he was at the horror movie convention and was asking why people like that *beep* calling them weird and criticizing everyone about their dental hygiene?
He clearly doesn't understand horror movie fandom and the people who gave Troll 2 cult status. I guess I just don't like that he bites the hand that feeds him.
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I didn't blame his reaction. I think he explains quite well when he brings up just being exhausted and burnt out by the whole thing. He tried to talk to people at the convention, he tried to make connections, but no one was biting. It was a brooding anti-social group. Look around in those scenes. NO ONE seemed to be having a good time. I don't think George was alone in his opinion.
Also, if he were biting the hand that feeds he'd be socking his dental patients in the face or something. I don't think the D-list celebrity status from Troll 2 is "feeding" in anyway. I got the impression he was doing these conventions and things for fun.
As for Troll 2's cult status, if you were paying attention to the festivals and screenings, that was more at the whim of the the art house and comedy crowds. Did you see the posters for some of the films at the theaters they were at? I don't think your average horror fan is hitting up the theater screening Alejandro Jadorowsky's The Holy Mountain.
On another note that has nothing to do with the OP, what's with people saying he made fun of Margo? That appeared to be a strange, intense, and surreal situation. Finding the correct words to express your discomfort would be incredibly difficult. I didn't get any sense of him making fun of her. I think he was just incredibly uncomfortable, which he does say later.
He made the movie great though. I wouldn't get too upset that he had a very human reaction towards the end of his trip.
I think you're projecting. The fans (in the few brief shots we got of them not reacting to George) were consistently smiling, taking pictures with one another, and having fun. They probably were a little uncomfortable with George pitching Troll 2 to them so insistently--sort of like, I don't know, when a Best Buy employee is really pressuring you to open a credit card line with them and you have no intention of doing so but you also don't want to come across as rude, so you nod and smile and say polite things just to humor them.
But if you reeeeeeally think horror fanatics pay exorbitant ticket prices and travel hours to attend a horror convention JUST to be antisocial and deliberately NOT have a good time...I'll leave you to your ridiculous delusions.
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"People either loved us or they hated us...or they thought we were okay."
I got the vibe that he was frustrated and burnt out at that point. Like he said, it was fun for a while, but you can only pitch the "piss on hospitality" thing so much before you get tired of it.
shareI think the reason he's all freaked out of the people at that last convention is because he has yet been exposed to true horror fans up until that point. A lot of the people who have attended the screenings at the beginning of the movie were just hipsters. So they're less gloomy or "scary" looking. They're just there to have a good time. But at the last convention, the people there are the real (you can call them lifeless nerds) folks who are truly committed to horror movies and are fanatic about it. To be exposed to the reality that true horror nerds look like that made George feel uneasy, thus realizing that he doesn't really belong in this scene. That, and what he said about the has-beens signing autographs living in the past.
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"A man ought to do what he thinks is best" - John Wayne, Hondo
I'll put a vote in for "No, it made him seem even more likeable." If those people can't laugh at themselves, either, then they are no better than the director of Troll 2. (How annoying was THAT guy??)
shareHorror really isn't his thing. Everyone has different tastes. Besides, it's not like he just stood up on the table and shouted, 'This whole thing is ridiculous!'
"Thanks, guys." "So long, partner."
- Toy Story 3 (9/10)
If you’re really surprised and offended by his reaction to the horror convention crowd, you are completely out of touch with, I’d guesstimate, 98% of humanity. I love a good horror movie, but I’m not a “horror fan,” per se, so I can relate to George a bit.
I’ve perused horror fan web sites and have generally decided that I would not have much in common with the people who run them, who I have to assume are of the same ilk as the convention goers. Most people just want to be lightly entertained by movies, and even the majority of your more dedicated film fans watch movies to enter another world for a couple of hours. The people who stressed George out take it to another level by living in their fantasy world. I can totally see why George would find it aggressively weird and off-putting.
While I myself would probably find it fascinating to hang around with the True Believers for a day and wouldn’t experience quite the visceral reaction George did, I can relate to him. He reminds me a lot of some of my relatives, and picturing them in that environment I can easily imagine a similar reaction. To conservative, button-down types for whom horror movies are not a regular part of life, such dedication would seem completely bizarre nonsense.
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I have meddled with the primal forces of nature and I will atone.
