Apr 072013
 

Willy Adkins

From Spook Show Entertainment President Willy Adkins in regards to The Portage Theater. 4/7/2013:

I know I am long overdue for a comment on the new changes at The Portage Theater, but until I have been able to speak to Mr. Carranza myself and have any idea how these changes might effect not only my company / programming at the theater, but the many other independent artists who put heart into the landmark, I have decided to hold off on any comment beyond the following Q&A…

The hot question I keep getting right now is, “Will Spook Show Entertainment still be hosting festivals at the Portage?”… At this time my answer is this: I have called The Portage Theater home to Spook Show Entertainment events for many years and would absolutely love to maintain that family friendly type relationship with the venue under new owner/operator Eddie Carranza. At this time, SSE currently has 4 film festival events on the Portage 2013 calendar (under family friendly word of mouth without contract) and I’m anxiously waiting the new operator to make contact with me to talk details about any changes he might want to make. We are under a time crunch to establish dates for our 2014 festival season and are preparing to seek new venue if we can’t get clarification on dates and contracts soon. But our desire at this time is to keep calling the Portage Theater home. We hope to hear from Mr. Carranza soon so that we can bring clarification to the situation and positive feedback to our fans & followers.

Most Recent Portage Theater News:
http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130407/portage-park/portage-theater-owner-changes-course-will-run-movie-palace-himself#

Jun 152012
 

As reported by our friends at The Underground Multiplex

The day finally came when the Chicago Zoning  Board of Appeals made a decision on the future of The Portage Theater.

More than 50 people showed up in support of The Portage Theater, a pretty good turnout for a weekday at 9am.

The ZBA took the Portage property case first, with the legal counsel of Chicago Tabernacle seeking an extension regarding the decision of the board. Citing “hardship”, the church claimed they weren’t given enough time to sort out all the particulars, especially with parts of The Portage now up for landmark designation.

Six Corners Association rep and Alderman John Arena argued strictly along economic lines. Allowing the church to buy The Portage would stifle economic growth for Six Corners and the surrounding neighborhoods. Leases for businesses waiting to open near The Portage would be in jeopardy if the church was allowed purchase or with further delays.

The Board took note for the record that there were quite a number of people showing up opposed to the church purchase (over 50).

The bad news: ZBA decided to delay a decision on the sale of the property for 30 days (until July 20th).

The good news: This time period was half of what church counsel requested. In fact, when asked how long a delay was necessary to basically get its act together, counsel responded “oh, about a couple of months,” eliciting derisive laughter from some in the audience.

I think the ZBA was trying its best to be fair under the circumstances, but I definitely got a read that the chairman was frustrated with church counsel.  It doesn’t look good when you don’t have all “your ducks in a row” as the chairman implied and you get a significant number of people siding against you showing up.

The next ZBA hearing will be July 20th at 2pm. Mark your calendars NOW.

The chairman could not affirm that 7/20/2012 will be the absolute final date of the decision, but it seems clear he doesn’t want this dragging on indefinitely, which is what Chicago Tabernacle seems intent on doing.

Mar 262012
 


The historic Portage Theater is currently threatened by the potential purchase of the building it is in by a church. The church proposes to convert the theater into their worship space, remove the marquee, alter the auditorium, and eliminate the storefronts and half the apartments for offices and classrooms.

There will be a public meeting about this challenge to our community on Monday, March 26th at 7:00 PM at the Portage Theater, 4050 N Milwaukee. More information at 45th Ward alderman John Arena’s website.

Can’t make it out to the community meeting?

Click the link below to see how you can help take action and help us save this amazing place!

Mar 202012
 

The Indie Horror Film Festival will be going on March 23-25 at the historic Portage Theater
in Chicago for a weekend of blood, mayhem, and wicked horror. The festival was formally
known as The Indy Horror Film Festival, which was brought back from the dead by Spook Show
Entertainment
in 2010. Spook Show Ent. is an active component in Chicago’s indie horror scene
is nearly every aspect. They also put on Indie’s sister festival, The Chicago Horror Film Festival
(the longest running film festival in Chicago). This year the festival will be hosted by lifelong
horror enthusiast and stand-up comic, Chris May.

