Florida's Film, Television and the Arts Magazine
Pensacola Connection March 2026
This month: A wrap-up of PensaCon #13, an update on 2 local TV talent show contestants, and a look back at more Gulf Coast Hollywood film/TV history…
FIRST: A recap of PensaCon #13 of 2026. Well, as well a recap as I could do from the sidelines, as my health crashed again, and I had to spend the weekend in Baptist Hospital, undergoing treatment again for Type 2 diabetes & congestive heart failure. So, cellphone social media searches again…
Everything kicked off without a hitch on Friday, Feb. 20th with an up to $4 million budget on celebrity panels, an open trade show floor, and up to 35,000 costumed cosplayers in full attendance at the Pensacola Bay Civic Center on Alcaniz & Gregory Streets. Also, the Wright Street United Methodist Church held short film & indy film screenings, plus a special cast reunion panel for the Roger Corman “Fantastic 4” movie of 1994, including actor Alex Hyde-White as the first super-stretcho Mister Fantastic, who is now a Pensacola resident. While some stars could make it out, others had to cancel out. Star Michael Ironside “Top Gun, Starship Troopers, SeaQuest DSV and The Perfect Storm” extended his time to all 3 days, while “Batman 1989” co-star Robert Wuhl had to cancel again. Another frequent PensaCon guest star Robert Carradine passed away the following late Monday, after being on the 4oth anniversary cast reunion panel for “Revenge of the Nerds” at PensaCon 2023, but Edward James Almos “Miami Vice 1985, Galactica 2003” showed up on short notice. Meanwhile, “CHiPs” stars Erik Estrada & Larry Wilcox were on-duty to “police” the fans, and mug for photo lineups, as planned. Saturday’s panel for “The Lost Boys” with “Bill & Ted” co-star Alex Winter also proceeded on schedule. The big adult costume contest was hosted at the Methodist Church on Saturday night, the 21st (highlights include a silvery snake-headed Medusa, Statue of Columbia Pictures lady, A punk rocker Spider-Man, and assorted description-defying Japanese anime’ & horror figures.) Sunday wrapped with a Short Films Awards Showcase, and the announcement of next year’s 14th PensaCon dates: February 19th thru the 21st, 2027, with a starting list of guest names including Justin Briner, Monica Rial, Leah Clark, and returning “Doctor Who 1996” veteran Paul McGann. For complete details all the year ‘round, visit their website at: https://www.pensacon.com.
NEXT: “American Idol” finalist Keyla Richardson from Pensacola, and Bryant Thomas from Mobile, competed on the Monday, January 26th Episode of the new show, with host Ryan Seacrest, and judges Lionel Ritchie, Carrie Underwood, and broadcast live from Nashville, Tennessee. The finalists earned golden tickets to compete in Hollywood, on the show’s big Season 24 finals. Best of luck to them both!
UP NEXT: Former US Naval reserve officer, film actor & Pensacola native Matt Lacy is making headlines again, this time in Hollywood, as an active extra in numerous projects for shows like “Ted” Season 2 premiere as a street police officer, and on the upcoming “Fallout” Season 2 finale’, as a post-atomic war wasteland soldier. (On May 14th, 1999, Lacy was seen on coast-to-coast national TV in his Sharkman superhero suit, on ABC’s “Good Morning America: the Great American Gulf States Bus Tour.” The suit was designed & made by the late Welsh WWF champion wrestler Adrian Street, then living in Gulf Breeze and running a local wrestling school and gymnasium.) Watch for these and more to come, from the Mighty Mattster, as further news develops.
AND FINALLY: With the untimely passing of Hollywood legend Robert Duvall at 95 years old this last February 15th, fans worldwide have been spending the end of winter rapidly reviewing the many films starring this late versatile actor. One such film is the 2003 Texas-based rural family drama “Secondhand Lions” from New Line Cinema, with co-stars Michael Caine and Haley Joel Osment. Although shot mainly in the Lone Star State of Texas, with the prairie farm scenes filmed in Copeland, and a directorial credit to a resident of Austin, the French Foreign Legion flashback scenes were actually shot in the Northwest Sunshine State of Northwest Florida, at Shell Island Beach & Park across St. Andrews Bay from Tyndall Air Force Base, in Panama City Beach.
NOW… if you think that’s too subtle to even count as Gulf Coast film history, guess again. I’m finding out each day, that there’s even more subtle pebbles along these sands of screen time. For example, there’s this airport quote in “42” of 2013, the life story of black baseball legend Jackie Robinson, as played by the late Chadwick Bozeman of Marvel’s “Black Panther” fame: “Flight to Pensacola leaves in an hour…” Then there’s an announcement by a ring sports referee in “Jane the Virgin” of 2014 (Season 1, Chapter 20) “The Pride of Pensacola…” And this brief counselor’s line in the animated series “The Great North” of 2009 (Season 2, Episode 13: “Saved by the Spells”) “Pensacola? Crazy Baby?” These and more subtle Pensacola mentions I just keep finding as I go, tooling my Google search engine like a dune buggy along the shoreline, just picking up these clues like rare shells and rocks: mostly from www.getyarn.com for ‘Pensacola Film Quotes.’ How they get there, I have no idea, but I’m sure the backstories will be awesome, once I find them. Until then, always onwards and upwards…
Okay, that’s all for March, and for the start of spring.
Until next month, Later, Gators!
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Sincerely yours, KENNETH L. MANNING
Your Pensacola Connection
49 Murphy Lane, Pensacola, FL 32505
Phone: 1-850-287-2581
Email: [email protected]
