INT: Rod Gudino

Last Updated on July 28, 2021


The Arrow Interviews Rod Gudino


I’ve
always been proud of being Canadian– we’re such great freakin’
people! But when genre mag "
Rue
Morgue
" hit the
scene, I felt even prouder! Finally, a Canadian rag that celebrated
the genre with class and quality! The man we all have to thank is
Rue Morgue head honcho Rod Gudino. And now with the "
Rue
Morgue Festival of Fear
"
heading our way from August 27-29, 2004, we have even more reason to
feel "happy, happy, joy, joy"! I spoke to Rod to get some info on
what, to my knowledge, will be the first such major Canadian Horror
Convention ever and here’s what he had to to say!

ARROW:
What’s your favorite horror movie?

ROD: I honestly
don’t have one. The last movie I saw that blew me away was
IRREVERSIBLE by Gaspar Noe. I really liked THE LAST HORROR MOVIE by
Julian Richards as well.

ARROW:
What would you say is the most fulfilling aspect of your job as
Editor in Chief of Rue Morgue Magazine?

ROD:
I guess it’s the prospect of turning Rue Morgue into a quality force
of horror entertainment – in movies, publishing, music, maybe
theatre too. I guess the possibility that I can make everything I
ever believed about horror (ie. that it is not just about popcorn
movies) into a reality is very fulfilling.

ARROW:
Rue Morgue is now expanding its claws by launching a Horror
Convention named

“Rue
Morgue Festival of Fear”
. What prompted you to take that
route?

ROD:
Well, it was a bunch of things. The timing was right and the people
who approached us to make it a reality (Hobby Star Marketing) are
very cool and had the right mindset. Really it was more a matter of
seizing the moment than anything else. But I’ve always been urged by
Canadian fans to start a horror con here and their persistence kept
me on track, so I’d like to say they had a part in it too.   

ARROW:
What measures will you and your team take to make sure the
convention is a pleasant one?

ROD:
We’re going to focus on the quality; not too many vendors but the
right ones; not too many celebrities, but the right ones, that kind
of thing. Having said that, this year will be our first time out, so
it’s going to be a learning curve and, hopefully, the fans will be
kind to us as we find our legs.

ARROW:
The guest of honor will be horror maestro George Romero. How much
access will us fans have to the man?

ROD:
A lot. George will be doing autograph sessions as well as an
intimate and interactive for at least two out of the three days. I’m
trying to make it so that every fan has a chance to shake hands with
the legend.

ARROW: I
hear the convention will also put out “exclusive parties”? What type
of shin dig can we expect? Any strippers? (I had to ask)

ROD:
If you’re interested in volunteering for a striptease, we can
definitely discuss that.

ARROW:
Kool! I’ll have my agent call ya! (i.e. my mother)

ROD:
There will be a lot of event parties going on, given that the Rue
Morgue Festival will be taking place alongside comic, science
fiction and anime expos. I’m just coordinating the details now, but
definitely Nash the Slash will be performing live to the film
Nosferatu on Friday night, which is going to be a ton of fun. The
rest will be announced closer to the date.

ARROW:
Will just anybody be able to attend these soirees? Or is there some
VIP tag we need to attain?

ROD:
I’ll know the answer to this question in a month or so, so hang in
there…!

ARROW:
How big and varied do you expect the dealer room to be?

ROD:
There are a total of 350 dealers for the entire expo. Of those,
about 50 will be exclusively horror and in the Rue Morgue area. The
dealer room is fairly large and will be able to accommodate everyone
and leave room for autograph ups.

ARROW:
Having had bad experiences when getting autographs at other
conventions (cough, cough…Creationet…cough…cough), what
actions are you taking to make sure that getting a signature off a
star won’t be World War 3? 


ROD:
The Rue Morgue Festival of
Fear will be taking place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre,
the country’s largest exhibitor room and this is exclusively to
ensure people will be able to get to the stars with minimum hassle.

ARROW:
Will the autograph sessions take place in a different room than the
“Guest Speaking” area

(cough,
cough…Creationet again…cough…cough)
?

ROD:
Yes, absolutely.

ARROW:
THANK YOU! I’ve also heard that film screenings will be part of the
festivities. Care to name some titles that will screen at the
convention?

ROD:
Actually, I’m just getting together the list of films which will be
shown at the Festival and I’m waiting to confirm so I can’t give you
any scoops at this time. However, keep an eye out on the

Rue Morgue website
for updates;
we’ll have it up there soon!

ARROW: So
far, guests of the likes of Bill Moseley, Doug Bradley, John Kassir
and Tom Savini have been confirmed. Any other names have been
recently confirmed? Who else are you going for?

ROD:
Douglas Buck (Cutting Moments) and Larry Fessenden (Habit) will also
be there, as will creepy multimedia artist Vincent Marcone from
MyPetSkeleton. I’m waiting to hear back from a cult figure who
hasn’t been in the country for fifteen years, but can’t really leak
the name at this point. Keep your fingers crossed.

ARROW: I
heard a while back that Rue Morgue wanted to eventually expand to
"film production". Where is that at right now? Is it still one of
your goals?

ROD:
Absolutely! We’re definitely moving in that direction, only it’s a
big step and I want to make sure I do it right. I can tell you I’ve
been writing scripts and I have a ton of submissions on my desk as
well. Economically, there are some chips that have to be set up as
well, but we’re working dutifully on them. I want to mention too
that films are only part of what I see in Rue Morgue’s future: look
for Rue Morgue Radio coming soon to our website which is getting an
entire overhaul over the next few months. If the Rue Morgue Festival
of Fear does well, we may expand it, so the sky is the limit. Hope
to meet you in August!






I’d
like to thank Rod for dropping by the site and would like to wish
him the best and a Molson for the upcoming "Rue Morgue Festival of
Fear"!

I’ll try to be there with bells on
and clothes off! VIA RUE MORGUE!

Source: Arrow in the Head

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