If you’re just joining us, here’s the situation – in an effort to dissuade the 6th Street haters who think that going to the Ritz will be horrible because of the different crowds than we’d grown accustomed to in the Warehouse District, I’ll be doing several nights of research on 6th Street. Last time I went to Buffalo Billiards and felt odd about being alone in bars, then realized that while parking and puking people weren’t the problems commenters back in May had thought they’d be, there were a lot of bums that came up and talked to me, and that got kind of annoying. Last night, though, I went back down to 6th, and I’m happy to say I think I may have figured out how to handle the bum issue... But I have a few more tests to run tonight, so we’ll get to that later; today I’m going to talk about advertising.
Last night’s trip down was to meet with a couple of reps from Pick Your Crowd Media, a start up advertising firm that’s wanting us to buy some ads on plasma screens they have mounted in different bars around town. I normally don’t like to spend money on advertising at all because we take what would be an ad budget and put it towards big crazy events instead, but this pitch actually intrigued me.
These guys basically have video billboards behind the bar in a lot of the spots on 6th that I haven’t been to since I stopped using my fake ID, and even though that’s not necessarily the demographic that we usually go after, it does sound kind of fun to make people that are waiting in line to buy a Hot Sex On The Beach With A Buttery Nipple For My Dad watch a 30 second spot for the new Master Pancake show. Especially because most of the other things on the digital billboard are still slides with text that announces the bar’s specials or something. Here’s a quick video I took of the screen in Uncle Flirty’s (I know… I know.) that was advertising when they had live music, intercut with some of the live music itself from Monday night:
See? Imagine a screen going from that to suddenly being John Erler’s butt. In my book, the ability to do that alone is practically worth the price of admission. But what do you guys think? Should I keep considering this kind of advertising to people at Uncle Flirty’s and Pure and the Dizzy Rooster, or should I stay far, far away from all of the bars that the Real World cast frequented? Hmm…
Okay, so here's the deal: way back in May, when we first announced that we were going to be moving the downtown location from 409 Colorado Street over to the Ritz, we started getting people complaining about different aspects of the move. The parking and dealing with vomiting were the two complaints that I personally saw over and over.
"How will I ever get out of my car to see a movie again?" someone said.
"What about all the people that will be puking in front of your theater?" someone else asked. "Won't that diminish my desire for one of your tasty pizzas?"
Back then, I dismissed those fears without really even thinking about them, with visions of a newly remodeled historic theater dancing in my head, and not dancing like sugar plumbs and other lame swaying too and fro fruit on Christmas Eve, but dancing with moves that were sort of flailing about like the tiny girl trying to create dancing space for herself in the front row of a show on Red River where she's just throwing her elbows around and jabbing hipsters in the stomach if they dare to come too close to here in their silly prison-striped Urban Outfitters Tees.
Tonight, I decided to see if those fears of puking and parking being just as painful as standing next to the elbow-throwing girl at an Avril Lavigne concert were founded. Tonight, I... went down to 6th Street.
By myself.
I know! Scary, right? What if a frat guy threw up on me?
Well, surprise, surprise; that never happened. Parking was remarkably easy on this Sunday night and I didnt't see anyone throwing up anywhere. I was actually a bit disappointed by that. But still, I went down to 6th, and once I was there I felt like it wouldn't be right to leave without doing at least a tiny bit of reconnaissance. And so I decided that I'd start blogging about 6th Street with a plan: any time I've got a free night, or a free hour or two in a night, I'm going to head down to every Austinite's favorite place to bring that random relative who stopped in for the weekend to show off our "live music capitol."
And every night, I'm going to hang out for at least 15 minutes in a random bar. Tonight,I was by myself at Buffalo Billiards, the first bar that was open when I headed east from Congress.
Buffalo Billiards was also pretty uneventful tonight, but hopefully by the time the Ritz opens I'll have seen where people throw up and I'll be able to tell you how to avoid it. With luck, I'll also have spotted other pitfalls and spontaneous joys to share with you by then, but seeing as how tonight was my first night and I went down there alone, I really don't have a lot of awesome things to share. I do, however, have a bit of video I made at Buffalo Billiards, in which I try to beat myself up for not being awesome enough to interact with strangers. As you can see in this unfortunately unedited video clip, I was hoping that I would be more of a bad ass than I actually am:
Hopefully on some other night I'll actually have some whiskey at another bar and then I'll suddenly find my ability to talk to strangers:
"Oh, there your are, secret confidence! You were hiding at the bottom of this bottle this whole time!"
