Ask Me a Question: Halloween @ Beyond Fest

Beyond Fest keeps on kicking with no less than 3 screenings this past Wednesday night.  The centerpiece being a newly restored, 4K version of John Carpenter's seminal indie horror classic, Halloween!  Humans From Earth co-presented the festivities with Geoff Boucher on hand for the pre-film Q&A.  Another sold out crowd, we marked our territory in the balcony this time and hit neighboring Pig & Whistle for a couple of Jameson and Ginger Ales.  Since I had extra tix, I gifted them on some thankful dudes in the Stand-By line.  Inside, Death Waltz had even more vinyl for sale, including a re-mastered version of Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 soundtrack.  As the theater quickly filled up, we were treated to some Beyond Fest pre-trailers that were awesomely hilarious.  One was a supercut of dummies filling in for humans falling or getting their heads chopped off.  The next was a riff on Queen's Another One Bites the Dust I believe with screams and handshakes filling in for the beat complete with Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell's epic high five over Teri Hatcher's head in Tango & Cash!  I nearly stood up and cheered.

American Cinematheque and BF programmer and creators Grant and Christian did some quick trivia and tossed out Halloween disks courtesy of Scream! Factory.  Boucher introduced Mr. Carpenter who introduced star Jamie Lee Curtis.  Apparently this is the first time the duo have ever attended a screening of the film together:

- 22 day schedule, $300,000 budget
- Curtis auditioned several times, liked Laurie's role because she got to do more than "be cute"
- Obtained entire wardrobe in one trip from J.C. Penny
- Curtis just remembers the film being fast and fun, young crew, everybody friends with someone else, for example Michael Myers was played by Carpenter's band mate in the Coupe DeVilles, Nick Castle, instead of a stuntman in later installments
- Carpenter didn't realize the film was doing well at first as it rolled out regionally with a few prints, by Christmas, knew it was cooking when some independent producers came to see him
- Most fun film Carpenter ever made as he was young, too dumb to know any better and hadn't been fucked over by the studios yet
- Doesn't mind remakes, it's just part of the deal, studios think audiences are too dumb to see anything original, of course he likes remakes that cut him a check VS ones studios own rights to
- Assault on Precinct 13, Carpenter could afford 1 day at a UCLA studio to create score, on Halloween could afford 3 days
- Curtis is very involved with charity, just got into conventions and made $150,000 in one weekend for her causes
- Auctioning off a replica of Michael Myers' bust signed by every member of the production team

The pair were very complimentary to each other, giving credit for inherent talent and future success.  Carpenter didn't drop his "gotta go see my drug dealer" line to close things out though.

I haven't seen Halloween since high school maybe when I got uber freaked out at a friends house due to all the windows someone could be looking at us through.  The great theme music starts things off in typical Carpenter fashion with credits over black screen, this time with a Jack-O-Lantern off to the side.  One night, young Michael Myers inexplicably stabs his sister to death.  15 years later, he's institutionalized and Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance, The Great Escape) wants to keep him there forever, knowing the boy is pure evil.  When Michael escapes, Loomis deduces that he's most likely headed back to his childhood home which has become the local haunted house but is about to be sold by Strode Realty.  Young Laurie Strode goes to the house to drop the key off and soon, she and her friends become Myers' prey as he stalks them over Halloween night.

While over 30 years old, the flick holds up pretty well.  It's pretty funny and dated due to it's low budget stature, mostly inexperienced cast and whatnot but the atmosphere, chills and scares are still there.  Myers is not portrayed as a man but a force of evil so you just take his Boogeyman quality and accept it.  Many a horror flick would take cues from the flicks structure, characters and traits as Halloween went on to spawn 7 sequels over the next 24 years and then a reboot in 2007 that received it's own sequel.  Can't say I've seen a single one though...

The Monster Squad and Snowpiercer next!

(Pre) Ask Me a Question: CARL WEATHERS in Person! Predator and Action Jackson!

