And so off to the hellhole of New Jersey I went on Saturday morning leaving my house at a spanking 4am for a 5 1/2 hour journey. It was cold and made worse by my car’s heater freezing somehow, so no heat was better than cool air blowing around. At least it was traffic free and quickish.

When I got to the hotel, there were 2 long lines already, one for Corey Feldman and another for Bruce Campbell. I definitely didn’t want to wait outside for yet another cold windy 3 hour minimum, so off to the dealer room I went. Just for you folks, I got a bunch of Bruce/Army of Darkness merchandise pictures. I’ve put new pics of these in the Housewares pictures section. There was a great mishmash of toys, posters, dvds, skulls, macabre paintings, special effects works, some other crazy stuff that are really tough to describe, and independent movies (some without distributors, some just getting publicity). There actually weren’t too many people that dressed up in costume. I was disappointed by this. There was another ominous sign. I had forgotten to get money before the trip. The hotel’s ATM broke. And the 2 nearest machines ran out of money, so my quest for more money ended. I didn’t buy/spend much on this trip as none of the dealers took credit card. Probably a good thing.





I made a quick run into the autograph room. Pretty much everyone was charging 20 bucks for a signed specialized 8x10 picture. Then they would also sign something else that you had if you want. Bruce’s line topped out at 400 people. They just cut off the line completely, so not to disappoint the ones at that might have waited the whole time, then missed out. Unlike say the Corey Feldman line, when he unexpectedly never showed up at all, which became an ongoing joke during the Q&A sessions. Some people in his line stood outside for 6+ hours before finding out. 3rd biggest line was for Malcolm McDowell. I like autographs, but I don’t go out of my way for them or buy them. I like taking pictures though.

The chair at the Q&A panels became my home for the rest of the day. My time started out with Brutal Massacre, which stars Brian O’Halloran (from Clerks and other Kevin Smith movies) and Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre). It also has Ellen Sandweiss from Evil Dead, but she wasn’t here today. We also got to see a 10 minute clip. Pretty entertaining, but probably needs more. Brian did let us know that Kevin Smith’s new movie Zach and Miri Make a Porno just finished shooting.

A couple other Q&A sessions, which I probably dozed off during.

Highlights from the Zach Galligan (Gremlins / Waxwork) / William Ragsdale (Fright Night / Herman’s Head) Q&A:
There will be no Herman’s Head or Fright Night 2 DVD. They met while doing the Broadway version of Biloxi Blues back in the 90s. Zach says he happy to have helped get the PG-13 rating created thanks to some Gremlins. He was checked every time leaving the set as each Gremlin was 30-50 thousand bucks. Unfortunately, he gave away what little props he did get from either Gremlin movie. Due to conflicts, there is no Gremlin 3 talk. The movie studios want CGI, while management wants animatronics.

Highlights from panel with JoBeth Williams (mom from Poltergeist movies), Heather Langenkamp (Nightmare on Elm Street), and Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction):
Amanda Plummer is a nut job and even she knows it. If you think Gary Busey is weird, well there you go. JoBeth thought her scariest scene was the swimming pool set. Peete was used to make it look dirty. Unfortunately, it smelled like dog crap after a week. She only found out later that all those skeletons used were in fact real because it was cheaper than fake skeletons. Also, she was scared of the giant fans falling in and electrocuting her, so Steven Spielberg stood in the pool the whole time of shooting to assure her everything would be ok. Heather thought her scariest scene was in New Nightmare. She became extremely clausterphobic in the scene at the end where Freddy’s tongue completely wraps around her. She was covered by KY jelly and wrapped up in rubber.

They had a They Live reunion. It was the first time Keith David and Roddy Piper met since the movie came out more than 20 years ago. Keith actually talked more about The Thing than They Live, while Piper answered plenty of wrestling questions. Keith did answer my question of who would win a no holds barred match against David Keith. How many times do you see me get my assed kicked? David falls over every movie. Also, neither has ever seen the South Park episode where they redo the entire They Live fight.




As for the Bruce Campbell Q&A, a packed room was highly entertained. We also got to see a 10 minute clip from My Name Is Bruce, which he calls Galaxy Quest for the horror crowd. The new money for special effects was well spent. The trailer looks like crap in comparison. He says it is finally finshed and will definitely come out in 2008, but there is no exact release date yet. He did mention that the new Burn Notice season looks like will start in June with the DVD out the week before. He has no plans for a 3rd book. A Plumbing We Will Go is his favorite 3 Stooges episode. He hates the idea of any Evil Dead remake or sequel, unless it’s by Sam and him. And if he’s not Ash, then his choice for Ash is Ashton Kutcher. Fans booed, and he said he was only joking of course. The real answer is that he’d back any actor that would be happy to have hundreds of gallons of fake blood dumped on him.





