Mad Dog Movies » Trailers & Upcoming Films

Join me at 360 | 365

Mike — Wed, 05 May 2010 05:28:56 +0000

It’s film festival season again in Rochester, and this year’s 360 | 365 George Eastman House Film Festival looks pretty promising.

I’ve been involved behind the scenes — I manage the website and I was on the short film panel — but there’s a ton of features I haven’t seen yet.

I encourage all film fans to check the schedule and come out to support the festival!

Here are some recommended events:

AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE
Thursday, May 06, 2010 9:45 PM
Dryden Theater
and
Saturday, May 08, 2010 7:30 PM
Little Theatre – Little 5

A history of exploitation films in America. I’ve been captivated by this genre for the last several years, which is why I jumped at the chance to provide some animated titles for the doc. Director Elijah Drenner will be in attendance.

MADE IN ROCHESTER
Little Theatre – Little 1
Thursday, May 06, 2010 6:45 PM

Here’s your chance to see the best films from the 360 | 365 Shorts Contest, plus films from Michelle Cardulla, Stan Main, Dave Marshall, and last but not least… Mike Russo’s VIRGIN FANG, starring yours truly as Draculess the timid vampire.

ADULT SHORTS: Hidden Worlds
Little Theatre – Little 1
Thursday, May 06, 2010 9:00 PM

ADULT SHORTS: Private Lives
Little Theatre – Little 5
Saturday, May 08, 2010 5:00 PM

These are the two shorts blocks I helped curate.
We watched about 130 entries, then chose the 15 we loved. Trust me, these are some great films.

WE CAN SHINE: FROM INSTITUTIONS TO INDEPENDENCE
Curtis Theatre
Sunday, May 09, 2010 3:00 PM

My student, Adrian Esposito, has completed his third documentary feature, and this is the best one to date. In We Can Shine, he shares the dark history of institutions for the disabled and how improvements have been made in recent years.

FREE PANELS

Local filmmakers should take advantage of the panel events at the festival, including the following:

Demo: RED CAMERA
The Austin Connection
Screenwriter’s Panel
Screenplay Live!

MUCH MUCH MORE

As if that’s not enough, I want to take in the following as well:

THE S FROM HELL
GONE WITH THE POPE
WAKE IN FRIGHT
THE SECRET OF KELLS
IT CAME FROM KUCHAR
CELL 211
HARRY BROWN
A CONVERSATION WITH THELMA SCHOONMAKER
THE RED SHOES

See you at the fest! Visit http://film360365.com for schedule and ticket information.

360 | 365 on Facebook

360 | 365 on Twitter

American Grindhouse to premiere at SXSW

Mike — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:41:57 +0000

Great news! The documentary American Grindhouse (for which I provided some animated “film burn” titles) will be premiering next month at South by Southwest in Austin, TX!

Dates have been confirmed for:
Saturday, March 13th at 9 pm
Tuesday, March 16th at 10 pm

It’s terrific documentary about the history of exploitation film in America. Great interviews and tons of clips — featuring interviews with master filmmakers Joe Dante, Larry Cohen, John Landis, Herschell Gordon Lewis, William Lustig, Ted V. Mikels, Fred Olen Ray, Lewis Teague and more.

ALSO, the movie will be playing at the Boston Underground Film Festival the week of March 25 – April 1.

Congrats to director Elijah Drenner and crew!

Here is the official SXSW Greenband Preview. Warning, includes some sexiness…

Taste the Fear of Mind Rip

Mike — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:21:58 +0000

I am a man of many projects, a spinner of many plates, a weaver of many websites. In addition to my work at Animatus Studio, I work with writer/director John Vincent on developing his horror feature scripts.

Today, we launched new Philrose Productions website, online at philrosefilms.com . I’ve been eager to leave behind the old Flash navigation for a while now, plus I wanted to incorporate the news blog into the main site. You may notice the design uses a similar sliding menu as the one here on Mad Dog Movies — both templates are based on ones designed by Wayne Connor.

This redesign goes hand in hand with the reveal of our new Mind Rip trailer. What’s Mind Rip? It’s an ode to drive-in horror — with a mad scientist, monsters, and zombies. We’ve produced the trailer as a proof of concept, with the idea of shooting a complete feature down the road.

Find out more about Mind Rip here

Mind Rip Trailer from Mike Boas on Vimeo.

The Grindhouse and Me

Mike — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:42:01 +0000

I just watched American Grindhouse, the all-inclusive documentary about the history of exploitation films in America. It’s a great doc, shining a light on the entire spectrum of fringe movies, from the earliest days of cinema to today.

My interest in the subject matter led me to become an “internet friend” of director Elijah Drenner a few years ago when he was working on the special edition of Jack Hill’s Spider Baby. He reached out to ask me to do some animated titles many months ago, and I jumped at the opportunity. I did “film burn” effects from scratch in After Effects, communicating with Elijah and editor Andrew Goldenberg (aka Goldentusk) entirely through email and Facebook. Who says social media is just a fad?

Yeah, it’s cool to see my name credited along side the likes of John Landis, Joe Dante, Jack Hill, Larry Cohen, H.G. Lewsis, and Fred Williamson. The movie has some great interviews with film scholars Eddie Muller, Kim Morgan, and Eric Schaefer (whose “Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!” sits within arm’s reach on my bookshelf right now). A nice surprise was discovering that the narrator is Rochester’s own Robert Forster!

American Grindhouse is making the rounds to “festivals first followed by TV, DVD, etc” according to Elijah.

In the meantime, check out the website at http://americangrindhouse.com

Connect with A.G. on Facebook here.

Some stills of my titles are online here.

Some of my film burn animation can be viewed here.

Friday the 13th Reboot

Mike — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 05:57:38 +0000

How do you market a remake to fans of the original and new, younger audiences? By letting Pamela Voorhees tell the story of what happened to her son.

I have to say, the trailer does a good job of summing up the franchise for the uninitiated and fans alike.

Friday The 13th in HD

I’m looking forward to this, partly because there have always been gaps in the F13 continuity. This is a good opportunity to remedy that.

Indie Docs about Studio Movies

Mike — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:27:59 +0000

In the last few years, several unique documentaries have come to my attention. This could be the beginning of a new trend: behind-the-scenes examinations of existing movies produced without studio involvement. These are feature length docs, similar to what you’d see packaged with a “special edition” DVD, but done without distribution set up ahead of time. Does this mean there’s a whole subset of documentary filmmakers inspired by the likes of Laurent Bouzereau?

What these projects have in common is their grass-roots marketing. The filmmakers have gone out to fan conventions to promote while still in production. They show scenes, get feedback, and even arrange to interview specific actors at these events.

Here are the movies that have sparked my interest:

The Shark is Still Working
This doc about Jaws has been in the works for years. There was already a wealth of material available about the Spielberg’s movie, including The Jaws Log and an admirable doc on the current special edition. That didn’t stop these filmmakers from talking to everyone who ever touched Jaws or was inspired by it. I’m afraid the final product is going to take a week to watch!

http://www.sharkisstillworking.com/

Beware the Moon: Remembering ‘An American Werewolf in London’
John Landis’ American Werewolf in London is one of my favorite films, so I can’t wait to see this doc by Britain’s “Tall Paul” Davis. He’s had screenings at a few horror cons in the USA, and the response has been stellar.

http://www.myspace.com/kesslerboy

Indy Fans and the Quest for Fortune and Glory
This one I just discovered, and it looks like the focus is more on Indiana Jones fans than the films’ production. There are plenty of fans (and hot models, apparently) in costume on the project’s MySpace page.

http://myspace.com/indyfans

A Four Eyed near miss.

Mike — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:31:21 +0000

Every once in a while, I check in on the Four Eyed Monsters movie project. It’s an Indie film project with a capital I. A little too mellow for my sensibilities, but I find it admirable, the non-traditional approach these two artists are taking towards filmmaking and distribution.

So tonight I find out I missed the online premiere screening of the film by about four hours. Not just any online streaming, but the first ever(?) movie premiere to take place in Second Life.

I signed up for Second Life about a month ago — I was intrigued by all the jawing Warren Ellis has been doing about it. After a couple days of wandering around, I found it a bit of a head scratcher. I’m not big into “chat” (I prefer message boards) so I couldn’t figure out what to do with myself.

But it did occur to me that using Second Life would be a cool way to promote a film or even set up a virtual theater. Well, Sundance and others were way ahead of me. Sundance was a sponsor of the Four Eyed screening, and hosted it for virtual people in a virtual theater. I assume there was a virtual question and answer period after the show. Cool.

(Instead, how did I spend my evening? Watching Steve Jobs talk about the iPhone, of course. So time wasn’t wasted.)

