| From Fan to Pro & Back Again Peter Gutiérrez & Rob Hauschild February 14, 2009 |
About "From Fan to Pro...and Back Again"
How can simply watching too many movies as a fan lead to
writing about them professionally… or starting a magazine… or a
DVD label? And is there really such a big difference between the
terms “fan” and “pro” as some would have us believe?
For probably longer than they care to admit, Rob Hauschild and
Peter Gutiérrez have been channeling their fannish tendencies
into things like journalism, writing comics, media production, and
teaching. In this slideshow-based talk, they’ll discuss their personal
genre touchstones—not as classics deemed such by “experts” but
as pop culture items that have inspired them and, in many cases,
probably you as well. From the guilty pleasures of 42nd Street's
grindhouses in the ‘70s and ‘80s to the even guiltier pleasures of
NYC’s similarly extinct art/revival house scene, the speakers will
chart a past that remains too vital to them for its exploration to
be called nostalgic.
Rob Hauschild is a New Jersey-based writer, editor and cult film
purveyor whose genre credits include Fangoria, Total Movie and
RAMP, alongside many other mags and fanzines. His three-part
series, "Heavy Horrors" compiles a history of heavy metal music
and themes in horror movies and currently appears in Metal
Maniacs magazine. Rob also founded and published the cult
genre magazine VeX (1995-2000), and is presently co-owner
and producer for DVD label Wild Eye, focusing on offbeat horror
and cult movies. Rob can be seen in the documentary Creature
Feature: 50 Years of the Gillman, where he serves as expert on
domestic and international movies that are knock-offs of the
original Creature from the Black Lagoon; he is also featured/
interviewed in the upcoming Outlaw Horror Geeks: The Book
and can currently be heard most Sunday nights at midnight on
New Jersey freeform radio WFMU (91.1) as a guest of absurdist
stunt radio host Professor Dum Dum. Visit Rob's website at www.
wildeyereleasing.com.
Peter Gutiérrez has been a professional writer for close to
twenty years. He is probably best known for his work in comics in
the 1990's when he wrote the best-selling indie title SHI: THE
WAY OF THE WARRIOR, eventually spending several years under
contract developing a film version that was never produced. The
other comics characters he was fortunate enough to write
include Grifter, Daredevil, and Witchblade. As an editor, he
developed the historically-minded SHI: SENRYAKU mini-series,
which featured art by Jeff Smith, Joe Quesada, Marc Silvestri, and
Jim Lee among others. In 1997, he was nominated for a Will
Eisner Comic Industry Award for creating and writing SHI:
KAIDAN, a collection of original Japanese ghost stories on which
he collaborated with Michael Kaluta, David Mack, and Stan Sakai.
These days Peter is still involved in the world of comics and
graphic novels, focusing on their value to both literature and
literacy. Recent speaking engagements include the ’08 and ’09
New York Comic Cons, SPLAT! (the graphic novel symposium),
the New York City School Library Fall Conference, and Fordham
University’s “Graphica in Education” conference in late January.
On May 8 he will speak at a day-long celebration of comics and
graphic novels at the combined Massachusetts Library Association
and Massachusetts School Library Annual Conference. Much of
his work in this area is done as an advisor to Diamond Book
Distributors, to whose magazine BOOKSHELF he is a frequent
contributor. He is also the graphic novel columnist for
FOREWORD Magazine, and has written on the topic for
GRAPHIC NOVEL REPORTER, SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, and
COMIPRESS.
For Peter's full bio, click here www.sfsnnj.com/GutierrezBio.
htm or visit him on MySpace at www.myspace.
com/peter_gutierrez.
How can simply watching too many movies as a fan lead to
writing about them professionally… or starting a magazine… or a
DVD label? And is there really such a big difference between the
terms “fan” and “pro” as some would have us believe?
For probably longer than they care to admit, Rob Hauschild and
Peter Gutiérrez have been channeling their fannish tendencies
into things like journalism, writing comics, media production, and
teaching. In this slideshow-based talk, they’ll discuss their personal
genre touchstones—not as classics deemed such by “experts” but
as pop culture items that have inspired them and, in many cases,
probably you as well. From the guilty pleasures of 42nd Street's
grindhouses in the ‘70s and ‘80s to the even guiltier pleasures of
NYC’s similarly extinct art/revival house scene, the speakers will
chart a past that remains too vital to them for its exploration to
be called nostalgic.
Rob Hauschild is a New Jersey-based writer, editor and cult film
purveyor whose genre credits include Fangoria, Total Movie and
RAMP, alongside many other mags and fanzines. His three-part
series, "Heavy Horrors" compiles a history of heavy metal music
and themes in horror movies and currently appears in Metal
Maniacs magazine. Rob also founded and published the cult
genre magazine VeX (1995-2000), and is presently co-owner
and producer for DVD label Wild Eye, focusing on offbeat horror
and cult movies. Rob can be seen in the documentary Creature
Feature: 50 Years of the Gillman, where he serves as expert on
domestic and international movies that are knock-offs of the
original Creature from the Black Lagoon; he is also featured/
interviewed in the upcoming Outlaw Horror Geeks: The Book
and can currently be heard most Sunday nights at midnight on
New Jersey freeform radio WFMU (91.1) as a guest of absurdist
stunt radio host Professor Dum Dum. Visit Rob's website at www.
wildeyereleasing.com.
