AC:  Hello my friends!  Here we are again with another installment of Fool’s (inter)Views, where we turn the spotlight on you, the everyday horror fan.  **Afterwards, feel free to offer feedback or ask any questions at the end of the interview by posting a comment.**

Today we are very pleased to have with us:

Steven J. Bejma of Graphics by Artman (www.graphicsbyartman.com and www.myspace.com/sbejma).  Welcome, good sir!

SB:  Thanks, AC.  I hope you don’t laugh too much at my spelling, punctuation, and run on sentences.  I draw pictures for a living.

AC:  No worries, no worries.  I suppose we should just come right out and admit that we also know each other in real life, albeit in that “horror-convention-type-of-real,” which is its own animal.  Do you remember where we met for the first time?  Was it HorrorHound or Flashback Weekend this summer, or were you at Fangoria earlier in the year?

SB: Wrong, wrong, wrong, it was at Cinema Wasteland last spring, I’m sure. You handed me a magnet for the Horror 101 book, saying it would be coming out in the fall, and we started talking.  I remember being impressed that you had actually put together a book, thought that was very cool.  

AC:  It can’t have been CW, because this past fall was the first time I was there.  That’s probably where you met Jon [Kitley] for the first time though.  Not a big deal.  I’m a huge fan of your artwork, and highly recommend people to check out your stuff, either online or when they see you at conventions.  I’ll confess, I’m a bit of a layman when it comes to understanding the various mediums. Can you tell us a little bit about your process?  Do you sketch the figures first, for example?

SB: Thanks!  Well, no, I don’t sketch first as I don’t draw all that well.  I just give myself a basic drawing on the canvas and off I go. 

AC:  How long have you been drawing, and were the monsters always a part of it?

SB:  I think I started drawing as soon as I was able to hold a pencil, at least my earliest memories are of trying to draw people in Kindergarten. I know that trying to draw monsters was one of the first things I started doing, trying to copy what I saw in the Creepy and Eerie comics I had as a kid – that’s what I wanted to do first, be a comic artist.  But I became more fascinated with the cover paintings I saw by Ken Kelly or Frank Frazetta; they just blew me away.

AC:  What has changed the most for you from your early years as an artist?

SB:  In my early days I was hell bent on being famous like Kelly, Frazetta, Basil Gogos, etc.  But now I’m content to do good work [in my own style] and hopefully other people will enjoy it as well.

AC:  What does your upcoming week hold for you? Is this a normal week?

SB:  A normal week?  Now there’s a problematic term, between running my graphics company, helping take of my son (7 yrs old) and squeezing in some painting at night. I guess normal would consist of tired and overworked.

AC:  Heh, I know the feeling – trying to serve all the different masters.  So, where do you see yourself in 10 years?

SB:  I would like to see myself maybe being able to slow down at work and concentrate on a little more interesting work, like the paintings I do to show at Cinema Wasteland. I always thought doing posters for movies would be very cool – I have always been a great fan of movie posters. I suppose the main goal is to just keep working and getting my stuff out there so that more people can hopefully enjoy it as much as I enjoy creating it.

AC:  Are you planning to be at HorrorHound Weekend in Indianapolis in November?  (I’d love to, but I’m stuck here in Chi-town rehearsing a show.)

SB:  No, Flashback [in Chicago] next year and I think we may be doing the MonsterBash [Butler, PA, just north of Pittsburgh] show as well.  I would like to try and do more shows and I’m talking to some of the other vendors to give me some advice as to which ones would be good to do.

AC:  What was the first movie (doesn’t have to be a horror flick) was that made a big impression on you?

SB:  The first movie I can remember that had a huge influence on me was I think when I was about 7 or 8 my mom made me sit down and watch The Innocents with her and I haven’t been the same since, much to my mother’s dismay.  I remember one scene that just freaked me out:  When you see Ms. Jessel across the water – was she there or was it imagined?  That image stuck with me for years.  It was one of the first movies I sought out when the onslaught of VHS started. I just watched it again during Halloween and it still has that impact on me.

