Friend Encounters: Juliette Lewis and Jay R.

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

I go all the way to Cincinnati for HoerrorHound Weekend and I run into Chicago-area pal Jay. Like me, Jay was meeting a few of his favorite celebrities. Unlike me, Jay was able to meet actress Juliette Lewis. Her lines were just too long by the time I got to her booth. I guess I will live vicariously through Jay.

I have known Jay for many years, having met him through Chicago wrestling events. jay is the owner of Dreamwave Wrestling and Uprising: Women Athletes. Jay puts on fantastic events. I have yet to attend an Uprising event, but only because of scheduling. It is definitely on my list of events I want to see.

Uprising is legit women's wrestling. Every woman on the card has excellent inring skills. Yes, they are attractive, too, but it is their wrestling ability that gets them booked by Jay and cheered by fans. A full card of great women's wrestling is a rarity, but Jay provides it. Now I just have to get there.

For more info on Jay's events, go to dreamwavewrestling.com. Check back here, too, because I will be covering it sometime soon.

Juliette Lewis and Jay Repsel in Cincinnati, OH-March 2024.

Friend Encounters: Virginia Gardner and Michael West

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

Longtime author friend Michael West is often on the celebrity side of a booth at horror conventions. Today I feature Michael on the public side of those booths.

Earlier this year at HorrorHound Weekend, Michael met several of his favorites, including actress Virginia Gardner. The actress had an interesting start to her career. She was inspired by an autistic character in the 2001 film I Am Sam. Having a brother with autism, it really impacted her and her career direction was decided.

Since then, she has built a solid career on television and in the movies. Although to limited to horror films, her work in that field was a major source of her popularity at HorrorHound Weekend.

As for Michael, he has made a successful career from stand alone novels, franchises and short stories. Talking to the cheery Michael, you wouldn't guess the horror that flows through his brain into books. He's extremely talented, as judged by the several books of his on my shelf.

For more info on the convention, go to HorrorHoundWeekend.com. Go to bymichaelwest.com for more info on my talented author friend.

Michael West and Virginia Gardner in Cincinnati, OH-March 2024.

Friend Encounters: Juliette Lewis and Michael West

Friend Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends meeting celebrities.

This is a bitter sweet picture today. On one had, I am happy to see mu author friend Michael West meet actress Juliette Lewis. On the other, I am sad I missed both fo them at HorrorHound Weekend.

I met and interviewed Michael many years ago. Since then, I have seen and interviewed him many times at various conventions. Sometimes he is a fan, while other times he has his own booth. Either way, It's great to see him.

Michael is a talented author, specializing in horror novels. Whether a stand-alone novel, part o a series or a short story, Michael's writing is amazing. He draws the reader into interesting stories with enough twists and gore to entertain, without going over the top.

At HorrorHound, Juliette had one of the longest lines of fans and for good reason. Her body of work is impressive. For me, Cape Fear was her best performance or at least my favorite movie in which she starred. Happily, all reports I heard from friends meeting her at HorrorHound were glowing. She was awesome with fans.

For more info on Michael, go to ByMichaelWest.com. Also, check HorrorHoundWeekend.com for info on their next convention.

 Michael West and Juliette Lewis in Cincinnati, OH-March 2024.

Michael West at HorrorHound Weekend 2024

Looking at his smiling face, you wouldn't know Michael West is capable of producing incredibly frightening horror tales. Several stand-alone books, a few series and some short stories tell you just how talented he is.

I recently saw Michael at HorrorHound Weekend. I first met Michael many years ago at a different horror convention and have followed him ever since. Through interviews and just random chats I really grew to like him. Not only is he great at weaving a horrific story, he is just a very nice guy. He always makes time for me, even if he is attending the convention as a fan and not there to promote his work.

I have a few of his books on my shelves and am always interested in what new projects he has. His latest project is his first short fiction collection, Skull Full of Kisses, a book I will be adding to my collection soon.

