By KEVIN HOOVER
Joe Bob’s Drive-In Jamboree 2022, to be held July 8-10 at the landmark Malco Summer Drive-In in Memphis, has announced its programming lineup and several confirmed guests. Kicking off the annual event on July 8 is “Halloween 3 Throwdown” with the cast and crew of the 1982 film showing up for a 40th-anniversary reunion and confronting festival founder Joe Bob Briggs over his longstanding opposition to the only movie in the Halloween franchise that departs from the iconic Michael Myers narrative.
“This is all Darcy’s doing,” says Briggs, referring to his combative sidekick, Darcy the Mail Girl on The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs, the hit series on AMC’s Shudder streaming service that just celebrated the screening of its 100th movie. “I told her she could program Friday night, and she’s bringing in Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, and director Tommy Lee Wallace to gang up on me.”
The Friday-night event will consist of a screening of the movie, interrupted several times for commentary and debate, followed by a one-hour Q&A with all involved “to determine, once and for all, whether Halloween 3 belongs in the franchise.” The issue will be settled by an audience vote. Atkins, Nelkin, and Wallace will also be appearing all three days at the Jamboree fan convention held at the Hilton Memphis the same weekend. The Saturday night program will feature two cult movies presented in the format of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs, and in keeping with the show’s tradition, guests and titles will not be announced in advance.
The World Drive-In Movie Festival, featuring indie films made outside of the usual New York, Los Angeles, and London funding sources, will take place on Sunday night, with screenings of the 10 winning films, the presentation of their “Hubbies” (engraved on Chevy hubcaps), the awarding of the Joe Bob Briggs Lifetime Achievement Award, and a special appearance by Jonah Ray of Mystery Science Theater 3000, who will riff on a beloved (and hated) film from the Last Drive-In archives.
Headlining musical acts for each night’s pre-show will be announced later.
Other Jamboree guests, all of whom will be at the fan convention, are:
- P.J. Soles, star of Halloween, Carrie, Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, The Devil’s Rejects, Stripes, and many other films.
- Sybil Danning, pioneering female action star (Battle Beyond the Stars, Chained Heat, Hercules, Reform School Girls, Rob Zombie’s Halloween, Grindhouse).
- Danhausen, the horror-themed professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
- Jonah Ray, primary host of Mystery Science Theater 3000, actor, comedian and writer who is also known as the co-host of Comedy Central’s The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail.
- Fred Williamson, better known as “The Hammer,” the All-Pro defensive back in Super Bowl I who became a superstar during the blaxploitation era with films like Black Caesar and Hell Up in Harlem, then a successful writer/producer/actor in both Rome and Los Angeles.
- Kelli Maroney, star of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Night of the Comet, Chopping Mall and many other drive-in movies as well as stints on two long-running soap operas.
- Felissa Rose, who made her film debut at age 12 as the lead in the cult classic Sleepaway Camp and has had hundreds of roles since, including her recurring appearances as the “Mangled Dick Expert” on The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs.
- The Bunny, a champion wrestler currently signed with AEW.
- Dave Sheridan, the comedian, writer and producer best known for his portrayal of Officer Doofy in Scary Movie.
- Honey, the first Mail Girl on Joe Bob’s first two shows, Drive-in Theater on The Movie Channel and MonsterVision on TNT.
- The Blade, the professional wrestler best known for his tag team work with The Butcher.
- Yuki Nakamura, “The Tokyo Cowboy,” who started out as the art director on The Last Drive-In in 2018 but emerged through many cameo appearances as a celebrity in his own right.
- John Brennan, music director and composer for The Last Drive-In, whose band, The Bigfeet, will perform before each show during the Jamboree.
Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy the Mail Girl will be doing meet-and-greets throughout the weekend, at both the fan convention and the drive-in.
Additional surprise guests will be announced later.
Tickets are available at Tixr, and for all other information, please visit joebobsjamboree.com