Rotten looks ahead

Mike — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 02:33:10 +0000

Ryan Rotten (who currently writes for Fangoria) is helping out us horror fans by giving a run-down of genre titles for 2007.

LOOKING FORWARD TO…

1.) Grindhouse
2.) Rob Zombie’s Halloween
3.) The Mist
4.) 30 Days of Night
5.) 28 Weeks Later
6.) Diary of the Dead
7.) Trick ‘r Treat
8.) Rogue/Primeval
9.) Doomsday
10.) Saw IV/Hostel: Part II
11.) Dario Argento’s The Third Mother

Check out the full blog entry here: http://blog.myspace.com/ryanrotten

Mr. Willis goes to Washington

Mike — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 16:01:10 +0000

Behold, the teaser for Live Free or Die Hard:

http://www.jurassicpunk.com/movies/livefreeordiehard.shtml

After Dark Horrorfest

Mike — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 20:41:52 +0000

I’ve had my eye on the After Dark Horrorfest site for a couple months. They said they’d be unrolling a national film fest for one weekend only in hundreds of theaters. And now that their website has been updated, it looks like a crazy good time.

The Horrorfest website (at http://www.horrorfestonline.com ) has been updated with a promo video (slick!), descriptions of 7 of the 8 films to be shown, and a huge list of theaters taking part in the event. (In Rochester, the Regal Cinema 18 in Henrietta is playing host.)

It looks like mostly independent product, including Mike Mendez’s Grave Dancers. There’s also one from Takashi Shimizu of The Grudge movies.

They’ve also been conducting a search for “Miss Horrorfest,” a sort of scream queen representative. Voting takes place on YouTube at http://youtube.com/horrorfest

After Dark Horrorfest: 8 films to Die For

http://www.horrorfestonline.com/

Each year, there are movies produced that are never seen by the public. Their content is considered too graphic, too disturbing, and too shocking for general audiences.

The festival, After Dark Horrorfest: 8 Films to Die For, is an exciting way of getting real, quality horror movies back to true horror fans . Tickets go on sale Oct 31, and the festival is scheduled to run from November 17th to the 19th. After Dark Horrorfest features 8 independent films (featuring Chloe Sevigny and Jamie Lynn Sigler amongst others), giveaways and parties.

THE FILMS:

Unrest

http://www.unrestfulmovie.com

Alison Blanchard begins her journey to become a physician in her Gross Anatomy class, where she must confront rows of cadavers and her own fearof mortality. When the sheets are drawn back revealing her cadaver, Alison senses a presence in the lab. Her jaded professor chalks it up to first year “jitters” but her worries increase when a friend is found dead in the basement. Alison must find out the truth behind her cadaver before its angered spirit can wreak further vengance on those who dared to disturb the body.

Directed by:
Jason Todd Ipson, director of the award winning short film “Peeping Tom” and “The First Vampire”.

—

Penny Dreadful

http://www.pennydreadfulthemovie.com/

Penny, (Rachel Miner: “The Black Dahlia”, “Bully”, “The Memory Thief”), a young woman traumatized by a childhood auto accident that killed her parents, accompanies her therapist, (Mimi Rogers: “Austin Powers”, “Someone To Watch Over Me”), on a road trip back to the scene of the accident as part of her therapy to overcome her fear of cars. But, when the two women accidentally cross paths with a dark and mysterious Hitch Hiker on a lonely stretch of mountain highway an attempt at healing suddenly takes a terrifying detour into a horrorific life and death struggle with a ruthless, deranged killer bent on preying upon Penny’s worst fears.

Directed by:
Richard Brandes (“Out For Blood”, “Devil In The Flesh”)

—

The Grave Dancers

http://gravedancers.com/

“Old-school terror the way it should be.” Winner of rave reviews at the Tribeca Film Festival. A group of friends’ lives are invaded by a trio of hostile ghosts after they engage in a drunken bout of gravedancing during a wake for an old chum.

Directed by:
Mike Mendez (The Convent, Killers)

—

The Hamiltons

http://www.sffilms.tv/thehamiltons/

The highly-acclaimed winner of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Malibu Film Festival. The Hamiltons seem to be the picture-perfect American family. They are hardworking community members; giving to their local charities, attending town hall meetings and always respectful of their neighbors… except for the fact that they usually end up killing them.

Directed by:
The Butcher Brothers

—

Reincarnation (Rinne)

http://www.j-horror.com/rinne/index.html

From the director of “The Grudge” and “The Grudge 2″ comes Reincarnation,a suspenseful psychological horror film that deals with the topic of reincarnation.

Directed by:
Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge, The Grudge 2)

—

Dark Ride

http://www.darkridethemovie.com/

Ten years after he brutally murdered two girls, a killer escapes from a mental institution and returns to his turf, the theme park attraction called “Dark Ride”. About to crash his path are a group of college kids on a road trip who stumble across the park, unaware that this thrill ride is the last one they’re ever going to take.

Directed by:
Craig Singer (Kill Charlie, A Good Night to Die)

—

The Abandoned

Called “Truly frightening and Original”. A film producer who was adopted as a baby and sent to America, returns to her native Russia and the family farm. Once there, strange things begin to happen including the disappearance of her guide, the manifestation of ghosts (including her own!) and the appearance of another man who has been drawn to the farm for the same reasons. Directed by Spanish Director Nacho Cerda (Ataudes de Luz, Genesis).

Directed by:
Nacho Cerda (Ataudes de Luz, Genesis)

10/29/06 EDITED TO ADD:
There are no longer any New York State locations listed on the website. Does this mean no screenings in Rochester after all?

After Dark Horrorfest in Rochester, NY

Mike — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 16:35:25 +0000

After some confusion about screenings in Rochester, it now looks like Regal Culver Ridge will be hosting this experiment in horror distribution.

Times are subject to change. I’m only reporting here what I found on www.horrorfestonline.com and www.fandango.com

I don’t see anything at Fandango about buying a weekend pass, but individual tickets can be purchased online.

SHOWTIMES
Irondequoit Regal Culver Ridge

Friday 11/17

1:45 – Reincarnation – 99:02
4:00 – Unrest – 84:51
6:10 – Dark Ride – 94:01
8:10 – Reincarnation – 99:02
10:15 – Unrest – 84:51
11:45 – Dark Ride – 94:01

Saturday 11/18

1:45 – The Grave Dancers – 96:10
4:00 – The Abandoned
6:10 – Penny Dreadful – 93:00
8:10 – The Grave Dancers – 96:10
10:15 – The Abandoned
11:45 – Penny Dreadful – 93:00

Sunday 11/19

1:45 – Wicked Little Things – 94:04
4:00 – The Hamiltons – 94:07
6:10 – Wicked Little Things – 94:04
8:10 – The Hamiltons – 94:07
10:15 – Snoop Doggs Hood of Horrors – 90:00

Monday 11/20

1:45 – Unrest – 84:51
4:00 – The Grave Dancers – 96:10
6:10 – Unrest – 84:51
8:10 – The Grave Dancers – 96:10
10:15 – Unrest – 84:51

Tuesday 11/21

1:45 – Reincarnation – 99 :02
4:00 – Dark Ride – 94:01
6:10 – Reincarnation – 99 :02
8:10 – Dark Ride – 94:01
10:15 – Reincarnation – 99:02

Moments from Comic-Con

Mike — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 07:41:02 +0000

I’m all Comic-Conned out, and I didn’t even go. After listening to podcasts from Reel Horror, Geekdrome, and Diggnation, I barely had enough energy to track down these vids…

Simpsons: The Movie
Shortly after Comic-Con unveiled animatics from the Simpsons movie, the clips appeared online. Funny as they were, they disappeared from YouTube mighty quickly. Fox is keeping this footage under wraps.

Lost
In addition to answering and avoiding the usual fan questions, the producers of Lost were accosted by an actress from the Lost Experience. It’s a part of a real-world game that’s too much work for me to play. It’s all contained in the Lost podcast, or check YouTube.

Scott McCloud’s Comic-Con presentation
The author of Understanding Comics has a new book coming out. Check out his multi-media presentation here.

Hellboy Animated Panel
The preview of Hellboy’s cartoon features is online here and here.

Grindhouse
The coolest movie project ever? Tarantino seems to think so. Check out the panel at Ifilm.

Spider-Man 3
Who knew Bryce Dallas Howard could play a blonde? See the amazingly calm actors talk about the most anticipated action movie of next year here.

