Exclusive: Drafthouse Films has acquired North American rights to the documentary Chop & Steele, about the creators of the Found Footage Festival, announcing plans to release the film in April at Alamo Drafthouse theaters as part of a double bill with another newly-acquired doc, A Life on the Farm.
Chop & Steele premiered at Tribeca in 2022 and went on to a robust North American festival run that encompassed Calgary, Philadelphia, Seattle, Denver, the Heartland International Film Festival in Indianapolis, the Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham, Ala., and the San Francisco Independent Film Festival.
In Chop & Steele, Found Footage Festival principals Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher, “lifelong friends who tour the country with their popular VHS oddities festival, are slapped with a federal lawsuit after pranking a local news station as ‘strong men’ Chop and Steele. Many notables are featured in the doc, including David Cross, Bobcat Goldthwait, Reggie Watts, and Howie Mandel.
Chop & Steele premiered at Tribeca in 2022 and went on to a robust North American festival run that encompassed Calgary, Philadelphia, Seattle, Denver, the Heartland International Film Festival in Indianapolis, the Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham, Ala., and the San Francisco Independent Film Festival.
In Chop & Steele, Found Footage Festival principals Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher, “lifelong friends who tour the country with their popular VHS oddities festival, are slapped with a federal lawsuit after pranking a local news station as ‘strong men’ Chop and Steele. Many notables are featured in the doc, including David Cross, Bobcat Goldthwait, Reggie Watts, and Howie Mandel.
- 3/11/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Deadline can exclusively reveal that Bill Hader is narrating the feature documentary Beaver Trilogy Part IV, a meta-movie centered on cult director Trent Harris that’s set to come full circle when it premieres Friday night at the Sundance Film Festival.
Director Brad Besser’s new docu explores Utah filmmaker Harris’ years-long obsession with the story of Groovin’ Gary, an enigmatic performer from Beaver, Utah. The two met by chance in a parking lot in 1979 and Harris started filming, resulting in the cult documentary The Beaver Kid, a study in hopes and dreams highlighted by Gary’s performance in drag singing Olivia Newton-John’s “Please Don’t Keep Me Waiting.” A distraught Gary shot himself soon after the first film, but survived.
The film went on to earn cult status on the underground circuit, where fans traded VHS tapes of Harris’ once-in-a-lifetime film and the subsequent shorts he made re-creating it,...
Director Brad Besser’s new docu explores Utah filmmaker Harris’ years-long obsession with the story of Groovin’ Gary, an enigmatic performer from Beaver, Utah. The two met by chance in a parking lot in 1979 and Harris started filming, resulting in the cult documentary The Beaver Kid, a study in hopes and dreams highlighted by Gary’s performance in drag singing Olivia Newton-John’s “Please Don’t Keep Me Waiting.” A distraught Gary shot himself soon after the first film, but survived.
The film went on to earn cult status on the underground circuit, where fans traded VHS tapes of Harris’ once-in-a-lifetime film and the subsequent shorts he made re-creating it,...
- 1/20/2015
- by Jen Yamato
- Deadline
The holidays are winding down and that means we at Ioncinema.com are gearing up for our annual pilgrimage to Park City where an A-list of documentaries is now set to premiere. Earlier this month Tabitha Jackson and the Sundance doc programming team let the cats out of the bag, unsurprisingly announcing much anticipated Us Doc Competition titles such as the Ross Brothers’ Western, Louie Psihoyos’ Racing Extinction, Marc Silver’s 3 1/2 Minutes and Lyric Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe’s (T)Error, along with some surprises like Bryan Carberry and Clay Tweel’s bizarro Kickstarted doc Finders Keepers (see trailer below). Having been produced by the fine folks behind The King of Kong and Undefeated, the film bears all the markings of its well regarded pedigree, yet appears to be of even odder ilk, following the story that unfolded when a severed human foot was discovered in a grill bought at a North Carolina auction.
- 12/30/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
A haunted house film in which the only ghosts exist within the protagonists' minds, The Sideways Light utilizes audio and visual elements of the horror genre but steers clear of any real frights. Expressing an exuberant amount of directorial patience in the methodical pacing of the film, writer-director Jennifer Harlow approaches this female-centric story as a meticulous exercise in mood and tone. With the help of cinematographer (Jay Keitel), composer (Daniel Hart) and editor (Don Swaynos), Harlow places the audience in the same disorientingly claustrophobic mindset as the protagonists. In practically every frame of this film, sources of light are blown out to the point of distortion, stretching horizontally across the screen and blurring the on screen images, making it unclear what (if anything) might be lurking in the shadows.
- 10/26/2014
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Here's the latest Austin and Texas film news.
Slackerwood isn't at San Diego Comic-Con this year but plenty of Austin people are, including local filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. Indiewire has a roundup of the Sin City: A Dame to Kill For panel with Rodriguez, co-director Frank Miller, and several cast members. The article also includes a new (short) red-band trailer for the Sin City sequel, which hits theaters August 22.We don't normally include images with Slackery News Tidbits, but the newly revealed 2014 Texas Book Festival poster (pictured right) featuring the Texas Theatre in Seguin is so gorgeous, I couldn't resist. (Someone tell me how to get one of these, please.) In addition, the festival announced eight authors that will attend -- quite an eclectic bunch, from Martin Amis to Ziggy Marley, and from Valerie Plame Wilson to chef Lidia Bastianich. Texas Book Festival runs from Oct. 25-26 ... as usual, conflicting with Austin Film Festival,...
Slackerwood isn't at San Diego Comic-Con this year but plenty of Austin people are, including local filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. Indiewire has a roundup of the Sin City: A Dame to Kill For panel with Rodriguez, co-director Frank Miller, and several cast members. The article also includes a new (short) red-band trailer for the Sin City sequel, which hits theaters August 22.We don't normally include images with Slackery News Tidbits, but the newly revealed 2014 Texas Book Festival poster (pictured right) featuring the Texas Theatre in Seguin is so gorgeous, I couldn't resist. (Someone tell me how to get one of these, please.) In addition, the festival announced eight authors that will attend -- quite an eclectic bunch, from Martin Amis to Ziggy Marley, and from Valerie Plame Wilson to chef Lidia Bastianich. Texas Book Festival runs from Oct. 25-26 ... as usual, conflicting with Austin Film Festival,...
- 7/28/2014
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
Austin, Texas filmmaker Don Swaynos’s howlingly funny surrealist comedy Pictures of Superheroes is now available to rent and buy on VOD. You can stream the film on Amazon, as well as get the film via outlets such as iTunes, Google Play and other outlets.
The film stars a fantastically deadpan Kerri Lendo as Marie, a professional cleaning woman who gets dumped by her boyfriend, Phil (Byron Brown) and hired by a manic entrepeneur, Eric (Shannon McCormick), on the same day. While cleaning Eric’s suburban home, Marie discover that the businessman has a hidden, child-like roommate, Joe (John Merriman), who may or may not have romantic notions towards her.
