Believe it or not, the fifth year of Killer63 is upon us. Ottawa's annual independent horror collective will return to the Mayfair on October 23rd. Deadline for submissions is October 12th. So get out there and start making horror shorts!

If anyone has any questions about the event, please feel free to contact me at: batturtle@gmail.com

Ghost World came out nine years ago!? Son of a bitch the passage of time from when a movie first came out is making me feel old lately! Did you realize that the first X-Men movie was the years ago!? A decade! Man.

Anyhow, the film Ghost World is based on the comic Ghost World, which was written and drawn by underground comics mastermind Daniel Clowes. Go buy a Daniel Clowes book, or go check one out at the library, they are all good across the board pretty much. The film was directed by Terry Zwigoff, fresh off of his universally acclaimed (and also comic book themed) documentary Crumb. Well, not exactly fresh off...it was seven years between projects.

Ghost World tells the fairly simple tale of a pair of high-school grad social outcasts living in a weird surreal suburban world. A strange lil place filled with strange lil characters going about their strange lil lives. Featuring a very young Thora Birch & Scarlett Johansson (well before her cat-suit, kick-ass Black Widow turn), and in a indie film cred one-two punch, the film features not only Illeana Douglas, but also none other than Steve Buscemi.

DC Comics, back in the 80's ran with a slogan which emphasized that DC Comics aren't just for kids anymore. Which kind of backfired, 'cause now no kids read comics at all. But that's a different rant. Ghost World (both book and film) is one of my go to examples for folks naive to the fact that comic books aren't just dudes in spandex hitting each other. Don't get me wrong, I love a good super hero comic as much as the next geek. Though still in this day and age of pop culture, folks still seem shocked that stuff like Road to Perdition or History of Violence or From Hell or 30 Days of Night do indeed come from comic book inspiration.



Ghost World is a prime example of a great comic book translated at it's best into an equally entertaining movie. Catch it at the Mayfair on July 25th at 9PM for Sunday Night Geek Night, as presented by Lost Marbles.

I lived in Vancouver when 'Quick and the Dead' came out. My mind escapes me on the name of the theatre where I saw it, but it was this great Mayfair type place that was right beside a bowling alley and showed Ed Wood movies, Planet of the Apes, animation fests and all kinds of cool stuff. I'm pretty sure they used it recently in an episode of Fringe (with the fake alternate universe movie titles on the marquee) but I might be wrong about that.

Anyhow, onto the topic at hand. Some people seem to dismiss this movie 'cause it stars Sharon Stone. Yes, I can't really admit to being a fan of hers either. If only for willingly appearing in movies the likes of 'Catwoman' and 'Basic Instinct 2' one should be heavily reprimanded.

Here is what she should be defended for though...especially for her actions in the year 1995 (or at least for her two films released in 1995). Her other movie that year was 'Casino', which of course was directed my Martin Scorsese. And Scorsese is a genius and can do no wrong and is the most respected filmmaker of our time if not all time. So if he wants to put that lady from 'Sliver' in his movie, clearly she's got some kindah talent hidden underneath there somewhere. She even got herself an Oscar nomination out of it.

The other movie she had released that year was the one for the blog topic at hand, 'The Quick and the Dead'. It's like a Clint Eastwood 'Man With No Name' type story, except change the man to a woman. In this case, that woman being Sharon Stone. She got a producer credit on the film, and used her Hollywood power of the time to throw her weight around on two interesting points of cinema history. One, she fought to give an unknown (to North America) actor by the name of Russell Crowe a lead part. Check out his imdb resume post and pre Quick & the Dead and see how that effected his career. Two: She also fought for a director named Sam Raimi who had just come off of a big flop of a movie that some geeks are a little bit familiar with by the title of 'Army of Darkness'.

So just for one night, put your Sharon Stone hatred aside, and come out to see a real kick ass western at the Mayfair.

Quick and the Dead, presented by Invisible Cinema – Sunday Night Geek Night – July 11th – 9:30pm

Happy Roller Derby Movie Night eve! Join the Rideau Valley Roller Girls for the highly anticipated special Sunday Night Geek Night screening of Kansas City Bomber (Sunday July 4th at 9PM at the Mayfair). What better way to celebrate the 4th of July than to cheer on Raquel Welch and a team of roller derby girls from Kansas?

Oops...here I went and found a kewl Alpha Flight picture on the old inter-web to make use of for a Canada Day best wishes greeting...then I forgot to make use of it. So a slightly belated 'Yay Canada!' to one and all.

