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The Gruesome Gazette Newsletter *** Slime City Grindhouse Collection *** |
Gregory Lamberson's News 6/1/2010 My new werewolf novel THE FRENZY WAY is now available as a Trade Paperback from Medallion Press. PERSONAL DEMONS won the IPPY Gold Medal for Horror from Independent Publishers Book Awards, and has been nominated for a Best Cover Design Benjamin Franklin Award. My second Jake Helman novel, DESPERATE SOULS, will be published as a Medallion TPB on October 1st; I’ve delivered the manuscript for the third Helman book, to be published sometime in 2011. SLIME CITY MASSACRE had its world premiere at the Beloit International Film Festival in Beloit, Wisconsin, and won two awards at the PollyGrind Fest in Las Vegas: Biggest Baddest Mother of the PollyGrind, and Best Actor for Kealan Patrick Burke. Congrats, Kealan! 12/10/09 SLIME CITY MASSACRE will have its World Premiere at the wonderful Beloit International Film Festival, which runs Feb. 18th - 21st, 2010, in Beloit, Wisconsin. Look for future screenings soon! Medallion
Press publishes THE FRENZY WAY in June 2010, and Bad Moon Books publishes
the Limited Edition hardcover as part of its Eclipse line in October -
when Medallion published DESPERATE SOULS, the second volume in "The
Jake Helman Files." 10
- 1 - 2009 5 - 1 - 2009 SLIME CITY MASSACRE is officially in pre-production, for a July, 2009 start date! The cast includes Debbie ROchon, Lee Perkins, Kealan Patrick Burke, Jennifer Bihl, Robert Sabin, Mary Bogle, Brooke Lewis, Roy Frumkes, Tommy Sweeney, and T.J. Merrick!
3-21-2009
JOHNNY
GRUESOME has been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement
in a Novel. SLIME CITY MASSACRE is now in pre-production for a July start date!
12-12-2008 JOHNNY GRUESOME has been nominated for Dark Scribe’s “Best Small Press Chill” BLACK QUILL AWARD! Fans can register at Dark Scribe and cast their vote if they’re so inclined. Honestly, it’s a thrill to be honored in such a competitive category. 11/24/08 10/01/08
JOHNNY GRUESOME is now available in paperback in bookstores across North America, and CHEAP SCARES! LOW BUDGET HORROR FILMMAKERS SHARE THEIR SECRETS is available from McFarland & Company and other online booksellers. If you can’t find JOHNNY GRUESOME in your local bookstore, please ask them to order it, and if they tell you they don’t have it in stock, please let me know. Happy Halloween, everyone! 08/07/08
The JOHNNY GROUSOME Book Tour begins August 22nd – 24th at Rue Morgue’s Festival of Fear in Toronto (the Official Book Launch Party is at Rotten Jack’s Creep Show in Buffalo on Sept. 20th) and continues through my Saturday, November 22nd appearance at Dark Delicacies, the world’s most famous horror store, in Burbank, Ca. More dates to follow! Festival of
Fear Signing Schedule Book Launch
at Rotten Jack's Creep Show Barnes &
Noble Borders Barnes &
Noble It's Alive
Zombiefest - Guest The Book Corner
The Book Nook
Barnes &
Noble Barnes &
Noble Dark Delicacies 4/9/2008
McFarland & Company has announced a tentative publication date for my instructional book, CHEAP SCARES! LOW BUDGET HORROR FILMMAKERS SHARE THEIR SECRETS, of June 29th! This is way earlier than I had expected it, and I attribute it to McFarland’s positive reaction to the book. I fully expect it to take a few weeks longer, but mid-to-late July is a safe bet. Meanwhile, Medallion Press has acquired both JOHNNY GRUESOME and PERSONAL DEMONS for mass market publication! JOHNNY will be published as a mass market trade paperback, available in bookstores everywhere, THIS October! And DEMONS will be published in October of 2009. I will be one of Medallion’s featured authors at BookExpo America in L.A. May 29th – June 1st, and at Rue Morgue’s Festival of Fear August 22nd – 24th. In film news, my producer and I are waiting for our executive producer and casting director to secure casting on DEADLY RITES before we know if that project is a “go” this year or not. But I’ve completed the first draft of screenplay for SLIME CITY MASSACRE and reaction to it has been excellent. The search for financing is underway. 3/4/08 DEADLY RITES and SLIME CITY MASSACRE
I am currently developing two new motion pictures with my new producing partner, Gregory G. Kurczynski, that I hope to shoot in the second half of 2008. The first is DEADLY RITES, an action thriller that will appeal to horror fans. Greg K is working with actress Eileen Dietz (THE EXORCIST) to secure funding for this film, written by Walt Jantzen, which we plan to shoot on 35mm this summer. A casting director is currently submitting the screenplay to our first choice actors. You can check out concept art for the project on the DEADLY RITES page. SLIME CITY fans rejoice! The second project mentioned above is SLIME CITY MASSACRE, a down and dirty sequel that I’m currently writing. Here’s what I’ll divulge: this time the story focuses on four squatters living in the abandoned soup kitchen once run by Zachary Devon. Every day is a fight for survival until the foursome discovers a supply of Himalayan Yogurt and Zachary’s elixir in the basement. The film will be a celebration of the ‘80s era of latex filmmaking that you love so much, and I’ll tell you right now its much wilder and crazier than the original! I’m writing the lead role for Erika Smith, who’s already expressed interest in starring, and have several other genre favorites in mind for key roles. This time out, Robert Sabin will star as Zachary in flashbacks, Mary Huner-Bogle will reprise her role as Lori Swan, and I‘m writing roles for supporting slime T.J. Merrick, Terry Spivey, and Nelson Wakefield. David Gray of Gray Effects and Sean Flahive from Anarchy FX will provide the special effects, Robert Tomaro will return as composer, and artist Tom Moran is providing concept art. Matthias Saunders will serve as Director of Photography on both projects. ** Actor T.J. Merrick will join me for a special midnight screening of SLIME CITY—still celebrating its 20th anniversary—at the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival's “Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Day” on Thursday, March 27th. 1/11/08
Bad Moon Books (www.badmoonbooks.com)
has shipped the Limited and Lettered Editions of JOHNNY GRUESOME! I’ve
received advance copies and they’re beautiful! Order while copies
remain, and visit Johnny Gruesome (www.johnnygruesome.com)
to check out the GRUESOME CD, Mini-Movie, On-line comics, and Johnny Gruesome
Death Mask. The SLIME CITY Soundtrack CD is also in stock and available
for shipping! 1/3/08 Happy New Year! Bad Moon Books has shipped the Limited Edition hardcover of my novel JOHNNY GRUESOME, illustrated by Zach McCain and Eric Mache, and introduced by Jeff Strand! Only 250 signed and numbered copies will be published, and fewer than 100 are left! Visit Bad Moon to order your copy before it’s too late, and hop over to Johnny Gruesome to check out the GRUESOME CD, Mini-Movie, and Death Mask.
