I guess I didn't officially mention it, but Closet Space has wrapped principal photography. I'm hard at work editing...I took a lot of time initially capturing, organizing bins, and naming clips in a somewhat orderly manner. I learned this lesson pretty quickly on Witchcraft...when I ingested all the footage for that picture I did it all in large chunks, tape by tape, thinking that would be the easiest approach. Not the case at all. Editing Lesson #1: Take more time on the ingest to save yourself lots of time during the actual cutting period.

Hopefully a Closet Space trailer will be done within the next few days. Things are ramping up on the Nott Entertainment movie that I start work on in a couple weeks, so I'm busy getting that stuff together as well. Helping with casting, production managing, equipment...the usual. This weekend, Mrs. House and I are taking the drive up to the location so that I can scope it out and start putting together the general game plan.

I'm really excited about the Nott movie for many reasons...but mainly it marks my first official foray into being a PAID member of a movie crew....like in a Mr. Blonde "job-type job" way. I feel somewhat legitimized. Next stop: unionization!

The Rollins Band show was awesome. Seeing Hank onstage always re-energizes and focuses me.

I keep forgetting that in addition to seeing Rollins Band, I also get to see punk legends X tonight. So therein lies the filmic connection: John Doe has been in a shit-ton of movies, and Exene Cervenka was married to Aragorn for a while.

As such, I get to double rock the f%&k out tonight.

The Gorilla Biscuits show was pretty crazy. The stink of anger and sweat permeated the place. I fit right in.

Closet Space is wrapped (save some possible pickups way in the future). The trailer should hopefully be done this week sometime.

We're also ramping up for the shoot on Gerald's movie next month...it looks like I'll be working with a few people again, some for the third or fourth time. I think I've almost locked in my Tarantino-esque cadre of returning faces both in front of and behind the camera.

The relative isolation of the location for Gerald's film will hopefully lend me the opportunity to finish the screenplays that I'm working on so that I can maybe get something else going in the spring of 2007. Then again, I may wait until next fall or winter...shooting movies here in the full-force Southeast Texas heat sucks pretty hard. We'll see what happens, I guess.

Here's a post from Stacy (taken from the Odyssee Pictures' website) detailing the until now amorphous "September Project":

Texas Horror Triple Threat
August 26, 2006
Texas studios Odyssee Pictures and Upstart Filmworks (Closet Space) have joined forces with Nott Entertainment (The Quick and the Undead) to film Gerald Nott's next vision of pure terror in Texas. Although the title is still under wraps, we can tell you that it will feature Gerald Nott as writer/director, Odyssee's Stacy Davidson as cinematographer, and Upstart's Mel House as production manager & 2nd unit director. The movie will be shot in HD, and filming is set to begin in September.
According to Stacy: This is one f&@%ed up flick. After I read the script, I had to take a shower. It's sick, it's demented, I think Gerald should be locked up for writing it, and I can't wait to help him put it on screen.
Stay tuned for details!

- So there you have it, sort of. That's the next thing I'll be doing, and it's shaping up to be a pretty cool experience. Closet Space photography is over and done with as of tomorrow evening. I've been working on the trailer all weekend, and I'm excited.

Over the next two days I'm getting my hardcore anger rock on: Gorilla Biscuits tomorrow night, and Rollins Band on Monday. It couldn't have come at a better time. I plan on raging in the pit both nights.

Tonight we shot even more FX stuff for Closet Space - and word has it that the Oddtopsy FX gang are going to begin work on still more debauchery soon. Maybe I'll get the dreaded "X" rating on the first pass. What a badge of honor that would be.

Marcus Koch of Oddtopsy will most likely be joining us for the NYC area Fangoria Weekend of Horrors at the end of September, so I'm really looking forward to that. Hopefully, Chris and Derek can join us as well.

Looks like I will be taking care of security at Screamworld again this year...at least for the last few weekends before Samhain. Should be fun, as always.

Friday, Stacy Davidson and I are meeting up with the writer/director of the flick we will begin work on next month. That too, should be fun. I'm looking forward to the transition into moviemaking as my "job". I'll post info about that movie (which is the infamous "September Project") once we get closer to production.

Last night's FX pickup shoot for Closet Space went pretty smoothly. We got a lot of crazy, gross, creepy stuff that should enhance the crazy, gross, creepy stuff that we already have. As always, the thing that sucked the most was the humid-ass Houston weather....five minutes after being outside I end up looking like someone dumped a bucket of water on me. Additionally, three or four shots involved copious amounts of fire, making it even hotter. I think I lost about 5 to 10 pounds last night. Of course, no one had it worse than Domingo, who was our creature puppeteer...after being inside the monster last night I thought he was going to pass out.

I'm working on the trailer a little more today, and now I have several more shots to choose from that don't give away too much of the movie. I'll see if I can't post up some screenshots here soon.

After this weekend, we are done, done, DONE with shooting on Closet Space, and I can go into editing hibernation again...until we start production on the next movie I'm involved with on September 11.

Snakes on a Plane was great fun, as I expected. It actually warms the cockles of my heart that they went in and added more gore, sex and general mayhem due to fanboy net-buzz. There are some really gruesome deaths...some not even snake-related.

