Christopher Racster is a vile, loathsome beast, a spawn of Cthulhu, a dark travesty of Shub-Niggurath, a bubble on the bloated belly of Azathoth...and really cool guy too boot.
I met Chris at Sundance several years ago, but had no idea who he was. When I found out his identity, I hated him. Which, if you want me to like you, is a great way to go. Let me explain.
Shortly before my first formal meeting with Chad (see previous entry), I was chatting with a group of friends at one (the??) of the first Sundance Queer Lounges, telling them I'd just heard from my manager that he'd snagged me the meeting. I was excited because Chad had recently announced the formation, along with Bobby Gant and Christopher Racster of his production company, Mythgarden, so I thought there was a decent chance my script could get made.
Unbeknownst to me, Racster, was sitting right there, listening, a friend of another present friend and thus a party to the conversation. The scum.
Chris had a bit of fun at my expense for several minutes, playing with his prey (me) through a series of questions, finding out if I was a shameless Fame Whore (well...) who was bragging about non-existent connections to impress, before he pounced, pussy like, for the kill. Bastard.
He still gets great milage out of telling a broad swath of people, from those we share in common to the random, homeless, clinically ill persons wandering the streets in a haze, either about that incident directly, in gory detail, or to simply ask me about it when they next see me. ("Ask Jody about that guy at Sundance...")
Yeah, yeah buddy, there's still a house with your name on it, ready to fall. Your ruby red slippers won't save you this time.
Chris has a long history in Hollywood (ages and ages and ages and ages), having run his own production company (Archer Productions), produced several films (April's Shower, The Bug in My Ear ), as well as won several wards.
Prior to that, (I told you he's been around for ages and ages and ages and ages) Chris was the the senior Vice President of BWR Public Relations, handling PR for clients like BMW, Qantas, Ketle One Vodka and Real Networks.
He was one of the people who brought AsSeenIn.Com to life, a landmark Dot Com 1.0 portal for loads of entertainment shows, allowing corporations like AOL and Viacom to market directly to fans of popular shows.
He's was also named one of the 25 Most Influential People In California Fashion by California Apparel News. Which I think was a mistake.
Chris has been incredible with this doorQ project, jumping in fully as an advisor, opening up his extensive list of contacts, providing pointers, and pulling from his ages and ages and ages and ages of experience in helping me to shape this baby and get it up and going. I'm deeply touched and honored by that enthusiasm and assistance. It almost makes up for the evil he's done to me. All most.
If you happen to see Chris out and about, thank him for helping me with my ambitious plans for doorQ.com. Also, ask him about the Redhead and The Abbey.
Be sure to count the shades of embarrassed crimson he turns.
The next installment in who's contributing to doorQ.com.
He gets money from ATMs like Regular People!
The first time I met Chad Allen (Dr.Quinn Medicine Woman, The Donald Strachey Mysteries) I'd been in Los Angeles for all of a few months, had just moved to West Hollywood, was on my way to meet friends, and... needed cash. As I stood waiting for the ATM to spit out my mealy millions, I looked next to me and beheld a man, no a god, of such beauty and stature, the other gods I'd seen in the Great Gay Mecca of West Hollywood paled in comparison. On the other side of me, was Chad.
(Oh, he's going to get me back for that one.)
He said "Hey," I said "Hey," and we both went on our merry ways, me babbling about my Celebrity Encounter to my inured friends, and Chad to...
Hmmm... What does Chad do when I don't see him? I mean, other than making movies, appearing on Larry King, getting on the cover of The Advocate, and tirelessly working for the betterment of the larger Gay Community?
If you haven't guessed by now, the second associate on-board for doorQ is Chad Allen, actor, producer and all around cool guy.
That incident at the ATM machine was 10 years ago. I was a younger man then and Chad, I think, was a baby. As Cthulhu corrupted it, Chad and I met for real, some years later. A friend of mine was a friend of his. Chad read my script about a gay detective, loved it and then went on to make a movie about a gay detective... for Regent/ here! Entertainment.
