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October 4th-6th, 2008
As we come to
October, and to another year coming to an end, it also means another year of
shows doing the same. And what better way to end it then with the one that
truly is the best show out there. What can we say about this show that we
haven’t said over and over again. It truly is the best show out there, hands
down. And not only is it the best, there’s no show that comes close to it. For
a show filled with awesome dealers, great guests, and a bunch of die hard movie
fans, it really is that great. Just ask anybody who’s been there before.
It’s been a while
for me personally to be this excited about the guest line up at Wasteland.
Sure, they always have a great line up, but sometimes it’s guests that I’ve
already seen before or ones that I may not be that big of a fan of. But this
time, they were packed filled with guests from all over the genre. Not to
mention having a more than a few genre icons there as well.
 The biggest draw
for me was the appearance of Lamberto Bava, director of films like Demons
and Demons 2, Delirium, A Blade in the Dark, and many more.
Not to mention being the son of the late great Mario Bava. It’s not too often that an icon of Italian cinema comes over to the states (and
Ohio no less). Bava really seemed to be enjoying seeing all these fans coming
out to meet him. Usually during the Q&A’s that go on at these shows, I only
sneak away from my table for a few minutes to take a few photos and then head
back to work. But this time out, I stayed for the entire session. Joining Bava
for the Q&A was not only an interrupter, but also as one of his leading ladies,
Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni. Coralina starred in Bava’s Demons 2 and the
more recent Ghost Son.
We’ve met
Coralina at several shows and have found very few people that are as passionate
about the arts as she is. Whether it be painting, acting, or singing, she is an
incredibly talented artist, in whatever format she chooses. They were screening
her new short film called The Dirt at the show which is a very powerful piece of
cinema. Check out our review section for our take on it.
They both had
some great stories about their careers, working in the Italian film industry,
and in the horror genre. Bava had some great stories about his father as well.
One in particular that brought a hush over the crowd was when he was asked if
his father has seen his first film, Macabre, before he died. Bava said
that after watching the film, his father told him that he can die peacefully
now. A short time later, he did just that. Bava spoke very fondly of
the genre and enjoyed being part of it's rich history, just like his father.
 And speaking of
Italian filmmakers, making a surprise but quiet visit to the show was Mariano
Baino, director of the highly underrated film Dark Waters. We were able
to sit down with him for an interview to talk about his career and what he’s
been doing since Dark Waters. What a great guy to talk to, and one who
not only knows his cinema, but is a true filmmaker that is missed greatly these
days. The photo to the right is of your humble host and Mariano. Of
course, getting this photo together was even cooler since Lamberto Bava was the
one taking the picture. As he was looking through my camera, he was
motioning us to move back and to one side. It hit me that I was being
"directed" by Lamberto Bava. Don't think you could get much better than
that.
Making a very
surprising visit to the show, was the Video Watchdog himself, Tim Lucas!
Tim was there, along with his wife Donna, to meet up with Lamberto Bava,
bringing along a few of his massive tomb of a book on Mario Bava. As much
as I might complain at the cost of some of these books these days, the size and
content of Lucas' book makes the $250 price tag worth every penny.
We also had a
chance to talk again with John Amplas, who was making his first Wasteland
appearance. Amplas is no stranger to fans of the work of George Romero, since
he played the title role in Romero’s Martin. He also worked with Romero
on several other films, both in front of and behind the scenes as well. We also
had a chance to sit down and interview him as well. He was a super nice guy to
talk to and had some wonderful stories.
 Two lovely ladies
that we had seen earlier this year at another show were movie rivals from the
original Friday the 13th, Adrienne King and the one and only
Betsy Palmer. King is a real sweetheart and really leaves an lasting impression
with her fans. Of course, when she stopped by our table to inquire about some
reading material to enlighten her about the genre and the fans, how could we not
help her out? But in my 20 years of going to these shows, I’ve never met a
woman like Betsy Palmer. It never ceases to amaze me at the stories that she
has and even better, the way she tells them. She is one of a kind.
One Q&A that we
wished we had stayed for more of was the one covering the glory days of
grindhouse theaters and drive-ins. With such luminaries there such as 42nd
Street Pete, Jeff Lieberman, David Hewitt, and the one and only Sultan of
Sleaze, Dave Friedman. There were tons of great stories coming out from these
guys that would make a hell of a documentary if anyone ever wanted to record
it. They had some amazing and unbelievable stories.
Other guests
there were the iconic John Saxon, who was worked with just about all the great
directors out there, including both Dario Argento and Mario Bava. Just looking
at his resume, it’s astonishing at the amount of work that man has done. He’s
always a great guest and has some amazing stories from the movie business.
Another first
time guest was Brett Halsey. Some fans might know him for being in Return of
the Fly, playing the son of the scientist who tempted fate with his
teleportation device in the original. But he also worked in Italy, making a few
films with Lucio Fulci. Nothing better than getting a surprised look at a star
when you whip out a poster for a film they had done, that they had never seen
before. That was the case when I pulled out my poster for Fulci’s The Devil’s
Honey. Twisted poster for an even more twisted movie. So I got to hear some
interesting stories about the making of that film from Halsey. Great guy.
 There were many
other great guests there, such as Kane Hodder, the iconic Marilyn Chambers, Jeff
Lieberman, Michael Berryman, Allan Kolman (pictured right) from David
Cronenberg's Shivers, and many more. Of course, this show also
offers the best dealer's room out there. No matter what you are looking
for, you most likely will find it at the Wasteland. Posters, DVDs, Books,
T-shirts...it's all there waiting for you to drop your cash. We always are
fighting to leave completely broke.
Making it out to
his first Wasteland show was a new friend of ours from St. Louis, Alan Tromp.
The reason we are mentioning Alan is that we first met up with him at the
Flashback Weekend in Chicago. He was pleasantly surprised to find someone
else who not only had heard of the work of Larry Buchanan, but actually enjoyed
them as well. So we became fast friends. I told him that he really
needed to make it out to the Wasteland show, where I knew he would have a blast.
See, the Wasteland is a perfect show for all levels of fans. The dedicated
die-hard fans will have plenty of other fans to talk some serious shop with.
And the newer fans have a great opportunity to tap into these die-hard fans to help open up
more worlds of wonder to them. Everyone wins at the Wasteland!
That truly is
what I think sets the Wasteland apart from other shows out there. It’s the
people. The people that run it, with Pam and Ken Kish leading the way, knows
everyone is there to have a good time. And they make damn sure that they do
everything they can to see that happens. And after 9 years and 14 shows, I don’t
think anything has changed in their way of running their shows. We have just as
much of a good time now as we did at the very first show. Keep it up, Ken.
Don’t know what we’d do without your two shows to bookend our year.
JOHN AMPLAS
ALLAN KOLMAN
BRETT HALSEY
JOHN SAXON
CORALINA CATALDI-TASSONI
LAMBERTO BAVA
CORALINA & LAMBERTO
GRINDHOUSE PANEL
42nd Street Pete
DAVE FRIEDMAN
DAVID HEWITT
JEFF LIEBERMAN
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