This week, the mercurial icon and voice of your generation Charley Macorn returns to the podcast to give us the rundown on the 2nd Annual QueerWest Film Festival, happening at the Roxy Theater in Missoula, MT from June 6th through 8th!
[00:00:00] Let's get together, talk about the movies that we saw this week.
[00:00:04] We'll have discussions, talk film news, we'll laugh a lot and act like geeks.
[00:00:07] Sometimes we'll have a guest or two, sometimes it's just the two of us.
[00:00:09] Let's crack some jokes and tell some folks to come along and hang with us!
[00:00:12] Mike and Mike go to the movies!
[00:00:17] Mike and Mike go to the movies!
[00:00:22] Yeah!
[00:00:25] You have chosen wisely.
[00:00:28] Hello and welcome to Mike and Mike go to the movies.
[00:00:31] I'm Mike Smith.
[00:00:32] And joining me as always is a man who will pull the string!
[00:00:36] Mike DiGuglielmo.
[00:00:37] How are you doing today, Mike?
[00:00:38] I'm doing great.
[00:00:39] I don't remember.
[00:00:40] I know that's a thing that you referenced, but I don't remember what it is.
[00:00:44] I feel like together as an audience we'll all learn.
[00:00:47] Well, we'll be talking about the movie that it's from in just a few minutes.
[00:00:49] So yeah, I'm not learning anything.
[00:00:51] I know where it's from.
[00:00:53] I'm bringing it to you.
[00:00:54] I know where it's from.
[00:00:55] Exactly.
[00:00:57] Also joining us today, returning guest of the show, the director of the Queer West Film Festival
[00:01:02] at the Roxy Theater, the mercurial icon and the voice of your generation, Charlie McCorn.
[00:01:07] Welcome back to the podcast.
[00:01:08] Thank you so much for having me, Mike.
[00:01:09] It's my pleasure to be here.
[00:01:10] Thanks for having me.
[00:01:11] Of course.
[00:01:12] Yeah.
[00:01:13] Thank you so much for coming back, Charlie.
[00:01:14] It's been a little bit since you've been on the show.
[00:01:15] I think it was August talking about the Camp Horror Film Festival.
[00:01:18] Yeah, I think it was August last year.
[00:01:20] So yeah, what's been going on?
[00:01:21] What's been going on in the life of Charlie McCorn since then?
[00:01:23] Oh, geez.
[00:01:24] Well, I somehow became an adjunct professor of women, gender and sexuality studies.
[00:01:30] I got engaged.
[00:01:31] Yeah.
[00:01:32] And I'm just congratulations.
[00:01:33] Congrats.
[00:01:33] I'm going to and I'm slowly planning my escape from the state of Montana,
[00:01:38] slowly getting the operative, the operative adverb there.
[00:01:41] Right?
[00:01:42] Yeah.
[00:01:43] We were just talking off Mike about how we were on a podcast yesterday and Mike,
[00:01:47] Mike D had a Montana background on his Zoom from like the last time we used this
[00:01:52] account from talking about the Montana Film Festival and our and the host of
[00:01:55] that podcast went in on how much she hated Montana.
[00:02:00] And then after a few minutes, I was like, I live there.
[00:02:04] That's where I live.
[00:02:05] That's me.
[00:02:07] But yeah, so great.
[00:02:08] A lot of developments in your life in life since last time we saw you,
[00:02:10] Charlie, which is great to see.
[00:02:11] Love to see it.
[00:02:12] It's really been spinning up.
[00:02:13] I feel I feel pretty good about it.
[00:02:15] It's all coming up, Charlie.
[00:02:16] Yeah.
[00:02:17] God, I hope so.
[00:02:19] That's the dream.
[00:02:21] So yeah, so the Queer West Film Festival is coming up at the Roxy Theatre in
[00:02:25] Missoula, the Indian Theatre near my house in Missoula, Montana, where I also work
[00:02:28] and also where Charlie works.
[00:02:29] And Charlie is well, arguably, I work there.
[00:02:32] I think I just like show up, introduce horror movies, make bad puns,
[00:02:36] eat danishes and somehow collect a paycheck from all of that.
[00:02:40] I think you once said you somehow you somehow tricked the Roxy into giving you
[00:02:43] a weekly paycheck.
[00:02:45] And I feel like and sometimes I feel like that's how we all feel at the Roxy.
[00:02:50] Yeah.
[00:02:54] Don't don't blow it.
[00:02:55] Don't blow your covers here.
[00:02:56] Right.
[00:02:57] Yeah, exactly.
[00:02:59] And so, yeah, the Queer West Film Festival is what you're here to talk
[00:03:01] about today.
[00:03:02] But of course, you're involved in so many things with the Roxy, Charlie
[00:03:04] trash vault and out of the Roxy, especially two monthly series.
[00:03:08] Of course, trash fault.
[00:03:09] I talk about all the time in this podcast because I'm always I usually go
[00:03:12] to trash fault.
[00:03:13] That's one of the like the monthly series that I try to go to every
[00:03:15] month where we show exploitation, be horror movies, just weird, cool stuff.
[00:03:19] And then out of the Roxy, I don't often get to go to.
[00:03:22] I don't think I've ever actually been able to go because it's always on
[00:03:24] Monday nights and I work on Monday nights.
[00:03:26] Always working.
[00:03:27] Which is a shame because the out of the Roxy programming has been really
[00:03:30] stellar and is so varied.
[00:03:32] So just before we even get into Queer West, tell people about out of
[00:03:35] the Roxy and what you've been trying to do there.
[00:03:36] So out of the Roxy is the Roxy's LGBTQ screening series that existed
[00:03:43] pre pre covid pre me being an employee at the Roxy.
[00:03:47] And then I was tasked as as I'm not saying like the only queer person
[00:03:51] on staff.
[00:03:52] We have a very diverse staff at the Roxy, but I'm the queerest person
[00:03:55] there and so they're like let's give it to this Mo.
[00:03:58] And so I I'm like, yeah, I'm going to jump right in.
[00:04:01] And so the programming I try to mix, you know, it's sort of
[00:04:04] like taking the door off the cellulite closet.
[00:04:06] We're taking movies by queer filmmakers about queer subjects.
[00:04:10] This last year, like I mentioned, I've been a college professor
[00:04:13] and so I've sort of used out of the Roxy as an excuse to give
[00:04:16] my students like extra credits.
[00:04:18] There you go.
[00:04:19] So I've been showing a lot of documentaries recently, but you know,
[00:04:21] we've show things like the Matrix Rebel Without a Cause.
[00:04:24] We also show documentaries like No Ordinary Man, which was about
[00:04:28] Billy Tipton who was well, you know, local for the area.
[00:04:31] He's from Spokane with this amazing jazz musician with a
[00:04:34] fantastic life as a trans man in the 50s and 60s.
[00:04:37] And then just kind of like whatever whatever weird shit I
[00:04:40] kind of want to come across because I think you know queer
[00:04:43] cinema is, you know, has been a part of the business and the
[00:04:47] art of movie making since the very, very beginning.
[00:04:49] And it's really been wonderful to like uncover these stories
[00:04:52] in these films and present them to an audience who sometimes
[00:04:55] very receptive, sometimes not so much sometimes as interesting
[00:04:59] as I think a movie is going to be unless the audience has
[00:05:02] more of an idea ahead of time.
[00:05:03] But no, it is great.
[00:05:04] We did Speaking of Monday Rebel Without a Cause, which
[00:05:08] was on Monday, which you know, you know, what I love
[00:05:11] about I think especially film from a certain era is, you know,
[00:05:14] the Hays Code was enacted and one of the side effects that
[00:05:18] horrible piece of bullshit was is that it prevented filmmakers
[00:05:23] from directly talking about queer people, their lives, their
[00:05:26] stories.
[00:05:26] Right.
[00:05:27] And so so many filmmakers though just like inject their
[00:05:30] films with subtext Rebel Without a Cause is absolutely one
[00:05:33] of them.
[00:05:34] Another great one is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
[00:05:36] I think that's one where like the subtext like comes
[00:05:38] right up to the line and dares you to address it.
[00:05:41] Right.
[00:05:43] And so we show stuff like that, which has been a lot of fun
[00:05:46] and it's really been really great kind of like seeing
[00:05:48] community build see people come every month, you know,
[00:05:51] see people who come as strangers, you know, become like
[00:05:54] friend groups, you know, who come to Out of the Roxy
[00:05:57] every month and that's been, you know, I like as Mike
[00:06:00] as Mike one said, sorry, I guess you're Mike two,
[00:06:02] Mike three, but as Mike one said, you know, I do a
[00:06:04] lot of the Roxy and out the Roxy and by extension
[00:06:07] Queer West which kind of grew out of that was one of
[00:06:11] I think the most important things that I did like I
[00:06:13] think it's the thing that I'm going to be the most
[00:06:14] proud of just, you know, as a queer person as a
[00:06:17] trans person.
[00:06:18] I think that it especially, you know, in this in
[00:06:22] this time with everything fucking going on being
[00:06:26] able to build community and to celebrate that joy
[00:06:29] has been just my absolute pleasure.
[00:06:31] Beautiful love that.
