If there’s one movie coming this summer that has me excited, it’s Grindhouse– the faux- exploitation double feature from directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. Both short films – Rodriguez’s Planet Terror and Tarantino’s Death Proof – sound like pure turgid cinematic pulp, the kind that both directors have acknowledged as influences on their work. And to further replicate the experience of attending one of the broken down movie houses during the 70s, the pair of enlisted some friends to create some fake coming attraction trailers.
Joining in on the fun is Cabin Fever director Eli Roth, contributing a trailer for the nonexistent slasher flick Thanksgiving (the only holiday that hasn’t had a slasher flick named after it), and Shaun Of The Dead helmer Edgar Wright. Meanwhile, director Rob Zombie’s Werewolf Women Of The SS (perhaps one of the best titles to grace any film- real or fictional) trailer will feature the likes of former exploitation stars Sybil Danning and Udo Kier and a special appearance from Nicholas Cage as evil Asian crimelord Fu Manchu!
And now, Tarantino and Rodriguez are giving other filmmakers to get in on the act. The South by Southwest Film Festival is sponsoring a grindhouse trailer competition to be judged by Rodriguez himself. From the festival’s press release-
The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival is putting out a call to filmmakers who would like to submit their best “grindhouse trailer,” in honor of the April release from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, Grindhouse. A sample of the best submissions will be judged by Rodriguez himself, and presented during SXSW, on March 11, 2007.
Filmmakers have a deadline of February 12 to submit their “grindhouse trailer” (no longer than two minutes in length) to SXSW. The trailer should be made for a fictional feature-film, just like those being made by celebrity directors Eli Roth and Rob Zombie for Grindhouse. From those submissions, Rodriguez will determine the best of the bunch, and it will screen during a special presentation entitled “Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse 101” on Sunday, March 11. During the presentation, Rodriguez will share stories and footage from the making of the upcoming Dimension Films release.
“We really want filmmakers to come up with something fun, scary, freaky, and out-of-this-world for the competition,” says SXSW Festival Producer Matt Dentler. “This competition, like Grindhouse itself, is in the true spirit of innovative and fast-paced filmmaking.”
Submissions must arrive no later than February 12, to: “SXSW Grindhouse Trailers,” P.O. Box 4999, Austin, TX 78765. There is no application fee, but the trailers must be under two minutes in length, and made within the last 12 months. Films that have already been submitted to SXSW for 2007 consideration, are not eligible.
To get yourself in the mood, you can check out Grindhouse‘s trailer right here-
You can check out the official Grindhouse website here.
