Film Fest Updates, A Wrap Up and... "The Mutant Chronicles"

Well, here we are... Friday. Bless. I can already taste the cold beers... that could be because it's 8AM and I'm three beers in. Kidding, I'm only on my first.

Anyhow, for horror fans, it's a bit of a slow weekend at the theaters. If you're lucky enough to live in L.A. or New York, though, you're in the only two cities that are playing "The Mutant Chronicles". Otherwise, you're stuck with Disney's "Earth", "Fighting", "Obsessed" and/or "The Soloist". It's too bad, too. "The Mutant Chronicles" looks awesome. It's got Thomas Jane, Ron Perlman and John Malkovich in it... check out their site here. Why couldn't this have got a bigger release? Seriously, it looks wicked...

So, on to our wrap up, updates and such and such... As you know, we're all about helping out friends around here. Remember that, as if there's anything we can do to help you out... make sure you let us know. For example, do you remember Tom Seymour? He's the co-writer and co-director of all the "Bikini Bloodbath" films. If you want to read the interview we did with him a while back, you can find it here. Anyways, he sent us an email, asking for a bit of help on getting people to vote for his film, "London Betty", to be one of the finalists in the Hobboken Film Fest. So, click here to go to the page on The NY Post's site where you can vote for it... now, go vote for it. I'd do it for you.

There's also a couple of new festivals you should know about...

This is the 4th anniversary of the "NBC Universal Short Cuts Film Festival" and they've just expanded to accept comedy, drama, sci-fi and, that's right... horror. Obviously, there's going to be lots of industry people that are watching these, so it's probably a pretty good deal for you, especially as there's no entry fee, so... why not enter? The other thing is, it's NBC Universal... really, they're probably looking for new content and some good ideas. Ideally, you'd be submitting a film that's 5 - 7 minutes long, although they will look at stuff that's up to 30 minutes long. So, if you've got an idea that could be good for TV, this could be a good opportunity for you.

Then there's the "Producer's Challenge! Presented by the Producers Guild of America" and it's not too hard to figure out what's going on here... First off, there's the "Produced By Conference", which you can register for and it's basically a weekend conference, where you can hang out with and hear from a bunch of A-List producers. There'll be speakers, networking opportunities, workshops, things like that... However, they're also doing a video contest and they're looking for narrative shorts, documentary shorts and webisodes. Prizes include a mentoring lunch with a 'mega-producer', such as Gale Anne Hurd, Marshall Herskovitz or Mark Gordon; an all-session access badge to the 2010 Produced By Conference and equipment for future projects and much, much more! What I find interesting is the fact that they're looking for webisode content... Considering that you probably know more about making a good webisode pilot than they do, it could be a good opportunity to get something out there.

Let's just mention a few of our good festival friends now...

Coming up in Louisville, KY this August 14-16, it's the 5th annual "Fright Night Film Fest". They're the largest genre film festival in mid-America AND they're currently accepting submissions for all types of films and screenplays - click here to be taken to their submissions page. It's a wicked festival to both attend and submit to, so check it out. We'll definitely keep you posted on this one...

And, did you read our interview with David Pruett, the Festival Director of Dark Carnival Film Fest? If not, check it out here. It was a great interview, good insight for filmmakers looking to submit to festivals. Anyhow, they sent me a press release to post... this is another festival that I'll continue to keep you posted on...

We welcome you join us for the 1st Annual Dark Carnival Film Festival Screenplay Competition. We are excited to include a competition for screenplay writers who enjoy writing what we love to watch - HORROR. The writers start it all so we want to be part of discovering new talent.

The winner of BEST SHORT SCREENPLAY will have their script produced as a short film to premiere at the 2010 Dark Carnival Film Festival!

The film will be produced by Clockwerk Pictures and Dark Carnival Oddities, a new production/distribution company that pools the talents of a variety of indie horror veterans. THIS IS A FIRST FOR ANY INDIE HORROR FILM FEST, SO DON'T MISS THIS CHANCE!