The SLIME CITY Soundtrack CD is now available for the first time, exclusively through this website (http://slimeguy.com/SlimeCD.htm)! Rob Tomaro has digitally Re-mastered his score, which sounds beautiful—in a slimy sort of way! The CD also includes the “Slime City Tribute Song” by Holy Mary Motor Club! 12/12/07
The current issue of GOREZONE, the UK’s answer to FANGORIA and RUE MORGUE, features a review of JOHNNY GRUESOME. Here’s a quote: "GREGORY LAMBERSON has set the novel in modern times but, as I was reading, I couldn’t escape the sensation of being held in the comforting times of my own teenage years. The way it is written expertly captures the terror filled excitement I felt upon my first foray into horror. With JOHNNY GRUESOME the horror genre has been given a timeless classic that will live on for eternity, a blood soaked memory of original death sequences that will chill the blood and curl the toes." GoreZone is available in specialty bookstores and at http://www.gorezone.co.uk/. The complete TOC: This month you get
a free cover disc featuring trailers, classic horror desktops and the
Ultimate Horror Quiz Game. Inside you are treated to articles on Diary of the Dead, Blackwater, Tim Burton's Sweeny Todd and more. Interviews include the director of Shrooms and the wonderful Tiffany Shepis. On top of that you also get all the regular features such as the Gorezone FX Lab, Suzy Lorraine, Emily Booth, Jason Jones DVD reviews and book reviews by yours truly. This months reviews are the truly beautiful 20th Anniversary Edition of The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker (from Earthling Publications) and the outstanding horror tale Johnny Gruesome by Gregory Lamberson (from Bad Moon Books). 10/30/07 JOHNNY GRUESOME WINS ‘BEST COMIC BOOK’ AT THE NYC HORROR FILM FESTIVAL. Johnny Gruesome, a one-shot comic book based on Gregory Lamberson’s upcoming novel, won “Best Comic Book” at the New York City Horror Film Festival on Sunday. Roy Frumkes (STREET TRASH) was on hand to accept the award on behalf of Lamberson and the artists who worked on the “graphic novelette.” He was on hand, but he didn’t actually accept the award because the festival directors forgot all about the category! “The comic book was a bit of a lark,” according to Lamberson. “I was looking for different ways to promote the novel, and I already had the “Gruesome” rock CD and Johnny Gruesome Death Mask in the works. A lot of authors post sample chapters for their books on websites, but I thought it would be more interesting, and more fun, to post comic book adaptations of selected chapters, since the novel was largely inspired by E.C. Comics’ revenge-from-beyond-the-grave stories and Marvel Comics’ Tomb of Dracula.” Lamberson found two artists willing to adapt his material without pay: Toronto-based Kelly Forbes and Argentinean Martin Blanco. Forbes’s segment, “A Day for Damnation,” went live on the Johnny Gruesome website (www.JohnnyGruesome.com) six months ago, and Blanco’s piece, “Lividity,” went up two weeks ago. “Each artist brought a different approach to the project,” Lamberson says, “which is what I’ve asked all of the creative people involved in Johnny’s multimedia world to do. Kelly has a very creepy, naturalistic style—disturbing, giving the nature of that chapter’s content—and Martin’s style more directly invokes the E.C. approach—fun and gory.” The comics are available for free on-line, but Lamberson decided to print a limited run comic book for contributors through Chris Hedges of Insidious Publications. Blanco’s work wasn’t completed in time for inclusion, but one page from his story was used to introduce Forbes’s piece. The digest-sized comic is what Lamberson submitted to the New York City Horror Film Festival. “Chris and I used the cover that Zach McCain created for the novel, and used his illustrations for the novel to flesh out the story and unify different elements.” The limited edition comic became an unintentional collaboration between the various Gruesome artists. “Just for fun, we threw in some vintage ads from old comics as well. My favorite is the one for the Aurora monster models, since they were what led to my love for horror in the first place. If you look closely, one of the gravestones in the ad has ‘Gruesome’ written on it.” Lamberson created the Johnny Gruesome character in a screenplay he wrote two decades ago, shortly after completing the script for his cult film Slime City—and the comic book category is part of New York City Horror Film Festival’s screenplay competition. “It’s the first year they’ve given an award in this category,” Lamberson says. “And it may be the last! My novel Personal Demons won the Inaugural Anubis Award for Horror, and there was never another one given!” The Johnny Gruesome novel is available for pre-order from Bad Moon Books (www.badmoonbokks.com) and is slated to ship in mid-November. The book is a Limited Edition hardcover with a press run of 250 copies, each one individually numbered and signed by Lamberson, McCain, and author Jeff Strand, who provided the introduction. The book also features a frontispiece painting by Eric Mache. “There’s
a story behind that painting too,” Lamberson laughs. “I hired
Eric to create it back when I first wrote the screenplay and he presented
it to me on the set of Brain Damage when I was Frank Henenlotter’s
Assistant Director. Everything is coming full circle.” 10/5/07 The second on-line JOHNNY GRUESOME is now live and undead here. This issue, “LIVIDITY,” based on Chapter 33 of my JOHNNY GRUESOME novel, was drawn and lettered by Martin Blanco, working out of Argentina and Spain. You can still read the first comic, “A DAY FOR DAMNATION,” drawn and lettered by Kelly Forbes, at the same web location. These comics conclude my preview of the JOHNNY GRUESOME Limited Edition hardcover novel, which Bad Moon Books is shipping any day now. I hope you’ve enjoyed them, and will enjoy the novel, not to mention the GRUESOME CD, Mini Movie, and Death Mask. Look for more JOHNNY news soon, and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter, The Gruesome Gazette. Get Gruesome! 10-1-07 Issue #72 of RUE MORGUE magazine—a double-sized, Halloween and 10th Anniversary issue—features an article on JOHNNY GRUESOME by James Grainger. Look closely, and you’ll see that Johnny even made the cover! You’ll find a complete rundown on this humongous issue’s contents here. On sale now!
09/17/07
I’ll be screening SLIME CITY with the film’s star, Robert Sabin, at Silicon 2007 in San Jose, California, on Saturday, Oct. 6th. I’ve never screened it on the west coast before, and am quite excited. The con runners are billing this as a “20th anniversary” screening, but the 20th anniversary of the theatrical run as a midnight movie is in 2008. Sabin, co-star Mary Huner, and Rob Tomaro, the composer of the film’s score, will present the film’s true 20th anniversary screening at the Beloit International Film Festival in Wisconsin during the period of January17th – 20th. To commemorate the anniversary, Tomaro and I are releasing the much requested soundtrack on CD! The CD, which we’ll launch at the festival, will include the SLIME CITY tribute performed by the Holy Mary Motor Club, heard on the home page of this very site! 07/16/07 FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Johnny Gruesome is the culmination of an ambitious multi-media marketing campaign conceived by Lamberson one year ago that includes a companion rock CD, a short film starring Erin Brown (aka “Misty Mundae”), a collectible mask, and on-line comic books, all of which are available at www.johnnygruesome.com. Samples of McCain’s artwork for the novel are posted at http://slimeguy.com/gruesomeBook.htm. “At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that people respond to the novel,” says Lamberson, who describes his creation as “a valentine to fans of 1980s splatter films.” He sees Johnny as “a creature in the mold of the classic Universal Studios monsters, with a lot of personality, in a contemporary horror environment.” Johnny Gruesome tells the story of John Grissom, a high school student and heavy metal music fan who is murdered by a drug dealer and returns from the grave as a vengeance crazed zombie. “He’s actually a ghost who puppeteers his own corpse,” Lamberson explains. “And because he’s a teenager, he’s a rather immature monster, driven by hormones and anger. He was angry at the world when he was alive, but he’s even angrier as a zombie. I want people to have a lot of fun with this between the acts of gory mayhem.” Johnny Gruesome is the first full length novel to published by Bad Moon Books, which has so far specialized in limited edition novellas by such notable authors as Weston Ochse, J.F. Gonzalez, and Kealan Patrick Burke. Founder Roy Robbins calls the pre-sale of Johnny Gruesome "one of our most exciting announcements to date. I am very excited to be working on this book!" The novel is scheduled to ship in late September, in time for horror fans to “get Gruesome” in time for Halloween. # BLURBS FOR JOHNNY GRUESOME: "If
you like your horror fast and nasty, then take a ride with Johnny Gruesome.
