More from Darren Ewing, one of the Tribune's online producers (and once a star of "Troll 2," which screened alongside the documentary "Best Worst Movie"), from South by Southwest in Austin, Texas:

March 17th

Larry Evans knows his mushrooms. In fact from the first moment I met him, waiting in line for the film after-awards party at Maggie Mae's bar at SXSW, he must have lectured me for 20 minutes about mushroom culture, mushroom growing, mushroom music and, yes, mushroom film, which is why he is one of the subjects of a movie showing at SXSW called ... well ... "Know Your Mushrooms."

My voice was giving me some trouble at the moment, but it didn't really matter to Larry, as he just kept going on and on and on about mushrooms. He then showed me his personally recorded collection of mushroom-related songs titled "Fungal Boogie." I love bad puns, and this one ranks up there. How do you not love a guy with a passion like this? It's funny though, the subject of cooking never came up. Not once. Strange?

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We had a great time packing into Maggie Mae's, and I have to admit to enjoying having people come up to me and telling me how much they love "Troll 2" and "Best Worst Movie."

A conversation struck up between me and a lovely Australian named Georgi Nevile. What I've loved about the film portion of SXSW, as opposed to Park City's Sundance Film Festival, is that people here seem more relaxed and communal. There is always the sense at Sundance that everybody wants something from you; shoving whatever they are selling into every conversation, dropping every name they can think of.

Nevile was relaxed, funny, and the fact that she is a film producer never even came up until I asked. The film is "Lake Mungo," a supernatural drama about grief. Several movie companies are circling this low-budget film, and there is talk of redoing it with American actors. Apparently U.S. film companies are worried about the language barrier between English-speaking people and ... English-speaking people. (???)

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Did I mention Larry Evans knows a lot about mushrooms?

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I also got to talk to the energetic director of "Modern Love Is Automatic," Zach Clark, whose film plays this Thursday. I will definitely check this one out. He and his cast are just too much fun.

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Also talking to us was film producer Adam Roffman of "Trust Us, This Is All Made Up," a documentary about Chicago Second City alums David Pasquesi and TJ Jagodowski doing long form improv in New York.

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The lack of actual live music at Maggie's made me want to seek some out, so I ventured across the street to Friends and heard the exotic instrumental Argentinian band We Should Be Dead. The band consists of a rhythm section (bass and drums) and a guy in a chair who plays pretty much everything from flute to accordion to guitar. These older gentlemen impressed the living daylights out of me with their textured blending of jazz, latin, and techno. You wouldn't think it would work. And you would be wrong. Bueno guys!

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After all that fun and excitment, there was really nothing left to do but get a slice, and there's no faster place at 3 a.m. than Hoak's Death Metal Pizza. Ordering a single cheese wedge was like trying to hit on a girl at a Motorhead concert, but they were quick, efficient, and the pizza totally rocked the house, dude! (air guitar riff)

Labels: Troll 2

Darren Ewing, one of the Tribune's online producers, is hanging out with the cool people this week in Austin, Texas, for the South by Southwest Film Festival.

Ewing is there because of the documentary "Best Worst Movie," a fond recounting of the making of the cult classic "Troll 2" - which was filmed in Utah and in which Ewing (who's not just a tech geek, but also an actor) had a pivotal role.

"Best Worst Movie" premiered Saturday night at SXSW, followed by a screening of "Troll 2." The documentary, directed by Michael Stephenson (a Utah native who played the 10-year-old hero of "Troll 2"), has received a write-up in Entertainment Weekly and was named one of SXSW's 10 best movies by Efilmcritic.com's Erik Childress.

Ewing - who also is chronicling his experiences via Twitter - sends these notes about the experience:

The sun finally arrived in Austin today [Monday]. After a cold rainy start to the annual SXSW Film/Interactive/Music festival, temps were in the upper 70s and the streets were packed with people bustling from one location to the other. I found a sweet, reliable place to park for only 5 dollars (a bargain downtown) Good luck getting that location out of me.

"Best Worst Movie," the film I've been involved in the making of for over two years now, had its second festival screening at the beautiful, and ginormous Paramount theater on Congress Ave.

By show of hands, host and Austin film guru Scott Weinberg warmed up the audience by asking how many of the 800 plus attendees in the theater had seen "Troll 2," the cinematic disaster and recent cult classic made in Utah in 1989. A good 90 percent of the hands went up. It was a relief to us, because we knew there was good buzz around the film that wasn't necessarily aided by having seen "Troll 2." As the film rolled, audiences howled with laughter and shed tears. It gave us chills, and those of us involved in both "Troll 2" and "Best Worst Movie" have been flooded with on-the-street congratulations and party invitations.

We are scheduled for a few more press junkets and one more screening. Still no word on a distribution deal, a matter that Utah-born director Michael Paul Stephenson is wisely playing close to the chest.

On the down side, however, Austin's propensity for stirring up people's allergies has resulted in half of the cast and crew of "BWM" (including yours truly) getting sick. George Hardy, the main subject of "Best Worst Movie," only felt well enough to attend the screening, and then bade a hasty retreat to his hotel room.

