Flier for 2002 Marathon383 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)
5:55 AM: Donut Decision!380 views
Cover of 1998 program379 viewsThe night before the Marathon, the Grandview staff and I were at the theater decorating until around 3am. I went home, hastily assembled the program (which shows), drove out to Bexley to drop it off at the main office, almost crashed from sleep-deprivation on the way there, and finally snagged a few hours of sleep. (Neff)
BRIDE OF SHOCKTOBERFEST ticket378 views
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Your humble narrator - 1:12 AM377 views
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Rolfe Kanefsky372 viewsThis is Rolfe Kanefsky, director of THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE and one of our guests at the 4th Annual Night of the Living Drexel, looking a bit buzzed after 24 hours of stark terror. His film was one of the audience's favorites and he followed it with a fun Q&A. (bar2b2)
Interior of 1999 program364 views*For the Surprise Horror Classic, we let the audience vote on a selection of films to which we had access. They voted for the 1972 Amicus TALES FROM THE CRYPT. De Palma's CARRIE placed a narrow second in the voting, but it would have its day in court a few years later.
*The winners of the Costume Contest were the world famous Glass brothers, who dressed as an evil Santa Claus beating up a little boy. Second place went to Marathon stalwart Rick Hougland, who came as the WWF's Mankind.
*ROCKY HORROR was a gamble, to be sure. With the closing of the Southland Mall theater, the local ROCKY cast had been displaced for several months, and since I knew a few of them I figured that they could have a one night home and we could have an added attraction for our new event. We actually had a decent amount of pro-rated walkup business just for ROCKY, and even the regular Marathon crowd seemed to enjoy themselves. A few months later, Studio 35 would welcome the cast as a permanent attraction, a status they still hold to this day.
*On a side note, I was horrendously ill with a sinus infection during the entirety of the Marathon, so my demeanor and general emceeing skills were quite fried around the edges. (Neff)
A Little Further Along364 views
Online ad for 2001 Marathon362 viewsDesigned by Todd Babbert
