The Duke Spirit at 229

The Duke Spirit - 229, London

So I missed the England game last night (perhaps for the best as it turned out) and instead braved the London rain and headed to the city's latest live venue, 229 at 229 Great Portland Street to see The Duke Spirit. Decent place actually - smallish with a high stage which you could see from wherever you stood. I bumped into Louise and John at the bar so chatted to them during the support, then headed right down to the front for TDS. Great view, and no rowdy pushing, even that close - perfect! I loved the band when I saw them last Christmas at the ICA and once again they were fantastic, really powerful. Best of all the new songs spearheaded by recent single Lassoo were every bit as good as their old stuff which bodes well for next year's Neptune album. A brisk hour set with two encores and then it was back into the rain and off to the Phoenix to catch up with Sheena, Paul and Johanna. Much better than staying in watching that England game I expect...

FrightFest all-nighter at the ICA

George A. Romero with Paul McEvoy

Halloween is always a good time to get together to watch scary movies with a bunch of friends, so this weekend saw the second annual FrightFest all-nighter at the ICA in London. I missed last year's inaugaral event so was hyped about getting to this one, especially with such a stellar line up - even though I'd seen three of the films at TIFF in September. Thurein, Chrissy and I made good time getting up to London after work, so had enough time to grab a drink at the Phoenix beforehand where we met up with Steve, Tabitha, Rachael, Sheridan, Mike and a few other regulars. There were chaotic scenes at the ICA with people queuing for returns and special guest George A. Romero doing a signing session in the bar area. Rachael and I were collared by Scott Weinberg and Johanna who were busy interviewing people for a documentary on horror fans, so we answered a few questions for them. With seating so tight Ian C, Laura and myself were nervous as to whether we'd get in to Diary Of The Dead, but in the end Ian got us seats okay and we were treated to a great Q&A with George after the screening where he said that he doesn't have an idea for a sequel, despite the posters that have been circulating at the AFM this week!

There were more guests for Planet Terror so we sat that one out and had a relaxing drink in the bar instead with Ian, Paul and Mike. No problems with seating thereafter, so I was back in for the retro screening which was Savage Streets, a vigilante exploitation flick from 1984 starring Linda Blair. I'd earmarked this as a good time to sleep, but it was such a glorious celebration of wrongness (cheers David) that it kept us laughing from start to finish - all eighties fashion disasters, synth-rock soundtrack, gratuitous shower scenes, twenty-something actors pretending to be high school teens... and totally un-PC. Great stuff!

With Ian headed for home, Paul asked whether I'd like to introduce the UK premiere of Frontiere(s) so despite my fear of public speaking I gave it my best shot describing it as gory and f*cked up... I think it was a bit too relentless for some people, especially at 4am when we were all tired, but I still enjoyed watching it again. Last film of the night - and the perfect closer - was the other French shocker A l'interieur (Inside) which left many people reeling. Tired and numb we emerged blinking into daylight and said our goodbyes... I sloped off for breakfast with James and Jodie and then caught the train back to Brighton. Another hugely entertaining FrightFest event and I'm proud that I didn't fall asleep once during the night!

The Dandy Warhols at Camden Electric Ballroom

The Dandy Warhols - Camden Electric Ballroom

I always try and see The Dandy Warhols when they're playing in the UK so this was probably the eighth or ninth time that I've seen them. Sadly it wasn't their best, unlike last year's fantastic performance at the Islington Academy. I'm not quite sure why... maybe it was the venue (the Electric Ballroom is not the most atmospheric venue in London), maybe it was the crowd (too many w*nkers pushing past where I was stood) or maybe it was just over-familiarity. The gig started well enough, with Be In, We Used To Be Friends and Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth making a great triple-whammy to kick things off, but after that it all felt a bit lacklustre - excluding a rip-roaring Bohemian Like You, sounding better than ever - and the band never really got the audience revved up. We did get a handful of new songs which were a mixture of the Dandys two typical styles, ie. singalong choruses or long guitar-heavy wig-outs. Even so, after seventy-five minutes I'd moved to the back of the crowd, and after the finale of Boys Better I didn't even hang around to see if they'd do an encore. For once, underwhelming.

