Oscars "In Memoriam" Gallery Honors Angus Scrimm

I'll be honest, I'm fairly bitter that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences chose to leave Angus Scrimm out of their broadcasted Oscars "In Memoriam" segment this evening. Whoever made that decision, please go promptly to hell. However, it's still nice to see Angus honored on their website memoriam gallery with a wonderful Phantasm III photo taken by his longtime close friend Kristen Deem. 

(Photo above by Scott Pensa)

Reggie & Gigi Bannister Debut New Short Film

Reggie and Gigi Bannister have debuted a new short film, The Intruders, on the FilmFreeway website. Based on an old episode of The Twilight Zone, the project was written, directed and produced by Gigi, who also stars alongside the Regman who appears a Rod Serling-esque host. Pay attention to the end credits and you'll see several phamiliar names including crewmember extraordinaire Kristen Deem, Phantasm Ravager actor Daniel Schweiger and mega-phan Jeff Roman. You can watch the short here.

Gigi's director's statement from the site: "My motto was given to me in 1987 by a dear friend, Chis Malanowsky: "I just want to make movies!" I have tried to live by that motto ever since. Every project is like giving birth. One brings the concept from a spark of thought into a tangible thing which lives and breathes for eternity on the screen and in the hearts of others. It is the legacy of all who worked on it. If we are lucky, we are fondly remembered for it and it lives on long after we are gone.

This project is an homage to the Twilight Zone episode "Invaders" with Agnes Moorehead." It was one of Rod Serling's favorites, one of the most recognizable, and legendary. It has no dialogue, only three rooms and the roof for the set. The nemesis are tiny robots from Earth. We built the set at a local ranch made from a three room horse stall. Miss Moorhead was notorious for her manicured nails so we included that detail - as we did many others. We took artistic license with the ending to make it our own story. It is intense but a bit lighthearted in places and includes some comedic moments not in the first, but, we hope that the viewers appreciate the send up as much we did bringing to them. My husband, Reggie Bannister, and I are so proud of our amalgamation of Riverside City College student crew and cast, volunteers from Crestline Creative Arts Foundation, Professionals, Friends and Phans who have helped give this "baby" life."

WATCH IT HERE!

Phantasm Homage in Massive Attack Music Video

English trip-hop group Massive Attack has just debuted a marvelous new music video for their song "Voodoo in My Blood" from their Ritual Spirit EP. Starring Gone Girl's Rosamund Pike, the video is basically one giant homage to Phantasm. In it, Pike enters into some kind of underground station and is menaced by a floating metallic sphere with nasty tools and.... hypnotic dance powers? Honestly, I kept waiting and was even hopeful for the Tall Man for the Tall Man to show up!

Stylishly-produced and hypnotic itself, this is a terrific music video that I encourage you to check out in the player below.

Source: The terrific Blumhouse!

New Interview on Phantasm Exhumed

If anyone out there hasn't yet tired of me gabbing about my 2014 book, Phantasm Exhumed, you can check out this new interview I did with my pal Jon Melville, who recently published Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors. (That is a fantastic read in case you have any interest in graboids!)

I talk a little about the highs and lows of publishing a book on Phantasm, working with Angus Scrimm, what got me into Phantasm and dish some advice for anyone out there thinking about publishing their own making-of book. Check it out here.

Mike, Reg and the Tall Man in Monstars Art Series

It never ceases to amaze me how many talented artists are also phans (or how many phans are also talented artists?). One of these folks I'd like to introduce you to is the excellent Andrew Barr, who has a fantastic block-style art series called "Monstars" in which he's featured Reggie, the Tall Man and now Mike Pearson. I've combined three of those pieces together in the image below. You can check out Andrew's Monsters blog here and his overall art website here, which features his other styles and prints. If you happen to read Rue Morgue, you might have already seen his artwork.

Andrew's blog states he lives in Canada on the outskirts of Toronto. Wonder if he'll be at tonight's Rue Morgue screening of Phantasm II? Here's to hoping he continues this terrific series, which already has a ton of other horror greats in it!

Click the Image Below to See It Larger!

This Custom Phantasm Hearse is Fast and Furious!

The Phantasm series and hearses go together like peanut butter and jelly, pancakes and syrup, corpses and embalming fluid! More than a handful of phans have been moved to acquire their own funeral coaches through the decades, most notably phan-turned-crewmember Guy Thorpe.

The sweet-looking hearse pictured below is owned by uber-phan Brian Swartz of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Interestingly enough, Brian didn't customize this ride himself, but bought it from another phan that hailed from Texas. Brian shares that his coach is a 1968 Cadillac hearse/ambulance combination. Although it's spent the past two years in storage, he's recently performed some repair work on it so that he can tour it around Pittsburgh later this year. 

