CELEBRITY GUESTS FOR FLASHBACK WEEKEND 2012
Kim Darby Unable to Attend
MONICA KEENA UNABLE TO ATTEND DUE TO FILMING
As a key member of the production staff of the 1968 classic “NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD”, Gary Streiner wore many hats including sound recordist and sound mixer. Gary is also seen as a member of the posse at the end of the film. In 2008 and 2009, Streiner organized Living Dead festivals in Evans City which attracted the largest reunion of cast and crew to date, as well as fans from as far away as France.
SAVE THE CHAPEL FROM “NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD” (1968) www.fixthechapel.com
In the cemetery scene in the opening of the 1968 classic “NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD”, Johnny and Barbara park near a chapel in the cemetery. The chapel still stands today, and serves as a vital reference point in both the film and to those who visit the Evans City cemetery, where the scene was filmed.
Used for decades as a storage shed, the chapel has fallen into a state of disrepair. The windows are shuttered. The roof is leaking. Time and the elements have battered the exterior. Cemetery officials estimate it will take $50,000 in cosmetic improvements to return the structure to its former glory. The chapel will be demolished unless $50,000.00 can be raised to repair and restore it.
Gary Streiner is now leading a fundraising campaign to raise the $50,000.00 to “Fix the Chapel”. Gary and the “Fix the Chapel” campaign will have a table in the Flashback Weekend vendor room selling great Night of the Living Dead and “Fix the Chapel” merchandise and accepting donations to save this vital landmark in cinema history!
Visit www.fixthechapel.com for more info.
SEAN CLARK
In 2003 Sean was one of three principles that put on the Halloween Returns to Haddonfield 25th Anniversary Convention in Pasadena, California. Soon after he began working on the documentary Halloween: 25 Years of Terror, which he was a co-creator and co-writer of. The documentary was released on DVD in July of 2006 from Anchor Bay Entertainment. He also hosted the Halloween 30th Anniversary Convention in 2008 called 30 Years Of Terror.
Sean created an article called Horror’s Hallowed Grounds featured in each issue of Horror Hound Magazine that takes a look at the filming locations of famous horror and cult films. The article was an immediate success and a television version of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds was soon in the works. The first two episodes are available as a bonus features on the Halloween 25 Years of Terror and Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy DVDs.
Sean wrote and produced his first feature film “THE BLACK WATERS OF ECHO’S POND” which was released in theaters in 2010 and is coming to DVD and Blu-ray Disc soon. The film stars Robert Patrick, Danielle Harris, James Duval, Elise & Electra Avellan, Nick Mennell and Richard Tyson. Sean and Danielle Harris will be introducing a special screening of “THE BLACK WATERS OF ECHO’S POND” during Flashback Weekend on Friday August 10, 2012 at the Muvico Theaters Rosemont 18.
Sean just completed two new episodes of Horror's Hallowed Grounds to be featured on the new Halloween II & Halloween III: Season of the Witch Blu-Ray Discs to be released on September 18th from The Shout! Factory special Horror DVD line, the Scream Factory.
JASON PAUL COLLUM
Director, Writer, Producer Jason Paul Collum is no stranger to the horror genre, having helmed the documentaries SCREAMING IN HIGH HEELS: THE RISE & FALL OF THE SCREAM QUEEN ERA (airing on television this summer through NBC/UNIVERSAL), SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT (which aired on Showtime) and SLEEPLESS NIGHTS: REVISITING THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRES (for Roger Corman and Shout! Factory). He is also known for creating OCTOBER MOON (Tempe), one of the first gay-themed thrillers in history, and OCTOBER MOON 2: NOVEMBER SON (Tempe), which launched the first gay horror film franchise in history. Other early directorial efforts include JULIA WEPT, 5 DARK SOULS, 5 DARK SOULS, PART II: ROOTS OF EVIL and MARK OF THE DEVIL 666: THE MORALIST.
