AUTOMATONS: The Book of the Movie NOW Available on Amazon!

 

Volume 3 of Pulp 2.0’s Cinexploits series focuses on this low-fi sci-fi Cult Favorite from Glass Eye Pix

AUTOMATONS: The Book of the Movie, edited by Pulp 2.0 founder Bill Cunningham, is available now on Amazon.

The book takes a look behind the scenes at the making of the 2005 Glass Eye Pix production of AUTOMATONS, written and directed by James Felix McKenney (HYPOTHERMIA, SATAN HATES YOU) and produced by Larry Fessenden through his long-standing New York based production shingle Glass Eye Pix (THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, STAKE LAND, THE RANGER, DEPRAVED).

AUTOMATONS stars then-newcomer Christine Spencer (SATAN HATES YOU) alongside veteran genre actor Angus Scrimm (PHANTASM) in a low-fi sci-fi experiment about war, robots and the end of humanity — all captured on glorious black-and-white, super-8mm film.

After dozens of festival screenings, rave reviews from critics, and theatrical runs in New York and Chicago, AUTOMATONS was released on DVD in 2007 by Facets Multimedia.

Pulp 2.0 now reintroduces this movie to genre-addicts on its 13th anniversary. Join author Bill Cunningham as he takes a deep-dive into this bespoke feverish piece of pulp cinema.

Included in the book:
• The complete AUTOMATONS screenplay
• Interviews with the cast & crew
• Interview with the director, James Felix McKenney
• Behind-the-scenes photos and sketches
• Tributes to AUTOMATONS actors Angus Scrimm (PHANTASM) and John Levene (DOCTOR WHO)
 • Introduction by Max Brooks author of THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE and WORLD WAR Z

AUTOMATONS is currently being rescanned in HD from the original 8mm film and remastered by director James Felix McKenney for a proposed home video 2020 rerelease.

AUTOMATONS: The Book of the Movie is available now on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1713297361 

Pick yours up today and see how humanity dies!

“AUTOMATONS is what happens when ERASERHEAD and TETSUO THE IRON MAN bong
themselves into oblivion... Robot radness achieved!
— Nathan Lee, VILLAGE VOICE 

“...the movie’s loving attention to light and shade transcends its hermetic setting and meager
budget. At times the buzzing static and fizzy backlighting recall the glistening surrealism of
the filmmaker Guy Maddin…"
— Jeannette Catsoulis, NEW YORK TIMES 

“It’s not a film of compromise but of sheer determination, refusing to be defined by its budget
and liberated by a decision to overcome its bank account with sheer imagination.” — S. James Snyder, NEW YORK SUN

A first look at the AUTOMATONS book — coming soon!

Coming soon, the book celebrating our low-fi sci-fi flick AUTOMATONS. Sample pages brought to you by publisher Pulp 2.0.

Tales from Beyond the Pale - The Podcast

 

Tales from Beyond the Pale, Glass Eye Pix’s chilling audio drama series, is now a podcast that will offer up a different episode weekly each Thursday, mixing premieres and new content with Tales plucked from archives comprised of over 40 half-hour recordings by a diverse swath of genre writers and directors.

Visit the Tales podcast site here and tune in via your favorite podcast player!

Jack Fessenden's FOXHOLE wraps!

Glass Eye Pix and Nous Entertainment are in production on
Jack Fessenden’s Sophomore feature FOXHOLE now shooting in the Hudson Valley

FOXHOLE writer/director/editor/score Jack Fessenden
Motell Gyn Foster as Jackson
James Le Gros as Wilson
Cody Kostro as Clark
Angus O’Brien as Conrad
Alex Hurt as Morton
Alex Breaux as the German
Asa Spurlock as the Confederate

and Andi Matichak as Gale

Producers Larry Fessenden, Adam Scherr, Chris Ingvordsen and James Felix McKenney

SIZE UP Wraps!

That’s a wrap on Rigo Garay’s directorial debut!

James Felix McKenney's EIGHTEEN REINDEER

 

James Felix McKenney's low-fi experimental short holiday film EIGHTEEN REINDEER premieres today as part of the 2018 Creepy Christmas online film festival.

Watch all the films at creepychristmasfest.com!

You can also watch McKenney's 2008 short, DECEMBER 23rd, from the last Creepy Christmas festival here.

The Return of the Creepy Christmas Film Festival!

 

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first one, the 2018 Creepy Christmas Film Festival debuts online December 1st with the first short in the series, followed by a new film appearing every day until the titular holiday.

Featuring films by Larry Fessenden (HABIT), Jenn Wexler (THE RANGER), Glenn McQuaid (I SELL THE DEAD), Graham Reznick (DEADWAX), Mickey Keating (PSYCHOPATHS), Joe Maggio (BITTER FEAST), JT Petty (HELLBENDERS), James Felix McKenney (SATAN HATES YOU), and festival founder and curator, Beck Underwood, this is a horrific cinematic advent calendar that’s not to be missed!

The festive fun starts on December 1st at:
creepychristmasfest.com

Read more about it at Rue Morgue!

First Annual Great Western Catskills International Film Festival Film Schedule and Details Announced

 

The Great Western Catskills International Film Festival, co-founded by James Felix McKenney and Lisa Wisely, will make its debut in the town of Andes, New York in Delaware County, New York on Friday, October 19th through Sunday, October 21st. Screenings and events, including a spotlight on local filmmakers with appearances from those creators, will be hosted throughout the hamlet of Andes through the three days with the three primary locations slated to be Wayside Cider Tap Room at 55 Redden Lane, The Andes Hotel at 110 Main Street and Streamside Studio at 506 Main Street, all in Andes.

“We are thrilled to be showcasing almost 90 films in all genres over the three-day festival” notes Festival Director Lisa Wisely. “We are also super excited to welcome at least fifty different filmmakers and their guests to Delaware County for what we hope to be a beautiful fall weekend.”
Highlights of the festival include The Ranger (Friday, October 19th at 7pm at Wayside Cider), a punk rock slasher film starring Chloe Levine and Jeremy Holm and shot in part in the Catskills. In the spirit of the Halloween season, the festival is excited to showcase “Thrilling and Chilling Shorts” (Sunday, October 21st at 1pm at Wayside Cider) and the films of horror auteur and Catskills resident Larry Fessenden when the festival screens several of Fessenden’s films including Wendigo starring Patrick Clarkson, Jake Weber and Erik Per Sullivan as well as The Last Winter featuring Ron Perlman, Connie Britton and James Le Gros.

The festival also has a variety of showcases featuring local talent including “Raining Hell” by Bovina filmmaker Chris Ingvordsen (Friday, October 19th at 8:30 at Streamside Yoga) and a series called “Start Your Engines!” which features a number films related cars, travel, trucks and racing, also by Bovinian filmmakers Mark Foster and John Finn. Other films with local connections include “Animals” by Jason Moore (Friday, October 19th at 5pm at Wayside Cider), a dark comedy shot exclusively in Walton and “Summers with Helen” (Saturday, October 20th at 3pm at the Andes Hotel) by Elaine Miles, a  conceptual documentary about two older women on summer vacations in the Catskills.

“We were really excited about the number of film submissions we received that included stories of service and the military,” says Festival Programmer, James Felix McKenney. This includes the film Surviving Home by Jillian Moul and Matthew Moul (Saturday, October 20th at 7pm at The Andes Hotel) which explores an incredible eight-year journey of U.S. military veterans from four generations as they discover unique ways to overcome post-war challenges, transforming their lives and continuing their service to others, as well as, A Soldier’s Dream, by Eduardo Montes-Bradley. This film is an intimate portrait of POW captured at The Battle of The Bulge who stood proud as an American Jew in the face of his Nazi captors.

The festival is made possible in part by a grant program administered through the Delaware County Occupancy Tax fund that provides various grants to selected projects that increase tourism and enhance arts and culture in the county. It’s is also made possible by the generous contribution of the festival sponsor Hazen Reed and Susan Muther, the Catskill Country Living Team at Keller Williams.
The full listing of all 90 films can be found at the official festival website at gwciff.com.

AuthorCon / ParaHorror Festival

James Felix McKenney will be appearing at Author Con / Para Horror Festival in Oneonta, NY on October 12 & 13.

A screening of three of our films, The Off Season, Satan Hates You and Automatons will take place starting at 3:00pm on Friday. On Saturday, McKenney will host a filmmaking panel at 5pm.

Tickets are available at the festival website.

Indie Science Fiction Cinema

 

Check out this wonderful book by Kathleen Fernandez-Vander Kaay and Chris Vander Kaay covering a wide range of recent SF films that includes a section on our film AUTOMATONS with an interview with James Felix McKenney, as well as discussions with other filmmakers about their modern SF movies.

Pick up Indie Science Fiction Cinema Today: Conversations with 21st Century Filmmakers today!