I got this note from Director Darren Boseman about his film REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA today. I think it speaks volumes that the director himself (and a director of a string of hugely grossing SAW movies at that) is out there hustling and bootstrapping to get his film seen and heard. Color me charmed, so much so that I am immediately passing it on to you guys, many of whom were wooed by the sweet melodies of his soundtrack during the fest. The CD releases today and Darren points to three easy ways to purchase it. If you enjoyed REPO, please pick up your copy and tell your friends to do the same. I have a feeling that success with the soundtrack will translate to a wider release or bigger advertising budget for the film.

Here’s Darren’s note….

Hey all… Okay, sorry for the group email. I myself hate them, so it pains me to send one. I feel like a telemarketer. That being said. It’s not going to stop me from pushing my new movie on you. REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA.

I wanted to make sure you all were aware that today the soundtrack became available. Come on, where else can you hear PARIS HILTON, singing a song with SARAH BRIGHTMAN where someone from SLIPKNOT is playing on the track? NOWHERE I tell you!

We also just updated our webpage so check it out! (www.repo-opera.com)

3 ways to get the album:

#1. AMAZON.COM (http://www.amazon.com/Repo-Genetic-Opera/dp/B001FWXOBO/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1222606490&sr=8-1)
#2. NotYourParentsOpera.com (digitally download the album)
#3. Text ‘REPOCD’ to ’262966′ (that spells AMAZON on your keypad) to order the cd from your cell.

Thanks all, and I promise not to send another group email… Well, at least until the films release!!!!

Darren

So DONKEY PUNCH is a movie about some young Europeans who do drugs and have a dance party on a “borrowed” yacht off the coast of Spain. In the film, the hip kids take things a little too far, a literal donkey punch works its way into the plot, and things spiral out of control from there.

We wanted to see how far we could get things to spiral out of control here in Austin, so after the premiere screening of that film at Fantastic Fest on Saturday night, we took a group of festival badge-holders out to Capitol Cruises’ big boat on Lady Bird Lake, met up with a large group of Austin’s best party scenesters (courtesy of TheFamousish.com), and set sail on a 4 hour dance party with vodka from 42Below, Red Bull to keep us going through the night, and of course some Fosters, the official beer of the festival.

Here’s a link to some photos from the night, but these four should really sum it up for you:

The dance party on the roof, with the skyline in the background.

The single best photo booth opportunity of all time – put your face into the donkey punch!

The people on the bridges we passed under were either jealous of our party, or scared.

And with pants like these on board, envy and fear are both understandable emotions.

Photographers Eugene Hsu and David Hill have posted their collections of City of Ember Cave Party photos. Following the closing night film, Gil Keenan’s CITY OF EMBER, the audience boarded buses to head out to Longhorn Caverns for a late-night subterranean cave party.

In Fox Walden’s October 10 release of CITY OF EMBER, Bill Murray plays the Mayor of Ember, an underground city where the generations have lived for over 200 years to escape a ravaged surface. But on September 25, 2008, this legendary performer, along with CITY OF EMBER director Gil Kenan, traveled a mile and a half underground to announce his “candidacy” for Mayor of Ember and to kick off GET LIT: THE SUBTERRANEAN DANCE PARTY, the closing night event of Fantastic Fest 2008.

David Hill’s photos.

Eugene Hsu’s photos.

City of Ember opens in theaters on October 10.

When the new Eduardo Sanchez Chinese horror epic SEVENTH MOON hit its premiere at FF, we decided to give it a little something special. And what better way to celebrate than with a whole roast pig and an “actual” Buddhist monk to bless the screening? The event went off without a hitch, and the photos are HERE!

Well, the festival has drawn to a close and there was a lot of excitement rounding out the week.
First take a look at the guys from the alamo wiring the seats for the new William Castle documentary SPINE TINGLER.

and then check out the Q and A with David Wain and Paul Rudd after the secret screening of their film ROLE MODELS

and finally check out some scenes from the closing night film CITY OF EMBER with Bill Murray in attendance

Fantastic Fest draws to a close tonight, but we are having such a good time, that we don’t want to let it end!

On Sunday, September 28, Fantastic Fest is hosting the BEST OF FANTASTIC FEST at the Alamo South Lamar featuring screenings of three of the most popular films of the festival. These screenings are 100% free, first come, first serve. The shows are open to badge holders and the general public alike, badge holders do not get priority seating. They are truly first come, first serve.

Let the Right One In 9/28 4:05 PM
An awkward, introverted boy (Oskar) befriends a new neighbor girl (Eli) who helps him to confront the bullies at school. Eli, however, has a dark secret, and there are bodies piling up at the local morgue.

Chocolate 9/28 7:00 PM
The director of ONG BAK returns with his new protégé, who was in training for five years for this role. Jeeja Vismistananda portrays an autistic girl who learns martial arts from watching Tony Jaa and Bruce Lee films so as to exact revenge on those who bankrupted her mother.

Donkey Punch 9/28 10:00 PM
Seven sexy young Brits are hanging out on a “borrowed” yacht for a day of drugs, debauchery, and ultimately donkey punching. It’s the last activity causes everything to unravel.

For more information about Fantastic Fest, check out the official website. Film Badges are currently on sale for Fantastic Fest 2009.

CLOSING NIGHT CAVE PARTY
Right after the closing night film, we’ll be checking IDs, wristbanding and handing out a goodie bag for everyone heading out to the City of Ember themed cave party. The cave is 63 miles away, so it’s a bit of a bus ride to get out there, but I guarantee that the party will be well worth it. We allegedly will have video monitors on the bus and if that pans out, we’ll have eye candy on screen for you. We will be providing a snack for everyone on the way back from the party, but not on the way out, so we highly recommend that you board the bus with your stomach full. If not, you might face a hungry night.

The party will be running to the wee hours of the night, but we will have an opportunity for some folks to return early if so desired. We’ll make announcements in the cave at intervals with information about the bus departure schedule.

Thanks again everyone for making this year’s festival such a blast. I’ll see some of you in the cave, the rest, I hope enjoy Martyrs at the 9:30 PM round and everyone else… enjoy a well-deserved rest.

Cheers,

Tim League
Fantastic Fest

Today, 4 entries. Lots of excitement

First lets look at the 100 best kills party:

Next lets see the mystery surrounding one of fantastic fests’ infamous secret screenings

also check out a conversation with the director of the award winning film TOKYO GORE POLICE

and finally, take a look at some scenes from the FANTASTIC DEBATES which took place next to the alamo south in the boxing gym

Today we spoke with a few filmmakers.
First the guys from THE WRECK:

and then the director from I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW

and finally we spoke with the Icelandic filmmakers behind ASTROPIA

and check out our recap of the festival awards show!:

Brace yourself folks, there’s another secret screening in the mix. The curtain raises on what we are calling “Secret Screening – Late Addition” at 6:25 PM on Wednesday, September 24. We of course, can’t tell you what the film is, but I for one am very excited!