It's Elite Entertainment's 10th anniversary and what better way to celebrate than taking the time to reminisce with Elite's head honcho himself, Vini Bancalari. The Monsters took a few moments of Vini's time and he was gracious enough to sit down and answer our questions.

Hey Vini - Thanks for taking the time to sit down with The Monsters to answer a few questions, and let me congratulate you on a fine 10 year run of releasing cult/horror flicks on laser disc and DVD.

Where did you see yourself 10 years ago? Was it doing this or did you think you'd follow another path?

I didn't know what exactly, but I knew that I loved movies (especially horror flicks) and I had been involved in the home video industry most of my life. I worked retail, I was a buyer, a marketing manager, advertising, production (film & video), etc. I didn't know it but it seems I was in training most of my life, getting ready for this. Funny how these things work out.

Being the horror fan that you are, what were some of your favorite horror flicks as a kid?

I remember the first time I actually got "scared" while watching a movie on TV. It was some old b&w "ape flick." You know one of those "killer ape on the loose" films. I have no idea what the title was but that night, when the lights went off, all I could see was the shadow of a giant ape just outside my bedroom window. That was the very first time a movie freaked me out. But at the same time, I liked it. Weird, huh?

I had many favorite horror films as a kid. I never missed an airing of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. I also loved CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS and the original THE HAUNTING.

I must admit that back in the days of LD I had every Elite release from NOLD to Nightmare on Elm St and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. You were the first to digitally re master many forgotten horror flicks (with extras) and I thank you for all of those great titles back in the day. How does it feel to be a true pioneer in that respect, we wouldn't have the Anchor Bay's and Shriek Show's today if it weren't for Elite Entertainment back then.

It feels great. Back in the "old days", Don May, Jr. (of Synapse Films) and I had a great time working on some of our favorite titles. It's really amazing just how fast other companies recognized that there was an untapped market out there. I guess in a way it's flattering.

If I'm not mistaken, Night of the Living Dead was your first laser disc release (I still have mine), could you tell us a bit about its birth and how Elite Entertainment came to life?

I was working for a laserdisc distributor in NJ. One of my regular customers was Don May, Jr. We would spend a lot of time on the phone talking about horror films and complaining that no one takes these films seriously enough to release a full fledged "special edition" of any of the classics. I guess one day we just decided to give it a shot ourselves. We decided to finally meet face to face. And what better place to meet than at the 25th Anniversary of "Night of the Living Dead!" The ZOMBIE JAMBOREE being held in, where else, Pittsburgh, PA. This was a weekend long celebration. The highlight was the reunion of George Romero and the original cast of "NOLD." We took advantage of this and one afternoon Don cornered Russ Striener (Johnny) and asked him if he and his partners would be interested in a deal with us to restore the film and release it as a special edition laserdisc. Russ gave Don his business card and told him to keep in touch. We we did. I became Russ Striener's worse nightmare. I mean, this poor guy couldn't walk by a pay phone without it ringing. I called him every day. Even on Thanksgiving of that year. Well, finally after months of meetings, conference calls, and faxes, we struck a deal.

I was at that very convention, look what I missed out on! How different is it acquiring rights to films now (and filmmaker support) than it was back in Elite's early laser disc days?

Back then we were one of a handful of independent labels looking for product. Now, we're just one of the bunch. Sure it's gotten much more difficult to find good product. But that's OK. There are plenty of good horror films to go around. You just have to keep your eyes and ears open.

You certainly have released some great titles on Laser Disc and DVD. Which filmmaker was your favorite to work with and did you ever revert to "fanboy" mode when dealing with horror greats like Tobe Hooper or George Romero?

I always tried not to. But when you're standing on a terrace in Studio City, CA taking a break from working on TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and you're standing there enjoying a cigar with Tobe Hooper, how can you not get a little freaked. Or when you arrive at George Romero's home just outside Pittsburgh, and you spend the morning in his living room with George, his wife Christine and Tom Savini, recording a commentary track, and then you break for lunch and find yourself having a roast beef sandwich with these "legends" in the Romero kitchen, it's just an amazing feeling. I don't think Don or I ever got used to that. I know I didn't.

Tell us about the deal you recently struck with Joe Bob Briggs, we think it's a match made in heaven.

Joe Bob is just a great guy. Very professional and, I agree, a perfect match for Elite. I invited him to do a commentary for our millennium edition of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, and he accepted. He was a pleasure to work with and delivered one of the best commentary tracks I ever heard. Continuing our relationship seemed like the logical thing to do. I'm very excited about the upcoming "JOE BOB BRIGGS PRESENTS..." series. Look for the first installment, JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER" this Spring. It should be a blast!

I agree. Vini, I thank you for taking the time to chat with us. I wish Elite the best of luck in the future and we look forward to what you have in store for us in 2003 and beyond. Whatever it is, The Monsters will be here to report on it, keep up the great work.

Thanks very much.