The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

Actually Joe is onto something. Just getting back from Cinema Wasteland every single person who used to come but isn't coming this time had those 2 reasons: No guest and mediocre line-up they've seen 25 times. All the people I ran into at Wasteland said they would for sure come if there was a guest ala Tobe Hooper,John Carpenter,David Cronenberg,etc. and really good slate of films in the "bloodbath" way of things like City of the Walking Dead,Creepers(Phenomena),Cannibal Apocalypse,Night of the Zombies,slasher films,etc. So it looks like to get a big draw you'd have to amp up the films with a lot of blood and get a big name guest. Just reporting the news.

I'm just curious about this; did you really expect the critics to love that film? It's Human Centipede 2, after all.

Mediocre lineup?!!!?!?!?!??!?! You just convinced me never to go to Cinema Wasteland. What kind of fools think that The Beyond, Hellraiser, Flesh For Frankenstein, The Hitcher, Bride of Frankenstein, Pit and the Pendulum, Slither, etc... is a bad lineup? That's insane! The Beyond and Hellraiser are as bloody as any film you mentioned! How rare is the Flesh For Frankenstein screening? I've never heard of it playing anywhere in 35mm in my whole 35 years! And The Hitcher is an ultra-rare screening too! And talk about a completely unrealistic guest wish list! Tobe Hooper and John Carpenter almost NEVER do conventions, and I think David Cronenberg just did his first one ever. So they pass on doing conventions for thousands of fans but the geniuses at Cinema Wasteland think they should go to a marathon for 300 fans or else same geniuses won't attend. I will never go to Cinema Wasteland if that's the attitude. Sheeesh!

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"I came here to chew bubble gum and kick a**. I'm all out of bubble gum."

I concur. This year inclusion of Goke a film that best to my knowledge that doesn't have a official DVD/Blu Ray realese is a huge deal. I can't wait to see Flesh on the widescreen.

Don't the wasteland people understand that Joe must obtain films through legal vendors. They can pound sand for all I care.

I think the point they were making is everything is watchable on DVD and Goke can easily be gotten on DVDr bootlegs from any horror convention including Cinema Wasteland,HorrorHound,etc. The Beyond is indeed a bloody film as is Cat in the Brain,House by the Cemetery and Zombie but I think the point they were making is it is widely available on DVD and under it's original title 7 Doors of Death on several 50 movie box sets and comp DVDs. I just think the attendees of Cinema Wasteland were just being honest in their opinions as people are on this site. It's just opinions and Cinema Wasteland is a GREAT show but these were just a small crowd of people I hadn't seen at the marathon in awhile(since the Studio 35 days when there were big guests) and they voiced their opinions on the lineup. I'm sure their tastes would be more oriented towards the CRazy Bob's all night zombie drive in marathon going on in Pennsylvania this month. www.dvddrive-in.com . That probably was more at what they were getting at. An all night zombie blood fest. That's cool too but I think the main point was the "reasoning". There are several sides to the fandom of HORROR. There's the two opposite ends of the horror spectrum. Way at one end is the "light" horror which is Twilight,Buffy,Charmed,etc. and at the other end is the "gorehounds" who want piles of dead bodies and guts as in Dr. Butcher,Cannibal Holocaust or Make Them Die Slowly. Cinema Wasteland is in the drive in/grindhouse/cult/exploitation end of things which includes gorehounds,slasher fans,Double Chiller/Fritz fans who grew up on Willard,Dracula Vs. Frankenstein,Twisted Brain,House That Screamed and others,grade Z stuff like Blood Waters of DR.Z and Blood Freak and many other facets of that era of filmmaking. That doesn't mean they are wrong in what they want. A marathon with Cabinet of Caligari and The Hitcher just isn't their cup of tea. If you did an entire marathon of stuff like The Beyond I'm sure it would sway them. I just reported where the criticism was coming from.

Actually, the first HUMAN CENTIPEDE got twice the (current) rating of this "premiere" prospect on Rotten Tomatoes.

Also, here's an article which describes a scene that is cut in the USA version to be released in a couple of days:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/movie ... wanted=all

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Long Live the Orson Welles Cinemas

Watching some piss poor bootleg on DVD-R or DVD+R isn't the same as watching it on a legal commercial retail DVD/Blu Ray.

Still they don't understand that there must be a wide selection of horror films. If they want to watch piss poor bootlegs on DVD fine.

