Interview with Cynthia Neely, Founder of Silver Screams Film Festival
Horror comes to Houston, Texas, just in time for Halloween. On October 12 and 13, the 2007 Silver Screams Film Festival will be held at the Studio Movie Grill (8580 Hwy 6 North, 77095). Films to screen include Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960), Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator (1985), Clive Barker’s Candyman (1992), and Stephen King’s The Night Flier (1997).
Founded in 2005 by Cynthia Neely and Jolene McMaster, the SSFF brings horror classics back to the big screen, providing fans of the genre a yearly treat. A portion of the festival’s proceeds will provide educational and scholarship funding for the Houston Chapter of Women in Film & Television - a truly worthy cause.
Earlier this week, Cynthia Neely took a break from her hectic schedule to chat with Fatally-Yours.com’s own Theron Neel about the Silver Screams Film Festival and her love of all things scary.
Theron Neel: First, thanks so much for your time, Cynthia. I know how busy you must be organizing the upcoming Silver Screams Film Festival. Can you tell me a little about yourself and your background in the entertainment industry? How did you end up in Houston?
Cynthia Neely: I started out in radio, then television, working for the NBC TV affiliate in Charlotte, N.C., before moving to Houston in the early ‘80s. My husband had a job opportunity in Houston, and it’s a huge television market, so I was game for the move. I became producer for “Good Morning Houston” on KTRK ABC 13. At the time, it was the number one local talk show in the country and patterned after “Good Morning America.” I think I did something like 900 live shows! It was great but grueling. I’d gone as far as I could go on the creative ladder at the station, so I left and focused on my writing and studying film and screenwriting.
TN: What drove you to become involved with horror?
CN: I was just a little kid who loved staying up late getting scared shitless by The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Night Gallery on TV. It’s delicious being frightened in the safety of your own home with good old Mom and Dad asleep in the next room! Saturdays, I watched every monster movie made on television. [The] first horror film I remember seeing at a movie theater was House on Haunted Hill, and it was a revelation! They’d rigged a skeleton on a wire to descend over the audience at a crucial moment in the film. Everyone went wild. I’ve been hooked ever since.
TN: Do you see yourself as “representing females” in what is traditionally a male-oriented genre?
CN: Frankly, I hadn’t thought about the gender issue. I know lots of women who love horror, and in fact, my Silver Screams Film Festival co-creator/co-director is female, Jolene McMaster. She’s also a producer of horror films (her production company is Pure Horror Films). I worked with her and director Rob McKinnon on the 35 mm feature Mr. Hell (available at Blockbuster and Hollywood Video) and will be associate producer on their next feature, Creek County, slated to shoot early in 2008. Jolene and I especially revere classic horror, and that’s kind of how the festival was born. We want to see these incomparable movies back up on the big screen in all their glory!
TN: Can you tell us a little about the Silver Screams Film Festival and its Little Shorts of Horror competition?
CN: The festival celebrates and resurrects (ahem) classic horror films to the big screen, where they belong, and brings in special guests to introduce each feature. We’ve had horror authors, historians, actors, and filmmakers participate. Actor Ed Neal (the hitchhiker in the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre) was a riot! We have a launch party with Vampire Wine and Screamin-tinis (our version of the martini) and a Scream Contest and Costume Contest as well as a Blood Drive (with apologies to the Count). Mask and monster maker Phil Nichols will have some of his works on display. You may have worn some of his creations on Halloween - they are sold nationwide at costume shops.
This year, we’re very excited about our new advisory board member, the legendary Clive Barker. (Stephen King calls him “the future of horror.”) We’ll have an exhibit of Mr. Barker’s fantastical art from his Abarat series, and we’re screening Candyman. We’re hoping that he’ll be able to attend the festival next year. This year, there wasn’t enough time to schedule [him]. He likes Silver Screams because we’re a class act!
Another art exhibit will feature works by H.R. Giger, who won an Oscar for his Alien creature and the incredible world he created for the movie. Some limited edition works of both artists will be for sale at Silver Screams. Art and film go well together.
Our Little Shorts of Horror competition is cool because it encourages the creation of films like the classics - the kind whose stories are timeless. We look for films that are not about effects or slash value, but have a compelling, truly horrifying story! Our motto is “Scare us to death, we dare you!”
The Silver Screams awards statue is to die for, by the way. It’s a large stone gargoyle! The biggest award, of course, is having your film screened alongside some of the greatest horror films of all time.
Plenty of details about the festival, including the film schedule, are at www.silverscreams.org or by e-mail at info@silverscreams.org. Festival passes are only $35.00 and individual tickets are $8.00. You can’t beat that!
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