Attending the Hollywood Show!

With Gigi Perreau.

On Saturday, January 11, I made my way to the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel to attend the Hollywood Show, which featured a bevy of celebrity guests from a variety of backgrounds. What sets this convention apart from the various other horror conventions is that the guests don't need to be related to any particular genre, which offers attendees a lot more variety. And, since several of the guests were of particular interest to me, I made plans to attend.

I suppose you're probably wondering about the wildfires that have been ravaging Los Angeles. All I can say is that I only saw one plume of smoke on the other side of a mountain on my way there, and, other than that, there were no other signs of the fire. The air was mostly clear and didn't smell like smoke at all. Suffice it to say, that wasn't what I was expecting to find.

 

The first guest I met was actress Gigi Perreau, whom I interviewed about a year ago about High Seas Hijack (1977) and Journey to the Center of Time (1967). Our interview was done over the phone while I was living in Japan, so this was our first time to meet in person. We had a nice chat about High Seas Hijack, which she told me she's never seen, and was surprised to hear that it aired on AMC in the early 2000s (which is how I saw it).

While she didn't have any photos related to that film or Journey to the Center of Time available (though she did say some fans brought her DVD sleeves from the latter movie to get autographed), I did purchase a cool still from the thriller Shadow on the Wall (1950) for her to sign. Ms. Perreau said that the movie is now considered a film noir, even though at the time they made the film it wasn't. In the still, Ms. Perreau appears alongside Nancy Davis, better known these days as Nancy Reagan. I purchased the photo and got a few pictures with Ms. Perreau, which were taken by her daughter. I also shared my interview with Ms. Perreau's daughter, which she was looking forward to reading. 

With "Shotgun Tom" Kelly.

After that, I met San Diego-area radio/TV personality "Shotgun Tom" Kelly. Growing up in San Diego in the late 1980s through the '90s, I knew him as the host of the KUSI Kids Club on local television. In particular, I remember his voice-overs promoting the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, in which he mentioned something about "parmesan milkshakes." Shotgun Tom, however, pronounced it as "par-MEE-zhun," which made it even funnier to me. 

Naturally, he had no memory of the line and said that it was probably something his producer cooked up for him to say. But I did purchase a photo and asked him to include a reference to parmesan milkshakes. I could barely contain my laughter as Shotgun Tom asked me how to spell it, which, when I look back on my childhood memories of watching and hearing him on TV, made it all the more amusing.

The really cool thing is that Shotgun Tom will donate all the proceeds to his autograph sales to wildfire relief. Even though I only asked to purchase a photo, he also threw in a softcover copy of his autobiography, as well, for no additional charge. You know, folks, sometimes it's quite all right to meet your heroes.

With Mike Starr.

I'd have to say that the biggest surprise of the afternoon was meeting actor Mike Starr. I know him best from his roles in GoodFellas (1990) and Ed Wood (1994), though many other people more closely identify him with his turn in the comedy classic Dumb and Dumber (1994). When I approached Mr. Starr, he was definitely friendly, but it wasn't until I asked him about working with director Tom Kotani on The Bushido Blade (1981) that he lit up and starting gushing about the experience. It was his first film role, and he had an amazing time in Japan. 

It was almost surreal watching one of the stars of GoodFellas rattle off names like Sonny Chiba and Tetsuro Tamba right off the top of his head -- but in the best way possible! I showed him one of the photos I took of director Kotani in the years befiore he died, which prompted Mr. Starr to ask me if he ever talked about the Americans he worked with. I told him that director Kotani praised Richard Boone in particular, especially as one who helped explain his directions to the English-speaking cast. Mr. Starr agreed that Richard Boone was a great man and went into detail about working with him. He also told me that he hasn't seen the new Shogun series but that he wants to see it. 

What was especially amusing was that, even when Mike Starr was posing for photos with other fans, he was still talking to me about his experiences making The Bushido Blade. Suffice it to say, I was overwhelmed by his reaction, and it was the best experience I had at the convention. I ended up buying an Ed Wood poster and getting it personalized by Mike Starr. I don't think it's any coincidence that most American actors who go to Japan for work end up having a tremendous time there. It was beyond incredible getting to have such an animated conversation about Japan with Mr. Starr.

With Joan van Ark.

The next guest I met was actress Joan van Ark, whom I interviewed about her starring role in The Last Dinosaur (1977) back in 2009. I was fortunate enough to meet Ms. van Ark in person for the first time in 2012 (when I was visiting L.A. from Japan), so it had been more than 10 years since I last met her. 

Ms. van Ark was also very friendly, and it was great to share a few moments with her. We briefly chatted about The Last Dinosaur before taking the above photos. And they turned out really well! It was great to visit with her again.

With Bruce Dern.

The last guest I approached was Oscar nominee Bruce Dern, whose credits are simply too numerous to mention here. I was impressed when I saw him at the show, and meeting him was a spur of the moment decision. I had money left over and decided that the opportunity was too good to pass up. Mr. Dern couldn't have been any friendlier. When he asked me where I was from, I told him I was from San Diego but that I just came back from living in Japan. 

He told me about filming a movie in Tokyo for one day (!) called Tattoo (1981), which was shot in 1980. He talked about jogging around the Imperial Palace in downtown Tokyo and how everyone he saw was wearing a face mask, pointing out that it was a full 40 years before COVID. Even though there were other people in line (and his assistant wanted to keep things moving), I really appreciate the fact that Mr. Dern took his time in speaking with me.

With David Sterling. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Just as I was about to leave, I bumped into producer David Sterling, whose biggest credits are the low-budget Reptilicus wannabe Reptisaurus (2009) and The Amazing Bulk (2012). I mostly know David through WetMovie1's YouTube channel, but it was a blast to meet him in person and speak with him. I was also intrigued to hear about some behind-the-scenes YouTuber drama involving some names familiar to me, so I guess you can't escape that stuff no matter where you go.

All in all, I had an excellent time, and, even though I didn't do anything other than attend this convention, it was certainly well worth the trip to Los Angeles.