Ari Lehmen will be one of the festivals special guests, who played Young Jason is the original
Friday the 13th and is still a working genre actor and member of the band, First Jason.
Other guests include horror novelist, John Everson, and gothic illusionist and actor, Ron
Fitzgerald
. The festival doesn’t solely focus on films though. It also showcases the morbidly
intriguing “Horror of Art” display, a blood curdling scream contest, and after hours events so the
bloody good fun never has to stop.

The Indie Horror Film Festival is full of the best of indie horror around from gritty and intense
to eerie and more socially-charged films. There are a number of films that will be making
their world premiere at the festival including the creature feature Ed & The Awakening, the
supernaturally charged That’s My Girl, and the powerful dark thriller, Hand of Glory. Other
films include What They Say, Afraid of Sunrise, Dorthy, Dream Lover, Raymond Did It, House
of Mirrors, Vamperifica, Below Zero, Deadline, Plastic, Not Another B Movie, The Curse, The
Hitchhiker, The Barn, Slash in the Box, The Duty of Living, Alistair, Betania, Fractured Minds, 8,
Incubator, Divination, Love Bug, Purity, Ritual, The Fear, and Mind of a Mad Man.
The festival will end with an award ceremony to give special acknowledgement to the best of
the best. Particularly notable films, receiving the Special Recognition Award who have been
nominated in 5 or more categories are The Duty of Living, What They Say, Vamperifica, and
Below Zero.

A full list of the award nominees can be found by CLICKING HERE!

The 2012 Indie Horror Film Festival

Friday March 23rd – Sunday March 25th 2012
The Portage Theater
4050 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60115

For More Information Visit:
www.IndieHorrorFest.com
www.SpookShowEntertainment.com

Mar 072012
 

The 2012 Indie Horror Film Festival Award Nominee’s

- ALL LISTED IN RANDOM ORDER -

BEST SOUND
INCUBATOR
BELOW ZERO
RITUAL
THE DUTY OF LIVING
OCHO

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
DEADLINE
DIVINATION
VAMPERIFICA
THE DUTY OF LIVING
THE CURSE

BEST EDITING
THE CURSE
BELOW ZERO
WHAT THEY SAY
VAMPERIFICA
THE BARN

BEST FX
BETANIA
BELOW ZERO
FRACTURED MINDS
VAMPERIFICA
LOVE BUG

BEST COMEDY
LOVE BUG
ED AND THE AWAKENING
NOT ANOTHER B MOVIE
VAMPERIFICA
FRACTURED MINDS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
LINDSAY FELTON – RAYMOND DID IT
DENEEN MELODY – AFRAID OF SUNRISE
LINDSAY GARETH – NOT ANOTHER B MOVIE
KELSEY ZUKOWSKI – WHAT THEY SAY
WENDY WISLEY – THE DUTY OF LIVING

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTIAN GRAY – PLASTIC
MICHAEL SCHMID – HAND OF GLORY
DAVID FAUSTINO – NOT ANOTHER B MOVIE
TY YAEGAR – RAYMOND DID IT
GEORGE RETELAS – THE DUTY OF LIVING

BEST DIRECTOR
BRUCE ORNSTEIN – VAMPERIFICA
JUSTIN R. ROMINE – WHAT THEY SAY
CHRIS TASARA – DEADLINE
JUSTIN THOMAS OSTENSEN – BELOW ZERO
BRANDON HUNT – THE DUTY OF LIVING

BEST ACTRESS
JULES WILCOX – DEADLINE
COURTNEY MONSMA – DORTHY
HEATHER DORFF – WHAT THEY SAY
LYNN LAWRY – DIVINATION
SONIA CASELLI – BETANIA

BEST ACTOR
MARTIN YURKOVIC – VAMPERIFICA
DARREN MARLAR – HAND OF GLORY
NORTH ROBERTS – PLASTIC
JUAN RIEDINGER – THE DUTY OF LIVING
DAVE NILSON – MIND OF A MAD MAN