I do have a huge selection of horror DVD's that are out of print. Some of them are non anamorphic transfers. Using a Blu Ray player with HDMI make the image small on my 46 inch LED Samsung HDTV. But it is the commercial release so I put up with it.

Joe did the best he can this year. As always. If the Cinema Wasteland people want to see more gore at the twenty four hour horror marathon then they should buy tickets and fill out the survey. Btich about the lineup and not going does more harm than good.

Do I always like the lineup? No. Barring any other engagements I purchase my ticket, buy consessions, and get a mug to do my part to keep this thing going.

If the Cinema Wasteland fans don't want to help then quit bitching.

You know what would save the marathon?


CHUD

I wouldn't go so far as to say "go away, we don't need you," but I agree with what Jaws3Dfan was essentially saying earlier about certain types of desert. There just aren't enough of us cake lovers around anymore. That is to say, those of us who attend the marathon for the sake of the event and don't base our decisions on things outside of our control like film selections and guest appearances.

I respectfully disagree that a more "hardcore" lineup would increase attendance. I think it would just give you a different crowd, not necessarily a larger one.

I think at this point the only thing that would keep me away from supporting the Columbus marathons (forgetting the logistics of traveling halfway across the country and assuming it is still organized by two passionate film lovers) would be if there were a sudden shift in standards away from 35mm presentation. I realize digital is inevitable in some cases, but I wouldn't bother if the focus went away from trying to make these things unique cinematic experiences the way they are now.

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Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

To add to this discussion, a further word about guests:

This year, we had a lead on a potential guest. Without going into specifics, this person is a character actor who is legendary in their own right, but whom the general population could probably not identify by name only. Which is too bad, because this person would be fairly recognizable to genre fans and would have been a hell of a guest in terms of Q+A, audience interaction, etc.

The catch? This person's fee was $5500 plus expenses. Now, if this person was David Cronenberg would we have considered it? Absolutely. But for someone with a borderline name, who would easily sell in L.A., Chicago or New York but not in Columbus, it was too far of a stretch, especially since we haven't sold out in some time. Booking this person would've required us to either raise ticket prices to $45-$50 or to lose out shirts.

And this person isn't necessarily an isolated situation. A year ago, Bruce and I spoke about trying to get David Cronenberg in for the Marathon. He's been a dream guest of ours for some time, a legendary genre figure and an acclaimed director of world cinema in general. He would sell out the event easily and we could likely afford to raise ticket prices or to take a lesser profit. But he costs a decent amount of cash as well.

This year alone, we inquired about Cronenberg, but he's busy promoting A Dangerous Method and finishing Cosmopolis. We inquired about John Carpenter, but he's in pre-production on his next film. We've been inquiring about Asia Argento for several years, but she has representation on three continents, and when we finally got through to someone who would talk with us, we found out that she's likely to be in London around the time of the Marathon.

Trust me: we want a big guest again. But we only have 300 seats. Even the 50 extra seats that Studio 35 had gave us some breathing room costwise for Bruce Campbell and George Romero. And this is part of why I've posted what I have on this forum and elsewhere. There are B-level guests that we'd also love to bring in, but they also aren't cheap, and if we're not sure about selling out, we're not sure if we could afford the financial hit. It's ultimately a self-fulfilling prophecy for some of the folks who want an incentive to attend (i.e. "I won't come unless there's a guest", but if enough of you don't attend, we won't have the confidence to book a mid-level or mid-name guest, so we you'll end up waiting some more....rinse, repeat...)

Conventions like Cinema Wasteland have the advantage of being able to host large quantities of attendees, which keeps ticket prices relatively low but still allows them to pay a bevy of guests to appear. We're not Cinema Wasteland, we're not Monster Bash, we're not HorrorHound. We're an event that takes place in a 300 seat theater that doesn't have unlimited resources. Yes, we could move to a larger theater, but we would likely lose control over decent chunks of the booking freedom and creative control that we cherish, that allows us to bring you what we want. And we'd also likely lose access to reel to reel projection, and my friends, in the modern age, when studios are increasingly hesitant to lend out archival 35mm prints to platter-only theaters, that would be a major blow. This year alone, the Grandview's reel to reel capabilities have enabled us to book CALIGARI, GOKE, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and PIT AND THE PENDULUM, major parts of the lineup.