My quest to share the gospel of 80's and 90's action movies keeps on kicking as I'm proud to announce the next Dammaged Goods live event, An Evening With Carl Weathers featuring Predator and Action Jackson!  If you're keeping track, it was Terminator 2: Judgment Day with Robert Patrick in April, Double Impact and Bloodsport with Sheldon Lettich in May then Universal Soldier and Rocky IV with Dolph Lundgren in June.  Each of those events were held around Los Angeles at The Arclight Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino's New Beverly Cinema and The American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre.  The Egyptian is going to be our new home and I'm pumped to have my banner flying at the house of Beyond Fest and Humans From Earth among other niche programs.  As before we'll have trivia, prizes, custom tee shirts and a Q&A following the first feature.  It all goes down on Friday, 10.24 at 7:30 PM in Hollywood.  Tickets are available now, check out The American Cinematheque's website for more details.  If you're a regular reader, drop me a line and I'll try to save you a tee shirt because if you got one from the other nights, you know it will be awesome.

Carl Weathers of course is known to the masses for his work in Rocky I - IV, Predator, Action Jackson, Happy Gilmore and Arrested Development among dozens of other credits.  A former professional football player, Weathers caught the acting bug early and balanced athletics with theater while in college.  Hitting Los Angeles in the 70's, one of Weathers' first roles was as Apollo Creed in the Oscar winner that nobody believed in, Rocky.  Displaying a statuesque physique along with confidence and humanity to spare, Weathers was a bombastic and gregarious counterpart to Stallone's quiet underdog.  Weathers returned in 3 more Rocky films, his character going from rival to mentor to best friend.  Along the way, his growing physical and action oriented roles would be displayed in films for James Bond helmers Guy Hamilton and Peter S. Hunt appearing opposite the likes of Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford, Franco Nero, Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson.  Weathers would go on to direct episodic television as well as keep busy as a voice actor.

In 1987's Predator, Weathers helped elevate arguably the most macho and muscular cast ever assembled on film, supporting burgeoning action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger and a stand out cast including Jesse Ventura, Shane Black, Bill Duke and Sonny Landham in the sci-fi action flick that finds an elite unit of special ops soldiers being hunted by an alien creature.  Produced by Joel Silver, their relationship would extend to 1988's starring vehicle Action Jackson which sees Weathers as a legendary Detroit cop cleaning up the streets, taking on thugs and a maniacal car dealer with one liners, car crashes, blow torches and being able to leap over an oncoming taxi.  Another great supporting cast includes Craig T. Nelson, Sharon Stone, Vanity, Thomas F. Wilson, Bill Duke, Robert Davi and Ed O'Ross.

The early 90's saw Weathers headline TV shows like Street Justice and In the Heat of the Night before popping up in 1996's Happy Gilmore with Adam Sandler as club pro Chubbs Peterson, a talented golfer who met his professional demise after losing a hand to an alligator.  Weathers would later appear in Sandler's Little Nicky and 8 Crazy Nights.  Continuing his comedy trek, Weathers appears as a frugal, stew making version of himself on 4 episodes of cult favorite, Arrested Development as well as losing his right hand again as Combat Carl in TV special, Toy Story of Terror. 

So start pumping up now for endless Predator handshakes, mark your calendar and get to the choppa, I mean theater to hear a legend discuss his incredible career and watch a couple of kick ass flicks from a bygone era when muscles, machine guns and one liners ruled the box office.

Dolph Lundgren Friday: Podcast

For any of you beautiful people who attended Dolph night, many thanks.  For any of you who were unable to attend, the full post Universal Soldier Q&A is now up in podcast form via Nerdist and Humans From Earth.  Be sure to listen to the end or fast forward and hear my shout out, heh heh.  Before the film, I welcomed the audience to Dammaged Goods' 2nd full on live event, did trivia and prizes that included a 1992 promotional button, a signed VHS and custom tee shirts.  Then, Dolph and his manager/Unisol producer Craig Baumgarten joined me on stage for a few minutes to talk the origins of the project and working with Jean-Claude Van Damme. 

Check out the blurry video!

 

Hard at work on the next live event and it's shaping up nicely.  Fans of 80's and 90's action will not be disappointed as the potential films and star will be very familiar to any Van Damme, Arnold, Stallone and Dolph aficionado.  See you then!