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Disney is such an all-consuming, slickly mechanized corporate beast that it is easy to forget that, just a few decades ago, it was a family business that had fallen into disrepair and was painfully uncool to the rest of Hollywood.

Thankfully, Tom Hanks is here to remind us.

Hanks was a guest on Sirius Xm’s “The Jess Cagle Show,” and when Cagle brought up the fact Hanks once appeared on “Happy Days,” it led to a fascinating story about how that brief appearance (where Hanks played a guy who kicks Fonzie through a plate-glass window) would lead to the biggest break of his nascent career – his role in “Splash.” Watch above.

As it turns out, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel were the head writers on “Happy Days” when Hanks filmed his episode. Ron Howard had already left “Happy Days” and was working on what would be the 1984 hit “Splash” with the film’s writers.

Many people throughout the years have been referred to as “Disney Legends,” usually based on their close proximity to the company or for working on multiple projects with them. But starting in the late 1980s, becoming a Disney Legend was something that would actually happen – you’d get a statue and a golden, lifetime ticket to all of the Disney Parks and your handprints would soon be immortalized in Legends Plaza, an area on the Disney Lot in Burbank (formerly the reflection pool for the masterful Team Disney Burbank building designed by postmodern architect Michael Graves). In recent years, a lavish ceremony has been added to the D23 Expo, the all-Disney version of Comic-Con, that happens every two years in Anaheim.

While this year’s inductees have yet to be announced, we have some ideas about who should be honored this year:

Robert A.M. Stern Disney

Like Graves, Stern is...

The sense of pride and excitement we feel at Dread Central whenever we release one of our Dread titles can’t be understated. It’s an event. It’s a big deal. It’s personal. It’s something we invested countless hours into and knowing that you, the target audience, get to see them is really incredible. That’s why I […] The post Misfits’ Michale Graves Joins Modern Horror’s God Country appeared first on Dread Central.

Hey there, creeps! As you know I love turnin’ you ghouls on to new music, and this time I got somethin’ a bit different for ya — a band that embraces a multitude of 90s-era alternative influences to create their own unique sound: The Foxfires! Of course they are fans of our beloved horror biz as well, as you will see as you read on!

Famous Monsters. Welcome, fellas. Please have a seat… pick any coffin you want! Now let’s kick off this lil’ convo with an introduction!

Foxfires. Our name is the Foxfires; we’re a Seagaze band from Nyack, NY. Seagaze is a clever combination of indie rock and 90s alternative. Our influences include My Bloody Valentine, Foals, Nirvana, and Silversun Pickups. We came up with the term “Seagaze” based on the feeling you get when gazing out into the ocean when you’re on the shore.

FM.

Ex-Misfits front-man Michale Graves live in Dallas. The tiny but lively Dallas venue, Three Links, celebrated its three year anniversary this past Sunday night with a powerful concert blowout. To honor the occasion, Michale Graves, former front man of The Misfits, the horror punk band that started an entire sub-genre of music, headlined the show. …

The post Concert Report Plus 39 Exclusive Photos: Ex-Misfits Singer Michale Graves Live in Dallas appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

Good news, my creeps: Michale Graves‘ new horror rock opus When Worlds Collide is almost here, and I’ve had a chance to let it fill up my eerie earholes! Read on for a full review, an interview with the man himself, and more!

Michale Graves – When Worlds Collide (Music Review)

• Release Date: Available Now

I can’t even describe how excited I was to get my greedy lil’ claws on the latest release from Michale Graves. Not only is this the newest entry in his legacy of horror-punk-terror tunes, this album promised a first: a sequel to a song he penned back in his tenure in the group that started the whole shebang, the Misfits… and not just any song, my fiends—this would be a follow up to what is undoubtedly his signature song, Crying on a Saturday Night! Admittedly, that is a s–t-ton to live up to,...

Hey creeps, welcome back to the Crypt! Before we get to the revoltin’ reviews, I want to mention that ol’ monstrous Michale Graves has officially launched a Kickstarter to get When Worlds Collide into yer talons and claws, so give it a look-see, and pony up some dough if ya can!

Also of note, this column debuts my new rating system (created by Coffin Club Member #1 Bob Gosh), with every review given between 5 (totally rad) and 1 (totally dogs–t) skulls!

Now, on with the spookshow!

