Flashback Weekend: Schedule and Highlights!

Flashback Weekend Horror Convention all begins tomorrow, and I have been hyping it up this week with great memories and fun behind-the-scenes stories.

Now, it's time to make your own memories and stories this weekend at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare from Friday, August 2nd thru Sunday August 4th.

Below is a full schedule of events and activities for this year's convention with highlights of the stuff I'm most excited about and/or participating in. There is certainly A LOT here, but with proper planning and some energy, you can do it all!

FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2024

GRAND BALLROOM (Street Level)

12:00PM - 2:00PM | Registration Booth for advance ticket purchases early pick-ups

2:00PM - 8:30PM | Registration Booth for on-site sales & advance ticket pick-ups

3:00PM - 9:00PM | Dealers room & Celebrity signings

Q&A's | INTERNATIONAL BALLROOM (Lower Level)

5:45PM | “F THIS MOVIE” Podcast with Patrick Bromley  

6:00PM | Nick Castle and Nancy Stephens

6:45PM | Charles Band discusses his new Pulp Noir Thriller “QUADRANT”

7:00PM | Rich Koz presents: An Evening Celebrating 45 Years as "SVENGOOLIE" moderated by Nick Digilio This one is an absolute MUST see, and I guarantee it will be great! 

8:15PM | Opening remarks by Dann Gire and Morgan Gire

8:30PM | “CABIN FEVER” reunion moderated by Steve Prokopy

VENTANAS (the top floor bar at the Hyatt)

45th ANNIVERSARY OF “THE WARRIORS”! 9:15PM - ??? | After-Party – “THE WARRIORS” Costume Party Enjoy a panoramic view of Chicago’s skyline & O’Hare while partying in Class & Style! Dress as your favorite gang or characters from “The Warriors” (Gang colors optional).  Civilians and Prom couples also welcome. All Flashback Weekend ticket holders welcome. One (1) drink purchase minimum from the bar upstairs. Attendance limited to capacity. Cash Bar. Press “V” in the glass elevators for the top floor.

SATURDAY AUGUST 3, 2024

GRAND BALLROOM (Street Level)

9:30AM -   5:30PM | Registration Booth Open

10:00AM - 7:00PM | Dealer room open

10:00AM - 6:00PM | Celebrity signings

2:00PM - 3:30PM | Svengoolie Autograph Signings - Meet Rich Koz! Get autographs, selfies & more. An annual tradition.

Q&A's | INTERNATIONAL BALLROOM (Lower Level)

11:00AM | Jason Paul Collum

11:30AM | John Borowski

12:00PM | Alan Howarth

12:30PM | “THE NICK D PODCAST” with Nick Digilio and Esmeralda Leon 1:00PM | Don Coscarelli Special Guest on "THE NICK D PODCAST"

Yeah...this is gonna RULE!

1:45PM | TBA

2:30PM | James Jude Courtney & Rohan Campbell

3:15PM | Quinn Lord

3:45PM | An appreciation of “John Carpenter’s THE THING”  by Nick Digilio & Steve Prokopy 4:00PM | “John Carpenter's THE THING” Reunion Six original cast members of the classic film on the stage! Steve and I will ask all the great questions and you will get to hear some incredible behind-the-scenes stories about the making of one of the great horror films of all time. This will be a true highlight of the weekend!

5:00PM | 18th Annual Sinister Visions Costume Contest hosted by Svengoolie   I introduce Sven every year, and get to hang out with him during the contest. This event is ALWAYS my very favorite part of the entire weekend and I'm always honored to participate with Mr. Koz during this fun extravaganza!

8:15PM | ALAN HOWARTH LIVE PERFORMANCE TO “HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH” (1982) Composer Alan Howarth will perform his classic score to “HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH.” This all-immersive audio and visual film screening experience is not to be missed! No extra charge for paid Flashback Weekend attendees. Limited to seating capacity.

10:15PM  |  WORLD PREMIERE! Full Moon’s new Pulp Noir Thriller “QUADRANT”! 

Introduced by director Charles Band. Prizes and more! “QUADRANT” is the new Pulp Noir Thriller from Full Moon Film which has the vibes of the early Empire films and their classics such as “CASTLE FREAK”. *No extra charge for paid Flashback Weekend attendees (seating limited to seating capacity).

