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Bryan sits down with the writer to discuss various elements of his career
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Bryan Curtis
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Tag: patrick
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Guinness Gives Chicago a Sign of Spring With St. Patrick’s Day Reservations
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“Is your patio open?”
Customers have repeatedly uttered those four words this week to restaurants and bar workers all across Chicago, a city that is rejoicing after hitting the 50-degree threshold for the first time in 2024.
There’s hope, no matter what those groundhogs have revealed, of flipping the page to spring. But nothing is easy, as Thursday morning much of the country was greeted by a cell phone outage that mostly impacted AT&T customers. Overall, more than 100,000 phones have reportedly been hit.
How that outage will affect online ordering and reservations remains to be seen. AT&T has recommended that customers use WiFi calling if users want to be old fashioned, you know, the antiquated process that eliminates service fees for restaurants — unlike online ordering using a third party (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub).
Despite the latest hurdle, there are reasons to be optimistic for the restaurant industry in Chicago. On Wednesday, the city’s tourism arm, Choose Chicago, claimed Restaurant Week as a success, sending out a release that trumped the event gaining popularity with 463 restaurants. The website drew 1.34 million page views, a 7.2 percent increase compared to 2023, and 430,000 website clicks — 32 percent more than in 2023. The 17-day “week” went from January 19 to February. It’s a promotion where participating restaurants offer set meals to bring diners in during the typically slower winter weeks.
The spring feeling is in full force as Guinness is prepping for its first St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago, with reservations for its Fulton Market brewpub live. The Chicago taproom, which opened in September, is touting five days of St. Patrick’s Day events, from Wednesday, March 13 to St. Patrick’s Day, Sunday, March 17. Customers can book a table for four, eight, or 12 or opt for general admission. The reservations come in three-hour blocks.
The city has come a long way since St. Patrick’s Day 2020 when bar owners packed revelers into their establishments right before Gov. J.B. Pritzker shut down on-premises dining to help slow the spread of COVID.
Regardless of optimism, true Chicagoans know it’s way too early to put away their shovels or heavy winter coats.
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Ashok Selvam
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Patrick: Classic Ozploitation Shocker To Be Released on 4K UHD Blu-Ray
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Richard Franklin’s 1978 Ozploitation classic Patrick is getting a first-ever 4K UHD Blu-ray release early next year thanks to Indicator.
In Patrick, a comatose hospital patient (Robert Thompson) harasses and kills through his powers of telekinesis to claim his private nurse (Susan Penhaligon) as his own.
The film also stars Robert Helpman (who played The Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Maria Mercedes, and Rod Mullinar (Dead Calm).
Patrick 4K UHD Blu-ray Special Features
Credit: Indicator - Brand-new 4K HDR restoration from the original negative by Powerhouse Films
- 4K (2160p) UHD presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Three presentations of the film: the original Australian theatrical version; the shortened US theatrical cut with American dubbing; and the Italian theatrical version, featuring an alternative score by Italian prog legends Goblin and presented with English subtitles for the first time
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with director Richard Franklin and screenwriter Everett De Roche (2002)
- On-Set Interview with Richard Franklin (1978): behind-the-scenes interview with the Patrick director conducted by Australian film critic Ivan Hutchinson
- Interview with Richard Franklin (2001): previously unseen interview in which the director discusses Patrick
- A Coffee Break with Antony I. Ginnane (2009): the renowned genre-film producer revisits Patrick
- ‘Not Quite Hollywood’ Interview Excerpts (2008): extensive selection of outtakes from Mark Hartley’s acclaimed documentary on Australian cinema, featuring Franklin, De Roche, Ginnane, and stars Susan Penhaligon and Rod Mullinar
- Stephen Morgan on ‘Patrick’ (2023): appreciation by the academic and Australian cinema specialist
- Original Australian theatrical trailer
- Original US theatrical trailer
- TV spots
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material, and behind the scenes
- New and improved English translation subtitles
- Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
- Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Alan Miller, exclusive extracts from director Richard Franklin and producer Anthony I Ginnane’s unpublished memoirs; archival interviews with screenwriter Everett De Roche and special-effects supervisor Conrad Rothmann, and full film credits
Patrick is a Limited edition of 10,000 individually numbered units (6,000 4K UHDs and 4,000 Blu-rays) for the UK and US. It will be released on February 20, 2024.
