My Adventures With Presidents and Monsters At The Phoenix Film Festival
The films are easily the second best part of going to The Phoenix Film Festival / Sci-Fi Horror Film Festival.
The best thing, by far, is the people:
First off, year after year, the PFF volunteers are some of the most helpful and excited that I’ve ever encountered. Not only did they put up with my boys on Kids Day, I never got lost, they answered all of my questions, were able and willing to talk film with me, and they were respectful even when I was obviously becoming a fire hazard in the hallways.
Second, there’s nothing like watching an independent film then having its makers stand up, tell stories, and answer questions about what you just watched. Sometimes films become more alive and even funnier after you’ve seen them when you hear what was going on behind the scenes. Plus sometimes they like your tweets and want to hang out a little afterwards.
And, my favorite, is running into friends and fellow fans. The wife and I were lucky enough to once again run into Geeksociated Press, Nerdvana, some friends from Phoenix Comicon, Paul from UAT, and even The Midnight Movie Mamacita and crew.
(Ahh! Repressed “Royale closing” memories resurfacing…)
Okay, you probably came here to read about what I saw.
The crowd-pleaser was FDR: American Badass.
When I chatted up the writers/directors of this film, they told me one of their goals was to create the most ridiculous film ever made. They may have come closer than they think. From Werewolf Hitler to Kevin Sorbo as a flying Abraham Lincoln, to FDR’s silver-bullet-shooting rocket-launching wheelchair (designed, of course, by Albert Einstein), the film makes no apologies for “going there.”
My least favorite was the disappointing Monster Brawl. It’s the one about monsters getting in a ring and punching each other in the face. Yeah, that’s about it. The wife and I literally walked out of this film about 20 minutes in – we were so bored. Too bad. I couldn’t help but think this idea could work in a web-series format, but not a full film.
Favorite short had to be Shoreditch Slayer, which was an adorably morbid two-and-a-half minutes of vampires bemoaning their fates in a post-Twilight world (while surreptitiously feasting on whoever was around). “I’ve even taken zombie work!”
And Beyond The Black Rainbow was not the retro-sci-fi-paranoid-mind-bender I was hoping for. I have to throw it into the “trying way too hard” category. It was gorgeous to watch for retro-future fans like myself, but even I start losing interest in 3 minute shots of overly blurry figures having black goop poured on them. Yeah, there’s a lot of that. Some major Kubrick overkill going on here.
I missed Shuffle, but if my Twitter feed is to be believed, it was supposedly pretty dang amazing. I’ll have to catch it sometime.
Films, parties, people… I love film festivals.
When The Geeks Converged On Mill Ave [Recap]
Tempe’s Geeks’ Night Out had a stellar turnout last Thursday night.
Its attendance boosted my optimism of our local nerd scene and filled the evening with many costumed characters. I’m really glad it got the TV and internet promotion it did; I think it all worked.
With my kids not feeling great (it’s going around) and the wife at home with them, I dragged out a niece and nephew to keep me company. Naturally, they converged almost immediately on the “game truck” that had showed up. They spent most of the evening showing younger kids in there how to play Mario Kart.
Too bad because they missed a few Batmans, a handful of Avengers, and tons and tons of Star Wars characters – including my homeboy, R2.
Lots of artists showed up as well, showing off their creations, including Halo artist (and Nightmare Before Christmas fan) Big Chris:
Our friend Stacey from Dream Photography Studio was their with her family and she graciously shared these pics for me to post. (Stacey is going to be part of my Phoenix Comicon coverage team – her photography is great and I’m excited!)
I’m already hearing rumors that this will not be an isolated event and that Tempe was very pleased with how things turned out, so keep your fingers crossed for a return of Geeks’ Night Out next year.
In closing, some predators:
Sir Patrick Stewart Will Be Rocking Phoenix Comicon 2012! [Recap]
On my drive home from the Phoenix Comicon Kickoff, my mind raced through all of the cheesy ways I could begin this post.
Well, I didn’t like any of them so I’m cutting straight to the chase:
The major convention guests this year almost fill up the bridge of the Enterprise D.
With the exception of Riker and Dr Crusher, pretty much all of the senior staff is on board, celebrating the 25th year anniversary of The Next Generation.
Sir Patrick Stewart himself (sometimes known at Locutus) is coming, as well as Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, and LeVar Burton.
Will Wheaton wasn’t announced, but he always seems to show up at the Phoenix Comicon at some point, so I wouldn’t count him out yet.
More guests were also announced, including these highlights:
- Jaime Paglia
- Casper Van Dien
- Jon Bernthal
- Gigi Edgley
- Chris Patton
- Brian Pulido
- Whilce Portacio
I’m also excited to see Phil Lamar, who is coming this year after having to cancel last year.
My Manwich!!
(Here’s my ultimate list of previously announced guests.)
Matt Solberg, the head honcho of the con, also boasted that this year will have more cashiers, more space, more events, shorter lines, wider aisles, more exits (see the part about lines), and a ton more programming and events.
The Steampunk Ball will be free, Dr Who will have his own party, zombies will have beauty pageants, Bleeding Cool will be hosting some awards exclusive for the Phoenix Comicon, Geek Speed Dating will appear, kids will be able to play Plants vs Zombies in real life, and, of course, the Kids Need To Read Geek Prom will be returning.
So, what think ye of these announcements, cephalobots?
Pop quiz: If Picard started traveling at Warp 9.0 today and arrived at The Phoenix Comicon on May 24th, how far away would he currently be?
Ugh… word problems…
