The Mad Monster Party 2016 - Charlotte, NC - March 26, 2016 - Con Report

The 5th Annual MMP took place over the weekend in Charlotte. I was able to attend for the third year in a row and I have to say it was the BEST one yet! I have tons of things to show and talk about so...here it comes...

The theme was heavily based on Star Wars and Boba Fett since they got the original actor in costume for this year's con. Here's the front of the brochure.



After walking through and figuring out where everything and everyone was, I decided to take on the Friday the 13th folks first off. No pressure. First we met Adrienne King - Alice from the original Friday the 13th. I had always heard wonderful things about her being nice to talk to and she could not have been more nice and open. We chatted about how different horror movies were back in those days, how close the cast was, and working with Betsy Palmer and how crazy she was in the role of Pamela Voorhees. She was great and a perfect way to start off the con.





"What about the boy?"



Right next to her was the composer of the classic Friday the 13th score, Harry Manfredini. His music has always been a favorite of mine, esp since he created the classic "Ki Ki Ki Ma Ma Ma..." sound used in all of the movies. Great guy - we spoke about his work on all of the films - he actually said there was more music in Part V and that Part VI was his favorite to score overall because of all the history and themes up to that point in the series. We also talked a great deal about the new Fri13 video game he is helping to score and he seemed reaaally excited about it. Really neat to speak with one of the true masters in horror music.



Here he is signing the inside cover of my Crystal Lake Memories hardback...you can see Ms. King in the background.



Something we discussed was how I recognized his music as "the unseen character" in the Fri13 films and he loved that phrase - said he had never heard it used like that before. He signed that also to my book. I told him he was allowed to use it from now on. HA!



Third in the Friday lineup was makeup maestro Tom Savini. He has been there before but I did not get to meet him so I took the opportunity this year. Had always heard not so nice things about his demeanor, and even though it was pretty short and sweet, he was nice and took a picture with me. Dude has had as seriously influential career in horror movies. Not bad for a former Vietnam photographer. He also gave me a good tip on a DVD vendor where I found some neat OOP stuff! So that was cool.



All of his best creations.



So then the moment came, the reason I came to MMP this year - a chance to meet Nichelle Nichols! The line was a little wonky and wrapped around in front of her table...so I snapped a few blurry shots...







They kept the line moving at a brisk pace - the lady is 84 years young, so I can understand...my turn came and they ushered me around in order to get a picture...



Here she was asking me "Are you Corey?" -- HA!







This pic is funny because I think her eyes were closed, but it looks like she is sneaking a look at the drawing I brought for her. I'm including it either way.



I then gifted her the drawing, telling her that I wanted to bring something in return in some small way for all of the joy and positive feelings she has brought to all of us over the years. I then told her that "some friends" and I still quote the Mr. Adventure scene from ST3 where she tells him to "get in the closet" - she laughed, gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek! HA! Then at the end, she says "Now YOU can go get in the closet."

HAAA AHHAAAAAAAAAHAHHAHAHAAH AAA ACK ACK ACK!!!! Dreams do come true.















"Corey - Blessings."



And then I went and sat in the closet.

--

Next up was PJ Soles - Lynda from Halloween. She was very fond of the word "Totally" in the original movie and was so down to earth and easy going. She was also in Carrie and Stripes. We had a great chat about Halloween, the camaraderie of the original cast and how much better movies were back then. Lovely lady...





Originally Linda Blair was scheduled to appear this year, but cancelled last minute. Instead, Eileen Dietz was there and I happened upon her table with only one person standing there. I love The Exorcist and discovered her role in it and how it has sorta become the iconic image that movie is known for. She was Linda Blair's double for "certain scenes" but what she has become known for was the face of the demon Pazuzu that flashes throughout the film. One of the scariest images...EVER. She has a book out about her time on the film which I will get very soon, but one thing she did tell me was that iconic face was created as a makeup test ON THE LAST DAY OF SHOOTING. Dick Smith was worth his weight in gold. Awesome chat with an awesome lady.

Had to get a shot of this - yes, that Split pea soup in a can for sale at her table. HA!!!





The face of the demon...YAH!!



Last but certainly not least was Derek Mears..aka Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th remake from 2009 and classic Predator from the Predators movie. He was excited to be there! He outright said "I'm just a big ol' nerd just like you guys." Of course, I asked him about working on Predators - he got all excited - told us how more than once he got caught playing with his arm bomb while in costume and they needed him on set. HA! He praised Adrian Brody and even mentioned Daniel Craig had been offered the lead roll before Brody took it on. Interesting. He mentioned the proposed Arnold cameo that never came to be and we were all jonesing together on that! Awesome. He was so appreciative of us stopping to say hello and I told him I hoped he got a call to be a Predator again. He said "I KNOW RIGHT!!!!" Damn, he's what I imagine I'd be like if I got paid to dress up like Jason or a Predator for a living...one of the nicest guys EVER!







"Hunt you soon."



Over the course of the day, we saw a LOT of things and I snapped photos when I could..below are some of the best...

Guy in a killer Alien costume...







A Beavis and Butthead shirt....hilarious...



Forgot Malcolm McDowell was even in Blue Thunder! Had to get a pic of this poster.



Some great cosplays, including Megatron, Fury Road, and the actual Petyr from What We Do in the Shadows who was walking around after we left on the dealer room floor. ACK! Also an artists table with some good paintings.







Now a few pics of the stash I picked up...

Savini's tip paid off...







And two shirts I found...



Check out all the 80s references in that image!!!



And what has become a yearly tradition, my friend and I have to take a picture with the MMP foam head each year....so here I am picking his boogies!





And finally, after everything was almost done, I happened to walk back around to Nichelle Nichols table and there was NO ONE there...I had to go over and talk to her one last time. You never know what the next year will bring. I went over and kneeled down and just told Ms. Nichols how much she and the original crew means to me. How positive Star Trek has always been and thanked her for brining it to all of us. Little did I know, my friend took some great pictures...





Just a great day overall, loved every minute of it and I can't wait to see what 2017 brings!

May the wind be at our backs. Stationsplease...