Fantastic Fest

UNDEAD TILL DAWN: The Fantastic Fest Vampire Party

2009-09-22T20:13:00.002-05:00

You've made your travel reservations. You've laid out your socks and underwear, and even purchased a fresh toothbrush carrier so you can be 100% germ-free and make it all through the 8 days of the festival. But guess what? You probably aren't done packing yet. Unless, by chance, you've already backed your black and red satin cape, plenty of white make up, and blood, lots and lots of blood.

That's the kind of stash you're either going to need to bring with you or source for yourself here in Austin if you plan on making it all through way through the festival this year, because our closing night party now has a theme, and it's all VAMPIRE through and through.

We'll have a DJ spinning the best dance music for teenagers to slit their wrists to, bloodbags full of tasty concoctions to keep you alive all through the night, and plenty of plastic fangs for any mortals who sneak in and think they can fool us. But we'll also be having a costume contest, and crowning the new king and queen of Bontemps right here in Austin.

You can get a taste of what people looked like in our last Vampire Prom in this video from our beloved fallen local PBS Docubloggers. Check it out, and I'll be here ready, just waiting to suck your blood.

Fantastic Fest's newest Filmmaking Frenzy: UWE BOLL'S TOTALLY AWESOME VIDEO GAMES

2009-08-09T14:59:00.001-05:00

G4 and Fantastic Fest present
UWE BOLL'S TOTALLY AWESOME VIDEO GAMES!!!!

The computer was invented in 1936, but the '80s taught it how to PARTY. What was once just a tool for algorithms and manufacturing data suddenly became ground zero for barrel-jumping Italian plumbers, ghost-eating yellow circles and ostrich-riding jousters. Mankind was thrust into an Age of Digital Sorcery...without even having to get up from the couch. These games and characters soon became as important to us as food and family. As the '90s dawned, so did a new genre of cinema, ushered in by innovative masterpieces like MORTAL KOMBAT, SUPER MARIO BROS and (of course) Jean-Claude Van Damme's epic, globe-spanning STREET FIGHTER. But shockingly enough, several of the most beloved console classics remain unadapted to the movie medium.

Where is our long-awaited dramatic re-interpretation of DIG DUG? How long must we wait before Vin Diesel and Paul Walker will get behind the wheel for a big-screen version of FROGGER? It's high time that we, as a community of creators and lifelong Nintendo warriors, rise up to provide a hungry world with the two- sted, universe-shaking GALAGA adaptation that Hollywood has so foolishly failed to spawn. Filmmakers, grab your camera in one hand and your joystick in the other, assemble your fellow electro-enthusiasts and take aim at your target -- from PONG to GRAND THEFT AUTO -- for the absolute ultimate lmmaking frenzy competition: TOTALLY AWESOME VIDEO GAAAAAAMES!!!!

Finalists' Films will be judged by none other than our planet's supreme arcade-to-megaplex megamaster UWE BOLL! Game OVER!!!

Screenings of TOTALLY AWESOME VIDEO GAMES will happen during Fantastic Fest 2009, and registration is open right now over at G4TV.com/Fantastic. Head over there to check out the full rules and get your film uploaded before September 4!

The Alamo Drafthouse and Synapse Films bring 42nd STREET FOREVER to Fantastic Fest!

2009-07-27T13:41:00.006-05:00

One of the many great things about seeing a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse are the classic movie trailers that play in front of new features, often ingeniously placed (NUNS ON THE RUN in front of DOUBT was one of my recent faves), enhancing the movie going experience in a manner that no other theater can bring you. These trailers come from the Alamo's massive trailer archive, which we have been amassing for years, and we're now finally ready to share with the rest of the world. Working with our friends at Synapse Films, we've put over 40 of our finest trailers and special announcements onto one spectacular DVD: 42nd STREET FOREVER VOLUME 5: ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE EDITION!

Over a year in the making, this incredible trailerthon is just the tip of the iceberg of the many gems in our collection, and it includes some of our absolute favorites for a DVD event that will finally give you the experience of a night at the Drafthouse in the comfort of your own home. Like the other great Synapse 42nd STREET FOREVER titles, the ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE EDITION contains all trailers in their original aspect ratios (mastered in high definition), and features a new original documentary about the Drafthouse along with an audio commentary from Drafthouse founder Tim League and programmers Lars Nielsen and Zack Carlson! Here are just some of the classic trailers you'll find on this stellar DVD:

A LIFE OF NINJA
STING OF THE DRAGON MASTERS
THE BODYGUARD (CHIBA)
MAD MONKEY KUNG-FU
WONDER WOMEN
LUCKY SEVEN
THE SHARK HUNTER
BIRDS DO IT, BEES DO IT
LET S DO IT
CHATTERBOX
DANISH LOVE ACTS
GROUP MARRIAGE
VIOLATED
CAGED VIRGINS
MESSAGE FROM SPACE
THE TERRORNAUTS
MIND WARP
ZEBRA FORCE
BLAZING BATTLE
INTERNATIONAL DIAMOND TRAP
MACHINE GUN MCCAIN
STACEY
LIGHTNING BOLT
MISSION THUNDERBOLT
3 SUPERMEN IN THE WEST
PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW
PUTNEY SWOPE
REDNECK COUNTY
MOONRUNNERS
THE FABULOUS WORLD OF JULES VERNE
THE MAGIC CHRISTMAS TREE
PINOCCHIO'S BIRTHDAY PARTY
THE MAGIC OF THE KITE
THE SECRET OF MAGIC ISLAND
KARZAN: MASTER OF THE JUNGLE
THE NORSEMAN
SORCERESS
TERROR IN THE WAX MUSEUM
THE MANSON MASSACRE
THE DEVIL WITHIN HER
. . . and more!

To help celebrate this momentous release, Fantastic Fest will be hosting a special screening of every trailer in 35mm, with special guest Don May, Jr. of Synapse Films! This will be the only time these trailer will be shown in the same program, so don't miss this truly amazing event! (Screening date and times TBA)

42nd STREET FOREVER VOLUME 5: ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE EDITION will be available in stores on September 29, but it's available for pre-order now on Amazon and will also be available for purchase at Fantastic Fest. And with the holidays right around the corner, don't forget that this DVD also makes for a great Christmas gift!

Fantastic Fest presents free advance screening of THE COLLECTOR + Special Guests!

2009-06-29T12:05:00.002-05:00

Fantastic Fest and HorrorSquad present THE COLLECTOR with Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton in attendance!!

Over the course of my non-stop flick-hoppings, I've become a small and unofficial cog in the Fantastic Fest machine. (Let's say I'm half-consultant and half-cheerleader.) Tim League and his Alamo team scour the globe for the best in horror, sci-fi, action, etc., but I've been known to drop those guys a line when an interesting flick crosses my path. (Or when I'm just really bored. Curse you, caller ID!!) So here's some exciting news for those who A) live in Austin, B) love new horror movies, and C) are sure they can tolerate my presence for two consecutive hours:

July 22nd! 10pm! Alamo Ritz! THE COLLECTOR with Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton in attendance!! And they're nice guys! Yes, the guys who wrote FEAST, SAW 4, FEAST 2, SAW 5, FEAST 3, SAW 6 and THE COLLECTOR will be at the theater to A) eat cheese fries, B) drink beer, C) watch their movie on the big screen, and D) stand up for a Q$A thingy! It's going to be fun. I decree it to be so.

THE COLLECTOR, as you may know, was recently known as MIDNIGHT MAN, but it switched titles when it jumped over from Dimension to Freestyle. The plan is for the film to hit theaters on July 31 (which is why they couldn't just hold it for Fantastic Fest: September is after July), and I've already heard from the likes of Ryan "Rotten" Turek, Rodney Perkins, and (yes) Tim League that this is one kick-ass horror show! And now a few words from first-time director Marcus Dunstan: "Well, we just received our R rating after four trips to the MPAA, and I'm happy to say that none of the film's impact has been lost. Matter of fact, their notes made some scenes hit even harder! We're beyond lucky to be a part of Fantastic Fest again, even if it is a few months early this time. Austin welcomed FEAST with open arms, and I am over-the-moon excited to bring THE COLLECTOR to a city that loves movies so much."

In response, Tim League had this to say: "This movie rocks."

Important notes:

Admission to this screening is free. 2009 Fantastic Fest badge-holders can RSVP in advance by emailing brad@originalalamo.com with "THE COLLECTOR ROCKS" in the subject line. Badge-Holders who rsvp will be seated first come, first served. Non-badge-holders are welcome to attend subject to availability; simply arrive at the theater 45 minutes before the show. For more information on Fantastic Fest, please visit the official website at www.fantasticfest.com.

The first wave of content for Fantastic Fest will be posted there on July 13!

-Scott Weinberg, the Horror Squad

Mark the date: 7/13 - first wave of FF content

2009-06-26T21:52:00.001-05:00

We've been on the hunt since last October, scouring the globe for the best of the best in bat-shit-crazy-beautiful cinema. Now that Fantastic Fest is a mere 3 months away, we are plotting to release details on the first wave of content in this year's festival. We have LOTS more special events, premieres and surprises that we will be trickling out roughly once a month until the festival. We'll be launching the newly revamped website and activating the BSide community all at the same time, so mark your calendars, July 13 by noon CST we'll be offering up the first glimpse of the Fantastic Fest 2009 toybox! If you want to stay on top of all the news and events, especially during the festival, subscribe to this blog and follow us on twitter! Badges are still available for this year's festival, so tell your friends - there ain't no party like a Fantastic Fest party. Fantastic Fest 2009: September 24-October 1

Behold! 2009 Fantastic Fest T-Shirt And Poster Art!

2009-06-26T21:47:00.000-05:00

Way back in March, I announced that we had commissioned Jon Vermilyea to produce artwork for the 2009 Fantastic Fest poster. Every year, the Fantastic Fest programmers go all out attempting to bring you things that you've never seen before. To me, the poster should be no different. With monsters being the theme this year, we set out to do something we've never attempted before. Instead of having a poster with the normal 2 dimensions that you are all accustomed to, we thought, "Why not up the ante and make it 3?!" Here we are...the day has come...I can't wait any longer...Behold! This year's 3D FANTASTIC FEST POSTER!

What do you all think? I can tell you that when I first saw the linework for the poster I said "shit" really loud. When I saw this final with color, I said something much worse.

Many of you might be asking, "Well, if it's 3D, where are all the red and blue lines?" You will find none of that here. We used a very special process called Chromadepth. With your poster you will receive a pair of glasses. The special specks react with the colors and stretch the image to make it 3 dimensional. You can read more about the process here, but essentially, warm colors shoot out at you and cooler colors fall back into the background. If you have 3D Chromadepth glasses with you right now, feel free to put them on and take a gander. If not, feel free to stop in at the Mondo shop anytime and ask to use ours.

Not only did Jon destroy the poster, he did an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT image for the shirt.

So there you have it. This is just a taste of what you can expect from Fantastic Fest this year. We will no doubt have more announcements and surprises for you soon, so stay tuned. The Fantastic Fest poster and shirt will be on sale at Mondo soon!

-Justin

P.S. If you can't wait to get your hands on the Fantastic Fest shirt from Jon Vermilyea, you can order a DEADLY SPAWN shirt right now! The last run sold out quick so we brought it back in two new colorways...black and slime!

Fantastic Fest hotel discount now in effect!

2009-06-02T11:00:00.001-05:00

Anyone attending Fantastic Fest from out of town who doesn't have friends or family in Austin now has a place to stay: The Radisson Hotel & Suites at Austin-Town Lake. A special deal for Fantastic Fest attendees is now in effect through September 15 which gets you rooms for $135 a night from September 24 to October 1, a discount of over $40 a night! In addition to being a damn nice hotel, the Radisson is located right in the heart of downtown Austin, with easy shuttle access to Fantastic Fest's Alamo South Lamar location and just walking distance from the famed Congress Bridge Bats. It also sits right on the beautiful Town Lake, which allows for great walks and is ideal for jogging. With all the food and drink you'll be partaking in at Fantastic Fest, jogging might be a good idea.

In order to obtain this special discount, you can either call the Radisson's national reservations center at 800-333-3333, or go to the Radisson Downtown website and enter ALAMO into the promotional code box on the right side of the screen. Click "search" and the group rate will appear. If you experience any problems, please call the Radisson reservations line and let them know this is for Fantastic Fest 2009. Please note that these rates are only available until September 15, 2009, and any reservations made after that date must pay the full rate price.

It's also worth noting that the Radisson will also be hosting many of our special guests this year, so you never know who you're going to bump into in the elevator or get trashed at the hotel bar with at 2am. Anyone who has attended Fantastic Fest in years past can tell you these are some of the most magical moments of the entire festival, so take advantage of these great rates to stay in a top class hotel and enjoy the greatest film festival known to man!

Fantastic Fest director interviews Eli Roth at Cannes

2009-05-22T04:50:00.002-05:00

Our old friend and former Variety columnist Mike Jones was the programming director for the American Pavilion at Cannes this year. Each day of the festival featured interviews, panels, conversations and parties all programmed by Mike. Since I've been pals with Eli Roth since 2002, he asked if I could conduct an interview with him for the series.

Eli engaged the standing-room audience with stories of his first trip to Cannes seeking funding for Cabin Fever, the now famous 2002 bidding war at the Toronto Film Festival, and his early days as a student filmmaker. As the room was filled largely with young, up-and-coming filmmakers, much of the discussion focused on what folks looking to break into the industry need to be doing.

Despite the lack of air-conditioning (there was an electrician's strike in France that day), Eli stayed for nearly an hour in the heat after the interview to shake hands, answer more questions and take business cards.

Check out Mike Jone's full recap of the interview here.

THE CHASER now playing on IFC Festival Direct!

2009-05-13T14:04:00.005-05:00

Hong-jin Na's rampaging feature debut THE CHASER is on the loose. If you weren't lucky enough to catch it at Fantastic Fest- or any of the many other international festivals that also knew how f@*#ing great this film is- now you can see it at your own, private Film Festival in your living room! The inspired minds over at IFC Films have come up with an idea to make great films (ones that might otherwise get lost amongst the the slop in the Hollywood trough) more accessible to the few of us who still have a soft spot for substance and quality.

Cablers, Behold!
BrightHouse: Movies On Demand - IFC In Theaters
Cablevision: Movies On Demand - IFC In Theaters - Festival Direct
Comcast: Channel 1 - Movies & Events - IFC Festival Direct
Cox: Channel 1 - Movies On Demand - IFC In Theaters
Time Warner: Movies On Demand - IFC In Theaters

They don't get better than this. See it. Now. Tonight. Whenever you want. Just see it.

Find out more here

Now get out there and support great film.

Fantastic Fest filmmaker needs extras and locations!

2009-05-11T16:06:00.000-05:00

This summer, Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest will be teaming up with me (Simon Rumley, director of the Fantastic Fest 2006 best picture The Living and The Dead) to shoot my new revenge feature. The movie is called Red, White and Blue and will shoot on location in and around Austin.

Being an indie production however, we need a little bit of help from you, our loyal friends!

EXTRAS
Whether it'll be sitting in a bed in hospital or eating a burger at a diner or browsing a toyshop, we'll need some of you guys to flesh out the background.

Most scenes will take no more than an hour to shoot so if you have a spare hour (or more) this is for you!

LOCATIONS
This is an ambitious movie with a ton of locations. We'll be using 'real' locations where we come in and shoot with little or no production design to change the look and feel of the locations.

The crew will be relatively small with about 12 people and next to no lights. The amount of actors will vary on the scenes but will range from between 2-6. Most locations will be required for roughly a day's filming, some during the day and some during the night.

They are as follows:

1) Franki's - Franki is a lead character and is in a band. His house should be small/medium sized with two floors. Nothing too fancy. Probably 2-3 days filming here.

2) Carl/Alvin's - Also lead characters and in the same band as Franki. Need a garage to rehearse in and also, preferably on two floors. Nothing too fancy either.

3) Ellie's - Franki's mum's house. Can be on one or two floors. Lived in by a woman in her 50/early 60s. Moderately well off/comfortable.

4) Ed's - Slightly older contemporary of Franki/Alvin's etc. Lives with his girlfriend and young daughter. Has back yard and two floors.

5) Dano - Small appartment/ground floor house, lives by himself. NB - this is required for a sex scene!

6) Barman - Barman from a hotel's bedroom. Also required for a sex scene!

7) Lil Allan's mum's house - single mum's house ideally with young boy's room and back yard.

8) Sarah's house - single woman in her 20's house, ground floor only.

9) Erica's parents's house - only need to see a run-down/basic living room from the outside.

SO WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU GUYS!?

Apart from being an integral part of a new feature film, you'll get onscreen credits and be kept abreast of all the developments/premieres/parties etc. More than that, however, you'll have the chance of becoming one of the movie's producers!

Every single person who provides a location or is an extra in at least two different scenes will be automatically entered into a raffle which will take place on the last day of filming. The lucky winner will be then given an onscreen credit as Associate Producer to impress their mums/dads/boyfriends/girlfriends etc for ever and ever.

