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From Mark of AtoZombies.com comes this Comic Con update on THE DEVIL'S REJECTS Panel!!!

Harry here - and literally nearly everyone I know has seen and is raving about this film. One local Austin critic said, "It's the best horror film, I'll never sit through again!" Now... if that isn't a ringing endorsement from a pansy - I don't know what is. That's exactly the sort of "it's too tough for me" talk I crave to hear from genre watching amateurs. Sounds like this is a great one from Zombie. Speaking of - check out Mark Anastasio's site - it's pretty damn cool - besides he sent us the following report from Comic Con on THE DEVIL'S REJECTS panel... including Pics!!! Here ya go...

Hi Harry, I'm a fan of your site and am out here in San Diego for the coming of the geeks. I've been posting daily updates on my website atozombies.com and most recently have given my account of the Devil's Rejects panel. I just thought you might be able to use some of it if you didn't already have Quint covering it.                                                                                                   

Mark Anastasio                                                                                                        

Editor                                                                                                  

atozombies.com

Nerd Journals: Day Two

Today was Devil's Rejects day for us at Comic-Con. Sarah and I made sure we had good seats for the guest panel, featuring the cast and crew of the film, by sitting through the 3 hours of programming scheduled for that particular room. First up at 11:30 was a panel featuring voice actors for animation. Among the speakers were famed voice actor Gary Owens and E.G. Daily, the voice of Rugrat Tommy Pickles and lesser known as "Dotty" from Pee Wee's Big Adventure. She also has a yet undetermined role in The Devil's Rejects. Sarah was happy to save my seat, as the Rejects crew are pretty much what she came out here for, and I was free to roam the convention hall for about an hour...

I found myself swept up in the frenzy that is the Comic Con Exclusive! Many toy companies release speacial, limited editions of action figures, available at the San Diego Con only. I'm not a toy collector by nature but for some damn reason I was caught in the moment and reaching for my wallet. In keeping with the theme of the day I pounced first upon the Devil's Rejects Captain Spaulding and Baby two pack . These figures coming out from NECA Toys are very cool looking, and the two pack is the only way to get a figure of Spaulding in clown make-up. What was a dork to do, right?

Next I stumbled upon the Mezco Toy booth. They had a display set up featuring the upcoming Hellboy Comic Figure set . These were the coolest items yet, and I almost became irate when I was told they wouldnt be released untill 2006. For those of you who are unaware, Comic Con booths are there to promote upcoming projects. So you're pretty much in a world of look but can't buy. So when they told me there was a limited edition Lobster Johnson figure from the Hellboy toy line, I practically ripped my pocket out while fumbling for a Twenty.

I made my way back to the guest speaker room where my assistant was making like a lion tamer in order to save my seat from one of the slack jawed. We watched the next round of entertainment which began at 1pm and was called Quick Draw. Essentially it was pictionary played with some amazing talent. On hand for the parlor game cartooning legend Sergio Aragones (Groo, Mad Magazine), Kyle Baker (Ren and Stimpy, Hellboy Junior), Jeff Smith (Bone), and Scott Shaw! (Hannah Barbara, the excaimation point is not a typo). Mr. Aragones was very entertaining, it was an honor and a privelege to be in the same room while he was drawing.

At 2:45 pm the moment finally arrived. Sarah's efforts had landed us front and center in the second row for the panel we had been waiting for. Shortly after we took our seats a P.A. of some kind stepped up to the microphone and told us we were about to be shown the first scene of Rejects. The audience roared. The opening scene is amazing. (SPOILERS BEGIN) It begins with Tiny dragging a naked woman through the brush on the Firefly property. As he is disposing of this very dead young woman, a swarm of police tear up the dirt driveway and position themselves defensively. Inside the residence our villains sleep, unaware of the Law gathering outside. They are awakened by the amplified voice of Sheriff Wydell who then explains to his men that they are on a cleansing mission from God himself. Otis jumps out of the bed where he had been sleeping next to yet another deceased young woman and begins to arm himself. Mother Firefly and Baby follow suit. The police begin to fire on the house as its occupants don steel welding masks for protection. Taking the idea of self preservation one step further, Otis' brother is wearing a full suit of makeshift body armor! Police enter the house shortly after the teargas does and all hell breaks loose. Badges are dropping left and right from the guns of Otis and crew. It's only after his armor clad brother is taken down that Otis Driftwood and Baby Jane take to the back door and thier inevitable escape. Grief stricken at the loss of her son Mother tries to take the joy of her death away from the attacking police, she places a revolver to her head only to realize her son had emptied all six chambers. Baby and Otis flee(END SPOILERS) Rob Zombie took to the stage during the thunderous applause and introduced the cast of the Devil's






Matthew McGrory(Tiny), Leslie Easterbrook(Mother Firefly), Sid Haig(Captain Spaulding), Sheri Moon Zombie(Baby), Bill Moseley(Otis), Ken Foree(Charlie Altamont), William Forsythe(Sherriff Wydell), and Pricilla Barnes(Gloria Sullivan)

Having taken the stage a bit late, and only scheduled for an hour presentation Rob turned it right over to the fans for Q and A. I only wish the Q's were a bit stronger. Zombie was easily(and understandibly) frustrated by the majority of the questions. What are your least favorite Horror films? Why did you make this movie? Don't you think House of 1000 was too much like Chainsaw? ect. He tore the geeks apart just enough to make it entertaining. Finally there were a few relevent question's and the audience was able to learn about what happened to Karen Black who originally played Mother Firefly.






On this topic Zombie stated," We were having trouble negotiating with her. We had told everone the film is being made with, or without you, and some people thought we were kidding." Sid Haig answered the question as to why the film was even made by saying, with a bit of the Captain in his voice, " We made the movie 'cause it was fun and there were a lot of warm bodies left over!"

Other highlights from this panel were as follows:






-Sheri Moon Zombie cleaning up very nice and laughing naturaly much like her character(scary, yet sexy at the same time).

-Seeing William Forsythe in person.






-Bill Moseley saying, "Lick my plate!" in character from Chainsaw Massacre 2

-Rob Zombie doing his best keep his cool amongst the haters.

Tickets were given away to people at the Con for a premiere of the film at the Pacific 15 Theatre on the same block as my hotel, but sadly and despite my press pass, I was unable to obtain any. The cast arrived in limo's and set feet on a very red carpet. I was sorry to miss it. But i went and had my assistant take pictures of Zombie's security anyway.

I cannot wait to see this film. From what I saw the color and tone of this movie seem perfect. Rob's first film was wonderful and had lots of bright colors and imagery that didn't always back up what was happening on screen. Not that it didn't work, but now we have a grimey film with a look that's just as dirty which will enhance the feeling of realism ten fold. My anticipation is that it's the film of the summer. Zombie has created such wonderful, and quickly classic characters with Captain Spaulding, Otis and Baby. I can't wait to see whats in store for these horrible people.

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