Ex-Voto

The Duke Spirit return with a new EP in October and a UK tour in November - I will be going to see them play at the new London venue, 229.

FrightFest 2007 - Day 5 (Monday)

Send... More... Paramedics...

Bank Holiday Monday meant one thing - the zombie walk! Mike's sterling efforts to break the World Record for the biggest gathering of zombies had us up at the crack of dawn preparing our costumes (with grateful thanks to Chrissy) and applying a slap of face paint. My 'brains' recipe worked a treat too - mixing crushed bananas with maple syrup and a dash of red food colouring... I certainly did 'eat my brains' that morning! Steve and I met Sheena & Ashley outside our B&B at 8am and then walked to Leicester Square together in full make up which was great fun. The gathering itself was quite overwhelming - so many people had made such efforts to get dressed up and there was a real carnival atmosphere. I've never been asked to pose for so many photos in my life and we got interviewed by a couple of film crews as well. Sadly we didn't break the record, but it was such good fun nevertheless. You can spot me in the video clips on both CNN and Zone Horror, and there are more professional pictures at Getty Images.

Me and Emily Booth in Leicester Square

Of course, the zombie walk was also arranged to highlight the first screening of the day, The Zombie Diaries. Having previously met Kevin and Sophia I was keen to see this one, and I quite enjoyed its refreshing take on the genre, very much in a similar vein to The Blair Witch Project. After a lengthy clean up and change of clothes we had the ghostly Km 31 but it was just as if every J-Horror cliché was on holiday in Mexico. I couldn't get into it at all, so I walked out about half way through. Not a bad move judging from some of the other comments afterwards. In the break Steve and I joined David & Sophie for a pint in one of the nearby pubs which provided a welcome intermission. Then it was back to the OWE for Adam Green's Spiral, as different a film to Hatchet as you could imagine. Very slow and moody, with a jazz soundtrack, it took me a long while to settle, but the ending really won me round and it seemed to be a favourite with the FrightFest crowd - as was Adam himself who afterwards told his inspiring Dee Snider story to much applause. Next up was Mike Williamson to introduce his 20 minute short In The Wall which was pretty good and then it was the turn of Day Watch (you can read my haiku here). I wasn't sure whether to see this again but was glad that I did - second time around it made perfect sense and the addition of the snazzy subtitles was a marked improvement on the dubbed version I'd seen back in April. And so to the closing film, the one which certain people had been tipping all weekend to be the best of the bunch... and they had it spot on. The World Premiere of The Orphanage was outstanding in every way and gave us at least two shocks which made us quiver in our seats. It was lovely having director Juan Antonio Bayona there in person to witness the reaction to his film and he gave a gracious Q&A after the screening.

Paul McEvoy, Me and Ian Rattray in the Phoenix

Needless to say the evening didn't end there... a sizeable crowd made their way to the Phoenix where we drank and partied until the early hours. A cracking end to yet another cracking FrightFest!

And next week I get to do it all over again in Toronto...

FrightFest 2007 - Day 4 (Sunday)

Paul Spurrier and Me in the Odeon bar

Had to get a few supplies on the way in preparation for Monday's zombie walk, so arrived just in time for Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door (to give it its full title, so as not to be confused with the Elisha Cuthbert comedy...) Alas, no comedy here, this was grim stuff based on a true case of child abuse and murder which left some in tears at the end. Definitely the most affecting film of the festival but not one I'd wish to see again. Director Kit Ryan was on hand to introduce Botched which sounded awful but in fact provided some much needed light relief after the previous film. Not a great film by any means, but programmed at the right time and its wackiness amused if you were prepared to excuse the dodgy Russian accents and run with it. Next up was the eagerly anticipated / dreaded Uwe Boll double-bill with the good doctor himself in attendance. He seemed very much at ease and ready to take on any criticisms that would later come his way... Postal wasn't quite as funny as I'd hoped for; offensive to everyone, but on the same kind of level as Troma or Team America, the jokes were hit and miss, but it certainly had its moments. A quick bite to eat with Rob and Nicola and then we returned for Seed, a bleak nihilistic film which featured a brutal prolonged hammer attack - the most shocking thing I saw all weekend. It certainly divided the audience and led to a heated Q&A afterwards. For me, the film worked and is still haunting me with its unpleasant images even now. I bumped into Paul Spurrier on the way out so he joined Thurein and I for a beer and a chat up in the bar - and the good news is that a UK DVD release of P should be with us very soon! Thurein managed to get his photo taken with Reece Sheersmith whilst I said hello to Paul Andrew Williams, and then we dashed back downstairs to watch a long teaser for his forthcoming film The Cottage. Looked very funny, but the jury is out on the man-trap gag which seemed to be totally ripped off from Severance. Director Tom Shankland introduced WΔZ, a gritty urban thriller in a similar vein to Se7en which boasted an intelligent script and some fine performances - one of the strongest films of the festival and one to look out for.

