Austin-folk: Birdemic 2 Tonight @ Alamo Drafthouse plus Cast and Crew QA/Meet and Greet

[Wien 401]

http://drafthouse.co...rrection/austin

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un3Sov5Vxvk

 

I know there are a couple of Austinites here, and this doesn't look like its sold out just yet. Anyone else going?

[Shannon 2953]

aaaugh why does it have to be at Lake Creeeek?!?!?

 

My bf used to work there so it's the one we can never go to because of reasons.

 

boooooooooooooooooooooooo

[Wien 401]

aaaugh why does it have to be at Lake Creeeek?!?!?

 

My bf used to work there so it's the one we can never go to because of reasons.

 

boooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

It was at Lake Creek because its close to my work and Jesus loves me.

 

Shame, you missed out on quite a thing. James Nguyen was there, as was Alan (Rod), one of the new cast members, and Jeff Gross, the producer (who I thought for a second was Jeff Ross).

[imhatch 271]

really hoping the new drafthouse in richardson will do cool events like this when it opens up so i can actually attend events the same day that i hear about them.

[Lando 2019]

So was Birdemic 2 entertaining at all? I have yet to see an instance where someone released something that people enjoyed because it was bad, embraced the attention for what it was, and then made a followup that worked. They usually have to be deluded into thinking that people like it because it's good for it to continue to work (ala Wesley Willis).

[Wien 401]

So was Birdemic 2 entertaining at all? I have yet to see an instance where someone released something that people enjoyed because it was bad, embraced the attention for what it was, and then made a followup that worked. They usually have to be deluded into thinking that people like it because it's good for it to continue to work (ala Wesley Willis).

 

 

You know.... a couple of things on that:

 

1. I had fun, and I think everybody there had fun too. We all knew what we were in for, and Alamo kept the beer flowing. Someone asked Nyugen before the film started what we needed to get into it, and he said "A strong buzz.". So he seemed like he was along for it, too. The whole spirit of the night was just like a festive watch party.

 

2. I can't say too much about shit I saw because, at its core, it was Birdemic. I'm not going to give any sort of movie review over it because honestly, it didn't seem like it was a movie so much as it was a Birdemic-follow-up-event. There were some neat moments, some funny homages to classic movies, some HILARIOUSLY awful CGI, etc. There were moments where the movie was obviously winking too hard at the audience, and there were moments that were genuinely funny. Most of the fun was had interacting with the cast and such. Alan (Rod) stated that after Birdemic, he started taking acting classes, to which everyone applauded and cheered. Was he better in this one than in the first? I'm going to say "maybe". Lots of call backs and cameos, and "Hanging Out With My Family" guy debuts a new jam while the gang jams out in a Nicaraguan contras bar.

 

3. The Q&A was fun. I asked what I thought was a harmless question and he seemed to be genuinely offended by it, which is odd since to me the saddest moment of the night came when I thought someone else asked what could be viewed as an offensive question: "Why do YOU think Birdemic got popular?"

 

James Nyugen (who, btw, LOVES to talk) started on a very long, rambling answer about how the first film had passion and humanity and talked about the indie spirit of the film (that was a big theme for the night, and a big theme in Birdemic 2). You couldn't help but get the sense that either he was talking himself into thinking that people weren't just outright laughing at a mindbogglingly bad movie, or he just genuinely didn't know. Nobody in the crown laughed or chuckled when he delivered this answer very seriously, so for what its worth I guess people are on board with humoring him to a certain degree. But I personally couldn't help but feel kind of bad for laughing all night at his bad movie, and then having him go off on such a long and personal answer for why HE thought Birdemic became popular. It was a bummer to me, at least. The actors I think kind of knew what was up, I think Alan smirked knowingly a couple of times during James' answer.

 

BTW, Alan seems like a pretty cool guy, even if he is an alien from another world struggling to learn human emotions (as Jason described him).

[Lando 2019]

Great recap. What was your question that he seemed to take offense to?

[Wien 401]

Great recap. What was your question that he seemed to take offense to?

 

Ok first, he announced Birdemic 3 here, too. Said the plan is for it to be in 3D (I think he actually called it something like Birdemic 3D: Seagull or something). At anyrate....

 

Every time he spoke, the answer inevitably went to "budget", and how hard a time he had raising money, convincing studios to give him money, etc. He talked about how he paid for Birdemic out of pocket with his paychecks, and how he had to scale things down in Birdemic 2 because of the budget.

 

So I asked him "Would you ever consider crowdfunding resources like Indie Go Go or Kickstarter for Birdemic 3?" He almost seemed offended from the start. Like maybe he thought I insinuated that he couldn't fundraise traditionally....? I'm not sure why, but his answer was strange. He sounded like he dabbled in it before, and failed. He calls it a "last resort". He stressed that if you are a movie maker, to go the traditional route first; find a producer, talk to studios, fund raise, etc. The moderator made the note of pointing out to Mr Nguyen that Veronica Mars just raised 5 million dollars crowdfunding, but that didn't seem to steer him away from his thinking. He's pretty against the idea of crowdfunding, unless its an absolute last resort. His producer seemed to be a bit more open to the idea.

 

What is weird, I noted, is that he trumpted the spirit of independent film making all night, and in the film, and lambasted big studios for getting involved with the creative process. With crowdfunding being as "No Strings Attached" funding as humanly possible, you'd think he'd be all over it.

[JustinStolle 6]

He sounded like he dabbled in it before, and failed.

That's because he had. Recently. The timing of your question couldn't have been better/worse. He just tried raising $50,000 and reached only $130 for another movie project on Kickstarter on April 3rd. He deleted his Kickstarter account shortly thereafter.

 

He didn't do himself any favors, though, by barely advertising it. He didn't even mention it to the audience at the Hollywood premiere when there was still time left.

[imhatch 271]

That's because he had. Recently. The timing of your question couldn't have been better/worse. He just tried raising $50,000 and reached only $130 for another movie project on Kickstarter on April 3rd. He deleted his Kickstarter account shortly thereafter.

hoo boy *tugs at collar while pounds of flop sweat appears suddenly*

[Wien 401]

That's because he had. Recently. The timing of your question couldn't have been better/worse. He just tried raising $50,000 and reached only $130 for another movie project on Kickstarter on April 3rd. He deleted his Kickstarter account shortly thereafter.

 

He didn't do himself any favors, though, by barely advertising it. He didn't even mention it to the audience at the Hollywood premiere when there was still time left.

 

Bahahahaha holy smokes. Wow, I had NO idea. That makes his reaction perfectly understandable now. I have masterful timing, it seems. He didn't mention any amount of that.... that must have been even more awkward when the host said to his face that Veronica Mars raised 5 million on kickstarter. I wonder why he would think he wouldn't need to market his kickstarter campaign.