DIRECTORS CHOICE AWARD
PLASTIC
OCHO
AFRAID OF SUNRISE
DORTHY
THE DUTY OF LIVING

BEST SHORT FILM
DIVINATION
INCUBATOR
WHAT THEY SAY
DORTHY
THE DUTY OF LIVING

BEST FEATURE FILM
BELOW ZERO
VAMPERIFICA
PLASTIC
RAYMOND DID IT
DEADLINE

OFFICIAL WINNERS OF
THE SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD
(NOMINATED IN 5 OR MORE CATEGORIES)
THE DUTY OF LIVING
WHAT THEY SAY
VAMPERIFICA
BELOW ZERO

WWW.INDIEHORRORFEST.COM
WWW.SPOOKSHOWENTERTAINMENT.COM

AWARD WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED AT
THE 2012 INDIE HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
MARCH 23RD – 25TH AT CHICAGO PORTAGE THEATER

Mar 072012
 

Willy Adkins (President) and Jason Sullivan (Vice President) of Spook Show Entertainment will be in downtown Chicago tonight with a sealed envelope containing the official award nominee’s for the 2012 Indie Horror Film Festival!  Provided the two don’t get jumped for this highly anticipated list of information, they will be giving the envelope to Heather Dorff & Deann Baker, the hosts of the new and growingly popular internet TV show “Filming Round Midtown” to be opened and read LIVE on air tonight!  You can catch the show at 8PM CST on the EgenTV network at www.livestream.com/egentv!

Spook Show Entertainment has made several changes to this annual horror film festival this year.  In Fall 2011 they made a huge announcement that the event would be changing names (formerly “Indy Horror Film Festival”) and along with the name change they moved the event to Chicago’s historic Portage Theater.  They also stretched out the bloody good times from a one day event to three!  Now they are going even one further and have added more award categories including Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Editing!

More Information On The Indie Horror Film Festival Awards:

*Award Winners will be announced in a ceremony at the end of the festival. Winners in attendance will be presented a certificate. Those not in attendance will be sent a digital certificate to print by email. Winners will also be posted in the news feed (front page) of IndieHorrorFest.com / SpookShowEntertainment.com within 48 hours of the close of the festival.

** Our Selection / Awards Procedure: Festival Director / Producers make official selections for the festival by vote. Official Selections are then screened/graded by 5 different judges anonymously and given an overall grade on a 5 point scale for each of the qualifying award categories (with the exception of the “Directors Choice Award”). All judges points are then added together to give it a grade. The top 5 films by grade in each category are then considered an award nominee and listed on this page. The film with the highest grade in each category is considered and announced that category’s award winner at the festival. In the event of a tie for highest grade, the festival director, festival producer and festival founder will each vote on the tied films giving the majority vote the award. In the event that one of the production staff are involved in one of the films involving a tie, a 3rd party will be selected to vote in place of the production staff member involved.

*** Special Recognition Awards are given to any film that is nominated (in top 5 by votes) in 5 or more categories. The way we see it is, even if the film didn’t score the highest in any of the categories, to be a nominee in 5 or more categories means that the film was extremely good across the board. (The Festival Directors Choice Award category don’t qualify for the Special Recognition Awards)

**** The Festival Directors Choice Award nominee’s are the Film Festival Directors top 5 choice films of the festival. The Directors Choice Award is presented at the festival to the Directors favorite film of the festival. (Any film that the festival director is personally involved in at any level is not eligible for this award.)

Jan 272012
 

Ari Lehman Confirmed to be a special guest at The 2012 Indie Horror Film Festival!  His band “First Jason” is also expected to perform on Friday night as part of the Music of Horror events!

ARI LEHMAN is the actor/singer who has the unique honor of having played the role of the First Jason Voorhees in the Paramount Classic Horror Film “Friday the 13th” (1980). The original “Boy In The Lake” himself, Ari played a crucial role in the film’s famous final scene, in which he suddenly emerges from the icy waters of Crystal Lake. Working with Special Effects Master Tom Savini at an early age gave Ari a deep appreciation for the Horror Greats including Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Vincent Price. Ari currently records and tours the US and Europe with his Horror Rock Band, FIRSTJASON.

