Now Apocalypse!

Gregg Araki is back and FINALLY on TV!

And a few lucky LA fans got to see the first three episodes of the new STARZ series on the big screen thanks to Outfest Fusion at the Chinese 6 Theatres on March 3, 2019.

The question in fans is now, has the wait been worth it?

For those of us that have followed Araki's career, ever since 1997's Nowhere, Araki has been wanting to share his flavor of ultra sexual teen romance madness he's been known for to the small screen. But WHY would he EVER want to do a thing like that?

As the godfather of Queer cinema, Araki has pushed the boundaries of sex and what the "norms of society" are, with a limited reach on the silver screen, and taking his brand to television  to be shared with people weekly, to a bigger, far reaching audience was the ultimate goal. 

Unfortunately, the world wasn't ready for Araki in the 90s -though it ALMOST happened with his MTV pilot "This Is How The World Ends" (last time I checked it was in youtube, watch it!)- of the 2000s, but it's better late than never, I say.



Now Apocalypse, the story of Ulysses (Avan Jogia) and his friends in LA, hits many of Araki's previous tropes. Some beats even recreating moments us fans know from previous films, most from 2010's "Kaboom", which was also heavily borrowing from his MTV pilot. As our lead worries of a world ending catastrophe foreshadowed in a dream that is shared with best friend Carly (Kelli Berglund), all done in a very similar manner as Kaboom, one stars to worry if this is all going to be a rehash. BUT, luckily, as we are introduced with his straight roomate (and secret crush, again, Kabooming it!) Ford (Beau Mirchoff) as he's reverse cowgirl-ing his beloved Severine (Roxane Mesquida), we get a glimpse of what it is to come. The sex is umped to the max on the series, and Araki this time is going all out. Granted, sex is not all that make (or break) a series, but it's nice to FINALLY have crazy, depraved sexual situations THAT ARE NOT BEING JUDGED OR LOOK DOWN UPON on television. We also get what we love from his films, characters that are looking for love in a world where it is so hard to find it. Ulysses' crush, Gabriel (Tyler Posey) starts ghosting him, Ford can't seem to win with Severine's cold and calculated outlook on love and monogamy, and Carly can't connect sexually with boyfriend Jethro (Desmond Chiam). As situations we are all very familiar with unfold (alond with Nowhere's alien Roscoe making an appearance for good measure), we are all once again sucked into Araki's world once again, with those three half hour episodes we were lucky to preview not being enough to satisfy our Araki needs.

After the screening, it was time for Araki, along with Avan Jogia, Kelli Berglund, Roxane Mesquida, and Beau Mirchoff to join the audience:

And here's the full Q&A, for posterity's sake:




All in all, if you're a fan of Gregg Araki, this is the series we've been waiting for. Yes, forgive his sins of rehashing, I was already DONE after Kaboom with his teen apocalypse themes, BUT in the end, he's still giving me what I've always liked about his movies ever since Doom Generation, that awkwardness, solitude and sense of feeling unloved we all feel at one point of another, it may be that some of us don't grow out of it, and it better be the case for Araki, cos I'm still 100% on board.

Now Apocalypse will start airing on STARZ on March 10, check your local listings!

La Feria De Los Moles Media Event

             La Feria De Los Moles comes back to Los Angeles for its 9th year this Sunday, October 9 to La Placita Olvera from 10:00am to 6:00pm. La Feria De Los Moles is an opportunity to experience one of Mexico's tastiest treats, mole. Mole is a traditional sauce from Oaxaca and Puebla, and mole can be spicy or sweet, with Feria having a Oaxaca vs Puebla mole contest, there can be only one winner, the public!

Besides the food, La Feria also offers other attractions, there will be two stages, contemporary music and traditional dances as well as an activities area where games for the kids, photo ops, art expositions, textile workshops and more traditional activities will be on hand. Mexican Blues legend Javier Batiz will be performing on the main stage, and he gave was also present during La Feria De Los Moles Media Event this Wednesday, October 5.
Along with Adriana Argaiz (Consul of Communities) and Gilberto Luna (Appointed Consul) from the Mexican Consulate, the President of Union de Poblanos en el Exterior (UPEXT) Lourdes Juarez and also from Puebla featured La Feria Chef Fernando Hernandez, winner of 'Mole de Caderas' contest, Zacatlan de Las Manzanas representative Marc Antonio, traditional Puebla and Oaxacan dresses, the media event gave an idea of what is to come Sunday:

Javier Baliz talks about music, his life and La Feria (Spanish)

If you love good food, traditional Mexican food, make a trip down to La Placita this weekend. Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 2:00pm!
La Placita is in downtown, right next to Metro Red Line Union Station, it's easy to get to and no need to worry about parking!
For more photos, https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1207582419306749.1073741851.1145935058804819&type=1&l=7c727fc440
 For more info, visit La Feria De los Mole's website: www.feriadelosmoles.com

Siggraph 2016

Siggraph is a tech convention for those that work or want to work in the computer graphics field. These are the artists that make that CGI you see in movies, from its creation to its inception. Computer graphics have come a long way, with the effects and creatures getting more intricate and detailed, their realism making (or breaking) a film. People from all over the world, professionals and enthusiasts alike, come every year to Siggraph to learn more about the new technology, hardware, and program updates, as well as network. If you work in the industry you know this is the place to be.

This year, the annual Siggraph conference took place at the Anaheim Convention Center, using every space available with talks, demonstrations, courses, a computer animation festival, along many related events throughout the week. The exhibition hall is the best place to start. This is where one can come up close and personal with the different companies that make CGI happen. Intel was promoting their latest programs and offering a VR experience, VR being the emphasis of many of the companies present, as it seems that, unlike 3D, VR is here to stay. Advances in motion capture could also be seen as the usual dotted suit can now be replaced with smaller and less costly options. Rendering times are getting smaller even as the files also get bigger and more complex, thus bringing the need for upgrading hardware and software with these changes. 

Not to fear, products for upgrading were also present, whether it was cameras to capture your future 360 video or capture facial features to be used for your CGI character, every aspect of how CG is created was covered. 

If you were interested in working there was a job fair as well, with companies like Blizzard Entertainment, Sony,  Weta Digital (The Lord of The Rings effects people, all the way from New Zealand, but at least 3 years of experience were needed to be considered), Deluxe VR (a year old VR wing of Deluxe!), Legend3D, Hangar 13 Games, being part of the companies present for those that wanted to apply or get more information on how to get into the business.  

Next to the Exhibits hall is the more hands on experience,  where students and developers can feature their latest technology, whether is a vibrating chair race, or a light controller piano, or a VR tag game, you can find many interesting inventions. An unconventional art gallery is also present, with light and animation making these pieces stand out. There was also a 3D photo booth and another with an upside down effect from intel. Let's not forget the VR Village, where you could experience different ways VR can be used, and it's not only for games any more (though, wasn't TV an invention that was proposed to be a tool for "education" when created?). The center piece of the hall was this big mecha-like rig you could get into and walk it from one side to the other, getting all the attendies, mainly students, in line to experience the ride.

To many that are not in the industry, something like this could be downright boring and complicated. But to us movie enthusiasts it is always interesting to see how all these effects, all these creatures get created and put on the big screen,  all the work and hours it takes to get a few seconds of screen time done, all the hours it takes to create a CG heavy or animated feature. If you are planning or interested in working for a computer graphics related job, Siggraph is a great place to see how it works. Don't miss it next year!