Audiencewalkers - Steve, James and Me

Before the last film of the evening the lovely Emily Booth and Marc Morris took to the stage to introduce a feature on their Grindhouse trailer collection, coming soon to DVD. And then it was Skinwalkers... or rather Audiencewalkers as I then christened it, due to the huge amount of walkouts. It was your typical glossy PG-13 horror/fantasy with appalling dialogue and cheesy action scenes - exactly the type of film I'd be fast-forwarding through if I had the DVD. So we gave it thirty minutes then bailed ourselves, and then laughed when we bumped into James, Jodie, Sarah, Craig, D and Stuart out in the foyer who'd all had the same idea! Steve and I joined James and Jodie for a sneaky free beer up in the bar and that made it all better.

FrightFest 2007 - Day 3 (Saturday)

Sheena and Ashley in Leicester Square

Another leisurely stroll along to Leicester Square with plenty of time to catch up with our fellow FrightFesters before the day's entertainment began. First up was the Norwegian snowbound thriller Cold Prey introduced by director Roar Uthaug which was pretty decent and looked great up on the big OWE screen. Back outside where I bumped into Ant with Chris and Matt from The Devil Dared Me To and got to hear just how they'd managed to gash their hands open the previous night - ouch! I then sat through Joshua, the movie with the weird kid that I didn't really like. Paul and Ian both hated it but - like nearly every film shown over the weekend - it certainly had its fans. I skipped the first batch of short films and wished I'd missed them all... except for Les Morveux which was a very funny tale of a French bloke using an array of tools to shut up a choir of kids. Storm Warning was a film of two halves; the first part being slow and filled with one dimensional characters, the second part far more exciting as our captive couple got all creative in the shed and dispatched their attackers in all manner of inventive ways. Outside again I was able to get a couple of things signed by Neil Marshall and Joe Lynch and then it was the fiendish FrightFest Quiz hosted by the double act of Alan Jones and David McGillivary - a quiz so hard that Steve, Thurein and I only got two questions right between the three of us! Joe's Wrong Turn 2 was a real crowd pleaser with lots of gore and Henry Rollins totally ruling the film. It also provided my first real 'jump' of the festival and Joe proved to be a hugely enthusiastic guy in the Q&A, coming across like a younger Quentin Tarantino. After another screening of Neil's Doomsday trailer (this time in colour) we had Ant's Trailer Trash compilation (pick of the bunch - Werewolves In A Girls' Dormitory) and then it was into Disturbia which was a surprisingly good slick Hollywood thriller.

The Devil Dared Them To - Matt Heath, Chris Stapp and Ant Timpson display their wounds

Before the final film of the evening we had a double bill of Aussie trailers in the shape of Schooner Of Blood and the brilliantly titled cricket horror-comedy I Know How Many Runs You Scored Last Summer. We also got to see Edgar Wright's Don't, his fake trailer from the Grindhouse movie which was very well received. The Devil Dared Me To was one of the films I'd most been looking forward to and it didn't disappoint; exciting, vulgar and full of swearing - you just don't hear the term "jizzlobber" enough in films nowadays - it was a blast from start to finish and made for the perfect midnight movie. The guys were on top form too and I'm still in awe at their crazy stunt work - check out the closing credits montage and you'll see what I mean.