Have You Seen This Movie? Available On: Amazon
Lendo, a stand-up comedian and filmmaker in her own right, makes her feature film acting debut here and carries the film perfectly as a stranger — riddled with her own pent-up neuroses — navigating...
The film stars a fantastically deadpan Kerri Lendo as Marie, a professional cleaning woman who gets dumped by her boyfriend, Phil (Byron Brown) and hired by a manic entrepeneur, Eric (Shannon McCormick), on the same day. While cleaning Eric’s suburban home, Marie discover that the businessman has a hidden, child-like roommate, Joe (John Merriman), who may or may not have romantic notions towards her.
Have You Seen This Movie? Available On: Amazon
Lendo, a stand-up comedian and filmmaker in her own right, makes her feature film acting debut here and carries the film perfectly as a stranger — riddled with her own pent-up neuroses — navigating...
- 10/17/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Here's the latest Austin film news.
FilmBuff has announced it will release Austin filmmaker Don Swaynos's flick Pictures of Superheroes (Debbie's review and Jette's interview), which screened at last year's Austin Film Festival, on Oct. 15 via iTunes, Amazon, Vudu and other online streaming outlets. To celebrate, the cast and crew are hosting a special screening at Violet Crown on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 8 pm, with a post-film Q&A. The quirky comedy follows Marie, who, after being dumped and fired on the same day, takes a housekeeping job with an overworked businessman and the messy roommate he's forgotten about.Harry Ransom Center is planning a 2014 exhibition around the movie Gone With the Wind, but is asking for help to raise the necessary $50,000. The Hrc houses the archives of the film's producer, David O. Selznick -- and several gowns from the film.Austin-based documentarian Heather Courtney's Emmy-nominated film Where Soldiers Come From...
FilmBuff has announced it will release Austin filmmaker Don Swaynos's flick Pictures of Superheroes (Debbie's review and Jette's interview), which screened at last year's Austin Film Festival, on Oct. 15 via iTunes, Amazon, Vudu and other online streaming outlets. To celebrate, the cast and crew are hosting a special screening at Violet Crown on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 8 pm, with a post-film Q&A. The quirky comedy follows Marie, who, after being dumped and fired on the same day, takes a housekeeping job with an overworked businessman and the messy roommate he's forgotten about.Harry Ransom Center is planning a 2014 exhibition around the movie Gone With the Wind, but is asking for help to raise the necessary $50,000. The Hrc houses the archives of the film's producer, David O. Selznick -- and several gowns from the film.Austin-based documentarian Heather Courtney's Emmy-nominated film Where Soldiers Come From...
- 10/7/2013
- by Jordan Gass-Poore'
- Slackerwood
The 2nd annual South Texas Underground Film Festival, running Oct. 3-6 in Corpus Christi, Texas, is a massive celebration of international alternative cinema, including plenty from Texas filmmakers, of course.
The fest opened on the 3rd with the drop-dead hilarious comedy Pictures of Superheroes by Austin filmmaker Don Swaynos.
But, there’s still plenty more to see throughout the jam-packed weekend wherein films screen from morning until, well, early into the next morning.
The film that’s absolutely not to be missed is the screening on the 6th at 10:30 a.m. of Savage Witches, the amazing celebration of the art of filmmaking by British directors Daniel Fawcett & Clara Pais. A colorful spectacle of multiple filmmaking styles, Savage Witches is a real joy to experience.
Also to be on the lookout for are on the 5th at 11:00 a.m. is the new rockin’ documentary Mondo Fuzz: Twilight of the...
The fest opened on the 3rd with the drop-dead hilarious comedy Pictures of Superheroes by Austin filmmaker Don Swaynos.
But, there’s still plenty more to see throughout the jam-packed weekend wherein films screen from morning until, well, early into the next morning.
The film that’s absolutely not to be missed is the screening on the 6th at 10:30 a.m. of Savage Witches, the amazing celebration of the art of filmmaking by British directors Daniel Fawcett & Clara Pais. A colorful spectacle of multiple filmmaking styles, Savage Witches is a real joy to experience.
Also to be on the lookout for are on the 5th at 11:00 a.m. is the new rockin’ documentary Mondo Fuzz: Twilight of the...
- 10/4/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 7th annual Sydney Underground Film Festival, which runs this year on September 5-8 at the Factory Theatre, opens with a real bang when they will screen cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s latest cinematic odyssey, The Dance of Reality. This is Jodorowsky’s first film in over twenty years and is an imaginative and playful quasi-autobiography.
The rest of the four-day celebration is packed with more film oddities and excursions into surreal and transgressive territory. One particular highlight that is not to be missed is Don Swaynos’ incredibly crowd-pleasing comedy Pictures of Superheroes, about a slacker cleaning woman’s descent into an absurd world she can’t escape. Read the Underground Film Journal’s review of Pictures of Superheroes here.
Other twisted fiction films screening include Drew Tobias’s sick and twisted See You Next Tuesday, Cody Calahan’s apocalyptic Antisocial and Lloyd Kaufman’s highly-anticipated sequel Return to Nuke ‘Em High: Vol.
The rest of the four-day celebration is packed with more film oddities and excursions into surreal and transgressive territory. One particular highlight that is not to be missed is Don Swaynos’ incredibly crowd-pleasing comedy Pictures of Superheroes, about a slacker cleaning woman’s descent into an absurd world she can’t escape. Read the Underground Film Journal’s review of Pictures of Superheroes here.
Other twisted fiction films screening include Drew Tobias’s sick and twisted See You Next Tuesday, Cody Calahan’s apocalyptic Antisocial and Lloyd Kaufman’s highly-anticipated sequel Return to Nuke ‘Em High: Vol.
- 8/15/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The feature-film selections for the 2013 SXSW Film Festival were announced last week and boy, are there a lot of movies with Austin connections on the program -- so many that we had to split this article in two! We'll start with the narrative feature films, and the second half will highlight the documentaries and "festival favorites." These lists don't include the short films or the midnight movies, which will be announced later today.
Headliners:
When Angels Sing -- Austin director Tim McCanlies' new film is based on a novel by Turk Pipkin (who also appears in the movie), wherein the main character has a troubled relationship with Christmas. Sometimes-Austinite Connie Britton stars as the wife, and the cast also includes Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Heather Kafka (who appears in four SXSW feature films this year), and the Red Headed Stranger himself! Elizabeth Avellan of Troublemaker Studios is one of the producers on this film,...
Headliners:
When Angels Sing -- Austin director Tim McCanlies' new film is based on a novel by Turk Pipkin (who also appears in the movie), wherein the main character has a troubled relationship with Christmas. Sometimes-Austinite Connie Britton stars as the wife, and the cast also includes Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Heather Kafka (who appears in four SXSW feature films this year), and the Red Headed Stranger himself! Elizabeth Avellan of Troublemaker Studios is one of the producers on this film,...
- 2/6/2013
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
Here are some of the twitter feeds for those participating in the Sundance Film Festival’s 2013 Next section including (image featured above) Alexandre Moors’ Blue Caprice. If you know of any other twitter feeds (producers, editors, Dps, scribes) we can add for each individual film – please let us know.
