Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of “Bubba Ho-Tep,” based on the novella by Nacogdoches author Joe R. Lansdale and adapted to film by Don Coscarelli, at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House.
The story is about residents of a nursing home who begin dying of “dubious causes,” and an aged Elvis and a Black senior who claims to be President John F. Kennedy, both residents, discover that the perpetrator is an Egyptian mummy with murderous intentions, according to IMDb. Directed by Coscarelli, it stars Bruce Campbell as Elvis Presley/Sabastian Haff, Ossie Davis as Jack, and Bob Ivy as Bubba Ho-Tep.
Champion storyteller Lansdale, an East Texas native, is the author of more than 40 novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in national anthologies, magazines and collections, as well as numerous foreign publications. He has written for comics, television, film, newspapers and internet sites. He has received the Edgar Award, eleven Bram Stoker Awards, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, and many others. In addition to the film success of “Bubba Ho-Tep,” his story "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" was adapted to film for Showtime's "Masters of Horror," and he also adapted his short story "Christmas with the Dead" for film. The film adaptation of his novel “Cold in July” was nominated for the grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and the Sundance Channel has adapted his Hap and Leonard novels for television. He is currently co-producing several films.
Lansdale will be present to answer audience questions and sign books following the screening.
The School of Art’s Friday Night Film Series is sponsored in part by filmmaking Professor William Arscott. The Cole Art Center, SFA’s historic downtown gallery, is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.