| Executive
Producer of First Gay Slasher Pic Dies Day After Film
Premier
By
Ross von Metzke
CORRECTION
BELOW
(Hollywood,
CA) As the producer of such horror cult classics
as A Nightmare on Elm Street and the original
Halloween, Joseph Wolf enjoyed
a long and lucrative world in the film industry.
Recently,
one of his many dreams was realized with the release
of HellBent, the world’s first gay slasher
flick, which he executive produced with his daughter
Karen.
Sadly,
Joseph was never able to see the opening of that film
realized. He was recently hospitalized at Cedars Sinai
after a fall and never recovered. Joseph Wolf passed
away Thursday night.
On
Wednesday, September 14, HellBent premiered
to a packed crowd Regent Showcase in Hollywood. As
director Paul Etheridge-Ouzts announced
that Joseph would be unable to attend because he had
been hospitalized, a hush fell over the crowd. Joseph’s
friends were many, and the cast and crew behind HellBent
were his family.
HellBent,
released by Regent Releasing and here! Films, will
roll out to more than 25 theatres across the United
States over the next month. Reviews have been kind…
often glowing… offering that America was long overdue
for a campy gay classic. HellBent delivers that film
on every level.
Survived
by his wife and daughter Karen, Wolf is considered
a pioneer by many in the entertainment industry. Back
in 1978, before the film industry had really embraced
mainstream horror flicks, Wolf shopped a completed
Halloween around to nearly every studio in
Los Angeles.
Turned
down flat, Wolf and his partners released the film
nationwide on their own dime. To date, it is the most
profitable film dollar for dollar ever made. Having
grossed more than $200 million in box office sales
alone, Wolf owned the film and its ancillary markets
out right.
From
there, Wolf turned his focus toward home video. With
the foresight to license movies for home video use,
Wolf owned one of the world’s first independent videocassette
distribution companies, Media Home Entertainment,
Inc. Media was considered the largest independent
videocassette distribution company in the world and,
as a result, Wolf’s expertise took him to speaking
engagements and events across the globe.
The
idea for HellBent came over a chance lunch
meeting between producer Josh Silver
and Wolf some five years ago. At the end of the lunch,
Josh, who recalls he didn’t feel he’d made much of
an impression, said: ‘So Joe, good luck with your
horror movies and wish me luck with the gay movies.’
‘How
about a gay horror movie?’, Wolf responded.
And
the rest, shall they say, is history.
It’s
safe to say that Joseph Wolf is a Hollywood legend.
Having produced more than 25 feature films for theatrical
distribution and home video distribution, it is his
dedication and passion that helped get a movie like
HellBent, truly the first of its kind, into
theatres.
For
more information on HellBent, visit www.hellbent-movie.com.
CORRECTION:
An earlier version of this article
stated that Hellbent was to be released by Regent
Entertainment. In fact, the movie will be placed in
theaters by Regent
Releasing. We regret the error
Article
provided by GayLinkContent.com. For more information,
contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com.
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Originally published on Friday,. September 23,
2005
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