tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140744302024-02-03T06:35:44.330-08:00Guerilla Filmmaking, or Filmmaking Gorilla?I'm a director, editor, writer, producer, and quasi-composer whose work has been seen worldwide through clients such as Fuse Networks, OvationTV, Fangoria Magazine, Alternative Press, Limekiln Records, Blacktop Records, RSquared Films, Big Bite Entertainment, and Lionsgate Films. I've been doing the film thing "for reals" for about 17 years now. It ain't always pretty, and it doesn't always love me back, but it's what I love doing. Read on for more.upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-30824339887605049752018-01-18T16:02:00.002-08:002018-01-18T16:43:56.269-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gIFxuNvVR2HkY28kstF7hS51WkHf5R5zaevaxEdUTEnhZHeDBpBBRmHdxxr0HFKn6Emb5EfPRVjbF5IowUxljcirhYZKBuEmig6NgEbXB7CvDKyaNwHgpE_-OlBGwo9LX1jLTA/s1600/insta+update.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="612" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gIFxuNvVR2HkY28kstF7hS51WkHf5R5zaevaxEdUTEnhZHeDBpBBRmHdxxr0HFKn6Emb5EfPRVjbF5IowUxljcirhYZKBuEmig6NgEbXB7CvDKyaNwHgpE_-OlBGwo9LX1jLTA/s320/insta+update.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Been “underground” for a bit. Lots of reasons why, and lots has happened since. Some of which we may unpack on future <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/barely-living-the-dream/id1070710324?mt=2" target="_blank">BLTD podcasts</a> (yes, there will be more - <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1548490328&extragetparams=%7B%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/christopher.warren.100?fref=mentions" style="font-family: inherit;">Christopher Warren</a> and I are about to head to Kentucky to work on a feature for several weeks, so probably sooner rather than later) but some may just be dealt with via the art, like always. Yeah, that means there’s more art on the way, too.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Here are the major bullet points. Bad news first, as I prefer it (plus that’s a timeless hook):</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">BAD: Ran into some serious business issues with my LLC last summer. Long story - this is what I might unpack on the podcast as it’s a good learning experience/cautionary tale - but basically it put me (and my company) in a really bad place…and part of it grew out of me being in a pretty bad place to start out with. I mean, I never really fully recovered from all the stuff I detailed in that blog way back when. Still debating how much I want to reveal here…some of it is really raw, but anyway, let’s just say things fell apart and it sent out shockwaves that I’m still dealing with. Also important to note that it all reached a head literally DURING Hurricane Harvey, which, as you may have heard, thrashed Houston. At least we didn’t lose our home…but the hurricane DID lead to flooding at our storage unit where we kept most of our equipment. Most everything there was ruined (except for the big lights, which spent a great deal of time in sewage soup but still fired up later). However, lots of our expensive camera and other gear was lost. So…I was dealing with the figurative and literal destruction of my company at the same time. That was a real eye opener/kick in the balls/shotgun to the face. Let me also add that Harvey happened during what was to be the first week of school. Meaning my daughter’s first week of Kindergarten was also tied up in all of this, and I couldn’t just mentally check out or be pissed off or hate the world all the time – I can’t really do that much anymore period, but you get what I’m saying here. Daddy had to be on the clock even though my last 22 years of work was crumbling (or mildewing) in front of my eyes. Meanwhile, there were a lot of near misses…got tapped for a Weinstein gig which never came to fruition (blessing in disguise?) and then got ghosted by another production..who then called me back during their shoot as soon as the guy they hired ended up not wrking out. Too late. Anyway, these jobs which wouldn’t have completely solved the issues, but would at least have gotten my positive momentum going again. All this going down as I careened towards my 41st birthday.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">GOOD: nothing really turned on a dime, I really just took things as they came. I kind of had to. I probably started to feel a little bit better after hanging with Chaka, frontman of NYHC legends <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=332282298609&extragetparams=%7B%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/BurnNYHC/?fref=mentions" style="font-family: inherit;">BURN</a>, after their show here in October. We started talking about doing a video, etc…and it was just dope to have a meaningful creative conversation with someone who’s music I’ve been enjoying since high school. And to be collaborating on some cool shit. So…that keeps me going for a bit. [Burn, bottom left pic by jcphotomedia, Chaka on the left, and <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=832647699&extragetparams=%7B%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/gavin.vanvlack?fref=mentions" style="font-family: inherit;">Gavin Van Vlack</a> on the right]. Then Chris and I knock out a video for Century Media artists <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=200879979955285&extragetparams=%7B%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/oceansofslumber/?fref=mentions" style="font-family: inherit;">Oceans of Slumber</a>. Of course, we did this shoot at half power and missing a bunch of our still-not-replaced-gear (f%$k you, insurance company). Of course, the crew is just Chris and I (his concept/direction, me shooting and editing). Brutal, harrowing, hard work - but it comes together well and gets a shit-ton of views and really quickly builds positive word of mouth. [Top left, Oceans Of Slumber, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSaf0ziSC_Y" target="_blank">“The Decay Of Disregard”</a>]. That quickly led to the next video for Oceans of Slumber, which I think tops our work on the last one, and should be released in the next few days. [Top right, choir shot]. Chris and I decide to finally officially form our own shingle to represent our longstanding production collaboration (info on that soon, or just check out the credits on that Oceans video when it drops). Next up, the aforementioned video for Burn (side note: I still can’t believe we’re doing a video for one of the stalwarts of my favorite musical scene), which we are working around our Kentucky Fried Cinema Adventure. More on that soon too. Finally, the pic in the lower right is of the release art for <a href="http://www.horror-movies.ca/2018/01/couple-bad-apples-arrive-february/" target="_blank">BAD APPLES</a> (formerly WICKED TRICKS), which is a movie we worked on almost exactly two years ago out in L.A. It hits VOD in February. Check it out if you can…it’s the project that somewhat birthed the BLTD podcast – mainly because we drove out to L.A. and back twice during the holiday season that year to take part. I can’t wait to see the finished product (Congrats to writer/director Bryan Coyne and everyone else involved).</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">I literally began my 40’s by getting back behind the camera and shooting/editing/directing (<a class="profileLink" data-hovercard-prefer-more-content-show="1" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=369818854112&extragetparams=%7B%22fref%22%3A%22mentions%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/jeffcaudillmusic/?fref=mentions" style="font-family: inherit;">Jeff Caudill</a>’s “Reset The Sun”,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DonanelleSongs" target="_blank"> as well as the 4 other videos from the EP that followed in the spring</a> - check em out on YouTube, I'm very proud of them all). While the year that followed kicked/is kicking the crap out of me and drained a lot of the gas that the RTS project put back in the tank, I feel like I’m grabbing the ropes and pulling myself back up to take another swing. Sometimes that’s all you can do.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">POSITIVE MISCELLANEA TO CLOSE ON:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">- Regan is currently selling Girl Scout Cookies, so if anyone needs their fix, she's your Houston Heights Cookie Connection.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">- <a href="https://www.polygon.com/comics/2017/12/20/16801120/x-men-continuity-grand-design" target="_blank">X:Men - Grand Design</a> is fantastic. Don't sleep on it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">- On that note, so is <a href="https://nerdist.com/tom-king-mister-miracle-interview/" target="_blank">Tom King's current Mister Miracle</a> series.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">- I finally saw <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retribution_(1987_film)" target="_blank">RETRIBUTION</a>, my 80's horror great white whale. Remember the promos vividly, couldn't track it down until recently.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">- if anyone has any great culinary recs for Chris and I in the Louisville/Nashville/Bowling Green area let us know. I'm sure the crafty will be great...but we DO have weekends off, so...</span></div>
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upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-19159061129317792532015-04-26T13:29:00.000-07:002015-04-27T08:58:59.843-07:00Return of the Living the Dream Warriors<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do you wanna party?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back from the seeming dead with another blog. The timing is actually kind of working out as now so much happens or changes between posts that I have a ton to write about once I dust off the old blogger.com password.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This post is gonna be kind of a beast - it's an update on the last three years of Upstart stuff, a cathartic unloading/reveal of a side of my life that I kept hidden from most, and a rundown of how I now make a living as a full-time filmmaker. A lot of it was sparked by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/361224040731457" target="_blank">a speaking engagement I did with SWAMP several weeks ago</a> - this elaborates on stuff that was said that night. Of course, your mileage may vary, but this is how I'm making it work for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fair warning that I'm going to be pretty blunt and straightforward about everything as I feel that's the most powerful way to get things across. A lot of things I'd been secretive or embarrassed about for a while...now I don't really give a shit who knows...maybe it's because I've come out the other side okay, or maybe it's because I've found some sort of peace within myself...who can say? At any rate, anyone that would be super-judgy about most of those details is no longer in my life, and I'm much happier for it. Similarly, the truth (as I see it...<b>my</b> truth if that makes you feel better) may paint some folks in an unflattering light - I mean, you've seen <i><a href="http://channel19placeholders.com/" target="_blank">Placeholders</a></i>, right? But again, I've parted ways with most of these folks<b> </b>as well, so no big loss. Better that we present the facts as they are without worrying about hurt feelings. I always look at this stuff as less "shit talking" and more "informing people of what can happen so that maybe they can head this off at the pass when it looks like it's happening to them". And don't worry, I'm covering ground not covered by <i>Placeholders</i>, so there's no retreading of that stuff. Everything here occurred <b>after</b> all the events <i>Placeholders </i>Season 1 pulls inspiration from. I guess <i>that </i>stuff relates to some of <i>this</i> stuff in a cause/effect kinda way, but things might have gone the same way regardless. This business is crazy man. I can say that even now, when things are working out. (On that note, Spoiler Alert: things <i>do</i> work out.) Nothing mentioned here is as terrible or criminal as those "Aaron Pulaski"/<i>Placeholders</i> shenanigans were anyhow, most of these issues are just...people not caring. Sit tight, I'll explain more below.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before I dive in, I highly recommend you check out <a href="http://badassdigest.com/2015/03/02/from-hollywood-to-homeless-the-writer-of-jason-x-and-drive-angry-on-screenw/" target="_blank">this piece by Todd Farmer</a> (<i>Jason X, Drive Angry) - </i>it hits a lot of the same points I'll hit, and was also the inspiration behind my including some of the more confessional parts below. It's my hope that my stuff speaks to someone out there the way Todd's stuff spoke to me when I read it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, I have to give a shout out to all those I <b>did</b> trust enough to talk to about some of this, either while it was going on or during the recent upswing. (Or maybe you discovered my "secret identity" and were supportive, understanding, and non-judgmental about it) - Debbie R., Lisa W., Jeremy & Kim H., Lynn M., Justyn B., Rupal M., Nick & Brittany M., Brandon P., Greg V., William B-B & Kevin B-B., Josh V., Timmy Robes - thanks for being there when I needed you - even if you didn't realize it. Special thanks to Chris Warren who was pretty much the MVP for me the whole time...my Nightwing, if you will. And of course, to my other half, Melanie who helped me hold it together in ways both literal and metaphorical.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I keep mentioning my "secret other life", so just to head this off at the pass...no, I'm not gay. [Sorry, William. :)] I'm not a cross-dresser either...I make a TERRIBLY ugly woman. There is video floating around somewhere to prove this. Don't try to find it - <a href="http://stephenking.wikia.com/wiki/It_%28creature%29" target="_blank">it would be like looking into the Deadlights.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So...here we go.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It pretty much happened exactly like this.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Burning Down The House</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forgive the lengthy run up to the main info, but I think it will all benefit from the addition of context. I'll start by jumping back to 2012 as that's more or less the year that several things changed drastically - most not in ways I'd hoped. By this point I'd produced three films through Upstart Filmworks - <i>Closet Space</i>, <i>Walking Distance/Psychic Experiment,</i> and <i>Imago</i>. Here's the rundown on the status of those flicks circa mid-2012:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Closet Space - </i>had a decent run, got released here in the US and all over the world, recouped its budget but stalled after that. None of the controlling producers really cared about pursuing things further, or staying on top of the returns past clearing the budget, so things kinda died in the water. I did push on my own to get CS aired in syndication in a few markets, but that stalled out relatively quickly as well. Not much going on here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Distance/Experiment - </i>Lionsgate released the film in December 2011, and from what I could tell, they peppered the market fairly well with it. This was at a time that video stores still existed and Best Buy still had a decent disc section...and I would see it <i>everywhere</i>. Friends would send me pics of it <i>everywhere</i>. Similarly, our foreign sales reps were doing well with the film, and we quickly got a UK deal, soon followed by Saudi Arabia, and I believe, by then, Japan. <i>Psychic Experiment</i> (as it was now called) was also airing constantly on VOD/PPV outlets on Comcast, DirectTV, U-Verse, and others I'm probably forgetting. It also began running fairly regularly on FearNet (R.I.P.) during 2012. Now, on this film, we got an advance, and had a decent percentage deal...but you've heard the stories. You're lucky to recoup any if at all. However, our numbers were looking like that might happen. We just had to stay on top of it. Unfortunately, the distribs were not really willing to answer <b>my</b> emails asking for the quarterly reports - they'd only really communicate with my co-producer on the project. At a certain point, I believe my co-producer stopped caring, or at the very least stopped considering <i>Experiment</i> a priority...so he stopped asking for the reports unless prompted. So of course, this slowly evolved into a constant source of stress in the background for all the reasons you might imagine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Imago</i> - our main issue here is that our VFX delivery was taking an unusually long time. To summarize: our initial VFX supe screwed us over, we had to shop around for other folks that would take on the work at the same rate, and we found some guys that did right by us (the same guys that bailed us out for the same reasons on <i>Walking Distance</i>, as a matter of fact), but the new VFX team was running behind schedule. Suffice to say, we did not have a locked film yet, so obviously we also had no revenue stream on this project either.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So things were a little up in the air film-wise...we weren't making money off of the projects - or I guess, more specifically, <i>I</i> wasn't - but we WERE getting them out there, or in <i>Imago</i>'s case, working to get another one out there. I always knew that the filmmaking deal was a marathon, not a sprint...so I tried to take it all in stride, learn from my experiences, and adjust future projects accordingly. Besides, it's not like I had to live off of the movies yet, as I'd always held down a day job, even while shooting stuff. I'd maintained this symbiosis from the beginning, reasoning that it would be easier to do the movie stuff if I didn't have to worry about the basics of living. Besides, even if I <b>did </b>decide to be a full-time <i>artiste</i>...most of the people I was collaborating with at the time were not...so either way, it's shoot on nights and weekends no matter what. Might as well work, right? In 2012, I'd been working at one particular organization for several years - I won't put them on blast, but most of you probably know already. Those that don't know, well, let's just say that I got a LOT of free cookies, and my S'mores game couldn't be touched. Anyway, the pay was good, they were supportive/flexible about the filmmaking, and I spent most of my days shooting or editing, so things could have been worse.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They got worse. Around mid-2012, I got word that my full-time position was being cut down to part-time as of the end of the year. A pretty hard hit no matter the circumstances...but did I mention that my wife Melanie and I had our first child on August 10, 2012? Now seems like a good time to bring that up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yeah, so as you can imagine...I was pretty fucked. I had to find a way to help support my family, and <b>fast</b>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before I dive into that, let me mention what I had been setting up as my next directorial project. (This is important for several reasons that will come up later.) I had an old-school moody ghost script that I'd written and was prepping to direct for my next film. A couple of folks quickly signed on to help me get it made, budgeted at around 1.5 million. We had several awesome actors attached (which I can't mention, because most of them still <i>are</i> attached, more on that later as well). A noted member of "Hollywood royalty" signed on as my main co-producer on this one...if I told you his name you might not recognize him right off-hand, but you definitely know his mom (big time actress) and dad (big time producer). This guy was/is a producer of some note himself, and he loved the script, and had lines on funding. Things were looking pretty good.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course "things looking good" does jack shit until "checks start clearing". I had to do something in the meantime to make ends meet. Even if the ghost movie got greenlit immediately, there were a lot of moving parts to get in order, so there would definitely be some lag time before I could pay my bills from my intended writer/director/producer salary. A salary, which, if you're wondering, was roughly equal to what I'd make in a year at the previously full-time position - which is a fair estimate, seeing as how I'd be working on the picture for about a year give or take, based on past experience and then-current post production relationships. Furthermore, if you break up that salary weekly and compare it to guild rates, it's a pittance. I mention all this info just in case any of you think that the reason my film had trouble getting started was that it was a get-rich-quick scheme for my benefit. It wasn't. The budget was all based on practical numbers and pretty congruent to the market at the time. Lower than that, probably.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At any rate, I needed a solution.