The Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas kicked off last night in full swing with some bizarre opening night rituals, very appropriate for Fantastic Fest, and then the premiere screenings of Let Me In and Buried. Before the screenings began, Alamo Drafthouse co-founder Tim League officially opened the fest by coming out on stage in a suit and tie that seemed to be a bit too big for him. All was explained when he stripped it off to reveal a Norwegian Viking costume underneath and was joined on-stage by fellow costumed revelers as they hilariously danced around in honor of the Norwegian sidebar taking place at the fest. After their dance, Tim, still in costume, made everyone take the green blood oath by drinking their test tube of green what-I-hope-was-only-Kool-Aid that everyone was handed on the way in.
After the dance and green blood oath, Tim introduced onto the stage Matt Reeves, the director of Let Me In. Matt spoke for a bit before introducing his music director for the film, Michael Giacchino who had a special surprise for everyone. The Texas Boy’s Choir came onstage and with piano accompaniment, sang the film’s eerie soundtrack score. It was a sight to see.
The second film of the evening was Buried, directed by Rodrigo Cortes, and starring Ryan Reynolds. Tim showed off a bit of the footage from their unusual promotion of having four winners placed in wooden coffins to watch the movie on LCD monitors fixed to the lids. All four lucky ladies were at the screening and got a nice round of applause. After the screening, Cortes and Reynolds came onstage for a lively Q&A with the audience.
The evening ended with a very late night party at The Highball, a bowling alley/bar/dance club/very cool place to hang out that went into the wee hours of the morning.
Stay tuned for more photos, blogs and coverage from the Fantastic Fest all weekend.
Fandango Partner Relations Manager, has worked in the online content space for over ten years at MediaTrip.com, IFILM.com, and ReelzChannel.com. A member of the Producers Guild of America's New Media Division, John has produced and directed his own short films as well as numerous pieces of online vi
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