HOOT Horror Marathon Article667 viewsA promo article from HOOT magazine, circa October 1988. HOOT was the brainchild of local gadfly Irv Oslin. It mainly featured weekly runs of national comic strips, many of which did not run in the Columbus market, and other humor writing. Regular strips included Lynda Barry's ERNIE POOK'S COMEEK, the works of Jules Pfeiffer and, later, early material from Ted Rall. It also featured the only local printing of Joe Bob Briggs's weekly column. HOOT was known for its iconoclastic covers (such as the "Give 'Em a Big Dead Slug" parody of Big Bear's then-popular tagline), but also for its staunch support of the Marathons. The Science Fiction fests regularly received cover treatment, and while the Horror Marathons couldn't match this there were usually kind mentions in articles like the one feature here. On a personal note, it was HOOT's coverage of the 2nd edition of IT CAME FROM THE DREXEL NORTH (with its attendant Marvin the Martian cover and "Insomniacs Invade the Drexel North" tagline) that first introduced me to this cinematic thing of ours. Thanks Irv. (Neff)
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Flier for 1997 Marathon659 views*In the fall of 1997, Jeff Frank approached Tim Martin (who was managing the Drexel Grandview at the time) with an idea: he wanted to screen TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 4 that October and subsequently asked Tim to throw together a double feature with it and another film. Tim approached Marc Heuck (then employed at the Drexel and still several years away from BEAT THE GEEKS stardom) and I for help, and naturally, we collectively expanded the idea to a mini-all nighter.
*I stole the event's title from a 1992 HOOT article (which is located in that Horror Marathon's section) which referred to it being "Shock-tober" at the Drexel North. Thanks Irv.
*At the last minute, we found out the print of RE-ANIMATOR was lost in Europe, so we ended up screening ARMY OF DARKNESS instead. We'd make up for it the following year.
*Bruce emceed the event for us.
*We had two major gimmicks as part of this event. During the appropriate moment in THE TINGLER, several plants in the audience pulled the old "snake in a nut can" prank, and another few members "fainted" and had to be carried out. During TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 4, we posted Tim Martin's nephew outside the exit door near the Grandview's screen. At a dull moment in the film (I know, who woulda thunk it?) he ran up the aisle with a running chainsaw (sans chain for safety reasons.) It definitely gave the audience a jolt, and ranks as one of the best gimmicks in Marathon history.
*Incidentally, during this Marathon I told all my friends that after co-organizing one real life Marathon, I was done with the behind the scenes work and would be permanently returning to my role as audience member. HA! (Neff)
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Flier for 2002 Marathon615 views*So yes, this was the year that we took the plunge and briefly entered the Bruce Campbell business. After the strong showing from Joe Bob Briggs the year before, we had our first sold out Marathon (tickets were gone a month before the event) with the EVIL DEAD star, who was touring the country to promote his autobiography IF CHINS COULD KILL: CONFESSIONS OF A B-MOVIE ACTOR. It wasn't always easy.
We contacted Bruce's booking agent six months before the event, and everything seemed to be going swimingly. Then, a few weeks before the Marathon, several local press outlets began asking us why they couldn't get in touch with the booking agent to arrange an interview. Then we couldn't in touch with the booking agent. Turns out that she and Bruce had experienced a falling out, and he was temporarily handling his own bookings. We learned this from one of the local papers, who had contacted St. Martin's Press (who published IF CHINS COULD KILL and were handling the book end of the tour.) Finally, less than a week before the event, I spoke with Bruce on the phone, and we set everything up.
*In our search for premieres, we came upon DOG SOLDIERS, a well-received hit on the festival circuit. I contacted the production company to request a screening, and they immediately replied that we could do so and that producer David Allen would also attend. I sheepishly told them that we couldn't afford to pay for another guest (the Bruce Campbell business being a bit...expensive), but she reassured me that David and his co-producer Brian O'Toole would pay their own way.
Cut to the Marathon. David and Brian arrived early, intent on staying for much of the event. When Bruce arrived, David tried to give him a DOG SOLDIERS flashlight as a souvenir, but the esteemed Mr. Campbell basically blew him off. Nice. I was slightly mortified that our B-movie icon was pulling rank on an independent filmmaker, especially one who was a genuinely nice guy. After the incident, I profusely apologized to David. He was a great sport about the whole thing, and it thrilled me to no ends to see DOG SOLDIERS resonate with the audience. Hours after Mr. Campbell had departed for his hotel room, David and Brian regaled the crowd with a 45-minute Q+A and prize session, and they ended up staying until near the end of the Marathon. In their own way, they stole the show from Bruce.
*The Costume Contest was won (once again) by Geoff and Jeremy Glass, who dressed as ROAD WARRIOR's Lord Humongous and his toady. (Neff)
I looked at my watch it was quarter to 8 ...614 views
