A Little Slice of Fanboy Heaven...

Ain't it Cool News and Fantastic Fest present
Director Patrick Read Johnson and special guests live in person for a sneak preview screening of
5-25-77
at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Downtown on June 6, 7:00 PM

"To everybody else, movies are something to do when you're tired of living real life. To you, real life is something to do when you're tired of watching movies."

That quote is from 5-25-77, an autobiographical , coming-of-age story from writer/director Patrick Read Johnson, all about his final, life-changing, 24 hours as the only science-fiction-obsessed teen filmmaker in his rural home town of Wadsworth, Illinois, on the day STAR WARS opened... May 25th, 1977. Will seeing one movie really change Patrick's entire destiny? All he knows for sure is that the Death Star could take out the Enterprise with one shot.

Produced by the legendary Gary Kurtz (whom you might know from producing a modest sci-fi film in the 1970s called "Star Wars" that you might have seen) and directed by Patrick Read Johnson (Spaced Invaders, Angus), starring John Francis Daley (Sam Weir from FREAKS & GEEKS!), and with years worth of Internet buzz, 5-25-77 is practically guaranteed to please the inner geek in anyone.

The film premiered on 5-25-2007 at the official Star Wars Celebration IV Convention to rave reviews. Since Austin's Ain't It Cool News constitutes one of the fanboy epicenters of the universe, we are next in line for this long-awaited treat.

Join us at the original Alamo Drafthouse Cinema downtown for a special sneak preview screening of 5-25-77 with director Patrick Rad Johnson and special guests live in person on June 6 at 7:00. This screening is free. Reservations are available now first to Fantastic Fest badge holders and Heroes of the Alamo members by pre-purchasing a $10 food/drink voucher at the Alamo downtown website. The remainder of seats will be open to the general public online at 5:00 PM on Friday, June 1.

157 BR - New Kids on the Block

Cinder blocks are here! Lots of ‘em (these are for the service elevator shaft). When I first saw this, it reminded me of the movie “Cube.” So I took a picture of it. But then I realized that it wasn’t really a cube. It didn’t seem as neat anymore.

Anyway, as you know we have concrete down. It looks really nice in there. The grease trap is in place and, after inspection, the hole will be filled and the entire thing covered with a nice concrete floor.

But it turns out that the event of pouring the concrete last Monday is as momentous an occasion as I had suspected. Now is when, as Tim says, “it’s about to get seriously busy.” How busy, you ask? Well, he gave me the short list of what’s in store for the place. Check this out:

“The grease trap is in place and we are aiming to pour the rest of the floor on Friday. The steel fabrication of the new building structure is set to start on Tuesday and the BIG coordination issue comes together on June 8. We're tearing off the rear of the roof this week, the big steel members are being lifted through the roof and the rear of the roof is being rebuilt. As soon as that work is done, we can put on the new roof, and begin the bulk of the framing. Once that's done, the electrical work can begin, as well as the ventilation and air conditioning. At that point, the space will really start to take shape.”

Tim also just got back from Houston where he went shopping for leather recliners for the VIP section. What VIP section, you ask? The larger theater will have an upper balcony, section right outside the projection booth that seats eight. Tim went to Gallery Furniture and found “quite a few very nice options” for these seats. He also got to meet “Mattress Mac.” Though I have no idea who this is, apparently ads for his store had him “flying around Houston, saving people money,” as Tim recounts it.

Fun fact: According to Daniel, we poured five trucks worth of cement, totaling 45 cubic yards (nine yards a truck – check out The Straight Dope for the controversy surrounding the term “The whole nine yards”).

More photos:
Alamo @ the Ritz

Eli Roth returns to the Alamo with HOSTEL: PART II

Ain't It Cool News and Fantastic Fest present
Eli Roth live in person
with a sneak preview screening of
HOSTEL: PART II

For many years, we have been friends with the new crown prince of modern horror, Eli Roth. Harry, Eli, Kier-la and I all met at the Sitges Film Festival in 2001 after an early screening of Cabin Fever. We bonded over cool T-shirts, 80s horror and all things that movie nerds hold near and dear.

