We’re very excited to be attending the brand new Indianapolis convention Days of the Dead this weekend. We’ll be selling Outpost Doom and promoting various stuff at our booth so stop by and say hello! And oh yeah, we’re shooting a short film with Uncle Randy of Drunken Zombie! It’s gonna be action packed and to tell us a little more about the convention, we interviewed Adolfo Dorta, one of the organizers of the event itself. Check it out!

Dead lantern: First things first, could you introduce yourself and give our readers a little bit of backstory about yourself?

Adolfo Dorta: I’m originally from Miami, FL but moved to the Chicagoland area with my wife in November of 2008. I’ve been going to Sci-Fi and comic book conventions since I was a young, young kid, but didn’t really start doing shows that were exclusively horror until about 6 or 7 years ago. Being a Florida native, I’ve always been a long time fan and loyal patron of Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Horror Weekend and have attended it religiously for their past 5 or 6 shows. Since moving to the mid west, I’ve expanded my convention going a bit more, taking advantage of all of the great horror shows out here such as Flashback Weekend and HorrorHound.

Much like most people my age, I grew up in the wonderful VHS era, where there was a mom and pop video rental store on every other corner. My mother was always strict about making sure I stayed out of the horror section lest I be stricken with nightmares by some of the ridiculous cover art that was so common back in those glory days. Despite her best attempts, I always found a way to sneak away and marvel at the gruesome, gory, and over the top imagery that adorned those beautiful boxes, and the fact that it was “forbidden fruit” made it that much more enticing. My curiosity went on to grow into a way of life, one which I have been fortunate to now turn into two really awesome projects – my website, From Dusk till Con, and the upcoming DAYS OF THE DEAD.

DL: How did you come to be involved in Days of the Dead?

AD: Originally, DAYS OF THE DEAD was going to be the mid west expansion show for one of the long established horror conventions on the east coast (which I am not at liberty to name) and early on they approached From Dusk Till Con about sponsoring a costume contest or film festival for that show. A few months later, the original promoter who owned the branding for the east coast convention changed his mind and dropped out, though the hotel and location were already secured and contracts were signed. Rick and I were offered the opportunity to take a partnership role and I was asked to become the face of what went on to become DAYS OF THE DEAD. We though about it for a few weeks, but as huge horror fans who go to about 4-7 horror conventions a year, it was an offer we simply couldn’t refuse.

DL: Since this is the first DotD convention, what was the reasoning for putting it on? What are you trying to accomplish and what is the goal of the convention?

AD: The goal from the beginning was to make a show that was not only fan friendly, but also had a distinct flavor in comparison to all of the other shows out there – if we could do it without losing our shirts all the better. One of my personal goals for DAYS OF THE DEAD, was to prove that it was possible to put together a purely homegrown convention that could not only stand up to the more mainstream shows, but do so while providing great value for the fans’ money.

DL: A lot of people have noticed that the convention is not only located in Indianapolis, but also only a few months removed from HorrorHound. Was this a conscious decision or simply a matter of location availability? Is there any concern that it might be tough for many genre fans to travel and/or pay for two big conventions in the same town in roughly the same time period and do you feel like you are in competition with HorrorHound (in a good way), which is so identifiable with Indianapolis?

AD: The decision to come to Indianapolis was made before I was even involved, by the convention I previously referred to. There really wasn’t much that could have been done at that point, though I think the hotel we are utilizing and the location chosen are fantastic. I also think Indianapolis, being a great city in its own right and also being very central to other great markets such as Chicago, as well as Ohio, and Kentucky, can very well support two shows a year. Our ticket pre-sales have been through the roof, and our VIP passes and vendor spaces sold out faster than we could have ever anticipated for a first time show and that was following the biggest show HorrorHound has had to date, so yes, it’s definitely very apparent that both shows can be very profitable.

