Notes from our May 5th screening

We officially launched our 10th year with a new lineup of films on May 5th.

Going back to our roots as a screening series designed to showcase our own work, the screening began with Botanical Gardens, a new music video by Jay Stern featuring a song by Dale Goodson and M. Sweeney Lawless.  Following this, Victor presented a secret work-in-progress that we're not allowed to write about here.  This is why you should really come to these screenings.

Victor and Jay with Dale Goodson and M. Sweeney Lawless (they're the two in the middle). Photo by Tom Henning.

We began the competition with our iThentic.com selection, King Temp, written by Jason Saenz and Nick Turner and directed by Justin Tyler.  This series tells the story of a man who makes the most out of his temp lifestyle, with helpful tips for you temps out there.


Next was Raymond C. Lai's wonderfully odd green-screen TV pilot At Your Convenience.  At Your Convenience tells the story of two best friends who run a convenience store.  In the pilot, one of them gets caught up in a gang, leading the other to enter the magical world of crack smokers.  It's much funnier and more surprising than this description makes it sound, with really strong performances by the entire cast.


We began our next block of films with another King Temp episode, followed by Ryan Arey and David Valentine's Florida? which tests just how far you can go combining dark and cute in a 2-minute movie.  Ryan directed the film and David designed the puppet.  The three of them (Ryan, David, and the puppet) were at the screening and we spoke to them about their work and puppet-making in general.


The next film in the lineup was Professor Pebbles, Pierce Davidson's claymation film about a devil that can't do evil no matter how hard he tries, and our Australian addition to the evening.  We closed this block with a final King Temp episode.  Director Justin Tyler and producer Vincenzo Picciano were on hand and Jay and Victor interviewed them about this series and their other work.


As always at the Iron Mule, we ended the screening with our "Wanna Be a Star" film, stars an audience member from the previous month's screening with a title suggested by the audience.


Our star this month was Tom Carrozza, who happened to also play a lead role in our first ever "Wanna Be a Star" film that premiered 10 years ago this very month.  So we had an encore screening of that film, Monkey Balls, followed by the new film The Zebra's Refrigerator.  And just like old times, these were Jay and Victor films (Jay directed Monkey Balls and Victor directed The Zebra's Refrigerator.)

Tom Carrozza talks to Jay and Victor. Photo by Tom Henning.

Next it was time to announce the winners of the evening -- the audience favorite award went to Florida? while the judges prize went to At Your Convenience.


Then it was off to our award-winning after party that lasted until the wee hours of the evening.  Join us at our June 2nd Iron Mule screening and experience the magic yourself!

Notes from our December 4th screening

Hello and welcome, Iron Mule fans!

This last Saturday we welcomed back many old Iron Mule friends, and also some new ones, for our monthly showcase of the best in short comedy films.  This month, as host Jay Stern explained, we tried a little something different: sampling work from a couple of different web series, interspersed with a few other odds and holiday-specific ends.

But first up, host Victor Varnado shared a trailer for the new "not-quite-reality" series he's producing.  The show follows a group of contestants engaged in Live Action Role Playing (LARP), which looks a lot like real life Dungeons & Dragons, in the woods, without dice.  It also looks like a lot of fun to watch.

Priming the pump for holiday season, local actor and Christmas Carol officianado Craig Wichman introduced his film, "A Christmas Carol in 8 Minutes," featuring every imaginable big- and small-screen version of the classic Dickens tale.  Craig shared some of his knowledge of the many liberties taken with adapting the novel to the screen, and host Victor was particularly smitten with the oft-repeated phrase, "Look under my robe!" which he proceeded to oft-repeat as well.


For our first block of films, we began with a new series by Iron Mule BFF, Dale Goodson, entitled "Things Could Be Worse," an animated series which takes an irreverent look at the debate over health care.  In between the three episodes of this series, we also presented Lake Cop II: Ripple Effect, a mock trailer by Graeme Morgan and Brent Cooper about a vigilante lakeside policeman that is now being made into a feature, and the first episode of another series previously seen at Iron Mule -- Old People News.  The latest iteration of this series, entitled "Tech Report" and created for Atom.com by Kevin Maher, stars Lynne Rogers and Arthur Anderson as the titular Old People, reporting on some perplexing 21st century technology such as the iPhone and the Twitter.