[00:06:32] And so you said Queer West kind of built out of
[00:06:35] the Roxy and it started the very first Queer West was
[00:06:38] last year.
[00:06:39] That's right time and yeah kicked off Pride Month in
[00:06:41] Missoula.
[00:06:42] That was like the first weekend in June.
[00:06:43] I think that it happens.
[00:06:45] So yeah, tell us about kind of the the origins of
[00:06:48] Queer West how the ball kind of got rolling on
[00:06:49] that.
[00:06:50] So not not only was last year the first we're West
[00:06:53] Film Fest.
[00:06:54] It was as far as we can tell the first time anyone
[00:06:57] in Montana was like let's have a queer film festival.
[00:07:01] Yeah, and that's how we're promoting.
[00:07:02] We're the first and only like we are.
[00:07:04] We are blazing blazing new ground and that came
[00:07:07] from sort of my work.
[00:07:09] I think with working on Camp Horror Film Festival,
[00:07:12] which is directed by the amazing Solvay and just
[00:07:15] sort of like seeing what she was able to build
[00:07:17] Mike Steinberg a third Mike we're going to bring
[00:07:19] in the conversation.
[00:07:19] Yeah, let's get let's call Evans.
[00:07:21] Let's get Evans in here.
[00:07:25] They had the Mike Steinberg asked me to sort
[00:07:28] of just take take the initiative and just do
[00:07:32] a festival.
[00:07:33] You didn't tell anyone else which made it a little
[00:07:36] difficult, but we suddenly a new festival popped
[00:07:39] up.
[00:07:39] We're like, oh, okay.
[00:07:40] That's exactly what that's that's what happened.
[00:07:43] I assumed everyone knew and so when I do all
[00:07:44] these things like you're doing fucking what
[00:07:48] and I and to be maybe a little serious like
[00:07:51] last year we you know was a very difficult
[00:07:54] time for queer and trans people in Montana as
[00:07:57] it was across the country, you know, stuff
[00:08:00] that happened in Montana made national headlines
[00:08:02] about you know, the ongoing legislative attacks
[00:08:05] on our freedom of expression and our in our
[00:08:07] rights.
[00:08:09] We had a bomb threat during that first
[00:08:12] festival which was nuts and then like that
[00:08:17] was the thing I'm like, okay, we we have
[00:08:19] to do this.
[00:08:19] We have to keep doing this.
[00:08:20] This is so important right now just as
[00:08:24] as for the Roxy theater community cinema it
[00:08:26] it is for you know everyone and for people
[00:08:30] to be marginalized.
[00:08:31] It's double for them because I don't see I
[00:08:33] don't see other mean we're the first and
[00:08:36] only festival to do this like and and doing
[00:08:39] that, you know, it put us in the limelight
[00:08:41] it put me in the limelight.
[00:08:42] I got I got a lot of hate mail.
[00:08:44] I got a lot of stuff but at the end that
[00:08:46] festival was one of the just most wonderful
[00:08:48] experiences that I had bringing together all
[00:08:50] these people showing films with local
[00:08:52] connections interviewing local filmmakers having
[00:08:56] you know these events having just a Rockets
[00:08:58] drag show and really just kind of like
[00:09:02] creating that kind of community kicking off
[00:09:03] pride in Montana and you're trying to build
[00:09:07] this thing that will you know stand up
[00:09:09] for the rights of LGBTQ people across the
[00:09:12] city across the state and across the fucking
[00:09:14] country.
[00:09:15] Absolutely love it.
[00:09:16] Love that.
[00:09:16] So last year for Queer West, I mean there
[00:09:19] were so many incredible things the drag show
[00:09:20] was a big highlight.
[00:09:22] We showed my own private Idaho which was a
[00:09:24] sellout show everybody really loved it.
[00:09:26] But I think one takeaway that we had from
[00:09:27] last year is that hey a lot of these films
[00:09:29] were kind of downers.
[00:09:30] I was the feedback like so I got the emails
[00:09:33] with people calling me slurs, but I also
[00:09:35] got the emails people being like I love
[00:09:36] the festival but oh my God what a bummer
[00:09:39] like all those movies are really sad and
[00:09:41] I was like, oh yeah, they were I and I
[00:09:45] I like sad movies.
[00:09:46] I like having I like I like being sad.
[00:09:49] I'm a certified goth going way back.
[00:09:53] And so this year I deemed the festival
[00:09:56] around queer joy this year not saying
[00:09:59] that every movie is necessarily like the
[00:10:00] happiest thing you're ever going to see.
[00:10:02] We do have some bummers in there.
[00:10:03] Let me let me just say that but we are
[00:10:05] largely built around that that idea of
[00:10:07] queer joy.
[00:10:08] We're resilient queer celebration and
[00:10:11] we've got some really fantastic films and
[00:10:13] special events that really celebrate that
[00:10:15] in Missoula and in Montana beautiful.
[00:10:17] So yes, let's start running down the
[00:10:19] programming talk about what's going on at
[00:10:21] Queer West this year at the Roxy.
[00:10:23] First of all, we're showing a movie that I
[00:10:25] believe you showed for out of the Roxy a
[00:10:26] while back, but we're bringing it back.
[00:10:29] And I think it's going to be a really
[00:10:30] good screening and that is Ed Woods
[00:10:32] Glen or Glenda, which is the Thursday
[00:10:34] night for Queer West.
[00:10:35] That's correct.
[00:10:36] We I scheduled it.
[00:10:38] I think sometime in the last year to
[00:10:40] show it out with the Roxy.
[00:10:42] But then there was a snafu there was a
[00:10:44] snafu there was and it was like we
[00:10:47] had so it was a sold-out screening that
[00:10:49] then didn't get to happen right which
[00:10:52] was a huge bummer.
[00:10:54] Glen or Glenda is this incredible
[00:10:57] historical artifact from from some
[00:11:00] it's a movie that I talk I talked a
[00:11:01] little bit on this class that I was
[00:11:03] teaching this the class I taught last
[00:11:05] or this last semester.
[00:11:06] This wrapped up was a class on
[00:11:07] trans history and it's so interesting
[00:11:10] that sorry, I'm getting on my
[00:11:12] professor soapbox here, but please do
[00:11:15] let me go.
[00:11:15] I don't wait.
[00:11:16] So in the early 1950s, Christine
[00:11:19] Jorgensen underwent a series of
[00:11:21] gender-affirming surgeries with the
[00:11:22] hilariously named Dr.
[00:11:23] Christian hamburger in in Europe and
[00:11:28] and she was not the first person
[00:11:29] that did a filming surgery.
[00:11:30] She was certainly not the first
[00:11:31] trans person ever exist.
[00:11:32] You know, we've been around forever
[00:11:34] but her story as it happened in
[00:11:37] like the Atomic Age where science
[00:11:38] is doing all kinds of things.
[00:11:40] It made her an international celebrity
[00:11:42] when someone leaked her letters home
[00:11:44] about what she was doing and all
[00:11:47] of these people started lining up to
[00:11:49] rip off her story to exploit it.
[00:11:51] But the most interesting one to me
[00:11:53] is Ed Wood, a person who when tasked
[00:11:56] with making a numbers filed off
[00:11:59] biopic of Christine Jorgensen
[00:12:01] instead made a movie about his
[00:12:03] own cross-dressing.
[00:12:05] And I can't and and I'm not
[00:12:07] necessarily like pointing back to
[00:12:08] like oh Ed Wood, you know,
[00:12:09] oh they were you know,
[00:12:10] a trans person or a queer person
[00:12:12] but by any means I'm not trying
[00:12:14] to you know,
[00:12:15] retroactively apply a label to
[00:12:16] someone who would not have had
[00:12:17] the language to use that at
[00:12:18] that time.
[00:12:18] But I think the idea of using
[00:12:20] this art form to make this
[00:12:21] incredibly personal confession
[00:12:24] to express this part of themselves
[00:12:26] that they were never able to
[00:12:27] express is something that queer
[00:12:29] people can relate to.
[00:12:30] The movie's horrible.
[00:12:31] It's so bad.
[00:12:32] And so we're doing like a bad
[00:12:34] movie night with it.
[00:12:35] It is it is astonishing.
[00:12:37] The last 20 minutes are all
[00:12:39] stock footage.
[00:12:41] It has two narrators,
[00:12:43] one of which is mad scientist
[00:12:45] Bela Lugosi.
[00:12:46] Yeah.
[00:12:46] And that is of course where pull
[00:12:48] the string comes from.
[00:12:49] Right, right, right, right.
[00:12:51] It is and he and Ed Wood
[00:12:53] themself plays both the
[00:12:55] eponymous Glenn and the
[00:12:57] titular Glenda,
[00:12:59] who is this character who is
[00:13:00] just like really like
[00:13:02] worried about telling their
[00:13:04] fiance that they want to wear
[00:13:06] their sweaters.
[00:13:07] And it has all the
[00:13:09] harm hallmarks of Ed Wood.
[00:13:10] It's got like the over dramatic
[00:13:13] storyline.
[00:13:14] It has the subpar filmmaking
[00:13:16] skills.
[00:13:17] It has the baffling
[00:13:19] dialogue deliveries like one
[00:13:20] of the truly best bad
[00:13:22] movies of all time.
