Table Read - Fright Night - Behind The Scenes - 40th Anniversary Original Cast Table Read

Episode Date: July 23, 2024

Welcome to Fright Night: the Nightmare Factory, Uncut and Uncensored You think you know horror? You think you've seen it all? Well, buckle up, 'cause you ain't heard nothin' yet. We're pulling back the curtain on the madhouse, and let me tell you, it's a wild ride. This ain't your grandma's behind-the-scenes featurette. We're talking raw, unfiltered, and crazier than a vampire in a blood bank. Me, Rosario, Mark, Chris, Amanda - the whole damn circus - caught on tape when we thought no one was listening. We're talking: Candid confessions Press interviews where the truth slips out like a knife in the dark 4th wall breaks so good, they'll make you question reality You'll be a fly on the wall of our twisted little family reunion. Hear the stories that were too insane for the silver screen. Share the laughs that echo through the halls of horror. Feel the chills run down your spine as we reveal the secrets behind the scares. It's like being in the studio with us, minus the smell of fake blood and the constant fear of practical jokes gone wrong. You'll hear it all - the good, the bad, and the downright terrifying. So, grab those headphones and crank 'em up. Get ready to dive into the deep end of the horror pool. Just remember, what you're about to hear can't be unheard. Don't say I didn't warn ya. Welcome to the nightmare. Enjoy the ride. Tom Holland Master of Horror https://terrortime.shop/ https://www.fiorscotch.com/ - Delicious!

Avrò un certo langorino Ovviamente no panino No no no Un boccone ricco di gusto Se conosco il posto giusto Siamo d'accordo su su via Tutti alla piadineria È tornata la solare con crudo e stracciatella

Aggiungi salsa mango, aglio nero o peperone Amerai ogni boccone la piadineria la più buona che ci sia Do we want to emulate exactly? Whatever. However you want to bring it is how we want to get it. So. Well, I'm just wondering what the expectation might be. Do the voice like this. Okay, shut the fuck up. How are you?

How are you? I'm well, how are you? I didn't recognize you with the hat. I know, the short hair. Ha, ha, ha, ha. Who did you finally end up bringing? My mom. Your mom.

Mothers, yeah. Mothers will always be there. mom. Your mom. Mothers, yeah. Mothers will always be there. Yeah. Thank you for doing this, dear. Absolutely. Thanks for having me. Can I get this to put on my Facebook page? It's so nice of you.

Thank you so much. All right, ladies and gentlemen. Hello. I've met all of you. I'm Mark, executive producer. Sean, executive producer. Jack, executive producer. We're here for Tom Tom just as you are.

He brought this idea to us. And as you guys do, we love this guy. So thank you all for helping to make this day what it is going to be. We're doing a little reporter thing here. So we've got some questions that we might throw out. Shootout answers. This is Saruthi. Saruthi works for our PR department, Manifest Media's PR department. I'm going to step out of the way.

She's going to do what she does. So this is Bill from Dread Central. He's just going to be asking a few questions. Hi, everyone. Hello. I'm Bill. Hey, what's up? Hello all the way from Beverly Hills. Congratulations on today and congratulations on the reunion. I've been a fan of Fright Night ever since I saw it in college way back when. And it's, to me, maybe, no, no, I'm not going to even say maybe,

the best vampire movie ever made in history. Yes, yes. Thank you, Tom Holland. Heck yeah. Sir, Tom, what is it like for you to, nearly 40 years after the release of that film uh to see it have still such a life to it in a way that so many non-cinematic universe

non-franchise films do what's your take on its enduring popularity oh it's incredibly moving personally it i i i've been you know i've had some other big successes, but what's happened to Fright Night is it's become multi-generational. People will say to their grandchildren, I want to introduce you to a family movie called Fright Night and introduce you to monsters. And so it's become, you know, i get three generations at a time telling me how much they love the movie and i don't that doesn't happen with psycho too and they don't say that with child's play you know but with with fright night yes and they love the characters and i think it's because it's my love letter to the horror movies that i grew up with when they had horror hosts like, you know, Elvira and Stagger Lee

and, you know, and that's who Peter Vincent is. And it's just... I couldn't... I wanted to be Charlie Brewster. I couldn't think of anything greater than becoming convinced as a mad horror fan that there was a vampire living next door. And it's funny. You can hear them laughing now, but it has humor.

