Crawford filmmaker David Modigliani to do the Hulu
photo by Alison Grabe
Looks like SXSW fave Crawford has found a home. B-Side Entertainment has acquired Austin filmmaker David Modigliani's doc and will premiere the film on Hulu.com, the ad-supported, frankly indispensable streaming site. (Hulu means never having to say, "Shit! I forgot to program the DVR!" We kid, of course. As if we could afford DVR.)
Crawford, which marks the first feature film to premiere on Hulu.com, hits the internets on October 7, to be followed by "streaming, downloads and DVD on demand via B-Side's proprietary website, Amazon VOD and CreateSpace, as well as iTunes and ultimately broader platforms."
"Karaoke!" hollered the first, hoping for more than this.
Pause.
"You ready for some Benatar?" deadpanned the second, who was City of Ember star and legendary comic hardpan Bill Murray. (You know: late of SNL, Stripes, and Lost in Translation. That one.)
"Yes..." re-deadpanned the Alamo's Tim League, for once star-stuck, at the tail end of Fantastic Fest, at its most ridiculously fantastic moment.
League had lost his voice earlier in the week.
His intro to the Jean-Claude Van Damme meta-flick JCVD was spat out in a growly, hoarse-burst of hyperbolic enthusiasm that seemed altogether utterly deranged until, amazingly, the film and JCVD's soft-hero, hard-target performance made cinematic jokes of everyone who never thought to give a second glance to a Belgian kickboxer who was -- honestly, surprisingly -- sick of being the butt, the joke, the muscles, the mass.
"I saw this film in Cannes," said League, "and when I got back to the states I immediately applied to the Texas DMV to have the plates on my van changed to 'VANDAMN.'
Laughter.
"But what I didn't realize was that V-A-N-D-A-M-N is not really kosher in the State of Texas, but, funny thing is, it fucking appeased the gods, because a week later I get my plate in the mail and then the studio says, 'Yeah, we want to give you this film."
Screaming.
"This is really one of the biggest buzz films of the festival, and, hey, I've got to admit I have little problem sometimes: I get maybe a little too excited. But not this time. In fact, I don't think I've been more surprised by a performance by an actor in my entire life.
The audience, laughing, not sure what to make to League's statement....
League charges back: "Hey, fuck you people for laughing, I'm serious about this! We'll see who's laughing in two hours, alright?"
Alright.
And he's right. JCVD is a miracle, a hail-Mary pass, a trifecta, and gut-wrenching, soul-stirring madhouse all in one. C'est ne pas merde; c'est magnifique!
Click here for Richard Whittaker's short piece in this week's Screens section on Bob Ray and Werner Campbell's Roller Derby documentary Hell on Wheels getting a nifty two-disc DVD release from IndiePix. It hits the shelves Tuesday, Sept. 30 with a DVD release party to be held Thursday, Oct. 2 at the South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse. Producer Campbell and director Ray will be in attendance and I'm sure more than happy to answer any questions your inquiring mind may have for these two young filmmakers and Roller Derby lovers.
All week long, I've been digging this fun pictograph reference guide to the festival's movies. The chart takes up a full page in the program book, and T-shirts have also been emblazoned with the hand-drawn symbols. 130 little squares depict handy tips to the movies' contents – everything you might imagine and more that you hope you can't. Some of the pictures are straightforward: a doll with pins in it signifies "voodoo," a drawing of a 1¢ coin indicates "no budget" while a 2¢ coin ups the stakes to "low budget," a skull sucking on a ciggie means you should be ready for some necrophilia. Other pictures are more hilariously conceptual. Say you're looking for a movie with animal attacks, puppet sex, castration, and scenery chewing, Fantastic Fest has the pictograph to demonstrate the concept and also the movies to fit the tastes. The idea was borrowed from Fantastic Fest's pals at New Zealand's Incredibly Strange Film Festival, where the reference guide has been a longtime staple.
After last week's tease, the Austin Film Festival has announced its official lineup for the 2008 fest, which runs October 16-23. Joining previously announced Marquee Screenings of Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut Synecdoche, New York, and Kelly Reichardt's followup to Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy, are Paul Schrader's Adam Resurrected (starring Jeff Goldblum), videogame adaptation/fanboy-bait Max Payne (from local screenwriter Beau Thorne), and James Gray's Two Lovers, which netted a lot of attention at Cannes in May and closes out AFF on Oct. 23.
