Author: Saintmort

This week Matt is joined by Tommy Avallone of Double Winsor to discuss the first appearance from Topanga in Episode 4 – Cory’s Alternative Friends.

This week Matt is joined by Seven of Wine’s Jennifer Zhang to discuss Episode 3 of Season 1 “Father Knows Less”. In this week’s episode Cory stays up late to watches a baseball game resulting in a bad test grade.

If you were to ask me what the best horror film of all time was I would not hesitate for a second before saying Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Never has a movie been so disturbing while doing so little. Even as I close in on 32 I am still shook up when I watch the film. This is largely (if not entirely) thanks to the chaotic direction of Tobe Hooper.

Hooper was a gifted and underappreciated icon in the mainstream world. He was the Texas Chainsaw Massacre guy. The only other big hit he had under his belt was a decade later with Poltergeist and almost every report says that was more Spielberg than Hooper anyway.

Even among the horror community I find his filmography is painfully underrated specifically when compared to other fallen greats like Wes Craven and George Romero.

Beyond making the masterpiece that is Texas Chainsaw Massacre (and it is a masterpiece), there’s many lesser known films that Hooper had a hand in that are absolutely worth your time. For me personally I believe his forgotten masterpiece in 1981’s The Funhouse.

The film feels like a slasher flick (and it is) but it’s a very deliberately paced film. You spend close to an hour with no kills as you learn more and more about your main characters and also learn to treat the carnival as a character in it’s own right. Suddenly at night, everything that can go wrong does.

He also gave us some top notch Grindhouse trash with 1977’s Eaten Alive. This film feels the most like a TCM sequel (even more so than Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) as it’s got the same grainy and gross Texas backdrop but this time at a seedy motel where the crazed hotel owner keeps feeding his guests to his pet crocodile.

Hooper’s run with Canon films is legendary on absurd levels doing. He gave them a crazy adaptation of Invaders from Mars, the sexy space vampire flick Lifeforce and the previously mentioned Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (which might damn well be the craziest horror sequel ever). 

No matter what film he touched, good or bad, they were all uniquely their own. Today we lost one of the most creative directors in Horror. Let us remember him and everything he did for the genre.

Saturday Morning I woke up and realized I had barely seen any of the show room floor. Given the signing schedule ahead of us, I strongly doubt that will change today. I came into the convention center and prepared for the crazy day that was ahead of me. 

Again for the sake of time, I’ll throw some quick highlights:

Dweeb Darlings – There’s nothing I can say that I haven’t said in person to people. Stephanie and Heidi are both awesome people and I’m always excited to hang out with them.

Andre Gower & Ryan Lambert – Monster Squad is top 5 favorite movies for me. It’s crazy that I am now on a first name basis with two of the stars. Andre and Ryan are awesome guys with an awesome podcast (Squadcast). You should 100% check them out if you’re able to.

Mega-Ran – Much like Andre and Ryan it’s awesome that I’m friends with one of my favorite rappers ever. Ran and I hung out, talked wrestling and even recorded and episode of his podcast Mat Mania. Do not miss out on that episode where we get nothing but incorrect Battleground predictions.

The Geek History Lesson – We had a massive turn out for these two. I had met them previous cons but this was the first year I got to really talk to Ashley and Jason. We discussed the struggles of getting a podcast to the next plateau and Ashley really made me feel confident that Horror Movie Night will be okay.

Fanbase Press Presents Quince – After years of friendship I finally got to meet Barbara Dillon and she’s just as awesome, sweet and adorable as you imagine she is. This also had an intense turn out and I’m super happy to know we had a part in the promotion. I definitely look forward to seeing them again next year.

The con ended and we returned to Rockin Baha for Derek’s final chance at Mango Salsa. After this delicious meal Derek, Courtney and I went to the hotel hot tub where I got to rest my feet and meet a few more people (including another Mattel employee). Afterwards we recorded a new episode of Geekscape Games and called it a night.

I woke up the next morning both excited and dreading the final day.

The crowd’s were dying down for the end of the con, We had a nice signing with DangerKatt’s Dan Corey and I met James Cotten. We had a great conversation. Derek left and that was emotional as hell. More emotional than normal (more on that in a minute).

The con wrapped up, we broke down the booth and I said goodbye to some of my convention friends (Lloyd, Marcus and Megan at Troma; Miguel and the Horrible Imaginings crew) and after Jonathan and Gui left I walked back to Lolitas with Courtney before hugging her goodbye and taking a Lyft to my friend Aubree’s house.

I had never met Aubree. We have been friends for years ever since I started a “rivalry with her” since she was a better writer than me, had a cooler life than me and liked dope music. The joke rivalry turned into a real friendship in which we helped each other during bad periods of both of our lives. When I finally saw Aubree and we hugged for the first time my heart melted a bit.

