Tribeca Film Festival: ‘7 Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss By Passing Through the Gateway Chosen By the Holy Storsh’ is funny in small doses

7 Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss By Passing Through the Gateway Chosen By the Holy Storsh
Feature Narrative
Country: USA
Director: Vivieno Caldinelli
Writer: Justin Jones, Clayton Hewitson, Christopher Hewitson
Starring: Mark McKinney, Taika Waititi, Dan Harmon, Sam Huntington, Kate Micucci
Midwestern couple Claire and Paul are thrilled to find a great deal on an affordable Los Angeles apartment. But the rent is cheap for a reason: cult members keep breaking in at random to commit ritual suicide in their bathtub.

No distribution as of posting.

For a movie that I literally fell asleep during, I will say, I laughed a lot. However, it was too much all together. The wackiness and outlandishness would have been much better served as a series. Almost every person I encountered that had seen, said virtually the same thing. So much potential.

Hobbits, Vampires & Why You Should See ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ In a Theater

WWDITS-00009Even though I had seen What We Do In The Shadows, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to attend the Center For Communication screening and Q&A with the co-directors/co-writers/co-awesome Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement.

You may remember Clement from the sleeper HBO hit, The Flight of the Conchords with Bret McKenzie. Since then he’s been keeping busy with roles in Muppets Most Wanted and Men In Black 3. Waititi directed and starred with Clement in Eagle VS Shark, then gained notoriety with Boy, with 11 nominations and 6 wins at the New Zealand Film Festival.

Here’s the audio from Q&A:

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS Photo Credit Unison Films

With their signature deadpan (excuse the pun) style, the comedy works beautifully with a live audience, as there are roars of laughter and chuckles filling every moment. It’s both obvious and unexpected hilarity. The story loosely follows four vampire flatmates in the year leading up to the Unholy Masquerade, an annual gathering. Each character has their own unique charm and the supporting characters lend their own charm.

Taika Waitit

Taika Waititi

During the Q&A, the two revealed they first had the idea over 10 years ago and made a short film. They admit that the movie was “5 weeks of fun and 14 months of editing” explaining that one cut was heavy on story, but not funny, the other was hilarious, but no story.

Jemaine Clement1WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS Photo Credit  Unison Films (2)

Jemaine Clement

Clement also admitted that they owe their crew to Peter Jackson, as he let them use the second unit from The Hobbit, as well as camera equipment and some of the green screens.

WWDITS-00002The movie has already opened in New Zealand, and rather than sell to a U.S. distributor, they opted to create a Kickstarter campaign to raise the money to distribute to over 70 cities themselves. Their goal was met on February 13th and opened in New York and Los Angeles. The rollout continues to more cities every week.

Taika Waititi1 WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS Photo Credit Unison FilmsThe event was an advanced screening hosted by the Center For Communication with tickets free to students and faculty. After the screening a 30 minute Q&A was led by Indiewire, followed by a spread of cheeses and custom drinks.

What does Jemaine Clement, Vampire Roommates, Students & Free Screening have in common?

Ever since I heard about What We Do In The Shadows, I’ve been dying to see it. The movie has gotten RAVE reviews and has been released in New Zealand and soon to be released in the UK. It’s finally being released in the US February 13th and there’s a special advanced screening the night before at the SVA Theatre in Chelsea. The only tickets left are for students and faculty of universities and they’re FREEThis event is FREE to university undergraduate, graduate students and faculty only. A school issued ID will be required for free admission to this event. Read More →