If you wanna help produce a movie by providing a location, send an email to:
rwblocations@gmail.com

If you wanna help produce a movie by being an extra, send an email to:
rwbextras@gmail.com

Thanks everyone and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Simon Rumley
director: Red White and Blue, The Living and the Dead

Media 8 Acquires SXSW Favorite The Horseman

2009-05-08T06:13:00.010-05:00

According to an article at Inside Film, Media 8 Entertainment has acquired worldwide rights to The Horseman, which had its North American debut at SXSW presents Fantastic Fest. Media 8 will be taking the film to Cannes market this month for buyer's screenings. Congratulations to Steve and his crew!

Two Fantastic Fest 2008 Favorites Return To The Ritz This Week!

2009-04-27T01:07:00.002-05:00

We are very proud to bring back not one, but two of our favorite films from Fantastic Fest 2008 this week to the Alamo Ritz.

First up is Nicolas Lopez’s SANTOS, which had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest last year and has been burning up the festival circuit ever since. Though it was shot in Spain and Chile, SANTOS has its roots here in Austin, as it was produced by Austin’s own Elizabeth Avellan, with FX from local FX powerhouse Troublemaker Studios. Anyone who saw it last year will tell you it was easily one of the highlights of Fantastic Fest 2008, where it won a Special Jury award for originality and vision, and it returns to the Alamo this Tuesday, April 28, as part of the 2009 Cine las Americas festival, showcasing the best in new Latin cinema. SANTOS will be screening one time only at 7pm, and you can order your tickets here. Don’t miss it… again!

Another returning favoite is DOCTOR INFIERNO, the truly batshit insane first feature from Paco Limon, who was unable to attend Fantastic Fest last year, but will finally be here along with star and associate producer Javier Albarrán. There were many great films at Fantastic Fest 2008, but DOCTOR INFIERNO was a true standout, an outrageously ambitious action/comedy/fantasy/horror/sci-fi meltdown that compares to the early work of Peter Jackson and Sam Raimi. Made with an absolute intense dedication by a group of rabid creators with very limited means, the film manages to capture a boiling fervor that is practically unequaled in the annals of entertainment.

The plot: a demented gynecologist discovers a cure for all the world’s illnesses and uses it as leverage to become sole dictator of the earth. Jam-packed with monsters, kung fu, battling robots and deviant sexual practices, DR. INFIERNO doesn’t let anything get in the way of an explosive fountain of impossible ideas.

DOCTOR INFIERNO will be making it’s triumphant return to Austin on Wednesday, April 29 at 9:25pm, and tickets for this show can be ordered here. Once again, you’re a loser if you miss this.

New DEATH NOTE sequel hits U.S. theaters!

2009-04-21T12:55:00.008-05:00

As much as we'd like to, we can't play every new international genre hit at Fantastic Fest, and one of the ones missing from last year's lineup was L, CHANGE THE WORLD, the latest film in the DEATH NOTE series. Although we were unable to screen it last year, we're pleased to report that the new film will be playing theaters nationwide via our friends at Viz Pictures (proud sponsors of Fantastic Fest 2008) and Fathom Events. Screening in theaters on April 29 and 30 only, Viz is also offering the film in two different versions, subtitled on the 29th and dubbed on the 30th, which is pretty damn cool of them. They're also doing giveaways and showing behind-the-scenes footage at each screening, which is even cooler.

Picking up after the events of DEATH NOTE II, the new film gives us the details of the last 23 days in the life of mastermind detective L (Kenichi Matsuyama), as he goes up against a bio terrorist organization trying to wipe out humanity with a deadly virus. Directed by RINGU director Hideo Nakata, L, CHANGE THE WORLD features the returning Kenichi Matsuyama as L, and is inspired by the immensely popular DEATH NOTE features, which are based on the best-selling supernatural action manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, but this spin-off follows a new original storyline.

Tickets for this special event are available at presenting theater box offices and online. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, please visit www.FathomEvents.com (theaters are subject to change, and please note these shows are not playing at the Alamo Drafthouse). For more information on the DEATH NOTE live action events and other VIZ Pictures films please visit www.viz-pictures.com or www.deathnotefilms.com. For more information on the DEATH NOTE manga and animation, please visit deathnote.viz.com.

Use BSide at SXSW

2009-03-13T09:32:00.002-05:00

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!

Film School Rejects SXSW report on 15 Films You Must See

2009-03-12T12:21:00.004-05:00

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!

BRUNO is coming to SXSW presents Fantastic Fest!

2009-03-10T20:01:00.006-05:00

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!

2009-03-10T09:20:00.004-05:00

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.

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

2009-03-02T11:43:00.001-06:00

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.

Meet 2009 Fantastic Fest Poster Artist: Jon Vermilyea!

2009-03-01T14:33:00.005-06:00

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.

FF '07 Don Dohler documentary BLOOD BOOBS & BEAST on DVD today!

2009-02-24T15:39:00.002-06:00

Few films at FF draw an even larger crowd for their second screening, but the response to the first show of BLOOD BOOBS AND BEAST was so strong that the following show was absolutely packed.

The documentary tells the tale of unjustly overlooked shoestring scifi/horror filmmaker Don Dohler, a Baltimore family man who spent decades making some of the most innovative and entertaining creature features the world has never seen. Documentarian John Paul Kinhart captured the drive, respectability and uniqueness of Dohler in BB&B, and the audience of reacted with a huge amount of interest and emotion despite the fact that 99% of them had never heard of the guy before.

The fact is: it's a great film about a great filmmaker, and the DVD is being released as I type this. If you haven't seen this movie, buy it, rent it or buy it twice.

Here's the film's website, and
here's the link to just up and purchase your own!

Fantastic Fest presents Karaoke Apocalypse Mar 15

2009-02-20T08:22:00.002-06:00

You always wanted to be in the band but didn't have the time, the energy or the talent. You wanted the chicks, the drugs, the booze, but you just couldn't get it together. Friends, you don't have to suffer your lame ass life anymore!

Get instant rock-star-fantasy gratification with KARAOKE APOCALYPSE. Live band backed karaoke for indolent rock stars!

You get to lead the band through your own rendition of a classic punk rock or heavy metal number. Choose from over 80 timeless headbanging, fist pumping songs!

We'll provide a lyric sheet with easy to read lyrics and directions on the arrangement of the song, but you shouldn't need them...because this ain't your granddad's karaoke, this shit is for real!

If you've ever seen KARAOKE APOCALYPSE perform before, you know they're a solid, well-rehearsed, talented outfit of ass kickers- and yet they let you be the one in the spotlight. If this is really what the apocalypse is like, call me the anti-christ.

This party is going down at the abandoned Salvation Army space in the Alamo South Lamar shopping center on Sunday, March 15. The party will end in time for the "SXSW presents Fantastic Fest at Midnight" shows that night. Admission is free, and beer and cocktails will be available. There is no advance sign-up, please find the hostess day of the show.

This show is open to the public, but 2009 Fantastic Fest and SXSW Badge Holders will have priority admission.

Showtimes posted for "SXSW presents Fantastic Fest" films

2009-02-19T18:16:00.003-06:00

We've locked down the screening schedule for the six "SXSW presents Fantastic Fest at Midnight" titles. All titles will play at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar from the 13th to the 18th of March. Each title (with the exception of THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT) will screen twice. You can check out the full schedule on the Alamo Drafthouse site. If you click on any title, we have also uploaded trailers for all six films.

Also, to answer a few questions we've been getting about access to these shows. The SXSW presents Fantastic Fest at Midnight program is part of the SXSW Film Festival. A Fantastic Fest 2009 Badge will not get you into these screenings, you must have a SXSW badge or pass. You can buy passes at any Alamo Drafthouse Cinema location, or click on www.sxsw.com for more options.

SXSW Presents Fantastic Fest at Midnight

2009-02-17T19:14:00.004-06:00

Austin, Texas – February 17, 2008 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced the official titles for their new program “SXSW Presents Fantastic Fest at Midnight,” kicking off with the International Film Festival Premiere of Ong Bak 2, the most anticipated new action film of the year. Six films from six countries comprise the lineup, featuring four international premieres, one North American premiere and one U.S. Premiere. From horror to action, to comedy and suspense, these six films collectively represent the spectrum of genre films featured in Austin’s annual Fantastic Fest. All films will play at midnight at the SXSW Film Festival at the Alamo South Lamar, in addition to the traditional SXSW Midnighters section, which will take place at the Alamo Ritz. The program will feature:

Ong Bak 2 (Thailand)
Director: Tony Jaa. Writer: Panna Rittikrai
Martial-arts superstar Tony Jaa is back in an epic prequel to the 2003 action smash Ong Bak. Cast: Tony Jaa, Sorapong Chatree, Sarunyu Wongkrachang, Nirut Sirichanya, Santisuk Promsiri, Primorata Dejudom (International Film Festival Premiere)

Black (France)
Director: Pierre Laffargue. Writer: Pierre Laffargue, Lucio Mad and Gábor Rassov
A nouveau-blacksploitation adventure awash in black magic, African Mysticism, mutant arms dealers, gargantuan machete-wielding mercenary armies and a truckload of knuckle-sandwiches. Cast: MC Jean Gab'1, Carole Karemera, François Levantal, Anton Yakovlev (World Premiere)

The Haunting in Connecticut (U.S.)
Director: Peter Cornwell. Writer: Adam Simon and Tim Metcalfe
In the tradition of such real-life horror movies as The Exorcist and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Haunting in Connecticut tells the astounding true story of one family's supernatural ordeal. Cast: Amanda Crew, Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner, Martin Donovan (International Film Festival Premiere)

The Horseman (Australia)
Director/Writer: Steve Kastrissios
When, Christian Forteski’s (Peter Marshall) drug addicted daughter dies after appearing in an amateur Porn Video, he deals with his grief by burning, kicking, smashing and stabbing his way through those responsible. Cast: Peter Marshall, Caroline Marohasy, Brad McMurray, Jack Henry, Evert McQueen (North American Premiere)

Lesbian Vampire Killers (UK)
Director: Phil Claydon. Writer: Paul Hupfield and Stewart Williams
Matthew Horne and James Corden, the comedy duo behind the award-winning BBC comedy series Gavin and Stacey, are two hapless losers whose idyllic country holiday is shattered by the arrival of an army of thirsty lesbian vampires. Cast: Paul McGann, James Corden, Mathew Horne, MyAnna Buring, Silvia Colloca (World Premiere)

Pontypool (Canada)
Director: Bruce McDonald. Writer: Tony Burgess
A seemingly ordinary day’s work at the radio station for Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie) turns sinister when calls begin to flood the station about violent outbreaks in and around Pontypool. Cast: Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, Georgina Reilly, Hrant Alianak, Rick Roberts (U.S. Premiere)

The SXSW Film Festival (March 13 – 21 in Austin, TX) will open on March 13th with a screening of I Love You, Man, directed by John Hamburg and starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and Rashida Jones. The complete lineup and schedule can be found at http://sxsw.com/film/screenings/films/. SXSW will also host over 60 Film Conference panels, which will take place Friday, March 13 – Tuesday, March 17. For full panel descriptions and participants, visit www.sxsw.com/film/talks/panels. Check out http://www.sxsw.com/film often for more information and updates. For more information about Fantastic Fest (September 24 – October 1) visit www.fantasticfest.com.

South By Southwest Film Conference & Festival
SXSW offers a uniquely creative space for filmmakers, film fans, and even cinephiles to partake in the big and small picture discussions about filmmaking today. The Conference hosts a five-day adventure in the latest filmmaking trends and new technology, featuring Conversations with film icons, intimate mini-meetings and one-on-one mentor sessions with industry veterans. The internationally-acclaimed, nine-day Festival boasts some of the most wide-ranging programming of any US event of its kind, from provocative documentaries to subversive Hollywood comedies, with a special focus on emerging talents. Learn more at sxsw.com/film.

2009 Festival Sponsors
SXSW Film Conference and Festival is sponsored by Miller Lite, Fuze Beverage, ZonePerfect, The Independent Film Channel (IFC), Sierra Mist and The Austin Chronicle.

# # #

PLEASE NOTE: Media registration for SXSW Film is still open - contact Elizabeth Derczo at press@sxsw.com for instructions on requesting press credentials. Press credential requests must be submitted by Friday, February 20, 2009. Walk-up requests for press credentials will not be granted.

Press Contact:

Rebecca Feferman
Film Press Liaison
rebecca@sxsw.com
T: 512-467-7979 x 236

Elizabeth Derczo
Publicity & Credentials
press@sxsw.com
T: 512-467-7979 x 209

Tim League
director
Fantastic Fest
info@fantasticfest.com
T: 512-912-0529

SXSW Presents Fantastic Fest at Midnight

2009-02-09T02:06:00.003-06:00

Austin, Texas – February 9, 2008 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced today a new partnership with Fantastic Fest which will manifest through a new lineup in the official film festival program: “SXSW Presents Fantastic Fest at Midnight.” Now in its 5th year, Alamo Drafthouse’s Fantastic Fest has quickly become one of the largest genre film festivals in the United States and has been dubbed “Geek Telluride” and “one of the 10 festivals we love” by Variety. “SXSW Presents Fantastic Fest at Midnight” is a representative sample of the young festival’s signature midnight genre programming, featuring six new premieres exclusive to SXSW.

“The Alamo Drafthouse has been an eleven-year partner of SXSW,” says Fantastic Fest director and Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League. “In fact, our very first show at the original Alamo Drafthouse location was opening night of SXSW 1997. We are proud to work so closely with such a respected institution, and in 2009 with ‘SXSW Presents Fantastic Fest at Midnight,’ we plan to deliver one of the best movie experiences of the year for genre film fans.”

"We couldn't be more excited to enhance our Midnighters section with the infusion of six badass Fantastic Fest films," says SXSW Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. "The Fantastic Fest, in its short life, has really added a lot of energy and fun here in Austin, and the Alamo Drafthouse is already such a natural and significant partner to SXSW, so it was a no-brainer to invite them to preview their program with us."

The full “SXSW presents Fantastic Fest at midnight” lineup will be announced later this month at www.sxsw.com. For more information about Fantastic Fest (September 24 - October 1) visit www.fantasticfest.com .

FRIDAY THE 13th advance screening!

2009-01-29T15:22:00.006-06:00

SPECIAL ADVANCE SHOWING with the new Jason, DEREK MEARS, live in person! Also, producers BRAD FULLER and ANDREW FORM will be in attendance for this screening!!

Jason Voorhees is THE undisputable icon of terror.

After a long vacation from terrorizing the denizens of Crystal Lake, he's back in this bold reinterpretation of the most popular horror franchise in the history of the genre: FRIDAY THE 13th! From the filmmaker behind 2003's TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and featuring a lead performance from SUPERNATURAL's Jared Padalecki, this is a new version of the FRIDAY films that looks to pay some serious respects to the finer points of the original series. Meaning the REAL star here is none other than everyone's most beloved psychopath, JASON VOORHEES, who'll be joining us for the show to field all questions and punish all horny teenagers!

Yep, the most eagerly anticipated horror film of the year is here, in a special FREE advance screening at Alamo . To get your tickets, email rsvp@fantasticfest.com with "CAMP CRYSTAL LAKE 4EVER" in the subject line. Winners will be randomly selected and announced/notified on Tuesday, Feb 10 by 5:00 PM!

FF martial arts mammoth CHOCOLATE opens at Lamar!

2009-01-20T12:34:00.000-06:00

The director of epically slammin' two-fisted masterpiece ONG BAK has returned with his new protégé, who was in training for five years for this role. Jeeja Vismistananda portrays an autistic girl who learns martial arts from watching Tony Jaa and Bruce Lee on TV so as to exact revenge on those who bankrupted her mother.

Perhaps the most buzzed-about feature of the 2008 Fantastic Fest lineup, CHOCOLATE lives up to the hype. Watch the trailer and you know that this is action only developing Asian countries with little to no litigation industry can provide. Bone-shattering, painful, brutal and death-defyingly dangerous stunt work with no wires, no stunt doubles, and full, bloody raw-force contact.

If you saw it during Fantastic Fest, tell your friends. This is a limited engagement and it won't be around long!

Tickets and info here!

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN sweeps Swedish Academy Awards!

2009-01-20T11:53:00.000-06:00

It pretty much goes without saying that LET THE RIGHT ONE IN has become the most adored Alamo movie in a hell of a long time. The perfectly constructed Swedish film has been playing at Alamo South Lamar for months straight, and is a straight-up favorite of every single member of our staff. But the good news keeps coming...

Sweden's Academy Awards equivalent The Golden Bugs (really) lavished LTROI with FIVE AWARDS last week, including Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Script. That original article is HERE.

And we couldn't agree more. If you look back on this blog to the Alamo Programmers' Top Ten Lists for 2008, you'll see that LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is at the top of every single one. And we're still proudly playing it at Alamo South Lamar, so if you haven't seen it yet, or have only seen it three or four times, you'd better get your tickets here before it's gone!

