The day I left for Baltimore I called Joe one last time, and
even then he didn't have any sort of definite time schedule. I
thanked him for his assistance, and went on my way. I edited and
added some questions to my list on the plane, where I talked to a
guy named Matt. He was also an “Evil Dead” fan, although he wasn't
going to the convention that weekend. He congratulated me on the
opportunity I was given, and it made me appreciate how lucky I
actually was.
At last I arrived at the Hotel Marriott in
Baltimore, on Saturday, August twenty-fourth, at 10:42 AM. I was
greeted by long lines, and some sneering faces. After I bought my
weekend pass, I just wandered around the dealer's rooms for a few
hours; I knew there was no way to contact Bruce and settle the time
for the interview before his public appearance at the Q&A
session. But I did meet some interesting people: I was standing at a
concession stand and this big black man put his hand on my shoulder
and said, "S'cuse me..."and I immediately recognized him as Ken
Foree, star of George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead." I also shook
hands with Tom Savini, the renowned makeup and special effects
artist. He was a tad strange...I guess I can expect that from a guy
who photographed corpses in Vietnam. I also met the entire cast of
"The Evil Dead,” and got all their autographs. The "Ladies" said I
was cute....
After a while, I just decided to wait in the
room where the Q&A session was to take place, which happened to
be by the pool. There were a few others waiting, and the rest
literally barged into the room about fifteen minutes before the show
started. Bruce was greeted by roaring applause as he approached the
podium (sans microphone). I couldn't believe it; there I was in the
front row, less than five feet away from the man himself. Bruce
first read a small chapter from his book all about handshakes, and
then answered questions. This was my opportunity.
I raised
my hand, and he called on me.
"Um, Mr. Campbell, I spoke to
a Joe Renaldi of St. Martin's Press..."
"You spoke to a Joe
Renaldi of St. Martin's Press, (the publisher of this fine book)..."
"...About interviewing you, and he..."
"Yes, and
what did he say?"
"Um, he said that you would be available
at some time this afternoon."
"Uh-huh. I'll see you later,
all right..."
| |
