That's me, today in the FPP Studio recording an express episode of The Alternative Cinema Podcast to raise money for indie filmmaker Sam Qualiana!
For those of you who don't know me, My name is Michael Raso. I've produced many, many low-budget, indie films over the past 25 years and now it's time for me to pitch in to help a fellow filmmaker
Sam needs $4,000 to complete his new monster movie The Legend of Six Fingers - a flick about the search for Bigfoot!
Here myself and William Hellfire on the July 2013 Alternative Cinema Podcast why we want YOU to contribute:
The AC Podcast Gang made it through NJ’s Hurricane Sandy and is back to cit-chat about The Death of the Twinkie, Memories of King Kong / Godzilla on Thanksgiving and the gang's favorite “Turkey” of a movie! This and much more!!! Features Michael Raso, Erin Russ, William Hellfire, John Fedele and special guest Kevin Neblung!
The AC Podcast is Back!!! After being knocked on their ass by Hurricane Sandy in NJ, Michael Raso, Erin Russ, William Hellfire and John Fedele are back with the November AC Podcast.
above: The AC Gang at the October 2012 Chiller Theatre Toy, Model and Film Expo in New Jersey. Pictured: Erin Russ, Michael Raso, William Hellfire and The Little Punk People!!
Chiller Theatre ReCap!
The Russ and Williams give us their Chiller Theatre recap. For those of you who don’t know, The Chiller Theatre Horror Expo is the east coast’s premium genre convention. Erin met her idol Barbara Steele (the star of Mario Bava’s BLACK SUNDAY). Michael Ras made made a guest appearance with FilmPhotography Podcast co-host Mat Marrash. With film cameras loaded and ready, Mike and Mat shot up the show on old-fashioned film!
The End of Hostess Twinkies!
Michael Raso announces (from AP News) that the Hostess Company has been shut down. Hostess makes Twinkies, Sno-Balls, Cup Cakes, Wonder Bread and also Drakes’ Devil Dogs! (above: John Fedele crying over the Twinkie news)
Exhumed Films 24-Hour Horror-Thon
William recalls last years Exhumed 24-Hour Horror-Thon (that he missed this year)! They played such films as The Gate, Q The Winged Serpent, Driller Killer, Xtro, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Susperia, Night of 1,000 Cats, Vampire’s Night Orgy, The Hidden, Thom Thumb, Son of the Blob. Bill also talks about the Hudson Horror Show - http://www.hudsonhorror.com/
Winners of the October AC Podcast Giveaway!
The gang announces the winners of the October contest. Select winners won Pumpkin Pop Rocks, VHS Tapes, Original Art by William and an Erin Russ Mix-CD!
The NEW Alternative Cinema Catalog is Out!!!!!
The new catalog features an entire VHS section! Erin mentions some of the rare Factory 2000 VHS titles available including the notorious Vampire Strangler (featuring William’s Willie!)
above: The notorious VAMPIRE STRANGLER trailer
The new catalog also features awesome T-Shirts!!!
Also, order any DVD or T-Shirt and get 10% off your order (when you mention the 10% savings in the special message area when ordering!)
WWOR-TV’s Thanksgiving Monster Movie Marathon!
The gang talks about the days (in the 1970s / 80s) when Channel 9 played a monster movie marathon every thanksgiving.
Favorite Turkey Movies
A “turkey” is a move that’s so bad that it’s good! The AC gang weighs in…
John’s favorite turkey is Joe Sarno’s Suburban Secrets
Kevin’s turkey pick is Godzilla vs The Smog Monster
Mike sites Francis Ford Coppala’s The Godfather III as his turkey
Erin’s pick - Home, Sweet Home starring “Body By Jake”! The Russ also mentions the VHS Preservation Society! - http://www.vhsps.com/
William sites Octaman as his wild turkey and says that The Russ looks like Octaman!! He also mentions a few others but says that his ultimate favorite turkey is Track of the Moon Beast (trailer below)!
Thanks for listening – See you next month!
Write to us! Alternative Cinema Podcast PO Box 152 Butler, NJ 07405 Podcast@AlternativeCinema.com
Show Notes! It’s the spooky and kooky Halloween Show. Win Horror VHS Tapes! Win Pumpkin Pop Rocks! Win an Autographed Polaroid of Erin Russ! Spooky Retro Commercials and more! Do not miss this episode!
