January 2nd Screening Recap

In spite of the outrageously cold weather, we had a packed house down at 92YTribeca for our first show in 2010, and incidentally, our 1-year anniversary of appearing at 92YTri.

Victor Varnado began the show talking about all of those lists looking back at the worst movies of the decade, and expressed his dismay that a movie he appeared in, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, wasn't on any of the lists.  Co-host Jay Stern urged the audience to join the fight and write to all those list-makers out there, urging them to include Pluto Nash on their worst-movies-of-the-decade list.  We urge all of you readers out there to join in the effort and put the flop featuring Victor Varnado on top of those worst-movie lists!

Then Jay and Victor introduced special guest judge R. Sikoryak.  Sikoryak presented two of his "Masterpiece Comics" pieces on the big screen via Powerpoint, assisted with vocals by M. Sweeney Lawless.  First was "Inferno Joe," a version of Dante's Inferno as illustrated by a series of Bazooka Joe comic strips.  Following this mini masterpiece, Sikoyak presented "Mac Worth," his rendition of "Macbeth" as told with characters from the comic "Mary Worth."

And then we were on to the films!  First up was Sam Carter's "Beast of Burden,"  a story about a closet-hiding monster who is dumped by the kid he's been scaring for years.  "Beast of Burden" sports a nicely told story, is beautifully shot, and features some good acting too.  Sam and producer Eddie Stone were in attendance, all the way from Atlanta, Georgia.  It was Sam's first visit to NYC.  Fun fact: we learned in the interview that the plot of "Beast of Burden" was thought of by the movie's 12-year-old star.

Next was Thom Woodley and Johnny North's "All's Faire: Episode the Thirde," an episode from a webseries which examines the strange world of Renaissance Fairs, created by the folks who brought you "The Burg."

Next up was dp's "The Lake," the latest in the white-guy-does-rap-but-it's-way-much-better-than-it-sounds genre by our friend dp.  This played back to back with Jack Ferry's "Flirting with Andrea Schnoonens," a funny short featuring the comedy team of Pete and Brian.  Jay and Victor conducted a tag team interview with dp and Jack Ferry following these shorts, in which they all discussed the intricacies of adapting sketch comedy for the screen.

Last up was the odd and quirky animated look at humans destroying the planet called "We Are All Here," by Yonghwa Choi.  Victor expressed mock surprise that this movie with its eco-conscious subject matter was made by a college student.

And then, after a brief preview for another show Jay produces at 92YTribeca, it was finally time for this month's "Wanna Be a Star" movie, "Spinach Pie," directed by Katie Carman and starring Iron Mule audience member Heather Cole.  The short, produced over the last month to a title suggested by an audience member at last December's screening, involved lots of dancing in the streets of New York and the consumption of a large piece of spinach pie with whipped cream on top.

R. Sikoryak then announced the winning film.  The winner of both audience favorite and the judge's prize went to "Beast of Burden."  We were happy to show Sam and Eddie some NYC hospitality, and thankfully they made a film film worthy of the honor bestowed upon it.  R. Sikoyak awarded them with their own copy of "Masterpiece Comics," signed by the author, complete with a drawing of Batman next to the signature.

After the screening, the crowd reconvened in the 92YTri cafe, and then later went out into the frigid NYC air to a local bar where merriment continued until 2 or 3 in the morning, we forget when exactly.  Fun was had by all, and images of short comedy films danced in our heads as we fell asleep that night.  We should really talk to a doctor about that.