Cinema Wasteland 2015
So there was the guy in the top hat carrying around the skeleton talking to the skinless guy, red muscle with yellow patchs of bone justting out from the tissue, a stark contrast to the white shirt and rumpled black suit he wore. A space pirate in his biker jacket and pirates hat came up, his smile revealing the sharp fangs beneath.
And people walked by like nothing was out of the ordinary.
Welcome to Cinema Wasteland.
One of the things that makes Wasteland so great is the people there. You go to visit with friends you only see every six months. I’m not kidding about Space pirate (a Kreepy Kastle Regular) showing up and finding Mr. Maniacal and me chatting, to say nothing of the ZEROS (Zombie eradication squad) and out of town friends I run into up there.
It was a packed house this year for the Day of the Dead reunion; the biggest cast reunion anywhere. We watched in a packed house, standing room only as the cast reminisced and Joe Piloto and Gary Klar yealled “I am Sparticus!” back and forth. These people are real family, friends not just in the movie but outside it too, keeping in touch even when conventions are out of session, and it really came through in the panel.
Jim Wynorski was up next. A frequent director for Roger Corman at the helm of such films as Chopping Mll, Sorority House Massacre and Hard to Die, he’s always been working, yet is always humbled by how much these films are still loved.
Joining him was Peter Spellos, a familiar face to TV and film, but alwys s a supporting player. The thing I was suprised to discover, was just how funny he was.
I’ve spent most of my career playing heavies and thugs and psychos,” he told me. “But my background is in improv, so when I get the chance to be funny, I take it!”
Finally, Ghastlee’s show…oh boy.
So I volunteered for Sallys part of the show, this time around it was a game where they fed you diffrent things while blindfolded…Sardines, escargot, fermented herring from Sweden…all to the delight and revulsion of the audience. All of us made it through, though not without effort. I nearly tossed my cookies on the pickled pigs feet, but really, that’s just wasteland for you.
Great films playing all weekend, frequently with the director or actors present (at the screening of Chubbies the director greeted you at the door and poured you a shot of Jägermeister ) all spent with other people who love movies.
Now I can’t wait to do it again in six months…
Argo City Comics 