Gruesome is a loving and intelligent tribute to the classic splatter films
that set the pace for modern horror. With sharp writing and an eye for
detail. Lamberson masterfully brings a nightmare to life. Bold and trashy
in all the right ways, Johnny Gruesome is a book (and a villain) you won't
soon forget." “Johnny
Gruesome’ is a rarity: bright and clever descriptions, an elusive
sense of humor, and high-level pacing. I wish I had written it.” "Sex,
drugs, and rock n' roll are back, in the Death Mobile drivin', leather
jacket-clad corpse of Johnny Gruesome, a man who lives up to his name
in every sense of the word. The reader is advised to put some Alice Cooper
on high volume, crack open a can of beer and dive right in. Be forewarned,
however, this is one ride through the hell of high school and the wince-inducing
gore of undead vengeance you may have to take more than once. In Johnny
Gruesome, horror has a new hero." “Johnny
Gruesome has a frightening sense of detail that makes it all the more
horrific -- it’s a gruesome ride that you can’t stop reading.” “Any
way you slice things, it just doesn’t get any more gruesome than
this. Greg Lamberson’s Johnny Gruesome is a rotting fetid romp of
a novel that shows you a little of life post-mortem for your average teenage
headbanger. A B-movie nightmare recreated with loving fan-boy zeal, I
give it an “F” for fun, freaky and foul fucked-up funk.” “Greg
Lamberson’s Johnny Gruesome is edgy, violent, supernaturally cool
and the new undead king of quick-and-dirty horror. Johnny Gruesome spins
the zombie genre into a fresh and ballsy hard-rock direction that just
kills!” "Johnny
Gruesome has the potential to become an iconic horror character in the
mold of such genre heavyweights as Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees. With
a cinematic eye (what else can you expect from the man who directed such
films as Slime City and Undying Love?), Gregory Lamberson gives us what
could have been a great B- movie about revenge from beyond the grave,
but which instead has been fleshed out and given richer life in the form
of a novel. The result is a fun, compelling read with characters we care
about." "Gregory
Lamberson's Johnny Gruesome isn't just your old run of the mill zombie
tale. It's a smokin’ hot, sexy, rockin' zombie adventure!"
"Gregory
Lamberson is a storyteller who knows how to spin a solid horror tale,
and JOHNNY GRUESOME is a delicious rotting slice of living dead horror,
as American as apple pie a la mode and a strong cup of Joe at the diner
of the dammed. 07/11/07
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Gruesome, a short film written and directed by author/filmmaker Gregory Lamberson (Slime City, Personal Demons),(www.slimeguy.com) based on his upcoming novel Johnny Gruesome, has gone live on the web and is free for horror fans to enjoy here (http://slimeguy.com/gruesomevideo.htm). The 8-minute short stars Erin Brown (“Misty Mundae”) as the girlfriend of Johnny Grissom (Ryan O’Connell), a murdered headbanger who becomes the titular zombie. The production co-stars Dan Loughery and Jennifer Bihl and features special make-up effects by David Grey (www.grayeffects.com). The film appears on a virtual drive-in screen constructed by Gregory G. Kurczynski of Grave Thoughts Radio (www.gravethoughts.com). “I wrote Johnny Gruesome as a feature length screenplay way back in 1984,” Lamberson says. “Vestron Video loved it but wanted me to make certain concessions, so I made Slime City on a much lower budget instead.” Just over one year ago, when Lamberson found himself playing Mr. Mom to his infant daughter, he resurrected the Gruesome story as a novel. “I always regretted that I never got to make the movie, because the character has tremendous commercial potential. I decided to promote the character, and not just the novel, which led to the Gruesome rock CD (http://slimeguy.com/gruesomeCD.htm) , The Johnny Gruesome Death Mask (http://slimeguy.com/gruesomemask.htm), the on-line comics (http://slimeguy.com/gruesomeComic1.htm), and this short film.” The film began as a music video based on the title track from the CD by husband and wife songwriters Giasone and Marcy Italiano. “I figured I’d throw in some of the images that had lingered in my imagination for all these years and get them out of my system. But like everything else associated with this project, the video took on a life of its own and just got bigger. It’s no longer a music video, but a short film set to two songs off the CD. It’s full of sex, violence, and gore—not exactly the same realm as Michael Jackson’s Thriller.” Lamberson told his wife Tamar, who produced the film, he could reach Erin Brown through contacts at POP Cinema, the company that released Slime City on DVD and popularized Brown’s “Misty Mundae” persona. “To be honest, we really couldn’t afford Erin on our budget, let alone fly her out to Buffalo and put her up in a decent hotel. But Tamar saw how much this could mean to the overall project and said, ‘You have to get her for this part.’” The Lambersons cast Brown as she was departing for Argentina to shoot the feature Dying God, co-written by Nicanor Loreti. “She lost her luggage on the way back to the United States,” Lamberson says. “It had her costumes and make-up. Then, through a series of circumstances, she missed two flights to Buffalo. But she finally made it here in one piece and she was a total pro. We crammed a lot into a day and a half of filming, and I think this will be viewed as one of her best performances.” The mini-movie was shot by cinematographers Robert Lingle and Matthias Saunders (Prison of the Psychotic Damned) in numerous cemeteries around the Buffalo area, as well as the House of Horrors and Haunted Catacombs (www.houseofhorrorsbuffalo.com ) Halloween attractions. “David Gray, who did our special make-up effects, had a camera dolly. After directing three micro-budget features, I finally got to use a dolly and work with a horror star-- on a short film!” The Gruesome CD is now available for pre-order on www.johnnygruesome.com, and Bad Moon Books (www.badmoonbooks.com) will offer the Johnny Gruesome novel for pre-order next week. The signed and numbered, limited edition hardcover was illustrated by Zach McCain (www.zchmccain.com) and features an introduction by horror author Jeff Strand (www.jeffstrand.com). Lamberson intends to take his Gruesome film on the road to numerous film festivals in the fall. “After
waiting 23 years to see Johnny on the big screen, I want to see him with
as many audiences as possible.” 07/02/07 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The CD is now available for pre-order through www.johnnygruesome.com, where horror and hard rock enthusiasts are encouraged to listen to audio samples from some of the songs and read reviews of the record, which ships August 1st. The independently produced CD is only available from its creators, which allows them to keep the cost at a low $10 for ten tracks. Lamberson is the author of the novel Personal Demons and director of the cult horror film Slime City. Johnny Gruesome will be published by Bad Moon Books as a limited edition, signed and numbered hardcover, illustrated by Zach McCain, in the fall of 2007. “I decided to promote Johnny as a character as much as a novel,” Lamberson says. “That allowed me to explore the ‘Headbanger from Hell’ in other media, and because of the story’s heavy metal slant, music seemed like a natural format in which Johnny could really cut loose. This is a gory, violent, sexy collection! There will also be a short film starring Erin Brown and a collectible mask sculpted by Matt Patterson.” Giasone
is a songwriter known in Ontario, Canada for his ballads; he has released
three self produced CDs in the past. His wife Marcy, a horror writer and
web designer, authored the novel Pain Machine. “A little bit of Blues, a hint of Jazz, and a lot of Rock and Roll went into the making of this Gruesome album,” says Marcy. “That, and a few very late Friday night martinis when the two songwriters were battling out some ideas.” “Gruesome” was recorded by Ron Roy at Threshold Sound. “It’s a professional studio album,” Lamberson says, “not a garage recording. Horror fans will be impressed with the quality and will have a blast with the material whether they read the novel or not.” One of the songs featured on the CD, “Graveyard Blues,” recently placed as a top ten finalist in the Unisong International Song Contest and won Honorable Mention. According
to best selling horror author Brian Keene, the album’s title track
is "Hard, sleazy, and infectious -- Gruesome's got a wicked, irresistible
vibe." And Jeff Strand, author of the Bram Stoker Award nominated
novel Pressure says, "'Gruesome' screams to be played at top volume
while driving at a dangerously unsafe speed down a dark bumpy road, taking
out a pedestrian or two during each chorus. You'll wanna rock to this
one until blood sprays out of your speakers." 06/06/2007
Post-production on the GRUESOME mini-movie is rolling along; Jason Mager has completed an assembly cut and is toiling away on the first edit. The project has grown in scope so much that it now encompasses two songs from the upcoming GRUESOME CD instead of one. If you live in the Buffalo area, or anywhere on planet earth, you are cordially invited the World Premiere: GRUESOME In addition to screening the video, we’re screening Robert Lingle’s documentary, JOHNNY GRUESOME: MEETING HIS MAKER and G Italiano will perform 4 songs from the CD. “Itll be a hell of a night…” ** We expect to have the CD in hand shortly! ** Bad Moon Books will soon offer my JOHNNY GRUESOME novel for pre-order; go to www.badmoonbooks.com. The publisher is crafting 200 signed and numbered, limited edition hardcovers, with an introduction by Jeff Strand and featuring six full color illustrations by Zach McCain. ** CHAT—OF THE DAMNED! Team Gruesome will conduct a mass on-line chat for Chat of the Damned at 9 PM on Monday, August 6th. Right now the roster includes Bad Moon Books publisher Roy Robbins, myself, G and Marcy Italiano, Zach McCain, mask maker Matt Patterson, and comic book artist Kelly Forbes. www.lostdamned.com. 04/16/2007
Production wrapped on GRUESOME, the short film/music video based on my upcoming novel JOHNNY GRUESOME, on April 15th. Erin Brown, my original choice to play Johnny’s girlfriend Karen, came to the rescue when Erika Smith became unavailable. Despite numerous transportation obstacles, Erin joined Ryan O’Connell (Johnny Gruesome), Dan Loughery (Gary), and Jenifer Bihl (Sharon) for 2 days of filming at the House of Horrors amusement attraction outside Buffalo and was a pleasure to direct. Cinematographer Matthias Saunders joined Bob Lingle on camera, and Jason Mager will now begin to edit all of the footage we shot. The video goes live sometime this summer.
