From Horror to Heat
Aug. 26th, 2007 07:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vovatYesterday was the ninth Monster-Mania Convention. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bethje and I have attended every one of these, and this was no exception. It was far from the best one, but it wasn't the worst either. The panels for the question-and-answer sessions made more sense than they often do. I have to say that it was probably my most uncomfortable time at one of those conventions, though. The ballroom always gets hot when it fills up with people, but the heat got to me more this time than usual. It also didn't help that I was sitting in a narrow chair between two people for many of the sessions. During the session with Angus Scrimm and Reggie Bannister, I felt like I was on the verge of passing out or something. I never actually have passed out, as far as I can recall, but there have been situations where I almost wished I could. That aside, though, the panels were pretty interesting. A few things that were worth mentioning include:
I guess that's about all I have to say on that subject. I think these convention reviews tend to get shorter every time (this one might be longer than the last, but I don't feel like looking right now). I did notice that, unlike every other time, the program didn't give any hints whatsoever as to who will be appearing at the next convention. Maybe they're tired of advertising guests only to have them cancel beforehand, though. My favorite was when the program for one of the earlier Monster-Manias announced that William Shatner would be at the next one. Not at all surprisingly, he wasn't.
[1] Each Q&A session usually has a title, and it's often "[insert movie or series title here] Reunion]." Others have included "The Men Behind the Mask and Makeup" (for various costumed horror stars), "The Mask and the Glove" (Robert Englund and Ken Kirzinger), and "From Scream to Scooby" (Matthew Lillard). Warwick Davis' Q&A this time was called "From Endor to Leprechaun," which I found pretty lazy. At least Matthew's had some alliteration. Why not "From Wicket to Willow," or "From Wicket to Flitwick," or something? I guess Dave wanted to include a reference to Leprechaun because it was his main tie to the world of horror, but he must have done something else that started with an L or sounded kind of like "Leprechaun," right? (For the record, I have not seen any of the Leprechaun films, nor do I have any particular desire to do so, although I do kind of wonder if they could fit into the so-bad-they're-good category.)
bethje and I have attended every one of these, and this was no exception. It was far from the best one, but it wasn't the worst either. The panels for the question-and-answer sessions made more sense than they often do. I have to say that it was probably my most uncomfortable time at one of those conventions, though. The ballroom always gets hot when it fills up with people, but the heat got to me more this time than usual. It also didn't help that I was sitting in a narrow chair between two people for many of the sessions. During the session with Angus Scrimm and Reggie Bannister, I felt like I was on the verge of passing out or something. I never actually have passed out, as far as I can recall, but there have been situations where I almost wished I could. That aside, though, the panels were pretty interesting. A few things that were worth mentioning include:- Catherine Hicks showed up for her first horror convention (as part of the Child's Play reunion [1]), but wasn't asked anywhere near enough 7th Heaven questions. {g} She did mention that people told her that the show was inspirational for them, which makes me wonder what they were smoking. Or maybe they were just being nice.
- Warwick Davis said that he'll be playing Nikabrik in the Prince Caspian film. He also mentioned enjoying playing the original conception of Flitwick for the early Harry Potter movies. I kind of wish someone had asked him why they changed his look (I half considered it myself, but I've never managed to work up the nerve to ask a question at one of those things), but I suppose he might have even known.
- When introducing Sid Haig, Dave (the guy who organizes the conventions) said that certain people didn't want him coming back after his first appearance, or something along those lines. I kind of wish I knew the details of that. I always find him to be one of the most enjoyable guests, but I have noticed that he's never been quite as abrasive since his first appearance. I wonder if he was asked to tone it down somewhat.
- Several people from the original Halloween series weren't too happy about Rob Zombie's remake of the first film. I'm no fan of remakes in general (there are some decent ones, but the basic idea just seems so lazy), but I'm willing to give the new Halloween the benefit of the doubt. I didn't think the original Halloween was quite as great as the people involved said it was, though, so maybe that's why I'm not quite as adverse to its being remade.
I guess that's about all I have to say on that subject. I think these convention reviews tend to get shorter every time (this one might be longer than the last, but I don't feel like looking right now). I did notice that, unlike every other time, the program didn't give any hints whatsoever as to who will be appearing at the next convention. Maybe they're tired of advertising guests only to have them cancel beforehand, though. My favorite was when the program for one of the earlier Monster-Manias announced that William Shatner would be at the next one. Not at all surprisingly, he wasn't.
[1] Each Q&A session usually has a title, and it's often "[insert movie or series title here] Reunion]." Others have included "The Men Behind the Mask and Makeup" (for various costumed horror stars), "The Mask and the Glove" (Robert Englund and Ken Kirzinger), and "From Scream to Scooby" (Matthew Lillard). Warwick Davis' Q&A this time was called "From Endor to Leprechaun," which I found pretty lazy. At least Matthew's had some alliteration. Why not "From Wicket to Willow," or "From Wicket to Flitwick," or something? I guess Dave wanted to include a reference to Leprechaun because it was his main tie to the world of horror, but he must have done something else that started with an L or sounded kind of like "Leprechaun," right? (For the record, I have not seen any of the Leprechaun films, nor do I have any particular desire to do so, although I do kind of wonder if they could fit into the so-bad-they're-good category.)
