Did you miss your chance to get to your neighborhood Alamo this weekend? Then you didn’t have the chance to see this week’s reel of trailers for upcoming Alamo events. Well, turn the lights down in your office, crack open a beer, and click on this YouTube movie. It’ll be just like being in the theater. But smaller. And in crappy resolution.
Cinematical’s resident horror hound Scott Weinberg broke the news today about the most important film happening of the summer months. It’s not Speed Racer and it sure as hell is more pressing than the Love Guru. The news: the ENTIRE cast and crew and everyone associated with the best worst movie of all time, Troll 2, will be returning to Nilbog (Morgan, UT) this summer to revel in all things green and goblin-y.
Here’s what Scott Weinberg has to say:
“OK, this has gone waaaay out of control, but in a hilariously awesomely geeky way. It started with a sold-out midnight screening of the undeniably (hysterically) awful Troll 2 — which led to an as-yet-unfinished documentary feature called Best Worst Movie — which led to … man oh man is this crazy. Turns out that Morgan, Utah is where “Nilbog” was created for Troll 2 … so it only stands to reason that the Best Worst Movie crew and the Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Roadshow lunatics would join forces and bring Nilbog back to life.
here’s a quick recap of the impending festivities: Screenings of Troll (1986), Troll 2 (1990), The Crawlers (1990, aka Troll 3), Quest for the Mighty Sword (1990, aka The Hobgoblin, aka Troll 3), Beyond Darkness (1990, aka House 5) — some of which have NEVER been seen before! Oh, and there will be panel discussions and meals with the cast and crew members, fan flick contests, dances, parties, eating competitions, and approximately 214 additional insane activities. All in the name of wonderfully inept filmmaking that’s so much fun to watch it almost feels dirty.
The date: June 27 – 29. The place: Nilbog (aka Morgan, Utah). The expense: Event packages start at a mere $40. For a whole LOT more information, check out the full press release below. And remember: You don’t wee-wee on hospitality like this!”
Click here to read the entire post. Tickets go on sale on April 6, and believe it or not, we expect a feeding frenzy. Complete details on the event and tickets can be found at www.bestworstmovie.com
Last night at the Ritz 180 maniacal trivia buffs watched a showdown between Austin’s top two video-stores: I Luv Video and Vulcan Video.
Zack and I wrote the questions and hosted. Categories ranged from APES APES APES to WAYANS BROTHERS and to all points in between, though the MUSICALS ABOUT NEWSBOYS category was probably a bad idea.
The score was tight throughout and it came down to a 50 to 49 point win for I Luv Video. Everyone had a blast and a few beers were consumed (we actually ran out of Lone Star). It was the most fun I’ve ever had with a burgundy polyester suit on.
Feel free to go congratulate the I Luv crew or razz the Vulcan guys but both teams have asked that they not be exposed to any bright light or loud noises for at least the next two days.
Special thanks to Freddie Avalos for pointing us to this Youtube link from the Late Show with David Letterman. Each reason is delivered by a different member of the Battlestar Galactica cast. Damn I love that show. I was on a hiatus from Television for almost 8 years until THE WIRE and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA brought me back. For a moment I was fearful about the movie industry with the competition of fabulous TV programming. Then we realized we have the biggest TVs in town.
Beginning on Monday, March 24th at the Alamo Village, we’re going to show 2 episodes a night to get you primed and powered-up for the most hotly anticipated Season 4 in TV history! Then, on April 4th, we will show the last season finale (episodes 19 & 20) and this season’s premiere! If you’re a true fan of the show, you already know that this is going to be a lazer-fueled viewing adventure beyond mortal comprehension! Get more info here.
This weekend the Master Pancake boys tackle one of the most beloved movies of all time: E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL. Some people have asked us how heartless we’d have to be to make fun of this amazing children’s classic. To them I say: how heartless is director STEVEN SPIELBERG for making us cry, not once, but at least THREE times when we first watched this movie — in front of our parents no less. If somebody made my child cry, I’d punch them in the face. So that’s what we’re doing — on a metaphysical level — for anybody who’s ever just lost it in front of God and the world while watching E.T. We’re figuratively punching this movie in the face with jokes to defend your honor!
