CrashCam Films & CrashToons year in review.
First off, thanks to all y’all for your help and support in making 2009 such a great year!
Admittedly, we’ve been posting more of the smaller updates on our Facebook pages as opposed to “official” blogs for our multitude of ongoing projects.
Here are the Facebook pages, if you wanna buddy-up:
CrashCam Films: http://www.facebook.com/CrashCamFilms
CrashToons (including APESH!T, Platypus Rex and more): http://www.facebook.com/CrashToons
Hell on Wheels: http://www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie
Rock Opera: http://www.facebook.com/RockOpera
Total Badass: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Total-Badss/117590408128
And for you Twitter-heads: http://twitter.com/crashcamfilms
So what went down over at the CrashCam Films / CrashToons Global HQ in Austin, TX this year of 2009? Behold:
The bulk of elbow grease went into the new feature doc, “Total Badass.” It’s nearly finished and crazy-fun (more info below). We also completed a re-write of the feature-length script for the dark comedy “The Down Side.” Slamdance Script Coverage Service raves about the Down Side “Hilarious and gut wrenching. Pure Storytelling genius!“ On top of that, we finished the story for the new narrative feature “Reign in Blood,” and are now fleshing out the script with hopes of shooting it mid ’10.
Here’s a project-by-project breakdown of what went down this year:
Total Badass
Total Badass is the new feature documentary about my buddy (and notorious sex-fiend, writer-publisher-singer-trashcan-jumper, rabble-rouser and man-about-town) Chad Holt. From May of ’08 through June of ’09 we shoot the new doc. We quickly moved into post-production in the late summer and, as of today, are about 98% through with the edit. The movie is NUTS! You’ll surely be hearing about it a lot in the near future.
www.TotalBadassTheMovie.com and www.facebook.com/pages/Total-Badss/117590408128
CrashToons
Through most of 2009, we were screening the pile of ‘toons we made in ’08. We screened “Spanish Lessons with Chupacabra Volume 7: Conversational Spanish” at SXSW. Various APESH!T ‘toons screened at LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival and Animation Block Party (in both NYC and Austin). And a mound of creatively curated CrashToons unspooled before the Rock Opera 10 Year Anniversary screening at the Alamo Drafthouse in October.
Online, we host all the ‘toons at www.CrashToons.com. And a few ‘toons even popped up on Playboy Magazine’s site, www.Playboy.com.
As for new ‘toons, 2009 was a tad sparse. We were pretty busy finishing up the filming and editing of the new feature doc, Total Badass. But we did complete a new one called “Platypus Rex’s ABC-Hole.” And it’s crazy-fun. ABC-Hole is featured on the CrashToons home page, so swing by and check out the 28 seconds of hilarious and educational fun.
www.facebook.com/CrashToons and the ‘toons at www.CrashToons.com
Hell on Wheels
We released the doc through IndiePix (http://www.indiepixfilms.com/film/hellonwheels) in late ’08, and it was such a blast that IndiePix re-released it in Feb! Double the fun! And then, we launched the doc on SnagFilms (http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/hell_on_wheels/), where it remains as one of the highest rated docs on the site! You can also catch the flick on Netflix and on Xbox and even on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMovie?id=333912438&s=143441)
The great reviews continued to pour in over 2009. Check the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie) for links to many of these reviews. We also got a big plug from Texas Monthly magazine (www.texasmonthly.com/2009-10-01/hollywoodtx.php) and we landed on the homepage for Moviefone.com.
We screened Hell on Wheels in several cities in ‘09, including but not limited to theatrical screenings in Austin, Asbury (NJ), Sacramento, Boston, a fest screening at CineSol Film Festival in McAllen, TX, and even a university screening at The Southwestern University Feminist Studies Program with filmmakers Bob Ray and Werner Campbell and skaters Electra Blu (TXRG) and Smarty Pants (TXRD) in attendance for a lively and enlightening post-screening Q & A.
Hell on Wheels landed on a couple of those end-of-decade lists care of The Onion’s
A/V Club: http://www.avclub.com/austin/articles/10-overlooked-austin-movies-of-the-00s,36275/, and a “Best Documentaries of the Decade” list: http://boomerbust-scooter63.blogspot.com/2009/12/top-documentaries-of-decade.html
http://www.HellOnWheelsTheMovie.com and http://www.facebook.com/HellOnWheelsTheMovie
Rock Opera
Holy poop! We had our ten-year anniversary screening of Rock Opera at the Alamo Drafthouse in October with after party at the Highball featuring a Voltage and Pocket FishRmen reunion. If you were there, you rocked! If not, you missed out on some FUN!
http://www.RockOperaTheMovie.com and http://www.facebook.com/RockOpera
CrashCam Films
http://www.facebook.com/CrashCamFilms
CrashToons
http://www.facebook.com/CrashToons
Twitter: http://twitter.com/crashcamfilms
Whew! So there ya have it, the year in rewind. We promise lots more far-out, and raucous flicks in 2010. Keep up to date by signing up for the email newsletter (http://crashcamfilms.com/index1.htm) or palling around with the Facebook pages, if ya prefer.
Once again, thanks to everyone who helped make 2009 such a fruitful and fun year. We cannot do all this alone, and are really appreciative of your help and support. Best wishes in 2010!
Hugs and Happy New Year!
Bob Ray & the CrashCam Films / CrashToons team