FF 2008 doc I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW opens at The Ritz!

2009-01-19T20:25:00.002-06:00

This doc came out of nowhere to floor anyone and everyone that saw it at last year's FF. Though it was one of the few films we played that took place in reality, it was undeniably more bizarre and discomforting than anything else seen on screen all year. So, in order to further enlighten and terrorize our hometown audiences, we're bringing it back for an EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT AT THE RITZ, following its MUSIC MONDAY screening.

Seriously, if you missed this one at the festival, it's your moral imperative to catch it at the theater.

Here's what noted film historian Rodney Perkins has to say about this stunning document of humanity on the ropes:

"Many people are familiar with American pop singer Tiffany, who had a number of hit songs during the 1980s, including "I Think We're Alone Now" and "Could've Been." Less known is the story of two of Tiffany's most devoted stalkers: Jeffery Deane Turner, a 50ish man with severe Asperger's Syndrome, and hermaphrodite-in-transition Kelly McCormick. Sean Donnelly's documentary I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW tells the stories of these obsessed fans. Turner serves as an elder statesman of celebrity stalkers; he has been engaged in a pointless, multi-decade pursuit of Tiffany's attentions. In one famous incident during the late 80s (which is documented in the film) Turner showed up at Tiffany's emancipated minor hearing with a samurai sword and five white chrysanthemums. Like Turner, Kelly McCormick is completely obsessed, which is evidenced by the dozens of Tiffany images that paper the walls of her barren apartment, and McCormick's disturbing, profane rants about being united with the pop singer. McCormick's obsession, however, exists in an entirely different space than Turner's and seems to be rooted in a big tangled knot of psychological and physiological dysfunction that defies glib descriptions. I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW packs enough mystery, horror, science-fiction and human intrigue into 100 minutes to fill a number of feature-length films. Everything in this film is completely true, however, and it's so strange that many will have a hard time believing it's real."

See it to believe it:

Oh man. Get your tickets HERE.

Fantastic Fest presents OFFICE SPACE 10-Year Reunion!

2009-01-14T11:59:00.005-06:00

Mike Judge's OFFICE SPACE came out 10 years ago this February, but it only took a few months to become a classic. There's just something so familiar hidden in every frame of the film, we don't exactly know whether to laugh or cry or both. And long before that luxury flophouse, AMERICAN BEAUTY, came out, it was OFFICE SPACE that ignited in us all that Joe Schmo fantasy of finally saying fuck it, I'm out. God, how sweet would that be?

Well, through praise and persistence, SXSW and Fantastic Fest are bringing to Austin the most fantastic, fax-smashic event in the history of cinema- the OFFICE SPACE 10 Year Anniversary Reunion! Join us at the historic Paramount Theater on February 8, where the mastermind himself, Mike Judge, will be there to preside over the night's festivies of film and fun.

Expect an deluge of cast and crew to nearly crush the foundation of the Paramount! More confirmations coming in every day- David Herman (Michael Bolten) just confirmed this morning! Check the Alamo Drafthouse Showpage for up-to-the-minute updates about this colossal celebration.

We expect tickets to go fast (we just saw that in Texas alone, 34,000 facebooker's have OFFICE SPACE listed as thier favorite film!), so mark your calendars...

2009 Fantastic Fest and SXSW badge holders get a two day head start. Starting Thursday, January 15, at noon, all 2009 badge-holders will have super-secret password access to purchase tickets at either the Paramount box office our through gettix.net. Special instructions went out via email to badge-holders already, so if you didn't receive one and are a current Fantastic Fest 2009 badge holder, email us to find out how.

Tickets to the general public will go on sale on Saturday, January 17, at noon- act quickly!

If you really want to celebrate in style, a very limited number of VIP tickets will be on sale which will include a pre-event cocktail reception, a limited edition event souvenir, flair, an actual red Swingline stapler, and an after-party at Chotchkie's featuring pizza shooters, shrimp poppers and extreme fajitas!

This is a dream come true.

Fantastic Fest Bumper is a Viral Video Hit!

2009-01-10T11:08:00.002-06:00

Last summer, Fantastic Fest held one of our famed Filmmaker Frenzy competitions to put together 30 second bumpers to play before the Fantastic Fest 2008 features. We received many a great entry, with Jason (TREEVENGE) Eisner's REPORT CARD winning the top slot, but - wouldn't you know it? - one of the many excellent runners-up has been getting all the online glory. I LOVE YOU JEAN CLAUDE, from "Austin-based comedy troupe" (that's what G4 calls them) Black Magic Rollercoaster has been featured on G4's "Attack of the Show", praised on VH1's Best Week Ever and Videogum and was even voted Video of the Day on /Film, and that's just for starters. It's received over 41,000 hits thus far and is being forwarded and Facebooked all over the place, so it could become even bigger, or maybe it just hit its peak, who knows? Either way, we couldn't be more proud of the BMR crew, and we look forward to more great work from them in the future.

And if someone sends you this weird video of a young Jean-Claude Van Damme, let them know it came from Fantastic Fest!

FF fave short TREEVENGE makes it to SUNDANCE!!!

2009-01-05T11:53:00.002-06:00

Yep, it's true.

When the respectable programmers' backs were turned, jarring, jolting and rampagingly awesome horror/comedy short TREEVENGE made it into the celebrated Sundance Film Festival!! Not sure exactly how this happened, but it certainly somehow proves or disproves the existence of God.

One of the top honored shorts of FF 2008, TREEVENGE is directed by Jason Eisener, a young, rabid visionary Canadian filmmaker that we've been huge fans of since his HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN trailer ventilated our foreheads a couple years back:

Since then, Eisener has provided no shortage of similar brilliance, from TREEVENGE to his amazing FF bumper "REPORT CARD":

Yes, this boy's going places. And we'll be down on our knees worshipping him when he gets to the top, especially if the rumors are true about his epic feature film HOBOS WITH SHOTGUNS. Holy moley.

So sincere congratulations to you, Jason Eisener! Here he is with some holiday well-wishings along with some of his cronies. That's him at the top left, plotting your demise.

Timecrimes Karaoke Party Jan 16!

2009-01-02T14:15:00.003-06:00

It's too early for details, but I wanted to tell everyone to mark your calendars now. After the 9:45 (or thereabouts) show on Friday, January 16 on the opening weekend of TIMECRIMES at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, you are all invited for a karaoke party in honor of our favorite Spanish director, Nacho Vigalondo. Nacho's karaoke performances are legendary, and it only seems fitting on the Austin opening night of his feature TIMECRIMES to break out the synthesized beats and wireless microphones for a song party in his honor. Fantastic Fest veterans, this is the show to come to. Bring your friends and share the rare and potent blend of time-travel suspense thrillers and spirited renditions of 80s pop classics.

Before the film for the duration of the run, we'll be encoring the collected short films of Nacho Vigalondo, a huge hit at the 2008 festival.

I've got a list of all of Nacho's favorite songs, and I demand that they all be sung by the end of the night. Tickets are not yet on sale for this show, but check back in the middle of next week when we hope to have the showtimes locked down.

Wholphin serves up a TIMECRIMES Appetizer

2009-01-02T13:55:00.006-06:00

If you follow what’s going on at the Alamo Drafthouse or Fantastic Fest, then you’ve no doubt heard ad nausium our gushing praise for Nacho Vigalondo. That little Spainaird packs a big cinematic punch, and we can’t wait to finally put is brilliant feature TIMECRIMES on the Alamo screen, which opens for a full run at The Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar on January 16!

Before Nacho made TIMECRIMES, however, he was successful short film director, and was even nominated for an Academy Award for one particularly hysterical and bizarre gem called 7:35 in the Morning. All his shorts are exceptional (you can expect a great pre-show program of them when you come see TIMECRIMES at South Lamar) but there’s one in particular that got the whole crowd revved up- CHOQUE. A very funny and heartbreaking story of love, jealousy and bumper cars. Apparently, we’re not alone in loving it- the short is currently featured on the Wholphin DVD Magazine! (Incidentally, another Fantastic Fest short, Arthur Metcalf’s Fantasie in Bubblewrap, is also featured in the collection…did Wholphin send a spy?)

Above there’s a YouTube link for CHOQUE, but if you really want to do yourself a favor, go out and pick up a copy of Wholphin (I know BookPeople carries it here in Austin) to see the film in full resolution. Nacho is a great man and a better director. Do not miss your chance to check out TIMECRIMES.

Pink Eiga DVDs out now!

2008-12-29T12:43:00.003-06:00

Those of you who watched the unforgettable Japanese Pink Film series at FF '08 will not want to miss out on the new slate of titles being rolled out by Pink Eiga. They will be officially released on January 14 but if you're smart you can go to www.pinkeiga.com and buy them now.

The first titles released are the delirious FF favorite S&M HUNTER and the highly regarded NEW TOKYO DECADENCE: THE SLAVE. Check out screencaps and trailers and all the goodies that Pink Eiga has in their overflowing vaults and you'll be looking forward to a great new era of insane sleaze.

Deadgirl Finds a Home

2008-12-17T11:45:00.012-06:00

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dark Sky Films has picked up the film Deadgirl for DVD release in 2009. Deadgirl had its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest 2008. Co-directors Gadi Harel and Marcel Sarmiento are also now associated with Gold Circle's remake of Jannik Johansen's Mørke. Congratulations to all involved!

Migrating to new 2009 Facebook Page

2008-12-16T19:02:00.003-06:00

We are migrating over from a Facebook group to a Facebook Page. Our 2008 Fantastic Fest group is outdated and we're getting with the new wave and have built a page for Fantastic Fest to be the home for our announcements and news from here on out.

If you are a member of the Fantastic Fest Facebook group, can you please join us and become a "fan" of Fantastic Fest on our new page?

The link to the new Fantastic Fest Facebook page is here.

Sorry for the inconvenience. It's all in an effort to serve you better. We'll only be updating the page from here on out (not the group), so if you want to find out about great screenings, news and events throughout the year, please join us at our new home. We'll have lots of announcements for you beginning in early January!

Alamo/FF favorites lauded by the Austin Film Critics Association!

2008-12-16T17:49:00.001-06:00

The Austin Film Critics Association recently named its favorites of 2008, and wouldn't ya know it, some of our very favorite films of the year were on there too, many of which had their premieres at the Alamo Drafthouse!

Beloved titles LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (currently showing at South Lamar) and TIMECRIMES (opening in January) both rolled into town via Fantastic Fest and have been building a devoted following ever since. Also on the list was the documentary CRAWFORD, which made its theatrical debut at the Drafthouse a few months back.

Of course, there are tons more great titles on their list that we've been proud to screen, from THE DARK KNIGHT to MILK and about three fistfuls of others. So take a look if you wanna see what a bunch of fellow movie nuts with great taste think of the year in review:

* * * * * *

December 16, 2008 (Austin, TX) -- The Austin Film Critics Association announces its 2008 end-of-the-year awards in 16 categories.

In a city known for its population of over 1 million bats, the Austin Film Critics Association honored the Batman thriller THE DARK KNIGHT with 5 awards, including the top honor, Best Film. Christopher Nolan won for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (with his brother Jonathan) and Heath Ledger was posthumously awarded Best Supporting Actor. The film was also honored in the Best Original Score category.

Sean Penn took Best Actor for his performance as gay rights activist Harvey Milk in MILK, and Anne Hathaway won Best Actress as a recovering drug addict in the indie hit RACHEL GETTING MARRIED. Taraji P. Henson clinched Best Supporting Actress as the title character's mother in THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON.

Charlie Kaufman's script for his directorial debut SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK wrapped up Best Original Screenplay, while the critics fell for Colin Watkinson's cinematography in THE FALL.

WALL*E won Best Animated Film, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN won Best Foreign Language Film, and MAN ON WIRE won Best Documentary.

The group chose Danny McBride as their Breakthrough Artist for his comedic roles in PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, THE FOOT FIST WAY and TROPIC THUNDER. Best First Film went to Nacho Vigalondo for the Spanish time-traveling thriller Timecrimes (Los Cronocrímenes).

CRAWFORD won the award for best film made in the Austin-area or by an Austinite. After making its world premiere in the capital city during the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival, director David Modigliani chose to distribute the documentary through Hulu.com after being picked up by B-Side Entertainment.

Top 10 Films:
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
Milk
Synecdoche, New York
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Wrestler
WALL*E
Frost/Nixon
Let the Right One In
Gran Torino

Best Picture:
The Dark Knight

Best Director:
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

Best Actor:
Sean Penn, Milk

Best Actress:
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

Best Supporting Actor:
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress:
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Original Screenplay:
Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche, New York

Best Adapted Screenplay:
The Dark Knight, Jonthan Nolan & Christopher Nolan

Best Cinematography:
The Fall -- Colin Watkinson

Best Original Score:
The Dark Knight, James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmerman

Best Foreign Language Film:
Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) - Sweden

Best Documentary Film:
Man on Wire

Best Animated Feature:
WALL*E

Breakthrough Artist Award:
Danny McBride, Pineapple Express/The Foot Fist Way/Tropic Thunder

Best First Film:
Nacho Vigalondo, Timecrimes (Los Cronocrímenes)

Best Austin Film:
Crawford

Free Streaming Feature MINDFLESH at Twitch Dec 12-14

2008-12-11T23:31:00.001-06:00

Our old pal and Fantastic Fest programming guru Todd Brown over at Twitchfilm is offering a free online streaming feed of Robert Pratten's trippy Cronenbergian sci-fi horror MINDFLESH.

That's pretty exciting news from our absolute favorite world cinema website. Hopefully the experiment works and we get more of this kind of thing down the road on Twitch.

Support the effort by checking it out at www.twitchfilm.net, it's the lead story on the site while streaming is available for free from Dec 12-14.

Fantastic Fest Favorite ALIEN RAIDERS now on DVD

2008-12-03T16:00:00.002-06:00

Ben Rock's sci-fi thriller ALIEN RAIDERS, which rocked Fantastic Fest 2008 is now (or very soon) on DVD. If you saw it, you probably want to pick it up to show your friends if you didn't you owe it to yourself to check out a movie that Fantastic Fest guests called "a great thriller disguised as a B-movie" with "lots of laughs, some good scares and just a fun ride all around."

About ALIEN RAIDERS:

It's the end of yet another night at Hastings Supermarket, an idyllic family grocery store in Buck Lake, Arizona. But the normal closing-time monotony is broken when a group of masked and armed-to-the-teeth militants invade the store, immediately killing several of the employees and shoppers and holding the rest hostage. Though the hostage-takers at first appear to be robbers or terrorists, they reveal themselves to be a cadre of rogue scientists that have discovered and tracked an alien infestation to THIS STORE on THIS NIGHT, and they are determined to find out which of the survivors are extraterrestrials and end the invasion at any cost. ALIEN RAIDERS is a throwback to what we consider the golden age of creature features, the 1980's. This one falls somewhere between the seriousness level of THE THING or TREMORS. Nostalgic without being stale, ALIEN RAIDERS draws strong performances from a young ensemble cast composed of mostly working character actors that you've seen in a million small parts. You might recognize the monster hunting team: Carlos Bernard from his recurring role as Tony Almeida on "24" and Matthew St. Patrick who played Keith Charles on SIX FEET UNDER.
Read the FEARnet review here. They liked it too.

FF 2008 shakeyface winner's amazing prize is IN THE HOUSE!

2008-11-26T16:45:00.003-06:00

You may have seen greatness before, but you've never seen it as a 6-foot-tall woven blanket.

Until now.

As attendees of FF '08 acutely recall, everyone at the festival (including our honored guests!) was asked to submit a Shakeyface photo for their badge, and the most ridiculous and biologically impossible was promised a valuable award. We're proud to report that we have the prize in hand for winner Robert Lambert! Whether he hangs it above his hearth, makes it the centerpiece in the living room or uses it as a decorative bedspread, Robert's talent Shakeyface legacy will live forever, immortalized for the ages.

When we picked up the blanket, the lady at the counter said, "If I had that in my house, it would make me die." An unsolicited testimonial to true victory!! Congratulations, champion!

The FF '08 Shakeyface competitors are largely represented in this gripping educational film:

A Man Named Nacho

2008-11-26T12:10:00.002-06:00

The great Nacho Vigalondo, who devastated Fantastic Fest over the last few years with the brilliant feature TIMECRIMES and his hilarious shorts has been wearing Weird Wednesday and Terror Thursday shirts out to his big major appearances. It's a huge honor for us here and it makes us even more psyched to watch Fantastic Fest Audience Award Winner TIMECRIMES on the big screen again. Watch it with us. It opens at the Alamo Lamar on December 5!

Inside the Mind of the Muscles

2008-11-20T12:55:00.001-06:00

This week, Marc Savlov from the Austin Chronicle had, what I have to assume, was a rare and sumptuous treat: the honor of interviewing legendary ass-kicker Jean Claude Van Damme. His new film JCVD, a Charlie-Kaufman-esque meta-comedy/drama/action hybrid features Jean Claude Van Damme playing Jean Claude Van Damme, an aging, broke action star who in one day loses a big role to Steven Segal, is being divorced by his wife and disowned by his daughter. The day really spirals out of hand, however, when he finds himself in the middle of an actual bank heist.

