Fantastic Fest

Friday, March 13, 2009

Use BSide at SXSW

For those of us who have gotten very accustomed to using the intuitive BSide interface at Fantastic Fest, there is great news! The BSide team has put together an interface with information on all SXSW Film, Music and Interactive events.

Even better, they have introduced a new scheduling "genius" tool to help you optimize your schedule once you have marked down everything you want to see. I'm working up my personal schedule there, and I can't wait to use it for Fantastic Fest come September!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Film School Rejects SXSW report on 15 Films You Must See



The cinematically obsessed crew at FilmSchoolRejects.com have posted their 15 Top Picks for this year's SXSW Film Festival, and we're proud to say that several of the titles selected for Fantastic Fest at SXSW made the cut!

But THE HORSEMAN, LESBIAN VAMPIRE KILLERS and ONG BAK 2 aren't the only pulse-bursting titles on the rundown, so head over to that list HERE!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

BRUNO is coming to SXSW presents Fantastic Fest!

In the spirit of tastelessness, offensiveness and tactlessness that is Fantastic Fest, SXSW presents Fantastic Fest is proud to announce a special 22 minute exclusive presentation of scenes from BRUNO at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar this Sunday, March 15, at 11pm. Unlike many of the other SXSW events, no badge is required, but the theaters will be seated solely on a first come/first served basis. So in other words, get there early.

This is the first time any footage from BRUNO will be seen by the general public, and we have been assured by our friends at Universal (distributors of BRUNO) that this footage is fucking hilarious. It all promises to be one of the most talked-about screenings of SXSW, so do what you can to make it there this Sunday night!

Astropia VS. Heroes, there can be only one!

We were in the loop yesterday as the great Heroes/Astropia battle of 2009 began to develop. Everyone knows NBC's hit show Heroes, but if you didn't attend Fantastic Fest 2008, you may not be aware of the Icelandic nerd opus Astropia, one of the most successful Icelandic films of all time. The producers emailed us a link to a scene from an upcoming episode of Heroes that has a very familiar look, feel and tone to a key moment in the Astropia storyline.

Swarez over at Twitch film has broken the story and now has the Heroes clip and the Astropia clip side by side on the site. I can't personally say for sure whether the Heroes writing pool got their inspiration from Astropia or it's just a case of eerie coincidence. In any event, check out the story at Twitch, watch both of the clips and you be the judge. We'll update you if the Icelandic annoyance swells to actual legal fisticuffs.

Monday, March 02, 2009

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN on DVD March 10! Adolescent swedish vampires in your HOME!

lettherightonein-dvd

There really was no other movie in 2008 that stole our affection and excitement like Tomas Alfredson's undeniably gorgeous adolescent vampire first-love masterpiece LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. It was on the Top Ten lists of everyone at the Alamo, and I humbly submit that it's the best new movie in years, from anywhere, about anything.

LTROI had a huge amount of success at our theaters and played for months, but if you missed it, you're in luck...the DVD will be coming out next week. And if you DIDN'T miss it, I'm certain you'll be ahead of me in line to get your own copy. I've seen the film five times and still can't wait to get my hands on it, dammit.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Meet 2009 Fantastic Fest Poster Artist: Jon Vermilyea!

vermilyea space monster

Earlier this week, festival founder, Tim League asked me if I could recommend an artist for this year's Fantastic Fest poster. I sent him a list of about a dozen artists that I thought would do a good poster, but in my mind there was only one that could DESTROY this year's poster. Say hello to the 2009 Fantastic Fest poster artist: Jon Vermilyea.

Jon's work has been featured in Vice Magazine, Fantagraphics BEASTS 2 and most recently in the new Animal Collective video for My Girls among other things. The first couple of times I talked to Jon, I tried to play it cool. I really, reaallllly tried to be professional and not get all weird about talking to my favorite artist on the planet, but those conversations quickly degenerated to me saying how badass he was. Honestly, how could I not have?! Look at his site for Christ's sake. There is an animated, flying piece of pizza melting on the homepage! Arggggghhhhhhhh! Can you imagine how good the poster is going to be this year? I haven't even got to the part where I say that it's going to be in 3D. Well, here goes. This year, the Fantastic Fest poster WILL BE IN 3D! That's right...3-Dimensions of Jon Vermilyea Monsters!

I don't know about all you other Fantastic Fest warriors, but I cannot wait to see what he comes up with. The poster is still a ways off from completion, but if you like Jon's stuff (you better) Mondo is going to be doing several shirts with him in the very near future. As soon as updates are available, you better believe they'll be posted here.