And Friday Night is laced with humor, and at the same time it has heart. Peter Vincent is the heart. Charlie Brewster, Bill Ragsdale is the engine that drives it. And it's just a warm, fun, loving movie. And people love horror who love Fright Night because it's just a wonderfully entertaining, fun experience. And I am blessed. I am so lucky. You know, I really am I also saw in your IMDB that you did it a fright night in 2011 But not as Jerry dandridge as a a victim? This was the Colin Farrell one.

Oh. Yeah. It was a remake, but his word, it was more of a reimagining. Uh-huh. Because you really can't... It was totally different. Yeah.

It did the same plot. It was close. Same character names. Yeah, same characters. Same character names and rough outline of the plot. Why have I never heard of it? Probably because this one just eclipses everything. Oh, well, David Tennant played Peter Vincent.

Oh! And he did it as a Criss Angel type of Vegas magician. He's a wonderful actor. Colin Farrell played Jerry. Yeah. And Tony Collette played... Dorothy. Judy.

Played Judy. What's the young woman's name? Yelchin. Yelich, right? What was the actor who passed away? Yelch. Yelich? Yelchin.

Anton Yelich. Anton, yeah. So you were in that one, but as a victim. I did a cameo. That was funny. My daughter and I went to see it because we thought, you know, let's go see it. And then all of a sudden, he shows up and he's playing drunk. Charlie jumps up to help Peter as the bat turns and sinks his

fangs deep into a screaming Charlie's arm. Peter pulls it back into an errant shift of light coming from the shattered window. Can you take that sentence again? Peter pulls it back into an errant shaft of light. So just Peter pulls it, yes? Into a shaft? Take it from Charlie. Take it from Charlie. Yeah, yeah, gotcha. All right.

Charlie jumps up to help Peter as the bat turns and sinks his fangs deep into a screaming Charlie's arm. Peter pulls it back into an errant shaft of light coming from the shattered window. No more contacts. Wait a minute. Is Evil Ed really not dead and that's the sequel line? Tom? Yeah? Is Evil Ed at the end when Evil Ed's red eyes appear next door?

Does that mean he's not dead and you're setting up a sequel? Of course he's still alive. Peter Vincent inadvertently pulled the stake out of him to go fight Jerry and Billy Cole. Oh.

And if you turn into the next chapter, you'll find out the evil has come back he's pissed off there's also a question between when you held out the crucifix and Jerry crushes it meaning you didn't have faith but later you do it and you've gained faith

is that what it is? well Peter holds it out and gets it crushed. He crushes the one Peter has in his hand. So I don't have faith. You didn't then, but later you do. Well, later you gain it in that minute that he holds it up. Later you do stop it. Especially with Evil Ed,

because when you put it on the head, right? Yeah, exactly, okay. You need to talk with the Fright Night fans more. They know more than any of us. Yeah, sure. That's another question. You need to talk with the Fright Night fans more. They know more than any of us. I'm sure. That bed's another question. Billy Cole is not a vampire.

But he must be an inhuman. Because all the green goo and all that. Do you know what he is? I get, you know, the fans ask me all the time. I say, ask the writer. Ask the writer, because I have no idea. Hey, Tom, if Billy Cole isn't a vampire, what is he with goo dripping down his... Well, you can argue it.

You can argue the general term is a ghoul, which is somebody who's been bit by the vampire but hasn't been turned. Oh, okay. So he can be his protection during the day. Gotcha. Which means he had no idea what he was writing, really.

He's a familiar. He's a familiar slave. He's Renfield in Bram Stoker's Dracula. Wow. But he's insane. Wow. And he's crazy vicious. Yeah.

Are we talking about me or Billy? But he's a good commute by. Lines are getting blurred. The only prior vampire experience I have was on What We Do in the Shadows. They sent me a script. They said, they want you to play a part. And I thought, oh, it's going to be like the high school principal,

the next door neighbor. Jerry the vampire. You're kidding! It sort of exemplifies their humor. You know, something as grand as a vampire, instead of calling him Vlad. Or Jerry. Unless Jerry gives Billy Cole some of his blood, Billy Cole's not a vampire.

