So you live in Eastern Massachusetts and you have a boring week ahead. Take this Wednesday, for instance: Nothing to do! The Red Sox didn’t make the World Series, so you won’t be watching the game. TV is dead on Wednesday nights, and you can’t go out drinking (OK, shouldn’t), ’cause you’ve got work the next day. What are you gonna do so that you don’t die of bordom?
Easy: Go to the Cape Ann Cinema in Gloucester on Wednesday, October 29, for a night of fan films, hosted by yours truly!
Come revel in the cinematic glory of the best fan films ever, up on the silver screen where they belong! See classic flicks like Troops, Batman: Dead End, Moonraker ’78 and plenty more! Discover the crazy story behind the making of the underground legend, Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation. Gawk at vintage fan movies from the 1920s and ’30s. All this, plus even more flicks, starring the most famous characters of all-time.
AND we’ll be showing one of the few fan films ever to get slammed with a “Cease and Desist;” that’s right, so good that the lawyers had to shut it down! It’s a legendary flick—and a good one—and this is the first time it’s been shown anywhere in 10 years. We’ll reveal the mystery movie here on Fan Cinema Today on Tuesday!
Between movies, I’ll be talking about the history of fan films; handing out postcards with coupon codes so you can buy my fan film book, Homemade Hollywood, for a cheaper price than Amazon when it comes out; and who knows? We might even be able to scrape up a few galley copies of the book to give away with a raffle or trivia contest. It’s true—come see some cool fan flicks and you might go home with a free book (Yes, this event was supposed to include a book signing, but that becomes a royal PITA when your book’s release date gets bumped back a month. No Books = No Signing. SIGH…what can you do?).
The event is sponsored by the long-running Mass Bay Film Project, which has just opened its new home this month at the Gloucester Stage Company theater. MBFP is breaking in the new space by hosting SIXTY movies in 33 days. Anyone crazy enough to attempt that is probably a fan film fan, right? Oh, heck yeah—MBFA’s creative and managing director, Robert Newton, was one of the architects of the now-legendary fan film convention, Fanzilla. To this day, I kick myself for missing that event—so don’t wind up kicking yourself for missing out on this one! It’s just one measly hour north of Boston; if I’m coming all the way from New York City, you can drive a few minutes to Gloucester!
Gloucester Stage Company /
Cape Ann Cinema
267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA
(978) 282-1988 [TIMES]
(978) 309-8448 [HUMAN]
Best of luck at the festival Clive, Be sure to make us proud! -FW
Looking forward to your big scoop! Enjoy MA!