Next
Blue Caprice – @BlueCapriceFilm
Actors Isaiah Washington – @IWashington, Tequan Richmond – @TdashRICH, Cassandra Freeman – @cassiefree
Computer Chess – @computer_chess
I Used to Be Darker – @IUsedToBeDarker
It Felt Like Love – @ItFeltLikeLove
Director and screenwriter Eliza Hittman – @ElizaHittman
Milkshake – @MilkshakeFilm
Newlyweeds – @NewlyweedsMovie
Actors Trae Harris – @GypsyBruja, Colman Domingo – @colmandomingo, Isiah Whitlock Jr. – @IsiahSheeitlock
Pit Stop
Director and screenwriter Yen Tan – @PitStopTheMovie
Screenwriter David Lowery – @davidlowery
Actor Corby Sullivan – @corbysullivan
Actor John Merriman: twitter.com/jmerriman
Richard C. Jones: https://twitter.com/richardo
Producer Kelly Williams: twitter.com/kellywilliams
Producer James M. Johnston: twitter.com/jmjfilm
Producer Eric Steele: twitter.
Next
Blue Caprice – @BlueCapriceFilm
Actors Isaiah Washington – @IWashington, Tequan Richmond – @TdashRICH, Cassandra Freeman – @cassiefree
Computer Chess – @computer_chess
I Used to Be Darker – @IUsedToBeDarker
It Felt Like Love – @ItFeltLikeLove
Director and screenwriter Eliza Hittman – @ElizaHittman
Milkshake – @MilkshakeFilm
Newlyweeds – @NewlyweedsMovie
Actors Trae Harris – @GypsyBruja, Colman Domingo – @colmandomingo, Isiah Whitlock Jr. – @IsiahSheeitlock
Pit Stop
Director and screenwriter Yen Tan – @PitStopTheMovie
Screenwriter David Lowery – @davidlowery
Actor Corby Sullivan – @corbysullivan
Actor John Merriman: twitter.com/jmerriman
Richard C. Jones: https://twitter.com/richardo
Producer Kelly Williams: twitter.com/kellywilliams
Producer James M. Johnston: twitter.com/jmjfilm
Producer Eric Steele: twitter.
- 1/17/2013
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
In the classic underground movie book Visionary Film, historian P. Adams Sitney coined the term “trance film” to describe the primary type of post-wwii avant-garde cinema that was in vogue at the time. In Sitney’s view, short movies such as Maya Deren‘s Meshes of the Afternoon, Kenneth Anger‘s Fireworks and Stan Brakhage‘s Flesh of Morning all feature somnambulist protagonists wandering through surrealist nightmare worlds of their own psyche.
Movies featuring sleepwalking main characters are, of course, the antithesis of popular mainstream entertainment, which at all times attempts to thrill the masses with tales of heroes of extraordinary abilities doing amazing things.
Flash forward about 70 years and Don Swaynos‘ debut feature film, the surrealist comedy Pictures of Superheroes, doesn’t quite fit Sitney’s “trance” mold, but it’s main character, professional cleaning woman Marie (Kerri Lendo), does appear to be sleepwalking through her life. The film...
Movies featuring sleepwalking main characters are, of course, the antithesis of popular mainstream entertainment, which at all times attempts to thrill the masses with tales of heroes of extraordinary abilities doing amazing things.
Flash forward about 70 years and Don Swaynos‘ debut feature film, the surrealist comedy Pictures of Superheroes, doesn’t quite fit Sitney’s “trance” mold, but it’s main character, professional cleaning woman Marie (Kerri Lendo), does appear to be sleepwalking through her life. The film...
- 12/3/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Hope everyone in the U.S. had a nice holiday weekend! I’m thankful I actually got this week’s edition done, even though I guess most folks were busy as I only have a few links:
This week’s Must Read is an oldie, but a goodie. And by “oldie” I don’t mean two weeks ago in Internet time! This is an article from 1948 by filmmaker Lewis Jacobs that is considered the first substantial history of American avant-garde filmmaking called “Experimental Cinema in America.” It was published in the Hollywood Quarterly and is broken down into a couple chapters, exploring the typically little written about period of 1921-41, then gets into the post-war boom of Deren, Anger, etc., as well as a brief bit on Amos Vogel’s groundbreaking Cinema 16. Plus, lots of great pictures!Here’s some Dirty Pictures for you to look at. Plus, Cockfighter and...
This week’s Must Read is an oldie, but a goodie. And by “oldie” I don’t mean two weeks ago in Internet time! This is an article from 1948 by filmmaker Lewis Jacobs that is considered the first substantial history of American avant-garde filmmaking called “Experimental Cinema in America.” It was published in the Hollywood Quarterly and is broken down into a couple chapters, exploring the typically little written about period of 1921-41, then gets into the post-war boom of Deren, Anger, etc., as well as a brief bit on Amos Vogel’s groundbreaking Cinema 16. Plus, lots of great pictures!Here’s some Dirty Pictures for you to look at. Plus, Cockfighter and...
- 11/25/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
My apologies to everyone who’s missed these links posts that I’ve been slacking off on recently, which is the result of a combination of things — being out of town, being busy and being brain-fried again. Mostly the last option, though, in all honesty.
If you love classic ’70s movie posters, then you absolutely have to read Temple of Schlock’s interview with Mort Künstler who painted posters for The Poseidon Adventure, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and more. Plus, Joshua and the Blob?The Austin Statesman interviewed filmmaker Don Swaynos about his directorial debut, Pictures of Superheroes. Most interestingly, why did Don, an awesome professional film editor, direct a feature film? Well, out of a fear of going blind! That’s motivation for you! P.S. Pictures of Superheroes is an amazing comedy — To be reviewed on Bad Lit soon!The One+One Filmmakers Journal takes...
If you love classic ’70s movie posters, then you absolutely have to read Temple of Schlock’s interview with Mort Künstler who painted posters for The Poseidon Adventure, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and more. Plus, Joshua and the Blob?The Austin Statesman interviewed filmmaker Don Swaynos about his directorial debut, Pictures of Superheroes. Most interestingly, why did Don, an awesome professional film editor, direct a feature film? Well, out of a fear of going blind! That’s motivation for you! P.S. Pictures of Superheroes is an amazing comedy — To be reviewed on Bad Lit soon!The One+One Filmmakers Journal takes...
- 10/28/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
I admit I couldn't help but be excited about a movie that was primarily shot in my neighborhood, although you couldn't tell from watching Pictures of Superheroes. Much of the film takes place in a house where filmmaker Don Swaynos was living at the time, which is several blocks away from my own home. You wouldn't know it without his telling you, though.
I saw Pictures of Superheroes on Saturday at its world premiere, and afterward, emailed Swaynos a few questions about the movie. The answers are below. Don't worry, they're not spoilery. I liked the movie very much and encourage you all to see it at Austin Film Festival tonight at 7 pm at the Texas State Theater in the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum. Swaynos and probably some other cast/crew will be there and you too can ask him questions. Check out Debbie's review for more details.
