On Saturday October 28th, "Off Beat Cinema" kicks off its 30th anniversary season on-the-air, and now online. The movie show currently hosted by beatnik characters “Zelda” and “Bird” will present a newly restored print of "Night Of The Living Dead" on flagship station WBBZ-TV 5, Your Hometown MeTV Station in Buffalo, at 12:30am. The program will also air at 10pm Eastern/ Pacific on the Retro Television Network of stations across the United States, and streaming worldwide at www.getafteritmedia.com. Other stations include WBGT-MyTV in Rochester; WJKP MyTV in Corning; BigFOX WYDC in Elmira; TV 8 in Vail Colorado; and the SGTN stations in Atlanta and Beaumont Texas.
On Halloween night Tuesday October 31st, the Off Beat Cinema YouTube Channel will host a first ever “Scare-A-Thon” starting at 6pm Eastern with several movies streaming all night.
"Off Beat Cinema" began as a local program Halloween weekend 1993 with the broadcast of the late George Romero's "Night Of The Living Dead" on Buffalo's ABC affiliate WKBW-TV 7. After a few years gaining a local cult following, the program went national in January 1997 on satellite services, and then the Chattanooga based Retro Television Network. In August of 2012, the project moved to independent station WBBZ-TV 5. In November "Off Beat Cinema" will return to it's usual time slot Saturday at midnight in Buffalo.
Advertising executive James Gillan created the show with television producer John Di Sciullo. Gillan commented, "Off Beat Cinema was a reaction to the insidious spread of infomercials and the yawning void of late night television. Plus, we present the movies that must be shown with our segments presented in glorious black and white!”
Gillan, the creator, writer, and director added, " 'Off Beat Cinema' was designed to provide a forum for films that are not regularly shown on television, and in many cases that are not available on video. There's an enormous cache of films that an entire generation grew up watching that are unavailable. We wanted to capture that nostalgia as well as introduce these films to today's viewers."
"Off Beat Cinema" delivers the good, the bad, and the foreign, showcasing campy sci-fi classics as diverse as "Teenagers from Outer Space" to classic "art films" such as Stanley Kubrick's “Fear and Desire,” with silent film greats like Harold Lloyd's “Safety Last."
Set in the fictitious Hungry Ear Coffee House, "Off Beat Cinema" is currently hosted by hepcat beatniks - "Bird The Painter" (artist/event planner Tony Billoni); and "The Mysterious Zelda" (actress Constance Caldwell) – with an eclectic mix of guests, beatnik cast members, and contributors including the character of “Theodore” ( photographer and movie maven Jeffrey Roberts). In this episode, “Theo” will visit the actual cemetery where “Night of the Living Dead” was filmed. Over the years, "Off Beat Cinema" has welcomed celebrities including Doc Severinsen, the late Taylor Negron, William Shatner, Robby Takac & the Goo Goo Dolls, Bass music legend Mike Watt, Toronto's Tragically Hip, Jamestown's 10,000 Maniacs, pianist George Caldwell, and the musical duo Charming Disaster, to name a few.
The background music for the show is performed by local musicians David Kane's Them Jazzbeards. The anniversary show will include concert footage. The program consistently supports Western New York musicians, artists, filmmakers, and organizations, giving them exposure on a national platform. “Off Beat Cinema” recently staged a fundraiser for The Book Corner in the City of Niagara Falls, and produced the popular “Variety Rocks” shows for several years, introducing the Variety Club and Oishei Children's Hospital to a young audience.
John DiSciullo said of the show's successful formula, "We wanted to create a smart show reminiscent of the late night hosted movie shows that many cities had. We appreciate the support of our station partner network, and our dedicated digital teams first at WKBW, and WBBZ-TV who create the program including Andy Smyczynski, Tim Marcolini, Chatham Marcolini, Joe Maulucci, Rich Lee, and Joel Barone.
Di Sciullo added, "We receive mail, and social media comments from all across the continent, with comments and requests for films, original poetry, and philosophic ramblings!”
Viewers can connect online at www.offbeatcinema.tv, follow "Off Beat Cinema" on Facebook, @OffBCinema, on Twitter, and off_beat_cinema on Instagram and TikTok. "Off Beat Cinema" also has a YouTube channel. The show has been sponsored for 30 years by Mighty Taco, WNY's iconic chain of Mexican restaurants, with decades of support from the Terrapin Station in North Buffalo, and the former Poster Art.
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