Eli has been back to the theater many times over the years: the insane asylum horror all-nighter, QT Fest, multiple Butt-Numb-A-Thons and most importantly, his hosting gig at the Mary Kate and Ashley 18th Birthday Celebration. In short, we go way back. We consider him a very dear friend of the original Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.

When word of the closing of the theater came down, Eli jumped at the chance to say farewell one more time to our beloved cinema playhouse. He is taking a break from his very busy promotion schedule to present a special advance sneak-peek screening of his new film, HOSTEL: PART II, to his downtown Alamo Drafthouse extended family.

Reservations for the event become available on Monday, May 28 at noon exclusively to Fantastic Fest badge holders and Heroes of the Alamo members. The screening is free, but you can reserve a seat by pre-purchasing a food and drink voucher. Remaining tickets will be made available to the general public on May 30 at noon. (Tim)

Special thanks to Lionsgate for making this event possible.

HOSTEL: PART II opens in theaters (including the Alamo Drafthouse) on Friday, June 8.

(Note: This show is 18 and up, no children are allowed to this screening)

Living Legend at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown tonight!

The Austinist Interview with tonight's very special guest has just been posted to their website. Check it out. We are absolutely thrilled and honored to be hosting the legendary "Godfather of Gore," one of the most influential figures in cinema history, Herschell Gordon Lewis. In the 1960s along with his partner Dave Friedman, Lewis defined and is in large part responsible for the face of modern horror. We'll be screening two of his most beloved films, the films responsible for the veritable blood tide of modern cinema, Blood Feast and 2000 Maniacs.

Please note, due to weather concerns, this show has been moved inside to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema downtown at midnight (the road to our ghost town, the original location, has been washed out in the rains). A limited number of tickets are still available on www.originalalamo.com.

This screening is part of our ongoing celebration of the Alamo Downtown's 10 year anniversary.

Remember the Alamo... the Blog-a-Thon

As it's the day of the Blog-athon, I'm bumping this post up to the top. I've also just scanned in some negatives that my old buddy Dave Garaway unearthed this week, including the picture above where I'm looking positively maniacal. That was week one of construction in the 4th and Colorado space and I'm obviously raring to go...

Now the BLOG-ATHON. This is happening today, so read on for details. Here's the original post:

I just received this blog feed from our pals Jette and Blake and figured where better to post a blog about a blog about the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema than on the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema blog...

Announcing the Alamo Downtown Blog-a-Thon!

Jette Kernion of Slackerwood (www.slackerwood.com) and Blake Ethridge of
Cinema Strikes Back (www.cinemastrikesback.com) are pleased to announce
the Alamo Downtown Blog-a-Thon, to take place on Monday, June 25, 2007.

Alamo Drafthouse Downtown on Colorado St. will be closing its doors after
a final triple-feature on June 27, 2007. The movie theater will be moving
to Sixth Street in the newly renovated Ritz Theater. While we're looking
forward to the new digs, we want to remember and celebrate the old Alamo
Drafthouse that we've been visiting for the past 10 years. And we'd like
you to help us.

We'd like to hear your favorite stories about a movie, festival or event
you attended at Alamo Downtown, or read about your favorite memories, or
look at photos you took at Alamo. If you've ever visited the theater and
have something to share, we'd love to have you share it with us on June
25.

Anyone can participate. If you have a blog, post an entry about Alamo
Downtown to your website either the weekend before or on June 25, 2007.
Send the link to jette@celluloideyes.com, or post the link in the comments
section of the master blog entry that we will update on June 25.

We'll compile a list of all the entries from participants in the
blog-a-thon so that readers can find everything in a single location.

If you don't have a blog or website, you can post your favorite Alamo
memory or story in the comments section of the master blog entry listed
above, starting on June 25. Alternatively, if you want to write up your
story ahead of time, email it to jette@celluloideyes.com and we will post
it to Slackerwood for the Alamo Downtown blog-a-thon. If you have a Flickr
account and pictures of Alamo you want to share, you can tag them
"alamoblogathon" and we'll include a link to photos with that keyword in
the master blog entry on Slackerwood.