Michael Raso is joined in the studio by William Hellfire and Erin Russ. (John Fedele is home recovered from eating dried bugs last podcast!)
Above: John Fedele eating Sour Cream and Onion Dried Crickets
Review the AC Podcast on iTunes!
Do you enjoy the AC Podcast? If so, please write a nice review on iTunes! Your input is important to us! Write to us too - at Podcast@AlternativeCinema.com
Alternative Cinema DVD Store
Did you know that AC carries a huge catalog of cult, creepy, sexy, indie movies?! Get the print catalog by calling Justin at (973) 282-2226 and akings for it. Tell him The AC Podcast says “It’s Free!!”
above: The Alternative Cinema Print Catalog!
Enter the Halloween Contest!!!
Win a VHS horror movie, Erin Russ (Dracula's Daughter) mix CD (of cool Halloween music and TV spots!), Pumpkin Pop Rocks, William's original Splatter Art! and an Autographed Picture of “The Russ!” All you need to do is send an e-mail to us telling us what your favorite Halloween costume is! (Tell us a little about yourself as well!)
Enter between October 15 – 21, 2012
e-mail us at Podcast@AlternativeCinema.com
above: Erin Russ eating Pumpkin Pop Rocks. Win some by entering our contest!
Upcoming Events
Buffalo Screams Film Festival! The Third Annual BUFFALO SCREAMS Horror Film Festival, a festival organized by filmmakers to spotlight edgy, creative, independent horror films you probably won't see at your local multiplex - a film festival for people who love to make horror films and people who love to watch horror films. http://www.buffaloscreams.com/
Chiller Theatre!!!!!!
The Chiller Theatre Toy, Model and Film Expo 2012-10-13
October 26 – 28 in New Jersey http://www.chillertheatre.com/
Henrique Couto’s New Spooky Album
Henrique has a spooky new album out! Don’t listen in the dark Part 2! http://ukeordie.bandcamp.com/
Andy Milligan!
Gene stops by and chit-chats about 1970s grindhouse filmmaker Andy Milligan! Gene hosts his own podcast – Third Eye Cinema! http://www.facebook.com/ThirdEyeCinema
William and Erin discuss the must-see film this Halloween season - Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things!
above: Michael Raso's photo of William dressed as Orville from "Chicdren Shouldn't Play With Dead Things."
Thanks for listening – See you next month!
Write to us!
Alternative Cinema Podcast
PO Box 152
Butler, NJ 07405
Podcast@AlternativeCinema.com
above: THe AC Podcast Gang - Erin Russ, William Hellfire, John Fedele and special guest Kevin Neglung (who wrote and performed "That Dead Girl")
The Internet Radio Show for People Who Love Low-Budget, Cult and B-Movies! Joe Sarno Movies, VHS Tapes, Forced Entry T-Shirt and more
Hosted by Michael Raso, John Fedele, William Hellfire and Erin Russ (“The Russ”) with guests Desiree Saetia and “That Dead Girl” musician Kevin Neblung.
VHS Tapes
VHS has been making a comeback with such fan magazines as LunchMeat Magazine. Mike introduces an interview done this past summer at Artscape 2012 in Baltimore, MD. VHS/VIP - The tribute to VHS at Artscape 2012 - curated by Josh Schafer, editor of Lunchmeat Magazine. Lunchmeat is an independently printed magazine that celebrates the obscure and esoteric in cinema (including VHS tape)
Breaking News
Gene from the Third Eye Cinema Podcast visits the AC Podcast and offers some breaking news. Gene reports about the postings on the Internet about the death of actress Mary Mendum (a.k.a. Rebecca Brooke). Mary acted in many, many Joe Sarno films including Confessions of a Young American Housewife and Laura’s Toys. Details of Mary’s passing have not been confirmed by the Sarno family at this time.
Low-Budget filmmaker Todd Sheets suffered a heart attack this past summer. Todd is best know for such DIY movies as Zombie Bloodbath and Zombie Rampage. Todd is doing well and the whole AC gang wishes Todd a speedy recovery.
Shocking Tee!
