friday, June 02, 2000

Michael Peterson from Jeff Dowd’s office called and said that they’d have to pass on Rock Opera. He said that he liked a lot of it, but that it would be hard to sell due to the content.

Wednesday, July 5, 2000

Jeff Ross from the San Francisco Indie Fest sent me the Variety review of Rock Opera:

ROCK OPERA

A CrashCam CineProduction presentation, Produced by Barna Kantor, Executive producers Bob Ray, Nicole Ray, Co-executive producers Kantor, Tamas Kovacs, Kurtis D. Machler, Victor Soars. Directed, written, edited by Bob Ray, Camera (color, 16mm) Jackson W. Saunders, art director Tony Linder, music, sound Kurtis D. Machler, assistant director, A.C. Gonzo, additional editors Shannon Valderas, Viet Nguyen, Scott Rhodes. Reviewed at San Francisco Independent Film Festival, Jan. 12, 2000. Running time 90

MIN. With Jerry Don Clark, Ted Jarrell, Chad Holt, Paul Wright, Luis Olmeda, Rob Gasper, Mike Guihan, Bob Ray.

By Dennis Harvey

Not all of the characters in Richard Linklater’s seminal "Slacker" 10 years ago were stoned, or male. But if they’d been both, the results might have turned out rather like "Rock Opera," another indie ensemble piece set in and around Austin. Too tense and violent at times to rate as 100% comedy, "Rock Opera" is nonetheless solid midnight-movie fare — especially for venues throughout Texas. At its S.F. Indie Fest showing, the vid-projected feature had not yet been finished on film.

The nominal lead is one Toe (Jerry Don Clark), a sandy-haired, goateed slacker type who — like all his friends — is twentysomething, has aspirations as a musician (in the band PigPoke), and is perennially desperately short on money. He unwisely decides to try selling dope when his own supplier is backlogged with orders. This puts him in debt with the older, hard-line Jarvis (Paul Wright). Toe’s third mistake is getting (voluntarily) buckshot full of animal tranquilizers. Twenty-four hours later he wakes up by the side of a rural road, his payback cash missing. Enraged, Jarvis sends him on a courier mission to Del Rio, where his two anticipated contacts

Scurrying back home, certain that his goose is cooked, Toe draws enemies like a magnet. Also re-turning — from a miserable, aborted "tour" with their band Witchbanger — his housemates arrive just in time to suffer an armed "Straw Dogs" —type ambush from various angry drug lords.

With its amiably profane dialogue ("dude" is the one recurrent four-letter word we can repeat here) and near-plotless progress, "Rock Opera" is often funny. But it’s also depressing and harrowing at times as hapless Toe finds himself in ever-greater peril. That all this is no doubt intended as a shaggy-dog joke doesn’t necessarily reduce its occasional unpleasantness. Paranoiacs, stoned or not, may find "Rock Opera" all too believable.

Others will be amused by the feature’s large scroll of Cheech & Chong-type loser characters and by the constant input from assaultive noise-rockers both live and soundtracked. (Sorry, no real opera is heard.) As writer, director and editor (as well as bit player), Austinite Bob Ray acquits himself well, even if this extremely druggy humor won’t be for all audiences. Tech aspects are appropriately rough-hewn, with a first shot after opening credits — from the p.o.v. of a loaded bong setting the desired tone.

Tuesday, July 18, 2000

Here’s the latest press release:

"The funniest celebration of unrepentant drug ingestion since Cheech & Chong’s Up In Smoke, Rock

Opera has 'cult hit' scribbled all over it. Low budget, fuck it all filmmaking at it’s best. One of the year's great finds." --San Francisco Independent Film Festival program notes

We’ll be all over the place in the next few months, so if ya know someone in any of the cities that we’ll screen in then please forward this email to them.

Rock Opera screenings

• Rock Opera to screen in THE LOST FILM FESTIVAL in Philadelphia on July 31^st
• Rock Opera in CHICAGO UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL in mid August
• Rock Opera screening in Dallas as part of Fringe Media in September
• San Antonio screening in the fall?