Slackerwood:...
I saw Pictures of Superheroes on Saturday at its world premiere, and afterward, emailed Swaynos a few questions about the movie. The answers are below. Don't worry, they're not spoilery. I liked the movie very much and encourage you all to see it at Austin Film Festival tonight at 7 pm at the Texas State Theater in the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum. Swaynos and probably some other cast/crew will be there and you too can ask him questions. Check out Debbie's review for more details.
Slackerwood:...
- 10/25/2012
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
Like an absurd psychological study of the multiple personalities of modern life in Austin, writer-director Don Swaynos’ Pictures of Superheroes cleverly juxtaposes a slackerish man-child with a self-absorbed entrepreneur. Joe (John Merriman) and Eric (Shannon McCormick) reside in the same house together but have grown so far apart that Eric no longer recognizes Joe’s existence. Literally, Eric is so busy that forgets that he has a roommate; all the while, Joe stays around the house all day, haunting Eric by perpetually messing up the house. On one fateful day, Eric discovers Marie (Kerri Lendo) hopelessly wandering down the street while donning the maid’s uniform in which she lives, sleeps and dreams. Eric hires Marie as his personal maid, thus dragging her into the absurd world in which he exists.
- 10/25/2012
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Much like Austin music, the local comedy scene has seen its ups and downs through the last couple of decades. Lately Austin comedians have received more recognition not just on stage but onscreen. Sometimes the writing and delivery of stand-up doesn't translate well to the silver screen. However, this year Austin Film Festival features Pictures of Superheroes, a local movie that not only showcases great comedic talent but congeals their multiple personalities in a humorous and insightful tale written and directed by Don Swaynos.
Pictures of Superheroes drops viewers into the humdrum life of maid-for-hire Marie played by Kerri Lendo (Sleep Study) as she deals with her insensitive boyfriend Phil (Byron Brown) and even sleazier boss Gil (Chris Doubek) who runs the French Maid "Cleaning" Service, which fronts as a prostitution store. After being fired from her job and breaking up with Phil, Marie is hired off the street by...
Pictures of Superheroes drops viewers into the humdrum life of maid-for-hire Marie played by Kerri Lendo (Sleep Study) as she deals with her insensitive boyfriend Phil (Byron Brown) and even sleazier boss Gil (Chris Doubek) who runs the French Maid "Cleaning" Service, which fronts as a prostitution store. After being fired from her job and breaking up with Phil, Marie is hired off the street by...
- 10/23/2012
- by Debbie Cerda
- Slackerwood
Like an absurd psychological study of the multiple personalities of modern life in Austin, writer/director Don Swaynos’, Pictures of Superheroes cleverly juxtaposes a slackerish man-child with a self-absorbed entrepreneur. Joe (John Merriman) and Eric (Shannon McCormick) reside in the same house together but have grown so far apart that Eric no longer recognizes Joe’s existence. Literally, Eric is so busy that forgets that he has a roommate; all the while, Joe stays around the house all day, haunting Eric by perpetually messing up the house. On one fateful day, Eric discovers Marie (Kerri Lendo) hopelessly wandering down the street while donning the maid’s uniform in which she lives, sleeps and dreams. Eric hires Marie as his personal maid, thus dragging her into the absurd world in which he exists. Swaynos’ script is saturated with dry and subtle humor built upon the surreal situation of someone no longer realizing that they have a roommate. Pictures...
- 10/22/2012
- by Don Simpson
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Like an absurd psychological study of the multiple personalities of modern life in Austin, writer-director Don Swaynos', Pictures of Superheroes cleverly juxtaposes a slackerish man-child with a self-absorbed entrepreneur. Joe (John Merriman) and Eric (Shannon McCormick) reside in the same house together but have grown so far apart, that Eric no longer recognizes Joe's existence -- literally, Eric is so busy that forgets that he has a roommate. While Eric never stops working, Joe never works. Joe has a job as a bus boy at a restaurant, but he has not worked there for several weeks. So Joe presumably stays around the house all day, haunting Eric by perpetually messing up the house. This is precisely where Marie (Kerri Lendo) comes in.
- 10/20/2012
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
The 11th annual Lausanne Underground Film Festival is packed to the gills with outrageous cinema from all over the world, featuring several filmmaker retrospectives and movies screening in competition at several locations on Oct. 17-21.
The big guest of honor this year is the legendary John Waters, who will be attending the fest with several of his own classics, such as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Desperate Living, as well as showing some of his favorite B-movie inspirations, such as William Girdler’s blaxploitation demonic possession flick Abby, Armando Bo’s Argentinian sexploitation Fuego, Robinson Devor’s controversial bestiality doc Zoo and more. Plus, Waters will perform his acclaimed “This Filthy World” one-man show.
Other Luff special guests include Christoph Schlingensief, the confrontational German filmmaker of 100 Years of Adolf Hitler, The German Chainsaw Massacre, The 120 Days of Bottrop and more; Richard Stanley, the South African genre filmmaker of the cult...
The big guest of honor this year is the legendary John Waters, who will be attending the fest with several of his own classics, such as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Desperate Living, as well as showing some of his favorite B-movie inspirations, such as William Girdler’s blaxploitation demonic possession flick Abby, Armando Bo’s Argentinian sexploitation Fuego, Robinson Devor’s controversial bestiality doc Zoo and more. Plus, Waters will perform his acclaimed “This Filthy World” one-man show.
Other Luff special guests include Christoph Schlingensief, the confrontational German filmmaker of 100 Years of Adolf Hitler, The German Chainsaw Massacre, The 120 Days of Bottrop and more; Richard Stanley, the South African genre filmmaker of the cult...
- 10/18/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
2012 appears to be the year for younger, i.e. under 10 years old, underground fests to blow it wide open and go for broke. This time it’s the 4th annual Oakland Underground Film Festival that is expanding its horizons into a blowout four-day, much more densely packed affair, running on Sept. 27-30 at several different locations.
Expanding on the types of films they screen, this year Oakuff is jammed pack with a wide variety of documentaries, thrillers, a bevy of short films and a special tribute to blaxploitation films hosted by BadAzz MoFo’s David Walker.
The fest opens on the 27th with skateboarding filmmaker Stacy Peralta’s latest, Bones Brigade: An Autobiography, which documents his own involvement with California board culture along with peers like Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen. Following that will be Ya’Ke Smith’s complex drama about the effects of child molestation.
Other documentaries in...
Expanding on the types of films they screen, this year Oakuff is jammed pack with a wide variety of documentaries, thrillers, a bevy of short films and a special tribute to blaxploitation films hosted by BadAzz MoFo’s David Walker.
The fest opens on the 27th with skateboarding filmmaker Stacy Peralta’s latest, Bones Brigade: An Autobiography, which documents his own involvement with California board culture along with peers like Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen. Following that will be Ya’Ke Smith’s complex drama about the effects of child molestation.
