Herschell Gordon Lewis, Godfather of Gore


Book Description

Without a big budget, special effects team, or professional actors and crew members, Herschell Gordon Lewis created films that he himself admits were trash. Yet, while Gordon's softcore porn (The Adventures of Lucky Pierre) and heavy-duty gore (The Gruesome Twosome) were never blockbuster films, they were popular drive-in fare in the sixties and seventies. They have had a strong influence over more recent productions, and they have created for Lewis his own special niche in the world of exploitation and horror film. The history of Lewis the man and the filmmaker is a surprising one. Behind titles like Blood Feast and The Gore-Gore Girls is a warm and friendly gentleman whose road to his own brand of film glory was paved with disappointments, surprising successes, and lots and lots of fake blood. His career is examined in detail, with personal anecdotes and insights into making really gross movies on really small budgets. A filmography is included, and photographs, many of them rare, complement the text.




The Godfather of Gore Speaks - Herschell Gordon Lewis Discusses His Films


Book Description

Exploitation filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis is credited with single-handedly creating the gore genre with the 1963 release Blood Feast. This low-budget shocker would ultimately influence nearly every horror movie which has followed, as well as "high-brow" films as varied The Wild Bunch and Reservoir Dogs. Lewis, dubbed "The Godfather of Gore," crafted more than thirty-five films in his ongoing career (the exact number varies depending on whom you talk to). Lewis would ultimately work in a number of genres, including gothic horror, drama, sexploitation, blaxploitation, and even musicals, and each of his low-budget productions features a singular style and vision that cannot be ignored. No matter what genre Lewis worked in, he remained at the forefront of cinematic trends and movements. In The Godfather of Gore Speaks: Herschell Gordon Lewis Discusses His Films, the filmmaker explains his choices and motivations - from concept to finished product - in much more detail than ever before. Assisted by noted film historian Andrew J. Rausch, Lewis shares often hilarious anecdotes and provides analysis for the thirty-nine films which he either directed or assisted with direction. "Herschell Gordon Lewis is known all over the world as 'The Wizard of Gore.' He's a whiz of a wiz in just about everything else, too, including, but not limited to, brain surgery, moonshine making, international diplomacy, auto body work, nuclear physics, and siding sales. He writes textbooks and does windows, and don't ever challenge him to a game of Scrabble." --David F. Friedman "Herschell Gordon Lewis is the man who put red meat into the American cinematic diet. Ultimately Herschell made Quentin Tarantino possible." --Joe Bob Briggs




Direct Mail Copy that Sells!


Book Description

Shows examples of good and poor copywriting, explains how to motivate potential buyers, and suggests ways to improve one's writing skills




The Filmmaker's Book of the Dead


Book Description

Produce, direct, promote and sell your own chilling horror film with real-world advice from award-winning producer/director/writer Danny Draven! The second edition is completely updated with information on new technology, new exclusive interviews with industry pros, new photos and samples from the production of recent horror movies, new behind-the-scenes video, information on modern distribution methods and delivery and more! From the history of horror and the technique of the scare to pre-production and distribution, this complete, full-color guide to filmmaking uncovers all the insider secrets for creating your own spine-tingling horror film from start to finish. The 2nd Edition features all NEW interviews from industry professionals such as: Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers, Bag of Bones, Desperation, The Stand) John Ottman (Composer/Editor of X:Men: Days of Future Past, The Usual Suspects) Mark Ordesky & Jane Fleming (Producers of Lovely Molly, Exists) Kane Hodder (Jason from the Friday the 13th, part 7 to 10, Hatchet) Tibor Takacs (Director of The Gate, Spiders 3D, Megasnake) John Debney (Composer of Predators, Sin City, End of Days) Jojo Draven (Composer of Ghost Month, Reel Evil) Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes, Weird Science) Mike Mendez (Director of The Gravedancers, Big Ass Spider!) Neal Marshall Stevens (Screenwriter of Thir13en Ghosts, Hellraiser: Deader) Chris Alexander (Editor in Chief of Fangoria Magazine) Jessica Cameron (Actress/Director of Truth or Dare) Denise Gossett (Founder of Shriekfest Film Festival) A newly updated companion website that features: *Behind the scenes videos for films films such as Puppet Master, Blood Dolls, Trancers, Subspecies, Reel Evil, Ghost Month and more! *A revised collection of horror movie trailers! * Sample scripts, schedules, storyboards, agreements and more! Other featured interviews include: James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring) Robert Englund (Freddy from Nightmare on Elm Street) Robert Kurtzman (From Dusk Til Dawn) Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, From Beyond, Dagon) Tom Savini (Night of the Living Dead) Lloyd Kaufman (Toxic Avenger) Charles Band (Parasite, Metalstorm, Ghoulies) John D. LeMay (Friday the 13th: The Series) David DeCoteau (Puppet Master 3, Sorority Babes in the Slimball Bowl-O-Rama) Debbie Rochon (Tromeo & Juliet) Reggie Bannister (Phantasm) Sam McCurdy (Director of Photography of Dog Soldiers, The Decent, The Hills Have Eyes 2) Nathan Barr (Composer of Hostel,True Blood, Hemlock Grove) Jim Dooley (Composer of When A Stranger Calls) Chuck Williams (Bubba Ho-Tep) Herschell Gordon Lewis (Blood Feast, Wizard of Gore) H.P. Lovecraft’s Notes on Writing Weird Fiction And many more...




