Cannibal Movie Chronicles and The 2019 Autograph I’ve Always Wanted!

Another year…another ITALIAN INVASION at the always hopping Chiller Theater! And yes…another year I would not be attending.  I must admit this was driving me a bit crazy because I would love to attend all these get togethers (frankly, I’m missing my Eurotrash Paradise World Con-it has been over a year!!)–and the opportunity to meet some of the Eurotrash Luminaries is always cool.  Mike Baronas over at Paura Productions (is it me or does that name just make you sing the theme to Tenebre?)–well, the man is going to HorrorFan Nirvana when the time comes, it really is an amazing thing he has pulled together, and one fine day I’ll actually get to one!

But I had no idea that this year would be so special-though it had little to do with the convention proper…
I’ve always felt like a lucky guy-I just happen to run in to so many amazing people and situations it boggles my Jess Franco lovin’ brain.  This show was certainly one of them.  The morning of the show I got a Facebook email from Mike Howlett (aka The Evil Brainiac of Eerie Publications Chronicling Infamy-and if you don’t believe me, click here for a book we all need!).  As casual as you can imagine he offered to swing by my place and pick up stuff to have signed. Now, I’m the first to admit, I’m probably the WORST person about taking any kind of favor (just ask any close friend of mine)-but after more than a little internal angst (not about the book and stuff mind you, much more about putting anyone out of their way!) I just couldn’t resist.  To say I’m grateful is an understatement, now I’m just spinning my karmic wheel and trying see how best to repay such a kind act.  Heh, it shall be quite the process, but I have a few ideas. Perhaps that video version of the Tough To Kill Boxset…

Of course, I could not get at all my paper as quickly as I would like, having a five and two year old has pretty much taken me off the path of displaying stuff like my bizarre Mexican lobby card for 2019, but then….the perfect item fell off the shelf. Well, if it fell it would have crushed my fool foot into a bloody pulp.  There were many guests that all had appeared in Cannibal films…and I have THIS!

What better?  So, packed in a bag that once held my daughters new shoes-it headed to Chiller in the car with Mike and his lovely wife Andrea (whom I had just met a week before at Boston Comic Con–believe me when I say that meeting me working at a convention is usually not me at my finest, I’m fairly scattered usually, but even more so then.)  And here is what came back…like the reels of film from Cannibal Holocaust it left me wondering just who the cannibals were-and if they enjoyed signing my book…Truly Awesome. 

So here is the opening view with several Cannablistic signatures!

On this page we have Barbara Magnolfi, who is certainly known for her role as Olga the SSSSSSSSSSSnake Sayer in Suspiria, but will always be Rita in Cut and Run for me!  Then we have Carl Yorke…yep, evil Alan Yates himself!  But then comes the big one for me…RUGGERO DEODATO!  Right on the blood stain no less.  Now, Cannibal Holocaust is just one of my favorite Deodato films. This man made Raiders of Atlantis, Cut and Run, The Washing Machine (really underrated in my book), the beloved DIAL: HELP and more!  Heck, I’d love to have picked his brains to see if he remembers what went on during the filming of one of my favorite Peplum of all– Hercules, Prisoner of Evil. 

And the book is signed twice by the unforgettable Francesca Ciardi…I made sure to bookmark the bio section for the convention guests. I would find it quite a trip to be listed in a book like this!!

Oh, but there is more!!
This is the jacket for the Media Blasters release of 2019 with “that” commentary track denoted by the “Featurette” marking in the Special Features listing.  A weird day in my road to geekdom to say the least, but now it will sit on my shelf with a nice signature from one of my favorite Italian filmmakers–SERGIO MARTINO!!  I guess I could sign a little “z” on it and make it something my children could one day sell to the next generation of “post nuke historians” (seriously, this is one of the most deranged things I’ve ever heard while sitting next to someone) or something like that. One thing for sure, they are going to get a laugh out of it I’d wager!

 The Retracted Edition aka Young And Dangerous Chopper Deluxe Version

If you click the cover it is a really interesting read once you get to the credits. This seemed to be par for the course at Shriek Show during that time and it still makes me nuts to read it.  There is a director credit to Martin Dolman, some stars, production credits and then more than half of the box goes to the staff at Shriek Show? Weird…just weird.

That day in history…Parsifal and Mr. Z in the Apartment where the 2019 commentary was recorded.

And the Japanese VHS that compliments the DVD signed by Michael Sopkiw

And here is a little more of the Cannibal book.

Inside Front Cover: This is easily one of the most potent images in European Trash Cinema history!

And the back cover

And here are the heroes of the story…The Horrorizing Howletts and the Master Of Mayhem himself, Sergio Martino!  

Look at that 2019 poster with George Eastman looking like he stalked off the cover art of Fred Olen Ray’s SCALPS.  Can anyone show me this image? Can anyone find me this poster???  I’m starting to think it was sucked from another dimension by those sweaters touching!!  BBBBZT!!