The biggest news of all, Bert gives more details on his autobiography, and more!
Mood:  lazy

The biggest update ever to our Fanpage has finally arrived!

Well, it took alot of time, and alot of hard work, but we finally got posted one of the biggest additions to our site: a PDF file containing a copy of the Final Draft for Village of the Giants. 

Like our last post, this could not have been achieved without Village of the Giants  co-star Hank Jones, who loaned us his script to copy. While some would have been happy enough to put this script on a photocopier, I wanted to go one better: transcribe it word-for-word, and make it as close to the original copy as possible.

I went so far as to find a typewriter font, and attempted to space and indent just like that script. The final draft I typed out is about 98% close to Hank's copy, with the only major differences regarding some typos, and the line and page indents and spacing. You'll find a link to the script on our Information page. Please be advised that you'll need Adobe Reader in order to read the PDF file.

I've probably thanked Hank 10+ times for all his help, both with his interview and contributions to our page, but let's just say it again: Thanks Hank!

Hank speaks as well!

Along with providing us with his shooting script, we've also posted our interview with Hank. Hank tells of the times he had on set, as well as the friendships he formed on the film. 

Bert provides more information regarding his upcoming autobiography!

We recently received the following image to the right, and more information from Mr. Bert I Gordon, regarding the upcoming release for his autobiography.

The cover for his book was designed by Stan Adams, the administrator of the Monster Bash convention that takes place yearly in Pittsburgh, PA (Bert and his daughter Susan have attended previously). The painting in the background was painted by Lorraine Bush, and depicts Glen Manning (played by Duncan Perkin) in the film War of the Colossal Beast.

According to Bert, the paperback version of this book will be released this fall, with a special edition hardcover version to be released at next year's Monster Bash convention in June. We'll keep you posted when more information becomes available. Thanks for keeping us in the loop regarding your recent projects, Bert! Always a pleasure.

Where do rumors get started?

Throughout film history, there are all sorts of stories that come about, from strange flubs to deleted scenes. Some may recall the rumor of an actor playing a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz who was said to have hung himself in the background of a film scene.

While that rumor was debunked with film analysis, a rumor circulated up and down the small fan channels for Village of the Giants for many years. This rumor concerns the disappearance of the Sheriff's deputy, when he doesn't appear after the first confrontation of the giants in the park.

The rumor says that the deputy was to be stepped on by the giants, giving way to his disappearance. However, after perusing the final draft of the script, I found no indication of this scene. My guess is this rumor may have been confused by someone who read how Rick in the final draft, smashed the Sheriff's car. Some may have assumed the deputy was inside, and that's how his life was ended. And of course, some may have assumed that all the giants talk of stomping on people finally came to pass.

I would like to know where this rumor first started, and find out where it came from. At this point, I'd say the final draft of the script can put the rumor to rest, but I feel there will be giant/giantess and foot fetishists who will still insist that this 'rumored death' was intended to take place.

Recent site updates

Along with the addition of the script, there have been some minor additions:

- Information regarding H.G.Wells' story The Food of the Gods has been updated in the Comparisons area, with a more thorough summary, and a newer title.

- In the Production Materials area, I've set up an analysis of the scenes that were on the production call sheet that Hank Jones provided.

Our Fanpage interviews actor Hank Jones, and much more!
Mood:  incredulous
Now Playing: Amazing news from the world of Village of the Giants

Actor Hank Jones chats with us!

Searching online last week, I was amazed to come across Mr. Hank Jones. Hank played the role of Chuck, one of Tommy Kirk's friends in the film. His scenes included the 'scramble to get the goo' after the teens steal it, to discussing with Mike the plan to rescue Nancy and the Sheriff's daughter.

Hank provided us with some wonderful insight into his career, which also included a stint recording music for RCA Records,  and his career choice in the field of genealogy. Hank was also very kind in providing us with some articles regarding his work on Village of the Giants, including the first item we've seen regarding the production: a copy of part of the production call sheet when he went to work the day of May 11, 1965! 

Look for Hank's information to be added to our Interviews section in the next day or so. We're also updating several other areas, and will include Hank's website in our Links page. But that's not all. Hank is also providing us with something that has eluded me and several others for many years. When we have more information, we'll share it here.

