From Grindhouse’s press release….. 

Grindhouse Releasing Presents Duke Mitchell’s GONE WITH THE POPE

World Premiere March 12 at Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre

LOS ANGELES - Grindhouse Releasing and the American Cinematheque will present the late, great Duke Mitchell’s never-before-seen exploitation masterpiece GONE WITH THE POPE on Friday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m., at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

Duke Mitchell was an Italian Rudy Ray Moore, a popular nightclub performer, singer, actor, and self-proclaimed “Mr. Palm Springs” whose long-running Martin & Lewis-style comedy act with partner Sammy Petrillo was featured in BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA. Mitchell went on to use his talents and show business connections to produce two of the most entertaining films of the Seventies, which he wrote, directed, produced, scored and starred in.

GONE WITH THE POPE stars Duke Mitchell as Paul, a gangster with an unholy scheme: to kidnap the pope and charge “a dollar from every Catholic in the world” as the ransom. Shot in 1975 as KISS THE RING, GONE WITH THE POPE was unfinished at the time of Duke Mitchell’s death in 1981.

Sage Stallone and Bob Murawski of Grindhouse Releasing rediscovered GONE WITH THE POPE in 1995 and vowed to save it from obscurity. Academy Award-nominated film editor Murawski (THE HURT LOCKER, SPIDER-MAN 1,2 & 3) spent 15 years completing GONE WITH THE POPE from the surviving film elements.

“Of all the films I have been involved with, the one that I am most proud of is GONE WITH THE POPE,” Murawski said. “Duke Mitchell didn’t live to see this masterpiece finished. I am honored to be the person to finish it for him. Completing this movie was a 15-year labor of love. No expense or effort was spared in rescuing this classic from cinematic oblivion and finishing it with the utmost quality. Our beautiful new 35mm print stands as a testament to Duke Mitchell’s unique and explosively entertaining vision.”

Duke Mitchell’s 1974 ultra-violent crime saga MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE will screen on the same program. Also known as LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON and THE EXECUTIONER, MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE is a homemade answer to THE GODFATHER promising “more guts, more action, more dynamite!”. Starting with Duke and his sidekick slaughtering an entire building full of enemies, the movie is nonstop, mind-blowing entertainment that has become a favorite among cult movie fans.

Grindhouse Releasing is known for its lavish restorations and roadshow-style theatrical exhibition of such notorious exploitation-horror films as CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, CANNIBAL FEROX (a.k.a. MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY), Lucio Fulci’s THE BEYOND and CAT IN THE BRAIN, PIECES, and I DRINK YOUR BLOOD. Grindhouse partnered with Quentin Tarantino’s Rolling Thunder to release THE BEYOND in theaters and in 2010 launched a nationwide re-release of Sam Raimi’s EVIL DEAD.

The address of the Egyptian Theatre is 6712 Hollywood Boulevard, between Las Palmas and McCadden, just east of Highland Avenue in Hollywood.

This exclusive screening will include an in-person Q& A with the cast and crew of GONE WITH THE POPE.

For more information, visit www.GrindhouseReleasing.com and www.GonewiththePope.com.

And in case you didn’t see it posted in our forums, check out this GORGEOUS poster art……

Popatopolis: Director Clay Westervelt: 75mins. 20

One of the finer and more worthy candidates for widespread acclaim at Raindance was this feature. Anyone who grew up in the VHS/PAL video age will remember Chopping Mall and Return of the Swamp Thing even if the name Jim Wynorski does not immediately ring any bells. He was the exploitation film director responsible for these titles and plenty more. He is – as Popotopolis rightly informs us: a highly prolific director with an output that numerically outstretches Scorcese’s.

As a piece of work, there’s what Popatopolis is and what it does. As a documentary, it follows the painstaking process of Jim getting together a group of actresses and a crew to make a film in three days ‘The Witches of Breastwick.’ It also works as a character study as interplayed with hilarious action is interviews with the interested parties including sweet and tender views of the man himself from those that know him well, including his Mum. There are impressions given of Jim – the man, his methods and work from an eclectic cast including the legendary B-movie director Roger Corman. Jim has been in the business of making low budget features for a long time under various pseudonyms and has garnered respect – even if his methods are demanding and unorthodox. He did after all makeChopping Mall when he was only 21 – at the same time Raimi was making The Evil Dead – at more or less the same age.