I had to work last night tearing down one of the Canada Day stages downtown. You ever want a harrowing challenge for yourself? Head north on a street while tens of thousands of folks are heading downstream against you. Madness.

Saturday night I did my first bit of volunteering for the Rideau Valley Roller Girls. In retrospect, not sure what took me so long to do so. Guess I was content and enthralled enough in my watching of the sport from the sidelines. When the question arose if I wanted to help out though, I was all in. Now I get to ad 'score catcher' to my resume. As with many events big and small in my life, I seem to manage the avoidance of anything in the way of photographic evidence that I was there (I don't think there's any proof I lived in BC or have been to New York a couple times). I am in the above shot, a bit Where's Waldo style though.



Segueing nicely into other roller derby related news is the next Sunday Night Geek Night at the Mayfair. We'll be screening the drive-in derby classic Kansas City Bomber in association with my Rideau Valley Roller Girl friends. I've been trying to track down this one for pretty much the duration of my association with the theatre. And through a crazy chain of events (well...ebay) we now own an actual print of the thing. So we might make it an annual tradition, show it before the start of every roller derby season or somethin'.

The next Sunday Night Geek Night - July 4th at 9PM

I remember the pop-culture boom that was Beavis and Butt-Head. At one point in 1993 - 94 or so, they were everywhere. They seemed to be on every magazine cover, t-shirt, and entertainment news clip. I did not like them. To be fair, at this point I hadn't actually seen the a single episode, I was purely judging the product before actually having seen it. We didn't get MTV in Canada at the time. Or if we did, it wasn't regular cable...and it was before that there internet contraption made watching every single thing ever made readily available for your viewing enjoyment.

In a fateful post-high school vacation to Florida, my two friends and I spent a large chunk of our get-away in my aunt and uncle's backyard pool. A backyard pool that just happened to have a TV nearby to it. So we got to be in the pool, eating amazing junky American food, while watching TV. They were good times indeed.

One beautiful sunny Florida afternoon, instead of doing something useful or vacation like, we were again in the pool. And on the aforementioned pool-side TV was a Beavis and Butt-Head marathon. On that day we watched a hell of a lot of Beavis and Butt-Head. And also on that day I fell in love with everything and anything Beavis and Butt-Head.

What people who never watched the show (like me) didn't know was that it was hands down smartest show on television. Really. Pure genius. Then I noticed that a lot of people who I thought were cool (David Letterman, Patrick Stewart) were also fans. It started getting more accolades and praise from legit media sources and not just those MTV slackers. Then a lot of people kind of realized that Mike Judge was a cartoon makin' genius. Or at least I think so.

Maybe the pinnacle of his animated genius is the one and only big screen adventure undertaken by the duo, Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. A grand adventure of two idiots on a quest to find their missing TV. There's an awesome dream sequence, nifty secret celebrity cameo's, a Rob Zombie hallucination segment, and an amazingly put together story (even more impressive 'cause it's a pair of characters who are usually in short episodes of which a big chunk is music video cut-aways).

I miss Beavis and Butt-Head. I wish for the day that Mike Judge returns to Beavis and Butt-Head. And I am ecstatic to see it on the big screen again for the first time since 1996.

Sunday Night Geek Nights presents Beavis and Butt-Head Do America at the Mayfair Theatre - Sunday June 20th at 9PM

I cannot tell a lie. I have absolutely no emotional connection to the GoBots and their fight against (or with?) the Rock Lords. None the less, I think the concept of showing bad Hanna Barbera style 80's Saturday morning animation up on the big screen a great thing.

GoBots being screened at the Mayfair came to fruition upon tying to get a hold of the Transformers animated movie (best death scene in a movie EVER!). It, alas, is unavailable. That lead me to jokingly ask 'Can we get the GoBots movie?' To which the Mayfair's head programmer said 'There's not a GoBots feature is there?'. And sadly enough, not only did it exist, but it was available. It's a strange backwards world.

So, although I haven't actually seen this movie, I can guarantee you this: It is better than a Michael Bay robot movie. Promise.

Sunday Night Geek Night:
GoBots Battle of the Rocklords - June 13th at 9pm at the Mayfair.
With upwards of NINE GoBots toys to give away, thanks to those fine geeks over at the Comic Book Shoppe

Another awesome event happens at the Mayfair this Saturday, a triple bill screening of the original (pre - Crystal Skull) Indiana Jones trilogy. Plus, thanks to our friends at Quinn's, you can sneak over to the adjoining Quinn's patio and get an Indy themed burger, or maybe try some eyeball soup.