VENTANAS (the top floor bar at the Hyatt)

10:00PM  |  Official After-Party

The elegant bar on the top floor of the Hyatt. Enjoy a panoramic view of Chicago’s skyline & O’Hare while partying in class & style! Press “V” in the glass elevators for the top floor!

SUNDAY AUG. 4, 2024

GRAND BALLROOM (Street Level)

9:30AM - 3:00PM | Registration Booth Open

10:00AM - 4:00PM | Dealers room and Celebrity signings

Q&A's | INTERNATIONAL BALLROOM (Lower Level)

11:30AM | Brett Wagner

12:00PM | Adrienne Barbeau I'm moderating this Q&A panel...and it will be awesome.

12:45PM | Tom Atkins & Stacey Nelkin Steve Prokopy talks with the stars of "Halloween III"

1:30PM | "THE WARRIORS" Reunion - CAN YOU DIG IT!!??? I can! I am moderating this hugely anticipated reunion of the stars of the classic Walter Hill cult masterpiece. We are gonna hear outstanding stories as we hang out with the REAL Warriors. One of the most exciting events of the weekend!

2:30PM | Michael Gross The final panel of the weekend is moderated by Steve Prokopy, and it's gonna be great!

So, that's the schedule and some recommendations. I hope to see you all this weekend at this wonderful gathering. Be sure to come up and say hi and remember to wear comfortable shoes.

Thanks, and please SUBSCRIBE to my weekly NEWSLETTER. Consider joining me on Patreon as a paid subscriber to help keep this thing going. Thanks again!

YOUR Flashback Weekend Memories!

As this week's tribute to The Flashback Weekend Horror Convention continues here at the Blog, I would like to share some of YOUR favorite stories and memories from Flashback Weekends of the past.

I received a ton of fun stories from you (thank you so much for sharing!) and, since I wrote about my five moments, I narrowed yours down to five, too.

1) From ROB

"Horror, particularly slashers, was one of my gateways into cinema.

Robert Kojder with Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund.

Naturally, A Nightmare on Elm Street was one of my favorites growing up, so it was a no-brainer to shell out the money to meet Robert Englund.

I had done many cons before this but had never seen professional photo ops taken with a set background like this before, so that made things a bit more special and unique.

Not to mention, Robert was an awesome and playful guy, and immediately came up with the perfect pose for our picture. It's an amazing memory."

Rob, by the way, is a film critic colleague of mine named Robert Kojder, who writes terrific reviews here.

2) From JUDY

"My daughter and I are huge fans and have been attending for many years. It always lands on her birthday weekend.

One year when all the Ladies of Elm Street were in attendance, Heather Langenkamp her 'buddy' got them together and sang happy birthday to her."

3) From ALYSSA

"One of my favorite stories is when I met Dick Warlock without even realizing it.

I was sitting in the hallway waiting for the line to start to pick up the wristbands, while I was in my Sidney (lead character from "Scream") cosplay. 

He and a few others came up to me (and me sucking at recognizing faces, I didn’t realize it was him) and started talking with me. I just thought it was a sweet old man just wanting to make conversation. Before he walked away he says 'thanks for being here' and shook my hand (once again not putting two and two together I didn’t really react).

Until I saw him at his table, when I fangirl-realized that Michael Myers was talking to me in the hallway lol!"

4) From DON

"The Mayor" certainly gets a workout every year at Flashback!

"What FBW means to me??

I try to give my sweat equity into Mia/Mike‘s show to be the show I would go to every year. I try to give a vibe like, 'hey this is the place to be." And it just blinks by for sure. 

I love the friends I get to see every summer and have a great time. 

My best memory is when an outside inflatable screen went down and deflated on me, and I’m talking to Marcy Darcy (Amanda Bearse from "Fright Night") in front of two hundred people, "Are we gonna get this going ????" Always say YES.

Love the show. I especially love the people, and love Nick and Svengoolie too!"

Don "The Mayor" Johnston and myself, slowly losing our minds during the convention. And yes, there seems to have been some black blotches on the lens of the camera, but no matter...this picture rules.

Don, aka Don "The Mayor" Johnston, is the behind-the-scenes tech hero who works with hotels, convention centers, and other venues to help run major events and conventions all over the city.