The Funhouse Massacre

• Release Date: In Theaters Now

• Written By: Ben Begley, Renee Dorian

• Directed By: Andy Palmer

• Starring: Robert Englund, Clint Howard, Chasty Ballesteros, Scottie Thompson

Roll up, roll up, and let’s feast our putrid peepers on the new fright flick The Funhouse Massacre. Will it have the goods to slake our unending thirst for monsters and mayhem, or will it be the...

As you know my creeps, I’m usually all about what I can lay my eerie eyeballs upon, but I’m also a huge fan of arcane audios as well! So, to that end, this go-around of the ol’ revoltin’ reviews is purely devoted to sinister sonics (and one short film…)!

Michale Graves:

Ripper (Short Film) Revenge Of The Zombies The Hydraulic-entertainment Demos

Kickin’ off this lil’ monster mash comes a trio of new releases from the hardest workin’ man in horror punk—Michale Graves! First up we have the short film Ripper.

Directed and written by Hydraulic-Entertainment main-man Mark Allen Stuart, Ripper tells the tale of a man named Robert Sanden (played by Graves) who can see strange beings among us that others cannot. Determined to convince anyone he can that these creatures exist, ol’ Bob creates a pair of glasses that will allow folks to see the mutants in our midst.

Holy Cats my fiends, the gruesome goodie bag is overflowin’ this week! In fact, I’m just gonna stop jawin’… hey, stop clappin you little… anyway, let’s get crackin’ with an interview with my good pals and card-carryin’ Daniel Xiii Coffin Club members Michale Graves and Mark Allen Stuart! These lads have got a veritable ton of cool horror punk goodness for ya, not to mention a lil’ exclusive contest for readers of this here creepy column!

Famous Monsters. We-hell, let’s just dive right in! Why not gives us all of the diabolical details about the upcoming release Zombies Unite?

Mark Allen Stuart. Well, the Zombies Unite project with Night of Samhain is a very special project indeed. We were originally contacted by the band—who resides in Russia—and they asked if we would release their new album on our Vile of Venom label. We requested a...

When I first came across this Finnish quartet via the music video “The End of Prom Night,” they were still experimenting with adding touches of horror imagery to a more mainstream brand of poppy post-hardcore – much in the mode of Black Veil Brides, but with a more playful dynamic. This year, I found the band stirring shock rock, horror punk, alt-metal and dark carnival ingredients into the stew for their new album, which goes by the whopper of a title Featuring Dr. Gruesome and the Gruesome Gory Horror Show, and for a split second I wasn't sure I was listening to the same guys... but I did like what I was hearing so far, so I dug deeper. When I caught the single “Will You Meet Me in the Graveyard?” with its accompanying lyric video packed with sick scenes from dozens of horror movies, the band finally landed my undivided attention.

The 2011 Undead Festival took place last weekend (October 21-23) in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and Dread Central was on the scene. We've returned with an overflowing image gallery and the following day-by-day event report. Read on to see what you might have missed so you can make your plans to be there next year!

New Jersey is becoming a veritable melting pot in which we appropriate anything awesome anyone does around the U.S. (or even the planet in some cases). As is the NJ tradition, we see something we like, we make it Ours!! In recent years this has included roller derby, burlesque events, Dr. Sketchy and the all-important Zombie Walk. Last year the Asbury Park Zombie Walk drew crowds of over 5 thousand shambling undead, all counted by the Guinness Book of World's Records, shattering the previous record. This year the promoters of this event, led by an overworked...

The producers of last year’s Guinness World Record breaking New Jersey Zombie Walk present the 2011 Undead Festival ... because one day of zombie fun just isn’t enough! Alongside the world famous Zombie Walk, this year’s three-day event includes live entertainment, brand new movies to chill your bones, rows of vendors with spooky goodies, celebrities from your favorite horror films, and lots of free swag to take home! Here are some of the highlights...

• Take in the New Jersey premieres of films Chillerama and The Dead on Friday night, October 21, free to all convention attendees!

• The NJ Zombie Walk 2011, Saturday, October 22nd: A team of professional make-up artists will be on hand to give demonstrations and assist in giving complete zombie makeovers for a nominal fee to cover the artist’s expenses. The day starts at 10am, but the walk itself begins at 5pm so don’t be late!

Attention, filmmakers! The third annual San Antonio Horrific Film Fest is looking for your feature-length or short film for this year's contest. The winning entry will get national distribution for your film. Not enough? Okay, read on.

