Hell on Wheels available on iTunes

for reals, yo:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMovie?id=333912438&s=143441online, iTunes, roller derby

ROCK OPERA 10 year anniversary screening on Oct 10

Put down the bong for a bit and come on down to the Rock Opera 10 Year Anniversary Screening at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar on Oct 10!!

Here’s the blurb from the Alamo’s page:

ROCK OPERA 10 Year Reunion + Voltage Live!

Rated NR; Director:Bob Ray (1999)  

Location: Alamo South Lamar
This show is a part of the Celebrity Guests Signature Series, Click to See More

Austin-based filmmaker Bob Ray is bringing the old crew back together for a night of punk rock debauchery to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of his cult-legendary Austin stoner-caper flick ROCK OPERA! The tale of Austin musician Toe’s struggle to put together a tour for his struggling band PigPoke. Through selling dirt weed, stabbing people in the back and double-crossing half a dozen of the meanest sons of bitches in Texas, Toe weasels himself into a position to get his band on the road. Half stoner comedy, half suspense thriller and 100% dope ass flick.

Including performances by Nashville Pussy, Fuckemos, Witchbanger, and PigPoke as well as the music of Butthole Surfers, Ed Hall, El Flaco, Pong, Cherubs, Honky, The Crack Pipes, Titz, Pocket FishRmen, Phantom Creeps, Antebellum, Squat Thrust, El Insecto, Tallboy, and Voltage. After the screening, head over the The Highball for live performances by the newly reunion’d Voltage, Pocket FishRmen and Tia Carrera!

and here’s the press release:

For immediate release:

Critically acclaimed and award winning (and kickass) stoner-caper-comedy ROCK OPERA presents its 10 year anniversary screening at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar on October 10 at 8:30pm with writer-director Bob Ray

In October of 1999, the Alamo Drafthouse screened the soon-to-be cult classic stoner flick, Rock Opera, for three weeks at their original Colorado Street location.  Laughter was heard, weed smell was smelt, fun was had.  Chad Holt probably got laid.  It was a good time by all accounts and measures.

So, come October 10, 2009, the gang is back!  Writer-director Bob Ray will present the film and be accompanied by many of the original Rock Opera hooligans.  The screening will feature clips from Ray’s documentary work-in-progress, TOTAL BADASS (featuring Rock Opera’s Chad Holt) as well as a selection of Ray’s short animated “CrashToons” (several of which have been featured on Playboy.com and Turner Network’s Super Deluxe).  But the main event is a super-rare screening of the cult fave Rock Opera, with Bob Ray and crew hosting a post screening Q&A and an ear-gasmically sweet post-post-screening rock and roll show with bands from the flick (see below).

Rock Opera tells the tale of Austin musician Toe’s (Jerry Don Clark) struggle to put together a tour for his foundering band PigPoke. Back-stabbing, dirt weed-selling Toe double-crosses half a dozen of the meanest sonsa’ bitches in Texas to weasel himself into a position to get his band on the road. Half stoner-comedy, half suspense-thriller and 100% dope ass flick, Rock Opera is the original stoner-action-comedy (despite what Pineapple Express claims)!

Rock Opera launched Bob Ray’s “career” and netted a load of great press (including an Austin Chronicle cover story where Richard Linklater interviewed Ray).  Peep some love:  “Rock Opera possesses that delicious sense of the absurd for which so many indie films strive for but very few achieve. Never before has the underground Austin music scene been brought onscreen to such glorious, pot-reeking life. Rock Opera could very well be the next Austin film to inherit the low-budget crown previously worn by Slacker and El Mariachi.”  –SXSW (world premiere, ‘99)

**** (four stars)  “Hilarious”  –Toronto Eye

“Rock Opera is damn funny.”  –The Seattle Stranger

“If every pot user goes to see Rock Opera, I think you’ll have a hit on your hands.”   –Richard Linklater

“Tense, violent and funny, Rock Opera is solid midnight movie fare.”   –Variety

“Genuinely warped…scathingly hilarious…a spot-on quasi-parody of the day-to-day existence of struggling Austin musicians and their wayward ways.”
–The Austin Chronicle

“I love Rock Opera!”  –Steve Bloom, High Times Magazine
(Nominated for a Stony Film Award)

**** (four stars)   “A good old fashioned ass kicking spectacle.”  –Film Threat

“Rife with rocking energy…  a hell of a time.”
–New Times L.A.

