WE'RE BACK....

Welcome back to ThePsychoMovies.com - we are in the process of re-designing the web site but due to an enormous response, the site has been relaunched incomplete. Stay tuned for great things to come! Check out the latest podcast! Comments are always welcome - thepsychomovies@gmail.com

Thanks!

It's 25 Years Since Norman Bates Came Home...

A part of our film heritage destroyed in a matter of seconds...

On Sunday, June 1st, I was settled in at work when the report came over the Associated Press wire - Universal Studios Hollywood was on fire. Throughout the rest of the morning, I stayed glued to the story while still reporting the local news to the Jersey Shore. I broke the news to our friends on the forum at thestudiotour.com and posted a message on our own Psycho Forum. The first thing I thought about was how many lives must have been lost in the inferno - and when I say inferno - well, you've all probably seen the images and video footage online. Thankfully, because the park was closed to tourists and no one was on the set filming anything at the time, there were no injuries or loss of life. The next thing I thought about was the Psycho House and Bates Motel. Since these film history treasures are nothing more than wooden facades, if a fire was to start nearby, they would be gone in a matter of seconds. The house and motel were spared since the fire was blocks away. Tragically, I can't say the same for Courthouse Square which everyone knows was the set for Back to the Future. The clock tower was damaged and the other facades destroyed. All of my childhood memories - gone in a matter of hours. The clock tower set and Courthouse Square were seen in Psycho II as the Fairvale town square in the scene when Lila (Vera Miles) is tailed by Dr. Raymond (Robert Loggia) and also later as police headquarters. The section bordered by the facades of New York City brownstones was also seen in To Kill a Mockingbird, several episodes of The Twilight Zone, Knight Rider and Murder, She Wrote as well as Bruce Almighty and countless others. I had the opportunity to visit Universal back in the early 90's and got to see the Courthouse in all of its glory - this after the first fire which was arson. This new blaze wasn't arson - in fact, the Associated Press and Fire Officials announced today that it was caused by workers using a blowtorch on the roof of one of the facades. Not sure if they will be reprimanded or fired but I think its a little scary that such a minor accident can cause such devastation. The New York set streets - gone. King Kong - gone. A vault containing TV shows and video archives - mostly destroyed but some things are salvageable. The whole incident brought some thoughts to my mind, especially when it comes to safety on the studio lot and the fact that NBC Universal wants to construct real housing on their acreage. Is that a good idea? I don't believe so, especially since this wasn't the first time a fire occurred on these grounds. As far as the Psycho House/Bates Motel go, they were safe this time but next time, we may not be so lucky. How do you allow a piece of film history and Americana like the Back to the Future town square to perish like that without having some kind of sprinkler system in place? Granted, facades don't have to live up to the standard building code laws but tell that to the millions of fans who feel devastated about the loss. According to a Universal spokeswoman, they plan to re-think how the facades are constructed and may in fact install some kind of sprinkler or foam system to put out any fires that begin. Nine firefighters and a sheriff's deputy suffered minor injuries while battling the blaze. None of the 30 sound stages on the lot were damaged and the sets will be rebuilt. If you would like to talk more about the fire, visit the web forum at thepsychomovies.com.

Universal Studios Fire Update

I will be updating this blog tomorrow with information on the horrible fire which destroyed motion picture history. Stay tuned for a full wrap up and detail about what was lost and how it ties in to Psycho and the ultimate future of the backlot tour.

Universal Studios Fire

Large fire devours movie sets at Universal Studios
By GREG RISLING
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) -- A massive fire raged on a back lot at Universal Studios early Sunday, devouring several movie sets, including mock New York and New England streets. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Daryl Jacobs said at least one building had burned and as many as three blocks of movie facades were destroyed. Though the fire was contained, it was still raging, Jacobs said. "The facades are constructed of heavy timber and they tend to burn quite freely," he said.

The blaze broke out just before dawn on a sound stage, fire Capt. Frank Reynoso said. A thick column of smoke rose thousands of feet into the air. For a time, firefighting helicopters swept in to drop water.

More than 100 firefighters were trying to prevent the flames from spreading to nearby brush, Reynoso said.

Universal Studios spokesman Elliot Sekuler said the theme park would open Sunday, though the studio tour would be affected by the blaze. He said filming was going on when it broke out, but had few other details about the fire.

Filming might have been going on at the time the fire broke out and there was at least one explosion, Reynoso said.

Universal Studios is located nine miles north of downtown Los Angeles that has thrill rides and a back lot where movies and television shows are filmed. Some of the more familiar attractions on the back lot are the clock tower from the "Back To The Future" movies and the house featured in "Psycho."