Peter Gutiérrez has been a professional writer for close to
twenty years. He is probably best known for his work in comics in
the 1990's when he wrote the best-selling indie title SHI: THE
WAY OF THE WARRIOR, eventually spending several years under
contract developing a film version that was never produced. The
other comics characters he was fortunate enough to write
include Grifter, Daredevil, and Witchblade. As an editor, he
developed the historically-minded SHI: SENRYAKU mini-series,
which featured art by Jeff Smith, Joe Quesada, Marc Silvestri, and
Jim Lee among others. In 1997, he was nominated for a Will
Eisner Comic Industry Award for creating and writing SHI:
KAIDAN, a collection of original Japanese ghost stories on which
he collaborated with Michael Kaluta, David Mack, and Stan Sakai.
These days Peter is still involved in the world of comics and
graphic novels, focusing on their value to both literature and
literacy. Recent speaking engagements include the ’08 and ’09
New York Comic Cons, SPLAT! (the graphic novel symposium),
the New York City School Library Fall Conference, and Fordham
University’s “Graphica in Education” conference in late January.
On May 8 he will speak at a day-long celebration of comics and
graphic novels at the combined Massachusetts Library Association
and Massachusetts School Library Annual Conference. Much of
his work in this area is done as an advisor to Diamond Book
Distributors, to whose magazine BOOKSHELF he is a frequent
contributor. He is also the graphic novel columnist for
FOREWORD Magazine, and has written on the topic for
GRAPHIC NOVEL REPORTER, SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, and
COMIPRESS.
For Peter's full bio, click here www.sfsnnj.com/GutierrezBio.
htm or visit him on MySpace at www.myspace.
com/peter_gutierrez.
Hauschild last night (2/14/09) for a fantastic event. Peter and
Rob's enthusiasm for their topic was infectious! If Starsky and
Hutch, only the coolest 'buddies' to hit TV ever, were film critics,
they'd be Peter and Rob. This was one fun night that had the
audience involved. The night was a fun-filled, fear-filled walk
down memory lane that had us commiserating, laughing and
remembering fondly.
Peter and Rob had a great visual presentation prepared for us.
It was fun to see people light up when they recognized a film. It
was even more fun when Peter and Rob would throw in 'trivia'
questions - winners got cool swag. Competition was fierce, and
some got way more swag than others. Next time, Barry may not
raise his hand.
The presentation, From Fan to Pro and Back Again, delved
into the beginnings of Peter and Rob's love of film - from classic
B & W horror to 70's grindhouse and beyond. They took turns
discussing the ins and outs of their childhood, often with very
funny results. Both Peter and Rob talked about being taken to
movies, many age inappropriate, by their dads. Peter talked
about being terrified by certain films and not even being able to
watch the ending. It was hysterical to hear him recall how his
father had to leave the theater with him crying all the way up the
aisle. His, "remember the kid who was crying and had to leave
the theater crying the whole way? Yeah, that was me with
Theater of Blood." Rob had a similar story with the trailer for
Suspiria. That awful little girl brushing her hair and then turning
around to be a horrific skull. He told us he slept in his parent's
bed for about a week, and couldn't watch shampoo commercials
for some time either. Rob had many audience members
nodding in remembered fear. Gene had very clear memories of
that very same trailer.
The presentation was thorough, well-though out and covered an
array of films and genres. It was amusing to hear Rob explain
his mix of horror and Disney films being responsible for his later
tastes in film. Odd mix that many of the audience shared
growing up around same time. Rob also talked about going to
the drive-in and spending all day watching movies.
Peter had fond memories of the Park Hill Theater in Yonkers,
which I shared with him, as did Gene. Shout out to Yonkers and
the twisted youth it produced ;)
Peter and Rob provided an excellent presentation and did a
great job of taking turns and trading off as each recalled how a
certain film influenced them, scared them and eventually shaped
the fan into the pro. It was a fascinating journey to travel with
them and a lot of fun to see how the two turned a love of film
into a professional venture. So many times you wonder, "how'd
they get from point A to point B?" Peter and Rob not only told
us how, but also had us walking the path with them. We
walked from theaters to movies and back again.
Peter and Rob talked for well over two hours and it wasn't
enough. Here's a look at films discussed: Theater of Blood (look,
there goes Peter being escorted out of the movie by his
embarrassed dad), Vampyr, Beneath the Planet of the Apes,
Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Shakedown, Suspiria (no
shampoo commercials, ever!), Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, The
Sadist, The Tingler, Enter the Dragon, Evil Dead 2, Hardboiled,
Bluebeard's Ghost, The Bodyguard (Sonny Chiba), Seven Samurai,
Exterminating Angel, Spirits of the Dead, 5 Fingers of Death,
Metropolis, The Omega Man, Kwaidan, Maniac (1934), Hour of
the Wolf, I, Claudius (TV) (this was a favorite of both Thom Purdy
and Ana), The Prisoner (TV), The Third Man, Jaws 2, Jules and
Jim, Midnight (1982), Galaxy of Terror, Dawn of the Dead, Night
of the Living Dead, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Children Shouldn't
Play with Dead Things, Nighthawks, Polyester, The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre, Sullivan's Travels.