AC:  Love that film.  Just watched it a few weeks back myself, and then Deborah Kerr passed away.  R.I.P.  Strange thing was, I had just posted my Innocents review when I heard the news.  That’ll give you pause before writing the next review, I’ll tell ya.  Speaking of which, can you tell us the last 10 movies you watched, and give us your personal rating from 1-10?

SB:
Isolation - 9
Black Sheep - 7
28 Weeks Later - 7
Spider Baby - 7
The Lodger - 8
The Birds - 9
Shaun of the Dead - 10
The Thing (1951) - 9
August Underground (Mordum) - not sure what to think of this yet
Cannibal Holocaust - 7
Albert Fish - 7

AC:  I gotta ask, which version of The Lodger was this?  The Hitchcock or the ’44 sound version with Laird Cregar?  Because I just watched the Cregar a few weeks ago and haven’t been able to shut up about it.  Knocked.  Me.  Out.

SB: It was the Laird Cregar version, which I remember seeing as a kid and it really had an impact on me.  I didn’t get a chance to see it again until about a year ago and it was still great. That is the best Jack the Ripper movie in my opinion for what that’s worth.

AC:  I’m completely intrigued by a movie that stumps someone when it comes to rating it, and I haven’t seen August Underground myself, so tell us a little about it.  Should I check it out?  Should I avoid with extreme prejudice?  Talk to me.

SB: I’m not sure if I should shake their hand or just bitch slap them.  I mean, it manages to disgust and outrage me but I still kept watching like Max in Videodrome.  I was half expecting to develop brain cancer from watching such an extreme film.

AC:  Lot of “7” rankings thrown out there.  Do you think you’re a tough critic?  Do you rate on actual quality of filmmaking or sheer entertainment value?  For example, how do you rate a turkey like Robot Monster or The Giant Claw, where the movie is terrible but extremely entertaining?

SB: I loved The Giant Claw!  I think I’m pretty easy.  I mean, as far as I’m concerned, every movie I watch has some redeeming value to it – some you have to look harder to find, but I think that anyone who has the balls to make something (movie or otherwise) should get a great big pat on the back. It’s easy to sit back and be a critic but until you have put your vision out there for everyone to see, you don’t know how gut-wrenching that can be. You should know now that you’ve put your book out – I’m sure you worried over whether it would it be well received or if anyone want to buy it. Opening yourself up to that kind of criticism is difficult. 

AC:  I absolutely agree, although having been an actor for a while now, I think I’ve developed a pretty tough skin when it comes to criticism.  One of my good friends once gave me the best advice when it comes to dealing with the critics:  That it is just another person with an opinion – the only difference is that they’ve got a pencil (or laptop, now) in their hand.  You can’t take anything personally.  I’m definitely happy when someone says that they like the book, but if they don’t, that’s cool, too.  It’s an old saying, but it’s true:  You just can’t please everyone.  You can only do your best and follow your own artistic vision.  On that note, tell us the last goal you achieved (artistic or otherwise), and a couple that are on your “short list.”

SB:  Short list is to include every major horror icon in my collection of portraits. The larger goal is to make something of Steve and Frank outings at the local horror conventions. Although I think my real goal here is to enjoy what I’m doing, meet some great people, such as Jon Kitley who has been very supportive and helpful. You, Matt, Phil, and many others.

AC:  I’m telling you, with all credit to Kitley, “Frank n’ Steve” has a great ring to it.  So, do you have an actual list compiled of “major horror icons” that you want to do?  I notice that you’ve already done a couple different versions of folks like Freddy Krueger…

SB: Yes, I do have a list.  I listen to what everyone tells me they are looking for and the list is getting longer and longer. I have gotten a lot of good ideas from talking to people at the various shows.  I have done a few versions of the same character already and it really depends on what strikes me at any time I’m painting.  I wanted to do a Bride of Frankenstein for about a year, but I just couldn’t start it for some reason.  Then one night it just came to me as to how to do it; I started, just flew through it and was pleased with how it came out. 