FrightFest 2007 - Day 2 (Friday)

Steve, Sheridan, Stuart and D in Leicester Square

Friday's programme was fit to burst with a whole seven (count 'em) films to get through! An early start, but the luxury of our B&B accommodation afforded us breakfast and plenty of time to be able to walk from Kings Cross to Leicester Square each morning - nice! First up was Hatchet (screened last year - see my haiku here) with a live commentary recording from Adam Green and Alan Jones which was both amusing and informative. Adam did a signing session straight afterwards so the bar was packed as we queued up to get our pictures signed by him. Top bloke, and it was great having him around all weekend.

Thurein grabs a photo with Adam Green

The Sword Bearer was next; I was expecting a Russian adventure epic but the action never arrived - I should have walked out. Sundance fave The Signal was much better, raw and packed with original ideas, it played very well. Bumped into Chris Smith on the stairs as I went up to collect my goodie bag then it was back inside for 1408 with director Mikael Hafstrom in attendance. Better than expected, this was a decent supernatural Hollywood shocker based on a Stephen King short story. Before the next film the FrightFest boys did a raffle for an HD-DVD player and our very own Sean from Eat My Brains was the lucky winner, so well done to him! After the giveaway the inevitable last minute change to the schedule occured - P2 was unavailable so Teeth took its place. I was expecting this film about a girl with vagina dentate to be of the tedious arthouse variety, but much to my surprise it played like a mainstream horror-comedy and was hugely entertaining - my favourite film of the day. The much-hyped All The Boys Love Mandy Lane was the penultimate movie, a good solid horror with a twist and a gorgeous leading lady in the shape of Amber Heard - it's no wonder all the boys love her. Last up was Shrooms which I kept dozing off in so either a) I was too tired, or b) it wasn't very good. Few people seemed to rave about that one as we left the cinema so I'm guessing it was the latter.

FrightFest 2007 - Day 1 (Thursday)

Joe Lynch and Adam Green being interviewed by Zone Horror's Emily Booth

The biggest and most ambitious FrightFest to date kicked off on Thursday evening at the Odeon West End, London. Steve and I arrived in town early afternoon and checked in to our B&B in Kings Cross after a torturous journey across the city. Dodging the showers we made it to the OWE around 6pm ready for the opening night. It was great seeing so many of the regular FrightFest faces. Thurein and I grabbed a quick chat with Adam Green and Rob was interviewed by Emily Booth for Zone Horror who were covering the festival again this year. NZ sheep-shocker Black Sheep was the opening film, with director Jonathan King present to introduce the screening. A funny comedy-horror, it was the perfect introduction to our weekend of horrors...

Gia and Me at the 28 Weeks Later promo

In the break I managed to say hello to Neil Marshall and his fiancee Axelle, then met up with newbies Sheena & Ashley and got them into the Black Water screening, courtesy of Gia who was there for the 28 Weeks Later promo event. Producer Allon Reich was on hand to show a deleted scene, plus some other tidbits from the upcoming DVD release. Black Water was okay but rather painted itself into a corner once the main characters were stuck up a tree. After the main feature we had another treat in store as Neil Marshall presented his new Doomsday trailer, albeit in black & white after some technical difficulties. Since it was a relatively early finish it was on to the Phoenix to introduce Sheena & Ashley to the real FrightFest experience. The bar was soon packed out and I caught up with Simon Rumley who introduced me to Ant Timpson, the producer of The Devil Dared Me To, and we also grabbed Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2) for a chat. No drunken karaoke or trying to sleep on pavements this time... a good start then!

The Dandys go Electric

www.myspace.com/thedandywarhols

The Dandy Warhols are playing at the Camden Electric Ballroom in October... woo hoo!

Phil & Rob's Birthday Bash!

Me and Rob in the Phoenix Artist Club

This year I decided to do something different for my birthday. Since my friend Rob - who also shares the same birthday as me - has recently moved to London, it seemed like a good idea to organise a little get together, especially as we have a number of mutual friends through FrightFest. So we arranged a little party at the Phoenix last night...