3/18/07
I’m pleased to announce that Team Gruesome will be shooting a large amount of the GRUESOME video at the House of Horrors and Catacombs haunted house attractions owned by Immortal, Inc. The amount of production value these spooky sets will add to the project is staggering. Above are images of Ryan O’Connell, who stars as Johnny; an in-progress look at David Gray’s appliance for Johnny/ Decomposition Stage #3; and Jenifer Bihl, who plays Sharon, casting her hand for a ghastly effect while David looks on. Tom Petropoulos has signed on as our steadicam operator. The fun—and horror—begins Saturday, March 24th. 3/09/07
You can now view the
8-minute documentary JOHNNY GRUESOME: MEETING HIS MAKER on YouTube: This was directed by Ryan Amelia, produced by Robert Lingle, shot by Matthew White, and edited by Timothy Zuattrini. It explores the origins of Johnny Gruesome, and the crew interviewed me at various locations in Fredonia, New York, which inspired the novel. They did a terrific job, for which I deserve none of the credit. A longer version, dealing with the shooting of GRUESOME, is in the works, as these guys are working on that as well. Check it out. ** A little scream queen goes a long way! Perhaps because Erika Smith has signed on to play Johnny’s girlfriend Karen in GRUESOME, the project has received a surprising amount of press: FANGORIA Horror Yearbook About Horror Dread Central Maximum Horrors Rogue Cinema I hesitate to call Erika a “scream queen” because she has extensive training and indie cred, but there’s no question that her current fan base prefers to see her in horror flicks. Ryan O’Connell stars as Johnny, Don Loughery as Gary, and Jenifer Bihl as Sharon. 3/05/07 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gregory Lamberson has cast actress Erika Smith in a starring role in “Gruesome,” a short film/music video based on both his upcoming novel, Johnny Gruesome, and the horror rock CD Gruesome, written by Giasone and Marcy Italiano. He’ll direct the project in March and April in upstate New York. Lamberson directed the cult classic Slime City and wrote the Anubis Award winning novel Personal Demons. Bad Moon Books will publish Johnny Gruesome as a signed and numbered limited edition hard cover, illustrated by Zach McCain, in the fall of 2007. Lamberson created the Gruesome character in an unproduced screenplay. “This video will really be the film I never got to make,” Lamberson says. “It will be chock full of sex, violence, rock ‘n roll, and gore—not your typical MTV or VH1 fare.” Smith appeared in Bite Me!, The Sexy Adventures of Van Helsing, and Sinful. Her upcoming features include Eat Your Heart Out and Splatter Beach; the later re-teams her with frequent co-star Erin Brown. In “Gruesome,” she plays Karen Slatter, the girlfriend of murdered head banger Johnny Grissom, who rises from his grave as a vengeful zombie. The remaining cast includes Buffalo locals Ryan O’Connell, Jennifer Biel, and Dan Loughery. “I cast Erika because I’m treating this like a feature,” Lamberson says. “Shes a talented actress with a strong fan base, and I think this will be a cool showcase for her.” David Gray of Gray Effects is handling the special make-up effects. “Dave’s old school, just like me,” Lamberson says, “so there will be a lot of latex and blood tubes involved. He’s sculpting at least two separate appliances for Johnny’s decomposition; by comparison, we used three on Slime City.” Award winning cinematographer Matthias Saunders (Devil’s Grove) is sharing filming chores with newcomer Robert Lingle, who’s producing a documenatary on Lamberson called Johnny Gruesome Meets his Maker. Lamberson’s multi-media plans for Johnny include comics by Kelly Forbes and Martin Blanco for his website; the CD Gruesome which will be available in August; two different Halloween masks by Matt Patterson; and the novel, due in September. To learn more about these efforts, visit www.johnnygruesome.com.
2/28/07 I start filming “GRUESOME,” the short film/music video based on my novel JOHNNY GRUESOME and the song “Gruesome” by Giasone and Marcy Italiano, on March 24th. Ryan O’Connell stars as the Gruesome One, David Grey is handling special effects, Bob Lendl is among the camera crew, and Jason Mager has signed on to edit. SLIME CITY star Robert Sabin provides narration. I’m currently casting the roles of KAREN and GARY, and am looking for a good animation artist to handle the opening title. Check in over at www.johnnnygruesome.com for periodic updates, including video footage of the special effects-in-progress. ** THE PROBLEM WITH MICKEY, a signed and numbered limited edition novella written and illustrated by Tom Moran for Insidious Publications, is now available for pre-order at Shocklines: http://shocklines.stores.yahoo.net/prwimibytomm.html. I wrote the introduction for this deeply disturbing tale.
