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Every second of Not Quite Hollywood (let's call it NQH), I battled my own human condition, I tried not to blink. It was adrenaline overdrive, trying to keep up with thing. Doesn't help that Tarantino serves as one of the narrative soundtracks, his own excitement adding more liquid sugar to the rush.
Define Badass: The guys responsible for this movie; Prolific Austrailian genre director Brian Trenchard-Smith (over 30 films directed), NHQ director Mark Hartley, and Anthony Ginnane mega producer (over 60 films produced). EDIT: Also note the subliminal Colin in this pic!
Even though I had to peel myself off of my seat when it was over, I didn't feel the caffeine dump I expected. I was energized and re-invigorated. New blood for a movie vampire!
For the uninitiated in Austrailian genre films (Me), NQH essentially plays like an unending kickass trailer for the best movie you've never seen; take this, and have it re-mixed by a pill popping night club DJ to a DVD style director's commentary... but only skipping to the fun parts. It's a movie made entirely of money shots.
Besides coming out with a long list of movies I've missed, it got me thinking about one of my pre-teen creepy habits.
Before the youtube revolution, a guy diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (Yep, also me) needed other ways to keep entertained.
I needed entertainment immediately, and in small, rapid doses.
So, I used to hang out in video stores for hours at a time; and watch all the trailers. Over and over. This was back when the trailers were less user friendly. I'd walk around from screen to screen, mesmerized by horror movie teasers that my imagination could only magnify, and sculpt into the most horrifying version ever (Later I learnt that often the movies didn't live up to these trailers)
Today, haunting a video store isn't quite as rewarding. The main stream ones, they try to sell you combos. You got all those family movies, and all those rules about what you're allowed to play. It's boiled down with all obscenities cut out, and the voice overs lack the impact of the grating 80's movie voice.
It doesn't help now, that people ask you way more often if you need some help. Take that how you want to.
The next step up from this, was when video stores like Videoflicks got those mini consoles where you could dial in the trailers you wanted to see. Watch them ten times if you want! For a sheltered eleven year old, with a stern Catholic upbringing-- these low rent horror movie trailers played like a peep hole to an S&M dungeon.
Now, the indy stores-- bless their hearts-- they don't have those action packed mix tapes. Usually what's playing, while often entertaining, is more eclectic, suited to the tastes of the individual video clerk; and I must be hanging around at the wrong times. Plus having learnt something about etiquette I start to feel like a creep lingering too long watching what's on.
For the most part I missed out on the whole 80's party tape subculture; but I've seen some-- including a certain badass kungfu mixer!
I was super pumped when I heard Midnight Madness alumni Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel) was going to make Trailer Trash-- if you hadn't heard, this would have been an entire feature made up of trailers like the ones you saw in Grindhouse. Unfortunately, it appears like that's no longer happening.
Until then, we got youtube mixers (check out some awesome giant robot fights!) , and while it's still running, the current heavyweight number one contender of movie mixers; Not Quite Hollywood.
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