Also on our shortlist of must-sees: Bart Got a Room, which sounds like it might fit the inevitable "this year's Juno" slot; Largo, a doc about the famous L.A. nightclub that regularly hosts comics like Zach Galifianakis and musicians like Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann, and Jon Brion (who scored Eternal Sunshine and I Heart Huckabees); and – get this – a retrospective of Top Gun hosted by Tom Skerritt. Nice!
Marc Savlov already rhapsodized about Danny Boylehere and how he'll be showing his much-buzzed-about (we're talking Oscar) Slumdog Millionaire at the Austin Film Festival. Now comes down the pike the news that AFF – prescient folks they – are going to hand him a trophy now. He'll be receiving the 2008 Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award, which is earmarked for "individuals who have demonstrated an unyielding commitment to outstanding scripts and innovative filmmaking."
Slumdog Millionaire premieres at the Paramount on Friday, Oct. 17, at 7:30pm, followed by a screening of Boyle's breakout first feature, Shallow Grave, with Boyle in attendance.
He'll accept the award on Saturday, Oct. 18, at a luncheon, followed by a conference panel titled "A Conversation With Danny Boyle."
The Austin Film Festival runs Oct. 16-23. Buy your badges – and seriously, buy them now – at austinfilmfestival.com. For those having to tighten the belt a bit, AFF is offering a pretty stellar deal with the $95 Lone Star Badge, which gives you admission to all festival films and to one day of the screenwriting conference (and it's Saturday, the big guns day that you don't want to miss). Read more about the Lone Star Badge here.
Fantastic Feature First Place Winner How to Get Rid of the Others
Fantastic Fest may be winding down, but there's still a lot of life (or rather death, given its gruesome bent) left in it yet. The fest closes Thursday night with City of Ember, but before then you can still catch a few of the newly announced jury and audience award winners. Check out the FF website for remaining showtimes and after the jump for the award winners.
It's Sunday afternoon and we feel like we got punched by a donkey. On a boat. Teeming with beered-up Aussies and Spaniards and Chiléans and Brits and, yes, more than a few Yanks and locals. We blame Fantastic Fest sponsor Foster's "It's Australian for Goddam My Head Hurts" Lager®. Which just serves to prove our theory: Fantastic Fest is has come into its own a mere four years since Harry Knowles, Tim McCanlies, Paul Alvarado Dykstra, and Alamo Drafthouse founder/overlord Tim League dared to dream it. And it's not even half over as we type this. Good on ya, mate.
Our Highlights Thus Far: There's good news for everyone who ever wished the Alamo would open up a permanent outdoor drive-in-esque location (other than the Rolling Roadshow, natch). During Friday's outdoor screening of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, League announced that the official fire lane which currently separates the Alamo South Lamar's front and rear parking areas will become, post-fest, a permanent outdoor venue, complete with -- presumably -- honest-to-goodness green-grass sod laid over the existing, butt-unfriendly blacktop. League has already set the plan in motion and met with representatives from the Austin Fire Department and City of Austin zoning officials, which means by this time next year you won't have to worry about getting gravel in your trousers because you forgot to bring a folding chair, or what that weird red stain on the pavement to your right is. Sweet.
Is it just us or does Austin now have more film festivals per capita than Smurfville had little blue not-so-meanies? Here we are with aGLIFF barely behind us, Fantastic Fest is currently, gloriously redefining the limits of our imaginations (and livers), and as of yesterday the Austin Film Festival, which this year runs Oct. 16-23, has just announced their initial lineup of films, filmmakers, and a handful of the many events that continue to make it one of best fests in the country.
So who's coming and what will they be screening?
Two words: Danny Boyle. Yep, Manchester's finest (not counting Morrissey and the late Tony Wilson, of course) will be premiering Slumdog Millionaire, his much-buzzed filmriff on race, class, and cash in modern Mumbai. The Fox Searchlight/Warner Brothers Pictures release already struck audience gold at the recent Toronto International Film Festival, and with Boyle's impeccable cinematic CV (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Shallow Grave), we expect to have our hearts and minds blown yet again. Notably for the Austin/Alamo Drafthouse geek contingent, the film's editing was handled by Chris Dickens, who also cut Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and cult Britcom Spaced.
