| The Behrend Beacon
Adults hone in on Halloween
By Jackie Cohen
(KRT)
SAN FRANCISCO - Halloween isn't just for kids
anymore
Adult shoppers will spend $3.12 billion on
themed candy, costumes and decorations this year,
the National Retail Federation says.
"Over the last decade, Halloween has become
an adult holiday while children have become sec
ondary for many retailers," said James Lowry, a
retail analyst and marketing professor at Ball State
University in Muncie, Ind. "Adults want to relive
that time when they could pretend to be a super
hero or monster."
The average consumer plans to spend $43.57 on
Halloween related merchandise, up from $41.77
last year, the retail federation said. That will drive
sales up from $2.96 billion in 2003, although sales
will likely remain below their 2001 peak of $3.19
billion.
Lowry, though, says this year's holiday may be
even stronger.
"I think we should see Halloween retail sales
numbers increase slightly over last year," he said.
"The economy is stronger, and people have more
discretionary income."
Costumes come first on most shopping lists, with
the average expenditure at $15.21, followed by
candy at $14.93, decorations at $10.95 and greet-
MTV's hit car show
pumps up clunkers
By Rob Watson
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT)
Teens were captivated by the first season of
MTV's "Pimp My Ride." Kids who looked and
lived just like them saw their busted-up cars trans
formed into chrome-laden chariots with enough
gadgetry to make James Bond envious.
The show was a runaway hit, scoring top rat
ings with teenagers on Sunday nights and cruis
ing easily past all the many car-makeover shows
among viewers ages 12 to 34.
"It's not the typical ‘reality’ show for MTV's tar
get audience." says Marc Berman, a columnist for
the trade publication Mediaweek. "It puts cars and,
more importantly, the kids in a positive light."
Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT, the second season will
begin and another slew of ragtag vehicles will be
put on the stroll.
Souping up cars on TV isn’t an original con
cept, but "Pimp" wields a couple of heavy weap
ons. It focuses on young people who deserve some
thing special in their lives, and they get to drive
off with some of the wildest autos most of us have
ever seen
You just won't see in-car waterfalls, Internet ac
cess. or a yoga studio - yes, a complete, wood
lined yoga studio -on those other shows.
West Coast rapper Xzibit, the hilarious master
of ceremonies, says: "We've got a brand-new, mul
timillion-dollar (auto body) facility, and it’s just
good to be involved in something so dope."
"Pimp My Ride" is the brainchild of Rick
Hurvitz and Bruce Beresford-Redman, two high
school chums who once had their own clunkers.
Says Hurvitz: "In high school, (Beresford-
Redman) had a 68 Cadillac hearse and I had a
' 72 lime-green (Oldsmobile) Delta 88 convertible.
For a high school kid, it's your first car, it has new
meaning in your life, so we thought: Wouldn't it
be great to give kids a chance to pimp that as op
posed to getting something new?"
The two were involved with "Married by
America" and "For Love or Money," among other
reality shows. But "Pimp" wasn't going to be about
the lengths contestants will go to. This time, it was
the creators who needed to push the limits, and
they needed help.
Hurvitz and Beresford-Redman found that help
at West Coast Customs, one of the premier shops
in Los Angeles.
"We could do the work, but ,the show) needed
a celebrity," says owner Ryan Friedlinghaus. "I
knew Xzibit from working on his cars and was
sure he would do it for me."
With a go-ahead from MTV, taping began. But
the first car almost stalled everyone's efforts.
It was a Daihatsu minivan, which was in hor
rible shape.
"That was the worst (from Season 1) in my eyes.
... (T)he first car they bring me is that? I thought,
whoa, what did I get myself into?"
However, Friedlinghaus and crew refused to put
the brakes on. They turned that pile of rusted metal
into a sweet cruiser with three TVs, a mini-fridge,
and a built-in guitar amp for owner Wyatt, an 18-
STUDKNT LIFt
ing cards at $2.58, according to retail federation
data.
At least 50 million American households, includ
ing 90 percent of families with children 12 or
younger, celebrate Halloween, according to re
search by Hallmark. These figures may be on the
low side, however.
"Total Halloween spending is highest among 25-
to 34-year-olds," Hallmark promotional materials
say. "Halloween has become one of the top rea
sons for Americans to throw a party _ it's the third
largest party day in the U.S. behind New Year's
Eve and Super Bowl Sunday."
Parties are most popular among 18- to 24-year-olds
surveyed by the retail federation: Just over half plan
to either host or attend a Halloween party, com
pared with about one-third of those aged 25 to 44.
Dressing up is one of the big attractions of the
parties: About one-third of the adults surveyed by
the National Retail Federation said they planned
to wear a costume
Not surprisingly, Americans aged 18 to 24 show
the most eagerness, with 54.1 percent planning to
don disguises. The older crowd is less enthusiastic
- only about 44 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds and
34 percent of 35- to 44-year-olds will put on a cos
tume.
