Fantastic Fest 2009: What I've Seen So Far

It's super late (for me) so I'm going to do this quick and dirty. Refer to the official web site for synopses and more info about the films.

Van Diemen's Land - a slow burn about Australian prison camp escapees who become cannibals in the 1870s. Good family fare.

Gentlemen Broncos - should be a hit with the Napoleon Dynamite crowd. Didn't quite tickle my funny bone as much as others in the crowd but I quite liked Sam Rockwell and the ending was sweet.

AntiChrist - I may not like Lars von Trier's movies but I totally respect his ability to get them made. This was hideous and I strongly warn parents and those with weak stomachs against seeing this movie.

Kamogawa Horumo - Battle League in Tokyo - predictable and tedious in character development but sheer joy in the action sequences. To tell you more would spoil it. A great romp. I'm so glad I went into this without knowing anything about it other than it's Japanese and it's wacky.

Animated shorts - so much fun! The Austin premiere of Pigeon Impossible!

Zombieland - Exactly the movie I wanted it to be. A spiritual successor to Shaun of the Dead and quite possibly the greatest cameo in a movie. Ever.

Secret Screening #2 - Men Who Stare At Goats - not bad but in an unfair comparison I will say that George Clooney's work is stronger in Up in the Air, also due out this fall.

The Highball lounge - the perfect Fantastic Fest party venue. Bowling, karaoke, themed food, skee-ball, and seating that is both comfortable and plentiful. A joy to behold and to inhabit.

Do You Wanna Date My Avatar?

Felicia Day doesn't need my help getting attention, but I'm embedding anyway.

San Diego Comic Con Pix

In my experience Dragon*Con has reigned supreme as the cosplayers' heaven. The costumes at Comic Con have always seemed lackluster in comparison. Some of the pictures coming out of this year's San Diego Convention, however, are stunning.

San Diego Shooter's Comic Con 2009 set

The SD Comic Con Flickr Group

Q&A with Chris Holland re: last night's Star Trek event

Q. So, you're a nerd. A geek, even. You love all that Star Trek crap.

A. Yes.

Q. And you live in Austin, TX?

A. Yes.

Q. But -- even though you pre-purchased a Fantastic Fest badge just so you could attend these sorts of things -- you didn't go to last night's screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan?

A. No.

Q. The one that turned out to be the sneak World Premiere of the new Star Trek film, which looks massively awesome and may well reboot the franchise for a new generation of fans?

A. Yes.

Q. And I understand Leonard "Spock" Nimoy was there in person to deliver the print of the new film?

A. Yes.

Q. So hundreds of your fellow geeks got to watch a crazy great new movie while you stayed home to watch TV with your wife?

A. Yes.

Q. Dude. You're getting old.

A. That's not a question, but . . . Yes.

New Zealand has its own B-Fest: The Annual 24 Hour V Movie Marathon

From their press release:

Flying in the face of health professionals worldwide, New Zealand movie lovers are again being offered a chance to take part in a marathon that requires zero physical exertion but comes with a very real threat of dying.

The Annual 24 Hour V Movie Marathon returns for its ninth year and organiser Ant Timpson warns the sedentary participants, "that even though the marathon requires no cardio from attendees, they should never forget that death himself could be creeping up their leg during a movie."

Dr Royce Carruthers from Miskatonic University confirms Timpson's concern, "Research shows that movie marathoners are susceptible to blood clots, and in fact, one in eighty could experience deep vein thrombosis, especially if they are heavy smokers and are attending this movie marathon on a 747 thirty seven thousand feet in the air".

One regular attendee Steve Brough had this to say when confronted with a one in eighty chance of dying while watching a film at the marathon, "Well apart from cardiac arrest during sex, I can't think of a better way to die!"

The 24 Hour 'V' Movie Marathon offers adventurous audiences a mix of Blockbuster Premieres alongside some diabolical exploitation from the vault.

This year the Marathon is offering a 'Big Baby' ticket, one which cuts a break to those who fear death and want to arrive Sunday morning to just see approximately half the films for half the price. The only catch is that purchasers of the 'Big Baby' must wear a diaper and bib for the final 8 hours.

The 24 Hour Movie Marathon is presented with V energy drink , the long-term supporter of all things filmy in New Zealand.

If you happen to be reading this from New Zealand, you'll be pleased to note that there are two dates for the Marathon:

Auckland
Hollywood Cinema, Saturday Dec 6th, 2008

Wellington
Paramount Theatre, Saturday Dec 13th, 2008

Learn more at the Marathon web site.

What's been goin' on

It's been a little lonely over here at Blue Glow; developments in my professional and personal life have put some projects on the back burner and brought others to the front.