Other documentaries in...
- 9/25/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This Week’s Must Read is actually a series of reads. If you haven’t been following the One+One Filmmakers Journal new blog, you’ve been missing some of the best new writing on underground film past and present on the web. They’re really turning themselves into an invaluable resource over there. This past week they’ve run a great primer on Barbara Hammer, a review of the documentary It Came From Kuchar, and a piece on dissident filmmaking.Brooklyn’s Light Industry screening room also has a new blog up, which is now required reading. Recently, they posted up the legendary 1971 issue of Artforum that was devoted to underground film.Robert Maier has an awesome story about a Baltimore-based underground film not directed by John Waters, but was to have featured Divine. Alas, the project fell through and it wasn’t to be. It was called Vacancy.
- 9/2/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The 2012 Austin Film Festival will take place October 18-25, and some of us are waiting with bated breath for the full film schedule to be released. Until then, we have this week's announcement to hold us over. The creator of The X-Files, Chris Carter, will receive the fest's Outstanding Television Writer Award, and episodes from The X-Files and Millennium will be shown at the festival. Carter will also serve, along with director Paul Feig and screenwriter Brian Helgeland, as a guest programmer for Aff. Paul Feig has already chosen the films he will present: my favorite favorite film Bringing Up Baby and the 1976 blaxploitation flick The Human Tornado.
Robert Zemeckis's new drama, Flight, which includes a star-studded cast led by Denzel Washington, will serve as the Centerpiece film. Washington plays a pilot who averts disaster, only to be caught up in the resulting investigation (or so I infer from...
Robert Zemeckis's new drama, Flight, which includes a star-studded cast led by Denzel Washington, will serve as the Centerpiece film. Washington plays a pilot who averts disaster, only to be caught up in the resulting investigation (or so I infer from...
- 8/31/2012
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
The Robert Zemeckis-directed drama “Flight” will have the centerpiece slot at the Austin Film Festival in October, while “It’s A Disaster,” “Free Samples” and “Shadow Dancer” will also screen during the annual screenwriter-focused event. In addition, festival organizers announced Tuesday that “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter will be honored with the Outstanding Television Writer Award this year. Other features in the program from an initial batch of ten released by the fest include “Rising From Ashes,” a documentary about Rwanda’s national cycling team; “To Kill A Memory,” an indie western; “Spinning Plates,” a documentary that looks at restaurant culture; Pictures of Superheroes, a locally crafted comedy written and directed by Don Swaynos; and “Last Will & Testament,” a documentary about the debate over...
- 8/29/2012
- by Jay A. Fernandez
- Indiewire
If you’re like us at Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film and you watch a lot of older underground films, you’ve probably seen them. Maybe you wondered what they were. Maybe you pondered their significance and impact on the film you saw them in.
Were they inserted intentionally? Are they essential to the film’s themes and metaphors? Or are they aberrations that were left in for economy’s sake? Is their sequence random and arbitrary? Or is there a hidden meaning behind them?
They are, for lack of a better term, the mysterious white dots!
An example of which is above, a film still from George Kuchar‘s 1966 masterpiece Hold Me While I’m Naked. The movie tells the story of a lonely filmmaker (Kuchar himself) who is abandoned by his beautiful lead actress (Donna Kerness) in the middle of production of his latest project. Although a fictional film,...
Were they inserted intentionally? Are they essential to the film’s themes and metaphors? Or are they aberrations that were left in for economy’s sake? Is their sequence random and arbitrary? Or is there a hidden meaning behind them?
They are, for lack of a better term, the mysterious white dots!
An example of which is above, a film still from George Kuchar‘s 1966 masterpiece Hold Me While I’m Naked. The movie tells the story of a lonely filmmaker (Kuchar himself) who is abandoned by his beautiful lead actress (Donna Kerness) in the middle of production of his latest project. Although a fictional film,...
- 7/23/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Don Swaynos‘ Six Hundred and Forty-One Slates is one of those genius short films that makes one wonder why nobody had ever thought to make it before. It is, on the surface, a simple construct of exactly what the title says — the deletable clapper takes of every scene shot for the feature-length comedy Cinema Six.
But it’s not just a slap-dash compilation. Swaynos gives the short a snappy rhythm, knowing when to pause for humorous effect and when to speed things up right when the concept seems too repetitive. It’s not just the idea that makes the short so loveable, it’s the execution.
Cinema Six is a feature-length comedy written and directed by Mark Potts & Cole Selix; and was produced by Swaynos, Nick Tankersley and Kelly Williams. It was, if you couldn’t tell, also edited in full by Swaynos. (However, the film was originally titled Splice of Life,...
But it’s not just a slap-dash compilation. Swaynos gives the short a snappy rhythm, knowing when to pause for humorous effect and when to speed things up right when the concept seems too repetitive. It’s not just the idea that makes the short so loveable, it’s the execution.
Cinema Six is a feature-length comedy written and directed by Mark Potts & Cole Selix; and was produced by Swaynos, Nick Tankersley and Kelly Williams. It was, if you couldn’t tell, also edited in full by Swaynos. (However, the film was originally titled Splice of Life,...
- 7/13/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Strange Beauty Film Festival
2013 will be starting off with a bang when the 4th annual Strange Beauty Film Festival rocks the Manbites Dog Theater in Durham, North Carolina on January 24-26.
Strange Beauty is a short films only festival that has two requirements. One: Films have to be 30 minutes long or less. Two: Films must be “strangely beautiful.” But, what does that mean exactly? In the fest’s words, they show:
Short fiction, documentary, experimental, animation, underground, funky, and otherwise wholly unclassifiable works that lie somewhere between terrifying normality and sublime fever dreams. We’re looking for movies that strike a nerve, shake us up, come back to haunt us.
Last year’s Strange Beauty is the first one we listed on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film and we were thrilled to include it in our roster of fests we cover, especially with its powerhouse lineup of filmmakers.
2013 will be starting off with a bang when the 4th annual Strange Beauty Film Festival rocks the Manbites Dog Theater in Durham, North Carolina on January 24-26.
Strange Beauty is a short films only festival that has two requirements. One: Films have to be 30 minutes long or less. Two: Films must be “strangely beautiful.” But, what does that mean exactly? In the fest’s words, they show:
Short fiction, documentary, experimental, animation, underground, funky, and otherwise wholly unclassifiable works that lie somewhere between terrifying normality and sublime fever dreams. We’re looking for movies that strike a nerve, shake us up, come back to haunt us.
Last year’s Strange Beauty is the first one we listed on Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film and we were thrilled to include it in our roster of fests we cover, especially with its powerhouse lineup of filmmakers.
