News

Supermodel Liliko has become one of Japan’s most recognizable faces, her face plastered over Tokyo in print and on television. To the general public, the star seems to have it all and is unstoppable as a super talent. However, there is a dark secret behind the model’s success, in the form of countless plastic surgeries, making her beauty entirely constructed. In order to deal with the pain of constant surgeries to upkeep her image, Liliko begins a drug fueled, downward spiral that puts her career at risk. The central focus of Liliko’s outbursts is aimed at her assistant Hana, whom along with her boyfriend, become tools for the model to vent her frustrations and fears.

Kyoko Okazaki is known for her rather simplistic art style, largely through her work as a fashion illustrator and this style gives some contradictory impressions of the quality of the manga.

Special Mention: Spirits Of The Dead (Histoires extraordinaires)

Written and directed by Federico Fellini (segment “Toby Dammit”), Louis Malle (segment “William Wilson”), Roger Vadim (segment “Metzengerstein”)

France, 1968

The first thing you should notice is the three directors: Federico Fellini, Louis Malle, and Roger Vadim. Secondly, take notice of the cast, which includes Brigitte Bardot, Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda, Alain Delon, Terence Stamp, Salvo Randone, James Robertson Justice, Françoise Prévost and Marlène Alexandre. Spirits Of The Dead is an adaptation of three Edgar Allan Poe stories, one of which demands to be seen.

The first segment of the film, Vadim’s “Metzgengerstein”, is unfortunately the least impressive, but is still great in its own right, and features a marvelous performance by Jane Fonda. Malle’s segment, which is the second of the three, turns Edgar Allan Poe’s 1839 story into an engrossing study in cruelty and sadism. This episode is an engaging enough entry,...

The line-up for this year's Film4 FrightFest in London has just been announced – and boy, is it a doozy! Sporting a record-breaking 38 UK/European premieres and 11 world premieres, this August is going to be an exciting time in the genre calendar.

Check it all out right here, including lots of new images!

This year Film4 FrightFest will be moving from its previous home at Leicester Square's Empire Cinema to the nearby Vue Cinema (also on Leicester Square), prompting an ingenious reshuffle of the screening arrangements.

All main screen films will be presented at different times across three different screens, with two extra screens reserved for single-slot screenings of the various films hitting this year's Discovery Screens.

Here's the full list of goodies:

Main Screens (5, 6, 7)

Thursday Aug 21

Opening Night Film - The Guest (UK Premiere)

Director: Adam Wingard. Cast: Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, Brendan Meyer, Sheila Kelley, Leland Orser. USA 2014. 99 mins.

Film4 FrightFest 2014, returning for its 15th year, unveils its biggest line-up ever. From Thurs 21 August to Monday 25 August, the UK’s leading event for genre fans will be at the Vue West End, Leicester Square, to present sixty-four films plus twenty shorts across five screens. There are sixteen countries representing five continents with a record-breaking thirty-eight UK or European premieres and eleven world premieres.

Are you ready for a monstrous and memorable mayhem of killer claws, cannibalism, cult classics, murderous musicals, chiller thrillers, graphic novel action and sick celluloid masterpieces? Then prepare yourself for the biggest, strongest and most eclectic must-see programme in Film4 FrightFest’s history.

From the opening night turbo-driven thrill-ride The Guest to the UK premiere of the closing night mesmeric sci-fi fantasy The Signal, FrightFest has netted the latest works from genre big-hitters such as Eli Roth (The Green Inferno), Alan Moore and Mitch Jenkins (Show...

The 18th annual Fantasia International Film Festival will be taking place once again in Montreal and the first wave of programming has been announced, revealing an eclectic mix of genre films from around the world:

“Montreal, June 19, 2014 – The 18th annual Fantasia International Film Festival is gearing up to take Montreal by storm with three weeks of inspiration and excitement starting July 17 until August 5, 2014. Our full 2014 lineup of programming and special events will be revealed shortly, but in the meantime, here’s an early First Wave Announcement of several selected highlights and info to whet your appetite.

