Wondering About The Oscar Broadcast and A Look at The Week in Horror DVD Releases

Okay, I'll bite... what was with that horror montage in the middle of the Oscar's ceremonies last night? Don't get me wrong, I loved it... I thought it was great, but why did they do it? It seemed so out of the blue. They should have given some horror pioneer a lifetime achievement award right after... or something like that. Didn't it seem out of place? "We know there's a lot of horror fans out there and... we never really acknowledge horror films as actual films, but here's a montage for you. Enjoy!" Roger Corman, the Godfather of low-budget filmmaking and one of the pioneers of schlock horror, received an honorary award at the Governors Awards ceremony - they easily could've tied it in with that. Corman deserves way more than just a wink and a nod, you know? Otherwise, how about acknowledging Romero or someone similar with a lifetime achievement award? I don't know, it just seemed so random. Otherwise, I'm glad that "The Hurt Locker" trumped "Avatar" when it was supposed to. That's not because I didn't like "Avatar", I loved it... it's because "The Hurt Locker" was awesome, low-budget and really deserved it. Really, a lot of low-budget films, and I say that in 'relative to Hollywood' terms, did well. "Precious" was made for around $10Million, "The Hurt Locker" was done for around $11Million and "District 9", made for around $30Million, was well talked about and was, really, an indie film. Anyhow, I'd love to hear your thoughts on how the Oscars went, just leave some comments. Otherwise, let's look at the week in horror on DVD. As usual, you can head to our Youtube Page, where you can see all the trailers and you can click on the titles to be taken to their page on Amazon, where you can read more and/or buy them.

First off, let's just say it's a slow week in horror. I think that's mainly because they're avoiding releasing films right after the Oscars. Also, two of the big Oscar films come out this week, "Up in the Air" and "Precious". "The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day" also comes out, so... it's a good week for the indies to avoid. Having said that, there are a few releases.

If you're hellbent on getting a horror film this week and it has to have some sort of budget behind it, the film for you is "Nine Dead". It has an alright cast, topped with Melissa Joan Hart - AKA Sabrina The Teenage Witch. It's basically a "Saw" rip-off, where a killer kidnaps nine people, who wake up to find themselves all handcuffed to nine separate poles and they have to figure out exactly why they're all there. The film was actually completed in the summer of 2008 and spent several months without a distributor, before being picked up by Fabrication Films. It had a limited theatrical release back in November, but is basically a straight to DVD film. The trailer looks alright, so it could be worth the rental.

I feel like I've already discussed "Demonic Toys 2", but I'm not afraid to push it again. I'll always support Full Moon and Charles Band. The original "Demonic Toys" came out in 1992 and is, obviously, from Charles Band and Full Moon Entertainment. It was basically a new franchise, building off the success of the "Puppet Master" series. Then, Charles Band start mixing all the titles up, we got "Dollman vs Demonic Toys", "Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys" and the characters from the films actually made it into other Full Moon titles, such as "Gingerdead Man" and "Doll Graveyard". This film was originally called "Demonic Toys: Personal Demons" and was released solely via VOD by Amazon last year and it completely ignored any of the afore mentioned sequels. They dropped the "Personal Demons" part of the title and are now releasing it on DVD as, simply, "Demonic Toys 2".

Tokyo Shock is releasing "God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand", which is a Japanese film about a kid's ability to dream about and predict the evil intentions of men. He has a dream about a guy reading a book to his bedridden daughter, but the book is a self-made book about barbarously murdered girls. The nightmare shocks the boy awake and causes blood to pour from his neck. Now, slowly dying, it's up to his sister to track down the man and solve the mystery...

Lastly, Cinema Insomnia Slime Line is rereleasing both "Carnival of Souls" and "Night of the Living Dead" and that's about all I know. Read up on them by clicking on the titles. Also, if you're into vampires, for $15, you can't go wrong with "Undead: The Vampire Collection 20 Movie Pack". For less than a dollar a movie, you get a bunch of old vampire films. To be honest, there's some decent films in the collection, such as the original "The Last Man on Earth" (remade as "I Am Legend") and "Nosferatu" (probably the most classic vampire film of all time), to name a couple.

Dead Harvey's Academy Award Preview - Who We're Rooting For and Why

Alright, well... let's acknowledge the 500 pound monkey that's sitting on my couch, drinking my beer and throwing his shit on my walls - this Sunday, March 7th, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, is the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. I know, I know... we're indie guys, and indie horror guys at that, we shouldn't care that much about all these elitists who are just stroking each other, but we do. Why? Well, I could say it's because they nominate the best of the best in the very industry that we strive to be a part of. That is true. I could also say that, at the heart, we're film fans and a lot of the films nominated are just great films and we like to see them honored. That is also true. However, one of the main reasons I like to watch the Oscars is because I think it's a gauge of what Hollywood likes and would buy into. Granted, you never see horror acknowledged, but "Inglourious Basterds" is graphically violent, "District 9" is sci-fi, "The Lovely Bones" deals with horror-like themes, "The Hurt Locker" is gory and "Avatar" is, well... you know what "Avatar" is. Point is, if you're an aspiring screenwriter, get a copy of "The Hurt Locker" or one of the other nominated screenplays and read it. If you're a filmmaker, check out some of the short films and lower budget features. Analyze them. Not like, shot for shot or anything, but why was it nominated? What did they do? Remember... yes, we are trying to blaze new trails in entertainment by creating new distribution models and all that, but this is an industry that dates back hundreds of years and doesn't exactly corner like it's on rails. Also, at the end of the day, don't we all dream of standing up there on that podium and accepting an award? Just a little bit? Whatever the reason, I want to take a bit of a look at the history of the Oscars and also let you know who we're rooting for... Also, I really want to know who you're rooting for and why.