Costume trends tend to be inspired by movies
and television, so expect to see plenty of people
dressed up like Catwoman, Harry Potter,
year-old musician who could barely get to audi
tions in far-flung L.A.
Wyatt and his transportation predicament were
just what MTV was looking for, says Beth
Greenwald, senior director of development for
MTV. They were the right combination of a
rustbucket, a life struggle, and screen presence, or
"pop," she says.
In addition to working their cosmetic and gad
get magic, the customizers make sure the car’s in
ternal workings are up to snuff. The elaborate re
births , which run $20,000 to $50,000 for cars
worth a fraction of that, combined with feel-good
endings have made "Pimp a hit all across the
bubble.
"We're on in over 40 countries," Hurvitz says.
"Now every day, it seems, someone from Brazil,
England, or some other unexpected place is com
ing over and stopping at West Coast Customs to
see the facility."
That level of fame forced Friedlinghaus to move
"to a bigger place just to be able to handle all of
this. ... We needed an area to do the show and an
area for our regular work. We had a crew of about
15 guys to handle all of our business, and now we
are up to around 28, 30."
For him, with the added beef comes added gravy,
too: The show has brought the customizer deals
for clothing, toys and video games, and he has at
tracted car biz from hip-hop's Cash Money crew
and professional sports figures.
"Pimp's popularity put Xzibit, 30, through some
changes as well. The well-versed rapper still
doesn't know what to say to fans who approach
him on the street, trying to get on the show or,
worse, seeking auto advice.
"It’s a madhouse, man.... like I have some tools
in my pocket, or some rims around my neck that I
can throw on their ride," says the man who owns a
tricked-out Mercedes and Hummer.
There is at least one luxury that Xzibit hasn't
retooled his wheels with. Greenwald learned that
it might be possible to fit a 40-inch flat-screen TV
inside a car.
Luckily for fans, she and her casting staff found
just the right vehicle and the right driver for Sea
son 2.
"Pimp My Ride’s" guys at West Coast Customs
merge imagination with technical wizardry. Some
of the coolest from the first season:
- One restored Mustang got even hotter when the
crew added flame-shooting tailpipes. Too bad they
were completely illegal.
- One lucky driver will always be the belle of the
ball now that her Trans Am dome light has been
replaced by a chandelier.
- A redone Maxima station wagon can't carry the
groceries anymore, but it can carry a tune. Many
tunes, in fact, as its cargo area now holds a com
plete DJ set, including two turntables and a mixer.
- Passengers in another Mustang must come to
grips with the rhinestone-encrusted gear shifter and
the machine that blows bubbles out of the convert
ible.
- The owner of a Toyota Land Cruiser can find
inner peace amid L.A. traffic in the wood-lined
yoga studio installed behind the front seats.
Spiderman, the Hulk and Scooby Doo come Oct
31.
Political masks also sell like hotcakes during
election years, and military getup should be equally
hot this year, along with the standard fare of
witches, vampires, werewolves, fairies, animals,
pirates, cartoon characters and superheroes, sur
veys show.
There's a dark side to all the partying: The Na
tional Commission Against Drunk Driving now
issues annual warnings prior to the holiday after
observing that a higher percentage of alcohol-re
lated deaths occurred on Halloween than on any
other one-day holiday in 2002.
The group points out that such incidents rise
when Halloween falls on a weekend, as it does this
year, simply because there are more parties.
"Anytime Halloween falls on a weekend, there's
a spike in all kinds of holiday activity," said Darryl
Knox, president of Halloween Online LLC, which
runs a network of 30 Web sites and coordinates
advertising campaigns all aimed at the October
holiday. "This year it falls on a Sunday, which is
still good for parties." See the Web site: http://
www.halloween-online.net/
While partying might be skewed toward the
younger crowd, carving pumpkins, decorating the
home and handing out candy are more equally en
joyed across all age groups. Numerous surveys say
Halloween is the second-biggest holiday for deco-
Puppets doing dirty work
Puppets, such as the Michael Moore puppet in “Team America,” are filling the screens in new
movies.
By Chris Vognar
The Dallas Morning News
(KRT)
Whether living on Avenue Q or working for “Team
America,” puppets are engaging in the kind of behavior
that could get you evicted from Sesame Street.
Sure, they still walk and talk, sing and dance. They
still act a little wooden. But they also vomit and have
sex. And some of them say the damdest things.
Why the sudden surge in edgy puppetry? They can do
and say the kinds of things largely forbidden to real people
in this complicated, politically correct world. Hey, it wasn't
me; it was the puppet.
' 'People don't expect to take puppets seriously, so there's
basically no material that they can't do," says Rick Lyon,
who conceived and designed the all-puppet cast for the
Broadway smash "Avenue Q." The Tony-winning musi
cal, which will set up shop in Las Vegas next year, spot
lights a group of bawdy, multiethnic New York puppets
who bear a suspicious resemblance to the Muppets. "But
viewers do get the message, and they get it in a very
profound way."
The word "profound" doesn't immediately come to
mind when you watch "Team America: World Police,"
which hit movie screens Friday.