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPq44JfIqPUsFcFE0nAFbsq-r_QZd6XpzMLiRbiYYjzmB3zqpGaEFIQut5cB6FZF1ICWT6DBtVGpsBVwkbtHkuPLfuCXuI1_EsF3UYdP8Ga8eNMv1yZrM_pa7pHopk20o-OXr-Qg/s1600/nightmare-on-elm-street-4-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPq44JfIqPUsFcFE0nAFbsq-r_QZd6XpzMLiRbiYYjzmB3zqpGaEFIQut5cB6FZF1ICWT6DBtVGpsBVwkbtHkuPLfuCXuI1_EsF3UYdP8Ga8eNMv1yZrM_pa7pHopk20o-OXr-Qg/s1600/nightmare-on-elm-street-4-19.jpg" height="172" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, that is the same Lisa W. that I mentioned earlier on. My life is crazy.</td></tr>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Here My Troubles Began...</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>(apologies to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maus" target="_blank">Spiegelman/<i>Maus</i></a>)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first thing I did was try to look for something in the job market close to what I was currently doing. Strikeout after strikeout on <i>that </i>front. While there were video production options here and there with oil companies, sports teams, and boutique production houses, I never ever got a hit on my resume or the slightest inkling of interest. Next, I actually tried to find some opportunities on the West Coast, thinking that maybe <i>that</i> would be the answer to several questions at once - "what's the next step/when are we making the move/how am I going to support my family" chief among them. No luck there. Finally, I took on a gig as a Media Arts Educator for the <a href="http://www.aurorapictureshow.org/pages/home.asp" target="_blank">Aurora Picture Show</a> - which is a great job (I still do it from time to time when schedule allows) - but the unfortunate truth is that this was <b>another</b> part-time gig via a non-profit, so while the money helped a little, it really didn't change the bottom line all that much. I was still struggling. <i>We</i> were still struggling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started to get desperate. No matter how bad things got, I always told myself that I'd never go back to waiting tables again. I had tried that for a spell as a second job way back in 2004-2005 (right before <i>Witchcraft</i> actually) and, well...let's just say that certain things we definitely <b>do</b> grow out of. I'm not saying that waiting tables is a "kid" job or anything, I'm saying that it takes a particular set of mental tools to make it work for you. That said, my outlook changed a <i>lot</i> between college - when I waited tables for years - and 2004. Things had rewired in my brain, and I definitely was no longer cut out for that kind of work...mentally at least. I could definitely "Ted Bundy" my way through faking it if need be. However, I promised myself I wouldn't go back to that, because I'd be miserable. I managed to keep that promise for several months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My internal logic went something like this: I needed a job. I was cool with getting a "job type job", but I didn't want to have to deal with people too much - I knew I was spiraling into depression and anger, and when that happens my already short fuse gets very <i>very</i> short. If I was going to get a job, I wanted to shoot for one that I likely wouldn't get myself canned from for cursing someone out while on said job. Know thyself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One day while perusing Craigslist for the umpteenth time, I lingered on an ad that I had seen several times before:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"FAMILY OWNED PIZZA RESTAURANT SEEKING DELIVERY DRIVERS"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why not? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Initially I went just out of curiosity. The establishment was not yet open, so I met the two managers-to-be at a restaurant downtown (owned by the same family company). I'll redact the names because for the most part the owners were great - but I'm skipping ahead. Long story short, I got hired on the spot. Mainly because I had a pulse and a car that was relatively dependable. It's funny...I felt like I almost <b>didn't</b> get the job because of my resume that at this point was....<i>heavily</i> skewed in the direction of video and film. The General Manager all but asked "what the fuck are you doing here" to open the interview. I pretty much told him straight up everything that you read in the paragraphs above. So he hired me, and I began my career as Pizza Guy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I won't dig deep into the minutia of this stretch of time - aside from the fact that while it did allow me to make just enough money to scrape by (especially when stacked with other part time gigs like teaching for the Aurora, or occasional IATSE union work), it also led to what was probably the <i>second</i> nervous breakdown of my adult life. It was rough. A lot of that first wave of hires were burnouts or dumb kids looking for their first job, so that made things tough when you had to work alongside them or depend on others. Fortunately, my first few film sets had uniquely prepared me for such a situation. I managed to grind my teeth and power through, and soon enough I'd gotten pegged as "one of the good ones". Beyond that, the location and clientele were such that the neighborhood was pretty affluent....and pretty full of some terrible, terrible human beings. Lots and LOTS of being talked down to because of my "station". Finally, a couple of the "apathetic producers" that I mentioned earlier managed to find their way in for dinner on a couple of occasions. The looks on their faces, man. Disgust, pity....and also a weird "we told you so" smugness. I could almost hear my mind crack in two.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the really nutty part, the part that I believe captures the dichotomy of working in the entertainment biz pretty well, at least at this level. During this time, I'm still fielding phone calls and deals for a couple things, usually ones having to do with that ghost movie I mentioned earlier. Things were moving, albeit very <i>very</i> slowly. So there was a weird sort of hope/dread at play in the background the whole time. I mean, I can't really express the surreality of some of the contrasts I experienced, so I'll just give you the most glaring examples. The aforementioned Son of Hollywood Royalty Producer was working pretty hard to get a certain level of talent attached to this project. Because of who he is, and who his family is and what films they've made, it was fairly easy for him to get my ghost script in front of a LOT of mind-blowing eyes. Several near-misses and near-attachments came and went...most bummed me out on one level, but excited me on another since these folks were reading my script....and for the most part, even though they didn't want to do this film for various reasons (money, time, content), they were still <i>digging what I wrote</i> and expressing a desire to possibly work with me in the future. I even got to whip up a couple of custom treatments on spec as a result. I'm talking for folks that won Oscars recently, people in Marvel films, huge movies, big stars. Crazy. Surreal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, I'd always get these crazy, surreal, mind blowing emails/phone calls while either bagging up a huge catering order or while out on a pizza delivering run. Seriously, almost without fail. The craziest of the crazy was when a huge, world famous, multitalented pop star sent me a couple of emails politely declining our offer for a role in the ghost script (they were looking for a bigger part), but praising my writing style and expressing a desire to possibly work on a couple of other things the star and their people had optioned. I got this email - no bullshit - as I was sitting out the pizza spread for a girl's 14th birthday party at the neighborhood pool. Her mom was kinda bitching about the pizza not being piping hot or something, but all I could do was run my eyes over this email 50 times. I still have it. "The Pop Star" and I have touched base a few times since - sporadically - but lines remain open. But seriously...can you imagine the weird, confused, roiling emotions I felt right then? <i>Is this really...? A</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>wesome...but not yet. But still! I mean....yeah, I gotta pay the bills. But this might be it! I should just walk out of here now. Screw Camryn and her not boiling pizza, I'm outie! That's stupid, rent is due in a week. Did this person <b>really</b> just email me? </i>And so on and so forth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have TONS more stories like that. It was a confusing time, to say the least.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I soldiered on because I had to. The bills had to be paid. Production stuff took a backseat for a good while - with the exception of the surreal attempts at deal-making mentioned above and a stretch where we finally took <i>Imago</i> into sound post. Pizza was still the main god I had to pray to. Somehow, I stuck around long enough to have the company approach me for management. Cool...but I hated being there. Hated it so goddamn much. And honestly, the money wasn't anything close to what I needed to be making. Anything would be better for me at that point, I thought. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I went back to waiting tables. Things had gotten bad enough to push me into reliving that particular personal nightmare of mine. Actually, I'd moved slowly back into waiting tables at the pizza place because they needed decent people to do so, and I had the experience...but the money wasn't that great. I figured, well, clearly I can be okay with this again, but I need to wait tables somewhere where I can do well financially. Recalling past service industry windfalls, I returned to a certain "factory of confections" where I'd worked years previously - a seeming lifetime ago - and, hey, imagine that, the general manager was a guy I'd worked on the floor with way back when. After a little more "what the fuck are you doing here" song and dance, I got hired on. Here we go again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once set up as a waiter at the new/old restaurant, I breezed through training, certified on my first follow shift, ran the hell out of my stations, and got certified as a trainer (re-certified actually, as I had been one previously) within a month. The money was pretty good - I clawed myself out of a great deal of debt during that first month - which included Valentine's Day (<i>cue PTSD shudders). </i>However....I still felt like I was dying from the inside out. The vibe at this place was one reason...I felt like I was working with a bunch of adversaries instead of co-workers. Getting a bullet of Honey Dijon should not be akin to traversing a <i>Legend of Zelda</i> labyrinth and then receiving a pedantic lecture from either a manager or a cook or both...but I digress. That's just one example, but I can count many others where I straight up almost slugged someone. It would get so bad that my arm would get sore from tensing my muscles to NOT hit someone. Either that, or it was a sign of my impending heart attack. Regardless, I knew this place was bad for me. I haven't even mentioned that I rarely ever got the chance to see my daughter because of the crazy hours. I was in a seriously bad place mentally and physically.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So bad that I quit waiting tables (again) and returned to the pizza place. After <i>that</i> ordeal, the grass was definitely greener on the pizza side of the fence. Or so I thought.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I promise I'm wrapping this section up soon. Stick with me. This is as much for myself as for you.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I went back to the pizza place full time, and they were glad to have me back. Somewhere in there we also shot <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Spavine?fref=ts" target="_blank">Spavine</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.clingerthemovie.com/" target="_blank">Clinger</a>,</i> which was a nice re-activation of my dormant filmmaking brain. Both were tough experiences however - having to run to set, then to work, then back to set, then hopefully home to see Regan and Melanie for a bit, then back to set, etc. etc. But I figured that out because it was <b>working for me</b>, it made me happy, and I stopped dying inside. And fortunately, with those two projects (and a couple of the other things moving forward however slowly) I'd planted the seeds for my eventual victory and ability to reach escape velocity from the situation. Of course, I didn't see that then - I was just happy to be making films again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then...I made the mistake of becoming a Manager.</span><br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's Always Darkest...</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Things were still tough financially - delivering pizzas only goes so far. With no luck on other fronts of the job search (I continued to look this whole time), the manager offer at the pizza place was still on the table, and actually seemed pretty good by this point. Again, the money wasn't really that great, but it seemed like my only choice since my life was falling apart around me. I'm obviously leaving some details out here, but trust me when I say that things were getting to a pretty dark place in my world. What little time I could enjoy at home was devoid of almost any actual enjoyment because of the stress of making ends meet, the stress of me being gone all the time to do that, the stress of STILL trying to do movie stuff when it seemed like a hopeless endeavor to all but me....I felt pretty trapped, to be honest. Like I had a pepperoni gun pointed right at my temple. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I became a manager. I ended up becoming the Assistant Manager of the restaurant's new location. This "promotion" brought with it the backbreaking labor of setting up the entire restaurant from the ground up - including assembling tables and booths, carrying in coolers, freezers, pizza lines, you name it. It was pretty much me and the General Manager against the world. Sucked major balls, but at least I was making more money, right? Yeah, not much. Definitely not a positive correlation on the x-axis of pay vs the y-axis of time spent at work. Whatever, I was determined to try and turn it to my advantage. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However...this particular experiment was doomed from the start. I don't want to get all off into the rabbit hole of the why/who/whats - but it was apparent from the first week we were open that I was on a sinking ship, set up to fail. The GM and I slowly unraveled. The clientele was even more entitled, aggressive, and rude than at the other location, the staff was even more felonious and lazy (not hyperbole - you would think substance abuse was a mandatory checkbox for the hiring process)....let's just say that it was a very toxic situation. I knew that I had an expiration date. I told my wife as much. "Look, let's try and figure out a contingency plan because I can tell you that when I leave this place, it's not gonna be planned or pretty." Sometimes you just <b>know.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And sure enough, that's what happened. I was about to beat a homeless dishwasher senseless (this statement is 100% embarrassingly true) one night when finally I said to myself: "Seriously, for 10 bucks an hour...fuck this." So I put in my 2 week notice, as much as I wanted to walk out of there immediately. The weight off my shoulders, the sense of relief...even when I had no backup plan...I can't describe it. I actually ended up staying a couple days longer than my notice to cover for someone just to make sure I "made it right" in my head (all those Superman comics as a kid really hammered home a strict sense of morality. I blame the Batman ones for the narrowly-averted dishwasher beating. I'll avoid a <i>Man of Steel</i> neck breaking joke here, just know that it's tough for me to do so).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I left. With no plan, no idea, no clue as to what was going to happen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You know...all that stuff you hear about not having a Plan B so that Plan A <i>has</i> to work ...might actually have some truth to it.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKvoANjx8K_cvOlhD6sl-x0exl1VbFs5PgjoJ3fWrYzAH4lOY3I39fI_73t0qStpZBIiAG8QfexbkLNcn1Qryb1khERDmrbsxG5Slu_W8pVxMxgcjNzRZ71i-7oVK7FyY53TEsg/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-04-23+at+11.12.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKvoANjx8K_cvOlhD6sl-x0exl1VbFs5PgjoJ3fWrYzAH4lOY3I39fI_73t0qStpZBIiAG8QfexbkLNcn1Qryb1khERDmrbsxG5Slu_W8pVxMxgcjNzRZ71i-7oVK7FyY53TEsg/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-04-23+at+11.12.34+PM.png" height="153" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comics. Providing pretty great metaphors for me to couch my experiences in. It's a sanity-maintaining mechanism.</td></tr>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">KIMOTA!</span></h2>
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=kimota&oq=kimota&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.1309j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=91&ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">(if you simply <i>must</i> know)</a> </b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here is where we get to the current real-deal "making a living making movies" stuff. I kid you not, once I made myself available to be a full-time filmmaker, several things fell into place very quickly. Some things had the groundwork laid much earlier, some things were sort of idling in the background, some things were totally out of left field. Here they all are, and while I can't give you actual numbers (sorry, I have to hold back SOME info), I'll try and put in realistic milemarkers so that you can keep track. Obviously, a HUGE part of the equation was not having a strict schedule or obligations (besides my wife and kid) so that I could feasibly, for example, go work on a film in Los Angeles for a month (which I absolutely did, I'll get to that in a minute).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, first, the "lifestyle basics" aka the "nut" to be covered: we are a family of three - the kid is 2 and a half right now - and we live in a 2 bedroom condo in the Heights - I know what you're thinking...but I grew up in this neighborhood, it means a lot to me, gentrification and resulting high rent be damned. Let me have this one thing. Anyway, Upstart Filmworks has no external office right now for the business, but I think that's about to change in the next few months. My wife and I each have our own car (2006 and 2008 models). We eat out as much as we cook at home (probably more), we spend "fun money" here and there but not crazily. We have health insurance, but I have expensive meds that I'm on (asthma, HBP). I tell you all this just to give you an idea of the "lay of the land" when I say we're "paying our bills". And then layer the cost of caring for a 2.5 year old girl (now including daycare) over all of that. Not the most spartan existence, by any means...but also not the most extravagant. When I left the pizza place, I still had a small amount of debt (still owed on my car, student loans, minor credit card debt). I say "small" but it was big to me. Probably about $5000 all told. Actually, I was behind on other bills pretty badly then as well because of my lowered income - some things like our business accounting fees and my car note/insurance were WAY past due. So I was a little bit upside down money wise at the outset. I'd say to the tune of another $2-$3000 to catch up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, back to the timeline. I quit my job at the pizza place. Right around this time the initial syndication deal that we had set up for <i>Placeholders</i> fell through as well. Actually, to be totally honest, I pulled the plug on it. Seemed to me like the first set of syndicators were making money, and we weren't. That sure sounded familiar enough for me to be uncomfortable with it. Nope, not again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Immediately after that, like within one week, <i>another</i> more reputable syndicator became interested in <i>Placeholders. </i> I had dealt with this company before, and they were good people, with (most importantly) very very transparent financials. We talked. I voiced my concerns. At this point I was obviously ready to bury it forever rather than have yet another person profit off of my hard work and us see nothing, so I was pretty up front about my needs for this particular project. The deal they offered was pretty good, and the market saturation was GREAT. The splits were very fair. More than fair, actually. We quickly had a new deal for the show. No bills paid yet, but a light at the end of the tunnel for that one. Small victory, right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So now <i>Placeholders </i>is a going concern again. I began working on that (delivery for this deal was a little more complicated, as it is wider reaching, so I had to remaster some of the shows, censor different things, and get everything closed captioned), and though I hadn't seen a check yet, there was a real value attached that I can actually depend on and keep track of. So that might be a way out. Might be the answer...hopefully it is, because it was all I had at this point.