The man behind The Warren Report weaves his evil spell

Rare are the nights when, of my own free will, I'll drag myself out to do something intellectually stimulating. At home the Fizz surrounds herself with plenty of enriching novels and nonfiction works. I absorb NPR, watch PBS and the Discovery Channel.

OK, I check out plenty of The WB, too, but let's be real. If I leave the house these days, it's because I'm going someplace where people twist themselves into bows and stuff like that.

Last Monday was an exception: I ventured solo to the University District to watch Warren Etheredge, founder of The Warren Report, hold forth one of his Film Raps while an audience of about 30 listened and debated the devil's cinematic due with relevant guests. Keith Simanton, managing editor of Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), was in the hot seat, joined by Pastor Paul Schuler, on hand to provide theological reference and, if needed, an emergency exorcism.

Here's the thing: It was a blast. Good questions and insights, along with especially clever quips, were rewarded with movie graft, T-shirts and studio gift packs.

Nobody's opinions were treated as more or less legitimate than anyone else's, whether your idea of the most-frightening rendition of Satan happens to be De Niro's Louis Cyphre from "Angel Heart" or the Stay-Puff marshmallow man from "Ghostbusters."

Exchanging information and ideas is the point here — instead of trading intellectual blows, which is precisely what many cinematic discussions tend to devolve into. Instead, Film Raps are about the fun of movies, and it's plain to see why people show up to them regularly.

Like the red guy, Etheredge is known by many titles: Curator of Bumbershoot's 1 Reel Film Festival every year. Teacher of screenwriting, directing and film-analysis classes. And Moderator of Film Rap and Shooting Scripts, regularly staged readings of scripts in progress. All of this is encompassed in The Warren Report, Etheredge's newsletter and Web site, www.thewarrenreport.com.

Through The Warren Report, he's known as Keeper of the Free Movie Passes. That's right, join Etheredge's mailing list and you, along with about 2,500 other people around town, will receive regular alerts when he has passes to preview screenings of films great and not-so-great, gratis. That is, if you get back to him soon enough to grab one of a very limited number of seats.

"Response is overwhelming," he admits. "... I think I did a screening of 'The Emperor's Club' this past week, and I probably filled the allotted number of seats in three hours. But that doesn't stop the other 2,200 people from writing."

And we haven't even mentioned the forum The Warren Report affords local filmmakers, who can show their work through his monthly Distinguishing Features screenings. Or Etheredge's examination of music for films through Know the Score; or his part in a subscription series called Sneak, where Seattle filmgoers can get a first look at indie and foreign films with little or no distribution.

He'll soon extend his repertoire to include TV, once Downed Pilots, a series that lets people see TV pilots that never made it on air, takes off.

"I'm often amazed at how much better the stuff is that we don't see. And so I just wanted an outlet to show some of that material and to give those artists a chance to talk about what it is, why they don't think it made it."

It's tiring, but it's clear that he loves to do it. "You know, one of the things that's always bugged me is that people talk about how there isn't a strong film community in Seattle," Etheredge said. "I know that for filmmakers it can be a little tough. ... But I personally am very interested in the audience. My sort of unspoken tagline is that smarter audiences make better movies."

As a person who still receives e-mail lambasting me for giving "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist" a bad review, I'm inclined to agree. This is a service we should be grateful for. And he does it well.

As it is with many things the devil purportedly makes us do, this Film Rap discussion was fun. I went intending to listen, but couldn't help joining in as we discussed the nature of evil as portrayed by Hollywood, what makes a good movie Satan and why Hannibal Lecter and Darth Vader trounced him in an IMDB poll of the greatest movie villains.

I left inspired, determined to see the next flick having to do with the Prince of Darkness with a more informed perspective. Considering the stinky track record of the devil's oeuvre, I am hoping Warren can get me in for free.

Thought bubbles: Bob Crane's son Scott offered help with Paul Schrader's "Auto Focus," the film about his father's peccadilloes, but after a few wrong turns ... well, to hear his side of the story and details about the film's flaws, you can check out next Monday's Film Rap, starting at 7 p.m. at the University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E. ...

Missed David Schmader's annotated presentation of "Showgirls" the first time around? It returns to The Showbox at 8 p.m. Nov. 21. We hope Paul Verhoeven has thanked Schmader for delivering a shred of legitimacy to the most nakedly awful movie since ... ever.

E-mail Pop Fizz at mmcfarland@seattletimes.com.

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