Fantastic Fest continues to prove itself as the funnest film festival in the entire world, not only by programming weird and amazing movies, but also by hosting events like the "Fantastic Debates." This is where filmmakers, film critics, and even theater owners square off in a debate inside an actual boxing ring. After the opening verbal rounds, the format changes to boxing, with actual headgear, mouthpieces, and boxing gloves.

Sadly, no solid punches were actually thrown over the course of the debate, but the real barbs were exchanged verbally. To put it in perspective, one of the topics was "Michael Bay: Should He Win An Oscar Or Get The Death Penalty?" Even stranger was the fact that the main event pitted Drafthouse owner and Fantastic Fest main man Tim League against crappy video game adaptation director Uwe Boll on "The State of Independent Films."

Check out the gallery below and head beyond the break where you can hear the best debates from the evening. There's a lot of genius in here, including some verbal sparring from our very own Scott Weinberg. Head on through and give them a listen. Just try not to do it while drinking anything, because it'll spew out of your nose.

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The opening debate pitted Devin Faraci of CHUD against John Mossman, the penultimate Michael Bay fan and his Michael Bay fansite. The topic: "Does Michael Bay Deserve an Oscar or the Death Penalty?" Both sides came out swinging, and while Faraci seemed to have Mossman pinned to the ropes during his opening argument, he was pummeled back when he was faced with quotes from his own blog, including his fawning review of Bad Boys 2. Then the boxing began, but unfortunately there were no real punches landed. Victory: Mossman

Listen to the audio below, or download it here.



After that Brad McHargue from Horror Squad squared off with Chivonn Anderson of Hey Homo! and The Highball on the topic "Are Vampires Gay?" While this should have been entertaining, McHargue was not nearly as popular with the audience as Anderson and it wasn't long before the audience was baying for his blood. Anderson sealed her victory by abandoning the debate and talking about the first lesbian threesome she had on her birthday. They moved into the boxing portion, and she knocked his boxing helmet off three times, and drove him to the mat once. Victory: Siobhan, by a landslide.

Listen to the audio below, or download it here.



Our very own Scott Weinberg faced off against Chris Cargill from Ain't It Cool News, and the topic was simply "F*ck You." They both hurled barbs at each other, and footing was fairly equal until Scott went over the top and won with a rap. Yes, an actual rap. They moved onto the boxing portion, and even though I don't have any inside information, it looks like Scott took a dive. I hope he put a lot of money on Cargill, because he should have walked away with that one. Moral Victory: Weinberg.

Listen to the audio below, or download it here.



Then came the title bout: Uwe Boll debating against Tim League on the state of independent films. Boll's claim was that their time was over, and League thinks we're in a golden age of indies. It was a little ridiculous that Boll both claimed indies can't make money, while simultaneously plugging the fact that his company distributes indie films. He also presented his own titles as examples of indies that didn't make the money they should have (does he even watch his own movies?). League's arguments were passionate and stoked the audience up. Probably due to the fact that he was also wearing an American flag onesie. League won the debating, and he actually landed a couple of blows during the boxing, although it appeared the beefy Boll was holding back. In the end, they were both crowned winners ... but you really can't go up against the man who owns the theater. Audience Award Victory: Tim League

Listen to the audio below, or download it here.