RobG talks about the Psycho Reunion which took place back in April of this year! - written on Friday, August 22
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"Good Lord. Is this really going to happen?" That was the question I kept asking myself as I paced nervously back and forth in the enormous lobby of the LA Convention Center, site of the 2008 FANGORIA WEEKEND OF HORRORS convention. I had shot my first interview for THE PSYCHO LEGACY documentary back in January of 2007 with author Harold Schechter and a mere year and a half later, I was about to attempt to reunite several of the cast and crew from all 4 PSYCHO films.
The thought seemed modest enough. I had spend the last few months tracking down and filming interviews with the people involved in all 4 PSYCHO films and made it a point to keep in touch with everyone in the off chance that I was given an opportunity such as this one.
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| I decided that it had been long enough. Sure, the doc was a labor of love, and was being independently made by a crew of 2 (myself and my partner in crime John Torrani) but after months and months of talking about it, I knew it was time to debut some footage to fellow fans. On top of that, as a huge PSYCHO fan myself, I thought long and hard about what I would want to see if I were coming to this convention. And it seemed simple enough. I really wanted to see a PSYCHO franchise reunion. And so I made phone calls to everyone that I could reach and politely asked them if they'd do me a favor and come out to support the documentary. |
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Cut back to me - pacing, up and down the lobby. It's the afternoon of April 25th, 2008 and so far, the attendance for this new FANGO show wasn't promising. On top of that, I wasn't totally sure that everyone I asked to come would show up! Sure, they told me via email that they'd be there, but a part of me felt like I couldn't possibly manage to get all 11 guests that I invited down.
Then came the news that the guests would have to pay for their own parking, a hefty $11 dollar charge. I refused to let this happen and was on the verge of hitting up an ATM to withdraw my savings to pay for everyone when one of the convention organizers supplied me with a stack of "complimentary parking passes" for the guests. The catch was... they were only usable by a guest before they came into the lot. So, John Torrani - my ever faithful friend & supporter, ran outside and waited practically in the middle of the street in front of the parking garage to flag down each and every guest from the PSYCHO panel to insure they wouldn't have to pay to be there. |
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The time was finally almost at hand and I was seriously starting to get terribly nervous. But then my good friend and mentor Tom Holland showed up, with his wife Kathi and PSYCHO II's Chris Hendrie and reassured me that every thing was going to be fine. Next was Juliette Cummins, "Red" from PSYCHO III - wearing the original "bloodied" crew shirt she got on PSYCHO III, autographed by everyone that worked on the picture. One by one, each and every one of the guests walked in through the lobby. Until finally, last but not least came Hilton Green. The AD on the first PSYCHO, the producer of the sequels, and the man that literally binded the entire series together. (Juliette affectionately calls him the "Godfather of PSYCHO")
It was truly amazing to see all these people, folks that I'd seen individually over the course of the past year and whom hadn't seen each other in over 20 years reconnecting and catching up with each other. Every one was especially pleased to have Hilton there, who is (let's face it) practically royalty to us all. I stood there in awe because... this is the panel of guests I'd always wanted to see at a convention and here they all were. My friend Michael Roddy nudged me out of my daydream and said, "Rob... ya know, you made this happen." And that's when it dawned on me. I really did make this happen. It was something I wanted to see so badly that I essentially willed it to happen. (I'm living proof that any one can make their dreams come true.) |
A few moments later, we debuted the first footage ever from the documentary and it got a wonderful enthusiastic response from the crowd. Then we took the stage for an hour long Q & A session. It was tough moderating on stage with a group of 11 people, but it all went rather smoothly & quickly and when I look back at the pictures, a part of me still doesn't believe it happened.
The hour literally went by in a flash, but thankfully I have the entire transcript from the panel right HERE.
The most fun part was watching all the fans line up for the autograph session afterwards and seeing how well the guest interacted with all the PSYCHO series fans. Every single person there had an absolute blast and was just thrilled to be a part of the "PSYCHO legacy"... myself included. -Robg. |
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