GHOULIGANS HOST OUR FINAL MONSTERCAST!

Well, it’s been an amazing year, celebrating the centennial of the monster movie.  To close it out, we have a special Christmas-themed marathon of FOUR  movies, plus trailers, cartoons, trivia, prizes and live chat with hosts and thousands of fellow fans!

Our good friends THE GHOULIGANS have been working hard for the last few weeks, recording all kinds of monster-rific Ghoultide cheer, and they’ll be hosting the FRIDAY NIGHT CHAT-ALONG MONSTERCAST this Friday, December 24 at 8PM EST on 100YMM.com! Featuring the Christmas classics Santa Claus Conquers The Martians, Silent Night Bloody Night, plus two versions of the Scrooge story, including one hosted by Vincent Price!

Next week, as the 100YMM celebration ends, a new era begins: the (soft) launch of THE MONSTER CHANNEL!

That’s right, the first interactive 24/7 channel for fans of fright films, featuring classic movies, tv series, trailers, shorts, indie horror movies, horror-rock and shockabilly music videos, the world’s greatest horror hosts, original programming, and most of all, you! Now you can join thousands of your fellow horror fans from all over the globe at any time – the chatroom will be open 24/7!

So, come by this weekend for some Christmas cheer with the Ghouligans, and join us next week at The Monster Channel!

MS. MONSTER HOSTS AGAIN 6/11 — & SPECIAL GUEST!

Last week, 100YMM‘s chatrooms were on fire as Ms. Monster and her Monster Melons hosted our weekly “Chat-Along” Double Feature Monstercast!  1940s cheesefests The Flying Serpent and The Devil Bat bookended almost four hours of madcap entertainment, featuring prerecorded and live bits by the lovely blue-skinned creature and her green skinned companions, plus trailers, cartoons and government warning films from the ’50s.  Prizes were given out every 20 minutes or so and the attendance rivaled the original 3-day marathon that started it all back in March!

So, back by popular demand, Ms. Monster and the melons, “Tit” and “Tat” will be back for A COMPLETELY LIVE HOSTING GIG this Friday night, June 11, at 8PM EST!  They’ll be hosting “Crazy People Night”, with a bit of a departure for monster movies, a double feaure of ’70s grindhouse sleazefests Driller Killer and Don’t Look In The Basement!

As a special added bonus, we’ll be joined LIVE IN-STUDIO by writer/actor/producer/director Alan Rowe Kelly (I’ll Bury You Tomorrow, The Blood Shed), who will be on hand to talk about his upcoming remake of Don’t Look In The Basement!  In yet another act of digital calisthenics, Ms. Monster and her team will be interviewing Alan remotely from their set in San Francisco, while Alan sits in the dank, disgusting disheveled pit that is the SphereWerx/Fourth Castle studios in the aptly-named Hicksville, New York!

All the usual MONSTERCAST elements will be in play for what could be almost FIVE hours of cheesy goodness: trailers, cartoons, ’50s educational films, trivia and prizes!  The two prizes being given away this Friday, in keeping with the ’70s serial killer theme, are the Mezco Cinema of Fear Series 3 “Leatherface” and “Hitchhiker” figures from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre!

This is shaping up to be the biggest night since the launch of 10YMM, and a bit more adult than usual, as there will be lots of cheap bright-red ’70s gore and perhaps a bit o’nudity, so make sure the kids get to bed on time!

The “door opens” at 7:45PM, when the player/chatroom window goes live on the 100YMM.com homepage.  A loop of trailers will cease at 7:50, when classic drive-in “countdown to showtime” films take us right to the start of the show!

Join Ms. Monster, the Melons, Alan Rowe Kelly and thousands of fellow monster movie mavens on Friday night, June 11 at 8:00PM Eastern Time (5:00PM Pacific) at 100yearsofmonstermovies.com (or 100ymm.com if you’re too lazy).

100YMM AT L.A. WEEKEND OF HORRORS

FearWerx and the legendary Weekend of Horrors reunite for a triumphant return to Los Angeles, where the horror convention that invented horror conventions was born in the early days of the 1990s.

The event is headlined by the original Freddy Krueger, Robert Englund, and giallo maestro Dario Argento, as well as dozens of other guests, including reunions of the ReAnimator and Nightmare on Elm Street casts, and the largest gathering of men who’ve portrayed ’80s monster legends Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and Leatherface!

Besides the world-class assembly of talent that made the WOH great, there are also tons of fun events such as weekend-long film screenings, a zombie walk, the “Shock-N-Roll Spooktacular”, the X-treme Fashion Show, costume and tattoo contests, and much more!