I don't mean to come across all doom and gloom. But the logistics of an event of this kind are very complicated, and its continuing survival is going to depend on more than just the folks who want a big guest or major premiere as an incentive to attend.

[quote="L.A. Connection"]Actually, the first HUMAN CENTIPEDE got twice the (current) rating of this "premiere" prospect on Rotten Tomatoes.

That's still 60%. And I don't think we should book films based on what the critics like. If we go that route, we'll never get to see any horror films.

Ok, WolfNC17 you asked for it. This decade's horror films that got good reviews even from...eeek...CRITICS!!:

Year
98% 8.2/10
Let the Right One In (R)

Plot: A 12-year-old boy befriends a mysterious young girl whose appearance in town suspiciously coincides...
Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson Directed by: Tomas Alfredson Format: DVD

2008
95% 8.5/10
Pan's Labyrinth (R)

Plot: Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro returns to the phantasmagorical cinema that defined such early...
Stars: Ariadna Gil, Ivana Baquero Directed by: Guillermo del Toro Format: DVD

2006
92% 7.7/10
The Host (Gwoemul) (R)

Plot: When a young girl is snatched away from her father by a horrifying giant monster that emerges from...
Stars: Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong Directed by: Joon-ho Bong Format: DVD

2006
92% 7.6/10
Drag Me to Hell (PG-13)

Plot: Evil Dead director Sam Raimi takes the helm for this "spook-a-blast" shocker about an ambitious L.A....
Stars: Alison Lohman, Justin Long Directed by: Sam Raimi Format: DVD

2009
91% 8/10
Donnie Darko: Production Diary (R)

Plot: In a funny, moving and distinctly mind-bending journey through suburban America, one extraordinary...
Stars: Daveigh Chase, Drew Barrymore Directed by: Richard Kelly Format: DVD

2004
91% 7.7/10
Shaun of the Dead (R)

Plot: It's often said that the true character of a man is only revealed in times of dire crisis, and for...
Stars: Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield Directed by: Edgar Wright Format: DVD

2004
90% 7.4/10
Zombieland (R)

Plot: A cowardly shut-in named Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is forced to join up with a seasoned zombie...
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg Directed by: Ruben Fleischer Format: DVD

2009
88% 7.4/10
Requiem (Unrated)

Plot: Director Hans-Christian Schmid helms this award winning account of a first-year university student...
Stars: Sandra Hueller, Burghart Klau??ner Directed by: Hans-Christian Schmid Format: DVD

2006
88% 7.8/10
Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen (R)
Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair Directed by: William Friedkin Format: DVD

2000
88% 7.8/10
Russian Ark (Unrated)

Plot: Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov broke boundaries with his dreamlike vision of the Hermitage in...
Stars: Sergei Dreiden, Maria Kuznetsova Directed by: Aleksandr Sokurov Format: DVD

2002 Year
88% 7.3/10
28 Days Later (R)

Plot: Animal rights activists free a group of infected chimpanzees to horrifying results in this...
Stars: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris Directed by: Danny Boyle Format: DVD

2003
87% 7.3/10
Save The Green Planet (Unrated)

Plot: The genre-bending black comedy sci-fi thriller Save the Green Planet! marks the feature debut of...
Stars: Ha-kyun Shin, Baek Yun-shik Directed by: Jun-hwan Jeong Format: DVD

2003
87% 7.3/10
Ginger Snaps (R)

Plot: In the generic Canadian suburb of Bailey Downs live Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily...
Stars: Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle Directed by: John Fawcett Format: DVD

2000
87% 7.4/10
Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary (Unrated)

Plot: Idiosyncratic Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin resurrects the style and visual grammar of the silent...
Stars: Zhang Wei-Qiang, Tara Birtwhistle Directed by: Guy Maddin Format: DVD

2002
86% 7.1/10
Janghwa, Hongryeon (A Tale of Two Sisters) (R)

Plot: This supernatural horror film from Kim Jee-woon is inspired by the ancient Korean folktale "Jangha...
Stars: Lim Su-jung, Jeong-Ah Yeom Directed by: Ji-woon Kim Format: DVD

2003
86% 7.1/10
The House of the Devil (R)

Plot: A coed struggling to pay her rent ends up taking the wrong part-time job in writer-director Ti...
Stars: Jocelin Donahue, Greta Gerwig Directed by: Ti West Format: DVD

2009
85% 6.9/10
Slither (R)

