Holly Black, on books:

 

It is my belief that books are living things.

- Holly Black.

Recommended reading - Phiction: Tales from the World of Phantasm

 

Phiction: Tales from the World of Phantasm

by Don Coscarelli.

Illustrated by Aaron Lea.
Foreward by Joe R. Lansdale.
 
Paperback.
Published by Molotov Press.
Published 2024.

ASIN: B0D2QZ3MQK
ISBN-13: 979-8988243038
 
Description:
 
“Electrifyingly tense and gruesome… Horror fans and cult devotees of the classic horror series will find Coscarelli’s ingenuity a rare treat.” - Kirkus Reviews.
 
“It’s magnificent. An impressive collection of remarkable short-story horror fiction that I can proudly display on my bookshelf next to Poe, King, Dahl, Barker, Bradbury, and Lovecraft.” - Nick DiGilio, WGN Chicago.
 

In 1979, filmmaker Don Coscarelli (Bubba Ho-tep, The Beastmaster) wrote and directed what became one of the seminal sci-fi/horror films of that era, Phantasm. The film was a worldwide theatrical success and spawned four acclaimed sequels.

 

For the first time in the history of horror cinema, a celebrated filmmaker of a cult-classic horror film series has continued the adventure by swapping mediums and personally authoring a series of fictional works exploring in detail the characters he originally created. Coscarelli has now returned to the world of Phantasm to tell more tales of these inspiring phantasmic heroes.

 

Phiction comprises six stories set in the expansive Phantasm world that have never been told before:
 

In Life and Death in the 'Nam we explore the origin story of our favorite ice cream vendor/hero Reggie and his first encounter with the supernatural forces of evil in the jungles of the Vietnam war. It's a two-fisted tale of a young man enduring the horrors of war and at the same time facing down the horrors of the unknown.

 

In Behind the Mortuary Door we learn the secrets of the embalming trade from one of the most memorable characters from the original film.
 

In He Was Home Alone we revisit the young boy Tim, prior to the events from Phantasm Ill, and how, using only his wits and guile, he survives against unspeakable horrors.

 

In Tobe we follow the trail of one of Phantasm's forgotten characters as he witnesses the key events of that film from an entirely different perspective.

 

In The Rocky Road we track the events of one of the Phantasm saga's fan-favorite characters, the nunchuck-wielding Rocky as she's mustered out of the armed services and travels the backroads of the rural South in the early 90's. In a desperate search to find her family she encounters love, vengeance and horror, frequently reacting in the only way she knows how, with her fists and her feet.

 

And finally in Escape From New York we join another Phantasm fan-favorite character, the diminutive Chunk from Phantasm Ravager as he attempts to flee his home in the big city from the horror of an oncoming apocalypse. Along the way he bonds with some unexpected allies on a thrilling quest for survival.

 

In association with illustrator Aaron Lea (GHOST, Rob Zombie), Molotov Press now presents Phiction: Tales from the World of Phantasm.
 
Tales from the world of Phantasm.
 

Phiction conjures six stunning new tales from the world of the classic Phantasm film franchise. Acclaimed filmmaker, series creator and Master of Horror, Don Coscarelli, returns the reader to Morningside Mortuary with revelatory origin stories for some of the Phantasm saga’s most compelling characters including ice cream vendor/action hero Reggie, fan-favorite Rocky from Phantasm III and Chunk from Phantasm: Ravager.

 

Six Stories from the master of horror.
 

“You are in for a treat. As with the [Phantasm] films, these stories will give you what people call chicken skin, and others call Goosebumps. What [Phiction] will do above all else, is entertain. Dive in. The dark waters are fines.” – Joe R. Lansdale (best-selling author of Hap & Leonard, Cold in July and Bubba Ho-tep).