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or was it? While I worked on <i>Placeholders</i>, I got a left-field offer to draft a couple of treatments for people that I met via the Son of Hollywood Royalty's attempts to get my ghost picture made. They liked my writing, and wanted me to brainstorm on a couple of ideas for them. And guess what - they paid. <i><b>This enabled me to catch up on about half of my delinquent bills<u> and </u>pay rent for that first month of "living the dream".</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next, not pure filmmaking per se, but definitely fulfilling in more than a monetary way - remember that non-profit that I worked for previously? Turns out they <i>still</i> needed video work done. Guess who then got added to the contract labor pool at full rate card rates? Yeah, it was me, and Upstart Filmworks as a whole, actually. Oddly enough, they spent way more paying me/us as contract laborers (of course) than they would have had they just kept me on full-time. <a href="http://www.sadtrombone.com/" target="_blank">Womp womp womp wooooommmmp</a>. <b><i>This enabled me to catch up on the second half of late bills, get current, and pay two more months rent. I also paid decent wages to several crew that I had to hire on for this project.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Man, that turned around quick, didn't it? So now we're about 3 months out on the journey of me working for myself and things definitely seemed less hopeless. I then receive a call from a friend who's producing his first film with an actual budget. Would I be willing to sign on immediately as Unit Production Manager? Damn right I would. And while I didn't get paid "union" rates, it was the largest amount of money I'd made on films up to that point....by a long shot. Definitely more than I'd made on my own stuff. <b><i>This allowed me to catch up completely on bills, pay off my accountant, pay off my student loans, pay off my car (!), and pay rent for 4 months.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That definitely was the tipping point. I was <b><i>officially</i></b> making a living doing this. Not exactly the way I thought it would happen, and not necessarily the ways I'd hoped, but like I'm going to complain at this point. After a long period - too long - of marginalizing my self-worth, or having others marginalize my talents, or you know, just flat out steal or withhold money from me, I was finally getting paid. I was finally okay with setting rates that were fair for <b>me. </b>And in increasing numbers, people began lining up to give me work. It started to come rapid-fire:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Booked a producing gig on a horror film. <b><i>Paid rent for a couple more months, enabled me to pay bills early (!!!)</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(There is no greater marker for wealth than paying your cell phone bill early. Well, maybe doing the lump sum car insurance payment.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brought on as a budgetary consultant/Line Producer to help secure feature funding (x3). This has happened three times now, and it's awesome because <i>these are skills I didn't even realize I had until recently</i>. Totally my version of "wax on wax off paint the fence". <u><b>PRO TIP</b></u> (I'm starting to hate that saying, but it's apropos here): Don't overlook all the skillsets you're building when you are wearing several hats on a set...or ALL the hats, as I did a lot in the beginning. It's like cinematic jiu-jitsu - you are cultivating muscle memory to put out fires in a natural, free flowing way without thinking. Anyway, <b style="font-style: italic;">these gigs fully paid half a year's rent, paid for Xmas gifts, paid for some unforeseen car repairs, paid a few more bills early. </b>These jobs are also nice because they can run concurrently with other things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Got hired on to Line Produce a genre film in Los Angeles - directly a result of the <i>Clinger</i> relationships, and this has quickly spun off and multiplied into other jobs. <b><i>At this point, I'm making a living at this, paying bills easily, have actual surplus money, etc. This, along with a couple other UPM/AD/Post Production gigs, carried me well into 2015.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just for point of reference, I did the math not long ago, and I'm making on average 4-5 times what I'd be making at a "day job"....with considerably more freedom, as you can imagine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here I am now, having been a "full-time filmmaker" for quite a while at this point. Just wrapped up a trailer edit and asset delivery for another film (paid very well, thank you very much), and currently in the works for the rest of the year are:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Line producing gig on a 1M-ish horror feature - have already done the budget workup and rough schedule - already got paid for that of course. The film itself is pretty massive, with a great script, and some great folks attached. It involves people from my favorite bands, my favorite films, my favorite countries...so aside from it being a great "job" it will be a great experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Placeholders</i> has been delivered. It will soon begin airing, and that means it will soon start making us money. Real money - the projections on this are pretty decent. We are launching across several platforms, and the profit return on each is impressive. There are still the standard old-school "barter deals" here and there, but that works out okay too if you have a decent product - <a href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/byron-allen-is-the-biggest-tv-producer-working-today-period-20140908" target="_blank">just ask Byron Allen</a>. We have 3 to 4 more television shows following behind it to maximize this business model and pipeline. There's a <i>Placeholders</i> spinoff, and two other comedies that we are co-producing with friends/long time collaborators. Hoping to have them all on the air and monetized by the end of the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Clinger</i> has <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/supernatural-teen-comedy-clinger-acquired-by-paragon-exclusive/" target="_blank">signed a distribution deal and is getting a limited theatrical release in October</a>. I have a feeling it will do well. Of course, I look forward to it doing REALLY well, since I'm a co-producer on the film. I was treated very well on paper for <i>Clinger</i> - I have a better percentage on <b>it</b> than I do on some of the previous projects I wrote and directed! Live and learn. Handle your business as they say. Of course, I might not know how to make good deals for myself if I hadn't been saddled with so many bad ones....so I guess those were definitely "learning experiences".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just got contacted last week to write a script - again via Son of Hollywood Royalty connections. And get paid for it, of course. I'll start on that in the next couple weeks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, two days ago, just got tapped for another Line Producing gig. Paid.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week, started laying the final groundwork to shoot some music videos for a few of my favorite bands. I'd been working on this for a while, but apparently it's finally coming together. Looking forward to that, since it completes the paid/fun/travel trifecta.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Imago</i> is actually getting a fresh coat of paint (new VFX) thanks to our friends at <a href="http://www.skulltree.com/" target="_blank">Skull Tree VFX</a> (<i>Hatchet, Frozen</i>). We could have released it last year, but we want it to be the best film possible. And now we have connections to make that happen, whereas we didn't a year or two ago. Super excited about that. We are also giving the film a new title...likely something like "Rodimus Prime", "Galvatron", or "Goldbug". You probably thought you'd get through this whole thing without any <i>Transformers</i> jokes. Ha! Silly you. Stay tuned for further <i>Imago</i> info...we hope to be able to make some announcements toward the end of summer. But back to the bottom line - much like <i>Placeholders, </i>I control all the sales and monetary decisions on (the movie formerly known as) <i>Imago. </i>I'm sure by now you can figure out my reasons. With <i>Imago</i>, I run everything by Chris Warren (director, co-writer, producer) but I have controlling interest. Remember what I said about "learning experiences". Business handled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, yes, I have some projects of my own brewing. The oft-mentioned ghost script has taken on new life - again in ways I'd never anticipated - and I really hope to have something happen with that this year. Also, I've written a dark comedy based on...well pretty much all the stuff you just read (come on, you know you saw that coming), and I hope to make that this year as well. That one will feature one of my heroes in a very interesting role...so yeah, that should be fun. Actually...the dark comedy is looking more and more like it might be shooting in late summer or early fall, as it seems to be coming together pretty quickly. Just waiting on a couple more confirmations (locations, actors, schedules) and then we can begin planning things for real. The script is called <i>30-45</i> - I'll leave it to you to figure out what that means, since I've given you ALL the clues you need. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So basically - I'm making money doing what I love, am laying the groundwork to have constant, consistent streams of income feeding the coffers, and am sort of working my way back around into making my own stuff again. There's always the outside chance that one of the older projects like <i>Closet Space</i> or <i>Walking Distance/Psychic Experiment</i> might turn over and send some money my way - I actually get <i>CS</i> fan emails fairly regularly (which means people are still watching/buying/seeking) and the <i>WD/PE</i> release in Thailand was only about 6 months ago. That would be great, but I'm treating that option like winning the lottery rather than a vital part of my current business model. And then, even if it <i>were</i> to occur on those films....I've already touched on the obstacle course I'd have to run to see my share of things. So, like I mentioned earlier - this current iteration of "living the dream" is <b>definitely</b> not the way I pictured this happening, but I guess all that matters is that it finally happened. And it only took 17 years!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EYOihofwRpJwWhgcujOoi6iArNbXLZl4WarCFc-kDaNRv7zTcuXfCgCs-j63ugI-OzbcaY6L_V18onYCjbY4JDo3Dcui9mKpGoOVux3bKIdjWRsapW1ZuUqm1s7jXq-FZWavFg/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-04-24+at+11.53.12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EYOihofwRpJwWhgcujOoi6iArNbXLZl4WarCFc-kDaNRv7zTcuXfCgCs-j63ugI-OzbcaY6L_V18onYCjbY4JDo3Dcui9mKpGoOVux3bKIdjWRsapW1ZuUqm1s7jXq-FZWavFg/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-04-24+at+11.53.12+PM.png" height="181" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"You know, my life is really complex. You know how a normal person...gets up...eats breakfast..."</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Post Script</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, there it is. The honest truth about how I got to where I am right now. I realize that this started off with the intent to be focused on the money making, and it ended up being 75% confessional purge about the events leading up to my "freedom", but I feel like leaving all the real stuff out would be a disservice. Your mileage may vary. Take what works and throw the rest away. Etcetera etcetera.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, there's the cathartic aspect. Most people I associate with didn't know specifics about that part of my life, and by the time I got around to being Pizza Restaurant Manager, only Chris knew what was going on (and Melanie, of course). Debbie Rochon totally <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Drake#Introduction" target="_blank">Tim Drake-d </a>her way into the Bat Family too. Trust me, we made a <i>lot</i> of Batman jokes. I think I even made one earlier in the prologue. It was my way of normalizing everything as best I could. Thanks, comics!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At any rate, it feels good to put everything out in the open. More to the point, it feels good not to care what people think. I obviously might think differently if things hadn't worked out as well as they have, but I won't dwell on that. Everything happens for a reason, and all roads led to this point. Creatively and professionally (and monetarily), I'm in the best space that I've ever been. I think about some of the relationships I've formed with cast and crew over the last few years and feel honored to have such a slew of heavy hitters ready to help me make my crazy moving pictures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Final thoughts: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regarding the ghost movie I keep mentioning, I haven't really brought up the fact that one of our main obstacles with it has been casting. Not <i>finding</i> people per se, but getting someone to back a film that has mostly ethnic leads, and two female supporting leads that are 35 and over. That has been the real challenge with this one, and you can't imagine some of the conversations that I've had with potential backers. Can you make them White? Can you make them younger and in college? Do the slaves really have to be in the story? (part of it is set in 1800's Louisiana). Anyway, that's mainly been our battle. I'm not really willing to budge on this one because my main goal is to make a moody, <b>adult</b> horror film like <i>The Changeling</i> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Changeling_(1980_film)" target="_blank">the George C. Scott one</a>). It's very frustrating for a lot of reasons, but one major one would definitely be the great actors we've missed out on because we couldn't see eye to eye on this with potential financiers. However, now I have some options in play that will hopefully enable us to make the film on our own terms. Again, a benefit of all the connections I've made over the last couple years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Additionally, I've had a lot of people ask me recently when we are "making the move" out West. Actually, that question has been coming up ever since I began making movies. When Chris and I were out there working on <i>Cold Descent</i> earlier this year, we were getting peer pressured into it every damn day. Here's the thing - several "film industry" people I worked with on that same set (and off the set, like the caterers, the payroll folks, etc) were looking outside of California for their next gig or gigs. I would say at least 50% of them. Sure a lot of stuff still gets shot in L.A., but things are WAY more decentralized now. Louisiana, Atlanta, Vancouver...the work is spreading out all over the place. Having recently done detailed budget breakdowns for the same few projects across all those locations, I can definitely see why. If I'm going to likely have to travel anyway, well, I might as well continue to <b>live</b> where it's comparatively cheap. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That said, I'm getting to the point where I'm going to have to <i>at least</i> get a car to leave out in Los Angeles...and probably after that, a small apartment or office. It's just getting too insane trying to make trips out there a few times a year and cramming EVERYTHING into the space of a week or so. There are things in motion where I might soon find myself there for several weekends in a row. Or, for stuff like <i>Cold Descent</i>, where I'm there for an extended period on a shoot, which also might happen a couple more times this year. Who knows, we might have to do that in NOLA next. And of course, if this continues to be my reality, I'd like to be able to have my wife and kid be able to comfortably come and stay in whatever city I'm working in. So now that Pinocchio is finally a "real boy", these are the things I'm sorta figuring out over the next year or so.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are...no strings...on me.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And there you have it. I'm "living the dream" - my version of it at least. It is absolutely supporting my family and I at the moment, and we are enjoying a level of freedom and happiness that probably hasn't existed since, honestly, pre-<i>Closet Space. </i>It bums me out to think that perhaps Regan has only recently gotten the best "mommy and daddy" experience that we have to offer, but it is what it is. At least I finally found a way to make it work, and make it all work <b>together</b>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I mentioned, I'm slowly correcting my course back to doing my own stuff again, with the added bonus of making a living off of it - but I might be available if you're looking for a 2nd unit Director/AD/UPM/Line Producer/Co-Producer/Key Grip etcetera. Just know that you're going to pay me what I'm worth - and you don't necessarily have to take my word for it...I'm more than happy to provide you with references. In return, I assure you that you'll get what you pay for.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Honestly, probably even <i>more</i> than you pay for. That part I blame on the X-men comics. Classic mutant martyrdom.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7imK9UL39ihHeZHef3nCCPANi3lOF55eDA0Q5LmO2NxS6DNidq4raXqJ1Ceciaigd1fqjwa8zHpJPhrmHGXGK_WVrC8WAq1wTLGrk-jbEbT7YstP3CJn8PfPdJHT55cdQld-pA/s1600/Mel+and+Richard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7imK9UL39ihHeZHef3nCCPANi3lOF55eDA0Q5LmO2NxS6DNidq4raXqJ1Ceciaigd1fqjwa8zHpJPhrmHGXGK_WVrC8WAq1wTLGrk-jbEbT7YstP3CJn8PfPdJHT55cdQld-pA/s1600/Mel+and+Richard.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Insert "Jump To Conclusions" Joke Here.</td></tr>