Dale Goodson was on hand to talk about his continuing forays into animation, and how he himself learned to use technology to straighten lines and get a smoother "hand-drawn" effect in his films.  With so many irons in the fire, between this, his occasional music videos and the continuing Man Without Shirt series, we're not sure what Dale will come up with next, but we're sure we'll see him again soon.

Jay and Dale

Next up, we featured a couple of episodes from the popular New York web series, "Broad City," by Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer.  This time, we showcased Ilana's advice on dealing with being a "Dick Magnet," and Abbi's struggle to get kissed "Under the Mistletoe."  We also squeezed in another episode of Old People News: Tech Report, examining the "easy way out" of Kickstarter.  One half of the Broad City team, Ilana Glazer, joined our hosts to talk about the many ways in which their show imitates life, and the future plans for the show, which include an upcoming second season and a short film.

Victor, Jay, and Ilana

For our third set, we presented "The Guarantee," another documentary by multiple award-winner Jesse Epstein in her series on body image.  This film tackles the true story of a ballet dancer who was told he needed to get a nose job in order to continue getting leads at his dance academy.  Since the subject didn't want to be filmed, Jesse worked with a storyboard artist to illustrate the story, lending an extra visual layer to the film.  Jesse joined hosts Jay & Victor to talk about the choice to use illustrations in the film, and the road from hearing the subject's story on a set to filming it many years later.

Victor, Jay, and Jesse

Rounding up the films in competition, we presented the final episodes of Old People News: Tech Report, and also revisited the perennial Iron Mule holiday favorite, "White Blood Cell Saves Christmas."  Kevin Maher & Lynne Rogers of Old People News came on stage to talk about the origins of the series and its potential future (including product placements).  Whatever form it takes, we look forward to more of Kevin's razor-sharp satire and more of Lynne using words like "sexting".

Victor, Jay, Kevin and Lynn

The audience was given a reprieve from laughter in order to vote for their favorite film of the evening, and while the votes were being tallied, they were treated to this month's Wanna Be A Star? film, "Peanut Factory," starring audience member Meredith Flood.  A parody of The Glass Menagerie, the film was directed by Gabriella Willenz and kept the audience in stitches as only making fun of Tennessee Williams can.

Gabriella, Victor, Jay, and Meredith

We had another double winner for the evening, as Jesse Epstein once again won both the Judges' Award and Audience Award for her film The Guarantee.  Congratulations, Jesse!

And we hope to see many of Saturday night's new audience members back for more short comedy films when we reconvene on January 8th for the next Iron Mule screening!

Notes from our November 6th screening

Welcome, intrepid Iron Mule followers!  Despite a few technical difficulties, the show did in fact go on last Saturday night, as hosts Jay Stern and Victor Varnado led an enthusiastic crowd through yet another fun-filled evening of short comedy films that at least one audience member described as, "intimate."  We're taking that as a compliment.

Running the show from a jerry-rigged laptop, Jay shared the trailer to his currently-developing feature film, "The Adventures of Paul and Marian," a romantic comedy musical adventure (if you missed the show, you can catch the trailer here).  Then, due to a last-minute cancellation, Jay & Victor solicitated material from the audience, to fill the time left by the missing film.  Unfortunately, nobody had come prepared!  Note to filmmakers: always bring a reel with you when out on the town, as you never know when the hosts of whatever you're watching may ask for, say, a comedic film under 10 minutes.

Guest Judge Ioli Andreadi with Jay and Victor

Continuing the program in earnest, Aaron Hughes was back with another pixilated film, "Strangers," about flowers coming out of strange places and the perils of smoking.  Aaron and frequent star Maori (previously of "Maori's Morning") talked a little bit about the process of shooting one of these curious films and how to make a person appear to fly out of screen.

interviewing Aaron and Maori

Jay then introduced a block of "Foreign" films; one from Romania, one from France, and one from a Seattle ex-pat.  "The Scream," from returning Romanian filmmaker Mirel Bran, features some unusual lessons about love and outdoor defecation.  From the acclaimed animation school in Paris, Gobelins l'Ecole de l'Image, we presented Oktapodi, a high-paced romp through an idealised Greek town following two octapi on the run from a hatchet-wielding butcher.  And rounding out the block, Iron Mule regular Dale Goodson presented the latest in his Man Without Shirt series, "Hangs Too Much."

with Dale Goodson

Checking in with the evening's special guest judge, Ioli Andreadi, a London theater director and native of Greece, she informed us that the town depicted in Oktapodi must be a very rich place because all the houses had swimming pools.  Shows what we know; we thought all Greeks had pools.  But Ioli seemed to enjoy the movie anyway, and we moved on to our final block of the night.