100 Years of Monster Movies is participating in the event as well, curating the “Art Ghoulery”, a gathering of macabre original pieces by amazing genre artists, all available for sale!

For more information, go to weekend of horrors.net.

BAY AREA KAIJU FILM FESTIVAL!

A very special event is on tap for Bay Area, California fans of kaiju cinema.  Our friends August Ragone (Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters), Otaku USA Editor-in-Chief Patrick Macias and Japanese film critic Tomohiro Machiyama launch a week long “Godzillathon” at the Viz Cinema in San Francisco.

It’s the first film festival associated with 100YMM and it’s a perfect fit.  Classic Godzilla films all week long in the time-honored and family-friendly tradition of guys in rubber suits beating the hell out of each other and destroying intricately-detailed model buildings in the meantime.

Aug, Patrick and Tomohiro start the festivities on Friday, May 7 with a special discussion on the entire genre, featuring rare clips and images from all kinds of kaiju films, including Gamera, Godzilla and other monsters.  The on May 8, the Viz cinema continues with a bunch of classic Godzilla films.

Here’s the flyer and press release…if you’re in the area during those dates, a) boy are you lucky and b) bring the entire family!

GIANT MONSTERS INVADE SAN FRANCICSO

THE BIGGEST CELEBRITY FROM JAPAN – GODZILLA – CRASHES VIZ CINEMA FOR SPECIAL FILM AND DISCUSSION EVENTS IN MAY

VIZ Cinema Hosts Kaiju Shakedown! Godzillathon! And TokyoScope Talk Vol. 3 Features War Of The Giant Monsters Discussion And Prize Raffle Of New Gamera DVD

San Francisco, CA, April 26, 2010 – NEW PEOPLE and VIZ Cinema welcome the 3^rd and latest installment of TokyoScope Talk – War of the Giant Monsters – on Friday, May 7^th at 7:00pm. Join Otaku USA Editor-in-Chief Patrick Macias, Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters author August Ragone, and Japanese film critic Tomohiro Machiyama at the Bay Area’s hottest film venue for a fun and lively discussion on the “kaiju” (monster) movies featuring rare images and clips of Godzilla, Mothra, Gamera and other iconic creatures from classic Japanese sci-fi cinema. General admission tickets are $10.00.

VIZ Cinema invites Bay Area monster fans to a 5-day Kaiju Shakedown: Godzillathon!, running Saturday, May 8^th thru Thursday, May 13^th. Featured will be rare screenings of the Big G’s 4 most-loved films including Godzilla vs. Hedora (1971), Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974). Details and screening times at: www.vizcinema.com.

Don’t miss a rare chance to see the beauty and enormity of Godzilla in stunning 35mm prints with English subtitles and a premium THX^®-certified sound system! These events may sell-out. Ticket prices: General Admission: $10.00; Senior & Child: $8.00. Advance tickets on sale at: http://www.newpeopleworld.com/films/films-5-2010/#godzillathon

TokyoScope Talk – War of the Giant Monsters will feature a special raffle giveaway of premium monster collectables including the brand new DVD release from Shout! Factory of Gamera: The Giant Monster (1965). The revered classic features the original Japanese version of the film presented with fresh English subtitles and anamorphic widescreen produced from an all-new HD master created from original vault elements.

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s first movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX^®-certified sound system.

About NEW PEOPLE

NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21^st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

NEW WEBCASTS EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT 8PM!!

We’re still waiting to get a full report to you all on just how friggin’ HUGE the 100ymm LIVE webcast from Hororhound Weekend was, but the momentum hasn’t stopped!

We’ve continued to run a double feature of monster movies, complete with chat-along, trivia and prizes, EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT AT 8PM EST!

We have a new double feature planned for this Friday, April 16, but we’ll let our partners at Dread Central say it in the report they just released:

“A few weeks ago we told you about a cool idea coming from our friends at FearWerx.com, which was a live monster movie marathon webcast all weekend, with hosts doing live intros directly from the Horrorhound Weekend in Indianapolis. It was orginally planned as a one-time-only event to celebrate the 100th birthday of the monster movie, with dozens of hosts that included such big names as Elvira, George Romero and even Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman.

Well, seems like the event was huge enough that they haven’t stopped.

For the last few Fridays at 8:00 PM, the 100 Years of Monster Movies team at FearWerx have ben running a double feature of monster movies, with interacive chat (you can be your own MST3K along with hundreds of other fans), trivia tidbits scrolling across the screen and prizes awarded for answering trivia questions!.

