GRINDHOUSE Rewlz!!!

My weekend has already been bad-ass and it's JUST STARTED, lol!!!

It actually started yesterday when I woke up to find Tommy hanging out with Brian. His missus & young'un were out of town for the night, so he came over to play. Just before I left for work Brian said he & Tommy were gonna see SPIDER-MAN 3.

The fact that Tommy had come over just for fun (as opposed to coming over for work, which is a regular occurrence) made my day feel very groovy!

Driving to work I listened to a bunch of podcast clips from Night With Alice Cooper, his radio show. That continued the general feeling of almost having a day off, even though I'm going in to work. And at work I got to watch last week's episode of HEROES -- which was fun -- my friend Kal came into town and visited with me and My Genius Friend Dave, and the I got to just kind of be a bum for most of my shift!

So then I get off work and come home to a few beers and fall asleep watching the audio commentary for ROCKY BALBOA -- which is REALLY INSIGHTFUL; if you're into making movies this should be a must-experience! Since Stallone wrote, directed and starred in this he's got an AMAZING perspective on how all the main aspects of filmmaking meld together to create a good flick! Plus, he's made enough flops that he really has unique insight into what works and what doesn't!

Then I wake up, log-on to see if my baby is online (she's not, sadly, but that's cool 'cause of everything she's got going on at the moment (poor sweety)) and Brian and Mom and I got eat us some Red Lobster!!! The drive to and from the restaurant is cool because the clouds are all broody and dark and squirrelly... REALLY COOL atmosphere today!

Then after Family Dinner I meet Mom back at her apartment to take her through interfacing her camera with her computer. While I'm there Tisha calls me and we chat for a while.

THEN I'M OFF TO -- fuckin' FINALLY -- SEE GRINDHOUSE!!!

I go to the Alamo Drafthouse just down the street from the apartment.

I don't know if I've explained the Alamo Drafthouse before.

It's a uniquely Austin movie theater for people who love movies!!! Not "Cinema" per se; that is to say, not the artsy-fartsy, frou-frou, "I don't know what's going on so this must be art" kind of movie. (Although the Alamo also celebrates Art Flicks, as well.) The Alamo is about really getting the MOST out of a film-going experience!

The pre-movie show is a collection of some of the most obscure trailers you can imagine -- trailers for movies you never ever heard of -- and scenes from such movies. Before the feature they show regular trailers, like any other theater. But while you're walking in, getting seated, chatting with your friend, finishing up phone calls, whatever, you're treated to sounds and images that you would never imagine, and would probably never enjoy outside the environment created by the Drafthouse! Before THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY I saw some footage from a version of STAR WARS (A NEW HOPE) as released in one of those contries where they sound like they're barking at you when they speak... It was the footage of the space dogfights between the Falcon and Tie-fighters and X-Wings, rear-projected behind some jamoke in a cheesy costume who was speaking some gutteral language and "acting" like he was flying the ship. Only, the space footage kept switching angles, and switching from close-up to far away and so on, while the angle on the jamoke in the Halloween costume remeaiend the same. (You probably ahve to see it to believe how badly it's done.)

The Alamo serves a wide selection of beers. Often when Brian & I go we'll order a Bucket of Beer: 5 bottles of the beer of your choice served in a metal bucket packed with ice.

The Drafthouse serves restaurant-quality food for -- I must grudgingly admit -- reasonable prices! I admit this gradgingly because I can never afford to eat there. But this is because I'm poor, poor man, not because they're prices are expensive. But instead of getting stale popcorn and an over-priced box of candy and maybe a card-board hot dog, you can get a REAL, GOURMET hamburger and fried mozzarella sticks and a basket of chili-cheese potato wedges, if you wanted. My Genius Friend Dave does dinner-and-a-movie AT the movie with his wife! (I'd like to try this sometime, maybe after I sell my first screenplay or something.)

When Brian and I went to see the remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD at the Drafthouse, we got a Bucket of Beer, a basket of Jalapeno Poppers and a basket of Cheese Sticks. THAT was a nice film-going experience!!!

And IN ADDITION to this, they often have these events that are just Movie-Geek HEAVEN!

