Join Legion M to scout films at Fantastic Fest!
WHO WANTS TO GO TO AUSTIN??
Last year Paul and I had the opportunity to go to Fantastic Fest in Austin, and were BLOWN AWAY by how awesome it was. If you like genre (ie horror, sci-fi, midnight movies, shorts), this is the ultimate--it's billed as the largest genre film festival in the world, run by the AMAZING Alamo Drafthouse team with a wonderful community of fans and filmmakers.
Fantastic Fest isn't a sprawling affair like Sundance. Everything takes place in a single Alamo Drafthouse theater that has 6 or 7 screens. Things kick off in the AM, and every couple hours they have a new round of films. There is a simple (and very well run) system that allows you to prioritize which films you want to watch, and determines who gets into what.
If you come, be prepared to watch movies. Lots of them. The festival passes are expensive ($425), but get you access to about 5-7 screenings per day!
That said, this festival is about more than just watching movies. After each screening there is typically a panel where directors, cast members, producers talk about the making of the film and answer people's question. But the best part is after the panel is over, everybody goes to hang out in the lobby/bar (remember, this is all happening at a single theater) and wait for the next round of screenings. This provides an totally unique opportunity to chat with creators, fans, and people from all parts of the industry. As I mentioned, we went last year and were blown away by the intimacy and level of access. It's a great community, and we've been chomping at the bit to come back!
This year, Terri Lubaroff and Jeff Annison will be in town with Legion M. Terri Piñon is coming in from NY, and there are a number of folks in the Austin area that are already making plans to come to the festival or get together. We're also planning to introduce a new SCOUT system that allows Legion M members at the festival (as well as those at home) to help prioritize and evaluated the films that are played. You may just have a hand in helping us find our next project!!
If you are interested in joining us, here are some details:
Terri and I plan to arrive early on Thursday Sept 21 (or maybe even late on Wed the 20th), and leave on Monday Sept 25th. The festival runs through the 28th if you want to stay longer, and get more use out of your badge.
Festival badges are currently SOLD OUT, but Legion M has a connection (Tim League, the founder and CEO of Alamo Drafthouse is one of our creative allies. :)), which means that WE CAN GET YOU A BADGE. You'll still need to pay for it (cost is $425 for the fan badge, and $495 for superfan badge--you can get more info here).
You don't NEED to have a badge to come join us, and there is a way to get tickets to individual showings (only if there is room). I've never used this method before, but you can read more about it here. If people are interested in this route, there are people we can talk to about how to best navigate the system and set expectations about what that experience is like.
There are a number of hotels of varying price ranges within a short ride of the festival. You can see the festival's recommendations here. There are also a number of AirBNBs in the area. Note--last year Paul and stayed downtown (across the river) from the festival. This is a generally GREAT location for Austin, but it was lost on us because we spent all our time at the festival. It was a busy weekend (there were a number of other festivals going on) and we found that because of downtown traffic it often took over half an hour to get from the hotel to the theater, even though it was a relatively short distance.
Legion M has booked an AirBNB just a block or two away from the theater for our team. Since the central meeting point for this festival is the festival itself, this can be a good "home base" for our activities.
While we're there, we plan to organize some meet-ups. So even if you are not going to the festival, there will be opportunities to get together. We'd love to see you!!
If you are interested in joining us, please fill out the following info: