Gearing Up: The 2012 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival - Los Angeles Just Two Weeks Away, with Discount Pre-Order Tickets Still Available

(Dead But) Dreaming in Pewter:  Cthulhu Pin from Queen Penguin Productions

The dawning day of the 2013 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival Los Angeles is rapidly approaching, and as the minutes speed up, the fest is coalescing and taking a monstrous shape, building on the last two years, while also morphing and expanding, sprouting new tentacles of interest while keeping the torso strong and dangerous.

Ives and I - both sporting our team pin pictured above, so we're not confused with tourists from Des Moines who have downtown San Pedro on their Bucket List - will be serving as Guest Authors (and unofficial Balcony Hooligans) at the fest, participating in the Saturday "Brunch 'n Fun," where we will be sharing the Mythos writing and artistic stylings of Grau Haus, following the lead of our eight year old daughter in a sort of intra-family round robin.  Unlike years past, when the literary portion of the festival was limited to readings and a discussion panel, festival organizer Aaron Vanek and authorial overlord Cody Goodfellow have decided to nuance the slate, adding in an oral storytelling portion that is refreshingly old school.  Should be a good time (more detail below).

In addition, Ives and I threw our Jazz age lids into the ring as Official Screenplay Judges for HPL-LA '13.  I'm just glad that 11+ years of working as a script doctor/punch up artist/ghost re-writer for various lousy studio and indie screenplays (while unsuccessful shopping my own apparently unsellable scripted turds) is finally paying off.  These poor screenwriters from the world over (from such far-flung, exotic locales as Ireland, France, and New Jersey) must now deal with an embittered ex-script monkey-turned adjudicator bent on destroying dreams.  Those who can't - judge!

This year's crop of submitted scripts, while not showing a field as deep as 2011, has some truly excellent offerings, including one that received a Grau Haus perfect score from both of us.  The contest finalists are:

"The Crawling Chaos" by Nicholas Kubik
"House of Yhargoth" by Faye Hoerauf & Dom Zook
"Call Girl of Cthulhu" by Chris LaMartina & Jimmy George
"This Vehicle Has Been Checked for Sleeping Children" by John Burdeaux

The judges are currently working through these last four competitors, with the winner announced on Saturday night in a ceremony that had better include balloons and confetti (please note that all screenplays submitted after September 1 will be considered for 2013).

As for the films, this year's fest is plating up some of the latest and best independent shorts from around the world, including:

"Doctor Glamour" by Andrew W. Jones
"Seizures" by Nicolas Simonin
"The Music of Jo Hyeja" by Jihyun Park
"Bedtime for Timmy" by Thomas Nicol
"Cultist Co. Starter Pack" by Thomas Nicol
"GAMMA" by Jonathan Gales
"Stay at Home Dad" by Andrew Kasch, John Skipp, and Cody Goodfellow
"George Jones & the Giant Squid" by Vincenzo Perrella, Dan Osborn
"Odokuro" by Aurelio Voltaire
"The Captured Bird" by Jovanka Vuckovic
"Feed A" by Clarke Mayer
"The Artifact" by Jason Voss
"Chompers 3D" (Preview screening) by Jesse Blanchard
"Shine 3D" by Jesse Blanchard
"Space Bugs" by Jesse Blanchard
"In()Between" by José Luis Martínez Díaz
"The Shunned House" by Eric Morgret

Also screening is the full length feature film "The Thing on the Doorstep" by Tom Gliserman

The festival special guest for 2012 is Michael Reaves, a renowned writer known for scripting such series as "Batman: The Animated Series", "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "The Twilight Zone".  He also co-edited with John Pelan the anthology (that proudly sits on my shelf) Shadows Over Baker Street, which features Sherlock Holmes stories set in the world of Lovecraft.

Mr. Reaves will receive the coveted Howie Award for his contributions to Lovecraft cinema, as he also penned "The Real Ghostbusters" famed episode "The Collect Call of Cathulhu", which is significant in that it's the first time Cthulhu appeared on television.