If you just want to read everyone's Alamo Downtown stories, be sure to
visit the URL posted above on June 25, when we'll publish the links to the
blog-a-thon entries.

Feel free to publicize the Alamo Downtown Blog-a-thon anywhere you like.
Email Jette (jette@celluloideyes.com) or Blake
(blake@cinemastrikesback.com) if you have any questions. We hope you'll
join us on June 25, as a contributor and as a reader.

Robosaurus Live : July 2 with Transformers

Ain't It Cool News and Fantastic Fest present
The Ultimate Transformers Experience
Sponsored in part by AT&T

(Austin, Texas) The fanboy event of the summer if not the entire new millenium is almost upon us! Forget Spiderman, Pirates and The Simpsons, this summer will come to a fever-pitch climax on July 4 weekend when the Autobots and the Decepticons wage the most epic battle in cinema history.

At the Alamo, however, we can't just let you walk into the movie cold. In the parking lot, we will be warming you up (literally and figuratively) in an intimate arena where you will catch a live performance by America's original one-and-only real life Transformer, ROBOSAURUS, a fire-breathing, 60 ft. metal-clad car-eating machine. After the show, we will head straight from the arena and into the seats of the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar where Michael Bay's powerhouse cinematic interpretation of the Transformers will play on every screen in the house.

Tickets for this event go on sale to 2007 Fantastic Fest badge holders on Friday, June 15 at 1:00 PM. The remainder of tickets go on sale on Monday June 17 at 1:00 PM. Prices are $25 for regular admission (includes a seat in the Robosaurus Arena and admission to the July 2 10:00 PM Transformers show). We also have a limited number of VIP tickets available for $75 (includes a front-row seat in the Robosaurus arena, a limited-edition, hand-silk-screened Ulitmate Transformers Experience poster, a reserved seat in the biggest theater of Alamo South Lamar to the July 2 10:00 PM Transformers show, and free popcorn and sodas during the film). Tickets are available at www.originalalamo.com.

The Ultimate Transformers Experience is sponsored in part by AT&T. Before tickets go on sale to even Fantastic Fest badge holders, customers will have the opportunity to receive up to two free tickets when they “transform” their communications and entertainment services (voice, data, or video) to upgrade their existing services or switch from cable to AT&T. To qualify, orders must be placed in person at an AT&T sponsored event in Austin or at an Austin area AT&T store (formerly Cingular Wireless). Visit your local AT&T store to place orders beginning Monday, May 28.

CHALK walks the walk!

The little Austin film that could, Mike Akel's Chalk, scored big at the box office, beating out both the mighty Spiderman and Hot Fuzz in it's opening weekend. We are in the middle of a huge blockbuster summer and the fact that a locally produced film with local actors can beat out the big boys is very gratifying. Chalk continues for one more week at the Alamo South Lamar. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out this week while you still can.

Synopsis: In the comedic tradition and “documentary” shooting style of 'Arrested Development' and 'The Office', the made-in-Austin CHALK tells the frenetic and awkwardly painful journey of three novice teachers as they navigate one memorable public school year.


News 8 Coverage of the Chalk Phenomenon
KXAN News Coverage of the Chalk Opening
Film Threat review for Chalk

Ginger-papaya glazed pork tenderloin? Curry soup with plantain dumplings and smoked marlin? Must be a PIRATES Feast!

We know that everyone on the planet will be going to see PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLDS END. And we also know that you're a little different from everybody else on the planet. So for you, we have a very special way to do more than just watch the movie at our South Lamar and Village locations. We have a five course fine-dining experience that will bring you the flavors of the islands. Savor the menu:

First Course
Curry soup with plantain dumplings and smoked marlin

Second Course
Lobster and mango eschabeche on chayote

Intermezzo
Coconut lime ice

Third Course
Ginger-papaya glazed pork tenderloin with Caribbean pepper sauce with calypso beans with rice and okra

Fourth Course
Skull in Blood: Meringue wafer resting on rum chocolate truffle in a pool of strawberry soup

Plus: all wine is included in the price.