So first formal meeting out, I learned a valuable lesson about Hollywood from Chad: actors need to eat. Seriously, the real lesson, applicable within Hollywood or without, was that a good script makes for a good introduction, and that from good introductions come good friends.
Chad and I ran into each other a bajillion times over the years, at gay film fests, conferences, coffee shops, sky diving trade-shows and car battery beauty pageants (I made one of those things up), and always talked, among other things, about working together one day. With this whole doorQ Gay SciFi/Fantasy/Horror project picking up steam, that day had arrived.
Chad (and Chris, who I'll talk about tomorrow) was one of the first people I called. He's a smart guy, knows the business, and has always been eager to share that knowledge. He jumped on board doorQ -- both behind the scenes (as a writer, producer, director, and mentor) and in front of the camera, as an actor -- pretty much before I'd even finished saying the "sci" in "I'm making Gay SciFi, Fantasy and Horror stuff."
That enthusiasm means I'm very, very lucky, and honored, to have such a talented fellow on my team.
Tomorrow, the only person on the planet who has footage of Chad Allen attempting to defy gravity with powerisers stilts -- and failing: Chris Racster.
I've been teasing with promises of revealing who all is involved with the website. I've been able to line up a small squad of advisors, people with experience in and around Hollywood and SciFi to help keep this project on track and to make sure I'm able to realize this dream.
I haven't shown my cards because, well, we're still lining folks up. Many of the names are people I know and respect, behind the scenes types that aren't as familiar and common to the average fan. I've got enough people now who are willing to go on the record that I thought I start sharing them with all of you dedicated readers. This is the first post in that series.
We all need our Gandalfs, Obi-Wans and Master Po's. I've lucked into several of them over the years and landed two for this site, the first one is the legendary Kerry O'Quinn, founder and creator of Starlog Magazine.
Before the internet -- if you can believe such a time existed -- getting information about SciFi, Fantasy or Horror was limited. You might get a stray spread in the movie section of a local paper or hear about a favorite director interviewed on a TV show, but the behind the scenes, nitty-gritty, imagination made real details of the actors, writers, directors, and dedicated creative people involved in the making of movie magic was scant and hard to find.
I discovered Starlog as a we-un, sometime around 11 or 12. As an omen of things to come, I was the doorq who memorized the name of the magazine's publisher and chief editor -- Kerry O'Quinn. Starlog spoke to me, and a legion of like minded travelers, by making the realm of imagination real, doable. Create-able. As a kid, I filed Kerry's name away. I wanted his gig before I even knew what his gig was.
A Texas true-blood, Kerry graduted from the University of Texas and then zipped to New York, where he produced commercials for Grey Advertising. Along side his friend and business partner Norman Jacobs, Kerry launched a magazine publishing company (!) in 1972, feeding the addiction of Imaginiative Minds with imprints like Starlog, Fangoria, Cinemagic, and Future Life.
I think I read every one.
While Starlog & Fangoria are his most well known productions, Kerry has a history as a writer / producer / director of movies and docs as well. "Justice, Inc." (1968), "Voyage to Darkness" (1972), "Starlog's Birthday Fantasy" (1980), "Fright Show" (1985), "Scream Greats" (1986), "Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors" (1986.) He also produced the "Star Trek Live 20th Anniversary Event" and the "Star Wars Live 10th Anniversary Event."
Whaddyathink? Does he know his SciFi or what?
Kerry is hot off receiving the 2007 Saturn Service Award, from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The award was presented to him by his good friend Tom DeSanto-- who you might recognize as the producer of a little film called Transformers,currently rolling out and over its competition at the box office.
On a chance, I reached out to Kerry through the email, tracking him down through the wonders of the interweb. I'd read a few years back that Kerry was gay, had stepped back from publishing Starlog, had adopted a son, had ran a bar for several years, and was now, like me in Los Angeles and climbing the screenwriting trail.
Kerry loves the doorQ idea, and has been helping in any way that he can. (Can you say "On A First Name Basis With Anyone in SciFi/Fantasy/Horror?") He's even got some stories of his own that he'd like to write and direct for the site.