William has been wearing his Forced Entry T-Shirt when visiting the mall and has been getting lots of attention! The Forced Entry Tee along with Video Violence, Cannibal Campout and Misty Mundae T-Shirts are available at Alternative Cinema
The AC gang discusses Forced Entry Shaun Costello and his notorious 1970s Time Square hardcore features. Mike mentions the fact that he attended the Famous Monsters Convention in 1974 in NYC and that he suspects that Shawn Costello was shooting one of his films in the same venue – the Commodore Hotel.
The term Giallo, literally “yellow” in Italian, originally referred to a series of crime novels with trademark yellow covers. Giallo, as a film genre of Italian thrillers that grew out of these pulp fictions starting in the mid 60s, became wildly popular in the 70s, then faded away in the early 80s. Giallo left a legacy of films often overlooked but widely influential on filmmakers such as Brian De Palma, Quentin Tarantino, and Darren Aronofsky. Apart from the signature blend of style and kitsch aesthetics, the genre features some of the most innovative scores ever created, by the likes of Ennio Morricone, Riz Ortolani, and Goblin. While these films have enjoyed a revival of interest due to DVD releases of several titles, they have yet to receive the 35mm treatment they absolutely deserve in a city like New York.
Fiona Apple is on tour!
Erin Russ is the #1 Fiona fan in the entire world!
Fiona Apple McAfee Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Apple garnered international acclaim for her 1996 debut album, Tidal, which was a critical and commercial success. She received a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the single "Criminal" from that album in 1998.
After Tidal, Apple released the critically acclaimed, though less commercially successful albums, When the Pawn... (1999), Extraordinary Machine (2005), and The Idler Wheel... (2012).
Scare Fest Kentucky
“Stash” director will be heading up the Alternative Cinema table at Scare Fest! http://scarefestcon.com/
Cinema Wasteland Show in Strongville, Ohio
Henrique Couto will head up the AC table - http://www.cinemawasteland.com/ Look for Henrique at Cinema Wasteland!
Hudson Horror VI Screening
The 12-Hour Horror and Exploitation film festival! Check out the groovy calendar at - http://www.hudsonhorror.com/
As Seen On TV Late-Nite Commercials
The Cami-Secret spot plays constantly when Erin and William watch TV. So, who’s that Cami Secret girl!!?? Introducing Allison Mosier – the Cam-Secret girl who’s a talented LA actress.
That’s not all! William and Erin are the proud owners of Lint Lizard!
Desiree Saetia Interview Porkcop II and Zombie Babies are now on DVD!
Zombie Baby star Desiree Saetia drps by the AC Studio and chats all about working with Eamon Hardiman and Ruby LaRocca
New Releases
Take 10% off your order at AlternativeCinema.com – At checkout in the “messages” area, write “Take 10% Off.” Justin (at AC) will manually process your order and remove 10% from the total price! Offer good 9/15 – 9/30/2012 only!!!
William obsesses over the films that include “Tintorera,” “Gorilla King” and “Treasure of the Amazon.” All feature his favorite actor Hugo Stiglitz
Michael and Gene discuss the films of Joe Sarno
One of the most prolific and distinctive auteurs to emerge from the proto-pornographic sexploitation film genre of the 1960s, Joe Sarno had written and directed approximately 75 theatrically released feature films in the sexploitation, softcore and hardcore genres as well as a number of shot-on-video features for the '80s hardcore video market.
Special guest “The Russ” (Erin Russ) talks about her starring role in PorkChop! Your favorite Christmas Horror movie and More! Hosted by Michael Raso, John Fedele and William Hellfire!
We plunge right in to the Christmas extravaganza with a trippy, echoey beginning before special guest – Erin Russ informs us this is episode 33 (and not 32!)
Michael Raso has his Polaroid ProCam loaded with expired film along with William Hellfire, John Fedele and the aforementioned Erin Russ, who will be referred to as “The Russ” from here on out.
"The Russ" shot with the Polaroid Pro Cam
Since we have The Russ you know that The Russ Shuffle by The Smooth Sailors can’t be far behind!
John Fedele was a little late so Michael took it as a sign for an impromptu photo shoot with The Russ.
Above:
The Russ brought Michael a CD of demented Christmas music which leads us into a trailer for the newly released Porkchop.
The big news of the month is that Michael has connected with his childhood sweetheart. Seems she dumped him in 1985 at The Dairy Queen when he told her he was going to a Fangoria convention to meet Tom Savini instead of spending time with her. Twenty-six years later all wounds have healed and through the magic of The Facebook.
