough he actually remembered me.  I honestly can’t say I’ve met a classier guy out there.  He was very soft-spoken and enthusiastic about the genre and says that he’s got another big project coming up which they’ll be announcing later.  Should pay attention to that one.

Finally met up with The Caretaker again, sat in on a screening of the short film Grace.  Considering the fact that the director had a dummy of a dead baby strapped to his chest, I kind of knew what we were in for, and it did not disappoint.  The short was suitably creepy and atmospheric, and since they said that they’re looking to make it into a feature if it gains popularity, I wish them the best as it does hold promise.  Brian Austin Green was up there too, but considering the fact that he was in the movie for maybe six seconds I have no clue why.

All right, got Bill Moseley finally!  Got a signed picture of him and the rest of the Sawyer clan playing poker, though Bill professes that Leatherface was cheating.  Oh those wacky cannibals.

Then comes the main event of the day, the Lance Henriksen presentation.  Although Roth is taking pictures right outside and creating something of a bottleneck, Caretaker and I grab some seats in time for the presentation.  Well, sort of.  All throughout they are plagued with technical glitches and whatnot.  During the video retrospective of his career, the video cuts out for the first minute, then rewinds.  Lance takes the stage and is plagued by a microphone that keeps going in and out, but it’s all good for him.  He gets several standing ovations before getting down to some questions, where he speaks highly of his work in Near Dark and in the upcoming Pumpkinhead sequels.  When asked about the intended Near Dark remake, he didn’t have much to say except that he and Bill Paxton have been trying to get a prequel to the original off the ground for some time now.  As a big fan of the film, I cannot say how cool this is!  Somebody get these guys the money they need!

So he goes off to sign autographs, and I’m beginning to feel the long day catching up with me.  Charles Band and his traveling show come to take the stage promoting their upcoming flick Gingerdead Man, but since I’m damn tired the anecdotes of Gary Busey voicing a maniacal possessed gingerbread man just aren’t as funny as they probably should be.  With that, I take my leave for the day.

Tomorrow’s looking to be even cooler, and it’s going to be even more of a packed house, as Bruce Campbell himself will be in the house!  There’s also some damn cool looking panel discussions and presentations coming up, and I cannot wait to see what’s up next!