Born on this day – Irene Rich:

Irene Rich

Actress

October 13, 1891 – April 22, 1988

Credits:

The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (1949); Joan of Arc (1948); Fort Apache (1948); New Orleans (1947); Angel and the Badman (1947); Calendar Girl (1947); This Time for Keeps (1942); Three Sons o' Guns (1941); Keeping Company (1940); Queen of the Yukon (1940); The Lady in Question (1940); The Mortal Storm (1940); Everybody's Hobby (1939); The Right Way (1939); That Certain Age (1938); Hollywood Handicap (1938); Spitfire (1934); Manhattan Tower (1932); Her Mad Night (1932); Down to Earth (1932); The Champ (1931); Wicked (1931); The Mad Parade (1931); Five and Ten (1931); Strangers May Kiss (1931); Father's Son (1931); Beau Ideal (1931); Double Check (1930); On Your Back (1930); So This Is London (1930); Shanghai Rose (1929); They Had to See Paris (1929); The Exalted Flapper (1929); Daughters of Desire (1929); Ned McCobb's Daughter (1928); Women They Talk About (1928); The Perfect Crime (1928); Craig's Wife (1928); Powder My Back (1928); Beware of Married Men (1927); The Silver Slave (1927); The Desired Woman (1927); Dearie (1927); The Climbers (1927); Don't Tell the Wife (1927); My Official Wife (1926); The Honeymoon Express (1926); Silken Shackles (1926); Lady Windermere's Fan (1925); The Pleasure Buyers (1925); Compromise (1925); The Wife Who Wasn't Wanted (1925); Eve's Lover (1925); The Man Without a Conscience (1925); My Wife and I (1925); A Lost Lady (1924); What the Butler Saw (1924); This Woman (1924); Behold This Woman (1924); A Woman Who Sinned (1924); Captain January (1924); Being Respectable (1924); Cytherea (1924); Beau Brummel (1924); Pal o' Mine (1924); Boy of Mine (1923); Lucretia Lombard (1923); Defying Destiny (1923); Rosita (1923); Yesterday's Wife (1923); Dangerous Trails (1923); Michael O'Halloran (1923); Snowdrift (1923); Brass (1923); Fruits of Faith (1922); The Marriage Chance (1922); While Justice Waits (1922); Brawn of the North (1922); The Ropin' Fool (1922); The Yosemite Trail (1922); A Fool There Was (1922); One Clear Call (1922); The Trap (1922); Strength of the Pines (1922); The Call of Home (1922); The Poverty of Riches (1921); The Invisible Power (1921); Desperate Trails (1921); A Voice in the Dark (1921); A Tale of Two Worlds (1921); Boys Will Be Boys (1921); One Man in a Million (1921); Sunset Jones (1921); Godless Men (1920); Just Out of College (1920); Stop Thief (1920); Jes' Call Me Jim (1920); The Strange Boarder (1920); The Street Called Straight (1920); Water, Water, Everywhere (1920); The Spite Bride (1919); Her Purchase Price (1919); Wolves of the Night (1919); The Blue Bonnet (1919); The Sneak (1919); The Lone Star Ranger (1919); Castles in the Air (1919); The Silver Girl (1919); Diane of the Green Van (1919); A Man in the Open (1919); Todd of the Times (1919); A Law Unto Herself (1918); The Girl in His House (1918); A Desert Wooing (1918).

Born on this day – Georgia Backus:

Georgia Backus

Actress

October 13, 1900 – September 7, 1983

Credits:

Schlitz Playhouse (1952); Mark of the Renegade (1951); Apache Drums (1951); Cause for Alarm! (1951); Mother Didn't Tell Me (1950); No Man of Her Own (1950); Copper Canyon (1950); Song of Surrender (1949); Too Late for Tears (1949); Force of Evil (1948); Dream Girl (1948); Suddenly It's Spring (1947); Lady in the Dark (1944); Standing Room Only (1944); The Moon Is Down (1943); Lucky Jordan (1942); My Heart Belongs to Daddy (1942); I Married a Witch (1942); The Talk of the Town (1942); Blondie for Victory (1942); The Magnificent Ambersons (1942); Not a Ladies' Man (1942); Take a Letter, Darling (1942); Shut My Big Mouth (1942); The Lady Is Willing (1942); Bedtime Story (1941); Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case (1941); You Belong to Me (1941); Blondie in Society (1941); They Dare Not Love (1941); Citizen Kane (1941); Repent at Leisure (1941); Footlight Fever (1941); So Ends Our Night (1941); Nobody's Children (1940).

