Film Buff Friday: Forbidden Zone

Forbidden Zone was one of the most notorious indie films that I saw in my cinematic formative years. I am excited for this Ultimate Edition coming out in September! Not to mention it stars the late great Susan Tyrell who I had the pleasure of hanging out with, but that's a story for another place and time... Richard Elfman's FORBIDDEN ZONE  the  ULTIMATE EDITION The "Citizen Kane" of underground movies! Coming on September 29th Digital, DVD, Blu-ray, and Soundtrack Packages Richard Elfman's Forbidden Zone, starring Herve Villechaize (Fantasy Island) and Susan Tyrell (Fat City, Cry-Baby) and featuring original music by Danny Elfman, will make it's way to the home video market on September 29th in various forms including Digital, DVD, Blu-ray, and soundtrack packages. Each edition contains the black and white and color transfers of the film. In the film sexy Frenchy falls into an insane underworld ruled by a horny little king and his jealous queen. Chicken-boy comes to the rescue, only to have his head cut off by the soul-singing Devil himself--played by Danny Elfman and the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. Frog butlers, topless princesses and rioting school kids sing and dance in unforgettable musical numbers by Danny Elfman, Cab Calloway, Josephine Baker and other greats. Forbidden Zone is truly a ground-breaking, fun-filled timeless classic! Elfman says: "Forbidden Zone, the Ultimate Edition is coming shortly to DVD and Blu-ray from my good friends at MVD Entertainment. For the first time ever we include both the original black & white plus the new color version--all in sterling hi-def and state-of-the-art sound mix. There's a terrific booklet and loads of bonus features (including an utterly insane introduction by some idiot who looks a lot like me). I'm very proud of this best ever Forbidden Zone release! Officially Elfo-recommended!" Bonus Materials  - Audio commentary with director Richard Elfman and writer-actor Matthew Bright  - "A Look into Forbidden Zone" featuring extensive behind the scenes documentary featuring interviews and archive footage, including scenes from Elfman's lost film "The Hercules Family."  - Outtakes and Deleted Scenes  - Original Theatrical Trailer  - Wild new video intro by Richard Elfman with teaser clip of upcoming Forbidden Zone 2. Pre-Order:  http://bit.ly/1PotsaR Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1E7cTQ1

R.I.P. - My Personal Encounter With Susan Tyrrell

Oscar nominated for John Huston's "Fat City" Susan Tyrrell should have won...that being stated the cult actress who was never a household name, career was best described by her Mother to the LA Weekly where Susan recounted her statement: 


“The last thing my mother said to me was, ‘SuSu, your life is a celebration of everything that is cheap and tawdry,’” the actress recalled to writer Paul Cullum, who penned a 2000 profile of Tyrrell for the LA Weekly. “I’ve always liked that, and I’ve always tried to live up to it.”

And live up to it she did! With roles in John Water's "Crybaby" as Johnny Depp's Mother and my personal favorite as "Queen Doris of the Sixth Dimension/Ruth Henderson" in Oingo Boingo's "Forbidden Zone". 

SuSu was one of a kind. Oh, and "yes" I did have a personal encounter with this unique and passionate human being. SuSu was friends with Brian Grillo lead singer of the late great homo hardcore Los Angeles based punk/rock band, "Extra Fancy". 

One night my friend Brittney and myself strutted out to a now defunct club, "Temple" in Silverlake, CA to see our "Fancy" guys when what to our wandering eyes did appear standing next to us..."yeppers" Ms. Susan Tyrrell!


We were both bouncing around and loving on the music, when out of the blue, SuSu grabbed me by the collar and said, quite sincerely I might add: "I'm going to chain you down puppy" !


Susan was a lover of life and that will always be my memory of her, hey SuSu, I know you are somewhere amazing ..!