Austin Film Festival Podcast

One of the better parts of my job at the Austin Film Festival is producing the festival's official podcast, which not only features two of the funnier people with whom I've had the privilege to work (John Merriman and Kelly Williams, who are both filmmakers in their own right), but also terrific sound clips from some big name Hollywood filmmakers and screenwriters. In the podcast's pilot episode we hear from Steve Faber and Bob Fisher (the writers of Wedding Crashers) about some of the more surreal moments they've experienced during pitch sessions. Future episodes will feature clips from Harold Ramis, Shane Black, and others, as well as filmmaker interviews and advice for aspiring directors and screenwriters. It's good stuff.

I hasten to add that despite the name, no iPod is required. Any computer or MP3 player will do.

There are four episodes already recorded that should appear quickly, and after that they'll show up several times monthly. Visit the Austin Film Festival podcast page.

Fangoria - Trio of horror festivals this winter

Fangoria reports on three cult/horror festivals coming up: the Backseat Film Festival, the B-Movie Film Festival, and Back from the Grave. Backseat caught my eye in particular because it's screening Stomp! Shout! Scream!, the debut film from Aqua Teen Hunger Force producer/editor Jay Edwards.

Stomp! Shout! Scream!, as you may recall, is a 1960s-period rock n roll beach party monster movie featuring the Skunk Ape, Florida's version of Bigfoot. (If that description excites you, you are the film's target audience.) I interviewed Edwards during the Austin Film Festival and again for the Cult Movies Podcast, and it's terrific to see that more festivals are picking up on this fun little flick, which should be available on DVD in the next few months.

Related posts:
Eleven questions with Jay Edwards
Cult Movies Podcast interview with Jay Edwards

Steve Jobs apparently human

Here's a cute little movie of all of the foulups at Macworld Expo Keynote speeches in recent years. Actually, there are surprisingly few of them and they're all pretty minor. I was in the audience for the digital camera incident; I'm sure if you listen closely enough you can hear me chuckling.

New Stomp Tokyo review: Dangerous Men

This flick isn't out on video yet and its theatrical run is kind of an in-joke between a handful of arthouse and festival programmers around the country. It's being billed as a mega-awful vanity project, which is unfair. It is a merely awful vanity project which, 20 years ago, would simply have gone straight to video and disappeared. But here's our review to give you a better idea of what you're not missing.

Read the Stomp Tokyo review of Dangerous Men.

"The Outdoorsmen" tonight and tomorrow night in NYC

Hi, it's me again, pimping a movie. This is just a reminder that The Outdoorsmen: Blood, Sweat, and Beers will be playing at the Tribeca Cinemas tonight and tomorrow night in New York City. If you're in New York, go. If you have friends in New York, tell them. This is a film that demands to be seen with an audience. You won't regret it. Get your tickets online here.

I won't be there but the director, Scott Allen Perry, and a couple of the producers will be. Tribeca serves beer (the bar opens at 7 p.m., an hour before showtime) and Scott will hold a Q&A afterwards. It should be a great time. You can find out more about the movie in my previous post or check out the official web site for more. Thanks for spreading the word.

(Full disclosure: I work for B-Side Entertainment, a company which helps independent filmmakers find new audiences.)

Update: Oh yeah, you can watch the first six minutes of the film on the web, or subscribe to the B-Side Podcast, which will download the first six minutes as an iTunes/iPod friendly video file.

Cult Movies Podcast #14

In which Scott, Dr. Freex, and I discuss the Friday the 13th movies, Netflix "throttling," and whatever happened to Jackie Chan?

Download episode 14 now.

(MP3 file, compatible with all computers and MP3 players. Not just for iPods.)

Dark Crystal sequel - pre-production art!

From Muppet Central:

Award-winning animation director Genndy Tartakovsky, who created the hit series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Samurai Jack and Dexter’s Laboratory, will direct Power of the Dark Crystal, the much anticipated sequel to The Jim Henson Company’s 1982 classic fantasy film. The announcement was made today by Lisa Henson, co-CEO of The Jim Henson Company and a producer on the film.

This is actually news we've been hearing for about a week now, but check out the pre-production art featuring Queen Kira, an aged version of the heroine from the first film. Pretty cool!

[via CinemaBlend]

Nacho Libre trailer

Oh, thank God. I thought maybe Jack Black was done humiliating himself for my entertaintment. Check out the trailer for his new luchadore comedy, Nacho Libre. It has quite the pedigree - the writer of School of Rock, director of Napoleon Dynamite. And hey, all the El Santo references you can handle. Rock on.

