This is the fifth and last in a series of reports from the SXSW Film/Interactive Festival in Austin, TX. Scene-Stealers hosted the Bacon-Flavored Interactive Afterparty, the Harpoon Happy Hour, and the free SenoReality screening, all of which were held at the coolest bar in town, Red 7. While we were down there, Dustin (our executive producer) and I attended several screenings and did lots of cool interviews with the directors and stars as we could. Enjoy!

Monday, March 16

I felt very bad for Bacon Shoe. Their flight left at six in the morning or something like that, so when we got back to the hotel room we were sharing (sleeping on the floor just like touring in the old days), they were bleary-eyed and saggy tailed, ready to catch a cab to the airport. We went to sleep after they left and didn’t wake up ’til late. We had just enough time to return the rented PA gear, grab some Don Juan tacos at the famous Juan in a Million restaurant, and head back to the Convention Center.

The panel I was there to see was called Robert Rodriguez and Henry Selick: A Conversation From the Third Dimension, and featured the groundbreaking filmmakers discussing past experiments with and the future of 3D in cinema. It’s pretty obvious that the advancements in technology and the growing home market that 3D will continue to be a good way to get people’s asses into theaters. It’s not going anywhere. That said, Selick’s “Coraline” is the perfect example of a 3D movie that uses the stereoscopic imagery in service of the story. (See our video review here.)

On the panel, Rodriguez said his original idea was to use 3D on the second half of his vampire-nightmare flick “From Dusk Till Dawn.” He said that once Clooney, Tarantino, Keitel and family enter the lair of vampires, the audience would then put their 3D glasses on and watch the rest of the film that way. Ironically, even though he didn’t use it, he shot the movie as if it were 3D anyway. I suppose they could always go back and re-format the film later if it was shot with that in mind. (Suggestion: It should start just before Salma Hayek shows up.)

Rodriguez’s experience with 3D comes mainly from “Spy Kids 3D: Game Over” and “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D.” He commented that shooting a film in 3D these days will guarantee its longevity in the marketplace, and that the format will be around a lot longer these days than it was in its golden era in the mid-1950s and revival in the early 1980.

Selick explained how “Coraline” did more than make objects jump out of the screen at its audience, using the technology to “transform space” in his stop-motion world, arranging some perspectives of Coraline’s nightmare world for maximum uncomfortability.The goal was to envelop the audience, not merely trick them. Selick is also assured of the eventual death of the film projector, noting that doors will open for 3D, since that makes it an easy “add-on.” To shoot in 3D, Selick says, adds only $5 million to a film’s budget.

In other Rodriguez news, when asked about the date “Sin City 2″ will finally go into production, he says: “It’s right around the corner. But it could be a very long corner.” About “Machete,” the trailer that played before his half of “Grindhouse,” he says: “We are making ‘Machete.’ The script is done, and [Danny] Trejo is ready to go.” He’s also wrapped on “Shorts,” a kid’s movie due later this year starring Kat Dennings, William H. Macy, Leslie Mann, and James Spader. The next Rodriguez movie to go in production, however, is called “Nerveracker,” and it starts filming in June. He sold the name to the Weinsteins 10 years ago, and has finally finished writing the screenplay. About “Nerveracker”: “It’s kind of like ‘Blade Runner,’ but that was ‘Blade Walker.’ This is ‘Blade Runner.’”"Nerveracker” is set in a perfect future where a man must fight crime, so the set-up is similar, but if Rodriguez just does a straight action take on the philosophical sci-fi classic, it could end up more like “Total Recall.”

I also caught the tail end of a discussion with IMDb founder Col Needham where he reiterated the long term goal of the hugely popular website: “A play button on every page.”

Wow. He certainly thinks big. The site is already on its way with a small collection of movies and more TV shows, but that is scary … and probably also the very near future. Short term goals? To help new feature NewsDesk grow, and international expansion.

Lastly, Dustin and I sped off to the red carpet premiere of “Observe and Report,” Jody Hill’s second movie, following “The Foot Fist Way.” Standing on the red carpet, we got a couple really quick interviews with  writer/director Hill, stars Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Michael Peña, and the Yuan brothers. I can’t talk about the movie until it opens on April 10, but let’s just say this: If you are expecting a funny-ha-ha cute mall cop movie, you are in for a surprise. If you’ve seen”Foot Fist,” you’ll know more to expect. When I interviewed Rogen the next afternoon, he said he and Hill watched Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” and “The King of Comedy”to get in the right frame of mind. Heavy. And I’m not just talking about his Rogen’s weight in the film (which he has shed most of to get ready for the “Green Hornet”)!

