He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
This has been a busy week with both the Metro Times Blowout and the Detroit Independent Film Festival taking up my time. The DIFF has been a lot of fun with some very good indie films. Wed saw a sold out show for the showing of Troma's "Poultrygeist: Night Of The Chicken Dead" a satirical parody film about a fried chicken restaurant that's overrun by chicken-possessed zombies. After the show, Lloyd Kaufman, the head of Troma film gave a brief Q&A for the excited crowd and I talked with him a bit afterwards. He has a bitterness about the fact that it is hard to get true independent films on TV, in video stores or in the theatres nowadays. He said there are only about 300 theatres in the US, including the newly dedicated Burton Theatre, where a film like his can get played no matter how good it is. He surprised me by telling me that despite the success of Troma on the video market, Blockbuster has never carried one of their films, esp with the popularity of Toxic Avenger and "Cannibal: The Musical" by South Park creators Parker and Stone. Despite having a disdain for the big movie companies for the way they monopolize the theaters, he did say they occasionally get it right. I asked about the upcoming Academy Awards and he told me he was glad "District 9" was nominated, saying it was far superior to "Avatar", and he also gave high kudos to the Pixar film "Up" and "The Hurt Locker" which he thought might be a bit too one-sided but still a powerful film. The one thing he kept mentioning is that it really is the support of his fan base that allows Troma to stay afloat and Troma is really a people's studio. The fans send in songs, volunteer to work as crew and even act in the films and that is what truly makes Lloyd thankful. I asked if he thought another Troma or Corman style studio was possible with today's changing technology and distribution and he plainly said "no" since it is nearly impossible to make money unless you get lucky and get the backing of a studio like Paramount with "Paranormal Activity" (another example of Hollywood getting it right). I asked Lloyd for advice and he honestly said that you should get his books (either buy it or get at the library and he latest book is entitled 'Produce Your Own Damn Movie' which contains interviews with the producers of "Million Dollar Baby", "Slither" and "Monster". If you are interested in learning more about Lloyd Kaufman, you can check him out at http://www.lloydkaufman.com and Lloyd, you're welcome for the lap dance and come back soon!
Friday saw another must see films for fans of zombie fans as DIFF is only the second US audience for the newest George Romero zombie film fresh off the remaking of his film "The Crazies". The film, "Survival Of The Dead", takes place soon after the terrible "Diary Of The Dead" but features the soldiers from that film. The meet up with an exiled member of Plum Island, which is just off the coast of Delaware, and he gets them to go to the island which they think is a safe place where they hope to survive the war between the living and the dead. However, the feud between the two families runs deep as they both have ideas on how to deal with the undead and the soldiers must decide who to back if they are going to survive. While not as modern or flashy as recent Dead remakes, this film has some strong characters and a nice 70's zombie feel to it which should appease fans of the series. This 6th entry harkens back to the glory days of the dead films and allows me to forgive him for "Diary". Nobody does zombies as well as Romero and if you want to be one of the first people to see the film, make sure to be at the Burton Theatre tonight at 10PM for an encore performance. My grade is a B.
I also saw the romantic gay comedy "Is It Just Me?", a film which is stronger than it's small budget (about $100,000) suggests. The plain looking writer Blaine is frustrated by his inability to find Mr Right when he meets Xander on an online chat and becomes smitten. Things go awry when he realizes that he was logged into his go-go dancer roommates profile. He gets his roommate to go with him to meet Xander and a comedy of errors results. What makes this film stand out is the wonderful cast including Blaine's agent and Xander's older housemate. Unlike some big budget romantic comedies, this production presents what seems to be a real relationship acted with a good intensity. The film has some real charm and manages to not go overly hog wild with gay stereotypes which can detract from more mainstream films. The film will have it's encore performance on Sunday at 8PM. My grade is an A-.
Overall, the festival has been fun although the people in charge have realized they haven't always giving enough time between showings so most films have run late but the closeness of the filmmakers and staff has managed to keep things going. Three of the screening I attended were sold out so far and a few more might follow which is great to see for a festival like this. I have been amazed by the sheer quality of the work and would also like to recommend attending the shorts program at 10PM on Sunday where you can see "Credits" about a couple watching the credits of a film and the boyfriend is getting annoyed when the actually credits come to the girls defense (very funny despite being hard to really describe and do it justice) and the wonderful "The 8th Samurai", a film about the missing 8th Samurai from the film "Seven Samurai" as an actor finds his role cut based on a dream by the director. A classic short! The full schedule is at http://www.burtontheatre.com.