 

RIP Jim Begg.

While looking around online, I was surprised to see some information that had eluded my eyes for over a year: Jim Begg, who played Fatso in Village of the Giants, passed away on February 15, 2008. Hank did tell us more about his passing, and some can be found in his interview.  I never did have the chance to speak with Jim Begg, but along with his role in VOTG, I always remembered him in another beach film of the era, Catalina Caper, which also starred another VOTG actor: Tommy Kirk. Rest in peace, Jim.

 

More updates made to the site

Along with last week's updates, this week's also brought even more items to our Information section. These include:

-articles from the magazine Variety. These include information regarding Bert I Gordon's deal with Embassy Pictures, along with the talk of a possible sequel at that time.  We also found the article that was published, referring to the theft of some footage that Bert cut due to the MPAA's objections. And on a bigger note, a copy of the review of the film done by Variety was also found and posted.

-articles and information were also found from some newspapers from Chicago, Illinois. There's even an image of an advertisement for Bert and several of the actors to appear at an autograph signing at the United Artists Theater in downtown Chicago.

 

 

 

Mood:  hungry
Now Playing: Updates and new Information!

The following information was updated:

*The inclusion of the soundtrack for Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof was added to the Music section, as Jack Nitzsche's The Last Race was included for that film's title theme.

*Several of the crew bios were updated.

*New photos were added to the scrapbook section in Gail Gerber's fan gallery, which now contains stills from the film The Girls on the Beach. Two banners were also added for the Elvis Presley films Gail starred in, which can lead viewers to Amazon.com where they can be purchased.

 

 New images from Boxoffice Magazine:

I was amazed to find during my internet searches, a site dubbed issuu.com, that has scans of magazines. One of those magazines was titled Boxoffice, in which one issue contained a 2-page spread advertising Village of the Giants in September of that year. Of great amazement was an article in an October issue, that told of a promotional tour that Bert and several of the cast members took. Bert had told me about this in the interview I conducted with him, and it was neat to seethis chronicled, as well as a photo with the article. This article, along with a larger version of the 2-page ad to the left, can be found in the Publicity section of the Information page.

 Another issue I found also contained more information regarding the making of Village of the Giants that year. In March of 1965, the same magazine published an article that told of Bert's plans to begin filming, as well as giving the production value for this film. This article can also be found in the Publicity section.

Mood:  quizzical
Now Playing: Bert gives us a peek, and some other updates to the site

Gordon's got us Covered!

I spoke again with Mr. Bert I Gordon, and he resent an image regarding the cover of his upcoming Autobiography, which you can see to the left. Nice job, Bert. As explained before, can't wait to read it.

Spruced up the ol' homestead

Well, as not a whole lot had been done to the site, I went in over the last week and updated a few things. Here are some recent changes made to the Information section:

1. In the Publicity section, cleared up a color issue with the Movie Trailer graphic, added a better link feature to the audio clips of the film's promotional materials, and added a graphic that appeared in a TV Guide regarding the film.

2. In Home Video, added an image of the Beta-Max release box, and the second DVD release from MGM, pairing the film with Bert I Gordon's Attack of the Puppet People.

3. In Merchandise, I added a new image regarding the film having a Blu-Ray release, and the idea of the film having been made into a game for the Atari 2600 video game console.

4. In Name Brands, the mystery over what type of record player Mike and Nancy were using has finally been solved! Special thanks goes to River Huntingdon who provided more information about the player, and sent us some photos of his same model, though with a red/white color combination.

5. In Vehicles, we have found a 2-page bit from Barris' Kustom City, about their work on the film, including a special stunt during the hot rod confrontation with Fred.

6. I reorganized some of the information under the Effects section, added some more pictures, and effects information regarding some props using special platforms and wire-work.

Mood:  lazy
Now Playing: Talking to Bert I Gordon, Gail Gerber's book, and a couple images

Well, it's been a little over 2 years, and news has been a little slow. So, here's some news tidbits.

 

Talking to The Notorious B.I.G.

