Unlike other celebrities who come ready to save the country, “godfather of gore” Herschell Gordon Lewis said only Spookfest could “drag [him] to the District.”
Lewis opened the 2009 International Horror Film Festival with the theme song of his film “Two Thousand Maniacs” Wednesday at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring.
“I never did forget the words. They may very well haunt me,” Lewis said.
Despite his bane for our city, one of Lewis’ favorite dialogues centers on a monumental landmark and his 35 mm Mitchell camera.
“One guy said to me ‘That camera of yours ought to be in the Smithsonian.’ I said ‘Where do you think I got it?’ ” Lewis remembered.
Lewis also said he couldn’t believe Turner Classic Movies played both “Blood Feast” and “Two Thousand Maniacs” not once, but twice.
“It’s a rather sad commentary on our culture — or lack thereof,” he lamented.
However, Lewis said he doesn’t let these things bother him: He lives by a simple philosophy.
“Take nothing seriously,” he said.