He's a familiar who has only one thing in life. He wants to be a vampire. Protect his master. But Jerry Dandridge won't give it to him. He wants a slave. Nice vamping. But Jerry Danvers won't give it to him. He wants a slave. Oh, nice vamping. Who wouldn't want a slave? I love what you just said there about this story, this movie,

this table read, whatever form it takes, being a celebration of not just the horror genre, but the horror fan. And Charlie, especially as our hero, is somebody who is obviously a horror fan. And when this film came out in 1985, it was still a little rare to have a horror fan not be treated as the weirdo around the block who nobody wants to talk to. Obviously, things have changed in the 40 years since. Do you think it would be easier in today's world, today's horror fandom world,

for a Peter Vincent to be more easily convinced that vampires are real, for a Charlie to be more easily accepted, or even Evil Ed? Yes, I mean, when I was, when I was, when I was in high school back in the Dark Ages, there was, there were, I mean, there were three or four other guys, there were no women, maybe three or four, three or four guys in high school who were into horror, and we'd stay up on Friday nights and watch the Friday Night Frights, which is at the local television channel at 11 o'clock. And that was the only place you could see anything. And then we had EC Comics, which got banned in 1954 or 5.

Anybody remember? First God, yeah. Yeah, okay. They were? Oh God, yeah. Yeah, okay. They were banned. They were banned. You couldn't even... We used to take EC comic books and we'd put them in plastic wrappers and hide them around

the high school so you could go out behind the trees or whatever and read the newest issue of whatever EC comics were. This is Stephen King. This is issue of whatever you see comics were. This is Stephen King. This is all of Stephen King's short stories. Same thing. But so there, it wasn't, there was, and I was, when I came out with Fright Night, which is the first movie that I directed, everybody in Hollywood told me I had to get out of horror right away.

Because it was considered, this is 1984 or 5, it was considered the red-headed stepchild. Nobody wanted to be associated with horror. Now, as everybody knows, it is the most renumerate, the biggest independent genre that's supporting movies today. The most interesting movies are made in the horror genre and they're coming out all the time and people are creating them and and some of them really really work and they get a chance to get into the mainstream no other genre is doing that rom-com is

dead comedy is dead you can't you can't do comedy your room. You've got to see comedy with a whole audience to really get it. You know, so my lifetime has been watching the horror genre grow to where now it's just huge. And I'm so happy. And it's also one of the reasons that Fright Night has become increasingly popular. We're talking about a movie that's 40 years old. I mean, nobody can remember a movie from last year. And here we are with Fright Night.

I'm blessed. We're all blessed. Thank you to the public out there for this and for loving Fright Night. Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you so much. In that vein,

obviously one of the enduring things about, as I said earlier, it's the best vampire movie, but the vampire as a horror creature is obviously enduringly popular,

so evergreen. In your own words, and this is anyone who wants to answer, but certainly you, Tom, why do you think the vampire is still so popular these days? Well, I don't know. I got in, I got, I wrote a movie called Cloak and Dagger.

And I said, which was a remake of The Window. And I said, if you really want to do a movie with a kid seeing something out the window next door, do it, make them a mad horror fan and do it with vampires. Have them see a vampire next door. And Universal threw me out of the office. Okay? I mean, vampires in 1985 were dead, dead, dead. And I don't mean just the undead. I mean dead.

I mean, the last gasp has been the George Hamilton movie Love at First Bite. Which is a spoof. And when they start doing comedies about the genre, it means the genre's exhausted. And that's where Fright Night came in. And I just got very, very lucky that Guy McElwain at Columbia gave me the go-ahead, but it was because I was so hot as a writer. But, you know, I like to think that Fright Night

began the resuscitation of the vampire genre, which now, of course, is absolutely huge. But so is any monster. But anyway, it's been a hell of a trip. My wife said, when will you be home? I said, it's been a hell of a trip. My wife said, when will you be home? I said, it's 80 pages. We start at 11. We'll be done by 1230.

I'll see you at noon. Meanwhile, who knew? We only have 17 pages left, though. I mean, it's an event. It's turned into an epic. It is. And thank God you're a good storyteller. Because you'll be able to remind us when we're all losing our minds of how great it was. Countdown to me losing mine.

And we appreciate crosstalk. We appreciate overlap on lines. Oh, okay. We want as natural a... Do you want sound effects with kissing and moaning as well? Please. Oh, no. Whatever you want to do, young lady.

I'm just gonna use you. I agree. Whoever needs assistance. Lunch is back out where we had charcuterie, so we'll do a longer break, have some lunch. We're gonna do a little toast, and we're going to get wild. Sweet. But not too wild because you've got to come back.

It's 420. Be careful. Well, we know, yes. I don't know. But I didn't bring any of that. We're going to do that. No, it's 180. And if everybody hasn't met Jack Daniel, our narrator,

Jack has done a few of these for us. When you hear his voice in the finished product, you're going to go, holy crap, that guy sounded like that? When you hear it now, though, it's going to sound awful. I sounded like you when I woke up this morning. Oh, I remember. Ah! I know the tune.

It's the whistler that's not working. Anyone can whistle. Anybody. I got it. No one can whistle, huh? I can. Very good. Too high.

Now I'm worn out. Now I'm worn out. Okay. Thank you. Who's doing that? Brilliant. Bravo. Bravo. A little lyric to it and everything. Nice. Daniel, baby. Brilliant. Bravo. Bravo. A little lyric tune and everything.

Nice. No, that was a sad song. Mm-hmm. Originally, the whistle song was going to be Whistle While You Work. No. No, you didn't do that. Remember that?

No, I didn't. And Disney wanted $50,000. Huh. Oh, is that it? Yeah. And that's why we used Strangers in the Night. Ah! That's a very good reason.

Yeah. That's awful. I've never heard that before. Whistle While You Work would be really funny too. Yeah. Oh, Whistle While You Work was my original idea. It's a big laugh. Yeah.

Avrò un certo languorino. Ovviamente no panino. No, no, no. Un boccolo ricco di gusto. Se conosco il posto. Se conosco il posto. Se conosco il posto. Se conosco il posto.

Se conosco il posto. Se conosco il posto. Se conosco il posto. Se conosco il posto. Se conosco il posto. Ovviamente no panino No no no Un boccone ricco di gusto Se conosco il posto giusto Siamo d'accordo su Sofia Tutti alla piadineria È tornata la solare Con crudo e stracciatella Aggiungi salsa mango, aglio nero o peperone Amerai ogni boccone

La piadineria La più buona che ci sia. Every one of you made me laugh at something in the reading. And that's why you're here 40 years later and you're still making me laugh. You have assembled an incredible reading cast here. Obviously, so many of the original cast members from the original film, as well as Mr. Mark Hamill, Ms. Rosaria Dawson. One person, of course, who can't be here because he's the dearly departed Roddy McDowell members from the original film uh as well as mr mark hamill miss rosario dawson uh one person of course who can't be here uh because he's the dearly departed roddy mcdowell is just such a key figure in the original movie he's such a amazing actor he's got a rich history do you

have any special memories of him you might want to mention at this time well i can't i could go on for an hour roddy was great rod. Roddy was a walking film history. He was an oral history of the film business because he started when he was like eight years old. I think he did. Mark Hamill just told me he did How Green Was My Valley when he was ten. Roddy lived in perpetual fear

that he would never cross over from being a child actor to being an adult actor. And he felt that way when he was well in his 50s, you know? He was kind, he was giving. He had me and my wife over so many nights to his house, and we met so many of my heroes, famous people, famous directors. You know, I asked Roddy, did you get nominated for Cleopatra? He said, you know, there's a funny story about that. I was submitted by 20th Century Fox in the leading actor category.

And when they realized their mistake, they tried to correct it, and the Academy said it's too late. They're past the process. So they took out a full-page ad, Fox did, in the trades, apologizing to him, saying, you know, your performance was lauded by critics all over the world as, you know, an essential part of the success of Cleopatra.