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upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-49813861365803984402012-01-19T06:52:00.001-08:002012-01-19T20:36:30.827-08:00Placeholders Ep 2, top 10 lists, and some Zacuto gear reviewed!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">A three-parter today. I'm apparently going from zero to sixty in the blogging world again. I'll shoot by the first couple rather quickly.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">First off, <a href="http://www.atom.com/funny_videos/3EFBFFFF0254026000170181E557/">Placeholders - Episode 2 is up over at Atom.com</a>! Go check it out...it's where the foundation REALLY starts to get poured down for the wackiness we'll be building over the course of the rest of the episodes. Really like how this one came together, and think all the gags still work. And of course, it's great to see Debbie fully inhabit the Carla role. Can't wait for that arc to play out...bwa ha ha. Also, Fangoria did a nice write up on <i>Placeholders</i>, <a href="http://fangoria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6437%3Aexclusive-pics-debbie-rochon-is-among-the-placeholders&catid=1%3Alatest-news&Itemid=167">which you can read here</a>. Thanks, Fango!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Secondly, quite a few folks recently (for whatever reason, independently of one another) have asked me what my favorite horror films are. I've also been revisiting Stephen King's <i>Danse Macabre</i> lately...so I'm in that "list your personal faves" kind of mood. Here's my top 10:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>From Beyond</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>Hellraiser</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>The Shining</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>The Fly </i>(Cronenberg)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>Halloween</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>Fright Night</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>Poltergeist</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>Night Of The Creeps</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>Return of the Living Dead</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>Psycho, Scanners, Videodrome,</i> and <i>Ghost Story</i> get honorable mentions as they can creep in there depending on my mood. All hold a special place in my heart.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I guess since I'm doing that for horror, I should probably do t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">he same for comedy, what with <i>Placeholders</i> and all. So...here's the personal fave comedy list.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>Ghostbusters</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>This Is Spinal Tap</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>Beverly Hills Cop</i> (though I actually consider it more an action film w/funny moments, still...banana in the tailpipe, laymon tweest, etc.)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>The Blues Brothers</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>The Jerk</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>Animal House</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>The 40 Year Old Virgin </i>(trust me, I was as surprised then as you are now)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>Amelie</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>Shaun of the Dead</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Honorable mentions this time are<i> Better off Dead, Grosse Pointe Blank </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">(again, that's a<i> BH Cop </i>situation), <i>Airplane!</i>, and <i>The Naked Gun.</i></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">So there you have it. All my inner cinematic workings laid bare. Now I can just get lazy and hand folks a business card with a link when they ask me these questions.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><b>GEAR REVIEW: ZACUTO CROSS FIRE, Z-FINDER, EVF FLIP</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Now that Episode 2 of <i>Placeholders</i> is up (see above), I feel like the time is right to go ahead and post these revi</span></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD5xCGxjZaChOG97IxGRFzhrpkbdRvuLLZWMlLkFHK2AmSEh118dHujV_0Ywy1u16MfdUECCiB9oeqhegxYPCB-JkVCraZ4Qhp9WDTXVJi9zWEo6h7qynxyYN2p9440bdudeZrZw/s320/IMG_7298.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698833080941872434" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">ews and pics of the <a href="http://www.zacuto.com/">Zacuto</a> gear that we used on that part of the shoot. Mostly used during the shoots for <i>Placeholders</i> episodes 2, 3, and 4, the <a href="http://store.zacuto.com/Cross-Fire.html">Cross Fire</a>, <a href="http://store.zacuto.com/Z-Finder-Pro-2.5x.html">Z-Finder</a>, and <a href="http://store.zacuto.com/EVF-Flip.html">EVF Flip</a> are all camera support elements geared toward making "film-style" DSLR shooting easier.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Let me backtrack a little first to give some context. I'm 35, and went through film school in the late 90's/early 00's. As a result, the first several projects I worked on for other folks were shot on film. The first few things I did personally were shot on film. My shoulder has been home to quite a few Arri 16-BL's and even a 35-BL a time or two (it might have actually been a 35-3, I don't remember. Ah, youth. :) At any rate, coming up through film school, commercial production, a few feature film and music video set</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">s, I was used to lugging those big bastards around on my body. Even when I began working at the public access station and using THAT equipment, it didn't stray far from the the paradigm, as things back </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">then were still shot using heavy, unwieldy 3/4" ENG kits. Obviously, my point here is that during my formative cameraman/DP/operator years, I got used to the weight, the eyeline, and the grip stature that came from handling those monstrous cameras.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Of course, the digital revolution happened, and I've since done or produced projects that were shot on everything from the Canon GL1 to the RED, and everything in between. <b>But</b> - it is important to note that about 80 percent of <i>those</i> times, I wasn't the one shooting the thing. On the off chance that I personally had to operate camera on second unit or pickups, I would rarely shoot handheld. If I tried it (mostly with a DVX, XH-A1, or HVX), I would instantly become uncomfortable with the "feel" and I was never terribly happy with my results afterward. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">Usually I'd lock things off on a tripod and shoot that way, unless the handheld approach absolutely HAD to happen for the shot. Long story short...I really didn't (still don't) like shooting things that way with small </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">cameras.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Of course, once the decision was made to shoot <i>Placeholders</i> on a Canon 7D, I got even <b>more</b> sketched out about going handheld for the episodes I directed (I served as camera op/DP on those as well). Add to this the fact that I was still pretty resistant to DSLR shooting overall (insert whatever archaic, inflexible motives you wish to here...you honestly probably aren't too far off-base), and...well, let's just say I was somewhat worried going into the shoot.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The Zacuto gear assuaged my fear in literally a manner of minutes. First up was the Cross Fire apparatus alone, as a few of the shots we had planned required the use of an </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">on-camera light (as shown in the pic above). Once we got the camera set up and ready to rock on the Cross Fire...I honestly didn't want to put the damn thing back on the tripod. The weight, functionality, grip placement and adjustable points of articulation were all where they needed to be and easy</span></span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjE8-TgkNFSTScOnPGzjdaIMisXGlOuGhCbDPFa42GTra9292gHStgEgj0d3xM7jNcTpwJ3qqmFcBQHImz7LFTHG3_8gjfc3x-gQZu8SthVmCn30Sd7tpmbRdJQvLX1w7QJqi5A/s320/IMG_9611.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699555596419596754" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >to tweak to my frame. After I had my setup "dialed in", I found myself being able to go for pretty long stretches of shooting without any issues or fatigue. In the past, I've had shoulder and ba</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">ck pain set in pretty quick with similar rigs...not so with the Cross Fire. As a result, we were able to positively blaze through our second and fourth episodes (which, thanks to Zacuto, now included about 90% handheld footage). I strongly believe that those aforementioned extra points of adjustment make all the difference...you can really micromanage the architecture of the Cross Fire to fit your <i>exact</i> personal comfort level, rather than just maybe getting in the ballpark. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I must admit to some level of skepticism when setting up the strap-on follow focus portion of the Cross Fire (I felt like there was too much slack in the Zip Gear...admittedly, this was probably due to a fair amount of "operator error" on my part), but when everything was set up and ready to go...no issues whatsoever. Actually, the rig worked <b>so</b> well that I came up with a few complicated multi-focus-pull shots on the fl</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;">y...and knocked them out with no issues. Bottom line: the Zacuto Cross Fire very quickly became an integral part of our production strategy. A highly recommended piece of gear.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">I found myself using the Zacuto EVF Flip and Z-Finder a little less frequently - again, the blame lies all on me and my bad habits - but I absolutely made a point to bring them both into the game whenever I found myself fairly awash in light (due to the lighting design, it happened a lot - <i>especially</i> in Episode 4 where operating production lights were actually part of the set dressing). The difference was as drastic as you can imagine...they really took the guesswork out of exposure and focusing. Color and tonal representation were extremely true (to these tired eyes, at least), and the ability to offset the apparatus in nearly any position (thanks to that lovely Zacuto articulation) and the oversized eyecup really added to the comfort factor. Also, did I mention that the EVF Flip uses a standard DLSR battery? Freaking awesome.</span></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYP_ZAty5PYERKqirSrUaoJb9q5kO2EWoNX1QVyDPYZHZOW_DqRAXA9PhU6gI-_H6hMN_IYhgm7BmGNeTFXlouaRPNNI8BSD-5RKtRWIf90ls0MBTjw75MgLtLCKvDjJsYnBjVzg/s320/IMG_8740.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699563234809861826" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">During the shoots for Episode 3 (which I didn't direct), I noted that my colleague, Chris Warren (pictured above) almost exclusively went with the "Z-Finder on camera body" configuration, since most of Ep 3 was shot on sticks. He apparently loved it, and I noticed that the Z-Finder aided considerably in the composition and execution of the shots that day. Of course, being in the role of "Producer" as I was for E3, my senses were heightened for such things.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">In summation - Zacuto makes really, really good stuff. I'd actually go so far as to call it an indispensable part of the DSLR shooter's repertoire...especially if you're looking to step your game up to more professional, cinematic levels. Speaking of stepping up the game...<a href="http://store.zacuto.com/Scorpion.html">check out the Scorpion rig</a> that Zacuto has recently unleashed. Gives me chills.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Well...that's it for now. I'm sure I'll be back soon as there's a TON of stuff going on right now (<i>Soon, Imago, Placeholders</i>, some others). And for those wondering, Placeholders Episode 3 will hit the web the second week of February! In the meantime, show your friends Episode 1 and 2 all over again!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">- Mel</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-32421793761898288662012-01-15T16:02:00.001-08:002012-01-15T16:10:33.896-08:00PLACEHOLDERS are go!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">If you missed it, the first episode of <i>Placeholders</i> is <a href="http://www.atom.com/funny_videos/3EFBFFFF02540260001701804D1C/">up over at Comedy Central's Atom.com.</a> So far the response has been quite positive...so much so that I decided to put up Episode 2 early if we could get E1 up to 500 views. Looks like we'll hit that mark tonight (Sunday) or tomorrow...so get ready for <i>Placeholders</i> Episode 2 to hit the net soon. Additionally, this week we're starting our press push to get the word out on a wider scale, so look for some <i>Placeholders</i> related news items, some new poster art, and maybe a cast interview or two. I'll put up links here and on the <a href="http://upstartfilmworks.net/">Upstart site</a> as they come in.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Thanks for your support, everyone! This crazy comedy "experiment" is turning out to be a whole lot of fun. Looking forward to playing in this sandbox a little more.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Oh, and if you don't already, please follow <i>Placeholders</i>' own <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/PlaceholderStef">Stephanie Stone on Twitter!</a></span></div>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-52605926250840163582012-01-08T20:23:00.000-08:002012-01-08T20:53:02.268-08:00PLACEHOLDERS et al...but mostly PLACEHOLDERS<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Here we are again, at probably the weirdest, most surreal personal timeframe since I started this blog. Lots of reasons why that is, all of which will probably become clear over the next few months. Chief among them is the small human growing within my wife's womb.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZIvEZENW0lM-Bo3e84OcXFtc73tJ-Acwvxre-3mvkuW7wpNhWg_EE6yBW1blL5RHVx1YaEzyTCr_FWlVJDwnT-i1_a2sBaARRNXQ5EVzVFZx4W8nxUY39LxVpu-qgpnVbJC0iA/s1600/melanie+ultrasound.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZIvEZENW0lM-Bo3e84OcXFtc73tJ-Acwvxre-3mvkuW7wpNhWg_EE6yBW1blL5RHVx1YaEzyTCr_FWlVJDwnT-i1_a2sBaARRNXQ5EVzVFZx4W8nxUY39LxVpu-qgpnVbJC0iA/s320/melanie+ultrasound.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695483862920698386" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Crazy. So yeah, that particular project has a release date of 8/5/12. [pauses for nervous puking].<br /></span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Meanwhile, in addition to the various movie things (<i>Soon </i>(pre-pro)<i>, Experiment </i>(foreign)<i>, Imago </i>(post-pro)) we've been busy working to finish our comedy webseries, <i><a href="http://upstartfilmworks.weebly.com/placeholders.html">Placeholders.</a> </i>Yes, you read that correctly. Comedy. With minimal horror incursions (though they are indeed there). For those that haven't heard of it yet, <i>Placeholders </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; ">focuses on the producers providing content to Channel 19, the (fictional) local public access station.</span> We've got an everyman, a preacher, a racist, a gun nut, an animal rights activist, a wannabe actress/model, a sexually aggressive administrator, a porn guy, some Russian mobsters, a guy with half a face...suffice to say, it's pretty wacky. It also provides me a chance to gain some catharsis by using a lot of my crappy film experiences (and the crappy people I've met during same) as comedic fodder. What, me use autobiographical stuff in a script? Yeah, I guess it's to be expected at this point.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><i>Placeholders</i> is also a pretty fun project in that we had several guest directors join us for the run. Besides myself, <a href="http://robertlukefilms.com/">Robert Luke</a>, <a href="http://twostarsymphony.com/">Jerry Ochoa</a>, <a href="http://www.tovarassociates.com/">Carlos Tovar</a>, <a href="http://www.incendiaryfeatures.com/">James LaMarr</a>, <a href="http://www.closedcasketcreations.com/">Cliff Holverson</a>, and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Imago-the-Movie/91101715571">Chris Warren</a> each took the reins for an episode at one point or another. I've seen most of them all, and yeah...I can't wait. The cast (comprised of TONS of folks we'd worked with already in some form or another, plus some awesome new discoveries) really knocks it out of the park in the hilarity department. Enough talking...why don't I just show you? Here's a playlist of a bunch of teaser clips from the series.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PL1B7BBDEF89F4D54D&hl=en_US" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Stay tuned for info on the <i>Placeholders</i> series premiere, which is going live this week. And keep checking back for more blogs as we release the episodes...we had a few generous production equipment vendors hook us up with some gear during the <i>Placeholders</i> shoot. Now I have to review it :). Shouldn't be hard, as it all made my on-set life much simpler.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">More news on the other projects coming up soon, but in short: we're working on closing a couple foreign <i>Experiment </i>deals, we're doing a bunch of <i>Imago</i> ADR/sound mix stuff on the Left Coast soon, and we've got some stuff happening with <i>Soon/Light</i> that we just can't wait to share. Busy over here, as always. Back shortly with more!</span></div>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-25322856150542452672011-12-27T07:54:00.000-08:002011-12-27T08:24:44.452-08:00XXXV<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Well, here we are at another 12/27. I'm now 35 years old. 34 was crazy. Mostly good crazy, as the previous blog entry pointed out. Actually, since my birthday falls pretty much at the end of the year, I was going to do a yearly wrap-up catch all thing...but that last blog kind of covered it all, I guess. Since then, Fangoria #309 has hit the stands - that issue features an awesome write up on <i>Psychic Experiment</i> by our own Debbie Rochon - but other than that, I think I hit all the main bullet points last time...at least the ones I can talk about right now. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">So yeah, looking forward, in abstract, the next year is going to be pretty nutso as well. Something tells me that this time next year will find us in a drastically different place - not only because we'll be parents by then, but for lots of other reasons too. Interested to see where it all takes us, and excited for the surprises. I've already set some wacky shit in motion that I'm seeing through this week...so the sea change may come sooner than anticipated.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Almost forgot: <i>Psychic Experiment</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; "> cracked the top 1000 on IMDb last week, coming in at #968 in popularity. It's still there as of this week's update (coming in at #982). Awesome...thanks to everyone for their support, purchases, rentals, recommendations, remote-button-pushes, etc. We/I appreciate all of it.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; ">Stay tuned for the opening salvo from the next chapter. :)</span></span></div>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-8640293447352379512011-12-11T09:50:00.000-08:002011-12-11T21:12:02.135-08:00The lead made us all go insane.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Well, here I am again after another extended absence. Fitting, I guess, since I'm creeping up on my 35th year here as well as the final several months of "not being a father" (more on that later)...as well as a crapload of other stuff. Some good, some not-so-good, but all valuable experiences. Of course, now I have the semi-daunting task of trying to encapsulate the last year - easily the most eventful one of my adult life - into one blog entry. So, yeah, it's probably gonna be long and rambling. Moving forward, I'm making a solemn vow to try and update with more regularity as in the "old days"...I've got lots of reasons to get back on the blogging horse, not least of which are a few awesome sponsorships/equipment loans requiring me to talk at length about their stuff in an online venue. (side note: Hi, <a href="http://www.zacuto.com/">Zacuto!</a>)</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Anyway, here we go, along with the candor you're all used to on this blog. Actually probably more so...if anything, I've become even more jaded over the last year, and now give way less fucks than I ever have up to this point in my life. Don't misunderstand that or misconstrue what I'm saying...I'm actually the <b>happiest</b> I've ever been in my adult life (probably a direct result of less giving of fucks).<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Anyway, I guess if there were a greatest hits (and misses) tracklist of the past year it would go like this:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">1. <i>Psychic Experiment (</i>then still known as<i> Walking Distance)</i> <a href="http://fangoria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2696:walking-distance-release-title-change-exclusive-pics&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=167">picked up by Lionsgate</a>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">2. Bunch of Psychic Experiment screenings <a href="http://www.moviegeekfeed.com/2010/04/eric-travels-out-of-walking-distance-to.html#more">around the U.S</a>. <a href="http://www.shadowrealminc.com/horrorfest/2010horrorfest.html">and the world</a> (still screening in it's Walking Distance 120-minute form).</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">3. Began re-edit/rescore of <i>Walking Distance</i> to create the 90 minute <i>Psychic Experiment </i>version.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">4. Started proactively dealing with some shady film bullshit (sound familiar?) and threatened to sue over same (also sound familiar?) - (also dubbed the "Melpocalypse"). No reason to hide it, I'm talking about <i>Sweatshop</i>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">5. Texas Frightmare Weekend 2011 - best showing ever for us in spite of (or perhaps because of) the above. Fulfilled a lifelong dream there (that bore fruit a few weeks later). Actually received my <i>Sweatshop</i> investment back. Shit pants, pinched self several times, checked for flying pigs and whether gravity still was, you know, gravity-ing.</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">6. Got involved with a couple of film projects that didn't happen for one reason or another. So if you're wondering about <i>Holy Oak</i>, it's dead.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">7. Finally finished the <i>Soon, A Light On</i> script, promptly got it into the hands of my hero, and started the wheels rolling on that one.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">8. Was encouraged (as a filmmaker who's "making things happen") to apply for a Texas Filmmaker's Production Fund grant to finish up <i>Imago</i> post. (Long story, but we're currently self-financing to cover an investor gap). Got totally denied for ANY funds. <a href="http://www.austinfilm.org/page.aspx?pid=1485">Here's who they did fund</a>. Draw your own conclusions. To be fair, one of the judges DID note that I lacked the skills to actually produce results. Please see numbers 1, 3, 4, 9, and 13.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">9. Completed delivery of <i>Distance</i> (now <i>Psychic Experiment</i>) to Lionsgate. <a href="http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/47461/walking-distance-becomes-psychic-experiment-gets-dvd-release-date-artwork-and-new-trailer"> Saw my first big studio box art and MPAA red band, "legit" trailer.