Report from Fantasia

What an experience this was. It was our first time to Montreal, and for starters Milo and I were picked up at the airport with indie film legend Lloyd (Toxic Avenger) Kaufman. Meeting Lloyd was an honor, and he's a super nice guy. Mr. Kaufman was showing a film entitled Poultrygeist as well as hosting the Troma Show Varietease.

Our first night I would've been happy to just hit the hotel and grab some z's, but luckily Milo and I decided to check out this cool little first feature gem from Austrian director Peter Koller titled On Evil Grounds. The film was equal parts horror film and wigged out comedy, mixing over-the-top Looney Tune violence with some survival/torture film staples.

The second and third day we saw four or five films a day including the Japanese box office champ Death Note (Parts 1 & 2,) The Fox Family, Midnight Ballad for Ghost Theater, 13 Beloved, and a documentary entitled King of Kong which probably made me laugh harder than I have at a theater in over ten years.

After seeing so many back-to-back overwhelmingly stellar flicks with amazing production values Milo and I were starting to feel a bit queasy about our upcoming screening. I guess you get used to your film after you’ve seen it so many times. The odd things begin to feel normal, and everything at Fantasia was proving to be so fresh and imaginative.

As my anxiety was reaching its peak I ran into Lloyd Kaufman again. It was Saturday night before his screening of Poultrygeist (which rocked!) and he asked how things were going. When I told him I was getting a bit nerved up he said, "Look, I've come to this festival for years. These programmers know what they're doing, and if they selected your film I'm sure it's brilliant.” I took a deep breath and hoped he was right.

So the next day we had our screening and it was great. The crowd seemed to respond favorably, the projection was by far the best we've ever had, and the Q&A and feedback afterwards was just right. A print review in BangBang Montreal came out and they said our film was “Twisted, unconventional, diverting, inventive and creative.” TwitchFilm also posted an entry on their site. We were interviewed several times, so we expect a few more articles and reviews to post in the forthcoming weeks. It was also brought to our attention that HT was screened and programmed by the man who founded Fantasia - Pierre Corbiel.

Our trip was capped off with a ride to the airport with Mulberry Street director Jim Mickle. I didn't see Mulberry Street, but Milo did, and he said it's gonna be huge. You gotta trust Milo on this as he knows his horror shit (the geeks’s got the full run of Fangoria magazine.) Jim was down-to-earth and gave us some more great advice.

Montreal was amazingly beautiful. We hung out with terrific folks - I absolutely can't wait to go back. Thanks to our Fantasia publicist Ryan Bruce Levey for all his efforts -including suggesting we actually submit to Fantasia in the first place. And biggest thanks of all to the Fantasia staff especially Pierre, Mitch, Phillipe, and Simone.

Merci Gents, we hope to see you again soon!

.....................................what a bunch a jerks..............................

KURT & HEATHER...!!!

My brother Kurt and his fiance Heather got hitched in Las Vegas on Wednesday, July 11th. I couldn't be happier for the two of them, and I'm so grateful to have a brand new sister as sweet and cool as Heather. Way to go Kurt-O! You two make the dashingest couple this side of the Luxor.

God bless and best wishes.