Home
About
Us
Bookstore
Links
Blog
Archive
Books
Cinema
Fine Arts
Horror
Media & Copyright
Music
Public Square
Television
Theater
War & Peace
Affilates
Horror Film Aesthetics
Horror Film Festivals
Horror Film Reviews
Tabloid Witch Awards
Weekly Universe
Archives
|
2008 TABLOID WITCH AWARDS PRESENTED IN SANTA MONICA
by Thomas M. Sipos, managing editor.
[November 17, 2008]
[HollywoodInvestigator.com]. Several
of 2008's Tabloid Witch Award-winning
filmmakers appeared for a Q&A panel following a screening of their
films at the Santa Monica Public Library on Saturday, November 15th, in the library's Martin
Luther King Jr. Auditorium.
Participating filmmakers
included directors Balaji K. Kumar (9
Lives of Mara), Joe Fontano (The
Butterfly Hole), Peter Podgursky (Cheerbleeders),
C.J. Johnson (Creepers), and Damon Packard
(Chemtrails: An Investigative Report). Best Actress Georgia Chris represented 100
Tears, as its director, Marcus Koch, was on location in Texas.
Ganesh Kumar was present to collect his Best Soundtrack Award (9
Lives of Mara).
Balaji K. Kumar recounted
the many challenges independent filmmakers face when dealing with myriad
private investors. The character of the witch "Mara" was played by
two actresses. While Pollyanna McIntosh plays Mara in 90% of her
scenes, Jennifer Gimenez played Mara in a few scenes, partially because
one investor wanted Gimenez to do so.
Although
unusual, this was possible because 9 Lives
of Mara is an impressionistic "supernatural
noir" tale, seen from the skewed perspective of a frightened boy. The events
in the film may at various times be "accurate," or supernatural magic,
or a young boy's warped imagination.
Film student Joe Fontano
made The Butterfly Hole for a class project. He never expected his dark yet whimsical, animated tale of two unicorns
-- one Good one Bad -- to win acclaim outside the classroom.
"But now that it has, I'm
so happy!" he exclaimed.
Fontano had to leave before
the
Q&A session because of his retail day job in Westwood. "Why do we have
to work?" he lamented. "I wish we didn't have to."
Hopefully, this talented
newcomer will soon find a job more suitable to his artistic talents and
aspirations. |
|
|
Flying in from Florida,
2008 Best Actress winner Georgia Chris represented the gory, grindhouse
film, 100
Tears. She plays a tabloid reporter in search of a serial
killer, along with her partner.
"I'm not normally attracted
to horror film," said Chris, "but I liked the relationship aspects between
the two reporters."
The two reporters share a
house, and apparently share a bed but no sex. An audience member
asked what the two reporters relationship was.
"We liked to keep it ambiguous,"
Chris cryptically replied.
What's not ambiguous is the
graphic violence in 100
Tears. Gorehounds will not be disappointed. |
USC film student Peter Podgursky
is not only a talented filmmaker -- he's a great audience member, laughing at, cheering, and enthusiastically applauding all the other Tabloid Witch films.
"I hope I was meant to laugh
during 100
Tears," said Podgursky.
Georgia Chris assured him that she
herself laughs at certain parts of the film.
Podgursky's Cheerbleeders.is
a Heathers.type
film. A "revenge of the nerds/goths" tale in which high school goths
take supernatural revenge on the cheerleader and jocks.
After some people commented
on Podgursky's own geeky/nerdy appearance, and linked it to his film's
theme, Podgursky good-naturedly asked, "Are there any more stereotypes
you'd like to hit me with?" |
|
|
During the Tabloid Witch
Awards' five year history, C.J. Johnson is only the second filmmaker to
win in two different years. He won Honorable Mentions in 2007 for The
Signal and 2008 for Creepers (which
he shared with Nick Thiel.).
Paul Carty took home Honorable
Mentions in 2004 and 2006, both times for animated films. Johnson's specialty is horror/sci-fi,
a niche he has nearly all to himself. The Tabloid Witch sees many zombies
and
serial killers, but few evil UFOs or aliens.
The
Signal is set before an alien invasion, and Creepers during (another) alien invasion. In both films, humans can't be sure
who's an alien, and who isn't. |
"I'm attracted to tales of
paranoia," said Johnson. "We're all a little paranoid. We have
to be. If there were a crisis, who can we trust? Can I trust
you? Can you trust me?"
Producers seeking "creepy"
horror/sci-fi scripts, in a paranoid X-Files vein, should consider Johnson to be the go-to guy.
Read more about the 2008
Tabloid Witch winners, and learn how to enter the next Tabloid Witch Awards!
Copyright 2008 by HollywoodInvestigator.com
|