DOORWAYS #1 features my retrospective on the career of TV horror producer/director Dan Curtis (DARK SHADOWS, THE NIGHT STALKER), who passed away last year. It also features a print interview with Johnny Gruesome, and the first 50 buyers will receive a limited edition CD featuring an unexpurgated audio version of the interview—signed by Johnny! Find out what Johnny did to journalist Richard Hipson by ordering here: http://www.doorwaysmagazine.com/news.php 2/8/2007
Bad Moon Books will publish my novel JOHNNY GRUESOME in the fall of 2007! The plan is to release 250 signed and numbered limited editions, illustrated by Zach McCain, and 26 Lettered Editions. I couldn’t be happier; Bad Moon is a terrific on-line book seller, and since Roy Robbins moved into publishing, he’s worked with such notable authors as John Urbancik and Weston Ochse—good company to keep. Roy and I plan to produce a really special book, and the novel will be out a month or two after the companion “Gruesome” CD by Giasone and Marcy Italiano debuts. ** Zach McCain is working on his final illustration for the novel and it’s beautiful. Every time I think we’re done I think, “Let’s do one more!” I wish I was George Lucas or Peter Jackson just so I could keep all of these collaborators working on my projects full time! ** And Kelly Forbes has submitted the first sample page for his comic book adaptation of the novel, which I’ll be posting on www.johnnygruesome.com. You can view the sample here: http://slimeguy.com/gruesomeComic1.htm. The complete issue will be up soon, to be followed by a second issue illustrated by Martin Blanco. 2/4/07 I’ve cast Ryan O’Connell to play Johnny Grissom, aka Johnny Gruesome, in a music video for “Gruesome,” the Giasone and Marcy Italiano song based on my novel JOHNY GRUESOME. David Gray of Gray Effects (www.grayeffects.com) has signed on to handle the myriad special effects chores. Shooting is scheduled to begin in March or April. ** You can read Richard Hipson’s interview with Johnny Gruesome in DOORWAYS #1 (www.doorwaysmagazine.com). Richard covered “Gruesome” for INSIDIOUS REFLECTIONS (http://www.insidiousreflections.com/GregLamberson.htm), and traveled to the village of Red Hill in Western New York to interview the teenage zombie “live.” An abridged transcript of the interview appears in the magazine, but the complete audio interview is being made available on CD to the first 50 buyers of the magazine. Get them while they’re hot, and while Richard’s blood turns ice cold… 1/12/07
Just like Johnny Gruesome, GRAVE THOUGHTS RADIO has returned from the grave. Gregory G. Korczynski’s new podcast is devoted entirely to “Gruesome,” the new horror song that is stalking cyber space. Hear what Giasone Italiano, Marcy Italiano, and I have to say about the song, the coming CD album, and my novel. You’ll also hear the “Slime City” tribute song, Alice Cooper’s “The Man Behind the Mask,” and of course, “Gruesome.” Check out the fun at www.gravethoughts.com. 1-02-2007
“Gruesome,” the theme song written by G and Marcy Italiano, based on my novel JOHNNY GRUESOME, premieres on RUE MORGUE RADIO (www.ruemorgueradio.com) this Friday, January 5th! This is the title track for an entire CD album that will be available later this year. ** GRAVE THOUGHTS RADIO (www.gravethoughts.com) has returned from the grave! G, Marcy and I will join host Gregory G. Kurczynski for a podcast interview that may go live as soon as January 10th. After that, you can listen to “Gruesome” whenever you want right here. ** Nicannor Loreti, who reviewed SLIME CITY and PERSONAL DEMONS for LA COSA magazine in Argentina, hired me to write a screenplay, THE SOULLESS, based on his treatment. The script turned out well, I’m happy to report. It’s quite scary and should please fans of SLIME CITY. Nicannor directs the project this April for my DVD distributor, Shock-O-Rama Cinema. 12/04/06 “GRUESOME”
THEME SONG TO PREMIERE ON RUE MORGUE RADIO December 4th 2006 – “Gruesome,” the theme song recorded by musician Giasone Italiano to promote Gregory Lamberson’s upcoming horror novel Johnny Gruesome, will have its world premiere on Rue Morgue Radio on Friday, January 5th, 2007. Rue Morgue Radio is a weekly podcast produced by Rue Morgue magazine. Lamberson’s unpublished novel concerns a murdered high school student who returns from the grave with revenge on his mind. Lamberson asked Italiano to create a hard driving theme song to help create audience awareness for his title character, who favors songs by Alice Cooper and The Misfits. Italiano wrote the song with his wife, author Marcy Italiano, and performed the vocals, guitar, and bass on the track. The Italianos are currently writing additional songs for a CD album to accompany Lamberson’s novel. “It was my idea to do the song, and I’m a collaborator in the sense that it’s based on my material,” Lamberson says. “But G and Marcy wrote it on their own, and the album is really their baby. It will be a horror themed collection sung by my Johnny Gruesome character before and after his death, but only two or three of the songs will be based on my novel. So horror fans will enjoy these songs whether they read the novel or not.” Rue Morgue Radio is hosted by Tomb Dragomir. The weekly show spotlights gothic music and horror films and fiction. Rue Morgue Radio recently announced it has joined forces with Iceberg Radio to reach a wider audience. The show can be heard every Friday at www.ruemorgueradio.com and www.icebergradio.com. “We’re all fans of Rue Morgue,” Lamberson says, “so we’re thrilled to have the song premiere on their show. The song will be available on other sites following its premiere.” Issue #0 of the new magazine Doorways (available now: www.doorwaysmagazine.com) features an article by Italano on the song’s creation, and Insidious Reflections sent journalist Richard Hipson to cover the recording session; his extensive article will be posted on www.insidiousreflections.com later this week. Lamberson will post updates on the song, novel, and CD on his website, www.slimeguy.com, and in his monthly horror newsletter, The Gruesome Gazette: GruesomeGazette-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Italiano’s website is http://www.giasoneitaliano.com. 11/22/06 I’ve been hired to write the screenplay for THE SOULLESS, a new micro-budget horror flick that Shock-O-Rama is producing. My screenplay will be based on a treatment by horror journalist Nicanor Loreti (FANGORIA and LA COSA), who’s directing; Nic will most likely rewrite my draft to put his own stamp on it. COMING SOON
Doorways #0, coming at the end of this month, features an article by Giasone Italiano on the creation of “Gruesome,” the song he recorded to promote my upcoming novel JOHNNY GRUESOME! The issue also features an article by G’s wife Marcy (Slimeguy’s webmaster), and my retrospective on the films of the late, great Dan Curtis. Not enough? How about a column by the amazing Herschell Gordon Lewis, and work by former HWA President Gary Braunback, and new president Deborah LeBlanc? Stay tuned for ordering information. Order DOORWAYS #0 at www.doorwaysmagazine.com *** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE GIASONE ITALIANO RECORDS “GRUESOME” THEME SONG FOR UPCOMING HORROR NOVEL BY GREGORY LAMBERSON CONTACT: GREG LAMBERSON – glamberson@adelphia.net October 31st 2006 – Canadian songwriter/musician Giasone Italiano has recorded a new song, “Gruesome,” to promote the upcoming horror novel Johnny Gruesome, written by Gregory Lamberson. Lamberson is the author of Personal Demons, winner of the Anubis Award for Horror, and is best known as the writer and director of the cult horror film Slime City. Lamberson wanted a unique method to promote his new novel, which deals with a murdered teenager who returns from the grave for revenge. Because of its heavy metal motif, Lamberson hit on the idea of giving the novel its own theme song. “I’d just discovered that a Milwaukee band called The Holy Mary Motor Club had recorded a tribute song to Slime City,” Lamberson says. “It was a real catchy tune, and I thought, ‘Why not do a song about Johnny Gruesome before the novel comes out, to build awareness of the character? But I don’t sing or play any instruments.” So Lamberson turned to Italiano. “Giasone is a songwriter who sings on his own demos, which cover numerous musical genres. He’s also the biggest ‘Friday the 13th’ fan I know, and we share an appreciation for Alice Cooper. I told him I wanted an Alice-type song for Johnny Gruesome and he sent me a demo a few days later. The final mix kicks ass, and really captures the spirit of the novel, which I’m still fine tuning.” Italiano co-wrote the song with his wife Marcy, author of the horror novel Pain Machine. He composed the music, sang the vocals (as Johnny Gruesome), played guitar and bass, and produced the song. “The plan is to spend a couple of months raising interest in the song,” Lamberson says, “then premiere it in January, 2007. There’s a bigger audience for horror-themed music now than ever before. I’ve compiled a list of 300 radio shows and on-line shows that specialize in this kind of music, and I want to get this song played on as many of them as possible.” The Italianos are so pleased with the song, they’ve decided to collaborate on an entire CD album that will serve as a companion piece to Lamberson’s novel. “The "Johnny" character is the catalyst and inspiration behind the music," says Italiano. "It will be "Johnny" singing, but not always as the growling creature featured in the "Gruesome" song; his persona will shift depending on each song's vibe. A couple of songs will reflect events of the novel, like the title track, but others will just be fun, horror-based, hard rock." Brett Savory, author of the new horror novel The Distance Traveled, and an editor for the respected horror fiction webzine Chizine, will play drums on some of the tracks. Lamberson says, “Johnny Gruesome began life as an un-produced screenplay I wrote years ago. When I decided to turn the script into a novel, I thought it would be a solitary experience, but it’s turned out to be as collaborative as a film. Giasone has given Johnny his voice, and Zach McCain, who’s illustrating the novel, has given him his face. And now two other horror writers are working on the songs.” Updates on “Gruesome” and Johnny Gruesome will be posted on Lamberson’s website, www.slimeguy.com, and in his newsletter, The Gruesome Gazette, as well as on Italiano’s website, www.giasoneitaliano.com. 10/28/06 Kaelin enjoyed her mini-tour of October horror film festivals. She’s seen here with Joe (“Captain Rhodes”) Pilato at the Eerie Horror Film Festival in Erie, Pa; with funny man Jeff Strand at the Spooky Empire Screamfest in Orlando; with YA author Lynn Hansen at SES; with scream queen Tiffany Shepis at the Halloween Horror Picture Show in Ybor City/Tampa; and with her mother, Slime Gal, at SES.
