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Thank you, Ozzman

When I was a teenager, Ozzy Osbourne was the first artist who made the world make sense. When I listen to him now, I remember why.

Scattered thoughts on “Birdemic 2: The Resurrection”

Last night, thanks to the good folks at Troma, I wound up hosting the east coast premiere of “Birdemic 2: The Resurrection” at Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park as part of the TromaDance Film Festival.

It was, to say the least, one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I was on stage with James Nguyen, the writer/director behind the “Birdemic” franchise, doing Q&As, three times. 12 hours later, I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around what happened, so I’m here quickly getting down some spoiler-free thoughts on the evening. 

James Nguyen is really nice.

It’s true. Dude showed up for the B2 screening several hours early in an expensive-looking suit and seemed genuinely thrilled to be premiering his flick in front of one or two hundred people in an Asbury Park bar. He posed for countless photos, always smiling ear to ear and making a bird claw with one hand. He answered every silly audience question and was very, very passionate about his films. He was so nice I retroactively felt kind bad for laughing at his films so much.

Yes, he’s seen the Rifftrax version.

During one of our Q&As, I asked him his thoughts on the Rifftrax take on B1. He said he actually was in the back of a theater showing the live riff in San Francisco. While he said some of their jokes did sting a bit (“But you can’t have everything I guess.”) He marveled at the Rifftrax Live production values, saying their stage probably cost more than the entire $10,000 budget of B1 and that he was jealous of some of their camera moves and crane shots (“I wish I’d had some of those camera moves in Birdemic.”) He also said he wouldn’t be surprised if B2 gets the Rifftrax treatment soon.

‘Birdemic 2’ is absolutely insane.

During our pre-film Q&A, James kept saying “If you like the first one, you’ll like the second one.” This is the understatement of the year. If you’re a fan of “Birdemic,” you’ll lose your mind for the sequel. It’s so much bigger, bolder, stranger and yes, even a little better. There’s a genuine WTF moment about every 20 minutes or so. All but one major cast member from the original returns. (When I asked James why the one notable cast member wasn’t invited back, he said “If you want to be in this business, you have to be easy to work with, that’s how I’m going to answer that.” When you realize what cast member he was talking about, that seems kinda harsh, seeing as the character is killed off between movies off screen and dismissed with one line of dialogue.)

James Nguyen loves movies.

B2 contains a rather pointed homage to a certain Hollywood-set Billy Wilder classic, and during our Q&A he showed plenty of love for Hitchcock and David Lynch. Apparently, James and Lynch have met. How I would love to have heard that conversation.

‘Birdemic 3’ is coming.

James said he’s at work on ‘Birdemic 3: Sea Eagle”! The flick will supposedly shoot in New York, Long Island and New Jersey, and he plans on bringing it back to TromaDance.

I’ll be there.