Moderated by Rue Morgue Magazine’s Michael Gingold
In celebration of THE PRIMEVALS’ world premiere at the festival, in collaboration with Horreur Québec, Fantasia presents a special artist talk with legendary American independent producer Charles Band, founder of Empire Pictures and Full Moon Productions.
With 50 years in the business and over 300 feature films under his belt, Charles Band shows no signs of slowing down. In 1975, he produced his first horror picture, MANSION OF THE DOOMED. In 1978, he formed MEDA (later renamed MEDIA) Home Entertainment, the first independent home-video distribution company in North America, which famously released John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN among many others. In 1979, Band produced the classic TOURIST TRAP. He went on to form Wizard Video in 1981, releasing everything from THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE to Fulci's ZOMBIE, as well as Atari 2600 game versions of several horror classics before anyone was trying that kind of thing. Band continued to produce and direct his own films during this era, including the 3D feature PARASITE, which featured Demi Moore in her first starring role. In 1983, he founded Empire Pictures Entertainment. The production company produced as many as 12 theatrical features a year, including some of the biggest cult hits of the ’80s, including GHOULIES, TROLL, and perhaps most significantly, Stuart Gordon’s RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND and ROBOT JOX. At the end of the decade, Band pioneered the independent direct-to-video feature with the formation of Full Moon Entertainment and with it, the creation of PUPPET MASTER, which has gone on to become the most successful direct-to-video film series of all time. Band’s company created many well-known video franchises throughout the ’90s and into the new millennium, from SUBSPECIES to TRANCERS and beyond. He continues to produce films under its banner to this day.
