Original "Curse of the Jackalope" logo, from McCovey Pictures maketing campaign

After 10 years, “Curse of the Jackalope” is being re-released in theaters by Richard McCovey Jr., starting with a big Atlanta premiere. In 1995, “Curse of the Jackalope” was set to open in Atlanta, New York, L.A. and some other regional markets. However, the prints were lost during shipment. The only one ever found ended up in Bismarck, ND. It made $17 total at the box office, still the lowest grossing film of all time.

Now, in 2005, “Curse” is a cult classic. Through internet trading and VHS tapes, the film has developed a very small, but very loyal, cult following. McCovey is hoping to capitalize on this by finally giving Atlanta the premier release, reuniting cast and crew for a big celebration, “Jackalope X,” 10 years after it was supposed to.

Jimmy Ray Johnson on the cover of HorrorScope Magazine.

Director Jimmy Ray Johnson wants nothing to do with the film. Produced when he was in his early twenties, he sees the film as a memory of his wasted youth, when he was obsessed with slasher films. He grew up in a trailer park in Lula, GA and always made horror films with his family and friends. “Curse of the Jackalope” was actually a sequel to “Jackalope!,” a film he made on VHS. Jimmy Ray has since moved on to direct experimental art films and is hailed in France as a visionary.

Bobby Ray Johnson is Jimmy Ray's younger brother. The two were once very close and Bobby Ray was the lead actor in all of Jimmy Ray's early works. They always had a sibling rivalry, which bubbled to the surface during the filming of “Curse.” Since then, the two have had a falling out and do not speak to each other.

Bobby Ray's playbill from "Inspector Ding Dong"

Jimmy Ray has since replaced Bobby Ray with a trail of other actors and crew, all of which he treats as his “new” brother until he gets bored with them (he calls them all “Bobby Ray”... some people think this is some sort of mental illness). After being cast out by Jimmy Ray, Bobby Ray's acting career fell apart and he now works at a lumber yard and is married to his domineering wife, Liz, with a step-son, Jamie.

Producer Richard McCovey Sr, of McCovey Pictures, originally purchased the rights to “Curse of the Jackalope” for a bottle of Jack Daniels and a stick of Double-Mint gum upon seeing the film at the Lula International Film Festival and Barbeque Cook-Off. He saw the Jackalope series as an opportunity for the next “Friday the 13th” or “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise, and struck a (very bad) distribution deal to get the film into theaters. He spent his life savings and his son's college fund on the marketing of the film, yet it was a flop. McCovey was a laughing stock.

DVD bootleg with title "Insane Rabbit Adventure Nightmare"

Richard McCovey Jr has recently won the rights to the film and ownership of McCovey Pictures in a lawsuit, where he claimed that McCovey Sr. ruined his life. He says he was forced to attend Georgia Perimiter College instead of Duke Law School because his father wasted his college fund. McCovey Jr has spent his life trying get-rich-quick schemes and sees this as an opportunity to make some cash.

Now, he has hired a small camera crew to document the “Jackalope X” celebration and the events leading up to it.