FrightFest crew: Paul, Amanda, Me, Ian and Dave

Eat My Brains team: David, Me, Mike and Russ

Still haunted by my drunken display a year ago, I kept a sensible head and managed to catch the 1am train back to Brighton relatively unscathed!

As a final postscript, Happy Birthday to Sean in Cape Cod too!!

Doomsday is coming to FrightFest

www.doomsdayiscoming.com

Here's a nice little bonus for those people who'll be attending FrightFest over the August Bank Holiday weekend at London's Odeon West End. On the opening night (Thursday 23rd August) Neil Marshall, director of The Descent, will be on hand to show the first trailer and exclusive footage from his forthcoming apocalyptic thriller project Doomsday and answer questions from the audience. This late addition to the programme will take place directly after the 9:30pm screening of the Aussie crocodile movie Black Water - which is also preceded by a special 28 Weeks Later event to promote the forthcoming DVD release - making it an unmissable triple-whammy of terror!

August Live

I'm slightly disappointed all that speculation about Foo Fighters playing a V Festival warm-up in Brighton this month seems to have come to nothing... nevermind, here's what is on the calendar for August:

07/08 - Bit of a jump into the unknown this one, but Andy suggested seeing Tokyo Pinsalocks at the Engine Rooms. Three Japanese girls playing electro-pop you say? I'm there!

13/08 - Gig of the month? I've been wanting to see Tegan & Sara for ages and now they're over from Canada to play at the Komedia in support of their brand new album The Con. Often tagged as the lesbian sisters, what you perhaps won't know is that no less than The White Stripes covered their Walking With The Ghost track.

15/08 - Actually my birthday, but where better place to plug it? Eschewing the normal piss-up in Brighton, instead I will be celebrating in London (alongside fellow birthday boy Rob) at the Phoenix Members Club on Charing Cross Road. All friends are welcome - contact me for further details. Meanwhile back in Brighton, Martha Wainwright and Terra Naomi are playing at St George's Church.

18/08 - Another weekend, another festival... Brighton chips in with Loop, a digital music event at Victoria Gardens headlined by The Go! Team.

23/08 - As the Bank Holiday weekend beckons I'll be making my annual trip to London for the FrightFest event at the Odeon West End. Running from 23rd to 27th August and taking in a whopping 26 films this year, it looks like being the best yet!

27/08 - Affiliated to FrightFest, but worth a separate mention here, Bank Holiday Monday begins with our Zombie Walk World Record Attempt in Leicester Square before a screening of The Zombie Diaries. You can find more details on this event at www.myspace.com/zombiewalk.

Aimee Mann at The IndigO2

Aimee Mann - The IndigO2, London

It was Steve's birthday last week so I thought I'd surprise him with a ticket to see Aimee Mann at The IndigO2 in London - cue much amusement as Chrissy and I tried to convince him that we were really going to see Scissor Sisters who were playing at The O2 next door! Once we'd managed to get to the venue in one piece (Steve avoiding the floods in Oxford, us being sardines in the tube and surviving a fellow passenger's panic attack when we stopped between stations...) we were able to relax, grab a drink from the bar and take in the newest live music venue in the city - and it's pretty impressive; about the size of Brighton Dome, modern, and with a crystal clear sound-system. Jenny Owen Youngs supported and was pretty and kooky, lots of amusing banter and a bizarre cover of Hot In Here to finish - definitely worth seeing when she plays at The Barfly in October. As for Aimee and her band, well, they were fantastic! The set spanned a variety of albums including most of the tracks from her best known work, the Magnolia soundtrack - although she totally fluffed Momentum. There were also choice cuts from The Forgotten Arm and Lost In Space, the best of which was Today's The Day which sent a shiver down my spine. Another great track was the uptempo Freeway, one of two new songs she premiered that night. For the encore she just about managed to get through Telescope after a bit of help from the audience, and then ended the show with Wise Up. One of the best gigs of the year so far!