I’ve been going to HorrorHound shows for many years and am a HUGE fan of what they do and think they’re among the best in the country. I also think that both DAYS OF THE DEAD and HorrorHound are very different shows and each one offers its own unique flavor and that horror fans benefit from that variety.

DL: Guests are always the big draw of any convention, who do you have on the docket that will wow horror fans? I’ve heard there are quite a few first time guests, is that correct?

AD: We really tried to put together a guest list that was a varied mix and which would have a little something for everyone, from big names like “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Tom Sizemore, and rock legend Ace Frehley, to convention favorites such as Heather Langenkamp, Bill Moseley, Linnea Quigley, and Derek Mears

What I’m most proud of, though, is that we have the most first time guests of any convention this year, including Carlos Gallardo (El Mariachi, Grindhouse), Stacey Alden (NOES 3), Jacob Reynolds (Gummo), Marc Price (Trick or Treat), and Philp Friedman (Insidious). We also have over a dozen guests who have never been in Indiana before, such as Zoe Bell, William Katt, Edward Furlong, Brian Steele, and the aforementioned Tom Sizemore.

All in all, I am very proud of the great crop of guests we have brought together for our first show, and feel very strongly that it represents not only something for everyone, but a breath of fresh air in the region.

DL: What sorts of panels, events, and special things are planned for Days of the Dead?

AD: We don’t want DAYS OF THE DEAD to be just an autograph show, and to that end we have a weekend stacked full of events for fans to enjoy. Among them we have Wickedbeard’s Wicked Costume Contest hosted by the King of Costumes himself, Jeff “Wickedbeard” Cochran and judged by none other than Derek Mears (Friday the 13th), Brian Steele (Predators, Hellboy), and Melissa Cowan (The Walking Dead). “Rowdy” Roddy Piper will be doing a special stand up comedy performance and Heather Langenkamp will be showing her new documentary, I Am Nancy, with both events happening on Friday night. We will also have a bitchin’ tattoo contest sponsored by Altered Image Tattoo, a beauty pageant sponsored by Girls and Corpses Magazine, and the first ever Nightmare on Elm Street Museum featuring over 40 screen used props from the various films of one of horror’s greatest franchises of all time, including the only of its kind screen used Freddy Krueger glove worn by Robert Englund in the original NOES and both Englund and Mark Patton in NOES 2! We feel that if you’re spending ANY time in your hotel room throughout the weekend outside of showering and a few hours sleep, we didn’t do our jobs!

DL: In addition to the events, you also have a film festival screening during the con. What can you tell us about that?

AD: We’re absolutely honored to have such a celebrated and respected name in the horror genre as Fangoria putting together our film festival. They have put together over 30 short and feature films over 3 days of programming which features the most anticipated up and coming films from some fantastic independent talent. It kicks off Friday night with the mid west premier of Heather Langenkamp’s long awaited documentary, I Am Nancy, and runs as late as midnight on Friday and Saturday and all the way up until the close of the convention on Sunday. Sprinkled throughout will be trailers for some hot upcoming films such as the prequel for The Thing, Rise of the Apes, and a teaser for MTV’s soon to be released faux reality show, ”Death Valley”.

DL: What would you say is ultimately the goal, or mission statement of Days of the Dead? What do you feel will set it apart from other horror conventions?

AD: We want to really break down the divide between “the convention” as a business entity and give it a more communal atmosphere where everyone from the patrons, to the vendors, to the press outlets, feel like equal parts in the growth and success of the show. Whenever people offer their praise for the initial success of DAYS OF THE DEAD, I’m always very quick to let them know that all the credit belongs to the fans and the vendors who took notice of our approach to doing things and gave us their support from the early going – the horror convention scene has really gotten behind us and without them, we are nothing.

DL: What are the plans for the future? Do you plan to continue it in Indianapolis or will it move around to different cities in the midwest?

