Tim, Paul, Matt, Rob, Sam and I went to the Sights and Sounds Conference which was held at Salford University last Thursday and Friday. I presented a paper with Sam that reflected on a David Bowie documentary he produced to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Bowie's visit to New Zealand the online fan response to the documentary. The PowerPoint slides can be viewed below. Our presentation went well, surprisingly it was the only presentation to focus on radio documentary. I am hoping that we will find the time to finish writing the paper over the next few months and that it can be included in a forthcoming text on music documentary.
It was also good to talk Euro-Cult cinema with Benjamin Halligan, author of a very well researched text on Michael Reeves, and spend an evening chatting with the director of the excellent documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006), Jeff Feuerzeig. His upcoming film on Tiny Tim sounds fascinating, providing that he secures funding. Other conference delegates were very warm and friendly, and the conference meal at the Turkish Restaurant, Cafe Istanbul was outstanding. On the Friday morning we found time to fulfill Sam's request and travel along Coronation Street to Salford Lad's Club, which was famously featured in the music video for There is a Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths. A group picture was a must. I do not usually enjoy conferences but thought this was the best one that I participated in so far.
I couldn't resist. I have ordered a four-pack from the UK HBO store and with a bit of luck they will arrive in time for the weekend. Hyperreal or what?
Nope, not one of mine, this shirt is from the Rabbit in Red Lounge. They specialise in made to order shirts using full colour prints taken from original poster artwork. I had my reservations about the quality of print but it appears to be very high. You can have your chosen print be digitally worn. There are three levels of grubbiness you can request, I opted for the lightest level of wear. The choice of prints is endless. All of the well known cult horror films are available as well as little known obscurities. The cult film fan could waste a lot of money here. After a long deliberation I decided to opt for the New York Ripper design. This was the first imported VHS video I purchased back in the mid-nineties. This Scandinavian release of the film on the Professional Cine Media label used artwork taken from the original Italian poster. I have always liked this poster design and thought it would be a suitable choice. The only problem is that the size I ordered is just slightly too big for me; I should have ordered a small instead of a medium. I might order the Zombie Flesh Eaters design which uses the excellent artwork taken from the British quad poster a bit later in the year. Once thing to be aware of is that it can take a while for your order to be fulfilled as the shirts are made to order.
I have added a few new designs to my T-Shirt store.
The giallo film was based on pulp crime novels that were popular in Italy from wartime onwards, the popularity eventually leading to film adaptations of several giallo stories. A typical giallo film narrative will feature a crazed black- gloved serial killer murdering beautiful women in varying in exaggerated fashions. In the early 1990s British and American horror film fans learnt about the giallo in fan publications such as Giallo Pages and European Trash Cinema which created interest and paved the way to forming a Euro-Cult fan culture centred around the giallo film. Euro-Cult cinema itself is a fan determined category Not only do fans discuss the films in online communities but also actively produce texts for distribution amongst the fan network.
I will examine the Fantom Kiler series of films, fan produced re-imaginings of the giallo film and demonstrate them as examples of ‘slash’ production; a form of fan production that particularly focuses on serial murder and highly sexualised violent content. ‘Slash’ production is not just exclusive to fan film making but also other forms of fan production such as fanzines, clothing and DVD production. It also considers fan reactions to the Fantom Kiler film series. Building upon textual analysis, this piece will raise theoretical and methodological questions, reflecting on the author’s developing research and personal understanding of the fan culture as a fan scholar. The Fantom Kiler series further illustrates the contemporary fascination with the serial killer and allows for a new consideration of how fan cultures are researched and considered.
Unbelievable! Firstly, I should state that I didn't, nor would I ever, watch it but the first scene of a recent episode of the awful Channel 4 show Hollyoaks features a homage to Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977). The interesting thing is that it appears to have no relevance to the plot of the episode (I have not watched the whole episode, feel free to let me know if I am incorrect). Check out yourself in the video the below, it is the first scene after the credits.
So was the director of the episode a fan who was so excited about buying the recent UK Blu-Ray release of the film that he had to pay homage to it in Hollyoaks?Thanks to Jonny over at Lovelockandload for pointing this out.