Celebrity Sightings

I am utterly amazed -- after only three days at Fantastic Fest, it feels like I've been at it a solid week. So many wonderful films and conversations, many that I'll share in later entries. I've yet to be in bed before 4 am, but it's been worth the lack of sleep to be part of the magic and chaos of Fantastic Fest. As a veteran attendee, the best advice that I can impart on newbies is to "go with the flow." Plans are great, but you never know when being in the wrong place at the right time means seeing firsthand why Fantastic Fest is what you make of it -- and there might be someone filming, more on that after the jump. The best part is seeing celebrities relaxing and enjoying the festival along with regular attendees, without fanfare or massive entourages.

My Saturday was one of martial arts and karaoke, with my first dive in the deep end of the Fantastic Fest party pool. Here are the highlights:

I started the day with Naan Kadavul, described as "a music-infused Tamil epic about a dope-smoking Vedic superman and a group of beggar slave children." Nothing could have prepared me for the culture shock of this film. Naan Kadavul is one of those films that I -- or any American, for that matter -- would have been able to see if not for the dedication of Tim League and the Fantastic Fest programmers in bringing this film to the festival. The film is not a masterpiece, but its gift is a view of a landscape that is both colorful and dirty, full of tradition and tragedy. 

Austin fans of actor Edward Norton (Fight Club, American History X) will be able to get a double -- or should I say triple -- dose of him this weekend with two major film events. Norton will be in town for the premiere of Stone at Fantastic Fest on Friday, September 24 at 7 pm -- a gala screening at the Paramount Theatre. He'll also be at Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz for the sold-out 8 pm showing of Leaves of Grass, which opens in Austin this weekend.

Don't assume Leaves of Grass is a "stoner comedy," as I almost did. This movie defies typecasting into one genre, as it ranges from comedy to drama to thriller. Norton stars as twin brothers -- Bill, a straight-laced Ivy League professor; and Brady, an uncultured pot grower in the backwoods of Oklahoma. Actor and director Tim Blake Nelson also wrote the screenplay, which is centered more around classical tragic themes in such a manner that viewers won't take long to forget that the characters are played by the same actor.

I sat down with several other film critics during SXSW this past March for a roundtable discussion with Norton and Nelson the day after Leaves of Grass played the fest. To find out why Nelson has inspired me to read classic Latin literature, read his and Norton's responses to our questions after the jump, and check out my review of the film appearing later this week:

Since Simon Rumley's Red White & Blue will be returning for a screening at Fantastic Fest this week, I felt it was high time I shared an exclusive behind-the-scene photo I'd taken during the shoot at our house, where part of the film was shot. Nick Ashy Holden ("Alvin") was taking a coffee break while Emmy award nominee makeup artist Meredith Johns (off-screen) put, the finishing touches on his special effects makeup. 

With all the new media nowadays it's increasingly difficult for filmmakers to keep a lid on their projects, but it's also a great way for filmmakers to promote their films with less money and effort if done properly. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger are not only free, but can have a viral effect if fans help promote a film. Red White & Blue was able to secure locations and extras through the Alamo Drafthouse blog, and is how our house was selected as a filming location. Check out more behind-the-scenes photos after the jump.

Texas-born actor Thomas Haden Church returned to Austin this past March to lend his dry wit and charm as emcee of the Austin Film Society's annual Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards. Church first served as emcee in 2009, and personally I would love to see him become a long-running host. It's probably not that unlikely -- Church resides on his cattle ranch near Bandera, Texas.

I've been a fan of Church since his eccentric role in the 1990s television sitcom Wings, and enjoyed his conflicted portrayal of villain Flint Marko aka "Sandman" in Spider-Man 3. He recently appeared in the teen comedy Easy A, but can also be seen in Zombie Roadkill, a new FEARnet web series. The trailers and PSAs for the series are hysterical and had me jumping out of my seat. Check out my favorite PSA after the jump.

Fantastic Fest attendees have a chance to see the first two episodes before their online debut at a special screening on Friday, September 24, at 8 pm. Director David Green, stars Thomas Haden Church and David Dorfman, producer Ryan Hendricks and writer Henry Gayden will be in attendance. The screening will be followed by the FEARnet party at The Highball.

Last Thursday night, the Paramount was completely sold out for the local premiere of Machete, the latest film from Troublemaker Studios. The event was a fundraiser for the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund and the Texas Motion Picture Alliance (TXMPA). Director Robert Rodriguez was on the red carpet along with a number of stars and supporting cast from the locally shot film: Danny Trejo (shown above, naturally), Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Daryl Sabara, Elise and Electra Avellan, Billy Blair, Mayra Leal, and several others.