As a true fanatical bonus to the event is a very special screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (Friday the 11th & Saturday the 12th at 7pm). Learn all about the film over at the un-official Indy site: TheRaider.net

Having the adult animated comic book anthology Heavy Metal play at the Mayfair puts geeky Kodachrome memories of my high school youth back into my brain. I watched the film a number of times back in the long ago times of the late 80's to early 90's.

The comic magazine itself, was exploitative, filled with lots of sex and violence, outer space and monsters, a ton of imagination, and work from some of the greatest writers and artists around (what more could a 13 year old want from a publication!?).

The cartoon itself over-flows with legendary geeky talent. Featuring the work of producer Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters), writer Dan O'Bannon (Alien, Return of the Living Dead), comics legends Richard Corben, Bernie Wrightson and Moebius, and the voice talents of SCTV alums Eugene Levy, Harold Ramis and the late great John Candy.

Plus, in a local bit of film history, the project was partially animated in none other than Ottawa.

The very nice looking re-release print of Heavy Metal, on June 6th at 9:30, only at the Mayfair, only for Sunday Night Geek Night.

Oh...and we'll be giving away some swell DVD's thanks to our friends at the bestest video store around, Invisible Cinema.

In 1985, Michael J Fox starred in one of the most successful, highly praised, most beloved, and some would say one of the best films of not only the 80's, but of all time. Teen Wolf was not that movie.

It's amazing the kind of stuff that used to get green lit by the powers that be in Hollywood. And even more amazing, that the movie must have done a bit of business. It spawned a non-Michael J Fox sequel (the wittily titled, Jason Bateman starring, Teen Wolf Too) and even a Saturday morning cartoon (though to be fair, even the Rubik's Cube starred in a cartoon back then).

Relive the good ole' days of 1980's teen monster cinema on May 30th at 9:15 for another Sunday Night Geek Night. This one sponsored by Invisible Cinema, who have supplied some great 80's themed DVD's for us to give away to those brave enough to attend.

Back to the Future was the biggest film of 1985 (now...my favorite film of '85 was Goonies, followed by Pee Wee's Big Adventure, then maybe Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome...not to detract from Back to the Future mind you). It was also critically praised across the board, garnered a giant fan-base, spun-off a pair of sequels, an animated series, a theme park ride, has an awesome theme song by Huey Lewis & the News, and made director Robert Zemeckis a Hollywood powerhouse. Some people even think it's the most perfect screenplay of the 80's. Which is a pretty heady statement considering the movies that came out in that decade.

I needn't bother going into a plot synopsis, everyone knows that already. What I will emphasize is that this special 25th anniversary screening is being presented on the only available 35mm print in North America. And sadly, it very may well be the last chance to see it in such a format up on the big screen.

So, come on out for an extra special Sunday Night Geek Night at the Mayfair, May 23rd at 8pm. And even more incentive, my friends at Lost Marbles
have supplied a pair of very awesome prizes (I'll have to think up some extra hard trivia to make sure they go to a deserving home).

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If you haven't seen Buckaroo Banzai, Buckaroo Banzai is the coolest movie that you've never seen. Hands down. I'm so confident of it's pinnacle of awesomeness that I won't even go into details on what it's about. I'll let those unfamiliar with it's brilliance jump in to the story completely spoiler free and have their minds blown to it's fullest potential.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension at the Mayfair for Sunday Night Geek Night - May 16th @ 9PM (Plus! Awesome prizes to give away from The Comic Book Shoppe!bv).

GEEK NIGHT #1



I've been involved with throwing my ideas into the ring for Mayfair screenings for a while now, but I must say that this lil' experiment of a project has me very excited. I put forward the request to be given a shot of doing something with our most dead of time-slots, the Sunday late show. A little while back I went to a show on that night, and five minutes before show-time it was me and the projectionist and another employee hanging out in the box office...besides for that the place was empty (a couple people showed up last minute, but think the attendance that night hovered around five people).

Seeing as we have such luck with theme specific events, I thought focusing on our geeky offerings might be the way to go. A bit risky showing cult stuff in such a time slot, but I thought that we might have a shot at creating a brand new Midnight Movie kinda' tradition for our fine patrons. And seeing how well the last Roller Derby night did, plus great turn-out's for The Big Labowski and Army of Darkness and other such classics, my spirits are now high.