Miscellaneous Rock Opera related stuff

• Bob Ray interview from the Cannes Film Festival on BijouCafe.com
• ROCK OPERA media on Throttle Box and InSound.com
• Voltage mini-tour to Sleazefest and back
• Rock Opera mob at the Vegas Shakedown
• Nashville Pussy spots shot by Bob Ray airing on MTV-2

"Genuinely warped…scathingly hilarious…a spot-on quasi-parody of the day-to-day existence of

struggling Austin musicians and their wayward ways." -- Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle

Rock Opera screenings

Rock Opera in THE LOST FILM FESTIVAL in Philadelphia

The rock and roll stoner contingent will be represented at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia this July. George W. Bush won’t be the only one from Austin, Texas making a stir in Philly as the critically acclaimed underground rock and roll stoner thriller Rock Opera rears its ugly head amidst the stuffed shirts of the republican party. "I can’t let this G.W. Bush guy go around giving us Austinites a bad name." says writer-director Bob Ray, who plans to witness the spectacle in person. Rock Opera will screen at midnight on Monday, July 31^st at the Plays and Players Theater. The super-fine Austin-shot rock and roll horror short "The Collegians Are Go!!" will precede Rock Opera.

Lost Film Festival 4.0 (Un-CONventional) July 30 - August 4 (during the Republican National CONvention) Philadelphia PA. They have their festival, we have ours.

For more information call The Lost Film Festival at: (215) 662-0397 or visit their site at http://www.lostfilmfest.com/

Check out the Rock Opera site: http://lonestar.texas.net/~crashcam

"Bloody funny. If you're not easily offended, this definitely should be somewhere near the top of

your to-view list." --Grant Tait, Austin 360

Rock Opera in CHICAGO UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL

The King of the Underground Film Festivals, The Chicago Underground Film Festival will be screening Rock Opera. The screening dates and times are Saturday August 19 at 8:00 PM and Monday August 21 at 10:30 PM. Check out http://www.cuff.org/ for more info.

Come hang with writer-director Bob Ray, Executive Producer Nicole Ray, lead actor Jerry Don Clark, Sound Designer Kurtis D. Machler, Voltage guitarist Joe Emerick, and friends of Rock Opera from the NoDance.com Film Festival Jim Boyd and Will Hartman and company.

On Saturday, August 19^th, the fine folks over at InSound.com will be throwing a party. The fest will feature a world premiere screening of a film shot in New York, Chicago and Austin. The film will be screened with live improvised musical accompaniment by musicians from the respective cities (including Austin’s Kurtis D. Machler). The filmmakers are, from NYC: Michael Galinsky, from Chicago: Gene Booth, and from Austin: Bob Ray. Suki Hawley will edit the footage together.

Go to the Chicago Underground Film Festival page for more information: http://cuff.org/

Check out the Rock Opera site: http://lonestar.texas.net/~crashcam

"Tense, violent and funny, Rock Opera is solid midnight movie fare." --Variety

Fringe Media in Dallas will be screening Rock Opera

Fringe Media is merging common interests under one roof to expose convention goers to a wide range of things that are all of interest to them. There will be lots of ART, MUSIC, FILMS, CONCERT, DEALERS TABLES, and CELEBRITIES mostly all related to horror or fringe media in general.

Already confirmed to make an appearance is DEBBIE ROCHON, along with director, JOHN KEEYES, and the cast of her upcoming movie AMERICAN NIGHTMARE. Debbie has acted in movies such as TROMEO AND JULIET, ABDUCTED 2, TERROR FIMER, and over 40 others. She is also the author of the B-movie Survival Guide.

Other guests that are confirmed are writer PAUL T. RIDDELL (sci-fi magazine, film threat, etc) and underground cartoonist MACK WHITE. Our Guest of honor will be Lloyd Kaufman from TROMA, director of THE TOXIC AVENGER, CLASS OF NUKE em HIGH, etc. Lloyd will be screening one of his movies and having a Q&A with the audience.

Also attending will be BOB RAY, Austin director of the stoner/punk-rock caper feature film ROCK OPERA, which will be screening in the movie side of the convention along with RETURN TO INNSMOUTH directed by AARON VANEK and more movies to be confirmed soon.

Bands confirmed for the nighttime concert is GHOULTOWN from Dallas, DEATH BECOMES YOU (horror punk from Florida), The STAGGERS (formerly Riot Squad) and the gothic horror lounge act THE NECRO-TONZ. There will be more bands announced later.