Lord of the Spin-offs

Mike — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 05:45:30 +0000

The Lord of the Rings was a big success and based on a popular fantasy series. Naturally, some producers have looked around for similar properties to adapt in the hopes of riding the fantasy wave. We’ve already seen the first Narnia chronicle adapted, as well as several Tolkien documentaries and reissues of the animated LOTR and Wizards. Here’s a look at what else Tolkien’s success has wrought.

Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King

This feature premieres as a mini-series on SciFi this week, but it’s also being released on DVD at the same time. I scratched my head when the commercials hyped it as the best story to pre-date the Lord of the Rings. With the world’s blandest title, I somehow doubted it. After doing some research, I see that its original (European) title was Ring of the Nibelungs. Now that makes more sense. Yes, the Germanic myths that were the basis for Wagner’s operas did have a certain influence on Tolkien. I guess the SciFi Channel didn’t trust its audience to watch anything with “nibelungs” in the title.

In the Name of the King: A Dragon Seige Tale

Although based on a video game, the title and content seem cribbed from LOTR. Director Uwe Boll has angered the fanboy community in the past, but I think this could be an entertaining flick (or two flicks, if they decide to cut it in half). Maybe entertaining in that so bad it’s good way, but still… Read more about the film here

These next ones are more directly related to Jackson’s films:

John Howe : There and Back Again

I’m looking forward to seeing this 52 minute documentary on one of the concept artists for Jackson’s LOTR series. If you’ve ever watched any of the extras on the extended editions, you’ll remember Howe as the artist who already owned his own suit of armour. Anyway, I’ve been a fan of his artwork for years, and the doc is an examination of the creative process. Not available for sale yet, but it’s still making the rounds to festivals. Be sure to check out the trailer on the film’s website.

Ancanar

A Tolkien fan film with a big budget look. Actually, it mimics the photography and costume’s of Jackson’s movies, but the creators have invented their own characters, story, and locations.

Almost There and Back Again

A tribute to Lord of the Rings fandom, this short chronicles a group of role-playing gamers travelling across New Zealand in full costume.

My Philly Film Fest

Mike — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 05:01:07 +0000

Hmmm… the Philly Film Fest. I missed it last time, but I just might make the drive down for the second weekend of this year’s festival.

If I crash my sister’s place for a few days, I could take in Tokyo Zombie:

Japanese horror-comedy at its most outlandish, this hilarious parody of zombie movies features Tadanobu Asano (with an afro!) battling a very funny invasion of the undead.

Adventures in Animation:

Traveling beyond traditional “cartoon” aesthetics, the films in this collection push the genre to new heights of sophistication. Each animated film is uniquely stylized and pristinely crafted.

Isolation:

Genetically mutated cow fetuses terrorize a small farm – a concept which this Irish horror film treats surprisingly seriously, delivering a genuinely scary old-school monster movie.

From the director of Dog Solders comes The Descent:

Whether it’s the best horror film of the year (as many claim), or simply the scariest, this British chiller about young women fighting monsters in a cave has become an instant genre classic.

And this year’s ode to Bad Taste, Evil Aliens:

This riotous, comic British science-fiction/horror bloodbath about extraterrestrial visitors with a taste for dismemberment, decapitation, alien impregnation and anal probes, has become a recent international film fest favorite.

The only problem? I’m also planning a trip to Cleveland’s Cinema Wasteland the previous week. That’s a lot of gas money.

MySpace videos from Mike Boas

Mike — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 18:50:58 +0000

As long as I’m posting my YouTube links, here’s what I’ve uploaded to MySpace. Click the links to watch ‘em individually, or go to the MySpace Mad Dog Blog to view the embedded files one after the other.

It Came FromAnimatus (Trailer)

It Came FromAnimatus (Advert)

Su & Mo!

The End of the Line

The Phantom Run

Casting the Spirit

Tweet

YouTube videos from Mike Boas

Mike — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 17:56:24 +0000

Over the last month or so, I’ve been running into YouTube links all over the place. It’s really popular on MySpace (which now has its own competing video container) due to the fact that you can upload videos for free and then post them within pages, blogs, or comments.

So I’m hopping on board to promote Animatus product, as well as other videos. One unfortunate issue is that the website itself randomly pics the thumbnail images, so some are less than ideal. (See the subway thumbnails.)

Check out my profile here or click through the links below to watch vids online.

Su & Mo! (Trailer)

Su and Mo finally have finally earned enough tip money to complete their independent film! See the entire cartoon as part of the “It Came From Animatus” DVD, available from www.AnimatusStudio.com/dvd

Tags lap : cartoon : funny : festival : sumo : dance : animation : film

Runtime: 00:59 | Views: 53 | Comments: 0 |

It Came From Animatus (Advert)

A Cavalcade of Zany Cartoons! Three cartoon series on one DVD! Buy yours today from www.AnimatusStudio.com/dvd

Tags sumo : festival : cartoon : film : animation : viking : music : short

Runtime: 01:00 | Views: 4 | Comments: 0 |

It Came From Animatus (Trailer)

A Cavalcade of Zany Cartoons! Three cartoon series on one DVD! Buy yours today from www.AnimatusStudio.com/dvd

Tags cartoon : viking : music : sumo : animation : collection : dvd : independent

Runtime: 01:52 | Views: 12 | Comments: 0 |

The End of the Line – Rochester’s Subway

The history of the Rochester Subway, now available on DVD with over 45 minutes of bonus features. Order your copy today at www.AnimatusStudio.com/subway

Tags trolley : ny : documentary : train : subway : rochester : history : dvd

Runtime: 02:04 | Views: 3 | Comments: 0 |

The Phantom Run

An excerpt from “Motherless Child,” available in full on “The End of the Line – Rochester’s Subway” DVD. For more information, visit www.AnimatusStudio.com/subway

Tags tunnel : trolley : subway : rochester : dvd : ny : history : documentary

Runtime: 01:12 | Views: 109 | Comments: 0 |

Mock Trailers

Mike — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 15:38:08 +0000

NPR had a great story recently about the internet phenomenon of mock trailers. It’s not enough for some folks to watch trailers online — they’ve started recutting them to show just how easy it is to manipulate footage.

See the story here for links to “Brokeback to the Future,” a thriller version of “Sleepless in Seattle,” and (my personal favorite) a feel-good family film called “Shining.”

On a related note, movie studios are starting to take advantage of fan interest by staging contests like Slug It Out. Entrants are asked to take footage from the upcoming film Slither and cut their own 30 second commercial. The film gets a new bit of advertising, plus the contest builds internet buzz of its own. Ingenious.

I do recall a similar contest from a few years ago, one to design a poster for the first Resident Evil. The studio solicited for entries, announced a winner, and then didn’t use the poster for anything. It will be interesting to see if the winning Slither commercial actually gets to air.

Merlin makes a comeback

Mike — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 23:29:50 +0000

Because the world’s been clammoring for more of Sam Neill in a very long beard… MERLIN’S APPRENTICE features Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson, and John Reardon, who apparently starred in “White Chicks.”

I guess this particular Hallmark feature does have one thing going for it…

No Martin Short! His performance was so strange in the original series, it sort of tilted everything into camp. Then again, I’d rather have unusual than dull.

Did this ever air on television? If so, I must have missed it. It may or may not be coming out on DVD this month — it’s listed differently on various websites.

See the trailer here.

See more images here.

Sneak Peeks from Disney’s Annual Report

Mike — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 14:07:12 +0000

Every year I enjoy looking through the Disney annual report to see a taste of films on the horizon. This year, there are mentions of Cars, Pirates of the Caribbean, and a few others that are already being advertised. But here’s what the report has to say about a few features I previously knew nothing about:

An ambitious state of computer-generated animation is currently in the pipeline at WDFA. In December 2006, Disney animation leaps into the future with Meet the Robinsons — which will also be presented in Disney Digital 3-D — an inventive adventure that spans the space-time continuum of fun and fantasy, and is based on the bestselling book by William Joyce.

Future releases in production include American Dog, the imaginative new comedy-adventure from Chris Sanders, the creator of Lilo and Stich. Whith a style all its own, the film follows Henry, a famous TV dog, who finds himself stranded in the Nevada desert. Out in the world for the first time, Henry’s tidy life of scripted triumphs has come to an end, and his 2,000-mile trek through the real world is just beginning.

Also on the horizon, Disney animation great Glen Keane makes his directorial debut with Rapunzel. With his unique instincts for performance, great art and storytelling, Keane is aiming to raise the bar still further in this newest telling of the classic fairy tale.

These sound like some great animated projects. This is in addition to whatever changes John Lasseter will make, now that Pixar & Disney have merged. The idea of Toy Story 3 doesn’t make me jump up and down, but I’ll probably go see it anyway. It’s got have more potential than The Santa Clause 3. Sheesh.