Popatpopolis doesn’t draw this comparison, but Wynorski, like Corman decided to stick to the low budget feature as opposed to going into mainstream cinema.

The three day shoot with next to no money means that there is no wardrobe, make up – or semblance of proper co-ordination. A self confessed movie geek (his kitchen cupboards are full of movies), Jim provides none of the usual creature comforts. The make up and towels are brought in by the female cast themselves. ‘The Witches of Breastwick’ is a soft porn film and there are creative differences. One actress wants to keep a pair of pants on during a simulated sex scene and wants to know in her defence if Jim has never “pulled them to one side to get nasty.” “No” Wynorski blankly replies. The same actress wants to keep a pair of glasses on protesting on continuity grounds – who also later is made to go over the same line time and time again. Though evidently tired she goes on until it is delivered protesting at not having the time to go through what is needed like it was in the old days of low budget movie-making.

This is the clever part about this film – it follows a new demand made on those concerned whilst revoking the charm of what was. The scenes where the ‘witches’ gather around a fired cauldron, for the rest of the crew to rustle paper to simulate fire when the fire goes out harks back to the methods of Beaudine and Wood – well loved B-movie directors whose output is charming and innocent. But the methods here are purposely imposed by a Hollywood, as one actress rightly points out doesn’t make B-movies anymore, only A or C movies.

What Popatopolis does is hold a mirror to Hollywood’s nastier modern self: in an opening sequence, Jim is waiting for an actress to turn up for an interview. She eventually drives in late to see him, without much of an apology – or a resume, which Wynorski takes as a typical gesture. “Here’s a lesson for all you stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid chicks in Hollywood…and there’s plenty of you.” The vacuous nonchalance of the woman concerned deserves the sentiment. 

But ‘Witches’ is nonetheless successful having been bought by a respectable amount of broadcasters and has proved as a training ground for one of the crew who has gone on to assistant direct in multi-million features. This is what Hollywood was good at in its production of such films, giving newcomers the opportunity to cut their fledgling teeth. B-movie features were never made with enormous budgets but were not meant to be painful to endure in their making. It is considerably more fun watching the making of ‘The Witches of Breastwick’ than it must have been to make it.

 A lone criticism of Popatopolis is the lack of any direct questions posed by Clay Westervelt to Jim himself. It would have made the movie slightly more complete had we known Wynorski’s opinion as well as others involved. It is apparent that Jim likes making films with hot women in them (“let’s pop some tops”), but it is doubtful he really enjoyed the ructions that making a rushed effort creates. This does not detract however from the serious points underpinning the film.

 Popatopolis is a good film and a very enjoyable watch providing a cultural commentary on the lot of the modern film maker. Two weeks after this was shown at Raindance, David Putnam, responsible for Chariots of Fire told an interviewer at The London Film Festival that he would not bother making an ‘intelligent’ film as Chariots was, as now he did not believe that he would get the green light on the mid-range budget. What we are left with then are movies made with massive budgets or camcorders. Popatopolis although dealing with a very different subject matter, subtlety evokes the shame of it.

 Gail Spencer

For more information on the movie

http://www.popatopolis.com

The link for the YouTube trailer is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTV4Hmlio1U

AFTER DARK FILMS ANNOUNCES SIXTH FILM TO BE INCLUDED IN HORRORFEST 4

The Final joins the most recent edition of After Dark Horrorfest: 8 Films to Die For® Lineup

Los Angeles, CA (November 13, 2009) — After Dark Films CEO Courtney Solomon has announced that After Dark has acquired the teen revenge thriller The Final after inking a deal with Agora Entertainment. The film is the sixth title to be included in After Dark’s latest installment of Horrorfest: 8 Films to Die For. Joey Stewart makes his directorial debut working from a script written by Jason Kabolati. The film stars Marc Donato (Degrassi: The Next Generation), Jascha Washington, Whitney Hoy, Lindsay Seidel and Justin Arnold. Jason Kabolati of Agora Entertainment produced while Edward Lewis Von Hohn and Bill Randle served as executive producers on the film.

