Hey folks, Harry here... Lots of times, most people tend to overlook what makes Butt-Numb-A-Thon such a warm and wonderful event. It's not just films and goody-bags. It's the people I invite. In addition to the experience that ZeMightyJedd describes below - there's the BAG STUFFING AFFAIR - and it's an event where everyone is working together like Christmas Elves stuffing, not Santa's bags, but that of their fellow BNATTER and their own. People from across the globe just working together to get the last bit of magic done. That's great. I love that. These are just great warm human beings. One of the secrets to the BNAT audience and how I chose them, is that these are the sorts of people that I wish lived in Austin and were around the places I go. That doesn't mean kiss asses or sad sacks. It isn't cooler than cool. It's finding genuine people that truly seem to express a tireless love for film and the power of cinema and an appreciation of the audience and an empathy for characters on and off screen. Picking the audience is very tough - because part of the magic is having some folks come and go from year to year - but there's also those people that you want around everytime, because they're your Saint Jack - that friend you want to see for a few days every year, because ultimately - your life is better for having them in it and sharing a movie with you. Not that they'll agree with ya, but that there's so much fun in debating it with them. ZeMightyJedd is one of those people. Just good. Here's his report...
Harry:
Many people are writing in with reviews of the movies at Butt-Numb-a-Thon 7, so I thought I’d write in with an account of the experience itself. Some readers might find this a waste of space, but I think some would be interested in an outsider’s perspective of BNAT 7.
I refer to myself as an ‘outsider’ because I have never attended a BNAT before, and although I do write in from time to time, I am not a close friend with any of the AICN staffers or regulars. As a reader of AICN since 2000, I was absolutely thrilled to have made the cut for this year’s show. Seriously, when I saw my name on the attendee list, I almost let out a yell of excitement and happiness. For years I have wanted to attend this event, and I am so grateful that Harry gave me the opportunity to celebrate his birthday with him.
I flew in from Los Angeles and arrived in Austin on Friday afternoon. My hotel was situated a few blocks from the Alamo, so after checking in I decided to stroll to the Drafthouse and check out the scene of the upcoming festivities. As I walked the few blocks to the Alamo, I seriously began to fall in love with Austin. I had never visited the town before, and I could not believe how cool it was. Strolling down 5th Street, every other building seemed to be a lounge, music club, or bar. When I finally arrived at the Alamo, I was surprised at how small and unassuming the entrance was. I don’t know what I expected, but after reading the site for so long, I suppose the Alamo loomed large in my imagination. In actuality though, the Alamo was outwardly comprised of a modest entrance and a small ticket window. I strolled inside and admired some of the really cool t-shirts and movie posters that were onsale in at the foot of the staircase on the first floor. I asked a cute, spiky-haired brunette girl who was working if this was the site of BNAT (there was no mention of BNAT anywhere on the premises and I wanted to be certain that I was at the right place)--she assured me that BNAT was indeed taking place there on the following day, so I thanked her and left with a large grin on my face.
I had about an hour to kill before the pre-BNAT reception at Pedazo Chunk, so I decided to walk the few miles from the Drafthouse to the store. It was a fun stroll, and I continued to be impressed with Austin—so many cool restaurants and storefronts. I already knew that I would be visiting the town again. Though I had hoped to be fashionably late, I actually arrived at Pedazo Chunk right at 5pm, so I strolled inside. Pedazo Chunk is located on a quiet section of 1st Street, and the outside of the shop reminded me of the type of storefront you’d see on a comic or movie shop in Brooklyn, NY. When I walked in I couldn’t believe it—there were only a few people in the place, and they were all Knowles family members! Harry and his sister were behind the counter trying to hook up the old-school Atari system, while Jay Knowles and Giovanni (Harry’s nephew) looked on eagerly. Notes on the Knowles family: Harry’s sister is very cute—she seemed like the kind of girl who would be the “cool girlfriend”, one who is fun-loving and laid back. Her son Giovanni is adorable and hysterical, a real bundle of energy. Harry’s dad Jay seemed like a really cool dude—he was wearing a leather jacket and an Indiana Jones-style fedora, and he seemed like a guy who would have tons of stories to share.