In addition, they're also looking for the Horrific Gothic Queen, who will host the entire five day-festival and star in two Internet commercials for next year's festival, be cast in three Ortiz Entertainment movies, and be awarded a metric ton of other prizes (weight of prize packages may be exaggerated).

All of this is going down August 25th through the 29th in San Antonio, Texas, at the third annual Horrific Film Fest. The purpose of the festival is to give more opportunities and exposure to indie filmmakers around the world. In addition to seeing some great indie flicks, films also compete for awards like best actor and actress, best special effects, and more.

Chicago – Lionsgate and After Dark Films’ recently released their third collection of “8 Films to Die For” and this year proved to be the most uninspiring octet to date. With fewer risks taken than the last two years and less extreme failures or successes, “After Dark Horrorfest III” is terrifyingly dull.

Overall DVD Rating: 2.0/5.0 What makes this year’s collection rather forgettable is the lack of extremes on either side of the rating spectrum. The first two years produced some truly excellent genre gems including “Borderland,” “The Hamiltons,” and “The Abandoned.” At the same time, movies like “Dead Lake,” “Undead,” and “Nightmare Man” should be buried in a deep hole and never see the light of day again.

I have to admit that I liked the variety in quality of the last two years more than this year, when nearly every film registered as forgettable more than good or bad. There was one notable standout,...

It’s nothing short of a Horrorfest this evening on Fangoria Radio. Tonight’s show (airing on Sirius Xm Stars satellite radio, Sirius channel 102/Xm channel 155, from 10 p.m.-1 a.m. Est, with a repeat immediately after), hosted by Dee Snider and Tony Timpone with Debbie Rochon calling in, is devoted to celebrating this week’s Lionsgate DVD releases of the latest 8 Films to Die For:

• Director Craig Singer and actor/former Misfits frontman Michale Graves share their experiences making Perkins’ 14 (pictured), the trendsetting Internet/fan-created shocker

• Autopsy director Adam Gierasch and his co-writer Jace Anderson dissect their gory hospital flick, and hopefully reveal a few details about their upcoming Night Of The Demons remake

• Elizabeth Rice, the talented lead actress of Phedon Papamichael’s From Within, adds a little beauty to the horrific proceedings as she discusses her turn in the fest’s standout supernatural flick

• Director Seth Grossman...

Greetings Fango Fiends! Psycho Bunny here with another look at the past seven days of blood-soaked horror delights. As if you didn't notice from the media onslaught, our old pal Voorhees is back, his old nemesis Freddy Krueger is about to be, and H2 is about to shoot. Is this 1989 or 2009? Either way, it's a great year to be a horror fan, and with Fangoria's 30th Anniversary Celebration set to kick off in a mere three weeks, 2009 just keeps getting better! Ready for a crash course in the latest horror? Well let's get started.

I've taken the entire week, and broken it down by category. Click the links to read the articles...

Fangoria Entertainment Updates:

-Sneak-Peek: Fangoria #282 (April 2009)

-Fangoria #281 hits the streets!

-Short Cuts: Fangoria.com’s new Bloody Blog

-New Clive Barker film directors set for La Fango con

-Re-introducing Fangoria Slices!

-Feel the Friday fear on Fangoria Radio!

The second day of the New York Comic Con has ended, and I have had an exciting and busy day. I began by touring the con with Fangoria TV, including video producer Ian David and Managing Editor Mike Gingold. We ran into Michael Graves, former lead singer of The Misfts, and now star of the new After Dark horror film Perkins 14. We also got a moment to speak with 30 Days Of Night writer and comic book legend, Steve Niles.

I the met up with fashion writer Jess from Fangoria’s Cult Couture. We roamed the con looking for hot new fashion items. We found some great gear and made some new friends in the process.

Back at the Fango booth, Chris and Fangoria intern Sam spread the word of Fango and told everyone all about our three upcoming conventions in Chicago, La, and New York.

Ian David bought us all $5 soft pretzels and $4 sodas.

One of the most intriguing entries the third annual After Dark Horrorfest, running January 9-15 at theaters nationwide, looks to be Perkins’ 14. The nature of its inception—it was born out of an on-line competition in which horror fans submitted their own pitches, voted for cast members and even designed the poster—has made the film eagerly anticipated by the fear community.