Zombie Walk - World Record Attempt

www.zombiediaries.com

To celebrate the forthcoming release of The Zombie Diaries in the UK we're going for the World Record for the biggest ever gathering of zombies (currently standing at 894, for a gathering at the Monroeville Mall in the USA).

The event will take place on the morning of Monday 27th August (Bank Holiday - don't worry, you won't be at work!) in central London. The Zombie Walk will start at Waterloo Bridge at 9:30am (tbc) and will culminate in a huge zombie gathering in Leicester Square prior to a screening of The Zombie Diaries at the Odeon West End as part of this year's FrightFest event.

We all love zombies so lets make London the zombie capital of the world! Join the facebook group and spread the word...

"Braaaaaaaaaains!!!"

FrightFest 2007 line up announced!

The really sleepy queue outside the Odeon West End

Tickets for this year's FrightFest event (August 23rd - 27th at London's Odeon West End) went on sale this weekend with passes costing £140 for the five day festival. The full programme has been announced with a total of 26 films confirmed at present, and of course there will be the usual mix of special guests, short films and surprises. Here's the provisional timetable:

Thursday 23rd August:
19:00 - Black Sheep (Dir: Jonathan King, NZ)
21:15 - Black Water (Dir: Andrew Traucki & David Nerlich, AUS)

Friday 24th August:
10:30 - Hatchet - live commentary (Dir: Adam Green, USA)
12:30 - The Devil's Chair (Dir: Adam Mason, UK)
14:45 - The Sword Bearer (Dir: Filipp Yankovsky, RUS)
17:15 - The Signal (Dir: David Bruckner, Dan Bush & Jacob Gentry, USA)
19:45 - P2 (Dir: Franck Khalfoun, USA)
22:00 - All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (Dir: Jonathan Levine, USA)
00:15 - Shrooms (Dir: Paddy Breathnach, UK)

Saturday 25th August:
11:00 - Cold Prey (Dir: Roar Uthaug, NOR)
13:00 - Joshua (Dir: George Ratliff, USA)
15:00 - 28 Weeks Later - special event (Dir: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, UK/USA)
16:00 - Storm Warning (Dir: Jamie Blanks, AUS)
18:30 - Wrong Turn 2 (Dir: Joe Lynch, USA)
21:15 - Disturbia (Dir: D.J. Caruso, USA)
23:45 - The Devil Dared Me To (Dir: Chris Stapp, NZ)

Sunday 26th August:
11:00 - The Girl Next Door (Dir: Gregory Wilson, USA)
13:15 - Botched (Dir: Kit Ryan, USA)
15:45 - Postal (Dir: Uwe Boll, CAN/GER)
18:30 - Seed (Dir: Uwe Boll, CAN/GER)
21:00 - Waz (Dir: Tom Shankland, UK)
23:30 - Skin Walkers (Dir: James Isaac, USA)

Monday 27th August:
11:00 - The Zombie Diaries (Dir: Kevin Gates & Michael Bartlett, UK)
13:15 - KM 31 (Dir: Rigoberto Casteneda, MEX)
15:45 - Spiral (Dir: Adam Green & Joel Moore, USA)
18:30 - Day Watch (Dir: Timur Bekmambetov, RUS)
21:15 - The Orphanage (Dir: Juan Antonio Bayona, MEX/SP)

Kate Nash at Pure Groove

Kate Nash - outside Pure Groove, London

So, originally Kate Nash was going to be doing an instore at Resident here in Brighton on Tuesday but that got pulled due to recording commitments. Then, as luck would have it, I discovered that she was doing an instore at Pure Groove in London on Friday - when coincidentally (yes Darren, it was pure coincidence...) I was going to be in town meeting up with folk for the FrightFest launch. So off I went... Pure Groove is a tiny little record shop in North London and with Foundations about to hit the charts at No.2 it was absolutely rammed. So full in fact that Kate decided to break her performance midway to go and play a few songs outside for those who couldn't get in. After a thirty minute set that included Merry Happy and Foundations (inside) and Birds and Caroline's A Victim (outside) she then hung around to meet her fans and sign copies of her single. Lovely stuff.