As the films above were shown on the screen, Peter and Rob
would toss out trivia questions. We had lots of winners. Barry,
the swag-stealer, took the lead. Dean took a couple of trips to
the prize table. Chris, Gene, Brian K, Ana, Steve Rubin, Steve
Spinosa, Kate, Todd and several others took home prizes.
Peter and Rob had a natural rapport with each other and the
group. It made for a fun time. It was getting late and the guys
wrapped things up (much to our regret). Excellent guests,
excellent presentation and an overall great time. A big thanks to
Peter and Rob for such a wonderful time.
Rob's enthusiasm for their topic was infectious! If Starsky and
Hutch, only the coolest 'buddies' to hit TV ever, were film critics,
they'd be Peter and Rob. This was one fun night that had the
audience involved. The night was a fun-filled, fear-filled walk
down memory lane that had us commiserating, laughing and
remembering fondly.
Peter and Rob had a great visual presentation prepared for us.
It was fun to see people light up when they recognized a film. It
was even more fun when Peter and Rob would throw in 'trivia'
questions - winners got cool swag. Competition was fierce, and
some got way more swag than others. Next time, Barry may not
raise his hand.
The presentation, From Fan to Pro and Back Again, delved
into the beginnings of Peter and Rob's love of film - from classic
B & W horror to 70's grindhouse and beyond. They took turns
discussing the ins and outs of their childhood, often with very
funny results. Both Peter and Rob talked about being taken to
movies, many age inappropriate, by their dads. Peter talked
about being terrified by certain films and not even being able to
watch the ending. It was hysterical to hear him recall how his
father had to leave the theater with him crying all the way up the
aisle. His, "remember the kid who was crying and had to leave
the theater crying the whole way? Yeah, that was me with
Theater of Blood." Rob had a similar story with the trailer for
Suspiria. That awful little girl brushing her hair and then turning
around to be a horrific skull. He told us he slept in his parent's
bed for about a week, and couldn't watch shampoo commercials
for some time either. Rob had many audience members
nodding in remembered fear. Gene had very clear memories of
that very same trailer.
The presentation was thorough, well-though out and covered an
array of films and genres. It was amusing to hear Rob explain
his mix of horror and Disney films being responsible for his later
tastes in film. Odd mix that many of the audience shared
growing up around same time. Rob also talked about going to
the drive-in and spending all day watching movies.
Peter had fond memories of the Park Hill Theater in Yonkers,
which I shared with him, as did Gene. Shout out to Yonkers and
the twisted youth it produced ;)
Peter and Rob provided an excellent presentation and did a
great job of taking turns and trading off as each recalled how a
certain film influenced them, scared them and eventually shaped
the fan into the pro. It was a fascinating journey to travel with
them and a lot of fun to see how the two turned a love of film
into a professional venture. So many times you wonder, "how'd
they get from point A to point B?" Peter and Rob not only told
us how, but also had us walking the path with them. We
walked from theaters to movies and back again.
Peter and Rob talked for well over two hours and it wasn't
enough. Here's a look at films discussed: Theater of Blood (look,
there goes Peter being escorted out of the movie by his
embarrassed dad), Vampyr, Beneath the Planet of the Apes,
Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Shakedown, Suspiria (no
shampoo commercials, ever!), Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, The
Sadist, The Tingler, Enter the Dragon, Evil Dead 2, Hardboiled,
Bluebeard's Ghost, The Bodyguard (Sonny Chiba), Seven Samurai,
Exterminating Angel, Spirits of the Dead, 5 Fingers of Death,
Metropolis, The Omega Man, Kwaidan, Maniac (1934), Hour of
the Wolf, I, Claudius (TV) (this was a favorite of both Thom Purdy
and Ana), The Prisoner (TV), The Third Man, Jaws 2, Jules and
Jim, Midnight (1982), Galaxy of Terror, Dawn of the Dead, Night
of the Living Dead, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Children Shouldn't
Play with Dead Things, Nighthawks, Polyester, The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre, Sullivan's Travels.
As the films above were shown on the screen, Peter and Rob
would toss out trivia questions. We had lots of winners. Barry,
the swag-stealer, took the lead. Dean took a couple of trips to
the prize table. Chris, Gene, Brian K, Ana, Steve Rubin, Steve
Spinosa, Kate, Todd and several others took home prizes.
Peter and Rob had a natural rapport with each other and the
group. It made for a fun time. It was getting late and the guys
wrapped things up (much to our regret). Excellent guests,
excellent presentation and an overall great time. A big thanks to
Peter and Rob for such a wonderful time.
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