AD: I’m not a big fan of announcing that we will be making announcements and letting feeding people nothing but hype. All I can say is stay tuned. I will say one thing, though – we will only keep doing DAYS OF THE DEAD as long as we are able to maintain the scene friendly, by the fans/for the fans ethic. When we can no longer do this, or it becomes too much like business and not enough like something fun, we’ll stop doing it. Until then, it’s all systems go!

DL: What do you make of all the indie filmmakers that have decided to film projects during the convention?

AD: Oh, man, I think it’s fantastic! I’ve always said that while the mainstream celebrities are the glamour and glitz of a convention, the indie filmmakers and artists are its heart and soul. We’re lucky to have over 60 independent film makers and artists at DAYS OF THE DEAD, with many showing their work for the very first time over the weekend, which is something we consider a great honor. We hope to make this a trend at future DAYS OF THE DEAD shows and hope to come to be known for our support of independent creative work.

DL: Is there anything you’d like people to know about Days of the Dead that hasn’t been described? Give us your final sales pitch for anybody still on the fence about attending!

AD: DAYS OF THE DEAD is gonna be one hell of a party like no other and we’re absolutely blown away by how much everyone has embraced this. We’ve worked our asses off and put all our blood, sweat, and tears into this show for the past 9 months and it’s a dream come true to finally see it come to fruition. More than anything, DAYS OF THE DEAD will be a celebration of everything we love about the horror genre and the birth of a brand new way to do business in the convention scene. Many can talk it, but few can really walk it – “by the fans, for the fans!”

DL: What in the world is this Human Centipede recreation I’ve been hearing about?

AD: You’ve no doubt seen the zombie walk done to death at various other conventions before – we are bringing things a bit more current with our own unique crowd event. On Saturday at 9:30pm, we will be attempting to create the World’s Largest Human Centipede line in an attempt to start a new tradition unique to DAYS OF THE DEAD. Human Centipede star Ashley C. Williams will even be on hand to oversee the creation of this epic monstrosity!

DL: Thanks again and we look forward to attending DotD! It’s gonna be fun!

AD: Thanks! See you there!

Visit the Days of the Dead website and get your tickets for this weekend.

I don’t think I’ve done anything important or magnificent. I’m a worker, and the thing I prefer in my life is cinema. When I’m working in cinema, I’m happy. And that’s all, you know?

A long time ago, in an internet far far away, Deadlantern used to be known as The Keyhole. That site was generally more “anything goes” rather than horror-centric, but we (meaning myself) used to do interviews with all sorts of horror celebrities and have odd features like the one which was a photo essay documenting myself as I dug for the treasure inside those gravel pyramids you can get at museums. Our interviews followed a basic template: half the questions would be “serious” and half would be random nonsensical stuff that most interviews never asked.

Alas, all of those interviews and features disappeared when Jeff built Deadlantern. However, as I was cleaning out my harddrive, I found one. Our interview with Debbie Rochon. This is probably a good 3-5 years old, so a lot of the info ain’t informative, but I present it here in its entirety.

There was a pretty emphatic “No” from the listeners when we inquired a while back about doing interviews on the Splattercast. I get that. But perhaps we might be able to revive these e-mail interviews that we used to do. Might be a good way for us to keep connected to the horror elites without having to change the Splattercast in a way that would upset many of the listeners. You’d kinda get the best of both worlds, I suppose. So anyway, here’s the interview with Debbie Rochon. It’s a blast from the past and a probably a new window into the world that we were inhabiting before DeadLantern came about. Leave a comment if you like it, hate it, good idea, bad idea, or  just tell us how good your mom’s muffins are.

DL:  First, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself? What do you like about movies, why did you get into the movie biz, and how do you feel the business has affected you?

Well, I love movies. There’s nothing that I enjoy more than watching a good film. I was introduced to the film business at a very young age when I worked for 3 months as a featured extra on LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: THE FABULOUS STAINS! It’s been my first love ever since. It’s affected me in a good way for the most part. I have learned a lot about myself because of the trials and tribulations that naturally occur. I have been able to express myself a lot and learn discipline and craft which is very satisfying. I have also learned about people, good things and bad.