Check out Marc Savlov's interview "Inside the Mind of the Muscles" in this wee's Austin Chronicle, read the glowing external reviews on the Alamo show page, and most importantly, come and check out the film at the Ritz starting this weekend. Whether you side with the art house or the action flick, this movie will blow your mind and make you realize the true depth of what I once assumed was a one-dimensional Belgian karate champ.

Don't take my word for it though, here's what Marc Savlov has to say, "It's one of the most riveting, emotionally devastating, and altogether unexpected performances of 2008. And, love the guy or hate him, JCVD really needs to be seen to be believed."

Fantastic Fest Classic DARK AGE Finally Coming to DVD!

2008-11-11T06:06:00.002-06:00

Those who attended this year's NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD Ozploitation retrospective were among the chosen few to experience two rare big screen showings of Arch Nicholson's 1987 killer croc epic DARK AGE, which previously screened at the Alamo as part of QT Fest VI back in '05. Prominently featured in director Mark Hartley's NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD (opening at the Alamo next spring), DARK AGE is one of the last great Aussie genre films of the 80's, a kick-ass combo of giant monster movie, ecological horror, and Ozploitation that everyone who's seen it has raved about.

One of those in the audience this year was Don May, Jr. of the great indie DVD label Synapse Films, one of our Fantastic Fest judges this year and friend to the Alamo. Having already released several classic Aussie films on Synapse such as PATRICK, LONG WEEKEND, and FANTASM, Don looked into the rights for DARK AGE after seeing it at Fantastic Fest and quickly acquired them along with another long-lost Aussie favorite, THE ODD ANGRY SHOT, which also features DARK AGE star John Jarrett. May tells Fangoria, "[W]e’re probably going to fast-track it, because with NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD coming out early next year, we want to get DARK AGE out as soon as possible.” Another great genre film is resurrected thanks to Synapse Films and Fantastic Fest!

We'll keep you updated as to the release date, along with more exciting Synapse DVD news real soon!

visit videodetective.com for more info

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN Opens This Friday at South Lamar

2008-11-10T12:13:00.001-06:00

That's right, one of the most acclaimed and anticipated films ever, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is coming to the Alamo South Lamar.

Maybe you caught LET THE RIGHT ONE IN at Fantastic Fest. Or maybe you just heard everyone talking about how spectacularly amazing it is. Either way, you're going to want to catch it at the Alamo South Lamar starting with the Thursday midnight screening.

While LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is a vampire movie, it's a huge divergence from most vampire films. The protaganists are young children and the film plays out in a clean orderly apartment block in modern Sweden. There are no bats or strings of garlic. The film builds its atmosphere from scratch without resorting to readymade horror tricks. And it really works as a scary horror film.

But surprisingly it also really works as a love story between two children. And that may be the greatest success of director Tomas Alfredsson in LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - the ability to create the world as seen though a child's eyes. There's an uncanny crystalline brightness and simplicity to every frame of this film that takes you back to childhood. It's such an unusually structured film that it feels much more like a memory than a movie.

It gets the highest recommendation of all of us here at the Alamo. When we compile our 10 best lists it's almost certain to be at the top of at least a couple of them and it will be included on all. It's a pretty special movie that you must see on the big screen.

Check out what the critics are saying about LET THE RIGHT ONE IN.

Jean Claude Van Damme in the NY Times!

2008-11-08T17:43:00.002-06:00

Anyone who has talked to me at all about my favorite movies of the year so far will know that I fell truly, madly, deeply in love with the new Jean Claude Van Damme meta-actioner appropriately titled JCVD. A wickedly funny black comedy features the "Muscles from Brussels" as himself, an aging action star with little respect and no decent prospects in Hollywood. Returning to Belgium to get his life in order, he gets caught up in a crime and is confronted with his own sense of personal heroism.

The wild thing is that Jean Claude is incredibly poised, intelligent and brilliantly funny. Acting in his native French for the first time, his now signature hammy blunt delivery is striped away, revealing a confident actor with serious chops.

The New York Times recently interviewed the man himself. I highly recommend reading the whole article.

You can also check out the Fantastic Fest write-up for JCVD here, complete with user reviews from festival attendees.

When you are done, you can buy your ticket to the film here. It opens at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on November 20 (that show features a special get-you-in-the-mood double bill of JCVD's old-school fave BLOOD SPORT). A full-run of shows opens on Friday, November 21.

Industry friends, join us for Karaoke at AFM!

2008-11-04T04:28:00.003-06:00

Todd Brown from Twitch and I are heading to the American Film Market for our first Fantastic Fest scouting trip of the year. If you are going to be at AFM or are in the Santa Monica area on Sunday night, please join us for a Karaoke Explosion at the Gaslight from 7PM to 9PM. Directions to the Gaslight are here. We've teamed up with our pals from Imagination Worldwide to present the party and will have free cocktails while our tab lasts! We hope to see you there!

Fantastic Fest titles return to the Alamo!

2008-10-27T12:29:00.003-05:00

November begins the flood of Fantastic Fest official selection titles to hit the Alamo Drafthouse screens. I'm a big fan of all four of these films, and honestly, let's face it, all four are going to need help to make it. Lately there has been a vast drop off in niche films even getting to market, let alone finding an audience.

If you enjoyed any of these films, please tell your friends and spread the word. Two of my favorite movie experiences of the year so far were spent with a vulnerable aging Belgian action star and a pair of odd Swedish children. If you live in Austin, of course, send your friends to the Alamo. If you live in other towns, check your local listings and support them where you can. These films should be opening in major markets across the country around the same time.

Coming to Alamo South Lamar
11/7 REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA
11/14 - LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
12/5 - TIME CRIMES

Coming to the Ritz
11/21 JCVD

By the way, Todd Brown from Twitch and I head out tomorrow to the American Film Market for our first Fantastic Fest scouting mission. Our mission: bring back the goods for 2009.

2007 Fantastic Fest Alumnus End of the Line Now Available on DVD

2008-10-22T14:58:00.010-05:00

Maurice Devereaux's apocalyptic horror film End of the Line played at Fantastic Fest in 2007, where it scored a Special Jury Prize for Innovative Vision. After a lengthy wait, the film has been released on Region 1 DVD by Anchor Bay Canada and Critical Mass Entertainment. Since this is a Canadian release, it is unlikely that U.S. fans will find it in a brick-and-mortars store. However, the 21st century makes that a weak excuse for not getting a copy because its available from Amazon Canada (http://tinyurl.com/eotl-amazon). Region 1 coding applies to both the U.S. and Canada so there is no need to fret about compatibility.

Those who need to refresh their memory about the nature of End of the Line can read a review of the DVD at Twitch (http://tinyurl.com/eotl-review). Also, be sure to check out the TV spot on YouTube (http://tinyurl.com/eotl-tv). It may make you think twice before opening the door to your home this Halloween (or any other time).

FREE Screening of FUTURAMA: BENDER'S GAME this Monday at the Ritz!

2008-10-22T13:56:00.007-05:00

Like most of you, I loved FUTURAMA during its all-too-brief run on the Fox Network and cherished those DVD box sets and 11pm Adult Swim airings. And like most of you, I was pleased to hear that the show was coming back as a series of direct-to-DVD movies featuring the original cast and most of the original writers, including Matt Groening. But now, I am thrilled to tell you that the Alamo Ritz will be screening the new FUTURAMA movie, BENDER'S GAME, this Monday, October 27, at 7pm... for free! This is a one-time only screening, and you'll get to see it one full week before it comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 4. That's 8 days of bragging rights!

Park your hover-car and saddle up your unicorn for the most fantastical FUTURAMA feature film yet: BENDER'S GAME. With fuel prices skyrocketing, the Planet Express crew sets off on a dangerous mission to infiltrate the world's only dark-matter mine, source of all spaceship fuel. But deep beneath the surface, they discover a far stranger place...a medieval land of dragons and sorcery and intoxicated knights who look suspiciously like Bender.

Joining the cast are guest stars George Takei (the iconic Captain Sulu from the original STAR TREK series) and comic impressionist Rich Little.

This show is free, but you can book tickets now by clicking on the Alamo site here.

This screening is courtesy of our friends at Fox Home Entertainment, proud sponsors of Fantastic Fest!

Air Sex World Championships Coverage posted on Vimby

2008-10-16T22:01:00.002-05:00

VIMBY - Air Sex World Finals

Check it out folks, VIMBY has posted up their edited recap of the Air Sex World Championships which were held as part of Fantastic Fest on September 18, 2008.

Look for more info about the 2009 Air Sex World Championships coming soon!

Rian Johnson loves Fantastic Fest!

2008-10-13T13:56:00.007-05:00

The first of this year's AICN Secret Screenings turned out to be THE BROTHERS BLOOM, writer/director Rian Johnson's eagerly anticipated follow-up to his 2006 modern day noir, BRICK, and a damn fine film, too. We were very excited to screen THE BROTHERS BLOOM and even more happy to have Rian persoanly bring his film to this year's Fantastic Fest. The audience reaction to THE BROTHERS BLOOM was very enthusiastic, and it turns out Rian was equally pleased with Fantastic Fest, as he writes on his blog:

"Did a screening there last night at the Alamo Drafthouse, it was freakin awesome. Great crowd, everyone had a good time. The whole festival isn’t built to sell movies or to line them up on a wall for Critics to rate and whine about, it’s built for film fans to have a really great time at. Fancy that…"

Thanks for those kind words, Rian. We look forward to showing THE BROTHERS BLOOM again when it opens nationwide this January!

The BEST Halloween Party of 2008!

2008-10-09T15:34:00.002-05:00

Nike Sportswear and Fantastic Fest present:
COME PLAY WITH US
A celebration of THE SHINING at the Timberline lodge, October 31, 2008
www.shiningparty.com

In 1980, Stanley Kubrick came to the Timberline Lodge to film one of the all-time great horror classics, THE SHINING. In the film, Jack Nicholson slowly loses his grasp on reality and loses himself in a hallucination of a 1920s era ball. Twenty-Eight years later, Nike Sportswear and Fantastic Fest have joined forces to recreate the very same ball at the very same lodge.

Two ticket options are available for this special night:

VIP Overnight Package:
Dinner at the Lodge
3 Cocktails per person
Live music and shows throughout the evening
Limited Edition silk-screened Event Poster
A one-night stay at the historic Timberline Lodge
In-room screening of the film
VIP gift package
Continental breakfast the morning after the party

This VIP Overnight Package is designed for couples who want to stay the night. Ticket price is $100 per person ($200 per room). Note: the regular Timberline room rate is $220/night for just the room. As there are only 50 rooms available for overnight stay, we are offering a “the Gold Room ticket,” a discounted admission to the party for guests not staying the night.

The Gold Room Ticket:
Dinner at the Lodge
3 Cocktails per person
Live music and shows throughout the evening
Limited Edition Silkscreened Event Poster
Round trip bus service to and from the party

Only 200 Gold Room tickets are available for $25 per person.

Attire:
Formal attire is mandatory, 20's era formal attire is preferred. We will have special gifts for the best period attire of the night.

Schedule:
5:00 PM Boarding begins for Gold Room Ticket-holders in Portland (location TBA)
5:30 PM Gold Room Ticket-holder buses depart
7:00 PM Dinner begins at Timberline Lodge
9:00 PM Music, cocktails and entertainment begin
11:50 PM Return bus boarding begins for Gold Room Ticket holders

At the stroke of midnight, all VIP Overnight guests are required to return to their rooms and turn on their TVs for a very special screening of THE SHINING. All VIP guests will be watching THE SHINING simultaneously, but in the privacy of their own rooms.

Note: VIP guests will need to provide their own transportation to the lodge. VIP Overnight guest check-in begins at 6:00 PM on October 31 and check-out is at 11:00 AM on November 1.

Tickets for this event go on sale on Friday, October 10 at 2:00 PM PST at www.shiningparty.com, where you can find additional details and updates about the event. As tickets are extremely limited, we anticipate this show to sell out quickly.

Fantastic Fest 2007 Fave DEATH NOTE II: THE LAST NAME to Play Theaters Across the U.S.!

2008-10-08T00:31:00.005-05:00

Fantastic Fest 2008 may have just ended, but let's take a moment out to remember one of the highlights of Fantastic Fest 2007, Shusuke Kaneko's triumphant DEATH NOTE saga.

Based on a popular manga (and anime), the two DEATH NOTE films represented one of the best examples of genre filmmaking to come out of Japan this decade, taking a smart, compelling (and very suspenseful) narrative and spreading it out between two very good films that represent Kaneko's best work since the GAMERA films of the late 90s. Both of these films were acquired in the U.S. by Fantasic Fest 2008 sponsor Viz Pictures (they also distributed such Fantastic Fest classics as FUNKY FOREST - THE FIRST CONTACT and MAIKO HAAAAN!!!), who have teamed up with Fathom Events to bring the two DEATH NOTE films to theaters for special two night only screenings in theaters all across the the U.S. next Tuesday and Wednesday. The first DEATH NOTE ran theatrically last spring and is now available on DVD, giving everyone a perfect chance to catch up to the story before DEATH NOTE II: THE LAST NAME screens. The two make for an intruiging series, and we're glad to see them get a big U.S. launch. Check them out!

Here's the official press release:

Death Note II: The Last Name
10/15/2008 - 10/16/2008

By popular demand, NCM Fathom and Viz Pictures bring Live Action DEATH NOTE II: THE LAST NAME to select movie theatres nationwide for two nights only - Wednesday, October 15th and Thursday, October 16th at 7:30 PM (local)! DEATH NOTE II: THE LAST NAME (English dubbed) is the sequel to, and an immediate continuation of, DEATH NOTE, brought to U.S. movie theatres earlier this year by VIZ Pictures and Fathom. This exclusive event will feature an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the creation of DEATH NOTE II: THE LAST NAME, an in-depth interview with Director Shusuke Kaneko and a unique look at the talent behind the characters.

Please note: This event is not officially rated but should be treated as equivalent to an "R" rating.

Written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, DEATH NOTE II: THE LAST NAME begins as Light Yagami joins the investigation team in pursuit of the serial killer known as "Kira.” While L still strongly suspects that Light is "Kira,” Light Yagami continues to seek out the real name of L so he can kill him with his Death Note. Making things even more unpredictable are the 'Eyes of Death', given to the second Kira, enabling the owner to know the true identity and lifespan of any person. Adding further confusion for the authorities, a new rash of murders attributed to the Death Note occurs all over the world and is attributed to "the Second Kira.” Light Yagami learns the identity of the other Kira and wants to join forces to get rid of L. Will L be able to catch "Kira" before he gets killed? Who will be the last name written in the Death Note book?

Don’t miss your chance to see DEATH NOTE II: THE LAST NAME larger-than-life on the big screen!

Click here for the complete list of theaters and click here to order tickets.

Fantastic fest Wrap Up: Cave Party

2008-10-05T17:25:00.001-05:00

Check out the Fantastic Fest 2008 Closing Party. After watching CITY OF EMBER, 7 buses took revelers to a cave just outside Austin where star Bill Murray and other festival dignitaries met them for an evening of food, drinks and dancing.

So what were the 100 Best Kills, Anyway?

2008-10-03T04:37:00.001-05:00

Right off the bat, I'll tell you: We didn't even get close to 100 kills. But with two straight hours of violent mayhem that was punctuated only by the nostalgically caustic wit of Mr. Zack Carlson, I'd say this was definitely one of the most entertaining events of the whole damn festival. Plus, c'mon, 100 onscreen kills would take about five hours to appreciate -- and really, the Somewhere Between 35 and 40 Best Kills Party just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Listed below are all the clips that played at the first annual "100" Best Kills Geekfest, contributed by Zack Carlson, Lars Nilsen, and a small handful of loyal Alamo lunatics. If you have any suggestions, leave 'em in the comments section below. I'm sure Zack will want a nice gory list for FF 2009.