9/28/06 To make it easier for all of you to track of my various projects and publicity, and, more importantly, to make it easier for me to promote them, I’ve joined the ranks of authors and filmmakers (but few author-filmmakers!) with their own newsletter. The Gruesome Gazette, published in the bowels of Slime City, U.S.A., will follow an irregular schedule. Unlike Bill O’Reilly, who feels compelled to go on the air every night, even when he has nothing to say, and The Watchtower, which believes there’s always a soul worth saving, you’ll only receive a copy of GG in your electronic mailbox when I have news, HARD NEWS, to report! Subscribe now, and you’ll be among the privileged elite to receive “test” e-mails before I go public with this amazing offer! Subscribe now, and you’ll save 50% off the newsstand price! Subscribe now, and you’ll receive this deluxe set of air ginzu knives absolutely FREE! To subscribe, just e-mail: GruesomeGazette-subscribe@yahoogroups.com But whatever you do, don’t tell your friends! I wouldn’t want news to get around. 8/16/06 In 2004, The Holy Mary Motor Club, a pop rock band from Milwaukee, recorded a zippy little tune called “Slime City.” Guess what low budget splatterfest the song honors? You can listen to it here, and order the CD here. Let the boys know what you think, and tell them Slimeguy sent you! ***** I’ve finished the first draft of my second novel, JOHNNY GRUESOME, and Zach McCain is drawing concept art for the proposed film; maybe the artwork will appear in a special edition of the novel. Before I tackle the second draft, I’m writing a book proposal for CHEAP SCARES: HOW TO MAKE A ‘NO BUDGET’ HORROR FLIICK. *****
Oil painting of Kaelin Marie Lamberson by Julia Sevin, co-editor of the horror anthology Corpse Blossoms. Visit www.sevinart.com. 7/15/06
I’m writing the introduction to The Trouble with Mickey, the debut novella by author and artist Thomas Moran, due this fall from Insidious Publications. Tom publishes Wicked Karnival and serves as an editor for Insidious Reflections, for which he once interviewed me. ***** I’ve added a convention to my short list of conventions this year: Screamfest (http://www.spookyempire.com/index.html), in Orlando, Florida, October 13th – 15th. Hopefully, this will allow me to freeload off authors Jeff Strand and Lynn Hansen in some manner. ***** Post Mortem #4, featuring the debut of my column, ‘The Big Scream,’ is now available. ***** Wicked Karnival #7, featuring an interview with me conducted by Brian Yount, will be available in August. ***** Impressed with his artwork for Deadly Rites, I’ve hired Zach McCain to do concept art for Johnny Gruesome and my upcoming werewolf project. You’ll see it here first.
Nocturne Press has hired me to write a new column for each issue of Post Mortem Magazine. "The Big Scream" debuts in the upcoming Issue #4, with an examination of scary, non-supernatural, mainstream films from the 1970s. These columns will be edgy and in-your-face—GOT IT?!? ***** Ed Walloga and I have hired Alex McVey, Zach McCain, R.J. Sevin, Julia Sevin, and Eric Mache to create concept art for our upcoming film project, Deadly Rites, based on Ed's script. Alex is one of the premiere artists working in horror publishing today; Zach is a bold new talent; the Sevins are jacks-of-all-trades: best knows as the Editors of the acclaimed Corpse Blossoms Anthology, they've even done special effects on a low budget horror feature; and Eric created much of the art on this site, including the Slime City, Johnny Gruesome, and Undying Love paintings. I'll post their kick-ass Deadly Rites work soon. ***** My friend Greg Sterlace has completed his third feature film, Sweet Jesus, which answers the question: if Jesus came back today, would anyone care? View the trailer here. ***** Another filmmaker friend, Emil Novak, is nearly finished with his experimental-science fiction-biopic, Tesla the Accumulator. Check out his site here. Emil is a real artist, and I look forward to working with him on Deadly Rites. 4/2/06 George A. Romero's Martin is one of my favorite films, and my article "The Madness of Martin" appears in Issue 0.2 of Red Scream. The issue also features fiction by Lee Thomas and an interview with one of Slimeguy's favorite authors, Tom Piccirilli. Dark Discs #1 features the inaugural installment of my new column, "DVD Junkie." 3/22/06 My beautiful wife Tamar gave birth to my beautiful daughter, Kaelin Marie Lamberson, at 5:57 PM on Monday, March 6th—Kaelin's exact due date! Tamar labored for 17.5 hours before submitting to a C-section. Kaelin came into the world with a smile on her face, weighing 6.12 pounds. She was born with a conehead from all of the intense pushing, but it has since gone done down, and she's absolutely adorable. She and Tamar are doing wonderfully, and Tamar and I are making like Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter in INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS—struggling to survive without sleep. As the Ramones sang:
3/6/06 Maximum Horrors has chosen Personal Demons as their March Scripture Spotlight; you can find their review, and a new interview with me, at www.maximumhorrors.com. 2/12/06 A new podcast interview with me, conducted by Johnathon Williams, has gone live over at Horror Reader. 1/6/06 A new interview with me, along with new reviews of SLIME CITY and NAKED FEAR, is now live at a webzine called The Meatgrinder. You want Issue No. 9; click on the first severed hand, then scroll halfway down the page. Very flattering, I've never had so much space devoted to me before. You can also see and hear me over at Scream at the Wall, a public access thing that covered the Halloween Horror Picture Show in Tampa, Florida. Once you reach the site, select "November 2005." And remember to order Insidious Reflections Issue #5! 1/1/06 Happy New Year! Issue #5 of Insidious Reflections is now available from Shocklines. The magazine, which sports a creepy-scary cover shot of Jack Ketchum, features an interview with me conducted by Wicked Karnival Publisher Tom Moran. The same issue features the first installment of a new column by Jeff Strand, who chose to cover the Halloween Horror Picture Show held in his home town of Tampa, Florida. Those seeking a sixth degree of separation may remember that SLIME CITY played at that very festival, so let me know if the Strand disses the Slime! In other news, R.J. Sevin, who edited the wonderful new anthology Corpse Blossoms with his wife Julia, has taken over the Cutting Room movie preview column that I wrote for the HWA Newsletter. Good luck, R.J.! 12/10/05 Here they are, the first images of my "upcoming" project, six and a half months after her conception! These are some of many images—and a 23 minute DVD—resulting from a 3D sonogram that my wife Tamar underwent in Ontario, Canada.