- 7/6/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
What have I been doing lately? I have been stalking Bryan Poyser (Lovers of Hate) on Facebook. Well, it is not technically stalking since he accepted my friendship, right? Truth be told, I am not actually a Facebook stalker, I am merely doing my job. (Really!) I am keeping tabs on the production of Poyser’s latest film, The Bounceback. As I write this, Poyser is entering week three of the Austin-based production which stars Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism), Michael Stahl-David (Cloverfield), Sara Paxton (The Innkeepers), and Addison Timlin (Californication). The primary cast might not be very Austin-centric, but the crew – which includes producer Megan Gilbride, cinematographer Pj Raval, and editor Don Swaynos – certainly is. My love for Lovers of Hate and Dear Pillow knows no bounds, so let’s just say that I am eagerly awaiting the release of The Bounceback. Poyser is not the only Austin filmmaker lucky enough to be stalked by yours...
- 5/14/2012
- by Don Simpson
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Occasionally, Austin Cinematic Limits is going to post interviews with key players in Austin’s film community. It might be common knowledge that there is a rich pool of directors in Austin, but there are also a ton of fantastic actors, cinematographers, composers, animators, make-up artists, and other cinematic people with whom we also want to converse. Maybe — just maybe — we will gain a better understanding of why all of these talented people have chosen to live and work in Austin rather than Los Angeles or New York City. We are starting with producer Kelly Williams — partly because there are only a handful of producers who actually live and work in Austin, but also because he is currently juggling so many great projects. Since resigning from his role as Film Program Director at the Austin Film Festival in June 2011, Williams has already produced Kat Candler’s Hellion (premiered at Sundance 2012), the anthology film Holiday Road (premiered at...
- 2/20/2012
- by Don Simpson
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
The Dallas International Film Festival has announced 15 of the films in its 2012 lineup, and not only does Texas make a great showing, but Austin is well represented. I'm hoping to attend the festival this year, the selections look so good so far. Some notable non-Texas films include Lawrence Kasdan's Darling Companion, which has former Austinite Mark Duplass in the cast; The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best, the directorial debut of actor Ryan O'Nan (The Dry Land), and Takashi Shimizu's Tormented.
Cinema Six, the latest feature from filmmakers Mark Potts and Cole Selix (S&M Lawn Care), will have its world premiere at the festival, which takes place from April 12-22 (corrected from original text). Jenn and I visited the set in Lockhart last year (when the movie was called A Splice of Life). The filmmakers aren't from Austin, but many of their cast and crew are: producer Kelly Williams,...
Cinema Six, the latest feature from filmmakers Mark Potts and Cole Selix (S&M Lawn Care), will have its world premiere at the festival, which takes place from April 12-22 (corrected from original text). Jenn and I visited the set in Lockhart last year (when the movie was called A Splice of Life). The filmmakers aren't from Austin, but many of their cast and crew are: producer Kelly Williams,...
- 2/20/2012
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
As Austin’s filmmaking community migrates back to Austin from the snowy slopes of Park City, everyone is anxiously awaiting to hear whether or not their latest film(s) has been accepted into the 2012 South By Southwest Film Festival (March 9-17, 2012). According to SXSW, ”no news is good news! If you haven’t heard from [SXSW] yet it means your film is still in the running.” All filmmakers will be sent notification one way or another by Thursday, February 9, 2012. What are my predictions (and hopes) on the local front for SXSW 2012? Well, I do not want to start rumors, but I am fairly certain that the Zellner Brothers’ Kid-Thing will be getting a regional premiere at SXSW 2012 — that is, after they celebrate their European premiere at Berlinale (February 9-19, 2012)! Also, Kat Candler’s short film Hellion is as close to a sure-thing as SXSW applicants can get. But if I was a praying man, I...
- 1/31/2012
- by Don Simpson
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Here's the latest Austin film news:
Austin is getting a new festival -- not a film fest but a television festival, something new and a bit different. The Atx Festival will take place June 1-3 this year. The fest organizers are currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise start-up funds, and some of the giving levels will earn you discounted badges for the festival.One of my favorite films from Fantastic Fest 2010, Sound of Noise, is finally getting theatrical release in the U.S. soon thanks to Magnolia Pictures. The quirky movie about "musical terrorism" opens in limited release on March 9. No word yet about an Austin release date, but I hope they open it here at least a week later because, you know, SXSW. Read my review from Cinematical and you might understand why I'm excited and impatient.Sundance ended this weekend but I still want to point you...
Austin is getting a new festival -- not a film fest but a television festival, something new and a bit different. The Atx Festival will take place June 1-3 this year. The fest organizers are currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise start-up funds, and some of the giving levels will earn you discounted badges for the festival.One of my favorite films from Fantastic Fest 2010, Sound of Noise, is finally getting theatrical release in the U.S. soon thanks to Magnolia Pictures. The quirky movie about "musical terrorism" opens in limited release on March 9. No word yet about an Austin release date, but I hope they open it here at least a week later because, you know, SXSW. Read my review from Cinematical and you might understand why I'm excited and impatient.Sundance ended this weekend but I still want to point you...
- 1/30/2012
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
The 3rd annual Strange Beauty Film Festival unspools on Feb. 16-18 with three nights, and one afternoon, of great underground short films from all over the world. The fest screens at the Man Bites Dog Theater in Durham, Nc.
First, Strange Beauty’s home state of North Carolina is properly represented with several short films, such as Jim Kellough’s Red Rocks, Josh Gibson’s Kudzu Vine, Heather D. Freeman’s Pennipotens, Charlotte Taylor’s The Edge of Summer and several more.
Plus, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is heavily represented by Leslie Supnet‘s Spectroscopy, Kevin Kelly’s 367 Years in Montreal, Aaron Zegher has two films in the fest: I See a Light and The Story of Thomas Edison; and Winnipeg expat Clint Enns will screen Connecting With Nature. However, most exciting on the Winnipeg front is a screening of Jaimz Asmundson‘s thoroughly amazing The Magus, which was the 2nd...
First, Strange Beauty’s home state of North Carolina is properly represented with several short films, such as Jim Kellough’s Red Rocks, Josh Gibson’s Kudzu Vine, Heather D. Freeman’s Pennipotens, Charlotte Taylor’s The Edge of Summer and several more.
Plus, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is heavily represented by Leslie Supnet‘s Spectroscopy, Kevin Kelly’s 367 Years in Montreal, Aaron Zegher has two films in the fest: I See a Light and The Story of Thomas Edison; and Winnipeg expat Clint Enns will screen Connecting With Nature. However, most exciting on the Winnipeg front is a screening of Jaimz Asmundson‘s thoroughly amazing The Magus, which was the 2nd...
- 1/24/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Pictures of Superheroes is the debut feature comedy by Austin-based filmmaker Don Swaynos, who previously has directed numerous music videos, short films and documentaries.
Marie (Kerri Lendo) is hired as a maid by businessman Eric (Shannon McCormick) who also asks her to pretend to be his wife to seduce his clients. While cleaning Eric’s home, Marie becomes close to Joe (John Merriman), an aspiring superhero artist who also lives in Eric’s house, although unbeknownst to Eric.