Maniac (1980) -- Savini shotgun blast.
Psycho 2 (1983) -- Mother shovel head.
Goodbye Uncle Tom (1971) -- Something really disgusting.
Powder (1995) -- Electric powder sprint.
Irreversible (2002) -- Fire extinguisher rhinoplsty.
Dark Age (1987) -- Whining child snack.
Class of 1984 (1982) -- Buzz saw encore.
Million Dollar Baby (2004) -- Post-euthansia pause.
The Crow (1994) -- Bullets Over Brandon.
The Omen (1976) -- David Warner de-capped.
Invasion U.S.A. (1985) -- Coke-snortin' skewer.
The Bridge (2006) -- Golden Gate gallop.
Chopping Mall (1986) -- Preppy chick puree.
Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) -- Juicy Morrisey gore.
Devil Times Five (1974) -- Piranha bath time.
Mr. Scarface (1976) -- Shooting the crooner.
High Crime (1973) -- Hot little kiddie.
From Beyond (1986) -- Girl vs. Gristle.
Slugs (1988) -- Face-shred salad.
Alligator (1980) -- Pool kid snack.
Q (1982) -- Window washer snatch.
Patrick Still Lives (1980) -- Fireplace poker snatch.
Trigger Happy (1996) -- Reynolds / Silva laugh-off.
House (1977) -- Piano monster psych-a-deelio.
Hit and Run (?) -- Need help here.
The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962) -- Longest. Demise. Ever.
The Prowler (1981) --Umm, I forget.
Darker Than Amber (1970) --Totally blanking on this one.
Top Secret! (1984) -- The shattered Nazi.
Don't Go In the House (1980) -- One hot chick.
Total Recall (1990) -- Farwell to arms.
Leprechaun 3 (1995) -- Lips, boobs, and buttocks. (Oh my.)
An American Werewolf in London (1981) -- Picadilly Mayhem!
The Quick and the Dead (1995) -- Hackman goes NUTS!
Gremlins (1984) -- Old lady rocket-chair.
To Be 20 -- ??? Was that the title? Damn you Lars and your hyper-obscure proclivities!
Night Warning (1983) -- Pretty sure this was the INSANE clip involving a car, a road, a lot of lumber, some gore, and a crazy explosion. Someone told me Code Red was releasing it on DVD soon.

Did I miss any? Sorry, it was dark in there. But please do consider this the FIRST request for 2009 kills. I mean, jeez, how did we not get "machete-wheelchair-face" from Friday the 13th Part 2 or "machete-floor-sliiiiice" from Friday 4 OR the ridiculously extended demise of John Malkovich in Con Air? C'mon, people! Plus Joe Lynch says if we don't include the opening mega-slice from Wrong Turn 2 next year, he's going to come to Austin and pee on Tim's red van. But if we use Joe's clip, we have to include Adam Green's reverse-head-crush from Hatchet. Those guys are really competitive.

Let the Right One In US Trailer now online!

2008-10-02T12:24:00.002-05:00

Ok, so it's got a few spoilers, but apart from that, this is a damn fine trailer for one of my favorite films, not just of the year but of the decade. Let the Right One In played Fantastic Fest this year to absolute RAVE reviews and unanimously won the horror jury award. It's soooo much more than a horror movie though. It's a beautiful sweet love story, a coming of age drama, it has flashes of wry humor and the punctuations of violence are spot-on. If you saw it at the festival, tell your friends across the country that it opens New York and La on October 24 and will spread across the country (including the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin) after that.

Please support this film folks, we need to see more films playing at this level on American screens. Check the Alamo Drafthouse November/December for details on the Austin release.

REPO! Soundtrack hits the streets and Darren is selling copies out of his trunk

2008-09-29T20:22:00.003-05:00

I got this note from Director Darren Boseman about his film REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA today. I think it speaks volumes that the director himself (and a director of a string of hugely grossing SAW movies at that) is out there hustling and bootstrapping to get his film seen and heard. Color me charmed, so much so that I am immediately passing it on to you guys, many of whom were wooed by the sweet melodies of his soundtrack during the fest. The CD releases today and Darren points to three easy ways to purchase it. If you enjoyed REPO, please pick up your copy and tell your friends to do the same. I have a feeling that success with the soundtrack will translate to a wider release or bigger advertising budget for the film.

Here's Darren's note....

Hey all... Okay, sorry for the group email. I myself hate them, so it pains me to send one. I feel like a telemarketer. That being said. It's not going to stop me from pushing my new movie on you. REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA.

I wanted to make sure you all were aware that today the soundtrack became available. Come on, where else can you hear PARIS HILTON, singing a song with SARAH BRIGHTMAN where someone from SLIPKNOT is playing on the track? NOWHERE I tell you!

We also just updated our webpage so check it out! (www.repo-opera.com)

3 ways to get the album:

#1. AMAZON.COM (http://www.amazon.com/Repo-Genetic-Opera/dp/B001FWXOBO/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1222606490&sr=8-1)
#2. NotYourParentsOpera.com (digitally download the album)
#3. Text 'REPOCD' to '262966' (that spells AMAZON on your keypad) to order the cd from your cell.

Thanks all, and I promise not to send another group email... Well, at least until the films release!!!!

Darren

the DONKEY PUNCH boat party report

2008-09-29T12:04:00.003-05:00

So DONKEY PUNCH is a movie about some young Europeans who do drugs and have a dance party on a “borrowed” yacht off the coast of Spain. In the film, the hip kids take things a little too far, a literal donkey punch works its way into the plot, and things spiral out of control from there.

We wanted to see how far we could get things to spiral out of control here in Austin, so after the premiere screening of that film at Fantastic Fest on Saturday night, we took a group of festival badge-holders out to Capitol Cruises' big boat on Lady Bird Lake, met up with a large group of Austin’s best party scenesters (courtesy of TheFamousish.com), and set sail on a 4 hour dance party with vodka from 42Below, Red Bull to keep us going through the night, and of course some Fosters, the official beer of the festival.

Here’s a link to some photos from the night, but these four should really sum it up for you:

The dance party on the roof, with the skyline in the background.

The single best photo booth opportunity of all time - put your face into the donkey punch!

The people on the bridges we passed under were either jealous of our party, or scared.

And with pants like these on board, envy and fear are both understandable emotions.

Photos of the City of Ember Cave Party

2008-09-28T10:54:00.002-05:00

Photographers Eugene Hsu and David Hill have posted their collections of City of Ember Cave Party photos. Following the closing night film, Gil Keenan's CITY OF EMBER, the audience boarded buses to head out to Longhorn Caverns for a late-night subterranean cave party.

In Fox Walden’s October 10 release of CITY OF EMBER, Bill Murray plays the Mayor of Ember, an underground city where the generations have lived for over 200 years to escape a ravaged surface. But on September 25, 2008, this legendary performer, along with CITY OF EMBER director Gil Kenan, traveled a mile and a half underground to announce his “candidacy” for Mayor of Ember and to kick off GET LIT: THE SUBTERRANEAN DANCE PARTY, the closing night event of Fantastic Fest 2008.

David Hill's photos.

Eugene Hsu's photos.

City of Ember opens in theaters on October 10.

SEVENTH MOON premiere pics! Roast pigs and buddhists and beers, oh my!

2008-09-26T16:09:00.002-05:00

When the new Eduardo Sanchez Chinese horror epic SEVENTH MOON hit its premiere at FF, we decided to give it a little something special. And what better way to celebrate than with a whole roast pig and an "actual" Buddhist monk to bless the screening? The event went off without a hitch, and the photos are HERE!

Fantastic Fest Days 7 and 8: The Wrap-up

2008-09-26T09:51:00.003-05:00

Well, the festival has drawn to a close and there was a lot of excitement rounding out the week.
First take a look at the guys from the alamo wiring the seats for the new William Castle documentary SPINE TINGLER.

and then check out the Q and A with David Wain and Paul Rudd after the secret screening of their film ROLE MODELS

and finally check out some scenes from the closing night film CITY OF EMBER with Bill Murray in attendance

Best of Fantastic Fest, Sunday 9/28, free!

2008-09-25T12:33:00.002-05:00

Fantastic Fest draws to a close tonight, but we are having such a good time, that we don't want to let it end!

On Sunday, September 28, Fantastic Fest is hosting the BEST OF FANTASTIC FEST at the Alamo South Lamar featuring screenings of three of the most popular films of the festival. These screenings are 100% free, first come, first serve. The shows are open to badge holders and the general public alike, badge holders do not get priority seating. They are truly first come, first serve.

Let the Right One In 9/28 4:05 PM
An awkward, introverted boy (Oskar) befriends a new neighbor girl (Eli) who helps him to confront the bullies at school. Eli, however, has a dark secret, and there are bodies piling up at the local morgue.

Chocolate 9/28 7:00 PM
The director of ONG BAK returns with his new protégé, who was in training for five years for this role. Jeeja Vismistananda portrays an autistic girl who learns martial arts from watching Tony Jaa and Bruce Lee films so as to exact revenge on those who bankrupted her mother.

Donkey Punch 9/28 10:00 PM
Seven sexy young Brits are hanging out on a "borrowed" yacht for a day of drugs, debauchery, and ultimately donkey punching. It's the last activity causes everything to unravel.

For more information about Fantastic Fest, check out the official website. Film Badges are currently on sale for Fantastic Fest 2009.

Details on the closing night cave party!

2008-09-25T11:25:00.003-05:00

CLOSING NIGHT CAVE PARTY
Right after the closing night film, we'll be checking IDs, wristbanding and handing out a goodie bag for everyone heading out to the City of Ember themed cave party. The cave is 63 miles away, so it's a bit of a bus ride to get out there, but I guarantee that the party will be well worth it. We allegedly will have video monitors on the bus and if that pans out, we'll have eye candy on screen for you. We will be providing a snack for everyone on the way back from the party, but not on the way out, so we highly recommend that you board the bus with your stomach full. If not, you might face a hungry night.

The party will be running to the wee hours of the night, but we will have an opportunity for some folks to return early if so desired. We'll make announcements in the cave at intervals with information about the bus departure schedule.

Thanks again everyone for making this year's festival such a blast. I'll see some of you in the cave, the rest, I hope enjoy Martyrs at the 9:30 PM round and everyone else... enjoy a well-deserved rest.

Cheers,

Tim League
Fantastic Fest

Fantastic Fest Video Coverage: Day 6

2008-09-25T07:44:00.002-05:00

Today, 4 entries. Lots of excitement

First lets look at the 100 best kills party:

Next lets see the mystery surrounding one of fantastic fests' infamous secret screenings

also check out a conversation with the director of the award winning film TOKYO GORE POLICE

and finally, take a look at some scenes from the FANTASTIC DEBATES which took place next to the alamo south in the boxing gym

Fantastic Fest Video Coverage Day 5

2008-09-24T01:37:00.002-05:00

Today we spoke with a few filmmakers.
First the guys from THE WRECK:

and then the director from I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW

and finally we spoke with the Icelandic filmmakers behind ASTROPIA

and check out our recap of the festival awards show!:

Oh Snap! One more late breaking secret screening!

2008-09-23T22:39:00.003-05:00

Brace yourself folks, there's another secret screening in the mix. The curtain raises on what we are calling "Secret Screening - Late Addition" at 6:25 PM on Wednesday, September 24. We of course, can't tell you what the film is, but I for one am very excited!

FF 2008 Awards Ceremony photos are UP!

2008-09-23T20:14:00.002-05:00

After much deliberation and consternation, the FF 08 juries and viewers made their voices heard at Monday night's majestic AWARDS CEREMONY! The raucous round of appreciation was helmed by one Tim League, FF founder and sharp-dressed man, and filmmakers from around the world received their proper due and drank a liquid ton of beer.

Memories are HERE!

The Art Of Shakey Face

2008-09-23T18:16:00.002-05:00

Part of the fun at Fantastic Fest this year has been the Shakey Face badge photos. These are the photos taken with a bright flash when the subject is shaking his or her face violently.

We have a winner in our contest for the best shakey face. You'll see who it is at the end of this montage of all the best shakey faces:

Fantastic Debates Tonight! Starts at the podium, ends in the boxing ring!

2008-09-23T13:53:00.006-05:00

Tonight at the South Austin Gym just three doors down from the Alamo South Lamar we will be joined by some of the brightest and best journalists, critics and film nuts to decide some very important resolutions.

The debates will be in the classical point-counterpoint format and the audience will vote on the passage of the resolution at hand. And that's about it. Except - oh yeah - if one debater or the other is unable to secure a 3/4 majority of the voters at hand the matter will be settled in the boxing ring. A qualified trainer and referee will be present and headgear and regulation gloves will be provided. The level of competition should be fairly strong. Most of these folks have been loading up on carbohydrate rich foods and beverages for the duration of the fest in preparation for this. I'm picturing action along the lines of the punishing Ali/Frazier Thrilla In Manila - possibly even greater. The boxing press has been notified to expect a total paradigm shift in their sport from the old days of fit, highly trained athletes to the more highly padded, short-burst equipped "fighters of tomorrow".

That said, here are the topics we will cover in the very first round of the Fantastic Debates.

Resolved: CGI is kicking our eyes in the nuts and should be abandoned in favor of practical special effects.

Resolved: The future of filmmaking belongs to those modern heroes of Hollywood whose numerous remakes have liberated us from those dusty old "classic" movies.

Resolved: DVD is dead.

Resolved: George Lucas has lost his fucking mind.

Debaters will include:
Nacho Vigalondo, Filmmaker
Todd Brown, Twitch.com
Devin Faraci, CHUD.com
Scott Weinberg, Critic
Jay Slater, Critic, Journalist
Owen Egerton, author of the forthcoming "The Force Is With Him: The Wonder Worlds Of George Lucas"
Les McGehee, President of the Pay Per View Initiative, author of "The Disc Is Dead: Long Live The Box"
Matt Kiernan, Headquarters 10, Fangoria, Fantastic Fest

So everyone either meet up in the lobby or come on over to South Austin Gym for the FANTASTIC DEBATES!!!!

Fantastic Fest 2008 Award Winners Announced!

2008-09-23T10:01:00.001-05:00

Fantastic Fest is proud to announce the winning films of the 2008 festival. Taking top prize in the AMD Next Wave competition is the Japanese sci-fi horror film TOKYO GORE POLICE. The Audience Award goes to THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD, stylized indie-noir SOUTH OF HEAVEN takes the AMD Fantastic Fest Online Award, and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN nabs the Best Horror Feature. Complete awards listings are below:

Bloodshots 48 Hour Filmmaking Contest:
Team: Scottish Rite Productions
Film: Meet the Maydays
Team Capt – Drew Thomas

Fantastic Fest Bumper Contest:
Team: Yer Dead
Film: Report Card
Team Capt – Jason Eisener

Animated Shorts:
First Place: Bernie's Doll
Second Place: Muto
Third Place: Violeta
Special Jury Award for Technical Merit: Facts In The Case Of Mr. Hollow

Fantastic Shorts:
First Place: The Object
Second Place: Spandex Man
Third Place: Stagman
Special Jury Award for Visual Invention: Rojo Red

Horror Shorts:
First Place:. Electric Fence
Second Place:. I Love Sarah Jane
Third Place: El Senor Puppe
Special Jury Award for sheer enjoyability: The Horribly Slow Murderer With The Extremely Inefficient Weapon

Fantastic Features:
First Place: HOW TO GET RID OF THE OTHERS
Second Place: CARGO 200
Third Place: EX DRUMMER
Special Jury Award for originality and vision: SANTOS

Horror Features:
First Place: LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (surprise!)
Second Place: ACOLYTES
Third Place: DONKEY PUNCH
Special Jury Award for most politically incorrect gore: FEAST 2
Special Jury Award for best use of latex: JACK BROOKS MONSTER SLAYER

Audience Award:
First Place: The Good, The Bad and the Weird
Second Place: Chocolate
Third Place: JCVD

AMD Fantastic Fest Online:
Best Feature Film: South of Heaven
Best Short Film: Treevenge

AMD Next Wave:
First Place: TOKYO GORE POLICE
Second Place: DEADGIRL
Third Place: LE CREME

For more information about Fantastic Fest, please visit our official website: www.fantasticfest.com.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL:
Fantastic Fest is the largest genre film festival in the United States featuring over 100 films from over 30 countries. The event highlights the best new sci-fi, horror, fantasy and genre films, as well as choice classic and obscure cult titles from all over the world. The festival director and head programmer is Tim League (Alamo Drafthouse Cinema), with additional programming by Harry Knowles (Ain't It Cool News), Todd Brown (Twitchfilm.net), Blake Ethridge (Cinema is Dope), Karrie League (Alamo Drafthouse Cinema), Zack Carlson (Alamo Drafthouse Cinema) and Lars Nilsen (Alamo Drafthouse Cinema). Fantastic Fest is a supporting member of the prestigious Melies European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation and a founding member of the North American Fantastic Festival Alliance. Fantastic Fest is sponsored in part by Gamecock Media, AMD, Fosters, Embassy Suites, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, CITY OF EMBER, DVD Empire, Best Buy, Dark Sky Films, Envy Magazine, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Texas Film Commission, Image Entertainment, Viz Pictures, HungrymanTV.com, Book People, Room Service Vintage, Media Blasters, Big Top Candy, Austin Chronicle, The Onion, Fangoria Magazine, Rue Morgue Magazine, Twitchfilm.com, Ain't It Cool News, Smitty's Market and Louie Mueller Barbecue.

Fantastic Fest Video Coverage: Day 4

2008-09-23T03:42:00.002-05:00

Today we had a conversation J.T. Petty director and writer of THE BURROWERS:

We also caught up with some of the actors and creators of the film SOUTH OF HEAVEN at the filmmakers lunch:

While at the lunch we also managed to talk to the guys from DEADGIRL:

and later in the evening we got to check out the fantastic feud, the festivals yearly live trivia game:

Fantastic Fest Day 3

2008-09-22T07:33:00.002-05:00

Lots going on on the third day of Fantastic fest 2008.
First take a look at film bloggers and the role they play at fantatsic fest and in the world.