Seduction Cinema will be taking over Showtime soon with the triple threat of Playmate of the Apes, BatBabe and SpiderBabe with Showtime’s Sexy Spoofs.
The VHS release of The Basement garnered mention in both The New York Times and G4.
The Monster Channel is also being invaded by Camp Motion Pictures with the upcoming showings of; Video Violence 1 & 2 Cannibal Campout Woodchipper Massacre Splatter Farm Beauty Queen Massacre And, of course, The Basement
We got letters from Ramundo, Ryan Johnson, Tony who won the AC Magazine contest, but Michael never sent out, James, who wants to know if the guys want to review his movie, Hack Job and Thomas who also has a film to review called Weed Wolf. William heard there was a Bigfoot in it so he’s all for it.
The Russ covers the film Where The Dead Go To Die
The Evan City Chapel which appears in the classic film, Night of the Living Dead is in disrepair and horror fans are trying to save it from destruction. Check out http://www.fixthechapel.com/ to see what you can do to help.
William mentions a handful of Code Red titles for perfect Christmas presents (available from Alternative Cinema.) Soul Survivor Messiah And Beyond The Door.
Porkchop is finally released and for all fans of The Russ, she will indeed be topless. The Russ is also in the newest issue of Girls and Corpses. She even has a brief Q&A in the magazine which she reads for us.
This leads us into a huge review of the 1966 classic The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t that everyone watched. It even made The Russ cry.
Not to be outdone, William gives us Werewolf of Woodstock with Kevin Tighe as the main monster, Andrew Stevens as a hippy and Belinda Balaski who even wrote to The Russ about how much fun it was to make the film.
William regales us with a band called Happy Flower and their psychedelic noise/sound.
Followed up by The Golden Turkey Awards album with the season Appropriate, Hurray For Santy Claus from Santa Claus Conquers The Martians.
William gives a rundown of the 24 hour Exhumed Film Festival where The Russ caught up on mass quantities of sleep.
Finally, Mike mentions Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol and we end the holiday podcast with the song ‘We’re Despicable’ from the film.
Everyone have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we’ll see you next year!
ALTERNATIVE CINEMA PODCAST Episode 32 - November, 2011
The ultimate internet radio show for indie underground film fans and filmmakers alike! Thanksgiving Horrors! VHS Goes to Camp! The Thing 2011! New DVD Releases! Near-Death and the Ultimate Poop Story! Hosted by Michael Raso, John Fedele and William Hellfire!
The AC Podcast returns with one of my favorite quotes from John Carpenter’s The Thing. It’s Mike, John and William with November’s AC Podcast!
The winner of the Erin Russ contest is David Montgomery.
Letters are read from our faithful listeners. Trent from Kent, ‘Scotch’ Anderson wrote in this month.
Speaking of “Scotch,” the first important news of the month is the soon to be unleashed on the world, Playmate Of The Apes…The Comic Book!
Michael, William and The Russ went to see The Thing prequel. Thumbs down from Michael, but William has certain things (pun intended) that he likes from the film. They do both agree that it seems bland and one dimensional in comparison to Carpenter’s 1982 film. This leads to discussion of other recent remakes like Funny Games and Let The Right One In.
above: "The Russ," Willam Hellfire and Michael Raso en route to "The Thing" prequel.
The Fall 2011 Catalog update is out and available by request. Mike runs down a bunch of the new titles in the update. The catalog is discussed in painstaking detail.
The guys discuss trying to finish and release Grizzly 2.
They received a letter from the original president of Camp Video. He is happy that someone is still releasing films under the name and passes the torch.
Paige Davis does an interview at Nighthawk Cinema where they did a VHS viewing of Video Violence and The Basement.
John and Mike share stories of vehicular disasters that may include alcohol. It quickly devolves into William’s tale of pooping his pants. Much laughter ensues.
William does reviews of Cuckoo Clocks From Hell, Happy Life and the band Scratch Acid.
William mentions horror films with a Thanksgiving bent. Home Sweet Home with Body by Jake is mentioned.
Mike gives us a taste of what December will bring to the Alternative Cinema Podcast including the release of Porkchop with Erin Russ.
Mike talks about his recent purchase of the Beach Boys Smile Sessions CDs.
A general call for letters about your favorite Christmas horror film is made before the guys hit the road for another month.
