"Hot Wheels!" at Oddball Films March 5, 2010

Event: “Hot Wheels!”  Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of rare 16mm films about things that go- cars, bikes, skateboards, soapbox cars and more.  Featured films include Skater Dater (1965), the cult film made by Noel Black and featuring music by Davie Allen and the Arrows; The Incredible San Francisco Artists’ Soap Box Derby (1975), documents the wild creativity and spirit of SF in 1975; Skateboard To Safety (1974), great SoCal sidewalk surfing; The Car of Your Dreams (1984), a brilliantly edited ode to the automobile; One Got Fat (1963), an all-time favorite, bizarre bike safety short; and more!
Date: Friday, March 5, 2010 at 8:30PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco 94110
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or [email protected]
Web: http://www.oddballfilm.com/oddballftp/HotWheels3_PR.pdf

"Hot Wheels!”
The Obsession With Things That Go

On Friday, March 5, Guest Curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of rare 16mm short films illustrating our obsession with things that go- especially if it goes very fast. Cars, of course, but also bicycles, skateboards and wild soapbox cars of all shapes and types, will be featured. Plus, vintage award-winning VW commercials and San Francisco lowriders that will tickle your fancy, tap your adrenaline and leave you in awe… of things that go… GO… GO!!! Showtime is 8:30PM and admission is $10.00. Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: [email protected] or 415-558-8117.

Highlights Include:

Skater Dater (Dir. Noel Black, Color, 1965)
Directed by Noel Black (who went on to direct the cult feature “Pretty Poison”), Skater Dater has developed a strong following both for it’s amazing skateboarding and it’s surf-inspired Davie Allen and the Arrows soundtrack. Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1966 and nominated for an Academy Award, this no-dialogue short comes off like a SoCal Quadrophenia, as the young protagonist struggles to break away from the crowd. Features riders from the Imperial Skateboarding Club out of Torrance, CA.

The Incredible San Francisco Artists’ Soap Box Derby (Dir. Amanda Pope, Color, 1975)
Sponsored by SFMOMA, the incredibly inventive and well-received Artists’ Soapbox Derby is beautifully captured and explored by director Amanda Pope. Penny-covered domes, giant bananas, hands and pencils, bathtubs full of blood, a “”He-She” mobile covered in vibrators and many more roll down the hills of San Francisco. Thoughtful commentary on the creations by the artists put this a high step above the usual San Francisco wacky shenanigans…

The Car of Your Dreams (Color and B&W, 1984)
Genius educational film about the car industry and their sales techniques utilizing solely mind-blowing historical footage and commercials bordering on the surreal. It’s no wonder Americans bought into the car mythology lock, stock and barrel.

One Got Fat (Dir. Dale Jennings, Color, 1963)
Bizarre/legendary bike safety film- 10 young cyclists acting like monkeys (wearing masks and tails!) head to a city park for a picnic. 9 out of 10 makes a bonehead mistake and suffers a major accident- all but one, who reaches the park and…
Here’s how a few of the characters meet their demise:
1. Tinkerbell ("Tink") McDillinfiddy forgets to watch out for a stop sign, and is hit by a large truck.
2. Phillip ("Floog") Floogle rides on the left…POW!
3. Mossby Pomegranate’s bike is stolen, police can’t find it because it wasn't registered, as a result of running between one and nine blocks, his feet arches collapse.
4. Slim Jim ("Slim") Maguffny and Trigby Phipps ride double, due to Trigby's lack of vision because of Slim blocking his head, he steers right into an open manhole covering.
Find out Friday the fate of the others!

Skateboarding To Safety (Color, 1976)
Glorious mid-70’s So-Cal teen sidewalk surfers in this safety film by Peter B. Good. Handstands, Tandems, Quasimodos, The Coffin- just be sure to wear your pads (helmets optional).

PLUS! More vintage award-winning VW commercials from the 1960’s and unique San Francisco lowrider footage from the 1970’s!

Curator Biography:
Pete Gowdy (aka DJ Chas Gaudi) is host of San Francisco’s Shellac Shack, a weekly 78 rpm listening party and a DJ specializing in vintage sounds: soul, jazz, country, punk and new wave. A graduate of the Vassar College Film Program, he is an associate producer of Marc Huestis Presents, the long-running movie legend tributes at the Castro Theatre.

Upcoming Programs
Fri Feb 26- Two Programs: “As Seen on TV” and “The 86’d Project”+ Smut Fest
Clips With Jennifer Blowdryer from NYC
Sat Feb 27- Portland Curator Dennis Nyback’s “Terrorism Light and Dark” and
“I Know Why You’re Afraid”
Sat March 6-Fantasy+Fairy Tale

About Oddball Films
Oddball films is the film component of Oddball Film+Video, a stock footage company providing offbeat and unusual film footage for feature films like Milk, documentaries like The Summer of Love, television programs like Mythbusters, clips for Boing Boing and web projects around the world.  
Our films are almost exclusively drawn from our collection of over 50,000 16mm prints of animation, commercials, educationals, feature films, movie trailers, medical, industrial military, news out-takes and every genre in between. We’re actively working to present rarely screened genres of cinema as well as avant-garde and ethno-cultural documentaries, which expand the boundaries of cinema. Oddball Films is the largest film archive in Northern California and one of the most unusual private collections in the US. We invite you to join us in our weekly offerings of offbeat cinema.

Official Website: http://www.oddballfilm.com/oddballftp/HotWheels3_PR.pdf