August has arrived, and summer is in full swing. That can only mean our 10th Annual Fall show is one month closer to reality. Don’t forget that you only have another month (until September 4th) to order your passes in advance and save some decent money over day-of-show prices.
Everything is running as smooth as silk on our end and I’m currently putting the finishing touches on as many panels, talks, movies and events as I can cram into the weekend schedule. If you haven’t checked out the web site in a few weeks, now is a good time to look it over. We’ve added all kinds of films and most of the Friday Night Short Film block to the site over the past week. Once again, it looks like this show is going to be packed to the rafters with stuff for fans to do all weekend long. And just like always, everything we offer fans is absolutely free with admission!
Any new Guest news you ask?…
JAMIE GILLIS may be one of the hardest working men in the adult film industry, but you can find him in several mainstream pictures, as well as a few “wasteland films” if you look for them. He did ROSEBUD (1972) for director Roberta Findlay, the adult-horror outing THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS (1976), NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES (1981) with director Joel Reed, had a nice cameo in Sylvester Stallone’s NIGHTHAWKS (1981), played Dracula twice in adult horror spoofs DRACULA SUCKS (1979) and DRACULA EROTICA (1981), and recently appeared in the horror comedy DIE YOU ZOMBIE BASTARDS (2005). Thanks to our friends at Wild Eye Releasing, this will be the first convention of this type that Jamie Gillis has ever appeared at.
LLOYD KAUFMAN will once again be prowling the show this October and he should be with us all three days of the show. You’ll be able to find him back at the Troma tables all weekend long.
COUNT GORE DE VOL will be making a rare October show appearance this time around as well. Count Gore usually makes the Spring Show, but usually has other commitments as we near Halloween season. This year, the weekend was open so we’re happy to have him back. Don’t miss EVERY OTHER DAY IS HALLOWEEN, screening this October as well.
And finally…
Thanks to everyone who made it out for Dr. Creep’s benefit last month. You really helped raise the ol’ ghoul’s spirits when he was having a pretty down time and the benefit was a smashing success.
A new batch of postcards was slightly delayed, but should be back from the printer and boxed up for everyone who ask for a stack by the time we send out this update. Thanks much to anybody and everybody who’s helped spread the word about October’s show.
Once again, Cinema Wasteland has been selected for the 2009 “Best of Cleveland Award” in the DVDs and Collectibles category by the US Commerce Association. They don’t have something like a trade show or company that attracts people to the region category, so hey, we’ll take what we can get. I don’t know how this translates into actual business, but it’s the second year in a row we won it, so what the hell, I’ll make mention of it. Gotta say though, it would mean more to me personally if it came with something like a free sandwich or a half price drink coupon or maybe free desert if I spent twenty bucks…
R.I.P. to our friend Clayton Hill. Clay passed away on July 25th of complications from pneumonia. Clay was a lot of things during his 78 years, but we knew him from his work in films and he quickly became a friend as the DAWN OF THE DEAD cast traveled the convention circut. He served as a location scout and casting director, but fans will remember him from an early convention appearance as part of our second DAWN OF THE DEAD reunion where Clayton Hill was the weapons master as well as a lead zombie in the film. Our best wishes go out his wife, Sharon, during this difficult time.
Here’s the usual reminders to end things with:
FLIERS and POSTCARDS: Updated fliers and postcards for October’s show are ready to go. If you’d like to help spread the Cinema Wasteland word, you still have a few weeks to do so. And we don’t expect you to download one flier off our site and print it off yourself. Just say the word and we’ll be more than happy to send you a stack of fliers or postcards for the October show to pass out. Bars, specialty shops, video stores, tattoo shops, college campuses, music stores… All good places for Wasteland attendees to hang out. If you frequent any place that you think may be a good place to put a stack of cards and you’d like to help spread the Wasteland word, then by all means, get in touch and I’ll be more than happy to send off a stack. As always, any help in spreading the word about the show is truly appreciated.
TICKETS: For everything we offer our attending fans, there is no better bargain out there than an advance ticket to a Cinema Wasteland Show we can find; and no better time to plan to be with us for our next show than right now. No “hidden fees” at a Wasteland show guarantees every fan through the door is treated just like the person standing next to you in line; and your ticket in gets you everything we have to offer except for an autograph from our guests. Order before 9/4/09 and you can get an advance 3-Day Pass for only $35.00. And don’t forget that a 3-Day Pass gets you into the Dealer and Guest Room half an hour before single day pass holders without paying ridiculous “early admission fees” other conventions rip people off for. Fans actually get rewarded for saving money at a Wasteland show! You can also save $5.00 on any single day pass ordered in advance before 9/4/09 and get in for only $15.00 per day.
HOTEL: One thing you can always count on is that the hotel will be sold out by show time. And we take up every available room these past couple of years too. As of this update, the hotel is over half full, so avoid the headache of having to stay down the road by making your room reservations today. Reserve your room by calling The Holiday Inn direct at (440) 238-8800. (And keep calling if we fill up as show time draws close. A room could open up at any time.) Remember you MUST ask for “The Cinema Wasteland Rate”, or they will tell you that they are ”sold out” and have no rooms. AND PLEASE only reserve as many rooms as you plan on using. If you need to book more than one room, please call Lynn Ebner directly at 1-440-783-3006 and she will take care of your multiple room reservations.
FANS PICK TOP FIVE 10th ANNIVERSARY GUESTS: This October will mark our 10th Annual Fall Show and begins the Cinema Wasteland Movie and Memorabilia Expo’s tenth complete year of Convention Domination. For our big 10th complete year Anniversary Show next October 1-3, 2010, attending fans will get to choose the top five guests they would like to see return for the anniversary show. We’ve not only had more first time guests than any show I’ve ever attended as a fan myself, but over 30 of them have never made a second appearance at CW or any other con out there. Add in the fact that we’ve had all kinds of popular guests that haven’t been with us in three years or more right now, and the selection is wide open to pick your favorites for a return visit. The only catch? NO EMAIL OR WEB VOTING. Since I couldn’t care less what somebody who has never actually attended a CW Show thinks about a CW Show, only those who attend the next two shows will get a chance to vote and I’ll add up ballots by hand to pick the winners. Ballots will be available at Registration and everyone attending will get a chance to vote for their top returning guest choices this October, and again next April.
I think that’s everything I have for this month? It would appear that I’m right on schedule to have the October show’s entire weekend schedule complete and ready to post on the site by next update, so stay tuned and keep checking back for additional movie and event updates throughout the month.
I’m also currently working on what I consider one helluva reunion for our April 9-11, 2010 show that no other horror convention gave a shit about, or simply wasn’t able to pull off this year. Thankfully for CW fans, no other convention is a Cinema Wasteland Movie and Memorabilia Expo. And beginning with the upcoming October show, we’re celebrating a Decade of Convention Domination, so expect some great news about next April’s show in the next month or two that will keep CW fans excited all winter long.