Then go on and leanr about some of the movies that played on day 3.
First we have the very animated Nick Lopez and his films SANTOS

Next we have the horror DONKEY PUNCH

and finally take a look at the film SEVENTH MOON

stay tuned for more!

Fantastic Fest Behind The Scenes: Exploding Stress Ball

2008-09-21T23:14:00.002-05:00

Fantastic Fest is a huge amount of fun but it's also a huge amount of work. Here's Alamo South Lamar General Manager Kristen working her therapeutic stress ball until it explodes, all caught by the security cam.

Watch how everyone rushes in to help, and busts a gut laughing.

Fantastic Fest day 2 Coverage

2008-09-20T21:43:00.005-05:00

A whole lot happened on Day 2 of Fantastic Fest 2008. Look at small sample of events.

In the afternoon there was an Eagle Eye scavenger hunt in honor of the film which played the night. It ended in an epic water balloon battle. see the highlights here:

While that was going on we caught up with Bill Pullman to talk about the two films he is screening during the festival.

We also managed to talk to the guys that brought us Repo: a Genetic Opera.

Stay tuned for more coverage as the festival rolls on!

Fantastic Fest 2009 VIP Badges are SOLD OUT!

2008-09-20T10:56:00.003-05:00

In less than 2 hours and a full year before the festival, VIP Badges for Fantastic Fest 2009 are SOLD OUT! Regular Film badges are still on sale at www.fantasticfest.com but judging by the speed of sales on the VIP badges, these may also not last long.

Fantastic Fest 2008 has posted record attendance this year, with an anticipated 16000 admissions over the eight day festival.

About Fantastic Fest
Fantastic Fest is the largest genre film festival in the United States featuring over 100 films from over 30 countries. The event highlights the best new sci-fi, horror, fantasy and genre films, as well as choice classic and obscure cult titles from all over the world. The festival director and head programmer is Tim League (Alamo Drafthouse Cinema), with additional programming by Harry Knowles (Ain't It Cool News), Todd Brown (Twitchfilm.net), Blake Ethridge (Cinema is Dope), Karrie League (Alamo Drafthouse Cinema), Zack Carlson (Alamo Drafthouse Cinema) and Lars Nilsen (Alamo Drafthouse Cinema). Fantastic Fest 2008 is a supporting member of the prestigious Melies European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation and a founding member of the North American Fantastic Festival Alliance. Fantastic Fest is sponsored in part by Gamecock Media, AMD, Fosters, Embassy Suites, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, CITY OF EMBER, DVD Empire, Best Buy, Dark Sky Films, Envy Magazine, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Texas Film Commission, Image Entertainment, Viz Pictures, HungrymanTV.com, Book People, Room Service Vintage, Media Blasters, Big Top Candy, Austin Chronicle, The Onion, Fangoria Magazine, Rue Morgue Magazine, Twitchfilm.com, Ain't It Cool News, Smitty's Market and Louie Mueller Barbecue.

Fantastic Fest 2008 Day 1 Part 2

2008-09-19T22:40:00.002-05:00

Check out The Q and A with director Kevin Smith after the screening of his film ZACH AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO.

and don't miss our coverage of the first ever Air Sex World Championship that followed the opening night film at the Paramount.

Kevin Smith + more photos from FF '08's "sexy" Opening Night Party are HERE!!

2008-09-19T16:04:00.005-05:00

Call your lawyer. The photographic evidence is in and the Fantastic Fest audience has been caught having sex and watching porno!

Kevin Smith himself joined us for a bacchanalian celebration at Austin's historic Paramount Theater as we screened the premiere of ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO, followed by the WORLD FINALS of AIR SEX! Every window within 10 miles of the Paramount was fogged over with steam. Intrepid photographer Mary Sledd was on hand and these are the results of her sizzling visual expose of the FF crowd!

BURN YOUR EYES HERE!!!

Select Photos from Fantastic Fest Day 1

2008-09-19T15:57:00.002-05:00

We opened the festival for the first time at the majestic Paramount Theater for a raucous libido double bill of ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO and the AIR SEX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. Fantastic Fest photographer Mary Sledd was there to document all the unbridled action. Check out the hightlights of the day at the Fantastic Fest public Flickr page.

Big hearty congratulations go to Sad Larry for taking the gold in the Air Sex World Championships. He's the man shown here weeping while having sex with a photograph.

We'll be posting loads more photos and video as the festival progresses. Check back soon!

Fantastic Videos Day 1 Part 1

2008-09-19T10:35:00.002-05:00

Here is a little introduction to fantastic fest and what its about.

And here is part one of our coverage of Kevin Smith's opening night film "Zach and Miri Make a Porno". Enjoy his bathroom anecdote during his introduction. Stay tuned for scenes from the Q and A!

Sneak Preview clips and trailers

2008-09-18T08:47:00.004-05:00

We've got some late breaking news about a sneak preview trailer and sneak preview exclusive footage from two hugely anticipated movies.

First, before both screenings of SANTOS, we will be watching a sneak preview exclusive first look at the new VALKYRIE trailer. VALKYRIE, set to open on Christmas, is Brian Singer's new film starring Tom Cruise. Based on actual events, Valkryie follows a plot to assassinate Hitler that is unfurled during the height of WWII. This is just one more reason to check out one of the most widely anticipated world premiere films of the festival, SANTOS.

Second, before both screenings of the animated film TERRA, we will be unveiling an exclusive sneak-preview look at two extended clips from the Disney Animated film BOLT.

For super-dog BOLT, every day is filled with adventure, danger and
intrigue-at least until the cameras stop rolling. When the star of a hit
TV show is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to New
York City, he begins his biggest adventure yet-a cross-country journey
through the real world to get back to his owner and co-star, Penny.
Armed only with the delusions that all his amazing feats and powers are
real, and the help of two unlikely traveling companions-a jaded,
abandoned housecat named Mittens and a TV-obsessed hamster named Rhino
-- Bolt discovers he doesn't need superpowers to be a hero.

Fantastic Fest Quote of the Day for September 18

2008-09-18T03:21:00.004-05:00

"This film is not P.C.; it's more P.B. - Pre-Brazilian, back when Aussie bush was up front and not out back".

NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD director Mark Hartley, describing his film before the Weird Wednesdays screening of DARK AGE. And if you don't know what he's talking about, then you'll just have to see NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD this week at Fantastic Fest!

Information about Fantastic Fest 2009 Badges

2008-09-18T01:58:00.003-05:00

Hey folks, we've had on the website now for quite a while that 2009 Badges go on sale online on Saturday, September 20. Here's the scoop. At 10:00 AM on Saturday, we will be releasing for sale the 2009 VIP badges and a portion of the 2009 Regular Film badges. Last year the VIP Badges sold out in 24 hours. As the fest has grown significantly this year, we assume that this year it will be the same if not quicker.

Badges will be available via a link from the tickets page of the Fantastic Fest website, www.fantasticfest.com. The link for badges is there now, but tickets are suspended, if you want to check it out in advance.

Ticket prices for 2009 are as follows:

VIP: $270
Film Badge $150

We have increased the price this year - mainly because our expenses went up dramatically this year, which is a good thing for you guys. We have over 300% more guests in 2008 than last year and we're going to keep up the work to make next year even better than 2008.

Dates for the Festival in 2009 are September 24-October 1, 2009.

Cool new Feast 2 artwork

2008-09-17T17:59:00.002-05:00

Just got this in from Weinstein Co. - cool new FEAST 2 box cover art. Check out the full resolution version here. If you don't already have it on your schedule, consider a screening of FEAST 2. The original was perfect popcorn fun and the ever-jovial director John Gulager and screenwriter Marcus Dunstan will be live in person to introduce the show at the festival. John and Marcus were two of our original guests from Fantastic Fest year one and we are incredibly pleased to have him with us again with their new project. I wonder as I scrutinize this poster, how is the midget with the soul patch gonna eat it, because you KNOW he's not alive at opening credits. It's like a red shirt on Star Trek, that poor guy is not long for the screen.

Martyrs to screen at Fantastic Fest!

2008-09-17T14:49:00.002-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I cannot tell you how long I have personally been laboring, whining and maneuvering to get this film secured for Fantastic Fest. I sat in the first public screening of the film at the Cannes Market back in May alongside Michael Lerman from Indiewire. We looked at each other during the closing credits and agreed without words or movement. We had been hit in the face with a heavy blunt object.

Since then MARTYRS has been causing fragile eggs who have unwittingly wandered into screenings to leave the theater in one of four conditions: fainting, shaking, vomiting or weeping, or some disgusting combination of all four. This movie is hard. That said, it's my favorite genre film of the year, hands down.

I don't want to talk about the film AT ALL, and I recommend that you don't read ANYTHING about it if possible. If your buddies have been trolling the net and start yammering about the plot points, stick your fingers in yours ears, yell "la-la-la-la-la-la" while running away dancing a funny jig. You will look stupid, but this mild humiliation will pay off in spades.

All I will say is that MARTYRS is a controversial film and the violence is very intense, so much so that it's easy to find traditional critics lumping this film in with the mindless "torture porn" aesthetic (a phrase I'm annoyed with myself for sporting). While the violence quotient does support that pigeon-holing, what allows MARTYRS to transcend is the amazingly pure and very inventive philosophical construct behind the film.

I don't know what the HELL they are putting in that fancypants French bottled water, but whatever it is, it's creating some genetically modified super-powered horror-directing mutants. With the likes of Fabrice Du Welz (VINYAN), Pascal Laugier (MARTYRS), Alexandre Bustillo (INSIDE) and Julien Maury (INSIDE) pumping out the French horror jams, there is no other explanation than a gene-modification conspiracy that goes all the way to prime minister François Fillon. To you sir, I say, "A votre santé!" Cheers, sir, and keep up the good work.

I was going to place this film into one of our secret screening spots, but we are not receiving the copy until the final day of the festival, which is already a very crowded day. Instead, we decided to schedule MARTYRS in a somewhat non-traditional fashion.

We're scheduling two screenings, both on the 25th of September. One - an early screening around 2 PM. The second at 9:30 PM that night. The closing night film is at 7:00 PM that evening. After that, some of you will be going to the all-night cave dance party. I recommend seeing the 2 PM screening if you want to see MARTYRS and are going to the cave. If you aren't going to the cave, stick around for the 9:30 show. This will be the only film playing at that time, and I can think of no better film than MARTYRS serve as the cherry on top of your festival sundae.

Second-half badge holders, this screening will either justify your purchase entirely, or make you wish you had never heard the seemingly innocuous pairing of "Fantastic" and "Fest." In either case, I will feel that my work is done.

I would like to raise a special Fantastic Fest toast to our friends at the Weinstein Company for making this truly eventful screening happen.

We're now 24 hours until kickoff, my own excitement is now palpable.

An electrifying double feature for all film fans - SPINE TINGLER and THE TINGLER!

2008-09-17T13:19:00.004-05:00

Damn straight! A very special double feature celebrating one of our heroes, the great William Castle. For two nights only: Wednesday Sept 24 and Thursday Sept 25. Click here for details and to purchase tickets.

We will present the fascinating new documentary SPINE-TINGLER - THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY and then show Mr. Castle's magnum opus THE TINGLER in the miracle of Percepto, in which select seats are wired to give an (hopefully non-debilitating) electric "tingle" to the lucky persons sitting in them. If everything works out alright there won't be any serious injuries but we will require an audience waiver. And if you've got a pacemaker - stay home and take it easy for this one.

SPINE-TINGLER - THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY (2008, D. Jeffrey Schwartz, 84 min.)

There's no greater icon of showmanship than William Castle. When the rest of Hollywood was shivering in its boots over the impact of TV on the bottom line, Castle rolled up his sleeves and went to work. Not only did he make some of the best, wickedly funny horror films, he also jazzed them up with in-theater gimmicks that made moviegoing a truly multidimensional, interactive experience. Starting with 1958's MACABRE, whose viewers were insured against death by fright via a (probably pretty inexpensive) Lloyd's of London policy and continuing through to his masterpiece THE TINGLER, in which attendees were lightly shocked in their seats- Castle made sure his films were events, endlessly talked about on schoolyards and discussed in magazines like Famous Monsters Of Filmland. Along the way, a junior cognoscenti sprung up, hipped by Castle's winking approach to the underpinnings of media and entertainment manipulation. Many of those young fans grew up to take Castle's lessons to heart. In SPINE TINGLER you'll hear such luminaries as Roger Corman, John Waters, Joe Dante and others talking about Castle's legacy. You'll also find out more about the man himself, from his early years as a critically acclaimed director of B-Thrillers through the tumultuous roller-coaster '50s when he scored hit after hit and into the '60s when he made his mark in the New Hollywood, producing ROSEMARY'S BABY and achieving some measure of the respect from his peers that had long eluded him. His daughter Terry Castle provides personal glimpses of the great showman's family life and inner insecurities that his bombastic, self-mythologizing, though highly entertaining autobiography didn't even hint at. (Lars Nilsen)

THE TINGLER (1959, D. William Castle, 82 min. AUDIENCE WAIVER REQUIRED)

Master showman William Castle is synonymous with gimmicks - the "fright break" to give scared patrons a chance to vacate the theater; Emergo aka "giant inflatable skeleton hovers over theatergoers"; the "Punishment Poll" to determine whether the villain lives or dies and many more. But his greatest accomplishment, and the ultimate barrier-breaker - short of actually murdering audience members - was Percepto, in which an electrical device embedded in the theater seats emits a small shock at the crucial point of the film. It's a genius idea, and it would probably work well even with a badly constructed horror movie but the Tingler is anything but. The way Castle, an excellent and intelligent filmmaker, builds the suspense through surprising plot twists and pinpoint timing is, well, electric. In the lead, as a blithely mad scientist plagued by a hussy wife, Vincent Price is just the ticket - bringing just the right mix of arched-eyebrow humor to the role without tipping the coffin over. This is a film that has been read about and discussed endlessly; some of you may have even seen it. But how many people have actually seen it in the miracle of Percepto? This year, wear rubber pants, and don't get too attached to any of the hair on your ass-cheeks - because we're going to hook up a generator, hire a non-union electrician to wire select seats, and watch the fireworks. We will require all audience members to sign a waiver to attend this show. (Lars Nilsen)

You won't regret it. But we might.

FF: Five Films You Shouldn't Miss

2008-09-16T23:59:00.001-05:00

Like a kid who can't wait for Christmas, I'm all giddy these days at the thought of Fantastic Fest coming to town and sliding down the Alamo's chimney with its big bag of movies for all the good little boys and girls. Even though I work behind the scenes at the big show, I'm just as excited as everyone else is, if not more so, since I've seen some of this year's batch and I know how good the selection is. With this in mind, here are some of my suggestions of five films you must see at Fantastic Fest 2008:

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - Saturday, Sept. 20, at 6:30pm and Wednesday, Sept. 24, at 1:15pm.

I'm sick to death of stupid vampire movies, but this is something completely different altogether, a remarkably moving look at childhood, loneliness and friendship, in addition to being an excellent horror film. Every so often someone comes along to re-invent the genre, and there's no question that Tomas Alfredson has done that here. This isn't just the best film of Fantastic Fest, it's the best film of the year.

LA CREME - Sunday, Sept. 21, at 4pm and Monday, Sept. 22, at 4:15pm

A big surprise for me when I saw it at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal this year, Reynald Bertrand's comedy has a great premise and a superb execution, in addition to a shitload of laughs. It may only dabble in fantasy, but LA CREME deserves a spot at Fantastic Fest for being a fantastic movie.

TREEVENGE (running as part of SHORT FUSE) - Thursday, Sept. 18, at 4pm; Sunday, Sept. 21 at 9pm and Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 1:50pm.

Proof positive that HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN was no fluke, TREEVENGE may only be 17 minutes long, but they may also be the most entertaining 17 minutes you will spend during all of Fantastic Fest - and that's saying something. It almost singlehandedly marks the return of the great gore comedy after too long an absence.

THE MAN FROM HONG KONG - Monday, Sept. 22, at 1:45pm and Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 11:59pm.

The centerpiece of our NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD Ozploitation retrospective this year, I've written about this one before, but suffice to say I think the film is a bit of a discovery, if only for it's incredible action scenes and perfect use of Jigsaw's #1 hit, "Sky High". Trust me when I tell you that Aussie action does not get more batshit insane than this.

I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW - Saturday, Sept. 20, at 1:50pm and Monday, Sept. 22, at 4:40pm.

This is unquestionably the creepiest, scariest film playing at Fantastic Fest, but by no means should that keep you away from it, because it stays with you for a very long time. You may think you're not anything like the two people featured in the film, but at some point you're going to see yourself in them and it's going to freak you the fuck out. Disturbing, but also pretty much unmissible.

See you at Fantastic Fest!

Seventh Moon...whole roasted suckling pigs.

