Film News


BY JOE O'CONNELL

Oh, 'Mandy' ...

Central Texas' biggest independent film success story
of the year? How about All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, a
horror flick that was snapped up by the Weinstein Co.
for its Dimension Films almost immediately after a
midnight showing at the Toronto International Film
Festival. Jonathan Levine, a former assistant to Paul
Schrader, directed the film in the Austin area (mainly
Bastrop) last November with local actress Amber Heard
starring as a devastatingly beautiful high school girl
who attracts a bunch of zombielike admirers. According
to Variety, the film, with a budget in the six
figures, was snapped up for between $3 million and $4
million and will get a theatrical release.


'Chainsaw' Refugees vs. 'Ninja Pirate Supermodels' vs.
Red-headed Stranger

There's word that Future-Kill, the 1985 reteaming of
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre alums Ed Neal, Marilyn
Burns, and the late special-effects guru Robert Burns,
is coming out on DVD in a full-color restoration from
Subversive Cinema, just in time for Halloween. Neal
himself got the print remastered, says Subversive's
Norm Hill, who termed an earlier video release
"unwatchable." Also included are commentary tracks
from Neal and director Ronald Moore, as well as a
replica of the highly touted original poster artwork
from Swiss surrealist H.R. Giger. In my mind, it's
worth snapping up for the scenes shot at Austin's
punkish night spot Club Foot. "It's a fun time
capsule," Hill says... Ninja Pirate Supermodels vs.
the Zombies From Space. Best. Title. Ever, to
paraphrase Comic Book Guy. It's also a fun film now
shooting in town with a director who goes by the
moniker Citizen Gray. "It's light and fun," he says of
the sci-fi/fantasy movie. "It's the kind of stuff you
want to watch with your buddies on your big screen at
home." Originally conceived as a podcast, the response
was so strong, he says, that not one, not two, but
three films are planned about three women raised by
pirates and trained by ninjas to kick ass. Look for a
promotional event Monday, Sept. 25, at the Lair. Did I
mention there's a lingerie pillow fight? Ah, and the
Jolly Garogers have written the theme song... Yes,
Willie Nelson is the star/executive producer of Sixgun
Nightmare, a martial arts film that completed filming
here last week. It's directed by Sam Um, who has
choreographed fight scenes for Chinese action films
and American indies. Phil Curry is the director of
photography.
No Joke: Polish Film Fest

Polish film posters are some of the most artistic in
the world, and Richard Linklater will open his
personal vault for an exhibition Oct. 22 at the Harry
Ransom Center for Humanities Research in conjunction
with the first Festival Filmu Polskiego – that's
Austin Polish Film Festival for the uninitiated –
which runs Thursdays at 7pm in October at the Alamo
Drafthouse South in conjunction with the National Film
School of Poland in Lodz. Among the slated guests is
director Dorota Kedzierzawksa, whose Jesten will have
its regional premiere. Find more information at
www.austinpff.org.
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