Celebrities, movies, parties, 50-foot women – CineVegas has it all

June 15, 2009 by Richard Pierce 

Once again the glitz and glamor of Hollywood made its way to the neon lights of Las Vegas as the 11th Annual CineVegas Film Festival kicked off Wednesday night.

Since it’s inception, CineVegas has been an annual treat for local movie lovers, as well as a great source of creative and innovative independent films that otherwise would have never found their way into Vegas theaters.

This year’s festival started off with a star-studded red carpet event. Celebrities including Sarah Silverman, Dennis Hopper and Holly Madison made their way down the carpet for the opening ceremony, joined by local Vegas icons Carrot Top and Miss Nevada.

The ceremony preceded the world premier of the festival’s opening film “St. John of Las Vegas,” starring Sarah Silverman along with Steve Buscemi.

No matter what genre you prefer, this year’s CineVegas’s line-up has something for you to enjoy.

Some of the most notable films shown so far include “Black Dynamite,” a parody of 1970’s blaxploitation movies; “Stingray Sam,” a completely absurd yet screamingly funny sci-fi/western/musical/comedy and the hilarious documentary “Winnebago Man,” a study of the angry Winnebago salesman whose outtakes found their way onto YouTube, making him one of the most famous viral video stars of all-time.

Some other heavily hyped films include “The Revenant,” a vampire/buddy film; “World’s Greatest Dad,” starring Robin Williams and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait (which is the festival’s closing film) and a film made by two UNLV alums, brothers Jerry and Mike Thompson’s “Thor at the Bus Stop,” a hysterical film about the Norse god of thunder, trying to save the world while stuck in suburban Las Vegas.

Shorts precede many of the films, which is refreshing to see, since aside from some Bugs Bunny cartoons before some early ‘90s Warner Bros. flicks, I can’t ever recall seeing any shorts or cartoons before a film. There are also a couple 100-minute blocks of nothing but shorts that are quite fun in themselves.

Whether the shorts are documentaries, comedies, art house pieces or animated, almost all are unique, quirky and fun.

Even if one sucks, you’ll only have to put up with it for about 5 minutes until the movie starts.

Both the UNLV and College of Southern Nevada film departments have blocks tonight to show off some of their best works. This allows students to come out in support of their school’s brightest filmmakers.

The festival will feature two different award ceremonies for established Hollywood veterans Jon Voight and Willem Dafoe, accompanied by screenings of some of their older features.

The festival will conclude with a recreated drive-in style screening of the ‘50s classic B-movie “Attack of the 50 foot Woman,” to be shown on Fremont Street.

Sweet.

If you’ve never attended the festival before, it’s about time you did. There’s still time to catch some events this year, so head down to CineVegas, grab some popcorn, and watch a good movie.

Don’t forget to check up on the ticket packages available for next year–  which include differing amounts of free movie passes, complimentary happy hours and free party passes to mingle with other film lovers.

Movies, popcorn and free drinks. What more could you want?