Matters are calming down enough for me to finally share with everybody some rather past-due stories, especially all the hype I pushed last month over Alamo’s first and hopefully not its last Russellmania. I won’t put a Roman numeral after the title until there’s a second festival celebrating all films starring Kurt Russell.
Let me get one thing out of the way, Kurt was invited multiple times by MC Zack but he declined every opportunity. You know already from a past post that James Hong appeared instead. There will be more involving him later. Again, maybe next year when he (or his agent) discover the outpouring of affection for him.
To review, Russellmania was an all-day marathon featuring five random movies of Kurt’s along with food specials following the theme. Check them out here courtesy of Somara’s flickr page.
As we were entering the Ritz’s larger theater, there was a table with goodies to get into the spirit…eyepatches and candy cigarettes. The pre-show consisted of these videos:
- Snippets of the Disney short Dad Can I Borrow the Car?
- Teen Kurt giving the Osmonds a tour of the Haunted Mansion. Even as a kid Donny was creepy.
- Kurt’s audition for Han Solo! It was amazing to see how different the script was when he was reading for it. Alderaan = Organa; Luke is the only passenger.
- John Carpenter talkin about how he enjoyed working with Kurt.
- Snippets from the Elvis miniseries Kurt starred in.
- The Big Trouble in Little China music video.
- Kurt narrating the highlights of Disneyland.
- A scene from a Western Kurt did as a kid with Charles Bronson.
- A toy commercial for an air cannon shaped like an RPG and tweener Kurt is dressed like a terrorist.
- Kurt’s appearance on Martin Short’s Jimmy Glick show.
MC Zack hit the stage with his crew dressed as various Kurt Russell characters. They explained to the audience about how hard it was to maintain secrecy on their choices. Numerous people approached them during the previous two months with suggestions and/or demands to know what would be shown. Zack assured everyone the day would be awesome as we would be shown Kurt’s versatility.
Now to give the list with anecdotes, genres and my personal rating, not necessarily in such an order.
- Captain Ron – Comedy – B+: The programming crew was surprised by how many people insisted on this early Nineties comedy being in the marathon. I’ve always wanted to see it yet never got around to it. Despite Kurt stealing the show, I recall Ron was really a starring vehicle for Martin Short. It certainly was a product of its time. I remember Hollywood making numerous movies centered around families from Chicago (Uncle Buck, Home Alone, Wayne’s World, etc.) until my move to Austin. Captain Ron is genuinely funny and I recommend it.
- Escape from New York – Action – 1981 version of me A; 2013 A-: Keeping up with movies in which Kurt wears an eyepatch, the programmers chose the game-changer in Kurt’s career. For years he was seen as “the kid” from those Disney movies. Never mind the Elvis miniseries and Used Cars preceding this, Escape got all the attention. I too remember how my parents ridiculed the commercials because Kurt would always be the clean-cut teenager from The Barefoot Executive. Anyway, I had no idea Carpenter originally wanted Charles Bronson for Snake. I’m glad he rolled the dice with Kurt since they made a couple more memorable flicks afterwards. Escape is rather dated, (hell it happens 16 years in the past!) but it remains well loved thanks to the cast (Isaac Hayes, Donald Pleasance, Ernest Borgnine, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau and Lee Van Cleef) and how over the top it is. The black comedy elements are easily lost on anyone born after Mayor “Benito” Guiliani’s reign. The only downside was the film’s print. It was an original from 30-plus years ago, thus it was very scratched and faded. I’ll take it over digital for the event.
- Dreamer – Drama – B: The programmers wanted to demonstrate Kurt’s acting chops, plus he stated how proud he was of it on a press junket for something other flick. I certainly was under my radar when it hit theaters years ago, must’ve been a Spring or Fall release. Dreamer’s cast is its selling point: Dakota Fanning, Luis Guzman, Kris Kristofferson and Elisabeth Shue. The acting is superb. The story is rather predictable. The facts behind the real-life events were extremely fudged to make this into a movie.
- Breakdown – Thriller – A-: This was another hidden treasure in the Russell catalog. I have no memory of its release in 1997 and I went to the movies practically every weekend. The plot is very predictable, especially when the main heavy appears in an early scene. Breakdown earns a high rating for successfully making my heart race during the final act. I doubt it was the sugar in my bloodstream by then.
- Big Trouble in Little China – Multiple – A+: If this weren’t shown, the police would’ve been required to quell the ensuing riot. I’m not going to ramble on about China, so many others have covered it better and either you know this Action-Comedy or you don’t. Zack did ask everyone to stick around for the surprise…James Hong.
Before I describe James Hong’s involvement, between each screening we had quick bathroom breaks and trailers which acted as hints about the movies they wouldn’t be showing:
- Soldier
- World’s Strongest Man
- The Thing
- Tango & Cash
- Overboard
- Now You See Him, Now You Don’t
- Miracle
- Tombstone
- Used Cars
- The Barefoot Executive
- Sky High
- Executive Decision
- The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
- Dark Blue
With Big Trouble in Little China concluded, the Alamo crew started their re-enactment of the wedding scene from China. The audience gave James Hong a standing ovation when he hit the stage dressed as Lo Pan. James spoke briefly, made a couple jokes and thanked everyone for making his first ever visit to Austin great. The evening then wrapped up with a video parody of the worn-out K-Pop tune “Lo Pan Style.” Hong having a cameo in it brought me a smile.
James Hong thanking Austin for coming
Following the same pattern of choices, these are my suggestions for Russellmania II:
- Comedy: Used Cars
- Action: Stargate
- Drama: Miracle
- Thriller: Unlawful Entry
- Multiple: Big Trouble in Little China, why mess with success!