</a> Nearly cried. They would have been highly acidic man-tears, of course, but still.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">10. Started a web comedy series called <i><a href="http://www.facebook.com/Channel19Placeholders">Placeholders</a> </i>that's turning out to be great fun. Making sure to rip on all the stuff and folks that I've bitched about thus far, including number 11 there.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">11. Throughout all that, started getting pretty hardline about taking bullshit from folks. Finally cut a lot of negative influences out of my life, both professionally and personally. Seriously, fuck that noise. The TFPF debacle helped me "see the light" as well - I had been deluded into thinking that the support net for an...Upstart like me might actually exist, especially since I'd done most of the heavy lifting (so to speak) myself. But no, things are no different from the elitist bullshit and cinematic vaporware worship which I experienced back in the late 90's when I got started doing this. I could bring up so many projects that were supposed to be awesome, that would "change the landscape of local film"...that actually never happened - but I kinda lost count. Needless to say, these Films That Never Were have gotten WAY more local press/support than <i>Distance/Experiment</i> ever did. Cut to now. That sound you hear is me, laughing like a hyena sprayed with Joker Venom. Anyway, that one got a little ranty. Back to the positive tip:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">12. Received an awesome voicemail (and a few follow-up phone calls) from the Springwood Slasher himself.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">13. <i>Psychic Experiment</i> released on DVD 12/6/2011. Available damn near everywhere, including big box retailers, streaming, On Demand services, Blockbuster video, Netflix, etc.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">There's more than that, but I'll keep it at lucky 13 for now. It's funny - I'm not very open about most of that stuff (might have something to do with the fact that my blog has lay dormant for a while now), and I guess since all folks see is the "positive news/promotional excitement" thing on Twitter or Facebook, they get the impression that I'm an egomaniac who thinks his shit doesn't stink, a deluded asshole, or both. Actually one of the people I've cut ties with accused me of getting my figurative dick sucked constantly in this town (Houston, if you don't know) - which couldn't be farther from the truth. I've got a movie in wide release, and I get more press from NY/LA and fucking Europe than I do in my home town...or state, for that matter. More support, too. Even the people that work <b>for</b> or <b>with</b> me go off on regular stretches where they think I'm crazy and totally full of shit. My wife included. That's not a dig on them, it's just the reality of the situation, and a reflection of the hard lifestyle choices one has to make to get to this point. Don't get me wrong, I have had TONS of support from cast and crew involved with the various projects...but there are just as many times (if not more) where I am out on a limb totally alone. The hard times, after the fun of the big crazy weekend shoot is over. The limb may be creative, financial, or just psychological...but it's a realization that's stuck with me and settled in pretty hard this year. Could be a result of having to repeatedly defend myself from all kinds of bullshit over the years, from Generic Records to the Access television show to <i>Witchcraft</i> to <i>Closet Space </i>to <i>Distance/Experiment</i>. It's a battle. It's a fucking war, sometimes. That's a pretty well worn metaphor for filmmaking, but it is one of the most apt I've ever heard. Blood is shed. People desert, change sides, die in the crossfire. But as Chuck Russell (<i>Nightmare 3, Scorpion King</i>) once said: "my definition of 'Director' is the last man standing."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Anyway, that was a little ranty, too, but I needed to put that out there. Lately, I've been doing a lot of informal speaking engagements at film school programs and it seems that people respond most to my honesty. Well, that and my winning smile. So, I'm trying to be honest here as well - it ain't all red carpet premieres and Facebook fan pages, trailers, lattes, and an assistant. And it's not going to be just like all the books you read, or special features you watched, or articles you found on Wikipedia. And it's surely NOTHING like the view you've gotten from behind your desk preparing your business packet and reading Syd Field, or the limited field of view you got during your PA position on <i>Kickboxer 7</i>. (Disclaimer: I'm pulling this out of my ass, but if there <b>is</b> a <i>Kickboxer 7</i>, I'm sure it's awesome, especially if Sasha Mitchell returns to whup more Tong Po ass). It's a dirty, tiring, thankless business with a lot of casualties. But I'm making my way through the pile of bodies one project at a time. And if you think I'm doing it the wrong way (despite some pretty cool results/returns to the contrary), feel free to blaze your own trail. Just know that you might have to gnaw through a corpse or two on the way out.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">At any rate, as mentioned above, we are just on the other side of the biggest movie thing I've done thus far - the <i>Psychic Experiment</i> release. I still don't think the enormity of it all has entirely sunk in (I actually think that will happen once the first sizable chunk of money arrives). It's available damn near everywhere - even on your DirecTV boxes. Fucking weird, man. Really fucking weird. Of course, <a href="http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/49165/exclusive-interview-writerdirector-mel-house-talks-psychic-experiment-upcoming-projects-a">I'm beyond happy and excited</a>, but the reality of the situation is...well, what's next? Where do we go from here? I'm insanely proud of <i>Experiment, </i>but for me (especially lately) this is a stepping stone, a beachhead from which to launch the next campaign. I'm sure living with the film for 3.5 years helped that "disconnect" process along somewhat, but I remember it happening with <i>Closet Space</i> to some extent as well. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the fact that I've done a LOT of growing up in the years since I began the script back in college, and also via the lessons learned during the film production and sales process. And some of the <i>Imago</i> hard knocks as well. So yeah - totally enjoying the <i>Psychic Experiment </i>moments, but priming for the next journey from a better tactical position as well.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">That next journey looks to be <i>Soon, A Light On, </i>which I think I mentioned in my last blog entry. It's my "old school ghost story". We hope to start in the spring, and we have a BAD ASS cast and crew attached thus far - with hopefully more on the way. Wish I could say more at this point, but yeah...dream project. Emphasis on <b>dream. </b> More as we can reveal it, but you know, hints are around if you know where to look. :) Shooting this one in New Orleans, and happy to give THAT city the $1 million USD injection that Houston and Texas apparently don't want from my no-account, indie horror directing, doesn't play well with others (when the others are full of shit) self. Real Talk.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Somehow, in the interim, we started up production on a comedy web series titled <i>Placeholders.</i> The series takes place in and around a public access station, much like the <a href="http://hmstv.org/">one I worked at here in Houston</a>. Of course, it's populated with the same types of wacky characters as well. There's also a healthy dose of what I've come to term "cine-hatred". Pretty sure you know what I mean by that if you've read this far. It's been great fun, VERY cathartic, and it's also been a good opportunity to involve other folks as directors on varying episodes - which is turning out to be a pretty successful experiment thus far. Look for <i>Placeholders </i>to launch before the end of the year.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">There's tons more to say (some spec scripts I'm working on, our impending move elsewhere), but we'll get to the rest later as we finish <i>Imago</i>, launch <i>Placeholders</i>, and start <i>Soon,</i> but I'll go ahead and wrap this one up with inarguably the biggest news of the year - Melanie and I are with child. Yep, the Houses are pregnant, and it looks like I'll be a father before I turn 36. So...I guess I better enjoy this Christmas and birthday as it will probably be the last purely selfish one I have for myself. Paintball/Fogo De Chao/Comic book run, anyone?</span></div>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-53448047260851591622010-09-14T20:26:00.000-07:002010-09-14T22:18:38.936-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wow, I guess I really let the dust gather over here, huh? I think the issue is not entirely my fault - </span></span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/mel.house"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Facebook</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and </span></span><a href="http://twitter.com/upstartfilm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Twitter</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> have evolved in such a way as to allow us to dole out "blogstuff" in small slices now, so it generally feels like there's no need to ramble on for an extended period of e-time. I can get my pissing, moaning, and rancor out in small bursts - not entirely unlike "suppressing fire".<br /><br />Sometimes, though, you need to empty the clip and lob a couple of grenades. Maybe even attach some explosive to a computer monitor and hurl it down an elevator shaft.<br /><br />Which is to say...today deserves a full frontal blogging of the highest order. Let's see if I can try and hit the major points without forgetting anything.<br /><br />I guess first off, and of most "immediate importance" - as of today,</span></span><span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.closetspacemovie.net/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Closet Space</span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> has finally been released in the U.S. Big thanks to our new compatriots at </span></span><a href="http://www.rsquaredfilms.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">R-Squared Films</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> for helping us get it out there. Head over to the website, and click on the News page to get ordering links - it's currently available online at Best Buy, F.Y.E./Suncoast, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and a few others that I'm probably forgetting. We're looking at putting up some "special packages" on the website in the next few days that will include more than just the movie. We also have a few theatrical/special event screenings set up, starting this weekend with the <a href="http://www.bluelightcinemas.com/index.asp?page=events#17">Week Of Terror event in Cupertino, CA.</a> After that, <i>Space</i> will be screening at the <a href="http://www.sachorror.com/">Sacramento Sci-Fi and Horror Show</a> the weekend of 9/25-26, <i>then</i> the Week of Terror hits the CAP Theatre in Los Angeles the first week of October. And beyond that, we know that we have a screening at the <a href="http://www.killerfilmfest.com/home.html">Killer Film Fest</a> in Foxboro (Boston) Massachusetts in November. There are a couple more dates on the horizon, after that... so yeah...after laying dormant for a bit, <i>Closet Space</i> is picking up steam and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Think we have some more foreign territories to snag as well as some VOD opportunities. Who knew?</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Next up is obviously <i><a href="http://www.walkingdistancemovie.com/">Walking Distance.</a> </i>To back up a little bit, we <a href="http://www.redcarpetcrash.com/2010/04/16/video-diff10-red-carpet-april-15-2010/">red-carpet premiered</a> <i>Distance</i> at the 2010 Dallas International Film Festival. It was...surreal. Surreal, but great. Pretty awesome when <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0607703/">"Agent Aaron Pierce"</a> tells the press that you're warped and sick in the head. And Adrienne "I Killed Jason's Mom" King experienced her first red carpet walk. One of the coolest days of my life, to be sure. Soon afterward, we did a private screening in Houston to another packed house that went apeshit, intellectually speaking, of course. Debbie Rochon and Kathy Lamkin were able to join us at that one, so that was awesome. As of now those are the two times we've screened so far - but we <b>just</b> found out that <i>WD</i> is an official selection of <a href="http://doabloodbath.com/">Blood Bath 2: The Film Festival</a>, and Reggie Bannister and Debbie Rochon are coming out for it. Excited - Reggie has yet to see the film. Response has been pretty much exactly what I hoped it would be - those that love it see that I'm trying to do something different and weird, and even those that don't entirely "get it"....still see that I'm trying to do something different and weird. No review can really ever touch, change, or compare to the words that came out of Debbie's mouth when she first saw the film in Houston: "Fucking....AWESOME." The look on her face was priceless, too. It's all gravy for me from there on out, folks. Distribution-wise we have a few options we're looking at, so hopefully we'll have some definitive news on that front soon. It's not as easy as some might think (see the above paragraph), but I assure you that we're working as hard as we can - I don't exactly want to just throw money down a hole, you feel me?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><i><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Imago-the-Movie/91101715571?ref=ts">Imago</a></i> is up after that - I'm pretty damn proud of what we were able to pull off with that one. It was designed to kind of bridge the gap between a project like <i>Space</i> and one like <i>Distance</i>...and I think we hit that mark. I tapped Chris Warren (my "protege", for lack of a better word) to direct that one, and I helped him write the script as well. We were able to bring Debbie back, and also got to work with the amazing, Freddy-slaying Lisa Wilcox from <i>Nightmare On Elm Street 4</i> and <i>5</i>. My mind = blown. We knocked out the shoot in 14 days, with a few pickups here and there, and while there were a few hardships, the cut we have now is lean, mean, and weird in that "Upstart Filmworks" way. We are now deep in post (sound design, VFX, score, color timing, etc), so the film should be done shortly. The <i>Walking Distance</i> and <i>Imago </i>shoots<i> </i>really hammered home some things that had been I'd been noticing/needing to address for quite a while in a number of areas, so look for our next feature to really "bump up" (similar to the jump between <i>Closet Space</i> and <i>Distance). </i>Still learning things from both experiences, of course. What doesn't kill you...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Rather unexpectedly, I found a new cinematic ally in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2397807/">Bryan Ryan</a> (who's name is indeed the inspiration for the <i>Glee</i> character, I'm told). We met through serendipitous means - several people I know (independently of one another, including my wife) knew Bryan, and he and I finally met around the 2009 holiday season. I quickly began to like the guy, and we shared similar cinematic/musical tastes. A good sign. He gave me a script he had written, titled <i>Hurricane Country. </i>I dug it, and came on as producer. To get ready, we decided to do a short film, titled <i><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Guest/142850715730839?ref=ts">The Guest</a></i><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Guest/142850715730839?ref=ts">.</a> Shot that bad boy in the O.C. over a weekend in August 2010 with <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1701139/">Will "I Shot Both </a><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1701139/">Hatchet</a></i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1701139/">s, </a><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1701139/">Frozen</a></i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1701139/">, and </a><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1701139/">Grace</a></i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1701139/">, Among Others" Barratt</a> as the Director of Photography. The project allowed me to make lots of other L.A. connections as well - cast <i>and</i> crew. Definitely going to try and fold some or all of them into the next thing I do. Just saw the final product not long ago, and I'm extremely proud to have my name on it. Everyone did a killer job (always a concern when you're working with total strangers) and it even connects with <i>Closet Space</i> and <i>Walking Distance</i>. How? You'll have to see it to find out. You'll get your chance to catch the World Premiere of <i>The Guest</i> at <a href="http://www.shriekfest.com/">Shriekfest 2010.</a> There may be another screening announcement right around the corner, just wait and see :).</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Beyond that, I'm slowly mounting my next project, <i><a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/SOON-A-LIGHT-ON">Soon, A Light On</a> a.k.a. Untitled Mel House Ghost Project </i>and trying the "crowdfunding" angle to get things going. Feel free to help out if you can - if we can pull this one off the way I'd like to....wow. That's pretty much all I can really say about that one other than if you think <i>Distance</i> was a swing for the fences, well...you ain't seen nothin' yet. We're also putting together the aforementioned <i>Hurricane Country</i> for production in 2011. And I was asked recently to teach a workshop - details tentative, but I'll let everyone know when they solidify. And I think Melanie and I may be looking at making a pretty big change by this time next year (<b>not</b> a baby, so I'll stop you right there).</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">All told - it's crazy time up in here. Wouldn't have it any other way, since it finally feels like we're "breaking through". Even through all the cynicism, distrust, cautiousness, and general "mental callousing" that's built up over the decade or so I've been seriously doing this - I'd be hard-pressed <b>not</b> to admit that.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-80390324179266380912009-06-03T21:37:00.000-07:002009-06-03T21:40:01.096-07:00This weekend I will be in New York for the East Coast Fangoria Weekend of Horrors (taking place Friday - Sunday) at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. We'll be promoting WALKING DISTANCE all weekend, and maybe even talking about some of our upcoming projects (cough...IMAGO...cough cough).<br /><br />First off, I will be on FANGORIA radio this Friday night. The show starts at 10 PM EST. You can tune in on Sirius 108/XM 139. For those that don't know, the show is hosted by Dee (Twisted Sister) Snider, and the lovely Debbie Rochon (who also stars in WALKING DISTANCE). Not sure what time I'll be on, but you should listen to the whole show anyway, as they're always great. <a href="http://fangoria.com/fangoria-entertainment/radio.html">Radio show info is right here</a>.<br /><br />Next up, at 4:30 pm on Saturday, is our WALKING DISTANCE panel at the show. Debbie will be joining me on the panel as well as actress Natali Jones. We'll also be showing a new clip from the movie.<br /><br />Sunday I'll just be hanging out at the convention being a dork. Some things never change. You can get info on the convention and guests at <a href="http://www.fangocon.com">http://www.fangocon.com</a><br /><br />Lastly, DISTANCE stars Adrienne King and Reggie Bannister will be at Seattle Crypticon this weekend as well, so don't feel slighted, Left-Coasters. Drop by their tables and check out what they have going on. Info at <a href="http://www.crypticonseattle.com/2009index.html<br />">http://www.crypticonseattle.com/2009index.html<br /></a><br />So...if you're on the East Coast or have the opportunity to tune in to the radio show on Friday, please check us out! And if you're in Seattle, check out Adrienne and Reg! And, as always, thanks for all the support. Look for more WALKING DISTANCE and IMAGO-related happenings in the coming weeks.upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-54027279806145505702009-05-27T22:40:00.000-07:002009-05-27T22:44:45.811-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:11px;"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-position: initial initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Like a lot of folks lately, I've been a bit neglectful of my blogging duties. If you really want to keep up on my ramblings, I suggest you keep an eye toward my </span></span><a href="http://malignantmovies.blogspot.com/" mce_href="http://malignantmovies.blogspot.com/" style="color: blue !important; text-decoration: none !