We’re very excited about the crew for this run. In addition to regulars John Erler and Joe Parsons, we’ve got special guest comedians Mac Blake and David Jara whose work you’re familiar with from previous Master Pancake shows (”Conan the Barbarian” and “Roadhouse”) as well as several Alamo-sponsored Filmmaking Frenzies. Most recently they took second place at the “Rewind Kindly” filmmaking frenzy with their amazing 5-minute version of “Die Hard”. Check out the video here (and look for cameos by John and Joe):
We’ve taken a very homemade approach to costumes for our E.T. skit in the middle of the movie. Master Pancake costume designer Joe Parsons has crafted an amazing yet simple E.T. mask out of common household objects. Check out this video of John (and Henri) explaining on KXAN News how to make your own:
Tickets are still available for this weekend’s shows, and you can grab yours right here.
(John)
As Lars posted a couple days back, it’s been a crazy, CRAZY time around the Alamo Drafthouse.
As soon as the SXSW cyclone ended, we immediately jumped headfirst into a bunch of fancy shows. I wish I coulda been at the PIED PIPER OF HUTZOVINA show to witness Gogol Bordello frontman’s Eugene Hutz’ charming banter and antics, but I was at the MILLER’S CROSSING feast over at South Lamar instead. Superhuman local film enthusiast/professor John Pierson was the man responsible for getting Steve Buscemi to come out to surprise the audience as the film’s final credits rolled. There really was a thunderous outburst from the crowd, which kinda seemed to overwhelm Buscemi: “Come on, I was only in one scene…don’t get excited.” Anyway, he was incredibly gracious and seemed like a great fella even though they’d suffered the humiliation of receiving a ticket from a bike cop on the way to the theater.
Tuesday was officially Bud Cort Night at The Ritz, as the star of HAROLD AND MAUDE graced us with not only his presence, but vaudevillian stage bits, several clothing changes and even sing-a-longs with the entire audience! He was here to present his romance classic as well as Robert Altman’s BREWSTER McCLOUD and his own directorial debut, TED & VENUS. People were overjoyed to meet the iconic Cort, and he was presented with flowers and gifts from fans like he was the winner of a Mr. Universe pageant!
But there’ll be no rest anytime soon, as the Alamo soldiers on! Coming up on Saturday, we have a special daytime benefit for the Austin Girls Rock Camp being MC’ed by country/punk legend Rosie Flores with live performances by local girl-rock luminaries like CODE RAINBOW! and JENNY WOLFE & THE PACK, followed by a screening of the excellent documentary GIRLS ROCK! Proceeds will go to Girls Rock Camp Austin, so have fun, support the camp and get your tickets HERE!
Then on Sunday, we’re going to experience the ultimate movie nerd blowout between the forces of I LUV VIDEO and VULCAN VIDEO at the first-ever (and totally free) ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE TRIVIA CHALLENGE, presented by Weird Wednesday and Terror Thursday! Specially selected teams of six soldiers from both warring stores will convene for a Family Feud style face-off where the winners take the golden crown of Film Obsession Superiority! So come for free, get drunk, root for your favorite store or buy beer for your enemies so they slur their answers! Lars and I will be hosting this twenty-fisted knock-down drag-out battlezone with no survivors, and I truly cannot wait.
Clarke was an eerily accurate seer of the future and a relentlessly creative scientific mind who started off in a very real-world career of aeronautics and propulsion technology that later catapulted him into endless worlds of new concepts and brilliant, innovative fiction. Over the years, he became a contemporary/rival of fellow universal thinker Isaac Asimov, instituted several “Laws of Science and Magic”, had a gravity belt named after him and much more. But it’s fair to say that most people know him as the powerful mind behind 2001, and we’re proud to pay tribute to him at the upcoming April 12 – 14 2001 screenings.