I work closely with Don at every Flashback Weekend to make sure the Q&A Room runs smoothly for the entire weekend, and to insure that all of the other events (like, film screenings, parties, VIP gatherings, Celeb Photo Ops, Vendor Room needs, Svengoolie's appearances) at the convention happen without a hitch.

Flashback would NOT be the same without Don, and I can't wait to see him this weekend!

5) From KEN

"Flashback Weekend 2019 - My tenth Flashback. This was the year FW hosted a "Night of the Creeps" reunion, including Allan Kayser of "Mama's Family" fame.

The night before Flashback I thought it would be fun to watch an episode of "Mama's Family" to get in the mood. The episode that happened to be on TV featured a pre-Simpsons Yeardley Smith (voice of Lisa Simpson) in a guest role. I thought 'Oh, that's funny!' I had never seen that episode before.

The next morning on Friday, I got to the hotel (at that time the Crowne Plaza) and was sitting in the lobby at 10am, probably no more than 12 hours after I was sitting at home watching that rerun of "Mama's Family."

Nobody else was around. It was dead silent. A few moments later, I see a woman who looks suspiciously a lot like Yeardley Smith walk into the lobby and sit down not far from me. I keep eyeing her thinking 'No....this can't be.'

I keep checking the Flashback website to see if she had been added as a guest, nope.

But out of all 5 billion people on this planet, Yeardley Smith, who had JUST happened to rerun on TV last night.....walked into the lobby.

Ordinarily I am very good about respecting the privacy of people, especially outside of any sort of scheduled appearance. But seeing as we were the only two people around and it was dead silent, I calmly approached her and asked 'Are you who I think you are?' to which she said 'Probably!'

Ken with actress Yeardley Smith.

I continued to ask 'I don't want to bother you, but since we're the only two people around, would you mind if I got a photo with you?' This situation was TOO extraordinary and I knew nobody would believe it had I not gotten this.

She was EXTREMELY friendly and agreed to take the photo, and upon doing so she kept asking me questions 'What's your name? Where are you from' etc. A total sweetheart. I went on to tell Allan Kayser this story, and he couldn't believe it.

Ken with actor Allan Kayser.

Saturday night rolls around, and a good friend of mine, Bob Maloblocki, is sitting at the Murray Bros bar as I socialize right outside in the courtyard. Allan Kayser was sitting near him at the bar, when Bob notices Yeardley Smith sitting at a booth with some of her people. Bob nudges Allan about this, and Allan takes off for her booth. He claims that was the first time they had met since filming the episode in the '80s.

Ken with some schmuck.

Sunday, I had checked out, bag was all packed, and I was making my way to my car to leave.

As I am walking through the ramp to get to the parking lot, who is the last person I cross as I am walking up? Yeardley Smith. I still never figured out WHY she was at the hotel, but I looked at her without stopping and I just said 'I'm glad you got to see Allan', she smiles and says 'Thanks so much!' 

There you have it, Nick. The story of what happened at my tenth Flashback Weekend. I included pictures of both of them, with one extra of you and me, for good measure."

MORE Flashback Weekend Memories!

So let's get ready to make more Flashback memories at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare this Friday, August 2nd thru Sunday, August 4th! Tickets and schedule here!

Thanks, and please SUBSCRIBE to my weekly NEWSLETTER. Consider also joining me on Patreon as a paid subscriber to help keep this thing going.

See you there!

My Top 5 Flashback Weekend Moments

This week I’m dedicating all posts to my favorite event of the year, The Flashback Weekend Horror Convention.

Today, I’m focusing on my Top 5 Flashback moments from the past 22 years.

1) MEETING & INTERVIEWING JOHN CARPENTER

2012: John Carpenter and me during his Q&A

Without question, the highlight of my 22 years as host/moderator at Flashback was in 2012 when my favorite director of all time, John Carpenter, was a special guest.

My life changed when I saw "Halloween" in 1978, at the age of 13, all because of the incredible work that Carpenter did as a director.

I LOVE his films (which include, "The Fog," "Escape From New York," "The Thing," "Big Trouble in Little China," "Starman," "They Live," "Prince of Darkness," and soooooo many more), and I love him.

He was cordial, funny, and a true pleasure to meet and hang out with.

