Fantastic Fest unveils first batch of films

Director Jon Favreau’s ZATHURA starring Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart and Tim Robbins will debut at the inaugural Fantastic Fest October 6-9 along with Mark Mylod’s THE BIG WHITE starring Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Woody Harrelson, Giovanni Ribisi, Alison Lohman, Tim Blake Nelson, and James Woods. The fest will also unveil Henry Selick’s new animated short MOONGIRL and host the U.S. premieres of Paul Fox’s THE DARK HOURS and Christopher Smith’s CREEP starring Franka Potente, as well as a regional premiere of the acclaimed Australian horror film WOLF CREEK by Greg McLean.

Badges go on sale 5pm Friday, Sep. 9, at fantasticfest.com, which has more details about the event.

Termination at Screen Door tonight

My film Termination, which debuted at SXSW back in March as a work-in-progress (and, yes, won Best Texas Short), is finally sorta done... I think. I'll be "test screening" it tonight at this month's Screen Door at the Arts on Real Theater alongside eight other shorts, including the Duplass Brothers' The Intervention. Tickets are $5 at the door, and the program starts at 8pm.

Hello Kitty "Kigurumi" Mask

Look upon the Hello Kitty "Kigurumi" Mask and despair.

For a mere $38 (plus shipping), you can give friends, family and strangers their new nightmares - just in time for Halloween (or any occasion, really). Prefer to see/breath? Check out the fashionable Hello Kitty Bonnet (a mere $22) and a host of other disturbing Hello Kitty stuff at JBOX.com.)

The Pentagon is buying lightning guns.

Check out this freaky article entitled Xtreme Defense from yesterday's Washington Post. Here's an excerpt...

"Back in his lab in Anderson, Ind., [XADS President] Bitar has a large apparatus -- 11 feet high -- that shoots sparks about 16 feet. It's too large and cumbersome to be a portable weapon; he thinks it could be used for securing U.S. embassies. He also produces smaller units -- dubbed "StunStrike" -- that he says shoot four-foot bolts of lightning. His prototype for a rifle weighs about 25 pounds and can shoot electricity about 12 feet, he says. Gibbs, the Marine Corps official who first funded Bitar, has a fondness for edgy ideas. A chemical engineer and longtime proponent of nonlethal weaponry, Gibbs funds other offbeat projects, such as Medusa, an attempt to develop a weapon that uses low-power microwaves -- believed to cause an audible buzzing in subjects' heads -- to make people think God is speaking to them."

Lost sequence from Raiders of the Lost Ark

A sequence very similar to the opening of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was originally planned for Raiders of the Lost Ark (right before Indy goes to Nepal to find Marion) - but was cut from Lawrence Kasdan's script due to budget and schedule concerns, and hence never filmed. However, "a search through the Lucasfilm Archives has yielded a series of storyboards for the planned story arc, deviating slightly from the scripted version which fans have endlessly analyzed for years."


You can find the relevant excerpt of Kasdan's August 1979 draft here, see a slideshow of the 90 storyboards here, and read about how elements of the sequence were incorporated into Temple of Doom here.

First look at Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth

El Pais takes a look (and three pictures!) behind-the-scenes of Pan's Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro's gothic fable now in production in Spain. (The article's in Spanish, but you can try to read Google's painfully literal English translation of it, i.e. "Guillermo of the Toro".)

Guillermo was also recently interviewed for a fascinating article on Latinos in Hollywood for Backstage.com, and offered this amusing quote (reflecting on his second film, Mimic): "Hollywood is a large machinery. I think any time you operate with machinery the first time, you lose a few fingers." (For more Guillermo goodness, check out DelToroFilms.com.)

Krispy Kreme's Featured Doughnut Survey

Krispy Kreme is taking a survey to help Chef Ron choose its Featured Doughnuts for next year. The choices are Mixed Berry Filled, Glazed Cappuccino Cake, Chocolate Mint Kreme Filled, Cinnamon Kreme Filled, Cherry Filled, White Chocolate Mocha Filled, Glazed Apple Spice Cake, Banana Kreme Filled and Glazed Banana Cake. I can't say that any of them particularly excite me (okay, maybe the third one), but then again, ever since I got hooked on Whole Foods' all-natural doughnuts, Krispy Kremes just don't hold the same appeal that they used to (and now taste too sweet). But still, doughnuts are important, and this is your chance to change the course of doughnut history! (FYI, the current Featured Doughnut is Apple Cobbler. Eh.)

Zombies coming to American Idol auditions

So American Idol is coming to Austin this Thursday to hold open auditions at the Erwin Center. And someone had the rather inspired idea of unleashing a zombie horde on the event, terrorizing throngs of vapid pop star hopefuls (via a few dozen recruited volunteers and lots of make-up). Note the oh-so-important caveat that "this is meant to be fun/funny, not mean/violent, and, as such, we'll be working from the old-school George Romero staggering/shuffling school of zombie-ism, not the new 28 Days Later feral-fast zombie style." Uh-huh. We'll see about that. Anyway, I'll be watching the local news with much interest Thursday night...

