AFF09 Daily Dispatch: Day One

Day one is over, and day two is just beginning of Austin Film Festival (Food and Film event not withstanding).  There's just so much to do, with so many great panels to choose from, not to mention the films.

Registration was a but slow and confusing, but I was one of those "other" people, who had a late registration as media, and then as an Austin Film Festival member, I had a free film pass to pick up as well.  Had a chance to talk to a few friends, including Austin's Patrick Sullivan, who is a screenplay competition finalist.  I hope we get to celebrate a win there on Saturday.

I ended up seeing Slackerwood contributor Chris Holland's panel with Kelly Williams and James Faust, "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over," moderated by Greg Garrett.  Chris, as you may know, authored the book Film Festival Secrets, and as a former festival programmer and current B-Side principal, knows about festivals from the inside out.  All the panelists offered sound, practical advice, including details often overlooked, such as putting your film's title on the DVD you submit to festivals. Much of the advice is the same as any career development coach would give, that amounted to making it as easy as possible for the festivals to say "yes" to your film. 

Then it was over to the Mohawk for the opening reception, with cake balls and sushi.  It was a short stop, as I wanted to see "Matthew Weiner presents...Mad Men" over at the Ritz, which was packed by the time I got there. It ended up being the "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency" episode, which is easily my favorite episode.

Weiner's Q&A was entertaining, particularly the quote about Don Draper, "He's so disgusting. If he came to my door right now, I'd f*ck him for an hour."

At that point, I wasn't sure what to do, so I ended up having dinner with a couple of the Film School Rejects crew at the Iron Cactus and then dodging drunks on Sixth Street to get to Youth in Revolt at the Paramount.  It was refreshing to see Michael Cera stretch a bit, but Adhir Kalyan was quite a scene stealer. 

Then it was a mad dash back to the Ritz for ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction, because I'm a sucker for zombies.  More drunk-dodging, but more "missing" posters for The Scenesters, too, as shown in the photo at the top of this entry. These guys have the marketing edge of the festival, it seems. Our group also passed some ghostbusters outside the Ritz, for the Ghostbusters Quote-Along. The ghostbusters were all over Sixth street last night, so if you were wondering why, just look to the Alamo. If you're new to Austin/AFF, this won't be the only character invasion; the annual Zombie Lurch to the Capitol happens on Sunday, so if you're in line at the Paramount, you'll need to watch out for zombies.

Unfortunately, ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction is likely to be my least favorite screening of the fest.  It was talker and texter central. I've only raised the "talker flag" three other times, even as an Alamo Drafthouse regular who considers lights out silent time. Last night, I raised the flag 10 minutes in. By the end of the film, two rows of people were talking.  It's very Troma-esque, with inconsistent makeup and an obsession for easy arm removal, but it had moments of brilliance. Some of the effects were great, and some memorable quips as well, but overall, not something I plan on seeing again.  As a first film, writers Ramon Isao and Kevin Hamedani (who also directed) do show promise, but sitting near texters and talkers really didn't help.   

After that, there was only a half hour left of the first-night party, but we made the best of it. Today, I'm getting a late start, but it looks like some Texas barbecue is in my future. I'm having trouble trying to pick the films to see tonight.