Unveiling Our 2014 Poster Art: Fantasia Pays Tribute To Three Legendary Figures Of The Fantastic

On May 7 of last year, Ray Harryhausen, filmmaker and stop-motion special effects pioneer, passed away at the age of 92. Mr. Harryhausen created some of the most beloved and innovative fantastic film imagery of all time in such classics as The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad...

The grandaddy of all film fests, Fantasia 2014, is set to kick off on July 17th, and we have this year's artwork to share along with the first wave of event and film announcements.

From the Press Release:

The 18th annual Fantasia International Film Festival is gearing up to take Montreal by storm with three weeks of inspiration and excitement starting July 17 until August 5, 2014. Our full 2014 lineup of programming and special events will be revealed shortly, but in the meantime here’s an early First Wave Announcement of several selected highlights and info to whet your appetite.

For this year’s edition and onwards, Fantasia will be returning to the freshly renovated Concordia Hall Cinema as its main base, which now features an even larger screen, new seating, and upgraded projection and sound.

Unveiling Our 2014 Poster Art: Fantasia Pays Tribute To Three Legendary Figures Of The Fantastic

On May 7 of last year,...

It is that time of the year again in which we start preparing for our favourite film festival in the world. For the unfamiliar, Sound On Sight has delivered some of the best coverage of the Fantasia Film Festival since we first launched back in 2008. In the past we’ve published up to 55 reviews, dozens of features and recorded six podcasts dedicated entirely to the three and a half week long event. So be sure to come visit us again and again throughout the months of July and August, as we will surely be all over the 2014 edition. The 18th annual Fantasia International Film Festival is taking Montreal by storm, starting July 17 until August 5, 2014. They’ve just released their new poster and along with the first wave of films, and as expected, Fantasia’s programmers aren’t disappointing. Here’s the press release. Enjoy!

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Montreal, June 19, 2014 – The 18th annual Fantasia...

Every year, we here at Sound On Sight celebrate the month of October with 31 Days of Horror; and every year, I update the list of my favourite horror films ever made. Last year, I released a list that included 150 picks. This year, I’ll be upgrading the list, making minor alterations, changing the rankings, adding new entries, and possibly removing a few titles. I’ve also decided to publish each post backwards this time for one reason: the new additions appear lower on my list, whereas my top 50 haven’t changed much, except for maybe in ranking. I am including documentaries, short films and mini series, only as special mentions – along with a few features that can qualify as horror, but barely do.

Come Back Tonight To See My List Of The 200 Best!

****

Special Mention:

Wait until Dark

Directed by Terence Young

Written by Robert Carrington

USA, 1967

Directed by Terence Young,...

Throughout the month of October, Editor-in-Chief and resident Horror expert Ricky D, will be posting a list of his favorite Horror films of all time. The list will be posted in six parts. Click here to see every entry.

As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.

****

124: (Tie) Inside (À l’intérieur)

Directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury

Written by Alexandre Bustillo

2007, France

Four months after the death of her husband, a pregnant woman is tormented by a strange woman who invades her home with the intent on killing her and taking her unborn baby. This movie is not recommended for women on the brink of motherhood. Inside is one of the most vicious and...

Having been around for eighteen years, the Chicago Underground Film Festival has continually changed what it defines as “underground.”

So its 19th annual edition, which will be held on May 31 to June 7 at the Gene Siskel Film Center, feels like its most experimental edition in recent years.

While things kick off on the 31st with the Vice-produced anthology film The Fourth Dimension by Alexsei Fedorchenko, Harmony Korine and Jan Kwiecinski, the rest of the fest is packed with feature-length and short experimental work, documentaries and alternative narratives.

