2006 FANTASTIC FEST AWARDS ANNOUNCED

2006 FANTASTIC FEST AWARDS ANNOUNCED

The 2006 Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas has come to a close and the jury and audience awards have been announced. The list of films in competition is attached at the end of this release. Films without distribution at the time of their acceptance to Fantastic Fest were eligible for awards.

AUDIENCE AWARDS
1st Place - HATCHET
2nd Place - ISOLATION
3rd Place -FIREFLY

SHORT FILM AWARDS
Best of Show - THE LISTENING DEAD
Best Short Form - THE COST OF LIVING
Best Long Form - ROGAIRI (VILLAINS)
Best Animated - IF I HAD A HAMMER
Best Comedy - THEY'RE MADE OUT OF MEAT

HORROR JURY AWARDS
Best Picture - ISOLATION
Best Director - Billy O'Brien, ISOLATION
Best Script - Dylan Bank and Morgan Pehme, NIGHTMARE
Best Actor - Kane Hodder, HATCHET
Best Actress - Nicole Roderick, NIGHTMARE
Best Supporting Actor - Lance Henriksen, ABOMINABLE
Best Supporting Actress - Kristen Bell, ROMAN
Best Art Direction - Alex Boynton, UNREST
Best Cinematography - Robbie Ryan, ISOLATION
Best Special Effects - HATCHET
Best Make-up - BROKEN

Special Mention of the Horror Jury: Best Musical Score Ever - Lalo Schifrin, ABOMINABLE


FANTASTIC FEST JURY AWARDS
Best Film -THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
Best Director - Simon Rumley, THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
Best Script - Larry Kent and Daniel Williams, HAMSTER CAGE
Best Actor - Leo Bill in THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
Best Actress - Jodie Jameson, VENUS DROWNING
Best Supporting Actor - Alan Scarfe, HAMSTER CAGE
Best Supporting Actress - Kate Fahy, THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
Best Art Direction -STARFISH HOTEL
Best Cinematography - A QUIET LOVE
Best Special Effects - PUZZLEHEAD
Best Make-up -THE LIVING AND THE DEAD

Special Mention of the Jury, Blood Tea and Red String
“For its originality and stunning visual audacity! Blood Tea and Red String is a dark psychological fairy tail, a work of creative passion by director Christiane Cegavske. The films eccentric and unique vision will be with you like a feverish dream for years to come.”


2006 FANTASTIC FEST COMPETITION FILMS
THE BEACH PARTY AT THE THRESHOLD OF HELL
BLOOD TEA AND RED STRING
FIREFLY
GAMERZ
HAMSTER CAGE
INSIDE
PUZZLEHEAD
A QUIET LOVE
STARFISH HOTEL
VENUS DROWNING
THE LIVING AND THE DEAD

2006 FANTASTIC FEST HORROR COMPETITION FILMS
ABOMINABLE
BLOOD TRAILS
HATCHET
SIMON SAYS
WILDERNESS
THE LAST SUPPER
BROKEN
ISOLATION
UNREST
ROMAN
NIGHTMARE

The shorts jury was comprised of Chris Cargill (Ain’t It Cool News), Brian Satterwhite (Ain’t It Cool News) and Jay Knowles (Ain’t It Cool News).

The Horror Jury was comprised of Peter Martin (Twitchfilm), Jay Slater (UK Journalist, Hot Dog/Film Threat), Chris Cargill (Ain’t It Cool News) and Ed Neal (star, Texas Chainsaw Massacre).

The Fantastic Fest jury was comprised of Christian Hallman (Lund International Fantastic Film Festival), Wiley Wiggins (star, Dazed and Confused), and Scott Weinberg (Rotten Tomatoes).

Audience Award films were chosen by ballot from all 22 of the Horror and Fantastic competition films.

Mel Gibson travels to Austin's Fantastic Fest to sneak Apocalypto

Mel Gibson made a brief, somewhat impromptu appearance at Austin,
Texas' Fantastic Fest on Saturday, September 24 to share a
work-in-progress rough cut of his new feature APOCALYPTO. Scheduled
for release on December 6th, APOCALYPTO has not had another public
screening in any form. The film received a standing ovation and has
sparked endless discussions and excitement throughout the festival
community and beyond.