As an author, Collum has penned the book ASSAULT OF THE KILLER B's: INTERVIEWS WITH 20 CULT FILM ACTRESSES (McFarland), and contributed to Jon Keeyes' tome ATTACK OF THE B QUEENS (Luminary Press). He has published over 60 articles in magazines such as Fangoria, Video Business Weekly, Alternative Cinema and Instinct, and is a former editor and graphic designer of Femme Fatales, Cinefantastique and In Park.
Collum stepped away from the horror genre last year to direct the comedy SHY OF NORMAL: TALES OF NEW LIFE EXPERIENCES featuring Brinke Stevens (The Slumber Party Massacre) and Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp). He is currently in production on the monster-in-the-house psycho-thriller SAFE INSIDE, again starring Brinke Stevens, Judith O’Dea (Night of the Living Dead), Chris Harder (Gus Van Sant’s Restless) and Tina Ona Paukstelis (Aswang: The Unearthing).
He can be contacted through Facebook.
PATRICK REA
Director Patrick Rea (winner of Best Director of the 2012 Chicago Fear Fest) has taken the film festival circuit by storm with his highly imaginative studio quality short films. Rea’s second feature “NAILBITER” (“NAILBITER” is the best feature winner of the 2012 Chicago Fear Fest) tells the story of a mother and three daughters who seek shelter from a tornado in a strangers storm cellar. Once in the cellar, they quickly discover that they would have been safer facing the tornado. Do yourself a favor and don’t seek out any more information on this film before seeing it. “NAILBITER” is just that; a suspenseful, horror-thriller, edge of your seat rollercoaster ride which is best experienced spoiler-free.
Rea’s most recent shorts “Get Off My Porch”, “Hell Week”, “Time’s Up Eve”, and “Now That You’re Dead” have also garnered acclaim and are currently on the festival circuit. In the Summer of 2008, Rea’s short film “Woman’s Intuition” won a Heartland Emmy Award. In 2009, Rea was co-director on the “Jake Johanssen, I Love You” comedy special, which aired on Showtime. This past summer, SenoReality Pictures won its second Heartland Emmy Award with their short “Get Off My Porch”.
Rea and SenoReality Pictures are currently in post-production on “RHINO” starring Malcolm Goodwin (A&E’s Breakout Kings) and Keith Loneker (Lakeview Terrace). 2012 also marks the release of “NAILBITER”. Rea is currently developing his next feature, a horror comedy “BUZZ KILL” about a deadly energy drink.
MATT CANTU
Matt Cantu is the director / creator of "THE ZOMBIE FACTOR”, a television pilot where reality TV contestants come face-to-face with zombies. “THE ZOMBIE FACTOR” is a biting horror/comedy satire on modern reality television shows. The show is set in the post zombie apocalypse world of the future, where zombies have become a reality. The great uprising of the undead is now in the past. Zombies are being controlled and things are back to normal, except that mankind’s thirst for exciting TV knows no bounds.
Matt is writing/pre-producing the balance of the season of “THE ZOMBIE FACTOR” to shop to networks. “THE ZOMBIE FACTOR” will screen at Flashback Weekend 2012 at the Muvico Theaters Rosemont 18 (screening date and time TBA).
Matt has written, directed and produced many independent projects in film and video including narratives, music videos and documentaries. He co-directed the horror film "Silent Scream", which was released on home video by Lionsgate in 2005. He also wrote/produced/directed the short film "Delivered, Guaranteed, Confidential" as part of the "Secrets of Fenville " feature film project. The short won a Gold Award for Excellence at the 2004 Park City Film/Music Film Festival.
In addition to "The Zombie Factor", Matt is currently developing a feature film project in Detroit based on the "Cancer: The Musical" stage play.
For more info - www.can2creative.com
JOE KNETTER
"
Reading a Knetter story makes you feel dirty...like you're some kind of sicko."
- Adam Green - director Hatchet and Frozen
"The king of all things sick and twisted is now and will always be king Knetter."
- Dread Central
Joe Knetter got his start writing horror fiction. His books Twisted Loneliness (intro by Sid Haig), Vile Beauty (intro by Bill Moseley) and Zombie Bukkake have
garnered him much attention in the horror community for being sick, twisted and
gory.