Rochester Subway DVD Available for Pre-order

Mike — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 17:03:13 +0000

Rail fans rejoice! “The End of the Line – Rochester’s Subway” is now available for pre-order through the Animatus Studio website and Amazon.com. To purchase this special edition DVD for only $29.95, visit http://animatusstudio.com/subway

Animatus Studio has remastered the original documentary (previously only available on VHS) and included 45 minutes of new features.

=====================================

THREE ALL NEW FEATURETTES

* The Steel Wheel
Experience a round trip ride on the subway as it existed in the 1950s.

* Prodigal Son – Rochester Car 60
Video of the subway’s last surviving passenger car and an all new interview with one of the last motormen.

* Motherless Child – Remnants of the Subway
A look at the subway as it exists today. Includes a “phantom run” through the abandoned Broad Street tunnel.

PHOTO ARCHIVE
A library of 150 still images.

CLOSED CAPTIONING

CHAPTER SELECTION

OUTTAKES

SUBWAY MAP INSERT

“The End of the Line – Rochester’s Subway” tells the little known story of the rail line that operated in a former section of the Erie Canal from 1927 until its abandonment in 1956. Produced in 1994 by filmmakers Fredrick Armstrong and James P. Harte, the forty-five minute documentary recounts the tale of an American city’s bumpy ride through the Twentieth Century, from the perspective of a little engine that could, but didn’t.

Billed as the story of the smallest city in America to build and abandon a subway, “The End of the Line – Rochester’s Subway” originally aired on PBS and The History Channel. It earned a Bronze Telly Award and was voted Best of the Fest at The Rochester Independent Film Festival. For twelve years it has taught young and old the history of New York’s third largest city.

“This was a very important production for us,” says Armstrong, owner of Animatus Studio and The Animation Workshop. Since making “The End of the Line,” I’ve received letters from customers all over the world telling me how much they enjoyed watching it. I grew up in Rochester and rode the subway when I was about four years old. I could hardly remember it. This project helped me recall an important part of who we are and where we’re from. The letters are great because I know the film does the same thing for other people, even those who have never been here. Maybe that’s because our experience is similar in some ways to that of other cities.”

A transplant from New York City, Harte says, “Our job was to document the history of a subway, but we wanted to do more than that. We saw that the history of the subway paralleled the history of Rochester in the Twentieth Century. That gave us the opportunity to tell the story of a city using the subway as a vehicle. It was great for me because I’d just moved here a year or two before. The subway has a certain sadness to it, but I didn’t want that to be the whole story. This place has a lot of heart and guts too. The greatest satisfaction I’ve had is hearing young people tell how it makes them appreciate what Rochester was and what it could be. I think it makes them proud. I know it does for me.”

Collaborating on the Special Edition of “The End of the Line” are Mike Boas and Dave Puls of Animatus Studio and cinematographer Timothy Brown. Providing music are world-renowned composer Philip C. Carli and Rochester’s traditional music duo, The Dady Brothers.

Animatus Studio has been operating in Rochester, NY since 1989. The studio specializes in traditional animation for film and video, but also handles web animation, 3D and 2D graphics, and video editing.

Look for the MirrorMask

Mike — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 18:32:49 +0000

With all this hoopla about Serenity, I didn’t realize that MirrorMask was being released today in select cities. (What actually clued me in was hearing an interview this morning with Cheryl Henson, sister to the producer.)

A “sort-of” sequel to the classic Labyrinth, MirrorMask is the latest Jim Henson Company fantasy movie. It was produced in London, with Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean collaborating on the story and McKean directing. These two are mainly known for their work in comics, plus they also worked together on the british TV series Neverwhere.

Gaiman’s stories are of a grand, mythological nature. His Sandman series deals with life, death, and the afterlife in literary and historical settings. (I actually used the Sandman adaptation of the Orpheus myth in a class presentation once.)

McKean’s artwork is dense and scary. He uses collage technique, with a mixture of CG rendered subjects and photographs. He and Gaiman have collaborated on many projects, Sandman and otherwise. His art for the Batman graphic novel, Arkham Asylum, is trememdously disturbing.

So all this pedigree suggests that MirrorMask will be amazing. The trailer hints at a story of a girl drawn into a strange world, ala Alice in Wonderland. It looks to be done in a variety of methods, with computer art and effects creating the environments. This has been done recently with Sky Captain and Sin City, and the results have worked for me. Maybe it doesn’t look exactly like real life, but I’m more interested in style than photorealism anyway.

Over in McKean’s design pages at Apple.com, he talks about the production of the film:

“We couldn’t even use the Jim Henson Company to do the computer work,” he says, “because of our tight budget.”

“So, very quickly, we decided that the only way we were going to do this was to buy our own gear. So we used the effects budget of the film to buy a year’s worth of rent on a small studio space, a whole lot of computers and salaries for 16 animators.”

Up until now, I assumed the Henson Co. was doing the animation, as they’ve branched away from doing just puppetry over the years. Instead, McKean had to do it with a smaller team. Interesting.

Hopefully, the staggered release plan will pay off. Maybe this isn’t the kind of movie that should open on a gazillion screens at once anyway. An artful, intelligent fantasy film for kids and adults needs time to find its audience.

–> Visit the MirrorMask official site
–> Trailer (Windows Media & Realplayer)
–> Trailer (Quicktime)
–> Video clips and artwork

A message from Joss Whedon

Mike — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 14:51:12 +0000

Serenity opens across America tomorrow. Sure, I’ll be there, but will enough of the mainstream public turn out? It’s up to fans to tell non-fans how unusal and cool this franchise can be.

Here are some words of encouragement that creator Joss Whedon posted over at the Firefly/Serenity site.

Well boys and girls and boys dressed as girls and girls dressed as Kaylee, the time is almost upon us. This Friday we take that old rust-bucket out of the shipyard and see if she can breach atmo. It’s been a long (to paraphrase a band I like) strange trip, and it’ll be nice finally to show everybody what it is we’ve been tinkering with all this time. You already know you have my thanks, from the hardcore fans to the softcore… fans…. let me try that again. From the people manning the booths, buying DVD sets for their friends, getting banners seen everywhere on Australian TV, raffling artwork for ticketholders (Adam Hughes, take a bow), to the most casual fan who just wants to see the flick and won’t ever even read this. You guys are the fuel in the engine, the Fire in the Fly, the weird green stuff coming out of Serenity’s butt. (Hmmm. Forget that last one. I’m a little bit out of control here.)

Everyone needs something to keep them going. Mal has his ship. Zoe has her integrity. Jayne has Vera. And I’ve got you guys.

So what now? There have been so many posts about seeing it, seeing it again, the first weekend, the second weekend, being enthusiastic without being obnoxious (and yes, it IS hard to see over the pom-pom of a Jayne hat), buying tickets in advance, making a noise… I honestly wouldn’t know what to add. I can tell you this: the movie will play in about 2200 hundred theaters, which is a good number. Too many, and you get empty theaters with no energy — not enough, and you get, well, not enough. It may be hard to find in some areas but it’ll be out there. Leave no multiplex unturned! This is going to be a ground war, peeps — we have to hold the valley for a long while. However it opens, it needs to HOLD. Instead of the Alliance we’ll be fighting viewer apathy, fear of something new, the urge to wait for DVD, and Jessica Alba in a bikini. (Although I have it on good authority that she spends 90% of the film in a huge wooly parka. Make sure that gets out.)

The day this puppy opens, I’ll be seeing it with my family (don’t worry, there’s a lot of them, and they’re all paying) and then I’m off to Europe to learn the word ‘Browncoats’ in nine different languages — ’cause like I said, it’s all about holding. I’ll never be far from a computer, though, so I can check in with y’all. Thanks for every damn thing.

And remember, amidst all the urgency to make this an event, all the work and the worry, to take two hours and just enjoy yourself. That is, after all, what all this fighting’s about.

-joss.

Originally posted at http://browncoats.serenitymovie.com/serenity

Serenity Production Art

Mike — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 07:08:55 +0000

I’m trying not to get too excited about the upcoming Firefly movie. I’d just hate to be let down. But every once in a while I stumble across some nice pics from the flick here on the net.

See more, plus two whizz bang trailers, at http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/serenity.html

Whither Bond?

Mike — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 01:43:58 +0000

After decades of legal entanglements, the first 007 novel, Casino Royale, can finally be made as a legitimate James Bond movie. Ironically, the producers (Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson) are taking their sweet time picking a new face.

There’s a recent article by Anne Thompson and Borys Kit from the Hollywood Reporter that does a great job of laying out all the facts, heresay, and rumors about casting the world’s most resilient cold war agent.