A native New Yorker, Ari grew up in Westport, CT, where he trained in Classical music and Jazz Piano. Recognized at an early age for his musical abilities, Ari was presented with an All-State Award for Excellence in Jazz Piano and a generous scholarship to Berklee School of Music by the famous jazz educator, Dr. Billy Taylor.

Also actively engaged in performance and theatre, Ari heard about an audition being held in Westport, for a new movie, “Manny’s Orphan’s”, about a group of inner-city orphans who play Soccer, directed by Sean S. Cunnngham. Ari snuck into the audition and landed the 80-line role of “Roger”, a pre-pubecent comic character who is obsessed with girls. This role led to Ari getting the call to play Jason Voorhees in “Friday the 13th” from Sean S. Cunningham himself, who famously asked him “Can you swim?”, Ari replied “Yes!” and the rest is Horror History.

After the release of “Friday the 13th”, Ari returned to New York City where he studied Jazz Piano in its breeding ground with the great Joanne Brackeen and enrolled in NYU studying Big Band Orchestration and Jazz Piano with recognized Masters Jim McNeely and Vladmir Shafranov. Interestingly, Ari’s career led him to become a prominent touring Keyboardist for some of the top names in Reggae and African music, with whom he toured throught the US, Europe and West Africa, working for Bob Marley’s own Tuff Gong Records and Interscope Records.

As a seasoned recording artist and professional musician, Ari went on to receive acclaim with his own World Rock and Reggae band, when, upon moving to Chicago in late 2002, he was contacted by Horror fans who eagerly invited him to attend an East Coast Horror Convention. In response to their enthusiasm, Ari became a regular on the Horror Convention Circuit, and immediately saw a great opportunity to give Jason Voorhees a musical voice on the Punk and Metal scene. Ari proceeded to draw upon his 20 years’ experience as a professional musician and recording artist and created FIRSTJASON specifically for Horror Fans, especially the fans of Jason Voorhees and “Friday the 13th”.

FIRSTJASON has performed in Punk/Metal clubs, Film Festivals, and Horror Conventions throughout the United States. The engaging showmanship and superior musicianship have consistently received enthusiastic response and have developed a strong following. Here is an exerpt from a recent review of a show on their 11-city Midwest tour in the Early Spring of 2009:

“Like young Jason rising from the deep to take his prey, First Jason caught me by surprise. Lehman didn’t just play the keytar, he melted that motherfucker. He didn’t just sing songs about Jason, he sang them with a passion and a power that was above and beyond what the subject matter called for. When, toward the end of the set, he threw a Jason mask my way, I put it on and started banging my head, smiling like a maniac. I was glad I stuck around.”

(MP Johnson – FREAK TENSION MAGAZINE)

FIRSTJASON has performed at HORRORHOUND WEEKEND, FANGORIA WEEKEND OF HORRORS, ROCK AND SHOCK, TEXAS FEAR FEST, and FLASHBACK WEEKEND Horror Conventions, as well as THE MILWAUKEE METAL MASSACRE and many of the top Punk/Metal venues throughout the MidWest. ARI LEHMAN has appeared in E!, Entertainment Weekly, Blender Magazine, Chicago Reader, The Chicago-Sun Times, Illinois Entertainer, Denver CBS4-TV News, and Fangoria Radio. He has also appeared at Horror events in Germany, Holland and the United Kingdom.

Ari has also composed, performed and recorded a number of soundtracks for independent films, including Alexia Anastasio’s critically acclaimed all-female “SALOME”, and VAMP FILMS “VAMPIRA THE MOVIE” which received the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for the Best Independent Film of 2007.