Paul Gandersman took some excellent photos for Slackerwood from the Machete red carpet, as well as a few from the intro and Q&A inside the Paramount. This was an impressive feat since the red carpet was extremely crowded that night, both with celebrities on the actual carpet and media surrounding it. Here are some of the best pictures from that evening -- mouse over them if you want to know who's in them. For more info on Machete itself, read Jette's review. Many thanks again to Paul for the following photos.

Last Sunday night, I went to Alamo Ritz for this month's Cinema Club screening, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. Cinema Club is a monthly(ish) series that focuses on older films, with a discussion of those films afterward. A special guest is invited who has expert knowledge of the film being shown, and the discussions are often lively and interesting.

This month's Cinema Club special guest was Joe Bob Briggs, as you can see in the center of the above photo. You might not associate the drive-in movie critic of Grapevine, Texas with Preston Sturges movies, but he knew all about Sturges' work for Paramount and the ways in which Sturges managed to push this surprisingly racy-for-its-time movie -- about a young woman who finds herself pregnant after a night with a lot of soldiers -- past the Production Code office. I love Preston Sturges films and 1930s screwball comedies in general, but I definitely felt the limitations of my own film knowledge during the post-movie discussion. I didn't mind; it's a pleasure to learn new things about movies from someone like Joe Bob Briggs.

A note from Jette: I'd like to introduce you all to our newest Slackerwood contributor, Paul Gandersman. Paul is an amazing photographer who attended the Predators red carpet and world premiere. My own red-carpet photography skills have come a long way since my first experience with them, but Paul's photos leave mine in the shade. He captured some great photos of Predators producers Robert Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellan, director Nimrod Antal and star Adrien Brody. In addition, red carpet appearances included a couple of actors from previous Troublemaker Studios films who Joe O'Connell tells us are about to star in blacktino, a movie produced by Avellan (that I'd love to hear more about): Daryl Sabara (Spy Kids, World's Greatest Dad) and Jeff Fahey (Planet Terror).

I'm posting these photos without any descriptions in between them -- I think they stand on their own very well. For those of you needing a hint, you can mouse over the photos themselves. Enjoy.

While checking out photos from the red carpet events across the globe for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, I was struck by how photogenic co-star Ashley Greene is. Her natural grace and beauty stands out on the red carpet -- but perhaps I'm biased since I was able to get some great shots of Greene and the rest of the cast during the Skateland premiere at SXSW this year, like the one above.

It has to be no easy feat with the pandemonium that follows The Twilight Saga stars Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, as I experienced at The Runaways premiere. Stewart seemed quite withdrawn at the SXSW event both on the red carpet and onstage for the Q&A. I dismissed it as the effect of a rigorous press junket, but according to this NY Daily News article, Stewart is quite uncomfortable and fearful during large events. That would definitely explain why she spent most of the Q&A crouched down on the stage.

I was sorry to miss the City of Austin's "Night of the Bat" festivities a couple of weekends ago. Among the events celebrating bats and their ties to local history and culture, the Paramount screened the 1966 camp classic Batman. Back in 1966, the film had a gala world premiere at the Paramount. Texas Archive of the Moving Image showed footage of local interviews with the cast of Batman from that premiere, which you can watch online.

To add to the "Night of the Bat" fun, Adam West showed up and, I am told, fascinated the audience with a variety of tales from his Batman days. You can see West in the above photo (do I need to tell you he's second from the right?) with Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell and a couple of masked crusaders. We've got more photos after the jump, including the Batmobile.

You were expecting some Cine Las Americas news this morning, right? I didn't make it to the one fest screening at Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar on Tuesday night. I was at another screen in the same theater for a special star-studded screening of Iron Man 2 complete with gifts, Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau.

I don't have pictures, in part because no cameras were allowed in the theater -- and yes, at least one sneaky type was escorted out for bringing in a cell phone despite multiple warnings not to do so Security was tight, and for good reason. This was the first public screening of Iron Man 2 apart from the film's red-carpet premiere.

The event was the hot-ticket item for movies in Austin tonight, which is saying something. Every screen at the Alamo on South Lamar was booked already, most for special events, so there was no chance of an overflow screen being used. We were all seated about an hour early but in this digital age, so few of us had watches that it felt surreal.

When the event finally began, we were told we would see a video intro to the film, which has been done at special screenings before. But some of us just knew that this wasn't going to be a simple sneak peek. The gal next to me, who has a crush on director Jon Favreau, thought I was pulling her leg when I said I was absolutely sure he'd show. Not that I was told anything, but he was here for the very first Fantastic Fest's opening-night film (Zathura), so why wouldn't he be here ... especially since the twitterpation about this event started with him tweeting about this special screening? The video was a snarky comedy bit with Favreau trying to wrangle Downey's snipes about geeks. I told my seatmate to keep an eye on the doors, and she was enthusiastically surprised to see Favreau walk in.