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">personal blog</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, or my </span></span><a href="http://upstart-filmworks.blogspot.com/" mce_href="http://upstart-filmworks.blogspot.com/" style="color: blue !important; text-decoration: none !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Upstart Filmworks blog</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">. If you're here, then you're following directions. Applause. I'm trying to streamline things and put everything in one of those two places from here on out. I'm sure I'll still pop in here and there.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">So, for the last couple months I've been slowly putting the pieces together for the next Upstart Filmworks project. I won't be directing this one, but I'm producer and co-writer. The picture is called </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Imago</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, and Chris Warren is going to be the captain of the ship this go round. Today, Fangoria put up </span></span><a href="http://fangoria.com/home/news/9-film-news/2617-nightmare-star-enters-houses-imago.html" mce_href="http://fangoria.com/home/news/9-film-news/2617-nightmare-star-enters-houses-imago.html" style="color: blue !important; text-decoration: none !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">our first cast announcement</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, and it's a doozy. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Lisa "Alice Johnson from Nightmare 4 and 5" Wilcox</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> has joined the cast of </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Imago</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, and I'm freaking ecstatic. That should come as no real surprise to anyone that's known me for any length of time. Melanie and I had the pleasure of having lunch with Lisa a while back, and she's one of the coolest ladies on the planet. I can't wait to work with her. We also have a ton of </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Walking Distance</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> people returning both in front of and behind the camera, so I'm excited about that as well. I know things will run smoothly and look great...and as a producer, that's all I can really ask for. Well, that and more money. HA! If you want to keep up on </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Imago</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, you can add the MySpace page </span></span><a href="http://www.myspace.com/imagothemovie" mce_href="http://www.myspace.com/imagothemovie" style="color: blue !important; text-decoration: none !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, or add the Facebook page </span></span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Imago-the-Movie/91101715571?ref=ts" mce_href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Imago-the-Movie/91101715571?ref=ts" style="color: blue !important; text-decoration: none !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">As for </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Walking Distance</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, we are in the very late stages of post production. CG and color timing are being worked on, sound design is starting soon, and Dwayne and I have begun the scoring process. The full website is also about to go live over at</span></span><a href="http://www.walkingdistancemovie.com/" mce_href="http://www.walkingdistancemovie.com" style="color: blue !important; text-decoration: none !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">walkingdistancemovie.com.</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> East Coasters can catch us at the upcoming </span></span><a href="http://www.creationent.com/cal/fangocon/index.asp" mce_href="http://www.creationent.com/cal/fangocon/index.asp" style="color: blue !important; text-decoration: none !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">NYC Fangoria Weekend of Horrors</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, where Natali Jones, Shannon Lark, Debbie Rochon and myself will be on a </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Walking Distance</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> panel to rap a little about the flick. We should </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">actually</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> rap. Like Whodini in Nightmare 5. At any rate, I can't promise the spitting of hot fire, but I'm sure we'll have a clip or something. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">So, keep your eye on all </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">those sites and blogs for updates throughout the next few months. Lots will be happening. LOTS. Stay tuned.</span></span></div></div></span>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-6257655247568877422008-12-24T07:19:00.001-08:002008-12-24T07:19:42.128-08:00<p class="blogContent"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >The two <span style="font-style: italic;">Walking Distance</span> trailers are making their rounds, and response has been phenomenal. Glad I went through with the dual trailer idea - people seem to be digging it/them. <br /><br />My favorite quote so far:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Man, I've seen both Walking Distance trailers now, and I feel like I'm putting together a puzzle without the border... and I <span style="font-weight: bold;">love</span> that."</span> - Matthew Orsman<br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><br />Here are a few more online mentions:<br /><br />Arrow in the Head </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmpvYmxvLmNvbS9hcnJvdy9pbmRleC5waHA/aWQ9MTQ4OTc=" target="_self">did a story on the Black trailer.</a><br /><br />Our friends at Horror-Movies.ca <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmhvcnJvci1tb3ZpZXMuY2EvaG9ycm9yXzEzNzA4Lmh0bWw=" target="_self">did a piece on the Red one</a> (and reposted the Black).<br /><br />Dread Central <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmRyZWFkY2VudHJhbC5jb20vc3RvcnkvcmVkLXdhbGtpbmctZGlzdGFuY2UtdHJhaWxlci1ub3ctb25saW5l" target="_self">ran a piece linking to the Red trailer</a> as a companion piece to their earlier Black trailer exclusive.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br />Icons of Fright <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vaWNvbnNvZmZyaWdodC5jb20vbmV3cy8yMDA4LzEyL3dhbGtpbmdfZGlzdGFuY2VfdHJhaWxlci5odG1s" target="_self">reposted a link</a> to the Dread Central story.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >Horror Yearbook also </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmhvcnJvcnllYXJib29rLmNvbS81NDQyMTYvbWVsLWhvdXNlcy13YWxraW5nLWRpc3RhbmNlLXRyYWlsZXI=" target="_self">did the same for us.</a><br /><br />Totally bitchin', as the Regman would say. I'm extremely pumped that everyone is so excited to see Adrienne, Reggie, and Debbie go after it (which they do, with gusto).<br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><br />Quick answers to a few repeat questions that I've recieved:<br /><br />Q: I thought there were supposed to be zombies in <span style="font-style: italic;">Walking Distance</span>?<br />A: The first few drafts I wrote in the late 90's had zombies. Actually, it was envisioned as a zombie movie. Then we had a couple of really good zombie movies come out, re-igniting interest in the sub-genre. THEN we had a shit-ton of bad ones come out. I got pretty sick of zombies/infected/the walking dead, so I began an overhaul around the time we started <span style="font-style: italic;">Closet Space</span>. And here we are, sans zombies, and all the better for it, I think.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Q: Wow, it looks like a REAL movie.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A: I hired a great DP by the name of Philip Roy. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmltZGIuY29tL25hbWUvbm0yNzgxNzY4Lw==" target="_self">Check out his other projects.</a> Hopefully I can continue to "borrow" him from the other Phillip :).</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> We agreed early on to step outside of the accepted "context" of horror movie cinematography. Additionally, my goal is to keep raising the bar as far as production value - steadily climbing as we go along. That seems obvious, but a lot of folks are content with spinning their tires (or "waiting for funding").</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Q: How'd you get all those people in your movie?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A: Have you ever read <span style="font-style: italic;">Faust</span>?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Seriously, everyone pretty much responded to the script. Which was kind of a shock to me, because I figured it was too esoteric, personal, and dark. Apparently they all like projects that are esoteric, personal, and dark. Who knew?<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Q: Where'd you get the CG for the liquidy trailer stuff?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A: If by "CG", you mean "Carport Gestated", then you'd be right. Dwayne, Chris, Melanie, and I did it using an aquarium and some basic science I picked up when I was almost an engineer. I also shot it overcranked on the HVX200 at 720p to make it look even cooler.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> If you want more details, you can email me about it.<br /><br />Q: Why "Red" and "Black"?<br />A: Have you looked at the poster?<br /><br />Q: Why do two trailers?<br />A: 'Cause there's a lot going on. I preferred to do two shorter trailers that give you some info/background, rather than one overstuffed one, or one with just a bunch of flashy shit and no story beats at all. There are other reasons as well, but the depth of the story is the main reason.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I almost did a trailer as Mel House, head of the House Travel Agency, enticing you to come take a trip to the community featured in the movie. Then I realized that I </span></span></span><a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vZW4ud2lraXBlZGlhLm9yZy93aWtpL05vcnRoX2J5X25vcnRod2VzdA==" target="_self">had heard that one before.</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Q: Why no "Made In Texas" tag at the end?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A: Lots of reasons. Some personal, some professional, some probably irrational. But that's how I roll.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Q: What's the movie about, really?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A: Anger, family, racism, something evil, arson, sexual deviancy, emotional stuntedness, betrayal, revenge, selfishness, pseudo-science, sickness.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Among other things.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Q: What's next?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A: Fangoria Chicago. Another trailer ("White") in Spring 2009.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Q: YOU SUCK, YOU TALENTLESS, ELITIST, SMUG, HOMO BASTARD!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A: Mom?</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></p>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-24382807571772380812008-12-24T07:18:00.000-08:002008-12-24T07:19:09.769-08:00<p class="blogSubject"> <span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" >Walking Distance trailers are up and running. </span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="blogContent"><span style="font-size:85%;">BOTH trailers are now live:<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmRyZWFkY2VudHJhbC5jb20vc3RvcnkvZXhjbHVzaXZlLW5ldy1waWNzLWZpcnN0LXRyYWlsZXItd2Fsa2luZy1kaXN0YW5jZQ==" target="_blank">BLACK trailer is right here</a> on Dread Central.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vZmFuZ29yaWEuY29tL2hvbWUvbmV3cy85LWZpbG0tbmV3cy84NDUtZXhjbHVzaXZlLXdhbGtpbmctZGlzdGFuY2UtdHJhaWxlci1waG90b3MtdXBkYXRlLmh0bWw=" target="_blank">RED trailer is right here</a> on Fangoria.com!<br /><br />Make sure you watch both, as they are totally different. Each accompanying story and pictures are different as well.<br /><br />Many thanks to Dread Central and Fangoria for the love!<br /><br />On a side note, these trailers are causing some really...uh..."strange" things to happen. I guess they're not all that strange, but still. "Funny" might be a better word (in the Funny Games sense, of course). Maybe I'll get into it later. For now, back to editing the movie proper.</span></p>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-73110421715519872962008-12-03T18:47:00.000-08:002008-12-03T18:52:10.548-08:00<span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >December '08 is looking to be a fitting epilogue to a pretty bitchin' year.<br /><br />A few movies that I'm associated with in some capacity are hitting the streets. </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmVsZWN0cmljcHVyZ2F0b3J5LmNvbS8=" target="_self">Electric Purgatory</a></span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >, the documentary on Black Rock that I DP'ed a few years ago is now available on </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmFtYXpvbi5jb20vRWxlY3RyaWMtUHVyZ2F0b3J5L2RwL0IwMDFNQlRUMU0vcmVmPXNyXzFfMj9pZT1VVEY4JnM9ZHZkJnFpZD0xMjI3Nzk4MDQ3JnNyPTgtMg==" target="_self">Amazon.com</a></span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >. Pick it up, and see where all those whigger White bands that you love ganked their moves from.<br /><br />While I'm on the subject, if you want to be schooled in person, you should check out the </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vZmlzaGJvbmUubmV0Lw==" target="_self">Fishbone</a></span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" > show next week (the 8th) at the Meridian. Fishbone is the greatest live band on the planet. For real.<br /><br />Anyway, as I was saying...Marcus Koch's <span style="font-style: italic;">100 Tears</span> hits DVD on Tuesday the 9th. You can find it at </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmFtYXpvbi5jb20vMTAwLVRlYXJzLUpvZS1EYXZpc29uL2RwL0IwMDFJOVhPUEsvcmVmPXNyXzFfMT9pZT1VVEY4JnM9ZHZkJnFpZD0xMjI4MTk5MjAzJnNyPTEtMQ==" target="_self">Amazon</a></span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >, at </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmJlc3RidXkuY29tL3NpdGUvb2xzcGFnZS5qc3A/c2t1SWQ9MTc0NDUxODcmc3Q9MTAwJmxwPTEmdHlwZT1wcm9kdWN0JmNwPTEmaWQ9MTkyOTE5Mg==" target="_self">Best Buy</a></span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >, and on </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm5ldGZsaXguY29tL01vdmllLzEwMF9UZWFycy83MDExMDA4OD90cmtpZD0yMjIzMzYmbG5rY3RyPXNyY2hyZC1zciZzdHJraWQ9NDQ2NTAzNTgxXzBfMA==" target="_self">Netflix</a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. Check that one out, too.</span></span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br />Gerald Nott's <span style="font-style: italic;">The Flesh Keeper</span> is </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwczovL3d3dy5jcmVhdGVzcGFjZS5jb20vMjU4MTY4" target="_self">out now via CreateSpace</a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">, and you can visit that link to get your own copy. I was the Unit Production Manager, made a cameo as "Angry Black Bean Farmer" in the AWESOME FLASHBACK SEQUENCE (TM), and nearly had to earn the title of "Official Bull Murderer Via Shotgun". I also killed a snake or two.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gerry/John/Clint/etc...I hope the movie has a commentary track to explain all that anecdotal yammering I just did.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Also coming out soon is </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" >The Lawless, </span><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">which you can </span></span></span><a style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmFtYXpvbi5jb20vTGF3bGVzcy1EZW50b24tQmxhbmUtRXZlcmV0dC9kcC9CMDAxRzU1SkUwL3JlZj1wZF9iYnNfc3JfMT9pZT1VVEY4JnM9ZHZkJnFpZD0xMjI4MzUxNzY1JnNyPTgtMQ==" target="_self">find on Amazon right here</a></span><span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >, and </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm5ldGZsaXguY29tL01vdmllL1RoZV9MYXdsZXNzLzcwMTAzNDU3P3Rya2lkPTIyMjMzNiZsbmtjdHI9c3JjaHJkLXNyJnN0cmtpZD0xNjU1NjYxMjMxXzBfMA==" target="_self">on Netflix over here.</a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" > </span>The Upstart connection begins with the film's lead, Denton Blane Everett, who is also one of the leads in <span style="font-style: italic;">Walking Distance. Distance'</span>s Eryn Brooke also stars in the film....Eryn was our A.D. as well as the actress portraying "Tracie" in <span style="font-style: italic;">WD</span>...and I definitely would have had a harder time on set without her - as an A.D. she kicks major ass. And you'll notice James LaMarr is a producer on <span style="font-style: italic;">The Lawless</span> as well. It seems like just yesterday that I met James at the <span style="font-style: italic;">Closet Space </span>casting call....<br /><br />In addition, a good deal of the behind the scenes crew on <span style="font-style: italic;">The Lawless</span> worked for us on <span style="font-style: italic;">Walking Distance. </span>In addition to James and Eryn, there's our amazing D.P. Philip Roy, and sound guru David Frost. I'm not sure if our Assistant Camera Zach, or 2nd A.D. Natalie worked on Lawless, but I think they may have. Director Philip Guzman also gave us some much needed assistance on the first day of <span style="font-style: italic;">WD</span> shooting. At any rate, these guys take/took the idea of an "indie film crew" to the next level - pretty much negating the "indie" tag. They are all bad asses, and it totally shifted the whole paradigm for me. If you want to get a sense of what <span style="font-style: italic;">Walking Distance</span> is going to look/feel like, then check out <span style="font-style: italic;">Lawless</span>. And add more blood and melty stuff.<br /></span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />As for my own movie(s) - I think <span style="font-style: italic;">Closet Space</span> just got into another festival, and I'm an hour and a half into the first pass edit of <span style="font-style: italic;">Walking Distance</span> (which leaves half an hour or so to go). I'm very excited about how <span style="font-style: italic;">WD</span> is shaping up so far, and once again I have to effusively thank the cast and crew that made it possible. That's definitely a big reason why 2008 ruled for me. Can't wait to get that first trailer out there. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but it's coming, man.<br /><br />I'm also considering the possibility of having a birthday shindig in the Upstart Warehouse this year. My birthday (the 27th) falls on a Saturday, so I kind of feel obligated to do something besides eat a lot of broiled flesh at either the Taste of Texas or Fogo De Chao. Although I'll be doing that as well, I assure you. At any rate, I may put something relatively low-key together for that night, so consider yourselves warned. I've got the space, so why not? It might be kind of cold, but I don't think it would be too bad. Maybe we can cook up a little Acoustic Alchemy, or project a movie on one of the walls or something. I'll know for sure within the next week or so. There's some heavy stuff coming up next year on all fronts, so perhaps I should try to enjoy life a little while I still have time to breathe.</span></span></span>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-61229616740888448492008-11-17T16:01:00.000-08:002008-11-17T16:03:14.642-08:00<p style="font-family: arial;" class="blogSubject"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span> </p> <span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" >Today, Dread Central </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmRyZWFkY2VudHJhbC5jb20vc3RvcnkvZXhjbHVzaXZlLWJlaGluZC1zY2VuZXMtd2Fsa2luZy1kaXN0YW5jZQ==" target="_self">put up a few pictures</a></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" > from our recent 2nd Unit FX shoot for the infamous "Doll Scene" in <span style="font-style: italic;">Walking Distance</span>. Before anyone asks, no, the movie is not about killer dolls. They are but a tiny part of the twisted tapestry. The scene is definitely the moment in the script where the train crests the lift hill, though.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" >Thanks go out to everyone that showed up for the doll scene shoot...the footage looks totally out there. I'm excited to cut it together.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnpvbWJpZWZyaWVuZHMuY29tLw==" target="_self">ZombieFriends</a></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" > also was cool enough to set up a </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnpvbWJpZWZyaWVuZHMuY29tLz92aT0xMjA5Mg==" target="_self">Walking Distance profile</a></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:85%;" > for us over there, and also to put together a couple of video interview clips with Reggie Bannister (which you can check out at the Dread Central link above, or you can view them right here).