Joe then branched off into acting and screenwriting. His credits include Pajama Party Massacre, Strip Club Slasher and Monsterpiece theatre amongst others. The short film THIRSTY , based on one of his stories has won awards at film festivals across the country. He currently has over a dozen projects in various states of production including: Hallow Pointe, Black Friday, Ouija, Ash Wednesday, Visions and Meatings.
SARAH FRENCH
A.K.A. SCARLET SALEM
Sarah French is a model and actress from Minnesota. She began modeling in 2007 working steadily in print, fashion and on various websites. Her lifelong love of the horror genre led to her auditioning for the indie short Pajama Party Massacre. She got the role and loved the experience so much that she put the modeling on the backburner and decided to concentrate on film. To date she has worked on close to thirty projects such as: Terror Overload, Killer Biker Chicks, Strip Club Slasher, Camp Kill, Opposite Blood, Pottpouri, In harm's way and Shriek of the Sasquatch and a few music videos. She also writes a scream queen column in Shock Horror magazine based out of the U.K.
All celebrity guests sign autographs during Celebrity Signing hours all 3 days of the convention unless specifically noted otherwise.
LOCAL GUESTS FOR FLASHBACK WEEKEND 2012
SVENGOOLIE
Appearing Saturday August 11, 2012
Every year at Flashback Weekend we look forward to the annual visit from Chicago Television Legend "SVENGOOLIE". Rich Koz portrays the popular character each week on "The U!" with his cast of "Doug Graves" the laid back musical sidekick, and Tombstone the talking skull. In addition to the popular musical numbers and commercial parodies Svengoolie has always been known for, each show features a segment of the movie produced in Svensurround with added sound effects, dubbed-in dialogue and visuals. This technique was first done by both Koz and Bishop in the 1970's - before the advent of "Mystery Science Theatre 3000."
Svengoolie's hard work and comic genius continued to pay off and "Svengoolie - The First Year" a look back at Svengoolie's first year on WCIU was rewarded with a Chicago Emmy for Best Entertainment Program - Special. He currently has received 8 regional Emmy Awards, and was inducted into the prestigious Chicago Television Academy's 2004 "Silver Circle" for outstanding contributions to Chicago television.
Svengoolie will be signing autographs, posing for photos, and will take to the Flashback Stage for a Q & A and to MC the costume contest on Saturday. Get your costumes ready!
DANN GIRE
Flashback Weekend Master of Ceremonies
Daily Herald film critic Dann Gire has been a member of the Flashback Weekend cult since the very beginning. He serves as the president and founding director of the Chicago Film Critics Association, and has won the prestigious Peter Lisagor Award for Arts Criticism six times. (His mentor/rival Roger Ebert has won it only four times.) Gire has also been an adjunct faculty member in William Rainey Harper College’s English and Journalism departments since 1984, teaching courses in drama, film & literature, journalism, short stories & novels, mass communications and feature writing. He put both Zack Snyder's remake of "Dawn of the Dead" and the family feature "The Incredibles" on his top 10 list of best movies of 2004.
NICK DIGILIO
Flashback Weekend Co-Host
Talk Show Host/Film Critic for WGN Radio. Nick has been reviewing movies for over 23 years on WGN Radio in Chicago. He also hosts a highly-rated weekend talk show on 720am that covers everything pop culture and news related. He has also written, acted in and directed over thrity plays in and around the Chicago area including the horror classics "Among the Dead" (in which he played an insane?redneck who killed zombies) and "Operation Infiltration: An Experiment in Terror" (which was a salute to great genre films like Romero's "The Crazies" and Philip Kaufman's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"). He has LOVED horror films for his entire life and is incredibly excited to be co-hosting the Flashback Convention for yet another exciting year.
Top Five Horror Movies of All Time:
- John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN
- George A. Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD
- Dario Argento's SUSPIRIA
- Don Coscarelli's PHANTASM
- Tobe Hooper's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
(but, of course, this list changes constantly depending on his mood).