Jason Mewes skipped his Q&A session to keep signing autographs at $25 bucks a pop. Then I decided to head home rather than stay for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reunion and Malcolm McDowell panels. Hey, my car’s heater works. And that’s my 25 hour day.

I had to check out Cloverfield last night, even got out of work early to go see the flick. I thought Transformers was one of the better movies of last year, but the trailer before it for the yet to be named Cloverfield was by far the most interesting thing I saw. Also, I'm a sucker for watching any movie that blows up New York City. (PS - The zombieish movie I Am Legend is pretty good, but this is far better) BTW, the first trailers for Hellboy 2, Iron Man, and teaser for Star Trek will show before this film, so if interested, don't be late to the movie.

Cloverfield is a highly original, frightful funfest. It's a mix of Godzilla meets Blair Witch Project meets Saving Private Ryan, which is an odd mix. By word of mouth and viral marketing, it's built up an intense following since the original trailer. JJ Abrahms and his crew have done it yet again, making something revolutionary. The visual realism and feeling they obtain is unbelieveable. Even more incredible, it only cost 30 million bucks to make and market which is unheard of for a disaster flick. I'm going to leave this blog spoiler free, but just saying that fans of the horror genre will enjoy this immensely. Don't sit too close to the screen or you might get sick. There's a lot to absorb as well. To a regular person, this movie will seem just ok.

If you want a backstory on all the characters, plot, viral marketing, and behind the scenes stuff, you can check out www.cloverfieldclues.com. You can also find information on the characters via their myspace pages. Yes, really. All the main characters have been interacting like us real people, so you can get an idea of what the characters are like. You will also find out what this has to do with Slusho. Heroes has put them in as product placement on their shows even though it's not real. Slusho does sound good though.

The only flakes floating around football today are the folks who no longer believe in the Curse of Doug Flutie.

The Curse of Flutie was born back in the 1999 playoffs. You might remember this as the "Music City Miracle" game. It continues to haunt the Buffalo organization and any team or coach that employs Phillips. In a dumb decision back then, incredibly insane in hindsight, Phillips chose to start surfing legend Rob Johnson over Flutie for the playoff game though Flutie had led them all season long. The Bills haven't even made the playoffs ever since.




In the meantime, Wade Phillips went on to join the Atlanta Falcons for the 2003 season. The Falcons were fresh off a season where the newly minted Mike Vick became the first ever winning playoff vistors to Packers Lambeau Field. What happens? Vick gets injured and the team plays so badly that management fires their coach and not Phillips. Phillips does leave and wouldn't you know, the Falcons return to their winning ways and make the playoffs the very next season.

Wade goes over to working the Chargers. In 2004, they lose to near 2 touchdown underdog Jets on a shanked field goal. 2005, inexplicably miss the playoffs. 2006, they lose in the playoffs where the key play occurs when they actually intercept the ball. Teams with Phillips have continued to lose improbably in the biggest game of the season. Again evidenced by the Cowboys loss to the Giants. Even more hilarious, the Chargers stunned everyone the past weekend in which their 3 most important offensive players were all taken out of the game. How can this happen against Payton Manning, who had 7 different commercials I saw over the weekend: MasterCard, Gatorade, Sprint, DirecTV, ESPN, and Oreo cookies? So Cowboys fans, beg to get rid of Wade Phillips.


As we march to the eventual Farve/Brady Super Bowl, the media play will be incredible. This would be one of the highest watched Super Bowls of all time. The Pats would be trying for the greatest perfect season against the ultimate old time gunslinger in what might be his last game ever. I love what the Patriots have done this season and Brady has been incredible. Dating Gisele on the side is just unfair. On top of that, she makes way more money than him. She's his sugarmomma. Anyways, here's a video to sum it up perfectly.

....

With the writers strike still going strong, people will no doubt move more so to the net for their entertainment value. Wait, oh yeah that's why they're striking. I do find it odd that Hollywood is bringing up all retro and 80s stuff. Aren't writers supposed to write original material?