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APNP 06-01-08 1038EDT

Psycho Archive

At the present time, I am working on securing some extremely rare photographs and material from the Psycho sequels - images that have never been seen before. When films are shot, the still photographer takes pictures that the public never gets to see. Julie Fletcher has been wonderful in getting some rarities to me and they will be put online soon. I am also asking that if anyone out there has photographs from the set of the movies we haven't seen on the site yet, send them along to me as soon as possible. Within the next month or so, ThePsychoMovies.com will be totally re-designed and will be the definitive archive of the movie series. I am working on the redevelopment as we speak - which is why many of the old pages have yet to be updated. I am also working to put together desktop wallpaper, buddy icons, more avatars for the forum and securing interviews for our upcoming podcasts! Episode 4 of the podcast should be out this Monday, June 2nd so keep an eye out for it! I located a rare still of Henry Thomas and Olivia Hussey circa 1990. It must have been taken after a shoot one night or even at the wrap party outside the old Hard Rock Cafe at Universal Studios Florida. Special thanks to PsychoHouse - one of our forum posters and site contributors who was gracious to let us use some of his ultra-rare Psycho House/Bates Motel stills on the site. More updates to come within the next few days.

Podcast Alive and Kicking

Hey Psycho fans. It's been a busy two months here on the site. Lots of Psycho-related news to talk about and plenty of updates. The response has been fantastic, especially about the new podcast now online. The actual mp3 file of episode #1 has been downloaded over 300 times since it was posted on April 19th. Considering the site is only linked through other sites and a few search engines, its great to see such an interest in these films. I am in the process of submitting the site to various podcast directories around the web so we can get even more listeners and traffic. Due to the amazing response, I have decided that the podcasts will run whenever I make one - that is - there will not be a monthly podcast - there could be a weekly one or every other week. It all depends on the size of the updates, who I can get for an interview and what's new in the world of Psycho. That brings me to my next topic. ThePsychoMovies.com is seeking cast and crew from the films for phone/e-mail interviews. If you have contact with anyone who worked on Psycho I - IV, Bates Motel and/or the remake, have them e-mail me at batesmotel@thepsychomovies.com. I don't care if the person was on the set for one day and got fired or quit - it doesn't matter. Also, if you were ever witness to the filming of any of the Psycho films, I wanna hear your story and so do the Psycho fans. I didn't realize how many Psycho nuts there were out there - and I mean that kindly - I get e-mails daily from people who love the site and visit it everyday to see what I have packed into the main page. Pretty soon, those updates will be archived and more will be added. I just need to find the time to do it:) The blog and podcast and the amount of hits received further illustrates that Universal needs to take notice and if not endorse this site, acknowledge it as the home for PSYCHO on the Internet. I don't think any other site is as complete and as accurate as this one - for Psycho films anyway.

To help drive traffic to the site and to the podcast, Apple ITunes has listed our podcast in their store. The link to the podcast on Apple is:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=279208493

Also, you can now listen to the podcasts right on the MySpace page of ThePsychoMovies located at www.myspace.com/thepsychomovies

Episode 2 of the podcast is now up and features an interview with Julie Fletcher who worked on Psycho IV as the still photographer. Hard to believe that Psycho IV will be 18 years old next month! WOW. And that goes for Universal Studios Florida as well.

I plan to have a special Universal Studios Florida section complete with links to the old attractions and brochures on June 7th which is the anniversary date of the park. A lot has changed down there - some for the good and a lot for the bad - which we will discuss next month.

If you have any suggestions or comments, please e-mail me at batesmotel@thepsychomovies.com ---- Stay tuned because more good stuff is on the way!

Psycho Fangoria Convention Panel

Hey Psycho fans. As I was eating dinner with my friends and fiance this evening, I received a voice mail from RobG who is still out in Los Angeles. He said the Fangoria Psycho Panel went great and he will have plenty of pictures to show us all when he gets back next week - so stay tuned. Until then, ShockTillYouDrop.com has posted some from the event. They are now posted on the site. (From left to right: Hilton A. Green, Mick Garris, Kurt Paul and Chris Hendrie)

ATTN: BennyJR

Hey BennyJr,

Um, you posted info in a comment section about outtakes and blooper videos from Psycho II and III -yet I don't have your e-mail address. Please write me asap - batesmotel@thepsychomovies.com --- and yes, I am interested! Thanks!

Jason

The Psycho House

In my search for Psycho House photos online, I stumbled upon this ultra rare still of Angela Lansbury circa 1992. It was taken during production of "Murder, She Wrote" when they used the Bates Motel and Psycho House on an episode entitled "Incident in Lot 7." If you haven't seen the episode, it's well worth seeking it out. There are clips of the episode in Italian on YouTube. Here is what I need from the fans. I am putting together the ultimate Psycho House/Bates Motel still gallery and I want to include all of the fans pictures from both the sets in Hollywood and Florida. Please send them to batesmotel@thepsychomovies.com. Stay tuned for more updates!

