Linkapalooza - Feb 18, 2008

Frank Henenlotter's back with "Bad Biology" - Link. That's a link to the "Bad Biology" MySpace page... there's a big, soft spot in my heart for Frank Henenlotter. If you've seen any of the "Basket Case" movies or "Frankenhooker", you may be with me on this or... maybe not, I don't know. A little about Frank - born in 1950, he's primarily known for his low-budget, gore filled films that were inspired by the exploitation and sexploitation films of the 60's and 70's. "Bad Biology" will be his sixth film, his other five are "Basket Case" (1982), "Brain Damage" (1988), "Basket Case 2 (1990), "Frankenhooker" (1990) and "Basket Case 3: The Progeny" (1992). My personal favorite is his directorial debut, "Basket Case", about a guy and his monstrously failed abortion of a siamese twin who go on a killing spree, tracking down the doctors that seperated them. Aside from filmmaking, Frank also finds and rescues low budget films and puts them out on his own label, 'Frank Henenlotter's Sexy Shockers From The Underground' for 'Something Weird Video'. If you're into shit like this, you should also check out 'Something Weird Video', here's the link.

Frustrated indies seek web distribution - link. This is a great article on the future of film distribution and if you're an indie filmmaker, it's a must read. There's a couple of great things to take note of... first off, I love the fact that they say "filmmakers need to get past the romance of a theatrical release" and that we're in "the transitional post-major studio pre-internet era" and distribution "models will be clear(er) in the future". The last comment is kind of stating the obvious, but the point he's making is still very valid. Basically, distribution methods are changing, we're not really sure how this is going to work out, we're trying different stuff and, eventually, we'll figure this out. The other great thing to note is that, at the very end, they basically say that indie horror is going to lead the way and I agree with that whole heartedly... I've always thought that fans of specific drama's or comedy's aren't necessarily "drama fans" or "comedy fans", however horror fans generally like all horror and we'll go everywhere and anywhere to find more of it. In any case, this is a great, informative article - give it a read.

Death of the Small Town Theatre? - link. Keep that last article in mind when you read this article... it's basically the flip side of the coin. A small town movie theater owner in Magee, Mississippi is pissed off because some substitute teacher showed pirated copies of "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and "First Sunday" to a class while the two films were still playing in his theaters. My favorite quote is when he asks, "Do you think 'digital conversion', 'e-cinema' or whatever face you put on it will solve the piracy issue? Not a chance!". Part of me feels bad for guys like this, but part of me doesn't... a large part of me. Looking back, do you think the guys who owned video stores that exclusively rented betamax said, "Do you think switching to 'VHS', 'digital video' or whatever face you put on it will solve the fact that no one's renting beta anymore? Not a chance!". Sounds stupid now, but you know they were complaining. I hate to say it, but it's straight, common business sense - adapt and change with the times or go out of business. You need to be ahead of the curve, that's just the way it is. Maybe showing "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and other big-budget Hollywood crap isn't the answer, maybe you should install a digital cinema player in the theater, so you have more choices for your audience - things they won't find online. Maybe you should show indie films and have the indie filmmakers help you promote them. Do something that gets asses in seats... Don't just sit there, do nothing and complain about how the world's changing and there's nothing you can do. That's just silly.