Caffeine kills!

In case you haven't heard, Energy Fiend has a handy "Death by Caffeine" calculator that lets you figure out how much of your favorite caffeinated beverage it'd take to kill you, based on your weight. (Sadly, however, it doesn't tell you how much caffeine it'd take to make you psychotic, which is probably a little more relevant.) Anyway, it's based on their fairly comprehensive Caffeine Database, which lets you compare almost a hundred beverages - though unfortunately not chocolate soy milk, which is the one caffeinated drink I regularly consume... vast quantities of. Hmmm... (BTW, I meant to blog this the other day when I saw it on Kottke, but thankfully Herbert reminded me.)

Complete Calvin and Hobbes and Buffy coming...

In the category of cool stuff available for pre-order on Amazon that I really didn't need to know about, allow me to share the knowledge that currently taunts me...

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes is a 1440-page, three-volume slipcased hardcover collection of Bill Watterson's comic strip masterpiece coming October 4. It will retail for $150, but you can pre-order it (with free Super Saver Shipping!) for a mere $94.50 (37% off).

Then, prepare yourself for the Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Collector's Set on November 15, which collects all seven seasons of Joss Whedon's signature series on 40 DVDs. It will retail for $200, but you can pre-order it (with, yes, free shipping) for just $140 (30% off).

Interactive Astro Boy on sale at Amazon

My friend Ben did a teacherous thing to me yesterday by informing me of the Toys R Us Summer Bargain Blowout Sale at Amazon.com, where I found the $30 11" Astro Boy Interactive Figure on sale for 75% off, as well as three 5" Astro Boy "Abilities" figures - "Searchlight Eye Glow", "Arm Cannon Hand Glow" and "Rocket Boot Glow" - for just $5.29 each (34% off). How evil is that?

Oh, but it gets worse! Also a mere $5.29 are the Mezco 8" Abe Sapien and Kroenen Hellboy action figures (56% off). And the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Playstation 2 game? A measly $10 - 80% off! (Browse the rest of the sale at your peril.)

Rent a German.

Oh my.
(Thanks, Sarah... I think.)

TiVo to offer internet download service

On Friday, the Associated Press confirmed reports that TiVo will soon allow customers to download shows to their set-top boxes via the internet - even before they air. A day earlier, Engadget snagged some exclusive screenshots of this potent new broadband service in beta test, which will reportedly debut this weekend with three half-hour shows from IFC. So if you aren't already one of the 3.3 million people with a TiVo, now's a good time to get one (along with a USB network adapter to connect it to the internet via your cable/DSL modem or router).

Christopher Walken for President

The Rocketeer's Helmet

I absolutely adore The Rocketeer, which I dearly wish Disney would release a special edition DVD of (with a better transfer), but I digress. At any rate, Master Replicas is taking pre-orders for a limited edition full scale replica of the Rocketeer's helmet ($400), which I now thoroughly and obsessively crave with every fiber of my being. I mean, can't you just hear James Horner's score in your head just by looking at it? Anyway, it's part of the new Walt Disney Showcase Collection, which includes a replica of Cinderella's Glass Slipper ($250), as well as an exquisite two-and-a-half foot scale model of the Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ($500). It's getting expensive to be a geek!

Congratulations to the Alamo Drafthouse!

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has been named the #1 movie theater in the country by Entertainment Weekly in their "10 Theaters Doing It Right" feature story (in this week's issue). EW dubs the venue "movie-geek heaven" and "one of America's most fanatically unique moviegoing experiences." Damn straight! Congrats to Alamo impresarios Tim & Karrie League on a job well done, and much deserved recognition.

As previously announced, I currently have the pleasure and privilege of teaming up with the Alamo for Fantastic Fest - our new sci-fi/fantasy/horror international genre film festival - which kicks off in less than two months. (We should be announcing our first batch of programming by month's end. It's gonna be good!) But prior to that, I'm looking forward to attending the 6th Quentin Tarantino Film Festival Sep. 9-17, followed immediately by the Firefly marathon on Sun., Sep. 18. But prior to all those events, I'm kicking myself (hard!) that I missed out on snagging tickets to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy Hobbit Feast, and wish like hell that I could tag along for the incredible Rolling Roadshow Tour, which promises to be nothing short of historic.

Introducing the iPod Flea

Behold... iPod Flea.
Love it.
(Thanks, Tim!)

Batman's Shakespeare Bust

Holy geek bliss, Batman! Did you know that you can buy a (working!) full-size replica of the Shakespeare bust prop from the '60s Batman TV series on Amazon.com for a mere $300? You know, the one on Bruce Wayne's desk in his study? That hid the switch to activate the secret door in the bookcase? That revealed the Batpoles that whisked him and Robin to the Batcave each and every week?