But I think he enjoyed I knewnew So Much about his career. Because I was asking him stuff about, what was it like being on Batman? I just fanboyed out because it was my only connection to the golden age of Hollywood. Yeah, mine too. Where he was a little boy working on Lassie Come Home and with Elizabeth Taylor.

And oh my God, I mean. He introduced me to Elizabeth. Oh yeah? Yeah, the one who was in the movie. where he was a little boy working on Lassie Come Home and with Elizabeth Taylor. And oh my God, I mean. He introduced me to Elizabeth. Oh yeah? Yeah, the one I missed was Betty Davis. Okay. Because she would go over there,

but she would, this is not, I'm not being positive, she was stroked out. So, you know, so he was, she kept with, I kept asking about the directors. Right. How Green Was My Valley, what was it like to work with him? Can you imagine?

Was that John Ford? Yeah, John Ford. Yes! You know? Wow. And you know he wasn't easy. I heard he was a tyrant. Yeah, John Wayne was scared of John Ford.

You know? Yeah. But Roddy had all those stories. And as I said, I walked MGM the last day it was open with Roddy. And Roddy told me he could tell me what movies had been filmed and what sound stages. He could look at the prop shops. There were two prop shops. And he could say what props were made in what shop.

He could look at the dressing rooms and tell me who was in them, and he could tell me about the assignations, about who was having an affair with whom, among the MGM stars. He showed me where Katharine Hepburn had met Spencer Tracy, outside the Thalberg building. And I kept saying, write an autobiography. And I kept saying, write an autobiography. And he said, I can't. I really know where the bodies are buried. Yeah, and he did.

He did. I mean, I've never met anybody like him. He loved Hollywood as much as we did. Yeah. And he was also an extraordinary friend. Wherever he was in the world, I remember once getting a birthday card from him from Prague. Wow. Yeah. Just on my birthday. Well, he adored Bill Ragsdale. He gave him the bench outs in the hallway. Didn't he give you that? That's mine. That's yours?

He gave it to you? Chris objected to him giving it to me. He and Ethel Merman That's yours? He gave it to you? Chris objected to him giving it to me. He and Ethel Merman wrangled over this pew from a church on Hudson Street in New York City, and he got the pew, and he gave it to us just before he died. Oh, God. I felt like I had a connection to him. I mean, it really comes through. We did a TV movie together.

We did a TV movie together, and, we did a TV movie together, and we wound up sharing the same trailer. And Cindy Williams was the star, so we'd have an hour, 90 minutes alone time. And I just couldn't stop asking about his career. And he was forthcoming because he knew I was interested. And he would tell me stories about Elizabeth Taylor making Lasty come home.

He was 12 years old when he made How Green Was My Valley. Don't you wish you'd had a tape recorder? Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. Because, I mean, I didn't really have a contact with the golden age of Hollywood, certainly not like him. No, and you started like him at 10.

Yeah. And this would have been in the 80s, so he would have been probably in his 50s, early 50s. So he was so personable. And I did the voice of the Joker on the animated Batman, and he had done Mad Hatter on the Adam West Batman, and then they brought him to the animated series. He did four episodes, and I said to the writers, I said,

you team me up with all of these other villains. Team me up with the Mad Hatter. I want to work with Bobby McDowell. But he had a good heart, and I didn't think anybody could ever take his place. And then four years ago, did a reading uh through zoom and mark hamill was kind enough to stand in for roddy and he worked with roddy in great britain in a tv movie and he knew him and he did he somehow became peter vincent mark ham. And he made Peter Vincent work.

As, you know, part of it was Roddy, but it was also Mark being Mark. And that's why when I saw that, I realized that I had to get the cast back together again to do a reading that, you know, that had really high sound quality that I got with Manifest Media and Jack Levy. And then we worked, and I don't know, I've been working for four years to get this together.

And this, what you see here in front of you, is the result of four years of work. And I'm just thrilled. I'm so happy. I'm nervous. Well, it looks like it's going to go off without a hitch. How's that process been, I'm so happy. I can't, I'm nervous. Well, it looks like it's gonna go off without a hitch. How's that process been putting this whole show together? Has it been like putting together a radio show in a way? Oh, it's been like putting together a feature film. Really? Yeah, yeah, this, look at this.