[00:13:23] And I believe it absolutely
[00:13:25] belongs in the queer canon
[00:13:26] as as it is something that
[00:13:28] I think ties into experience
[00:13:29] like a lot of a lot of queer
[00:13:30] people really experience.
[00:13:31] And I think getting a chance
[00:13:32] to really show it as a bad
[00:13:34] movie night to have
[00:13:35] that experience that we didn't
[00:13:36] get to have it out of the
[00:13:37] Roxy.
[00:13:37] Right.
[00:13:38] And you know,
[00:13:39] I talk about the movie bad.
[00:13:40] It still has this
[00:13:42] incredible kind of like
[00:13:44] message at its core.
[00:13:45] Right.
[00:13:46] Which is which is about
[00:13:47] trans people and it's the
[00:13:48] U.S. 1950s and the basic
[00:13:50] idea is like,
[00:13:51] well, yeah, people scoffed at
[00:13:52] like airplanes and
[00:13:53] telephones and cars.
[00:13:55] You're right.
[00:13:56] And now we're scoffing at
[00:13:57] trans people.
[00:13:57] No, they're going to become
[00:13:58] accepted and they need to be
[00:14:00] accepted.
[00:14:01] And it's such as like
[00:14:02] wonderful like heartfelt
[00:14:03] message in the middle of
[00:14:04] this horrible famously bad
[00:14:06] movie.
[00:14:07] And I am delighted
[00:14:09] to show it.
[00:14:09] The print we're getting is
[00:14:10] from our friends at AGFA,
[00:14:12] the American genre film
[00:14:13] archive who provides a lot
[00:14:14] of the trash vault films
[00:14:15] that we've done.
[00:14:16] And I am so excited to
[00:14:17] show this to a crowd.
[00:14:19] I'm so excited.
[00:14:20] Yeah, this is going to be
[00:14:21] great.
[00:14:21] Mike and I actually watched
[00:14:22] this movie together once.
[00:14:24] Yeah.
[00:14:24] Years ago,
[00:14:25] we went to an Alamod
[00:14:26] draft house was screening
[00:14:27] it as part of a The
[00:14:28] Mads Are Back series
[00:14:30] and it was two of the
[00:14:32] guys from Mystery Science
[00:14:33] Theater 3000,
[00:14:34] Trace Ballou and Frank
[00:14:35] Coniff were doing like
[00:14:36] live commentary over
[00:14:37] Glenn or Glenda.
[00:14:38] And it was very fun
[00:14:39] because you know,
[00:14:40] it's a bad movie and
[00:14:41] they were like doing the
[00:14:41] Mystery Science Theater
[00:14:42] version of all that kind of stuff.
[00:14:43] You know, at the end of the day.
[00:14:44] But at the very end of it,
[00:14:45] like they were kind of doing
[00:14:46] talk back to the audience,
[00:14:47] a Q&A and they're like,
[00:14:48] but by the way,
[00:14:49] how well is it?
[00:14:50] How progressive this was
[00:14:51] for 1953?
[00:14:54] You know, got a big applause
[00:14:55] and everybody was really
[00:14:56] into it.
[00:14:57] Like it was a really
[00:14:57] great screening and it
[00:14:58] plays so well with a crowd
[00:14:59] and people are going to
[00:15:00] have so much fun
[00:15:01] with Glenda.
[00:15:02] It's going to be great.
[00:15:02] Mike D.
[00:15:03] I mean, we went to that.
[00:15:04] Do you remember too much?
[00:15:04] Do you remember much
[00:15:05] about this movie?
[00:15:06] I don't remember a ton of it,
[00:15:07] but I do.
[00:15:07] I do remember not being
[00:15:09] super familiar with like
[00:15:11] Ed Wood,
[00:15:12] like personal story stuff.
[00:15:13] So she'd be like,
[00:15:14] what is the I think I really
[00:15:15] only knew Plan 9 from outer
[00:15:16] space.
[00:15:18] And so this movie starts
[00:15:19] and you're just like,
[00:15:20] oh man,
[00:15:20] there's a lot of potential
[00:15:21] for this to go wrong,
[00:15:23] you know, kind of thing.
[00:15:25] Not knowing Ed Wood's
[00:15:27] like personal connection to it.
[00:15:28] So then when it ends up
[00:15:29] being like sort of like a,
[00:15:30] you know,
[00:15:30] affirming triumphant
[00:15:31] kind of movie,
[00:15:32] you're just like,
[00:15:33] what is how this is wild.
[00:15:34] And I remember it sort of
[00:15:35] having like like an
[00:15:36] industrial film quality
[00:15:38] to it.
[00:15:38] Like it's all it's like part
[00:15:39] educational,
[00:15:40] like a little bit of
[00:15:42] which is pretty fun.
[00:15:44] And yeah,
[00:15:44] I remember everyone sort of
[00:15:45] being shocked in that in
[00:15:46] that like talkback part
[00:15:48] where they're like,
[00:15:48] and how crazy is this
[00:15:49] that this movie is from
[00:15:50] the 50s and this is like
[00:15:51] it's more progressive
[00:15:52] than a lot of stuff now,
[00:15:54] which is wild.
[00:15:55] It really is.
[00:15:57] It's astonishing to me
[00:15:58] that Ed Wood kind of
[00:16:00] stumble bummed their way
[00:16:01] into one becoming
[00:16:04] this like famous director,
[00:16:06] but also,
[00:16:07] you know,
[00:16:07] doing this really
[00:16:08] incredible thing that
[00:16:09] I think still resonates
[00:16:10] with audiences in the,
[00:16:11] you know,
[00:16:11] here in 2024.
[00:16:12] Yeah,
[00:16:13] absolutely.
[00:16:13] And this is the second
[00:16:14] Ed Wood movie you've
[00:16:14] shown because Plan 9
[00:16:15] from outer space
[00:16:16] was featured at
[00:16:17] Trash Vault last year
[00:16:19] and that was also
[00:16:20] a really good time.
[00:16:21] Yes,
[00:16:21] that was one of our
[00:16:22] mystery movies
[00:16:23] and Halloween.
[00:16:23] I showed a double
[00:16:24] feature of Phantasm 2
[00:16:26] and Plan 9 from outer
[00:16:27] space.
[00:16:27] What a combo.
[00:16:29] The nice thing about
[00:16:30] that,
[00:16:30] Plan 9's public domain,
[00:16:31] no screening fees.
[00:16:32] There you go.
[00:16:33] Nice.
[00:16:35] All right.
[00:16:35] So yeah,
[00:16:35] the the festival
[00:16:36] kicks off on Thursday,
[00:16:38] which what are the
[00:16:38] exact dates again,
[00:16:39] Charlie?
[00:16:39] The it's like,
[00:16:40] so the official,
[00:16:41] it's 6 through the 8th.
[00:16:43] There is one special event
[00:16:44] on the 3rd.
[00:16:45] If you are in Missoula.
[00:16:46] Oh yeah,
[00:16:46] we got to talk about that.
[00:16:47] Got to talk about that.
[00:16:48] So I am planning on
[00:16:49] leaving Missoula
[00:16:50] and Montana at some
[00:16:51] point this summer,
[00:16:52] knock on wood.
[00:16:53] And so there's a
[00:16:53] tradition in
[00:16:55] Missoula comedy,
[00:16:56] which I cut my teeth
[00:16:58] on,
[00:16:59] you know,
[00:16:59] and I've been doing
[00:17:00] for about 10 years now.
[00:17:01] Like I could have been
[00:17:02] a doctor by this point.
[00:17:03] No.
[00:17:05] And when a comedian
[00:17:06] leaves town,
[00:17:07] there's a farewell roast
[00:17:09] and I bundled mine
[00:17:10] in as a fundraiser
[00:17:11] for Queer West.
[00:17:12] So it's going to be
[00:17:13] the roast of Charlie
[00:17:14] McCorn where
[00:17:15] my funniest friends
[00:17:16] who are still talking
[00:17:17] to me
[00:17:19] are going to just
[00:17:20] like,
[00:17:20] you know,
[00:17:21] roast me out.
[00:17:22] I feel like I've
[00:17:23] I've written a lot
[00:17:23] of checks with my mouth
[00:17:25] over the last 10 years.
[00:17:26] It's time to cash them.
[00:17:27] It's time to cash them in.
[00:17:28] It's time to
[00:17:29] it's time to get
[00:17:29] what's coming to me.
[00:17:30] So that'll be the
[00:17:31] first event,
[00:17:31] but the festival itself
[00:17:32] starts June 6th,
[00:17:33] runs through the 8th,
[00:17:34] starts with Glen
[00:17:35] or Glenda.
[00:17:36] Nice.
[00:17:36] So that is a Thursday night
[00:17:38] Glen or Glenda
[00:17:39] and then we move on
[00:17:39] into Friday the 7th,
[00:17:41] which is going to be
[00:17:42] a brand new feature.
[00:17:43] This is a new feature
[00:17:44] that was submitted
[00:17:44] to the festival
[00:17:45] called Hidden Flora.
[00:17:46] Not just brand new.
[00:17:47] We are the world premiere
[00:17:49] of this movie.
[00:17:49] Incredible.
[00:17:50] Love to see it.
[00:17:51] And it's astonishing.
