Random Fun

If you are planning a trip to Tampa, Florida you may already have a list of places you'd like to visit while you are here. I'm sure most of those lists are pretty much the same. Unfortunately, few of those lists likely contain the Tampa Theatre. Who wants to visit a movie theater on their vacation, anyway? You do. Yes, it's a beautiful historic building dating back to 1926. Of course, you can grab some popcorn and soda and enjoy both recent releases and classic films there. The pipe organ performances alone are worth the price of admission. It was the first commercial building in Tampa to have air conditioning (man-made air, it was advertised at the time), so it's never a bad idea to get out of the heat. And if you're into those haunts and ghosts that have populated our 31 Nights of Terror, then you absolutely can't afford to miss Tampa Theatre. You see it's also been described by more than one international paranormal expert as the most haunted site in town. Do I have your attention now?

I was invited to take the traditional balcony backstage tour of the building some time ago. These are open to the public often, and I can't recommend it enough if you get the chance. But this one was different. The October tours include a lowdown on the permanent residents at Tampa Theatre. I'm talking about the ghosts. Now I know I have your attention.

Hey Gang! Upcomingdiscs is on Youtube

For all of you classic horror fans, this is a song I wrote about my love for the old Universal greats. I was fortunate enough to have Sara Karloff (daughter to Boris), Ron Chaney (Grandson to Lon, Jr.) and Bela Lugosi, Jr. present when I debuted the song. Now I'd like to share it with all of you.

One of the best parts of this job is that I get to talk to some great people in the movie business. Sometimes a legend will reach out and want to say hi to us. Some of those come from the horror movie world. I thought it would be fun to share some of those classic interviews with you guys.

I had the honor to speak to the great Joe Dante. A graduate of the Roger Corman movie machine, Dante has established his place in film history with such films as The Howling, Gremlins 1 & 2, Matinee, and the original Piranha. Find out why he’s one of the best. Bang it here to listen to my chat with Joe Dante.

"...Til the one day when the lady met this fellow, and they knew that it was much more than a hunch
that this group must somehow form a family. That's the way we all became the Brady Bunch."

Sept 26th, 2019 Marks the 50th anniversary of the debut of The Brady Bunch.

Most of the time we're telling you what we think here at Upcomingdiscs. I thought it would be nice to use 31 Nights Of Terror to let you hear what the filmmakers themselves have to say. We have talked to many of them over the years. Take some time to "chill" with some masters of horror.

Sara Karloff has been keeping the memory of her father alive for decades. Boris Karloff was one of the true masters of horror. Sara's a friend and it's always great to talk with her. Join us for one of those talks. Sara Karloff Interview

It has been “Ten years of film,” the Gasparilla International Film Festival touts proudly upon its program magazine. It’s certainly a feat to be proud of for a festival that has had its share of troubles over the years and at one point was seriously close to never happening again.  But in 2016 the festival is ready to kick things off on a beautiful spring day in the heart of downtown Tampa, Florida at the Tampa Theatre for its opening night film Eye in the Sky.  The red carpet is rolled out for this big-time affair that has drawn a fair amount of media attention and plenty of festival-goers to fill the historic theatre to experience this moment when Hollywood comes into our city to put on a cinematic show.  And over the next few days film fans will be flooding down the aisles to look upon the screen, to take in a few films and have a chance to experience a film with the potential to be the next great classic, or perhaps its only public viewing.

Opening night goes just about as you would expect as the beautiful people of the Tampa Bay area gather together for photos while an excited buzz works through the crowd.  Flashbulbs ignite as director Gavin Hood (Enders Game, Eye in the Sky) takes photos and fields questions from various reporters.  For some fans, over the course of the night this will be their chance to rub shoulders with various filmmakers and go away with stories to tell their friends about who they got to meet.  After all, it’s at these festivals where the filmmakers get a chance to step out in front of an audience and discuss their latest film and engage various fans while enjoying some cocktails.

The Black Knight satellite is one of many tantalizing so-called true tales that are circulating on YouTube and various cable outlets like the History Channel. I say so-called true tales because many believe stories about aliens are total nonsense. But not everyone believes so. A National Geographic survey says 77 percent of all Americans believe there are signs that aliens have visited Earth. A Harris poll says 68 percent of all Americans believe that Jesus is the son of God. A HuffPost/YouGov poll shows that 45 percent believe in ghosts and 64 percent believe in life after death. A 2009 CBS poll said 78 percent believe in the afterlife. I could go on, but it is all in the same general range.

Thousand of movies of all kinds have played with our imagination on these subjects. Steven Spielberg is one of the most famous filmmakers to deal with these subjects both as a director and a producer. Here is a list of some of the movies and TV shows that Spielberg has been involved with: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, all of the Indiana Jones movies, Poltergeist, Young Sherlock Holmes, All the Transformer movies, Extant, Falling Skies, all the Men in Black movies, Terra Nova, Cowboys and Aliens, Super 8, Hereafter, The Lovely Bones, Monster House, Taken, Casper,  Always, batteries not included, Amazing Stories, War of the Worlds and Night Gallery. That's just one person's output on ghosts and aliens. It is a topic that is endlessly dealt with. And with the current climate of internet blogging, there is an endless amount of material that was not easily available before, like the Black Knight satellite. That's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. So many movies are dealing with this information. Transformers is a perfect example, with depictions of robot bases on the moon and alien robots precipitating the mass extinction event of most species on Earth 68,000 years ago. The last Superman movie, Man of Steel, showed an ancient rocket ship buried in the North Pole. This stuff isn't new. H.P. Lovecraft wrote a story called In the Mountains of Madness nearly a hundred years ago that led to stories like The Thing, which has been made into a movie three times so far (although a recent faithful big-budget adaption stalled because of giant ego clashes).

Popular opinion and so-called critical opinion often seem to careen off cliffs like lemmings in increasingly unpredictable ways guided by whims and subtle shifts in the proverbial winds. I find myself shocked by things praised and things condemned. Sometimes I feel like a little boy who sees a naked emperor while everyone else is shrieking how much they love the new elegant ensemble. In this case, I'm seeing a lovely presentation while there are many who are whining. Part of the problem is that Season 2 of True Detective is considerably distinct from Season 1. The nature of the series is that each season is a complete reboot with a new cast and location. American Horror Story also changes locations and characters but tends to recycle actors. True Detective made a determined attempt to change everything. The one thing it retained is the brooding, noir roots.

Vince Vaughn was fantastic, and that's not something I've said in a long time. He was a trim and towering figure (also something that couldn't be said for a long time). Vaughn's complex, sharp, troubled, and intimidating Frank Semyon was the edgy focus of the series. He was not the detective. There were not two this time, but three.