Venganza Media Gazette

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

Platinum Dunes Studios has released more franchise reboots than original films, attempting to update horror classics Friday the 13th, The Amityville Horror, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre for a new generation. Their latest reboot is of a totally different sort–Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Can producer Michael Bay bring his Transformers toyetic touch to the Turtles? Join Stuart, Arnie, and Jakob in this final TMNT review to find out!

Arnie C: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nowplayingpodcast/NPPTMNT05.mp3

      

August 11, 2014 Posted by | Movies, Now Playing Podcast, Podcasts, Reviews | , , , , , | Comments Off on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

Freddy Fans Delighted at Flashback Weekend

Freddy and his Girls on Stage - Header Photo

Freddy Kruger (Englund) on stage with three costumed back-ups at the Flashback Weekend Horror Convention

Rosemont IL – Despite being known for his Nightmares, actor Robert Englund made fans’ dreams come true last weekend at the Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention.

Flashback Weekends - August 2014 - Chicago IL - 266

Three Freddy fans patiently wait to meet their idol

Making a rare midwestern appearance, star of the Nightmare on Elm Street movie series Robert Englund was Flashback Weekend’s headline guest.  Englund spent all day Saturday and Sunday meeting fans, signing their memorabilia, and sharing stories of his life from the making of A Nightmare on Elm Street to The Mangler and more.  Fans lined up for hours to meet this horror icon.

Though the staff at Flashback Weekend had a convenient ticketing system to minimize wait times, Englund’s autograph line still wound out of his private room.  Even those with $110 “priority line placement” tickets stood in line for nearly three hours.  Once the fans reached the front of the line, though, the experience was rewarding.  Englund is known to have a slow autograph line as he spends a few minutes talking with each fan.  I watched as he fawned over one fan’s Japanese theater program promoting the release of 1989’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child.  “You have some cool shit,” he said to another fan who brought a DVD collection covered in autographs from other stars.

The long line may have had its advantages.  One congoer recounted his experience in Englund’s autograph line seven years ago at Flashback Weekend:  he met his wife in that line.  Now he, his wife of five years, and their daughter returned to again visit their horror hero.

The cost of Englund’s autograph was $50.00 per item–a very reasonable price for con-goers.  (For comparison, at the upcoming  Wizard World Chicago convention The Incredible Hulk’s Lou Ferrigno is charging $40.00, Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee $80.00, and, at New York Comic-Con in 2013, Sylvester Stallone charged $395.00).  While some celebrities rarely look up from their tables, their hands furiously signing item after item, Englund ensured each fan felt they had their moment with him and a story to tell as they left.

Arnie seized the opportunity to get a once-in-a-lifetime photo with Englund in the Freddy makeup.

Arnie seized the opportunity to get a once-in-a-lifetime photo with Englund in the Freddy makeup.

While the chance for Robert Englund’s autograph was welcomed by the fans, the far more publicized event was Friday’s exclusive photo opportunity with the star–in full Freddy make-up.  While celebrity appearances and photo opportunities are regular occurrences at conventions, rarely do the stars dress up for the occasion.  On Friday, however, Englund underwent a two-and-a-half hour make-up application transforming him into the onscreen persona of Freddy.   The latex prothetics that turned Englund into his on-screen persona were created and applied by 30-year Hollywood makeup effects artist Robert Kurtzman, who worked with Englund on the fifth Nightmare film.

The cost was very high– the photo opportunity, consisting of a professionally lit shot done by Celeb Photo Ops, a single 8″ x 10″ photo printout, and weekend admission to the convention (for one person) cost $365.00.  Up to two people could be in the photo, but the guest would have to pay admission separately.  The night of the event the photo itself could be purchased separately for $295.00.  Additional prints and digital download options added to the cost of the photo.  By comparison, at Wizard World Chicago photos with a single celebrity, also done by Celeb Photo Ops, range from $40 to $125, with the average being $55.  A photo with all seven stars of Star Trek: The Next Generation is in the same price range, at $299.00 (not including convention admission).

The cost was not due to organizer or celebrity greed.  Flashback Weekend started in 2002, run by Mike and Mia Kerz.  The event is held annually in the Chicago area., and all proceeds from Flashback Weekend, including the Freddy photo op, go to the preservation and operation of the Midway Drive-In located in Dixon, IL.  The Flashback Weekend web site states the philanthropic efforts are to “[provide] a theatrical outlet at the Midway Drive-In for new independent horror films [and maintain] a venue at the Midway for the screening of 35mm horror films.”  Englund cited this cause as a motivator behind his decision to appear in full make-up.

Despite the high cost, hundreds of fans lined up for this once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunity.  Fans came from across the country, some traveling from Tuscon, Pittsburgh, and Texas, for this chance.  Englund was in full-on Freddy mode, speaking in the gravely voice and sometimes letting out his trademark scream–acts which must be second nature for the actor who’s portrayed the dream killer for thirty years.  Fans hoping for a moment with their idol, however, needed to go to the autograph area as the photo op was a workman-like assembly line.  Englund seemed to have four  key poses:  for photos with one person he would put his blade to their throat.  For photos with two people he would attack one–usually the female.  For families that snuck a third person, a child, into the photo Englund would grab the young one’s hair, and for those who were wearing their own Freddy glove Englund had a crossed-blades pose.

