Here in Brazil

[The Drunken Severed Head]

Hi Raymond--
Hope you're having the time of your life!

[raycastile]

Last night was fantastic.  Lots of paparazzi, TV reporters, throngs of people.  I did two interviews, one for MTV and another for a magazine or newspaper.  I was in costume, alongside Mojica and his "brides" from the movie.  It was quite a spectacle.  Then we went into the theater and Mojica lined us up in front of the screen.  We stood behind him as he made a speech that got interrupted by applause several times.  Then we saw the movie.  Fantastic!   It was an incredible phantasmagorical funhouse ride.  There is no way that film could be released with an R rating in the U.S. (and they do intend to seek a U.S. theatrical release).  It will have to be NC-17 or heavily edited.  I am glad I got to see it in its undiluted form!  My scene is brief but very powerful.  I got tons of compliments before and after the screening.  We had a cocktail reception, more pictures, then went to a cast/crew party at a nightclub.  Today and tomorrow will probably be quiet days.  Then Friday we will be guests on a talk show called Altas Horas.  It airs Saturday night, so I won't get to see it.  I think someone will tape it for me.  I'm sure it will be on YouTube within a matter of hours.  Apparently, this is a pretty big show in Brazil, so this is a very important bit of promotion for the film.  Today, someone who has no connection with the film told me everyone in Brazil is talking about this movie. 

[fmofmpls]

Wow. Sounds like a dream come true for you Raymond. I'm happy for you. Enjoy the moments for they are truly special ones. Thanks for the update. I'd love to read more as details develop.

[NekroDave]

Glad to hear you're having a good time, sounds like a lot of fun! And I sure do hope the movie gets a release here in the US. Even if it's just  a limited one, hopefully one of the art house theaters out in Boston show it so I can go... I'll be looking back at this thread with extreme jealousy if not! 

[typhooforme]

Raymond, Totally cool, absolutely!  Paparazzi!  Cocktail parties!  Press interviews!  Is there something above and beyond "7th Heaven"?  You must surely have arrived there by now.  I'm delighted at your magical mystery tour--you are definitely IN your element there.  Hooray!  Photos, please!

[The Drunken Severed Head]

You da man, Raymond!

[avenger]

Raymond,
     Can I have your autograph ?
Seriously,Ray, I think it's great ,good for you !!!!
And to echo Robert, photos please?

[raycastile]

I will upload photos when I get home.  I don't have tons of pics, but I have enough to give you a taste of the event.  Thanks everyone!

[raycastile]

I just found this on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tDMacBR1zM


You can see me a couple times early in the video.  The first guy interviewed is fashion designer Alexandre Herchcovitch, who designed costumes for the film.  Then there is an interview with Mojica and one of the actresses.

[raycastile]

If you want to see a few seconds of me from the movie, there is a way to do it.  But you have to work for it!

Go here:

http://www.encarnacaododemonio.com.br/experiencia

It will take you on a long journey.  At the end of that journey, you will see a few seconds of me rising from the swamp.  It took me about 15-20 minutes to get through the "experience."  There's no way to skip forward.  I had fun going through it, though I'm sure it helps if you are really into Coffin Joe.

[Nicole]

Oh, this interactive thing is fun. I think I'll go through it again.

[BARON TIMOTHEUS BGG]

Dear Brother, RAYMOND,
... Major Blessings, to you! &, KONG-sized-GRATULATIONS, too!
... Thanks, for sharing this extremely palpable and deservedly impressive thread, from your own life; it makes the truth, to the warning "Watch out, for that quiet guy, in the corner!" seem so much more vivid & disturbing.
... Safe Journeys, Dear Friend, upon your return, to us. Prayers & Thanks!
EXANIMO EVERNOW,
TIMMY & THE BARON & FRIENDS, GOO-O-OODD-D!, B.G.G.

[raycastile]

Oh ... my ... GOSH ... what did I just experience?  The TV show today was H - U - G - E !!!!!!!

I don't know how to begin to describe this.

Altas Horas is one of the biggest shows on Brazilian television.  It is a strange combination of the Tonight Show/David Letterman/Graham Norton and Saturday Night Live.  The set is designed almost like an arena, with the audience in stadium seats surrounding a floor-level stage.  It kind of has a Thunderdome-like quality being surrounded by all those people in those high seats.  The guests alternate between sitting and standing.  The host is always standing, moving around.  There are interviews, questions from the audience, "skits" involving guests and audience members (kind of like Graham Norton's format), and multiple musical guests.  Lots of singing and dancing, audience participation.

The show is only an hour, but taping it took three or four hours. 

The entourage included Mojica, his wife, his assistant, the seven actresses playing Coffin Joe's "brides," me, and a translator for me.  We met in a cafe below Mojica's apartment, then loaded into a van.  It took about 45 minutes to get to the Globo network studios.  Once there, Mojica and his wife and assistant went into one dressing room.  The seven brides, me and the translator went into another.  Kind of weird having seven beautiful girls dressing and undressing in front of you, but that's show biz.  I l learned on my first trip to Brazil that you have to leave your shyness at the door and get on with it.