 I was surprised recently to receive an email from Mr. Bert I Gordon. I helped provide Bert with an image or two for his upcoming Autobiography. The cover looks nice, and it will be interesting to read what Bert has to say about some of his other films, such as Tormented, which was one of the first films of his I saw before Village of the Giants. I'll be sure to let everyone know once his book has been published.

Gail Gerber's latest book release with Tom Lisanti

The Unofficial Village of the Giants webpage owes some gratitude to Mr. Tom Lisanti, whose books on 60's starlets helped us to find information in regards to several of the film's starlets. One starlet who stands out is Gail Gerber, of whom we have honored with a fan gallery. A few months ago, Gail and Tom finally completed their project: The memoirs of Gail's time with Terry Southern, the author of the book Candy, and writer of such films as Easy Rider & Dr. Strangelove.

 I have currently ordered Gail and Tom's book, and look forward to reading more about one of my favorite actresses from Village of the Giants.

Comments from Village of the Giants' screenwriter

Through the power of Google Books,  I found an interview of Alan Caillou, the screenwriter for Village of the Giants. You can find out more information by visiting the following link: http://books.google.com/books?id=tMBYAIrVGNgC&pg=RA1-PA49&lpg=RA1-PA49&dq=village+of+the+giants+screenplay&source=bl&ots=R-WwZEShF5&sig=L-0_Sj4TWHbDmzokLkxXMlHVE1Y&hl=en&ei=9vJ4SrHdA4ndlAfP8oCZBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10#v=onepage&q=&f=false , which is an excerpt from the book
Science Fiction and Fantasy Flashbacks by Tom Weaver.

 3 New Keybook Images

 I recently uploaded 3 new images to our Photos section. One of interest is a caricature of several characters from the film. The piece was done by artist Sam Norkin, which takes some visual cues from the artistic stylings of caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.

 

Mood:  caffeinated
Now Playing: Of Fanart, Glamour Girls, and the End of the Road.

VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS FANART

 I'm a bit of an internet junkie, but usually, the internet doesn't provide everything one is looking for. One such case was my search for some good fanart of Village of the Giants. Perusing through DeviantArt one day, I was shocked to find some Mystery Science Theater 3000 art by
*jbwarner86. Along with some WB-inspired art, he had also done a great piece that you can see a preview of here (thanks to *jbwarner86 for letting me post it).

The image contains some nice cartoon likenesses of Tim Rooney, Beau Bridges, Joy Harmon, Tommy Kirk, Charla Doherty & 'Ronnie' Howard. I have to say, that other than the little image on the Aunt Joy's Cakes site, this is probably the only other caricature I've ever seen of Harmon. Thank you *jbwarner86, for making us laugh about love...again. :)

You can see the full image at *jbwarner86's page, by clicking on the image above.

 

The Glitz and the Glamour

 Sometimes, life gets away from me, and I lose track of time. Unfortunately, I didn't get around to mentioning the release of Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood when it debuted in early October.

 Our good buddy Tom Lisanti has oublished a new book with over 75 profiles, including our very own Vicki London. With Glamour Girl, Tom has interviewed each of the lovely giantesses from Village of the Giants.  Tom's latest book has also garnered praise, such as this:

"...a fascinating look at many of Hollywood’s most beautiful and overlooked talents." - Kimberly Lindbergs, Cinebeats

For more information, please be sure to visit Tom's webpage at http://www.sixtiescinema.com 

 

Gail goes back to college in her Fan Gallery

And on a final note, I'm pleased to say that I have finally been able to procure images from all of Gail Gerber's onscreen film appearances. Last month, I was able to find a copy of The End of The Road, a film starring Stacy Keach and James Earl Jones. The film was co-written and produced by Gail's friend Terry Southern, who also wrote Dr Strangelove & Easy Rider. A very powerful film. It's so powerful, that I'm not sure I could ever write a summary that could do it justice. The film will really make you think on several levels.

In the film, Stacy Keach's character teaches a college class, of which Gail is one of the students. Though during one lesson, Gail is more enamored with rolling a joint, than listening to Keach's lecture.

You can find more images of Gail's appearance in The End of The Road by clicking on the photo above.

Gail's fan gallery gets a slight makeover
Mood:  cheeky

Well, it's so odd, that inspiration can strike at the least likely moment. When I got home tonight, I was looking over the publicity shot that Tom Lisanti sent me, which depicted Gail and two other girls from the Elvis Presley film, 'Girl Happy.'