“Rock Opera delivers the goods.”  –Willamette Weekly

“Truly suspenseful… terribly funny… Rock Opera puts Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to shame.” — SF Weekly

Bob Ray bio: Rock Opera is Bob Ray’s first feature film and the flick has screened at more than two dozen film festivals and over thirty theatrical engagements across the globe, garnering much critical acclaim along the way. Ray has since made several music videos for the likes of Nashville Pussy, Riverboat Gamblers, Fuckemos and more.  In addition, Ray keeps busy with a slew of short films and animation (many of Ray’s animated “CrashToons” have screened at various fests and Ray has created animated shorts for Playboy.com and Turner Network’s SuperDeluxe.com).  Ray currently is working on his second documentary feature (his first doc, the critically heralded fest fave “Hell on Wheels,” tells the Texas tale of the rebirth of roller derby (available on DVD from IndiePix!)), called TOTAL BADASS and featuring Rock Opera’s Chad Holt.  Now in post-production, TOTAL BADASS will debut in 2010.  Find more information on Ray and his films at: www.CrashCamFilms.com

But wait, there’s more! Come get you some free whatnot:

• HiFi VHS copies of Rock Opera
• Vintage Rock Opera posters (vintage!)
• HiFi VHS copies of Bob Ray’s short film collection “Old Stupid Shit”
• and more (probably)!

Rock Opera (90 min., unrated)

screening at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar (1120 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX (512) 476-1320)

October 10, 2009 at 8:30pm  http://www.originalalamo.com/Show.aspx?id=6744#tb

www.RockOperaTheMovie.com

After Party at The Highball: Witness a special reunion show for Austin’s most-awesome VOLTAGE and Pocket FishRmen at the Official Rock Opera After-Party at the Highball!!!  Come throw down with the Rock Opera posse!  And bring your balls* (or borrow someone’s) to be rocked!  *(note, booties will also be rocked.)  The Highball is the Alamo’s new party-down palace, located next door to their South Austin Theater.

# # #

Here’s some early press:

http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/austinmovies/entries/2009/09/22/rock_opera_turns_10.html

http://www.persistenceofvision.org/2009/09/23/rock-opera-10th-anniversary-screening/

http://joemoconnell.blogspot.com/2009/09/rock-opera-turns-10.html

Total Badass nearing a first cut!

Our new film around here is called TOTAL BADASS.  It’s a documentary!  The film’s site is http://www.TotalBadassTheMovie.com and there’s a new Facebook page as well.

The film is INSANE.  Too much and too early to explain here.  But if you want a sneak peek at what the film is about, come on down to the Rock Opera 10 Year Anniversary Screening at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar on Oct 10 where we’ll screen a little clip from the film.  It’s gonna be a hoot!

here’s more info on the screening: http://www.originalalamo.com/Show.aspx?id=6744#tb

BTW, we’ll also screen a few CrashToons at the Rock Opera gig!

Texas Monthly plugs HELL ON WHEELS

http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-10-01/hollywoodtx.php

Big Wheels: Want to know how they really roll?

If you’re curious about the historical underpinnings of Whip It’s fictional story, check out Bob Ray’s documentary Hell on Wheels, which chronicles the formation of BGGW (Bad Girl, Good Woman), one of the Austin leagues responsible for the current roller derby renaissance. (The film is on DVD, but you can also watch it for free at snagfilms.com.) After premiering at South by Southwest, in 2007, Hell on Wheels played at a number of other festivals but never found theatrical release, perhaps because a rollicking first third gives way to a slightly picayune chronicle of labor disputes and intraleague squabbles. Still, Ray captures some delightful sights, including scenes from the very first matches featuring the Holy Rollers, and he puts forth a spirited portrait of a group of sometimes difficult but extremely determined women who took a man’s exploitative idea and skated with it to feminist glory.

watch HELL ON WHEELS for free at SnagFilms

believe it: http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/hell_on_wheels/

see my Puss on Playboy.com

New “Platypus Rex” CrashToons cartoon on Playboy.com!!!!

A brand NEW episode of Platypus Rex is now live on Playboy.com. APESH!T is already enjoying the thrill of being a Playboy cartoon (and the perks are perky!), and now the feisty platypus gets his debut.

