I Dig Crazy Flicks with @CatBusRuss
Bonus: UI-Con: Eighties Movie Podcaster in an Anime World
CatBusRuss and "Couchman" Andrew Tiede may have felt like Frank Dux and Ray Jackson walking into Kowloon for the Kumite when they arrived at the UI-Con. There was too much anime cosplay to feel like they belonged. Would they need to demonstrate the Dim Mak to show they were the right kind of nerds?
For those who feel this description is not appropriate since anime is not from Hong Kong, when CatBus was collecting tapes, the plot of "Bloodsport" was used for Episode 3 of "Street Fighter II V", an anime inspired by the video game.
They both visited the UI-Con's website. The top photo is an image of the exterior of the Illinois Conference Center above a header of, "Champaign-Urbana's Anime and Comic Convention". Anime is first on the call sheet, but comic con led them to both think that you need not be an otaku to feel welcomed. Thankfully, it ended up being true, but there was an initial culture shock for two 40-somethings in Midwestern nerdy garb.
When it came to panels not centered around Japanese animation, I Dig Crazy Flicks may have been the only representatives at the convention. Russ and Andrew were there to pitch the concept of "Ninety For Chill", determine which movies from 1986 were RAD and which ones were BAD, and to further determine who was the greatest action star from a time where we watched violence for the sake of violence, 1985. Without a focus on Japanimation, would anyone come to these panels?
With Ally Higgins coming to be a cheerleader, they were at least going to put on a good show. And maybe buy some fan art to expand to their culture.
Aside from cool trinkets on the floor, CatBus was introduced to "Off the Balcony Podcast". They offered up a great panel about lost media that anyone can connect with (anime being featured on every other slide), but they also brought out the anime-themed conversations to demand attention. Attention that also attracted legendary anime translator David Fleming and his awesome laser disc collection.
Our two podcasters left having a great time. Russ even thinks it was a successful effort. You will be able to listen to these panels in the upcoming weeks to be the judge.
But to further focus on CRAZY FLICKS, CatBusRuss has attached a review for another Lamberto Bava (Director of "Demons" and "Demons 2") film, Blastfighter. It is essentially "First Blood" exploitation but with box art that suggest its an Italian apocalypse film. Chekhov's gun has nothing on what Jake "Tiger" Sharp is packing.
Episode 255 - UI-Con 2026: 1986 - RAD Movies or BAD Movies
For CatBusRuss and "Couchman" Andrew Tiede, UI-Con truly kicked of for them at 8 pm on Friday night. The convention had taken a break from panels to let the visitors kick it to Otter Chaos and to prepare for the anime-themed rave. In other words, if you were there to be nerdy, the evening panels were where you wanted to be. Even if some may have lacked that Japanimation flair.
This was "I Dig Crazy Flicks" debut for a new panel, "1986: RAD Movies or BAD Movies". CatBus had listed the similar movies and Andrew brought the box office stats to see what audiences thought at the time. It was a time where the important thing was to be first to a new film premise.
Some would say one flick would be a blockbuster while the other a mockbuster. This panel takes you back to when there was no direct-to-video market for studios to spend little on a VHS tape to capitalize on a major motion picture. It was a time to go big or go home.
Some match ups included in the panel are: "Iron Eagle" vs. "Top Gun", "An American Tail" vs. "The Great Mouse Detective", and a Robot Triple-Threat Match. Was it the audiences who won or was it just Steve Guttenberg?
The two panelists/podcasters' first panel was 4 pm's "Ninety for Chill: The Panel". With its poor attendance (At least the staff found it cool.), the two got to talk shop about their remaining two panels. Here is where they realized that "Big Trouble in Little China" may have had a similar battle in 1986 with "The Golden Child". To be ready for the next time Russ runs this panel, he gave Eddie Murphy's Chinese dark magic adventure a watch.
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