Englund demonstrated on-stage the problems with wearing his trademark fedora in photos.

Englund demonstrated on-stage the problems with wearing his trademark fedora in photos.

The entire photo experience gave fans about thirty seconds with the star before the man behind the camera shouted “next” and fans were escorted out.  Englund seemed to barely have time to acknowledge any fans individually, it was enter frame, pose, picture, done.

However the result is a well-lit, framed, and shot photo.  Yes, the cost is high, but, as shown to the right, the result is a photo that cannot be gotten anywhere else.

In the weeks leading up to the convention several fans complained online about Englund wearing the makeup and glove, but eschewing Freddy’s trademark sweater and hat.  On stage that evening, in a private event for those who purchased the photo opportunity, Englund explained the hat created numerous lighting problems that plagued the filming of all the Nightmare films.  For the sake of a good photograph the hat had to be skipped.  As for the sweater?  Englund explained that fans could find convincing Freddy characters in front of Mann’s Chinese Theater and other locales, and that by wearing the official T-Shirt of Flashback Weekend fans could prove their photo was with the star himself.

Also in that evening panel Englund stated that this was perhaps not, as claimed on the Flashback Weekend web site, the final time the actor would don the make-up; the 68-year-old actor may not yet be ready to hang up his hat and glove.  Whether for other fan events or professional Hollywood productions fans may not have seen the last of Englund as Freddy after all.

And Englund wasn’t the only Nightmare on Elm Street star on hand for Flashback Weekend.  Also at the event were Amanda Wyss (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Better Off Dead), Robert Rusler (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, Weird Science, Sometimes They Come Back), Jennifer Rubin (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Bad Dreams, Screamers), Monica Keena (Freddy vs. Jason, Dawson’s Creek), Katharine Isabelle (Freddy vs. Jason, Ginger Snaps) and Ronee Blakley (A Nightmare on Elm Street and Nashville, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award).  Unlike Englund, lines to meet these actors were often short, and autograph prices ranged from $20.00 to $40.00.  Some would pose with fans for photos if you purchased an autograph; others had a separate photo charge.

A Nightmare reunion at Flashback Weekend 2014! From left to right: Rusler, Rubin, Blakley, Wyass, and Keena

A Nightmare reunion at Flashback Weekend 2014! From left to right: Rusler, Rubin, Blakley, Wyass, and Keena

But like Englund each of the stars were approachable and friendly, engaging with their fans in the short time allotted.

In total, over two dozen celebrities attended the convention, including actress/musician Traci Lords, Gremlins star Zach Galligan, and character actor William Forsythe.  These actors filled the end of the convention’s exhibit floor, and while, at peak times, lines became difficult to navigate, the average wait was short.

Aside from Englund, the two most popular celebrities at Flashback Weekends seemed to be Lance Henriksen and Angus Scrimm.

Henriksen is a science fiction fan favorite with appearances in three of the Alien films, as well as Terminator and the TV series Millennium.  In total the actor has over 200 on-screen credits in a career that spans more than 50 years.  Yet Henriksen engaged fans eagerly, sharing stories of knife-practice on the set of Aliens or “alimony movies” he had to make like The Mangler 2.  He had a dry wit which left interviewer “Svengoolie” Rich Coz nonplussed during the Friday night panel.

Scrimm, an actor best known for the Phantasm horror series, had a autograph line second in length only to Englund’s.  The actor, who is celebrating his 88th birthday next week,  had a health issue that caused him to cancel an Indianpolis convention appearance in 2013.  Fans, not wanting to miss this opportunity, stood in a line that at times stretched the length of the convention hall.

Scrimm headlined a 35th Anniversary Reunion of Phantasm stars at Flashback Weekend, which also included Reggie Bannister, Don Coscarelli, Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, and Kathy Lester.

Outside of celebrity appearances, Flashback Weekend had a bevy of costumers and revelers.  In addition to Svengoolie, local personalities Kitty Zombie, WGN Radio’s Nick Digilio, and Daily herald film critic Dann Gire helped host the event.  While the convention’s exhibit floor was one of the smaller ones for Chicago conventions, fans still could buy toys, T-Shirts, DVDs, and more.  For those whose tastes run outside the norm there were also taxidermied animal heads, lifelike silicon werebabies, and replica Freddy gloves.

Details for next years event are expected in the coming months at the official Flashback Weekend website.

See photos from the event in the galleries below.

August 11, 2014 Posted by | Conventions, Movies, News | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Freddy Fans Delighted at Flashback Weekend

40 Year-Old-Critic: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

643ec-amselraiders_of_the_lost_ark_ver1_xlgIn The 40-Year-Old Critic, Venganza Media creator and host Arnie Carvalho recalls a memorable film for each year of his life. This series appears daily on the Venganza Media Gazette.