Me 'n' Kate at Pure Groove

Hot Fuzztival

The Fuzz (l-r): Simon Pegg, Kevin Eldon, Nick Frost, Olivia Colman, Bill Bailey, Edgar Wright and Paddy Considine

Since I was in London on Saturday night for drinks it made sense to crash over at D's and try and get into the FREE Hot Fuzz event taking place at the Prince Charles Cinema on the Sunday. The only way to guarantee entry was to get there early, so we got to the sleepy queue for 7am... we soon built up camaraderie with the folks in front of us, including a couple of hardy souls who'd camped outside overnight, and made sure no-one pushed in - yes, I'm talking about you Mr Policeman with your Blue Peter kit bag and frying pan with paper eggs! (No, I don't know what that was all about either...)

We got front seats for the first film Hard-Boiled, introduced by Edgar Wright, and I'd forgotten just how mad it is - just non stop old-school HK shoot-outs and explosions! Edgar returned to introduce The Last Boy Scout, rightly praising Shane Black's sharp script, and it was a delight from start to finish. I'd always had it pegged as an overrated action flick but this screening made me totally re-evaluate my opinion, and I've since gone out and acquired it on DVD. The third and final retro screening was Point Break with Nick Frost joining Edgar to introduce this one. Referenced in Hot Fuzz itself, this is obviously a favourite of the boys and they delighted in the relationship between Keanu Reeves and Gary Busey, calling it one of the gayest movies ever made. It played really well to the audience, with lots of laughter and applause at the appropriate places.

Before the main event Edgar showed the trailer for Don't, his contribution to Grindhouse which brought the house down. Then it was time for Hot Fuzz with a live commentary, so out came Simon Pegg followed by Nick who tripped up the stairs and went sprawling across the stage provoking a mass pile-on! Once he'd regained his composure he introduced Kevin Eldon, then Bill Bailey, a heavily pregnant Olivia Colman, and finally the legendary Paddy Considine who totally stole the show! To recount the commentary is nigh on impossible, but suffice to say it was filthy and funny covering such topics as the rivalry between Simon and Martin Freeman, Paddy's Steve Coogan impression, smelly Jim Broadbent, fingering Peter Jackson, Hobbits, Sandford's mention in 28 Weeks Later, the real under-age drinkers, Timothy Dalton's moustache, Alice Lowe's legs, Ron Cook's false cock, Dave Bassett's mansion, Kevin's Spider-Man face paint, f*cking Ann Reid (Paddy), Olivia's fake tits, Paddy's De Niro, the television version, dogging, seagulls and watery French students' semen.

Hot Fuzz is now available to buy on DVD containing four alternative, slightly less vulgar commentaries.

An Evening With Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith - Prince Charles Cinema

If I had to name the two filmmakers who've most influenced my addiction to modern cinema then I'd have to say Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith, so it was a rare privilege to get to listen to the latter on Thursday evening. Kevin was in London with his family for a few days so had arranged a couple of his legendary Q&A sessions at the Prince Charles Cinema. I went along with Rich, Lauren, Rick and Rob and despite joining the mammoth queue late it played to our advantage and we ended up getting front row seats in the balcony. Kevin talked for nearly four hours and was joined by Jen and Harley at one point which was sweet. It's impossible to remember everything that was talked about, but here's some of what I remember:

• He was annoyed that the PCC named the bar after Tarantino, so the PCC have now named one of the gents cubicles in his honour.
• He's desperate to watch some British porn so that he can hear people having sex with an English accent. Someone shouted that he should just, "Phone the speaking clock and watch your ass in the mirror," which Kevin misheard as, "Take your cock and wipe my ass with it."
  
• He didn't have anyone respond to the disabled jokes in Clerks 2 because it would have been a repeat of the scene where Wanda & Earthquake respond to the "porch-monkey" quote.
• He had to have a growth surgically removed from the back of his neck after Ben Affleck kept resting his "dirty balls" on his neck when they were making Jersey Girl.
  
• Apparently Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon split up because Ryan is a "sloppy party bottom."
• He's never watched Buffy or Firefly. Or Heroes. But he loves the new Battlestar Galactica series.
• He's got three dogs and described their sex life in minute detail.
• His favourite dinosaur is a raptor because they can open closet doors.
  
