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Wizard World is coming to Cleveland tonight, The biggest traveling comic con is delighting horror fans with its scheduled guests, and Scaretissue will be there to capture the fun!
Wizard World produces Comic Cons and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate graphic novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology, toys and social networking. The events often feature celebrities from movies and TV, artists and writers, and events such as premieres, gaming tournaments, panels, and costume contests. On Monday, I previewed the entire con. Guests include William Shatner, Lou Ferrigno, and many other pop culture icons. But today, we’ll focus on the horror side of the event.
First of all, VIP attendees will receive (2) limited-edition, exclusive cover variants of The Walking Dead #1 by Greg Horn (who will be available for autographs as well). The Walking Dead connection doesn’t end there as Seth Gilliam (who plays Father Gabriel Stokes) and Scott Wilson (who plays Hershel) in the television series. I’m sure that collector wise, the tables will be full of merchandise as well for both mediums.
BRUCE CAMPBELL:“Uncle Sam’s favorite son” as the lyrics to the theme of “Jack of All Trades” (2000) go, was born June 22, 1958 (the youngest of 3 brothers) in Royal Oak, Michigan. As a child, Bruce watched “Lost in Space” (1965) on TV, and ran around dressed as Zorro. He got the acting bug at age 8; his dad was performing in local community theater. At 14, Bruce got to play the young prince in “The King and I” and even got to sing. He went on to appear in several community theater productions, including “South Pacific”. However, he was also interested in directing, and shot super-8 flicks with a neighborhood pal. Perhaps through fate, he met future director Sam Raimi in a high school drama class in 1975. Soon, along with Sam, and now a bunch of other high school pals, Bruce filmed about 50 super-8 movies. During the summer of 1976, he was an apprentice in northern Michigan at Traverse City’s Cherry County Playhouse, a summer-stock company. Bruce worked 18-hour days putting up sets, being assistant stage manager, doing errands, etc. No money, but it was a learning experience (it was show biz). He attended Western Michigan University and took theater courses. Bruce became a production assistant for a company that made commercials in Detroit. In the early part of 1979, with buddy Sam Raimi, he decided to become a pro filmmaker. Armed with a super-8 horror film Within the Woods (1978) which they showed potential investors, they raised $350,000 to make The Evil Dead (1981) which Bruce co-produced and starred in as “Ash”. Four years later, the completed film became the best-selling video of 1983 in England, and New Line Cinema got it a US release. Around this time, he married his first wife, and they had 2 kids. They raised 10 times as much cash for the sequel Evil Dead II (1987) again co-produced by Bruce and starring him as “Ash”. He moved to L.A. In 1990, while filming Mindwarp (1992), he met his future second wife (costume designer Ida Gearon) on the set. In 1992, he rejoined Sam, and Bruce co-produced and starred as “Ash” in the 3rd of the Evil Dead trilogy, Army of Darkness (1992) for Universal Studios. On TV, Bruce directed many episodes of “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” (1995). Bruce also acted as the recurring character “Autolycus”, the King of Thieves; he portrayed this villain with zest in both “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” (1995) and “Xena: Warrior Princess” (1995). Bruce’s latest television venture was starring as the title rogue of “Jack of All Trades” (2000). Everybody loves Jack. And everybody’s heard of him – “There ain’t a French or pirate rogue who don’t know Jack!”
ROBERT KURTZMAN: For three decades Robert Kurtzman has been an icon in the world of special make-up, creature effects, and genre filmmaking. His award winning, photo-realistic effects work can be seen in hundreds of movies including Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, franchises and television series.
As the director of such genre hits and fan favorites as Wishmaster, The Rage, and Buried Alive, and as the creator of the modern horror classic From Dusk Till Dawn, his films and amazing special effects have won him legions of fans around the globe.
Robert began his 30 year career at the age of 19 when he moved from Ohio to Hollywood and quickly began working for many of the industry’s top special effects creators. His early credits include genre classics: Predator, Evil Dead II, From Beyond, The Hidden, Phantasm II, Invaders From Mars, Night of the Creeps, and Re-Animator.
In 1988 Robert Co-founded the award winning K.N.B. EFX Group Inc. (Kurtzman, Nicotero, Berger.) Over the next 15 years K.N.B. became one of the most prolific effects studios in Hollywood with hundreds of feature film and television credits including From Dusk Till Dawn, Spy Kids 1, II, & III, Dances With Wolves, Jingle All The Way, Austin Powers: Gold-Member, Rat Race, The Cell, Unbreakable, House on Haunted Hill, Spawn, Casino, The Faculty, Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness, 13 Ghosts, City Slickers, The Green Mile, The Time Machine, The Hulk, Ghost Ship, Evolution, Bubba Ho Tep, Wyatt Earp, John Carpenter’s Vampires and In The Mouth of Madness, Stephen King’s Misery, Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report and Amistad, Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Volume 1 & 2, Wes Craven’s Scream 1, 2 , 3 and New Nightmare as well as the television series Hercules, Xena, Picket Fences, Outer Limits, ER, Chicago Hope and many more.