The still-growing roster of guests includes - but is certainly not limited to - such authors, artists, musicians, and filmmakers as Ives and I, Cody Goodfellow, Denise Dumars, Michael Tice, Bryan Thao Worra, Frank Woodward, Mike Dubisch, Andrew W. Jones, Aurelio Voltaire, David Milano, Diana Levin, Jason Voss, Hello, The Future, Natalie Ewert, Nicholas Simonin, and William (Liam) Thomas Damon.

A fantastic array of vendors will again be lining the corridors on both levels of the Warner Grand, catering to your every Lovecraftian, Weirdling, and Goth/Fez/Workworm/Fantasy Art shopping urge, including:

SighCo
Arkham Bazaar
Fez-o-Rama
Badali Jewelry Specialties
The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society
Upon a Midnight
Diana Levin Art
Perilous Press
Mike Dubisch Art

Visitors can and are encouraged to stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (three blocks from the Warner Grand in the historic district of San Pedro) at a discount. Use code HPL when booking online (discount only good until 8/28).  Booking a room is wise, as things get a bit nutty as the night progresses.  Selling beer and wine with popcorn and Jujyfruits at the concession stand is such beautiful thing.
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Friday, September 28

Pre-festival dinner at the Whale & Ale on Friday, from 5pm to 7pm, before the theater opens.  The menu for this specially priced dinner (only available to festival attendees) is as such:

Our famous Whale & Ale salad of mixed baby lettuces, sliced mushrooms, crumbled blue cheese,
chopped walnuts & creamy peppercorn dressing.  Irish Soda bread & sweet butter, then Penne Toscana: a house favorite: penne pasta sautéed with fresh tomato, leaf basil, chopped garlic, light marinara sauce (vegetarian), or English Fish & Chips; Icelandic cod filet deep fried in our own Bass ale beer batter, with English Chips; on the side:  lemon wedge, tartar sauce, malt vinegar & tomato ketchup, or Farmhouse Steak & Mushroom pie: diced filet mignon, simmered with quartered button mushrooms in a rich beef demi glace, topped with mashed potatoes and browned in the oven; fresh steamed vegetables, then English Sherry Trifle: traditional English sponge cake soaked in sweet sherry layered with strawberries, custard & whipped cream

Menu as above: $21 per person, inclusive of tax at 8.75%, or guests can pick any two courses for $17 per person, including tax.

This pricing and menu is available only to HP Lovecraft Festivalgoers, and is not available to the general public.

The theater schedule is as follows:

7pm-7:30 - Shopping, Mingling, Not Correlating One's Contents
7:30 - 7:40  Official Intro, Raffle
7:40-9:10  "The Thing on the Doorstep"
9:100-9:25  Break, Raffle
9:25 - 9:55   Macabre Fantasy  "Statement of Randolph Carter" (radio drama)
9:55 - 10:10  Break, Raffle
10:10 - 11:15  "South Park: The Complete Coon Trilogy"
11:15-11:30  Raffle, Shopping, Carousing
11:30- wee hours - Whale & Ale party (with happy hour specials) and Lovecraft Pub Trivia (hosted by filmmaker Frank Woodward)

Saturday, September 29

Brunch 'n Fun at the Grand Vision Annex, a few doors down from the Warner Grand Theatre.

The brunch menu will consist of eggs, bacon and/or sausage, potatoes, toast, apple or OJ, cold cereal and milk.  Rumors of a cash bar at this event fills one with mimosa wishes and Irish coffee dreams.

Card and video games will be played throughout brunch.  Be prepared for celebratory howls and good natured ribbing.