The Return of ThePsychoMovies.com

No I am not dead. That was a rather common response to the 100+ e-mail's received from November until about March 20th. Alive and well actually - and rather busy as usual. The last update was around Thanksgiving and I apologize for that. Things in my life have been quite hectic - getting engaged, finishing school, working two jobs both in radio - it has been a task. However, I have not forgotten my commitment to provide fans of the Psycho films with a complete resource and a place to interact. With The Psycho Legacy documentary in production and talks about a Bates Motel TV revival, the world of Psycho is as busy as ever. Recently I have gotten in touch with more crew from Psycho IV including makeup artist Kelly Olson and still photographer Julie Fletcher. We should be hearing from them in the next month or so and they have RARE photos and goodies. Olson even said she found a copy of her invite to the wrap party! We should offer more exclusive Psycho content in the coming weeks so stay tuned. As far as the web forum, yes, it crashed again. Being bombarded with spam on a daily basis took it's toll on the PHP database which was being backed up. I still have the messages and previous posts saved but it will take a longtime to decipher all of the HTML and other script languages. So if you are joining the message board, drop me a line and tell me your user name and password so you are guaranteed a place on what becomes a busy community. Thanks again for all of your support and be sure to stay tuned to more from the world of PSYCHO exclusively at thepsychomovies.com.

Psycho At Lunch

I had the weirdest Psycho related experience at lunch today. My girlfriend and I were eating at a local sandwich shop and over the loudspeaker was the Psycho Score by Bernard Herrmann. She was telling me a story and every time the violins screeched, I started cracking up! HAPPY HALLOWEEN ALL! AN UPDATE REAL SOON - PROMISE.

Psycho and Apple...

It has been quite sometime since I made an update to the site. There is always a good excuse! I have been very busy with work. However, the cool news is I just purchased an Apple IMac and I am ready to put it to use. The bad news is I have to wait till I get my software for web design. I will be working to get some updates up in the next few days - some I am sure you will love! Please keep supporting the web site! My new e-mail addy is thepsychomovies@gmail.com - this is to cut down on the spam - we had 600 spammers attack the old address and message board. My spam measures seem to be working though! Not one message got through onto the actual board. Keep coming back! Enjoy those Psycho/Perkins YouTube videos I posted this week! They are the rarest of the rare!

A great spoof!

Take a look at this - found it on YouTube! Enjoy

A lack of updates

Hey Psycho Fans,

Sorry there has been a lack of updates lately. I have been so swamped with work. It's not easy being a radio news reporter/anchor especially in a state like New Jersey - lots of stuff to cover! Anyway, found this clip today on YouTube. Wish we had more of this stuff for the site! Enjoy! - more updates on the way...

Mother's Dress from Psycho III

I generally check Ebay and other auction web sites once a week for any new Psycho-related materials. I am planning to launch a special merchandise section of the site with all of the goodies released to tie in with the film series. However, once in a blue moon I stumble upon a real rarity. Sometimes you can find film props on the site and today was no exception. It claims to be an original and looks pretty damn convincing. With the starting bid at $1,000 - the dress worn by Norman Bates in Psycho III (1986). If I had the money, believe me I would love to own a piece of film history - but I don't so I won't be bidding... ---- Check out the link!

Shovel to the Head - Down goes Spooley!

I still get a huge chuckle out of the scene when Norman takes full control of Mrs. Spool. I decided to put the video clip up on YouTube for your enjoyment. Here it is:

A double dose of Norman on cable tonite and more Richard thoughts.

I was flipping through channels earlier this evening and much to my delight, Psycho II was being shown on a Cinemax station I never knew I had. There are so many different movie channels but with my crazy work schedule, I very rarely have time to watch TV. After watching "Hell's Kitchen" which I never miss, I tuned in to the 1983 classic and thought a lot about how Richard Franklin's commentary will never see the light of day. Back around the time that Rich did the interview for the site, I had actually made contact with a Universal DVD executive who could have brought a commentary to fruition. We came close even with phone contact and discussion. Even after Richard said he would do the commentary for free, they still said no. Their response "lets release Psycho II as a standard release and see if there is a demand." Well thanks Universal... The chances are done now. Richard, you will be missed. I caught part of Cloak and Dagger this afternoon and I realized how much I enjoyed the flick. Anyway, I will try and get more updates done... Psycho II is over and now, Psycho III is on the same channel! Back to back Psycho on Cinemax 5. Who would have thought it...

Psycho II, III and IV DVD Three-Pack!

In less than one month, the Psycho sequels will be released on DVD. Psycho II, III and IV will be released in a two-disc set featuring no extras. The good news is Psycho IV will be coming to Region 1 for the first time. It may also be in 16x9 Widescreen which has only been seen on the Universal High Def (HD) cable station. A full review will be featured on the site once the disc comes out! Stay tuned.

Foreign Posters

Searching on Google images, I found a rare poster for Psycho II from Thailand. It got me thinking... I wonder what the other foreign posters for the Psycho films looks like. The artwork is very different from country to country and the image on the left is proof! If any of you find additional images of foreign Psycho posters, e-mail them to me.