Latest Entry:

Beaver Trilogy

Synopsis: Beaver Trilogy is a series of three pieces about the same subject, a young man from a small town called Beaver who is obsessed with Olivia Newton John. The first piece, The Beaver Kid, is a documentary. The second piece, Beaver Kid 2, was shot with a home video camera. Beaver Kid 2 which stars Sean Penn is a dramatic work based on the documentary. The third piece, The Orkly Kid, is yet another dramatic work based on the documentary, this time starring yet another actor. (from Harris' website)

News & Notes:

• Filmmaker/author/film professor J.J. Murphy writes a long in-depth review of Andy Warhol's pseudo-sexploitation feature I, a Man, a film that's particularly notable since it features Valerie Solanas, the woman who shot Warhol on June 3, 1968. Murphy also makes note that the filming of Solanas' scenes was recreated in Mary Harron's I Shot Andy Warhol. #
• British film writer David Berridge gives a lengthy review of a recent Jonas Mekas retrospective held in London recently on his blog More Milk Yvette. Most important lesson: Don't ask about Andy Warhol during a Q&A. But seriously, this is an excellent, thoughtful meditation on Mekas' work. #
• Check out our new companion video site where we're featuring the best short films, music videos, movie trailers and assorted underground errata found on Bad Lit and here on the Underground Film Guide. Plus, we'll have videos found by us, but not featured on those other two sites. Between all three sites, we should have the best underground videos found on the web all covered. #
• A trio of underground film festival deadlines are fast approaching: This Friday, Aug. 1! They are: 1) Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival (Final deadline!) 2) The Spooky Movie Film Festival (Late deadline!) 3) Boston Underground Film Festival (Early deadline!) In the case of Spooky Movie and Boston, you'll have a few more chances coming up to get your films in, but Hell's Half Mile will be closed as of Friday. #
• So, what's the underground film scene like Down Under? Australia's two most colorful commentators have some new views. First, Melbourne Underground Film Festival director Richard Wolstencroft gives a lengthy and stinging critique of his town's International Film Fest (MIFF). MIFF may be currently celebrating "Ozploitation" cinema, but is it too late? Then, from last month, Esoteric Rabbit's Matthew Clayfield wonders what's the difference between "experimental" video and video "art," while critiquing a couple recent museum screenings. #