I myself was greeted at the front gates of the Paramount to a sea of clicking cameras and teenagers wanting to have their photos taken with me. Maybe they thought I was Seth Rogen, who's new film was about to premiere after "BWM."

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Had the chance to see the new Paul Rudd movie "I Love You, Man," along with cast members John Favreau, Jason Segel and Jaime Pressly. Lots of fun. The cast, joined by Jeffrey Tambor, came to join the crowd at Buffalo Billiards after the show. Mr. Tambor almost didn't get in, as he lacked a SXSW film badge, and the door attendant had no idea who he was. Between me and his publicist, we got it worked out. As he left, Mr. Tambor gave me a wave and said thank you. Pinch me. The guys only the best freakin' charactor actor of all time, for crying out loud!

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Attended a party thrown by The Austin Chronicle tonight. Judging by all of the badge and ID checking, you would have thought President Obama was inside. Instead we were greeted by a whiny indie-pop group called The Black and White Days. It seems like every "indie" band wishes it was The Flaming Lips these days.

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Tomorrow is when the film portion stops, and the music portion of the festival begins. I don't know how much more I can take, but i will soldier on ... somehow.

More as my stomach stops hurting.

Labels: Troll 2

Michael Stephenson's documentary "Best Worst Movie" - about the making of and the cult worship of the truly horrible 1990 filmed-in-Utah horror movie "Troll 2" - premiered Saturday night at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

Apparently, a fun time was had by all.

The Cricket's pal Eric D. Snider (formerly of Provo's Daily Herald) praised the documentary on Film.com, and further urged (on Cinematical.com) everyone to see "Troll 2" because there's no earthly way to describe how unrelievedly awful and unintentionally funny this movie is.

Meanwhile, The Wrap - a movie-industry blog founded by former Washington Post and New York Times reporter Sharon Waxman - reports that distributors are circling around the documentary.

Tribune online producer Darren Ewing, who had a pivotal role in "Troll 2," is in Austin for the premiere - and has promised to send a dispatch when and if he feels like it.

Labels: Troll 2

The made-in-Utah cinematic atrocity "Troll 2" is screening tonight in Birmingham, Ala. - a homecoming of sorts for the Alabama dentist who played the dad in the 1990 film.

George Hardy, who played Michael Waits, was just out of dental school when he acted in the movie. In this blog post by the Birmingham News' Alex Harvey, Hardy said he knew at the audition that the movie would be a strange experience: ""I walked in this room and it was full of cigarette smoke. There were nine Italians in there, and no one spoke English."

"Troll 2," which filmed in Morgan, Utah, has earned a cult following as one of the worst movies ever made. Michael Stephenson, who played Hardy's 10-year-old son in the movie, has made a documentary about the film - appropriately titled "Best Worst Movie."

Labels: Troll 2

If you're a fan of "Troll 2," Utah's claim to fame in bad-movie heaven, then here's your chance to show your movie love.

The website Filmmakingfrenzy.com is launching a contest to find the best short film that is an homage to or inspired by "Troll 2."

The top 10 films will be determined by online vote, and will be screened at the Nilbog Invasion, a three-day celebration of "Troll 2" set for June 27-29 in Morgan, Utah (where "Troll 2" was shot). Michael Stephenson - who played the lead in "Troll 2" as an 11-year-old and is now making a documentary, "Best Worst Movie" - will select the winning film.

The winning filmmaker will get an all-expenses-paid VIP trip to Morgan for the Nilbog Invasion, will get to meet the cast and crew, and will have access to the event's activities. (Here are the rules of the contest.)

Labels: Troll 2

If you don't know where Nilbog is, you have somehow managed to miss out on what even its cast members call "the best worst movie" ever made: "Troll 2."

Come June, the movie and the town of Nilbog are returning to from whence they came: Morgan, Utah.

Nilbog Invasion, a three-day celebration of "Troll 2," is set to take place June 27-29 in Morgan, where the 1990 movie was shot.

The Alamo Rolling Roadshow, the touring division of Austin's Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, is organizing the event, which will include screenings of the now-cult favorite and other related movies, including the original "Troll" (which has nothing to do, plot-wise with "Troll 2" - and in fact isn't that bad, and has such recognizable faces in it as Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sonny Bono, Shelley Hack, Michael Moriarty and June Lockhart).

The event also includes a ton of other events, including panel discussions, feasts of goblin food, a popcorn-eating contest (it makes sense if you see the movie), and other stuff.

The Cricket has a fondness for "Troll 2," not because he's seen it (which he has, and it is awful), but because one of his Tribune co-workers, online producer Darren Ewing (pictured at left in the movie, and at right more recently), has a featured role in the film. He plays Arnold, who is credited (or blamed, take your pick) with the strangest utterance of the words "Oh, my Gaaaawwwwd!" in cinema history. Watch it for yourself:

Darren, according to the press release, will referee the javelin toss.

Passes - priced at $40, $100 or $170 - go on sale Sunday.

Labels: Troll 2