Harper Woods Film Festival - March 18, 2011

The Harper Woods Film Festival is a one-night only Michigan film centered event. The fundraiser will help further the mission of the Harper Woods Public Library in 2011 and beyond.

Friday, March 18, 2011
7:30pm - 10:00pm

Harper Woods High School
20225 Beaconsfield Street
Harper Woods, MI

The evening will feature trailers, short fiction and short documentaries from some of the state's top independent filmmakers.

Come and see what homegrown talent is all about. Mix and mingle with local filmmakers and learn how they create their wonderful, new visions.

---

---

Some of the films in the program:

"Cell Phone Trailer" – Directed by Michael Pfaendtner
A quick reminder to turn off your cell phone in a movie theatre or grave things can happen.

"Fairview St." (trailer) – Directed by Michael McCallum
"Fairview St." is an award winning Lansing made feature film about a paroled man who returns home to make amends but finds himself pulled back into a world of crime. "Fairview St." is currently available on DVD. http://www.fairviewstreet.com/

"The Wars of Other Men" (trailer) – Directed by Mike Zawacki
"The Wars of Other Men" – Set in an alternate World War I era Earth, "The Wars of Other Men" tells the story of a nameless Lieutenant fighting for an army on the verge of defeat. The enemy has begun to dominate the battlefield with their new chemical super weapon known only as "the Fog." When his superiors learn the location of the facility that manufactures the Fog, the Lieutenant is ordered to lead a squad through the war torn city to capture its creator at the cost of sacrificing his men and unleashing the Fog upon soldiers and civilians alike. The Lieutenant must choose between being a good soldier and a good man. www.paradisevalleymedia.com

"Declaration Detroit" (trailer)
"Declaration Detroit" is a promotional film for the non-partisan political/social action group called "Declare Detroit". The short speaks of the principles of the group as they focusing on making Detroit a better place to live, work and play. http://declaredetroit.wordpress.com/

"Factory 2" (animation) – Directed by Electric Otto
"Factory 2" is a short animation created by Electric Otto incorporating the music of local hip-hop artist Robo-Robb and Moonchild. The song is from their recent album "Save the Music". http://electricottosfunkfactory.com/

"Paint a Burnt House" (documentary) – Directed by Steven McGee
"Paint a Burned House" is a short documentary featuring the collaborative art project, "Imagination Station." The "Imagination Station" campus is near the Michigan Central Station in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood. http://facethestation.com/

"Louder than Love: the Grande Ballroom Story" (trailer) – Directed by Tony D'Annunzio
"Louder than Love: the Grand Ballroom Story" is a feature documentary about the legendary Detroit rock and roll venue and its impact on music, not only locally, but worldwide. "Louder than Love" will be released later this year.

"Auction Sale" (documentary) – Directed by Michael Pfaendtner
Shot in rural Macomb County in 1979 in glorious black and white, "Auction Sale" features farm auctioneer Paul G. Hillman as he talks about his long career in the auction business dating back to 1945.

"Retreat" (fiction) – Directed by Robert Joseph Butler
Alexis is an alienated teenager who is shy, isolated, and keeps to herself. Disconnected from her family, classmates, and environment, she gravitates to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan to get in touch with her mind and spirit. www.nuwavefilms.com

"The Message" (fiction) – Directed by Mike Zawacki
"The Message" – A voice from the past unites a fragile trio of survivors coping with life after a catastrophic epidemic. www.paradisevalleymedia.com

"A Little Knowledge" (fiction) – Directed by Clark A. Eagling
"A Little Knowledge" – A young woman thinks she saw something -- or did she? When an amateur sets out to do a professional's job, she finds a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Winner of Best Film, Best Directing, Best Sound Design, and Best Thriller/Suspense at the 2009 Detroit 48 Hour Film Challenge competition. www.paradisevalleymedia.com

"Dog Gone" (fiction) – Directed by Paul Lenzi
Life ain't half bad for Ginger the Pug. Ginger is rewarded with delicious biscuits every time her owner, Bella, asks a nagging question. That is, until Mr. Sprinkles arrives and turns this doggie's world upside down. Can Ginger get Bella back? www.paullenzi.net

"Pigment" (fiction) – Directed by Kyle Dufendach
Like every girl, Amanda wants a change. She seeks out an artist who magically transforms her appearance by simply painting over her image on paper. The possibilities of the artist seem limitless, but Amanda wrestles with who she is becoming and how far she must go to be truly happy. www.storytellingpictures.com

---

Door Prizes will include films on DVD and Blu-Ray as well as film related books and other prizes donated from our sponsors:

The Criterion Collection
Troma
Cashiers du Cinemart (Mike White)
Mitten Movie Project

Santa Sangre Comes to Detroit!