Now, if I may be so bold, I will attempt to summarize their summary.

FACTS

Pierce Brosnan is out. Wanted too much money.
Clive Owen (“King Arthur”), 41 – Was approached by director Martin Campbell, but said he wasn’t interested. Strangely, he’s said to be doing a send-up of Bond as 006 in the new Pink Panther movie.

HERESAY
…courtesy of unnamed sources close to the production

Daniel Craig (“Layer Cake”), 37 – Broccoli liked, but Wilson didn’t.
Hugh Jackman (“X-Men”), 36 – Broccoli says not masculine enough.
Colin Farrell (“Phone Booth”), 29 – Judged too much of a bad boy.
Eric Bana (“The Hulk”), 37 – Not good-looking enough.
Ewan McGregor (“Star Wars”), 34 – Too short.
Julian McMahon (“Nip/Tuck”), 37 – Posed as Bond on a magazine cover and rubbed the producers the wrong way.

RUMORS

Colin Salmon (“Prime Suspect”), 43 – The black actor played another British agent in the last three Bond pictures.
Goran Visnjic (“ER”), 32 – The Croatian actor studied with a dialogue coach and supposedly did a screen test.
Henry Cavill (“Goodbye, Mr. Chips”), 22, – Screen tested.
Alex O’Lachlan (“The Oyster Farmer”), 28 – Screen tested.
Ewan Stewart (“Titanic”), 47 – Was said to have tested but did not, according to Sony.

IF THE FANS HAD A SAY
…polls & speculation

Jude Law (“Sky Captain”), 32 – Winner of Total Film’s Poll
Gerard Butler (“The Phantom of the Opera”), 35
Hugh Grant (“Bridget Jones’s Diary”), 44
Ralph Fiennes (“The Constant Gardener”), 42
Rufus Sewell (“Dark City”), 37
Matthew MacFadyen (“Pride and Prejudice”), 31
Karl Urban (“The Two Towers”), 33
Orlando Bloom (“Pirates of the Carribean”), 28
Jason O’Mara (“Band of Brothers”), 33
Jack Davenport (“Pirates of the Caribbean”), 32
Robbie Williams (“De-Lovely”), 31
Jeremy Northam (“Gosford Park”), 43
Dominic West (“The Wire”), 35
Dougray Scott (“Mission Impossible II”), 39
Rupert Friend (“Pride & Prejudice”), 26
David Morrissey (“Derailed”), 41
Gary Stretch (“Alexander”), 36
James Purefoy (“Rome”), 41
Ioan Gruffudd (“Fantastic Four”), 31

What it all boils down to is… who can they get for a multi-picture deal for a good price? Who is young, good-looking, and can do the accent? Who has star potential, but probably not a huge star already? Jeesh, it sounds simple to me!

Maybe they should go the digital route, and just insert Mr. CG Sean Connery from the upcoming video game. That would solve the problem of having to live up to the original, right?

Toronto Film Fest: Midnight Madness

Mike — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 21:43:43 +0000

The annual Toronto Intn’l Film Festival has posted its schedule. What do I focus on first? The Midnight Madness line-up of course — that’s where genre films are usualy slotted. In past years, they’ve shown Bubba Ho-Tep, Saw, and other movies I should have gone to see. Perhaps this year I’ll make the trek to Canada for a screening or two.

The line-up:

Hostel
Directed by Eli Roth
Roth is a huge horror fan who can talk a mile a minute. This tends to annoy some fanboy types who thought his Cabin Fever was overhyped. I liked it a lot — it was fun and gross, delivering both laughs and suspense. So I’m looking forward to Hostel. Something tells me this will be a bit more serious.

Evil Aliens
Directed by Jake West
Speaking of disgusting and funny, this sounds like the alien invasion answer to Cabin Fever. Or the Irish version of Peter Jackson’s Bad Taste. Either way, reviews say it’s a riot, so I’m eager to see it with an audience.

Banlieue 13
Directed by Pierre Morel
Yet another action film written and produced by Luc Besson. I’m sure it will be entertaining, with a slightly off kilter European sentimentality and sense of humor. But after paying my money for Kiss of the Dragon, Unleashed, The Transporter (okay — I didn’t pay for that one), I’m itching to see Besson himself direct another picture. See the French website and trailer here.

Bangkok Loco
Directed by Pornchai Hongrattanaporn
A black comedy from Thailand, featuring murder, Buddhism, and rock n’ roll.

The District!
Directed by Áron Gauder
Animated. South Park meets gritty Eastern Europe.

The Great Yokai War
Directed by Takashi Miike
The director of super-popular, super-violent Japanese gangster movies brings us… a kids movie. Also known as “Hobgoblins & the Great Wall” or “The Big Spook War,” this is a sort of Alice in Wonderland tale full of unusual Japanese demons and mythological creatures.

Isolation
Directed by Billy O’Brien
On a remote Irish farm, five people become unwilling participants in an experiment that goes nightmarishly wrong.

Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey
Directed by Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen, Jessica Joy Wise
See beyond the stereotypical orgy of drugs and groupies to the reality of life as a musician – the struggles and the triumphs.

Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic
Directed by Liam Lynch
You know her and love her from her appearances on Conan O’Brien. A stand-up comedy feature? Sounds great.

SPL
Directed by Wilson Yip
Simon Yam, Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen along with Wu Jing star in this new dark, gritty actioner directed by Wilson Yip.

Shootout at the Comic-Con

Mike — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 09:49:35 +0000

The best show to watch for film industry analysis is AMC’s Sunday Morning Shootout. They actually talk about the business of filmmaking and marketing, sometimes with executives, but also with big stars.

This past week was their Comic-Con episode. They packed in more interviews than usual, and with some big names from genre films. Most conversations centered around how Hollywood is using the convention to their advantage. Early adopters (of the geek or fanboy variety) get to sample upcoming movies, and in return the films themselves get some advance buzz going.

Interviews:
> David Glanzer, Comic-Con’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations
> Kate Beckinsale and husband/director Len Wiseman
> Charlize Theron
> Avi Arad
> Joss Whedon

Spotted:
> Life size “Boomstick” Ash statue
> Cowboy Bebop “Spike” figurine
> Yoda statue in the style of the animated Clone Wars
> The Ghost Rider motorcycle
> Posters for Aeon Flux, Serenity, and The Amazing Screw-on Head
> The Elvis Storm Trooper

Click here to watch the episode online. To catch the downloads on a weekly basis, visit http://movies.yahoo.com and scroll down to the bottom, then click on “Sunday Morning Shootout.”

A night of bunnies

Mike — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 18:39:30 +0000

After writing about the Hertzfeldt appearance, I realized I should make mention of Jennifer Shiman’s visit to Rochester as well. Her movies “re-enacted by bunnies” have been amusing me for a couple years now. Plus, they were a big hit at the Ottawa Animation Festival last year.

Here are the details from http://eastmanhouse.org/calendar

The Bunny Remakes
(running time approx. 90 min.)
Friday, August 26, 2005
8:00 PM

In 2003, flash animator Jennifer Shiman created a 30-second remake of The Exorcist with an exclusive cast of squeaky-voiced cartoon bunnies. An enormous success, Shiman has been commissioned to create an ever-growing library of “bunny remakes”: The Shining, Freddy vs. Jason, Pulp Fiction, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and more. Join us for a glimpse into the enormously popular world of web-based animation as Jennifer Shiman shows us the complete bunny series as well as examples of her early work.

George Eastman House
900 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607 (map)
www.eastmanhouse.org
(585) 271-3361

For more about the bunnies, go to www.angryalien.com

Don Hertzfeldt Retrospective in Rochester

Mike — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 18:39:50 +0000

The bad news is that Bruce Campbell has postponed his appearances in Rochester, along with all other post Labor Day tour dates.

The good news is that the George Eastman House is bringing in animator Don Hertzfeldt. Don has a huge fan base, due to his hilarious stick figure styled cartoons like “Billy’s Balloon” and “Rejected.”

From Jim Healy, assistant curator of motion pictures at the George Eastman House:

SEPTEMBER 24 SAT. 8 p.m.

Don Hertzfeldt in person! A Bitter Films Retrospective
(program running time approx. 105 min.)

Over the last ten years, a loyal cult following has developed over the uproariously funny short films of independent American animator Don Hertzfeldt. Using deceptively simple stick figure protagonists and brilliant comic timing, Hertzfeldt’s hand-drawn cartoons can keep an audience in stitches while simultaneously investigating surrealist and existentialist philosophies. An artist in the great tradition of Chuck Jones and Tex Avery, Hertzfeldt will be with us in person as we present this complete retrospective of work produced at his Bitter Films Studio, including AH, L’AMOUR (1995), GENRE (1996), LILY AND JIM (1997), BILLY’S BALLOON (1998), the Oscar-nominated REJECTED (2000), THE MEANING OF LIFE (2005) and more.