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Neil Bolt
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17 Fantastic Games That Went Under The Radar In 2022
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Screenshot: Blazing Bit Games First released in 2021, indie shooter Nightmare Reaper finally left Early Access this year, and that’s when I finally played it. And boy oh boy, am I happy I stumbled upon this under-the-radar FPS! Nightmare Reaper might look a lot like other, similar retro-inspired shooters—like the previously mentioned Cultic—that have become more common in recent years, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a roguelike with smart level progression, awesome music, and hundreds of powerful and zany weapons like whips and spell books. It’s a weird game, too. But in a good way. For example, to improve your character’s stats you play through different, elaborate Game Boy-like mini-games. It’s weird, it’s sometimes creepy, and it’s only $25 on Steam. Go play Nightmare Reaper! — Zack Zwiezen
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Ethan Gach
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Austin Pets Alive! | Growing the Family after Hurricane Harvey
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Sep 24, 2021
When Hurricane Harvey devastated much of Texas and Louisiana in 2017, the APA! community leaped into action with the goal of evacuating and saving as many lives as possible.
Thanks to the amazing support that we received from donors, fosters, volunteers, and the APA! community both near and far – you! – we were able to transport over 5,000 animals to safety, stand up three temporary shelters, gratefully accept truckloads of donations, and record nearly 30,000 volunteer hours.
But the impact of Harvey didn’t end in 2017. It only just began for the thousands of adopters that added new additions to their families. This included Patrick and Lauren. Just recently engaged, the couple took the opportunity to grow their family while helping pets in need.
“It was my birthday,” said Lauren. “He [Patrick] has this habit of sending me pictures with no explanations and then I have to guess why he’s sending it to me. On my birthday he sent me a picture of a dog in a crate and it got me really excited. I thought he had gotten me a dog for my birthday. When I found out he was just sending a picture of a cute dog, I got really upset.”
But when Lauren mentioned that APA! was rescuing thousands of cats and dogs from Houston and surrounding areas prior to and following Hurricane Harvey, the next day Patrick snuck out of the house and headed to APA!.
That’s when Patrick first laid eyes on Wren.
“I’m afraid she may have been in a hoarding situation or with someone who was trying to turn her into a hunting dog…going through that process and maybe she didn’t take. Maybe they saw the hurricane as an opportunity to ditch her,” Patrick said.
For Patrick and Lauren, saving Wren was also about starting a family.
“I love Wrennie,” said Joey, Patrick and Lauren’s two-year-old daughter, with a hiccup. Joey gave Wren that name as soon as she could talk. They’ve been best friends since the start.
“It’s been interesting because when we first adopted Wren, she was our only family,” said Patrick. “She was all of our attention and spare time. It’s been really interesting to see the family grow around her, see the dynamics change and see how she’s adapted and adjusted to not being the boss of everything, even though she still thinks she is. She’s always been very maternal. She’s been good with kids.”
From being stranded among the floodwater from Harvey to a loving home complete with a young friend to play with, Wren is just one of the thousands of lives that have been saved by everyday people looking to make a difference.
“I understood the need to adopt because there are so many dogs out there that need rehoming. I don’t think I would ever do anything differently now,” Lauren said.
“I always thought that if I got a dog, I would get a shelter dog. I don’t like the idea of spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on something that comes from a puppy mill or breeding facility,” said Patrick. “When Harvey came along it felt good to try to help a cause. I would do it again.”
Patrick & Lauren: we’ll be here, waiting for when y’all are ready to adopt all over again. Adopters like Patrick and Lauren are just some of the people who have made our #NoKillDecade possible. You can join the No Kill movement by making a gift today to ensure another 10 years of lifesaving. Thanks to an anonymous board member, all gifts will be DOUBLED, up to $10K!
Want to share your experience with Hurricane Harvey? Whatever your APA! story is, we want to hear it. Interact with all of our social posts this week to tell us your story using #NoKillDecade.
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