BloodyBulldawg

The character that snarled at the videographer just before he left the house was awesome. Those are some of the best scares when people think they are "in the clear" and a scareactor takes the initiative to provide a strong finish to the house. It may seem like a small thing, but that last second scare can turn a lame or so-so house experiences into a memorable one. That is why I love doing what I do.

They already used a similar idea when Jack dealt cards of fate (Freddy, Jason and Leatherface) to a patron at his Carnival of Carnage.

Um...yeah...besides the expletive (personal preference) that picture is UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME!

HAHAHA...Touche! Thanks!

Correction: I meant "THEME" not "THEM". Sorry

The internal house contruction is contracted out. But some or possibly all of the facades are done personally by the design team and department. It is possible that they build some facades earlier to help the scenic artist team get "in the mood" for the them of the house.

Different building fire code inspector than previous years...no joke. If memory serves me correctly, they actually explained to the inspector how they had used the false ceilings before and that in wouldn't obstruct fire safety procedures, but the inspector wasn't seeing eye to eye with them, so they pulled them out to meet code. I can remember whether or not this was the case as well, but there may have been some recent changes to city fire codes as well. But I'm pretty sure it was just that particular inspector.

I was permitted to do a walk through during the day time and talked with a few of the designers of HHN. Originally they did have some sort of ceiling for several of the houses, but the county/city fire inspector would not give them the necessary safety permits if they remained in place. The issue is that any sort of ceiling could prevent water flow of the emergency sprinker system. That being said, they do recognize that it removes a some of the emersive factor in the houses. I personally think they will try to implement some sort of mesh material that can give the impression of being closed in, but will meet fire codes. We shall see.

Sorry for the delay in my reply. SOLO meaning 1 patron at a time or at least a small group. Similar to what Busch Gardens attempted. They had some ideas of multiple entry points for a group of 5 and having them come in and intercept each other and be "chased/scared" through the rest of the house. The problem was exactly what happened at Busch Gardens...HUGE lines and very few people (relative to general attendance) got to go through. I'm not sure if they will pursue the idea again this year...they would have to devise a way to control the queueing (line length) and the pacing. But know they are always considering things like that.

Cold Blind Terror was not a temperature oriented maze. If I remember right, that maze was in the Posiedon area. It was a VERY COOL house, and by far was one of the best ever...but the temps weren't any different than those on a standard sound stage.

I think they are definitely going to go darker for HHN 21. XX was good in my opinion, on par or better than 19, but it wasn't as dark and dimented as Islands of Fear. They have reduced the gore and intensity since 2001. I have feeling they are going to go darker...more twisted and possible historical. When I say historical I mean similar to how they did HADES. Playing on mythology, legends and fears from various cultures and nations. Think about it... Catacombs (France/UK), Hades (Greece) even the Coven (Plymouth, MA). They have pushed the movie themes and icons so far that most of us are tired of them. We want new themes that are out of the norm. Digging into the scary histories and myths of the world provides a HUGE playground for the imagination. Thats my speculation. Also, I do for a fact know that Universal was contemplating a SOLO house for XX, they even had a concept going but it didn't build up enough momentum to really take hold for XX. We may see one in XXI though.

There is a red button in Havoc. I hit it opening night and it is attached to a sound and light trigger for the next room. It has a delay timer that doesn't allow it to be hit again for several minutes. I remember when I hit it I exploded with laughter from all the people in the next room who got scared. It made my night.

Serious props to EVERYONE in the HAVOC house on opening night. I've been working at HHN for 3 years and attending for 6-8 and yours was the first house I hit on opening night. YOU GUYS WERE FREAKIN' AMAZING! The ladies are seriously rocking their roles as total BA soldiers. All of you (men and women) were giving 110% and totally selling it. We could tell. Mad applause to all of you who are working that house. I hope to have the same experiences in the remaining houses during the event. Again, FANTASTIC JOB HAVOC crew!

Red Phoenix... My wife also applied for a Make-Up Artist position on the second audition date and didn't make it. We later found out, through the Artistic Director for Universal (pretty good authority) that they only hired 2 new artists, everyone else was a rehire from the previous years. If you didn't this year, be sure for next year that you are literally the first in line at the first open audition next year for Make-Up Artists. There is some steep competition, so be sure you have your airbrushing and other techniques well developed and appropriately displayed in your portfolio. I've talked to several artists that have worked for Universal (Kyle Vest, Brian and Nick Wolfe) and they all agreed that working the simpler concepts (Aging, Skulls, Zombie, Wounds/Bruising/Skin Damage, Vampire, Whore etc) and getting those down 110% will be your best bet for having what they are looking for. Hope that helps! I got my call last week. I am Active Backup again for the 3rd year. Believe it or not, I actually love AB. I'm never in the same role twice and I get to meet pretty much everyone here one way or another. Look forward to scaring with you all!

Either way...even if they are 99% cast...people who have not auditioned should go because there is always a chance to make it. They are more likely to overhire than underhire. Don't stop trying until they cancel the auditions...bottom line. Let's just hope everyone who wants to at least gets a chance to audition. It's a fun experience anyway. Wish you all the best!

I just talked to a few more applicants from yesterday and they said the Uni Team said that 60% of those who auditioned last week were cast. If there were 480 at that audition that would make the number cast roughly 288. We've also heard they are trying to cast around 1000+ scareactors/stilt walkers. With the way this event has run in the past, they will need at least that many this year because so many scareactors quit midway through the event. The amount of patrons that will come to this event will probably be more than in years past purely for the draw of the 20th Year factor. With that in mind, the will want to ensure they have enough cast overhead to cover the eventual loss of scareactors that occurs EVERY year. It gets so bad sometimes that whole rooms in houses and sections of scare zones are completely empty. It's really sad, especially when you have to try and solo a room or area.

I was at the reunion audition and have been cast already. No call as to what role, but I'm not expecting one for several weeks. On another note...I know a lot of you heard about the event being 69% cast, but don't let that discourage you. When I went to my original audition in 2008, it was the 2nd open audition and they told us ahead of time that the event was already 90% cast. Low and behold, I was cast that very same night. They tell the applicants that because they want to give the applicants a realistic expectation of their chances and that they need to really be on their game to make it. In the end it is personality and type casting. HHN is not for the wallflowers, no matter how much you may love the event. Best of luck to all who audition! Remember to just be yourself and have fun! Step out of your shell and make the most of whatever prompt they give you! Last but not least...never forget...DO NOT APPROACH THE TABLE!

"Yeah TJ confirmed that at Huantcon now and forever." I was at HauntCon and I don't remember any of the designers (make-up, costume, street, house) revealing how many houses or areas they were going to use for this year. When did you hear this?

Not that its new for any reunion audition participant, but I was cast for the 3rd year in a row. Can't wait to get my scares on. For the audition I said my favorite role was as the Confederate Soldier in American Gothic in 2008. I was raised in the south, so having an opportunity to play up my natural accent and just be a rowdy undead soldier was a blast. I look forward to meeting some of you guys. I will probably be AB, so I should see most of you whether I realize it or not. hehehe Congrats to all others that are and will be cast.