Hedgehogs, Chainsaws, And Plain Ole "Saw"
Both Gibbs and White speak fondly of their experiences on the film, a spoof of 1970s disaster films that was written and director by the comedy trio of David Abrams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker. Since its release in 1980, "Airplane!" has consistently been named as one of the funniest films ever made.
"There so much great stuff in that movie, so many funny scenes that [Robert] Hays and the rest of the cast did, that we're just happy to have a small part in it," White said.
After "Airplane!" both actors kept busy. Gibbs had small roles in such films as "Blue Thunder" and "Kiss Me Goodbye" in the early 1980s, while White actually made a cameo in 1982's "Airplane II: The Sequel" and also appeared in several popular TV shows such as "The A-Team" and "The Dukes of Hazzard." Ironically, Gibbs and White appeared in the same episode of "Hill Street Blues" in 1984 but didn't know it until the show aired because their scenes were shot separately.
As I finished my interview with Gibbs and White, more people began to recognize them to flock around their table. "Do you remember "Airplane!"? It's the jive guys!" they said. Indeed, the Jive Dudes were enjoying themselves at the show. And that's one of the great things about Comic-Con, beyond the big-name stars and exclusive movie previews. You never know what kind of loveable characters you'll run into at the event.
Another interesting person I met at the autograph pavilion was Edwin Neal, who played "the hitchhiker" in the 1974 low-budget horror classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Outside of "Leatherface," the ole chainsaw-wielding psycho himself, Neal's character is the most well-known from the film. I stopped by his booth and learned that in addition to his "hitchhiker" fame, Neal also boasts one of the largest collections of movie posters in the world, which he sells from his Website, EdwinNeal.com (some of his impressive paraphernalia decorated his Comic-Con booth).
Other things I learned: besides parts in other horror movies, Neal appeared in Oliver Stone's "JFK" as an interrogator; he has done a fair amount of voice-acting in animated films, such as "Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie," and video games like Deus Ex: Invisible War and Conquest: Frontier Wars. Oh, and he owns Leatherface's blood-soaked apron from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." I also learned later on that Neal is a Vietnam War veteran and was awarded the Bronze Star.
Edwin Neal of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" fame
Speaking of horror movies and saws, one of the bigger flicks to be previewed at the event was "Saw III." Some of the movie's cast and crew appeared at the conference to preview a scene for the very first time and discuss the upcoming sequel without really giving any details about it. The clip, which was pretty gross, involved an ex-con who has chains pierced through various parts of his body and must rip them out before time expires. Saw III director Darren Lynn Bousman, screenwriter Leigh Whannell, and actors Shawnee Smith (Amanda) and Jigsaw himself Tobin Bell, who's creepier in real life than in the movies, were also on hand during a Q&A session with the press.
One member of the press asked the panel if they had thought about a "Saw" video game. It was a great question, and one I wish I had asked. A video game would be able to accommodate the maximum gore of the films while also presenting players with complex puzzles and traps. It sounds like a perfect fit, and Whannell himself agrees.
"It may be fun, [speaking] as a video game fan. So maybe," he said, though Whannell also admitted that coming up with new material for the sequels was hard enough.
