The second website, trailersfromhell.com, is even better.  It features modern day writers and directors given video introductions to preview trailers from cool feature films from yesteryear, as well as many forgotten by the sands of time.  I’m simply amazed that they put this all together–it’s fun.

“I was not around during the main VHS boom, but I’ve never liked DVDs,” said Mr. Justin, who has a VHS tape tattooed on his arm. “When I was younger and I went to the record store, my parents would push me to get the CD, but I wanted the cassette. I’m an analog nerd.”

Analog nerds unite.  VHS zombies rule!  NY Times exposes the VHZ zombie horde.

Bellflower

Flamethrowers, Mad Max, and a kick ass car named “Medusa.”  Whatever it takes to mend a broken heart.  This movie was awesome, was very impressed – it’s a love/revenge story inspired by Fight Club and Mad Max, totally genius.  With all due respect to George Miller, BELLFLOWER director, Even Glodell, should direct the long-rumoured “Mad Max 4.”

BELLFLOWER website.

Slacker 2011

Richard Linklater’s SLACKER inspired a generation of American filmmakers by exploring the subculture of Austin, Texas in a loose narrative with a tapestry of quirky characters. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of that iconic movie, 24 of Austin’s top filmmakers banded together to update SLACKER with their own perspectives on the city. SLACKER 2011 is a stream-of-consciousness chronicle of a day in Austin, presenting the city-dwellers, dragworms, proto-hipsters and locations that give the city its modern identity. The film showcases a transformed town next to things that never change. SLACKER 2011 is an homage to twenty years of independent filmmaking, presenting the city’s changing face and showcasing some of its most exciting talent.  Read all about it here.

Theater

Here’s a website that chronicles the history of movie theaters.  I remember the Drexel Theater in Columbus, Ohio, which was probably one of the first “art house” theaters I ever attended.  I saw so many great indie films in the 80s at that place.   This was an era when “art films” were simply not shown in the big box corporate chains.  Heck, the word “indie” really wasn’t even used that much – it was all “art house” fare – and it just wasn’t mass cool to see these kinds of off-beat films. Then Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee and Richard Linklater came and blew the roof off and “indie”  became cool.

Read the NY Times article.