His Q&A panel was among the best I've ever moderated, and it will remain one of the true high points of my career. It was a dream come true, seriously, and it's all because of Flashback Weekend.

2) GETTING TO KNOW GEORGE ROMERO

2008: George and me at Flashback

I met and got to know the incredible George A. Romero because of Flashback....wow.

George was one of the most significant filmmakers who ever lived: he was the inventor of an entire genre of movies; a maverick of independent thought; an icon in the world of horror; a satirist on the level of Mark Twain; a storyteller beyond reproach; a magnificent comedic mind....and, a helluva nice guy.

I had the honor of getting to know Mr. Romero over many years through my radio show and Flashback. To say knowing him was an amazing experience would be a massive understatement. 

He was kind, funny, generous, and very cantankerous when he wanted to be.

He was also one of the most important artists who has ever lived and a true inspiration to anyone who has worked in the world of cinema. A true giant, he left behind a treasure trove of work to be cherished and watched over and over again. I love him and his work—always have, always will.

His movies changed my life. He was an amazing man, and since his passing in 2017, there is now a huge chasm between the horror world and the real world in general. Another life-changing Flashback moment.

3) MEETING AND GETTING TO KNOW THE CAST AND DIRECTOR OF "PHANTASM"

Cast and director of Phantasm in 2008. Left to right: Reggie Bannister, Michael Baldwin, writer/director Don Coscarelli, Kathy Lester, Bill Thornbury, me, and Angus Scrimm.

"Phantasm" is a hugely seminal movie in my life. I was 14 years old when I saw it, and I had never seen anything like it before or since.

The cast and director of this incredible movie have come to Flashback twice, and both times I was honored to moderate the Q&A panel and spend time with all of these incredible people.

This year, writer/director Don Coscarelli will be the special guest on the LIVE edition of The Nick D Podcast at Flashback Weekend on Saturday!

This was the beginning of my friendship with these people. I treasure it and am amazed that I now know them. Rest in peace Angus, you lovely, lovely man.

4) RODDY FRIGGIN' PIPER

Roddy Piper and me during the Q&A in 2006

If you know me at all, you know that I am a huge fan of pro wrestling, and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper is one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time.

So, if you take Roddy Piper and combine him with John Carpenter, you know I will lose my mind...and I did precisely that when "They Live" was released in 1988.

"They Live" is a great Carpenter sci-fi/horror movie, it was also was waaaay ahead of its time. Piper was outstanding in it and even improvised one of the classic lines in film history: "I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubble gum."

When Piper came to Flashback in 2006, not only did I get to moderate his awesome Q&A panel (oh, the wrestling stories he told!!) and introduce him at the outdoor screening we had of "They Live," but I also went to a Cub game with him and watched him throw out the first pitch. Yeah...that's awesome.

5) THE VERY FIRST FLASHBACK WEEKEND

Bruce Campbell introducing "Bubba Ho-Tep" at the first Flashback in 2002

Yeah, I was there.

In 2002, Mike and Mia Kerz hosted the very first Flashback Weekend, and it was awesome. There were very cool guests and lots of excitement because it was a brand-new adventure.

The first Flashback Weekend was also when Don Coscarelli's brilliant "Bubba Ho-Tep" premiered at the Pickwick Theater in Park Ridge, and the one and only Bruce Campbell was there.

Bruce has been a frequent guest of Flashback, and he always, always kills!

I had Bruce on my radio show several times and finally met him face-to-face at the first Flashback. After that, we became buddies.

When "Bubba Ho-Tep" opened the following year in Chicago, I was one of the few people who helped out with the opening weekend festivities and introduced Bruce before several screenings of the film at the Landmark Century Centre Theatres. I also got drunk with Bruce down the street at Jake's Pub on Clark Street. Memorable indeed.

Thank you, Mike and Mia, for making those memories happen. I know more will be created this weekend!

Do you have some favorite Flashback Weekend moments? 

• Email your favorite moments to nick@nickdigilio.com

• Or leave a voicemail on my Nick D Podcast hotline/voicemail number: (773) 417-6948

Thanks, and please SUBSCRIBE to my weekly NEWSLETTER. Consider joining me on Patreon as a paid subscriber to help keep this thing going. Thanks again!