Okay, but for real. The parking was seriously easy on a Sunday, and actually much simpler than parking for the Colorado Street location. In the Warehouse District I had to park at least 3 and a half blocks away on the deadest of dead nights. Tonight I was two blocks away from the Ritz and I found a spot without having to circle. Obviously it isn't a Friday or Saturday, but still.
Also, as I've said, I saw no one puking at all. There was some annoying music coming out of a few of the clubs, but that was the worst of it from the actual 6th Street patrons. The one issue that I did have to deal with was the increase in the amount of bums. Even on a Sunday, I was approached three times by different panhandlers. And panhandlers are a tricky annoyance, because for the most part I like them. Don't get me wrong; I don't like being asked for money, but I do like that we live in a society where a select few of us are good at asking people on their way to a bar for free money, cause as much as it sucks that we live in a world where not everyone is well cared for, it's still cool that there are those among us who are like, "What? I'm awesome. Give me a dollar."
And yet... I recognize that paying those bums that I think are awesome solely for being awesome only serves to encourage more bums who are less awesome to think that they can ask for money, too. And nothing is worse than giving your money to one bum at the start of the night and then meeting another more awesome bum later, when you're already broke. Gah, I hate that.
And so I'll end this first entry with a question:
How do you deal with bums?
I imagine it won't be that big of a problem when you normally park two blocks away and go straight to the Ritz for a movie or a show, but I still want help for the rest of my blogging about 6th nights, when I plan to walk up and down old Pecan Street for hours at a time while I seek out its secrets. Spare me your tips?
Wow! The Rolling Roadshow's very first mayoral proclamation! July 25 is now officially Lost Boys day in Santa Cruz. You can click on the link to the left to see the official document, or the copy is printed below. Whereas in 1986, local Santa Cruzans lined up for a casting call and were given a chance to be in a "real" Hollywood movie; and
Whereas major filming took place in Santa Cruz at Joe Ferrara's Comic Bookshop, Atlantis Fantasyworld; the beach boardwalk, the Pogonip Clubhouse; and other various locations in the city; and
Today, actors Brooke McCarter, Billy Wirth, Jamison Newlander, and Chance Michael Corbitt join us in celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Santa Cruz' own pop culture classic, The Lost Boys:
Now, therefore, I Emily Reilly, Mayor of the city of Santal Cruz, do hereby proclaim July 25, 2007 as "Lost Boys Day" in the city of Santa Cruz and encourage all citizens to join me in thanking producer Richard Donner, director Joel Schumacher, and the cast and crew of The Lost Boys for not only making a memorable film but giving us the catch phrase, "Sleep all day. Party all night. It's fun to be a vampire."
Emily Reilly, Mayor
Any mayor that ends an official proclamation with "Sleep all day, party all night, it's fun to be a vampire," is a top-shelf city official in my book. Thanks Santa Cruz for hanging out with us and sorry for drinking Dewar's in the Lost Boys cave...
My Lost Boys Roadshow experience actually began on Monday the 23rd, two full days before the show was to go on. I was in Austin watching Transformers with my girlfriend when I got a phone call from Chance, he was driving the truck and, because of a generator emergency, would be in Santa Cruz in a few hours. Unfortunately I would not be there until the next day. So Chance’s first night in Santa Cruz was spent sleeping in the cab of the truck.
I met up with the rest of the crew on Tuesday. We scouted the location at the Boardwalk and also the cave where the after party would be. As Tim put it, this would be where the VIP-VIP after party would be. Then, after watching Tim do a dress rehearsal of his pie eating technique for the contest in Brownsville, OR, we all hit the sheets for some much needed shuteye in preparation for the setup on Wednesday.
Alamo alum Christi and I arrived at the beach around 9:30am, just as they were beginning to tow the RRS truck across the beach to the screening location. Well, perhaps “tow” is a bit too generous of a word. It was more like the truck was dragged to the location. It was a bit hairy there for a while, especially when it became obvious that one tractor could not pull the fully loaded truck by itself. Instead, another tractor had to push while the bigger one pulled. Check out the video below.
We then rapidly got situated by setting up the screen and aligning the truck. As Tim and I were sinking the stakes into the sand, he said to me, “It’s nice to know we can do this on the beach.” I quickly ran through my mental Rolodex of previous RRS locations and replied, “Tim, apparently we can do this anywhere.” And while the sand did prove challenging to deal with, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had envisioned. Though I’m sure the crew will be dealing with this sand for the rest of the tour.