Could you talk a little about your upcoming projects such as The Demons 5 and the various other films you have coming out (plug it all!)?

I have a few films coming out pretty soon. APOCOLYPSE AND THE BEAUTY QUEEN which Gunnar Hansen is also in should be out this year. It’s an amazing looking flick. RAPTURIOUS directed by ex-Jerky Boy Kamal Ahmed is in its final stages of editing. This film will also be really amazing. It’s kind of like 8 MILE meets ROSEMARY’S BABY. Some of the cool cast includes Joe Bob Briggs AKA John Bloom, William Smith and Robert Opal just to mention a few. I have done cameo appearances in the films ZEPPO and DARK SIDE OF THE LIGHT. I just finished a short called MEAT MARKET and will reprise my role as crazy gym teacher Ms. Johnson in BIKINI BLOOD BATH 2. I have a special BEST OF DEBBIE ROCHON IN TROMAVILLE disk coming out through Troma. Of course it won’t be titled that. It will feature all the highlights of the work I have done with Troma over the past almost 15 years as well as some new material, including one episode of TRAILER PARK a series I star in for Fangoria Entertainment. DEMONS 5 is still in pre-production phase so I don’t have shooting dates as of yet.

Explain the weirdest, funniest, and worst experiences you have had on a film set.

The funniest was shooting the cell phone scene in DR. HORROR’S EROTIC HOUSE OF IDIOTS you MUST see it to know why. The weirdest experience was shooting a scene with Lloyd Kaufman who had already shot his side of the conversation which he totally improvised. I had to watch him on a video tape and just respond with my own improvised lines! That was weird! That is in the movie DEATH PLOTS. The worst was in a movie I do not name but the experience is referred to later in this interview (suspenseful huh?).

You are well known by many horror fans as a “scream queen”, how do you feel about being labeled as a scream queen? Is it a blessing, curse, or an annoyance?

I honestly am so over that. I think people need to use handles and identifiers so that’s cool. But anything that’s limiting I don’t care for. I thought it was fine for most of my career and I still do I guess. But it’s boring at this point. I do comedy, drama, horror and I produce and write and do a million things. I don’t know what the current definition of a Scream Queen is but I don’t think I qualify really. I’m now a renaissance woman!

You have built up a well deserved fan base amongst horror fans for your various roles, what do you feel sets you apart from other actresses that makes so many horror fans interested in your projects?

I am not the best looking person working in this business but I am one of the few that really take the movies seriously. Most women just do the low budget horror movies just to get some attention. I really love the genre and work very hard on every role I get. Even if I fail and suck in a movie it was never from a lack of trying. I think a lot of women think this is an easier road than having to study and work hard to be a good actress. Certainly looks can and will get you a long ways. But to be really remembered I think you have to deliver in the acting department as well. I always do my best to do that.

When I hear or see “Debbie Rochon”, it is almost always in the same sentence as “Troma”. Could you explain how you got involved with Troma and how being a part of that group of artists has impacted your career?

I have known and worked with Lloyd since 1992. I did a lot of TV specials with Troma and worked with them on a number of feature films. I first met Lloyd Kaufman when I was interviewing him for a magazine. He suggested I pose for some of the poster art they were doing and I have been working with him ever since. He’s a great friend and a fantastic filmmaker. I have learned a LOT working with him over the years. I have been extremely fortunate to have a lot of the Troma fans become my fans too and I appreciate that! Lloyd and I now are at the point where we get each other film work. I always get a chuckle out of that.

What would you consider the high point of your career? How about the low point?

