EXCLUSIVE: BIRDEMIC DIRECTOR ON PUBLIC ACCESS TV

03.23.10 Written by Vince Mancini

The folks behind the release of Birdemic: Shock and Terror were kind enough to provide us with this exclusive clip of Birdemic director James Nguyen’s appearance on a Bay Area public access show.  It’s a little slower than our normal guy-getting-hit-in-the-crotch-with-fish videos, but mother of God, it’s like a Tim & Eric sketch come to life.  Nguyen’s awkwardness and Bonnie Steiger’s I’m-talking-to-a-two-year-old-right-now style are a match made in heavan.  Some of the highlights:

(2:10) Bonnie Steiger: You call yourself a romantic thriller filmmaker.
James Nguyen: Birdemic is very much a romantic thriller.  The first 30 minutes is very romantic, there’s a lot of foreshadowing, a lot of of what’s yet to come.  Very foreboding.

(3:07) James Nguyen: The American Humane Society contact me after they watch the trailer, and they asked me, ‘Were there any birds harmed during production in any way?”  And I told them, that even though the dark bird looked pretty real, they were all digital character.
Bonnie Steiger: But that’s almost a compliment to your filmmaking skill for them to even ask you that.

(3:47) James Nguyen: What Birdemic has is a great storyline: there’s two questions, okay? One, why did the dark birds attack?  And second, will the two protagonists, will they live or die?

It’s important to keep in mind that they’re still talking about Birdemic, and that by “foreshadowing” he must mean “really long shots of nothing in particular where nothing much happens.”  And that by ” look pretty real,” he meant this.   Chodin famously got to review the movie when it came to L.A., and if you live in the NYC area, you’re in luck, because there’s a midnight showing this Friday at the IFC Center and tickets are still available.  If you’re anything like me, you don’t want to miss the movie that Chodin called, “Like taking an egg yolk sh*t in a pair of scuba goggles and then wearing it around for an hour and a half.”

JamesNguyen-MovieCLoseup BirdemicCap2 BirdemicCap3

29 Comments TAGS: , ,

BIRDEMIC: SHOCK AND TERROR – CHODIN’S REVIEW

03.11.10 Written by chodin

flip-birdemic

A bird for a bird. Well played ‘Birdemic’, well played.

*stands up, clears throat, wipes sweat from brow*

Hello everybody, my name is Chodin…and I….I’ve seen Birdemic: Shock and Terror.

Phew, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I think it should suffice to say that I’m an expert when it comes to watching movies about renegade birds that sh-t fireballs. That said, I’d like you all to know that there are really only two appropriate environments in which one can experience Birdemic. The first would be from a hospital bed, as you lay there helplessly with a brain hemorrhage, waiting for the good Lord to finish you off. The second reasonable setting would be inside a cramped theater, fifteen minutes past midnight, while chugging 12 ounces of “movie reviewing juice” from a Tecate Light can. I, my friends, have taken the latter.

I came, I saw and then I came again, during what quite possibly may have been the most absurd, yet enjoyable, screening of my having-been-to-so-few-screenings career. Like a movie night for the patients of Shutter Island, the screening for Birdemic: Shock and Terror was a god—mn madhouse. The entire night my eyes darted back and forth between the unruly audience and the theater ushers, just waiting for one of them to give me the go ahead nod to start cutting up the seats. I mean, f—k me running, I had no idea, NO IDEA, of the emotions that Birdemic could cattle prod from its audience. Werewolves we were, every last one of us.
Read the rest of this entry »

33 Comments TAGS: , , , , ,

DROP EVERYTHING NOW: THE BIRDEMIC IS HERE

02.22.10 Written by Vince Mancini

Birdemic:Shock and Terror is currently touring theaters across the country with screenings hosted by Tim and Eric in support of the release, and Bobby Hacker just sent over the latest trailer.  I thought about waiting until Monday to post it like I normally would, but then I thought, would the dude who invented the polio vaccine have let all those cripple kids just keep limping around until it was convenient for him?  Of course not.  Dude would’ve rolled in on a throne carried by naked sluts and started healing kids with his pimp cane like Jesus.   And that’s what this Birdemic trailer is like.  After you watch it, you’ll never be the same.  It’ll be as if you lived your entire life prior to this moment with polio, and now you can walk.  Nay, fly.  On the wings of a killer bird.

This trailer just melted my face off and skull effed the puddle.

35 Comments TAGS: , , , , ,

HOLY CRAP, BIRDEMIC GETS THEATRICAL RELEASE

02.05.10 Written by Vince Mancini

Birdemic-Birdpocalypse

Back in July, I posted a trailer for Birdemic, from writer/director James Nguyen, a movie that arguably looks stranger than After Last Season.  My original description of the trailer:

It begins with more than a full minute of completely actionless landscape shots set to unmixed audio from the camera mic.  Uh, dude?  Those shouldn’t be in the movie, let alone the trailer.  But just when you’re like, “Hey, where’s the birdpocalypse I was promised?”  You hit the 1:08 mark and BOOM!  THERE’S THE F*CKING BIRDPOCALYPSE!

In short, it looks like something that was made by an autistic high school student, which was enough to capture the interest of me and countless other internet trolls.  Now, as a result, THR reports that Severin has bought the distribution rights, describing it as a “romantic thriller”, with plans for a theatrical release later this year.

The film revolves around a young couple trapped in a small Northern California town under siege by homicidal birds. Paying homage to Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” “Birdemic” includes an appearance by “Birds” star Tippi Hedren.

Between this guy, William Hung, and After Last Season, it truly is a good time to be a clueless Asian.  But I don’t begrudge them their ironic success.  I’m all for it.  I’ll even go see this in a theater for the kitsch value.  Just as long as we can all stop pretending Bob Saget is funny.  Deal?
Read the rest of this entry »

27 Comments TAGS: , ,

BEWARE THE BIRDPOCALYPSE!!!!

07.23.09 Written by Vince Mancini

This is the trailer for the awesomely-named Birdemic, a direct-to-DVD thriller from director James Nguyen.  It begins with more than a full minute of completely actionless landscape shots set to unmixed audio from the camera mic.  Uh, dude?  Those shouldn’t be in the movie, let alone the trailer.  But just when you’re like, “Hey, where’s the birdpocalypse I was promised?”  You hit the 1:08 mark and BOOM!  THERE’S THE F*CKING BIRDPOCALYPSE!  That is easily the best CGI I’ve ever seen. It reminds me of those tales I heard about Michael Bay as a child, when he discovered you can make seagulls explode by feeding them Alka-Seltzer.  All you have to do is wrap the tablets in C4 and rig them with a remote detonator.

[via QuietEarth]

46 Comments TAGS: , , ,

[avatar]
Welcome to Film Drunk.
| Register
Follow Us