Sunday, June 22, 2008
Dallas IndieClub Gong Show winners
After experiencing my first ever Gong Show (at Dallas' Studio Movie Grill, on Sun. June 22), I now have a feel for what it must have been like for gladiators awaiting the thumb treatment from spectators at the Roman Colosseum.
I'm tellin' ya, this crowd got surly, folks. Especially after the celebrity judges received free beer from one of the entrant filmmakers, and the audience got none. Well, I could have predicted this wouldn't go over well, particularly on the part of that nice looking lady a few seats off to my left who kept screaming for the judges to "GONG IT!" after seeing only the first several seconds of each entered video.
Well, it was all for a good cause (an endowment for local filmmakers), and those attending paid for their right to boo and howl, although I personally think the spitting should have cost them extra.
Eighteen short films were screened in all (or at least that part of them that avoided being gonged after the first "grace" minute of run-time), and three of the films came out as monetary winners. They were:
1. In first place, audience (and judges') favorite, Bloom, made by Dallas' own David Norman. Bloom is a great looking (technically), well-scripted (with a gut-wrenching, out-of-left-field twist ending) and nicely acted piece of cinema. Mr. Norman's little gem of a short should be seen by all.
2. In second place, a music video called Giant, by Jerod Costa of Arlington. It played at SXSW, too.
3. Taking third place honors was Lamie de Zoe, an animated film from France about a red family visiting a green world and then flying back off to their red world after having missed it so much. But they got along quite well with all the green people, and vice-versa, so I guess the judges must have appreciated its message of racial harmony.
However - in awarding these three top honors, the judges earned my everlasting ire because they thereby froze out of contention the funniest entry of the evening: Gandhi at the Bat, which is pretty much exactly what you think it's going to be from the title, and so much more. Filmed in old newsreel style (in something like simulated scratchy duotone footage), it was that rare one-trick pony that just kept getting trickier as it progressed, even into the credits. Another one that I hope reaches a wide audience.
Earning a special mention (and kind of an honorary fourth place) was a first effort by fifteen-year-old filmmaker Ryan Kline called Airport - a very impressionistic piece that I didn't really understand, but since it featured a goofing-looking, gap-toothed smiling kid at the end it earned audience (and apparently judges') approval.
Included are some photos from the event, which was a lot of fun. Kudos to all involved.
Chad Jones contributed by eating my fries
Jason Rice, says:
OMG - Ghandi at Bat! Follow the link- awesome art direction.
OK, WHERE can I see this? (And Libby, I'm sorry I missed it, dang!)
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Chad Jones, says:
Fun event, though the judges definitely gonged a few too soon and gonged them against the audience's wishes.
And judge Winston Edmonson's whole bit about being Republican and "ultra-conservative," which I assume isn't a joke, compelled him to gong a flick because he thought a female character was a male. Annoying.
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jtmbls, says:
This was a very good time. No offence but who picked the MC for the night? Very low energy and seemed to have trouble getting the crowd going.
There were a couple I would have liked to have seen more of. Surely these are all available online somewhere?
Gandhi At The Bat was very well done and I am surprised it didn't place at all. I was blown away by Bloom. He actually received a standing ovation from a good portion of the crowd.
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Gandhi_at_the_Bat, says:
Mohandas K. Gandhi once said, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." Or maybe it was Joe Torre who said it.
Anyway. We're just pleased that Gandhi at the Bat made it to the "laugh at you" part last night!
We co-wrote and co-directed Gandhi at the Bat, and though we were very sad we couldn't be in Dallas (which we actually like very much), we did have a secret agent posted in the audience, and he sent us a full and very entertaining report of the evening.
Then came this great article and collection of comments! We're very grateful for the indignation on our behalf, so thank you!
One side note that may be of interest to you Texans: because Yankee Stadium was unavailable to us during production (especially Yankee Stadium in 1933), we shot the movie in a ballpark belonging to the Bakersfield Blaze (www.bakersfieldblaze.com), who are a farm team for an organization you may be familiar with -- the Texas Rangers...
Jason, as far as seeing the movie...it will be for sale soon through Amazon, but meanwhile, if you want to write to us at info@gandhiatthebat.com, we'll hook you up. And right this instant, you can see a teaser trailer and a before-and-after video demo at http://www.vbbtexas.org/Gandhipromo.html. (And check out the very cool website that hosts it, too -- it's all about vintage baseball, and it's put together by our dedicated Texas-based secret agent.)
Thanks again!
Stephanie Argy & Alec Boehm
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jtmbls, says:
Great job guys! We really enjoyed your piece, laughing the entire way through!
Thanks for the links - Best of luck!
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Jason Rice, says:
Do NOT pass go. Click the promo link above, NOW. Where the H3LL did the sitar arrangement come from. YES. Genius.
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jtmbls, says:
Yeah I know! Playing Take Me Out To The Ballgame???
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Chad Jones, says:
The second-place winner, music video "Giant" by local band <a href="http://www.pegasusnews.com/bands/albatross/">Albatross</a>.
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Gandhi_at_the_Bat, says:
Thank you, Jason and jtmbls!
Ah...the sitar version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"...
That would be the twisted genius of my co-director, Alec Boehm, who records under the name Smart Alec. (SHAMELESS PLUG: Check out his musical stylings at www.cdbaby.com!)
Baseball fans may recognize the name of Alec's second CD, Urban Shocker, as being the name of a Yankee pitcher from the 1920s; writer Chet Williamson caught that reference -- which may be one of the reasons he let us adapt his short story, Gandhi at the Bat, into a movie...
I'm not really sure where the idea for the the sitar "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" came from. Actor Lee Perkins, who plays Mickey Cochrane in Gandhi at the Bat, will probably say it came from him -- and since most things do, it may be true.
I think that one worked out quite nicely, too!
Steph
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jtmbls, says:
Thank you for sharing so much about your project. I have been all over the internet trying to find other pieces I thought were interesting but to no avail. It's a shame, a little effort in marketing can make all the difference in the world. Clearly you all have all your bases covered (pun intended) and will have much success.
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NouvelleMode, says:
Hi everyone, I am the director of the music video "Giant" and the prematurely-gonged "Go Out In Style" Thanks to the above poster for putting up "Giant" and thanks to everyone who attended. This was possibly one of the funnest experiences at a film festival that I have ever had. Here's a link to "Go Out In Style" so that everyone can view the entire film (Don't blame Winston for the unnecessary gonging...he's Conservative, he knows not what he does:)
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jtmbls, says:
Awesome! Thanks for making it available.
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