Behind the Scenes Musings
I think the most interesting part of this experience was learning that my friend Kyle’s stepfather, Wes Shank, is the caretaker of the Blob. For years, I had heard about Wes’ crazy collection of film stuff, but I never imagined that he would be the owner of the crown jewel of the documentary! Just goes to show you, it’s a small world (and even a smaller Blob. Unless it gets out).
Speaking of the Blob getting out, funny story. When visiting Wes and his wife Judy at Blobfest for an interview, and I couldn’t help but noticed that the Blob was on ice. “If the Blob is made out of silicone, why do you have to refrigerate it?” I asked.
“That’s to prevent hysteria,” Wes calmly replied. I raised an eyebrow. “You see, a local news station recently covered Blobfest and the anchorperson stated that ‘the National Guard would standing by in case the Blob accidentally defrosted.’ We had a good laugh about it until people started telling me that I was being irresponsible for keeping the Blob lukewarm and unguarded like this.”
“You’re joking…”
His wife, Judy, nodded gravely. “I thought they were joking, too, until mothers started pulling their children away from it and leaving the area. People were getting really upset, so we needed to make a rig for future conventions to prevent any sort of incident.”
Wes smiled mischievously, “So even after all of these years and all of these big-budget Hollywood pictures, the Blob still evokes terror in the hearts of people that dare to dream.”
Eat your heart out, Saw.
If you’re as big of a Blob fan as I am, make sure you check out Wes’ book, From Silicone to the Silver Screen: Memoirs of the Blob.
Photo courtesy of Wes Shank & Barry Taglieber