Some of the experimental feature highlights include the vastly prolific Robert Todd‘s Master Plan, which examines theories of modern housing from private residences to prisons; Australia’s two-person art collective Soda_Jerk’s epic rip on media piracy, Hollywood Burn; Michael Kosakowski’s compendium on murder fantasies, Zero Killing; L.A. filmmaker Daniel Martinico’s meditation on the acting process, Ok, Good...

DVD Playhouse—April 2012

By Allen Gardner

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Warner Bros.) An eleven year-old boy (newcomer Thomas Horn, in an incredible debut) discovers a mysterious key amongst the possessions of his late father (Tom Hanks) who perished in 9/11. Determined to find the lock it matches, the boy embarks on a Picaresque odyssey across New York City. Director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter Eric Roth have fashioned a film both grand and intimate, beautifully-adapted from Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel, thought by most who read it to be unfilmable. Fine support from Jeffrey Wright, Sandra Bullock, John Goodman, Viola Davis and the great Max von Sydow. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.

Battle Royale: The Complete Collection (Anchor Bay) Adapted from Koushun Takami’s polarizing novel (compared by champions and detractors alike as a 21st century version of A Clockwork Orange) and set in a futuristic Japan,...

The Terracotta Far East Film Festival is on in London through the weekend, presenting, as Electric Sheep notes in the introduction to its newish issue, "the UK premiere of Sion Sono's Himizu [review: John Bleasdale], using a comic to tackle the fallout from Fukushima." Es takes "a look at manga adaptations with Takashi Miike's stylized, violent high school movie Crows Zero [comic strip review: Joe Morgan] and Toshiya Fujita's 70s revenge tale Lady Snowblood: Blizzard from the Netherworld [review: Virginie Sélavy]."

Hiroyuki Okiura's A Letter to Momo, seven years in the making, opens in Japan next week after a run through the festival circuit and, in the Japan Times, Mark Schilling gives it four out of five stars: "Hayao Miyazaki is the obvious point of comparison, but unlike many of Miyazaki's more fanciful landscapes, Okiura's port is vividly, recognizably real — so much so that you can almost smell the salt in the water and feel the warmth of the stones.

2012 Tribeca Film Festival Announces Short Film Selections

The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by founding sponsor American Express, today announced its lineup of 60 short films, 26 of which are world premieres.

For the second year running, the recipient of the Tribeca Film Festival.s Best Narrative Short award will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules. The 2011 Tff Narrative Short Pentecost was nominated for Best Live Action Short at this year.s annual Academy Awards®, while last year.s award-winning Tff documentary short Incident in New Baghdad was nominated for Best Documentary Short.

Tff.s shorts programs chart a wide range of cultural perspectives and geographic coordinates. Drawn from more than 2,800 submissions, the 2012 roster represents 25 countries and territories, including Australia, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, France, Germany, Haiti, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan,...

HollywoodNews.com: The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by founding sponsor American Express, today announced its lineup of 60 short films, 26 of which are world premieres.

For the second year running, the recipient of the Tribeca Film Festival’s Best Narrative Short award will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules. The 2011 Tff Narrative Short Pentecost was nominated for Best Live Action Short at this year’s annual Academy Awards®, while last year?s award-winning Tff documentary short Incident in New Baghdad was nominated for Best Documentary Short.

Tff’s shorts programs chart a wide range of cultural perspectives and geographic coordinates. Drawn from more than 2,800 submissions, the 2012 roster represents 25 countries and territories, including Australia, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, France, Germany, Haiti, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Palestine, Puerto Rico,...

Sound On Sight will once again be covering the SXSW Film Festival this year, making it our second time attending. 130 feature films will screen at the Austin, Texas fest taking place March 9-17, including 65 World Premieres, 17 North American Premieres and 10 U.S. Premieres. As previously announced, Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods will have the honours of opening the festival, and now they have released the full list of films – and it’s looking pretty amazing. Enjoy!

Narrative Feature Competition

This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:

Booster

Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin

When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.

Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail (World Premiere)

Eden

Director: Megan Griffiths,...