In addition, there will be a feature length category. The winner of the BEST FEATURE LENGTH SCREENPLAY will win a cash prize up to $500!.

For the 1st Annual Screenplay Competition, the odds of becoming the top winners in the Dark Carnival Film Fest are in your favor unlike these veteran screenplay competitions. We are looking for the best-from-the best to scare us.

Accepting Entries NOW!!!! If you are a student (over 18), we have a special discount rate just for you.

For more information contact us at info@darkcarnivalfilmfest.com or visit our web site at DarkCarnivalFilmFest.com.

That's it for this week, folks... have a great weekend!

Film Fest Updates: Dark Carnival, Horror Hound, Toronto After Dark and... Watchmen

It's Friday and Brad's really nerding out over "Watchmen", which opens today. I think it's going to be interesting to see how this does. There's been numerous attempts to make this film and there's also been various screenplays roaming around. Most famously, Terry Gilliam was attached to direct and Charles McKeown to write for Warner Bros around a decade ago. In any case, "300"'s Zack Snyder did this version and, as you'd expect, he's apparently very faithful to the original comic. He used the comic as the storyboard, but extended fight scenes and added a subplot about energy resources. Long and short, the fanboys will dig this one... which could be the films downfall, as some are saying that it's a bit too complicated for people who haven't read the comic. Anyhow, it should be awesome... and it should have a big, big opening weekend. Whether or not it gets sticky like "300", is another issue.

Now, on to some news on the festival fronts...

Dark Carnival takes place in Bloomington, Indiana and they try to screen the best indie horror films from all over the world in the best possible venues, including a vintage drive-in and an historical 40's era theater. They're now accepting submissions and the dates have been set for 2009, which are September 28 - October 4. The big, and really cool, news is that they've just added a new screenplay competition and the winner will have their short screenplay (15 mins or less) produced into a movie that will premiere at the 2010 Dark Carnival Film Fest... I also like the fact that they support other festivals, as they're taking their show on the road, visiting horror conventions all over the Midwest. Next, they'll be setting up a booth at...

Horror Hound Weekend is March 27 - 29 at the Indianapolis Marriot East! Brought to you by Bloody-Disgusting and Re-Evolution and they've got a helluva line-up. First up, you get Derek Mears, who's the new Jason. By the way, did you hear they're already planning to make a sequel to the remake? Did I already mention that in another post? Anyhow, you also get Doug "Pinhead" Bradley, Bill "Chop Top" Moseley, Tom Savini and, uh... Corey Haim. Actually, Clint Howard will be there, too, and, God bless that guy. He's the shit, plain and simple... a few years back, he was making some awesome low-budget horror films, like "Ice Cream Man", "Leprechaun 2" and "Infested". I'm a big fan. There's lots of other guys going, too... looks like a good convention.

Lastly, one of the big festivals of the year is now open for entries. The Toronto After Dark Festival, which will be August 14 to 21, 2009, is a critically acclaimed, week-long showcase of "thrilling international cinema". Features After Dark is the core of the festival, which is a collection of exciting new feature-length films. That's not to say that they only accept features, they also accept shorts. Last year, they had sell-out screenings of "Let The Right One In", "Repo! The Genetic Opera" and "Tokyo Gore Police", but they also do tons of indie stuff. It's a good festival, both to attend and to submit to.

Have a good weekend! Go get drunk and check out "Watchmen"

Film Fest Friday the 13th: Women of Horror, Paranoia and ACEFEST

It's Friday the 13th and the new "Friday the 13th" comes out today. It's a big day. What sucks is, I'm heading out of town for the weekend and won't have time to check it out until Monday the 16th or Tuesday the 17th. Both dates don't have the same ring... Anyhow, I think it's going to do alright, box office-wise - it'll lead the weekend, for sure. I also think that it'll be controversial for fans of the series. There's a lot of questions, like... I was just discussing how, as far as we can tell, it's sort of like an amalgamation of the first three, right? How's it going to work? I mean, part 1 - it was the Mom. Part 2 - He wore a bag on his head. Part 3 - He got the mask. So, if this is the beginning, plus he's wearing a mask and it's not his Mom doing the killing... what are they going to throw out of the story and what are they going to try to explain? Too much speculation, gotta go see it and I'm filled with nervous anticipation... I mean I was raised on Jason and Freddy.