All those interviews will be coming up soon. Stay tuned!

Tags: film, Henry Selick, Observe and Report, panel, Robert Rodriguez, screening, SXSW, SXSW 2009

This is the fourth in a series of reports from the SXSW Film/Interactive Festival in Austin, TX. Scene-Stealers hosted the Bacon-Flavored Interactive Afterparty, the Harpoon Happy Hour, and the free SenoReality screening, all of which were held at the coolest bar in town, Red 7. While we were down there, Dustin (our executive producer) and I attended several screenings and did lots of cool interviews with the directors and stars as we could. Enjoy!

Sunday, March 15

Another late night, another early morning. Most of the day was spent putting out fires for everything surrounding the Bacon-Flavored Interactive Afterparty, the Harpoon Happy Hour, and the free SenoReality screening, all held at Red 7. Bacon Shoe was hitting it hard again, performing the last of their “street attacks” to build up hype for the show, which started at 9pm. During the day, I was in and out of the Red 7, which was showing a loop of award-winning short films from Lawrence, KS-based production house SenoReality Pictures. (Here’s a link to a coverstory I wrote about SenoReality, MK12, and the burgeoning Lawrence/KC production scene for Digital Content Producer magazine).

The SenoReality free screening featured nine suspenseful short films, all made in the last three years by this prolific team of filmmakers. Writer/director Patrick Rea and editor/sound mixer Ryan S. Jones (above, at the screening) have quietly built up an impressive resume, including the regional Emmy-winning short “Women’s Intuition.” SenoReality comes from the “less gore, more suspense” mode of storytelling, although one of their funniest and most popular films is a parody of the so-called “torture porn” genre called—appropriately enough—“Torture Porn.” (I’ve embedded the entire movie in two parts below. Again, this is not really suitable for work. But it sure is funny.)

One thing you may be surprised about is the great production value of most of the shorts. When I interviewed the Seno guys for the article, it was obvious that they have an enormous grasp of how to use technology in service of the story. Because they are from Kansas, the team is also able to get way more bang for their buck. “When we go to film festivals, we stick out a little more,” Rea says. “It’s a good thing, especially when they see our production value is slightly better sometimes. They’re like, ‘Wow, you guys are doing that stuff in Kansas?’ and we tell them how much we’re doing it for and people become more interested in shooting in Kansas.”

It was great to see an hour-and-a-half program and be able to see the natural progression in quality and storytelling prowess of the films. SenoReality is currently finishing up another short and raising money for a full-length feature film called “Nail Biter.” Here’s a photo (above left) of the monster from that upcoming flick, as designed by artist Alan Holt.

“Adventureland” also screened at SXSW on Saturday and, although I have seen it, I’m not able to post a full review of it yet due to a review embargo until its nationwide release date on April 3. Let’s just say this: The movie is a great coming-of-age romance set in 1987 that feels as natural as anything I’ve ever seen in this genre. It stars Jessie Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart. I did an audio podcast interview with writer/director Greg Mottola (”Superbad,” “The Daytrippers”) back in January for the movie’s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, and you can catch that here. Unfortunately, I missed getting a video interview with Mottola and co-star Bill Hader because everything was going crazy around the party and my phone was ringing off the hook. (Or, vibrating in my pants, I guess.) So I had to (gulp!) cancel the interview. Oh, the sacrifices I make.

In the meantime, if you live in Kansas City area and you want to see a funny, accurate, and affecting tale of post-teen/early adult romantic confusion set in the late 80s but not full of obvious cultural touchstones like parachute pants and breakdancers, we are giving away tickets to a screening of “Adventureland” right here. Enter before Wed. March 25 and good luck!

At 6pm, the SenoReality screening morphed into the Harpoon Happy Hour, where our good friends at Harpoon Brewery donated enough kegs of delicious IPA and Hefeweizen beer to power a thirsty crowd for two hours. The $5 cover at the door all went to the Children’s Music Fund. We had a live Twitter feed of anybody who was tweeting about the bacon party, Scene-Stealers, or anything party-related that night. (I remember seeing a photo on Twitter of one girl who won a prize, tweeted about it, waited for it to show up on the big screen, and then took a picture with her phone and teeted that!) We also watched some very cool video content from Boston-based independent online video network Plus1TV.com, who feature Scene-Stealers as one of their online TV channels, as well as other cool channels that specialize in humor, food, and music.