[00:17:53] It's this incredible
[00:17:54] film that we got
[00:17:55] through our submissions.
[00:17:56] We use film freeway
[00:17:57] if there's any
[00:17:58] festival nerds out there.
[00:17:59] Directed by Ryan Rocks
[00:18:01] who's an incredible
[00:18:02] filmmaker from New Mexico
[00:18:04] and it's a movie
[00:18:04] about this queer kid
[00:18:06] in the late aughts
[00:18:07] who just sort of like
[00:18:09] sort of follows their
[00:18:10] series of like
[00:18:11] relationships and crushes
[00:18:13] as they kind of,
[00:18:13] you know,
[00:18:14] realize and sort of
[00:18:15] explore who they are
[00:18:16] with their sexuality
[00:18:17] and their gender.
[00:18:18] And it's such a
[00:18:19] charming coming of age movie.
[00:18:21] It's really beautiful
[00:18:23] and you know,
[00:18:24] when you get like
[00:18:25] when you're doing
[00:18:25] a film festival
[00:18:27] we'll kind of like
[00:18:28] show how the sausage
[00:18:28] is made here a little bit.
[00:18:29] You get a lot of garbage.
[00:18:30] Oh yeah.
[00:18:31] You get a lot.
[00:18:31] And not saying that
[00:18:33] you know,
[00:18:33] that I didn't love
[00:18:34] every single film
[00:18:35] that was submitted
[00:18:36] to Queer West Film Festival.
[00:18:37] I wish I could show
[00:18:38] every single one of them.
[00:18:39] Yes.
[00:18:40] But filmmakers,
[00:18:41] please continue to give money
[00:18:42] to us to submit your
[00:18:44] films to the festival.
[00:18:44] We really appreciate it.
[00:18:46] Yes.
[00:18:46] MTF submissions just opened up
[00:18:47] and I'm looking at them
[00:18:48] and like man,
[00:18:48] there's going to be
[00:18:49] a lot of trash here.
[00:18:51] And you know,
[00:18:52] looking at features
[00:18:54] that we got,
[00:18:55] I was like,
[00:18:55] oh well what kind of feature
[00:18:56] are we going to get?
[00:18:57] You know,
[00:18:57] we're a second year festival.
[00:18:59] We're in we're
[00:18:59] in fucking Montana
[00:19:00] and I watched
[00:19:02] Hidden Flora
[00:19:03] and I was just in tears
[00:19:04] by the end of it.
[00:19:05] Like I just had this
[00:19:07] really cathartic
[00:19:08] emotional moment.
[00:19:09] David Mills Lowe,
[00:19:10] who is one of our
[00:19:11] amazing festival coordinators
[00:19:13] had this like watched it
[00:19:13] and had the same experience
[00:19:14] and we are the world
[00:19:16] premiere of this.
[00:19:17] It's getting picked up
[00:19:18] by all kinds of festivals
[00:19:19] and we just happen
[00:19:21] to be the first one
[00:19:22] and we're delighted to be
[00:19:23] we're honored.
[00:19:24] The director Ryan Rocks,
[00:19:25] they are going to be
[00:19:26] with us at the
[00:19:27] at the show.
[00:19:28] We're going to do a Q&A afterwards.
[00:19:29] I am delighted
[00:19:31] to show this movie
[00:19:32] to our audiences.
[00:19:33] It's really fantastic.
[00:19:34] Nice.
[00:19:34] I am so excited
[00:19:35] to show this one.
[00:19:36] I haven't seen it yet.
[00:19:37] So I'm going to try to make it
[00:19:38] out for that night
[00:19:39] because I don't I don't have
[00:19:40] to work that Friday night.
[00:19:41] So I'm going to try to make it.
[00:19:42] But yeah,
[00:19:42] don't you make a schedule?
[00:19:45] Wait a second.
[00:19:46] Hold on.
[00:19:47] You know, I have my days
[00:19:48] where I've like locked into
[00:19:50] where I got to work.
[00:19:51] But so I'm going to be
[00:19:52] working during Glen or Glenda,
[00:19:53] which is a little bit of a bummer.
[00:19:54] But Hidden Flora
[00:19:55] I should be around for
[00:19:56] and I'm very excited for that.
[00:19:57] I'm excited the filmmakers coming out.
[00:19:59] I think it's going to be
[00:19:59] a really great one.
[00:20:00] I'm assuming you're moderating
[00:20:01] the Q&A Charlie.
[00:20:01] I'm moderating that one.
[00:20:02] Yes.
[00:20:03] Nice.
[00:20:03] Very cool.
[00:20:04] And so, yeah, that's going to be
[00:20:04] on Friday night and then also
[00:20:06] on Friday nights is another.
[00:20:08] This is sort of a continuation
[00:20:09] of an event from last year.
[00:20:11] As we talked about,
[00:20:12] we had there was a drag show
[00:20:13] at Queer West last year,
[00:20:14] which was a huge hit.
[00:20:16] Sellout crowd like people
[00:20:17] were really into it.
[00:20:18] And over the last year,
[00:20:20] year and a half or so you've
[00:20:21] I really appreciate your commitment
[00:20:23] to like pseudo narratives
[00:20:25] that are happening elsewhere.
[00:20:27] It's long term storytelling.
[00:20:29] Yes.
[00:20:31] So yes, we have a show.
[00:20:32] We have a drag show from a group
[00:20:34] that I am one of.
[00:20:36] We call it the executive vice
[00:20:37] president's, which is a joke,
[00:20:38] if you like, which will make
[00:20:39] sense in a second here.
[00:20:40] But it's Montana drag wrestling.
[00:20:42] It is this hybrid of drag
[00:20:45] and pro wrestling that myself
[00:20:48] and a group of absolute
[00:20:50] jabronis have been putting together.
[00:20:54] And it started about
[00:20:55] a year and a half ago.
[00:20:56] Like the first one was
[00:20:58] a piece of like protest art
[00:21:00] that we did in light
[00:21:01] of everything happening in Montana.
[00:21:02] Right. And then me
[00:21:04] and the people involved
[00:21:05] and people watching were like, oh,
[00:21:07] oh, this is that
[00:21:07] this is that thing that we like.
[00:21:09] And I've always felt
[00:21:10] that like pro wrestling
[00:21:11] is just drag for straight people,
[00:21:13] you know, 100%.
[00:21:14] So it made the most sense
[00:21:16] to just take those two art forms
[00:21:18] and smash them together.
[00:21:19] And so what I have is
[00:21:20] we have a bunch of like standup
[00:21:21] comedians and a bunch of drag artists
[00:21:24] and they're meeting in the middle
[00:21:25] as professional wrestlers.
[00:21:26] And we've been telling stories
[00:21:28] like in this world for,
[00:21:30] you know, almost two years at this point.
[00:21:32] And it's so much fun.
[00:21:34] Like like childhood dream come true,
[00:21:36] like getting chokeslammed
[00:21:38] through a table and being in a ladder match.
[00:21:40] The character that I play,
[00:21:41] I play this this heel
[00:21:43] in wrestling parlayance villain.
[00:21:46] She is the Karen Chastity Wilkes
[00:21:48] and she is from the bitter root,
[00:21:51] which local joke there.
[00:21:53] She's attends church
[00:21:54] at the First United Church
[00:21:56] of Christ's unconditional love.
[00:21:59] And she's here to tell you
[00:21:59] that God hates you homos.
[00:22:02] And and playing like this villain,
[00:22:06] playing this horrible, horrible
[00:22:09] and like making like making people
[00:22:10] boo me, like trying to make people
[00:22:12] hate me has been the most fun
[00:22:15] I've had on stage in a very long time.
[00:22:17] Like it is it is a delight
[00:22:19] because then you know,
[00:22:20] I'll get chokeslammed through a table.
[00:22:21] I'll get hit with a chair.
[00:22:22] I'll get you know,
[00:22:24] any number of things happen to me.
[00:22:26] And then, you know,
[00:22:27] there's that catharsis that happens there.
[00:22:29] Right. And so, you know,
[00:22:31] in the main we got it.
[00:22:31] We got a fantastic card.
[00:22:33] We have the Von Dooms defending
[00:22:35] the Montana Drag Wrestling Tag Team
[00:22:36] Championships against the
[00:22:39] The Good Bad Boys, Ace of Hearts
[00:22:41] and BB Mysteries.
[00:22:43] The workhorse lip sync champion
[00:22:45] Stella Kinesis is doing an open challenge.
[00:22:47] So who knows who's going to show up for that?
[00:22:49] The millennial of mayhem
[00:22:50] Margaret Murder is going to have to fight her way
[00:22:53] back through the hordes of bounce house
[00:22:55] to regain her championship.
[00:22:58] Musical guest is going to be
[00:23:01] the Trog Delights.
[00:23:02] We have Jackie Rapetti is our comedy guest.
[00:23:04] We have Dandy Bear as our burlesque guest.
[00:23:07] And then in the main event,
[00:23:08] it is the Karen Chastity Wilkes
[00:23:11] against the Montana Morningstar
[00:23:13] Iris Von Moxley in an I Quit match
[00:23:16] for the Montana Drag Wrestling Championship.
[00:23:19] Incredible.
[00:23:20] I'm so excited that this is happening.