Created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the guys who
built a potty-mouth, construction-paper empire out of
"South Park," the movie's puppets blow one another away,
throw up, give profane monologues and engage in some
seriously compromising positions. That last part nearly
got Team America the most restrictive movie rating -
NC-17 - before the filmmakers made last-second cuts.
Parker and Stone got the puppet bug while watching a
rerun of "Thunderbirds," a futuristic '6os TV show from
England with puppet heroes and model spaceships.
"It just looked cool, especially nowadays when every
thing is computer-generated," Stone said at last month's
Toronto International Film Festival, where "Team
America" footage was shown to critics. "Just watching
the puppets say their lines and walk away was making us
laugh. They had little model cars and they just threw them
off a hill. They tried to do the detail so that it looked real.
They couldn't, but even the attempt was visually inter-
esting."
The filmmakers wanted to do a "Thunderbirds" movie
with puppets and a bawdy "South Paik" sensibility. But
the rights had already been scooped up for a live-action
version of "'niunderbirds," which tanked this summer.
Yet they still had the puppet itch. So they did some
thing a little more topical. The puppets in 'Team America"
include an anti-terrorism strike force, a variety of terror
ists, Kim Jong D, Peter Jennings, Michael Moore (hold
ing two hot dogs, wearing mustard on his face and ex
Friday, October 22, 2004
rating the home, trailing only Christmas.
"The bulk of Halloween spending, a good 60 to
80 percent of it, is done at card and party shops,"
Lowry said. "The rest of it happens at mass-mar
ket retailers, especially places like Wal-Mart, which
are all about impulse shopping."
Halloween still ranks just sixth overall for total
holiday spending.
Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are expected
to bring in $219.9 billion this year. Valentine's Day
generated $12.79 billion in 2004; Easter rang up
$10.47 billion; Mother's Day, $10.43 billion, and
Father's Day, $8.04 billion.
However, Halloween is No. 1 when it comes to
candy sales, which are expected to surpass $1 bil
lion this year.
Candy conglomerate Hershey Foods commis
sioned a telephone survey of 1,034 Americans 18
years old and older and found 77 percent buy candy
for Halloween and 68 percent give the sweets to
trick-or-treaters.
Among those handing out goodies, the over
whelming favorite is chocolate; the Top 10 selling
sweets last Halloween were Snickers, followed by
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Kit Kat, accord
ing to Information Resources, Inc.
Much less popular are lollipops, hard candy, bubble
gum, gummy candy and sour candy, descending in
that order.
plosives around his waist), Sean Penn and Tim Robbins.
None, of course, voiced by the real-life models.
They get chopped off at the waist and decapitated. The
Moore marionette blows himself up. Giant house cats
tear the Penn puppet to bits.
Think poor behavior among our inanimate friends is a
new phenomenon? Think again.
The original Punch and Judy marionette shows, which
date to at least the 17th century, were grisly affairs. Punch,
an obese hunchback, throws a crying baby out the win
dow, kills his wife (that would be Judy) with a stick, hangs
a hangman, murders a doctor and eventually even tri
umphs over the devil. The shows were enormously popu
lar across Europe. When the logistics of traveling with a
full marionette show grew less cost-effective, Punch was
converted into a hand puppet.
After all, the puppet show must go on.
Some shows featured a human Punch, in costume. But,
according to The Oxford Companion to the Theatre, "it
was as a puppet that Punch gained his great success, for
it was as a puppet his physical disfigurements could be
exaggerated in a manner impossible to a living actor."
This only-with-a puppet approach was honed in the
mid-20th century by Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy,
the courtly ventriloquist and his trash-talking dummy.
And today, it's practiced by the likes of Robert Smigel,
who took a crude doggie hand puppet, popped a cigar in
his mouth and created the rudely hilarious Triumph, the
Insult Comic Dog for "Late Night With Conan O'Brien."
And don't forget the Comedy Central show "Crank
Yankers," in which celebrities give voice to crank-call
ing puppets.
None of this is designed for children's consumption.
Then again, Punch and Judy were no Bert and Ernie.
That pair and their Muppet compadres rose to fame on
the kid-centric "Sesame Street" in the early 19705. "What's
interesting is that before ‘Sesame Street,' Jim Henson's
work was not in any way exclusively for kids," says Lyon,
the Avenue Q puppet master. "His early stuff was defi
nitely for an adult audience. It was very psychedelic,
wacky, '6os way-out-there stuff."
Indeed, Henson's most popular post-Sesame creation,
"The Muppet Show," was originally designed for late
night - with the tongue-in-cheek subtitle "Sex and Vio
lence."
Say it ain't so, Kermit.
"In this digital universe, where nothing is what it seems
to be, there's this sort of nostalgic swing back to things
that are real, that are tangible and three-dimensional and
happen in real time," says Lyon. "Puppets fit that bill.
But at the same time, they're odd and different and still
behave like living things."
And living things, as we all know, are capable of be
having badly.
M.S. GORDON/KRT