Joining Mel Gibson for the Q&A was star Rudy Youngblood. Youngblood,
along with the vast majority of the cast, were novice actors, but
their portrayals of the warring Mayans were genuinely breathtaking.

APOCALYPTO was filmed on location in Vera Cruz with a gruelling
8-month production schedule and is currently in post-production.

A more verbose description of the event is available online at Ain't
It Cool News.

Press photos of the event are available here

For additional information, please email

FF Community update

Chris from Bside here with an update on the ways Fantastic Fest attendees are using the web site's new community features. Fantastic Fest is one of our most active festival communties to date!

Featured reviews

"Visually stunning, with a compelling story. This dark,poignant fairy tale flips childhood and fairy tales on their proverbial ears." - user jenab on Terry Gilliam's Tideland (read more reviews of Tideland)

"I'm not going to bother with the obligatory handwringing "this movie is not for everyone" statement to qualify my love for this freakshow. It's my favorite film so far of the festival, and if you are unable to enjoy it you are my enemy. You should have been dropping acid in high school like the rest of us, so you would have the organic damage necessary to enjoy the crunchy sound of minds shattering." - user weevil on Funky Forest (read more reviews of Funky Forest)

"Definitely see this one. The vibe in this film reminded me of Fright Night - one of the most fun vampire movies ever. Just the general vibe, mind you. The plot is completely different. An excellent mix of horror and comedy featuring Swedish teen angst, which isn't all that different from American teen angst. Don't take the red pill! Most impressive for a paltry $3 Million budget." - user SickLiaisons on Frostbite (read more reviews of Frostbite)

Featured filmmaker blog

"The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell will be making it's way to The Fantastic Fest in Austin. We are very, very excited. For starters it is a festival launched by my secret crush, Matt Dentler, and the oh so famous Harry Knowles. We are really thinking that if we can get in with the Ain't it Cool News Crowd, this film will have a very fun ride." - filmmaker Jamie Bullock, The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell

Featured user blog

"Not since Alien Vs. Predator has a three-word movie title delivered so completely what it has promised. Texas? Check. Chainsaw? Oh, mais oui. Massacre? You betcha. This prequel to the splatterhouse original comes at you with all the subtlety of a concussion grenade. But hey, it's not like you were misled--you can't complain that you were expecting something like Snow Falling On Cedars." - user Purukivel, blogging after seeing Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Are you writing kick-ass reviews? Blogging about Fantastic Fest on the official site or elsewhere? Drop a line to cholland @ bside . com and let us know - they might be featured here.

NEW SECRET SCREENING ANNOUNCED: SAT, SEPT. 23, 9 PM

This one is hot off the presses! I just got off the phone with Harry Knowles from Ain't It Cool News. He has set up another secret screening for Saturday, Sept 23 at 9 PM. We are not at liberty to disclose the title of this screening; it's even more secret than the AICN Special Screening slated for Wednesday...

INDIVIDUAL TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR MOST SHOWS

Something that hasn't been made totally clear about Fantastic Fest is that we capped the badge sales so that individual tickets would be available for most shows. With the exception of the closing night film, THE FOUNTAIN, we should be able to accomodate individual ticket sales for nearly all movies in Fantastic Fest. If you don't have a badge and only want to check out one or two movies, no worries, just come on down! Tickets for individual shows are regular admission price, $8.

VIP BADGES ARE SOLD OUT!

We have less than 80 regular badges left for sale and then we are down to just having tickets for individual shows. If you want to come to Fantastic Fest 2006, we recommend getting your badge today. Tickets for individual shows will be available in person at the door 15 minutes before each showtime, subject to availability. Regular badge holders will still be able to attend almost everything they want to see at the fest (VIP badge holders are guaranteed a seat at any show as long as they arrive 20 minuters before showtime). We do also have tickets on sale online for the following shows: All films in the Ram Gopal Varma Retrospective, The Jack Stevenson programs and the Charles Band events on opening night.

Minor schedule change... Freddie out, Shiva in...

We had one last minute schedule change. The new print of NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET has been pulled, we'll be bringing it back to the Alamo Drafthouse Village in October as part a month-long horror series.

NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is making way for SHIVA, the newest film by Ram Gopal Varma, which rounds out the retrospective at four films. Shiva is a remake of his very first film (of the same name), but this time instead of a college campus, the story of honor amid corruption is set within the Mumbai Police Department.

If you haven't seen it yet, you must check out the trailer for SHIVA (It's linked from the Fantastic Fest site) which will, if nothing else, get your attention. I've seen the other Varma titles in the series, and they are solid one and all. I simply cannot wait to check out his latest. I've got it on my schedule, and I hope to see you there!

To add to the excitement, executive chef John Bullington has pulled out the stops and put together a phenomenal menu for the Ram Gopal Varma series. There are so many treats, that even if you see all four of the Varma movies, you can eat something different every time!

Ram Gopal Varma: The Menu

Pappadoms
Toasted lentil crisp with tamarind chutney and date raita

Stuffed parathas
Panfried Whole Wheat breads filled with sambar beef

Shrimp Pooris
Fried bread topped with spicy spinach tomatoes peppers and shrimp topped with yogurt

Samosas
Fried Pastry filled with Potatoes, peas and cashews with Mango Chutney

Palak Paneer
Homemade Cheese sauteed with Spinach and served with Naan Bread

Chana Dal
Yellow split peas with tomatoes served with spicy long beans

Lamb Biryani
Lamb cooked with almonds and raisins in a savory yogurt sauce with saffron basmati

Pork Vindaloo with basmati
Tend pork in a spicy curry form Goa with basmati rice

Beef Roan Josh
Beef simmered in this classic red curry sauce with jasmine rice

Dessert
Kulfi
Frozen mango and pistachio ice creams with falooda noodles



John Bullington has been executive chef at Alamo South Lamar since we opened in 2005. He was named Austin Citysearch Chef of the Year in 2000, but nothing pleases him more these days then a perfect pairing of food and film. Prior to his post at the Alamo, John was executive chef at Mars restaurant, which often featured his delicious Indian cuisine.

Austin Restaurant Recommendations for out-of-towners

We've compiled is a list of some of our personal favorite restaurants in Austin. We've tried to keep it mainly on the breakfast, lunch and late night side of things, since you will probably be at the theater for the traditional dinner hour. If you want any further or specific recommendations, please come and see us at the fest. We are somewhat obsessed by food and have strong opinions on just about every restaurant in town.

Day Trips For 2006 Fantastic Fest Out-of-towners

We know you won’t have too much time for the famous Austin nightlife since you’ll be gorging on movies with the rest of us, but you still have a chance to get a taste of Austin during the day. We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite Austin-area attractions . If you would like recommendations for anything else to do in Austin, come and see me during the fest and I should be able to steer you in the right direction.

Fantastic Fest Jury Members announced

We would like to welcome our 2006 Festival Jury: Christian Hallman, Wiley Wiggins and Ed Neal. Ed permanently scarred the drive-in-going youth of the 1970s as the creepiest hitchhiker of all time in the Original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In addition to his Jury Duty, Ed will be introducing a special screening of Texas Chainsaw on Sunday night. Wiley Wiggins was the star of Dazed and Confused and Waking Life as well as one of the film's animators. Christian Hallman is flying in from Sweden for the festival. In addition to directing DESPERATELY SEEKING SEKA and line producing this year's FROSTBITE, he's also a respresentative of the Fantastic Film Federation as well as one of the organizers of the Lund Fantastic Film Festival in Sweden. Christian will also be introducing the FROSTBITE screenings (which, by the way, is not in competition)

We have also named the shorts jury, which will be comprised of Ain't It Cool News crack reporters Brian Satterwhite, Christopher Cargill and the man himself, the legendary papa geek Jay Knowles. Audience Awards, Feature Jury Awards and Shorts Awards will be announced on Thursday evening, September 28.

Late Breaking News - Opening Night Film

For our opening night film, we are extremely pleased to announce the premiere of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING at the 2006 Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas on September 21. Print courtesy of New Line Cinema. Live in person in support of the film will be director Jonathan Liebesman and producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form as well as stars R. Lee Ermey and Jordana Brewster. After the screening VIP Badge Holders are invited to the opening night party where we'll have a heady mix of chainsaws, red meet and alcohol. Attendees beware.