Starting us off was "Stages of Emily," written by and starring Danielle Uhlarik and directed by James C. Newell, from Chicago.  The story follows a newly-engaged woman who believes she has only 48 hours to live.  The filmmakers pull quite a few laughs out of this dark story of mortal wedding anxiety, thanks in no small part to a strong cast of Chicago stand-ups and improvisers.  And our last film in competition was, "Tombstoned," an SVA student thesis film by Dillon McCarthy.  The partially-animated sci-fi film follows three slacker astronauts who attempt a stoned moon landing.

Dillon McCarthy

But before the night is through, an Iron Mule show wouldn't be complete without this month's Wanna Be A Star? film (for more details, visit our website).  This month's retro-awesome entry was entitled "Secret Sunshine" and starred audience member Paula McDonald as a renegade lone-wolf secret agent named Sunshine.  Director Andy Brown and star Paula were on hand to talk about the concept of the film, shooting action scenes on the fly, and the original theme song that played over the end credits.  Stop by next month to see what director Gabriella Willenz can make out of the title, "Peanut Factory," starring lucky audience member, Meredith Flood.

Paula McDonald and Aaron Hughes

After all the ballots were counted, our Audience Award winner for the evening was "Oktapodi," and our Judges' Award winner was "Stages of Emily!"  Congrats to our winners, we're sorry the filmmakers couldn't attend the screening and receive all the accolades and free drinks coming to them.

And that's it for us this month, but join us on Dec. 4th at the 92YTribeca for a special holiday show featuring the return of "White Blood Cell Saves Christmas," a special 8-minute edit of every version of A Christmas Carol imaginable, new films by Dale Goodson and Jesse Epstein, and new episodes of Iron Mule faves Old People News and Broad City!

Notes From Our Oct. 2nd Screening

This last Saturday, Iron Mule made a triumphant return from our two-month hiatus with a gaggle of new short comedy films and all the hijinx you've come to expect.

Except one. Held over in LA due to an extended shooting schedule, regular host Victor Varnado was sadly absent from the evening. Fellow producer Lin Sorensen attempted to fill Victor's considerable hosting shoes, and while some may debate the merits of their respective styles, there's no denying Lin was taller.

Thankfully, host Jay Stern was present to provide the audience with some much-needed continuity, and the show began, in honor of Halloween, with a trailer for Jay's upcoming haunted house feature, "Spirit Cabinet." Producer/cinematographer Alan Smith and producer/writer Meg Sweeney Lawless were also on hand to witness the trailer's world premiere, and while it wasn't as funny as the films that came after it, it was certainly spookier. Stay tuned for more Spirit Cabinet updates as the team comes around the last bend of post-production and hopes to bring the finished product to a screen near you.

Our first film of the night, a pilot for Adult Swim entitled "Wunderkrafthaus," was put together by many of the folks who brought you the Mighty Five video, Check This Out! which premiered at our July 3rd show. As the creators Doug Olsen, Derek Muro and Patrick Groneman explained afterward, although the show originated with characters they portrayed, they were required to cast other actors in the roles. However, when the director went AWOL, they finished the shoot themselves, thereby regaining control of the project from the other side of the camera. The show follows the titular German art collective as they try to make the most of a mistyped ad describing them as "The Wunderkrafthaus of Pancakes."

The next block of films featured two documentaries, one real and one fictional. The first, "Wet Dreams and False Images," about the denizens of a Brooklyn barbershop who discover that the pictures on their "Wall of Beauty" are not as "natural" as they think, is part of a series of short documentaries about body image by director Jesse Epstein. The second, "Los Four McNifikos," from Spain, follows an aging breakdancing troupe as they struggle to keep the dream alive. Hosts Jay & Lin did a tag-team interview with Jesse and "McNifikos" co-writer Michael Dukes about making documentaries funny, their respective methods of engaging the audience, and the quirks of international collaboration. (Special thanks to Michael for flying in from Cincinnati for the show!)

