Have an insatiable appetite for movies featuring weapon-wielding women, misunderstood misfits, alien protagonists or evil atomic ants? Embrace your bad taste! The fourth annual B Movie Celebration descends on Franklin, spreading its love for all that is cinematically strange.
Mike White, a Detroit-based B movie connoisseur and publisher of Cashiers du Cinemart, a magazine dedicated to the genre, will moderate a discussion with directors Bert I. Gordon, Jim Wynorski and Lloyd Kaufman, among others. He’ll also speak on a panel of writers and podcasters about the state of indie film criticism — an event he predicts will “end in tears.”
White’s forthcoming book, “Impossibly Funky,” features interviews with Crispin Glover, in-depth analysis of “psycho vixens,” rants about the “Highlander” films and a feature on “people hunting people” movies and a close look at Quentin Tarantino’s bathroom obsession.
Have you been to this celebration before? What can we expect?
I attended in 2008 and had a blast. All of the guests are genuine and accessible. It’s really all about folks who make and enjoy movies coming together. But, really, people should just be prepared to see some very interesting film fare. It'll be great to kick back, gnaw some popcorn, and enjoy the crazy films.
Is “B movie” a degrading term? How does one define “B?"
Like other derogatory terms, B movie has become a badge of honor. It used to be the second feature after the bigger-budgeted (and bigger-starred) “A” picture played. There weren’t a lot of high expectations for these second-billed movies and, thanks to them flying under the radar, they became the films where chances were taken.
When the film critics in post-war France responded to Hollywood cinema, it wasn't the A films that caught their attention, it was the B movies. They became the place for spectacle, wonder, and cheap special effects. B movie has become more of a generalized term for things like exploitation films, nudie cuties, monster movies, blaxploitation and more. But, in a way, it’s stayed true to its roots in that these are all still movies that aren’t “A” films.
Which five movies could you watch again and again?
My answer could change from day to day. But here’s today’s picks: “Black Shampoo”; “Once Upon a Time in the West”; “Dune” (the David Lynch version or even the Alan Smithee); “Goodfellas”; “Death Race 2000.”
How do you feel about new B-style movies like “Machete?”
I’m thinking of writing a piece about the current crop of exploitation throwbacks (“Machete,” “Piranha 3D,” “Bitch Slap,” “The Expendables”). I’m sure that a lot of those stem from Tarantino and (Robert) Rodriguez’s “Grindhouse” double feature, but there’s also a real fetishization of bad movies that seems to be happening.
It’s like audiences have realized how much they miss the communal experience of movies. I'm thinking specifically of the way movies like The Room, Birdemic, and Troll 2 have really come to the fore in the last few years. People are trying to find the next worst movie (my vote is “After Last Season”) to bring them together.
Essentially, this is the same spirit that’s going to be bringing people together for the B Movie Celebration with the difference that, even though the films scheduled are B movies, a lot of them are really well done.
