u/Ceronomus

I've been trying to uncover what was shown at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival's show held at the Alamo Draft House in Austin. I've only found a single source of information online (https://www.sffchronicles.com/threads/11388/page-2 - Post #24) that lists several of the films shown. From that I can figure that the Richard Corben films were The Canal and Fungi from Yuggoth, Part IV: Recognition.

I've tried the internet archive's backups of the festival's site but, no luck. It looks as though the film list wasn't posted to the page prior to the showing and, frustratingly, the Alamo Draft House's website really didn't archive right at all and is useless. So, I know only a handful of the films.

I don't suppose anyone around here actually attended? I've reached out tot he festival but haven't had any luck identifying the films that way.

The film self-rated itself X. However, it is crudely done claymation that, by today's standards, might be rated as harshly as PG-13. That said, it often shows up as rated X, so I know that people would ask if I didn't clarify.

Originally entitled King Tut Goes to McDonalds, the film screened at a number of film festivals and art house theaters in 1979-1980. It ran alongside things such as Will Vinton's The Little Prince, and was submitted for Oscar consideration in 1979, but was not nominated.

There is virtually no presence of this film online. I created the IMDB page for the film in hopes of finding more information, and someone did post a news clipping for the March 29, 1980 showing at the Ann Arbor Film Co-op. Other bits of known information come from the efforts of the folks at cartoonresearch.com, who have been trying to track down each of the animated films submitted for Oscar consideration in 1980.

Not so much as a single image seems to exist on the internet.

According to actor J.D. Coburn, who voiced several characters and recorded the film's soundtrack, the film was threatened with legal action by McDonalds, hence the title chance to King Tut Goes to the City. There was also mention that there was potentially a 16mm copy n the collection of the King County Library in Seattle - however I've been unable to confirm that.

This film is the earliest known work by visual effects artist Paul Boyington (Dragnet, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2). It was screened by the Short Films Awards Preliminary Reviewing Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on January 10, 1980 as part of a screening of 22 shorts. As mentioned above, it did not receive a nomination.

The Plot: During the U.S. traveling exhibit of the King Tut relics, a couple of movers bang the sarcophagus into a wall and permit air to reach the mummified remains of the Boy King. Tut comes to life and wanders the streets, confused by the environs. Seeing the Golden Arches, it’s implied that he recognizes them as having a pyramid shape and bows down to pray. Ronald McDonald, who is inside, sexually harassing the female workers, sees Tut and goes out to chase him away, assaulting Tut in the process.

Tut makes his way to a nearby nuclear reactor, climbs the cooling tower, and falls inside causing the first nuclear meltdown in U.S. film.

HP Lovecraft Film Festival, Austin - Aug 20, 2006

[Fully Lost] King Tut Goes to McDonalds / King Tut Goes to the City