<br /><br /><a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=46517190">Check out this video: Walking Distance (BTS) Reggie Bannister</a><br /><br />..<br /><br /><a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=46576030">Check out this video: Reggie Bannister Talks Mel House</a><br /><br />..<br /><br />Like the article says, I hope to have a trailer soon. We're still shooting 2nd Unit FX stuff through early next week, but I'm a good deal through the rough cut of the movie.</span>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-27951633656493433512008-11-04T06:21:00.000-08:002008-11-04T06:23:45.604-08:00Lagniappe of the Dead<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It's been awhile, and I've been primarily blogging on my MySpace page, but I'm going to try and keep this one updated as well.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal verdana; border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Well, we’ve returned from our 3rd-anniversary-commemorating Louisiana ghost tour without getting sucked over to "the other side". It was a blast. Check out the "Anniversary Ghost Tour" album in my pictures section for photo accompaniment to the following rundown. It should entertain you while you either decide to laud the democratic process, or contemplate a move to Canada (or Australia, depending on your party I.D.. Actually, Australia has compulsory voting, which is kind of cool. At any rate...) First up, we stayed a night at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrtles_Plantation">Myrtles Plantation</a> in St. Francisville, Louisiana (about an hour north of Baton Rouge). The Myrtles is semi-notorious for being <a href="http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/toptenhaunted/toptenhauntedhouses/">one of the most haunted places in America.</a> We arrived after nightfall, and the place definitely gave off a hell of a creepy vibe...even with quite a few people milling about the grounds (all the rooms were booked, and workers were busy renovating the on-site restaurant). After we ate dinner at a surprisingly good pizza joint in the Louisiana sticks, we made our way around the property in the dark, hoping to find some crack in the veil of reality. Well, I was hoping. I think Melanie was more "dreading". She was pretty freaked out (but in a fun, "amusement park" way). A few other folks were trudging around with flashlights in the dark (including a couple of drunkies). Melanie and I noticed the distinct aroma of strong cigar smoke near our room. After some pretty thorough investigation, we discovered that no one we could see was smoking. Strange. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal verdana; border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The night was...interesting. Melanie claims she was poked, prodded, and pushed all night, and her covers were constantly being tugged. I couldn't sleep because my bearlike frame was a bit much for the bed (and my terrified wife curled up in the small of my back). I fell into fitful bits of sleep I think, and the things I saw/experienced were during those periods. Unreliable...but very intriguing. Anyway, my alarm on my phone goes off at 7 AM, and Melanie exclaims "THANK GOD!". We get up, stroll around in the daylight, and head to the completely delicious (and all-inclusive) home-cooked breakfast in the Myrtles Gift Shop. After ingesting some of the best biscuits I have ever had in my life, and talking to a few of the other guests (who saw nothing...but most of whom are regulars), we took the guided tour of the main house. The place is beautiful, but has a very distinct vibe that's a bit off putting. And we learned that apparently the cigar smoke thing is one of the manifestations of the spirit of William Winter, who was murdered in the house. Sweet. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal verdana; border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">After the tour, we headed down to New Orleans to take in some of the Halloween craziness down there. We got there a bit early, so we had lunch at <a href="http://www.mandinasrestaurant.com/">Mandina's</a> (mmmm, Turtle Soup and Po-Boys), and drove around a bit. We stumbled upon the still-thrashed 9th Ward, which was interesting. We then headed to the Garden District and walked around for a bit, seeing a bunch of bad ass houses, including Anne Rice's old place. We also discovered a sweet (pun intended) <a href="http://www.shopsucre.com/">dessert bar called Sucre</a> that I just HAD to get gelato at. After finally checking in to our luxury hotel in the French Quarter (right between Bourbon and Royal Street) we commenced to walking around the Vieux Carre by starting down Bourbon Street a.k.a. The Dirtiest Place on Earth. I loved every minute of it. Of course, once you get off of Bourbon, the rest of the Quarter is beautifully awesome, and with the combination of the Garden District, very Walking Distance-y. It definitely gave me inspiration that I'm going go put in the new script, and I'm most definitely going to try and shoot that script on location there. Anyway, we walked around a bit as the Halloween craziness began to wind up, ate dinner, then headed out to start our <a href="http://www.hauntedhistorytours.com/">Haunted History Tour,</a> which was a LOT cooler than I thought it would be. I guess I had primed myself for Anne Rice-y Metrosexual Vampire Cheesiness (TM). Instead, we had a blast...seeing Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop (where he pushed a few guys into the forge for skimming off the top), the <a href="http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/top-5-haunted-hotels1.htm">Provincial</a> and <a href="http://goneworleans.about.com/od/hotels/tp/hauntedhotels.htm">Andrew Jackson</a> hotels (both haunted as hell, apparently), and then the icing on the cake for me was seeing the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphine_LaLaurie">LaLaurie Mansion</a>. The place radiates evil. It's back on the market, and if I had the money (3.5 million at the moment), I'd totally buy it. Hell, no one else will, apparently. Wish we had photos of that place, but they were kind of sketchy about taking pictures there because of the current owner's celebrity status: it's Nicolas Cage. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal verdana; border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">About 2 minutes into this clip from Letterman, Cage talks about the LaLaurie Mansion: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dawwZoznf6I&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dawwZoznf6I&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> After the tour, we headed over to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cafe_du_monde">Cafe Du Monde</a> for some truly awesome beignets. A nice, powdery end to an awesome trip.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal verdana; border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Anyway, now we're back in the "real world". Marcus has returned, and we're ramping up to shoot the last FX bits for WD over the next few weeks. It should be fun/nerve wracking.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal verdana; border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">And seriously, if anyone wants to go in on that LaLaurie thing, let me know. </span></span></span></div></div>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-51598319023969174302008-03-19T21:59:00.000-07:002008-03-19T22:00:11.859-07:00Fango Cover sneak peek and more Mulatto Balls<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >Found this on </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnNob2NrdGlsbHlvdWRyb3AuY29tLw==" target="_self">Ryan Rotten’s</a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> page - here’s the first look at the Fangoria issue that will feature the Southern-Fried Horror article:</span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.closetspacemovie.com/images/Fearfest2/sofriedhorror.jpg" /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It’s issue 273, and I believe it hits the stands on or around April 15th. Scoop it up if you can - I hear the coverage is awesome. They pretty much talk up all of our movies - from <span style="font-style: italic;">Closet Space</span> to <span style="font-style: italic;">100 Tears</span> to <span style="font-style: italic;">Domain of the Damned</span> to <span style="font-style: italic;">Flesh Keeper</span> to <span style="font-style: italic;">Sweatshop</span> and beyond. Check out that above-title blurb. We got a Clive Barker movie cover issue to boot. Awesome. Here’s the blurb from the </span></span><a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmZhbmdvcmlhLmNvbS91cGNvbWluZ19pc3N1ZS5waHA=" target="_self">Fangoria website:</a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />"</span></span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>SOUTHLAND TERROR TALES</strong> A gang of up-and-coming frightmeisters unleash murder and monsters below the Mason-Dixon Line."</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />By the way, the "Mulatto Balls" in the title of this blog is purely a baiting tactic to get people to come look at the Fango cover. When I put "Mulatto Balls" in the title of my last Obama-centric blog, I got tons of page views from people who apparently are <span style="font-style: italic;">very</span> intrigued by my "mixed bag".<br /><br />Speaking of mixed bags, I’m in the process of becoming a S.A.G. signatory for the purpose of making <span style="font-style: italic;">Walking Distance</span> a S.A.G. production. Hopefully, this won’t be another "it seemed like a good idea at the time" situation. There have been too many of those over the last few years. I guess I’ll have to play in that sandbox sooner or later, and now’s as good a time as any.<br /></span></span>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-17559706894870089462008-02-05T14:17:00.000-08:002008-02-05T14:43:57.390-08:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Back in black. Sorry that I've been neglecting this blog. The daily moratorium on MySpace that I experience during the week has pushed me back into the loving arms of Blogger. So, realizing that others are probably in the same boat, what I'll try to do is continue to copy and post stuff in both places.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So, first off, thanks to all that came out to the MFAH screening of </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Electric Purgatory</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. It was pretty much a sold-out house, and the audience seemed to really get behind the material. The panel discussion afterwards was also quite interesting, although there was an unfortunate lack of Black Rockers at the table. Hey guys...your DP is one. Just sayin'. Anyway, much love to Raymond Gayle for putting on a successful event. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Also, I am officially a guest at </span></span><a href="http://www.dreadcentral.com/node/26030"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Texas Fear Fest</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> in March. A </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Closet Space</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> screening announcement will soon follow, along with some other cast and crew appearances. It should be exciting, especially with most of my horror genre heroes running around the place as well. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Speaking of throwing up in my mouth, lately I've been trying to woo some horror "names" into taking part in </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Walking Distance.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> For the most part, the talent I'd want actually seem to be into it. Of course there's scheduling and pay scale and any number of other things to take into account now...but just opening a dialogue with these people is pretty damn exciting for me. It re-awakens my dormant inner fanboy. Anyway, I just have to wrap up the script in the next week or so and send it off. I'm projecting a mid-April start on that. We might as well adopt Marcus, our Tampa-based FX guy, since right after </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Distance</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> we go into production on the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Untitled Marcus Koch Project.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I finally finished reading</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Adventures-Kavalier-Clay/dp/0312282990/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202250759&sr=8-1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It was good. Damn good. Actually, I think it's my second-favorite book ever. (The #1 spot goes to Stephen King's </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, and that probably won't ever change. #'s 3-5 are also King books. Surprise, surprise.). Check it out if you haven't already.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And speaking of books, if (like me) you're into mid to late 90's hardcore/post-hardcore/emo (the good kind)/screamo, then make a point to check out Norman Brannon's new book, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://revhq.com/store.revhq?Page=search&BandId=8132"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Anti-Matter Anthology</span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. It's a compilation of some of the best interviews Norm did for his Anti-Matter zine back in the day. This may sound only vaguely familiar to some of you, so let me help you out: Norman Brannon used to be Norm Arenas, guitarist for Shelter, Texas Is The Reason, and New End Original. To bring it full circle, Jonah Matranga was in New End with Norm. So, here's to more cool people making stuff.</span></span></span></div>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-71873003259588442042007-09-26T21:24:00.001-07:002007-09-26T21:25:53.468-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Just a bunch of quick news flashes:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br />I'm associate producing Stacy Davidson's new project, <em>Sweatshop</em>. Script by Ted "Gaygun". </span><a href="http://fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=5023" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Fangoria did a story on that a couple days ago.</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> Shooting begins in October. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br />I'll probably also be helping out on </span><a href="http://www.desdemonamovie.com/" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>Desdemona</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">, a project produced by <em>Closet Space's</em> James LaMarr. They start shooting in a couple of weeks as well. </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br />The schedule for </span><a href="http://www.siliconventions.com/silicon/programming/" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">SiliCon is up (for the most part). </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Northern California folks - I expect to see you at the "Images of People Of Color" panel with your hardball questions in hand. I just know someone out there wants to ask me what a nubian is. </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /><em>Walking Distance</em> is coming together. The new job leaves me little time to write, but I think I'm about to put a bow on it and get ready to shoot in January or so.<br /><br />Speaking of January, that's when the </span><a href="http://www.fangocon.com/" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Austin Fangoria</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> show is. Marcus (<em>100 Tears</em>) Koch, Joe (<em>Fearmakers</em>) Davison, Elmar (<em>100 Tears</em>) Berger, Stacy, and myself are all on a "Southern Horror" panel. It should be pretty crazy. I have a feeling that I'll have to spend most of the time keeping Stacy from humping Robert Rodriguez' leg. </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br />...and last and sort of least...</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Witchcraft-13-Chosen-Tim-Wrobel/dp/B000W7FCM2/ref=sr_1_2/002-7691422-6835209?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1190866325&sr=8-2" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>Witchcraft 13</em> finally got a release date.</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> To say that I have mixed feelings is a massive understatement...but admittedly...it will be pretty cool to have a distributed title out with my name on it. Fortunately, Closet Space will be out there soon as well. More on that as it develops. </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br />For anyone wondering where my usual movie rants are...I actually haven't been to the theater in a while (see above sentence about the new job murdering my schedule). Don't worry - they'll be back, so you'll all have something to either cheer on or piss and moan about very soon. Actually, the only movie I've watched lately was <em>Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark</em> a couple nights ago. It was on </span><a href="http://www.chillertv.com/" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Chiller</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">, what can I say? </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br />And, in closing...the new Foo Fighters album fairly well rocks. I don't think these guys are capable of sucking.</span>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-72411159053099653732007-08-25T06:48:00.000-07:002007-08-25T06:50:26.717-07:00<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Dude.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /><br />To everyone in the PLUS CAPACITY CROWD that came out - I can't thank everyone enough for showing up. Big thanks go out to the Studio Movie Grill in Copperfield as well for letting us do the entire shindig. I just found out that at least 30 people were turned away after they filled the place. Of course, I'm bummed that not everyone got to see it, but fuck, dude...they TURNED PEOPLE AWAY. How fucking cool is that? Guess that means that we'll have to do another screening in the future.<br /><br />The night was awesome, to say the least...so thanks for helping put the exclamation point on this year-long tentacle journey. I'm glad everyone enjoyed the movie and had a good time. People responded exactly how and when they were supposed to...I heard a couple of people even got the shit scared out of them.<br /><br />The actors that hadn't seen the movie were all super-excited afterwards, which is a good thing. I recieved tons of compliments from them and the "moviegoing public", most of which seemed sincere and heartfelt. Again, the most entertaining one was:<br />"Wow...this was actually REALLY good!"<br /><br />What the hell...did you guys expect for it to suck? But seriously...I can't blame people that say things like that, because indie horror has kind of shot itself in the foot that way. I'm glad everyone last night felt like CLOSET SPACE was the exception to the rule of taking the "path most traveled".<br /><br />And of course, it was super-rad to have my good friend and musical hero Jonah Matranga in the audience. We showed the video for "Not About A Girl Or A Place" and people loved it. I think Jonah was a little nervous about being on the big screen. It was kind of cute.<br /><br />Plans are afoot for more CLOSET SPACE screenings at festivals and such, so keep an eye out for more info on that. Same goes for DVD distribution, etc. Keep watching. Exciting things are happening.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></p>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-84391948835061498552007-07-23T14:49:00.000-07:002007-07-23T14:54:44.664-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Here are some shots from the video shoot for Jonah:</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2BRIvRQ9l85hSMmhavPeOwxNM6RMRZSA3Lm4Yk55je4GvdrotqBq-PnCBnR6p8D76he6sLmTYR9e-M-7OJGdgrKyO48rZkbTWJ5v0Ob6zbOzxrIxeal5AUjuzFfeFapUhaw7eA/s1600-h/candleineye.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090513577914940114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2BRIvRQ9l85hSMmhavPeOwxNM6RMRZSA3Lm4Yk55je4GvdrotqBq-PnCBnR6p8D76he6sLmTYR9e-M-7OJGdgrKyO48rZkbTWJ5v0Ob6zbOzxrIxeal5AUjuzFfeFapUhaw7eA/s320/candleineye.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5iWsnljp5a7aTW8sDqQYmKqDWDzAwRbANUQ5txJ1IWoE_k44QDJ4_G1e4G7qDrHyrPFPAgMYrlJ6J75-1bSey87r6J4NOLKtt8bXlZxvV30eFatp1Mnfk9A07oO0KtO9spoa5XQ/s1600-h/jonahchokedwayne2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090513444770953922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5iWsnljp5a7aTW8sDqQYmKqDWDzAwRbANUQ5txJ1IWoE_k44QDJ4_G1e4G7qDrHyrPFPAgMYrlJ6J75-1bSey87r6J4NOLKtt8bXlZxvV30eFatp1Mnfk9A07oO0KtO9spoa5XQ/s320/jonahchokedwayne2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMYwpimPfcvjRq2wS8vLzGrn40H9jq_fM0mBWrkQVadaoxnqjsFhCN4xf3q-6dkjTG9DFK5BrF2K8Msuas9hfrKwzx88y-yC0FOgEz6impwPMs-TrUqmUyD-6a18ZU1DC9vdEHLw/s1600-h/josharmsquirt.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090513311626967730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMYwpimPfcvjRq2wS8vLzGrn40H9jq_fM0mBWrkQVadaoxnqjsFhCN4xf3q-6dkjTG9DFK5BrF2K8Msuas9hfrKwzx88y-yC0FOgEz6impwPMs-TrUqmUyD-6a18ZU1DC9vdEHLw/s320/josharmsquirt.