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Will Ed Wood (a.k.a. the Worst Director of All Time) go from cross-dressing cult figure to household name thanks to Tim Burton's biopic, starring Johnny Depp? ''A household name? I wouldn't go that far,'' says an Ed Wood producer, Denise DiNovi. ''But people like weird movies, (and) he's the ultimate underground character.'' Counting on that very fact, a bevy of Wood revivalists are poised for profits. Among the Wood-o-bilia: *Film producer Wade Williams, who owns the rights to three of Wood's films, Plan 9 From Outer Space, Jail Bait, and Night of the Ghouls, is planning to release a laserdisc package of the movies through Lumivision later this month. *Rhino Home Video's new documentary Ed Wood: Look Back in Angora, along with Plan 9 From Outer Space, and Jail Bait (the director's cut) hit stores Aug. 31. They also rereleased Orgy of the Dead, The Violent Years, and Night of the Ghouls. *A movie tie-in edition of Rudolph Grey's Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (Feral House), the biography that served as a source for the film, has just been published. The new edition features cover art from the film. *Plan 9 From Outer Space: The Musical, originally staged in Salt Lake City in 1983, is tentatively scheduled to open in Los Angeles within the next few months and is set for the London stage in February. *Kitchen Sink Press (Northampton, Mass.) is reprinting its Ed Wood Jr. trading cards, created last year as ''a loving tribute to Ed Wood and his universe.'' In addition to Wood (in and out of drag), the 36-card set includes Plan 9 cast members Bela Lugosi and Tor Johnson.

*But DiNovi says she's turning up her nose at one possible Ed Wood item: ''I'm allergic to angora,'' she says, ''so I could be in a lot of trouble if all of a sudden everyone starts wearing sweaters. I'll have to take a lot of antihistamine.''


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Posted Oct 07, 1994 | Published in issue #243 Oct 07, 1994 | Order Article Reprints