After years of designing ground breaking effects for many of the industry’s top directors, Robert began to develop his own film projects with his eye toward directing / producing.
Robert wrote the original story, co-produced, and designed the eye popping creature effects for the box office hit From Dusk Till Dawn, starring George Clooney and Harvey Keitel. Robert secured then unknown writer Quentin Tarantino to adapt his story of killer thieves on the run south of the border who hide out in an all night strip club run by vampires. Produced by Dimension Films and directed by Robert Rodriquez, the film became a worldwide success and spawned two sequels and TV series.
Robert made his directorial debut with the successful low budget cult, sci-fi/action film The Demolitionist, and quickly followed with the box office hit Wishmaster, which he directed for Artisan Entertainment and Executive Producer Wes Craven. Wishmaster opened as the # 1 horror film and went on to become the year’s most successful independent release. It also introduced the Djinn, as a new horror icon, and generated three sequels.
Robert directed / produced / shot The Rage a throwback to 70’s and 80’s drive-in movies. The film received rave reviews and toured film festivals around the world.
Robert also directed Dimension Extreme’s Buried Alive starring Saw’s Tobin Bell and the MGM action thriller Deadly Impact starring Sean Patrick Flannery and Joe Pantoliano. Both films were produced by longtime collaborator David Greathouse. (For additional directing / producing credits see filmography)
In 2003 Robert formed Ohio based Precinct 13 Enertainment. / Creature Corps and has since worked on a wide array of projects including effects design and supervision on Kevin Smith’s Tusk & Yoga Hosers, Fear Clinic, Late Phases, The Tank, Eloise, Alex Cross, Fun Size, John Dies at the End, Jug Face, All Cheerleaders Die, The Spirit, Hostel & Hostel 3, Jinn, Longmire TV Series, The Devil’s Rejects, Buried Alive, Living Hell, Undead or Alive, Mad TV, Deadly Impact, The Rage, The Dead Matter, Children of the Corn (2009), Hiss, RA – One. ( for more credits see filmography )
Robert produced four music videos for the band Mushroomhead including Damage Done, 12 Hundred, and Your Soul Is Mine which was featured on the Saw 6 DVD. The video for 12 Hundred directed by P13’s David (House) Greathouse won “Best Video of 2007” on MTV’s HeadBangers Ball. Robert also produced the action packed Come On video for their CD Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children.
JOHN RUSSO: With twenty books published internationally and nineteen feature movies in worldwide distribution, John Russo has been called a “living legend.” He began by co-authoring the screenplay for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, which has become recognized as a “horror classic.” His three books on the art and craft of movie making have become bibles of independent production, and one of them, SCARE TACTICS, won a national award for Superior Nonfiction. Quentin Tarantino and many other noted filmmakers have stated that Russo’s books helped them launch their careers.
John Russo wants people to know he’s “just a nice guy who likes to scare people” — and he’s done it with novels and films such as RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, MIDNIGHT, THE MAJORETTES, THE AWAKENING and HEARTSTOPPER. He has had a long, rewarding career, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Recently his screenplay for ESCAPE OF THE LIVING DEAD was made into a five-part comic book released by Avatar to great acclaim; it made the Top Ten of Horror Comics nationally and spawned two graphic novels and ten sequels.
Russo’s latest horror novel is THE HUNGRY DEAD, published by Kensington Books. And his new mainstream novel, DEALEY PLAZA, has already garnered 13 Five-Star reviews on Amazon. He is also slated to direct two movies: a remake of his cult hit, MIDNIGHT, and a brand new take on the “zombie phenomenon” entitled SPAWN OF THE DEAD.
His popularity among genre fans remains at a high pitch. He appears at many movie conventions each year as a featured guest, and he considers his appearance at the Orion Festival 2013, hosted by Kirk Hammett and METALLICA, one of the highlights of his career.
