Rock The Rondos

Did you vote in the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards yet? Remember, the deadline is April 3rd 2010!

Some of you may be asking: What are the Rondo Awards and who is Rondon Hatton?

Well, it's like this: The awards themselves were originally started in 2002 by Kerry Gammill and David Colton at the Classic Horror Film Board. Said awards are a reference to horror actor Rondo Hatton and, to quote the Wikipedia entry:

"The award is designed to recognize research, scholarship and creativity in keeping classic horror, science fiction and fantasy alive and thriving."

Gravedigger's Local 16 didn't get on the ballot this year, presumably since we missed the nomination period. But there's still a lot of other cool people and cool stuff to vote on, so don't let our absence stop you. We're gunning for getting nominated and winning next year, but you can do a write-in this year if you really want to. Just keep in mind that doing so will probably only get us noticed rather than winning anything. No matter what, you should head to the Rondo Awards site and vote now!

Cast Your Vote!

Go to any discussion of horror films and you're sure to find people wondering, if not complaining, why certain films haven't gotten released onto DVD yet.

But I have good news! Turner Classic Movies has set up a website where you can vote for which movies should get a DVD release. The more votes a film gets, the more likely that TCM will approach the licensor or rightsholder about getting it released. You can vote for as many movies as you want, but the best thing to do is for all of us to have a certain film to specifically vote for. After all, we're more influential together than we are separately. I know this sounds corny, but together we really can make a difference!

I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choices, but it was Twitter user bobfreelander's Tweet about voting for Island of Lost Souls. So click here and look for the place to vote (where fill in your email address) on the right hand side of the screen. Then feel free to search for other films to vote for. Remember, you can only vote once for each film.

And really, it's just ridiculous for a horror classic starring Bela Lugosi to not be on DVD...

Thank You for Being a Fiend...

Gravedigger's Local 16 doesn't have an advertising budget. Aside from occasionally promoting GdL16 at other sites ourselves, we only have a Twitter account and a Facebook fan page. Many of our visitors are referred here by word of mouth or find us due to search engine hits, which is why having others link to us is such a big deal. Today I'd like to pay tribute to several sites that link to or follow us, which haven't been referenced by name in any prior posts and haven't been placed in the "Union Fellows" sidebar:

TotalFilm
Black Sun
Sexy Witch
ArgleBargle!
Chicago Ghouls
Dollar Bin Horror
The Scene Stealer
Handmade by Rach555
Wonderful Wonderblog
Azathoth's Abode on the Plateau of Leng
Thank you!

March Into News

Did Strange Jason's review of Valley of the Robots whet your appetite? Want more? Here's a (NSFW) preview:



These puppets ain't for kids! Amazingly, that was the tamest of the three trailers available at the official PuppeTose Youtube channel. You can order a copy (and find more PuppeTose madness) here.

We're planning on interviewing real gravediggers. Please send all leads and questions to gravediggerslocal AT gmaiL DOT com. Don't forget to let us know if you want us to use name (real or web) during the interview!

Horror bands! Strange Jason wants to talk to you. In a band? Know a band? Email strangejason AT gravediggerslocal DOT com.

We've heard a rumor that This TV plays a horror movie every Saturday night. It seems to hold true for tonight, as they're showing the original A Bucket of Blood at 11:30 PM EST. The channel is owned by MGM and Weigel Broadcasting. Weigel owns WCIU, the home of Svengoolie. HINT HINT THIS TV!

Speaking of MGM, they're streaming a bunch of their movies at their website. Similarly, Troma is offering free streaming films on both Youtube and Hulu.

Indywood Films is raising funds for the upcoming Invasion of the Not Quite Dead by selling promotional packs and putting the names of buyers in the credits. See the official site and Twitter feed for more information.

Mark your calendars, because Record Store Day 2010 falls on April 17th this year. Visit the official site or Twitter feed for further details.

We learned about Record Store Day from the Newbury Comics newsletter. All of our New England readers should sign up at their website as well, as they give out a lot of great news and coupons. The notifications on one day only "flash sales" are also handy. They once had one for 20% any vampire movie DVD, with an extra 10% off for coming in dressed like a vampire! Wearing all black and paper fangs (easily hidden in your pocket for "regular shopping") is easily worth a 30% discount. They also mention the sales on...you guessed it...their Twitter feed.