However, I was faced with a strange problem-where to place this great color photo (one of the few actual color publicity stills I've seen of Gail) without ruining the design asthetic. And then it hit me: let's create a scrapbook! And so, the current images next to Gail's filmography have now been replaced with the cover to the newest feature to Gail's fan gallery.

I designed a nice little cover using Photoshop (btw, the dark pink and black colors are in homage to my high school's colors) , and some inner pages that can be accesed once you click on the book. The pages are layed out as if someone had saved the items in a scrapbook, and typed out the information, and then taped them to the pages. Having had a scrapbook, it's easy to build from experience.

And finally, I went through and added two more banners into the site, setting it up so that each page (that can) will have a unique banner. Each one of course, features a quote from Gail Gerber, Joy Harmon, and Tisha Sterling, that were featured in Tom Lisanti's books. But wait a minute, you may be thinking, what about our gal pal Vicki London? Well, Tom has finally completed the circle, and Vicki will be featured in an interview in Tom's upcoming book, Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood. Once I get a chance to review Tom's book, I figure Vicki will join our three other girls in the banner ads, and then all will be well.

The King Returns to DVD-and so does Gail Gerber
Mood:  cool

Hello,

I apologize as news has gotten relatively slow since my explosion of interviews earlier this year. However, for those who are fans of Gail Gerber, two of the films she starred in have been rereleased (one of them for the first time on Region 1 DVD).

Earlier this month, Warner Home Video released several major titles featuring the films of Elvis Presley. Gail Gerber starred in two of these titles: the 1965 film Girl Happy, and then later that year in Harum Scarum. Both are widely available, and can be found at local DVD stores, and online at places such as Amazon.com.

Special thanks to our good friend Tom Lisanti at Sixties Cinema for supplying this image of Gail. The full image will be added shortly to Gail's Fan Gallery.

Updates to begin pouring in (Part 4)-Joe Turkel's interview is now up.
Mood:  caffeinated
Hello again,

Today, I post the last of my (current) interviews to the site. When I attended the Hollywood Autograph & Collector's Show last month, I got to ask a few questions with Joe Turkel. Joe has appeared in 3 of Bert I Gordon's films, and it was nice to be able to ask him a few questions about his role in Village of the Giants. You can read Joe's Q&A in the 'Interviews' section of the 'Information' link.

I've also gone in and alphabetized the folder images in the 'Interviews' page. I plan to see if I can get ahold of several more people to interview in the coming weeks. If any new interviews come up, I'll post the info here in the Blog.

Updates to begin pouring in (Part 3)-Bert I Gordon's interview is now up.
Mood:  lazy
Now Playing: Plus, Quentin Tarantino brings Nitzsche back.
Greetings,

I apologize as it has been awhile. But as they say: good things are worth waiting for. Today, I have finally posted my Q&A with Village of the Giants creator, Bert I Gordon. You will find it in the Interviews section of our Information page.

In mid-February, I journeyed out to California, and did an interview with Bert during the Hollywood Collectors & Celebrities Show. It was a pleasant experience, and was great to finally meet Bert I Gordon, and his daughter, Susan.

While I was there, I also asked a few questions to Joe Turkel. Joe's Q&A session will be coming soon as well.

On another note, I found some interesting news, from Solace in Cinema.

To some of us, Jack Nitzsche's music was a staple of Village of the Giants, and none moreso than his deep-bass rhythms that accompanied the shimmying and shaking of the giant teenagers as they danced in the Hainesville park. The track was titled The Last Race, and has been chosen as one of several tracks from the 60's and 70's that Quentin Tarantino will be using in the soundtrack to his next film.

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez are combining forces to produce a double-feature film titled Grindhouse, which will open on April 6. The film is an homage to the double-features of the 70's and 80's. Tarantino's half of the double-bill will focus on a film titled Death Proof, in which an insane stuntman stalks and kills beautiful women with his car. Given that summary, it makes perfect sense for Nitzsche's song The Last Race to be included in the soundtrack.

The soundtrack will be released on April 3, with a total of 16 music tracks.