We had an amazing time at the Red Bull Moontower party this SXSW, and nothing was better than kicking off the whole shebang with the BPM: Beats Per Minute Frenzy awards ceremony. After a special Quote-Along screening of DAZED & CONFUSED, Wiley Wiggins, the star who plays freshman Mitch Taylor in the film, came out from behind the screen and announced his picks for the winners. The final choice was all his, and so he distributed the prizes like this:
In third place, and receiving a beautiful Gibson guitar: Wet Gold by Potato Media.
In second place, and receiving an AMD-powered Dell laptop: I Wanna Have Your Baby by Dial Z For Zombie.
And in first place, receiving an AMD-powered Dell laptop loaded with Gibson music software: Moon Boil by Team Bullet Time.
Congratulations to all the winners, and we hope to see each of you back again for the SON OF RAMBOW Filmmaking Frenzy, currently ongoing!
It’s been a good week so far. We’re all pretty worn out from SXSW and we came to work yesterday knowing we have a giant slate of events to look forward to. Yesterday was a pretty auspicious start.
The great Steve Buscemi stopped by to say hi to the crowd after our MILLER’S CROSSING feast. Steve Buscemi walking into the Alamo is like Shatner and Nimoy walking into a Star Trek convention. The audience went INSANE, yelling BOOOOO-SHIMMY!!! And according to Zack, he hung around to talk to everyone in the lobby afterwards, so – Steve Buscemi – nice guy. Watch this space for more about the surprise Buscemi appearance from Tim and Zack.
I wasn’t there because I was down at the Ritz for the Music Monday presentation of the great doc PIED PIPER OF HUTZOVINA. Gogol Bordello leader Eugene Hutz was kind enough to stop by and introduce the film. He was very friendly, a great introducer, and an all-around good guy. He freaked out when he saw the Heavy Metal style Herzog shirt at Mondo Tees and he had to have it right away. On our way back to Stubbs we talked about Spaghetti Westerns a lot. He’s a huge fan of Sergio Corbucci and DJANGO in particular! Thanks to Graham Williams of Transmission entertainment for putting us in touch with his folks.
Today, we are super excited about having Bud Cort in for three shows. HAROLD AND MAUDE is all sold out but there are a few seats left for the 7pm BREWSTER MCCLOUD (My favorite) and at midnight we’ll be screening Bud’s directorial debut, TED AND VENUS. Please join us if you can.
The icing on the cake today has been this slashfilm post that Matt Dentler sent us. Apparently Peter Sciretta likes our theaters. Thanks for all the kind words. We’ll keep working hard at it.
The mighty blur of SXSW is drawing to a close. I for one have had a fantastic time again this year in particular, with all of the ancillary tendrils. The vast depth and diversity of content has impressed me this year more so than in any previous year. I’ve read some fairly negative editorials online though, regarding commercialism/greed/crowds/whatever-else-people-want-to-bitch-about, and I have to say, that really pisses me off. SXSW is unparalleled in my experience, and we’re pretty damn lucky that we live in the host city and can soak it all in.
Anyhow, that said, there’s only 2 days left of movies, which is the real reason I am writing.
Here’s what I would recommend based on what I have personally seen/heard:
Friday, March 14:
6:00 PM Humboldt County, Alamo Ritz
9:00 PM The Upsetter: The Life & Music of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Alamo Ritz
11:00 PM Midnight Shorts, Alamo Ritz
Saturday, March 15:
4:00 PM Cook County, Alamo Lamar
4:30 PM The Night James Brown Saved Boston, Alamo Ritz
8:00 PM Heavy Metal in Baghdad, Alamo Ritz
Crowds have tapered off, so you should be able to get into these screenings without a badge. If you are going to the Ritz, I recommend parking north of the district and walking down into the fray. It’s not so bad as long as you don’t drive right down into the heart of it.