Swaynos first came to the attention to Bad LIt: The Journal of Underground Film with his hilarious short film In Defense of Definitions, which screened at the 2007 Austin Underground Film Festival. Bad Lit also favorably reviewed the compelling Iraq war documentary Year at Danger that Swaynos co-directed with National Guardsman Steve Metze.
To learn more about the film, please visit the official Pictures of Superheroes website. Plus, check out Don Swaynos’ official website.
Marie (Kerri Lendo) is hired as a maid by businessman Eric (Shannon McCormick) who also asks her to pretend to be his wife to seduce his clients. While cleaning Eric’s home, Marie becomes close to Joe (John Merriman), an aspiring superhero artist who also lives in Eric’s house, although unbeknownst to Eric.
Swaynos first came to the attention to Bad LIt: The Journal of Underground Film with his hilarious short film In Defense of Definitions, which screened at the 2007 Austin Underground Film Festival. Bad Lit also favorably reviewed the compelling Iraq war documentary Year at Danger that Swaynos co-directed with National Guardsman Steve Metze.
To learn more about the film, please visit the official Pictures of Superheroes website. Plus, check out Don Swaynos’ official website.
- 1/19/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
On Saturday, October 22nd, 2011, the eleventh annual Screamfest Horror Film Festival Awards were held in Hollywood, California, to celebrate the ten days of original horror programming which had preceded it, most notably the China Brothers’ Crawl (which took home awards for Best Director and Best Cinematography). Today results were released for the fest’s Screenplay Competition, and we’ve got ‘em. Read on for the winners!
Screamfest, which is spearheaded by founder and director Rachel Belofsky, has built a reputation over the last decade as having its finger on the pulse of the horror genre. Recent films programmed at Screamfest that have garnered a lot of attention include Let the Right One In, Trick 'r Treat, Splinter, Martyrs, The Signal, and Paranormal Activity.
Best Screenplay
Blood Type:v
by Eric Maloney
Top 5 Screenplays
Blood Type:v
by Eric Maloney
Exit 49
by Lanny Grant
Someone Must Die
by Joe Henriques
The Sticks
by...
Screamfest, which is spearheaded by founder and director Rachel Belofsky, has built a reputation over the last decade as having its finger on the pulse of the horror genre. Recent films programmed at Screamfest that have garnered a lot of attention include Let the Right One In, Trick 'r Treat, Splinter, Martyrs, The Signal, and Paranormal Activity.
Best Screenplay
Blood Type:v
by Eric Maloney
Top 5 Screenplays
Blood Type:v
by Eric Maloney
Exit 49
by Lanny Grant
Someone Must Die
by Joe Henriques
The Sticks
by...
- 12/12/2011
- by SeanD.
- DreadCentral.com
"…and I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn’t for you meddling kids!. Just how many episodes of "Scooby Doo" ended with that line? And did anyone ever wonder why the criminals were able to bamboozle the entire town and police squad with their schemes only to be foiled by a dog and four stoner kids who rolled into town two days earlier in a van that had to smell like malted hops, bong resin and dog farts? We’ve got some info on a new movie where the meddling kids don't necessarily fare so well.
Directed by Spencer Parsons and starring Ashley Spillers, Josephine Decker and Jonny Mars, Saturday Morning Massacrefollows some meddling paranormal investigators trying to make a buck. From the information we've managed to glean thus far, there is no talking dog in this film.
The film is currently in post-production and the official website titsandaxe.
Directed by Spencer Parsons and starring Ashley Spillers, Josephine Decker and Jonny Mars, Saturday Morning Massacrefollows some meddling paranormal investigators trying to make a buck. From the information we've managed to glean thus far, there is no talking dog in this film.
The film is currently in post-production and the official website titsandaxe.
- 9/21/2011
- by Doctor Gash
- DreadCentral.com
Dorsky’s done it again! Just like last week — but even more so! — this week’s Absolute Must Read is Nathaniel Dorsky’s remembrance of living the avant-garde film life in NYC in the late ’60s. Adventures include hanging out with Stan Brakhage and Naomi Levine, going to the deli with Slavko Vorkapich, projecting films with Jerome Hiller and many other impossibly cool things. The New York Times published an official obit for Robert Breer, which has several pieces of personal bio info not otherwise found online. Also, Yoel Miranda has a very personal remembrance of Breer. So, what’s it like to intern at a major independent film festival? Rooftop Films intern Sheila Maria Lobo lets us know. By the way: Donna k. lets us know that film festivals, in general, are fabulous. South Australia has banned A Serbian Film. Man, that country is so uptight. Speaking of which,...
- 8/21/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This week’s Absolute Must Read is a letter Hollis Frampton wrote to MoMA regarding a planned retrospective of his work in 1973. The hitch: The museum wanted Frampton to give them his films for free. Too bad he’s not still alive because we need more letters like this written, especially in today’s “free” internet culture. My favorite line: “I leave it to your surmise whether [Maya Deren's] life might have been prolonged by a few bucks.”In case you missed it on Bad Lit, Jonas Mekas reprinted the very informative and insightful comment he left here on his own website. Good stuff on the demise of his Movie Journal column.If you can name the three dudes and know where they’re sitting in this photograph, then you are a 100% underground film nerd. (And, yes, I canChris Hansen continues his production diary for his film An Affair. Day Three found...
- 6/12/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The Paul Sharits memorial website, run by his son Christopher, is looking for articles to post on art and music. Congrats to Stuart Simpson’s fantastic El Monstro Del Mar!, which has been picked up for distribution by IndieFilmNet. Careful, this one’s “dirty”: The great cartoonist/reviewer Rick Trembles covers Usama Alshaibi’s hilarious short film The Amateur. Then, Usama Alshaibi tackles the myth about Muslims not being able to render images of the prophets. J.J. Murphy tackles one of the most controversial movies of the last year or so, whether you knew it or not: Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers. Always a cause for rejoicing: Jonas Mekas announces a new film debuting in Feb.: Sleepless Nights Stories! A little background on the film from Jonas here. SXSW interviews fellow festival founder Lisa Vandever of Cinekink four questions about her upcoming interactive panel in Austin, TX. Professor...
- 1/23/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Alessandro Cima wrote a new article inspired by my old “What’s an Underground Film, Anyway?” post. In it, Cima argues that the definition of “underground film” should include “a requirement of hostility.” I like what Cima is saying and I get where he’s coming from, but I haven’t decided if I totally agree with him yet. While I certainly like a little hostility in my underground films, the problem is that sustained hostility can a) get tiring; and b) leads to burnout. But, good stuff to contemplate in the article. (P.S. Driving or walking by a row of StarWagons never gets not-exciting to me.) Donna k. muses on why more filmmakers don’t tour with their films like Brent Green does. For what it’s worth, here’s my short answer: Most filmmakers don’t create the ancillary product that would make touring profitable. Green has it all: Music,...