And George's conservative lifestyle isn't a fantasy in some way? There is no such thing as "normal" and the people who say they are so are inevitably living in a fantasy. You don't have to be a jerk to someone who is living a different lifestyle because you think YOUR lifestyle takes precedent because it's what certain segments of society deems fit. Perhaps these conservative, button-down types should at least try to understand others who are different. Talk to the people. Use communication to learn something. Maybe then they wouldn't be so quick to judge.
Personally, I rather hang around with a diehard Star Wars fan as opposed to a diehard sports fan. But hey that's just me. I'm more of a fan of pop/sub culture and dig the personalities and intellect of those people moreso.
I leave you with this...Conservative Conformity is extremely off-putting and seems to be completely bizarre nonsense!...lol
Look, I hear what you're saying, and even agree to a certain extent. I am surrounded by "conservative conformity" and without a doubt it could benefit from a occasional strong dose of weirdness, or counterculture, or whatever you want to call it. And certainly the word "normal" only means anything within individual cultures. Normal in rural Oklahoma is not the same as normal in Tokyo or Siberia.
That said, to imply that nothing is "normal" is to overstate your case. I'm not saying that "normal" is necessarily good or "abnormal" is necessarily bad. Admittedly, I have only my own observations of society to back this up, but my guess is if you showed a slice of George's life to a million random people, the vast majority would find him unremarkable, which is to say they'd bascially see him as a normal guy. If you showed a the same million people a slice of a true die-hard horror fanatic's life, they would find much of it really bizarre.
To me the confusing part is that people would be so dedicated to inhabiting a world that is manifestly fictional. Even if you want to argue that religious folks do the same thing, at least they for the most part truly believe what they're devoted to is real, no matter how goofy it may seem to outsiders. Extreme horror, sci-fi, or fantasy devotees divert tremendous resources to inhabiting worlds and depicting characters that they would all (I hope) confess are completely made up.
Given George's reality, which is on the surface quite similar to that of at least tens of millions of other Americans, his reaction is understandable. He wasn't malicious. He didn't go out of his way to be a jerk to anyone. His reaction was just on-camera so it seemed like a bigger deal than it was.
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I have meddled with the primal forces of nature and I will atone.
To me the confusing part is that people would be so dedicated to inhabiting a world that is manifestly fictional. Even if you want to argue that religious folks do the same thing, at least they for the most part truly believe what they're devoted to is real, no matter how goofy it may seem to outsiders. Extreme horror, sci-fi, or fantasy devotees divert tremendous resources to inhabiting worlds and depicting characters that they would all (I hope) confess are completely made up.
I think it was a mixture of confusion and frustration. George was just a regular type of guy from Alabama who'd somehow found himself at the centre of a very cult type of horror fandom which he liked when it went well but when it didn't go so well, it became more apparent that the kind of people who might like Troll 2 were not the kind of people that George would always like, as nice and gregarious a person as he is.
shareI'll put a vote in for "No, it made him seem even more likeable." If those people can't laugh at themselves, either, then they are no better than the director of Troll 2.
That pi$$ed me off. I like those people and the their looks. It could have been though the amount of people not coming over to their booth. He didn't like just being there. I can understand that. Maybe someone knows how he really felt. Anyone?
shareYeah, I must say that I was completely surprised by his behavior and thought it was very inappropriate. I thought of all people, he would be understanding and NOT judgmental of others. I also thought he would be smart enough to understand why people enjoy horror films. Good story, atmosphere, a rush of adrenaline, etc..etc..
Then again, George DID seem to be a bit square, oblivious, and as though he had been a bit sheltered throughout his life. Living in the South where culture and the arts are generally frowned upon can have that effect on some people who are not smart enough to look outside of their isolated environment. I'm from the South, so I know how it is.
By the way, people at "Horror Conventions" are some of the best people you could ever hope to meet. They're kind, generous, and are basically being their true selves. They have fun and enjoy life. If only more people could be like that. I guess George didn't take the time to get to know these people. I'm sure his perception of them would have been different if he had done so.
I agree. His true colors showed through. Up til then the world revolved around him and his movie, but when he hit the sci-fi and horror con, nobody cared. And he seemed to be bothered by that and started name calling. Making fun of peoples hygene and such. he came across like a real jerk at that point.
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