Go to ByMichaelWest.com for more on Michael. Also, go to HorrorHoundWeekend.com for their con schedule.

Michael West and me in Cincinnati, OH-March 2024.

Rafael Diaz at HorrorHound Weekend

I spent last weekend with my friend Tony "On the Beat" at HorrorHound Weekend in Cincinnati. Spoiler alert: It was a great weekend.

The weekend started with a very smooth pickup of our press passes. Although it seems like it shoudn't ever be a problem, more often than not, there is a glitch. The HorrorHound folks handled it very quickly and pleasantly.

From there, it was fun time all weekend. Tony met a few of his targeted celebrities. All were very nice. I caught up with a few of my creator friends and met some new ones, including Rafael Diaz.

Rafael is a creator friend of Tony. Rafael is a musician and artist. You can see some of his cool work behind him. I am always up for meeting new creative folks and I look forward to seeing Rafael again at future cons.

For more info on HorrorHound Weekend, go to HorrorHoundWeekend.com. You'll get updates, news and scheduling of events. Check back here for my recurring coverage.

Rafael Diaz and me in Cincinnati, OH-March 2024.

Shawnee Smith Did Not Scream

Shawnee Smith has been labeled a Scream Queen, due to her recurring role in the Saw movie series, as well as several other horror films. However, Smith also co-starred on tv's Becker.
I have to admit I don't have much to say about Smith. I met her at the Horror Hound Weekend in Indianapolis. I hadn't planned on approaching her, but somehow during the course of events, I ended up right at her table. What else could I do, but ask for a photo with her.
It was a bit awkward, as I wasn't really familiar with her work. I faked my way through some conversation by asking about her horror roles. I knew she was in horror films. She answered politely, but not enthusiastically.
Fortunately, my client soon arrived and reshuffled stuff and I was on my way. I mean no disrespect to Smith. I know she has a following, because I saw them. She just hadn't crossed my radar.
Maybe my hair scared her silent. Looking back at it now, it does leave me a bit speechless.

Shawnee Smith and me in Indianapolis, IN-October 2007.

Watch Out Corey Haim

I just saw the first advertisement for the HorrorHound Weekend Convention in Indianapolis on March 27-29, 2009. Corey Haim is one of the guest celebrities. I haven't seen Haim since 'the incident'.The incident to which I refer happened in the late 1990's at a Hollywood Collectors Show in Rosemont (IL). I don't remember the specific details, but for whatever reason, I stayed at the show longer than anticipated and I was running late.
I raced through the crowd (as politely as I could) and reached the ballroom entrance. Once outside of the ballroom, I picked up the pace just a bit, since there were fewer people. All of a sudden, Haim appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. I had no time to stop, slow down or even change direction. The first thud I heard was my left shoulder connecting with Haim's left shoulder/chest area. The second sound I heard was sort of an "ooooommmffff", which is what Haim sputtered as he fell backward. I apologized and helped him up. To his credit, he laughed it off, but I could tell it took a bit out of him. We shook hands and I promised to stay away from him.
I think the Statute of Limitations on that promise has expired. So look out, Haim, I'll see you in March.

Two Close For Comfort

It's a bit funny to me that many of the celebs I meet have a connection to Star Trek or Star Wars. I don't particularly either of those movie franchises. Of course, as I have established, I usually like the odder, less known roles of the celebs.
Deborah Van Valkenburgh had a role on Star Trek:Deep Space Nine, which usually leads to a line of trekkies waiting to meet her. However, I remember her from her somewhat sillier role on tv's Too Close For Comfort. I guess if nothing else, I am a change of pace for these celebs, since I usually talk of the lesser roles. Of course, some celebs aren't so excited to discuss certain roles. DVV was very happy to chat about her non-Star Trek roles.
She was also a guest panelist on the 1983 version of The Match Game, a great game show from yesteryear. If any show ever needed a dvd featuring behind the scenes stuff, The Match Game is it!

Deborah Van Valkenburgh and me at HorrorHound Weekend in Indianapolis, IN-November 2006.