Nacho Libre trailer at Apple.com.

"The Outdoorsmen" premiere and other things

Earlier this month I pimped a few showings of a film called The Outdoorsmen: Blood, Sweat, and Beers, which is a documentary about big dumb guys and the big dumb things they do. The Austin premiere (its theatrical premiere, in fact) was this past Thursday and it was a sold-out good time. So good, in fact, that the Alamo Drafthouse added another four screenings, beginning February 20th. (There are also screenings this weekend in NYC at the Tribeca Cinemas.) If you were there, my gratitude goes to you for showing up and supporting this splendid film -- which brings me to those "other things."

If you were paying attention to that post, you noticed that I added the disclaimer that I work for B-Side Entertainment, the company that holds the theatrical rights to The Outdoorsmen. It was my little way of disclosing the fact that, after years of work in the IT world and a year of scraping by in various stages of semi-employment, I am now working (mostly) full time in entertainment. Most of my work week will go to B-Side, a terrific Austin-based startup with some pretty ambitious goals in the world of independent film and film festivals, and some of my time will go towards promoting the Austin Film Festival, where I volunteered last year. To be making an actual (if meager) living in the film industry is something I've wanted for years now, and it's kind of surreal to finally be here.

I've been thinking about these new positions and how they fit in with Stomp Tokyo and this blog in particular. Promotions related to my employment could be perceived as an exploitation of what small audience I have, but trying to ignore the film-related projects I'll be involved with seems downright silly. I've decided that plugging AFF and B-Side projects is something I'll do here occasionally, so long as I believe in the films and programs in question, and with full disclosure each time that I work for the sponsoring organizations. Hopefully all of these things will enhance one another and everyone involved will be better off for it.

Stick around, there's cool stuff to come.

Cult Movies Podcast #13

We've reached unlucky number 13 in our (more or less) weekly podcast series, which of course means that the recording went pretty well according to plan. (That is, apart from some audio weirdness in the first half, which we rectified later in the episode.) This episode's guest nerd is Ken Begg of Jabootu.com, who analyzes this year's B-Fest lineup in excruciating detail. (He does this, it must be said, with our help -- it's not as if he offered such long-winded opinions without prompting.)

Also, we take a look at some new developments in the entertainment world, including Pulse and the newly-formed hybrid network called the CW.

Listen to The Cult Movies Podcast #13.

Also in the B-Fest vein, listen to Sean Frost's Web of the Big Damn Spider podcast episode 4, which gives a blow-by-blow recap of the films of the Fest. Further, it reveals that I am a difficult interview subject to pin down.

Newsvine

I'll admit, I'm something of an early adoption junkie. I hear about a cool new site and I am drawn to it -- until I discover how badly it sucks.

Case in point: Newsvine. Unfortunately, Newsvine is an invitation-only beta service at the moment, which means I can't peek at it unless someone invites me.

Which leads me to a little bit of begging: anyone got a Newsvine invitation they could send me? Send it along to: chris at stomptokyo dot com

Update: Got one! Thanks to Tim T. for the invite!

For more info on what Newsvine is and what it does, read this.

Historic New Orleans theater lost in blaze

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

A three-alarm fire Friday afternoon destroyed the historic Coliseum Theater, the 91-year-old gem in the lower Garden District that was a reminder of days when such neighborhood movie houses dotted the city.

As if New Orleans hadn't been through enough already.

Read the full article about the Coliseum here.

Photo by Devil Ducky.

The Outdoorsmen, on TV and in theaters

Back in October I interviewed Scott Allen Perry, the director of a film called The Outdoorsmen: Blood, Sweat, and Beers. The film is a documentary about a group of men in the Seattle area who escape to the woods for one weekend a year to compete in a series of athletic events that involve strength, stamina, and the ability to chug beer. The results are even more hilarious than you might expect. If you have any fondness for beer or just watching men do the big dumb things that men do, this is a great movie to see in the company of friends. (Watching it alone isn't nearly as enjoyable - it's one of those pictures that really requires an audience.)

You can see an abbreviated version of The Outdoorsmen on Spike TV tonight at 10:00p (check your local listings for additional air dates) and the full version beginning next week in theaters in a few metro areas, including Austin, New York, Arlington VA, and Anchorage AK. Click here for listings of showtimes and venues. More theatrical dates will be added over time, so check back to see when it will play in your area.

(Full disclosure: I work for B Side Entertainment, which helps independent films like The Outdoorsmen reach new audiences.)