Love that Phantasm Oblivion-inspired hood artwork. If you happen to live in the area, keep your eyes for Brian and his phantasmic ride! He also writes, "And if you're wondering, yes - there IS a casket in the back!"

Phantasm: Remastered to screen at SXSW in March!

Entertainment Weekly has revealed that Phantasm: Remastered (I think that's what we're supposed to be calling it now - I like it!) is going to screen in March at the SWSX festival in Austin, Texas. This is the product of JJ Abram's recently announced 4K restoration of that movie. Texas has always been a special state for Phantasm, even though none of the movies shot there. Who knows what special guests might be in the audience? Surely Don Coscarelli will attend, but how about Texas-based luminaries like A. Michael Baldwin, Bob Ivy or Stephen Romano?

We can likely expect many more screening announcements for Phantasm: Remastered in the near future and - amid all that - a Blu-Ray announcement as well. 2016 may have started off pretty horribly for phans, but we're at least going to have opportunities to celebrate the legacy of our dearly departed.

New Phantasm Quiz Book Out This Week

There is a new Phantasm book out this week from author Killian H. Gore. Phantasm Unauthorized Quiz Book dishes up more than two hundred trivia questions on the series. Killian solicited input from series veterans including star A. Michael Baldwin, dwarf-actor Ed Gale, co-producer Roberto Quezada, sphere master Kerry Prior and special makeup effects supervisor Mark Shostrom. 

Browsing these pages, I am already noticing a good range of difficulty. Some of these phans will immediately know the answer to while others will surely send you to the book's answer section or perhaps Google. Full disclosure: The book's final five questions are provided by yours truly and I did my best to make them challenging! You can purchase either the paperback version or Kindle Edition over at Amazon. The official description is below:

Are you ready for a truly Phantastic Phantasm Quiz, boooy!!!? Featuring over 200 trivia filled multiple-choice questions on all four Phantasm movies. With a Tall Man’s Tricky Bonus Question for each movie too! Plus! A selection of Special Guest Star Questions from Phantasm cast and crew members A. Michael Baldwin, Mark Shostrom, Kerry Prior, Ed Gale and Roberto A. Quezada! AND a set of bonus questions from a Surprise Special Guest Star! As well as the terrifying Phantasm-inspired short story “Video Projects” by Killian H. Gore. If you want to play a good game, boooy, the quiz is about to begin!

New Book on Don Coscarelli's Filmography

I am astonished sometimes at the important things I forget to post here. I have written plenty about my own Phantasm book, but I neglected to announce when a related book was published on the series last year. Written by my pal, Gerardo Santos Bocero, the new book is called Don Coscarelli: Phantasmas, Momias Y Otras Bestias and it is entirely in Spanish. Translated, that title reads “Phantasms, Mummies and Other Beasts.” Way cool. 

Published by Tyrannosaurus Books and clocking in at 266 pages, this read takes a detailed look at Coscarelli’s career from Jim the World’s Greatest all the way up to John Dies at the End. I think we can all agree that Phantasm’s creator is a genius filmmaker worthy of a tome like this. Even better, the foreward is by another pal of mine - mega-phan Miguel Collado Gabaldón, administrator of the terrific Phantasma Facebook Group. 

For anyone who wants to purchase the book, you can do so here from Amazon or here from the publisher’s website. I find it wonderful to see the series honored in other countries and languages - may this trend this continue! 

Ten cuidado con El Hombre Alto, chiiiiiiiiiico!

Rue Morgue Showing Phantasm II on 35mm

Rue Morgue has announced a special Phantasm II screening at the Royal Theatre in Toronto on Thursday, February 18th. Canadian phans will want to take note because this is a rare opportunity to see the movie projected on 35mm. The showing is dedicated to the recently passed Angus Scrimm and promises to include a tribute reel to the actor as well as "other surprises." Consider us intrigued!

CineMacabre presents a 35mm Tribute to the Tall Man himself, Angus Scrimm, with a screening of PHANTASM II on Thursday, February 18 at 8:00pm at The Royal (608 College Street, Toronto). The second installment in Don Coscarelli's surreal horror series has survivors of the first Phantasm joining forces with a psychic and mounting a cross-country hunt for the Tall Man. Abandoned towns, pillaged cemeteries and deadly traps lead them to a showdown with the otherworldly menace. Featuring Scrimm at his scowling, villainous best, Phantasm II is the ideal film to remember one of our favourite actors. Join us for a film, tribute reel and other surprises. One Night Only! Ghastly Prizes!