My friend Phil Gallo, who directed and co-wrote WEST NEW YORK, a crime drama I helped produce oh so long ago, which starred some of THE SOPRANOS, has directed and co-written a new film, MATTIE FRESNO AND THE HOLOFLUX UNIVERSE. It's a science fiction film with an indie-comedy bent, shot in High Definition with a SAG cast. Phil recently won Best Director for this film at the Long Island Film Festival, and Orson Bean (the original Bilbo Baggins!) won Best Actor. Phil—who edited my film NAKED FEAR and understands more about filmmaking than anyone I know—co-wrote the screenplay with his partner Steve Bretschneider, and with Phil's wife Donna produced it. The screenplay was among the most original I've ever read, and you can check out the trailer here: http://www.mattiefresno.com/movie/stream.html 11/5/05 I'll be a judge for the First Annual Forrest J. Ackerman Fan Film Awards at Astronomicon 9 in Rochester, NY this weekend. 10/19/05 E.I. Independent Cinema believed that NEW YORK VAMPIRE was out of print, but they've unearthed some VHS copies, which you can purchase here for only $9.99! ***** We'll be screening NEW YORK VAMPIRE in its hometown, October 28th, as part of an all night vampire festival at Two Boots Pioneer Cinema on 4th Street in the East Village. I hope to wrangle some of the stars for a reunion. Earlier that day, and all day the following day, I'll be sitting at the Shock-O-Rama table at Chiller Theatre in New Jersey. ***** I'm no longer directing THE MANSFIELD INCIDENT, aka THE MANSFIELD PROJEKT, aka HOUSE OF THE PSYCHOTIC DAMNED, aka PRISON OF THE PSYCHOTIC DAMNED, aka PRISON OF THE PSYCHOTIC DAMNED: TERMINAL RE-MIX, aka THE TERMINAL. Believe it or not, I didn't like the way the production was heading... 10/17/05 My Grave Thoughts Radio interview is live here. All new SLIME CITY reviews are posted on the Slime City page. 9/27/05 NAKED FEAR gets its due in this review of the SLIME CITY DVD. 9/23/05 The first review for the new SLIME CITY DVD is in: please click here to revel in my joy. I'll be screening the film at the Great Lakes Film Festival tonight. The Spooky show in October has been canceled. 9/20/05 The Dunkirk-Fredonia Observer, my old hometown newspaper, has published an interview with me promoting my reading at the Brown Bean this Wednesday; read it here. ***** With my MANSFIELD INCIDENT/HOUSE OF THE PSYCHOTIC DAMNED collaborators, David Williams and Emil Novak, I'll be launching an international horror film festival here in Buffalo, details to follow. 9/2/05 I'll never get better press than this. I made the front page of GUSTO, the Friday entertainment magazine in the Buffalo News. It's all about my new midnight series, but of course I snuck in mentions of my own projects... The photo inside the mag, which isn't on the on-line site, is much cooler. http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/gusto.asp 8/31/05 I've been added as a Special Guest at the Great Lakes Film Festival, where I'm screening SLIME CITY at Midnight (as it should be) on Friday, September 23rd, 2005. Here's the link: http://www.greatlakesfilmfest.com/film_fest/2005/lamberson.html. This makes the second fest SLIME has been scheduled to haunt; the other is the Halloween Horror Picture Show in Tampa, FL on Saturday, October 15th, 2005— www.halloweenhorrorpictureshow.com. Am I excited? You bet! Like many indie horror filmmakers, I've encountered my share of artistic discrimination on the festival circuit, and now I'm appearing at two within a month of each other. 8/12/05 Red Scream, #1 is now available, with a lengthy interview with me. You can also read an on-line interview with me, conducted by Chadwick Davis, here. 8/9/05 The film I'm directing at Mansfield Reformatory in Ohio ("Hello, Cleveland!") has been titled HOUSE OF THE PSYCHOTIC DAMNED, which I love, because it summons images of '70s Euro-exploitation flicks. David Williams, Co-Editor of Red Scream Magazine, has completed a draft of the screenplay, and all I can say is, this film is going to be INTENSE. 7/8/05 I just did an online audio interview, which you can listen to here. ***** I've added a slew of convention appearances and book signings that will keep me busy until Thanksgiving—SLIME CITY and Personal Demons are coming to an event near you! Check out the Signings & Screenings page for an updated list. ***** There's a very strong possibility that I'll be directing a new horror film soon—very soon! David Williams, co-publisher of Red Scream Magazine, will co-produce and co-write (he's a real co-llaborator!). 6/21/05 Shock-O-Rama Cinema has announced an October 11th street date for the SLIME CITY DVD, but I'm told copies will be available in time for some of the conventions I'm attending over the summer. You can view the new trailer for SLIME CITY here. ***** Media Play, an entertainment retailer with 5 stores in the Buffalo area, will carry Personal Demons in August, and I'll be doing a signing at their McKinley Parkway location, in Blaisdell, on Saturday, August 13th, from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM. 6/12/05 My article on Peter Cushing an Christopher Lee, "Hammer Time" appears in Issue #4 of Wicked Karnival, available in print form at www.lulu.com/content/131018, an as a free .pdf at www.wickedkarnival.com. The issue spotlights my Web Designer, Amy Grech, and features articles by Steve Vernon and John Everson, among others—and a review of Personal Demons. 5/11/05 My article, "Lovecraft's Bad Book," appears in issue #2 of H. P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror, now available. ***** I attended the World Horror Convention in NYC in April, where I got to know Nick Cato from The Horror Fiction Review, Steve Vernon, Jeff Strand, James Newman, Marcy Italiano, and Amy Grech. I also met Peter Straub, David Morrell, and Tom Piccirilli. And Lee Thomas served me a mean glass of vodka! I did my first public reading of Personal Demons there (see the Photo Gallery). ***** I shared a table with David Williams, publisher of Red Scream Magazine, at Eeriecon Seven in Niagara Falls. My wife and I attended a reading by Edo van Belkom—but Edo didn't show up! Check out these sites promoting my appearances at upcoming cons: Toronto Trek 19 and The Twisted Nightmare Weekend. 3/29/05 I'll be at the World Horror Convention in NYC on Friday, April 8th and Saturday, April 9th. On Saturday, I'm doing my first public reading from Personal Demons, 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM. I'll also be selling copies of PD from the City contrasts table in the dealers room. I'm reading opposite the great Jack Ketchum. "Two men enter Thunderdome, one man leaves!" For details, visit www.whc2005.org. 3/28/05 See me interviewed by a Klingon, and watch clips from SLIME CITY and UNDYING LOVE, here. 3/25/05 Personal Demons ranked No. 4 on the Shocklines Bestsellers List this week. 3/24/05 I spent two days at Ascent Media, a post production facility in New Jersey, supervising the transfer of a 16m print of SLIME CITY to a high definition format for its DVD release in October. Although the print showed minor signs of wear and tear—it was made back in 1988 after all—the results were astounding. The colors and picture detail are now the best they've ever been. When Peter Clark and I shot this film back in '86, we composed the shots with extra space at the top and bottom of the frame in case the film was blown up to 35mm. It wasn't, and for almost 20 years, I've shuddered at the framing. For the DVD, the film has been letterboxed, and now looks the way it was meant to; I think Peter would be pleased. SLIME CITY will be released as a double feature with NAKED FEAR, and I couldn't be happier. My distributor, Shock-o-rama www.alternativecinema.com now gets its product into Best Buy, Media Play, Tower Video, and other national chains, so this will be the widest release--and greatest promotional push--that my work has ever received. ***** The trade paperback of Personal Demons is now available! You can order signed copies at Shocklines. I had my first book signing at Talking Leaves Books here in Buffalo, and enjoyed talking to the customers who bought copies. 3/7/05 Personal Demons has made it onto the preliminary ballot for the prestigious Bram Stoker Awards in the category of Best First Novel. Among the other six other writers in this category are Nick Mamatas, who critiqued an early draft of Personal Demons, for Move Under Ground, and my friend Lee Thomas, for Stained. Sometime around March 25th, Active members of the HWA will vote on the Final Four, who will become official nominees. Good luck, guys! ***** While promoting my films and Personal Demons in Buffalo, I've met several interesting local artists: Greg Sterlace, an indie filmmaker who had me on his public access show; Sal Monaco, who had me on both his 5-minute on-line interview show and his Buff State radio show; Richard Wicka, the filmmaker who produces these shows at his home studio; and David Williams, who is editing/publishing Red Scream Magazine, an upcoming horror magazine. There is more to Buffalo than the Bills! 2/22/05 I read and critiqued six short stories over the weekend as "special celebrity guest judge" for Round 4 of the Dark Idol contest at New Camp Horror—and had a blast. You can read the stories and my comments—and vote!