A FRIGHTFUL OCTOBER AFTERNOON WITH SVENGOOLIE!
I cannot tell you how excited I am about this one!
On Saturday, October 10th, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., I will be at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago for A Frightful October Afternoon, a very special event celebrating the release of my new book, 40 Years, 40 Horror Films, from Eckhartz Press.
There will be a meet and greet, an interactive discussion and Q&A, and I’ll be selling and signing copies of the book afterward. We’ll take pictures, hang out, talk horror movies, and celebrate spooky season together.
But there is one other little detail that makes this event incredibly special to me: the man interviewing me onstage will be the legendary Svengoolie himself, my friend Rich Koz.
Come on. How great is that?
(NOTE: Rich will NOT be in his Svengoolie costume, he will be interviewing me as his real-life-alter-ego...which is fantastic!)
Rich and I have known each other for many years. We have shared stages at Flashback Weekend Horror Convention, the Music Box Theatre, and other events around Chicago, and I have enormous affection and respect for him.
Rich is not simply a Chicago television institution. He is part of the history of horror fandom in this city and, thanks to the national success of Svengoolie, far beyond Chicago as well.
And I am incredibly honored that Rich wrote the Foreword to 40 Years, 40 Horror Films.
So the idea that I get to sit onstage at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, in front of an audience, while Rich interviews me about this book, horror movies, our friendship, our careers, horror fans, and probably whatever else pops into our heads is an absolute thrill.
I have done thousands and thousands of interviews during my career and spent decades being the guy asking the questions, so having Rich Koz sitting across from me and asking me the questions is going to be a lot of fun.
The reason this particular event means so much to me is that 40 Years, 40 Horror Films is an incredibly personal book. Last year, I released 40 Years, 40 Films, my autobiographical journey through my forty years as a professional film critic.
I became a professional critic in 1985, so I structured the book around my favorite movie from every year beginning with 1985. Along the way, I wrote about how I became a film critic, my years in radio, the experiences that shaped my career, the movies that changed my life, and the strange and wonderful path that allowed me to spend four decades talking about movies for a living.
I loved writing that book, but when it came time to do another one, there was really only one place I wanted to go: horror.
Horror is my favorite genre. It is the genre that made me fall in love with movies in the first place, helped turn me into a cinephile, and sent me down the rabbit hole of filmmakers, actors, special-effects artists, monsters, slashers, Universal classics, Hammer horror, Italian horror, independent horror, exploitation movies, zombie movies, vampire movies, werewolf movies, ghost stories, psychological horror, found footage, body horror, and all the other beautiful, disturbing, disgusting, terrifying stuff that has occupied an alarming amount of space in my brain for most of my life.
So 40 Years, 40 Horror Films takes the structure of the first book and applies it entirely to horror. Beginning in 1985, I chose my favorite horror movie from each year and wrote about it, but the book became much more than forty individual movie essays.
It turned into a deep dive into the entire genre: why horror works, why we willingly pay money to be frightened, how the genre has changed over the decades, and why horror remains one of the most important, versatile, misunderstood, and frequently disrespected forms of filmmaking.
I also included my annual horror Top 10 lists, and more than 400 horror movies are discussed or mentioned throughout the book. I put an enormous amount of work into it, and I am incredibly proud of the finished book. And I love my publishers at Eckhartz Press.
The timing for this event couldn't be more perfect because it's October. It's spooky season. This is when people who normally don't spend eleven months of the year thinking about horror movies suddenly catch up with the rest of us. Welcome aboard.
But one of the things that matters most to me about 40 Years, 40 Horror Films is that the book isn't only about the movies. It's also about horror fans. It's about the tribe. I've spent more than two decades hosting and moderating panels at Flashback Weekend, and one of the things I have learned during all those years is that horror fans are some of the most passionate, knowledgeable, loyal, funny, and genuinely wonderful movie fans you will ever meet.
That's one reason having Rich Koz write the Foreword means so much to me. Svengoolie has spent decades bringing horror movies into people's homes while making them laugh, teaching them about the movies, celebrating their history, and creating a community around them. Rich gets the tribe because he is part of the tribe, and he has also been an enormous part of Chicago broadcasting history.
Which makes the location for this event absolutely perfect. I love the Museum of Broadcast Communications, and I was lucky enough to be there this past March for an event celebrating 40 Years, 40 Films. I am thrilled to return with the new book.
For somebody who spent more than 35 years at WGN Radio and who has loved television and radio virtually his entire life, walking through this museum is like wandering through pieces of my own history.
The Museum of Broadcast Communications has been preserving and celebrating television and radio history for decades, and its current home in Chicago's West Loop is filled with wonderful exhibits and artifacts from the medium.
There is material celebrating Johnny Carson and the history of late-night television, Bozo's Circus, I Dream of Jeannie, the Radio Hall of Fame, and an exhibit celebrating five decades of The Loop, and so, so much more!
And this isn't simply a room where Rich and I are going to sit down, talk for an hour, sign some books, and send everybody home. Your admission gives you the opportunity to explore the museum, so make a day of it.
Come for the event and wander around. Look at the exhibits. Immerse yourself in the history of Chicago radio and television and the larger history of broadcasting. If you love this stuff the way I do, there is an enormous amount to see.
Even the room where Rich and I will be doing the interview is terrific. It's an intimate space with a beautiful stage, and the whole setup makes this feel less like some giant, impersonal presentation and more like everybody is sitting in on a conversation between two friends.
The event begins at 11:30 a.m. with a meet and greet, so come in, say hello, get settled, and hang out with us. At noon, Rich and I will take the stage, and we'll talk about 40 Years, 40 Horror Films, why horror works, some of the greatest horror movies of the past forty years, our friendship, Flashback Weekend, Chicago broadcasting, Svengoolie, horror fandom, and Rich writing the Foreword to the book.
And I definitely want the audience involved. We'll have an interactive Q&A because I want to hear from you. What are your favorite horror movies? What scared the hell out of you when you were a kid? What movie can you still not watch alone? What horror movie do you think everybody else loves and you absolutely cannot stand? Those are the conversations I love having, and I'm sure I'll turn the tables on Rich at some point because I want to know some of his favorites too.
Then, at approximately 1:00 p.m., we'll have the book signing. I'll have copies of 40 Years, 40 Horror Films available for purchase, and I'll be happy to sign and personalize one for you. We'll take pictures, talk about movies, and hang out.
And doing all of this with Rich Koz makes the afternoon even more special. I've known Rich for years, I've worked with him many times, and I consider him a friend, but I'm also a fan. I understand exactly what Svengoolie means to Chicago and to generations of horror lovers.
To have him write the Foreword to my book was an honor, and to have him interview me about it onstage at the Museum of Broadcast Communications is something I am genuinely going to treasure.
So please come out:
WHAT - "A Frightful Afternoon at The Museum of Broadcast Communications"
WHEN - Saturday, October 10th, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
WHERE - The Museum of Broadcast Communications, 440 W. Randoloph St. in Chicago
TICKETS - Available RIGHT HERE!
Come meet Rich Koz. Come say hello to me. Come listen to two guys who have spent a ridiculous portion of their lives thinking about monsters and horror movies talk about why this stuff matters so much.
Ask us questions, tour the museum, pick up a copy of 40 Years, 40 Horror Films, and I'll sign it for you. We'll take some pictures, hang out, and celebrate horror movies together.
It's October. This is exactly what we should be doing.
I am unbelievably excited, incredibly honored, and very proud of this book.
Let's pack the place, let's get scary, and let's have a truly frightful October afternoon.
I hope to see you there.
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