"An American Werewolf" in Omaha

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Great to welcome Bruce Crawford back to news radio Elemondon KFAB.
If you're new to the area, you should know Bruce
is a treasurer here. He's a film historian, and I
think it's fair to call you an impresario. Bruce has
been bringing Hollywood classics to Omaha, showing him on the
big screen for years and years and years now and
here comes the next one. Bruce, welcome this one just

(00:22):
in time for Halloween. Huh.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Absolutely can't be better than that for Halloween.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
And I have not seen this one. I've heard of
it an American werewolf in London.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
What's special about this?

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Well, it's a first Academy Award winning film for Special
Makeup Effects where he transforms into a werewolf by legendary
artist Rick Baker designed it first Oscar. For that, it's
a fantastic sequence, amazing even today for three years, for
three years later, it still holds up really well.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
Does this qualify as a classic in the genre? Oh yeah, okay,
big time you. It was a big hit at the
time box office. It's got a big cult following every sense.
When would when did it come out? Eighty one?

Speaker 2 (01:03):
And David Naughton, who was famous to a lot of
us from back in the day. He did the Doctor
Pepper commercials. Jim and I were just doing the song
I'm at Pepper, You're a Pepper. That was David Notton,
and he's gonna be here. He's impear in person exactly.
And also my friend artist designer Jeff Peterson's got actual
replica mold that was used to make the transforming of

(01:24):
the rubber mask and body of the character into the
wherewif Wow, we're gonna have that on this He has
a full rubber tors, not the tors of the shoulders
up the bus to the head face and the fangs
and canna be in the lobby actually from the film.
That'll be cool, won't it.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
Today they just do G C I right or C
G I.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
It doesn't look as good as the actual physical material.
I was actually there on camera, the actual rubber creature
they made. It's fantastic today it still holds up really amazingly.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Well.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
This movie is unique because it's both scary and funny.
John Lennons directed it, so.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
It really is scary, that's it, but but it's funny.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
It's got a lot of humor in it too, very
dark humor.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
Yeah, I guess. October twenty fifth, it's a Friday, Yes, sir,
you're going to put it up on the big screen
over at the Omaha Community Playhouse.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Our fifth event there, Yes, beautiful venue.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
Yeah, and how many how many of these? Now?

Speaker 2 (02:16):
This is, this is fifty one, this is nineteen ninety two. Yeah,
someday I gotta get a real life.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
This is beautiful.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
We want people to come and come on Halloween costumes
for fun, please do so.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
It comes a wordlf, How much heartburn do you have
in these events when when you've got you've got a
principle in the in the in the movie, whether it's
on screen or in a production. Sure committed to coming here,
yes sir, but you got to make sure they actually
do it, because you know what, some people don't just

(02:50):
they just don't show up.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
It's having a couple of times. Yeah, you never knew
it because we did something else. Wow, it's always a
good time. It's a lot of work. Yet it's stresses
have his driving over here at o'clock in the morning.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
The traffic's terrible, it is, isn't it? So? What about tickets?

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Tickets are thirty bucks. You can get him by going
to Omaha. It's benefit for them while Parks Foundation www
dot Omwhall Parks Foundation dot org. If the link's not
up now, it will be up today. Or you'd also
call four O two seven zero eight zero zero seven five.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
There'll be some tickets.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Whatever's left at the door that night, okay, whatever's there
becoming Halloween costume if you.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Want for fun? Oh yeah, sure, why not? Says he
gonna be He'll do a Q and A.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
Do a Q and AM stage before the film, and
then during the film and after he'll be in the
lobby autographing. You can post for a picture with him
and get autography I think is a package deal. You
can also pose with the busted shoulders of the of
the wherewith monster too.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
In the lobby.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
It'll be a lot of fun for people. Halloween theme,
big time fun.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
Do you have off the top? Not to put you
on the spot here, but do you have a favorite
horror movie?

Speaker 2 (03:58):
Well, Hitchcock's Psycho I think still ranks at the top
for me. Yeah, it's scary, it's still scary, frightening film.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
It is more. Psycho is a good title for that
one too. Because it really got in your head.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
Well, of course, Bernard Hermer's music made that movie. Without
the music, you don't even have a movie that's shrieking stuff.
The whole world knows the music. But then the dude
they do the.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
Movie made the shower scene forget about.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
It, exactly. Yeah, riginally Hitchcock didn't even want music in
the shower scene. How stupid was that?

Speaker 1 (04:26):
Really?

Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yes, true it had been a big bus. If that
had been the case, it changed everything. But the music
in this film too. Mircan wolflind is by the great
Elmer Bernstein, who believe it or not, did The Ten
Commandment's Back in nineteen fifty five. Then he did American
Wolf London nineteen eighty one. What a range.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
Wow, no kidding, no kidding, Well, this will be fun,
they always are. What's the capacity over there at the
placest six hundred, six hundred, So do get your tickets now. Uh,
they're on sale right now beginning today.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yes, and the website you can get to omwhal Parks
Foundation dot org. But if the links out there yet,
it will be some time today because it takes some
time to adjust that. You can call seven seven four
two seven zero zero zero seven five and get more
information as well.

Speaker 1 (05:08):
You know what I think might be the scariest movie
for you for me. And it wasn't even a Holly
I mean it was Hollywood but it was made for TV.
Oh yeah, it was a Stephen King Salem's Lot.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
Oh that's scary.

Speaker 1 (05:23):
Hello, you sleep with the lights on for a while
after that one.

Speaker 2 (05:27):
A good friend of mine, Craig Ruden, became a famous
makeup effects artist too in Hollywood. He did that creature
that that lost for all two looking vampire guy he
did for that yes, back in nineteen seventy nine. That's
dating us.

Speaker 1 (05:40):
Well, that's a frightening movie. That was David Soul and
James mace Mason.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
Remember remember the vampire kid comes up to the window
floating creepy stuff, wasn't it?

Speaker 1 (05:52):
Hey? I got an email from Patrick here. Would you
ask Bruce how soon he plans to bring Breaking Away
to because he said he told me that he would.
But I'd like to know.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
A whim Todry Joseph, he's been after me for twenty
years ago.

Speaker 1 (06:07):
You don't have that one scheduled yet? Not yet? No?
All right, maybe someday. Great to see you. Thanks so
m you send me on guys. Bruce Crawford here on
kfab's morning News