Tickets: $8, $6 members and students.
Advance tickets will be made available in September.
No Take-10 tickets or passes.

How to get there:

George Eastman House
900 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607 (map)
www.eastmanhouse.org
(585) 271-3361

For more about Don and his films, visit his excellent website at www.bitterfilms.com

Review: Midnight Movies

Mike — Fri, 05 Aug 2005 02:23:08 +0000

If you love cult movies, this documentary is for you. Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream pays tribute to an era of moviegoing that was unlike anything before or since.

The 1970s is generally regarded as the decade of the independent filmmaker. The studio system was breaking down, and more and more idealistic film students were breaking into the mainstream with unusual low budget productions. The films themselves weren’t all that were changing, however. The seventies also brought about a new method of distribution for movies that would otherwise slip through the cracks. Midnight Movies covers this phenomenon by profiling six films that became cult hits during this time.

What do most of these films have in common? For the most part, they were made outside the system (with the exception of Rocky Horror). They also present subjects that were too off kilter to see during daylight hours, but with a strong sense of purpose. As filmmaker George Romero says in the movie, “That’s the secret to the success of some of these films. There’s a focus and an intention and it doesn’t lie to you.”

I pride myself on being a sort of “weird” movie expert, but I’m sorry to admit that I haven’t seen all the films profiled in Midnight Movies. On the other hand, I have read the biographies of John Waters and George Romero. Plus, I’ve attended a Rocky Horror convention, so that should give me some extra credit, right?

The documentary begins with a look at El Topo (1970), which challenges the viewer right off the bat. I’ve heard about the works of surrealist filmmaker Alexandro Jodorowsky, but I was still surprised by how disturbing the clips from El Topo were. The movie is strange, no doubt about it, looking like a cross between Freaks and The Wild Bunch. Jodorowsky himself recounts how difficult it was to find ANY kind of distribution for a Mexican art film/western.

Fortunately, Ben Barenholtz of the Elgin Theater in New York took a chance on it and many midnight movies to follow. Attending these late night screenings became a happening, and (not surprisingly) the atmosphere was very smoky. “Just inhale a few times and you’d be stoned,” says Barenholtz. From what I’ve seen of El Topo, I’m not surprised that its viewers were fans of the herb.

George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968) was the next big film on the midnight circuit. Romero, as always, is a great interview subject. He tells how it took this unusual distribution method to make the movie a hit, as it had already come and gone as a drive-in feature. He attributes its success to his documentary style of shooting the zombie story. Night has a “reality” to it, like the news footage covering Vietnam and the civil rights movement.

Older films were resurrected for the midnight crowd, too. Movies like Freaks (1932) and originally anti-drug Reefer Madness (1936) were shown to new audiences. With the unlikely success of Reefer Madness, Larry Jackson of Boston’s Orson Welles Cinema explains how midnight screenings became “a party for ironic insomniacs.”

Pink Flamingos (1972), a movie I’ve always been afraid to see, was a huge hit that ran for ten years in some cities. Director John Waters and star Divine traveled the country roadshow style, presenting the film like a sideshow attraction to huge crowds. As one moviegoer exclaimed after one such screening, “I think John Waters has his finger on the pulse of America. I think he’s got his thumb… securely up America’s ass.” Waters recounts the making of the movie and its distribution, as well as his previous effort, Multiple Maniacs.

The Harder They Come (1972) was the next underground success. New World Pictures had already tried to market it as a Jamaican Superfly, which it wasn’t, and it flopped. But it became a sensation at midnight, mostly because of its incredible music by Jimmy Cliff. Before long, reggae was huge in the states, and screenings for The Harder They Come played a big part in that.

Even though I’m a fan of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), I somehow didn’t really know the history of its production. Through interviews with Richard O’Brien and producer Lou Adler, we get details about the original stage shows in London, L.A. and eventually New York. When the play flopped in NYC and the movie tanked, O’Brien and company were resigned to the fact that Rocky had run its course. Little did they know that their film would become the heavyweight champion of midnight screenings.

The phenomenon was all based on audience support. As Adler says, “We all made what we thought was a mainstream movie. The audience made the midnight movie.” Critic Jonathan Rosenbaum really sums it up: “The film was not sufficiently theatrical, so the audience corrected that problem by bringing back theatricality that the film had somehow diminished.”

After the fun audience participation of Rocky Horror and Pink Flamingos, we change gears to Eraserhead (1977). Described as “a dream of dark and troubling things,” This movie couldn’t be more different in tone, but it somehow built up an audience through the same distribution approach. Director David Lynch makes for an interesting interview subject, primarily because he’s usually so tightlipped about the meaning behind his films. Here, he tells about the making of Eraserhead and its first festival screenings, while remaining enigmatic about the film’s plot.

It wasn’t an overnight success, however. Eraserhead played at the Elgin for a long time before it caught on, but owner Barenholtz had faith in it. This is inspiring, but a bit sad, because there is little chance for a film to find an audience like this today.

Midnight Movies concludes by touching briefly on the changes that brought on the end of the midnight distribution model. The mainstreaming of exploitation subjects (as in Jaws or similar blockbusters) and the advent of home video made midnight screenings unpopular and unnecessary. Audiences weren’t supporting weird cinema anymore because they could get the same material in big budget movies or in the comfort of their own home.

This documentary is a great ride, giving the viewer an in-depth slice of American film history. The producers managed to interview the directors of each of the six main films. Some of my favorite moments were when subjects like Waters and O’Brien talked about the other films, giving praise to their fellow directors like real fans would. I should also mention the terrific graphics, in which the 2D movie posters come to three-dimensional life — very appealing. Midnight Movies was directed by Stuart Samuels, who has a long history of quality projects, my favorite being Visions of Light. If you haven’t seen this incredible documentary about cinematography, you need to seek it out.

Look for Midnight Movies to premiere Friday night at midnight (technically August 6th) on the Encore cable network.

Rochester Subway Documentary to be released on Special Edition DVD

Mike — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 15:41:18 +0000

The definitive history of Rochester, New York’s subway will soon be available on DVD. “The End of the Line – Rochester’s Subway” tells the little known story of the rail line that operated in a former section of the Erie Canal from 1927 until its abandonment in 1956. Produced in 1994 by filmmakers Fredrick Armstrong and James P. Harte, the forty-five minute documentary recounts the tale of an American city’s bumpy ride through the Twentieth Century, from the perspective of a little engine that could, but didn’t.

Now that Rochester has made the controversial decision to bury its experiment with rapid transit, Armstrong and Harte have decided to re-master “The End of the Line” for DVD. This Special Edition will contain forty-five minutes of extra features including:

• Over one hundred and fifty archival photographs
• Artifacts of the subway
• A period motion picture and soundtrack
• Original artwork
• Video of the subway’s last surviving passenger car and one of the last men to operate it
• Unique footage of the subway’s doomed remnants

This last feature stands out as the only safe and legal way to tour the subway’s Broad Street tunnel before it is filled with dirt next winter.

“This was a very important production for us,” says Armstrong, owner of Animatus Studio and The Animation Workshop. Since making “The End of the Line,” I’ve received letters from customers all over the world telling me how much they enjoyed watching it. I grew up in Rochester and rode the subway when I was about four years old. I could hardly remember it. This project helped me recall an important part of who we are and where we’re from. The letters are great because I know the film does the same thing for other people, even those who have never been here. Maybe that’s because our experience is similar in some ways to that of other cities.”

Collaborating on the Special Edition of “The End of the Line” are Mike Boas and Dave Puls of Animatus Studio and cinematographer Tim Brown. Providing music are world-renowned composer Phil Carli and Rochester’s traditional music duo, The Dady Brothers.

Animatus expects to have the new DVD available for purchase by mid-September, before the scheduled fill-in of the subway’s Broad Street tunnel. The price will be $29.95.

PRESS CONTACT: Fred Armstrong, Animatus Studio
PHONE: (585) 232-1740
FAX: (585) 232-3949
EMAIL: fred(AT)animatusstudio.com
WEB: http://www.animatusstudio.com/subway

Can’t get enough of those summer flix

Mike — Sat, 25 Jun 2005 23:16:02 +0000

I’m not listing EVERY MOVIE that’s coming out this summer. Just the ones that make me raise an eyebrow or two. Stats courtesy of Yahoo. Dates are subject to change.