It's one of our most popular feasts and we think you'll see why. If you've never been to an Alamo Feast, now is the time to give it a shot.

To attend the Village Feast on Wednesday May 30 click here.

To attend the Lamar Feast on Thursday May 31 click here.

164 BR - We have concrete!

I figured this development warranted a special post. I honestly do not know why I peg this event with such importance. But while it might not be more "important" than all the work that has come before it, the pouring of concrete certainly moves this project into a phase where we can get down to some really serious construction.

Check out the photos 'cause this is for real:
Alamo @ the Ritz

165 BR – The sweet smell of PVC glue

When I walked into the Ritz on Friday afternoon, I was almost floored by the smell of the PVC glue used for new pipes installed for drains and other plumbing. I swear I got high off the stuff.

Anyway, the first thought that hit me as I was taking my first photo was that I slept through the arrival of the grease trap. I was disappointed in myself for a moment, until I looked around the corner and saw a big empty hole. I asked where the grease trap was and, after a shrug, was told that concrete was pouring on Monday. Yes, it appears we’re a little behind schedule. That isn’t helped by the fact that I overheard someone (I honestly can’t remember who) say the word “September” in reference to the opening of the Ritz. That, of course, is merely overheard speculation from an unidentifiable source. Forgive me for engaging in Fox News style “journalism.”

Anyway, as you can see from these shots, things are progressing. Rebar is down for everything concrete (except for where the grease trap is going). They’ve also put up cool new work lights that give the place a kind of festive feel.

I also had a sit down with Alamo tech guru Andrew McEathron who gave me a detailed virtual tour through the theater. He took me through the blueprints and we talked about pretty much every nook and cranny of the place. Much of the information is not ready for release because the plans seem to change weekly, but the closer we get to actual theater construction, the more info I will be able to give. And, really, the only thing of importance right now is getting that concrete down.

Speaking of which, Daniel told me that the concrete had to be “tested” before it could be poured. While I hadn’t thought of that, it certainly makes sense. But I automatically envisioned a guy sticking his index finger in a vat of wet concrete, licking it, then saying, “Needs more limestone.”

Fun Fact: Did you know that the Ritz is going to have three floors? First floor will hold the lobby and kitchen, the second floor (a.k.a. the mezzanine) will be for customer access to the theaters and the third floor is where the projection booth will be.

Smooth Sailing at the Yacht Rock party

Thanks to Austin Riverboats and Captain Smoothe and the creators of Yacht Rock and lots and lots of froofy drinks with umbrellas in them, last night's Yacht Rock Boat Party was a total blast. We had all the flavors of drinks you could possibly want - red AND blue - with slices of fruit in every glass! And dancing along to Captain Smoothe as we floated under the 360 Bridge was pretty much one of those Ultimate Austin Summer Experiences. Come, sail away.

A donkey stole my heart.

Many thanks to our friends at Herpeton Exotic pets for finding a miniature donkey to bring by the South Lamar theater today for the opening of Shrek 3.

Heh. I love the way those simple snapshots seem all weepy when you watch them with the sweeping grandiosity of the Shrek score behind them...

Herpeton and their donkey friend kept our Shrek and lots of kids company this Friday and will be there for more photo opps all through the opening weekend.

173 BR - Concrete coming soon to an Alamo near you!

The big news this week is that we passed an inspection! That’s right, we passed our preliminary plumbing inspection. So this week saw the filling of those plumbing ditches and the spreading of clean fill in preparation for the laying of the concrete floor. There was also some more ditch digging, too (really, can there ever be enough?). These ditches are for the concrete footings for the steel columns that will make up an integral part of the interior structure. According to Daniel, the concrete footings might be poured this week, with the concrete floor pouring some time next week.

