Whole Lot of Bava Going On

This Spanish mini-poster for Mario Costa's PERDONAME! ("Pardon Me!"), a 1955 melodrama photographed by Mario Bava, is my little way of apologizing for the longer-than-usual gap between updates. Rest assured that my silence here doesn't mean that nothing is happening, only that Donna felt the time wasn't quite right for an update. And being her partner in business as well as marriage, it's important that things be done in agreement or not at all. Today she gave her consent for an update, so here I am.

In short, we've sent a check to our Hong Kong printer and paper for the project has been ordered -- a big step, as you can imagine, and a big order considering the size of this book. Meanwhile, Donna is putting the finishing touches on the book's PDF files, which are looking sweet. Our next update, early next year if not sooner, should be our announcement that printing is officially underway.

Being so near the end of the year, and with a three-month printing schedule, we're obviously now looking at a 2007 release. This means my 30+ year book project is set to reach fruition on the 30th anniversary of Bava's final feature, SHOCK (aka BEYOND THE DOOR 2, 1977). In fact, 2007 is shaping up to be The Year of Mario Bava with the release of many new Bava remasters and reissues on DVD next Spring, not only here in America but abroad as well. I'll be participating in a number of Bava titles coming from a couple of different US companies, writing liner notes as well as recording several new audio commentaries. Furthermore, an Italian company has been negotiating with us to include two chapters from the Bava book, in translation, as a limited edition softcover (1000 copies) in a forthcoming box set release of one of Bava's finest films. I'm very excited about this project, as it will mark the first appearance of my writing about Bava in his own native language. More Mario Bava soundtrack anthology CDs are on the way as well, and VIDEO WATCHDOG intends to support the Bava book's release by publishing some of the interviews conducted for the book in full, including a career-length interview with the wonderful Daliah Lavi (THE WHIP AND THE BODY). You'll find more information about these and other projects here as soon as I'm given the official green lights.

In fact, as this blog enters its second year, you can expect it to mutate into an ongoing Mario Bava blog, where I'll be posting Bava-related news, interesting pictorial tid-bits that didn't make it into the book (such as the PERDONAME! poster above), diarizing about the book's mailing progress, announcing public signings and readings, and so forth.

Until then... Happy Holidays!