I mean, this is called deficit financing. So you're out there, people, watch this. We're going to need the money to pay the debt. You know? Before we all leave after this, I have a couple of things I'd like to get signed by the cast. It's all right. I have very reasonable

rates. Master and goods are preferred. He's going to be. I'm a master in goods of preferred. He's going to be selling these by a gas station in a corner. As long as you don't ask me to sign your arm. I like when you sign at Universal and it's on eBay before you get home to Malibu. And they say, don't put it to anybody. It's a gift. Yeah, I might as well see if Dad switches eBay.

Mark, your wife told me about that. And I said, we're going to make specific rules against that. And I don't take it because I'm so great. It's become a merchandising entity. So these people, anything you sign goes up in value. So wherever you go out in public, you're besieged, not by fans, by dealers. And they are relentless. They follow you right to your car. Or they follow you home.

No, they chase them in a car. The one time we left you alone. Oh, they follow me all the way home. I was afraid they'd see where my house was. So I stopped just before the last turnoff and just pled with them. I signed everything they had because I didn't want them mad at me. But I said, if I sign everything will you go away? And they agreed. So 45 minutes later I did and they did. Wow. Geez. What I want to know is where did the vampire kit go? Where did the vampire killing kit

go? You talking about the one from Gone McElwain? No, the one from Gone McElwain? No, the one he carried. No, the one from the film. No, the one from the movie. You're supposed to go to BU to see the vampire killing kit. There's a lot of his stuff at BU, but I haven't gotten up there yet. Yeah, well, before we're gone, please do.

Take some pictures. What about having a Joseph Poirot exhibit at the Academy where they have all the costumes and do a fright but they just did John Waters they should do Joseph Paul and end of costumes for right now well that'd be great I don't know if we could assemble them because they've all been auctioned off I saw where your where your leather coat cherry dandruff's leather coat went for a lot of money to somebody in Canada. Oh, really?

Who put it up on their screen. I had a lot of that stuff for years, and then I just, you know, it went away. A fan at a con had his coat, Peter's coat. You have what? I have three of my outfits. Oh, you have your outfits? Well, you're smarter than the rest of us. William, do you have yours?

I have your silk Madonna. I don't know how I got it. Oh, you have your outfits? Well, you're smarter than the rest of us. William, do you have yours? I have your silk Madonna. I don't know how I got your silk. Oh, boy. I just... Amanda? Amanda? Tom? They just sold...

Tom? They just sold your painting. I bid up to $12,000. I wondered about who got the painting. Yeah. I bid up to $12,000 on that painting about a year ago. It was sitting in a prop house. Are you really right?

Sitting in a prop house. Mark, it went for $27,000 in Great Britain. He knows that. I should get a commission. I should get a commission. You should get a commission? That was my idea. Well, I'm the one who told him to paint it.

I'm surprised you didn't keep that for yourself i did that at that moment in time there was there was no there was no people were not collecting screen used props i just saw a chucky a screen used chucky go for 85 000. and finally uh what do you think is there I know there's obviously been the 1988 you know not part two and then there's the 2011 remake and there's been various books and comics we have Julie Carmen here from Fright Night 2 oh that's fantastic but what do you, do you think there might be more for Fright Night down the road? There sure is going to be coming from me. Because I wrote this as an original.

And I withheld and owned the rights to Fright Night dramatic, literary, and musical. And yes, this, this, this, I, if you've been with us last night at the New Beverly and seen what happened there, yes, I've got more Fright Night stories with me. You can find the first one on Amazon called Fright Night Origins. And that's, that's there. And we're coming out with a new one called Fright Night Aftermath. And I am, I'm going into my dotage writing Fright Night stories. And I'm so blessed. I'm so lucky that I have it. I think we're blessed too, Tom.

Thank you all so much. Congrats on the show today. Break legs. Thank you. As many as we have to. Same to you. Same to you. God bless.

God bless. God bless, God bless, God bless, God bless. Welcome to Frrrrrrite Night. For real? Oh yeah! Oh! for real. That was my favorite line. Sorry.