Rounding out the evening, our last set of films showcased three very different kinds of animation. Continuing the wildly popular internet series (and oft-played Iron Mule favorite), Eun-Ha Paek and Erin Bradley Perkins returned with "Strindberg & Helium: At the Beach." This was followed by our second animated film from Argentina this year, "El Empleo," which follows a day in the life of an office worker and may hit a little close to home for those with day jobs. We finished the films in competition with the latest animation by Iron Mule regular Dale Goodson, a music video entitled, "Little Ghost." Dale was on hand to discuss the origins of the film, which is part of a series of videos aimed at toddlers and featuring music by Chris Ballew, formerly of the band Presidents of the United States of America and now performing children's music as Caspar Babypants.

But it wouldn't be an Iron Mule show without the famed "Wanna Be A Star?" competition, and tonight was no exception. Every month, our helpful audience shouts out a title for a short film, and an audience member is selected at random to star in the aforementioned film, to be produced for the next month's show. October's star was Orla Murphy and she was featured in Ant Farm, directed by Aaron Hughes, whose film "Backwards" won the Judges' Award at our June 5th show. The film was shot in Aaron's "pixilated" style, a kind of stop-motion cinematography that was also used in last month's, "Maori's Morning." Check back next month when audience member Paula McDonald will star in "Secret Sunshine," to be directed by Andy Brown.

And after an audience drumroll, the winners of the evening were announced. Jesse Epstein was the big winner of the night, taking both the Audience Award and Judges' Award for "Wet Dreams and False Images." Congratulations Jesse, and thanks to everyone for making us a part of your October weekend. Join us on Nov. 6th for more short comedy films, more raucous after parties, and more Victor Varnado.

Notes from our August 7th Screening

A full house of filmmakers and film fans gathered at 92YTribeca on Saturday night for a new Iron Mule lineup.

Jay and Victor, freshly returned from the Woods Hole Film Festival, told a story about being mistaken for a married couple when they were presenting films out on Cape Cod.

Well they do wear matching outfits, but as Victor pointed out, the two of them are not nearly stylish enough to be considered a gay couple.

Next Jay and Victor brought up guest host Geoff Klock.  Geoff is a writer, professor, and all around culture fan who has written a book about superhero comics, and another one about poetry.  He expressed his excitement for the evening ahead, and then it was on to the films.

Geoff Klock

The first film in the lineup was Lost at Sea, by Adam Beamer and Dan Samiljan, a daffy look at a film shoot spiraling out of control.  Next was Dale Goodson's Warning, the latest installment in his Man Without Shirt series.  Jay and Victor interviewed Dale about his work, poetry, filmmaking, and animation.

Dale Goodson

Next in the lineup was Jean-Christophe Lie's animated mini-masterpiece, The Man in the Blue Gordini.  This film was from France, which explains its incredible use of style.  And all the nudity.

Following this was Andy Brown's adaptation of an Anton Chekhov short story, the dark and beautifully done A Joke.  After Andy's movie, Jay and Victor spoke with him about adapting the short story (to use voice over or not; differences in Russian and American attitudes, etc).  Also, they talked about the difficulty of classifying this work as a comedy.  The verdict was that it is, although Andy had doubts about submitting it to a comedy film festival.

Jay, Victor, and Andy Brown

The next block of films featured Alex Italics' A Ballpoint Story, some Canadian animation courtesy of Christopher Diaz's The Inkwell Shuffle, and Daniel Wright's animated adaptation of material from his book Patently Silly, Nuclear Attack.  Daniel talked about his website, and whether or not inventors are happy with what he's doing (they are).

Jay, Victor, and Daniel Wright

The final block of films in competition included Aaron Hughes' live action / animated film Maori's Morning, followed by Taco Mary, Mary Novak's film about an atheist who sees the Virgin Mary in a taco, and must decide what to do about it.  Mary came all the way from Chicago to attend the screening, and talked to us about how the film came out of the experience of being a Catholic married to an atheist.

Mary Novak, Victor, and Jay

The final movie of the night was the world premiere of this month's "Wanna Be a Star film," The Sisterhood, directed by Susan Hippen, and starring audience member (and legendary actor) Arthur Anderson.  The film also starred Lynn Rogers.  This wasn't their first Iron Mule experience; they appeared on screen together in Old People News back in January, 2009.  Susan had a great time working with such seasoned professionals, and the feeling was mutual.

Next, guest judge Geoff Klock announced the winners: the audience favorite went to The Man in the Blue Gordini, and the judges' favorite went to A Joke.  Then it was off to the cafe for an after party, which, as usual, stretched into the wee hours of the morning.

We're taking September off, but join us for more Iron Mule fun this October!