So PLEASE swing on by the site and peep the ‘toons and leave a comment:

APESH!T:
http://www.playboy.com/articles/playmation-nation-butterface/index.html

Platypus Rex:
http://www.playboy.com/articles/playmation-nation-platypus-rex-half-mile-high-club/index.html

Please leave a comment as it’s very helpful to us and will help us be able to make more ‘toons for Playboy. it’s FREE to watch AND free to leave a comment!!!

Step 1: Watch, Laugh, Type
http://www.playboy.com/articles/playmation-nation-platypus-rex-half-mile-high-club/index.html
Watch the ‘toons, laugh, type in a comment and hit “submit”

A little pop-up box will inform you “Before your comment will be added, you will need to login”
Click the “Login” button.

Step 2: “Community Access”
The next page says:

“Playboy.com Login
Please login below to continue. Cookies must be enabled to login.
No account? For community access click here. For nude content, Join Now.”

Click the “For community access click here.” Button.

Step 3: Fake ID
You made it t to the Free Registration page!

Fill in a “name,” “password,” and “email” address***
<<< NOTE: you do NOT have to use your real name and email addy if you don’t want to. They don’t verify that it’s a valid email address.

Once the info is filled out, click “Get Free Access Now!”

This will take you to another page that has a huge button that reads: “Click here to return to previous feature.”

Click that mofo and, pow! DONE! Way to help a friend out!

Simple, eh?

Now that you are logged in, pretty-please go leave a comment on the APESH!T page: http://www.playboy.com/articles/playmation-nation-butterface/index.html

Now, if enough folks love the APESH!T and Platypus Rex, we’ll get to make more. That’d freakin rule!

Thanks a bunch!
-bob

Playboy and Bob Ray’s CrashToons double-team of hilarity

Big News!

Playboy and CrashToons double-team for hilarity!!!

That’s right, swing over to: http://www.playboy.com/articles/playmation-nation-butterface/index.html to catch the first glimpse of APESH!T on Playboy.com

Playboy just re-launched their web site and it now features some fantastic adult animation (i.e. Family Guy, Adult Swim, South Park style humor, not porn (there’s plenty o’ nakedness on the rest of Playboy’s site, so not to fret)).

Part of this fantastic batch of toon-mayhem are some CrashToons ‘toonage! The first one to go live is APESH!T Butter Face. Over the next several weeks, look out for another APESH!T and three Platypus Rex episodes. If all goes well, we’ll be making more ‘toons for Playboy very soon. So please swing by and check it out and watch it a million times! Here are some more links of interest:

http://www.playboy.com
http://www.playboy.com/humor/index.html
http://www.playboy.com/humor/play-mation-nation/index.html

http://www.CrashToons.com

Hell on Wheels screening in Austin on Sun, March15 at 6pm.

The kick ass Scoot Inn Bar on the East Side in Austin will host the screening.  There’ll be movie, DVDs for sale, filmmakers in attendance, post-screening Q&A, drinks!  Good times.

Sunday, March 15th at 6pm.

1308 East 4^th Street

Austin, TX

www.scoot-inn.com

www.HellOnWheelsTheMovie.com

Chupcacbra @ SXSW

CrashToons’ animated gem “Spanish Lessons with Chupacabra Volume 7: Conversational Spanish” will screen at the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival.  The ‘toon is screening in the SXSW AFS Member Showcase block on Saturday, March 14 at the Hideout Theater in downtown Austin.

LA Comedy Shorts Fests freakin’ rules!!!

No shit!  That fest was one of the most fun festivals I’ve ever been to.  Fucking ever.  I met a ton of great folk, it was organized like a well-lubed lubricating machine and I saw an ass-load of funny as hell shorts.  And parties, right?  Fuck!  I don’t remember leaving the closing night party… sorry if I broke anything or embarrassed you… I did loose my jacket, so if anyone finds a black windbreaker with Bultaco written on the back and a bunch of CrashToons DVDs and stickers in the pocket, I lay claim to it.

Aside from that, it was near flawless.  Amazingly, ridiculously fun.  And I got to hang out with Granny Squidbilly!

Thanks to Jeannie, Ryan and Gary for showing my ‘toons and congrats on hosting such an amazing fest.  I hope to be back for #2.

Hugs & shit,

-bob