2008-09-16T12:17:00.003-05:00

A couple of months ago when we first booked Seventh Moon, I read the complete press kit which described in great detail both the filming method and inevitable anecdotes about their shoot in rural China. One story that particularly caught my fancy was on the first day of filming. The Chinese crew hosted a celebration with a Buddhist prayer wishing for a lucky, successful film shoot. This involved some manner of deep-voiced incantation by a bald man in a yellow robe, a methodical raising and lowering of incense sticks, (and here's where my eyebrow literally rose) the presentation and subsequent devouring of whole roasted suckling pigs by the cast and crew.

The shoot was lucky and successful, so clearly there is something to this pig business. I told the story to Alamo executive chef John Bullington, no stranger in the art of pig roasting, and he quickly volunteered. "If it will make for a lucky and successful film screening, it is then our moral imperative to roast pigs," said he. And so we are.

Buddhist incense masters are proving more challenging, but we will do our best. On the pig front, John Bullington will be preparing, specifically for the Seventh Moon audience the following special:

Chinese five spice roast suckling pig with mandarin pancakes, spicy Chinese barbecue sauce, steamed gai-lon and chinese forbidden black rice, which will be available for purchase by the audience at $9.99 while supplies last.

To the delight of the carnivores and the horror of the vegans, the roast pigs will be carved in the theater prior to the film.

The Impossibly Entertaining Shorts of Nacho Vigalondo!

2008-09-15T23:32:00.003-05:00

Last year, Spanish director/producer/actor/one-man karaoke assault squad Nacho Vigalondo made a seriously positive impact on FF. In fact, between the world premiere of his brilliant TIMECRIMES and his outrageous dance instruction, no attendee was left unsinged by his fire.

So when it came time to plan this year's FF program, we knew there had to be a way to bring Nacho and his hilarity, stamina and talent back to Austin. Thus was born the SHORTS OF NACHO VIGALONDO program, which will be playing not once, but TWICE at FF with both shows introduced and hosted by the dynamo himself!

Here's the showpage on the FF site!

And here's the breakdown of what cinematic mutations that Nacho will unleash!:

CHOQUE (11 min) - The follies of youth are lost on the old. Nacho stars as a man driven over the edge in a gaming arcade.

SUNDAY (4 min) - A young couple bicker while documenting the most important single occurrence in the history of mankind.

7:35 IN THE MORNING (8 min) - Some people will go to the greatest lengths in the name of romance. This musical short was nominated for a 2005 Academy Award!

CHANGING THE WORLD (4 min) - A man awakens several times at once and is forced to team up with several versions of himself to discover what's gone wrong.

CODE 7 (9 min) - A gripping tale of high-impact, two-fisted science fiction in the 25th Century!!! Kind of.

A LESSON IN FILMMAKING (3 min) - Nacho uses a cow and a rubber ball to instruct aspiring filmmakers on the finer points of cinematic subtlety.

THE GALACTIC ADVENTURES OF JAIME DE FUNES AND ARANCHA (Dir. Velasco Broca, 8 min) - Nacho portrays an interstellar superhero who, along with his sniveling sidekick, fearlessly battles evil throughout the universe!

Plus several other Vigalondolicious surprises like GREMLINS 3, BACK TO THE FUTURE 4, CHEAP SCIENCE FICTION and more, many of which are subtitled in English for the first time here, specifically for Fantastic Fest!

...So get this show on your calendar and join us in a near-fatal case of NACHO FEVERRRRRR.

FF: Why I can't wait.

2008-09-15T21:53:00.003-05:00

There's a great big meteor storm fulla goodtimes that's about to strike our fair city. Sure there are some meteorites I'm watching for less closely than others, but -- to continue my analogy beyond all reason -- the bulk of this impending assault has me running in circles with an enormous target on my head.

What I'm trying to say here is: I'm very happy about Fantastic Fest 2008.

Yes, for 2008, we've upped the ante on parties and crazy events, but the main reason for my incessant drooling is of course THE MOVIES. Here are a few titles that I'm painfully impatient to ingest:

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - I've heard nothing but raging praise for this Swedish coming-of-age vampire romance. Apparently it boasts the best child actors since NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. That's big talk. But even the haters I know swear up and down the block that this is the one that simply cannot be missed.

LATE BLOOMER - A little-known Japanese release about a disabled serial killer. Something avbout this one just looks like it might be the best and most unique film of the entire fest.

THE TINGLER in PERCEPTO! - This is arguably the true masterpiece from late, great horror producer William Castle, and we're going to be presenting it the way he did upon its initial release: with the jolting, jarring miracle of PERCEPTO! The audience will be terrified and electrified as Vincent Price battles an evil force of horror incarnate. Not for the squeamish, or pacemakered! A perfect companion film to the stunning William Castle documentary SPINE TINGLER!, also playing the fest.

I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW - The most chilling film of the FF line-up is...a documentary? Well, that appears to be the case, as everyone who's seen this chronicle of two rampaging stalkers of '80s pop icon Tiffany says it's the most harrowing movie of the year, if not millennium.

Last but not least, all three of our shorts programs are in severely high gear: the blood-n-gristle-fueled SHORT FUSE, the ANIMATED SHORTS and the amazing SHORTS OF NACHO VIGALONDO (with the Spanish dancing machine himself in attendance!) are kicking beautiful new holes in art's face.

...as far as the extra stuff goes, it's a fact that the 100 BEST KILLS PARTY, the face-shattering FANTASTIC DEBATES and (of course) the triumphant return of FANTASTIC FEUD are gonna blow the roof of this motherfuck.

Once things kick off on Thursday, my Alamo programming cohorts and I will be keeping a daily log of the rampant ridiculousness and rapturousness brought on by this year's FF. Stay tuned for made-up words and/or late night ramblings from the entire crew.

Until then, STAY POWERFUL.

- Z

Late film additions to the Fantastic Fest lineup!

2008-09-15T10:05:00.004-05:00

Sure, we sent the festival guide to the printer, but for whatever reason, we just didn't stop working on getting more amazing films for you guys to watch.

Since the close of the printed guide, here are the late additions to the festival lineup:

Vinyan (dir. Fabrice du Welz, 2008, France)
Fabrice du Welz's follow up to the brutal Calvaire (Fantastic Fest official selection 2005) was one of the most wildly anticipated films in the genre fan community this year. The film just world-premiered at Venice and it's now heading to Austin for it's US Premiere. VINYAN is a controversial and harrowing journey into the spiritual darkness that envelops two grieving parents as they search Thailand and Burma against all hope for their son, whom they believe may have survived the giant Indian Ocean tsunami disaster.

YOUR NAME HERE (dir. Matthew Wilder, 2008, USA)
With actor Bill Pullman live in person!
A surreal fantasia -- part grindhouse mutant and part arthouse object -- that imagines a day in the summer of 1974 when America's greatest science-fiction writer, William J. Frick (inspired by the public life of Philip K. Dick and portrayed by Bill Pullman) wakes up to discover he is living inside his own paranoid science fiction.

Pulse 2 (dir. Joel Soisson, 2008, USA)
Jamie Bamber (Lee Adama from Battlestar Galactica!) plays Stephen, a survivor haunted by the ghosts of his past trying to find a safe haven for his daughter in a truly frightening world. In this post-apocalyptic sequel to PULSE, cities are deserted, technology has been destroyed and the few remaining human beings eschew anything electrical in order to avoid a confrontation with the soulless ghosts that now wander the planet.

Repo! The Genetic Opera (dir. Darren Bousman, 2008, USA)
No, this isn't a new title, but we've been so FLOODED with requests to see this film that the studio agreed to set up an extra screening for non-badgeholders at midnight on Friday for people who will be driving in from out of town to see it. Tickets are for sale now for non-badgeholders here.

Secret Screenings!
We've added Secret Screening B already at midnight on Wednesday, September 24. What isn't announced yet is 2 OTHER late festival secret screenings C and D! We expect those to fall into place in the next 24 hours, so check back soon! We've added a "Secret Screening" category to the drop down menu on the website for your convenience, so you can see them all.

The festival begins in a mere 4 days! We'll see you all very, very soon. In the meantime, make sure and sign up for your B-Side account so you can build your personal schedule with their very easy, intuitive scheduling tool. Share your B-Side
account name with your friends so you can compare schedules. To sign up for a B-Side Account, click here.

The Best Buy / Fantastic Fest DVDs

2008-09-14T18:20:00.003-05:00

If you read this recent post, then you know there's a pretty nifty partnership going on between Best Buy and Fantastic Fest. (Besides a mutual affinity for alliteration, I mean.) So if you want to get your grubby little fingers on one helluva cool FF '08 souvenir, then you'll have to drop a few bucks at Big Blue. At first I thought the promotion was inclusive of ANY Fantastic Fest DVD, but I spoke to Fantastic Fest Sponsorship Master Matt Kiernan, and he clarified things for me: In order to snag the limited edition promo DVD, you gotta produce a recent receipt from one of these titles... ( ... must be purchased at an AUSTIN location!)

The Backwoods (Widescreen, $14.99)
Bug (Special Edition, $9.9 9)
Diary of the Dead (Unrated, $17.99)
Hatchet (Unrated, $14.99)
The Host (Widsescreen, $24.99) (Special Edition, $17.99) (Blu-Ray, $29.99)
Hostel (Widescreen, $24.99) (Director's Cut, $14.99) (Blu-Ray Director's Cut, $24.99)
Mad Max (Special Edition, $9.99)
The Road Warrior (Fullscreen (ick), $12.99) (Blu-Ray, $14.99)
Sex and Death 101 (Widescreen, $14.99) (Blu-Ray, $29.99)
Southland Tales (Widescreen, $19.99)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre '74 (Widescreen, $14.99) (Blu-Ray, $22.99)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (Rated, $14.99) (Unrated, $14.99)
There Will Be Blood (Widescreen, $19.99) (Collector's Edition, $22.99) (Blu-Ray, $34.99)
Zathura (Special Edition, $9.99)

Please note that these prices came from BestBuy.com and may not represent the prices at your local Best Buy. Also PLEASE note that the standard (i.e. non-Blu-Ray) Road Warrior DVD is FULLSCREEN ONLY, which means you might want to buy a different disc -- or invest in a new DVD player. Although Matt tells me I'm crazy.

Bill Pullman coming to Fantastic Fest!

2008-09-14T17:20:00.002-05:00

We just got confirmation that Bill Pullman will be coming to Fantastic Fest in support of two of his films in the 2008 Fantastic Fest lineup, YOUR NAME HERE and SURVEILLANCE.

YOUR NAME HERE, a late addition to the festival, is a surreal fantasia -- part grindhouse mutant and part arthouse object -- that imagines a day in the summer of 1974 when America's greatest science-fiction writer, William J. Frick (inspired by the public life of Philip K. Dick and portrayed by Bill Pullman) wakes up to discover he is living inside his own paranoid science fiction.

We're all fans of Bill Pullman up in the programming office and are really excited about this late breaking news. For me the fondness began with SPACEBALLS, for Henri, I feel safe to say it was NEWSIES. Anyway, film historians of the future will be calling 2008 the year of Bill Pullman with the one-two combination punch of these two outrageous movies. Mr. Pullman will introduce the films and be available to answer questions afterwards. One question that I hope is asked, what song is he going to sing at the Magnolia Karaoke Apocalypse afterparty.

Coming to Fantastic Fest 2008... Ads!

2008-09-13T23:59:00.007-05:00

Hello, everyone, I'm Matthew Kiernan, sponsorship coordinator for Fantastic Fest and a new member to the Fantastic Fest team, although some of you may remember me from my triumphant appearance at last year's Fantastic Feud. Yes, I'm the guy who remembered all those sequel directors. In fact, that's why they hired me!

My responsibility is to find sponsors who will help fund this fine little film festival of ours; companies whose financial support allows us to bring in as many guests and films from all over the world as we possibly can. If you check out the sponsorship page on this here website, you'll see that we've got a lot of great sponsors - from such local pals as AMD, Gamecock, and the Embassy Suites downtown - along with such corporate juggernauts as Foster's, Fox Home Entertainment and DVD Empire. You'll see their ads in our mammoth 2008 program guide around town, in addition to their banners, posters and standees in the theater lobby during the festival. And there's no pussyfooting around this part, folks - you're going to see some of their ads on the big screen, too.

Up until now, the only type of ads you've ever seen on the Alamo screen have either been vintage spots or those marvelous monthly reels that Henri Mazza puts together. Now just so you know, there's not going to be any change to this - we're only talking about Fantastic Fest. However, the festival has a certain price tag that goes with it and you have to offer sponsors an incentive beyond just being part of the greatest film festival known to man. The idea that over 12,000 festival goers will see their products advertised over the course of a week helps to make the decision a bit easier for our sponsors. There will only be about 2 minutes of spots in front of each feature and, rest assured, you won't be seeing the same ads again and again. But they will be there, and since we understand that it might not be a popular addition to the festival we wanted you to know about it in advance. If it's any consolation, some of them feature real-life porn stars!

If you're peeved about all this, I'm the person to complain to. Take a number.

FF wants YOU for the 100 BEST KILLS PARTY!!!

2008-09-13T23:27:00.004-05:00

No small number of FF films are infused with the cinematic magic of graphic extermination. The fest draws countless horror maniacs, all featuring several scenes of life being creatively, beautifully, inspiringly snuffed out. And we know that - like a butterfly collector or lover of classical music - you have your dearest favorite.

So this year, we invite YOU the FF badgeholder to bring along your # 1 selection in gratuitous silver screen homicide - on either DVD or VHS - to share with the crowd of rabid bloodmaniacs at the 100 BEST KILLS PARTY, to be held Monday, Sept 22 at Midnight at the Alamo South Lamar! Just mark the DVD case with a note saying where your chosen scene starts and ends (2 min or less, please)...and if you're bringing a VHS, make sure it's cued up to where things get good n' gristly!

The audience choice winner will receive a special FF gift package and the respect of his or her fellow flesh-haters!

Here's the 100 BEST KILLS PARTY page at www.fantasticfest.com! Add it to your calendar now, and when the night comes, don't forget to BRING THE PAIN!!!

[Original show post below]

* * * * * *

100 BEST KILLS PARTY
Alamo South Lamar, Monday September 22, Midnight

The excitement inherent in the best horror and action movies can be boiled down to three main ingredients: VIOLENCE, VIOLENCE and VIOLENCE!!! From the golden age of goremaster Herschell Gordon Lewis to the innovative new fluid-spurting technologies of the modern effects masters, cold-blooded murder has become a legitimately appealing visual art that deserves it's very own fancy Louvre...and THIS IS IT! Yep, at this year's Fantastic Fest, we'll be celebrating the absolute finest in annihilation with an interactive celebration of on-screen intestine-ripping, headbursting and unrepentant baby-mashing!

Your faithful FF programmers will of course get the festivities underway started with some of their all-time favorite examples of cinematic savagery, but for the first time ever, we'll be opening things up so YOU can share your most beloved homicide as well. It's easy...just bring along anything good, goopy n' gory that can play on an all-region DVD player (or VCR!) and you'll be called on to nauseate the masses with your ultimate beloved gutblast!

Note: This show is intended for the most severe and ironstomached bloodhounds around, and we accept absolutely no responsibility for lost lunches. Wimps and weekend horrormeisters, leave the hall...if you can't stand the meat, stay out of the kitchen!! (Zack)

FF poster is here, and it's a BEAUT!!

2008-09-13T11:27:00.000-05:00

How do you sum up a film festival as weird, wild and diverse as Fantastic Fest in one image?
Well, Jon Smith did it.
Jon Smith is the amazing artist behind Ghostland Observatory's best (in my opinion) gig posters, and he's worked his beautiful, subtle magic here.
This print is included with everyone's VIP badge, and will be ready for pick up at registration for Fantastic Fest.
If you're not a VIP badgeholder, or even if you're not attending and you want this work of beauty, just hop on over to www.mondotees.com and pick one up!

This is a silkscreen print, measuring 24x36, signed and numbered by hand by the artist, limited to approx 300 copies. (And 220 of them are already snapped up by VIP's!) The grey color above will actually be metallic silver on the paper!

If you plan on attending the Fest, just select 'in-store pick-up' for your shipping method, and it'll be here waiting for you!

This is in my opinion, the ultimate Fantastic Fest memento, other than the wicked hangovers and sensory overload. And that strange tattoo you're going to wake up with. That's going to be my fault.

Available now at www.MONDOTEES.com!

Where to Get Your DVDs in Austin

2008-09-13T01:35:00.010-05:00

Last year (and the year before that) I had the distinct pleasure of accompanying several of FF's international guests to some of the local DVD shoppes. Which store it was doesn't really matter at this point, but there's something really fun about watching Brits drool over cheap Chucky sequels, Aussies ogling the J-horror shelf, and the Finns fondling Freaks.

So as a service to this year's friends (both new and old), I thought it would be a good idea to point you in a few digital directions. Lord knows we'll probably have more than one road trip to some of these locations:

Waterloo (600 N. Lamar) -- Easily the closest option, cool staff, right next to a great ice cream place, and they sell music too!

