The Big Hello
Welcome to the second installment of the newsletter. Hopefully you found the first one to be worth a damn. Here's what's the latest and greatest on CHUD Main:
Dave Davis and Devin Faraci have trekked over to Las Vegas to hang out with Zak Penn on the set of his new film THE GRAND. While they were there they chatted up the likes of Werner Herzon, Woody Harrelson, Brett Ratner, and the director himself. I don't know how much is on the record, but expect greatness. Apparently, Mr. Davis may have gotten himself a cameo in the thing, which will prepare him for his role as the Warlock in CHUD.com's own 11 COLONELS ATTACK! After that, they immediately took off to San Diego for the Comic Con. Next week's newsletter ought to be chock full o' nuts. After that, Dave will fly home to Beantown while Devin stays on the West Coast for some Autobot mayhem and a look at the latest Guillermo del Toro masterpiece, PAN'S LAYRINTH. My review of that film will be on the site before the next newsletter.
Meanwhile, I'm in Alpharetta, Georgia. In the sweltering heat with no fancy celebrities around except Fred Tokars.
RETURN OF THE KING DIAMOND
My big announcement this week is that I'm rejoining the forces of CHUD.com full time again starting with last night. I'm back in the saddle again, hopefully for the better. Already, you'll notice a ton of content (mostly me putting up all the bad ass stuff other people have done, but still) as well as a new rotating headline on the front page. By the time you read this it should be in the 2.0 stage of design and much sexier. In addition to my joining the fold again, I must direct you to the first two minutes of the 12 minute Pitch/EPK for the CHUD.com comedy 11 COLONELS ATTACK! Our goal is to find an investor in the near future so we can have this thing done by next summer. Here's hoping. To see the teaser, follow the link below.
http://www.chud.com/news/7137
WHERE'S ROJ AND DWAYNE?
Additionally, since this site has been around longer than some schoolchildren have been alive, we're going to be re-syndicating old classic stuff like interviews, editorials, and whatever fun stuff that comes our way. We banished all the stuff from 2000 and older in one of our many server purges but there's six years of stuff to comb through. Here's the first three CHUD Rerun articles:
Smilin' Jack interviews Vilmos Zsigmond
http://www.chud.com/interviews/7193
My first article on September 12, 2001
http://www.chud.com/news/7192
In time for Clerks II, my Kevin Smith 'Jersey Girl' interview
http://www.chud.com/interviews/7183
MEG UPDATE
It's been pretty quiet on the giant shark front, hasn't it? Too quiet. Eerie, even. I can't spill any beans right now, but I'm getting some beans together and close at hand in case I start feeling clumsy. I'll just say this: I have fond hopes for 2008's summer season. On a sad note, one of Steve Alten's biggest fans and a big online supporter of the film was in a very serious car accident. Cross your fingers for her.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450459/board/thread/48292690 - Steve Alten's message (Note from Jason: You'll have to be an IMDB subscriber to view.)
-Nick Nunziata
CHUD.COM
Devin and Dave are out at the Comic Con, but Nick and the crew pick up the slack!
THE SPECIAL EDITION
Welcome!
I suppose I'm jumping in on this train a little late. How very hobohemian of me ( - I even have the painted scary frown face!). Besides "get away from me," the second most common phrase uttered to my deteriorating ears is "what DVD can you recommend?." It's asked a lot, and not just by my mother and her friends. My sponsor asks as well. So I figured this Newsletter serves as good a place as any to resurrect a tiny feature I did a while ago called, rather wobbly, The Forgotten Spotlight (which will surely forgo a name scrub). Its genesis will remain the same - a weekly place to recommend something that has gone unnoticed, regulated to other parts of the shelf to make way for the shiny new releases for the public's ADD.
But that's not all. There could even be a lopsided discussion about the pertinent DVD issues of our day. HD-DVD and Blu-Ray have both detonated in stores and mostly word has been mum, unless you're nouveau riche. That was to be expected as the Studios haven't been releasing the more powerful titles, ones that really fire up the movie lover in all of us (you know, like Caligula. Or Miguel Ferrer's Blank Check). As consumers (bear with me on another analogy) I feel like we're Keanu Reeves on Jan de Bont's Bus, figuring out which technologically advanced system will thwart Dennis Hopper. In reality, both are still semi-astronomical and the coming months/years will show just which freeway we'll have to jump over when venturing into the future. Being poor and destitute I am without either, but the bank I rob next week will work quite nicely with upcoming plans.
Let's go back to the original caveat I wanted to discuss - that of recommendations. In terms of quality through 2006, it's been somewhat interesting. Peaks and Valleys (as in Russ Meyer and Jacqueline Susann). I have been telling people to check out these discs, all of which have set a fire in my loins that would cause even a Specialist to blush.
The John Wayne/John Ford Collection (without a doubt a necessity for all)
The Complete Mr. Arkadin: Criterion Collection
Warner Bros. Tough Guy Collection
Cemetery Man
Munich: Limited Edition (if you're lucky to get your hands on it)
Kingdom of Heaven: 4-Disc Director's Cut
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
Dirty Dozen: Special Edition
Plus, on the horizon I'm Fosse jazzed about The James Stewart Signature Collection, V for Vendetta, Brick, Inside Man, The Last Mogul, Double Indemnity's Legacy Series, This Island Earth, Arrested Development: Season Three, and White Nights: Special Edition. Oops, I meant Trilogy of Terror: Special Edition. You probably already knew they're coming if you read The Special Edition anyway.
Meanwhile, feel free to e-mail me ( chud.special.edition@gmail.com) your own recommendations and we'll see if we can't start something.
-Newell Todd
CREATURE CORNER
Things are heating up!
11 COLONELS ATTACK!
They tease you!
This week, Nick and crew unveiled an 11CA! tease on the CHUD.com main page for all Chewers to see. If you're remotely curious to know a little more about what 11 Colonels Attack! is all about, you'll want to take the time to download and watch the video. If you could care less, watch it anyway. This thing needs all the eyes it can get. Spread the word or else we'll send Compost Larry to spoon you while you sleep. (Jason P. Thompson)
Check the video out by following this link: http://www.chud.com/news/7137
Please visit the 11 Colonels MySpace page well as my brand new one at these locations:
http://www.myspace.com/11colonels
http://www.myspace.com/nicknunziata
|