The high point hasn’t happened yet but probably will within the next couple of years. The low point was having my four fingers on my right hand almost completely cut off while shooting a film a couple years back. The people making the movie were extremely negligent and handed me a LIVE machete which should have been a prop or filed down which is what you expect working on a movie. NOT THE REAL THING! What kind of dummies would do that? I cut all the tendons and nerves in all four of my fingers and will be permanently disabled for the rest of my life because of that. It took thousands of dollars and two operations to just get my hand to the point where I could use it at all. I was really depressed for a couple of years after that and didn’t want to look at a film set.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Do you still want to focus mainly on acting or would you like to put a greater emphasis on writing or perhaps directing?

My first love is acting so I will always want to do that. I see myself in 10 years with more money than I have now; the accident really wiped me out financially. I see myself working on TV and in features. I love writing, so maybe more scripts are in my future. I would love to direct but not till the time is right. It’s not something that’s pulling at me right now so I reserve comment on that!

What is the best advice you have to upcoming filmmakers without saying the generic line of “just go out and do it!”? Be creative.

As much as the self help books DO say just go out and do it I would never personally say that. I would say EVERYONE needs to study. If not at a school for film then UNDER a director that you RESPECT. It’s not something you can just do without experience and a ton of thought. I tell actors and directors the same thing. STUDY! Do shorts before you do features! Go slow and learn! Learning should be part of the process and the process should be enjoyable! It should not just be about having your name under the director credit. There’s an actual craft to the whole thing.

and now for the lighter side…

Name your top 5 favorite 50′s science fiction movies in ascending order:

WAR OF THE WORLDS
PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE
TARANTULA
THE BLOB
THEM

If you could switch places with any famous Scream Queen, which film/role would you choose and why?

I would love to have had Marilyn Burns’ role in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE because it really looked like she went through a huge experience making that movie and it turned out to be a cult classic. It took a lot of really hard work and she completely delivered. I love those types of roles. Where you really have to put yourself in the situation and live there for a long time, during the whole shoot. It must have been exhausting but in a good way. Actors LOVE those types of roles!

If you found a treasure map that led to the secret hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant, what would be the first thing you did with the Ark?

I would get Tom Savini to sign it and put it on eBay.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? You cannot say Vanilla or Chocolate.

Why can’t I say that? I wouldn’t have chose either anyway but now I feel very edited dammit! LOL. I love Pralines and Cream.

Snake Plisken and Jack Burton get in a battle royale. Describe how the fight goes down and which Kurt Russell character would prevail.

Snake would win. There would be no fight. He would just say “I’m Snake Plisken” and Jack would piss his pants and run away. No one wins against Snake. Only Mad Max would. What a silly question!

Finish this sentence: “I creeped down the claustrophobic hallway, taking in deep breaths of stale air and suddenly, right behind me I saw a….”

Broken de-humidifier.

Name one film you have made that you wish people would forget about and why.

Only one? The films I don’t care for are so obscure I bet no one has seen them anyway! Probably SANDY HOOK LINGERIE PARTY MASSACRE not because of any person involved. I liked the director and girls I worked with. But I don’t think there’s a movie there. LOL.

You have barricaded yourself in a high rise skyscraper to keep away from the zombie hordes trying to get to you. There is no electricity, no phone, no chance for escape. What do you do with the rest of your life?

Laugh at the irony. Laugh at the fact that I never paid my last AMEX bill on time.

What is the weirdest quirk you have that nobody would ever expect?

I get really mad when friends turn on me. Call me weird but I really hate it when people try and play you or use you then stab you in the back (or thigh or arm). It’s alarming how often that happens in this business! You have to keep very ZEN about it though and just remember it’s all for the good of the big picture. That usually bides you time till you can see them hang themselves at a future point.

Name your top 5 favorite video games of all time:

I do not play them BUT at work (Fangoria Entertainment) there is a GREAT South Park pinball machine I play and have mucho fun!

So the Chuck Norrisisms are sweeping the web (example: Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits). Make one Debbie Rochonism.

Debbie Rochon doesn’t get mad. She doesn’t have to get anything she already is.