Days Of The Dead FRIGHT NIGHT PANEL!
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One of the highlights at the 2012 Days of the Dead in Chicago was the FRIGHT NIGHT reunion! Thanks to our friends, Ron & Angela (Don & Bunny) here are some juicy blood-thirsty details of the film revealed from cast members Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Jonathan Stark, and Stephen Geoffries..
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*SONY now owns the rights to FRIGHT NIGHT with no plans for a 25th Anniversary issue w/commentary. It will be up to the fans to lobby for it!
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*The cast had a two-week rehearsal period prior to shooting. This was unusual for a film but indicative of director, Tom Holland’s, meticulous pre-planning!
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*Chris Sarandon brought some of his own ideas into the movie. The first was his character eating an apple. Sarandon felt that since fruit bats are so common, the scene would indicate his vampire having fruit bat lineage. Another touch suggested by him was the portrait of Bearse’s character – connecting the past & present while also offering his character a human side.
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*Roddy McDowell was a suppository of Hollywood stories and often shared them with the cast. He identified with his has-been horror host character as his career had also been in decline during this period.
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*The goal of FRIGHT NIGHT was to feature the humor of LOVE AT FIRST BITE while staying true to the genre.
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*With the exception of McDowell and Sarandon, FRIGHT NIGHT was the rest of the cast’s first venture into film-making.
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*Jonathan Stark still has the skull that dripped ooze at the end of FRIGHT NIGHT.
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*Film-making was often unpleasant for the cast, primarily due to excessive smoke used on the set and the contact lens.’
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*Original cast has mixed feelings regarding the 2011 remake. Sarandon had made a cameo but stated that the McDowell character did not work nearly as well as the original.
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*Sarandon has a coffin-shaped box complete with stake and cross, dated with FRIGHT NIGHT’s release.
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*Geoffries still has his character’s “upper fangs” from filming.
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*Bearse still had kept her prop “breasts” and auctioned them recently at a convention.
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So where are they now?
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Chris Sarandon: Moved to New York and is active in both Broadway and off-Broadway shows.
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William Ragsdale: Has moved to Arkansas and is performing in Woman in Black. Has appeared in many TV series this past few years, including CSI.
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Amanda Bearse: Continues to work in Hollywood, though now behind the camera. Her proudest achievement is her daughter, Zoe.
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Jonathan Stark: Had been working with Jim Belushi as a writer for his show, “The World according to Jim.”
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Stepehn Geoffries: Works in theater and is currently nominated for a Tony Award.
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Angela would like to thank Days of the Dead organizer, Adolfo Dorto, making this fun reunion possible…the Daves would like to thank Angela for her coverage!
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Angela Urban/Dave Fuentes & David Albaugh edit.
Great film! Watched it again recently, and I agree with Sarandon, the Peter Vincent character didn’t work for the re-make. But I didn’t care much for the re-make, anyway. The original was far superior.
December 9, 2012 at 10:22 am
Thanks for the comment Lisa! There is definitely something special about the original!
December 10, 2012 at 9:33 pm
Oh gosh… Did someone really refer to Roddy McDowell as a “suppository” of Hollywood stories? Guess that ranks right up there with the famous Star Trek blooper…
That little gaffe aside, looks and sounds like it was a great cast reunion. The original Fright Night has long been my very favorite vampire film, and I feel did the same thing for vampires as American Werewolf in London did for werewolves, adding a welcome mix of humor and horror into the respective genres. An instant modern classic.
December 10, 2012 at 8:26 am
Thanks for the comment Richard! It’s definitely a golden nugget in the “bowels” of horror.
December 11, 2012 at 6:53 pm