Anyhow, here's some stuff going on in the festival world...

Alright, it's lady's night tonight... at the Horror Society Film Festival. Nope, no free drinks or piles of horny dudes. They just want your films. They're looking to showcase your work, whether you're a director, producer, writer or lead actor. It's a program they're doing called "Women of Horror" and it'll take place in Chicago at the Portage Theater. Basically, the Horror Society has different themes and, as they're saying on their event page, it's Lady's Night. Here's a link to the submission form and here's a link the event page on Myspace.

The Paranoia Horror and Sci-Fi Convention & Film Festival is closing their submissions this week... if not today, by the end of the weekend. Soon, anyhow. We did an interview with the festival director, Shane Russeck, not too long ago, and he gave a lot of insight into what's going on and why you should head down there. Feel free to re-read that interview by clicking on this link, it's a good read. It should be a good time and I'm thinking of heading down to it, myself.

The last thing that I'll bring to your attention is ACEFEST. Unfortunately, I can't tell you much more than that because all their website says right now is "Please bare with us as we give our website a fresh new look for the 2009 season". It also says that they'll begin taking submissions on Feb 17, 2009, so check back soon, I'm sure they'll have something new up. As far as what they're about, it looks like they're about focusing solely on American-made works and providing an exclusive forum for domestic film and video. ACE stands for American Cinematic Experience, if you're interested.

So, there you go. Have a great weekend and we'll see you next week...

Film Fest Updates: Slamdance and Dead By Dawn

So, Slamdance has announced their 2009 Programming... and, believe it or not, 2009 is the 15th anniversary of the Slamdance festival, which is crazy. Good work, guys. Taking place in Park City, alongside Sundance, Slamdance takes place January 15 - 23, 2009 this upcoming year and they'll be screening about 100 films in total. I was supposed to go last year, but couldn't make it... and it's been on my "to do" list for a while, but then again, so is going to Mexico to get wasted for a week. Both aren't happening anytime soon. Anyhow, if you can make it, it's a great place to get a bit of snowboarding in, do some boozing and check out some films. Also, due to the "indie" nature of the Slamdance festival, they tend to get some good horror films... and this year looks to be no different. Highlights include the opening night film, "I Sell The Dead", from Glenn McQuaid, which is about a duo of bumbling graverobbers who begin to unearth peculiar corpes. Other horror notables are "The Ante", about an innocent man who becomes the killer everyone wants him to be; "The Conjurer", which we've covered before (click here) and is about an old cabin with a dark history and "Mum and Dad", which is about a murderous and perverse family that imprisons a young woman in their suburban house of horrors, where she discovers she has to become part of the family - and joining them in their insanity... or die. Now, here's the REALLY cool part... New this year is an online venture with indieroad.net, where Slamdance films will stream anytime throughout the festival, bringing the festival to a worldwide audience. It'll cost you $9 per film and around a third of all the money goes to the filmmakers... you gotta like that. You'll find that site here, at indieroad.net/slamdance. Also, if you want to know more about the festival, you can check out our interview with Slamdance Executive Director, Drea Clark here.

For our overseas readers or those over here who would consider travelling overseas and like a little international flavor, Dead By Dawn, Scotland's International Horror Festival, is gearing up. They're back for their 16th year (take that, Slamdance) at Filmhouse from Thursday April 30 - Sunday May 3, 2009. Also, Spawn of Dawn is returning on Saturday, May 2. I received a press release and they're bringing it up now because tickets and passes go on sale in January... and, if you're thinking of travelling there, you might as well start thinking now. For more on Dead By Dawn, go to their homepage, which can be found here.