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoI3R3c-YsoagNRbObxoOuql2rKtKSZZemOBv9vbPnVweAO6RyGsAtSDEFq1wMYqJM0ZMGgitXK75DGpvI35UHOaG-1haM2OmJXwvwQ9jkbdJrSdRDGvfUCChWP8NkRUn1f7pdsg/s1600-h/jonahbloody.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090513118353439394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoI3R3c-YsoagNRbObxoOuql2rKtKSZZemOBv9vbPnVweAO6RyGsAtSDEFq1wMYqJM0ZMGgitXK75DGpvI35UHOaG-1haM2OmJXwvwQ9jkbdJrSdRDGvfUCChWP8NkRUn1f7pdsg/s320/jonahbloody.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZKdsdX65mVUofKdIpxjAZoWS9qlzlOS7iybg1Q0drZPX91mnjSHosaiYCTkF5cm9c94PYCUSSf8Gk5eZB6DENUDF67uetcYA3s0w_gFAqz0mzM8iUO1hUexY1M_hvQPyFYuYSQ/s1600-h/melshootjonah.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090512968029584018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZKdsdX65mVUofKdIpxjAZoWS9qlzlOS7iybg1Q0drZPX91mnjSHosaiYCTkF5cm9c94PYCUSSf8Gk5eZB6DENUDF67uetcYA3s0w_gFAqz0mzM8iUO1hUexY1M_hvQPyFYuYSQ/s320/melshootjonah.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">As you can see...it went pretty well. Lots of blood and gore. There's even more to check out <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8714830@N05/sets/72157600959346131">here courtesy of Jeremy Hart.</a></span><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-15627693476494366902007-07-02T00:32:00.001-07:002007-07-02T00:40:20.258-07:00<div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">I'm sitting in Newark Airport right now typing this up (for later upload) because I've basically got nothing better to do since my departing flight got delayed. Again. It's a fitting coda to the final pre-movie premiere convention trip, which has been among the best and worst of them all for various reasons. Rather than go through all the positive and then all the negative stuff in segregated list fashion, I'll run it all down for you in sequential order to preserve the rollercoaster like effect these things tend to have on me. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">So, I get everything prepared, pack up, get my usual greasy spoon breakfast at Frank's Grill, and then head to the airport on Thursday morning. My flight was scheduled for a 9:15 AM departure. I get to the airport and my spider-sense starts tingling. There are massive gluts of obviously flustered people. Jason Stewart leaves me a voicemail saying that his flight from the OC has been outright canceled, and he can't fly out until Friday afternoon. Kristi calls me and tells me HER flight out is delayed. Then I notice the news, and apparently the entire East Coast is being attacked by Galactus or something. Crazy weather is screwing up the flight schedule and basically stranded people en route to the Right Coast for about 24 hours. What does this mean for me? Nothing at first, as it seems that my flight is still running on time. I paid full price for my ticket, so those bumped standby passengers can eat a bag of dicks, I think to myself. No way are they going to give my seat away. Then I see a crane sidle up to the rudder of the plane we were supposed to be boarding. The maintenance man aboard that crane started to do some pretty major mechanical stuff to the inner working of this plane's ass. Then the departure time starts what will be a steady rhythmic slide...later....later...still later....updates every 15 minutes....still later...more mechanical difficulties...the maintenance man pulls out a roll of duct tape (not kidding)...later....it's about 11:00 at this point...then they try to find another plane for us, because the previous one is unfixable (even with duct tape)...more time passes....they finally get a plane, board us, and we're in the air about 12:30 PM or so. Then we end up circling for an hour and a half in a holding pattern because the weather is too bad to land in Newark. Then we get diverted to Philly, because Newark is not accepting flights. We sit on the runway in Philly for about 2 hours, then take off and head to Newark, finally. I landed and got my rental car at about 10:30 PM. I was supposed to arrive in Newark at about 2 PM. Then I saw the huge gaggle of people that got screwed much worse than me, and it didn't really seem like that big of a deal in the long run. I slept or listened to the iPod during most of it anyway. I think Wilco's Summerteeth is my new favorite in-flight soundtrack. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">So, I arrive at the hotel, and I'm all by my lonesome for the rest of Thursday evening and part of Friday. I take part in a Indie Horror Filmmakers panel on Friday morning/early afternoon, and it went very well - the Closet Space trailer got an awesome response, and sowed the seeds for people approaching me about it all weekend. Marcus Koch was also up there with me promoting 100 Tears. That trailer went over like gangbusters as well. I also got to see a bunch of other trailers from some really talented guys like </span><a href="http://www.thebloodshed.net/" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Alan Rowe Kelly</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">, </span><a href="http://www.myspace.com/vindicationmovie" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Bart Mastronardi</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">, Joshua Nelson, and </span><a href="http://www.myspace.com/crossedmovie" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Stolis Hadjicharalambous</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">. I can't wait to see each and every one of these flicks, and it was an honor to sit on the panel alongside these guys. Here are some photos from that.</span><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpZZgGJ_5QAtkHm_TrkrLj8Mzj051B2UkCBOCVLmO4aN0wzvBScd4nXtvsKH-FsFRKE0vI9gf-D2Aqbf59FnpiwksKSYq0SFAdT2V65yYg_-JShIklOlQOFDOWOzU-1U_S6I3bg/s1600-h/FangoPanelGroup1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082499612748152530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpZZgGJ_5QAtkHm_TrkrLj8Mzj051B2UkCBOCVLmO4aN0wzvBScd4nXtvsKH-FsFRKE0vI9gf-D2Aqbf59FnpiwksKSYq0SFAdT2V65yYg_-JShIklOlQOFDOWOzU-1U_S6I3bg/s320/FangoPanelGroup1.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">From left to right: Alan, Joshua, Bart, Stolis, Marcus and myself. This is beyond awesome to me, since I've been coming to these Fango conventions since I was a kid. </span><br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082500128144228066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH7sG3SvOuW7Jj98oB_r27Tbf_rTZ38Z1xXSSAWJXGCmYf-rGYADkReJKXTQSX2Cn3b2KUu2EMK1hcggpNxqeQNHhONmgnFXJZiZq0OpW6QYiN3uxcZoV-TFfen8lmZ7NXJp8oJw/s320/FangoPanelMel1.JPG" border="0" /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Me saying something stoically brilliant. Or probably just cursing a lot. </span></div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082500381547298546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFSccH3mFoY1mJ-XdzeTwxPlxTXhE8A_2AL0CsSxHBIJsIgfA-ZesnMvpo77hbeeTBrMPbgEOMT4PX6vzMsybMAPmvKX8Q1aburlhzyO-Z_TutcUwaSlADIWC-7yGMUnFjlcThQ/s320/AutographGroup1.JPG" border="0" /><br />They sent us to the back to do autographs. Autographs?!? </div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082500557640957698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtvKq5QteBAOMn0AANemVVYxAaFpiWR61r5LEJuysxvM0MrcPtQUu_OL1S9tkRmhGv6Z0NHto6Qr2_ASmc9gaS99CFocx2mra2qFWSUNqUwgWoJ9sN4HQfvKrPm7YiCEF2wBjrA/s320/MelMarcusSign1.JPG" border="0" /><br />Marcus and I signing away. People actually were into it. Weird. <div><br />So yeah, the panel was awesome. Lots and lots and LOTS of people approached me over the weekend and complimented me on the movie, the trailer, and the stuff I said during the panel (even the cursing). Several of them were like "bro, I can tell you are going to do great things in horror just by seeing that trailer." I even had other filmmakers at the con mention the fact that there was huge buzz about Closet Space going around in the horror community. Of course, that's one of the most awesome things a burgeoning horror filmmaker can hear, so I thank them all and hopefully I won't let you down. </div><div><br />Friday night I got to hang with the extended 100 Tears/Barricade/Alan Rowe Kelly family and some Fangoria folks which was really nice. We all had a lot of fun eating steak and talking shit. I wish we could do that every weekend.<br />Saturday was more of the same - Melanie and Jason Stewart showed up, as well as Jason "The Unquiet Void" Wallach (whom we had never met up until then). He fit right in to the dysfunctional family, and we had a blast, busy though it was. Jason Stewart also sat in on a </span><a href="http://myspace.com/fearmakersmovie" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Fearmakers</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> panel with Joe Davison, Debbie Rochon, and Manoush, which was pretty cool. Of course, he managed to plug Closet Space as well. </span></div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><div><br />I also had a chance to talk a lot with David Stagnari and Chris Garetano from </span><a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0460823/" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Horror Business</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">, which was really really cool. David was someone who I really responded to upon seeing Horror Business, and Chris is equally cool to talk with. I look forward to whatever both of these guys have up their sleeves. </span></div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><div><br />The most surreal moment had to be when Harry "ki ki ma ma" Manfredini came up to me and complimented me on Closet Space, and my panel appearances at Fango and Texas Frightmare Weekend. I mean, this guy FUCKING SCORED FRIDAY THE 13TH for Christ's sakes. I'm still kind of wigged out by that one. </div><div><br />Dinner again with the gang on Saturday night, then back to the hotel for the drunken debauchery/starfucking/empty conversation with your too-drunk friends that takes place every Saturday night at every one of these shows. This is where I check out, pretty much, 'cause it ain't my thing. I even tend to avoid the VIP parties because they seem like kind of a joke to me for all those reasons I just mentioned. Plus, I'm usually tired from actually, you know...WORKING during the day at these shows. It's draining. Even when we did go into the VIP party, I ended up talking to David Stagnari for most of the evening...which is what I was doing in the lobby BEFORE I went into the party. Melanie and I actually ended up hanging out with Michael Gingold for a while and just bullshitting, which was great. Jason and I did the same on Friday night with Mike, and I look forward to more horror bullshit sessions in the future with him. He's a really cool guy, and not just because he's the managing editor of Fangoria. </div><div><br />So, Sunday comes, I make the drive through the Lincoln and Midtown tunnels to take Melanie to LaGuardia, come back to the con for a bit to see the exclusive footage for The Third Mother (not that impressed, sorry, although Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni is an awesome person), and then say my goodbyes and pack up and leave. And here I am now, burned out but satisfied. I'm glad this is the last show for a while, because part of this whole convention thing really wears me down. And it ain't cheap, either. </div><div><br />Now I just have to start pre-production for Jonah's video shoot, which we start on the 18th or so. No rest for the wicked.</span></div></div>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-86352237487687093202007-06-06T21:43:00.000-07:002007-06-06T21:47:15.023-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Don't mistake my silence for inactvity. Strap in, 'cause here we go. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br />FIRST - if you go out and scoop up the new issue of </span><a href="http://www.envymags.com/homepage.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">ENVY Magazine</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> tomorrow (either the Houston or the Dallas version - it has Amaury Nolasco on the cover), you'll notice a TEXAS HORROR blurb on the cover.</span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br />Open it up to page 48 (in the Houston one, at least) and you'll see my bloody, axe-wielding mug staring back at you. They gave me an entire page to talk about CLOSET SPACE, horror, and indie filmmaking. Check it out if you can.<br />For those that can't grab one, I'll be scanning in the article tomorrow. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br />Also look for the extra special bonus - a photo of CLOSET SPACE star Melanie Donihoo pops up in the Shooting Range feature on page 68.<br /><br />Extra extra special bonus - Melanie and I got married at the Aurora Picture Show...which is featured on page 46.<br />So go out and grab one if you can. Support ENVY's continuing support of local filmmakers and musicians.<br /><br />NEXT - I did a cross-channel cable ad to help promote the CLOSET SPACE screening. It should start airing in the greater Houston area in a couple of weeks. Here it is:<br /></span><br /><a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2034592487">Closet Space Premiere :30 TV Spot</a><br /><embed src="http://lads.myspace.com/videos/vplayer.swf" width="430" height="346" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="m=2034592487&type=video"></embed><br /><a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.addToProfileConfirm&videoid=2034592487&title=Closet">Add to My Profile</a> <a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.home">More Videos</a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">It was pretty hard to condense the CLOSET SPACE experience into 20 seconds (I left the final 10 for the didactic voiceover and info screen). The task was made easier due to the fact that I couldn't really show anything too talky, graphic, or suggestive, so I ended up going with a lot of shots that I hadn't really used for trailers up to this point. Hopefully that will get some other folks interested in seeing the flick. </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br />THIRD - speaking of seeing the flick, most of the first wave of screeners went out earlier this week. Soon I will discover whether or not I should have stayed in Aerospace Engineering. At any rate, the CLOSET SPACE gang will be at </span><a href="http://www.texasfrightmareweekend.com/" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Texas Frightmare Weekend</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> and the </span><a href="http://fangoria.com/special_events.php" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">New Jersey Fangoria</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> later this month. Stop by and say hello - we'll have posters and t-shirts to pawn off on you as well. </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br />FOURTH - I think I'm joining another band. More info on that as it develops, but signs point to yes.</span>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-23592177808535630742007-05-25T09:59:00.000-07:002007-05-25T10:01:44.653-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Mark your calendars... </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.closetspacemovie.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">CLOSET SPACE </span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">will be making it's Houston premiere on Thursday, August 23 at the </span><a href="http://www.studiomoviegrill.com/houston.html"><a href="http://www.studiomoviegrill.com/houston.html"><a href="http://www.studiomoviegrill.com/houston.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Studio Movie Grill.</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></a></a><br />Show starts at 9:00 PM.<br /><br />Admission is FREE!<br /><br />Come out and enjoy the tentacles. The movie is UNRATED at this point, so there's gore and disturbing material aplenty. Don't bring the kids.<br /><br />Studio Movie Grill<br />8580 Hwy. 6 North (Hwy 6 and West Rd.)<br />Houston, TX 77095<br /><br />I'm still submitting to genre festivals, and should start hearing back from most of them by mid-June. Hopefully we'll be able to do a CLOSET SPACE horror fest run in the fall. That would be pretty sweet.<br /><br />Right now I'm working on the surround mix of the movie, and planning for the Texas Frightmare Weekend show as well as the New Jersy Fangoria (which we'll probably be driving to again...shudder). At least there's nothing going on in July - so far, that is. Sometime during that month I might fly out to SoCal again to work with Jason on Closet Space 2 and 3...and maybe a musical (!). No, it's not a musical set in the Closet Space universe - although that's an idea. Dancing tentacles. </span><br /></span>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-87351464636335642352007-05-20T23:46:00.001-07:002007-05-20T23:46:29.698-07:00<p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Just got back home a few minutes ago from another whirlwind convention adventure. We saw a lot of old friends and made some new ones (as is usually the case with these things), and generated more heat for the movie. Highlights include hanging out with the <a href="http://moomoochclothing.com/" target="_self">Moomooch Clothing</a> guys, the <em>Quick and the Undead/Flesh Keeper </em>gang, and meeting Molly and Wil from <a href="http://www.horroryearbook.com/" target="_self">Horror Yearbook</a> in person. I actually gave Molly and Wil a couple of actual props from (gasp) <em>Witchcraft 13</em> as thanks for the awesome interview they did with me. And <strong>they</strong> both got the pleasure of meeting Tim "Will Spanner" Wrobel in the flesh, along with James LaMarr and Melanie, who were also at our table. It was fun hanging out with everyone, and I look forward to Texas Frightmare, NJ Fango, and SiliCon in the fall.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">We actually made a TON of business contacts this time around, and I look forward to following up on those. People are really itching to see the movie, which is good. I watched the current cut with Jason and James, and they both seemed to like it. I, of course, noticed some things that need tweaking, so I'll be taking the 3-day weekend to do the work on that stuff.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">We got our official <em>Closet Space</em> posters and t-shirts in just in time for the convention, so if you want a piece of the action, let me know. T-shirts (S, M, L, XL, 2XL) are $15 and posters (23" x 36") are $10. You all know what the posters look like, but you can check out the shirt design below:</span></p><br /><p><img src="http://www.closetspacemovie.com/images/T-SHIRT.gif" /></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Thanks go out to the Moomooch guys for kicking ass with the shirts. Email now before they run out (we got rid of a lot at the convention).</span></p>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14074430.post-22966264594314766022007-05-15T21:13:00.000-07:002007-05-15T21:14:54.774-07:00<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">I've been away for far too long. Mainly finishing up CLOSET SPACE, so at least it's for a good cause. There are a couple of new interviews up with me. I talk about everything from my racial background to that f*%king witch movie to NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 5 to the Muppet Show to CLOSET SPACE (of course).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">The first one is over at </span><a href="http://racksandrazors.com/melhouse.html" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Racks and Razors.</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> Thanks to Brad for doing it (and also doing the interviews with James LaMarr and Melanie Donihoo that you will also find on the site). We bonded over our love for alternative country.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">The next one is over at </span><a href="http://www.horroryearbook.com/2007/05/15/mel-house-our-best-interview-ever/" target="_self"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">HorrorYearbook.com.</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> They actually call it their "best interview ever". I'll let you be the judge of that, Constant Reader, but it sure was a hell of a lot of fun. And Melanie even makes a cameo appearance.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">And for anyone attending the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors in Burbank this weekend, look for the CLOSET SPACE table. We should have actors signing pictures, posters, and t-shirts. Stop by and say hello.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">In movie news, Jason Wallach aka The Unquiet Void got his copy of the final picture locked cut today. He says that it's much darker than the previous cut he saw, and now he's got new twisted plans for the soundtrack. Mission accomplished. Once I get to Cali, I think Jason Stewart, James LaMarr, and I are going to check out the current version of the movie. I watched it with Melanie on Saturday night, and she was freaked out...even though she's in the damn movie. I guess that's a good thing.</span>upstartfilmworkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15870172235115790296noreply@blogger.com1