I'm hard at work on the new book based on Film Festival Secrets -- if you're a filmmaker with burning questions about getting your film out there on the festival circuit, chances are I've got the answers to some of 'em. I've been noodling around with it for a couple of years now. I had to give myself a deadline to get anything done so I told the folks at the Austin Film Festival I'd be launching it at their festival (late October). Add in 3-4 weeks for proofs and delivery and whatnot, and -- ulp -- I need to have it done in the next two weeks. No sweat.

Scott's away from St. Pete to check out this year's Dragon*Con. Hopefully a hurricane won't wash away his house while he's gone. I'm in self-imposed exile while I write and write and write. Stomp Tokyo will return some day, just not in the next few weeks. Maybe in September when Fantastic Fest hits.

Viva CineVegas.

It's been quiet around here, you say? That's because I've only had time to shoot off short entries for the other blog, Film Festival Secrets, regarding CineVegas. I've been in Sin City for the last six days and now it's time to go home, hopefully to return to a more regular posting schedule here. See you after the plane ride.

Concessions Speech

Dave Stinton at The Simon ruminates about the food he's eaten in movie theaters, and along the way produces this gem about B-Fest and the fact that food is against the rules. It's probably the greatest unenforced rule ever.

Technically, you’re not supposed to bring food into the theatre. But this rule is a quaint little relic that brings wistful smiles to the faces of audience members laden down with coolers. “There’s no outside food allowed in this room,” the host will announce, yelling to be heard over the rustles of hundreds of bags of Doritos.

Read more about B-Fest and the rest of Stinton's Concessions Speech.

SxSW MADNESS!

If things have been a little quiet, it's because I'm swept up in the South By Southwest film festival. Check out the coverage over at Slackerwood and, for you filmmakers in the crowd, Film Festival Secrets.

Podcast Catch-up - new episodes

The last time I posted here about a new episode of Stomp Tokyo - the Cult Movies Podcast, it was November. If you don't subscribe to the podcast with an RSS reader you could be forgiven for thinking that Scott and I hadn't recorded anything since then. But how wrong you'd be! Here's a recap of the episodes since then:

Stomp Tokyo Podcast #47 - In another catch-up episode, we talk about HD DVD and new theater experiences, as well as No Country for Old Men and Cat O'Nine Tails.

Stomp Tokyo Podcast #48 - In this episode we discuss the WGA strike, HD-DVD, and Rambo. Featuring special guest and occasional Peter Cushing impersonator Freeman Williams.

Stomp Tokyo Podcast #49 - Subjects this time include Cloverfield, Slamdance, and B-Fest.

Stomp Tokyo Podcast #50 - We Always Shoot With a Steady Cam. Subjects include documentaries, Cloverfield, and In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale.

And there's another episode on the way, we're just editing it together. Enjoy!

The B-Masters Cabal Roundtable #25: The Ottoman Empire Strikes Back

The B-Masters are back with another roundtable, this time centered around Turkish ripoff cinema. I've long been in love with any movie prefaced by the words "The Turkish," so I'm sorry I missed participation in this particular roundtable.

Fortunately Scott was there to pick up the slack, even during Stomp Tokyo's sabbatical. His review of Badi (the Turkish version of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial) stands proud (?) with the other reviews from the industrious members of the B-Masters Cabal -- watching crap so you don't have to.

Read The B-Masters Cabal » 25: The Ottoman Empire Strikes Back.

Showing of The Wizard at Alamo Drafthouse Ritz

super mario brothers and their princess
Originally uploaded by sarah pants

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is but one of the reasons that the Alamo Drafthouse kicks ass. A showing of "The Wizard" with cast and crew present. Staff members in costume. And the presentation of a golden Nintendo Power Glove to the lucky crew. If only I'd been there!

The dirty little secret about why I'm missing B-Fest

Normally at this time of year I'd be packing up my travel gear and heading north for the snowy wastes of Chicago for B-Fest, but this year my job keeps me from doing that. Instead I am packing up my travel gear and heading north (and west) for the snowy wastes of Park City, Utah. Yes, I'm going to Sundance.

Well, technically Slamdance, since that's the festival our company is working with, but it's all part of the crazy Sundance/Slamdance/Xdance/Tromadance mashup that is Park City in late January. Naturally I'll be blogging the whole thing as time allows and will probably write a bit about it when I get back.

Watch for on-the-ground blog posts over on my film festival related blog, Film Festival Secrets.

I will also be posting pictures to my Flickr account while I'm there.

If by some chance you'll be in Park City this week as well, shoot me an e-mail: chris at stomptokyo dot com. Maybe I'll see you in the aisles . . . though not the beloved aisles of B-Fest.