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year's Festival, March 9 - 17, 2012 in Austin, Texas. We are also pleased to reveal the world premiere of Emmett Malloy's documentary Big Easy Express as our Closing Night Film, which follows a train ride unlike any other with Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show. Big Easy Express will screen on Saturday, March 17. The program will also include the world premiere of Columbia Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures' 21 Jump Street, screening in the Centerpiece slot on Monday, March 12. The 2012 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of celebrating ambitious experimentation with risk takers both in front of and behind the camera, and a deep immersion into cultural touchstones. The Midnighters feature section and the Short Film program will be announced on February 8.

"SXSW has long been a haven for bold...

Iggy Pop and Debbie Harry, shot by Bob Gruen in 1977

Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen

screens as part of 24 Beats per Second

SXSW Film has just announced its features lineup for the 2012 edition, running March 9 through 17. We already knew that the Opening Night Film would be Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods. For its Closing Night Film, the festival will host the world premiere of of Emmett Malloy’s documentary Big Easy Express (more below). The lineup, with descriptions from the festival:

Narrative Feature Competition

Booster

Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin. When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted. Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail. (World Premiere)

Eden

Director: Megan Griffiths, Screenwriters: Richard B. Phillips, Megan Griffiths, Story by: Richard B. Phillips & Chong Kim.

With Sundance 2012 Film Festival over, the next big one on the horizon is South by Southwest, which we’ll be heavily covering. The biggest chunk of the line-up has been announced today, which has some great premieres including 21 Jump Street, Tiff and Sundance hit The Raid, Will Ferrell‘s Casa de mi Padre, the documentary Girl Model (which we liked at Tiff), as well as the next from Broken Lizard, The Babymakers. There are many other promising titles included and you can see them all below. Check back for our coverage for the fest, kicking off March 9th.

Narrative Feature Competition

This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:

Booster

Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin

When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.

Attendees of South by Southwest 2012 are in for a treat. 130 feature films will screen at the Austin, Texas festival taking place March 9-17. Among them are 65 World Premieres, 17 North American Premieres and 10 U.S. Premieres. The organization already announced [1] Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods would open the festival (the movie is phenomenal [2]) and today the majority of the remaining line up has been revealed. One of the highlights is the unbelievably smart and hilarious 21 Jump Street, directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller. Both of those are World Premieres. Other highlights include The Hunter, Killer Joe, The Babymakers, frankie goes boom, God Bless America, The Imposter, The Raid, Bernie and Casa de mi Padre just to name a few. After the jump, read descriptions of all the films that have been announced so far. Before I copy and paste the rest of the list, a few minor notes.

Choosing my favourite horror films of all time is like choosing between my children – not that I have children, but if I did, I am sure I would categorize them quite like my DVD collection. As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. Also, it was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried. I based my list taking into consideration three points:

1- Technical accomplishments / artistry and their influence on the genre.

2- How many times I’ve revisited the films and how easily it makes for a repeated viewings.

3- Its story, atmosphere and how much it affected me when I first watched them.

Finally, there are many great films such as The Witchfinder General, The Wickerman and even Hour Of The Wolf that won’t appear here. I...

42 – Nosferatu: The First Vampire

Directed by F.W. Murnau

1922 – Germany

The earliest surviving film based on Dracula is Nosferatu, an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel. One of the first vampire movies, it is perhaps on one of the best vampire movies ever made. Generally creepy from beginning to the last frame.

41- Spirits Of The Dead (Histoires extraordinaires)

Directed by

Federico Fellini (segment Toby Dammit)

Louis Malle (segment William Wilson)

Roger Vadim (segment Metzengerstein)

1968 – France

First thing to notice is the three directors: Federico Fellini, Louis Malle and Roger Vadim. Second you need to take notice in the cast which includes Brigitte Bardot, Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda, Alain Delon, Terence Stamp, Salvo Randone, James Robertson Justice, Françoise Prévost and Marlène Alexandre. Spirits Of The Dead is an adaptation of three Edgar Allan Poe stories that amount to one mixed bad, but with one incredible segment that needs to be seen.