I'm incredibly excited that Detroit's Burton Theater will be playing Alejandro Jodorowsky's fantastic film Santa Sangre. It's playing three times a day on the weekend of February 25. Be sure to check out this remarkable movie.

Crispin Glover comes to Detroit

Crispin Glover will be in Detroit this weekend at the Burton Theater with his traveling roadshow of What is It?, It is Fine! Everything is Fine!, and his slide show.

Co-sponsored by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit, the fun starts this Friday, December 10, 2010 at 8PM and wraps up on Sunday:

• Friday 8:00 PM: Crispin Hellion Glover's Big Slide Show Part 1 + It is fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE.
• Saturday 8:00 PM: Crispin Hellion Glover's Big Slide Show Part 1 + What Is It?
• Sunday 8:00 PM: Crispin Hellion Glover's Big Slide Show Part 2 + It is fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE.

The event had originally been set for the subsequent weekend. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend this weekend as I'll be in Toronto for the screening of John Paizs's Crime Wave. I had hoped to give Crispin a copy of Impossibly Funky since there's an interview with him in the book. So, if you want to know more about those flicks you can read what Glover has to say about them in Impossibly Funky: A Cashiers du Cinemart Collection. The interview is just one of the pieces that have never been in print before.

Here's a clip from our friends at Atomic TV about What Is It?:

Impossibly Funky Release Party

I wasn't in the theater when the curling iron scene hit the big screen but I could hear the moans coming from inside the auditorium from the table on the first landing. I was manning the book table and just cooling out for a bit while the screening of Black Shampoo went on.

While I'd been watching, I found myself laughing and/or reacting extra loudly a few times to the film as I think that the audience was a little stunned by the happenings on screen but when I came back in near the end I was glad to hear everyone reacting appropriately.

Seeing Black Shampoo on the big screen in a fairly crowded theater in Detroit really was something of a dream come true. That people were showing up for something that I helped put together made the experience even more of a joy.

Things started around 2PM at the Burton Theater. Rather than reading a piece from Impossibly Funky I did a brief history of the zine, doing a show & tell of old issues to show the evolution of Cashiers du Cinemart. Then it was showtime. I'd put together a two hour program: a half hour of previews and Who Do You Think You're Fooling and 90 minutes of Black Shampoo (my fan edit of the film which removed the "poodle kick" scene from the DVD), And, afterward, I rang up director Greydon Clark for a Q&.A via phone. Greydon came through loud and clear, talking about Black Shampoo and fielding questions from the audience. It was awesome!

I had expected maybe two dozen people to show up -- counting the folks who had responded via my Facebook invite along with folks who promised they'd show up -- and managed to get more than that. In all, I'd estimate that maybe 40 people came, and I wasn't the former co-worker, college chum, friend, or family friend of a lot of them! I can't thank everyone enough who made it to the event. It turned out far better than I could have hoped.

Thanks again to everyone who came out! Below are a couple of pix. I'll add more when/if I get 'em!

Andrea mans the selling table.
Books $20 in person (autographs free) and DVDs $5

Mitch Range and me express our admiration.

The infamous pool table at the Burton.
No one reenacted scenes from Black Shampoo there
(that I know of).

Me and Andrea outside the Burton
on a lovely Sunday afternoon
Photo by Dion Conflict

Dion by The Stream in the Desert, Cass Avenue

A run down palace behind the Burton
Photo by Dion Conflict

The Detroit Door at the Burton
Photo by Dion Conflict

Are You Ready, Detroit?

Are you ready for an impossibly funky good time, Metro Detroit? It's all happening Sunday 10/24 at the Burton Theater at 3420 Cass Avenue in Detroit at 2PM.

I'll be reading a selection from Impossibly Funky: A Cashiers du Cinemart Collection, fielding any questions, selling and signing books. After that, get your butts to your seats for a half hour of previews, music videos, and a short film (Who Do You Think You're Fooling?) before the feature presentation; Greydon Clark's seminal blaxploitation flick Black Shampoo. And, if all goes right, Mr. Clark will make a special cameo appearance at this Sunday's festivities! (fingers crossed).

Tickets are $7 US at the door and books will be selling for $20 ($5 off the retail price). The concession stand will be open with plenty of pop and popcorn available.

Hope to see you there!

Impossibly Funky Book Release Party in Detroit!

