Woohoo! For the tenth straight year, I remain UN-nominated for a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award! I was only going for a three-peat, but this is overwhelming. >choke!<
Ok, so I may have actually done nothing nomination-worthy for about seven of those years, and its possible that the taste of sour grapes is in my mouth, but that could also be the cheap wine. Sometimes Boone’s Farm is the only balm that will heal, as I’m sure all of you would agree.
Many of you.
Any of you?
I would love to have seen any of the interviews or articles I had published this year nominated, and I think at least two were contenders, but I do believe that the ones that actually made the cut earned their spots. This year as for the past nine, David Colton, Kerry Gammill and the all volunteer staff of the Rondo Awards have worked very hard to field a ballot jam-packed with classic monster goodness, and I thank them for their efforts.
Here are just a few of my favorites on the ballot this year, and if you’re waffling on who to vote for, by all means let me influence you.
BEST SHORT FILM
— YOU WILL NEVER GUESS WHAT THIS AD IS ABOUT, directed by Andreas Roth. German commercial will surprise you. CLICK HERE to view.
BEST BOOK
— THE HAMMER VAULT, by Marcus Hearn. (Titan Books, hardcover, 176 pages, $34.95). From the studio archives, documents, stills and memorabilia in a handsome package.
— MAIL-ORDER MYSTERIES: Real Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads! by Kirk Demarais. (Insight, hardcover, 156 pages, $19.95). The shocking truth about what you really got if you ordered those X-Ray Glasses or Six-Foot Monsters.
BEST ARTICLE
— ‘Dare You See It? James Whale’s Frankenstein,’ by Pierre Fournier. MONSTERPALOOZA #1. Using vintage newspaper stories, ads and ballyhoo, what the public was told about the filming of Frankenstein in 1931.
— ‘The Making of Hands of the Ripper,’ by Bruce G. Hallenbeck. LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #26. How the shocking tale made it to theaters mostly intact.
— ‘Music by James Bernard: Themes For a Tapestry of Terror,’ by Steve Vertlieb, FILM MUSIC REVIEW, Fall 2011. Scoring the master of suspense and thrills.
BEST INTERVIEW
— Mimsy Farmer: ‘The Mimsy Farmer Experience,’ by Mark F. Berry. VIDEO WATCHDOG #162. Extensive talk with star of dragstrip films, Four Flies on Grey Velvet and more.
— Haruo Nakajima: ‘The Original Godzilla,’ by August Ragone. FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #256. The man who played Godzilla, Rodan, Gargantua and many others recalls the hot suit, the staged battles and the work ethic.
BEST MAGAZINE COVER
My pal Mark Maddox has three in contention this year – Little Shoppe of Horrors #27, MAD SCIENTIST #23, and Undying Monsters #1 – A vote for any of them is a vote for great art.
In addition, Jeff Preston’s cover for Monsterpalooza #1 is in the race as well, and it’s a beauty, too.
BEST CONVENTION
Wonderfest. ‘Natch.
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
I’m writing in Mark Maddox.
These are just a few of my favorites – the full ballot is now available online, and anyone can vote. The awards ceremony will be held again this year at Wonderfest in May, in Louisville, Kentucky. See you there.
Click the Rondo Banner below to be whisked to the website so that you may vote forthwith!
