Wanna Be Startin' Something

The King of Pop lives on in Cirque du Soleil's Immortal tour

"This show is unique for Cirque du Soleil," tour publicist Maxime Charbonneau told CultureMap in a recent phone interview about the company's newest performance, Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, which comes to the Toyota Center Feb. 10–12.

"It's much more like a rock 'n' roll arena tour — a hybrid concert and traditional Cirque show that allows people to experience Michael in a totally different way."

Cirque du Soleil worked directly with the Michael Jackson estate to create a performance that honored the King of Pop's legacy as a performer and a musician.

"This is a full tribute to Michael's music," Charbonneau explained. "The only thing missing is the man himself."

"The Jacksons came to the opening show in Montreal," he said. "Jermaine, Marlon, Tito, and their mother Catherine were there with Michael's children. They were all truly moved by the production, which meant a lot to us."

As part of a $250 million arrangement between Sony and the Jackson family, Cirque du Soleil was able to secure the rights to remix the Michael Jackson catalog of hits into a continuous stream of music, similar to the Beatles' Love project from 2006.

"This is a full tribute to Michael's music," Charbonneau explained. "The only thing missing is the man himself."

Nearly every iconic MJ single surfaces at some point throughout the show, as hits like "Dancing Machine" merge into major moments like "Thriller" and later songs like "Scream." Cirque du Soleil has hired a number of musicians who worked with Jackson throughout his career, one of the many ways the company has tried to stay as true to the performer's music as possible.

The songs have been arranged to highlight aspects of Jackson's personality and career. Jackson 5 material covers his early years performing with his brothers while songs like "Shake Your Body" and "Beat It" serve as a backdrop to the star's rise to fame. Even "Ben," a song about a boy and his pet rat, works its way into the two-hour performance as a celebration of Michael's love of animals.

And for anyone wondering... Yes, Bubbles the chimp is a character in the show. And, no, the scandals of Jackson's final years do not have a dance sequence.

From Fest to Screen

Alamo Drafthouse kicks off film distribution with Butthole Surfers doc

Butthole Surfers

Photo by Pat Blashil

Alamo Drafthouse is going bold with the first of its picks for its new festival film distribution initiative.

The Austin-based movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is doing something about the great films that premiere at festivals and never make it to the general public. It's launching Alamo Exclusives, a theatrical distribution program specifically dedicated to getting more eyes on those films across the country for limited runs. The program will start with the South by Southwest-premiered documentary Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt.

The documentary follows the rise and taming of Butthole Surfers, the wild '80s punk band from San Antonio and Austin. The film uses archival footage and interviews to go deep on the many band members over the years and their shock-and-awe performance style.

With gratuitous full-frontal nudity, questionable group ethics, and a penchant for always upping the ante, it's not surprising that this film hasn't become a mainstream hit, but it offers strangely beautiful and loving insight into what makes Austin so weird — and what that cost the people involved. It's an encouraging first choice to prove Alamo Drafthouse is committed to bringing interesting and unique films to light.

Tickets will go on sale July 21 for screenings scheduled for late this summer.

"I’m so grateful that Alamo Drafthouse believes in this film and chose it to kick off the Alamo Exclusives distribution program,” said director Tom Stern in a press release. “I love that Alamo audiences are passionate moviegoers who genuinely embrace great documentaries and independent cinema. Knowing this film will be experienced on big screens by that kind of audience makes this release especially meaningful.”

“Too many incredible films premiere at festivals and then never receive the theatrical life they deserve,” says Lisa Dreyer, director of Alamo's Fantastic Fest and film innovation. “We are actively searching for films across all genres, from horror to comedy, to everything in-between, to champion in this new, exciting way. We're thrilled to launch the program with BUTTHOLE SURFERS: THE HOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUTT, a film that’s bold, entertaining, unapologetically original, and deeply connected to Austin's creative DNA. We couldn't imagine a better film to kick off this new chapter.”

Alamo Exclusives will run titles without distribution from a variety of festivals including Sundance, South by Southwest (SXSW), Tribeca, TIFF, Cannes, Berlin, and Fantastic Fest. Those limited runs will also come with marketing support, and Alamo will work directly with filmmakers to make it happen.

One of Alamo's specialties as a chain is a wide selection of titles; the release says it plays "more movies than any other theater in the world." That includes repertory programming (showing old films), releasing new films in a way that highlights the filmmaker, special events, and more. Alamo Exclusives will fit right in, but they'll be clearly labeled so that they're easy to spot.

More titles will be announced "in the coming months," the release says. Alamo is taking submissions from filmmakers and sales agents via Film Freeway.

“From the very beginning, Alamo Drafthouse has championed independent film and built strong relationships with filmmakers because we know our audiences value discovering great cinema,” says Michael Kustermann, CEO of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. “Time and again, they've shown they'll come out to support bold, original films when given the opportunity. ‘Alamo Exclusives’ is a natural extension of that. It gives us another way to champion filmmaker-driven films that deserve to be discovered and connect them with the wider Alamo Drafthouse audience.”

south by southwest sxsw film film festival movies documentaries music punk music

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