by Klaus Kinski

'Big Fan' - April 1, 2009 (AFI Dallas)

It slowly dawned on me after mentioning Patton Oswalt's participation in the upcoming New York Comedy Festival that I was neglecting a small pile of other bits of Patton Oswalt related news. To begin with, Patton is about to embark on a tour that will have him zig-zagging all over the country for the next few months. The entire schedule is below, but what you may not know is that he'll be at COMIX on August 16th. And it's only FIVE BUCKS. Yowza! He's part of a stellar line-up. Buy. Tickets. Now.

On August 25, Patton has a new live album and DVD coming out on Warner Brothers Records (no more Sub Pop?). It is entitled My Weakness is Strong! and features an hour of new material. The CD is pretty straightforward and contains the full hour long performance. The DVD, however, contains the full hour long performance as well as bonus features including some short films and more! Watch the trailer below.

I mentioned Patton's starring role in the film Big Fan a while back. Be advised that it is opening at the Angelika Film Center on August 28th. But if you're feeling antsy, you can catch the film followed by a Q&A with writer/director Robert Siegel and actor Kevin Corrigan at the 6:30pm screening on August 26th at Planet Hollywood (1540 Broadway, NYC). There's also an 8:30pm screening that night, sans Q&A.

All dates and tickets and videos below...

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by Klaus Kinski (of Klaus Kinski's Comedy Canon)

Two films I've been dying to see quickly made their way in and out of our fair city this past June. Being an idiot that cannot seem to prioritize anything, I missed them both. The films I speak of are Big Fan starring Patton Oswalt and Visioneers starring Zach Galifianakis. You may recall from previous articles that Zach and Patton are among my favorite comedians of all time; thus the eagerness to see these films and the anguish at missing them. Big Fan is the directorial debut of Robert Siegel, the man wrote The Wrestler, a film that featured comedian Todd Barry (another favorite). In Big Fan, Patton plays the role of Paul.

Paul is a 35-year-old toll booth operator from Staten Island who lives and dies by his New York Giants. When he has a chance encounter with Giants linebacker Quantrell Bishop, however, things go horribly wrong and a brutal beating at the hands of his idol tests Paul's allegiance to the team. Comedian Patton Oswalt delivers a heartbreaking, layered performance in this pitch-black comedy that reveals the disturbing side of obsessive fandom.

Thankfully, word is out that Big Fan will begin showing in theaters in New York and Philadelphia August 28th, Los Angeles, D.C, Dallas and Houston theatres September 11th and then expanding! In the meantime, visit the official website for trailers and whatnot. And definitely check out Patton's diaries from when Big Fan played at Sundance back in January. Trailer below.

Having seen the trailer last year, I feel like Visioneers has been on my radar for a really long time. It definitely looks to be a somber, Orwellian, supremely dark comedy. The film, directed by Jared Drake, stars Galifianakis as George Washington Winsterhammerman.

George lives a comfortable yet completely uneventful life, and when he starts having dreams in which he's the first President of the United States, his doctor informs him that they could be signs of impending explosion. Later, as the dreams become more frequent and his co-workers continue to detonate, George is prompted to reevaluate his mundane existence.

It looks like that June 3 screening at the 92Y Tribeca may have been my only opportunity to see it theatrically; it comes out on DVD July 21st (using Zach's role in The Hangover to reach a broader audience) and there only seems to be independently organized screening parties scattered across the US. Trailer below.

Zach did a split 7" with Ted Leo a while back, available only via Chunklet.com and only available if you purchased another item from the Chunklet store. Now you no longer need to buy a second item in order to purchase the record. This extremely limited edition 7" is only $5 and is available on four different types of wax. Get 'em while they're hot!.

In Other News........

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