—this Tuesday on www.newcamphorror.i8.com. 2/8/05 E.I. Independent Cinema will release SLIME CITY as a deluxe Hi-Definition DVD this October, just in time for Halloween. I'm supervising the transfer at a post production facility in New Jersey at the end of March. There is a strong chance that NAKED FEAR will be included as part of the package. ***** The Midnight Movie Madness series that I'm programming at the Amherst Theatre in Buffalo is a blast. We sold out DONNIE DARKO: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT, and got an extremely enthusiastic audience for STREET TRASH: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT; screenwriter-producer Roy Frumkes introduced TRASH, and I moderated a lively Q & A with him after the film. Roy was a terrific guest, and the audience loved him. 2/1/05 Move over, Simon Cowell: I've been asked to be a "celebrity guest judge" for Round 4 of the Dark Idol short fiction contest at New Camp Horror. I get to pick the topic, and the password is "Voodoo." 1/25/05 This Saturday marks the start of Midnight Movie Madness at the Amherst Theatre, which I manage, and my old hometown newspaper, The Dunkirk-Fredonia Observer, interviewed me to discuss upcoming events; read it here. 1/20/05 I'm taping two TV shows today to promote Personal Demons, the Midnight Movie Madness series I'm programming at the Amherst Theatre in Buffalo, and the screenings of my films at The Screening Room Cafe. The first is a local show called PM BUFFALO; the second is a beatnik-themed movie host show, OFF BEAT CINEMA, which is syndicated around the country. For airtimes, go to www.offbeatcinema.com. ***** I'll be a guest at the Twisted Nightmare Weekend Convention in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, August 5 th - 7 th, 2005. I'll be on an authors' panel, I may be screening my films, and of course, I'll be signing copies of Personal Demons. Bruce Campbell is the Guest of Honor. For info, go to www.twistednightmareweekend.com. ***** Chris Welch reviewed Personal Demons for Hellnotes; read his review here. 1/4/05 Issue 7 of The Horror Fiction Review features a review of Personal Demons—and it's the best review I've ever gotten for anything I've created. Happy New Year, and read the review here! 12/22/04 Shocklines is now taking pre-orders for signed copies of the trade paperback of Personal Demons at http://store.yahoo.com/shocklines/pedenobgrlab1.html. The cost is $16.99, and the book will ship in February. This Friday morning, I'm doing my first radio interview, with Michael Calleri of 1270 AM Buffalo. I'll have 20 minutes to discuss Midnight Movie Madness, screenings of my own films, and Personal Demons. 12/20/04 Suzanne Donahue, an editor at Succubus Press in the Netherlands, contacted me about contributing an "oral history" about my experiences making SLIME CITY and working on several other low budget horror films for her upcoming book, Gods in Polyester II: A Survivors' Guide to 80's Cinema Obscura. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a lot to say on the subject, and my piece came in at 3,500 words. The book will include a ton of behind the scenes photos. Stay tuned for publication info... 12/15/04 I'm programming a series of midnight movies, screening my own movies, and having my first book signing. Check out the new Signings & Screenings page for details. 11/30/04 The second review (and second positive review!) of Personal Demons is up on the Horror Channel site. Please click here to read it. 11/14/04 The limited edition hardcover of Personal Demons is now available at Shocklines: http://store.yahoo.net/shocklines/pedenobgrlab.html. 11/13/04 HWA member Mike Morano mentioned me in his "Mediadrome" column for the 50th issue of Cemetery Dance Magazine. In reviewing Zack Snyder's DAWN OF THE DEAD remake, Mike wrote: "My fellow Buffalo homeboy, horror director Greg Lamberson, nailed it on the head when he said that George Romero was an auteur who showed real balls making DAWN OF THE DEAD; Zack Snyder is a hired gun with happy bosses." 11/9/04 "The new phone book is here! The new phone book is here!" Well, not the phone book. My copies of the Personal Demons hardcover arrived this morning, so yours should have, too! Send me an E-mail and let me know which number you received—and what you thought of my first novel. 10/31/04 Happy Halloween! I'm now a published novelist. 10/30/04 The audio version of the first 2 chapters of Personal Demons can be dowloaded here! 10/29/04 Readers can now order the limited edition hardcover of Personal Demons! Those books pre-ordered before 10/30 will ship on 10/30. 10/22/04 Everyone who pre-ordered Personal Demons will receive an e-book on Halloween. We expect the book itself to ship the next day. Jeff Shwaner has informed me that an audio version of the first two chapters will be available for downloading Halloween Eve! 10/21/04 Received a package today from Broken Umbrella Press containing the signature pages that will be inserted into the limited edition hardcovers of Personal Demons, and the ARCs (Avance Readers' Copies) that will be sent to reviewers. After three years of hard work, I have actual books that I can see, touch and smell! 10/20/04 Roy Frumkes, who wrote STREET TRASH and directed DOCUMENT OF THE DEAD, is the Editor in Chief of Films in Review, the webzine incarnation of the country's first film magazine. He's included the first review of Personal Demons at the end of his Halloween column: www.filmsinreview.com/Features/tricks&treatshalloweendvds.htm. 9/22/04 I've received the preliminary artwork for Personal Demons from Jeff Shwaner at Broken Umbrella Press, and I'm extremely pleased with it. Jeff cobbled together images from the works of Renaissance painter Hieronymus Bosch; it's a wonderful pastiche of nightmarish scenes that are perfect for this book. Even better, the limited edition hardcover will be available this Halloween, as originally announced. I have enough writer friends to know that there are often numerous delays in small press publishing, so I'm glad that Jeff is on track. 9/10/04 The contracts are all signed with Broken Umbrella Press for Personal Demons. I'm encouraged that my publisher, Jeff Schwaner, is extremely skilled in book design, production, and marketing. The plan now is for the hardcover limited edition of Personal Demons to ship around Halloween, with the trade paperback following a few months later, giving critics time to read their ARCs (Advance Readers Copies). 7/10/04 SLIME CITY has made its debut in France and on DVD; there's a review up at www.devildead.com. 6/6/04 I sold a review of The Kolchak Scripts to Hellnotes. 6/1/04 My essay on the various film adaptations of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is live at New Camp Horror. 5/6/04 I finally received a copy of the first issue of H. P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror, featuring my essay, "Re-Animating Lovecraft." The cover is a beauty. You can order it directly from www.wildsidepress.com, or www.shocklines.com. 4/19/04 My novel, Personal Demons, has won the Broken Umbrella Press Inaugural Anubis Award for Horror! The cash prize is $500.00. More importantly, Broken Umbrella will publish Personal Demons as a limited edition hardcover in time for Halloween, 2004, with a trade paperback edition. I'm particularly pleased that the contest judge was author T.M. Wright, whose novels Strange Seed, Nursery Tale, and A Manhattan Ghost Story are among my favorites. 4/9/04 Mike Raso at E.I. Independent Cinema reports that the Shock-o'rama line of horror films has been selling well on DVD, and he is committed to releasing SLIME CITY, NEW YORK VAMPIRE and NAKED FEAR on that format in the U.S. 4/5/04 E.I. Independent Cinema has sold the DVD rights for SLIME CITY to France! This is the first time that any of my films has been sold to the country that appreciates Jerry Lewis, and the first time that any have appeared on DVD. 4/2/04 Although I still haven't received my contributor copies, I'm told that the first issue of H.P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror, featuring my "Re-Animating Lovecraft" essay, is finally available. Check out the on-line bookstore at www.wildsidepress.com. 2/7/04 My short story, "Daddy's Teeth," is live at New Camp Horror, along with my bi-monthly "Slimeguy" column. 2/4/04 My novel Personal Demons has been chosen as a Finalist in Broken Umbrella Press's Inaugural Anubis Award for Horror. The winner, who will see his novel published by Broken Umbrella as a limited edition hardcover and trade paperback, will be announced this spring. 1/21/04 Look for SLIME CITY, NEW YORK VAMPIRE, and NAKED FEAR on DVD sometime in 2004, from E.I. Independent Cinema.
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July
2nd, 2007 – P.I.C. (Partners In Crime), a Canadian based company
set up by the husband and wife team of Giasone and Marcy Italiano to produce
soundtrack music for feature films and other ventures, announces the release
of their inaugural effort: “Gruesome,” a horror rock CD based
on Gregory Lamberson’s upcoming novel, Johnny Gruesome. 
