FANTASTIC FEST- NARNIA, SCANNER DARKLY, ZATHURA, HOSTEL & FEAST! The work of Stan Winston, Weta & KNB on Exhibit!

Hey Festers, Harry here! Man oh Man! It's nearly here. Now - I know - for the vast majority of you - you're thinking how totally unfair it is that this is happening in Austin, Texas. And - it is unfair. But Austin got lucky when Tim League put down roots and called this his home. Now what's the latest 411? Well, there's the student discount and the AFS member discount talked about below - but there's still more. Over at Fantastic Fest.com we've posted the schedule grid all laid out and clear so that those of you that have your badges can plot out your plan of attack - read more on each film and figure out when you'll see what and in what order. Then for those of you that can't afford the whole shebang, there's individual screening tickets available for you cherry pickers. Now - after the following that Tim sent me, I've got some special coolness that makes FANTASTIC FEST one of the most unique cool as hell events ever staged here in Austin! But lest I get ahead of myself... here's Tim...

FANTASTIC FEST discount offer for AFS members and college students]

The first-ever Fantastic Fest kicks off this Thursday, and we're pleased to offer Austin Film Society members a limited number of discount badges at a special reduced price of just $95 (a $30 savings).

From October 6-9, the Fantastic Fest will present nearly two dozen feature films from a dozen countries, including sneak previews of Jon Favreau's ZATHURA, Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller's SIN CITY: RECUT & EXTENDED, and Werner Herzog's THE WILD BLUE YONDER; work-in-progress screenings of John Gulager's FEAST and Eli Roth's HOSTEL; plus behind-the-scenes peeks at the making of Richard Linklater's A SCANNER DARKLY and Andrew Adamson's THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDOBE. You do not want to miss out on this unique and extraordinary weekend of fantastic film!

A limited number of special AFS discount badges will go on sale starting at noon today -- first-come, first-served. (When they're gone, they're gone!) These badges provide access to each and every Fantastic Fest screening and panel (but not the opening night party). Please note, discount badge holders will be admitted only after VIP and standard Fantastic Fest badge holders have seated. If you arrive early, however, you should be able to get into most screenings (and most films screen more than once).

Tickets and badges (including the AFS/student discount badge) as well as a complete schedule and detailed program information on all films is available online at FantasticFest.com.

NOTE: For priority seating and guaranteed admission, we recommend purchasing a VIP or standard Fantastic Fest badge, which are still available at FantasticFest.com.

If you purchase a discount ticket, please bring a valid college ID or AFS membership card to registration on Thursday. Registration and badge pick-up begins at 1:00 PM on Thursday, October 6.

Fantastic Fest will be held at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema South Lamar, 1120 South Lamar Blvd., directions and info can be found at OriginalAlamo.com.

Alright - good stuff, Tim! Now on to some of the goodies. In addition to Jon Favreau coming in for that super special screening of ZATHURA - he's bringing Dax Shepard back to Austin with him. In addition to Dax playing the Astronaut in ZATHURA - he's one of the key players in Mike Judge's upcoming comedic masterpiece, IDIOCRACY - which can't arrive soon enough for us to delight in! Maybe we can squeeze some details about that one. As well as find out whatever the hell Jon Favreau is up to next! OH - BUT WAIT! That's not all from ZATHURA that's coming. Stan Winston's magnificent creations are coming for upclose scrutiny... and folks, till you've seen a Winston masterpiece up close and in person... You just have no idea of the detail and love that his effects house crafts this stuff. I'm not sure what exactly will be there... but I have heard rumors of possibly a giant robot, a Zorgon spaceship and perhaps even a Zorgon in the flesh (silicone, latex, metal endo-skeleton)!!! As a geek, I'm so incredibly jazzed about these amazing toys coming to Austin!

Then - After that screening - we're heading out for a party at Austin's own ELKS LODGE where we'll have the mind-blowing rock of the FLAMETRICK SUBS and the undulations of Satan's Cheerleaders!!! Oh yeah, and beer by Independence Brewery and munchies created by the South Alamo's supreme chef of the gods, John Bullington. And there will be a ZATHURA-inspired game room where you can play vintage board games till you can't roll another pair of dice in this geek charged paradise!

Now - what about this CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE presentation? Well, let me tell you what! This is going to be further awesomeness! We've managed to arrange with the help of Disney for several of WETA & KNB's Life Size Characters, Costumes & Props to be brought down. Ya know that fuckin' amazing Minotaur? Yeah, that sort of thing! Now the big "B" of KNB - Howard Berger, himself, will be there for a slideshow panel and Q&A with me and all of you that can make it. Including a tour of the exhibit - which ain't some rinky dink deal - I've seen pics of this thing and it's a damn Museum worthy presentation! Then there's a rumor of some never before seen look at some of NARNIA that I'm told will knock us for a loop. I, literally, CAN NOT WAIT! But the real jewel will be getting to do a Q&A with Howard Berger - and in addition to chatting about NARNIA - but I'll (natch) be seeing what we can find out about Tarantino & Rodriguez's GRINDHOUSE - as well as dip back into the past and chat about the wee Howard Berger that worked on Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD and fucking NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (wonder if he'll work on the sequel!) as well as his work working with the coolest mofos on the planet! Should be awesome!

I could continue to spill about the coolness that's so damn close I can taste it, but run on over to FantasticFest.Com where you can read about every single film playing and about a ton of the coolness that we have in store. Personally - I'm dying to see that Turkish science fiction epic G.O.R.A. that Matt Dentler keeps raving about! And a 35mm print of STRINGS! My god, that'll be magnificent!