By the time we had finished setting up it was around 1 pm and folks were already taking their seats in front of the screen. We had about four hours of free time and used that for a little R&R. We returned to the location at around 5pm, did some last minute setup, had a little panic over the print and then at about 9:30 The Lost Boys hit the screen to a thunderous cheer as the Boardwalk filled the fame.
As Zack mentioned in a previous post, there were approximately 3,000 people at this screening. It was by far the biggest crowd I have ever seen at a Roadshow event which made it especially exciting while the Boardwalk provided a fantastic backdrop. Tim and I were running around with our cameras, so be sure to check out our pics.
We've got almost a month before the next Sing-Along at the Alamo Village, and in this down time I'm definitely feeling a pop music withdrawal. With that and this constant never ending rain, I decided that we could all use a little bit of Umbrella.
Thank you, pop music. I'll see you again August 17th at the Ladies of the 80s Volume 2 shows. Although now I'm kinda wanting to make another Now! That's What I Call Sing-Along! so I can put some Rihanna up on the screen. She makes extra syllables fun!
Hard work is its own reward. And other rewards include sunburn, bruising, exhaustion and missing skin. But the crew of the 2007 Rolling Roadshow Tour agree that any degree of physical damage is little price to pay when bringing unbridled entertainment to our glorious nation.
We've had two more shows since the last RRS2007 posting. The first was the beloved, Wahlberg-legitimizing BOOGIE NIGHTS in the legendary Valley of sunny Southern California. Everything you'd have hoped for was there...palm trees, skaters, mini malls and tons and tons of actual, bona fide adult film stars. Yep, real life porno humans abounded at the screening and after-party, upping the surreality and off-Hollywood glamor of the event and increasing its memorability at least a dozenfold. Among them was a certain suave gentleman named Ron Jeremy. Earlier in the evening, we were lucky enough to have an introduction by the writer-director P.T. Anderson, who sat in on the show and shot the breeze about the film's creation, as well as his much anticipated new film, THERE WILL BE BLOOD.
A few days later saw us at the Santa Cruz, CA boardwalk for a mammoth screening of 1986' ultimate teen vampire masterpiece THE LOST BOYS. Over 3000 people were on hand for the show. One of them was the city's mayor, who showed up ready for action and quoted the film's bloodsucking oath: "Sleep all day, party all night!" This was followed by appearances from many of the film's leads, and the audience went nuts. Every new shot of the boardwalk evoked a roar of cheers from the audience, and everyone left with a head full of memories and pants full of sand.
I'd love to write more, but we're in the midst of preparing for our record-breakingly huge STAND BY ME show, which is basically going to envelop the entire town of Brownsville, OR this weekend.
I've never really understood what the cliche in the title of this post means exactly, but for some reason it seems apt. There is one main reason for this: The bulk of the work that has gone on at the Ritz over the past week or so has been attending to the smaller details of construction that are easy to pass over through those little photographs that I post on Flickr. Besides the copious amounts of wall framing that has gone up (the kitchen, server station and bathroom wall framing is complete) there has been a ton of duct, plumbing and electrical work that has been done, all of which is on the ground floor.
Perhaps the most noticeable additions in terms of wall framing that has happened includes a portion of the wall for the screen in Theater 1 and the majority of the projection booth (the wall to the projection booth in Theater 2 has yet to be completed). You can also see where the entrance for handicapped seating in Theater 2 is, as well as the entrances for the VIP balcony sections.
Also, Andrew, Sean and I met at the Ritz late Monday afternoon to go over the layout of the gear in the projection booth. The most notable tidbit of information I have is that the Alamo at the Ritz is preparing for digital projection. According to Andrew, most if not all of the multiplexes in Austin will be fully digital by 2008. The Alamo wants to be on the cutting edge of that evolution.
But to make room for digital projection in a very cramped projection booth the possibility for having changeover projection capabilities in both theaters had to be eliminated (which would have required us to install four 35mm projectors - two for each theater). Instead, Theater 1 will only have one 35mm projector, meaning all films that show in there will have to be built. This is not that big of a deal because the plan is to mostly show first run films in there. But this will exclude a lot of special programming from the big theater as we often screen archive prints that can't be built to platter. So this raises a shit ton of programming questions that I do not have the answers to - mainly concerning Buttnumbathon, Weird Wednesday, Master Pancake and AFS. Will these screenings be restricted to the much smaller Theater 2 as they often involve archive prints? I dunno. I also don't know exact seat counts for each theater so don't know the impact that will have on the availability of tickets. I can say, however, that Theater 2 will have a MUCH smaller capacity than the old Downtown, which has enormous implications for an event such as Buttnumbathon.
