[arg_discuss] Personal Influences/Antecedents

[Michael Monello]

Caught up in tons of work and neglected my own question! I'm working  
on a more in-depth answer, but the b-movie producer William Castle is  
a hero of mine. Those of you who lack the appreciation for kitsch that  
I have might know him as the producer of the Roman Polanski film  
ROSEMARY'S BABY, but in his day he was known as the "King of Gimmicks."

Gimmick is an unfortunate word, however, as much of what he did was  
bridge the gap between the safety of the silver screen and the  
audiences lives. His most famous invention was PERCEPTO for his  
Vincent Price film THE TINGLER. The Tingler was a worm that burrowed  
into your spine and would kill you. The only way to kill the worm was  
to scream as loud as you can.

During the film, the Tingler crawls into a movie theater and then the  
screen goes dark. An announcer is heard:

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Tingler has entered this theater! SCREAM,  
SCREAM FOR YOUR LIVES!"

The seats were wired with PERCEPTO, which administered small electric  
shocks to your bottom. He didn't just break the third wall, but turned  
his movie into a physically immersive experience.

He also experimented with interactivity. He shot two endings for his  
film MR. SARDONICUS and before the final reel the audience would vote,  
by holding up a cardboard glow in the dark thumb, whether to spare the  
main character or kill him. The projectionist would play whichever  
reel the audience voted for. There are rumors Castle never filmed the  
ending were Sardonicus lives, banking on audiences' blood thirst.

This is really just a small sampling of the things he did. On another  
film, he actually insured audiences for 1 million dollars against  
death by fright (through Lloyds of London). He dressed ushers up as  
doctors and outside each cinema he parked an ambulance to create the  
feeling that his movie could actually frighten you to death.

Many producers relied on gimmicks in the 50's, but Castle's shows  
always seemed to break down some barrier -- they were more intrinsic  
to the experience of the film in ways that other gimmicks were not.  
John Water's used "Oderama" - scratch and sniff cards - with his film  
Polyester as a tribute to Castle, but Waters' gimmick didn't have that  
same dangerous edge that was a Castle hallmark.

His amazing autobiography, Step Right Up, I'm Gonna Scare The Pants  
Off America, is sadly out of print and goes for stupid amounts of  
money on eBay.

Best,

Michael Monello
Partner, Campfire
62 White Street, 3W
New York, NY 10013
212-612-9600
http://www.campfirenyc.com



On Jan 13, 2008, at 1:31 PM, Michael Monello wrote:


> A question for y'all!

>

> Who/what are the people/projects that have exerted a great influence  

> over your work, but might not be considered part of the ARG or ARG  

> like history to date?

>

> I've been thinking about this a lot after reading a draft white  

> paper that Brian Clark is writing. While I think we can all point to  

> things and people that are commonly considered to have influenced  

> the genre, I'd like to know what or who has particularly inspired  

> YOU. This will likely be a very personal response, but I'm  

> interested to see if there are any common threads to be found.

>

> I'm working up a post for my site on one of many of my idols/sources  

> of inspiration, so I'm going to hold off answering until later  

> tonight but I thought I'd get the ball rolling now!

>

> Best,

>

> Michael Monello

> Partner, Campfire

> 62 White Street, 3W

> New York, NY 10013

> 212-612-9600

> http://www.campfirenyc.com

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