COREY FELDMAN: Corey Scott Feldman began his career at the age of three, starring in a Clio Award-winning McDonald’s commercial and has sustained a 35-year career as a steadily working actor, with more than 80 films under his belt. Corey began his career in guest-starring roles on television series such as Mork & Mindy (1978), Alice (1976) and Eight Is Enough (1977), before landing a regular part on the sitcom, The Bad News Bears (1979). In the same year, Feldman made his big screen debut in Time After Time (1979). Over the next few years, Feldman continued making guest appearances in many television shows and, in 1981, Feldman supplied the voice of “Young Copper”, in Disney’s The Fox and the Hound (1981). Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) launched Feldman’s career in the horror genre with the role of the main character, “Tommy Jarvis”, as a child. He reprised that role in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985). Feldman then began a series of appearances in blockbuster films such as Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985) and Stand by Me (1986). In 1987, Feldman won the Jackie Coogan Award for Stand by Me (1986), and appeared in the legendary cult classic film, The Lost Boys (1987), alongside Jason Patric and ‘Keifer Sutherland’. In 1988, he won the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor in a Horror Motion Picture for his performance in The Lost Boys(1987).
In 1989, Feldman appeared in The ‘Burbs (1989), along with Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher, and also provided the voice of “Donatello” for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(1990), which holds the biggest box office for an independent feature in history and also marked his thirteenth number-one box office hit in a row.
Feldman then took time off to focus on his personal life and returned to the film world with appearances is Loaded Weapon 1 (1993), Maverick (1994) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993). He was a regular on the CBS series, Dweebs (1995), followed by a starring role in the Richard Donner, Robert Zemeckis, Joel Silver-produced Bordello of Blood (1996) for Universal. In 1996, Feldman directed his first film, Busted (1997).
In 2002, Feldman appeared in the comedy, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003), for which he wrote and performed a song for the soundtrack, shortly followed by an opportunity to work with Wes Craven on Cursed (2005).
In 2004, Feldman was honored with a Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award. 2006 found him receiving the best actor award at the Luxemburg Film Festival for his performance in The Birthday (2004), a film that he feels to be his finest work to date. The Eyegore Awards honored Feldman with an award for Legendary Work in Horror Films in 2007.
The hit show, The Two Coreys (2007), not only starred Feldman, but he also executive produced two seasons, as well as Lost Boys: The Tribe (2008). He starred in Terror Inside(2008) in 2008, for which he won the Crystal Reel Best Actor Award, and Feldman is executive producing and starring in Lost Boys: The Thirst (2010), which begins shooting in late 2009. Other current work, releasing in 2009, includes: Zero Dark Dirty (2013) andLucky Fritz (2009).
Now a husband, father and environmentalist, Feldman is focused on his career as an adult. Nurturing a growing music career with four albums and five sound tracks, he has toured North America twice with his band, “The Truth Movement”.
Off-screen, Feldman is a spokesperson for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), the world’s largest animal rights organization, and the Amie Karen Cancer Fund, as well as a supporter of environmental charity, Global Green. In 2009, he was presented with The Paws of Fame Award from Wildlife Waystation for his exemplary work in support of animal rights.
OTHER NOTABLE APPEARANCES
Ian Somerhalder stars in The CW’s hit drama, “The Vampire Diaries” as Damon Salvatore, the elder and far more dangerous of the two brothers who share a long and bitter history. For his portrayal of Damon, Somerhalder has received multiple Teen Choice Awards, including four consecutive wins for “Choice TV Actor Fantasy/Sci-Fi.” The show returned for its sixth season this fall.
JAMES MARSTERS: James Wesley Marsters is an actor and musician. Marsters first came to the attention of the general public playing the popular character Spike, a platinum-blond English vampire in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series, Angel from 1997 to 2004. Since then, he has gone on to play other science fiction roles, such as the alien supervillain Brainiac on Smallville and the omnisexual time traveler Captain John Hart in British science-fiction show Torchwood. In 2007, Marsters appeared in a supporting role in the mainstream movie P.S. I Love You and as the main antagonist, Piccolo, in the 2009 fantasy adventure film Dragonball Evolution.
GREGG HENRY: Actor and musician Gregg Henry has appeared in some of the last two decades’ most beloved pop culture and cult favorites including Firefly, Slither, the Star Trek series and the number one movie of 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy.
Henry made a name for himself by betraying Mel Gibson as Val Resnick in the 1999 film Payback. He’s also known as Peter Quill’s grandfather in the 2014 Marvel hit Guardians of the Galaxy under the direction of James Gunn. Gregg also starred as the quirky, funny mayor in Gunn’s film Slither and in the director’s subsequent super hero romp Super. Fans may find Gregg on Joss Whedon’s Firefly and Dollhouse, 24, Scandal, and AMC’s Hell on Wheels as Brigham Young.
For more information, please visit www.wizardworld.com or visit its facebook or twitter page for the latest news. The Cleveland Convention Center is located at 300 Lakeside Drive, Cleveland, OH 44113. Tickets can be purchased through wizardworld.com.