I hope to get answers to many of these questions when I see Tim either tonight or tomorrow, for I am in Santa Cruz on a well timed vacation to visit my family and see the Lost Boys Roadshow screening at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
This also means I will miss out on a week's worth of progress at the Ritz. I am hoping I can convince someone to take some photographs for me. Otherwise we're going to see a hell of a jump in the progress shown in photos come next week. It is also then that I am going to update the countdown.
It's been almost a month since our downtown theater closed and probably another couple of months until we have the new one open. I was a little skeptical about how downtown-type programming would go over in Lamar and Village but the good news is - it's great. Weird Wednesdays, which I always secretly feared would never feel as scuzzy in the scrupulously clean and well-ordered South Lamar theater, are actually hugely fun. The most hardcore regulars are still there, as well as some curious parties who are new to the scene and, now that they've figured out the bus schedule, even the students. So despite the lack of falling ceiling tiles, threadbare curtains and a makeshift sound system - it's still the most dogged-out, disreputable excuse for a good time in town. Last week we had our first full house of the South Lamar Weird Wednesday era, THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER: a sketchy CONAN THE BARBARIAN ripoff with extra sex and violence that thrilled the crowd. Afterwards, there was that electric kind of ripple through the crowd that I had been missing from the Downtown experience.
And it's not just Weird Wednesday. John Erler from Master Pancake and I had a conversation about the current "exiled from downtown" state of events and he agreed that it's not bad at all. In fact it's a blast. The Master Pancake CONAN shows have been wildly popular at both Village and South Lamar. John mentioned that he was seeing a lot of new faces, maybe people who didn't care to deal with downtown and its parking situation. Who knows? It's just good to know that the magic of downtown hasn't deserted us, that in fact it clings to the people and the events that have always made the Alamo special. Whew!
A small group of die-hard teams joined us in Austin, Texas to kick off the 2007 Rolling Roadshow and the Ultimate Fandango Scavenger Hunt. Teams were given a list of items they had to photograph, places to visit and laws to gently bend. In 36 hours we were to meet up again in San Elizario to begin the cinematic celebration. We've assembled on our Flickr page some of the photos from the hunt for the rest of you guys to check out.
Also, if you ever want to recreate your own personal Fandango, the official Alamo Drafthouse Scavenger Hunt list is posted below. There won't be a bottle of Dom Perignon waiting for you, but I can guarantee you complete Fandango immersion.
The Ultimate Fandango Scavenger Hunt
Welcome to the Ultimate Fandango scavenger hunt! This scavenger hunt is designed to start from Austin, Texas, but can be started from El Paso or anywhere since most of the action is in west Texas near Marfa and El Paso. For those leaving from Austin at 9:00 AM from the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at 1120 South Lamar Blvd., we’ll be providing a couple of extra surprises. These surprises will not affect scoring in any way.
We recommend allocating about 2 days to complete everything on the list, but you can take more or less time depending on your pace. We recommend fully analyzing the checklist before heading out on the road. Plot a route, get your supplies, and print out maps before you go. Please note; this is not a timed competition.
Check-in for the scavenger hunt will begin at 5 PM and end at 9 PM at the Fandango gazebo on July 18. The scavenger hunt is a photo-based hunt. Please use a digital camera to take photos of as many things on the list as possible. Note- we are not giving any credit for photos of movie screen-grabs or video box covers… All photos must be of real objects and real people. Some photos will be given partial credit (based on style/judges interpretation). We will have a universal card reader at check-in that can read all memory cards, however, to be sure we can download your photos, you may want to bring your own USB reader if you have one for your camera.
The list of photos to take is below. You can treat this scavenger hunt as a pilgrimage to all of your favorite locations from the movie and take photos of only those things you are comfortable doing. Bear in mind, many of the things on the list below are unsafe, unwise and potentially illegal, but so were the Groovers. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and the Rolling Roadshow do not condone breaking the law or engaging in any unsafe activity. If you choose to break any laws, you are accountable for your own actions.