The smell of hot, fresh bacon donated from Internet retail badasses Bacn.com wafted out of the bar from the outside porch and the outside stage area, beckoning—nay, daring—passersby to enter the domain of bacon-flavored madness. Das Foods donated 200 delicious Man Bait maple-bacon lollipops as well, not to mention the all the cool raffle prizes that were generously donated by all of our sponsors. The insanity of Bacon Shoe hit the outside stage sometime after 9pm, and jaws pretty much completely dropped.

Not only do Lethal D and Toine bust out some mad rapping chops, but Mr. Ruggles (a DJ of sorts, wearing a large dog’s head or something to that degree) grills bacon onstage, which is also mic’ed up to give everyone the pleasure of hearing the sizzle as well as smelling it. Bacon Shoe rapped for two solid 40-minute sets, performed some very funny between-song sketches, and helped give away all the cool raffle prizes for the night. I’m also pretty sure Lethal D and Toine got married onstage.

Thanks to everyone involved in the parties for all their hard work and helping to make the night a success! Now here’s the full SenoReality short film “Torture Porn,” as promised:

Next SXSW 2009 entry>> 

Tags: adventureland, bacon party, bacon shoe, film, greg mottola, screening, SenoReality, showcase, SXSW, SXSW 2009

This is the third in a series of reports from the SXSW Film/Interactive Festival, which is still taking place in Austin, TX. Scene-Stealers hosted the Bacon-Flavored Interactive Afterparty, the Harpoon Happy Hour, and the free SenoReality screening, all of which were held at the coolest bar in town, Red 7. While we were down there, Dustin (our executive producer) and I attended several screenings and did lots of cool interviews with the directors and stars as we could. Enjoy!

Saturday, March 14 (continued)

The story behind “Best Worst Movie” is pretty insane. I’ll try to keep it short: In 1989, child actor Michael Paul Stephenson and some other unwitting actors filmed a low-budget horror movie in Utah with an Italian director who spoke very little English that would eventually be called “Troll 2,” despite having nothing to do with 1986’s “Troll” and featuring no actual trolls in the film. It went straight to video and was so bad that, over the next twenty years, it eventually gained a loyal cult following as the worst movie ever made (even voted that by the users of IMDb). Stephenson has spent the last several years documenting the movie’s ascension into this specific spot in movie history and, as the director of “Best Worst Movie” (which had its world premiere Saturday night), he examines the most colorful characters and events surrounding the “Troll 2″ phenomenon.

Thankfully, the film spends only the first 20 minutes or so on the story of how the movie reached its current status. Had it merely stuck with the film’s history and background, “Best Worst Movie” would be nothing more than a chronological checklist of the film’s unlikely story. Instead, the director’s familiarity with his subjects allows him to get intimate footage of some of “Troll 2″’s most interesting characters. Chief among them is Dr. George Hardy, who played the Dad in “Troll 2,” and thanks to Stephenson has now finally appeared in a great film—as himself. As a real person, Hardy is a genuine star. His good nature and genuine concern for others is combined with a natural need to perform for others, something that’s obvious even at his small dental practice in Alexander City, AL. One of the film’s most priceless moments occurs at the end after Hardy has endured all the ups and downs of hawking “Troll 2″ stuff at horror conventions, and Stephenson asks him the million-dollar question.

Most of the cast of “Troll 2″ have come to terms with being in a terrible, terrible movie and learned to embrace the its notoriety. As special screenings of the movie across the country began to increase, the cast was reunited in celebration of the awfulness of “Troll 2.” Even having never seen”Troll 2,” this movie worked like gangbusters for me. “Best Worst Movie” really catches fire when it posits that there was convergence of coincidences that resulted in the imminently watchable kind of disaster that is “Troll 2.” Claudio Fragasso and his wife Rossella Drudi (who co-wrote the screenplay) believed they were making a serious film that blended family drama with chills, thrills, and a “groundbreaking” vegetarian edge. What’s truly fascinating is that they still believe this is the case.

As Fragasso walks down the long line of “Troll 2″ admirers standing in line at an American screening, he is genuinely excited and proud. Only later does he truly realize people are laughing with the film and at it at the same time. It’s a hard thing for the prolific director to swallow. The relationship rekindled with his cast soon thereafter, it’s easy to see how communication problems might have existed on the set and fascinating to watch old habits rise to the surface. Fragasso can’t handle the complicated notion that fans of his movie enjoy it for camp value. And when I say “enjoy,” I’m talking about a blissful reverence.

The real-life characters of “Best Worst Movie” are amused, ashamed, and attention-starved—all at the same time. (One co-star actually remains at home through all the hoopla due to her own bizarre circumstances, but she has no shortage of mind-blowing comments about the caliber of “Troll 2.”) They are individual pieces in a puzzle that just doesn’t fit together the way its supposed to. The puzzle-solver is a short-tempered Italian director whose masterplan was known only to his wife. The only person in “Best Worst Movie” who remains a mystery is Stephenson himself, who has a knack for bringing out pychological truth in others, but seems to avoid analyzing his own feelings.

I interviewed Stephenson and Hardy after the premiere. We’ll get that video up as soon as possible.

Dustin and I then ducked into the screening of “Troll 2″ about 15 minutes late, which may have heightened the movie’s anarchic randomness. Either way, count me in as a newly converted “Troll 2″ fanatic. What a bizarre experience this movie was, made even more joyous by the positive vibes of the screening before it. Fragasso remains an enigma because the language barrier and a certain amount of ego has made it impossible to figure out exactly what he was thinking when he put together this inexplicable movie. The more movies you’ve seen, the more you will appreciate this one, because I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like it.

Next SXSW 2009 entry>>

Tags: Best Worst Movie, film, george hardy, michael paul stephenson, movie, review, SXSW 2009, Troll 2

This is the second in a series of reports from the SXSW Film/Interactive Festival, which is still taking place in Austin, TX. Scene-Stealers hosted the Bacon-Flavored Interactive Afterparty, the Harpoon Happy Hour, and the free SenoReality screening, all of which were held at the coolest bar in town, Red 7. While we were down there, Dustin (our executive producer) and I attended several screenings and did lots of cool interviews with the directors and stars as we could. Enjoy!

Saturday, March 14

Dustin went down the convention center to check out some cool film/interactive panels. He saw Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly, and Rashida Jones on the “I Love You, Man” panel. The movie premiered at the festival the night before, but we’d already seen it, so we skipped that. (Our full video review is up here.)

I went to the airport to pick up our new heroes, the winners of the 2008 Pitch Award for Best Avant-Garde/Experimental Band, Kansas City’s own Bacon Shoe. To see a video of their journey (which began very, very early that morning), click here. First, my second Mexican restaurant in two days. Delicious. If you’re eating anything else besides Mexican/Tex-Mex or BBQ in Austin, you are a very silly person.

We realized we needed different speakers (sorry, Chris!) and some mics and cords, so it was back to the rental store. After some careful reassurance that we’d bring all this stuff back before the music portion of the festival started (and some careful avoiding of any questions about what we were actually using this for), we got the goods and headed out. Bacon Shoe went to the parking lot of the Hampton Inn with the power inverter and remote PA in the back of the rented SUV and did a soundcheck to make sure everything was working OK. I dropped myself off at the convention center. Since the car wasn’t insured for any driver but me, I have to admit was a bit  nervous, especially since what the band is doing is illegal and usually gets busted by cops.

We were only at the Jeffrey Tambor Acting Workshop for about 30 minutes before it was time for Bacon Shoe’s first “street attack” of the day. It was strategically placed right outside of the Austin Convention Center. As convention-goers were leaving the building to head up to 6th St. for all the parties, Bacon Shoe illegally parked the SUV in front of the Hilton Hotel, pulled up the hatchback to reveal two PA speakers, and launched into a song. For just over a minute. (start at 5:19!) Just as a crowd was starting to gather, a policeman from a nearby tent swooped in and the fun was over. It may have been short, but it was obvious the band was going to make an impression.

We followed them down 6th St. for another “street attack” that lasted a good 4 songs or so and attracted a much bigger crowd. Toine also got his junk grabbed by a homeless fan who apparently dug more than his lyrics. (See the video below–not safe for work!)

Then the band was off into the night to do some more guerrilla street performances to promote tomorrow’s benefit show. Dustin and I headed to the Alamo Drafthouse Lamar 1 to interview the director and stars of “Best Worst Movie.”

Next SXSW 2009 entry>>

Tags: 2009, bacon party, bacon shoe, dirty hilarious, funny, insane, rap, street performance, SXSW, SXSW 2009