Highlights for this coming week: Air coolers are coming off the roof tomorrow morning at around 7:30. I asked Daniel if there was going to be a crane. “No,” he said. He indicated that it would be taken down by some “crazy guys with ropes.” Sounds exciting! He invited me along, but as I am projecting the final night of the Last Night at the Alamo Grindhouse, I’m not expecting to get much sleep before 7:30. We’ll see.

However, I will not miss the arrival of the grease trap on Friday. I’ll be there with camera at the ready as the trap is lowered into its ditch. I’ve never seen a grease trap. Come Friday, I can die knowing my life’s experiences are complete.
Fun fact: That big old grease trap will have a 1,000 gallon capacity. Honestly, I had no idea there was a need for a grease trap that big (shows what I know about grease traps). But I bet the Greasecar community would love to get their hands on our premium quality Alamo grease!

As always, more stunning photography in these Flickr photo sets:
Alamo @ the Ritz
Ritz Construction Photos

Note: This entry dated to mask my procrastination.

What do I do on Mothers Day? We've got a couple of ideas.

If you're like us, Mothers Day is a tough one. You know you love your mom but sending flowers and taking her out to eat seems a little corny and boring. So we have a pair of special Mothers Day Feasts for the special mom in your life.

At the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar we have the IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT Feast with a menu that provides a culinary tour up the Eastern Seaboard with such eventful whistle-stops as Miami (Marlin in mojo with malanga fritas) and New York, New York (Peppercorn seared NY strip with wild mushrooms and Waldorf salad). It's a delicious way to spend a Sunday, and the classic movie by Frank Capra is very funny too.

The Alamo Drafthouse Village offers up SABRINA starring everyones favorite luminous glamour-pixie Audrey Hepburn. She's as irresistable as chef Trish Eichelberger's menu, which features an espresso rubbed pheasant with thyme glace; goat cheese scalloped potatoes and grilled radicchio. And the Watermelon sorbet with Champagne ice should keep you cool and refreshed.

Your mom will love it and you will too. See you there.

181 BR - It's all pipes!

When I went to the Ritz last, I approached from 7th street and noticed a side to that building I had never seen before: The backside. Well, maybe I had seen it, but I sure as hell hadn't noticed it. I guess that now it is an Alamo, I'm paying more attention to the building.

So since it was “new” to me, I decided to take some pics. And what you see in the pic posted here is going to be gone anyway: Tim told me those two billboards are coming down tomorrow. There are no design plans for the rear. The same goes for the front of the Ritz. Well, it would be more accurate to say there are no re-design plans for the front. The plans are to leave the front as is, except replace the tile entrance with something close to what was there originally. There will also be an Alamo Drafthouse sign above the door. The big Ritz neon sign and facade and brick building face will remain the same.

What about the interior? Well, there’s some good news and some bad news there.

First, the bad news: Upon visiting the site throughout the week, I was struck by the fact that plumbing was the only thing going on. There’s a reason for this. According to Tim, the project is about two weeks behind where he’d like to be right now. As it is, the plumbing is on schedule, but the delay has happened because some engineering designs fell behind schedule. These designs are needed before the new concrete foundations can be poured which are necessary before any of the steel interior structures can be built.

Now, for the good news: Tim is optimistic that any lost time can be regained. As he put it, “We can catch up.” But for right now there are just a bunch of ditches with a pipes in them. Hopefully concrete will begin to pour this week.

Fun fact: Remember Hoek’s pizza window? Well, the Drafthouse will be selling pizza, and perhaps some other Alamo goodness, out of that very same window.

More photos of the Ritz project can be found in these Flickr photo sets:
Alamo @ the Ritz
Ritz Construction Photos

You can spend quality time with Jon "Uncle Rico" Gries this weekend

One of the great joys of moviegoing is finding those performers who may not be household names but who string together careers of memorable performances. There's no better example than the great Jon Gries.



Long before he brought his resourcefulness and comic timing to the screen as Uncle Rico in NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, he was supernerd Lazlo Hollyfeld in the underrated REAL GENIUS, he was the freaking WOLFMAN in THE MONSTER SQUAD ("Wolfman's got nards!), He was O.D. in Terror Thursday favorite TERRORVISION and, in the greatest performance of the Twentieth Century, he was King Vidiot in the pixelsploitation classic JOYSTICKS. And that's not even mentioning his solid, critically acclaimed work in movies like TWIN FALLS IDAHO and NORTHFORK, among others.