AC:  Very cool.  So, what have you done for the horror genre lately?

SB:  I would like to think by going to shows and talking up horror movies that I can maybe convince a few people that horror movies aren’t just for teenagers and freaks.  Some of us are serious and somewhat normal. Also, I think it’s partly our job to pass along information about or passion for the subject to others, preach the gospel, etc.  But let’s not try and get all respectable and stuff – horror movies and rock n’ roll should have a certain amount of rebellion to them, otherwise they lose their edge. 

AC:  How did you meet up with this Frank Franco guy, anyway? Anything you can tell us about him?

SB:  Frank and I met while working at a screen print shop about 20 years ago and we just hit it off, having many same interests.  It seemed a perfect fit when I wanted to start doing shows that I would include him and his t-shirts and make it a joint effort.  Of course, now I can’t seem to be able to get rid of him. He is a very talented guy, the best screen printer I have ever known.

AC:  Tell us your favorite close encounter story with a horror celebrity.

SB:  A few years ago at a Cinema Wasteland show Robert Quarry was there.  Count Yorga, Vampire was the first movie my dad ever took me to see at the local drive in.  It was just us two, so this movie has a little sentimental value to me as my dad is a pretty cool guy and encouraged my interest in all things horror.  Anyway, I got Quarry’s autograph and told him my story and that my son was impressed that I was here with a real life vampire, so he offered to call my son on my cell and in his best deep vampire voice talked to my son for about 10-15 minutes.  He still tells his friends about it, very cool.

AC:  That’s awesome.  Who are some of your favorite horror icons?

SB:  Christopher Lee – my favorite to this day.  I named my son after him, but didn’t tell my wife that until the ink was dry on the birth certificate. I grew up before the video era and I remember looking at all these cool pictures in books and magazines on all the Dracula movies he made.

AC:  I’m a newbie to the horror genre, and I’ve never seen a horror flick from before 1995. Where should I start?

SB:  Oh, good lord, you have to start at the beginning and look at all the great classics, starting with the silents: Nosferatu, Vampyr, Phantom of the Opera.  You need to watch these to understand how we got to the movies we watch now.

AC:  Interesting.  I agree that the classics are important, but I worry that younger fans, especially those of the Gameboy and MTV variety, will be bored out of their minds by too many class b/w films, especially of the silent variety.  I think Vampyr and The Man Who Laughs are brilliant films, but will they hook today’s newcomers?  When I was assembling the HORROR 101 list, I had to restrain myself from including too many silents for fear we’d have too many “Freshman dropouts,” people who would be muttering, “This is boring…” I mean, we grew up in an earlier time, back before the internet and DVD, so I think our wiring is different from the next generation of horror fans.  Thoughts?  

SB: I agree that’s a problem, but if you’re a real fan of horror movies you should be able to look past that.  Maybe it’s because I’m older and come from the before video age. Does a movie have to have blood and gore to be great?  No. The Thing from Another World, Them!, The Innocents, The Lodger, Repulsion, In Cold Blood, great movies that show almost nothing but are just great films. The older I get, the more I appreciate the older work but that’s not to say that there isn’t great stuff being made now. My only advise to anyone watching the older movies for the first time is to try and remember the time it was made and what was possible at the time.  Special effects were limited and there were always the censors out there.

AC:  Does young Christopher have a favorite scary movie?

SB: Oh he sure does, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Shaun of the Dead, Them!…  I try and be careful what I let him watch but it’s hard when he gets into the movie collection when I’m not home – I had to stop him from watching Saw a few weeks ago.

AC:  Good move there, Dad.  All right, that’s about all the time and space we have for now.  Thank you so much for joining us, and I hope you’ll drop by from time to time and answer any additional comments or questions folks might have for you!  Any parting thoughts?

SB:  Thanks for the opportunity, this was fun. I don't often get to talk about movies in my civilian life and I will try and jump in whenever possible.  To everyone out there that loves horror movies just remember, let’s focus on the positive stuff and if you think you can do better, go ahead and try – you may surprise yourself.