That said, here is the list;
Value Description 450 A photo of one of your team members skydiving (must also bring dated receipt 7/13/07 or later) 100 One of your team members toasting the privilege of youth from the same rock that Kevin Costner performed his toast 100 Your entire team in front of Dom Rock 50 Your entire team in front of the original Dom Rock 0 Bonus (no points, just for fun). We have buried 6 bottles of Champagne at Dom rock. See note 1 for details. 100 Your entire team mooning a middle aged couple (note, the rolling roadshow assumes no accountability for your actions) 50 Bonus points if you can prove that the elderly couple is your parents 150 A picture taken from your car showing a trucker and the rest of your team mooning that trucker (note, the rolling roadshow assumes no accountability for your actions) 50 Your team with someone who looks like Chuck Bush (not actually Chuck Bush) 50 Your team with someone who looks like Marvin McIntyre (not actually Marvin McIntyre) 50 Your team with someone who looks like Brian Cesak (not actually Brian Cesak) 250 Your team at the Mclean Massacre marker (see note 2) 50 One of your team members eating 3 chili dogs and a malt from the Sonic in Alpine, Texas 100 One of your team members covertly eating food from someone else's tray at the Sonic in Alpine, Texas 50 One of your team members making out at the Sonic in Alpine, Texas 100 One of your team members looking really sad and flying a kite in the desert 100 One of your team members shooting fireworks (see note 3) (note, the rolling roadshow assumes no accountability for your actions) 100 Your team at the Marfa Cemetery 100 One of your team members with a live lizard in their pants 75 One of your team members taking a shower in a car wash 150 A picture of something spelled out using laundry on the tarmac of the Pecos Parachute School 50 All of your team members eating twinkies 50 Laundry flying through the air (picture scored on beauty) 100 Your team posed in front of Chata Ortega's Bar and Grill 25 Your team posing next the the Groovers grafitti in Chata Ortega's Bar and Grill 50 Your team outside the schoolhouse in Toyah (see note 4) 75 Your team in the basement of the schoolhouse in Toyah (note, the rolling roadshow assumes no accountability for your actions) 100 Your team on the first or second floor of the schoolhouse in Toyah (note, the rolling roadshow assumes no accountability for your actions) 50 One of your team members wedged against the back window of your car 25 A dog, a bird, a turtle, a mouse, a bug walking or hopping across the road (25 pts each) 50 A baby blue Cadillac with fins 100 A member of your team “ghostriding the whip” in west Texas (note 5) (note, the rolling roadshow assumes no accountability for your actions) 50 A member of your team getting Shiner Bock poured in his/her face while leaning out of the car (note, the rolling roadshow assumes no accountability for your actions) 200 Your team on the giant set near Marfa (note 6) 100 Your team in front of the gas station/repair shop in Marathon, TX 100 Your team in the back seat of a car driven by two high school jailbait airheads from Marfa High School 50 One of your team members looking wistful towards the horizon at the spot where Truman lands with the bride 150 Two of your team members dancing in front of the gazebo in San Elizario (judged on style and/or skill) 50 3 old men with straw hats on a bench
3600 Total possible points
Note 1: Bonus (no points, just for fun). For the first 6 teams to arrive at Dom Rock, we have buried a champagne treat for you... looking at and touching the d in the original DOM (not movie DOM) take 12 paces to the left. Look for the small grotto formed by two rocks. Look for a bright red rock. Dig CAREFULLY, Don't use shovel or you will break the bottles. Please take just one bottle and replace dirt and red rock for the next teams. If there are no more bottles, you weren't one of the first 6 teams to arrive.
Note 2: The McLean Massacre marker is well the hell out of the way, it’s in East Texas. Don’t head out there unless you are already passing though. It’s not worth it.
Note 3: We are originally going to have you shoot off fireworks in the Marfa cemetery, but with the risk of fires, that didn’t seem so prudent. When you light off your fireworks, do it away from grass and shrubs, preferably on the pavement/asphalt.
Note 4: My wife and I went to the Toyah Schoolhouse where the fraternity interiors were shot. There is an opening to the basement, but we were too chicken to venture in. Bring a flashlight and more bravery than we brought.
Note 5: We could not in good conscience condone surfing on top of your car in West Texas. A kid in my high school actually died doing just this in 1987 and that would put a real buzzkill on the Fandango festivities. Instead, you can try out the new unsafe fad that’s been sweeping the nation. Do a quick “ghostriding the whip” Youtube search and you’ll see what it is. Bear in mind, this is a STILL photograph we are asking for. Don’t do anything dumb. Staging this shot is fine.
Note 6: When my wife and I scouted the locations, we found no remains of the Giant set. If someone can show proof of being at the actual giant set location, you will get the points. In our scouting trip, we failed in this. Please take very accurate accounting of the directions so we can update the www.howboutafandango.com website.
