When Plans Go Awry: The Wild Journey Behind the Cinema Insomnia Ultraman Festival Episode That Never Happened
Photo and Story by Ken Hulsey
Sometimes in life, things don’t go as planned. Today, I took a deep dive into my photo archives and resurfaced with a long-forgotten treasure. The above image features the late-night horror host Mr. Lobo standing in front of a statue of the Japanese superhero, Ultraman. This photo was taken outside the famed Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Before I get caught up in the story behind this image, I think it’s a good idea to provide some background on Mr. Lobo and his show, Cinema Insomnia. This information comes straight from the archives of my old blog, Monster Island News:
Back in 2001, a budding horror host named Mr. Lobo launched a late-night movie program called "Cinema Insomnia" on KXTV Channel 10 in Sacramento. Since then, Lobo and Cinema Insomnia have been syndicated across this great country of ours, appearing on TV screens from Cucamonga to Kalamazoo. Lobo also launched a successful line of DVDs featuring episodes of Cinema Insomnia, which can be purchased through Amazon.com.Typically, Mr. Lobo opens each episode by promising to screen a well-known horror or science fiction classic (like The Creature from the Black Lagoon or Alien). However, due to budget constraints, acts of God, or other circumstances, he often ends up showing a much lower-quality movie (such as Starcrash or Santa Claus Conquers the Martians).Unlike the various hosts and robots from Mystery Science Theater 3000, Mr. Lobo does not appear while the movie is playing. Instead, he features in brief vignettes between segments of the film. The show also includes fake commercials (such as one for “Rad Abrams – Skateboard Attorney”), old movie trailers, classic commercials, and footage and interviews from horror conventions, science fiction conventions, and film festivals across the country.
Okay, now on with my story. As I mentioned before, back in the early 2000s, I was writing about old monster movies for my blog, Monster Island News. I discovered Mr. Lobo and his program through a DVD I purchased that featured the film Giganatis the Fire Monster, which is the American version of the Japanese monster movie Godzilla Raids Again. I bought it simply because it was the only version of the film available on DVD at the time, and I wanted to review it for my website. Long story short, the copy I received was defective, so I contacted Mr. Lobo to request a replacement, which he sent right away.
Through our correspondence, we struck up a conversation about cult films, and one thing led to another; my blog soon became the unofficial publicity arm for the show. In other words, I was more than happy to post items about Mr. Lobo, episodes of the show, and events at which he appeared.
During this time, I received a press release from the Egyptian Theater promoting an upcoming Ultraman festival featuring episodes that had never been seen in the United States before. I thought that this would be a great backdrop for an episode of Cinema Insomnia, so I pitched the idea to Mr. Lobo, and he agreed. I then contacted the manager of the Egyptian Theater to inquire if we could film the show at the event. She was very open to the idea, believing that it would be a good bit of free publicity for the venue. She promised us free admission to the event, unlimited access to the site, and the opportunity to actually be guest presenters for one of the films. This meant that we would put on a little presentation, talk about the episode, and introduce it.
A lot of behind-the-scenes work was done by yours truly, and everything was ironed out and locked down. Arrangements were made for Mr. Lobo and his producer to travel from Sacramento to my home in Hesperia to stay with me. I had a schedule in place with the Egyptian Theater for filming and for meeting with their staff to prepare for our appearance at the festival. Everything was a go.
However, instead of everything going smoothly, things went terribly wrong.
From the moment that the wheels began to move on that fateful weekend, it was nothing short of a circus, with me serving as the ringmaster. To start things off, Mr. Lobo and his producer got lost trying to find my house (GPS wasn't what it is today), and they ended up driving all over the Los Angeles freeway system, taking a tour they didn't want. It was so bad that they never made it to my place and ultimately got a hotel room in Hollywood. If you think that was a bad snafu, hold on; things got worse.
We met up on Saturday morning at the Egyptian Theater, hours before the event was scheduled to begin, so we could coordinate things with the staff and film some skits for the show. We arrived way too early and opted to film some outside shots before going inside. Mr. Lobo and I came up with some ideas for skits and loosely rehearsed them. We felt comfortable with what we wanted to do, so we started filming.
We shot the first segment, but when his producer went to review the footage, alas, there was no sound. We shot it again, and once more, there was no sound. The two of them fiddled with the camera for about half an hour, but there was no fixing it; the camera was broken, and shooting the episode on-site was off the table. For a brief moment, we considered filming the whole thing in pantomime, but channeling Charlie Chaplin wouldn't have made for a good episode. The whole reason Mr. Lobo had made the trip to Hollywood had just swirled down the toilet, leaving us with few options—so we decided to meet with the theater staff and get ready for the show.
Of course, that didn’t go smoothly either. I soon learned that the manager was on vacation and had failed to mention any of the arrangements we had made with her team. It was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. The staff had no idea who we were, what had been planned, and the role we were supposed to play in the event had already been filled by other people. All my hard work felt like it was for nothing, and I was left standing there looking like a complete idiot.
The only silver lining was that one of the staff members found three passes left for us, so at least we got to see the show. Afterwards, Mr. Lobo felt sorry for me and bought me dinner at the IHOP in Hollywood.
I honestly can't recall another time when I worked so hard on something only for everything to go so terribly wrong. It was humbling, to say the least.
I keep this photo as a reminder that life doesn’t always go as we plan. It’s clear to me now that I was never destined to be part of that program, and ultimately, I wasn’t meant to be a television producer. I didn’t realize it back then, but my life had a deeper and more fulfilling purpose. Who would have guessed that a guy who built a following writing about monsters and B-movies would eventually leave it all behind to pursue another calling?
Don’t get me wrong; I still write about those topics from time to time, but today I’m focused on uplifting and educating people. The thrill I once felt discussing Godzilla or Star Wars has been replaced by a passion for history, photography, travel, and most importantly, my faith. I want my readers to experience something that can positively change their lives. My ultimate goal is to help people find God.
Related: Returning to the Lair of the Fouke Monster - The Legend of Boggy Creek and Beyond | Ken Hulsey
By sharing my experiences, including my failed attempt at producing and starring in a TV episode, I hope you’ll discover something that resonates with you or that you can relate to. Yes, today I talked about failure, but believe me, I have had far more success stories in my life since then. I now find great joy in public speaking, teaching, and leading a small group at church.
Don’t let your failures define you; move past them and learn from them.
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