Several Irons in Fire

We are a busy little group of movie elves right now, lemme tell you. Finishing this, starting that, tweaking the other thing. And doing it all with class! That's us in a nutshell. What are we up to, you ask? Well...

1. We are finishing color correction and audio mixing of our first feature, EDENWOOD. Man, that stuff can take way longer than you think...

2. Likewise, finishing the same for the first episode of DARKIVES

3. We've begun shooting the first of three collaborative shorts with local comedy troupe Monkey Rampant, as part of a series called MONKEYSHORTS (and start shooting number two on Sunday)

4. Tomorrow, we meet with some talented actor folk to begin our first all-improv short movie. That should be quite a trip. Hopefully, it will be fun and coherent! It's an odd feeling going into something with no preconceived ideas...

5. On the weekend of July 24-26, we are competing in the Detroit 48 Hour Film Project, as mentioned on an earlier posting. Right now we're getting a good team together and watching as many winning entries from past years as we can find, to get ready. Gulp!

6. We are creeping closer to finishing Joe Sacksteder's MALIGNANT, which is starting to gel quite a bit. We're gonna shoot a little more for it in the next few weeks, if all goes well...

7. Paul Walther turned in the final draft of the script for "Mishipishu", the middle chapter of our three part anthology movie BOUQUET OF SHADOWS. Woo Hoo! Paul is now busy cooking up yet another hunk of the anthology, which will be our answer to the M.R. James genre of ghost fiction. Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!

8. Speaking of the anthology, we entered BOUQUET OF SHADOWS in the first ever Ultimate Filmmaker Competition, put on by the awesome fledgling Filmmakers Alliance. Keep your fingers crossed for us, as the prize is a sizable budget and production help for making the movie.

All this and day jobs, too!

(Sorry this was kind of a boring entry, but it's quite late and my brain is quickly macerating itself into a fine paste. I promise more fun stuff to view very soon...)

Thanks!

Bri

Oh, Those Crazy Canadians!

Lately, it seems, I have been having an epiphany about Canada. Turns out that those wacky extreme-northerners might just be the ones who end up saving the world of movies and movie fandom. Who would have guessed that? (Just kidding-- I'm sure Nostradamus predicted it long ago...).

Seems like every time I check out a movie website or magazine that kicks some bootangus, it turns out to be CANADIAN! What ones, you ask? Well, how's about www.joblo.com and Rue Morgue Magazine, smart aleck? Canadian! Okay, I realize that's only two examples but sometimes hyperbole is the new subtle. Got it?!

In any case, what's really got me excited about Canada right now is a Halifaxian (Halifaxiganderian?) filmmaker name of Jay Dahl, the erstwhile owner of Black Dog Films, which is a small company that makes seriously kick-ass and diverse stuff, from comedy to horror. The movie that's currently freaking me out about how good it is is their short horror piece called There Are Monsters. It's got everything I love about creepy stuff-- tons of atmosphere and smart direction, coupled with great performances and an ambiguous menace. The Zettelmaier Brothers and I all agree that the less stuff is explained, the more creepy it is. If you agree with that statement, you should enjoy this movie. (Thanks, June, for bringing this to my attention).

Here you go:

SUPER Creepy Short Film!

Hello again. My sister, June, recently sent me a link to one of the most impressive student short horror movies I've ever seen: SMILE, directed by Yuval Markovich and Noam Abta and produced at Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design in Jerusalem. I've since watched it about a dozen times. The technique they use is shockingly original, and also seamlessly done. The tension level on this sucker is most impressive.




Enjoy!

In the Mood for Weird and Fun

Eccentrics rule. Seriously. Where would we be without them? Sitting in the corner whimpering about the state of the economy and all that awful racket the kids these days listen to, I imagine. Instead, we get to watch hijinx of the highest order, from some koo-koo-ka-razy eccentrics. Lucky us!

Up first today, is an awesome compilation of the more uproariously "terrible" scens from Neil LaBute's remake of The Wicker Man, starring that most delightful of eccentrics, Nicholas Cage. If you haven't seen this before, I GUARANTEE you will not believe these choice tidbits are from a "major motion picture" by a big studio. Just plain awesome! (Thank you to the upstanding citizen who put this together for YouTube. May your days be filled with goodness.)




Next, I want to point you to a project that is eccentric as all get out, but appears to have been done on purpose-- not sure the same can be said of that Wicker Man thing. Warning: once you watch this trailer for Stingray Sam it is possible your life will devolve into a an endless period of longing to see the whole dang thing.

Who knew a cowboy/space opera/musical could look so tasty!




Lastly, there is a movie a-comin' down the line called After Last Season. Heads nor tails can be made of it. That seems to be part of its charm. Why is the trailer so compelling? I don't know. Why do squid have beaks? Why do elf owls control our destinies? Who is Ralph Emery? And why? Man, I can't wait to see this whole movie!




Oh sure, there's always gonna be a place for Joe and Jenny Squaresville director and their totally normal "dramas" and such, but let's all raise a glass of imaginary astronaut beverage to the nutballs who put on gorilla costumes and dance like drunken uncles in our dreams...

Sometimes...

...you just have to drop everything and marvel at the simple beauty of creativity in action.