To Learn More About Ari Lehman Visit:

www.FirstJason.com

 

Tickets, Vendor Tables & More Info About The 2012 Indie Horror Film Festival available at the official website:

www.IndieHorrorFest.com

 

Nov 092011
 

Spook Show Entertainment Inc. announced today that they will be moving all of their film festival events to the Portage Theater (home to SSE’s Chicago Horror Film Festival event for more then half a decade) by the end of 2013.  This transition begins with The 2012 Indy Horror Film Festival being moved to the historic venue this season.  The Indy event has been hosted by Dekalb Illinois’ Egyptian Theatre since being brought back from an expired festival 2 years ago.  Willy Adkins (festival director / president of SSE) states, “I have always loved the Egyptian Theatre, and the move to Chicago wasn’t an easy decision to make”, he continues “It came down to resources, customer demand and our need to grow.”  Adkins stated that “Spook Show Entertainment will continue to host many events in Dekalb, including haunted tours at the Egyptian Theatre and monthly movie and mixed media events at the House Cafe.  This move is taking place simply because we have to go where the event type is in demand”  SSE’s home office is located in Dekalb and Adkins stated that the company has no intentions of moving its offices out of Dekalb anytime soon.

The Afterlife Paranormal Conference & Film Festival will also be premiering in Chicago in October 2012.  Other SSE festivals to make the move to Chicago in 2013 include, The Prairie State Film Festival and The Laugh or Die Comedy Festival, both of which are scheduled at the House Cafe in 2012 for one more year in Dekalb.

Adkins closed by saying, “Jason Sullivan (SSE Vice President) and I both have high expectations with this new decision and look forward to many years of events at the Portage Theater”.

You can meet Willy Adkins & Jason Sullivan as they sponsor a meal for Dekalb’s “Feed’em Soup Community Project” on Sunday December 18th.  That same day, they are co-hosting a charity fundraiser called “Holiday Healing” at The House Cafe of Dekalb to benefit the same organization.

Nov 092011
 

Spook Show Entertainment Inc. announced today that they will be moving all of their film festival events to the Portage Theater (home to SSE’s Chicago Horror Film Festival event for more then half a decade) by the end of 2013.  This transition begins with The 2012 Indy Horror Film Festival being moved to the historic venue this season.  The Indy event has been hosted by Dekalb Illinois’ Egyptian Theatre since being brought back from an expired festival 2 years ago.  Willy Adkins (festival director / president of SSE) states, “I have always loved the Egyptian Theatre, and the move to Chicago wasn’t an easy decision to make”, he continues “It came down to resources, customer demand and our need to grow.”  Adkins stated that “Spook Show Entertainment will continue to host many events in Dekalb, including haunted tours at the Egyptian Theatre and monthly movie and mixed media events at the House Cafe.  This move is taking place simply because we have to go where the event type is in demand”  SSE’s home office is located in Dekalb and Adkins stated that the company has no intentions of moving its offices out of Dekalb anytime soon.

The Afterlife Paranormal Conference & Film Festival will also be premiering in Chicago in October 2012.  Other SSE festivals to make the move to Chicago in 2013 include, The Prairie State Film Festival and The Laugh or Die Comedy Festival, both of which are scheduled at the House Cafe in 2012 for one more year in Dekalb.

Adkins closed by saying, “Jason Sullivan (SSE Vice President) and I both have high expectations with this new decision and look forward to many years of events at the Portage Theater”.

You can meet Willy Adkins & Jason Sullivan as they sponsor a meal for Dekalb’s “Feed’em Soup Community Project” on Sunday December 18th.  That same day, they are co-hosting a charity fundraiser called “Holiday Healing” at The House Cafe of Dekalb to benefit the same organization.

Mar 122011
 

When putting together these great film festivals, we pride ourselves on acknowledging film makers, talent and artists for outstanding work.  First as being an official selection of the festival, then as a nominee for an award and even further as an award winner.   These festivals do run a very tight budget however, so financial compensation in addition to the award certificate / trophy is sadly not an option.  This year Willy Adkins (Spook Show Entertainment) got on the phonhttp://www.boomstickfilms.com/Michael%20Morlock/FinalPosterSmall.jpge with Jason Davis (Festivals of Fright) with an idea to be able to offer the winners of “Best Feature” and “Best Short” at the Indy Horror Film Festival (the newer, younger sister festival to The Chicago Horror Film Festival now in its 12th season).  The Idea was quite simple…  Why not offer a free automatic acceptance for the 2 films winning in those two categories to show officially at the Chicago Horror Film Festival as well?  And its now official!  http://www.indyhorrorfilmfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/onadarkandstormynight.jpgSince we brought the Indy Festival “back from the dead” last year (2010) and didn’t have this in place yet, we decided to grandfather in last years winners of both awards as well.  The feature film “Michael Morlock Supernatural World”, won Best Feature Film in 2010 at the IHFF and is now an official selection of the 2011 CHFF.  The feature film “On A Dark And Stormy Night” won Best Feature Film in the 2011 IHFF and is now also an official selection of the 2011 CHFF.  Also included in this years CHFF will be “Compulsion” which won Best Short at IHFF 2011… The Film “Devils Creek” won Best Short in 2010 at the Indy, but has been an official selection for the CHFF already as well.