Though there are no hosts for the show yet, FearWerx President/Executive Producer Joe Sena said that doesn’t mean they won’t come back. The success of the first webcast took us completely by surprise, he said. The fans demanded that we come back with a similar experience, where they can all gather in the caht room and make fun of the movie while it’s on. That seemed to be the biggest part of the experience for them, besides winning prizes. So, for no we’re just running a double feature every Friday night at 8:00pm with chat, prizes, trailers, trivia and more until we can figure out what to do with it.

Looks like we created a monster ourselves, Sena quipped.

The next run is tonight at 8:00PM EST, when the 100 Years of Monster Movies team presents a werewolf-themed night, featuring 1973′s Werewolf of Washington starring Dean Stockwell and the curiosity Wolf Blood, a rare 1925 silent that is purported to be the first werewolf-themed movie ever made. And the big prize for the night is a 12″ action figure of the ‘Teenage Werewolf’ from the movie of the same name by Amok Time Toys.

Join in on the fun, chat with fellow fiends, enjoy some cheesy movies and win prizes tonight at 8:00PM on 100yearsofmonsters.com (or 100ymm.com for the spelling challenged).”

(Thanx to Steve ‘Uncle Creepy’ Barton for the piece)

100YMM Monster Toy Exhibit at Monsterpalooza!

The 100 Years of Monster Movies program will make its second tour stop at Eliot Brodsky’s Monsterpalooza Convention, April 9-11 at the Burbank Airport Marriott.  It’s a unique event among horror conventions in that it especially focuses on monsters and their makers. It’s chock full of eye candy, such as actual props and costumes and makeup effects from some of Hollywood’s most famous monster movies.

The best way to see all the fun of Monsterpalooza is to do so through the eyes of veteran character actor and Big Time Monster Kid Dan Roebuck in this clip from last year’s show:

The 100 Years of Monster Movies program is participating in Monsterpalooza with a number of special events for monster fans:

A monster toy exhibit, featuring toys old and new, including prototypes of upcoming Universal Monster figures from Diamond Select Toys and our own EMCE Toys brand

A display of memorabilia from the 1925 version of The Phantom of the Opera from the private collection of Joe Sena.

For older Monster Kids, there will be a cash bar and special Monster-ized drink specials just after the Return of the Living Dead cast reunion.

Our FearWerx brand is an official sponsor of the event, represented by our West Coast show manager Jack Ulrich, bringing loads of the apparel and merch designs we’re known for.

For more information on the event, go to the official Monsterpalooza website, and check out the promo below:

Contests & Prizes

Part of the fun of the 100YMM program is the chance to win all kinds of great monster goodness from us and our promotional partners.

More details will follow about upcoming contests and giveaways, but our upcoming event, the 3-Day Monster Marathon Webcast, features prize packages given out around the clock.

For more information on the webcast, see this article.

Here’s info on how to get a chance to win during the webcast:

How can I win these prizes?

Join in on the chat in the chat window attached to the player and pay attention for monster-movie trivia questions to be scrolled at the bottom of the movie screen.  The first person to chat in with the right answer wins, and a staffer will connect with you to send us your shipping details.

Can I enter more than once?

No, only one prize package per entrant.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EDISON’S FRANKENSTEIN

He is best known for inventing the light bulb, but Thomas Edison is also responsible for the creation of the monster movie.

 

Exactly 100 years ago, in March of 1910, Thomas Edison’s company released a short adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, along with 30 other films that week (!) to provide content for those using Edison’s motion picture invention.

The film was shot in the Bronx, New York, in the early, pre-Hollywood machine days of filmmaking. It was considered lost for decades, until a photo of actor Charles Ogle as the monster surfaced in an issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. For even more years after, “Monster Kids” sought the film, and it eventually resurfaced in the early years of this century. It is now widely available online.

 

Even given its primitive roots, the film, produced/directed by J. Searle Dawley, is a bizarre and innovative look at the creation of the now-famous creature. The methods employed by Dr. Frankenstein in this picture are less science than alchemy, the result of a strange combination of chemicals mixed in a pot, then brought to life via a harrowing fiery explosion.

With the advances of the internet and the exhaustive work of film students and enthusiasts around the world, there is now no shortage of information available about this film, once thought to be lost forever. A simple Google search will provide limitless links on the subject, and even the ability to view the film itself.

