alamo drafthouse - The Screengrab

Video of the Day: Leonard Nimoy at the Alamo

Yesterday we told you about Leonard Nimoy’s surprise appearance at the Alamo Drafthouse, where the new Star Trek movie unspooled in place of the previously announced screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The Alamo blog has the scoop on how the evening unfolded: “The opening credits of KHAN played out on the screen, and the audience was already psyched…In the very opening scene, though, something started to look off. The print we had was really bad, with long green lines and scratches through the whole thing. Before we’d made it more than ten lines into the dialogue, the scratches consumed the film, the picture got warped, and the film itself caught fire like the engine room of the Enterprise.” At this point, the screenwriters took the stage and…well, see for yourself. We have the video after the jump:

The Screengrab Holiday Special: Movies We're Thankful For (Part Two)

SCOTT VON DOVIAK IS THANKFUL FOR:

JAWS (1975)

It's the summer of 1975 and I have successfully completed the second grade. I am living on a Navy base in Puerto Rico, and I've got the run of the place: swimming pool, ball field, bowling alley, snack bar all within easy biking distance…and of course, the movie theater. We're a few months behind the states, which means every time a kid comes back from a week's vacation stateside, I hear about it all over again: Jaws. By summer's end, I have entire scenes memorized and I haven't even seen the damn thing yet. Every week I check the base newsletter (El Tiburon – meaning, of course, "the shark," and did I mention that our little league team was also called the Sharks?) for the upcoming movie listings. Finally it appears on the schedule. When the big night arrives, I pedal to the theater, ditch my bike and get in line. While trying to catch my breath, I overhear bits of conversation. They're not talking about sharks – they're talking about pinball wizards and deaf, dumb and blind kids. I get to the ticket window. "Sorry, there was a misprint. The movie tonight is Tommy." I pedal home in tears. I rage to my parents about the unfairness of it all. My dad gets on the horn and raises a stink. Apparently he's not the only one. The next night, I finally get my shark movie. I close my eyes when the head pops out from under the boat – I knew it was coming – but other than that, I'm good. I've seen it a few times since then.

Fantastic Fest Lineup Announced, Donkey Punching to Commence

It has come to my attention that there are those living outside the Austin area who grow weary of hearing and reading about the enchanted wonders of America’s greatest movie theater, the Alamo Drafthouse. Such individuals should avoid this post, which concerns the slate of “the strangest, the most heart-pounding and the most challenging new genre films” scheduled for the 2008 Fantastic Fest, to be held at said Drafthouse from September 18-25. Here are a few highlights:

JCVD – Jean-Claude Van Damme enters the Shatner phase of his career as he “portrays an aging action star whose career in Hollywood is all but washed up. Returning to his homeland in Brussels, he lands in the middle of a bank heist and may have to actually save the day.”