Addresses: Mclean Massacre marker eight miles south of Palestine, TX, on Anderson County Road 185.
The Sonic Drive-In The Sonic is located on the corner of E. Holland and N. Garrett streets in downtown Alpine. GPS coordinates: N30º 21.530', W103º 39.385'.
The Cemetery The cemetery (named "Cementerio de la Merced") is located on the western edge of Marfa, about a mile from the center of the city, on Highway 90. GPS coordinates: N30º 18.474', W104º 02.357'
The Gas Station/Repair shop The gas station is located on Highway 90 at Avenue F in Marathon. GPS coordinates: N30º 12.369', W103º 14.608'.
Pecos Parachute School To get to the location, take the Pyote exit off of Interstate 20 (about 40 miles west of Odessa), then turn right on the feeder road on the south side of the freeway. You will pass the State School and then see the remnants of the hangar off to your left (i.e. south of the freeway). GPS coordinates: N31º 31.630', W103º 08.015'.
Chata Ortega’s Bar and Grill Chata Ortega's is located between Toyah and Pecos on Interstate 20. Take the Shaw Road exit (exit 29), turn west on the feeder road on the south side of the interstate, and you will see the building about a mile down on your left (i.e. south of the freeway), about 50 yards south of the feeder road. Just hop the barbed wire fence (there's no one around to stop you) and you have the run of the place. GPS coordinates: N31º 21.047', W103º 42.751'.
Dom Rock The DOM rock is located between Lajitas and Presidio on Highway FM170. Specifically, the rock is 13.5 miles north of Lajitas, 1.5 miles north of the rest area with teepee shaped shelters, and 36.5 miles south of the Highway 67 intersection in Presidio. It is located on the highest hill on FM170. Just park your car on the, hike about 50 feet toward the river, and voila - DOM. GPS coordinates: N29º 17.714', W103º 55.580'. To find the original “Dom”, which is carved into the rock, simply look up from the movie “Dom”, which is sprayed in white paint.
Truman Drops off the Girl Though the buildings are no longer there, the mountains and ditch in the background give it away. It is off of Texas Hwy 20, between Fort Hancock and San Elizario.
The Gazebo take Interstate 10 about 15 miles east of El Paso, use exit 42, and follow the signs to San Elizario (about 5 miles south of the freeway). GPS coordinates: N31º 35.094', W106º 16.398'.
We're hungry, sleepless and unshaven. Our bodies are filled with truck stop cuisine gas damage and covered in sunburn, one of us has grown a hideous beard and another, in a fit of self-loathing dementia, has shaved his head into a ridiculous floppy mohawk.
One show down, ten to go.
The first event, our San Elizario screening of FANDANGO, was a complete success. In a town with a population of under a thousand, we managed to pull off a full-scale celebration of a movie that is largely unfamiliar to modern audiences. Cast, fans and innocent bystanders alike all had a great time and we made some new pals with the locals. The scavenger hunt teams pulled through, breaking all the right laws to earn points for the event. The happy couple was married LIVE! by FANDANGO star Chuck Bush, and there was a big party afterwards in the town square.
Everyone worked their rumps off and collapsed in a heap of sunstroke and success at the end of the night. Now we're four states away in a tiny hotel in the equally tiny town of Blythe, CA, preparing to embark on our BOOGIE NIGHTS and LOST BOYS events, one of which will involve a very special movie prop which we'll pick up later today. I'm not saying what it is, but let's just say that it likely put Mark Wahlberg's inseam to the ultimate test.
It's time to head out already, but we'll be checking back in from various truck stops and parking lots with updates and battle scars from the road.
The concept for the Alamo was originally to combine the dinner and a movie date into one all-inclusive experience, and we still like to think that we're the best place for that in the country. But we realize that sometimes you'll be out at dinner somewhere else with a group of friends and someone will say, "Hey, wanna go see a movie after this?" And that idea sounds great to you, but what movie? What theater? And when does it start?
The "what theater?" question is obviously easy to answer. The "what movie?" is often tied into when it starts, though, isn't it? And so then you can go to the front of the restaurant and see if there are still any Chronicle's left, but sometimes that just isn't that convenient. You could use your new iPhone to go straight to our main website, but the load times of the actual Internet on those things is horrible. And on a regular Palm? Blech. So now you can visit www.originalalamo.com/m on your mobile device and get quick and easy access to our showtimes for all of our theaters with no frills that can cost valuable downloading time. Need more info on a particular title? You can still click through and get to a simple text description. www.originalalamo.com/mobile. Program it into your device now.