I'm just getting back from the Burton Theater in downtown Detroit where I locked in details of the Impossibly Funky book release party!

I've put the word out on Facebook and am hoping to get the word out to more folks. Feel free to spread the word as it's an open event! Here are all the pertinent details:

What	Impossibly Funky Book Release / Film Screening
Where	Burton Theater, Detroit
When	2PM-4:30PM, October 24, 2010
Who	Anyone who can make it!
How Much	$7 US

This will be the first time since the '70s that Black Shampoo has played in Detroit! There will also be a set of previews and short films including Who Do You Think You're Fooling? since it plays such big part in the book.

C'mon out for a good time!

Motor City Comic Con

You would think that I had been to a comic book convention by now but today was the first time I'd ever attended one. Sure, it wasn't San Diego but it was still an interesting experience.

Today was a day of firsts. My first time going to a comic book convention, my first trip to the Rock Financial Showcase in Novi, MI, and the first time I've paid for an autograph. Some could say that the "con" in "convention" is that the celebs there make at least $20 a pop for their signature. I knew this going in but had conveniently forgotten that folks on the "convention circuit" make a living by selling their images--8X10 glossy photos, autographs, and photos--no matter how big (Don Pedro Colley) or how small (Felix Silla) the star.

I wasn't expecting Shatner, Campbell, or Romero but I was still a little surprised by the level of celebrity at the convention. The one that cracked me up was the guy who was famous for saying, "These aren't the droids you're looking for" in Star Wars. But, seriously, the majority of the folks were at my "sweet spot." "What, you don't know Dan Hicks? He was Jake in Evil Dead II!"

The three people I wanted to meet the most at the convention were, in no particular order, Eric Roberts, Don Pedro Colley, and Jim Kelly. Luckily, all three of these gentlemen seemed pretty darned nice. No horror stories of "and when I got up to him, he was a complete dick." Nope. Don Pedro Colley had a long conversation with the couple that was before me in his short line back in Dukes of Hazzard corner. Eric Roberts nearly gave a guy a heart attack when he snapped a photo of him, "Why don't you get in line and pay for that?" (I think he was kidding), and Jim Kelly--who had the longest line--made sure everyone left happy.

I thought about stopping by to say hello to Vernon Wells, Josh Becker, or Fred "The Hammer" Williamson but spent some time hanging out with my old pal Mitch and his friend Wade as Mitch filled the gaps in his comic collection. Sticking to my anti-clutter regiment, I was determined to not buy much of anything. I hadn't intended on spending $40 for a photo and autograph of Jim Kelly (my priciest purchase of the day) and $20 on autographed pictures of Colley and Roberts. I was happy to pick up some comic books from my old pal Deal Stahl and swore I wouldn't buy anything else until I hit upon some choice magazines that were selling for a buck. Two classic Mads and Starlogs were mine!

If there was one thing I learned at MCCC, it's that there's a real market for hefty genre characters. I saw a few tubby Jedis and the requisite chubby Klingons but there were some people who desperately wanted to dress up but didn't have the full costume including one portly gal who could manage just a Mandalorian helmet. A couple of costumes completely perplexed me; not because I didn't recognize the characters but because they seemed like some kind of half-assed hybrids such as the Stormtroopers wearing Lucha Libre masks. We called them "Santotroopers." Later I spied a Predator with Darth Maul coloring on his face (with the little horns).

Then there was Wonder Leia...

My favorite geek encounter of the day came when Mitch and I were looking through some graphic novels and I commented about an X-Men volume retelling the death of Jean Grey yet again. "Oh, geeze, I wonder if she comes back?" I asked sarcastically. Suddenly, the guy next to us began a tirade; "I don't know why so many people complain about Jean Grey coming back when she's only done so once. They've brought back Professor X and Magneto far more times." He was genuinely miffed about this long-standing mutant injustice. What made this even more funny is that he spoke in a voice reminiscent of Jimmy from South Park.

I'm not sure how quickly I'll line up for another convention. When trying to not spend money it's a pretty bad place to visit. I'm hoping that the business cards and old issues of Cashiers du Cinemart net me a couple of interviews but only time will tell on that.

Film Festivals of Michigan

It's tough to keep track of the film festivals in Michigan. They crop up, they never update their websites, and somewhere along the line they die.