Leave it to the inimitable Kevin Smith to slip the word, if not an actual skin flick, into the grand lady of Austin theatrical venues: the Paramount Theatre. A screening of his new film Zack and Miri Make a Porno was the opening film at the fourth annual Fantastic Fest. Smith's simultaneously sweet and unsavory new comedy stars box-office king Seth Rogen and delightful Elizabeth Banks (who is soon to appear as Laura Bush in Oliver Stone's W.
Fuel efficiency? Bah! I scoff at your fuel efficiency!
photo by Chris Hamberlin
"Welcome to the official opening night of the Alamo South Lamar Drive-In," said Tim League, addressing an enthusiastic 100-plus crowd already primed on barbie-fied shrimp and liter upon liter of Fosters Lager (it's Australian for "Budweiser"). "I know that where you're sitting looks a lot like a fire lane, but trust me, this is all totally above board. And I also realize Hurricane Ike is threatenting to show up and blow our beautiful Rolling Roadshow screen over, but please, Ike, just give us two hours to watch one of the greatest action movies of all time."
And with that, the Alamo kicked off the first of several free-to-the-public events surrounding the now-monumentally awesome Fantastic Fest. Last Friday's Mad Max screening was just the first of a handful of films from down under being screened at Fantastic Fest 2008 but, along with its sequel The Road Warrior, which screens this coming Friday, it's one of the few that demands to be seen within the context of a drive-in-style outdoor venue.
It worked, the crowd was psyched (especially Alamo co-founder Karrie League, who had never borne witness to the fuel-injected kickassery that is Mel Gibson's finest hour-and-a-half), and not even Ike's ominous westward rumblings could put a dent in the proceedings. Even cooler is the fact that, as League revealed to us post-Max, the former fire lane really and truly has been approved by the Austin Fire Department for use as a permanent, additional outdoor screening area. How cool is that? Cooler than a '73 Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe aka Max Rockatansky's V-8 Interceptor. Scorchingly so.
The Residents will be watching from home. You should, too.
Holy free movies online, Batman! The Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest have announced that five feature films and six shorts will be streamed online via the BSide community, in their entirety, from Sept. 14-20.
This is big news. Not only did badges for this years Fantastic Fest (Sept. 18-21) completely sell out ages ago, but we've seen five of the films they'll be streaming, and they rock. Hard. Like "Why are you stalking me, Mr. Famous French Gynecologist-in-a-motel room-from-hell?"-type rocking. Seriously, this is some mindwarping stuff they're coughing up for you here.
As per the official press release, you'll need to sign up as a member of the BSide to view the carnage, and, of course, you don't get free popcorn or the chance to sit near Harry Knowles, but so what? This is free, baby!
Carnivalesque Films releases Orphans on DVD on Sept. 30.
Without a doubt, it's a sucky time for a true indie film to get any kind of traditional distribution deal. There are a lot of people currently trying to rethink how to get those indies out into the world (and leading the vanguard is former South by Southwest director Matt Dentler). Also fighting the good fight? Filmmaking partners and SXSW regulars Ashley Sabin and David Redmon.
Sabin and Redmon not too long ago founded Carnivalesque Films in order to continue producing and distributing their own films, but also to pick up and distribute other indie gems – what Sabin described in a recent e-mail as "great films that [are] usually RIP after the festival circuit."
Carnivalesque first released Redmon's Mardi Gras: Made in China on July 29 in stores and at online rental sites, and now the company is distributing Orphans, a family drama which won the special jury award at SXSW 07 and is directed by Ry Russo-Young (she played Hannah's roommate in Hannah Takes the Stairs – and, honestly, who needs six degrees when you've got South By smack in the center?).
Orphans will be released Sept. 30. In October, Carnivalesque will release Austinite Sam Douglas and Paul Lovelace's documentary The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose.
The Austin Film Festival hit another one out of the park -- they just announced this year's Outstanding Television Award Honoree, and it's Greg Daniels, a highly respected industry vet whose credits include SNL, Seinfeld, King of the Hill, and, most recently, The Office. Might we suggest Michael Scott emcée? And possibly do a PowerPoint demonstration, too?
Daniels will join previously announced Distinguished Screenwriter Awardee Sam Shepard at this year's fest, which runs Oct. 16-23. For more info, visit www.austinfilmfestival.com.
