We caught up with Douglas Little, a Scream fan with an impressive collection of props, merchandise, and memorabilia. Anyone who has been in and around the indie mask scene and mask groups on Facebook surely has come across Douglas and his collection before, so let's learn a little more about the man behind the Drowned Boy Productions YouTube channel.
Who is Douglas Little?
I am Douglas Little and I am an Artist, Youtuber, and collector of Masks,Music, and Movie history. I operate under the name Drowned Boy productions due to the fact that I indeed did drown as a boy.
How long have you been actively collecting Scream/Ghostface memorabilia and merchandise?
I actually grew up collecting scream merchandise, getting masks whenever I could find them at thrift shops, collecting Candles and costumes from yard sales etc. Most of the stuff I collected then was just whatever I happened upon in person, but I would say truly the serious collecting began around 2016. I was making some money from creating hockey masks and playing Magic the Gathering, and my interests shifted further into masks around that time period so I began hunting all of the cool ghostface stuff I could find.
Which are you a bigger fan of: Scream or the Ghostface brand?
I feel this is somewhat hard to answer because during my childhood ghostface was already an established horror icon. Most of the people I knew owned ghostface masks in some variation, whether it be metallics, bleeding, or standard glow in the dark. I would say that I am a huge fan of the scream franchise as a whole, but my love for Ghostface goes beyond the franchise itself.
Do you have aspirations of growing your collection larger? What's your ceiling with this, if any?
Well no collection is truly complete, so as long as there are things out there to find, or the franchise keeps producing more merchandise I would say it will continue to grow. As far as my ceiling on the situation, I would realistically like to keep growing my collection until one day I can open a museum on this stuff. I feel a place to visit and see some pieces of movie, television, and music history would be interesting. Ghostface and scream would obviously occupy a large part of that space featuring screen used costumes and props alongside tons of Funworld and ghostface history.
Which is your favorite Scream-related piece in your collection?
It really comes down to two pieces, The screen used hero robe from Scream 2, or the Tagged Pink Gen 1 Fantastic Faces I recently found. The tagged pink fantastic is a mask I quite literally dreamed of finding for years, but never truly thought It would happen. yet, I did get lucky and found one, and paid the original sticker price for it from 25+ years ago. Now the Scream 2 hero robe is truly something I never thought I would own. To me as a kid, stuff like that seemed entirely unattainable, and for it to be the robe from the Stab theatre Scene in Scream 2 is even crazier to me. That scene in particular was what made me fall in love with Ghostface as a child, all of those people wearing the masks and robes, and the killer murdering someone in public was terrifying.
What are your thoughts on memorabilia price influxes whenever a new film is on the horizon?
I mean, like everyone else I find it annoying when it happens to something I want to collect in particular, but It's Normal. The same thing happens whenever Marvel or Dc announce a new hero movie, suddenly all the merch and comic prices for those properties go up due to increased interest.
You have a growing YouTube channel -- how did that begin and what was your inspiration for the channel?
To be honest, the channel started as a Magic the Gathering channel. I used to make videos of me doing pack openings, rare finds, trade binder updates and etc, and around the same time I had also been doing a lot of cosplaying at local conventions and decided to start "Drowned Boy Cosplay". Then in 2016 I started doing Mask content on the channel, and the name was changed to "Drowned Boy Productions" . Truly the channel started as just a way to entertain people, I enjoyed mask content and there wasn't much of it being made at the time, so I made videos I would want to watch for others to enjoy.
You recently had the opportunity to be a featured extra in Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Reboot -- how did that come about and what was that experience like?
The way it came about was pretty interesting, I know a few people who work in the film industry, and one of those friends told me they were hearing whispers about a new Jay and Silent Bob supposedly in the works. I was originally told this a bit before the movie was confirmed publicly, and told them to let me know of any updates, well not too long after the movie was announced by Kevin and I was super excited. Shortly after I learned that they were going to be shooting in Louisiana for the film, immediately I knew I had to find a way to be an extra, or atleast meet Kevin. I had met Jason Mewes once before, but never had the opportunity to Meet kevin, who was a personal hero of mine, so this meant a lot to me. I later got a message saying there would be a part available that was perfect for what I wanted, and I actually got the email for the audition while I was in colorado. As soon as I got home from colorado we were due to start filming, and so we did! The entire experience while tiring to most, but was exhilarating to me, being able to work alongside someone I have looked up to since my childhood was like a dream come true. Kevin himself was truly one of the nicest and most genuine people I have met, and made the experience magical for everyone on set. Also of course everyone knows as well the ties between Jay and Silent Bob and the Scream franchise, so I brought a Scream 3 mask on set with me and tried to subtly get it in the background of some shots as an easter egg for the fans. I don't believe any shots of the mask did end up in the final cut of the film, but I Did get Kev and Jay to Sign it after we wrapped for the last night of filming.
You obviously collect more than just Scream stuff -- what are some of the other things that dominate your collection and what would you consider your to be your "grail piece?"
I do collect a wide variety of stuff, but as far as what dominates my collection currently the Buckethead collection is pretty massive. Ghost stuff did dominate for the longest time, but that collection is much smaller now. I also have quite a few Distortions Unlimited, and Halloween pieces in the collection. The "Holy Grail" is a title that is thrown around a lot with collecting, but is applied through personal preference. To me the current holy grail would be the Scream 2 robe due to its personal significance to me, but as far as a true genuine one of a kind type rarity, I would have to give it to the Papa Emeritus III mask. That piece in particular is the Mask that the band used for the longest amount of time, and during what is so far the peak of their career. It has been used for stage shows, music videos, and several award shows Including the Grammy's where the band actually won a Grammy!
What's your favorite scary movie and why?
Scream is a perfect pick due to its perfect mix of suspense, humor, and whit, but if we are talking about a "scary" movie I would have to choose Halloween III.That movie is full of terrifying things that are completely overshadowed by The Shape, such as masks that turn your head into a pile of bugs and snakes that attack everyone around you, or armies of robotic Henchmen that kill and replace your loved ones. If you want to talk true terror how about the fact that the movie did not have a happy ending, unable to prevent the broadcast of the Silver Shamrock commercial half of the world's children would be killed off in this genocidal Halloween trick, and their loved ones soon to follow due to the invasion of insects and Snakes.
I want to thank Douglas for taking the time to answer some questions for us and giving us an inside glimpse at what drives one of the more impressive Scream collections out there. Be sure to follow Doug on Instagram for more goodies!