I must own this. (Of course, I don't have a secret bookcase door to Batpoles that lead to a Batcave, or anything, but this replica uses AC power to activate pretty much anything you choose to plug into it. How cool is that?)

INTERVIEWS: Leung, Herzog, Gilliam

The New York Times profiles 2046 star Tony Leung Chiu Wai in a fascinating feature entitled Still in the Mood for a Collaboration. "One day your pop disappears. And from that day on I try not to communicate with anyone. I'm so afraid to talk to my classmates, afraid that if someone says something about family I won't know what to do. So I became very isolated. So that's why I love acting, because I can express all my feelings the way I couldn't for so long."

Meanwhile, New York Newsday talks to director Werner Herzog about his new documentary Grizzly Man and his fascination with risk takers. "Sometimes, it is better to have a question. It is better to have a dark abyss that you fleetingly look into, but you do not illuminate."

Coming Soon has a fun interview with Terry Gilliam about The Brothers Grimm and more, including his sadly unfulfilled desire to direct His Dark Materials. "I kept raising my hand at the back of the class saying "Me, sir! Me, sir!" but nobody's seen my hand, I guess. [chuckles] It's a big project and I'm not sure the studio really understands what it is, which may be why it seems to be languishing at the moment." (New Line may instead hire Anand Tucker, who would replace Chris Weitz) Oh, and there's this: "The Bush administration is very much closer to the Ministry of Information in Brazil than anything I've seen before."

Peter Jennings Dies at 67

ABC World News Tonight anchor and senior editor Peter Jennings died earlier today of lung cancer.

Jennings was a titan of broadcast news journalism in the finest tradition of such legends as Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, whose substantial mantle he carried with graceful aplomb, piercing intelligence, and abundant humanity. As a reporter, editor, and anchor, he set an unparelled standard of excellence, and for as long as I can remember was my role model for what a journalist should be. He will be enormously missed not just by the industry he loved, but by all of us who relied on him to provide a responsible and incisive window on the world.

He is remembered by the Associated Press here and the New York Times here, but would be the first to remind us - as he did in his final broadcast on April 5 - that almost 10 million Americans are fighting cancer.

Behold... Mighty Mouse

In what many consider a sign that hell has frozen over, yesterday Apple released a multi-button, scroll ball equipped mouse they've dubbed Mighty Mouse - after literally decades of stubbornly offering only single-button mice to its customers. It retails for $49, but is available for $47 with free shipping from Amazon. (One presumes a more expensive wireless Bluetooth model will debut later this year.)

Gilliam returns; Jarmusch reigns; Connery retires

"Hollywood is run by small-minded people who like chopping the legs off creative people," says director Terry Gilliam to TIME in a feature story that relates how seven lean years after his last completed film, Gilliam is in fighting form with two visionary new works - The Brothers Grimm (opening August 26) and Tideland (which will premiere at Toronto next month).

Meanwhile, Roger Ebert interviews Jim Jarmusch (whose new film Broken Flowers won the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival, was apparently edited backwards, and opens Friday). "I'm stubborn," Jarmusch said. "I have to fight. The studios want to be your partner in the creative process. That's why I find most of my financing overseas. I don't let the Money give me notes on my scripts. I don't allow the Money on the set. I don't allow the Money in the editing room. These days, even the little independent studios, they act like Hollywood." (For more Jarmusch, check out "The Last of the Indies", Lynn Hirschberg's excellent feature story from Sunday's New York Times Magazine.)

Finally, the BBC reports that Sir Sean Connery is "fed up with the idiots... the ever-widening gap between people who know how to make movies and the people who greenlight the movies" - and hence has no plans to do any more films.

New Whedon Interview; Final Serenity Trailer

In Focus (the official magazine of the National Association of Theatre Owners) has a fantastic cover story on Joss Whedon by editor-in-chief Jim Kozak in their August/September issue - but you can read the entire uncut interview on their website here. It's pretty much the best Whedon interview I've ever read, as it's not only exhaustively thorough (almost 10,000 words), but fascinating, illuminating and entertaining. It spans such current topics as Serenity and Wonder Woman, delves into his history as a writer on Toy Story, Speed and Alien Resurrection, explores what he would've done with X-Men, Batman and Revenge of the Jedi - and even reveals what he's TiVo'ing these days. It's a must-read.

In other news, the final U.S. trailer for Serenity debuted over the weekend, and it's the best one yet (following the international and teaser trailers). Check it out here. And in case you missed 'em, last week The Hollywood Reporter ran a really good feature story on the whole Firefly / Serenity phenomenon, and The Daytona Beach News-Journal ran a particularly amusing piece about why you should watch Firefly (which I encourage everyone to do via either DVD or Sci Fi Channel). Oh, and there's a good interview with Nathan Fillion here.

P.S.: BTW, if you'd like a soundtrack CD of Greg Edmonson's beautiful score to Firefly, now's the time to let Fox Music know via FoxMusic.Publishing@fox.com.