He is quite simply our kind of guy. And we'll be spending some quality time with him this weekend at the Alamo Downtown. Won't you join us?

At 7pm on Saturday May 5 we'll have NAPOLEON DYNAMITE with Jon introducing and answering questions afterward.

At 9:45 we'll have JOYSTICKS. If you haven't seen it, now's the time. Jon will again introduce and regale the crowd with anecdotes about the movie and his amazing career.

In addition you can be one of the proud few to buy a LIMITED VIP TICKET THAT INCLUDE LUNCH WITH JON GRIES AND TICKETS TO BOTH NAPOLEON DYNAMITE AND JOYSTICKS!

Tater Tots! Steak Throwing! Football Toss! Glamour VIP Lunch and combo ticket - includes a four course private lunch with Jon Gries and a handful of other fans at Alamo Founder Tim League's house earlier in the day (1:00pm) and admission to both NAPOLEON DYNAMITE and JOYSTICKS!

The incredible menu for the V.I.P. lunch:

Crisp corn tortillas topped with whipped navy beans, cotija and manchego cheeses,

Carmelized leek and chipotle prawns with avocado

Handmade Elgin sausage corndogs with red pepper ketchup, and whole grain mustard

Delicious bass baked with Strawberry ginger-leek preserve, Spanish rice and greens seared in tequila vinaigrette

Steak cake!

Good food, good company, good conversation. Sounds like a good way to spend a Saturday.

See you there.

Warning: if you are allergic to awesomeness don't see SPIDER-MAN at the Alamo!

As most Austinites know by now, you have two legitimate choices for seeing summer blockbusters:

A) See it at the Alamo with cold beer, delicious food and special pre-shows to get you pumped up into a blood frenzy of anticipation.

or

B) Do something else.

Nothing against regular movie theaters, we love watered down Mr. Pibb and nuclear popcorn with mysterious golden topping as much as the next guy and who doesn't want to watch Coke commercials well past the posted start time of the film? In that regard the corporate dinosaur multiplexes have us beat.

But when it comes to your valuable leisure time and your hard-earned entertainment dollar, doesn't it make the most sense to go to the place that shows you a good time? We love movies as much as you do and we know that you work hard all week long and you Deserve Fun. So we work just as hard to bring you that fun.

At the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar and Village this weekend we have SPIDERMAN 3 with the most spider-tastic preshow ever and a menu that will have you climbing the walls, available through Thursday May 17:

Bugs in a web 10.99


Crawfish with linguine tossed in a roast garlic and red pepper cream sauce on a bed of baby spinach topped with chunks of parmesan and portobello spiders

The Tobey Maguire 8.99
Fried Tofu, carrots, bean sprouts, spicy cucumber, avocado, tomato, radish, toasted walnuts and mixed greens with a smoked tomato-herb sauce

NY Style Hot Dog 6.99
Soft White Bun filled with a ¼ lb all beef frank with mustard, NY style Onion sauce and Kraut with sea salt chips

And for Dessert: The Green Goblin Lime Shake 5.00

Plus, as always, we have a gigantic beer and wine selection.

Also at the Alamo South Lamar we have one of those bouncy inflatable thingies that you can jump on with a velcro wall, so you can pretend you have Spider-person powers!

Plus: at every opening weekend evening show we will have a spider and scorpion petting zoo courtesy of our friends at Herpeton Exotic Pets.

See it at The Alamo South Lamar or the Alamo Village but see it, see it, see it!

Afterwards if you want to bask in the afterglow of Spidermania, Check out JAPANESE SPIDERMAN in Fabulous FOLEYVISION. All music, voices and sound effects are produced live in the theater by the FOLEYVISION crew. Two nights only: May 12 (with guest Mouth Sounds artist Fred Newman) and May 19 at the Alamo Downtown. Click here for more info.