We've been planning for today for the past 4 months, and it was very strange to stop on a dime, load up the Roadshow caravan fleet and officially be out on the road. We have a much smaller crew this year than last year (6 instead of 10 folks) which I think will be a much less chaotic group dynamic experience.
We met at the theater at 9 AM this morning with the Fandango scavenger hunt teams and Brian Cesack and Chuck Bush, stars from the movie. After a celebratory champagne toast and a few last minute packing mishaps, we hit the trail for San Elizario, first stop on the 2007 Rolling Roadshow Tour. These guys were the hardcore Fandango fans, the types of folks that I really like to have out at screenings. One couple flew in from the UK, another team had matching homemade Fandango T-shirts and a third group had actually made their own Fandango refrigerator magnets. They are going to spend the next 36 hours skydiving, trespassing and generally wreaking havoc through west Texas as they vie to become the champs of the ultimate Fandango Scavenger Hunt. Winner gets a bottle of Dom Perignon and some serious bragging rights.
I'm currently sitting in the parking lot of the Flying J Truck Stop typing up my thoughts, which granted aren't all that tremendously interesting. Our motel for the night is the only hotel in San Elizario, the Cotton Valley Inn, where there isn't a WIFI signal within a 10 mile radius. We ate at their restaurant called the Bol Weevil Cafe. Too freakin' great of a name, we had to support.
I'll be checking in regularly from the road. Tomorrow, I will have photos from all of the scavenger hunt teams, who frankly have been asked to do a lot of really unwise things, which should make for some really interesting photos, perhaps some of those being mugshots. For the record, the Alamo assumes no liability for any wrongdoing on the part of the teams.
We'll check back in later when there is more to report than road fatigue from the I-10 straight shot to El Paso.
More info on the Rolling Roadshow Tour Dewar's White Label: sponsor of the tour's various after-parties (we're rolling with 50 liters, which may also prove to be a factor in future posts.
The roof is done. Tim said so. That's another thing out of the way.
I met up with Tim and Daniel at the Ritz on Saturday afternoon and we talked about the project. You have to understand, and I know I've said this before, but things are really moving along quickly. Tim told me that he is much more pleased with the progress now and how things are moving along than he was a month ago. So let's talk about what's been accomplished over the last week.
Well, first off, concrete was poured into theater 2 on Friday. Tim and Daniel were in there on a Saturday to work on laying down the subflooring at a pace that keeps up with the building of the risers in Theater 1. Tim hopes that the 2nd floor concrete can be poured some time this week. But the next big project is getting those risers in Theater 1 built and, as you can see from the pics, a few have already been done. Meanwhile, the kitchen and lobby areas continue to develop. Quite a bit of electrical, plumbing, and air conditioning duct work has been done in there. But there is still much to do in those areas before sheetrock can be put up. Meanwhile, work on interior wall structures continues to progress at an alarming rate. I forgot to ask them, but I'm pretty sure the lobby and kitchen areas are done in this regard. I've noticed that the bathroom walls have not yet been built, though.
Speaking of the lobby, Tim told me about some developments in terms of plans for the lobby decor. It seems it is going to be somewhat of a Ritz history museum. "We are going to have regions in the lobby and the stairs where we display photos, posters, and "memories" of the phases of operation of the Ritz," he said. "There will be old photographs, ads and vintage movie posters of films that have played at the Ritz." The idea is to have different periods of time be represented: "We'll have photos from the metal years, photos from the punk years, and photos and posters from the Jim Franklin days in 1974," Tim said.
And if that's not enough, Tim is commited to recreating as much of the atmosphere from the Downtown theater that made it "feel comfy and right." A part of that job has been tasked to Lars and Zach who will be in charge of curating and regularly rotating some of the Original Alamo's own vintage posters in the new lobby.
The next big question though is my countdown. While one month and 9 days is a very optimistic target, just looking at how much needs to be done, I'm pretty sure it's not going to happen. I don't think anyone is surprised that my projection wasn't accurate. The only question is how much time to add. Anything I do add is just going to be another shot in the dark anyway. I dunno. Maybe I'll do that next week.