Noon-12:30 = Filing-in, seating, mastication (food served until 3pm)
12:30 - 1pm = Prayers to Cthulhu (Cody Goodfellow)
1pm - 1:45pm = Hello, The Future (musical performance)
1:45 to 2:30 = Author Readings
2:30 - 3:15 = Panel Discussion, guided by the fitting theme "cosmic horror."
3:15 - 3:40 = Oral Storytelling
3:40 - 4pm = Wind down, head out to theatre

The oral storytelling is a Portland tradition started by Scott Glancy telling "The Dog's Head Story". It involves getting up and telling a true anecdote (you can stretch the truth) about an unusual or spooky occurrence in real life... Something where, because we are into Lovecraft, we look at the real world differently.

Back at the Theater:

4pm - 4:30 = Shopping
4:30 - 4:40 = Raffle, Intro #2
4:40 - 5:25 = "Real Ghostbusters" & "Scooby-Doo"
5:25 - 5:35 = Break/Raffle
5:35 - 7:05 = Shorts Block #1
7:05 - 8:35 = dinner/shopping
8:35 - 8:45 = Howie award to Michael Reaves
8:45 - 10:15 = shorts block #2
10:15 - 10:25 = break
10:25 - 11:00 = raffle, filmmaker & screenwriter awards
11:00 - 11:30 = The Evil Clergyman
11:30 - late = Raffle/After Party at Grand Vision Annex

There will be a cash bar at the after party for the Grand Vision Annex, with complimentary dessert.

SATURDAY SHORTS SHORTS BLOCK #1 (85 minutes)
Bumper - "Five Year Old Niece Explains Cthulhu", "Wasted Land" Trailer
"Space Bugs" - 05:31
"Shine 3D"  - 02:49
"Chompers 3D" 2:30
(3D glasses will be available for these two movies)
"George Jones and Giant Squid" - 14:15
"The Artifact" - 3:49
"Music of Jo Hyeja" - 20:02
"Bedtime for Timmy" - 02:50
"The Captured Bird" - 12:13
"Doctor Glamour" - 19:31


SATURDAY SHORTS BLOCK #2 (87.5 minutes)
Bumper - "Cthulhu for President"
"Cultist Co" -  01:08
"Feed A"  -  10:51
"In Between"  - 14:45
"Gamma"  -  06:47
"Odokuro"  -  06;16
"Seizures"  - 19:16
"Stay at Home Dad"  -  15:00
"Shunned House " - 11:00


Sunday, September 30

"The Lash of St. Francis", a Lovecraft-themed scavenger hunt designed by Roselle Hurley, will run in the San Pedro Historic area.

All participants will meet at 11:30am, at either the theater or the Whale & Ale (most likely the latter).

There, they will receive directions and guidelines on the adventure. The cost is $5 per team, not per person.

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The official trailer for the 2013 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival Los Angels is now up on Youtube, and posted for your convenience below:



See you down in the bay, Cosmicominauts and wonderful Weirdlings.  This fest should be a cornerstone of your Lovecraftian year, as it is for us.  See you all in two weeks.  Be there, or being boringly square (as opposed to interestingly non-Euclidean).

GET YOUR FRIGGIN' TICKETS HERE!!

(just in case you missed the link in the capture to the photo above, the "Elegant Aged Pewter Cthulhu Pin" from Queen Penguin Production available by clicking this Etsy link)

Cosmic Horror Returns to the Bay of L.A.: Tickets Now Available for the 2012 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival Los Angeles

Original Festival and Poster Art by Nicholas Collins

September is the Burning Season in Los Angeles.

Rain is a memory. Everything shunned by irrigation and the army of imported gardeners stumbles, dries, and dies. The heat is such that residents are reminded that the marine layer has its limits and we are, indeed, subject to the ravages of an American summer that seems to get hotter every year.

Then the flames come, down from the high country, chewing up hillsides and turning palm tress into 50 foot birthday candles; taking back what we think we own and digesting into the sandy dust that is as old as the stars that birthed it.

Yes indeed, September is the perfect time to run from the city and suburb and head to the ocean, where the air is still clean and the waves still remember our long ago march from the reef. Come September, we'll all gather by the sea, where we'll be safe. Right?

