Don't Dwayne and I look like we're having a Super Awesome Happy Fun Time Jamboree? I assure you that we were.
Man...where to start? This trip was literally mind-blowing, humbling, exciting, and exhausting. The good kind of exhausting, of course.
Thursday night a few of us went to the pre-party shindig at the Griffin, and that was pretty damn fun, if a bit packed. Met some cool folks, got to hang with Adrienne, and Chris got picked on by Derek Mears. El oh el.
Friday was a little hectic, just because it was the first day of the show, and people were still arriving in town, but we were set-up and running by the time the doors opened. Fridays at these things are historically slow, but from my experience, the turnout was pretty good. The Walking Distance panel was the first panel after the "Previews" section, and although we got off to a shaky start (our DVD was jacked up, so no clips to show) we totally rocked it anyway with the help of Rob G. from Icons of Fright.
The audience was fairly large, and they all seemed to be genuinely interested in the movie, and us - even without really knowing what the movie is about. Actually, our friend Paul suggested that the non-playing DVD just added to the mystique of the whole production and that it worked for us. Seemed like that was the case. We got some great audience questions, bantered for about 45 minutes, and I think I said the phrase "Cronenberg-ian penis" about four times. At the end, we encouraged folks to come check out the trailers and BTS clip at our table in the vendor room, where we'd be playing them all weekend. Guess that worked out, as we had a constant crowd of entusiastic viewers all weekend.
Friday night, Sam Raimi did a Drag Me To Hell panel to close out the day which was awesome (at least for the small amount of time I could stay in there and check it out). Afterwards, through a series of strange events, I found out that Sam has heard of Walking Distance and looks forward to checking it out. WHAT THE F%$K?!? So begins my first trip-out moment of the weekend. Of course, I had to make everyone go to Roscoe's to celebrate.
As always, Saturday was freaking nuts. Lots of celeb sightings - both folks that were part of the lineup, and otherwise. And the Walking Distance table was packed ALL DAY. People were literally stopping dead in their tracks to watch the trailers and tripping the f&%k out over them. "This looks amazing". "The music is awesome". "Holy s&*t, that looks crazy". "It's shot beautifully". "The trailers are excellently put together". "You did this in TEXAS?!?". I'm not trying to brag, but dude...the response was phenomenal. Not just from horror fans, but horror industry folks - actors and filmmakers who's names/movies you'd recognize were seriously digging the Distance. Even a member of a three-time Grammy-nominated rock band talked our ear off about the flick. And the "trailer editing" quote above came from a founding member of a very prominent (arguably the MOST prominent) FX house.
I think that experience was best summed up by the moment when Reggie turned to me at the table and said, in his measured, laid-back tone:
"Mel...I think we kinda kicked ass with this".
Hello, parallel universe.
Of course, the fact that Adrienne, Reggie, and Shannon are all out there as our biggest cheerleaders really helps the cause. And it makes me feel fucking fabulous that these people that I look up to respect and believe in me that way. I mean, I felt that on-set, but this is the real payoff in a lot of ways...the finished (or near-finished) product.
We did several interviews and spots throughout Saturday, which will begin to hit the net in the next few days, I imagine. I'll post them, of course.
Sunday was...surreal. Melanie and I spent the earlier part of the day having lunch with one of my favorite horror movie actresses. Ever. It was a business lunch, of course (talking to her about the next couple of Upstart projects), but damn...we had a blast. I seriously can't wait to work with her, mainly because she's a genuinely cool person...aside from the fact that she's in a couple of my favorite movies of all time. We even chatted about my favorite moment from said movies, and it didn't seem like I was fanning out - we discussed the pathos behind the moment, etc. etc....HOLY CRAP I'M DISSECTING THIS SEQUENCE I SAW IN A THEATRE IN 1989 WITH THE ACTRESS IN THE SEQUENCE!!!
I think reality folded in on itself for me a little at that moment.
So Melanie and I were pretty much on a high for the rest of the day, and when we got back to the con, it was all STILL going so well. Basically icing on the cake. More of the Saturday-type mind-blowing stuff...getting accolades from "Masters of Horror", big distro companies, and people that I respect.
Sunday ended on the high note of Cesar forcing Melanie to take a picture with William "Charlie Brewster" Ragsdale. He's one of the few people she totally fans out on, and it was pretty hilarious to watch. You'd think we'd be jaded...but no, we are not. At our core we are still big freaking horror dorks...and that's what makes all this so very awesome.
James then took us out for the best sushi ever, and then it was one red-eye flight back to H-town.
Texas Frightmare Weekend, here we come.
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