First, a little bad news: citing a scheduling conflict, Chris Rock has decided not to host the 6th annual Academy Awards. (Spike Lee says he is free that night, but we felt awkward about him hosting since we didn’t nominate Chi-Raq). For this reason, and many others, we will not be having a telecast this year. Instead, results of the race will be announced the way they always are: right here on 366 Weird Movies, a few hours before the Academy Awards ceremony begins in Los Angeles (or wherever they host that thing).

Although the editors of 366 Weird Movies select the nominees from the pool of available movies, the Awards themselves are a naked popularity contest and do not necessarily reflect either the artistic merit or intrinsic weirdness of the films involved. The Weirdcademy Awards are tongue in cheek and for fun only. Ballot-stuffing is a frequent occurrence. Please, no wagering.

The Weirdcademy Awards are given to the Weirdest Movie, Actor, Actress and Scene of the previous year, as voted by the members of the Weirdcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Weirdness.

Who makes up the Weirdcademy, you ask? Membership is open to all readers of 366 Weird Movies. The rules for joining the Weirdcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Weirdness are as follows. To officially join the Weirdcademy, locate an official online ballot (such as the one below) and hover your mouse pointer over the radial button representing the choice of movie you would like to see win any award in any category. Then, simply depress the left button of your mouse to make your selection. Selections made using the right mouse button will be disregarded, and you will be forced to reapply. If your application for membership is approved, a dot will appear next to your choice. You are not done with the application procedure yet, so continue reading. To be certified as a voting member of the Weirdcademy, at some point subsequent to making your selection, you must navigate your mouse button to the box marked “vote.” Now, again depress your left mouse button to confirm your membership as a voting member of the Weirdcademy.

(Vote as many times as you like, but only once per day, please. We’ll keep voting open until February 28 at 1:00 PM EST, so we can announce our results before the Academy Awards and steal their thunder).

There is no requirement that you’ve have to actually see all the movies in any category before voting.

Be sure to also vote for Weirdest Short Film of the Year. To watch all five nominees and to cast your vote, please click here.

Without further delay, here are the nominees for the 2015 Weirdcademy awards:

Continue reading YOUR VOTE DETERMINES THE WINNERS OF THE 6TH ANNUAL WEIRDCADEMY AWARDS →

Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs, and on more distant horizons…

Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.

SCREENINGS – (New York City, Lincoln Center,  Friday, 1/15 at 9:00 PM):

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976): Read Andreas Stoehr’s review! Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade theater hosts this last-minute free (!) screening of Nicolas Roeg‘s science fiction fantasia to celebrate the legacy of the late, great David Bowie. NYC weirdos with no weekend plans may want to try to make it. The Man Who Fell to Earth at Lincoln Center.

SCREENINGS – (New York City, Videology Bar and Cinema, Saturday, 1/16 at Midnight):

Trash Humpers (2009): Read the Certified Weird review! Clearly, the best way to watch Harmony Korine‘s aggressively transgressive low-budget lark about viscous old people humping trash is at a bar. Trash Humpers at Videology Bar and Cinema.

NEW ON DVD:

Flutter (2011): A dog track gambler is suckered into increasingly surreal bets with a mysterious new female bookie. Never heard of this one before, but two out of three Amazon reviewers currently refer to it as “weird” (while the third simply calls it “creepy”). Buy Flutter.

“Out 1” (1971/1974): Jacques (Celine and Julie Go Boating) Rivette’s rarely seen opus: a byzantine, confusing twelve-hour film (divided into 8 episodes) about rival experimental theater groups and an overarching conspiracy. This box set also includes Out 1: Spectre, the four-hour theatrical edit of the film and a feature length documentary, spread across six Blu-rays and seven DVDs, along with a thick booklet of essays and criticism. Buy “Out 1 (Limited Edition Box Set)”.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990): Tom Stoppard directs the film adaptation of his own play focusing on two minor characters from “Hamlet,” depicted as bumbling rakes wandering through a artificial world that resembles Samuel Beckett more than Shakespeare. This Image Entertainment “25th Anniversary” release is not remastered but has an extended interview with Stoppard as a bonus. Buy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

The Bed Sitting Room (1969): Read our review! Richard Lester‘s vision of an absurd apocalypse makes it to Blu-ray for the first time (in the U.S.A.), but unfortunately without much in the way of extra features. Buy The Bed Sitting Room (1969) [Blu-ray].

Bolero (1984)/Ghosts Can’t Do It (1989): In the 1980s, director John Derek took his “10” wife Bo and slapped her into a couple of absurdly bad softcore “erotic” features. Bolero featured Bo as a virgin (!) who has to travel the world to find someone to sleep with her (!!), while the even dumber (!!!) Ghosts found Bo street-testing male bodies for her dear departed husband (Anthony Quinn!!!!) to possess. Buy Bolero/Ghosts Can’t Do It [Blu-ray].

How I Won the War (1967): An incompetent British officer gets most of his squad killed while trying to set up a cricket pitch behind enemy lines in this anti-war satire co-starring John Lennon. Part of a Kino Lorber Richard Lester dump that also includes The Bed Sitting Room (above) and the more conventional sex comedy The Knack (and How to Get It). Buy How I Won the War (1967) [Blu-ray].

“Out 1” (1971/1974): See description in DVD above. Buy “Out 1 (Limited Edition Box Set)”.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990): See description in DVD above. Buy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead [Blu-ray].

What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that I have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.