Smoke Break #727: On The Silver Lining Of Home Foreclosures…

A new mini-doc called Cannonball shows how skateboarders in and around Fresno have been capitalising on the recession by riding all the abandoned pools in the backyards of foreclosed homes. It’s very similar to what the Lords of Dogtown kids did around Venice during the water shortages of the 1970’s and early 80’s.

Once upon a time, Fresno was the California Dream. Own a car. Own a house. Own a pool. Everyone wanted it and the wonderful world of credit made it all possible. But now, with the foreclosure monster running wild, the dream is dry. Thousands of pools are festering in the hot Central Valley sun. For most people this is tragic. But for some, it’s an opportunity.

Proof that every apocalypse has an upside…

“Bitter Feast” Trailer Freaks The Pants Off Food Bloggers…

A new movie making the film fest rounds this month is striking fear in the hearts of food scribes. Directed by Joe Maggio, “Bitter Feast” shows what can happen when a psychotic celebrity chef (working for Mario Batali) catches up with the vicious food blogger that tore his restaurant to pieces in a review.

“I Mean, What Are They Gonna Say, Man, When He’s Gone, Huh?”

The legendary Dennis Hopper (actor of Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now and Blue Velvet fame) has died at the age of 74. I loved him dearly. In my limited opinion, the best part he ever played was himself in the cult show Fishing With John. I’ve posted the episode in its entirety after the jump. Feel free to weep… Read more

Poseidon Ain’t Got Nothin’ On Big River Man Martin Strel

“Horse burger. Horse burger. Yes.”

I have a new hero and his name is Martin Strel (hat tip, reader S.H.)

“Clash Of The Titans” Advance Screening Tickets Up For Grabs

SCOUT is sponsoring Vancouver’s March 31st exclusive advance screening of Louis Letterier’s remake of the 1981 cult classic, Clash of the Titans. The new version, an effects-driven tale, stars Sam Worthington (Avatar), Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient), Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List), and Pete Postlethwaite (The Usual Suspects). It tells of the mortal son of Zeus defending Greece and the Heavens after Hades rises to wrest control over both. As you can see from the clips above, it looks pretty intense. Not exactly The World According To Garp, but we all make exceptions for art, and that Kraken at the end of the trailer is gnarly. If you join us with a double pass of your own (you and a date), invent your own mythical creature in the comments. Be as descriptive as you like. The best ones win tickets, starting now.

PS. Consulting your Monster Manual for aid in this contest will result in the confiscation of your 20-sided dice.

Score Tickets To “Cop Out” With Bruce Willis And Tracy Morgan

We have dozens of tickets to give away to the new WB comedy Cop Out, starring Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis. The first 20 people to tell us in the comments where they watched the Canada-USA gold medal hockey game (with a few words on what it was like) will win a free pair.

Upcoming Film Documents The Making Of A Rockstar’s Winery

“Blood Into Wine, the eagerly awaited documentary on Tool/Puscifer front man Maynard James Keenan and his vineyard partner Eric Glomskis mission to bring notoriety and respect to Northern Arizonas burgeoning wine industry, will premiere at the W Hotel in Scottsdale, AZ on Feb. 19 at 7:00 pm.

While the film focuses on Keenans winemaking, Blood Into Wine gives a larger picture of the often reclusive singer. Maynard is as mysterious and complex as rumored so we don’t know exactly why he allowed our cameras and questions into his world for the winemaking year of 2009, explains co-director Ryan Page.

“But once we got past his pitbulls and his crossbows we were surprised that Maynard was open with us challenging the perception of him as a celebrity winemaker and the notion that making wine in Arizona is like making wine on the moon. Maynard and Eric continue to surprise the winemaking world right now,” co-director Christopher Pomerenke adds.

Co-directed by Ryan Page and Christopher Pomerenke (Moog, The Heart is a Drum Machine), the documentary was shot using multiple Red One cameras, allowing cinematographer Cary Truelick to capture the craggy landscape surrounding Keenans vineyards in stunning detail. Editor Robert Beadle skillfully worked with over 200 hours of footage to help craft the story of two pioneer winemakers in an unforgiving region. Blood Into Wine was Produced by Chris “Topper” McDaniel, Ryan Page, Jason Stall, and Christopher Pomerenke.

Nationwide screenings will be announced shortly with a DVD release coming Spring 2010.Blood Into Wine will hold it’s red carpet World Premiere at the W Hotel in Scottsdale, AZ on Friday, February 19th 2010. Maynard and Eric will introduce the film along with Co-Directors Ryan Page and Christopher Pomerenke.”

National Film Board Of Canada Enters The 21st Century Online

Dig this. The National Film Board of Canada’s screening room has gone High-Def. You can now watch 17 films in HD, including the classic The Cat Came Back and the very Vancouver-centric Carts of Darkness, here. Click play above to watch A Day In Pacific Rim, a 1978 near silent short filmed outside Tofino. Awesome. Via Retro Thing:

Matthew Forsythe says, “What an amazing year it has been for the NFB. It’s been exactly one year since we launched the NFB Screening Room – we wanted to make the NFB more accessible to Canadians and the world and the response has been overwhelming and exceeded our expectations in every way.”

Their online library now includes almost 1,500 titles. The site has served 3.7 million online film views since launch, with 41% coming from outside Canada. All in all, a fantastic way to share a brilliant Canadian film collection with the world.

Click on the “standard quality” link in the embed player to switch to HD. Enjoy.

Score Double Passes To The New Denzel Flick, “The Book Of Eli”

Warner Bros. has given us a whole bunch of double passes to The Book of Eli to give away to our readers. The new post-apocalyptic action movie starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman looks pretty dang gnarly. To win, follow us on Twitter and keep a look out for our giveaway tweets, starting today.

Win Double Passes To “Invictus” Beginning Tonight On Twitter

A reminder to all of our readers following us on Twitter to keep their eyes peeled for the first of our Invictus trivia tweets tonight. Each winner will score a double pass to the film. We have plenty to give away, so if at first you don’t succeed, yada yada…

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