Let me give you an example:

Back in 1998 my friend Kal (the one who visited work last night) took me to a special double-feature at the original Alamo Drafthouse in downtown Austin. (Back when there was only one in all the world.) The double-feature was hosted by Robert Rodriguez. He would be signing autographs before the feature, then introducing each film and talking after each film, then answering questions. The first feature was his break-through indy opus EL MARIACHI. The second feature was a Chinese (I believe) film whose title translates into RUN... and was a blatant, unapologetic and unauthorized rip-off of EL MARIACHI!!!

Rodriguez was so flattered that someone in another country liked his movie so much that they ripped it off, that he hosted a double-feature screening of both his original movie and the rip-off!

But HERE'S what make this screening a uniquely ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE screening: The price of admission bought you a 2-course meal. The first course -- served during EL MARIACHI -- was authentic Mexican tacos. Not the hard-shell, semi-wrapped things that we call tacos here in the States but flat, open-faced soft corn tortillas pilled high with meat and beans and cheese and fresh veggies, etc.

And they were tasty!

The second course -- served while you watch RUN -- were authentic Chinese steamed dumplings!!! (In fact, I've been addicted to Chinese dumplings ever since that screening! Pan-fried is good, but steamed is divine! This screening was a culinary revelation for me, lol!)

So you get to watch a flick with the filmmaker -- who has tons of fascinating insight about how he made the movie with $7,000 -- and then you get to watch a really well-made rip-off version of his film with him! And eat food authentic to the location of each film while you're watching them, lol!

THAT is the Alamo Drafthouse!!!

Okay, so now that you have a better idea of just what the Alamo Drafthouse is, you are better equipped to understand what it means to me to say that I WATCHED GRINDHOUSE AT THE ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE!!! A movie that recreates the fun of growing up as a movie geek, in a theater that caters to your inner movie geek!

And the experience was perfection!

I got there half an hour early, and the pre-show was fantastic! It was all these trailers for all these really bad movies ("grindhouse" type movies, natch), some of which were REALLY (unintentionally) funny!

I didn't order any food, as I was still stuffed with tasy, tasty shrimp. But that's cool because I couldn't have afforded it, anyway. (Note to Self: Eat really well at home before seeing a flick at the Drafthouse; that way you don't feel bad about not being able to afford to eat there.)

And the movie was FUN! I mean, it doesn't advertise itself as being some deeply stirring film... It's supposed to be 2 really fun bad movies! And that's EXACTLY was it is!!!

It was so fun, too, seeing the old "Welcome to the Theater" and the "Enjoy Our Snack Bar" snipes (I just learned that term tonight, hee-hee) and the fake trailers before each movie! I didn't get to see a lot of double-features when I was growing up, so it was cool. (I was a mallrat, so a double-feature for me was buying 2 tickets, going into one theater, watching the movie, then going into the next theater and watching the second movie. No "No Talking Please" theater snipes for me.)


But since PLANET TERROR and DEATH PROOF aren't actual grindhouse movies -- rather, skilled replications of such flicks -- you get all the fun of watching a couple of bad movies without the annoyance that usually comes along with it!!!

Brian didn't go because he has ZERO interest in seeing it. I don't think he really enjoys bad movies very much. When I put one on and we watch it together, we have a blast because his comments are always INSPIRED, but I think he'd rather watch a great film for the 507th time than watch a bad one... even if it's intentionally bad.

But I could be wrong.

At any rate, Tommy has been talking about wanting to see it, so I'm hoping I can see it again with him! That will be a blast!!! When we were kids -- maybe 15 years old -- he spent the night and we watched RHINESTONE and SIXTEEN CANDLES over and over again! We could quote both movies! "I'm lying in the mud... lookin'... at a duck," and "No more yanky my wanky. The Donger need FOOD." So if/when we see GRINDHOUSE together I predict much laughing and merry-making!

God LORD I've been writing this entry for a while, lol!!! I have literally spent HOURS writing this. I guess you've spent the better part of an hour reading it.

Let's call it a night, shall we? I'll report back if anything cool happens.

PEACE!!! :D




To my Gnomey Goddess: LOVE YOU!!! Hope all is well Baby!!! x o x o x o