Rudy Panucci On Pop Culture

“Jazz From Hell” In The Halloween RFC

RFC 113 "Jazz From Hell Preview" from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

Chelsea Cook as “Rose Kendrick”

Above you see episode 113 of Radio Free Charleston, “Jazz From Hell Preview.”  This is our Halloween special, and it’s quite a departure. It’s also quite a bit less than I’d originally planned.

Last July I got the idea to bring back Count Rudolph and Celeste, The Zombie Supermodel for our Halloween show this year. That’s me and my imaginary daughter, Chelsea Cook, if you didn’t watch RFC 54 and 55 back in 2008.  I thought that, instead of showing music videos, we’d actually interrupt a cheesy horror movie this year.

Melanie Larch as “Dr. Henrietta Spliff” before she turns evil

And then I got the bright idea to make our own cheesy horror movie to interrupt.I came up with “Jazz From Hell,” named after a Frank Zappa album, this movie aims to be a cross between “White Zombie,” “Dragnet,” and “Reefer Madness.”  It’s about a Mad Scientist who creates a mutant strain of marijuana that turns people who smoke it into zombie jazz musicians.

Some of you might think this was a crazy idea.  You’d be right. Over the course of the next few months, the deadlines kept slipping, and we were staring down the barrel of Halloween, so we started trimming things.  First we decided to dump the horror host segments (The Count and Celeste will be back next year). Then I had to look at cutting scenes.

Dr. Spliff, post-evil

Finally I decided to just show highlights of the movie for our Halloween show, and take an extra month to work on things.  This way I can put in all the scenes I was going to have to cut, and the schedule would be much easier after Halloween was out of the way.

We’ve shot a ton of great stuff already with our stars, Melanie Larch, Chelsea Cook, Lee Harrah and me.  And we’ve had some fantastic supporting work from Craig Auge, Duncan Stokes, Donnie Smith, Abby Rhodes, Nik Tidquist, Dan Kehde, Steven Allen Adams, Kevin Pauley and the cast of “Superior Donuts.”

But we have a lot of stuff yet to shoot.  The current plans call for us to shoot scenes with Jeff Bukovinsky, Joe Wallace, Brian J. Hatcher, Mandy Petry, Tony Slack, Brian Roller, Adam King, Professor Danger and Death Falcon Zero over the next three weeks. I’ve already started the editing process.

However, it’s not too late for YOU to get involved. I will be on hand this Friday at The HallowEast Zombie Walk.  People should start milling around the parking lot of The Charleston Area Alliance (1116 Smith Street) if they want to participate in The Zombie Walk.  If you want to wind up in “Jazz From Hell,” bring a pair of sunglassses, and, if possible, a band instrument of some sort.

Once the movie is finished, I will find a venue for the premiere, and stage it as a benefit for The East End Pet Food Pantry.  Keep checking PopCult for details. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy our little Halloween treat. Remember, it’s only a rough cut. The final film may have different takes, editing, and background music. Eagle-eyed viewers who spot the differences…have too much time on their hands.

Kevin Pauley as “The Chief,” Chelsea Cook as “Rose,” and Rudy Panucci as “Brick Muldoon.”

 

1 Comment

  1. pamudy rudio

    Rudy and Mel,
    This is great!!!! Your best ever…I can’t wait to see the final product.
    Keep up the good work.

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