- 10/3/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
So, I’ve been doing these links posts for awhile now and it’s been very encouraging that they’re some of the most viewed articles on the site every week. However, even more exciting and inspiring is that I’ve had several bloggers/writers contact me lately to tell me that my linking to them provides a bit of a bump in readers for them. It really makes me happy that my readers are actually clicking through and reading these fantastic articles on other people’s websites. I mean, obviously that’s the whole point of this project, but I didn’t know the actual result until recently. It’s nice to hear. That said, on with the show:
This week’s Must Read is an oldie, but a goodie. And by “oldie” I mean almost 50 years old. It’s Stan Vanderbeek’s 1961 manifesto “The Cinema Delimina” (careful: that...
This week’s Must Read is an oldie, but a goodie. And by “oldie” I mean almost 50 years old. It’s Stan Vanderbeek’s 1961 manifesto “The Cinema Delimina” (careful: that...
- 9/26/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This week’s Must Read is a long one, a real long one, but very much worth it. Writing for Off Screen, Media Studies professor Paul W. Salmon discusses the intense feedback loop of mainstream and website film criticism that simply reinforces the Hollywood system. If I hadn’t conceived of my “underground film loop” project before, I would have after reading this. For the record, I have no problem with the Hollywood system and love Hollywood movies, but that there’s slim to none discussion of outside offerings is sad. Salmon really gets into the specifics here, so that’s what makes the piece so great. (P.S. Thanks to Professor Tryon for turning me onto the article.) Here we go again: A longtime Melbourne Underground Film Festival stalker has been trying to get people to listen to his insane rants against the fest and its founder Richard Wolstencroft.
- 9/12/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Embedded above is the touching story of a pretty ukulele player and her pet puppet dog. It’s The Ballad of Friday and June, produced by the Jollyville Pictures filmmaking group in Austin, TX, which just this week relaunched their website. This specific film by them is directed by Tate English, whom I’ve never written about on Bad Lit before, and edited by Don Swaynos, whom I have.
There’s a strong streak of melancholia running through Friday and June that really makes the film absolutely endearing. The premise of pairing a ukulele player and a puppet would seem to anticipate a screwball comedy, but even though there are some very funny parts to the film, it really plays more like a heartwarming drama.
Part of the real key to the film’s success is the authenticity of the dog Friday’s dialogue, which sounds exactly like what a...
There’s a strong streak of melancholia running through Friday and June that really makes the film absolutely endearing. The premise of pairing a ukulele player and a puppet would seem to anticipate a screwball comedy, but even though there are some very funny parts to the film, it really plays more like a heartwarming drama.
Part of the real key to the film’s success is the authenticity of the dog Friday’s dialogue, which sounds exactly like what a...
- 8/27/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
As a companion to the CD cover art we showed you the other day, Captain Clegg's "Zombie A-Go-Go" music video has premiered today. In addition, all you music lovers out there should be happy to learn we've also found the full track listing for Rob Zombie's Halloween II soundtrack.
Fangoria scored the Clegg video, which was directed by Don Swaynos and shot in Austin, Texas last month.
As for the songs that will be providing the background for Michael's mayhem in the film, here's the skinny:
1. The Things We Do For Love - 10cc
2. Cities In Dust - Siouxsie & The Banshees
3. Nights In White Satin - Moody Blues
4. Amerarockers - Scream
5. Kick Out The Jams - MC5
6. I Just Want To Make Love To You - Foghat
7. Magic - Pilot
8. I Against I - Bad Brains
9. Come Back - Misfits
10. Night And Day - Frank Sinatra
11. Time To Die - Void
Pre-order the disc below,...
Fangoria scored the Clegg video, which was directed by Don Swaynos and shot in Austin, Texas last month.
As for the songs that will be providing the background for Michael's mayhem in the film, here's the skinny:
1. The Things We Do For Love - 10cc
2. Cities In Dust - Siouxsie & The Banshees
3. Nights In White Satin - Moody Blues
4. Amerarockers - Scream
5. Kick Out The Jams - MC5
6. I Just Want To Make Love To You - Foghat
7. Magic - Pilot
8. I Against I - Bad Brains
9. Come Back - Misfits
10. Night And Day - Frank Sinatra
11. Time To Die - Void
Pre-order the disc below,...
- 7/15/2009
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
On August 28th, Rob Zombie's Halloween II will hit theatres courtesy of Dimension Films, and on the same day Rob Zombie presents: Captain Clegg And The Night Creatures (Music from Halloween II) will hit record stores.
Fangoria Entertainment is pleased to present the World Premiere of Captain Clegg's "Zombie A-Go-Go" music video. Check it out below the jump!
Directed by Don Swaynos, the video was shot in Austin, Texas last month. A full report on the shoot (written by Capt Clegg!) can be found here.
Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures can be seen in Rob Zombie's upcoming Halloween II, where they'll be the featured entertainment as Uncle Seymour Coffins' presents Haddonfield's 4th Phantom Jam! Make sure to see 'em on the big screen when the film hits theaters on August 28th, 2009.
On the very same day, the Capt.'s full-length LP, Rob Zombie presents Captain Clegg & The Night...
Fangoria Entertainment is pleased to present the World Premiere of Captain Clegg's "Zombie A-Go-Go" music video. Check it out below the jump!
Directed by Don Swaynos, the video was shot in Austin, Texas last month. A full report on the shoot (written by Capt Clegg!) can be found here.
Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures can be seen in Rob Zombie's upcoming Halloween II, where they'll be the featured entertainment as Uncle Seymour Coffins' presents Haddonfield's 4th Phantom Jam! Make sure to see 'em on the big screen when the film hits theaters on August 28th, 2009.
On the very same day, the Capt.'s full-length LP, Rob Zombie presents Captain Clegg & The Night...
- 7/15/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (James Zahn)
- Fangoria
A ghoulish good evening to my fiendish Fangoria fans, the inimitable, the untouchable, the unclassifiable Captain Clegg here with an update on the horrifying, terrifying, and ultimately electrifying events that transpired during the music video shoot for my upcoming single "Zombie A Go Go". What could have been an otherwise innocent rock and roll killing spree of monstrous proportions was by some decadent improvidence foiled by, what else, a bevy of the undead, hell-bent on malevolent mayhem.
However, with the sacrifice of a few expendable set-PAs, a little cattle-prod cajoling, and some quick rewrites from Director Don Swaynos, the shoot was back underway and we wooed the wailing zombie crowd with the sweet sounds of the Night Creatures thunderous psychobilly riffs. Like long-dead sailors dragging their peg-legs towards a hellish siren, the power of our devil-infused rock soothed their savage urges - that and the allure of Clegg's infamous scantily-clad dancers,...
However, with the sacrifice of a few expendable set-PAs, a little cattle-prod cajoling, and some quick rewrites from Director Don Swaynos, the shoot was back underway and we wooed the wailing zombie crowd with the sweet sounds of the Night Creatures thunderous psychobilly riffs. Like long-dead sailors dragging their peg-legs towards a hellish siren, the power of our devil-infused rock soothed their savage urges - that and the allure of Clegg's infamous scantily-clad dancers,...
- 6/23/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (Captain Clegg)
- Fangoria
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