Dana Gould, Fred Olen Ray, and Bob Blackburn join me to talk about one of the most misunderstood and unfairly maligned filmmakers of all time, Edward D. Wood, Jr. in celebration of what would have been Ed's 100th birthday. I could not have gotten a better group of people to talk to about this topic as Bob has compiled books of Ed's essays and short stories and has just released a book about his friendship with Kathy Wood, Ed's widow. Dana Gould has produced Ed's unproduced scripts and has staged readings of Plan 9 From Outer Space every year for some time now. A very young Fred Olen Ray commissioned an original screenplay from Ed when he first came to Hollywood.

Together, we talk about the movies, the writings, and the man, though we occasionally stray a little off topic. Listeners are bound to come away from this one with a completely different view of a man most people only know through the Tim Burton biopic. This episode was a complete joy for me and I think you will all feel the same.

Bob Blackburn runs the Ed Wood, Jr. Facebook group which can be found here. He also just released his memoir, Kathy Wood and I which you can order from one of the best bookstores around, Irvington Vinyl and Books.

Fred Olen Ray's new book, Hellbent for Hollywood: A Director's Journey, can be found here, and he also runs the incredibly deep catalogue of Retromedia.

Dana Gould can be found here where you can not only find merch, but also his fantastic podcast, The Dana Gould Hour. Also, be sure to check out Hangin' with Dr. Z.

A Ben Evans Film is a short movie that my son and I worked on back in 2019. We met and became friends with many of the movie's crew and talent, including one of the directors, James Henry Hall, and the star, Sky Elobar. Tody, James and Sky join me to tell me about their work in trying to make a feture length version of the movie happen.

Based on a story by Josh Malerman (Birdbox), A Ben Evans Film follows an obsessed amateur filmmaker determined to fulfill his cinematic vision, even though his two main stars, his own parents, are now dead. Both horrifying and funny, the short movie brings viewers into the world of Ben's madness.

To contribute, reach out to Anthony DiMaria at, anthony@odd-galaxy.com

See the short:

Vimeo

YouTube

Find out more about James here.

Find out more about Sky here.

Today I get to talk to one of my favorite artists and pop culture\sleaze encyclopedia, Mitch O'Connell. From a very early age, Mitch knew he wanted to be an artist, and his love of watching The Ghoul and Svenghoulie became his muse. From the utterly hilarious to the outright bizarre, if it's kitschy or cult, Mitch is likely going to draw it.

He tells me about being a teenager travelling alone to NYC to schlep his portfolio to comic book publishers, magazines, and anywhere else he thought might need art, all while taking time out to avoid the rats in the movie theaters of Time's Square. He tells me about dropping out of art school, because he had begun working professionally, which was way better. We talk Tor Johnson, John Waters, and the spritual joy and comfort we both find in the cheapest of B-movies. He also tells me about his wonderfully infamous Time's Square billboard mocking the then Presidential candidate Trump.

Find out more about Mitch here:

Mitch O'Connell

Etsy

Threadless

Instagram

You can also hit up my friend Elysia at Irvington Vinyl and Books. She can get you a copy of any of Mitch's books, and you'll be supporting one of the last independent book stores in Indiana.