AFI Dallas/Texas Frightmare Weekend 40th Anniversary Tour Kick-off

Last week, Texas Frightmare Weekend and AFI Dallas kicked off the Night of the Living Dead 40th Anniversary Tour in grand style. The AFI Dallas screening of the film at the beautiful Inwood Theater included a thrilling Oscar-type red carpet entrance, papparazzi and interviews. In attendance were George A. Romero, John Russo, Russ Streiner, Judy O'Dea, Bill Hinzman, George Kosana and myself. After shivering on the red carpet (Dallas was a lot colder than I'd anticipated) we stepped into the sold-out theater to introductions by the AFI Dallas representative, TFW's Loyd Cryer and Malcolm McDowell.

The audience for the evening included, among others, horror movie royalty Dee Wallace Stone, Kristina Klebe, Harvey Stephens, Tom Savini, Greg Nicotero, Tom Atkins, Scott Reiniger, Courtney Gains, Eugene Clark, Joe Pilato, Pedro Arce and Ken Foree.

The film itself was one of the scratchy old prints one would have viewed through fogged-up car windows at a drive-in. As much as I love Elite's cleaned up Millennium Edition DVD, a beat up print makes for a far more authentic theater experience; the scratches and missing frames received rave reviews from the audience. We were whisked away during the film to be interviewed by a reporter from Hollywood Life magazine. Immediately following the movie, AFI Dallas presented each of us with a framed certificate to commemorate the 40th anniversary screening of Night of the Living Dead. Malcolm McDowell then hosted a very brief Q&A during which George told a strange story about an owl and an ill-mannered monkey. It was appropriately surreal.

The reception afterwards was very nice, and surprisingly sedate; everyone was dressed up and on their best behavior (the monkey wasn't there). I cut out fairly early and went to bed.

Texas Frightmare Weekend itself was a blast, of course, and very well organized. I saw old friends and made some new ones. It was wonderful reuniting with Judy O'Dea, and I look forward to spending more time with her throughout the rest of this year, and our tour. She's very smart, extremely insightful, and she likes martinis. She is the perfect traveling companion.

This was my first trip to Texas (since I was two years old) and I definitely want to go back again. I just hope it'll be warmer next time!

Kudos and many thanks to everyone at AFI Dallas and Texas Frightmare Weekend for making our inaugural event so perfect and so memorable!

Click here to see my photos of TFW.