Earlier this month, one intrepid person put up a really great video on the almighty YouTube. You know how all those movies have theme songs that just for fun you make goofy lyrics? Unfortunately, he doesn't have that many. If you love your 80's flicks, here ya go without further ado...........

Here's the breakdown of my favorite shows.

24 - Cancelled for early 2008 and postponed indefinitely. This blows as I really want to see Evil Tony vs Jack Bauer the trailers had been showing.

Heroes - Tim Kring, the executive producer/writer, is picketing his own show, not to mention apologizing to fans for the sluggishness of the new season. Mainly saying: pacing is too slow, stakes should have established sooner, rookies weren't done properly, Hiro was in Japan way too long, and really regrets the Claire and Hiro love storylines. I'd also like to complain that David Anders isn't Sarky enough as Takezo/Adam. Kring has promised to do much better in 2008, um if we ever get to watch it.

Lost - You know those 8 episodes and complaints I talked about last blog? Well, ABC just decided that broadcasting a few episodes of "Lost's" upcoming fourth season is better than no "Lost" at all. But as anyone who sat through last season's excruciating first six episodes knows, that's just not true. Some folks never learn. With a big fat cliffhanger, it may be 2009 before you actually find out what happens. Considering the huge ratings drop from last year's run, this isn't good news, but what's the alternative to getting anything before next fall? In this interview, even writer/producer Damon Lindehof says: "I will probably be dragged through the streets and burned in effigy if fans have to wait another year for Lost to come back."

And just for my dancing sisters, I've got this goofy video that starts off slow, but is pretty amazing.

Yeah, I watch the show. It's pretty cultish. We've got some really bad scooping news for you Lost fans. So big, that here's a blog entry. It's piling on deep. The month started out well enough. There's Zoe Bell, the stuntwoman extraodinarie hood cruiser of Tarantino flick Deathproof, joining up in a multiepisode arc. Then for good or bad depending on your viewpoint, Evangeline Lilly and Dominic Monaghan (Kate and Charlie) have broken up in real life. And Daniel Dae Kim got busted for drunk driving. What's up with the Lost cast people getting arrested all the time? Aren't there other things to do in Hawaii? Mmmm, margaritas on the beach.

Thanks to the writers strike throughout the business, you might have noticed shows like Colbert, Conan, and Letterman are already going into reruns. You might recall the hatemail fans gave for the 6 ep mini season of Lost last year. So this year, they put all the episodes together and didn't have a fall or miniseason. Unfortunately, this altered their schedule so only 1/3 of the new season's episodes are done. If the strike extends into the new year, Lost will most likely be pushed to at least fall 2008 as the producers do not want to show a miniseason like last year. This of course begs the question, How come they didn't finish writing these things? But prepare to suffer. And it's not just Lost, but every scripted TV show. Andorra, you'll still have the Food channel. And James will still have Speed. Does he watch Top Gear on BBC America?

PS - I also watch Heroes. On sale arriving today is the Heroes Volume One graphic novel. It's a collection of the Heroes online comics, including all 34 chapters and of course, those paintings. It provides some other backstories and tidbits not in the tv show, but also not vital to those who haven't seen the comics.

As for the free taco......... On Tuesday October 30th, drop by any Taco Bell between 2pm and 5pm and you can get one freebie Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco. Just tell them Tony sent you. It's as easy as that, but only a one time offer, though I suppose you can hit up multiple Taco Bells. How's this all possible? It's magic, baby.

And I thought nothing could top last year, but this year has been even more insane. Wait, the Michigan/Ohio State game has national title implications again? I don't even know who I would want to play in the title game. My sleeper team of the year was South Florida. They didn't even have football 12 years ago. I most certainly didn't want them to get all the way up to ranked 2nd. Now they've imploded. You want a sure fire method of winning money gambling this year? I will give you this for free, send a message.

As for the NFL, I'm a fan of the Lions and predicted the'd make the playoffs somehow, but how the hell did they win in Chicago today? Detroit is one of the worst outdoor on the road teams of all time. They're 5-2 with Matt Millen! And what about the Patriots? They score the Eff You! touchdown every week. Check out this week. You're up 38-0. It's 4th and 2, easy field goal range. Who cares, you go for it then eventually score a touchdown. You're up 45-0 and what do you do? Pass on all 4 downs including 4th down for a 30 yarder.

To sum up this year, here's a video of one of the greatest plays of all time. All we need is the band. I've seen the video a number of times, yet still come back to it this weekend. There's only a couple hundred people at this game. You can feel the emotion of all the fans and players after the play.