Hollywood great Edward Davis Wood's birthday of October 10th should be celebrated as a national holiday by every film producer in the country for his innovative schlock. The undeniable master of technically unsophisticated, low-budget films is an inspiration for me as well as every fan of YouTube, so I guess that makes him my all-time hero. Wood was never concerned about commercial success, seeking only to bring his love of cinema and artistic expression to the big screen. In fact, he is known to have produced films for as little as $100, a feat not repeated in modern times! In addition to his frugal film-making finesse, Wood was the master-mind of many special effect innovations imitated to this day. From the flying saucers in "Plan 9 from Outer Space" to the simulated rubber octopus in "Bride of the Monster", audiences sat silently in stunned amazement at what they were witnessing on the screen. Unlike the cheesy miniatures Lucas later used in "Star Wars" Ed Wood had the sublime genius to use cheap flying saucer models disguised as hubcaps to pull off the visual coup that has kept audiences talking for half a century.

Wood was also known for pulling great performances from mediocre actors and was instrumental in pulling some of the greatest performances out of a barely known Bela Lugosi. Saturating the rumor mill with tales of Lugosi's addiction problems, Wood deftly eliminated competition for the actor, using him in some of the greatest films of all time, such as "Glen or Glenda" and "Plan 9 from Outer Space". Following the run-away success of these films, Lugosi developed a cult following which breathed new life into several mediocre films he'd made in his youth such as "Dracula." However, Lugosi remained as annoyed to be identified in the vampire role as John Lithgow is by his portrayal of Dr. Lizardo in "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai". In fact, when Bela died during the filming of "Plan 9 from Outer Space", his last words were reportedly, "Please don't bury me in that damned cape. I don't want to be remembered as a blood-sucking freak." Ed Wood honored his request as best he could, salvaging what footage he had of Lugosi and filling out the rest with a double. The result was an iconic role that Lugosi would forever be associated with...some guy incomprehensively slinking around in a cape in a movie not about vampires. Genius!

Wood was as shrewd as he was resourceful and frequently wore women's clothing in order to avoid the avid fans that

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about Satire: Heroes?
We want to hear your view. Write now!