Those who attend the 6 p.m. screening this Sunday, January 11 at New York City’s AMC Loews Village 7 (66 3rd Avenue at 11th Street) will get a chance to meet the cast and one of the creators in person. An autograph signing accompanying this show will feature director Craig Singer (helmer of the first Horrorfest’s Dark Ride) and actors Michale Graves, Mihaela Milhut, Gregory O’Connor, Patrick O’Kane, C.J. Singer and Torri Singer. In addition to this and the other previously scheduled showtimes, Singer let us...

The folks over at Massify.com just gave Fangoria the heads-up that their new website for Perkins 14 is now online boasting exclusive webisodes (see the first below) following the creation of the film from start to finish.

Perkins 14 was developed as the first-ever "fan-created" horror movie, with  viewers assisting in the entire development and casting process online in a joint venture between Massify and After Dark Films. Fangoria's own Tony Timpone served as an industry judge in the contest, and Perkins 14 will hit theatres next month as part of the Horrorfest III lineup.

For more on Perkins 14, check out "Digging up The Bones- 13 Questions with Michale Graves plus exclusive Perkins' 14 video", right here at Fangoria.com, then pick up a copy of Fangoria #279 (shipping this week) for even more.

Greetings Fango fiends! Psycho Bunny is back again with another look at the last week in Horror. Read on for a recap of the past week, and a couple updates that people have been waiting for, fresh from the world of Fangoria. How about some digital archives?

Free Screening:

Free Timecrimes screening in San Francisco 12/16!

Features:

Digging up The Bones- 13 Questions with Michale Graves plus exclusive Perkins' 14 video clip Out of Her Mind With Fear After Dark My Sweet- Childhood Nightmares Brought to Still Life American Film Market 2008, Part Two: The Reviews Horror News:

Digging up The Bones- 13 Questions with Michale Graves plus exclusive Perkins' 14 video clip Let The Right One In gets DVD date First set report on Joe Dante’s The Hole Cabin Fever 2, Burrowers and more Lionsgate release news Todd McFarlane responds to layoffs @ McFarlane Toys Kingdom Of The Spiders crawls toward Se DVD June...

Michale Graves is a modern day horror renaissance man- from his high profile debut as the frontman of The Misfits to multiple tours around the world with his various solo projects to upcoming stints with Marky Ramone and his recent acting gig in the After Dark film Perkins' 14, he is one busy man who is definitely in charge of his destiny and ready to take over the world. Fangoria had the chance to speak with Michael recently and got the scoop on all his current projects.

Fangoria: Greetings, Michale, and big thanks for taking the time to talk to us here at Fangoria. Being a huge fan of your work starting with your turn as frontman for the Misfits to Gotham Road to Graves to your current solo career, its an honor and a pleasure to speak with you on projects past and present. Getting right into it, let...

An early look at footage from the After Dark Films original Perkins' 14 is now online at Fangoria. Get a peek at roughly two minutes right here ; it's settled beneath a lengthy interview with co-star Michale Graves. Perkins' 14 , directed by Craig Singer, opens in theaters on January 9th and is one of "8 films to die for" in Horrorfest III .

Perkin’s 14, a film about cults, murder, and redemption, reached picture lock recently and is currently at Molinare, a post-production house in the UK. During a recent visit to the film’s editing room, director Craig Singer told us that Perkins' 14 is the real deal: all practical effects, a cast filled with non-sag actors and dash of 70’s horror show.

The director’s choice for fresh faces was a conscious decision to enhance the film’s authenticity. These actors have “no baggage” and “aren’t distracting” to the movie going audience who know, for the most part, the big stars are going to live, while the rest of the cast is kindling. With unknowns, the audience might not know who will be knocked off first. The casting also sits in stark contrast to the horror films churned out of Hollywood as of late, littered with name genre actors and...

During the recent Monster Mania convention, when we gave you guys the first look at Craig Singer’s Perkins’ 14, we started hearing that former Misfits frontman Michale Graves’ role in the film wasn’t just a glorified cameo like we had assumed, but actually a real acting part.

The guys at Live Metal must’ve heard the same thing because during a recent interview with Graves they picked the man’s brain as to how he came to be involved with Perkins’ 14, which goes back to Singer’s early directing days and Graves’ early singing days...

There’s also some really good insight as to the possibilities of a Misfits reunion, so be sure to head over to Live Metal to start digging. Perkins’ 14 is part of After Dark Films’ Horrorfest III, which runs January 2nd-9th, 2009.

- Johnny Butane

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