The weird thing about internet friendships is that you build an idealized version of a person. You never get to hear their voice in most cases and only have pictures to go off of. You only know what they tell you about the person that they are. Despite all of that… they also can be the best relationships in your life. I realized it more this year than ever before.

I jokingly said I fly 3,000 miles to stare at a Yo-Gi-Oh store for 5 days … but that’s not the case. I flew 3,000 miles to meet the best friends I never get to see. Derek, Jonathan, Courtney, Aubree, Barbara, Rudy, Marcus, Megan, Gui, Heidi and all of the other countless names of friends I only get to see one week of the year are just as crucial in my life as the people I see every day.

They make me who I am, they shape me into the person that I am. They love me and I love them too.

As I sat in Aubree’s apartment and met her cousins and her finance I felt a ping of sadness that in less than 12 hours I’d be on a plane. Aubree gave me a copy of her incredible painting “Head in the Clouds” and I slept on an insanely comfortable pull out couch with her dog Izzy.

We grabbed a quick breakfast and flew home with a suitcase full of convention swag and mindful of memories. I felt regenerated. Next years only 350-some days away. I can’t wait.

Tuesday morning I boarded the train with some podcasts, an iPod of music, a book and a mindful of excitement for the week that laid ahead of me. The train ride to San Diego is a beautiful one. I recommend everyone do it. I can’t promise you’ll see amazing sights but it’s a really cool ride and I definitely want to ride on more trains. It’s a great way to travel.

Finally at noon I arrived at San Diego. In my headphones Freddie Mercury was asking if any one could find him somebody to love and I stepped off the training feeling like I was returning to my second home. 

San Diego is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been too. The Train station was a quick 10 minute walk to the hotel. I Checked my bags and met up with Rudy.

Rudy (for those wondering) is a listener of Horror Movie Night who lives in California. He drove down to San Diego for the chance to meet me. Now I’m no one special but it was really humbling to meet someone who was a fan and wanted to meet me. Rudy and I went and got some Jack in the Box to eat and then waited for Courtney (of Geekscape Games) to arrive.

Courtney was the person I was most excited to meet. Almost everyone on this trip I had met at least once before, but Courtney was a new writer/podcaster. We had developed a friendship online and I was excited to finally talk face to face. Courtney is just as cool in person as she seems on the podcast. Her, Rudy and I walked/drove around San Diego waiting for Jon and Gui to arrive so we could set up the booth.

We got some Temporarily helper passes for Courtney and Rudy to come and see the inside of the convention center. We decided to put off building the booth until the next day and left for dinner (Rocking Baha) where we laughed, sang and got acquainted. Afterwards Rudy left, Courtney got a ride to her friends house where she would be staying and Jon and I checked into the hotel to wait on Derek’s arrival.

Derek arrived around 11pm understandably hungry with intentions to get Subway. I didn’t want to let him walk alone so I got up and joined him. This was the first night we realized that neither him nor I have any sense of direction. We wandered the streets trying to follow a cell phone GPS eventually finding the Subway that was a 5 minute walk from the hotel … after approximately 20 minutes of walking. I was dizzy as fuck and needed a water badly.

I was excited to see and sit with Derek. I hadn’t heard from him much the last year but it was nice to be able to check in on him and talk wrestling. After Derek finished his subway we called it a night. Tomorrow when we woke up … it would officially be comic con.

Wednesday morning after sleeping in briefly Derek and I walked to find a breakfast spot. We ate and continued the previous nights conversation. In Derek’s article he claims I tried to pick up the cashier … in this case I must refute and say that I was advertising Geekscape to the woman working (who was dressed in cosplay).

We returned to the hotel and watched the film Serial which starred our mutual friend Heidi. It was one of the worst horror films I’ve ever seen. If you listen to Horror Movie Night … you realize that’s really saying something. Immediately after the film we walked to the convention center to begin building.

After Derek and I completed the build Jonathan went to pick up some additional supplies. Lunch time had rolled around and I decided to introduce Derek to the joys of Panda Express Orange Chicken before we ran to our appointment at The Tick interactive event. In Derek’s article he claims I was flirting with the guide. This time he’s correct. I absolutely was.

Immediately following this interactive event (which was super fun) I returned to the convention center to prepare for Preview night.

So the reality of this write up is that I didn’t see much on my trip. I don’t like crowds and I came to do what I do best. Talk about Geekscape and Horror Movie Night. That’s what I did for 3 hours. After the event completed we grabbed Lolita’s. I had never had this on previous trips but now it’s going to be a must visit dinner location. We returned to our hotels and crashed. The week truly begins tomorrow.

I woke up Thursday morning and walked to the convention center with Zach. We set up shop and prepared for the week to begin. I started handing out postcards, we talked to fans. At one point the team behind the comic book Powerless showed up and in 20 minutes ran out of the books they brought to hand out. The only other highlight was meeting two female fans and friends of Rudy.