Valley of the Robots

The Valley of the Robots

Written and Directed by Ross Wilsey

If granted the power of omniscience, I doubt anyone would notice a difference in my attitude. Perhaps I would be a little bit meaner, a little less joyous at knowing at all times the common atrocities occurring within the universe, about how effortlessly a person can inflict pain on another for those unjustified greedy and pathetic reasons. Witnessing  would threaten to strip away what kindness I have left, what grace and possibility for love I hold for myself and anyone in this world, leaving me a rancid, twisted animal who would pray nightly for a real, tangible extinction.

Or, perhaps, since I would know of all the different creative expressions, the moments that people said “Fuck it, let’s do this because it’s fun,” I may hold a positive outlook on life, that all this misery and death is offset by creation for the sake of joy. I wouldn’t miss out on those pockets of sincerity that get plowed under and buried by the growing disposable commercial dungpiles filling up in the streets, gutters clogged by plastic and still-twitching bodies.

It’s something fun to think about. But honestly, I don’t think I would change that much.

Click Here to Read More

The Shadow Over Innsmouth

You might remember the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society from my "Printable Halloween Decor" article or for their 2005 silent film, The Call of Cthulhu. Just as that "Mythoscope" film was designed to look like a 1920's silent film (as the original story was written/published then), their Dark Adventure Radio Theatre CD series seeks to adapt Lovecraft tales in the style of old-time radio shows. To date, the series has adapted At the Mountains of Madness, The Dunwich Horror, The Shadow Out of Time, and The Shadow Over Innsmouth.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth is a tale of one man's harrowing visit to a strange seaside (and mostly fictional) town in Massachusetts. The odd-looking inhabitants are very suspicious of outsiders and fiercely secretive about the practices of their religion, the Esoteric Order of Dagon. Rumors of the townspeople making sacrifices to and interbreeding with sea demons turn out to be more than the ramblings of the town drunk...

Click Here to Read More

Leprecomics

What do Godzilla vs. Megalon and Leprechaun both have in common? They both had short promotional comic books released during their theatrical runs! And if you guessed that the Leprechaun comic was riddled with as many inaccuracies as the Godzilla vs. Megalon comic, you're absolutely correct.

It should also be noted that there was a Leprechaun comic book series published in 2008 by Blue Water Productions. The series, which involved the Leprechaun traveling the world to recover his lost gold, ceased publication after four issues. This Wikipedia entry provides more plot details, along with notes on a never-released comic crossover battle between Warlock and Leprechaun. That's probably for the best, as the only thing each series have in common are that they are both linked to Trimark.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

George W. Bush's Silver Scream

Imagine my surprise when I came across an article by Psychotronic Video's Michael J. Weldon, which claimed former US President George W. Bush was involved in the making of the 80's horror classic The Hitcher (among other R-rated films). Although very interesting, I was dismayed that Mr. Weldon did not provide any references. After much searching, I finally found what I believe to be the list of films briefly referred to in the article, which emphasizes how the films contained the sort of content that's often decried by conservative Republicans. While this also lacked any references, it did provide some quotes and comments that I could look up online. A little online research confirmed that Bush was an outside director (which is not like a film director) for Silver Screen Management and that "My only interest was for the company itself" was a real quote by him in reference to the company raising funds for R-rated movies and how it contradicted his prior criticism of the alleged "pervasiveness of violence" in the entertainment industry.

Now I'm sure many of you are still curious about Silver Screen Management (aka Silver Screen Management Services, Inc). Said company was founded by one Roland W. Betts, who had gone to Yale with Bush in the 60's. SSM organized and managed a series of limited partnerships under the name "Silver Screen Partners." Said partnerships were used to raise money to invest in feature films. I don't know if it's true or not, but it won't surprise me if at least some of Bush and Betts' earnings from SSM helped fund their investment group, which purchased the Texas Rangers.

So there you have it: It seems that George W. Bush is the first US president to be involved in the making of a horror movie in some way.

Linger Longer IV: A Fistful of Boomstick

rqbuchanan uploaded a multiple part interview with Bruce Campbell. Need I say more? As this is an O&A video, some language might be NSFW: