Get ready to be jealous, folks. Mega-phan Alex Khan has enlisted several friends to build him an RC version of the Battle 'Cuda from Phantasm Ravager, which happens to premiere tonight at FantasticFest in Austin, Texas! The body/paint molds were done by Brad Hair Productions, the body/chassis drilling by Dan Wilson and the wheel/tire work by DJ Scoobby Luv. This sweet phan creation is stunningly movie-accurate from the paint scuffs all the way down to the license plate. I encourage you to click any of the photos below to see the car in greater detail or play the video beneath them. We've seen numerous 'Cuda models in years past, but I don't ever recall seeing one that was remote-controlled! Alex writes in, "I'm a huge fan of mopars in movies. But since I can't afford a real mopar, I settle with 1/10th RC cars. The Cudas in the Phantasm movies are some of my favorite movie cars of all time (along with the Ford Falcon Interceptor in Mad Max; the 70 Dodge Challenger in Vanishing Point). I'm definitely not a professional. I told my friends what I wanted, and I gathered the parts for it to make it happen." Alex has revealed to The Phantasm Archives that he plans on creating RC versions of 'Cudas from the earlier Phantasm movies, so look forward to seeing those here once he's done. Now we just need him to make a remote-controlled Tall Man's Hearse for the 'Cuda to chase after!
Last night, the gorgeous Phantasm Remastered played FantasticFest in Austin, Texas as part of the nationwide Art House Theater Day event. The screening was followed by a Q&A with Don Coscarelli, A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, Bill Thornbury and Kat Lester, which was live streamed into theaters across the country. During one part of that panel, Thornbury broke out his guitar for an impromptu duet with Lester of Sittin' Here At Midnight. The results are magical, as you can see in the video below.
Jeff Roman of the Phantasm Ravager Facebook Group just discovered thatDon Coscarelli has a secret cameo in the latest Ravager trailer! I myself went to investigate and found that just before his cameo is another one by director David Hartman! Check out the image below for the screenshots!
For many years, there has been a school of thought that maybe James LeGros didn't like his involvement with Phantasm II. Maybe he felt his career advanced beyond low-budget horror or he was pissed about being re-cast with original Mike actor A. Michael Baldwin for Phantasm III. He did have a warm reunion with Angus Scrimm at a Glass Eye Pix screening years back, but beyond that, the evidence was that he had moved past Phantasm. The guy has turned down multiple reunion and convention appearance invitations. He declined participation both in the UK Sphere Set and the Shout Factory Phantasm II Blu-Ray discs. He first declined, then agreed, then again declined participation in my book, Phantasm Exhumed. And frankly, he has made a few offhand interviews comments in previous years that did not cast a positive light on the sequel. But now, in a new interview with WhySoBlu.com, James has actually opened up about his thoughts on the movie. With regard to Phantasm II, the interviewer starts off with, "You don’t talk a lot about it." James replies, "Phantasm II – I love that one! Two things about that film. One – that was the first lead I ever did in a movie, so that was really exciting for me. And second because of the privileged position of being on the call sheet everyday I learned so much about filmmaking on that film – things to this day that are part of my working experience. But I just loved all those guys. Angus (Scrimm, actor The Tall Man) God rest his soul, Reggie (Bannister, actor Reggie) and Don and Daryn (Okada, Cinematographer), everybody was just so fantastic and there was just such a collegial spirit. And these guys were making this stuff from nothing and all in camera too. It was back in the day when you actually had to do stuff. None of that CGI – things had to happen. In a way that’s why we engage with some of those other older movies that way because it’s less synthetic. Digital artists they do some terrific work, but there is something lost in the bargain. I have very fond memories of that experience and I was pleased how it turned out – I’m very proud of that film." Well, there you have it.
If you've been following this these past fifteen hours, you may already know the deal. If not, know that the hot new trailers for Phantasm Remastered and Phantasm Ravager have finally debuted online in proper, full-HD glory. No, you won't have to chase them down on iTunes or Amazon. Here they are at Entertainment Weekly and Apple! These are two fantastic trailers that you're going to want to watch over and over again, particularly that stunning Remastered preview! Phantasm Remastered Trailer at Apple Phantasm Ravager Trailer at Entertainment Weekly
Late last evening, exciting new trailers for Phantasm Remastered and Phantasm Ravager appeared on the film's pre-order pages on iTunes... only to vanish completely several hours later. Phans were left either gushing over the new previews or cursing the suddenly missing videos. Lucky for us, these spectacular trailers have now appeared over on Amazon's digital pre-order listings for Remastered and Ravager! You can see a handful of screenshots from the new Ravager trailer below. (These trailers will probably not work on your phone or in the Chrome browser, apparently.) Amazon trailer page for Phantasm Remastered Amazon trailer page for Phantasm Ravager
You're not going to believe this. Well, you're a Phantasm phan, so maybe you will believe it. Earlier this evening, pre-order listings for both Phantasm Remastered and Phantasm Ravager appeared on the iTunes store. Included in these listings were glorious new trailers for each film! Within a couple of hours, however, these listings vanished from the iTunes directory. Curious also was their release date of 10/4/16, three days earlier than the otherwise announced 10/7/16.
The Remastered trailer was marvelously crafted, every shot a refined masterpiece. Seeing Phantasm this way makes it look like an entirely new film I've never experienced before. The trailer's opening was particularly cool as an angry silver sphere burst from an ancient-looking television playing an old version of the movie. The trailer also included the now famous Phantasm definition narration, which originally began with the marketing of Phantasm II.
The Ravager trailer included new footage we hadn't seen before, most of it of Reggie in the hospital and roaming the countryside. There were also new shots of the Tall Man on the Red Planet and a better look at that new spikey-ball sphere. I would definitely qualify this as the best trailer the film has had yet.
I did manage to save a few screenshots from the Ravager trailer, which I'll post below until I'm told otherwise to take them down. Fingers crossed that Well Go USA releases these trailers soon and online in their full glory. You are gonna love 'em. (Credit: I first learned of the iTunes listings on the Phantasm Ravager Facebook phan group!)
