AICN's million dollar mermaid, Annette Kellerman sent in this report from the Austin Film Festival's screening of Sandra Bullock's MAKING SANDWICHES and Stuart Gordon's take on Ray Bradbury's THE WONDERFUL ICE CREAM SUIT. First off let me tell you a bit about the fantastic femme Annette Kellerman. Not only did she swim the English Channel and play at the Hippodrome, but she's a geek's dream girl. She fills out a bathing suit, she loves gore films and splatter fests, as well as Hollywood films of olde. She's the type that is always up for a 42 hour film fest with no sleep. And miracle of miracles, she's this cool and lives in Oklahoma... go figure. Well onto her reviews. I can tell you this about Stuart Gordon's. I'm working up my review and I can just say for now, it's a jewel, don't let it pass you by when it comes to video. DISNEY for some inexplicable reason is foregoing the theatrical release and is instead sending it directly to a video outlet near you. Obviously quality wasn't an issue, they must have figured that the film was made for hispanic audiences, then decided the marketplace wouldn't support that type of film. I don't know. This is the sort of film Walt would have loved.

It is I, Annette Kellerman, here to report on my most recent cool-transfusion from the Austin Film Festival. Now, I realize that many of the events from the fest have already been well-covered by the rest of my clan, so instead of rehashing the details of the many panels, screenings, parties, etc. that I attended, I'll just stick with one event in particular- the screening of Sandra Bullock's directorial debut Making Sandwiches and Stuart Gordon's The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit.

The event kicked off with a pre-party featuring a glorious buffet, all the scotch a girl could want, and an array of industry people shmoozing away. After my second tall scotch and soda I made my way down to the fourth row and took my seat next to my partner in crime, Tom Joad. Before I knew it, Sandra Bullock was taking the stage to introduce Making Sandwiches, a short film marking her directorial debut. In her particularly warm manner, she explained that the production of the film was her personal film school. It was made shortly after A Time To Kill and she utilized many of the crew members from that film. Aside from directing the short, she was also in it, along with Matthew McConahey- giving a hilarious performance as her husband. While Bullock was quick to point out that her work behind the camera had its flaws, the film itself was very well done and suprisingly fun. I had this fear that I was in for a Hope Floats-ish chick fest, but instead, I was treated to a quick, clever story about a couple who run a boardwalk sandwich shop and the quirky turmoil that ensues when a "fancy" coffee shop moves in next door. During the Q and A that followed, Sandra answered questions about the film and about her moving her produciton company to Austin.

As Sandra left the stage I felt my pulse elevating in anticipation for the main event- Stuart Gordon and his film The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit. Now, I must preface the rest of this report by admitting my ga ga facination with what I consider to be one of the best splatter flicks ever made- Reanimator. I consider myself a fairly big fan of gore, and believe me, Stuart Gordon's Reanimator definitely has a special spot on my movie shelves. Just the knowledge that the creator of this masterpiece was sharing the same air as I was exciting enough....OK, back to the film. After a short introduction, Stuart Gordon took a seat on stage to explain some of the backround information about the film. He talked about how the story was adapted from a play performed in Chicago years before and how he and Ray Bradbury had been trying to get the film made since then. I was particularly curious about the film since it bears the Disney logo- i.e. no blood and guts. I was not disappointed. In fact, I would venture to say I was overwhelmed by the whimsical story and oaverall good time I had with The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit. Featuring a latino theme and a strong cast including Esai Morales, Edward James Almos, and Joe Mantegna (who I discovered was actually reprising his role from the play), the film mesmerized me with wonderful imagery as each character had his turn with the suit they had all chipped in to purchase. While wearing the magical suit, each character delved into their own dreamlike sequence- my favorite of these was one in which Esai Morales' character instigates a song and dance number complete with a parade-like crew of singing and dancing extras taking over the streets of the bario. It was great, simply great. The Q and A that followed featured questions mainly about the production of the film and other details that I qualify as spoilers-so I won't go into it. What I will say, though, is that I left the theater with aching cheeks from 2 hours of non-stop smiling. No limbs and entrails from one of my favorite directors this time around...but an extremely pleasing film experience and a wonderful time had by all!