Don Coscarelli and Reggie Bannister to appear at Egyptian Theatre

Don Coscarelli and Reggie Bannister will be appearing at the Egyptian Theater for a free screening of Bubba Ho-Tep as part of Beyond Fest 2018. The director will also be signing copies of his book, True Indie: Life and Death in Filmmaking.

Praising Bubba

Don Coscarelli is one of the most beloved directors working in the horror genre today. Known for his fantastic and disturbing Phantasm series, he is perhaps one of the most unique voices in the business.

However, in 2003, he released a small indie feature based on a Joe Lansdale short story that would turn out to be a perfect blend of a B movie monster film and a touching treatise on aging and relevancy. That film was Bubba Ho-Tep.

With brilliant source material, a knock-out script written by Coscarelli himself and an inspired pairing of actors this endeavor should be shown to all aspiring filmmakers as an example of moviemaking done the right way.

Bubba Ho-Tep focuses on the latter half of Elvis Presley’s life as he resides in an East Texas nursing home. As it turns out, most of the staff believes him to be Sebastian Haff, a former Elvis impersonator. Although, that is not the case.

Years ago, Elvis switched places with Haff so he could escape the pitfalls of fame and fortune. After breaking his hip during a performance, he was sent to recuperate at the Shady Rest home where it soon become apparent that he is dealing with some other maladies as well (namely cancer on his penis).

Abandoned with a rapidly diminishing sense of self-worth, the King becomes reinvigorated when he teams up with JFK to thwart a re-animated evil mummy that preys on the elderly by extracting their souls from bodily orifices.

What makes this effort resonate 15 years later is Don Coscarelli’s direction and the chemistry between the lead actors Bruce Campbell (Elvis) and Ossie Davis (JFK). Campbell who is known for his quirky character portrayals and Davis, a venerated star of stage and screen were like the perfect storm.

Truth in Art

Both men were utterly believable in their roles and played them with such conviction that it was easy to believe that they were the historical figures and not imposters. Helping to add verisimilitude was Coscarelli stalwart Reggie Bannister as the Shady Rest Home administrator.

Bannister is also one of Coscarelli’s utility men. As everyone who follows the Phantasm series knows, he plays Reggie, the loyal friend of Mike’s brother Jody who ends up being a hero. Oddly enough, there are some comparisons one could make to Campbell’s Ash Williams.

As part of Beyond Fest 2018, both Don and Reggie will be at the free screening of Bubba Ho-Tep which according to American Cinematheque is being held at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, California on Sunday, September 30 at 3:00 p.m. The venue is located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard.

Afterwards there will be a discussion with the pair. Don will also be signing copies of his book, True Indie: Life and Death in Filmmaking. The showing is free with your RSVP. However, that does not guarantee admission.

This is definitely a once in a lifetime chance to meet and greet the director and Reggie Bannister.

Are you a fan of Don Coscarelli? Is Bubba Ho-Tep one of your favorite films? Will you be attending the screening? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below. We want to hear from you.