Hey Los Angeles… grab your popcorn, because Landmark Theatres has announced it’s Fall-Winter film calender for the Nuart Theatre. It highlights limited-run films to avid cinephiles in Los Angeles, offering an essential guide for audiences to discover exciting films that may never enjoy the publicity of nationwide exposure. Included in the mix of programming are documentaries, reissues, features from a variety of foreign countries and other edgy, alternative cinema.

Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles

Showtimes and information: (310)281-8223

http://www.LandmarkTheatres.com

Features Friday, October 14 . Thursday, October 20

The Man Nobody Knew: In Search Of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby

A son’s riveting look at a father whose life seemed straight out of a spy thriller, The Man Nobody Knew uncovers the secret world of legendary CIA spymaster William Colby, who rose through the ranks of “The Company” and soon was involved in covert operations in...

San Diego Comic-Con has released its full schedule for Friday. We have pulled out all of the movie, TV, and DVD-related activities for both nights below. If you want the full schedule with all the comic-book related activities, you can clickHere

Friday, July 23

10:00-11:00 Lego Star Wars

A behind-the-brick look with the Lego Star Wars team at how the epic Star Wars story comes together with the creativity and imagination of the Lego brand. Additionally, be among the first to hear about a special Lego Star Wars entertainment event, and meet Emmy award-winning writer Michael Price. Also includes Q&A time. Room 7Ab

10:00-11:00 Torchwood: Miracle Day

John Barrowman (Doctor Who) and Eve Myles (Doctor Who) join cast members Mekhi Phifer, Bill Pullman (Independence Day), Alexa Havins (All My Children), and Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), along with writer Jane Espenson (Battlestar Galactica), to discuss the...

It seems like San Diego Comic-Con 2011 is right around the corner, and it's going to be one hell of a glorious weekend of geek awesomeness. Comic-Con International has unleashed the full schedule for Friday July 22nd, once again we have a full day of fun and excitement. There's so much I want to see here, including The Amazing Spider-Man, The Walking Dead, Total Recal, Batman: Year One, Locke & Key, Haywire, Raven and more!

I've gone through the list and put exclamation points next to all of the events that we want to cover. Let us know what panels and events you would like to know about and we will try and get them covered for you! If you are actually going to be at the con, what will you be checking out?

GeekTyrant will once again be at Comic-Con in full force this year, bringing you the best maximum super rad coverage.

HollywoodNews.com: Tonight’s the annual amFAR dinner. But with no Sharon Stone (she was ousted last year in a political squabble), the once mighty AIDS fundraiser has been eclipsed. In the last three days, Sean Penn, director Paul Haggis, and supermodel Naomi Campbell have tapped the wealthy mainstays of Cannes for their own important causes–Haiti, and Japan. Last night, Penn’s J/P Foundation raised between $500,000 and $700,000 at a swanky dinner at the Carlton Hotel.

Philanthropist Ella Krasner hosted Robert and Grace DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jane Fonda, Richard Perry, Uma Thurman, Naomi Campbell, Ryan Gosling, Rosario Dawson, Faye Dunaway, Roberta Armani (a sponsor), the people from Maybach autos, a Saudi prince, Harvey Weinstein and a roomful of 200 or so people who sported diamonds and more diamonds. Sean, who is so passionate about Haiti, spoke eloquently and persuasively before auctioning off rare items like walking the red carpet with...