Not exactly...

September in L.A. also means madness filtering down from the incomprehensible void beyond space and time, as the annual H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival Los Angeles turns quiet, quirky downtown San Pedro into a garrison of cosmic horrors our feeble minds are unable to process. Yes, true believers, the festival is back, and bigger than ever. Kicking off September 28th, the HPL FF LA 2012 provides a safe haven for Lovecraftians from far and wide to gather at the edge of the continent to beat hideous drums, watch features and shorts, engage in a Cthulhu Prayer Breakfast, listen to author readings and panel discussions, shop, congregate, debate, Q&A, eat, drink, and be merry - all while wearing a fez.

This is year three of the festival's move south to Los Angeles, and the gala keeps growing. Attendance nearly doubled last year, and is expected to take a huge leap forward again in 2012 (please see reports from festivals of years past here and here).

I will provide more details as we grind towards September's end, but for now, check out the conveniently hyperlinked-up press release below, and purchase your passes now via Brown Paper Tickets before they become scarce.

The Grand ol' Warner:  Deco to Die For - photo by Fez-o-rama's head monger Jason Rodgers

The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival® - Los Angeles

September 28 and 29, 2012

NOTE: Although this is "Carmageddon II", and the 405 freeway will be closed between the 10 and 101, the 110 and 105 will be open, and the festival will continue. Don't be afraid of the freeways!

The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival® promotes the works of famed American science fiction and horror author H.P. Lovecraft through motion pictures by both professionals and amateurs, current and classic, national and international. The festival was founded in 1995 by Andrew Migliore in Portland Oregon to promote and encourage film and television adaptations of Lovecraft's great works and other, similar weird tale writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, M.R. James and Robert E. Howard.

This is the third year the HPLFF-LA® has played at the classic art deco Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro, California.

The HPLFF-LA® is partnered with the Grand Vision Foundation, a nonprofit volunteer-run 501(c)(3) organization.

Grand Vision's mission is to preserve and promote the historic Warner Grand Theatre and foster artistic, cultural and educational activities in the Theatre and the Harbor/South Bay area of Los Angeles.

We are sponsored by the San Pedro Historic Waterfront Business Improvement District (PBID).

Tickets purchased here are cheaper than at the door.

FRIDAY NIGHT SPECIAL EVENTS

5pm to 7pm - Join us for dinner at the nearby Whale & Ale, a Victorian-era themed English pub.

Reservations must be made directly with the Whale & Ale here or on their Facebook page.

The are offering us a special discounted meal (salad, choice of entree, dessert) for fest-goers at $21 per person, tax included or, for $17, choose any two entrees off the menu.

Make your reservations directly with the Whale & Ale for Sept. 28, between 5 and 7pm.

11:15pm to 1am - A post-festival party as the Whale & Ale bring us a happy hour menu and prices: $4 English tap beers, house wines, cocktails & a special Happy Hour food menu.

SATURDAY SPECIAL EVENTS

Noon to 4 pm - Brunch 'n Fun at the nearby Grand Vision Annex. Enjoy a delicious catered breakfast from Happy Diner along with indie Lovecraftian games (card, board, and video), spooky author readings, story time, digital art show and the inimitable Cthulhu Prayer Breakfast led by Cody Goodfellow.

THIS IS A SEPARATELY TICKETED EVENT. PURCHASE TICKETS WITH YOUR FESTIVAL TICKETS.

Admission includes food but not alcoholic drinks. Cash bar for 21+, bring photo ID.

11:30 pm to 2am - Post-fest party at the Grand Vision Annex. Cash bar
Theater Schedule

Friday (September 28) - doors open at 7pm

Macabre Fantasy Radio Theater will present a live audio drama of The Statement of Randolph Carter.

Films announced soon!