Plot: A mysterious meteor infected with a deadly alien plague brings chaos to a small hunting town in the...
Stars: Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks Directed by: James Gunn Format: DVD

2006
85% 7.3/10
El Orfanato (The Orphanage) (R)

Plot: Pan's Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro produces director Juan Antonio Bayona's gothic...
Stars: Geraldine Chaplin, Belén Rueda Directed by: Juan Antonio Bayona Format: DVD

2007
84% 6.8/10
Three...Extremes (Saam gaang yi) (R)

Plot: Three Asian directors, from Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan, join forces to create an omnibus horror...
Stars: Ling Bai, Miriam Yeung Chin Wah Directed by: Chan Wook Park, Fruit Chan Format: DVD

2004
84% 7.2/10
The Others (PG-13)

Plot: Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar's first English-language production is a creepy period ghost...
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston Directed by: Alejandro Amenábar Format: DVD

2001
The Descent (R)

Plot: A group of close female friends on a yearly adventure vacation find themselves trapped and hunted in...
Stars: Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Jackson Mendoza Directed by: Neil Marshall Format: DVD

2005
83% 6.6/10
Pontypool (PG)

Plot: Bruce McDonald, critically acclaimed director of The Tracey Fragments, teams with author Tony...
Stars: Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle Directed by: Bruce McDonald Format: DVD

2008
83% 7.2/10
Paprika (R)

Plot: Groundbreaking animator Satoshi Kon (whose credits include Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress, and...
Stars: Megumi Hayashibara, Toru Emori Directed by: Satoshi Kon Format: DVD

2006
83% 7.4/10
Grindhouse (Grind House) (R)

Plot: Kill Bill director Quentin Tarantino and Sin City director Robert Rodriguez join forces to offer a...
Stars: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez Directed by: Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino Format: DVD

2007
82% 6.6/10
Triangle (R)

Plot: Director Christopher Smith (Creep, Severance), returns to rattle viewers with this dark thriller...
Stars: Melissa George, Michael Dorman Directed by: Christopher Smith Format: DVD

2009
82% 6.9/10
Bakjwi (Thirst) (R)

Plot: Song Kang-ho, Shin Ha-kyun, and Kim Ok-bin star in Oldboy director Park Chan-wook's frightener...
Stars: Ha-kyun Shin, Hae-suk Kim Directed by: Chan Wook Park Format: DVD

2009
82% 7/10
Paranormal Activity (R)

Plot: A haunted house makes no secret of the fact it's not pleased with its new tenants in this...
Stars: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat Directed by: Oren Peli Format: DVD

2007
81% 6.6/10
Teeth (R)

Plot: High school student Dawn works hard at suppressing her budding sexuality by being the local chastity...
Stars: Jess Weixler, John Hensley Directed by: Mitchell Lichtenstein Format: DVD

2007
81% 7/10
Shadow of the Vampire (R)

Plot: The torturous production of the classic 1922 vampire film Nosferatu is recreated in this stylized...
Stars: John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe Directed by: E. Elias Merhige Format: DVD

2000
81% 6.8/10
Hellboy (PG-13)

Plot: Mike Mignola's acclaimed comic book series about a creature from Hades who joins the battle against...
Stars: Ron Perlman, John Hurt Directed by: Guillermo del Toro Format: DVD

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Long Live the Orson Welles Cinemas

That's nice if you want to base your moviegoing experiences strictly on what critics like and don't like. I think we're a little bit more adventurous than that as an audience. And I would hope that Joe isn't booking films based on what percentage of approval a film gets from a bunch of Internet critics.

I guess that means Slither will be the best film at the marathon because it got an 85% approval rating. Oh wait, House of the Devil got an 86. So I suppose that means it's a 1% better film than Slither.

Joe, I'm begging you, PLEASE don't book Human Centipede 2 because only 30% of Internet critics liked it. I might not agree with that 30 percent!!!

I like to use the Laserblast "standard" when rating movies. (The fans of MST3K should understand this.)

I'm not a big fan of whiners. They annoy me. Joe is doing the best he can. The Grandview is a gracious host. Why risk it moving to another theater? True there will be more seats. Why risk it. I'll be happy to pay ten dollars more to get a guest.

The Gateway is all digital projection now. No archival prints of classic films can be screen in 35mm.

Having a single screen theater in this day and age is a oddity. Having the whole theater to the marathonoids is great.

Post Deleted by Creator

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