Sunday, October 4, 2020

Book of the Week: 'Chain Saw Confidential' by Gunnar Hansen

 


For some reason, the film 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' seems to come up a lot in my life. When my mom was in high school, one of her closest friends at the time was the niece of Paul Partain (who played Franklin), one of her many nth degree claims to fame (she also shared chips with one of the Sheens on a set once and during some wardrobe volunteer work picked out earrings for Kathy Bates' costume). When I was about 5, my dad made a bad joke / misguided attempt at creepy humor by convincing me leather face was in our back yard before bedtime. When I wrote one of my final essays on my way to getting my MLIS degree, I made it a point that essential records and films pertaining to Texas history should be archived - - and yes, I made it a point to emphasize how important TCM really was to our film heritage. Tonight, in fact, I'll be going to a drive-in with my boyfriend to see it in New Braunfels, accompanied by some awesome BBQ we'll be taking along with us.

Somehow this blog entry turned into my own personal love letter for TCM, but what it's really supposed to be is a recommendation for another man's connection to it. This is a making-of book from the perspective of Gunnar Hansen, our own beloved Leatherface himself. The audiobook is how I happened to 'read it', and I was delighted to learn about the many issues involved in the whole process. Just ignore the Wall Street Journal's review and enjoy the book on your own. Reputed newspapers always seem to have it out for horror films, and that's a fact that is never going to change.

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