A few other folks were milling around. I began to introduce myself to Harry, but he cut me off and said my name before I could finish saying it myself. It was a cool moment—I have admired Harry for so long, and I was stoked that he remembered me from my BNAT application. I thanked Harry for inviting me and I wished him an early happy birthday. Before he could respond, his sister Danni exclaimed that she was having trouble hooking up the wires to the Atari, so I let Harry get back to business and I decided to check out the store. Pedazo Chunk is a really awesome spot; the rentals are to the left of the main entrance, while a small theater/lounge area sat off to the right. Other than general topics (Horror, Drama, Sci-Fi, etc…) all the movie rentals seemed to be haphazardly organized on the shelves. In other words, nothing seemed to be in alphabetical order. Rather than being distracting, this was a pretty cool system—it allowed visitors to “discover” movies, rather than simply seek out and locate individual titles.
At the rear of the shop was a door which led to an outdoor area, and as I ventured outside I discovered that a few more BNAT guests had arrived. A really nice woman named Meg was mixing some eggnog (with a fair amount of Jack Daniels), and other people were setting out food and desserts. This outdoor area had a deck featuring a few scattered tables and chairs, and beyond the deck was a really lovely backyard with trees and bushes and plants. I saw a guy bringing in beer and I asked him if he needed a hand. This guy turned out to be Roland De Noie, AICN’s business handler. I have to tell you—Roland is one of the nicest, friendliest dudes I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. With a guy like this handling the business end of things, you know that AICN is about love and not about profit. Since I didn’t know anyone there, I had been a bit nervous when I arrived at Pedazo Chunk, but Roland really set me at ease and made me feel right at home. Later in the evening Roland would provide me with BNAT tips (bring a crate to rest your feet on) and even some extremely helpful travel advice (BNAT might run long, so I needed to push my return flight back). Thanks Roland—I owe you!
From that point on, the party really started to pick up. While people partied outside, inside a really strange film was playing in the theater (from what I heard, something involving a man with an eagle’s head and a huge penis). I met a ton of supremely awesome folks. I had great conversations with Hans (from Austin), Ed (from San Diego, I think), Shauna (who I believe works for SXSW), and Darryl, Derrick and Darren (the 3D’s). Everyone was eating great food and deserts, and the beer and eggnog was adding to the festivity. All manners of topics were being discussed, but first and foremost, everyone was trying to guess the lineup for the following day. Giovanni was the absolute life of the party—he was climbing walls, sword-fighting with the guests, and basically raising hell, but in a good way. After a few hours, Moriarty showed up to great fanfare. I had met him once before, but he had been in a rush and we hadn’t gotten a real chance to speak. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when he remembered who I was and engaged me in a really great conversation. Once again, an AICN staffer winds up being kind and genuine! Somewhere through the course of the night, I managed to meet a married couple who I am absolutely certain will become two of my bestest friends—Romeo and Amada from Minneapolis. These two were so friendly and interesting, and they basically became my partners in crime for the rest of the weekend. I know I sound overly-dramatic, but meeting Romeo and Amada truly made the weekend worthwhile.
The overall cool thing about the BNAT attendees was that everyone was sooooo friendly. Every conversation was fun and heartfelt, and every person seemed like an old friend. I honestly could have stayed at this party for a week, but 10pm rolled around and I knew that I needed to get some rest, so I got a lift back to my hotel from my two new friends, and I crashed for the night.
The next morning I woke up at 8am and joined Romeo, Amada and all of their Minneapolis comrades (13 in all) for a hearty breakfast. These Minnesota folks are hilarious—they are true geeks in the best sense of the word—they adore movies and comics, and they pick on each other relentlessly. I felt right at home with the Minnesotans. After breakfast we carpooled over to the Drafthouse and got in line at about 10:45. The folks in our line seemed oddly stressed out, and I didn’t recognize anyone from the night before; I quickly realized that we had accidentally joined the standby line. No offense to the standby folks (after all, I completely sympathize with their stress), but the reserved ticket line was much more jovial. Everyone was chatting and smiling and eagerly awaiting the festivities. One cool note: as I was walking past the standby line, someone called my name. I turned to see Brian, an old acquaintance that I hadn’t seen since high school (about 10 years ago). What a trip! Fortunately, Brian got into the show and I was able to catch up with him inside.