For everyone who truly loves the Simpsons, the Alamo Drafthouses South Lamar and Village are planning a gigantic, fun-filled run of the SIMPSONS MOVIE starting on Friday July 27. The entire staff has put its love and alarmingly encyclopedic knowledge of the Simpsons to work to create the ultimate Simpson's experience. For the true fan there is simply no other option. It's the Alamo or nowhere. Miss it, and it will be the D'oh heard 'round the world.
There will be a Squishy machine in the lobby opening weekend at South Lamar, with a costumed Homer and Bart greeting the arriving masses. Both theaters will feature a dream menu of Simpson's Food and Beverage Specials, including the Krusty Meal and the Ribwich. Gargantuan frosted pink donuts with sprinkles will also be available. This is definitely not the week you want to start that diet.
Guests are encouraged to arrive 30 minutes early for the SIMPSONS preshow, a specially selected compilation of the greatest Simpson's moments through the years, with some rarities thrown in, worth the price of admission alone.
Here's the menu, you may need to consult a rabid fan to understand some of the dishes, we'll be happy to help:
Amuse Bouche: Chief Wiggum’s Chili, made with the merciless peppers of Quetzlzacatenango.
First Course Blinky (the three eyed radioactive fish) with Tomacco Sauce.
Second Course Pinchy in a bathtub broth Poached lobster in shellfish consommé.
Third Course A grilled,bacon wrapped bone in pork chop in Marge’s special pork spice blend with a caramel dipped apple, Moe’s million dollar birthday fries and roast corn.
Fourth Course The Ultimate Donut A taste of the hereafter, if you've been very, very good. A Donut Casserole, thousands of donuts in a casserole, soaked in cream and pressed into one humongous D'oh-nut, topped with pink icing and sprinkles. Guaranteed to take at least four years off your life, but so worth it.
So I missed making my post last week. I’d go ahead and say I was too busy, and while that might be partially true, it’s not like this blog takes a whole hell of a lot of time to get written (‘tis true!). I also hadn’t been out to the Ritz in a week until this past Friday and, holy hell, a lot has been done. Check out the photoset if you don’t believe me. Things have progressed by leaps and bounds. In fact, I think we’re just about ready to show movies in theater 2. That’s if you don’t mind sitting on plywood. And perhaps having a drip or two of water landing on your head.
Which brings me to what’s causing some slowdown. Not only are our roofers finding problems with the roof (there was one nicely rotted section that had to be repaired), but the rain is pointing out all sorts of leaks in the original roofing. I guess, in the long run, that’s a good thing because it would suck to open the place and then have a leak spring up in the middle of the theater (ah downtown, we’ll miss thee). But all this rain has been seriously slowing down work to finish the roof, all the while making the inside of the Ritz a soggy mess. It appears this may be the worst summer yet for construction. Basically, since the roof went up over theater 1, there hasn’t been any progress inside that space except as a staging area for other construction work.
But that shouldn’t detract from what’s going on in the front area of the Ritz. As you can tell from the photos, pretty much all the kitchen wall structures are built. There’s even some pluming and electrical work done in there. Also, the service stairs which lead to the service staging area, office (both 2nd floor), projection booth and balcony (both 3rd floor) have been fabricated and installed. Robert Jenkins from Bill Jett Fabrication was nice enough to let me climb the stairs to the third floor where I got some awesome shots of that level and theater 2 which has some sub-flooring installed.
Check it all out in the Ritz Flickr set. Also check out my Last Night photos in the DT set if you feel so inclined.
Wow. I sent Stephanie Cook, our videography intern, out to cover the Robosaurus event for the Transformers premiere on July 2. I thought it would be a good idea to make sure we had a video record of the event, to have something to remember all the special times we shared with that car-crushing dinobot, to be able to show it at family get togethers and say, "Hey, we were there. Remember that, kids?"
It turns out just about everyone else in Austin had the same idea as me and Stephanie. Dang! Have you done a YouTube search for Robosaurus lately? It's insane! But to save you the hassle of watching 18 hours of the same cars getting crushed over and over again, I'm putting up a bunch of our favorites right here inside this blog entry...
First up, the new Don't Talk During the Movie spot that Thomas Humphries cut together for us:
Then we've got one from PoshDeluxe that's short and sweet and has a great shot of a flaming car being dropped:
Then finally there's Stephanie's cut, which is chock full of more Transformers lyrics than most people will remember:
Oh, you're not finished yet? Check out this grandpappy of all the entries, a full 8 minutes and 47 seconds of straight performance with no editing at all, from Monoloco23:
Of course, if you've seen anything we missed that's got more pure Robosaurus gold, drop a link or something to it in the comments! I want more, more, more!