So if you or your friends missed the Indy Horror Film Festival, or you made it to the festival and want to see these awesome films again, Come on out to The 2011 Chicago Horror Film Festival at the Portage Theater the last weekend of September and see the Best of the Fest one more time!!!

For the most up to date details about The 2011 Chicago Horror Film Festival Go To:

www.ChicagoHorrorFest.com

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!!!

VENDOR SPACE AVAILABLE NOW!!!

FILM SUBMISSIONS OPEN NOW!!!

TRAILER SUBMISSIONS BEING ACCEPTED NOW!!!

SPECIAL GUESTS BEING BOOKED NOW!!!

CHICAGO’S MOST KICK ASS HORROR PARTY COMING TOGETHER NOW!!!

 

Feb 102011
 

Join George Hawrylenko, Mark Schwabe & Psychic Jennifer Zappa from

The Illinois Ghost Hunters for this awesome haunted event!

The Egyptian Theatre has been part of an ongoing paranormal investigation and this is your opportunity to join in on the ghost hunt!  This event is very limited and follows Spook Show Entertainment‘s Indy Horror Film Festival that runs all day long March 5th at the Theatre!  For more information and to get tickets CLICK HERE!

Jan 152011
 

Vendor spots are currently available for the 2011 Indy Horror Film Festival! These spots usually fill up very quickly and are very limited, so if interested its recommended that you act quick! This is a one day film / horror festival at The Egyptian Theatre in Dekalb Illinois on Saturday March 5th 2011. For more Vendor Information and/or to purchase a table visit the website by CLICKING HERE!

Jan 142011
 

The Indy Horror Film Festival

The Indy Horror Film Festival returned from the dead in 2010 with hopes of swallowing mortals whole and filling their souls with a thirst for blood and horror.  In 2011 we return with more gore for your starving hearts!  The Indy Horror Film Festival screens films from all over the world and brings the best of blood, gore and horror to the Egyptian Theatre’s big screen for you to enjoy.

This festival is about more then movies however.  We also feature the “Art of Horror” display, a “Scream Contest”, special guests, on stage performances and even a late night paranormal investigation of the haunted theatre!

Prep work for the 2011 Indy Horror Film Festival is very much underway!  Awesome film submissions this year and other fun events planned as well!  Stay tuned for more information coming soon!

While we have you in the mood for blood, why not help us bring more blood to our facebook page!  Visit the page here: www.facebook.com/IndyHorrorFilmFestival, Like it and then bring more blood by suggesting it to your friends!

Jan 142011
 

The Indy Horror Film Festival

The Indy Horror Film Festival returned from the dead in 2010 with hopes of swallowing mortals whole and filling their souls with a thirst for blood and horror.  In 2011 we return with more gore for your starving hearts!  The Indy Horror Film Festival screens films from all over the world and brings the best of blood, gore and horror to the Egyptian Theatre’s big screen for you to enjoy.

This festival is about more then movies however.  We also feature the “Art of Horror” display, a “Scream Contest”, special guests, on stage performances and even a late night paranormal investigation of the haunted theatre!

Prep work for the 2011 Indy Horror Film Festival is very much underway!  Awesome film submissions this year and other fun events planned as well!  Stay tuned for more information coming soon!

While we have you in the mood for blood, why not help us bring more blood to our facebook page!  Visit the page here: www.facebook.com/IndyHorrorFilmFestival, Like it and then bring more blood by suggesting it to your friends!