10.29.2014

I met Kane Hodder, and it was not what I expected

Being a HUGE lover of film, movies, cinema, oddly enough I've never been starstruck. I'd never be the one to go up to a celebrity and ask them for an autograph at the airport or a restaurant or something. I know they probably don't enjoy it and honestly, what would it do for me? Probably nothing, other than being worried I bothered them when they wanted to be left alone. When I lived in Austin, TX, celebrities were everywhere. Just during the few years I lived there you could easily run into Sandra Bullock, Mathew McCounaghey, Robert Plant or Robert Rodriguez. I guess what I'm saying is that it was no big deal. They're human beings too, and I'm sure having people walk up to them all day gets annoying.

literally being choked to death by Kane Hodder
But I have a few exceptions, and one of them being Kane Hodder, because I'm such a huge horror nerd. I idolized this guy. I grew up watching his Friday the 13th films in the theaters throughout the 80's and 90's. Yea, I'm that old. And when I discovered the Hatchet franchise recently, I became even more infatuated with the guy. It's fucking Kane Hodder man! And on top of his crazy busy schedule, he's got another horror icon under his belt! So when I learned he would be appearing at this years South Texas Horror Con this past weekend, I was ecstatic. If there was anybody I'd be excited about, it would be him. Of all the horror franchises, the Friday films have always been my favorite. I love the simplicity of them, and I love how there are so many, all with varying degrees of success. And while I think a few of the actors to don the hockey mask were really good, Hodder has always been my favorite. Now, I've always been a strong opponent of actors charging fee's for autographs and pictures. I just don't think it's right. If you've been lucky enough to break into the business and be successful at it, the last thing you should be doing is charging people for the chance to meet you. You should be grateful, and humble because there are literally millions of people every day who try and try and could only dream of having the success that you have achieved working in a field that is one of the hardest to break into. Maybe grateful is not the right word. Maybe appreciative?

But anyway, I thought to myself, "when will I ever get this chance again?". It's Kane fucking Hodder! My girlfriend just so happened to get a convention booth set up right next to his for her Happy Kitty Makeup FX company. Since I was going to help her all weekend, I was lucky enough to be sitting next to Kane Hodder for 2 full days. As soon as I arrived though, I had my eyes set on the guy. I wanted a picture, and an autograph. I didn't care how much it cost (In case you were wondering, it was $10 for a photo with the guy, $35 for him to sign something, or $40 for both a picture and an autograph). Yes, a little steep, but I was willing because I wanted to meet an idol of mine and I wanted to remember it forever. Being as this was a convention and not some random encounter somewhere else, this would be the perfect opportunity. I even brought a few of my rare Jason Voorhees items for him to possibly sign like the 8 Bit Jason Toys R Us Exclusive and the SDCC exclusive Jason 8 Bit from NECA. I had all these things I wanted to discuss with him, about upcoming projects, my love for the Hatchet films, for Adam Green, for his particular portrayal of Jason Voorhees; but everything immediately went sour the first second he laid eyes on me.

Got an autograph, and glad I didn't pay for it.
As I stood in line with my girlfriend, who he'd already met several times earlier in the day (I arrived 6 hours later due to work), he noticed my Pink Floyd shirt. He says "Pink Floyd? You're too young to know who they are.". I replied "Well, I'm almost 40 years old, so not really.". When it was time for my photo, I asked if he could do something cool like pretend to crush my head or something. He said he could think of something as he grabs me really hard to physically turn me around for the picture, wrapping his arm around my neck to seem like he's choking me, only, he was really choking me. Somewhat surprised as I tried to catch my breath, I mentioned how I recently discovered the Hatchet films and love them to death in my haze. I don't remember what he said in reply. Throughout the next two days he would wonder over to our booth to flirt with my girlfriend and any other female nearby, always giving me the stink eye it seemed. On one occasion as he was talking to my girlfriend, which I didn't mind at all. I mean, if Kane Hodder wants to hit on my girlfriend, I'd be proud. As I tried to squeeze past the guy running the booth next to us, Hodder grabs the back of my neck with so much force, I thought I was being assaulted. He grabs my shoulder with his other hand and shoves me against the guy I was trying to squeeze past, knocking both of us over. He immediately reacts as if nothing happened, jokingly of course. When I compose myself, I tell him "That wasn't cool man". He played it off with some kind of joking remark and walked away.
my

It seemed to me that he felt the constant need to impress the females by proving how big and strong he was and how small I am. I'll admit, I'm a little guy, being only 5'5 and skinny. I have an insane metabolism, so I've just always been this way, no matter how much I exercise or eat. I am in shape though, so I'm not a lanky skinny. I do my best to exercise every day doing something, whether it be push-ups, pull-ups, or lifting weights. Yet here we are, at a Horror Convention, where people are here to see "you", and instead of being gracious, or even somewhat endearing, you act like you're 15 years old bullying a much smaller man for no other reason than to show off. I'm not sure where all that came from. Maybe he saw an easy target and went with it. I'm the most non-confrontational guy on the planet. I did nothing but smile every time I saw him, including the weird random moments when I would look up from whatever I was doing and noticed him staring at me. Maybe he was having a bad weekend? Maybe he liked my girlfriend and didn't like the fact that I was there? Or maybe he's just a bully who likes picking on little guys? Who knows? All that is to say is that when it comes right down to it, he was a bully, and a jerk, and my respect for the guy is gone.