Derek once again implies that I was flirting with these girls but I was strictly being friendly to fans of the show. Derek’s been in a relationship for far too long I think. We ran to the mall for a quick dinner (I got Panda but they were out of Orange Chicken) and then went to the rooftop for the hotel hot tub. It was there we met some kids from Denver (Yoshi, Sebastian and Daniel) as well as Jim who worked for Mattel and told us about some new RC cars we can expect in stores this Christmas. I returned to bed after this relaxing dip.

Friday we had a few more signees at the booth. To make this quick and easy:
Yehudi Mercado – Author of Hero Hotel is awesome. The book is awesome as well.
Fredrick Schroeder – Director of the documentary Stripped. He was the guest on Saint Mort Show years ago and it was awesome to finally meet. He also was awesome.
John Morrison/Johnny Mundo – The Lucha Underground superstar is incredible friendly. The catchphrase of the week was “Ripped like Dicks” which is how one very excited man described Johnny.

The other major highlight of the day was Kevin Nez who was another Horror Movie Night fan. He recognized my voice and ran up to hug me and get a selfie and record an interview for his own podcast.

That night I attended the Scream Factory panel and recorded a quick bonus episode of the podcast with Scream Factory Founder Jeff Nelson. I ended the night with Subway and calling it an early night.

It was originally my intentions to make this the final part of this series but it’s incredibly long as it is. If anyone is reading … you need to find out what happened for Saturday – Monday … tomorrow.

I’m not a San Diego veteran, but I’m far from a rookie. This year was my 4th trip out west for Comic Con and by now I more or less know exactly what to expect with each trip. So Friday morning as I waited in the airport I prepared for a 10 day adventure in California.

This year was gonna feel different though. I’m not going to out anyone’s dirty laundry but in the past I’ve been a mopey heart-broken guy flying out to San Diego to be lifted up by his cooler friends. This year the roles were slightly reversed. I’ve begun finding inner piece (which will be a new article series soon, stay tuned) and everyone else was going through the worst year of their life. I felt a weird weight and responsibility to make everyone happy.

Also this would be the first year that I attended San Diego Comic Con as a “notable podcast host”. While Horror Movie Night is still not an infamous money making enterprise, it’s had a good year full of growing listenership and super invested fans. This year I shipped two boxes worth of shirts to California for the event. Maybe they might sell.

Maybe I don’t know what to expect at all.

When the plane landed Friday night it took approximately 2 hours to get from the airport to Jonathan’s house thanks to LA traffic and LAX being a strong contender for worst airport in America. After getting some tacos from Sharky’s we awaiting the arrival of Jonathan’s brother Paul and together we watched the Steven Seagal masterpiece THE BELLY OF THE BEAST

This is one of the worst action films that has ever been produced. I have to thank my friend and co-worker Greg Smith for even telling me about this movie (which we have lovingly called Kung Fu Sofa). We laughed for approximately 2 hours eating Las Vegas popcorn and then Paul left and I passed out.

Saturday morning Jonathan tricked me into participating in November Project. My yearly reminder that the gym isn’t working. The highlight was seeing my friend Heidi who I met last year. The downside was the crippling feeling of inadequacy but at least there was breakfast afterwards.

That afternoon we crossed off two of the three places I need to visit with every trip to LA. Amoeba records (where I spent too much money on DVDs and CDs I don’t actually need) and Cafe 101 (probably my favorite sit down eatery in Los Angeles). After taking it easy the second half of the day we went to the Nerf Herder concert where I was super into the opener, bored to tears by the co-headliner and in the front row singing my heart out during Nerf Herder. I also finally met long time Facebook friend, former Saint Mort Show guest and mega talented musician Allie Goertz. It was a great night.

Sunday started off with brunch. I met my friend Jennie for the first time. Many years ago she was my primary contact for podcast interviews. We had developed a friendship the last few years and it was exciting to finally met her face to face and hear about her life (she’s originally from London and moved here to make film). I definitely hope that we will see each other again in future years. The rest of the day was spent driving with my friend Heidi and getting to know more and more about her life. The night ended with me attending a Game of Thrones party. I’ve never seen an episode before. That show is confusing without context.

My last full day in LA was spent recording an episode of Geekscape with Jonathan. I don’t want to pat myself on the back but I believe it to be one of the best episodes in years. There’s an undeniable energy when the two of us are in a room together. I spent the rest of the day getting a tour of Downtown LA and little Tokyo with Josh Jackson of the Geekscape Games podcast.

The Night ended with a visit to Metldown Comics for the Pre-SDCC party before going to bed to prepare for the next days train ride to San Diego.

I’ll discuss that tomorrow.