Once we all got into costume (yes we all wore our character costumes), it was hurry up and wait.  And wait.  And wait.

Finally, they ushered us out of the dressing rooms to the backstage area.  Mojica, of course, went on first.  The brides followed him.  My entrance would come later.  I watched the show on a monitor backstage.  Mojica was in costume, being very charismatic.  He had the audience eating out of his hand.  He and his wife did a skit where he pretended that something went wrong and she died.  He was yelling "don't film this!" and "no cameras!" as if a terrible accident had really happened.  Of course, it was all a put-on.  She got up and they hugged, then Mojica went on with the interview.  The brides waited on the side, on the bottom row of the audience "bleachers."

Another actress from a different movie came on.  They showed a clip from her boring film.  Yawn. 

Mojica "directed" another skit with this actress, a male audience member and a male band member.  It was a love triangle where the two men kill each other over the girl.  Again, the closest English-language equivalent would be the Graham Norton Show.  If you've seen the kind of skits Norton does with audience members, you will get the idea.

The musical guests included at least two bands.  There was also an acrobatic act.  Mojica and the actress sat on the stage throughout the program, watching and sometimes commenting on the other acts.  Mojica was the star of the show.  It kept coming back to him with skits and more interviews.

My translator was supposed to go on stage with me, but the show producers told him that he was absolutely not allowed on stage!  I had to go out alone.  No translator.  In retrospect, it was the right decision.  Having a translator tagging along would have been lame.  But at the time, it seemed like a disastrous turn of events.

Finally, my big moment came.  The host introduced me and I walked out onto the stage.  Hundreds of people are towering above me in those high stadium seats.  Live music blaring.  Cameras all over.

Of course, the host started talking to me in Portuguese.  I don't know how I did it, but I did most of the interview in Portuguese.  When you're on national TV with millions of people watching, you just do what you got to do.  So I opened my mouth and Portuguese came out.  Don't ask me how.

The host said something, the audience got quiet, and a camera rolled up in front of me.  Scary music started playing.  I knew the host had just asked me to perform as Coffin Joe.  So I did.  I gave a blood-thirsty rant about how everyone would cower in fear before my supreme reign of violence, and they would all be cursed with anguish and pain! 

Well, by golly, that crowd went nuts.  They loved it!  They were applauding and going crazy.  I looked over at Mojica and he had the biggest grin on his face.  He was just beaming.  Man, seeing that look on his face made the whole trip worth it.  It was like standup comics who would perform on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, hoping Johnny would give them "the wink" after they finished.  For me, seeing Mojica's grin was like getting "the wink."

Next, the brides and I laid down on the floor of the stage to do a skit.  We played dead while Mojica pretended to "resurrect" us.  Then we rose like zombies.  Well, the girls rose like zombies.  I rose like Coffin Joe.  I lead an assault on Mojica, the "zombie" girls behind me.  We all ganged up on him, acting like we were going to claw him to pieces.  He got up close to a camera and screamed "Nooo! Nooo!" while we clawed at him.  Cut to a commercial.

I sat with the brides for the rest of the show, clapping and semi-dancing to the musical guests.  There was a lot of music.  It was like a gigantic party.

After the show was over, crew people were giving me a "thumbs up."  That actually impressed me a lot.  To those guys, the show is just another day at the office.  I'm sure it takes a lot to excite them.

When it was all finished, we drove back to the cafe beneath Mojica's place.  Mojica was telling people how much he loved my "curse."  I hope that segment ends up on YouTube so I can see what I did.

You know what else Mojica was talking about?  You're not going to believe this.  He was going on and on about non other than - Matt and Nancy Jaycox!

Yes, he loves them!  He could not stop praising the Coffin Joe doll they made.  He was telling everyone about it.  He wants me to give him their contact info.  As I type this, he's probably dreaming about that doll!  I think they are going to have to make him one, or they are liable to get cursed.

Mojica got on the phone, called Dennison Ramalho, and told him to get over there and take me to dinner.  So Dennison came and took me to dinner.  I love Dennison.  He is a great guy with a sweet wife.  We had dinner at Braz, a pizza parlor.  Then we went to Dennison's apartment, where he showed me his prize Exorcismo Negro movie poster.  It was exciting just seeing that poster!  Then Dennison gave me this beautiful Coffin Joe book with tons of photos I have never seen before.  It was published last year for a retrospective on Mojica.  Then Dennison and his wife drove me back to my hotel and said goodbye.  I think he would like to keep me here for a month, and I would like to oblige!  But unfortunately, I must return to Missouri this weekend.

So there you have it.  What a night.  Wow.

[Crazy1van]

Well, I'm glad Kentucky is still around, if only long enough for me to attend the Fright Night Film Fest.  But 18 years in the Navy and I've never been to Brazil, so I am most jealous of Ray (and don't even get me started on appearing in a beloved film franchise)!  Congrats! 

[The Drunken Severed Head]

Raymond, I am beaming with happiness for you! You lucky dog! I'm thrilled to read about all this, and I'm glad it's happening to you!