In The Final, the scenic Workley Ranch in Rocky Branch, TX, becomes the setting for retribution and revenge. In the midst of a wild costume party, five previously powerless and picked upon students are giving a “Final Exam” with just one question: “What did you do to deserve this?”

“This haunting and vengeful film is a perfect addition to this year’s line-up. Anyone who has experienced the difficulties of high school will find themselves empathizing with both the nerds and the popular kids alike“, stated After Dark EVP Stephanie Caleb.

Director Joey Stewart went on to say, “The Final is about being picked on, bullied, and tormented, and the retaliation and revenge that it incurs. As the characters feel that life has no meaning, they make a pact for revenge that will teach these kids a valuable life lesson. It’s about what happens when people are pushed to the brink of despair, and the consequences that the responsible parties must face.”

Dana Lambert, VP of Acquisitions at After Dark, brokered the deal with Brad Keller of Agora Entertainment.

* * *
After Dark Films:
Founded in 2006 by film producer/director/writer Courtney Solomon and real estate and textile financier Allan Zeman, After Dark Films is a leader in independent film finance, production and acquisition of genre films for theatrical release.

After Dark is perhaps best known for its creation and execution of After Dark Horrorfest® – 8 Films to Die For® (www.horrorfestonline.com). Debuting in 2006, After Dark Horrorfest ® is a one week national film festival that celebrates all areas of the horror genre. In its first year, Horrorfest became the first film festival in history to break into the Top 10 at the national box office, grossing over $2.5 million. Additionally, it has reached great success with over 1.6 million DVDs currently in circulation through distribution partner Lionsgate.

After Dark’s initial film release was the box office success An American Haunting (2006), written, directed and produced by Courtney Solomon. An American Haunting opened at the #2 spot in the nation and maintained its position for four weeks. Subsequent releases include The Abandoned; Skinwalkers, starring Jason Behr, Rhona Mitra and Matthew Knight; Captivity, starring Elisha Cuthbert and directed by Oscar-nominee Roland Joffe (The Killing Fields); and Frontier(s), directed by Xavier Gens (Hitman).

Earlier this year it was announced that After Dark Films is making its first foray into television, partnering with Lionsgate and IFC to co-produce the best selling book series, Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, written by Laurell K. Hamilton

Young Soul Rebels
A film by Isaac Julien
Starring Valentine Nonyela, Mo Sesay and Sophie Okonedo

Following the release of his acclaimed Looking for Langston and the award-winning Derek on DVD – and as
part of October’s Black History Month celebrations – BFI DVD releases the first feature by the Turner Prize-nominated artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien.

In the long hot summer of 1977, London prepared for the Silver Jubilee celebrations to the sounds of the burgeoning punk, soul and funk scenes.

Soul boys Chris (Valentine Nonyela) and Caz (Mo Sesay), a pair of pirate radio DJs, broadcast their show from a friend’s garage, tussling with the local skinheads, and clubbing with Chris’s sassy music-industry girlfriend Tracy (Sophie Okonedo).

But social and sexual tensions in the community reach boiling point following the murder of a local black gay man.

With its soulful soundtrack – Funkadelic, X-Ray Spex, Parliament, Sylvester and more – and enthusiastic young cast, this Cannes Critics’ Week prize-winner is an engaging and sensitive drama.

Special features:
•Original trailer
•Illustrated colour booklet with newly commissioned preface by Isaac Julien, essay by author and historian Stephen Bourne, and extract from Diary of a Young Soul Rebel (BFI, 1991)

Release date: 26 October 2009
RRP: £19.99 / cat. no. BFIVD866 / cert 18
UK, France, Germany / 1991 / colour / English, optional subtitles for the hearing-impaired / 105 mins / DVD-9 / ratio 1.77:1 (anamorphic 16×9)