UNDEAD TILL DAWN: The Fantastic Fest Vampire Party

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

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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.