Okay ... I have to get up at five to go to work tomorrow, so I really should be in bed right now but I just got sucked into the American Film Market website. The AFM would be the big annual confab where independent film makers try to sell their films to different distributors. Now, as much as we love independent film around here the simple fact is that a great many independent films are independent for a reason. They're really, really bad. A lot of films at AFM fall into this category. A quick perusal of the official film list answers the ol' 'where are they now question' quite simply: they're still here making films that nobody is ever likely to see.
Example? It seems like just yesterday that we were talking about Nightcourt and the original cinematic Beastamster round these parts. That's because it was just yesterday. And look! Marc Singer and Richard Moll in a horrific 'erotic thriller' with post-breakdown Margot Kidder! You can watch the trailer here, but I honestly recommend against it, especially if you happen to be at work ...
And, Dave! Look! Dave! It's COREY FELDMAN! IN A LEAD ROLE! I'm not making this up! Here he is!
What do you do if you're a washed up Belgian action star with a North American career locked in straight to video hell? If you're Jean Claude Van Damme you take a minor part in a French film about a narcoleptic who dreams of being a super-hero! I'm not making this up, either, and it shockingly looks as though it could be a half decent film ...
The French are also giving former Guy Ritchie star Jason Flemyng another shot following his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen debacle, co-starring with Mrs. Johnny Depp in this alien-invasion comedy ...
And what do you do if you're a giant ant? You just keep right on going ...
There are actually quite a few good films tucked away in there, but the only one I'm going to point out is the big-budget live action adaptation of Arsene Lupin AKA The Castle of Cagliostrato AKA Lupin The Third. This same source material drove a very long running anime show much loved around the world and the live action footage looks killer ...
You can find the complete AFM list - with a ton of other trailer links - here.