The Gruesome Tensome


Book Description

A short story tribute to the films of legendary exploitation film director Herschell Gordon Lewis. MP Johnson (author) Jordan Krall (author) David C. Hayes (author) William D. Carl (author) Mark McLaughin (author) Michael Sheehan, jr. (author) L.L. Soares (author) Jeff Strand (author) Gregory Lamberson (author) Garrett Cook (author) Adam Cesare (author)




Herschell Gordon Lewis


Book Description




Incredibly Strange Films


Book Description

Incredibly Strange Films is a functional guide to important territory neglected by the film-criticism establishment, spotlighting unhailed directors -- Hershell Gordon Lewis, Russ Meyer, Larry Cohen, Ray Dennis Steckler, Ted V. Mikels and others -- who have been critically consigned to the ghettos of gore and sexploitation films. In-depth interviews focus on philosophy while anecdotes entertain as well as illuminate theory. The guide includes biographies, genre overviews, filmographies, bibliography, quotations, an A-Z of film personalities, lists of recommended films, sources, index, as well as 172 photos.




CinemaTexas Notes


Book Description

Austin’s thriving film culture, renowned for international events such as SXSW and the Austin Film Festival, extends back to the early 1970s when students in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin ran a film programming unit that screened movies for students and the public. Dubbed CinemaTexas, the program offered viewers a wide variety of films—old and new, mainstream, classic, and cult—at a time when finding and watching films after their first run was very difficult and prohibitively expensive. For each film, RTF graduate students wrote program notes that included production details, a sampling of critical reactions, and an original essay that placed the film and its director within context and explained the movie’s historical significance. Over time, CinemaTexas Program Notes became more ambitious and were distributed around the world, including to luminaries such as film critic Pauline Kael. This anthology gathers a sampling of CinemaTexas Program Notes, organized into four sections: “USA Film History,” “Hollywood Auteurs,” “Cinema-Fist: Renegade Talents,” and “America’s Shadow Cinema.” Many of the note writers have become prominent film studies scholars, as well as leading figures in the film, TV, music, and video game industries. As a collection, CinemaTexas Notes strongly contradicts the notion of an effortlessly formed American film canon, showing instead how local film cultures—whether in Austin, New York, or Europe—have forwarded the development of film studies as a discipline.




The Horror Film


Book Description

In this volume, Stephen Prince has collected essays reviewing the history of the horror film and the psychological reasons for its persistent appeal, as well as discussions of the developmental responses of young adult viewers and children to the genre. The book focuses on recent postmodern examples such as The Blair Witch Project. In a daring move, the volume also examines Holocaust films in relation to horror. Part One features essays on the silent and classical Hollywood eras. Part Two covers the postWorld War II era and discusses the historical, aesthetic, and psychological characteristics of contemporary horror films. In contrast to horror during the classical Hollywood period, contemporary horror features more graphic and prolonged visualizations of disturbing and horrific imagery, as well as other distinguishing characteristics. Princes introduction provides an overview of the genre, contextualizing the readings that follow. Stephen Prince is professor of communications at Virginia Tech. He has written many film books, including Classical Film Violence: Designing and Regulating Brutality in Hollywood Cinema, 19301968, and has edited Screening Violence, also in the Depth of Field Series.




Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way


Book Description

What you're reading right now is known as the "cover copy," or “flap copy.” This is where the 84,951 words of my latest book are cooked down to 350 words or less to capture your imagination/download. I pondered how to do that. Should I cut to the chase and reveal pivotal plot points like the one at the end of the book where the little girl on crutches points an accusing finger and shouts, "the killer is Mr. Porter"? No. I have too much respect for you as an intelligent consumer to attempt such an obvious ruse. But let's not play games here. You clicked your way to this page, so you either: A. Know who I am. B. Like the cool smoking jacket I'm wearing on the cover. Or: C. Thought this was a secret link to Ashley Madison. Is it a sequel to my autobiography If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor? Sadly, no, which made it much harder to write. Is it an "autobiographical novel"? Yes. I am the lead character in the story (coincidentally an actor), and I am a real person, and everything in the book actually happened - except for the stuff that didn't. The action revolves around my preparations for a pivotal role in the A-list relationship film, Let's Make Love! My Homeric attempt to break through the glass ceiling of B-grade genre fair is hampered by a vengeful studio executive and a production that becomes infected by something called the "B-movie virus" - symptoms of which include excessive use of cheesy special effects, slapstick, and projectile vomiting. From a violent fistfight with a Buddhist to a life-altering stint in federal prison, this novel has it all. And if the 84,951 words are too time-consuming, there are lots and lots of cool graphics – all of which have been upgraded to vibrant color since the first publication. I hope you enjoy the book – and if you learn anything at all about making love, please share it with me! Regards, Bruce "Go Ahead and Call Me Ash" Campbell