Film at Eleven

After wrestling it’s way into US distribution after many torturous years, indie-insta-cult-classic Lethal Force received its German release courtesy of CMV-Laservision this November 23, 2007.

“We are proud to have this film released by CMV,” director Sir Alvin D. Ecarma beams, “and we are certain that it will be as much the cult-crowd pleaser in Germany as it has been in the United States.”

The Region 2 dvd will carry over all the special features from the Region 1 release (commentary track, original trailer, short films) but unique to this release will be a German dub track that is sure to be quite odd.

The DVD will be available through retail outlets and online via Sazuma, Videoworld, World of Video or Cinemore.

Scotty JX has just announced that the Actiongirls Soldiers of the Dead Part 1 DVD (review trailer) is now taking Pre-Orders! Just in time for Christmas.

The DVD ships on December 15th and can be ordered from the Actiongirls.com website.

Just in time for the holiday season, there will be a limited edition music box specially designed for Pan’s Labyrinth going on sale Wednesday November 28th on the Pan’s Labyrinth website.

Measuring a full 8.75 x 6.5 x 2.75 inches, the music box is made of solid wood and features a high quality 18-note mechanism that plays the Pan’s Labyrinth Lullaby (“Long, Long Time Ago”), by Javier Navarrete. The front of the box features images from the film. They will be creating a limited edition run of no more than 2000 Pan’s Labyrinth music boxes in this style.

These will be priced at $125, exceopt for the first one which has been signed by Guillermo Del Toro and will be put up for a charity auction on Ebay on November 28th.

Groupthink Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based independent film production company, announced yesterday that its latest film, Peter’s Price, directed by Groupthink Founder Mitchell L. Cohen, has been selected by Big Film Shorts, one of the country’s largest distributors of short films, for worldwide distribution this autumn.

Big Film Shorts, which represents numerous favorites and award-winning films from the Sundance, Telluride and Cannes festivals, specializes in short films as well as other media and formats. Big Film Shorts’ core business is its extensive film library, which contains shorts in a variety of genres, lengths, formats and national origins.

“I am extremely excited and proud that Big Film Shorts picked up Peter’s Price and am thrilled that it will be seen by people across the globe,” said Cohen. “Peter’s Price is a truly special film and I hope that audiences will connect with the story and the message it tells.”

Peter’s Price, a neo-noir drama, tells the story of a bank manager robbed at gunpoint by a man who turns out to be a former childhood friend. Unable to continue with the violent act, the criminal forces his old buddy to catch up on where their lives have gone over the last eighteen years. The film explores how individuals may or may not change as people over the years and how the choices one makes growing up affects the rest of their lives.

Peter’s Price sold out its screening at Mann’s Chinese Theater during the FAIF Film Festival and followed up this success playing such notable festivals as Newport Beach International, Los Angeles International Shorts and San Francisco Independent.

Cohen is currently working on the pre-production for Amphetamine Logic a crime thriller set in the world of crystal meth manufacturing based on an acclaimed short story by Nathan Cain.

Other Cinema Digital have announced the upcomming release of The Other Cinema Collection, OCD’s entire catalog of 19 discs for a special price of only $300 (plus shipping). Running the gamut from classic underground works (Sins of the Fleshapoids, Tribulation 99) to archival oddities (The 70s Dimension, Afro Promo) to audacious anthologies (Xperimental Eros, Negativland’s “Our Favorite Things”), the OCD catalog is a must for any serious cinephile and makes a groovy Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa gift to boot! This offer is for a limited time only so order soon.

After screening in over 40 international film festivals Alex Ferrari’s twisted short film Cyn is finally available for rent or purchase though his website. You can now download his film along with tons of behind the scenes of the ground-breaking short film.

Cyn was made on a 6 day schedule [ from script to final output ] for under $1000 and boosts one of the craziest end title sequences ever created for a 5 min short film. Think of throwing an atom bomb on a roach, completely over the top.

Click here to watch the trailer.

ImaginAsian Entertainment, a leading Asian American multi-media entertainment company that promotes Asian Pacific American culture to mainstream America through its vast array of media vehicles, announced that it will unveil The ImaginAsian Center on December 7, 2007 in downtown Los Angeles. The ImaginAsian Center, partnering with Cinema Properties Group, will be the only film center in downtown Los Angeles dedicated to first-run Asian and Asian American films, opening with acclaimed Japanese film Midnight Eagle, a gripping adventure story based on the eponymous novel by acclaimed writer Tetsuo Takashima.

Located at 251 South Main Street, Los Angeles, CA, The ImaginAsian Center has been home to a number of historic theaters, including the Arrow, the Aztec and most recently the Linda Lea, which was a Japanese-language film theater. ImaginAsian Entertainment will operate the fully redesigned and renovated theater offering an auditorium with 250 stadium style seating, including a 16 seat VIP section, a VIP Lounge for special events, and a working stage. The Center will host feature films, screenings, live performances, special events, and satellite-fed events and exhibitions, using state of the art sound and projection equipment. In addition to offering standard concessions, the theater will feature a selection of café-style items for moviegoers before or after the show.

Fresh off its national theatrical release, writer/director Adam Green’s Hatchet – the independent horror film championed by internet fans and critics the world over – will be released by Anchor Bay Entertainment on DVD December 18th.

Visceral and unrelenting, Hatchet is Adam Green’s blood-soaked love letter to the slasher film genre, which reached its critical and commercial zenith in the 1980s. Starring Joel David Moore, Deon Richmond, Tamara Feldman and Mercedes McNab, Hatchet also boasts a stellar supporting cast of iconic genre veterans including Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Tony Todd, and Joshua Leonard.

The Unrated Hatchet DVD not only presents the film exactly as Adam Green intended – frame by frame – but also offers ninety minutes of bonus features charting the film’s production practically from Day 1.

The official website for The Signal has now launched and features all of the usual goodies, including wallpapers, icons and lots of flash.

We already saw the trailers here, but you can check out the rest of the site at doyouhavethecrazy.com.

he cheapest horror film ever made, Amateur Porn Star Killer, scared it’s way into US stores this Tuesday, November 6, 2007, from Cinema Epoch and Koch Entertainment.

Shot in just one night, entirely improvised, and produced with an unimaginable budget of just $45 the shocker film has taken the horror film community by storm. Many praise it as “very realistic and utterly unforgettable” (Film Threat), “a malevolent classic” (Sex Gore Mutants), “horrified me in a way that no horror movie ever has” (SkullRing.org), “unsettling, and downright mesmerizing” (Pretty Scary), “it looks like a real murder” (HorrorYearBook.com). Pop Syndicate says director Shane Ryan “has taken a short running time and simple plot and effectively turned it into something not to leave you for quite some time”. Blood Type Online raves about the “dynamic performances” and PollyStaffle.com says it’s “so close to being a masterpiece”.

What about this little indie seems to be so great? Is it that is makes one question their own taste in violence in cinema, especially the torture-porn fad? Or is it just another exploitation film itself, praising what many would argue it’s against?

You’ll just have to find out for yourself, but be warned, you won’t feel the same after watching this.

Amateur Porn Star Killer can be purchased at Best Buy, Circuit City, Border’s, Barnes and Noble, Amazon and much more.