Vulcan Video (609 W. 29th Street) -- Huge selection, late hours, opinionated employees who KNOW THEIR SHIZ Mostly rentals, but still worth a visit.

I Luv Video (2915 Guadalupe) -- My personal favorite, although all three are great options. All you need to do is pick through their website to see the kind of movie geeks we're dealing with. Plus how many DVD stores do you know that stay open till 3am? Exactly. AND they have a second location right near the airport -- just in case you forgot to do your shopping. Also mostly rentals, but these stores would LOVE to find and order you a copy of Humanoids from the Deep. That's just an example, but I would love a copy of that DVD, actually.

Best Buy (4970 W. Highway 290 -- aka "71 & Mopac") -- Nothing against Big Blue, but in a city like Austin I think it's a bit more appropriate to give your DVD dollars to the "smaller guys" -- though it's tough to ignore BB's new release specials. Either way you will want to visit BB to snag a few vintage Fantastic Fest titles, because that's the only way you can snag a free promo DVD that celebrates FF '08! (More info right here.) Plus, c'mon, Best Buy is like a wo/man-child's favorite toy store. You know you can't afford anything, so you just stare at all the shiny gizmos before dropping 12 bucks on the (excellent) new Child's Play DVD. And then maybe some ice cream on the way home.

And the Quint Special: Located right near the Best Buy is one friend's very favorite place to purchase the platters. It's called Buybacks and I certainly look forward to my first visit. Says AICN's Quint: "I owe at least a quarter of my DVD collection to Buybacks. Obscure, classics, cult, Criterion, they have them all at the best used prices I've ever seen."

So there you go. Nobody should leave Austin without a few good bargains under their arms. Bring an extra suitcase. And let me know when you're going shopping because I still need that new Pumpkinhead special edition.

Austin Shopping and Dining Guide for Fantastic Fest Newbies

2008-09-12T19:10:00.000-05:00

One of the ways we assemble the Fantastic Fest roster is by attending other film festivals all around the world (what, do think these films just show up on our doorstep?). Cannes, Berlin, Pifan, Fantasia, Sundance, you name it, we've been there. Like a lot of other filmmakers and festival programmers and attendees, we love to go see new movies, but if we're in a new city then we also want to sample the goods of wherever we happen to be. We want to try local food, buy at local shops and return home with our bags (and stomachs) stuffed with crap that we couldn't find back home.

As you locals well know, Austin is one of those "You want it, we got it" kinda towns, filled with shops and restaurants unlike any to be found in New York, L.A. or any other major city is this big, wide world of ours. So with this in mind, Fantastic Fest presents our very own Austin Shopping & Dining Guide for all those who are here to not just see movies, but to take in the sights, sounds and tastes of a one-of-a-kind city. As most people will tell you, once you've gotten to know Austin, you'll have a hard time leaving.

SHOPPING
Room Service Vintage - 107 E North Loop Blvd.
Hog Wild Vintage - 100 E North Loop Blvd.
Austin is a big vintage town, without question (we've even seen garage sales rechristened "Vintage Sales") but the two vintage shops in town that everyone bows in admiration of are Room Service Vintage and Hog Wild Vintage, across the street from each other. The things you'll find there really run the gamut - vintage clothes, furniture, toys, books, magazines, and on and on - and the only thing that beats the selection is the pricing, which is always fair and affordable. Looking for cool stuff? Look no further.

End of an Ear - 2209 South First Street
Waterloo Records - 600a North Lamar
Antone's Records - 2928 Guadalupe
As you probably know, Austin is a major music town, and there isn't a single record shop in town that we don't frequent at one time or another. But not to put the others down, it's End of an Ear, Antone's and Waterloo Records that earn our love the most. The selection in both is top-notch, vinyl is plentiful and both have excellent DVD selections, too. Knowledgeable staffs in both is a given. Antone's is filled with vinyl treasures, especially American roots music, great Texas and Louisiana regional blues, country and Cajun music.

Book People - 603 North Lamar (across the street from Waterloo)
One of the leading independent book stores in the country, Book People is Austin's haven for those who love to read but hate having Celine Dion CDs, Wiggles DVDs and lattes thrown in their face when they walk in the door. Book People sells books - lots of them, all different types - and that's all. Great selection and pricing and proud sponsors of Fantastic Fest 2008, too!

Toy Joy - 2900 Guadalupe
Word of warning: Toy Joy is not filled with the kind of toys that you never open so it doesn't ruin their value. No, it's filled with the kind of toys that you play with, toys that bounce and do silly things and make passing the time fun. Robots, puppets, bouncing balls, dolls, silly putty, water pistols - in other words, toys! Grownups not allowed without children (OK, we made that up, but it's the way it should be).

Shepler's Western Wear - 6001 Middle Fiskville Rd.
Allen's Boots - 1522 South Congress
Austin is not really like the rest of Texas (they kindly put up with us), so if you're looking for the kind of stuff that typifies the great state of Texas - cowboy hats, boots and the like - Shepler's and Allen's are the places to go. If you're in from overseas and figure that you can't leave Texas without a cowboy hat, now you know where to go.

Un common Objects - 1512 S. Congress Ave.
"Raw materials for creative living" is the slogan, and may we simply ad, "This place is as cool as hell"? Antique shops don't come any more unique.

Austin Books - 5002 North Lamar
Pretty much accepted as Austin's premiere comics shop. When Spanish filmmakers Nacho Vigalondo (TIMECRIMES) and Koldo Serra (THE BACKWOODS) got into town last year, it was the first place they wanted to go. And if Nacho likes it, you know you should, too.

DINING
Smitty's Market - 208 South Commerce, Lockhart, TX
Louie Mueller Barbecue - 206 W. 2nd St., Taylor, TX
Listen, there are a lot of great BBQ places throughout Austin and we love them all, but if you put a gun to our head (which has happened once before) our favorites are unquestionably Smitty's and Mueller's, so much so that we're planning trips to each for our out-of-town guests. We're not going to get into the specifics of what makes these two our favorites - just experience them for yourself.

El Regio6615 Berkman Dr.
They start smoking the chickens at about 7 AM, and by 11, those in the know are lined up for what I consider to be the best bird that has ever passed my lips. There are only two things on the menu: half chicken ($6) or whole chicken ($11). It comes with a stack of fresh corn tortillas, a roasted onion, rice, and the tastiest, creamy green tomatillo salsa on the planet. There are several stands now in Austin, but my favorite location is 6615 Berkman Dr.

Quality Seafood Market 5621 Airport Blvd, 512-454-5827
Until three years ago Quality Seafood was nothing more than a fine seafood shop, selling fish to restaurants and the public over their retail counter. Then the owner had the epiphany to build a bar in the center of the shop and start selling delectable fried and grilled seafood as finger food. Now it’s my personal favorite hangout in Austin. The raw oysters are terrific, as are the catfish beignets.

Parkside 301 e. 6th St
The newest fine dining joint on 6th Street, owned by Shawn Cirquel is a French Bistro inspired restaurant, always with a super-fresh rotating raw bar. Lots of oyster choices, inventive appetizers and desserts, AND it's across the street from the Ritz. Foodies should definitely check out this spot.

Olivia 2043 South Lamar Blvd.
Olivia is brand new and is just down the street to the south from the South Lamar theater. Co-owned and operated by former Alamo executive chef James Holmes, Olivia is warm and inviting, has a wonderful rotating selection of French inspired dishes. Every single dish in both of my long lingering visits has been outstanding. I particilarly recommend his baked oysters as well as the duck risotto. Again, a foodie heaven.

Uchi 801 S Lamar Blvd, 512-916-4808
Within walking distance of the Alamo South Lamar, Uchi is hands down our favorite restaurant in Austin. Executive Chef and co-owner Tyson Cole was named one of the top ten chefs in America by Food and Wine Magazine in 2005 and he was picked to battle Iron Chef Morimoto earlier this year. Uchi features an ever-changing menu of Japanese and fusion dishes; the fish is flown in daily from the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. Reservations are a must. I'm SUPER serious about my sushi, and Uchi rivals anything I've had in LA or NYC.

Whole Foods Flagship (525 N Lamar Blvd, 512-476-1206). Whole Foods started in Austin in 1980. Today, their flagship stands as perhaps the ultimate supermarket in the world. Not just a spot for groceries, Whole Foods features a dozen restaurants scattered throughout the store, and enormous specialty gourmet sections. We recommend trying out the cheese plate, hand selected by the Whole Foods Cheesemonger, or the seafood counter restaurant. Surprisingly, Whole Foods features some of the best in-town barbeque as well.

Magnolia Cafe - 1920 S. Congress Ave. and 2304 Lake Austin Blvd.
Kerby Lane Cafe - Multiple locations (click here)
Katz's Deli - 618 W. 6th Street
Thai Passion Downtown 620 Congress Avenue, 512-472-1244
La Mexicana Bakery 1924 S First St, 512-443-6369)
Let's say that it's 3am. The bars and clubs are closed, but you're still up and want to get something to eat. Well, you're in luck, because Austin has not one, not two, but three fine establishments for all-night dining, two of them with multiple locations. The menus are all diverse, but all three will satisfy those late night cravings much better than a microwave burrito from 7-11 ever will.

Jackalope - 404 E. 6th St.
Casino El Camino - 517 E. 6th St.
Like most cities, Austin is a town of many bars, so to stand out in a place like this must mean that you're something special. Jackalope and Casino El Camino stand out because they're both cool, unpretentious places to hang out, drink and smoke. The decors are bad ass, the food is damn good (there are some who say Casino has the best burgers in Austin) and the jukeboxes rock hard. Can't make it any simpler than that.

Big Top Candy Shop - 1706 S Congress Ave
Candy lovers (like our own Zack Carlson) will be in candy heaven when they step inside Austin's latest (and greatest) confectionery shop, filled with tasty treats both new and old served in a classic candy shoppe style. Big Top is also the proud sponsor of the Fantastic Fest feature CHOCOLATE and will be serving free chocolate to those lucky festival attendees who can make it in to this eagerly anticipated flick. For those who can't, all the more reason to visit Big Top!

Mangia Pizza - Several locations
Hoboken Pie - 718 Red River
Many east coasters will tell you that there's no decent pizza beyond Pennsylvania (with Chicago being the sole exception), but Austin has two top pizzerias to prove them wrong. Mangia is an Austin institution serving thick, delicious Chicago-style deep dish pizza for 20 years now with several locations throughout town. Hoboken Pie is new to Austin, but it passes the test of this New Jersey transplant with legit Jersey-style pizza, made (allegedly) using real NJ tap water. (oh, sweet NJ tap water, how I miss you!) Perfect for those 6th St. late night munchies.

Austin Java - Several locations
Spider House Cafe - 2908 Fruth Street
Coffee shops can be so routine, which is why we're pleased to recommend two Austin-centric locations, Austin Java and Spider House. Both offer more than just a cup of Joe - sandwiches, beer, live music - and each offer tranquil, non-corporate, cookie-cutter settings in which to enjoy your coffee. Spider House is also one of the coolest looking hang-out spots in town, but both are recommended if you're just looking to take it easy for a bit.

Tamale House - 5003 Airport Blvd.
They don't sell tamales for some reason, but if you want a real taco, here's where to go. 85 cent tacos that will make you better, stronger and wiser. But our personal favorite dish is the migas with cheese. Migas are a Tex Mex specialty that you don't want to miss and these are the best. If you can eat more than $6 worth of food at Tamale House you are a mighty bull.

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Beer and burgers while watching movies? Imagine that!

We hope you enjoy your stay while in Austin and please remember that no matter where you go to always buy local!

Below is Google Map to all of these fine establishments:

View Larger Map

Enter the Eagle Eye Scavenger Hunt!

2008-09-12T14:36:00.003-05:00

As it was attached in front of INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, I assume that everyone in the world has seen the heart-pounding trailer for EAGLE EYE, a race-against-time thriller starring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Mackie and Billy Bob Thornton. In EAGLE EYE, Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) are two strangers thrown together by a mysterious phone call from a woman they have never met. Threatening their lives and family, she pushes Jerry and Rachel into a series of increasingly dangerous situations - using the technology of everyday life to track and control their every move. As the situation escalates, these two ordinary people become the country's most wanted fugitives, who must work together to discover what is really happening - and more importantly, why.

Fantastic Fest has teamed with Paramount Pictures to create the EAGLE EYE SCAVENGER HUNT. Sign up for the hunt and sometime between the hours of 2 PM and 3 PM on Friday, September 19, your cell phone will ring, the first step in your own intricate and diabolical adventure.

The scavenger hunt is free. All you need to play is a text enabled cell phone and a digital camera. Teams can be from one to four persons. The hunt will be geographically limited, in and around the Long Center/Lamar area, so you do not need a vehicle of any kind to complete the hunt. In fact, once you arrive on scene for the first clue, it will be faster to complete it on foot. Anyone is welcome: you do not need to be a Fantastic Fest badge holder to compete. This scavenger hunt is suitable for participants 12 and up. We recommend that out-of-towners include at least one local resident on their team.

The winner of the scavenger hunt will receive a mini HD Panasonic HDCSD5 camera. We will have 2nd and 3rd place prices for the runners up. Everyone who enters the contest will get free tickets for all of their team members to a special sneak preview screening of EAGLE EYE introduced by D.J. Caruso at 7:00 PM on Friday, September 19, immediately following the hunt. Prizes will be awarded after the screening.

Don't just watch the movie, completely immerse yourself in the experience, enter the EAGLE EYE SCAVENGER HUNT. To sign up your team, email us at eagleeye@fantasticfest.com and include a list of your 1-4 team numbers and your team's cell phone. We will send you a text to confirm the number prior to the start of the hunt.

As the sneak preview of EAGLE EYE will be full from Fantastic Fest VIP badge holders, the scavenger hunt may very well be your only chance to get into the show!

EAGLE EYE, released through DreamWorks/Paramount Distribution, hits screens nationwide on September 26, 2008.

The Word from Toronto

2008-09-11T18:48:00.009-05:00

As Tim previously mentioned, Fantastic Fest is sharing a number of titles with Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this year. In fact, Fantastic Fest will be screening six titles from TIFF's famed Midnight Madness program (Acolytes, The Burrowers, DeadGirl, JCVD, Not Quite Hollywood, and Chocolate) as well as three other TIFF films (Sauna, The Good, The Bad, and The Weird, and Zack and Miri Make a Porno). What follows is an expanded list of reviews of these films from various sources. This is not a comprehensive list but it should provide a taste of what people are saying.

DeadGirl

Twitch review (Todd Brown)
Bloody Disgusting review
AICN reader review
Indiewire review

Sauna

Twitch review (Todd Brown)
Twitch review (Kurt Halfyard)
Quiet Earth review
Filmmaker review (Scott Macauly)

Not Quite Hollywood

Twitch review (Todd Brown)
Edgar Wright's review

Acolytes

Twitch review (Todd Brown)
Bloody Disgusting review

Chocolate

Twitch review (Todd Brown)

JCVD

Twitch review (Todd Brown)
Variety review

The Burrowers

Twitch review (Todd Brown)

The Good, The Bad, and The Weird

Twitch review (Todd Brown)
Variety review

Zack and Miri Make A Porno

Variety review

Best Buy and Fantastic Fest Pass the DVD Savings on to You!

2008-09-11T17:55:00.007-05:00

Pretty much everyone who has ever attended Fantastic Fest in years past will tell you that it was usually one of the most wonderful times of their life and they would give anything to relive it (OK, maybe not, but just work with us here). But outside of inventing time travel (which we fully encourage you to do), the only other way of bringing back those wonderful memories of Fantastic Fests 1 through 3 is to sit your ass down and watch many of the already-classic films we've played throughout the years. And now- in conjunction Best Buy, one of our many great 2008 sponsors - we can offer you that opportunity and give you something extra in return.

From now until September 26, all of the Best Buy stores in the Austin area will have a special "Endcap" (industry talk for "end of the aisle") highlighting select Fantastic Fest hits (such as HOSTEL; HATCHET; DIARY OF THE DEAD; BUG; THE HOST, among others). All you have to do is purchase one of these excellent DVDs at participating Best Buy stores and save your receipt. Bring it with you to the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar location (home of Fantastic Fest, don't you know) and with this you'll get an exciting free Fantastic Fest 2008 DVD, featuring trailers for many of this year's features and trailers for several exciting upcoming major studio and independent genre films. Only VIPs and festival guests will be getting this disc, so the only other way you can get your hot little hands on this DVD is by going to Best Buy and purchasing one of these great titles. If they already played Fantastic Fest then you know they're good and if they're at Best Buy, you know you can afford them. It's that simple.

Best Buy is also the screening sponsor for JCVD, and those who attend this show will get a pretty cool Best Buy coupon, in addition to the honor of seeing one of the best films of the festival. Best Buy has been great to Fantastic Fest, so please return the love and stop buy the Austin area stores to pick up some Fantastic Fest classics for a fantastic deal!