Ahhh, Witchcraft....so much to tell...but that's a blog for another day. Let's just say that many lessons were (and are still) being learned. It will make an interesting chapter in my autobiography, that's for sure.

On a related note...thank Christ for Closet Space. I know I piss and moan here a lot about the recent production, but damned if perspective didn't set in like a motherf&*ker this week. I kind of wish I had just started Closet Space (or even a half-assed Walking Distance) last year instead. Oh well...I guess everyone needs an albatross around their neck to keep them grounded.

Speaking of reshoots for more gore and brutality...that's exactly what we are doing tomorrow. I can't wait.

"Just what we need. Snakes on Crack."

This past Saturday's shoot went pretty well. We also shot a little bit on Monday. I got everything that I needed. No more actor stuff now until the 24th (when we are at the college for the school scene).

This weekend we are doing a lot of FX pickup shots with tentacles, bloody flesh, a latex abomination, and maybe even some fire. That should be fun and dangerous. Well...I guess the fact that it's dangerous lends to the fun factor somewhat.

Closet Space will be at the East Coast Fangoria Weekend of Horrors, so I'm looking forward to that. We're also getting close to crunch time on the 'September Project', so I'm looking forward to that as well.

There are lots of weird and crazy things going on lately....I think I've made my Alien 3, so hopefully Closet Space will be my Se7en. I realize that it's quite a lofty analogy to make, but that's the best way to explain how I feel about CS as it starts to come together. My apologies to David Fincher for the comparison.

By the way, I'm not busting on Alien 3. I actually liked the movie a lot when it came out, and I still do (especially the alternate Alien Quadrilogy work-print edit). I actually plan on rewatching it soon - it's always been a source of inspiration for me, especially considering the constant adversity surrounding the picture.

However...Ellen Ripley's quasi swan song will have to wait until after my Snakes on A Plane engagement tomorrow night.

We're in the home stretch, and there's lots of movie craziness going on. As per the vintage Witchcraft-era blog, I will oversimplify and distill it down to song lyrics.

My friend Jonah Matranga wrote a song called "Tides" a while back, and I find myself thinking of it often, especially during the watershed moments of my life (which have been quite prevalent in the last three years or so). Very emo of me, I know...but I've shot a lot of guns, bought Slayer albums, and trained in jujitsu, so hopefully that will all balance out in the end. Anyway, to the song:

This time next year
I won't be here
By then I swear
I'll be somewhere
I rely on this
Standing on top of a tall pole
Trapeze, still air, and me there wondering
"Will I jump or won't I?"
Just show up, there is time
Just walk in the light
And all you desire will rise like tides.

So...whenever I get to some sort of crossroads I often reflexively mutter "will I jump, or won't I" to myself. There are lots of weird "Mysteries of Life" that I'm trying to decipher right now....relating to this movie, the next few, and even my non-movie life (yes, there is such a thing).

Will I jump or won't I?

What's funny is that when I did my dream-fulfilling stint of sharing the stage with Jonah earlier this year, we had a lot of time to talk about the vagaries and bugbears of the entertainment industry - especially since he's been through every major-label and band related trial by fire that you can think of. It gave me a lot of food for thought - here's a guy that (to me) "keeps it real" in every sense of the word, still manages to do what he loves to do, and in addition to all that, he makes a living doing it. Plus, he manages to be a great father to his daughter. And he doesn't ever compromise what he believes in...which leads to a lot of head-butting and arguably missed opportunities (plus three disintegrated bands)...but he's still out there, doing his thing, his way. I'm sure he's ostracized a few people along the way, but apparently it's working out for him...I just saw him on MTV a few days ago (he sings on the latest Fort Minor single).

Anyway, it inspires me. Thinking of the conversations I had with him really makes me want to "jump".

Enough waxing poetic - here's the movie status. More shooting this weekend, next weekend, and on the 24th of August, and then we are done with photographing this movie. The official Closet Space website also has a new look, so check it out.

I spent the last few days editing together demo reels for two of my Closet Space actors (and I'm getting ready to start on the third), so I pretty much went through and culled footage from the entire movie.

Damn, it looks good.

I'm ramping up the editing process a little bit and doing more and more each day. I'm trying to keep myself from burning out and losing objectivity....but damn...it looks good. Our footage easily blew away anything else on the demo reels. Of course, it could look better, but considering what we shot this movie for and with, it's pretty impressive.

I'm meeting with folks about the "September Project" in a week or so to finalize some things. I think at least one other Closet Space crew alumnus will be involved...but I can't say who just yet.

The two scripts are coming together...one is almost finished, and the other is ftotally finished in my head. Now I need to get to work on leveraging the "swing for the fences" deal. Hopefully, Closet Space will aid me in that regard.

I also am working on a deal to DP another movie...taking it "back to the roots" as my people would say. If things work out on that deal, I'll be shooting that one late September/early October I believe. It's actually not a horror movie (gasp!) but I just read the script, and I connected with a few things in it, so I won't entirely be whoring myself out.

Tomorrow we are rebuilding the CS set...I mentioned that a lot already. Pickup shots begin next week, and I'm looking forward to filling in the little pieces of the puzzle that will complete a compelling whole.

And to adding more gore.