FULL MANIAFEST DETAILS
Giving fans what they have long desired, Mania Entertainment, publisher of Cinescape magazine and producer of the Cinescape Saturn Awards, has announced the launch of ManiaFest, showcasing the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror filmmaking while uniting luminaries in the field to honor the imaginative spirit of the genre through panels and other platforms. The four-day celebration, to benefit Boys & Girls Club of Santa Monica, will take place in the heart of Santa Monica (with festival headquarters at the Laemmle Theatre on 2nd Street), from September 18-21, 2003. Here’s a list of people you’ll see: Clive Barker, Wes Craven, Stuart Gordon, Tobe Hooper, George Romero, Eli Roth and Stan Winston. Read on for full details.
‘Presented in association with Cinescape, the festival will offer ongoing daily screenings of genre favorites, film premieres, and short and feature-length films from up-and-coming filmmakers. Each day will be sculpted around a theme, such as ‘Masters of Horror’ day, CrossGen Comic’s ‘Comic Books to Film’ day, and TokyoPop’s ‘Anime’ day. Leading industry panelists confirmed to take part include Spider-Man creator Stan Lee, Hellraiser director Clive Barker, Blade II director Guillermo del Toro, X-Men screenwriter David Hayter, The Scorpion King director Chuck Russell, Night of the Living Dead writer/director George Romero, Batman executive producer Michael Uslan and Cabin Fever director Eli Roth, to name a few.’
‘Folowing a VIP event including a sunset dinner and beach screening of genre favorite Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home the festival will officially kick off on September 18th. ManiaFest 2003 will be opened and closed, respectively, by the west coast premiere of Beyond Re-Animator and the world premiere of Monster Man, both distributed by Lions Gate Films. In-between are a notable slate of festival films including Ghost in the Shell, Junkers Come Here, Cowboy Bebop, Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro, Akira, Predator, Friday the 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hellraiser, Night of the Living Dead, Pumpkinhead, Batman, Blade, The Mask, Superman, Flash Gordon and Terminator.’
‘The goal of ManiaFest is not only to honor the great science fiction, fantasy and horror filmmakers of the past and present, but to discover the next generation of talent who exemplify the creative spirit of the genre,’ said Chip Meyers, CEO of Mania Entertainment. ‘
‘A talent competition will showcase the year’s best amateur-produced short films, screenplays and feature-length films. The top finalists will earn $12,000 in cash and prizes, their films will
be screened throughout the festival, and winning amateur filmmakers will be honored at ManiaFest’s closing ceremony. The deadline for film submissions is August 23, 2003. Judges include such industry luminaries as writer/director Mick Garris, CAA agent Jonathan Levin, Vice Chairman of Paxson Communications Jeff Sagansky, Lions Gate president of home entertainment, acquisitions and new media Peter Block and VP of Phoenix Pictures Brad Fischer, just to name a few.’
‘We believe that ManiaFest will soon become the ‘Sundance Film Festival’ of the science fiction, fantasy and horror genre,’ said Chase Masterson, Festival Chairwoman. ‘ManiaFest has been developed to unite the limitless creativity of genre filmmaking and the spirit of our dedicated audience.’
ManiaFest will conclude Sunday, September 21st with an event at Schatzi on Main Street in Santa Monica. In addition to the bestowal of the first annual Maniac Awards to the top winners of the filmmaker’s talent competition, the evening will honor special effects icon Stan Winston, creator of the animatronic wonders in Jurassic Park and The Terminator, who will be given the first annual ManiaFest Lifetime Achievement Award. Winston’s films, including Terminator, Predator and his directorial endeavor Pumpkinhead, will be featured throughout the weekend.’
‘Mania Entertainment LLC is the leading entertainment company focused on genre entertainment, including science fiction, fantasy and horror. Mania Entertainment is the publisher of the world’s leading genre publication Cinescape Magazine and the producer of the Cinescape Saturn Awards and ManiaFest (www.maniafest.com). The company’s ongoing focus is on creating genre entertainment experiences through multiple mediums, including magazine publishing, film, television, comics, novel publishing, live events and merchandise for a broad, highly imaginative fan base.’
Courtesy of Bloody Disgusting
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