I've collected a bunch of these sites in my bookmark files over the years and am sharing them with you (and clearing room in my bookmarks). I won't vouch for them still being around/alive but we can hope:

• Ann Arbor Film Festival
• Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival
• Blue Water Film Festival
• Central Michigan International Film Festival
• Detroit Docs!
• DIFF - Detroit Independent Film Festival
• DWIFF - Detroit/Windsor International Film Festival
• East Lansing Film Festival
• Ferndale Film Festival
• Flint Film Festival
• Lakeside Film Festival
• Michigan Film Festival
• Muskegon Film Festival
• Reel Pride Michigan
• Traverse City Film Festival
• True North Film Festival
• Waterfront Film Festival

Festival coordinators - please contact me if you'd like coverage.

Local Boy Makes Good

A few weeks back I was interviewed by Lee Gardner for the Baltimore City Paper in Baltimore. His article, Clicking and Streaming has been picked up by Detroit's Metro Times. Playing up the "local boy" angle, the Metro Times even included a few photos by Doug Coombe of yours truly in my basement lair, showing off the walls of video tapes.

Also, Lee and I were interviewed by Craig Fahle for Detroit Today on WDET 101.9FM.

Please note the Jabba the Hutt figure (courtesy of Leon Chase) and my Black Shampooo (Turkish version) t-shirt. See what other fun stuff you can pick out in the mess.

The Return of Detour

Detour-Mag.com is back and promises to be better than ever. Tightening their focus to a more Detroit-centric blog, Detour is a great source of daily entertainment.

Full disclosure: I've got a hand in this latest incarnation of Detour via a spot called "Stick It In Your Queue" where I'll be recommending for (or against) flicks to entertain and delight. I'll also have a few longer pieces as well.

You can keep up with them, too, on Facebook.

2008: Year in Review

2008 was a year filled with travel and new adventures.

January

Early in the year, Andrea and I were invited to Cancun to spend Christmas with her family. This prompted us to sit down with a calendar and go over all known and desired trips for the year. We sketched out quite a few long weekends for us and film festival trips for me. We didn't hit everything that we ended up doing but we were close. Rather than doing one long Mexican vacation in December we chose small trips throughout the year.

February

We started off February with a trip to Las Vegas and a stay at the Planet Hollywood Casino. We really lucked out on this. As (free) members of the Flamingo's "casino club" program, we were sent a postcard for two free nights at the newly-opened Planet Hollywood. "What's the catch?" I asked the customer service representative. She promised that there wasn't any and, wouldn't you know, she was right.

Two nights at the casino, a $50 credit for one of their restaurants, and a free show (their proprietary version of Stomp). We just had to get the flight out and I used miles for it, making this one of the cheapest trips we could do. I spent a lot of the trip reading The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre by Stephen D. Youngkin. It just about broke my arms (it's a weighty tome) but it definitely aided my appreciation of one of my favorite character actors.

March

It was in March when I made the fateful decision to finally give up the ghost and let Cashiers du Cinemart die a dignified death. I pulled the plug on my ailing publication and dedicated much more of my mental faculties to writing for pay. I had been losing money with my writing since 1994 and only made my first penny from a word of prose in late 2007. This felt pretty good and I wanted to keep getting checks (however paltry) for what I had been giving away (at a significant loss) for so many years in the pages of my zine.

By April I was still writing for Detour-Mag.com and added Detroit's Metro Times to my regular repertoire of places to contribute. I approached a few other publications but was thwarted at every turn, usually because my whacked-out sensibilities of cinema just don't play too nice with others.

April

My trip to Philadelphia for the first annual Noircon gathering was rather fateful. I was on a discussion panel for David Goodis's "The Professional Man" with the ever-eloquent Howard A. Rodman and met a number of folks who would appear later in starring roles in 2008 including Noircast.net podcasters Shannon Klute and Richard Edwards. I also finally met Megan Abbott. She's writing novels now, but I remember reading her stuff in the Michigan Daily back when I was in college. And, I also had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Melanie G. Dante who's since invited me to be a part of a book project for 2009.

Speaking of books... Cashiers du Cinemart wasn't even cold yet when I decided to start picking flesh from its bones; cannibalizing my past and putting together a "Best of" collection in book form. This started the ball rolling on a project that would fill many hours for the rest of the year.

I also stopped by the Toronto branch of my employer where I hung out for a couple days and spent the evenings with friends. Rita Su and I checked out Evil Dead: The Musical and had a blast.

May

The month started off with a bang as I headed down to Baltimore to partake in the Maryland Film Festival where I moderated a panel on the state of film criticism in this cyber age as well as watched a lot of movies and hung out with some dear friends. It's always a treat to be in Charm City.

I ended the month with an equal bang, heading back to New York City after many years. Andrea and I did the "tourist thing"; taking a tour of the city via double-decker bus. It was a hoot. We also caught Avenue Q and even managed to have dinner with my old friend Leon Chase. I still regret that I missed the performance of his new band, Sister Anne.