So, what about these Oscars? Well, the first Academy Awards ceremony was held on Thursday, May 16th, 1929 at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood. It was hosted by actor Douglas Fairbanks and director William C. deMille. What's funny is, for 81 years, they were they only duo to host the awards. The second duo? Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, who will be hosting on Sunday. It's the oldest award ceremony in media and most other ceremonies, including The Grammy's, The Golden Globes, etc... are all basically modelled after it. It's presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is composed of over 6,000 motion picture professionals. The Academy was originally conceived by the legendary Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM at the time, and it was created to mediate labor disputes and improve the industry's image. Really, the first Academy Awards ceremony was created just to give artistic legitimacy to a business that was really just about money... how times have changed, huh? Yeah, it's vain. Yeah, it's about self-promotion. Yeah, it's just marketing. But, come on, we love it.

Now, I'm going to go through a few of the nominated films that I give a shit about and tell you why...

The big film for me is "The Hurt Locker". I'd like to see it get Best Film, Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow and Best Actor for Jeremy Renner. The film was low-budget, by Hollywood standards, only $11Million and a lot of the budget was because it was shot in the Middle East, mostly in Jordan, just miles from the Iraq border. The film is gritty, it's authentic and, really, it kicks ass. Renner's portrayal of Sergeant First Class William James in the film was unreal and is worthy of the statue. However, I do think that the award will go to Jeff Bridges and he does deserve it, but if I could just draw your attention to the fact that Renner played Doyle in "28 Weeks Later" and Jeffrey Dahmer in "Dahmer", maybe that'll sway some of you. As for Bigelow, you probably know that she's James Cameron's ex-wife and that they're going head to head in the Best Director category. Cameron's already got one of these on his mantle and Bigelow also directed "Near Dark", "Point Break" and "Strange Days", three wicked films that received ZERO Oscars... think about that.

Quickly, I'm pulling for Woody Harrelson to get Best Supporting Actor in "The Messenger", not because of "The Messenger", but because it's Woody. He deserves it and he's played so many quirky roles that we love, from Tallahassee in "Zombieland" to Mickey Knox in "Natural Born Killers". Go Woody.

I'm also putting my weight behind "District 9" for a couple of awards. I'd like to see it get Visual Effects and Best Adapted Screenplay. Let's not kid ourselves, it's highly unlikely to get Visual Effects... "Avatar" is a lock. I just want it duly noted that I got drunk with the CEO of Image Engine, the Vancouver-based visual effects company that did the bulk of the effects for "District 9" and that should be worth something. On the other hand, however, I really do think it has a long-shot chance at adapted screenplay. It was a great script...

Also, I should mention that I am pulling for "Avatar", but I don't think it needs my support. Like I said, I'd like to see Best Picture and Best Director go to "The Hurt Locker", then "Avatar" can win everything else that it's nominated for... seems fair.

Now, who are you rooting for and why? Fill up that comments section!

Film Fest Friday, but this is more about The Oscars...

Okay, so it's a lame weekend at the box office because it's the Oscars... and I'm not a big fan of the Oscars, I think it's a big joke... I mean, it was started BY the industry as a way to legitimize what they were doing and now it's just an excuse to give awards to people because they think they deserve them, but I digress...

We're all going to watch The Oscars, so we might as well have some people to root for. First and foremost, Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" - as much as a fucking weirdo as he's become (see pic), he's still Marv from "Sin City", Johnny Handsome from "Johnny Handome", Harley Davidson from "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man" and Harry Angel from, one of my favorite horror films of all time, "Angel Heart". By the way, yes, I liked "Johnny Handsome" and "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man", so what? I'd also like to see Marisa Tomei get Best Supporting Actress for playing the stripper in "The Wrestler" because, well, I saw a LOT of her in the film. Not only that, it really was a good movie. Go check it out, if you haven't seen it. I'd like to see Heath Ledger get Best Supporting Role for "The Dark Knight", as he kicked ass and so did the movie. I think a lot of people want to see him win it and, guess what, I don't think Robert Downey Jr. will be getting it for "Tropic Thunder". I also hope that "The Dark Knight" wraps up all the other nominal awards, like Sound Editing and all that shit. Otherwise, I only hope for two things... Danny Boyle, who WE all know as the guy behind "28 Days Later", "28 Weeks Later" and "Trainspotting", gets a shit-load of awards for "Slumdog Millionaire" AND for that douche, Sean Penn, to get fuck-all for "Milk".

Okay, what's going on in festival world?

The early bird deadline for the LA Shorts Fest is today and, although that seems like short notice, as long as you have your submission postmarked by today, you're cool. Well, that's still not a lot of time. So, at this point it looks like you're going to have to buck up and pay the extra $10, or whatever it is. Anyhow, the LA Shorts Fest is, obviously, all about short films and they do have a horror category. They're also accredited by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences and 33 filmmakers from the LA Shorts Fest have gone on to earn Academy Award nominations... none of which were horror. Actually, one of the very cool things about the festival is that they have a thing called LA Shorts TV and they'll show some of the shorts on the site... "Seat 29E" was awesome, if you head over there.

I was ABOUT to mention the all new Thrillspy International Thriller & Spy Festival until I read that they "promote all categories of thriller films with the exception of Horror or Shock films". Okay, well then... THAT'S a slap in the face.

And for those horror fans in Chicago, you've got the upcoming Fangoria's Weekend of Horror on March 6 - 8. You're going to get some good guests, too. You've got Tobe Hooper, George Romero, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Tom Savani and the list goes on and on... it'll take place at the Wyndham O'Hare. Weekend of Horror will also be in LA in April and New York in June.

That's it... that's all we got for this week. Go get your drink on and we'll see you next week!