SlamNation
SlamNation
The Alamo Drafthouse Extravaganza
The Alamo Drafthouse is one of the coolest movie
houses in Austin, located at 409 Colorado. Starting at 8 p.m., Tuesday, August 18th, we'll
be showing a number of slam-related movies, including SlamNation
(which screened at the Alamo during South By Southwest), Slam
(featuring Saul Williams from the '96 New York team and Beau Sia from the '96 New York
team and '97 Mouth Almighty team), Wammo's video for "There Is Too Much Light In This
Bar," and the '98 Nationals PSA, which promises to be 30 of the greatest seconds of
your life. Marc Smith will also be there to give a reading and a pre-Nationals invocation.
Admission will be $2.
There will also be Two Matinee Screenings of SlamNation at the Alamo Drafthouse on Wednesday & Thursday, August 19th and 20th at 5PM!! Go catch the show before the bouts!
www.slamnation.com - The film's official site!
Internet Movie Database Entry for SlamNation
Indiewire Interview With Paul Devlin by Nick Poppy
TvGen Review of SlamNation - by Ken Fox
Newyork Citysearch Review by Steven Boone, accompanied by an Interview with Paul Devlin
New York Post Review by Larry Worth
NY Film Forum - Check out their promotional page for SlamNation's run there.
The 1998 Florida Film Festival - Read their review of SlamNation.
A RealAudio Review of SlamNation - by Jay Gluckstern of GoGaGa Internet Radio.
Portland CitySearch Article - News on the Opening of SlamNation at SXSW by Sue Osterman
Austin American Statesman Review by Patrick Beach
Austin Chronicle Review by Marc Savlov
28th Annual USA Film Festival Review by Robert Philpot and Todd Camp
Boxoffice
Magazine's Review
"SLAMNATION"
****
Starring Saul Williams, Jessica Care Moore, Beau Sia and Taylor Mali. Directed and
produced by Paul Devlin. A Slammin' Entertainment production. Documentary. Not rated.
Running time: 92 min.
If you've never considered poetry an exciting art, you'll be shocked into radical reevaluation by this white-knuckled portrait of the fiercely competitive National Poetry Slam in Portland, Oregon. The spoken-word combatants on view exhibit an electrifying hunger, decimating the long-held perception of the poet as reclusive individualist.
Director Paul Devlin comes to the action from the world of televised sports, and it shows: His unerring instincts illuminate an old-fashioned quest for glory, a tale more akin to "When We Were Kings" than "The Belle of Amherst."
He finds his Ali in Taylor Mali, an outspoken English teacher whose desire to win is only matched by his revulsion at the hypocrisy of his adversaries. It will be easy for the unconverted to immediately latch onto Mali as the hero of the piece; the gradual realization that he cares little for anything but his own triumph, however, leaves haunting questions about the nature and the future of the "sport." -Steve Schneider
Paul Devlin: pdevlin@compuserve.com