June

Andrea and I took one of those mini-trips in June over to Niagara Falls. It was a blast. We did all the touristy things you can do without going broke; Maid of the Mist, Journey Under the Falls, the Butterfly House, et cetera. We stayed away from the tourist trap center of town until the last day when we did the overly expensive Ripley Museum. Fun, but pricey! Again, we got to hang out with a good friend. Dion Conflict drove down from Toronto and we all went to the Flying Saucer restaurant. Excellent.

July

Shannon and Richard from Noircast.net asked myself and Howard A. Rodman to participate in their show. Together we did an episode on Jean-Pierre Melville's Bob le Flambeur. It was a hoot.

I continued to work on proofreading/cleaning up of old articles and gathering them for inclusion in the Cashiers du Cinemart book.

August

The month started with a whirlwind trip to San Francisco/Berkeley where I introduced Shoot the Piano Player as part of the Streets of No Return film series - films all based on the works of David Goodis. This tied in nicely to the feature I did on Goodis in the last issue of CdC.

This year I gave up another thing I had been doing for years - I stopped running SuperHappyFun.com, a bootleg DVD site.

September

I would say, "As usual, I went up to Toronto for the Toronto International Film Festival," except that this year may be my last TIFF. I was so disappointed in their lineup and they way that the festival was run; I'm looking into other, better fests that will fit my schedule and tastes more. I've got a short list going but, so far, none are as convenient as TIFF.

I did have fun at the B-Movie Celebration in Franklin, Indiana in September, too, and that's definitely on the short list. It was there/then that I finally got to meet fave director Greydon Clark.

October

With the fall, I began my annual hibernation. The Cashiers du Cinemart book manuscript was in the hands of Lori Higgins all month as she continued to finesse and polish the prose from me and my fellow contributors. I finally got down to work on the piece I'm contributing to a journal in 2009. I'm still not giving too many details about it, in case it falls through. Suffice to say, I spent every weekend watching Fetish/BDSM-related films to expand upon an article I had done earlier in 2008 for the Metro Times. I actually started to get burned out on watching people flog one another. LOL.

November

Research on my articles continued. Weekends were spent taking care of family stuff with my Grandmother passing away the second week of the month.

I got the foreword to the book and was absolutely floored. News on that should be coming in early 2009, I hope. Lori wrapped up her layout and handed the project back to me at the end of the month.

December

I'm back to going over the manuscript for the Cashiers du Cinemart book. One final polish, I hope. There should be some more announcements about this project soon. It sounds like the journal I'm writing for will be out around the same time as the book which will be nice. I'm wondering if I should hold off on taking much more than my January vacation(s - to Las Vegas and Cleveland) and seeing about doing some kind of "book tour" later in 2009.

2008 has been one hell of a ride.

Lights, Camera, Detroit

There's a great list of productions going on in Detroit over at MotorCityRocks.com. Kind of nice to see so many stars in Detroit -- instead of Toronto or Baltimore (What? Barry Levinson is in town?) -- though none of them have come over for barbecue yet Bastards.

Still hoping to deliver the petition to Drew Barrymore to use "Roller Derby Saved My Soul" in Whip It! -- Please be sure to sign!

MY WINNIPEG (Guy Maddin, 2007, Canada)

My Winnipeg plays at the DIA this weekend (July 11-13)

A love poem to Canadian auteur Guy Maddin’s once-former home, My Winnipeg feels like a fever dream that brings together past, present, and future. Repeated words and phrases form a hypnotic cadence as Maddin’s cinematic stand-in (Darcy Fehr) chugs through the snowy darkness. “Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Winnipeg,” is the chant, rising and falling like the locomotive drone of the night train carrying its somnambulistic fares through Manitoba’s premiere city.

Winnipeg; heart of the heart of Canada, the place that raised Maddin. With a hockey arena for a father and a hair salon for a mother (for more hockey and hairdressing see Maddin’s earlier Coward Bends The Knee), Maddin explores the structural arteries of his home town and revisits the history of himself and his city. Narrated by the filmmaker, the prose of the film (courtesy of long-time crony George Toles) is an overwrought poem of maniacal hyperbole and enthusiastic linguistic gymnastics; a perfect pitch for the fractured visuals of Maddin’s multimedia pastiche. Looking like a daguerreotype picture postcard of this snowbound wonderland, My Winnipeg typifies Maddin’s mad genius and captures his sordid relationship with his home.