However, for those seeking more information about this milestone, we encourage you to visit the truly lovingly researched and crafted look at the film by Pierre Fournier in his wonderful blog on everything Frankenstein called “Frankensteinia”. Celebrating the Frankenstein centennial, Fournier devotes a week of content just to this film, with rare visuals and detailed information.

So, happy birthday, “Edison’s Frankenstein”, and happy birthday monster movies!

MONSTER MOVIE MARATHON WEBCAST

We’re opening the 100YMM celebration with a really ambitious project: a weekend long webcast of monster movies, with live hosts and a special guest appearance by George (Night of the Living Dead) Romero!

Here’s the official press release:

 

An unprecedented birthday party is planned on 100YearsofMonsterMovies.com for the monster movie genre, which turns 100-years old this month.  Beginning Friday, March 26 at 5PM EST, the “100 Years of Monster Movies” campaign kicks off with a nonstop webcast of monster movies, from classics like Night of the Living Dead and The Wasp Woman to modern gorefests like “Creature from the Hillbilly Lagoon” and “Bacterium.”  The event, which will be simulcast on ChillerTV.com, ends Sunday night at 9PM with a screening of the monster movie that started it all, Thomas Edison’s 1910 short “Frankenstein.”

 

“We want to celebrate the 100^th birthday of the monster movie with an old fashioned scare-a-thon,” said Executive Producer Joe Sena of pop-culture marketing company SphereWerx Micromedia.  “Among his other inventions, Edison invented the monster movie in 1910 and we felt this was a fitting way to mark the occasion.”
Between the films will be live intros by “horror hosts,” cult personalities with names like Penny Dreadful, Count Von Scary and Doktor Ghoulfinger, who recreate the classic “monster movie night”

television show at their local syndicated stations.  That same weekend they are all gathered for the first time at the Horrorhound Weekend convention in Indianapolis, and each will take a turn opening a classic film during the webcast.

Joining them at the convention that weekend are classic TV horror hosts like Washington DC’s Count Gore De Vol, Joe Bob Briggs of TNT’s ”Monstervision”

, and perhaps the most famous horror host of all, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.

Lastly, the webcast will feature a live introduction of Night of the Living Dead by its legendary director, George A. Romero.

 

 

“This has never been done before,” said Sena.  “We’ll be switching back and forth from the hosts in Indianapolis and the film streams at our studio in New York.  We’re striving to create that classic ‘live television’ experience.  I just hope nothing blows up.”

Sena’s company, which is producing the webcast in conjunction with the Dark Carnival Film Festival, developed the 100 Years of Monster Movies promotion through his brands FearWerx (the largest online horror store), EMCE Toys (a scifi/horror action figure line) and KlickWerx, a digital development studio.

Though this is the company’s first live webcast, Sena is no stranger to the concept, having produced many as Creative Director of Universal Studios New Media Group in the 1990s, most of which featured the studio’s legendary lineup of monsters.  “This time will be different,” he says, “because now people actually have the bandwidth to see what we’re producing.  In the 1990s it was like producing color TV shows for the radio.”

The webcast can be viewed starting March 26^th at 5PM EST at 100yearsofmonstermovies.com.

Diamond and EMCE Launch New Monster MEGOs!

 

 

Those of you old enough to remember the MEGO Corporation, the fabled toy company that practically invented the licensed action figure in the 1970s, will recall with chagrin that their “Mad Monsters” releases did not live up to the standards set by their DC or Marvel superheroes.  

In fact, it’s commonly accepted that they did not even live up to their Farrah Fawcett figure.

That historical mistake is being corrected by EMCE Toys, the brand that brought back the 8″ MEGO format during the last few years.  In partnership with Diamond Select Toys, four Universal Monster “MEGOs” are being developed for release over the next two years: the Frankenstein monster, Dracula, the Wolfman, and Kharis the mummy.

Prototypes of the figures were on display at the Diamond booth during this year’s Toy Fair and, though still pending licensor approval, the folks at Cool Toy Review managed to squeeze of a few shots.  Have a look at:

The Frankenstein Monster

Dracula

The Wolfman

Kharis, the mummy

The first two, Frankenstein and the Wolfman, are scheduled for release in late 2010, while Dracula and the Mummy are slated for 2011.  That’s right, you can re-enact Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman under your Christmas tree this year.

Despite the “leak” from Toy Fair, it’s still very early in development and some aspects of the toys may change.  Keep watching for more details as they come in.

(Oh, and for those of you to young to know what a “MEGO” is, you’ll more likely know these classic 8″ action figures from their use on Robot Chicken, where their unique posability makes them a natural for animation.)