As I was posting my weird and awkward encounters on social media as it happened, a lot of the comments were "He's a great guy", "I met him once, cool guy", "Awesome guy!". I'm sure he is, when you meet him for 2 whole minutes as he signs an autograph for you. When you spend a considerable amount of time with the guy as I did, it's a totally different story.

On the flipside, Andrew Bryniarski, who played Leatherface in the Texas Chainsaw Remake as well as the prequel titled The Beginning, was there with Bob Elmore, who also played Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, though IMDB lists Bill Johnson as playing Leatherface in that film......weird. Bryniarski was crazy, but a very likable and humble guy. He did a Q & A panel with Elmore, though Bryniarski did most of the talking as Elmore sat there like he was annoyed having to be there. Bryniarski, on the other hand, thanked the crowd that gathered to hear him speak repeatedly, and I lost count how many times he said that he appreciated everyone that came to the convention, that spent their hard earned money, and that came to support him. That's class.

I refused to give Hodder anymore of my hard-earned money so buying an autograph was out of the question. A friend of mine had my back though, and graciously flirted her way to a free autograph for me, because despite all this, my love for his work will remain the same. He'll always be my favorite Jason, and his portrayal of Victor Crowley in the Hatchet films is one of the reasons why I love that franchise so much. I'll continue to support his projects, and I'll continue to watch his films. But my respect for him is gone and that's just sad.

7 comments:

  1. Wow... I've got to be honest, I'm not totally surprised. From what I've heard Hodder is always like this is real-life. That sucks man.

    Yeah, meeting famous people at conventions does something ruin your perception. I got Malcolm McDowell to sing my Criterion copy of If... last year and he was super grumpy and didn't say a word to me (to be fair it was the end of the day). I was kind of hoping since it was a Sci-fi convention he might be more enthusiastic to sign something like If... or at least acknowledge me a bit more. Guess not. I'm now going to pick who I get signatures from very carefully.

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    1. My feeling is, if you're at a damn convention, the whole point is for fans to get the chance to engage with you, an icon. I just can't understand why they act this way. Why bother going then? It was a bummer to say the least.

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  2. I know this is old but I just ran across it... Bob Elmore was credited as Bill Johnson's stunt man, although he (Bob) ended up doing 98% of Leatherface's on-screen time because Bill Johnson wasn't able to man-handle the chainsaw.

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  3. Just met Kane Hodder at a conference this weekend, and he truly is a pervert and a douchebag. He was trying to flirt with me, and saying some extremely disgusting and foul-mouthed things. My friend was a witness to this. I lost all respect for this asshat! However, John Franklin and Courtney Gaines were two of the nicest gentlemen I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

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    1. Hey Luanne. I'm so sorry. I read this a while ago but only now just realized I never replied. I'm sorry for that. I meant to! Or I assumed I already had! Thank you for sharing your story. I'm literally discussing Kane's asshole ways right now with some other people in a facebook group. LOL. Again, my apologies for the late reply.

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  4. Hi, I can back up that he is indeed a pervert, bully, and sexual harasser. He got really creepy towards me when I was 17 at a con, pushed my shirt up my ribs in a photo, and then at another con lifted a friend of mine's skirt up and made both of us really uncomfortable and scared. Squeezed the back of my neck really uncomfortably too. Fuck him. NOT a great guy.

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  5. Dude, Kane Hodder is beyond a creep and a fucking pervert. My friend and her good friend were working a Horror Con Convention in NY or NJ when they met him at his booth to do an interview and photoshop for the horror magazine company they worked for/interned for at that time. (They were there working for their company's booth and in cosplay.) According to my friend, while they were posing together for a photo together, Kane Hodder clenched the back of shoulder too tightly, but what he did to her friend was worse. The guy managed to creep his arm down from her should to her back and then to where her cosplay mini-skirt layers of her skirt where and tried grabbing a feel from underneath her skirts and she freaked out. She was too scared to do or say anything, shocked that he did that! He even made a pass hitting on them both asking how old they were and if they wanted a more "private" time with him to interview him more personally elsewhere in the convention grounds. They "politely" refused, immediately left once the photo opt and interview for their work was done. They felt very uncomfortable and reasonably upset over the entire thing. They've warned other fans to avoid him, especially female fans, he's a creep from what some comic con and horror con staff and goers who've encountered him say. I've never met the guy at cons, but as a fan of the Friday the 13th films and of his work as Jason myself, I'm deeply troubled and concerned about him being a total creep with how many fans online and in person at conventions I've met who've all shared similar experiences of Kane Hodder making passes, inappropriate sexual comments, or physically inappropriately grabbing at others, who feels a need to target and go after women/girls who are fans inappropriately. It's not right.

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