If you have ideas or want any information on any part of the convention/festival, want to reserve booth space, or need to know about the sponsorship opportunities, or if you have ANY questions e-mail us at- Contact: Justin Powers at mailto:jpowers@cotwr.comCOTWR–1760 Gross Rd. Dallas. TX 75228

http://www.cotwr.com/

Fringe Media 2000 has a new home for the convention/festival that is the first of its kind. Fringe Media 2000 will be held at 721 Exposition in Fair Park in Dallas, TX Saturday September 30^th.

Check out the Rock Opera site: http://lonestar.texas.net/~crashcam

San Antonio screening in the fall?

We’re working on it.

Check out the Rock Opera site: http://lonestar.texas.net/~crashcam

Miscellaneous Rock Opera related stuff

Cannes Interview w/ Bob

BijouCafe.com interviews Rock Opera’s writer-director at the NoDance.com Film and Multimedia Fest in Cannes, France.

http://www.bijoucafe.com/

Check out the Rock Opera site: http://lonestar.texas.net/~crashcam

"Hilarious and groovy." --FileThirteen.com

ROCK OPERA media on Throttle Box

ROCK OPERA is the comedic tale of Austin musician Toe's struggles to put together a tour for his band. Through selling dirt weed, stabbing people in the back, and double-crossing half a dozen of the meanest SOB's in Texas, Toe puts himself in a position to achieve his dreams. An original film by writer-director Bob Ray.

Download the trailer: http://www.throttlebox.com/NL/NL?VideoName=rockoptr.box

You can also get the documentary "The Making of Rock Opera" Download it: http://www.throttlebox.com/NL/NL?VideoName=rockopmk.box

...and, from the movie soundtrack, the video of "Who Is My Shman" by Austin underground punk band the Fuckemos: Download it: http://www.throttlebox.com/NL/NL?VideoName=rockopfk.box

There’s also some good stuff at http://www.insound.com/

Check out the Rock Opera site: http://lonestar.texas.net/~crashcam

"Rock Opera possesses that delicious sense of the absurd for which so many indie films strive but

very few achieve." --SXSW program notes

Voltage Tour to New Orleans, Sleazefest in Chapel Hill and Atlanta

Voltage (featuring Rock Opera’s sound designer and actor Kurtis (Burtis) D. Machler and contributor of two fine tunes on the Rock Opera Soundtrack) will be hitting the road for a mini-tour. The first stop is in New Orleans on August 3^rd. Then it’s onto Sleazefest where they’ll play on Friday the 4^th. After that, it’s down to Atlanta for a show on Saturday the 5^th. Bob Ray will be touring with the band, shooting footage for the upcoming Voltage documentary.

http://www.sleazefest.com/

Check out the Rock Opera site: http://lonestar.texas.net/~crashcam

"A hysterically funny slacker caper movie." —Jerry Renshaw, The Austin Chronicle

Vegas Shakedown

Several key personnel from the Rock Opera mob will be attending the Vegas Shakedown, including Bob Ray, Nicole Ray, Corri Hubbard, Shannon Valderas, Tony Linder, Mike Guihan, Beth Sams and Nashville Pussy.

http://www.vegasshakedown.org/

Check out the Rock Opera site: http://lonestar.texas.net/~crashcam

"If every pot user goes to see Rock Opera, I think you’ll have a hit on your hands." --Richard Linklater

Nashville Pussy spots shot by Bob Ray airing on MTV-2

M2 (MTV’s cooler sister channel) is airing several promotional spots on Nashville Pussy. The footage was shot in Austin, Texas during the South by Southwest Music Festival in March. Rock Opera’s Bob Ray shot all of the live footage and (with the aid of Jerry Don Clark and James Crowley) interviewed the band.

Check out the Rock Opera site: http://lonestar.texas.net/~crashcam

Check out what else the critics are saying about Rock Opera:

"Rock Opera could very well be the consummate SXSW film. Never before has the underground Austin music scene been brought to such glorious, pot-reeking life. Rock Opera could very well be the next Austin film to inherit the low-budget crown worn by Slacker and El Mariachi."

"…a hysterically funny slacker caper movie filled with a stale-beer Austin-underbelly ambiance of pawnshops, shabby apartments, and punk rock bars (trombone slingers the Fuckemos do a song of which Sousa would not have approved), all traveled by our hapless reefer-befogged hero Toe. Like Slacker, its locations and attitude are all very familiar to us Austin denizens, but its plot twists, characters, and direction should carry it well past the Travis County line."