Born on this day – Yves Allégret:

Yves Allégret

Director

Writer

October 13, 1905 – January 31, 1987

Born on this day – Cornel Wilde:

Cornel Wilde

Actor

Director

October 13, 1912 – October 16, 1989

Born on this day – Jack MacGowran:

Jack MacGowran

Actor

October 13, 1918 – January 30, 1973

Born on this day – Laraine Day:

Laraine Day

Actress

October 13, 1920 – November 10, 2007

Born on this day – Yves Montand:

Yves Montand

Actor

Singer

October 13, 1921 – November 9, 1991

Born on this day – Paquita Rico:

Paquita Rico

Actress

Singer

October 13, 1929 – July 9, 2017

Born on this day – Judi Meredith:

Judi Meredith

Actress

October 13, 1936 – April 30, 2014

Born on this day – Melinda Dillon:

Melinda Dillon

Actress

October 13, 1939 – January 9, 2023

#AChristmasStory #CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind #SlapShot #HarryAndTheHendersons

Born on this day – Pamela Tiffin:

Pamela Tiffin

Actress

October 13, 1942 – December 2, 2020

Born on this day – Kelly Preston:

Kelly Preston

Actress

October 13, 1962 – July 12, 2020

Credits:

10 to Midnight (1983); 52 Pick-Up (1986); 53rd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1996); A Tiger's Tale (1987); About 'Return to Sender' (2006); Addicted to Love (1997); Adopted (2013); AFI Life Achievement Award (1993–1995); Amazon Women on the Moon / Titan Man (1987); Bar Hopping (2000); Battlefield Earth (2000); Battlefield Earth: Evolution & Creation (2000); Biography (2003); Blue Thunder (1984); Broken Bridges (2006); Capitol (1982); Casino Jack (2010); Celebrity Page (2018); Cheyenne Warrior (1994); CHiPs (1983); Christine (1983); Citizen Ruth (1996); Corazón de... (2006); CSI: Cyber (2016); Curdled (1996); Daddy and Them (2001); Death Sentence (2007); Dissonance (2014); Double Cross (1994); E! Live from the Red Carpet (2008); Entertainment Tonight (2006–2018); ESPY Awards (2005); Eulogy (2004); Extra (2015–2018); Fat Actress (2005); Fear Factor (2001); For Love and Honor (1983–1984); For Love of the Game (1999); From Dusk Till Dawn (1996); From Paris with Love (2010); Good Morning America (2016–2018); Gotti (2018); Hannity & Colmes (2005); Hawaii Five-O (1980); Holy Man (1998); Inside Edition (1988); Intimate Portrait (1999); Jack Frost (1998); Jerry Maguire (1996); Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2004); Joey (2004); Junket Whore (1998); Kirstie Alley's Big Life (2010); Larry King Live (2009); Last Call with Carson Daly (2003); Late Night with Conan O'Brien (2007); Late Show with David Letterman (1996–2005); Legends Ball (2006); Little Surprises (1996); Live with Kelly and Mark (2005–2018); Lone Star (1983); Love at Stake (1987); Love Is a Gun (1994); Mad TV (2003); Made in Hollywood (2009–2010); Maroon 5: She Will Be Loved (2004); Maury (1995–1998); Medium (2008); Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983); Mischief (1985); Moving Image Salutes John Travolta (2004); Mrs. Munck (1995); Mundo VIP (1999); Not Under My Roof (2001); Nothing to Lose (1997); Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's (1997); Off the Rails (2021); Old Dogs (2009); Only You (1992); Oscar's Red Carpet 2008 with Regis Philbin (2008); Quincy M.E. (1983); Return to Sender (2004); Revealed with Jules Asner (2003); Riptide (1984); Run (1991); Saturday Night Live 25 (1999); Secret Admirer (1985); Séries express (2009); Sky High (2005); Sky High: Alternate Opening (2005); Sky High: Breaking Down Walls: The Stunts of Sky High (2005); SpaceCamp (1986); Spellbinder (1988); Struck (2008); Suburban Shootout (2008); Tales from the Crypt (1990); The 16th Annual CableACE Awards (1995); The 20th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Awards (1995); The 28th Annual American Music Awards (2003); The 52nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1995); The 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1999); The 67th Annual Academy Awards (1995); The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards (2016); The 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards 2017 (2017); The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007); The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008); The 9th Annual TV Land Awards (2011); The American Clock (1993); The Cat in the Hat (2003); The CMT Music Awards 2006 (2006); The Conversation (2012); The Daily Show (2003); The Dave Thomas Comedy Show (1990); The Doctors (2012–2013); The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2004); The Experts (1989); The Insider (2014–2016); The Last Song (2010); The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2012); The Martin Short Show (1999); The Montel Williams Show (2003); The Oprah Winfrey Show (2003–2005); The Perfect Bride (1991); The Reichen Show (2006); The Renegades (1983); The Rosie O'Donnell Show (1997–2001); The Stafford Project (2013); The Tenth Circle (2008); The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1996–2013); The View (2002–2018); The Young Hollywood Awards (2006); Today (2011); Twins (1988); Up Close with Carrie Keagan (2007); Very Important Pennis (1996); View from the Top (2003); Waiting to Exhale (1995); Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (2018); Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (2018); Welcome to Hollywood (1998); What a Girl Wants (2003); When I Was a Girl (2001).