Also, don't forget about the Blow Out. I wanted to get down their Thursday but my real job conflicted though I did get a chance to see a rocking set by the Displays who are playing better than ever. Last night, I got to see the wonderful Lac La Belle, a trio of Americana singers, who closed the night at Baker's Streetcar and the fun polka powered songs of the Kiebasa Kings. I also enjoyed the psychedlic music of Blue Snagletooth which brough some cool blacklight posters and the light pop noise of Slow Giant which features Dina of the Secret Twins. Despite only being down at the show a bit over an hour, the diversity of the acts really stands out and the sheer quality of the local scene shines through. I was surprised their wasn't more people out, but then again it was after midnight when I arrived. There should be some great performances tonight which I will try to make after getting back from Ann Arbor and the Stephen Stills show so keep the party going until I get there.
Here is a song by Lac La Belle which was awesome last night.
See you around town. This Monday will have reviews of the new "Alice In Wonderland" film.
Before I go, here is my Top 10 films of 2009.
Wild At Heart Academy Awards special
I usually wait until this weekend to give my top 10 films of the previous year. There are a ton of films that I miss throughout the year and the extra couple of months allows me to basically catch up so in honor of the Academy Awards, here are Wild Bill's Top 10 films of 2009. I always tend to drift towards science fiction and indie films, but there are some really nice films this year and for the first time in a few years, I had to actually trim a few films from my list which I wanted to include. I hope 2010 can be just as good.
1) Red Cliff - John Woo surprises in the scale of this historic epic which contains true battle plans combined with his stylized fight sequences. If you get the opportunity to see the unedited 4 hour version, you won't be disappointed.
2) Hurt Locker - Kathryn Bigelow's war thriller about a bomb disposal unit that deals with defusing bombs, the threat of insurgency and the tension that develops among the members of the unit. One of the best war films in recent years and my personal choice for best picture this year and hopefully the first female director win.
3) Up In The Air - Jason Reitman, showing Juno and Thank-you For Smoking weren't flukes, delivers the laughs in this wonderful showcase for Clooney and company as he goes across the country delivering the bad news to downsized employees and obsessing about his frequent flyer miles. This is just one of the best acted movies of the year and delivers some funny, powerful dialogue.
4) Up - Piuxar continues it's dominance of the animated world with a tribute to the lost world novels of the first part of the century. Squirrel!
5) (500) Days Of Summer - Zooey Deschanel is one of the quirkiest love interests in film today and that shines through this movie. I want a girlfriend like her but without the commitmenmt issues shown here.
6) Avatar - The true spectacle of the year. Seeing this in 3D on the big screen was truly awesome with some great special effects. Not the greatest story, but Cameron's talent is the journey and it is lots of fun.
7) Moon - Sam Rockwell delivers the best acting performance of the year in this low budget sci-fi film about a man alone on the moon. I wish someone other than Spacey did the voice of the computer which is somewhat distracting, but this little gem is worth tracking down.
8) Zombieland - surviving a zombie apocalypse has never been as fun as this. A great job of taking an idea that has seen many different takes over the years and making it truly fresh and exciting.
9) Star Trek - the latest in the series which many had left for dead. Great casting, wonderful special effects and an actual script create a joyride for Trekkers everywhere. I didn't think this would work so well so I'm glad I was surprised.
10) District 9 - a nice sci-fi story which pivots on the themes of xenophobia and social segregation in a very good year for sci-fi. Surprised this got a top award nod but it is a truly unique film.
10 1/2) Whip It - This gets mentioned mainly focused on my babes (Lewis, Page, Bell and Barrymore), my love of Roller Derby, the fact that many local girls from the area teams are featured in the film and the fact that it was made in Michigan all put it in my honorary spot on my list.
Honorable mention: Thirst, Inglourious Basterds, Coraline
Films not seen which might have made my top 10 if I had seen them 1) Fantastic Mr Fox, 2) The Cove, 3) Ponyo, 4) Where The Wild Things Are