Oscar winners join horror fans at Mad Monster Party convention in Concord this weekend
Since it debuted in Charlotte in 2012, the now bi-annual Mad Monster Party Carolina convention, which takes place Friday through Sunday at Embassy Suites in Concord, has welcomed some of horror and sci-fi’s biggest names from William Shatner to Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund (the latter returns this year).
But rarely has the convention welcomed an Oscar winner. This weekend, we have two.
Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino makes her Mad Monster Carolinas debut along with fellow Oscar winner Brad Dourif, the voice of Chucky from “Child’s Play.”
Besides horror’s big bads and several stars from the “Child’s Play” and “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchises, they are joined by:
- Billy Zane of “Titanic”
- Jonathan Majors of Marvel’s “Antman” and “Loki”
- Meagan Good of “Shazam!” and “Saw V”
- Scream queen Danielle Harris of “Halloween 4” and “Hatchett III”
- John Russo of “Night of the Living Dead”
- WWE Hall of Famers D-Von Dudley and Sgt. Slaughter, Robert Remus.
Sorvino spoke with CharlotteFive this week about her foray into conventions, her iconic roles, anti-human trafficking work with the United Nations and the upcoming “Romy & Michele” sequel. Her answers have been edited for clarity.
Q: How did you end up doing the convention circuit?
A: “Some friends of mine did it, and they really liked meeting the fans and were very gratified by it. You get to hear from the people that watch your work and learn how they connected with it — that they had a special experience in their life.
“If you’re a theater actor, you get the applause and people waiting outside the stage door, but as a movie or TV actor you really don’t know if your work meant anything but a passing diversion to someone. At the conventions, people are really kind. Some thank me for coming out against Harvey Weinstein and [participating in] the MeToo movement and the anti-human trafficking work I do.”
Q: Were you familiar with the whole convention scene?
A: “I went to two “Star Trek” conventions a teenager, so I was a fan of conventions before I knew about them as an adult actor.”
Q: You’ve done a lot of work outside of horror. Were you a fan of the genre?
A: “I really enjoyed working with Guillermo Del Toro on ‘Mimic.’ I didn’t know much about horror when I met him. He showed me his notebooks, his poetry. I thought, ‘If I’m going to do horror, I should do it with this person.’
“My dad [actor Paul Sorvino] warned me about (doing a film about bugs). He said, ‘People have an innate disgust for insects.’ I said, ‘Jennifer Lopez is doing a snake movie.’ [He said,] ‘That’s not the same.’
“That’s the most famous one. I’ve done a lot of smaller ones. And there’s [the recent Stars’ series] ‘Shining Vale,’ which people can watch now on Max. It’s gotten a whole new audience by being on a bigger streaming platform.
“It’s full of Easter eggs. There are at least 20 different films referenced in the first season, which is an homage to ‘The Shining.’ Courtney Cox’s character is basically Jack Nicholson. I’m the bartender in the basement and a ‘50s housewife with dreams of the silver screen. Then the second season is an homage to ‘Rosemary’s Baby,’ and I play three completely different characters.”
Q: What role do you get asked about most often?
A: “Even if it’s a horror convention, they usually ask about ‘Romy & Michele’ and ask about progress on the sequel. People come dressed as Romy and Michele. Sometimes, I’ll do the leg pose. It’s a special joy to hear ‘Romy & Michele’ got me through high school or made me believe in myself.”
Q: Where are you on the sequel?
A: “We’re finishing up our acting deals now. The script is getting its final brush-ups, and the director is working on hiring the whole crew.”
Q: Did you have any idea it would have this longevity when you made it?
A: “I never know at the time how it will do. I know if it’s good. ‘Romy and Michelle’ is very emotional and about important things. A lot of us weren’t the prom queen in high school — including me. This is about these underdogs who decide to make it their own way.”
Q: What else is on the horizon?
“I made a film coming out this year called ‘Signing Day.’ I play another one of these tragic comic characters. I play these characters that are crazy but heartbreaking. Its about an athlete that everyone is trying recruit for football. I play his mother. She’s outrageous.
“Right before Christmas, I wrapped a movie co-starring my husband, Christopher Backus. It’s a really powerful drama about an estranged couple who are divorced but had a child abducted 10 years earlier. Right, now it’s called ‘Baggage Check,’ but I think that may change.”
Q: What do you want fans to know before meeting you?
A: “I like meeting them. I’m not one of those people who won’t look them in the eye, and I won’t charge them for extra words. I’ll always do quotes for people — whatever they want. It’s the best meeting them.
“Literally, people have brought me gifts. I have a makeup bag that is covered with Romy and Michele quotes that I use that was a gift from a fan. Also, if anyone wants to learn about human trafficking, I’m one of their Goodwill Ambassadors at the UN. I’ve made four documentaries and three feature films about it.”
Q: How did you get into that?
A: It started with my mom being a volunteer at a suicide prevention hotline. In college [at Harvard], I wrote [my thesis] about the conflict between African and Chinese students in China. I wanted to research the otherization of people. How people come to think of them as less than human. I was asked in my thirties to host an event about the disappearing girls of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. I realized this is my way to help.
“Prejudice toward women is a global plague. Women are much less likely to finish an education and more likely to be abused. Under that, I learned about human trafficking. I thought slavery had gone away with the Emancipation Proclamation. I thought generally it was gone. It went from legal to illegal and subterranean.
“I started meeting trafficking survivors. Once I met them, it changed my heart and the UN got wind of my activism and asked me to join them in 2009. I have spoken before Senate, Congress and the General Assembly and made a ton of media about it — and I’m trying to start my own charity called Transformation Ranch. It’s like a second career that’s mostly volunteer.”
Mad Monster Party Carolina
Location: Embassy Suites by Hilton, Concord, 5400 John Q. Hammons Dr NW, Concord, NC 28027
When: Friday, Feb. 21, 6-11 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 22, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 23, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets: Purchase online. Single day pass is $35-$45; three-day pass is $80; and 3-day RIP pass is $225, which includes early entry, priority seating and express lines.