—Jerry Renshaw, The Austin Chronicle

"Drugs, rock ’n’ roll and a brief nod to sex (toys). Violence, guns, foul language and deadbeat slacking. All take front stage. So it’s no real surprise that this flick is so bloody funny… If you’re not easily offended, this definitely should be somewhere near the top of your to-view list."

"At once sublimely accurate in its portrayal of the creepier end of the Austin music scene and scathingly hilarious, Ray’s film is a spot-on quasi-parody of the day-to-day existence of struggling Austin musicians and their wayward ways."

Thursday, July27, 2000

So I got an airline ticket to Philly so I can go check out the Lost Film Fest. My planned days of travel were to get there on the 30^th and depart for home on the 2^nd. So I go on Priceline.com to try and score some cheap tickets. I had never used Priceline and was skeptical but desperate. So, I got a ticket and for not a bad price. But the catch was the traveling times (and those of you who’ve used Priceline know that they go ahead and buy your ticket without letting you approve it first). I depart from San Antonio on the 30^th and arrive in Newark, New Jersey on the 31^st at 1AM. Then I get to walk over to the train station and wait until 5AM to catch the first train to Philly, arriving at around 7AM. My screening is at midnight that night. I’ll spend the night at a fellow filmmaker friend’s house (Patrick Hassan who made the feature film "Waiting" that screened in NoDance). So on Tuesday the 1^st, I guess I’ll check out the city and film fest. But that night (or more specifically, Tuesday morning) I’ll have to find a way to Trenton, NJ so at 3:30AM I can catch the train back to Newark. I should arrive in Newark with only a few hours to kill. The only good thing I can see coming from all this bullshit traveling is that I’ll fly back into San Antonio, where coincidentally, Nashville Pussy will be playing a show that night with the Tattoo the Earth tour.

I got the tape of the MTV2 spots I shot with Michael Galinsky in March during SXSW. They look pretty good. The two Mellissas made six Nashville Pussy spots. They put them on a tape so I could give a copy the band.

The day after I get back, I’ll leave for the Voltage where I’ll be filming it for the documentary that they have planned. That’ll be fun.

But what I’m really looking forward to is the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF). CUFF gave us the Saturday 8PM slot on opening weekend. How fucking cool is that? Next to an opening night slot, this is arguably the best slot in the fest. They freakin' rule.

Nicole will be coming with me and we’ll stay at her friend Carrie’s house. NoDance’s Jim Boyd, Will Hartman, and Ali are coming to the fest to raise some hell with us. Isn’t that cool? We’re gunna have a freakin' blast. Kurtis D. Machler is also planning on attending. Jerry talks about going too, but since he’s laying low in San Antonio, I kind of doubt that he’ll make it. Michael Galinsky’s coming down from NYC. The company that he’s working for InSound.com is one of the sponsors. InSound is having a party after the Rock Opera screening. Fun, fun, fun.

So remember a while back when I was talking about having Rock Opera screened at the Dobie Theater for a midnight run? Well, I called up Scott Dinger to see if he’d drop a good word on the Landmark folks for me. What I find out is that he’s pretty much burnt that bridge. Scott runs the Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and had been screening his flicks at the Dobie for several years (considering that he owned the Dobie for a long time it only makes since). So last year was the first time he had to rent the Dobie. Everything was fine. This year, however seemed problematic. The Dobie’s video projector had recently broke down and they had no intention of spending thousands of dollars in repairs. So Scott asks if they come down on the rental price, since he’ll have to shell out over $200 a day for projector rentals. Landmark won’t budge. Things escalate and the end on a sour note. I need a video projector to screen Rock Opera since the credit cards ran out before we could get a film print. And if the Dobie won’t get a projector for the fella that sold them the theater, you think they’ll get one for a film that "encourages bad behavior?" I doubt it. So I call Tim at the Alamo and we agree to do an anniversary screening with bands and all that in October.

Remember the three-part short film I was talking about making a while back? Well Tony Linder came up with a great name for it. Ready? "The Sore Foreskin of the Apocalypse" How sweet is that? The script is complete and the film is almost entirely cast and it looks like we’ll shoot in September.