[00:23:21] And yeah, you've been doing it
[00:23:22] in different locations all around
[00:23:24] Missoula over the last couple of years.
[00:23:26] But you've done it at the Roxy once or twice.
[00:23:28] And it's sort of like impacted
[00:23:29] out of the Roxy a couple of times,
[00:23:31] which has been very fun.
[00:23:32] And I want to relate one story where
[00:23:34] I think you were showing
[00:23:36] I think you were showing
[00:23:37] Cassandra the Exotic Go, right?
[00:23:38] You're showing us and I was working in
[00:23:42] the Roxy Annex that night.
[00:23:44] I knew out of the Roxy was happening.
[00:23:45] I knew it was the wrestling documentary.
[00:23:46] I kind of forgot about it.
[00:23:49] And I was the end of the day.
[00:23:50] I was walking over from the annex
[00:23:53] with like with my big bucket of like butter
[00:23:55] and bowls and like dishes and stuff.
[00:23:57] And I was like coming over to clean up my stuff.
[00:23:59] And I walked into the main theater
[00:24:01] and there was a person on the ground
[00:24:04] covered in popcorn
[00:24:08] and like a circle of people surrounding them.
[00:24:13] And I stood there for a second
[00:24:15] and then kind of like slowly backed away
[00:24:17] and like forgot for a second that like,
[00:24:19] oh, this is like a part of Charlie's bit.
[00:24:21] This is like part of Charlie's wrestling.
[00:24:23] Oh, there's wrestling going on.
[00:24:24] There's wrestling going on.
[00:24:25] And so for a second, I was like,
[00:24:27] do I need to call the police?
[00:24:28] Do I need to do?
[00:24:30] I need to call the cops.
[00:24:33] And then there was a couple of guys
[00:24:34] like hanging out outside and they were like,
[00:24:35] oh, yeah, no, it's the wrestling thing.
[00:24:36] It's like, oh, yeah, yeah.
[00:24:39] It makes sense.
[00:24:39] It makes sense. My nose was filming it like that.
[00:24:44] Yeah, that was one of the benefits
[00:24:46] about the Roxy is I also get to,
[00:24:48] you know, set up the Q&A is afterwards.
[00:24:50] Right. And I have,
[00:24:52] you know, speaking of tricking people
[00:24:53] and giving me a paycheck, I've been,
[00:24:55] you know, OK, yeah, we'll show this,
[00:24:56] you know, because under the Exotico
[00:24:57] or the film Cassandro about the great gay wrestler,
[00:25:01] the great Lucha Libre star Cassandro and the Q&A.
[00:25:05] I'm like, OK, well, let's have Margaret Murgabes
[00:25:06] have the Montana drag wrestling champion
[00:25:08] on to do a Q&A.
[00:25:09] I know what's this.
[00:25:10] I respond Moxie's interrupting.
[00:25:12] Two of them are getting into a feud
[00:25:16] and we're able to, you know,
[00:25:17] we've done that a few times.
[00:25:19] And it's been like this great thing
[00:25:21] that if you've been to our shows,
[00:25:22] you know, we have this like sizzle
[00:25:24] reel that happens at the very beginning
[00:25:25] that sort of like catches the audience
[00:25:26] up on where the story is at.
[00:25:27] Yeah. And using all these clips from,
[00:25:29] you know, the Roxy or the Zach
[00:25:31] or West Side Theater or, you know,
[00:25:34] we've had, you know, like two of our
[00:25:36] like lip sync competitors,
[00:25:38] like get into a fight backstage
[00:25:39] at a drag show somewhere else.
[00:25:41] And someone filmed it so we could put together
[00:25:42] the footage. It's great.
[00:25:46] Like it's my favorite thing.
[00:25:47] And audiences have really like latched onto it.
[00:25:50] And I'm beyond proud of it.
[00:25:53] And I'm so proud of the team that puts together.
[00:25:55] It's a huge cast and crew that all come together
[00:25:57] to make it work, including the aforementioned Solvay
[00:26:00] and David Miltelow.
[00:26:01] Good friend John Howard is the manager of
[00:26:03] Murgant Murder.
[00:26:04] And we have just all these people coming together
[00:26:06] that they want to work together
[00:26:09] to sort of do this thing that,
[00:26:11] you know, has been done in some capacity
[00:26:14] here and there, but never like this
[00:26:16] and never in Montana. Right.
[00:26:18] And so Montana Drag Wrestling is where it's at.
[00:26:20] Nice. And it is happening at the Queer West Film Festival
[00:26:23] the Friday night.
[00:26:24] So it'll be Hidden Flora and then Montana Drag Wrestling
[00:26:27] right after. And can I just can I just say
[00:26:29] yeah, I'm just sort of turn into Chastity for a second.
[00:26:31] I respond moxley.
[00:26:32] I am coming for your title
[00:26:34] and I'm going to take it and I'm going to burn it
[00:26:35] because you're a fake champion.
[00:26:37] All of you perverts are going to burn in hell
[00:26:40] like me burning your belt.
[00:26:41] Damn. If she shows up.
[00:26:43] Right. OK. Out of Chastity.
[00:26:45] Shots fired. Call it friend.
[00:26:47] I definitely had that experience
[00:26:48] though like social media version of Mike's story
[00:26:51] where I've been like scrolling on Instagram
[00:26:53] and I'm like, oh, that's the Roxy like the lobby.
[00:26:55] Why is what's happening?
[00:26:56] Let's go. What do you read the caption?
[00:26:58] I should read the caption.
[00:26:59] And then like, OK, what's going on?
[00:27:03] It's anarchy in the theater.
[00:27:04] Oh no. It's Mike.
[00:27:06] OK, let me tell you.
[00:27:08] But yes, that's Friday night for Queer West
[00:27:10] and then Saturday, the last day of Queer West.
[00:27:12] This is the busiest day of the festival.
[00:27:14] I think it is.
[00:27:15] Yeah. Just so we've got so much going on.
[00:27:18] Yes. So so much going on.
[00:27:19] So I think the first thing is going to be
[00:27:21] the queer makers market in the garden.
[00:27:23] Right, Charlie? That is absolutely right.
[00:27:25] So we are doing outside in the Roxy garden
[00:27:28] a queer makers market from 12 to 3.
[00:27:31] We've got fantastic makers from across Missoula
[00:27:33] who will be selling all kinds of stuff.
[00:27:36] The one I would the couple I'd mentioned
[00:27:37] Butter Dragon Creative is done by my friend Patrick
[00:27:41] who hand sews reusable menstrual pads
[00:27:45] with like hunky dudes or hot ladies on them.
[00:27:48] Amazing.
[00:27:50] They're they're awesome.
[00:27:52] Also selling things that you have in the same fabric
[00:27:54] for aprons and socks and things.
[00:27:56] So that's a great one there.
[00:27:57] Are those the same pads you gave away
[00:27:59] for ginger snaps that you gave?
[00:28:00] Those are the. Yeah, OK.
[00:28:02] He specifically made some werewolf theme ones.
[00:28:05] Amazing. I gave away a trash vault
[00:28:07] screening of ginger snaps.
[00:28:08] That's some thematic giveaway stuff.
[00:28:10] Incredible.
[00:28:12] What I showed when I showed Larry Cohen's It's Alive,
[00:28:15] I gave away some Plan B pills.
[00:28:17] I'm always about tying in thematically connected items
[00:28:22] to the big giveaway.
[00:28:23] Beautiful. Beforehand.
[00:28:25] Love it. Yeah.
[00:28:26] So the queer makers market in the garden,
[00:28:27] that's going to be starting at 12 and going until 3
[00:28:30] and that's in the Roxy garden out back.
[00:28:32] So yeah, it's like right behind the Roxy Annex.
[00:28:34] People can it's like in that little alleyway.
[00:28:35] Yeah.
[00:28:36] And maybe chicken will be there.
[00:28:37] We'll have music.
[00:28:38] It'll be it'll be a great time.
[00:28:39] Nice.
[00:28:40] And then at one o'clock,
[00:28:41] there's a meet your local activist panel
[00:28:43] happening for Queer West.
[00:28:44] So who's going to be part of this panel?
[00:28:46] Charlie, tell us about this.
[00:28:47] So it's going to be moderated by our co-worker Lenny Peppers,
[00:28:50] who is going to be putting it together
[00:28:51] and we're going to have representatives from some of the major
[00:28:53] LGBTQ organizations.
[00:28:55] We're going to have people like Kara Rivera
[00:28:57] from the Western Montana LGBTQ Center,
[00:28:59] who's also one of our sponsors this year.
[00:29:01] We're going to have people from Forward Montana
[00:29:02] that's going to be there, the Montana Two-Spirit Society.
[00:29:05] And I think just like giving people in Missoula
[00:29:07] a chance to hear about like with all with everything going on,
[00:29:11] having you know a panel of seeing like who is here fighting?
[00:29:14] Who is here fighting for our queer rights?
[00:29:16] Who is here fighting for freedom of expression,
[00:29:19] freedom to love who you love,
[00:29:21] the freedom to wear the clothes that you want to wear
[00:29:23] and the freedom to stand up for Montana's LGBTQ population.