On this day in movie history - Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

Odds Against Tomorrow

directed by Robert Wise,

written by Abraham Polonsky and Nelson Gidding,

based on the novel by William P. McGivern,

was released in the United States on October 13, 1959.

Music by John Lewis.

Cast:

Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters, Ed Begley, Gloria Grahame, Will Kuluva, Kim Hamilton, Mae Barnes, Richard Bright, Carmen De Lavallade, Lew Gallo, Lois Thorne, Wayne Rogers, Zohra Lampert, Allen Nourse.

On this day in movie history - Midnight Lace (1960)

Midnight Lace

directed by David Miller,

written by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts,

based on the play Matilda Shouted Fire by Janet Green,

was released in the United States on October 13, 1960.

Music by Frank Skinner.

Cast:

Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin, Myrna Loy, Roddy McDowall, Herbert Marshall, Natasha Parry, Hermione Baddeley, John Williams, Richard Ney, Anthony Dawson, Rhys Williams, Richard Lupino, Hayden Rorke, Doris Lloyd, Gage Clarke, Elspeth March, Peter Adams, Rex Evans.

On this day in movie history - Double Indemnity (movie & books):

Double Indemnity

directed by Jack Smight,

written by Steven Bochco, Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler,

based on the novel by James M. Cain,

released in the United States on October 13, 1973.

Music by Billy Goldenberg.

Cast:

Richard Crenna, Lee J. Cobb, Robert Webber, Samantha Eggar, Arch Johnson, Kathleen Cody, John Fiedler, John Elerick, Joan Pringle, Gene Dynarski, Ken Renard, Joyce Cunning, Arnold F. Turner, Rand Brooks, Tom Curtis, John Furlong.

Recommended reading:

Double Indemnity

by James M. Cain.

Filmed as:
 
Double Indemnity (1944), directed by Billy Wilder.
Double Indemnity (1973), directed by Jack Smight.

Published by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.
Published 1943.
Paperback.
ISBN-10: 9780679723226
ISBN-13: 9780679723226

Description:

“An American masterpiece.” – Ross Macdonald.

“No one has ever stopped reading in the middle of one of Jim Cain’s books.” – Saturday Review of Literature.