Saturday (September 29) - doors open at 4pm

The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Collect Call of Cathulhu" - Written by Michael Reaves and originally aired in 1987, this is the first introduction of Cthulhu to the small screen, and a classic, landmark episode.
The Ghostbusters must track down a stolen copy of the Necronomicon. Many inside references mentioned in the dialogue for the HPL fans.
Winston - "Cathulhu? I heard of him. He's bad, right?"
Egon - "He makes Gozer look like Little Mary Sunshine."

South Park: The Coon Trilogy - uncut and uncensored, the kids take on Great Cthulhu himself after he was summoned from BP drilling on the moon.

Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated: Season 1 episode "The Shrieking Madness" -- Following the break-up of Mystery Inc., the gang decides to move on with their lives by touring a nearby university, but they are forced to delay their plans when the campus is terrorized by a mysterious creature known as Char Gar Gothakon, whose screams can destroy anything in its path. With the voices of Jeffrey Combs as "H.P. Hatecraft" and Harlan Ellison as Himself.

Short Subjects: the latest and best independent shorts from around the world

Doctor Glamour by Andrew W. Jones

more films announced later!

GUESTS

Our special guest for 2012 is Michael Reaves, a writer known for scripting series such as Batman: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation and The Twilight Zone. An anthology he co-edited with John Pelan, Shadows Over Baker Street, features Sherlock Holmes stories set in the world of Lovecraft.

Mr. Reaves will receive the Howie Award for his contributions to Lovecraft cinema, penning the classic 1987 episode of The Real Ghostbusters entitled "The Collect Call of Cathulhu", the first time Cthulhu appeared on television.


AUTHORS:
Cody Goodfellow
Denise Dumars
T. E. Grau
Michael Tice
Bryan Thao Worra

VENDORS:
Fez-o-rama
Badali Jewelry Specialties
The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society
more on the way!

Visitors can stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (three blocks from the Warner Grand in the historic district of San Pedro) at a discount. Use code HPL when booking online (discount only good until 8/28).

This festival is presented courtesy of the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival® and Lurker Films (www.lurkerfilms.com).

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This is one of the few times in Southern California when fans of cosmic horror and the Weird can come together, drink beer and wine from large paper cups in a movie theater, and just soak in two full days of Lovecraftiana. It shouldn't be missed. It CANNOT be missed. Come down to the bay and dream with us squids, won't you?

The Man Under the Hat Behind the L.A. Fest - Aaron Vanek

(TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE)

Keeping L.A. Weird: The 2nd Annual H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival Descends on San Pedro Harbor, September 16th and 17th

Art by David Milano

What a difference a year makes...

At roughly this same time last year, I was nervously and hastily prepping for my first gig as roving reporter for Yog-Sothoth.com, tasked with gathering sound bytes at the 1st Annual H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival - Los Angeles.  It was September, 2010, and I had just had my very first Lovecraftian short story ("Transmission") accepted for anthology publication in the anticipated Dead But Dreaming 2 for Misktonic River Press.

Flash forward about 370 days, and I'm nervously and hastily prepping for my first Author's Panel at the 2nd Annual H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, after serving as a judge of the festival screenplay competition.  Dead But Dreaming 2 has been released to widespread renown, and I now have five stories coming out in four other anthologies and publications, as well as a deal in place to release my own collection of short fiction in 2013.  And 2011 ain't even over yet.  There's still much dark business to be done.

What a difference a year makes... But then again, nothing has really changed as far as my enthusiasm and wonder at this amazing scene of devoted Weirdlings.  I just know my neighbors a little better, and they me.

From eager outsider a year ago to eager sorta' insider today, I journey down to edge of the continent later today to take in the opening day of the festival, held at the gorgeous Warner Grand Theater, celebrating its proud 80th birthday as a vibrant, art deco landmark the same year that Lovecraft's masterful "The Whisperer in Darkness" also turns fourscore, which will be properly commemorated this year by the showcasing of the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's monumental adaptation of "Whisperer" on the vast, silvery screen, which is the anchor film of the entire fest, for soon to be obvious reasons.  It's the HPLHS's most ambitious film to date, and promises to blow minds by showing what indie film can do when properly motivated for forces not of this side of the cosmos.

