Kill Savlov: Vol. 1 Dept.: The e-mails started coming in Friday evening, but thanks to the Austin Film Festival, I didn’t get around to checking my in-box until Saturday. What I found was perplexing: a dozen missives from bewildered Kill Bill viewers who were wondering what on earth I meant by the penultimate sentence in my review of the Quentin Tarantino film. To wit: “Don’t leave until the final credits finish rolling, or you’ll miss what many are considering Kill Bill: Vol. 1‘s best bit.” The incoming e-mails noted, over and over, that when they caught the film, there was no supersecret surprise after the credits. And they’re right — there wasn’t. Apparently Tarantino, in his infinite wisdom, re-edited the final moments of this film in between the critics’ advance screening in late September and the official release date. Without creating a spoiler situation, let’s just say that the film’s final revelation, spoken by Bill to Sofie, was originally situated post-credits and has now been moved forward, ostensibly so that no one in the audience will miss it should they get up to leave the moment the credits begin to crawl. According to Harry Knowles of Ain’t It Cool News, the decision came after Tarantino read Red Beard’s review of the film online, in which Knowles noted that a number of critics did indeed get up to leave before the credits finished and summarily missed that last-second zinger, which in turn compelled the director to rejigger the film’s closing. So there you go, people. We’re not insane. We did actually see the film. Trust us on this one… I’ve lost a number of close friends to that wily Big Apple of late, and now this: Local producer Damon Chang is heading up to NYC on Friday, Oct. 17, to take part in that city’s 24-hour “Midnight Movie Making Madness,” an annual event that this year brings together more than 270 filmmakers from Australia to Texas to Western Europe to make a film in, yes, 24 hours. But here’s the brilliant kicker: The actual film, to be directed by Jeffrey Travis, will be shot here in Austin, with a documentary team following their every move and broadcasting the moment-by-moment chaos back to New York and locally on Austin access TV and online at www.swivelkick.com. The actual creation of the contest film will begin at 12:01am, Saturday, Oct. 18, and Travis will have a 20-person crew and some 75 actors ready to go when the clock strikes midnight plus one. And as if that weren’t enough, Liquid Studios (corner of Braker and Dessau) will be hosting a party/screening marathon on Saturday, Oct. 18, 10pm-2am, with Chang and Travis’ first-round winner from last year, The Martial Artist, and the world premiere of this year’s Madness submission. Chang will be live from New York City, the Sleepwalkers will play, and, presumably, much beer will flow as Austin once again tries to one-up New York. Tickets to the Liquid Studios event are $5. More info at www.nycmidnight.com or, locally, from molly@capitol-offense.com… The Austin Film Festival is ending as you read this, but don’t weep, little film geek — this just means that the South by Southwest Film Festival is just around the corner. Scheduled participants for SXSW Film 2004 include writer/director Tim McCanlies, Film Threat‘s Chris Gore, Magnolia Pictures President Eamonn Bowles, and many more to come. Check out www.sxsw.com for registration information and more.
This article appears in October 17 • 2003.