[00:29:29] One of the facts that I learned during my time teaching
[00:29:32] this last year is that for transgender people,
[00:29:34] Montana is 46th out of 50 in the United States.
[00:29:38] Wow.
[00:29:38] We have and the states around us are the other bottom four.
[00:29:42] Right, that makes sense.
[00:29:44] There's a big, big, big just sort of like black hole.
[00:29:48] And that's shocking to me because you know as a trans person,
[00:29:52] I know so many trans people.
[00:29:53] I know all kinds of trans people across the state
[00:29:56] and I know how I'm feeling everything going on.
[00:29:58] I know how they're probably feeling with everything going on
[00:30:00] and just giving a place to see that yes,
[00:30:02] even though statistically there's not a lot of us here,
[00:30:05] we are here and there are people who are fighting for our rights
[00:30:08] and the rights of everyone.
[00:30:09] Yeah, absolutely.
[00:30:10] I think it wasn't around the time last year.
[00:30:12] Like it was right before Queer West last year,
[00:30:14] all the Zoe Zephyr stuff started happening.
[00:30:15] Oh, it was right before.
[00:30:17] Yeah.
[00:30:17] It was.
[00:30:19] And that was such like,
[00:30:20] and that's sort of like where this panel grew out of is
[00:30:22] I did, the original panel last year was a legislative talkback.
[00:30:25] Right, right.
[00:30:26] Where I invited activists who were out there working.
[00:30:29] I had Diane Sands who if you have any knowledge
[00:30:32] of queer history in Montana,
[00:30:33] you could go to Diane Sands and if you don't,
[00:30:35] I don't know, read a book.
[00:30:37] And that was I think something that I think was really needed
[00:30:39] to be able to talk about, you know, what's going on
[00:30:42] and have Diane Sands who's been in politics in Montana
[00:30:45] for no offense, Diane, but like flippity billion years
[00:30:48] to have someone who has seen all these things
[00:30:50] and to bring that perspective and that grounding,
[00:30:52] you know, outside of the theater of the legislature
[00:30:56] I think was really helpful.
[00:30:57] I know it helped me quite a bit
[00:30:58] and I'm excited to see how it sort of shakes out.
[00:31:01] And this next one will be even better.
[00:31:02] Lenny Peppers, who's been an activist
[00:31:05] working in Montana for many, many years
[00:31:07] will be moderating that.
[00:31:08] We've known each other since undergraduate.
[00:31:11] And so I'm excited to have her doing that
[00:31:14] because I think she's gonna have some great questions
[00:31:16] and some great moderation from our panelists.
[00:31:18] Very cool, all right.
[00:31:19] So that's gonna be a, sorry Mike.
[00:31:20] One of the things that I'm always like so impressed
[00:31:22] with when Mike tells me all the cool Roxy shit
[00:31:24] that's going on, you know,
[00:31:26] how much you all take to heart
[00:31:28] the like community theater thing, like part of it.
[00:31:31] And that's like, I'm always so impressed with that.
[00:31:34] I mean, that's the thing that I think about,
[00:31:35] especially the Roxy is that I feel like
[00:31:37] the Roxy is a church.
[00:31:39] Like a church, you know, we are there
[00:31:43] so people can come and have those experiences
[00:31:45] that change their life forever.
[00:31:47] We have this place people can come and build community
[00:31:49] and you can't like force people like in,
[00:31:51] but we can open the doors
[00:31:53] and we can have the people here
[00:31:54] that really believe to give you, you know,
[00:31:56] the sacrament of popcorn, you know, and a cold smoke.
[00:32:01] And I think that's one thing I love
[00:32:03] about the staff of the Roxy and the Roxy in general
[00:32:05] is it is like that place that we all know
[00:32:08] the importance of places like the Roxy.
[00:32:09] We know the importance of cinema,
[00:32:11] of stage performance, of community.
[00:32:13] And we know what's at stake, you know,
[00:32:16] if Missoula were to lose anything like that.
[00:32:18] And so we were all working our fucking asses off
[00:32:21] to be this sort of like a central hub of creativity
[00:32:25] and community and art and freedom in Missoula.
[00:32:29] And I'm, you know,
[00:32:29] I've been there almost 10 years now.
[00:32:31] Wow.
[00:32:32] And I am just so proud of all the work
[00:32:35] that I have done and that I've seen people do
[00:32:37] and that I've been able to be a part of
[00:32:38] because there are some real wonderful movie fans there
[00:32:42] who, you know, they make it work.
[00:32:45] Well said, Charlie.
[00:32:45] Yeah, incredible.
[00:32:46] All right, there's a couple more movies.
[00:32:48] And the next thing is the Queer West Shorts Block.
[00:32:50] Oh yes.
[00:32:51] Yes, this is, I believe nine films, right?
[00:32:53] Nine films that you got submitted for the festival
[00:32:54] that out of all the films that you were given,
[00:32:57] These are all wonderful films.
[00:32:58] They're all wonderful.
[00:32:59] Which I wish I could have shown all of them.
[00:33:00] Yeah, only.
[00:33:01] I think we settled on nine.
[00:33:04] I think you told me that three of them were made
[00:33:06] right here in Montana.
[00:33:07] That's right.
[00:33:07] 33% of our shorts are made in Montana
[00:33:10] and we've got the filmmakers will be coming in
[00:33:12] to do a panel afterwards.
[00:33:14] We've got some really great stuff.
[00:33:15] I would, you know, Emerald City,
[00:33:18] which came through Film Freeway, amazing.
[00:33:20] Just a wonderful little film about two people
[00:33:23] kind of hitchhiking across the American Southwest
[00:33:25] and falling in love.
[00:33:26] We've got this documentary M&M,
[00:33:29] which is about two drag artists in New York
[00:33:34] who sort of developed like this friendship
[00:33:36] that I think is really incredible.
[00:33:37] We have this animated film called Queer Crush Places,
[00:33:40] which is about an arm wrestling match,
[00:33:42] which will help the main characters sort of like
[00:33:44] get their crush to see them.
[00:33:46] We have another animated film called Adulting,
[00:33:48] which is described as a queer Valentine has a fever dream.
[00:33:51] And yes, that's exactly what that is.
[00:33:54] The Lonesome Pony from Milo Richards.
[00:33:57] They're a filmmaker from Atlanta, Georgia,
[00:33:59] which is sort of like this sort of musical
[00:34:01] about this character named Pony Boy.
[00:34:03] He glances at a memory with his past lover.
[00:34:07] We have Stay by Nathan Kornick,
[00:34:09] which is made in Montana, which is, okay.
[00:34:12] Speaking of not all the films being about queer joy,
[00:34:14] this one's about conflict
[00:34:15] between a gay couple at a funeral.
[00:34:17] So it's, but it's great.
[00:34:20] It's really good and I'm excited.
[00:34:21] Nathan emailed me in my role as a professor
[00:34:25] in the Women's Studies Department
[00:34:26] and said, oh, I've made this film.
[00:34:27] I'm gonna start submitting it to festivals
[00:34:29] and like submit it to my festival.
[00:34:30] And that's how we got that.
[00:34:32] There you go.
[00:34:33] We have Cowgirls, which was a student film made in Bozeman,
[00:34:37] which is about this young girl and her father
[00:34:40] who work on a ranch in Montana
[00:34:42] and sort of what happens when she brings a girl home.
[00:34:45] And then, so that's by Emily Algeria,
[00:34:48] who's the director on that.
[00:34:49] And then Dylan Albins directed this short film
[00:34:52] called A Casual Walk,
[00:34:54] which is sort of like experimental kind of
[00:34:56] funky green screen thing that I really liked.
[00:34:59] And I'm excited to show all of those films.
[00:35:01] There's great stuff in there.
[00:35:03] I'm just so thankful to the quality of films
[00:35:07] that came into the submissions this year.
[00:35:10] I wish I could have shown all of them.
[00:35:11] I know a lot of them are out there
[00:35:13] like finding their audiences right now.
[00:35:14] And I just want to encourage those filmmakers
[00:35:16] and any filmmaker, like you can do this.
[00:35:18] Like, you know, you can get your film out there.
[00:35:20] You can make something that people will see.
[00:35:22] It's gotta put in the work, pay your dues.
[00:35:25] I'm just grateful and delighted you to show these films.
[00:35:28] Yeah, definitely.
[00:35:29] So, and are you gonna be doing the Q and A
[00:35:31] after this one, Charlie, moderating?
[00:35:33] I will be in the Q and A after that one, yes.
[00:35:34] Very cool.
[00:35:35] All right, so the Queer West shorts block
[00:35:36] is happening on Saturday.
[00:35:37] And then finally, the last film
[00:35:39] in the Queer West Film Festival, A Classic.
[00:35:41] But I'm a cheerleader is playing.
[00:35:43] Yes, one of, I think my favorite movies,
[00:35:45] I think a very influential movie
[00:35:47] for a lot of queer people like my age
[00:35:49] and probably not even my, probably all ages.
[00:35:51] Well, I don't know about that,
[00:35:52] but it's this, if you have not seen this movie,
[00:35:55] shame on you, but it's a comedy
[00:35:57] about a gay conversion camp where parents end their,
[00:36:01] their kids who they believe are gay to de-gayify them.
