Sideshow: Alive on the Inside
The New Sideshow
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THE NEW SIDESHOW
NARRATED BY SEBASTIAN BACH
World Premiere Tuesday, June 11th, 10pm on TLC
NEW YORK, NY (April 1, 2002) – Percilla the Monkey Girl, Howard Huge, The Human Blockhead, General Tom Thumb – at one time their fame was as great as Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts. These stars of the American Sideshow are distant memories for most of us, but they’re also the inspiration for a new breed of sideshow performers.
Geeks, human pin cushions, sword swallowers, glass eaters, fire breathers, bearded ladies, cat women and other self-made freaks are alive and well in an all-new, one-hour special for TLC, “The New Sideshow,” from Big Chief films. Big Chief is the long-form program development and production division of Tim Miller entertainment, Inc. (TMe).
“The New Sideshow” is the follow up to Big Chief’s feature length documentary “Sideshow: Alive on the Inside,” a co-production with TLC that has become a cult hit and ranks as one of the cable network’s all-time, top-rated programs.
Narrated by Sebastian Bach, star of Broadway (Jekyll & Hyde,” “The Rocky Horror Show”), former lead singer of heavy metal band Skid Row, and currently host of VH-1’s “Forever Wild,” “The New Sideshow” is a fun and exhilarating look at the new faces of the carnival sideshow. Today’s shock-meisters have taken their acts from the circus grounds to nightclubs, rock concert stages, college campuses and even Broadway.
“You haven’t lived until you’ve seen someone surgically remove a length of string from their own belly—-live, right in front of you,” says co-executive producer and Big Chief’s vice president production and development Steven Jon Whritner. “These are uniquely talented, passionate people; modern day carnival performers who live and sometimes die for their art. It’s truly a remarkable lifestyle.”
“The New Sideshow” is a rare, often startling look at the world’s most outrageous sideshow acts and the individuals who perform them. Viewers will be shocked, surprised and entertained by the Jim Rose Circus (as seen on “X-Files” and “The Simpson’s”) with its legendary frontman Jim Rose, known the world over as the Father of the Modern Sideshow; Canada’s Victorian horror show Carnival Diablo with diabolical frontman Nicolai Diablo; the revivalist Bros. Grim Sideshow featuring Tim Cridlin, a.k.a. The Torture King who takes The Human Pincushion act to the edge; and the UK’s “hot” and sexy ten-in-one act Lucifire.
Filmed in Super 16mm widescreen, the special was executive produced by Big Chief principals Tim Miller and Steven Jon Whritner, written by Chip Roughton and produced by Miller. Contributing directors of photography were Samuel Henriques (‘Carnival Diablo’ and ‘Lucifire’ segments), Lars Larson (‘Jim Rose Circus’), and Michael Mayers (‘Bros. Grim Sideshow’). The show’s offline editor was Aaron Vega; Steven Lifshey and Troy Thompson onlined the program. Richard Fiocca composed the original soundtrack for the project and Chris Bertolotti did the sound mix. Char Serwa was executive producer for TLC.
In addition to “The New Sideshow,” current projects for Big Chief include a series pilot for USA Network called “Repo Men: Stealing For A Living,” and the “extreme” documentary “Mole People: Life in the World Below” for Discovery Channel. Also coming up is a theatrical motion picture inspired by the original “Sideshow” doc. Big Chief’s programs are distributed internationally by Lions Gate Television.
Big Chief films is located in the heart of Soho at 560 Broadway, Suite 201, New York, NY 10012. For more information on Big Chief and “The New Sideshow,” contact Steven Jon Whritner by telephone at 212-966-8414 or by e-mail at swhritner@bigchiefent.com.
REVEALS THE SHOCKING WORLD OF TODAY’S MOST OUTRAGEOUS SIDESHOW ACTS