The Circuit

by Jette Kernion
Butt-Numb-a-Thon, aka BNAT, the annual 24-hour Austin movie marathon organized by Ain't It Cool founder Harry Knowles, offered plenty of surprises to attendees this year, including a record number of excerpts from upcoming films. The audience members at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar brought pillows, blankets, and some even wore pajamas, but remained more or less alert starting at noon on Saturday with the 1934 drama "Viva Villa" through the end of Steven Soderbergh's biopic "Che" at nearly 1 pm Sunday.

Now in its tenth year, BNAT has been increasing the number of clips from as-yet-unreleased films, which studios are looking to promote to a Comic-Con type of crowd. The audience was captivated by the first 45 minutes of Pixar's May 2009 release "Up", even though some of the opening scenes were not fully rendered in the film's animation style. Co-director Pete Docter and producer Jonas Rivera held a short Q&A after the screening.

Director McG arrived early on Sunday morning with an extended set of clips from "Terminator: Salvation", and teased the audience by claiming that he had the entire film with him on a DVD, but was not permitted to show it.

BNAT attendees were also treated to the first 20 minutes of "Watchmen" with Jackie Earle Haley, who plays Rorschach, in attendance; several extended scenes from Henry Selick's 3-D animated fantasy film "Coraline," and a couple of excerpts from DreamWorks' animated 3D film "Monsters vs. Aliens," with co-director Conrad Vernon providing context and information. Extended trailer-type sequences were also shown from "Knowing," "Observe and Report," and "Push."

The clips did not offer the only 3D experience during BNAT. The Lionsgate remake of "My Bloody Valentine," which will be released in January, was shown in full with director Patrick Lussier and actresses Jaime King and Megan Boone present for a Q&A. (King was attending all of BNAT as a participant.) Other as-yet-unreleased films in the BNAT lineup included the comedy "I Love You, Man," starring Paul Rudd, which will open the SXSW film festival in March; "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," during which caviar and vodka were served at an appropriate moment; "Valkyrie," which was paired with another film set in World War II, the Humphrey Bogart film "Sahara" from 1943; and the version of "Che" that has played in New York and Los Angeles.

The movie marathon interspersed vintage films and trailers along with the previews and newer films. In the middle of the night, attendees were awakened by the version of "Metropolis" recut in 1984 by Giorgio Moroder, including the soundtrack with contributions from Adam Ant and Freddie Mercury. Sam Fuller's controversial film "White Dog" was also shown.

BNAT has taken place in Austin every December since 1999. Thousands of film fans from around the world apply to Ain't It Cool for admission to the event, which holds less than 250 people. The lineup is not announced beforehand, or even during the festival until just before a film is shown.

by Jette Kernion
For nine years, Ain't It Cool News founder Harry Knowles has spent his birthday weekend presenting a 24-hour marathon of films he's selected to a packed house of hardcore film geeks. This year's Butt-Numb-a-Thon (BNAT), which occurred Dec. 8-9 at Austin's newly opened Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz theater, was no exception.  Thousands of movie fans apply every year for about 175 available seats.

The 24-hour film festival has been occurring every December since 1999, when Knowles decided to organize an enjoyable test of film endurance. Audiences showed a surprising ability to survive movies like "Giant Gila Monster" and "Daughters of Dracula." As Knowles has gained clout in Hollywood, the lineup often has included advance screenings and special guest appearances -- Craig Brewer, Bill Condon and Zach Snyder all introduced their films at the 2006 fest. 

Moviegoers travel from around the world to attend the film marathon, with large groups from Minneapolis and Athens, Georgia making an annual pilgrimage. Some hardcore film fans fly to Austin just to wait in the standby line for a possible last-minute seat.

Profits from BNAT ticket sales fund a free monthly Saturday morning kids' movie series at Alamo.

BNAT has gained a reputation in recent years as a venue to informally test films that might appeal to a fanboy/geek crowd. In 2003, Mel Gibson showed up with an unfinished version of "The Passion of the Christ," and Peter Jackson appeared to screen "The Return of the King." The lineup for BNAT is not announced beforehand, or even at the festival until just before a film is shown.

Attendees arrived at Alamo Drafthouse last weekend prepared to spend 24 hours in a theater, carrying pillows, blankets, toothbrushes and even bedroom slippers. Veteran festgoers also carried printouts of the hints listed on Knowles' website that morning, which they used to speculate about which films might be shown. Guesses ranged from "Cloverfield" to "Iron Man" to the movie that inspired the poster for this year's festival, "Big Trouble in Little China."

The audience was enthused about Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance in "Charlie Wilson's War," but raved equally about Thelma Ritter in Sam Fuller's classic "Pickup on South Street." Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd" debuted to wild applause, but attendees also enjoyed Preston Sturges' directorial debut, "The Great McGinty," which opened the fest. Other soon-to-be-released films included "Mongol," the Russian historical drama acquired by Picturehouse for a 2008 U.S. release; horror mockumentary "The Poughkeepsie Tapes," which premiered at Tribeca and will be released by MGM in February; and closing film "Trick 'r Treat," helmed by "Superman Returns" co-scripter Michael Dougherty, who attended the entire BNAT beforehand.

The marathon also included clips previewing films still in progress, including two scenes from "Rambo," a five-minute clip reel from "Prince Caspian," several scenes from Pixar's "Wall-E" and recently reshot scenes from "Fanboys" (which was pulled from the BNAT lineup because of the reshoots). Most features were preceded by relevant trailers from older movies -- for example, promos for early Tom Hanks movies "The Burbs" and "Bachelor Party" screened before "Charlie Wilson's War."

Other vintage films in the BNAT lineup included 1979 drive-in film "Teen Lust," the 1962 Kirk Douglas drama "Lonely are the Brave," the ultra-mod "The Abominable Dr. Phibes," and the X-rated "Farewell Uncle Tom," from the writer-directors of "Mondo Cane." One TV show also made the cut, the new HD remaster of the 1967 "Star Trek" episode "The City on the Edge of Forever." The short film "Feels So Good," from Gary Huggins ("First Date"), featured a medical procedure so disturbing that many audience members were shielding their faces ... while clapping along to the perky soundtrack.

Jette Kernion writes about the Austin film scene at Slackerwood (www.slackerwood.com). She is also a contributing editor for Cinematical (www.cinematical.com).