They Live…Separately…in Chicago
Friday, November 30th, 2012
The prospect of meeting famed director John Carpenter was certainly exciting and he was the major draw for attending the Flashback Weekend event in Chicago on Sunday, August 12, 2012. After all, he had directed what was probably the most famous and acclaimed of all horror films, Halloween. Sure, he’s had more than his share of clunkers, but scattered between them were blockbusters and cult classics such as Escape from New York, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, Christine, and They Live. He even tried his hand at comedy by directing Memoirs of an Invisible Man with Chevy Chase. Carpenter is also a talented composer and has written music for many of his and others’ films. Read the rest of this entry »
The family continued our tour of Munich on Monday, October 1, 2012, by stumbling out of the Oktoberfest, heading back to the train station, and catching a ride to the Marienplatz stop. We began our trek through the city center by stopping first to gawk at the Neues Rathaus, better known as the big glockenspiel. Unfortunately, the giant clock only does its jig during the fall at 11am and noon, so we had missed it by about two hours. I had seen the little dance when I had been in 
Lest you think that the original 1978 Halloween film fall into the category of slasher schlock like most of its successors, I implore you to consider the fact that it was selected in 2006 for preservation in the United States Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” To me, this means that it is a classic film, and thus certainly worthy of inclusion in any film library. And what’s more, this also means that I take great interest in meeting anyone who appeared in a classic film such as this. It also mean that I had a rip-roaring time at the Horrorhound Weekend in Indianapolis on Saturday, November 17, 2012. This posting will kick off a series of Halloween reunions and celebrities that appeared at this show. 
I was pumped for a busy week/weekend. It would have been even busier had the Morrissey concert scheduled for Wednesday, October 24, 2012. But it was, and although I was disappointed, I had a bit of a reprieve from the totally insane amount of activity that would be coming up. Then I saw – and met – the 
Sometimes it boggles the mind that so many mediocre celebrities command such high prices and long lines, while other legendary performers like Laraine Newman could be charging so little, be so nice, and be so accessible. I was going to call this posting Connie Conehead, but I didn’t even want to hint at a title that sounded demeaning – because Laraine Newman was not only one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live, she was truly one of the nicest and most down-to-earth of any celebrity that I’ve ever met.