As Brook Bundy walked happily to the stage of Radio8Ball last night, joining Andras Jones and Rodney Eastman it struck me just how connecting it is to be a part of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise. Three actors from the series shared the stage, while Heather Langenkamp and Amanda Wyss, clapping as hard as any of the genre fans from the rest of the hotel ballroom. While Brook asks two questions at once to the pop oracle on stage, the loyalty and support among Freddy’s victims proves itself even more; Toy Newkirk (best known as asthmatic Sheila Kopecky from “Dream Master”) sneaks in. She just moved back to the northwest, and has come to support her friends. In a short while, Robert Englund will Skype in to join the performance based reunion. Clearly, they’re all enjoying both the show, and the camaraderie.
With them is Tommy Hutson, writer and producer of “Never Sleep Again”, a documentary celebrating the fan favorite film series, and looking at the days of New Line before hobbits, Brad Pitt, and even mutant turtles filled their coffers. He’s one of the reasons they’re all at the convention this weekend, as each celebrated nightmare attendee took part in the doc, though when I saw them interact with the public earlier, it was clear the number one reason for attendance is the fans.
“There’s no fans like horror fans,” Rodney Eastman told me earlier. Down in a converted parking garage, among the vendors, artists, and fellow actors and film-makers, is where the panel is set up for the weekend. Each actor has pictures ready to sign in front from their time battling Freddy. Rodney’s includes what one could call a “Joey Montage”, with a series of stills from both films featuring his character. He’s just as quick to smile when talking about the series; a result of being around the fans. It wasn’t always this way.
“When we made ‘Nightmare On Elm St. 3’, although it was a popular film, it wasn’t the iconic film it’s become,” he recalls. “So for years, I was bummed that the most recognizable thing on my resume was ‘Nightmare On Elm St. 3’, and I’ve been working ever since and done a lot of stuff I’m really proud of.” Today, Rodney has come to embrace his part in the lexicon of horror. “Through cons and meeting the fans, and of course seeing other people from the films, I’ve definitely reconnected with the franchise. My point of view on it changed from being something that I was almost embarrassed about, to something I’m proud of.” He smiles and nods, genuinely affected by the fandom around him, adding, “It’s nice.”
He’s not alone in feeling connected, as the documentary’s number of 106 participants proves. According to Heather, who also executive produced the documentary, convincing people to participate was one of the easier parts of the making the film. “People were incredibly proud to have been part of ‘Nightmare On Elm St.’ I mean, you don’t even know they’re proud until you start talking to them. (People) even called us to say, ‘I want to be part of this’, people who we thought, “oh they would never come,” and then we’d get phone calls saying they wanted to be part of it, too. I think what happened is that the first few people jumped on board, and then they told a few people, then they told a few people, so by the end of it people thought, ‘oh my god, if I don’t participate, I’ll be left behind.’”
Although many were quick to jump on board, three big names took a little extra coaxing from Heather. “I tried to get everyone I knew excited. I called Wes, and Bob Shay, and Robert Englund, and said, ‘you really need to be part of our project.’ They were so weary because they get asked to do so many things like that, and we persisted and persisted, and in the end, got everybody.”
Brook Bundy was among those who was more than happy to celebrate her part in the franchise. Like many artists, she was happy to be part of a collaboration to create something for their fans. “Just doing ‘Never Sleep Again’ was amazing,” she says with pride. “It was a lot of fun, and it was a real sense of community; ‘it takes a village’ kind of thing.”
Amanda Wyss has similar fondness for the franchise, having seen how it’s brought joy to so many fans. “As far as being asked really in depth questions, the documentary was the first time I had to reconnect with it in a meaningful way.” That reconnection coincided with her taking part in conventions over the last year and a half. “I didn’t realize what an impact the film had made on people, beyond just entertainment, in this very meaningful way. People have these wonderful stories about how it affected them and transformed their lives.”
So many cast members and schedules meant a long process of interviews, on top of the already hectic schedule of producing a film. “It was just this incredible amount of work to track everyone down and find out if their schedule worked with our schedule, because you can only tape an interview for so many days. It took about a couple months to track everyone down and get them on the calendar.” Tommy Hutson explains. “Mark Patton was the most difficult; he disappeared. After 1985 ‘Freddie’s Revenge’, Mark Patton literally disappeared and Daniel Farands, our co-director, made it his personal mission to find him, and did. He’s living somewhere in Mexico.” Once found, his reaction was similar to the rest of the veterans who took part. “He was more than excited, he flew up to L.A., gave us a couple hours of his time. The story of finding Mark Patton is a documentary in and of itself.”
The documentary’s look at the original franchise is perfectly timed. With the reboot for today’s audience failing to connect with audiences, fans are revisiting this favorite series even more. “I think people are watching that remake, and realizing what they loved so much about the original one, so we definitely are getting people who are excited about seeing such an in depth look at the original franchise that lead up to the remake,” Tommy tells me.
As a ‘Nightmare’ fan, and having seen the remake myself, I suggest Hollywood do the same thing.
-Doug W