Opening June 29, 2005

War of the Worlds
What strikes me about the trailers is how un-fantasy it appears. I’m reminded of Spielberg’s Close Encounters, which looked like it was really happening in 1977. The director has said he’s approaching the subject matter as a “what if?” story. How would the nation react if it became a refugee camp, under the thumb of aliens from another world?

Opening July 1, 2005

Undead
I used to be really excited to see this Australian zombie comedy/horror film. But that was 2 YEARS ago. Now I’m still going to see it, but my enthusiasm has waned. What’s cool is that it was done independently, even edited on Adobe Premiere. What’s not so cool? Lions Gate seems reluctant to advertise it as “funny.” There may be some angry theater goers.

Opening July 8, 2005

Dark Water
A remake of the scariest movie about a leaky ceiling ever made. It looks very similar to The Ring (too similar?) so I’ll be checking this one out. Jennifer Connelly!

Fantastic Four
Each trailer makes this movie look better and better. Sure, it probably won’t be up to par with Spider-Man and Batman, but I’m willing to buy a ticket anyway.

Murderball
A documentary about the high-impact sport of quad rugby, where quadraplegics in armored wheelchairs battle it out. I heard one of the subjects interviewed on Wease this week, and it sounds insane. How safe can it be playing a contact sport with a spinal injury?

Opening July 13, 2004

Hustle & Flow
This looks like Ice T’s life: a pimp struggles to make it in the music industry. Good looking photography. Stars Terrence Dashon Howard from Ray and Lackawana Blues.

Opening July 15, 2005

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
I wasn’t sure about this one after the first trailer. Obnoxious music, and Johnny Depp looking way too androgenous. Now, after seeing the second trailer, I’m almost sold. Now I get why they wanted to make another adaptation. The interiors of the factory look amazing. The squirrels in the nut room – like real squirrels! As for the Oompa Loompas, they’re all played by the same actor, Deep Roy, and he does a whole lot of singing and dancing as the hundreds of tiny factory workers.

The Warrior
Set in ancient India, this is the epic tale of a lone warrior, Lafcadia (Khan) who quits his job as the enforcer of the war lord of the Red Fort after an encounter with a mystical force during a mission to raid a village in the deserts of Rajasthan for unpaid taxes. Abandoning his old life, the warrior is chased into the Himalayan Mountains, pursued by his former employer’s forces… ultimately facing them there.

Wedding Crashers
I may have to break my rule about not seeing comedies in the theater for this one. I usually don’t dig the boisterous movies that set out to please SNL fans. The trailer for this one had me laughing along with everyone else, though.

Opening July 22, 2005

The Devil’s Rejects
The Firefly Family is on the run, and this time it’s serious. Director Rob Zombie is doing a grittier film in the vein of Straw Dogs or Badlands this time around. Plus, more Sid Haig can never be a bad thing.

The Island
This looks like a cross between Minority Report and Logan’s Run. Only Michael Bay would give us so many explosions in an existential story about the loss of identity and the morality of cloning.

Last Days
Reclusive musician Blake, who is asked for money and favors by all his friends, spends his time in and near his wooded home, becoming a lonely fugitive from his own life. A Kurt Cobain inspired story directed by Gus Van Sant

November
A paranoid thriller about a woman photographer whose boyfriend is killed. She later believes that the killer might be stalking her… The plot of this doesn’t really grab me, but I would like to see Courteney Cox-Arquette in a dramatic role, so I guess I’m interested.

Opening July 29, 2005

The Aristocrats
Comedy veterans and co-creators Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza capitalize on their insider status and invite over 100 of their closest friends, (who happen to be some of the biggest names in entertainment, from George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Carey to Gilbert Gottfried, Bob Saget, Paul Reiser and Sarah Silverman, just to name a few) to reminisce, analyze, deconstruct and deliver their own versions of the world’s dirtiest joke, an old burlesque routine, too extreme to be performed in public, called “The Aristocrats”.

Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)
Millions of Russian fantasy vampire fans can’t be all wrong. Check out my summary of the film here.

Sky High
Featuring Bruce Campbell as an overbearing gym coach in a school for super-heroes. That’s all I need to hear. (Wait, does this have anything to do with the Korean movie Volcano High about a school for super-heroes?)

Stealth
Deeply ensconced in a top-secret military program, three pilots struggle to bring an artificial intelligence program under control … before it initiates the next world war. While A.I. gone bad sounds like an okay idea, did they have to resort to LIGHTNING to make the plane become self-aware? C’mon, that’s so 1931.

Opening August, 2005

2046
A sort of sequel to Wong Kar Wai’s In The Mood For Love. It intertwines stories of the characters from the first movie, fictional versions of those characters, and robots living in the future! That doesn’t sound right to me at all, since In The Mood For Love was a touching character study about adultery in the 1960s.

The 40 Year Old Virgin
Steve Carell is a funny, funny guy. From Judd Apatow, creator of Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared.

Broken Flowers
Bill Murray stars as an over-the-hill Don Juan who returns to visit some of the last loves of his life. A big hit at Cannes.

The Brothers Grimm
FINALLY! Terry Gilliam’s latest seemed like it would never come out. Brothers Jake and Will Grimm, renowned collectors of folklore, have made a career out of traveling from village to village pretending to rid them of “enchanted” creatures. Their bluff is called, however, when they are forced by Napoleon’s French government to investigate a haunted forest where girls have been disappearing mysteriously. What they discover leads to a series of adventures involving an actual evil (and immortal) sorceress that mirrors that of mythology and the fables that the Brothers Grimm would eventually become famous for.

The Cave
How is it that people are STILL ripping off Alien? This one doesn’t look fun at all. Maybe I shouldn’t even list it here.

The Dukes of Hazzard
I wasn’t interested in this, but then I saw the trailer… The song “Black Betty” can really get you revved for a movie about a car. And Jessica Simpson. But why are Bo and Luke so dumb? That’s just not right.

The Great Raid
Set in the Philippines in 1945, “The Great Raid” tells the true story of the 6th Ranger Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci (Benjamin Bratt) who undertake a daring rescue mission against all odds. Traveling thirty miles behind enemy lines, the 6th Ranger Battalion aims to liberate over 500 American prisoners-of-war from the notorious Cabanatuan Japanese POW camp in the most audacious rescue ever.

Grizzly Man
Werner Herzog found something fascinating about the life of a man who lived and died with grizzly bears. I hope I will too.

Hellbent
Maybe I’ll hate this, but I at least want to see it. Hellbent is being billed as the first-ever gay horror/slasher movie. The film follows five gay men fighting to stay alive at one of the most outrageous celebrations of the year — Halloween night in West Hollywood. Talk about going after a niche audience… gay horror fans. No, I’m not gay.

The Pink Panther
I guess if you had to remake the Pink Panther, Steve Martin is a pretty good choice as Clouseau. This might be a real stinker, though.

Red Eye
This looks to be that rare gem that comes along once in a great while: a Wes Craven movie that doesn’t disappoint.

The Skeleton Key
Kate Hudson fights voodoo in New Orleans. Saw the trailer for this again the other night, and it still doesn’t look scary. John Hurt is usually pretty good, though.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Asian horror and action fans seem to love this flick. I’m actually surprised it’s getting a U.S. theatrical release. Now I’ll have to check it out.

Valiant
A WWII tale about carrier pigeons vs. hawks, CG animated in England and released by Disney.

September

Serenity
Okay, not a summer movie. But I’m excited enough about Joss Whedon’s Firefly movie that I need to include it on the site somewhere. I caught the trailer the other night. It actually looks like a bigger episode of the show (same sort of TV photography and cast) with bigger and better effects. River does some major Kung Fu, and I thought I even saw a Reaver or two.

Bruce Campbell at Rochester’s George Eastman House

Mike — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 22:14:20 +0000

When I discovered cult movie icon Bruce Campbell would be visiting Buffalo and Syracuse in September, but not Rochester, I cried out “NOOOOO!” just like Ash did in a moment of despair from Evil Dead II.

Okay, not really.

But I did send off an email to Jim Healy, programmer at the Eastman House’s Dryden Theatre. I let him know that Bruce was touring to promote his book, and that he was screening his directorial debut, The Man With the Screaming Brain, at select appearances.

So, lo and behold, we now have the most ironic B-movie actor of our time trekking to Rochester. Come out to the Dryden ~~on Thursday, September 11~~ for a rollicking good time as Bruce introduces his Bulgarian action/comedy and signs some books. Don’t forget to bring some cash so you can get your own copy of Make Love, the Bruce Campbell Way. Or better yet, buy your book right now, and then bring it that night. C’mon, it’s on the New York Times Best Seller List and everything!

