Let’s go to the movies, blogspot readers!
That’s how SouthSide recently spent her Saturday. Munching
on buttery popcorn, snacking on yummy Raisinettes, and drinking cool refreshing
soda while watching her cinematic favorites on the big screen inside the Patio
Theatre during Sci-Fi Spectacular 2014. This one-day movie-a-thon had a little
something everyone, blogspot readers. There were monsters in space (George
Melies’ A Trip To the Moon) and on land (Godzilla vs King Kong), fantasy
(Legend and Pan’s Labyrinth), sci-fi adventure/action (Buckaroo Banzai and
Escape From New York) and horror (Night Of The Living Dead and Dead Zone). Over
fourteen hours of movies as well as a Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode, “Hush”
and indie movie shorts in between attracted avid moviegoers of all ages. PLUS
there were special appearances by Doug Jones (of Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy I
& II) and Kyra Schon (aka Karen Cooper from Night Of The Living Dead).
Besides viewing movies, fans could hang out ...browse and shop the many vendors
such as Horribles, Kutcha Galleries participating at this event.
SouthSide with Doug Jones |
Upon arriving, SouthSide spent a few minutes chatting with
Doug Jones about his roles in Pan Labyrinth and Hellboy I & II wondering
how he felt being the only English-speaking actor in a Spanish-speaking movie.
He mention it was hard learning a language he doesn’t speak but he did learn
his lines in Spanish “...though it was hard concentrating...” after hours of
makeup and costuming. Did you know, blogspot readers, that Doug was also the White-faced
monster (the one with eyes in its hands) in Pan’s Labyrinth? Yep, that was him.
After the movie’s showing on the big screen, Doug noted something that this
reviewer hadn’t noticed before. His “Faun” character in the movie ages
backwards (from old to young with more agility in the end) as Ofelia continues
to believe in herself and the moon princess tale. For SouthSide, to finally see
this Guillermo Del Toro masterpiece on the big screen was one of the many
highlights of her Sci-Fi Spectacular experience. It was more enjoyable than
watching it on DVD because on a large screen she could totally immerse herself
into the majestic fairy tale world as well as the realistic horror of the
Spanish countryside during World War II created by this director. There was a
funny moment during the screening of Pan’s Labyrinth in which a guy shouted
“...there’s pizza in the lobby...” after the tense scene when Capt. Vidal’s men
were shot by the rebels. Speaking of Guillermo Del Toro, Doug Jones just
finished another movie with him in Toronto (currently in post production)
however the actor was only allowed to reveal it’s about a haunted house. Here’s
another movie fact about Doug Jones ...he was “Billy” in the Disney movie Hocus
Pocus. Oh yeah - don't be afraid to get a special hug from this actor. He's a GREAT hugger who loves to give everyone cool doggie pets on the head!
Kyra Schon |
did confirm her instinct was correct even though she would learn the truth years later. During the NOTLD screening, SouthSide mostly sat in the darkness of the theatre wondering if Kyra was watching us and our reactions while watching the movie especially her scenes. Still, to finally view this Romero horror classic was a big thrill for this reviewer. From Johnny’s iconic line “...they’re coming to get you, Barbara...” to Karen Cooper’s only line “...I hurt...” in which had many within this packed theatre cheering. More cheers were aplenty while Kyra did her iconic zombie scenes but then suddenly you could hear boos and jeers when Ben died. No matter how many times Kyra has seen this movie, she still cannot watch this one particular scene. After the screening, she talked about her time on the NOTLD set (in which she mentioned it was boring but fun) and the basement scenes were filmed in the basement of Romero’s studio while the farmhouse scenes were done 30 miles north of Pittsburgh in Evansville. You may (or not) have noticed there weren’t any scenes of Kyra’s character actually stabbing her mother with the trowel. She was stabbing into a pillow. And believe it or not, Kyra never had any bad dreams after filming this movie though The Omen and Carrie did disturbed and scared her, blogspot readers. However, it took conventions and events like Sci-Fi Spectacular that she learned to finally accept it was okay to be a part of the horror culture even though before (as a young teen) she didn’t like being the center of negative attention (Kyra was teased by a boy after the NOTLD premiere).An audience member asked if she (and/or Romero) ever thought about the movie’s societal significance back then to which she said that she hadn’t since they were simply making a horror movie not a statement about society.
“...all the dreams of youth are regrets of maturity...” ~
Dark Lord (Tim Curry), “Legend”
Tom Kelly |
(http://www.horrorartist.com) from
Lafayette, IN, blogspot readers. She liked how this artist paid close to every
intimate detail of each main character from movies like Big Trouble In Little
China, Candyman (that was her favorite design), Hellraiser and many more
including Nosferatu to which you could have framed for display. Chris’ art
grabbed plenty attention throughout the Sci-Fi Spectacular with few of the
attendees taking home some of his lovely artwork. Other vendors included two
from comic shops that would make any fanboy (or fangirl) squeal with excitement
over the various array of comic selections for sale (some were discounted too)
and jewelry vendors like Asunder (http://www.asunder.deviantart.com) who will be also at
Convergence 20 happening soon.
Sci-Fi Spectacular fans |
What a day watching her favorite movies. SouthSide can’t
wait for next year...
Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide
Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide
SouthSide,
ReplyDeleteGood lord, this is like a Con or something and it happened in one afternoon? Also, "Hush" is one of my favorite "Buffy" episodes.
Joseph
Not a con, Joe, but almost like it. Yep, it all happened in one single day...
ReplyDelete