[00:36:04] And it's delightful and it's heartfelt
[00:36:07] and RuPaul plays a straight guy.
[00:36:10] And it's, you know, when it came down to like queer joy,
[00:36:13] like what did I wanna show?
[00:36:15] I kinda wanna show like that movie
[00:36:17] that brings that level of joy,
[00:36:19] even in the darkest circumstances,
[00:36:20] even in these places that are full of trauma,
[00:36:23] these places that are full of like darkness,
[00:36:25] there is still like the light of queer joy
[00:36:26] that can be found.
[00:36:27] And I think, you know, this movie would be the best example
[00:36:31] to really show like the tenacity
[00:36:34] and the light of queer people even in the darkest times.
[00:36:38] And I think that's something I really appreciate
[00:36:39] about a lot of the films that we're showing is
[00:36:41] we're in some dark times right now
[00:36:43] and there is so much joy
[00:36:45] and there is so much creativity.
[00:36:46] And I think really championing that for the festival
[00:36:48] has been my pleasure this year.
[00:36:50] Yeah, I love that.
[00:36:51] And this is such a joyful fun movie.
[00:36:52] I actually only saw this for the first time
[00:36:55] like two years ago maybe.
[00:36:57] And it was when the Roxy showed it.
[00:36:58] We showed it I think on Valentine's Day weekend
[00:37:01] and my girlfriend went and yeah, had a great time.
[00:37:04] It was terrific.
[00:37:05] Young Natasha Lyonne, young Clea Duvall.
[00:37:08] And yeah, it's just such a fun coming of age movie
[00:37:10] and coming to terms with yourself
[00:37:12] and your sexuality and all that.
[00:37:13] And it's so, so good and so fun.
[00:37:15] Oh yeah.
[00:37:16] And it's a perfect,
[00:37:17] it is a kind of a perfect encapsulation
[00:37:19] of like everything you're trying to do with Queer West
[00:37:21] with the festival especially for this year.
[00:37:23] So yeah, excellent choice.
[00:37:24] Well, thank you.
[00:37:25] I'm excited and I know people are gonna be excited to see it.
[00:37:27] It's a classic for a reason.
[00:37:29] And I think really giving the opportunity,
[00:37:32] especially in Pride month to do that.
[00:37:33] I mean, Roxy has got Pride programming
[00:37:35] happening all month long.
[00:37:36] We're just the thing kind of kicking it off.
[00:37:38] And I think it's a wonderful way to do it.
[00:37:41] I will add also a young Melanie Linsky in that movie.
[00:37:44] Oh yes. That's right.
[00:37:45] Yeah, I think Michelle Williams too
[00:37:47] is also pops up in that too I think.
[00:37:49] Yeah, a lot of people.
[00:37:50] A lot of people in But I'm a Cheerleader
[00:37:51] which is cool to see. Martin Mole.
[00:37:54] The kids love Martin Mole.
[00:37:56] He's Gene Parmesan.
[00:37:59] And then after But I'm a Cheerleader,
[00:38:00] there will be a closing party in the Roxy Garden.
[00:38:02] Right Charlie? That's right.
[00:38:04] We have my friend DJ Auntie E who will be back DJing again.
[00:38:08] We'll have drinks provided by our sponsors.
[00:38:10] We'll have music.
[00:38:11] We'll have community.
[00:38:12] You know, one of my favorite moments of last festival
[00:38:14] was like walking out of that last feature into that party
[00:38:17] and just like seeing all these people,
[00:38:19] you know, visiting filmmakers,
[00:38:21] people who had just moved to Missoula.
[00:38:23] Roxy people are regular like Roxy,
[00:38:26] you know, members and patrons just sort of like
[00:38:29] all out in the garden just celebrating
[00:38:31] and just having just like this wonderful moment
[00:38:34] despite the fact that someone did steal my spray paint
[00:38:36] that weekend and spray painted the ground.
[00:38:39] Oh yeah.
[00:38:40] And also a bunch of stuff around
[00:38:42] like there's like a bunch of graffiti now
[00:38:43] because I was doing some art for the festival.
[00:38:45] Yeah.
[00:38:46] And then I came back and there was just spray paint all over.
[00:38:48] Yeah, there was like a like a spray painted bunny
[00:38:50] that was back there for a long time.
[00:38:52] Yeah, some weird weird don't know how when that when
[00:38:55] or how that happened.
[00:38:57] Missoula stuff.
[00:38:57] Missoula stuff.
[00:38:58] Yeah, honestly.
[00:39:00] Yeah. And that is the Queer West Film Festival.
[00:39:02] So yeah, to recap, yeah, Glen and Glenda on Thursday.
[00:39:04] Hidden Flora and Montana drag wrestling on Friday.
[00:39:08] Meet your local activist panel.
[00:39:09] Queer Makers Market in the Garden,
[00:39:10] the Queer West Shorts Block,
[00:39:11] But I'm a True Leader
[00:39:12] and The Closing Party in the Garden on Saturday
[00:39:15] and The Roast of Charlie McCorn
[00:39:16] the Monday before the festival.
[00:39:18] So yeah, people are going to want to go to all those.
[00:39:19] It's it's going to be such an incredible lineup.
[00:39:21] It's going to be so fun.
[00:39:23] And Charlie, as you kind of mentioned before,
[00:39:24] you're planning on leaving Missoula soon.
[00:39:26] And that does mean that Out of the Roxy and Trash Vault
[00:39:29] are both moving on to other people.
[00:39:31] They're going to be kind of being hosted by other other Roxy employees.
[00:39:35] That's correct.
[00:39:35] Yeah. How do you feel about the transition?
[00:39:37] How do you feel about passing those off?
[00:39:38] You know, it is a little bittersweet,
[00:39:41] but I'm also aware that when I and Solvei
[00:39:45] started Trash Vault five years ago now,
[00:39:48] we didn't do stuff like this at The Roxy.
[00:39:50] Like we had our monthly programming,
[00:39:52] but it was just like, oh yeah, come and watch a movie.
[00:39:54] Right.
[00:39:54] And I think Trash Vault really made it an event.
[00:39:57] And you know, over the years,
[00:39:59] I've been able to show both Out of the Roxy and Trash Vault.
[00:40:02] So many of my favorite movies,
[00:40:04] movies that meant so much to me,
[00:40:06] you know, as a young person or, you know,
[00:40:08] as an older person like,
[00:40:10] and I have always wanted to be a horror hostess.
[00:40:14] Like, like ask me what I wanted to be when I wanted to grow up.
[00:40:16] I wanted to be Elvira and I got to be
[00:40:18] and I got to create this place
[00:40:20] and I got to do this thing that was incredible and unique
[00:40:23] and the people who are taking it over from me
[00:40:25] are going to do wonderful things with it.
[00:40:27] I think it's time for old Charlie McCorn to hit the trail.
[00:40:30] I think it's time for, you know,
[00:40:33] some of the new employees,
[00:40:34] the new voices at The Roxy have their chance
[00:40:36] to do something with it and create something.
[00:40:38] And I am delighted by the work that I've been able to do.
[00:40:42] I'm delighted by the impact that I have been able to make
[00:40:48] with the help of so many incredible, you know,
[00:40:50] community members, artists, Roxy employees.
[00:40:53] And it is a little bittersweet,
[00:40:56] but I have always been someone looking to the next thing.
[00:41:00] So whatever's going to come next bigger and better.
[00:41:02] And if not, then my life peaked
[00:41:05] at the most wonderful theater in the entire world.
[00:41:07] Aww.
[00:41:09] I love that.
[00:41:10] And yeah, you can catch Charlie.
[00:41:11] I mean, Charlie, of course, out of The Roxy,
[00:41:14] your last one was Rebel Without a Cause,
[00:41:16] although Nas is going to be taking that over in June.
[00:41:18] And your final trash vault is going to be Donnie Darko
[00:41:22] in 35mm at The Roxy, which is a really strong one to go out on.
[00:41:26] I think it's going to be really, really fun.
[00:41:27] Yeah, I wanted to close on a 35mm film.
[00:41:30] Again, it came from AGFA,
[00:41:31] who I mentioned the American Genre Film Archive.
[00:41:33] And I think especially as a movie
[00:41:35] that, you know, is probably a lot better
[00:41:36] than a lot of the trash fall stuff that we've shown in the past.
[00:41:38] It's a movie that meant a lot to me
[00:41:40] when I was, you know, growing up in Dear Lodge,
[00:41:42] Montana and just dreaming of like being creative
[00:41:45] and making art that would make people feel the way
[00:41:47] that I felt after watching Donnie Darko.
[00:41:49] I think being able to, you know, bring an end to my time
[00:41:52] as Missoula's horror hostess,
[00:41:54] I think that that's a great one to go out on.
[00:41:56] Yeah, absolutely.
[00:41:57] And yeah, thank you for blazing that trail
[00:41:59] with that Roxy programming, Charlie,
[00:42:01] because yeah, I mean, so much of our programming
[00:42:03] is influenced by what you and Solvayne did
[00:42:05] with trash vault back in the day.
[00:42:06] I know Inferno of Danger, which is my action movie series,
[00:42:09] is heavily inspired by what you guys do with trash vaults,
[00:42:11] you know, including I do the giveaways and stuff
[00:42:13] that you do before trash vaults.