Under the wise and steady guidance of filmmaker and adroit mixologist Aaron Vanek, the festival is already growing, in only its second year.  Based on ticket pre-sales, Vanek expects attendance to more than double, and this year, the festival is getting pre-press in such prestigious media outlets like this damn fine article published in the Los Angeles Times.

The scope of the festival has greatly expanded as well, as this year, an Author's Panel (seating me amongst my far more learned, experienced, and talented peers such as Cody Goodfellow, Michael Tice, Jenna Pitman, and Denise Dumars) has been added at Williams' Book Store across the street from the theater, as well as an expanded slate of films, including several short subjects, in addition to the usual slate of Lovecraft-inspired features new, recent, and from antiquity.  The more classic offerings (shown Friday night) include indie genre film legend Roger Corman's masterful "The Haunted Palace" (1963), a delicious amalgam of Poe and HPL (based on "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward") starring horror icon Vincent Price, which was the first piece of true Lovecraftian cinema ever filmed (Corman will make a video appearance to accept his “Howie” award, an HPLFF tradition that honors filmmakers contributions to film based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft).

Howie Award winner and my wizened yet spry boyfriend Roger Corman

More impressive still, Vanek busted out some salty, eldritch Magick to wrangle a brand new 35 mm print of the 1933 time travel film "Berkeley Square."  One of Lovecraft's favorite movies that he watched four times, "Berkeley Square" provided the creative impetus for HPL to pen one of his finest stories, "The Shadow Out of Time."

Saturday's slate is more contemporary, with "Cast a Deadly Spell," Spain's "La Sombra Prohibida" ("The Forbidden Shadow"), an exciting raft of short films (all entered into a contest judged by Hollywood heavyweight and devoted Lovecraftian Guillermo del Toro), and finally "The Whisperer in Darkness" closing the night, followed by a Q&A with co-writer/director Sean Branney and co-writer/producer Andrew Leman of the HPLHS.  According to the Time's article:

"The exhibit of the film’s props, costumes and miniature sets will be on display in the theater’s Grand Vision Annex — attendees will be able to tour the exhibit during a VIP reception on Friday and at the closing night reception, which is open to all ticketholders on Saturday."

The number of vendors has increased, as well, with a diverse and kickass collection that includes Famous Monsters of Filmland, Fez-o-Rama, Badali Jewelry, The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, SighCo, Arkham Bazaar, David Milano, Joyner Studio, Strange Aeons Magazine, and Perilous Press & Mike Dubisch.  On a personal level, I'm super excited that stellar artist and pal Nick "The Hat" Gucker is flying down on gaunt, nighted wings from mist huddled Seattle to exercise some creative demons, work on his tan, rep the fantastic Strange Aeons, and hand out bookmarks to celebrate the upcoming release of the Aklonomicon (which features my stories "Flutes" and "In the Cave, She Sang," both with exceptional art by Paul Carrick, previously written about in The Comicomicon here).  The weepy man hugging will be the stuff of legend.

But, to quote the great Marty Di Bergi from Spinal Tap:  "Enough of my yakkin.  Let's boogie."  Indeed... Boogie your ass down to San Pedro Friday and Saturday evening, if only to inform your curious soul that the present and future of Lovecraftiana is as vibrant, exciting, and sanity-threatening as ever.

(Get all your festival and ticket information here, as well as further vendor info here)

BTW, there will be several readings during the panel, including my beloved Ives honoring me beyond measure by giving velvet voice to one of my tales.  You'll have to show up to find out which one...

Keep your eyeball smashed to this space in the days following the festival for a full-on report, complete with candid photos, embarrassing anecdotes, and clues to the location of a hidden body or two...