STEVE (CAPONE) PROKOPY
Flashback Weekend Co-Host
Steve Prokopy is the Chicago Editor for Ain't It Cool News (www.aintitcool.com), where he has contributed film reviews and filmmaker and actor interviews under the name "Capone" since 1997. In 2005, he also joined the staff of the Chicago-based media outlet GapersBlock.com as the site's Friday film critic with his Steve@theMovies column. Steve has been a horror fanatic since he was a youngster, and was even suspended from high school for a day after a presentation he gave his classmates on his hero, make-up master Tom Savini. He has been a Flashback Weekend co-host since it began in 2002 and is thrilled to be back again this year.
Top Five Horror Movies:
- Sam Raimi's THE EVIL DEAD
- George A Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD
- John Carpenter's THE THING
- Wes Craven's A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
- Herschell Gordon Lewis' BLOOD FEAST
JOHN LAFLAMBOY
THE MOLE MAN OF BELMONT AVENUE, SQUEAL, THE ART OF PAIN
John is a stage actor who trains at The Artistic Home in Chicago and co-stars in The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue with Mike Bradecich, which he also co-wrote and co-directed. He has co-produced two other feature films (The Art of Pain and Squeal). As an actor, John has fought ninjas and zombies as a lead in the feature film The Art of Pain, been killed by a Pigman in the feature film Squeal, performed the motion capture movement for the video games Stubbs the Zombie and BioShock and had very small roles in very small commercials that only his mother seems to have seen.
John is also the founder and director of Zombie Army Productions, a production company that produces Chicago’s largest haunted house (Statesville Haunted Prison &City of the Dead).
HEATHER WIXSON
Flashback Weekend Co-Host
Horror Journalist and DreadCentral contributor Heather Wixson can pinpoint where her love of the horror genre started exactly: At age three she saw An American Werewolf in London in the theater and was immediately hooked. Heather currently serves as a one of the judges for the prestigious Shriekfest International Horror/Sci-Fi Film Festival. Heather also established her own independent production company in 2009 called Final Girl Films and is currently producing several independent genre films. A Chicago native, Heather is beyond thrilled to be co-hosting Flashback Weekend this year.
Top Five Horror Movies:
- Tom Holland's Fright Night
- Chuck Russell's A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
- Fred Walton's April Fool's Day
- Andrew Kuehn's Terror In the Aisles
- Scott Glosserman's Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
KITTY ZOMBIE
Chicago's favorite zombie will be attending Flashback Weekend! Unleashed upon the world by Zombie Army Productions in 2007, Kitty has become a staple of the Chicago horror and zombie scene and a crowd favorite, regularly hosting zombie-themed events like Retro Zombie Tiki Terror and Plague Day at the Faire. With the body of a killer and the mind of a puppy, Kitty is a particular favorite of the little ones, as he brings a Herman Munster-like quality to what would otherwise be a terrifying physical presence.
To find out more about Kitty, visit KittyZombie.com
CHAD SAVAGE
Chad Savage has been drawing and painting disturbingly beautiful things his entire life, and his love of all things dark & spooky has become a career unto itself. His dark visual design company Sinister Visions inc. has spawned a series of genre sites including ZombiePinups.com and the DarkChicago.com series of sites (ChicagoHorror.com, ChicagoZombie.com, ChicagoVampire.com and HauntedHouseChicago.com). Savage has run art shows for Convergence, the World Horror Convention, Flashback Weekend and HorrorFind Weekend, and is the Marketing Director for Flashback Weekend and The Zombie Army.
Sinister Visions inc. is an official sponsor of Flashback Weekend, and will host/sponsor the Costume Contest and Zombie Pinups Beauty Pageant on Saturday at 2012's Flashback Weekend - details HERE!
To learn more about Chad Savage and his work, visit SinisterVisions.com and ChadSavage.com.
Check back for more updates!
Celebrity guests subject to change without notice
due to unforseeable filming/scheduling conflicts.