[00:42:16] Mine are less.
[00:42:18] I don't know.
[00:42:18] I have not given away Plan B pills yet.
[00:42:21] Well, it's your first series.
[00:42:23] Yeah, give it some time.
[00:42:25] You got to give some time.
[00:42:25] Once I'm like five years into it,
[00:42:26] then it's like, OK, what do I got?
[00:42:28] I mean, I've got to that point
[00:42:29] where we're giving away chainsaw.
[00:42:31] Like I give away a chainsaw.
[00:42:32] Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
[00:42:34] Like an actual chainsaw.
[00:42:35] An actual chainsaw.
[00:42:37] The smallest, cheapest chainsaw I could get.
[00:42:39] Incredible.
[00:42:40] Because all these things I can write off on my taxes.
[00:42:42] There you go.
[00:42:42] And you know, it is it is that thing where,
[00:42:45] you know, Solvayne started giving away machetes
[00:42:47] when we showed Friday the 13th movies.
[00:42:49] And so much of the creativity,
[00:42:50] I will give her full credit.
[00:42:52] Like she influenced me so much as an artist
[00:42:54] and she inspired me and I would not be the artist
[00:42:57] I was without Solvayne there.
[00:42:59] The Roxy is so fucking lucky to have her
[00:43:02] and Camp Horror Film Festival is going to be a blast this year.
[00:43:06] Oh, yeah. The lineup is incredible.
[00:43:08] Very excited about it.
[00:43:09] Yeah, I'm not sure if it's like out there yet or not,
[00:43:11] but it's going to be very, very good.
[00:43:14] It's going to be very good because this year
[00:43:16] horror goes international.
[00:43:18] Well, there you go.
[00:43:21] There you go.
[00:43:21] Very exciting.
[00:43:22] Yes. All right.
[00:43:23] Well, Charlie, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.
[00:43:26] And yeah, once again, the Queer West Film Festival
[00:43:28] June 6th through the 8th, the Roast of Charlie McHorn
[00:43:30] on June 3rd.
[00:43:31] Charlie, if people want to find you online
[00:43:33] and follow your whereabouts, what you're doing,
[00:43:35] especially, you know, if you move to a new city or something,
[00:43:37] those people, those people will want to find you.
[00:43:39] I assume.
[00:43:40] Where can they do that?
[00:43:41] I got rid of I got rid of my Twitter because that got to be too sad.
[00:43:45] Yeah. But understandable.
[00:43:48] Yeah, I'm on Instagram.
[00:43:50] I'm Charlie McHorn.
[00:43:51] I'm there posting my my my dumb shit and my my professional cross dressing.
[00:43:56] Like perfect.
[00:43:58] And all of my upcoming shows.
[00:44:00] I'm also like my farewell tour right now.
[00:44:02] So I got a few shows left before I wrap things up in Missoula.
[00:44:04] So you want to come see those follow me on Instagram and we'll go from there.
[00:44:07] Cool. Very cool.
[00:44:09] All right, Mike D.
[00:44:09] Where can we find you online this week?
[00:44:10] You can find me at MD film blog,
[00:44:13] or regrettably still on Twitter and Letter Rocks and Blue Sky,
[00:44:17] which is exciting, I guess you could.
[00:44:19] Is that yeah.
[00:44:20] What did I say?
[00:44:20] At MD film blog at those places.
[00:44:22] If you want to donate to support the show,
[00:44:23] you could do that at our Ko-fi page,
[00:44:25] which is ko-fi.com slash Mike and Mike Pods,
[00:44:27] where you can donate fifty dollars and make us watch a movie.
[00:44:29] Pick up pick a movie.
[00:44:30] We double dog dare you.
[00:44:31] That's it. Go ahead.
[00:44:32] Yeah, absolutely.
[00:44:33] Anybody can donate fifty dollars and make us watch whatever they want.
[00:44:36] And people have done it.
[00:44:37] So people should crazy doing it
[00:44:39] because that would be a great way for us to continue to make money.
[00:44:41] Yes, can I can I can I say I'm not going to give you money,
[00:44:44] but there's a movie called Wild Zero
[00:44:45] that's available only on archive dot org right now.
[00:44:48] Okay.
[00:44:48] And I have been trying to get more people to watch this movie.
[00:44:52] We couldn't show it at trash vault
[00:44:53] because there's no theatrical distribution for it.
[00:44:55] Oh man.
[00:44:56] It's a Japanese film speaking of Ed Wood,
[00:44:58] Planet from outer space.
[00:44:59] Aliens bring the dead back to life to take over the planet
[00:45:02] and the only ones that can stop them is this Japanese punk band called
[00:45:05] Guitar Wolf like the Japanese Ramones.
[00:45:09] This sounds like something I would watch for free.
[00:45:11] This is very, very good.
[00:45:13] I'm trying to I'm trying to get the good word out.
[00:45:15] Yes, this poster is incredible.
[00:45:16] I'm looking at the poster right now.
[00:45:17] Holy shit.
[00:45:18] That's where is this available Charlie?
[00:45:19] It's only available as far as I can tell on archive dot org.
[00:45:23] Okay, I got you.
[00:45:23] I got you Mike.
[00:45:24] Don't worry.
[00:45:25] Thank you, Mike.
[00:45:25] Do you appreciate it?
[00:45:27] All right.
[00:45:28] You can find me online at M Smith film blog on Twitter, Mike Smith,
[00:45:30] film and letterbox, radio, Mike sandwich, Instagram.
[00:45:32] Thanks so much for listening to Mike.
[00:45:34] Mike out of the movies on Mike Smith.
[00:45:35] That's my decree show and that of course is Charlotte McCorn.
[00:45:37] Don't forget to rate and review the show on Apple podcasts
[00:45:40] or any other podcast.
[00:45:41] And if you want to contact us, you can tweet at us at Mike
[00:45:43] and Mike pod or more likely at complete works pod because this
[00:45:47] podcast is now in the form of bonus episodes to our flagship
[00:45:50] show The Complete Works.
[00:45:51] So at complete works pod WRKS no oh in the word works and you
[00:45:55] can find the rest of our podcast and Rapture press alongside
[00:45:57] many other podcasts about kinds of comic books and movie news
[00:45:59] and all that good stuff.
[00:46:01] And yeah, check out the main podcast The Complete Works to keep
[00:46:03] up with all of our Roy Scheider movies.
[00:46:05] That's right.
[00:46:06] I is alive.
[00:46:07] Well, where are you at right now?
[00:46:09] So I think as of right now, the first four episodes have
[00:46:13] been published or the first three have been published as
[00:46:15] of this recording.
[00:46:15] But by the time this comes out, the fourth one will
[00:46:17] definitely be out.
[00:46:18] So yeah, we're about to record right after this me and
[00:46:20] Mike are going to talk the French connection.
[00:46:22] That's right.
[00:46:22] Oh, so yeah, so we're we're going to talk the French connection.
[00:46:25] We kind of just got through the breakthrough.
[00:46:27] It's like it was like a back-to-back of clute and French
[00:46:29] connection. It's like, all right, here we go movies.
[00:46:32] Yeah, we're going to go talking about queer West to maybe
[00:46:35] the straightest movie ever made.
[00:46:38] I cannot wait until you get to the 2004 whatever Punisher
[00:46:42] movie.
[00:46:42] Yes.
[00:46:43] Yeah, that's on the list.
[00:46:44] So excited actually if you haven't seen it Charlie
[00:46:47] Roy Scheider is very first movie is a 1964 movie
[00:46:50] called The Curse of the Living Corpse and it's I
[00:46:53] think it's up your alley.
[00:46:54] It's pretty fun.
[00:46:55] It's a it's like a murder mystery who done it sort
[00:46:57] of directed by Del Tenny who also did the horror at
[00:47:00] Party Beach.
[00:47:01] Oh, I know that one.
[00:47:02] Yeah.
[00:47:03] I think those are the only two movies Del Tenny made.
[00:47:06] Well, he also did I think I eat your skin and I drink
[00:47:09] your blood.
[00:47:09] We're also okay.
[00:47:11] Those are probably the most famous ones.
[00:47:13] Right?
[00:47:13] Yeah.
[00:47:14] And so yeah, Roy Scheider's first appearance was in
[00:47:16] a Del Tenny movie and it's pretty fun.
[00:47:19] It's it's really funny because I think of Ray
[00:47:22] Scheider is a pretty like naturalistic 70s new Hollywood
[00:47:24] actor.
[00:47:25] And in this movie, it's like a big theatrical like
[00:47:28] scene-shoeing performance.
[00:47:30] It's a good time.
[00:47:31] Yes.
[00:47:33] So yeah, there's that Charlie once again.
[00:47:35] Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast
[00:47:37] and for all you've been doing at the Roxy.
[00:47:39] My pleasure.
[00:47:39] Thanks for having me.
[00:47:41] I look forward to seeing all of your smiling
[00:47:43] faces at Queer West Mike.
[00:47:45] Get on a plane.
[00:47:49] Yes.
[00:47:50] All right.
[00:47:50] That is the end of this week's episode of Mike
[00:47:52] and Mike go to the movies.
[00:47:52] We will see you on the other side.
[00:47:55] Bye.