At about 11am, the doors to the Drafthouse opened and the line began to move. As the security person checked the master list for my name, I felt a momentary surge of panic. What if my name was not on the list? What if they didn’t have a seat for me? Of course all of this was stupid—my name was on the list and I was given a pink admission bracelet. Before actually entering the Alamo, we were all given tickets that were to be exchanged for swag bags. The bags had really cool stuff (see the other BNAT article for more info), but we didn’t want to stuff them under our seats, so we walked back to the cars and put them away before heading inside the theater.
The Alamo Drafthouse:
When one enters the Alamo, they find themselves at the foot of a staircase that leads upstairs to the actual theater. On the left side of the staircase is the small, narrow t-shirt and poster shop that I mentioned previously. Heading upstairs, I found myself in the medium-sized lobby, in which there is a snack bar and a table set up with BNAT t-shirts. Every attendee was given one free t-shirt, but others were available for purchase (I bought several as souvenirs for myself and friends who wanted to attend). Our seating corresponded to a number written on our bracelets, so we all ventured inside the theater to find out where we would be spending the next 25 hours. As we strolled in, I saw Harry and Jay and I exchanged pleasantries before trying to find my seat. Cool trailers were playing on the screen, and a powerful electricity filled the air. My seat was #105, which was in the next-to-last row. At first I was bummed when I realized I was in the very back, but I after strolling up the aisle towards my row, I realized that I actually had a great seat. The Alamo is not that huge, so there is no such thing as a ‘nosebleed section.’ My seat was fairly central and provided an excellent view of the screen. The Alamo has about 12 rows, and each row has about 20 seats. There are wide spaces between each row which allow for the wait-staff to take orders and deliver food to the patrons.
I was seated next to Patty Trap and her 13 year-old son Bridger. These two were the best—what a great family! Patty’s husband attended last year’s BNAT, and he really wanted his son Bridger to go this year. He was nervous that he would not be allowed to attend two years in a row, so he encouraged Patty to apply with Bridger. I was so touched to see such a close-knit family. Harry, I implore you to extend invitations to the entire Trap family next year, as they deserve to attend BNAT together (and please let me come too and sit next to them!). Besides King Kong and V for Vendetta, Bridger and I both felt that The Most Dangerous Game was our favorite movie, and I was thrilled that a 13 year-old appreciated a 1933 film as much as I did!
Please read the other articles for a review of the BNAT films, but a few quick anecdotes from me:
Prior to the doors opening, someone had gotten ahold of the “Goof List” that Harry posted on the website prior to the show, and several copies were spreading throughout the audience. Everyone was trying to decipher the true movies from this list. At first, everyone was sure that Munich was going to screen, but at some point in the night Harry reminded us that his Goof List is never easy to decipher, and no one should assume that they know what is going to play. Then, a huge rumor began circling that an early print of Superman Returns was going to screen. I don’t know how this rumor began, but everyone was buying into it, and before long it seemed like Superman Returns was on everyone’s lips. Then, Andrew Deane and Adam Goldworm (two producers of Showtime’s Masters of Horror series) began speculating that The Fountain was going to screen, so within no time everyone started whispering about The Fountain. I tell you—BNAT audiences are like a knitting circle—gossip travels fast. That said, V for Vendetta was a great surprise, and it truly impressed the crowd.
I cannot really explain how intense each film introduction is. Afterall, no one knows what we are going to see next, so each film’s intro (usually delivered by Harry himself) is greeted to with rapt attention. Some of my favorite parts of the festival were the intros, as they were the most exciting moments.
The food at the Alamo is awesome. I basically pigged out for 24 hours, and I ate everything from artichoke pizza to fried pickles. The wait staff was incredible—they worked so hard, and they hustled their asses off. Two of the wait staff girls were really cute (a blonde and a brunette), so in my dazed, sleepless state, I began ordering more food and drinks just as an excuse to talk to them. Pathetic, I know, but if you had seen them you would understand.
The Descent is a really great little horror flick. Everyone I talked to really enjoyed it, and it really surprised people because it seemed to come out of nowhere. I encourage horror fans to check it out. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance was incredible. I think I enjoyed it more than Oldboy. District 13 is basically like a Van Damme movie, but with much better direction and artistic merit. It definitely has a few of the best fight scenes from any movie ever. “Sick Girl” was cool, but Moriarty’s “Cigarette Burns” was outstanding. I was really shocked at how good it was.