• His daughter Harley is best friends with Johnny Depp's kid. Johnny will entertain them by going into his Willy Wonka character. The best they can hope for with Kevin is Silent Bob.
• He was never asked to make a fake trailer for Grindhouse but if asked he would have liked to have done a sexploitation film like H.O.T.S.
  
• His next film will be a horror flick (Red State) which will be in the same vein as Ride With The Devil. It's all in his head at the moment and will be more suspenseful that it will be gory.
• He still wants to make a Clerks animated movie, but the rights are tied up with Miramax at the moment.
  
• He hated Superman Returns and said it could have been improved by having a giant spider in the third act. Also Superman was a rapist (cue long explanation as to why...)
  
• Everyone (rightly) told him that he couldn't let Dante get shot at the end of Clerks, as he had in his original cut.
• He'd sit through any film if Jen promises sex afterwards.
  
• He was asked to write a Daredevil sequel but refused as he would have had to compromise his work to satisfy so many other people.
• His favourite scene from his own films would be something with Jeff Anderson from Clerks 2, but prior to that it was Joey Lauren Adams' "You had cable" line from Mallrats.
  
• Hayden Christensen was really pissed off at the online Clerks 2 trailer (which poked fun at his acting in the Star Wars films) and wanted to have it taken down.

One thing he wasn't asked about was the new Live Free Or Die Hard film which he has a small role in. You can see the brand new trailer here - and watch out for Kevin right at the end!

April Live

Whoops! A day later than normal because (ahem) I forgot... here's my little list of interesting things that are happening around Brighton in April. Plus a couple of things I'm going to in London aswell. March was a cracking month for live music, so here's hoping April follows the same pattern!

02/04 - So, erm, that'll be tonight then. Local band Silvermaker are going to be playing at the Pressure Point. I still haven't seen them play live yet, really must get to one of their forthcoming shows...

04/04 - I first heard Scott Matthews on the Shortbus film soundtrack. Very much in the same vein as Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith, he's busy touring his Passing Strangers album and will be playing at the Corn Exchange. I'm working on that one so will be looking forward to seeing what he's like live. Over at Brighton Centre it's more stand up from Ricky Gervais - who's just booked an extra show at Brighton Dome for 8th June. Tickets now on sale!

05/04 - I'm in London for an evening with Kevin Smith (the film director - the one who made Clerks). It's the second of two nights at the Prince Charles Cinema and he promises four hours of Q&A action, so should be a whole lot of fun. Meanwhile in Brighton you've got Oom having an album launch party at the Prince Albert and Chungking on the bill at the Komedia.

12/04 - My favourite album of last year was The Trials Of Van Occupanther by Midlake. I saw them live at the ULU a few months ago but now they're in Brighton to play at the Concorde so I shall certainly be seeing them again. Over at Brighton Centre there's the Sugababes with their greatest hits package - would probably be very entertaining if I wasn't already booked up elsewhere.

13/04 - Another potential film event up in London as I fancy going up to the NFT to see Alan Jones interview Alejandro Jodorowsky, the madman behind such films as El Topo (screening beforehand), The Holy Mountain and Sante Sangre. He's knocking on a bit now so this could well be our last chance to see the maverick director in person.

16/04 - It's a rare UK appearance from Feist at the Komedia. A member of the collective Broken Social Scene, I've got her first solo album Let It Die and her new album comes out later this month. Quite jazzy, but very cool.

17/04 - Another local band I've been meaning to check out for some time, so I'm hoping to get to the Sussex Arts Club to see The Mummers (formerly just Mummer) do their thing as I know I'm definitely not able to make their Fringe performance at the Joogleberry next month.

22/04 - And finally my good mate Dom returns to action. After the demise of his former band Good Morning Captain his new outfit Euchrid Eucrow have only played selected dates (not surprising as bandmates Abi and Ginger are busy with Bat For Lashes) but they're up for a slot at The Hope tonight, so I'll hopefully get along and lend my support.