See a list of all reviews

I wrote at length about the summer blockbuster in the 1975 installment of this retrospective series discussing Jaws. I recalled how it seemed each year had one movie that everyone was talking about. Hollywood now gives its tentpole pictures one or two weeks to make an impact, but when I was a kid the biggest films ran for months and would remain in the public conversation for years.

In 1981 I learned what it was like to be on the outside of that conversation.

I spent a lot of time at the movies as a kid. I remember a summer program in our town that screened older, child-friendly films each week for just $1 — a small price for my mother to pay to have me sit quietly for two hours.  My mother, my godmother, and my sister would coordinate schedules to take me to see those summer films and, being the completist that I am, I refused to miss a single installment.

Not content with the preprogrammed children’s fare, I started to make my own decisions about which new releases I would see. I remember begging my mother to take me to Clash of the Titans, The Great Muppet Caper, Superman II, and The Fox and the Hound.  But one film that totally escaped my attention was Raiders of the Lost Ark.

By the summer of ‘81 Steven Spielberg was already a name-brand director with blockbusters Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind under his belt. He’d survived a rare misstep with the ill-conceived 1979 comedy 1941 and returned to form two years later with the first installment in the Indiana Jones franchise.

This film carried more than just Spielberg’s golden name. The poster boasted “From the creators of Jaws and Star Wars.” It was Spielberg’s collaboration with the man who had made the most successful film of all time… George Lucas.

People ran to catch Indiana Jones in Raiders.

People ran to catch Indiana Jones in Raiders.

With those names on the poster it is no shock that moviegoers turned out in droves to see the film, with no misgivings about its period setting — a far cry from the filmmakers’ recent science-fiction fare. Plus Raiders wisely featured a strong supernatural bent for those who appreciated the fantastical elements of Close Encounters and Star Wars.

Raiders of the Lost Ark went on to become the top-grossing film of 1981. It was a cultural smash, a critical darling, and nominated for several Academy Awards.

I totally missed it.

The first Indiana Jones movie opened in our town on June 12 — the same day as Clash of the Titans. I didn’t just choose to see Greek gods over Indiana Jones, I have no memory of knowing Raiders of the Lost Ark was out there. Soon after, Superman II opened, and that was the movie I’d been waiting to see.

Raiders was totally lost on me.

When school resumed that fall it didn’t take long for me to realize I’d missed something huge. Now a second-grader, I returned to classrooms ready to reunite with schoolyard friends and talk about Clash of the Titans and Superman II, but the only movie on their minds starred some guy with a whip.  Playground chums regaled me with tales of the swordsman who performed deft moves only to be quickly shot dead, and that magical box that made Nazi faces melt. I had nothing to add to these conversations, I could only nod and say it sounded fun.

raidersLostArk2600This feeling of isolation continued for years, and I felt Raiders of the Lost Ark would taunt me forever. For Christmas in 1982 my sister Susan bought me the Raiders of the Lost Ark Atari 2600 game. She was now a college student and assumed I’d seen the film and loved it.  I played that game for days, trying to use it as a surrogate for the movies I’d missed. I created a story in my mind featuring snakes and whips and anchs and black markets.

Finally, the next year, my long nightmare ended.

In late 1982 my family bought our first VCR and, a few months later, we rented Raiders of the Lost Ark on VHS. Of course, I loved the film (and was surprisingly happy to see how little it resembled its Atari counterpart). It was exciting and funny, and also a bit scary.  I had nightmares for months about those melting faces.  Though I would rewatch Raiders regularly on video, for the first year or more I would cover my own eyes during the bloody climax.

Then, in 1984, when Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was released, I ensured I didn’t make the same mistake — I saw the sequel twice on opening weekend and read the novelization.

I still watch Raiders of the Lost Ark regularly to this day (though I now laugh at the effects that made me wince as a child).  Just this past summer I went on a fishing trip with friends and we gathered around the cabin’s small television to watch Harrison Ford in his second-best role. We applauded its genius, debated the importance of Indy in the movie’s plot, and lamented the franchise’s abysmal fourth installment.

Raiders FacemeltRaiders of the Lost Ark was the best film of 1981, but it also taught me the importance of cinema as part of a cultural conversation. Shared experience creates a community, and in the 1980s part of our nationwide identity was defined by blockbuster films. National defense programs were named after sci-fi flicks, presidential candidates quoted hit movies, and playground friendships were made and broken by what you saw over summer vacation.

I do feel that today some of the magic is lost when there is a new “must see” movie every weekend. It waters down the experience. Now there are more fractured groups of fans, and rarely is there a film like Titanic, Star Wars, E.T., or Raiders of the Lost Ark that can transcend age, race, and gender and become a cultural phenomenon.

At 6 years old I learned how important that was, thanks to Raiders, and it’s a belief I hold today.

Next — 1982!

Arnie is a movie critic for Now Playing Podcast, a book reviewer for the Books & Nachos podcast, and co-host of the collecting podcasts Star Wars Action News and Marvelicious Toys.  You can follow him on Twitter @thearniec

August 11, 2014 Posted by | 40-Year-Old Critic, Movies, Now Playing Podcast, Podcasts, Reviews | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments