Fantastic Fest is one of our favorite film festivals. It’s a place where fans of cool genre programming can get together and watch some awesome, and often obscure, films.

As in years past, this year’s fest looks to feature some great films and we’re pleased to bring you the announcement of the first wave of programming that will be showing during the fest. This programming includes the red carpet premiere of Dredd in 3D as well as retrospective screenings of films such as The Entity and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

Check out the full press release below. Look for more on Fantastic Fest, which takes place in Austin, TX from September 20 to 27, in the weeks ahead.

Austin, TX—Monday, July 30, 2012— Judgment is coming to Fantastic Fest with the red carpet premiere of DREDD 3D and the festival’s initial lineup of incredible genre films. Fantastic Fest will take place September 20-27 in Austin, Texas at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar.

Even with Comic-Con in San Diego looming on the horizon, some of us are thinking farther down the road towards Austin, TX in September. That’s right, we’re thinking about Fantastic Fest, the amazing genre film festival that runs from September 20 to 27.

And, as thoughts turn to Fantastic Fest, so must they turn to films as well. In fact, we now know that one film in particular will open the festival on September 20th. That film? Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie.

In fact, it will be the world premiere for the film, with the studio taking it out officially on October 5. The black-and-white 3D sci-fi monster film, written by John August and directed by Burton, is about a boy who brings his beloved dog back to life — with just a few complications.

Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Robert Capron, Conchata Ferrell and Winona Ryder are among the actors contributing their voice talents. Looks like fun. Can’t wait to see it and to get to Austin.

Good times.

In july we brought you the news that the first wave of programming for Austin’s amazing Fantastic Fest had been announced. Now, we’re delighted to tell you the schedule for the second wave of programming has been released as well.

Most of the second wave films are new to most people but they probably won’t be once the fest is underway. That’s just what happens.

Here’s the list of the new films announced. Expect more announcements, and lots of coverage, in the weeks ahead. Fantastic fest runs from September 22-29 in Austin, TX.

MOVIES ON FIRE: HONG KONG ACTION CLASSICS- presented by AGFA

The amazing Grady Hendrix of the famous New York Asian Film Festival will join us and introduce four surprise 35mm screenings of classic Hong Kong grindhouse gems (most not available on DVD) from Hong Kong’s exploitation heyday of the late 80’s and early 90’s, these movies are cinematic crystal meth: cheap n’crazy, they’ll spoil you for everything else. Designed to play to rowdy audiences who threatened mayhem if they weren’t delivered a dose of gonzo delirium every five minutes, they have a total disregard for three-act structure, Hollywood plotting and the lives of their stuntmen. Get ready to burn!

AARDVARK (2010)
Texas Premiere
Director Kitao Sakurai live in person
Director: Kitao Sakurai, Japan, 80 minutes
Larry (AARDVARK’s blind-since-birth protagonist) has an innate curiosity that lands him smack in the middle of a bizarre criminal underworld replete with mixed martial arts, intrigue, murder and pillow humping.

BLIND (2011)
US Premiere
Director – AHN Sang-hoon, Korea, 111minutes
A blind woman narrowly escapes from the clutches of a serial killer. When he circles back to get rid of any witnesses, the woman must rely on her other acute senses to identify and outwit the killer.

CALIBRE 9 (2011)
World Premiere
Director Jean-Christian Tassy & Producer Axel Guyot live in person
Director: Jean-ChristianTassy, France, 84 minutes
A city planner becomes strangely linked to a gun possessed by the soul of a dead hooker.

I know what you’re thinking. Comic-Con in San Diego is still coming up next week and we need to get through that so how can you possibly be thinking about another event already? Well, as much as I like Comic-Con, I kinda prefer this other event coming up in Austin.

That event is, of course, the amazing Fantastic Fest, which runs from September 22-29 and showcases some of the most interesting, disturbing and awesome films being made today. On that note, the Fest has just announced its first slate of programming and we’ve got it for you below.

According to the release, the first slate of films “spans the globe from Japan, Belgium, Mexico, Russia, Hong Kong, Korea and of course the USA.” The Fest is “debuting digital restorations of Italian horror classics and a stunning 3D epic with more objects flying in your face than Michael Bay and James Cameron combined.”

Here’s the list of films announced so far. Expect more announcements, and lots of coverage, soon.

With 2011 in full effect, so has begun Con season. While so far it has been mainly industry and media events like Toy Fair or this week’s Game Developers Conference, the big boys like C2E2, San Diego Comic-Con and the New York Comic Con are all just around the corner. And while most of The Flickcast have earned our geek merit badges (as well as Foursquare badges) by surviving numerous conventions, we realize not everyone has had the chance to experience the Con world like we have.

The world of conventions can even be a little intimidating. While shows like Wizard World can be good day trips where someone can just go in and out, others like San Diego are week long vacations that take some actual time and planning. To help prepare Con goers, we have put together this post loaded with advice for both new and veteran geek adventurers.

Know Your Con

As mentioned before, some cons are large epic events while others can be treated as just quick day trips. When picking your Con, make sure you know which of these two categories it falls into. Don’t expect to see San Diego Comic-Con all in one day.

It will be damn near impossible to spend any decent amount of time at every booth that catches your interest if you are only there for one day. Plus, you won’t have any time for autograph signings, panels or other con events as you will just be rushing through to see a little of everything but not having enough time to really enjoy any of it.

On the same token, smaller shows like ComiCONN, a local level show with only a hundred or so booths, don’t have nearly as many special events going on, or fellow con goers to wade through. Planning a full weekend around the con alone might leave someone looking for more to do.