UPDATED AUGUST 8, 2005: SHOW POSTPONED

Bruce Campbell has postponed indefinitely the second leg of his Fall book/movie tour.

“Hey folks, some of you will notice that my book tour has recently been amended to end after Labor Day. The reasons are due to scheduling issues, and I have every intention of visiting those fine NE cities for the next round of my Love book tour, which will resume some time next summer.” -Bruce Campbell

For the latest tour info, visit www.bruce-campbell.com

Animated Horror

Mike — Sat, 25 Jun 2005 18:41:10 +0000

I’m a horror fan. I’m also an animator. It’s only natural for me to want to combine the two in the projects I’m working on, but until recently there haven’t been too many horror cartoons. That’s about to change with some upcoming shows and movies.

The Corpse Bride

Coming in September is a stop motion feature from producer Tim Burton, a follow-up of sorts to The Nightmare Before Christmas. This seems like an instant hit to me. When I saw the trailer recently, there were murmurs of excitement all around the theater. The character design reminds you of Jack Skellington, but also is similar to the look of Burton’s short film “Vincent.” Check out the website at CorpseBrideMovie.com

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Who doesn’t love Wallace and Gromit? I’m so happy they’ve finally got a feature film, an a horror-inspired one at that. Visit the website at www.wandg.com

The Amazing Screw-On Head

Mike Mignola’s screwy comic will soon be an animated series on the SciFi channel. Mignola is the amazing artist who created Hellboy and contributed conceptual designs to Disney’s Atlantis. Read about Screw-On Head over at Ain’t it Cool News. Or see some screwy artwork and an interview with Mignola at VRMMM.com.

El Superbeasto!

My favorite rock star Rob Zombie has a film in the works based on characters from his Spookshow International comic. It’ll be produced by Anchor Bay (one of the best horror DVD companies around) and involves talent from Spongebob and Dexter’s Lab. See some pre-production art over at Dread Central.

Monster House

Robert Zemekis just can’t get enough of that motion capture style he used so well in The Polar Express. The next such project is Monster House, about a three boys and… a house you wouldn’t want to go home to. Sounds like something out of Stephen King’s Dark Tower books. See the lenticular poster over at Ain’t it Cool News.

If I had been to Cannes

Mike — Sat, 18 Jun 2005 04:45:04 +0000

Every year I like to watch the Cannes Film Festival awards ceremonies on Bravo. I either missed the awards this year, or Bravo didn’t air them, so I tripped on over to Roger Ebert’s website to read his in-depth reports. Here are some of the movies he mentions that sound intriguing this year.

Match Point
Woody Allen’s latest probably would have won some awards if it was in competition. Stars Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Emily Mortimer, and Brian Cox.

Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang
I wonder if there will be any references to James Bond in this action/comedy? (As is known among 007 fans, Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was Bond’s nickname in Japan.) Starring Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr, the plot sounds like an old noir tale. It’s probably told with a bit of irony and humor, as it is written by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, The Long Kiss Good-Night).

Last Days
Gus Van Sant does his third consecutive “death” film with a fictionized story based on the final days of Kurt Cobain.

Where the Truth Lies
Another great performance from Kevin Bacon, who has been taking some challenging roles lately. Directed by Canadian Atom Egoyan (Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter, Ararat).

A History of Violence
The latest from David Cronenberg. Is it horror? Maybe. A man with a mysterious past is driven to violence when held up at gunpoint one day. He may or may not be a hero. Things get weird when a scary looking Ed Harris shows up and asks questions.

Hidden (French title: Caché)
This sounds downright Lynchian, with people receiving survelance videotapes that may or may not have been shot by actual people.

Manderlay
In Lars Von Trier’s sequel to Dogville, Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village) steps into the role played by Nicole Kidman.

Me and You and Everyone We Know
Ebert’s favorite film at Sundance. He also gave it a glowing review on his TV show

Factotum
Stars Matt Dillon as Charles Bukowski’s alter ego Henry Chinaski, the poet of Skid Row.

Broken Flowers
A drama/comedy by Jim Jarmusch, starring Bill Murray as a womanizer who tracks down his former lovers.

Grizzly Man
Werner Herzog’s documentary about Tim Treadwell, a man who spent his summers wandering unarmed among the grizzly bears of Alaska, thinking of them as his friends. All except for the one who ate him.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
An old school morality tale directed by Tommy Lee Jones. “The Head of Alfredo Garcia Meets the Treasure of the Sierra Madre.” Jones won best actor and the film won best screenplay at Cannes.

Don’t Come Knocking
Wim Wenders’ film about a broken-down cowboy has also played in Chicago and other venues. It stars Sam Shepard (who wrote it), Gabriel Mann, Jessica Lange, Fairuza Balk, and Sarah Polley.

Three Times
A trio of stories directed by Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao Hsien. Each one starring the actress Shu Qi and the actor Chang Chen. Each story displays a radically different style, including one shot as a silent film.

Other notes from Cannes

–> Werner Herzog has left for Thailand to scout locations for a fiction film based on his documentary “Little Dieter Needs to Fly,” about a German who joined the American army, was taken captive by the Viet Cong, escaped, and walked to freedom through hundreds of miles of jungles filled with tigers, snakes, fevers and chills.

–> DreamWorks Animation Unleashes Gromit at the Cannes Film Festival

–> Australian Film Wolf Creek picked up by Miramax

Night Watch / Day Watch / Dusk Watch

Mike — Thu, 21 Apr 2005 23:05:45 +0000

I’ve been reading about how terrific this Russian film trilogy is going to be. It seems to have something to do with vampires, but don’t hold that against it. Definitely apocalyptic looking.

According to the BBC, Night Watch is the most successful Russian movie ever, earning more than 12 million so far. That doesn’t sound like much compared to U.S. grosses, but it’s more than Return of the King made over there.

Plot synopsis:

Set in contemporary Moscow, “Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)” revolves around the conflict and balance maintained between the forces of light and darkness — the result of a medieval truce between the opposing sides. As night falls, the dark forces battle the super-human “Others” of the Night Watch, whose mission is to patrol and protect. But there is constant fear that an ancient prophecy will come true: that a powerful “Other” will rise up, be tempted by one of the sides, and tip the balance plunging the world into a renewed war between the dark and light, the results of which would be catastrophic. “Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)” is the first installment of a trilogy based on the best-selling sci-fi novels of Sergei Lukyanenko entitled Night Watch, Day Watch and Dusk Watch.

It’s now appearing at the Tribeca Film Fest. From The Village Voice:

A box-office smash in Russia last summer, this metaphysical horror thriller stages a battle between Light and Dark forces in present-day Moscow—complementing the struggle over a young boy’s destiny with simplistic but convoluted mythology and a ton of Slavic brooding. Director Timur Bekmambetov is a Roger Corman protégé, and there’s an endearing B-movie spirit to the enterprise, copious digi-effects notwithstanding. Amusingly crammed with blatant steals from the Matrix, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings movies (not to mention Buffy, the David Fincher playbook, and even Jonathan Glazer’s iconic UNKLE video), it’s itself the first in a trilogy—still to come: Day Watch and Dusk Watch. A Fox Searchlight release, opens July. – LIM

Fox Searchlight’s site has a trailer: http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/nwnd/

The original Russian site: http://www.dozorfilm.ru/

Trailer for the first sequel, Day Watch: http://wooderson.aintitcool.com/daywatch.mpg

Encore Midnight Movie Doc

Mike — Thu, 21 Apr 2005 07:24:31 +0000

When Encore (part of the Starz family of stations) was carried in Time Warner’s basic cable package, I thought it was one of the best networks ever. I stopped getting it a couple years ago, and every once in a while I’m reminded of how cool it was.

Encore’s new documentary, “Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream,” is premiering at Cannes. It sounds like a great piece. Here’s what their press release has to say:

“Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream” focuses on the phenomenon of 1970′s cult films, and the major continuing influence they have had on pop culture and modern society. The special, based on the book of the same name by noted film scholar and documentary filmmaker Stuart Samuels (who produces and directs), is set to air on Encore August 5th at midnight. Appearing in the documentary are directors John Waters (“Pink Flamingos”), David Lynch (“Eraserhead”), George Romero (“Night of the Living Dead”), A. Jodorowsky (“El Topo”), Perry Henzell (“The Harder They Come”), Richard O’Brien (creator and star of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”), noted author and film critic Roger Ebert, and Rocky Horror producer Lou Adler, among others.

In addition to their great series on directors, Encore also ran an outstanding doc about editing recently. I managed to get a copy of that, so maybe I’ll be able to swing this Midnight Movie one, too.

Updated to add:
Check out my review of Midnight Movies.
Enter the Midnight Movies Contest.