Earlier this summer, I wrote about Dunes Summer Theatre in Michigan City staging a June run of Stephen King’s “Misery,” with the production led by John D. Hancock, our noted filmmaker and Oscar-nominated movie director who hails from LaPorte.
When writing about Hancock, 86, I usually reference his 1989 holiday classic “Prancer,” which starred Sam Elliott, Cloris Leachman and Abe Vigoda, because much of it was filmed at his family’s farm in LaPorte.
But I’m remiss in my reporting by not also including Hancock’s much longer list of other notable feature films, many of which will be screened this month during a special film festival in his honor.
Hosted Oct. 24-26 at Vickers Theatre, 6 N. Elm St. in Three Oaks, Michigan, the weekend event includes Hancock in attendance to participate in live 30-minute Q&A sessions, along with other invited cast and crew, following each of the screenings.
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The schedule starts with a 2 p.m. screening of “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death” (1971) on Friday, Oct. 24, followed by a 4:30 p.m. showing of “Suspended Animation” (2001), and a 7:15 p.m. screening of “Bang the Drum Slowly” (1973) starring Robert De Niro.
The Saturday, Oct. 25, line-up starts with “Baby Blue Marine” (1976) at 11:30 a.m., then “A Piece of Eden” (2000) at 2 p.m., followed by “Weeds” (1987) starring Nick Nolte and Ernie Hudson at 7:15 p.m.
The final day on Sunday, Oct. 26, launches with “The Looking Glass” (2015) at 11:30 a.m., followed by “California Dreaming” (1979) starring Tanya Roberts at 2 p.m., and the finale screening of “Prancer” at 4:30 p.m.
An all-access festival pass for $25 provides entry to all nine of his feature films and each guest receives a punch card presented at the box office for each film attended to earn rewards such as three films watched earn a free small popcorn and six films garner a free Vickers movie pass and all nine films watched rates a signed, commemorative Hancock Film Festival movie poster.
Tickets for individual screenings are not available for this festival event. The festival pass with entry to all nine feature films is available at www.vickerstheatre.com or 269-756-3522.
One film that is not mentioned for this festival is Hancock’s brief directorial association with “Jaws 2” (1978), the sequel to the epic original film in 1975 directed by Steven Spielberg. Hancock was replaced after his first month of work for Universal Pictures directing “Jaws 2,” and Spielberg wasn’t available since he was already committed to production on “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Hancock was replaced by Jeannot Szwarc, who died at age 87 in January, to complete “Jaws 2.” Szwarc’s other director works include “Somewhere in Time” (1980) and “Supergirl” (1984).
The beautiful and historic Vickers Theatre has been around since 1911 when it was originally called The Fairyland Theatre, owned by Frank Lee and Clarence Perham. Today, Zach Hackett operates this living history one-room movie house after purchasing the Vickers Theatre in December 2022.
Described as “a classic art house and cinema,” it specializes in independent, documentary and foreign language films. The theater only seats 126, including cafe seating, and limited private balcony seating, and is handicapped accessible.
Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and radio show host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at [email protected].