South Austin Now Officially "Coolest Place on Planet to Live" – President Blames al Qaeda, Cites Japanese Horror Films, Alejandro Jodorowsky as Major New Fronts in 'War on Things That Terrify Me' Dept.: A few weeks ago we mentioned that eensy-weensy South Austin video store
Pedazo Chunk would soon be moving from its previous location below Perfection Tattoos to a new, vastly larger space next door at 2009 S. First. Well, the move is complete, and this new, improved version of the Chunk – enthusiastically dubbed "Pedazo Chunk World Headquarters" – may well be the best little video storehouse in Texas if not the world (trans-dimensionally speaking, there may be a better vidstore out there on the Old Ones plane of existence, but who wants to bother going there when you always have to negotiate rental prices with That Which Must Not Be Named, and all the DVDs are Region 666?). Not only do owners
Dannie and José – who, Fun Factoid No. 1, is ranked third best yo-yo master in Mexico – know their stuff when it comes to obscure, outré, outlandish, and all-but-unfindable genre and foreign films, but their gorgeous new store has more film-geek-friendly amenities than even the beloved Alamo Drafthouse. At what other video store on earth can you drop in to pick up the latest Region 3 Takeshi Miike sex 'n' drugs 'n' schoolgirl-ultraviolence epic and find a whole section of said store sectioned off as an
Army of Darkness-themed playscape for the little Alex de la Iglesias-to-be? (Cannily located within mere feet of the Kickass Kandy Koncession Kounter!) And that's just for starters: Pedazo is now sporting its own semiprofessional grade screening room, with nightly 9pm showings through July 2 of the
ne plus ultra in hyperpsychotronic cinema such as
Battle Royale,
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and even a Harry Knowles-hosted super-secret-surprise night this Friday, June 25. "So what!" I hear you cry, "Any video store can have a kiddie dungeon and krappy Korean kandies!" Yeah, well name one that has a huge back patio complete with couches and chairs and tiki torches perfect for enraged mobs of villagers to snatch up on their way to storm the castle of mad Victor von Blockbuster Inc.? And speaking of snatch, did I mention they've also got a curtained "Adult Titles" room? And movie-geek toys? Everywhere? Ai-yi-yi! When I die I figure I'm pretty much hellbound because, baby,
this is heaven. (Ooh! And they've got an ice cream cooler, too! Body parts! Yesssss!) Finally, ultimately, and most importantly of all, Pedazo Chunk will be celebrating its third anniversary on Friday, July 2, starting at 6pm, with free beer, free movies, and free, hot, girl-on-girl exsanguination action courtesy of the bloodthirsty mosquito armadas zooming up from nearby Bouldin Creek. Pedazo Chunk World Headquarters: As Bon Scott said, "You want blood? You got it!"
Speaking of Bon Scott Dept.: Two Note Solo's summer '04 Drunk Film Festival version 3.0 is fast staggering toward us, so get your cameras and your Everclear (but this time leave the Heroin Girl at home, dude – she nodded off and drooled all over my Bolex last time) and prepare to prove to the world, once again, that Austin filmmakers are all fucked up. Saturday, July 10, at 1pm, is the kickoff of this wildly popular 24-hour filmmaking competition, wherein the filmmakers have to get wasted before they can begin shooting their entries. Despite protests from Mothers Against Drunk Directors, this year's competition/blackout should be the best yet, with the finished, occasionally coherent results screening at Landmark's Dobie Theater on Sunday, July 11, which is right about the time you'll be wondering how on earth you ended up in Tijuana and why your nipples are so sore. (Hey, don't blame me – blame the bossa nova.) All the particulars can be found at www.drunkfilmfestival.com. Summer in Austin! Yessss!
Detour Seeks Dick Artists Dept.: Flat Black Films (Waking Life) has sent out word that they're seeking fine artists and illustrators to work on Richard Linklater's adaptation of Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly. Sez the press releases: "Applicants need to be highly skilled in fine drawing, particularly of the human face ... experience with computer animation such as Flash is a plus but not required." Send portfolios or examples of artwork to: Scanner Darkly, c/o Sara Johnson, Detour FilmProduction, 3109 N. I-35, Austin, TX 78722. Or, e-mail online portfolio info to [email protected].