We kick things off with Howard the Duck. Forget Iron Man 2...this is the comic book movie you want to spend your money on this weekend! In an age of comic book movies at every turn (Kick Ass, The Losers, Jonah Hex, Scott Pilgrim, The Green Hornet...) it's easy to forget how rare they once were. Howard the Duck came just after the Superman sequels and before the concept of mining comic books for ideas returned to Hollywood's attention with the likes of Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

It had a popular and acclaimed Marvel Comics character as its centerpiece, was produced by the creator of Star Wars, and had a script from the Oscar nominated writers of American Graffiti. What could possibly go wrong!?

The Mayfair's next great tradition, our very first officially tagged Sunday Night Geek Night, happens on May 9th an 9:30. Prizes, fun, and a legendarily bad movie up on the big screen.

Just wait till you see what we have planned next!

This upcoming Saturday May 1st is the ninth annual Free Comic Book Day. I can't believe it's up to nine already...time flies. Anyhow, I'm stuck working like a chump on FCBD, which seems wrong, pretty sure that I'm having my basic human rights oppressed by having to work on such an important national holiday.

Anyhow, that should not stop you from heading over to your nearest comic store and snatching up amazing comic free-ness (like maybe that Tick comic pictured above there). I will be sure to sprint to a store on my lunch break, grab up an armful of books, then run back, then complain about having to work and not being able to read comics. Life is so hard.

If there are two things that I love, it's the Mayfair Theatre and Roller Derby. Imagine the joy my cold Grinch heart gains at the possibility of combining the pair in an amazing Reese Peanut Butter Cup like impossible combo!

This Sunday night we welcome back the Rideau Valley Roller Girls to the Mayfair with a special screening of the acclaimed documentary Hell On Wheels. It was to be the first of our Sunday Night Geek Nights, but the schedule got too packed with other stuff. This awesome event will stand alone, and SNGN will blow your minds in May.

So join both of our Ottawa teams, the Slaughter Daughters and the Riot Squad, for the Ottawa premiere of Hell on Wheels at the Mayfair, Sunday April 11th at 9:20.

Music composer and director Mike Dubue hard at work during the amazing Night of the Living Dead: Live. One of the many awesome events which happen frequently at the Mayfair (besides for just good ole' fashioned movie screenings). I was told today of the possible follow-up film which Mike's going to give the 'Mayfair Live' treatment to, it will also be amazing (and I predict again it will also be sold out).

I admit that there was a slight hesitation in going to see the CJ Ramone show in Montreal. Thought it might be an over-the-hill rocker sadly riding the coat-tails of the band he was in years ago. Happy to report that it was great. Just great. It's clear that CJ loves the Ramones, that he knew the Ramones, and of course he was and is a Ramone. Did my heart good.

The Frighteners is one of those great movies that should've been a giant hit, but was not. I already wrote a thing about it on the Mayfair blog, so I won't bother completely repeating myself here. I love this movie, and even I'm guilty at having missed out on seeing it on the big screen back in '96. At long last that will all change this Friday night, thanks to the mad with power birthday movie clause of Mayfair partnership.



"Well, I'd be excited to go and see it...but I'm not paying to get in to the thing" is an often repeated sentiment when talking about a movie we can get, that maybe might not appeal to a theatre full of ticket purchasing patrons. Luckily, the Mayfair audience is often on the same page as us, so we get to play all kinds of great pictures. Which makes picking out something extra special even more difficult. The Frighteners was my runner-up choice this time around (sorry Hudson Hawk...maybe the powers that be will let us play you next year), but a great runner-up it is.

A rare chance to see the Peter Jackson directed and Michael J Fox starring scary funny ghostbustin' adventure on the big screen. Friday March 26th at 11:30PM at the Mayfair.

You work on a whole bunch of horror movies and all of a sudden you're always the guy on set asked to dress up an actress with some fake blood to make it look like she has a bullet wound in the head. I wasn't even an fx guy on the project, I was doing sound. Then next thing you know I'm kneeling over an actress as she pretends to be a corpse as I invade her personal space while applying fake blood to her forehead with a Q-Tip. Ah, the fun of crewing on some indie movie magic.

Pretend complaining aside, this weekend I was glad to help out one of my frequent collaborators on a short that she was producing and had co-written. As it stands now the project is called Dry Clean Only, but I hear that that might change by the time the project finishes completion.