After the show was over, I was pretty out-of-it. Having not slept for about 30 hours, I was wandering around in a bit of a daze. I managed to exchange a few words with Eli Roth and Barbara Nedeljakove (an actress in Hostel), but other than that I pretty much said goodbye to all my new friends, headed back to my hotel, and called up a cab to the airport. Now, back in LA, I am still fairly exhausted, but I am awake enough to be consumed by the following final thought:
PLEASE LET ME COME TO BNAT 8! PLEASE LET ME COME TO BNAT 8!
I’ll do anything! I want to see my BNAT friends! I want to see Romeo and Amada! I want to see Patty and Bridger! I want to see Danni and Giovanni! I want to see Jay, Mori and Harry! I want to eat fried pickles! I want to marry one of the Alamo girls (or both). Please let me return! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!
This is ZeMightyJedd, signing out!
Next is Saffy's report. She just wrote this really enthusiastic, albeit brief report. Here ya go...
What I learned this year at BNAT 7
The Most Dangerous Game- It is generally a bad idea to go barging into castles, with Rasputan as their head Butler. Head butlers are supposed to be British, and if they aren't you take it as a sign someone wants to kill you. Just Sayin.
King Kong- Peter Jackson is trying to kill me. I can tell because he managed to give me multiple coronaries and THEN took my heart out and stomped on it. I cannot express the emotional power Kong held for me. We , as human beings, tend to kill what we don't understand. Kong drives this home. I am not going to spoil to much for you, but the film is epic. The colors look like they were drenched in butter and it was visually ASTOUNDING. If you are in Houston and you see a woman sobbing at the wheel of Beetle, it is me. I am going to be crying over Kong for a long time.
Footlight Parade: Apparently, you are able to fit a pool with dozens of dancing girls a la Berkley and a strange midget child in a movie theater pre show spectacular. Oh and James Cagney is cooler than all of us. WATCH this movie, just to see how wonderous a musical can be. Busby Berkley is just so en pointe with his choreography it is insane!
Sick Girl- I guess there really is no effective birth control for a whole lot of the insect kingdom. Someone needs to market condoms for arachnids...just and idea.
Sympathy for Lady Vengance- Revenge never rights the wrong bestowed. However , some people deserve all the pain they can get. Visiually this move was horrifyingly beautiful.
The Professionals- Jack Palance is a bad ass Mexican. Oh, and I want to be Lee Marvin when I grow up. I think that should be an aspiration for most of us.
District 13- The French are not Pussies. No way...now how!
Cigarette Burns- Great job!! Out of the park!!
The Descent - Chatroom geeks scream like girls. This movie was a masterful use of claustrophobia, it picked me up and shook me like a DOG. There were THREE men in our row who squealed like little miss muffet. I was scared, uncomfortable, nauseated, and in SCARY MOVIE HEAVEN.
Stunt Rock-A gimp in a glitter mask is always a good guy to have in your band.
Drum-Staying out of people's Poontang is always your best bet.
V For Vendetta- I can't even be glib about this film. This is an example of what the medium of film can do for a culture. The film picks you up and shakes you it rattles your brain and scores your soul with the indelible words: STAND UP. Natalie Portman is one of the most important actresses of our time. She plays with gender and societal norms without any thought to how she is going to "look". This movie will go down as one of the most important films of our decade.
I would like to thank Harry for this years line up. These films were introspective and thought provoking and really, REALLY had a pulse on the cultural atmosphere. The succession were almost a call to action, a call to speak for what you believe.
I also learned the following : No one expects Lunchables, Snakes on a Plane the Musical IS now and forever, Cargill used to be a cast member of Kids Incorporated, Hostel is not as frightening as JOURNEY ROOM. I learned exactly HOW HIGH the snow in Germany is, and that we all love Hufflepuff.
Harry thank you for the time an effort. I would also like to thank your sister for hosting us at Pedazo ( great store). I would also like to thank the AICN people for being such a caring group. There are no people like AINT IT COOL people!!