"A onetime yakuza turned jailbird turned filmmaking enfant terrible, the now-75-year-old Japanese director Kōji Wakamatsu has long been loved by cinema cultists for an outrageous string of 1960s provocations made under the guise of the pinku eiga — or 'pink' film." Steve Dollar at GreenCine Daily: "These typically low-budget sex romps could be as insane, surreal, or mind-bending as possible, as long as they included a minimum amount of nudity and softcore humping. Wakamatsu, seizing the opportunity, used the form to pursue the extremes, reveling in obsessive sex and violence as a leftist critique of Japanese society. Beyond the outrage and sleaze of The Embryo Hunts in Secret [1966]; Go, Go Second-Time Virgin [1969]; and Ecstasy of the Angels [1972], was a form of perverse shock treatment. Wakamatsu took a break from the camera in 1977, and didn't return for 27 years. But he still wants to mess with your head."

Steve Erickson for Moving...

Blockbuster – the one-time giant in the home video rental business which went bankrupt last September – was bought at auction this past week by Dish Network for $320 million. According to Dish, it intends to combine its wireless technology with Blockbuster’s brand name recognition, studio relationships and digital rights to re-establish Blockbuster as a player in the direct-to-home market against Netflix and newer contenders like Amazon and a Warner Bros. online rental service to be offered on Facebook.

However this plays out long-term, the auction buy is the last page in a final chapter begun back in September when Blockbuster busted. To trot out the old cliché, it’s the – everybody now — end of an era.

The business Blockbuster used to be in seemed revolutionary in its day, though it seems almost quaint now; come Friday, some delegate from the family would trot to the neighborhood video store hoping to get...

...Or we should say "Cheat Sheets" since this year's SXSW Film Festival boasts over 140 films, requiring more than just one page to cover every single one of the narrative and documentary features that will be playing in Austin from March 11th through 19th. While the festival has already provided a very helpful schedule to flip through and Pdf of the screening grid online, consider this your quick hit guide to all the features at the festival - every title leads to its corresponding festival page in addition to links to trailers, official sites, filmmakers' Facebook pages and Twitter accounts so you can follow the action from the festival or from home.

Meanwhile, there will be plenty of action during these next two weeks on IFC.com where, in addition to our live video page, Matt Singer (@mattsinger) and I (@mfrushmore) will be filing reviews and interviews throughout the film festival.

Encino, CA - While Charles Nelson Reilly is beloved for his time on Match Game, there’s more to this actor than Dumb Dora answers. He was the toast of Broadway with roles in Hello Dolly and Bye, Bye, Birdie and won the Tony for How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. Later in life he directed several plays on the Great White Way. While many actors sum up their lives in thick tomes, Charles created a one-man show. He was a stage performer so this was the best way to distill his experiences for an audience. The Life of Reilly captures his final performance before his passing in 2007.

After playing the festival circuit and a limited theatrical release, Life of Reilly is finally out on DVD, Blu-ray and iTunes. You can take Charles every where. In edition to the feature film, there’s tons of bonus features including...

As if the recent November titles weren’t enough, we now have some other films to add to our upcoming Criterion Collection wishlists.

The Criterion Collection will once again be curating the upcoming All Tomorrow’s Parties Film Screenings, in Monticello New York, this September. The event overall, will be curated by Criterion alum, Jim Jarmusch (Down by Law, Night on Earth, Stranger Than Paradise, Mystery Train). Earlier today, Atp & Criterion announced their line-up of films, and hidden among the list of epic titles that we already knew were going to be released, or are already available, were a few little verifications of rumors going around.

The line-up looks to be pretty amazing, and if I could afford the flight, I would surely head out for that weekend. Several of the new Bbs box set will be screening, as well as some other films that we’ve discussed on the...

Dennis Hopper, who personified Hollywood rebellion, both on screen and off, died Saturday at his home in Venice, Ca. after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 74.

Having made his big screen debut in 1955's iconic "Rebel Without a Cause," opposite his friend James Dean, Hopper biked to fame as director/co-writer and finger-flashing cyclist, along with Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson, in 1969's "Easy Rider." That movie, which was embraced by the burgeoning youth culture, signaled a generational change in Hollywood and also earned Hopper a best original screenplay Oscar nomination, which he shared with Hopper and Terry Southern.

He was also nominated for an Oscar for his performance as an alcoholic high school basketball coach in 1986's "Hoosiers."