B-Fest 2008 Schedule Revealed

Does it hurt that I can't go to B-Fest this year?

Yes. Yes it does.

John C. Reilly - Walks Hard, Rocks Hard

John C. Reilly was in town to rock the legendary Stubb's BBQ as Dewey Cox, the subject of Jake Kasdan's new film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. I got a chance to see the film and the performance, and both were excellent. See the full report over at Slackerwood along with some video of the concert.

Peter Davison returns (briefly) as the Fifth Doctor

You bet your ass it's time for some new Doctor Who. The BBC announced last week that Friday they'll be airing "Time Crash," a "new scene" in the Doctor Who universe created as part of the Children in Need charity telethon.

It's not long now until Friday night - and Time Crash, the special Doctor Who scene starring David Tennant and Peter Davison.

As well as Time Crash, written by Steven Moffat and directed by Graeme Harper, the Children In Need telethon will also feature the vocal talents of John Barrowman, who will be singing during the evening.

In association with Children In Need, the Doctor Who website team will be doing our bit to support this historic meeting of two Doctors.

If you're in the UK, you'll be able to catch the scene online for seven days after it's shown on TV, along with a very special behind-the-scenes featurette from the Doctor Who Confidential team.

We'll also be running a mini episode guide, including galleries, a fact file and full credits.

I think this underscores the special place that Doctor Who has in the hearts of the British populace. How many television shows in the States -- never mind science fiction shows -- have a following devoted enough to justify annual holiday specials for charity?

Learn more about the mini-episode here and here, and check out a nice large image of the two Doctors together here. Also, check out the "front" page of the Doctor Who section of the BBC's web site for yet another image.

Weird Wednesday: Carnival Magic

So last night I went to the first-ever Weird Wednesday at the new Alamo Drafthouse Ritz location because I figured that if ever they were going to show a special, special movie designed for maximum audience pain, this would be the time. I wasn't wrong.

Carnival Magic is an über-rare kids movie directed by Al Adamson. Yes, that Al Adamson: the man who brought us such fine films as Dracula vs. Frankenstein, Black Samurai, and Blazing Stewardesses.

If you're thinking to yourself "this is not a man who should be directing anything for kids," you win a gold star. It was disturbing. It was horrifying. It was very, very wrong.

But most of all, it was fascinating.

I know I just went on sabbatical from the site and all, but this movie makes me want to write a review.

Many thanks to Lars and Zack for the damaging, damaging memories.

Fantastic Fest updates forthcoming ; "There Will Be Blood" closes festival

Since returning to Texas from Indiana and Ohio I've thrown myself
headlong into the last four days of Fantastic Fest. Austin's eight day
marathon of genre movie madness is as successful and geek-scented as
in 2007 as in its previous two years, as borne out by the fact that
the limited number of VIP passes for the 2008 festival that were put
on sale during this year's event dwindled to 25 by Wednesday
afternoon. A friendly Fantastic Fest volunteer mentioned this evening
that they have since sold out, but I haven't been able to confirm that
elsewhere. (One of the consequences of FF's increased popularity is
that the wifi network is completely overwhelmed, rendering it useless
for everyone.)

The only bit of news I have to relate is that, as rumored, "There Will
Be Blood" was indeed the secret screening that serves as the closing
night film. Upon hearing that I was relieved to have chosen to see
"The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" instead, since the chances of seeing
that on film in the future are much slimmer.

More soon, but there's much-neglected family and work and sleep to
catch up on this weekend first.

B-Fest 2008 dates announced!

This year's B-Fest will be held on January 18th and 19th, 2008. Same venue on the Northwestern campus.

Never heard of B-Fest? Visit the official web site.

Austin festival roundup for Fall 2007

Fall is a good time of year for movie geeks in Austin. Read my roundup of the big three film festivals in my town over at Slackerwood.

Dragon*Con 2007

I didn't attend Dragon*Con this year, but I was in Atlanta during the event this past weekend. I dropped in on Scott today (the con's final day) for lunch and it sounds like it was another year of record attendance and good geeky fun for the convention. Of course growth comes with growing pains and there was a bit of grousing about the way the guest appearances were handled but it sounds like they're learning a few things about crowd control.

One of the main attractions of the convention is the costuming. Hordes of enterprising and creative pop culture fans descend upon the hotel complex sporting their best gear (and, for the voyeuristically inclined, sometimes not much of it). The real-world manifestations of characters both beloved and obscure is one of my favorite reasons to go.

This year, however, I'll be watching the Dragon*Con group on Flickr. A small army of photographers (and an even larger number of casual snapshooters) captured the magic for all to behold. I can't wait to see what I missed.