Walter Huff was an insurance salesman with an unfailing instinct for clients who might be in trouble, and his instinct led him to Phyllis Nirdlinger. Phyllis wanted to buy an accident policy on her husband. Then she wanted her husband to have an accident. Walter wanted Phyllis. To get her, he would arrange the perfect murder and betray everything he had ever lived for.

Tautly narrated and excruciatingly suspenseful, Double Indemnity gives us an X-ray view of guilt, of duplicity, and of the kind of obsessive, loveless love that devastates everything it touches. First published in 1935, this novel reaffirmed James M. Cain as a virtuoso of the roman noir.

 

Double Indemnity: The Complete Screenplay

by Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler, Jeffrey Meyers.

Published by University of California Press.
Published 2000.

ISBN-10: 0520218485
ISBN-13: 9780520218482

Description:

On every level -- writing, direction, acting -- Double Indemnity (1944) is a triumph and stands as one of the greatest achievements in Billy Wilder's career. Adapted from the James M. Cain novel by director Wilder and novelist Raymond Chandler, it tells the story of an insurance salesman, played by Fred MacMurray, who is lured into a murder-for-insurance plot by Barbara Stanwyck, in an archetypal femme fatale role. From its grim story to its dark, atmospheric lighting, Double Indemnity is a definitive example of World War II-era film noir. Wilder's approach is everywhere evident: in the brutal cynicism the film displays, the moral complexity, and in the empathy we feel for the killers. The film received almost unanimous critical success, garnering seven Academy Award nominations. More than fifty years later, most critics agree that this classic is one of the best films of all time. The collaboration between Wilder and Raymond Chandler produced a masterful script and some of the most memorable dialogue ever spoken in a movie.

This facsimile edition of Double Indemnity contains Wilder and Chandler's original -- and quite different -- ending, published here for the first time. Jeffrey Meyers's introduction contextualizes the screenplay, providing hilarious anecdotes about the turbulent collaboration, as well as background information about Wilder and the film's casting and production.

On this day in movie history - Jade (1995)

Jade

directed by William Friedkin,

written by Joe Eszterhas,

was released in the United States on October 13, 1995.

Music by James Horner.

Cast:

David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino, Chazz Palminteri, Richard Crenna, Michael Biehn, Donna Murphy, Ken King, Holt McCallany, David Hunt, Angie Everhart, Kevin Tighe, Victor Wong, Robin Thomas, Victoria Smith, Jay Jacobus, Bud Bostwick, Darryl Chan, Ron Ulstad, Buddy Joe Hooker, Bobby Bass, Sandy Berumen, Dick Ziker, Ron Yuan.

On this day in movie history - Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)

Phantasm IV: Oblivion

a.k.a. Phantasm: Oblivion

directed and written by Don Coscarelli,

was released in the United States on October 13, 1998.

Music by Christopher L. Stone.

Cast:

A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, Bill Thornbury, Heidi Marnhout, Bob Ivy, Angus Scrimm, Christopher L. Stone, Chloe Kay, Sylvia Flammer, David Gasster, Sasha Kassel, Aidan Kassel, Eric Avary, Andy John, George A. Craig, Steven C. Kassel, Robert Gates, Todd Mecklem, Jason Jacobs, Michael Perkins, Colin Jessup, Stanley Potter, Roger Avary, Bret Schweinfurth, Robert Tomaszewski.

On this day in television history - Space 1999 (1975)

Space 1999
Season 1. Episode 7.

Episode entitled: Alpha Child.

Released October 13, 1975.

Directed by Ray Austin.

Written by Christopher Penfold.

Series created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson.

Music by Barry Gray.

Cast:

Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Barry Morse, Julian Glover, Cyd Hayman, Prentis Hancock, Clifton Jones, Zienia Merton, Anton Phillips, Nick Tate, Wayne Brooks, Tony Allyn, Sarah Bullen, Loftus Burton, Gerry Crampton, Andy Dempsey, Vincent Wong, James Fagan, Raymond Harris, Alf Joint, Rula Lenska, Quentin Pierre, Suzanne Roquette, Michael Stevens, Maureen Tan