Hopper, like many of the characters he played early in his career, was known for his sometimes anarchic off-screen moves and drug use in the first half of his life.

Can the media alter the public's perception of an actor? I believe so - that's why we have the likes of Megan Fox hugging the headlines and getting the covers of men's magazines, while a lot of more talented young actresses could not even manage to get featured and have interviews. If you think about it, what has she done in the movies to deserve so much publicity and attention? - - -

- - - Some may argue, 'hey, don't blame her, she's just good at playing the Hollywood game, and she got a shrewd agent managing her career!'. That maybe so and yes, I agree when others say 'she'll not last another year - others will soon take over'. There are those who may say 'Agents and talent managers always take care of their wards - that's why stars have a public image and a private one'.

Can the media alter the public's perception of an actor? I believe so - that's why we have the likes of Megan Fox hugging the headlines and getting the covers of men's magazines, while a lot of more talented young actresses could not even manage to get featured and have interviews. If you think about it, what has she done in the movies to deserve so much publicity and attention? - - -

- - - Some may argue, 'hey, don't blame her, she's just good at playing the Hollywood game, and she got a shrewd agent managing her career!'. That maybe so and yes, I agree when others say 'she'll not last another year - others will soon take over'. There are those who may say 'Agents and talent managers always take care of their wards - that's why stars have a public image and a private one'.

Can the media alter the public's perception of an actor? I believe so - that's why we have the likes of Megan Fox hugging the headlines and getting the covers of men's magazines, while a lot of more talented young actresses could not even manage to get featured and have interviews. If you think about it, what has she done in the movies to deserve so much publicity and attention? - - -

- - - Some may argue, 'hey, don't blame her, she's just good at playing the Hollywood game, and she got a shrewd agent managing her career!'. That maybe so and yes, I agree when others say 'she'll not last another year - others will soon take over'. There are those who may say 'Agents and talent managers always take care of their wards - that's why stars have a public image and a private one'.

Can the media alter the public's perception of an actor? I believe so - that's why we have the likes of Megan Fox hugging the headlines and getting the covers of men's magazines, while a lot of more talented young actresses could not even manage to get featured and have interviews. If you think about it, what has she done in the movies to deserve so much publicity and attention? - - -

- - - Some may argue, 'hey, don't blame her, she's just good at playing the Hollywood game, and she got a shrewd agent managing her career!'. That maybe so and yes, I agree when others say 'she'll not last another year - others will soon take over'. There are those who may say 'Agents and talent managers always take care of their wards - that's why stars have a public image and a private one'.

Can the media alter the public's perception of an actor? I believe so - that's why we have the likes of Megan Fox hugging the headlines and getting the covers of men's magazines, while a lot of more talented young actresses could not even manage to get featured and have interviews. If you think about it, what has she done in the movies to deserve so much publicity and attention? - - -

- - - Some may argue, 'hey, don't blame her, she's just good at playing the Hollywood game, and she got a shrewd agent managing her career!'. That maybe so and yes, I agree when others say 'she'll not last another year - others will soon take over'. There are those who may say 'Agents and talent managers always take care of their wards - that's why stars have a public image and a private one'.

SXSW is one of my favorite festivals of the year as it showcases some of the best and most innovative real independent films, and with this host of world premiers, it's also playing alot of Sundance material as well as genre fare from all over the world, many of which we've covered heavily in these pages.

From the Sundance lineup, we have films like Moon, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, You Won't Miss Me, Grace, and Humpday, among others.

For the world genre material we've covered, there's Lake Mungo, The Square, Zift, and Awaydays.

I think you get the point that lots of great looking film will be playing. I'll leave a bit of the exploration to you..

Lineup after the break.

Narrative Features Competition

Artois the Goat

Director: Kyle Bogart. Writer: Cliff and Kyle Bogart

Lab technician Virgil Gurdies embarks on an epic quest to craft the greatest...