The Stunod Scoop - by Stunod Pictures' Jason Prugar

Blackout Day

2012-01-18T06:21:00.001-05:00

New Year, New Resolutions

2012-01-11T21:19:00.000-05:00

I've put off this post for a while, not because I didn't want to write about it, but because I wanted to give it serious thought.

A lot's happened in the past year, mostly personal, that's changed things, to the point where I have to really plan my time for filmmaking. That goes into my resolutions because while I want to challenge myself, things are different now and I want to make sure they are challenging but doable.

Here's what I resolved to do last year. How did that work out?

Only two films got done: my son's AVP Lego homage and Old Scratch. I was able to write something every day, even if it was a sentence or a note to someone. I always wrote something. I've continued that to this day. I have polished one of my features that has gone through my writer's group. I've polished two more but I want to wait until they've had a chance to rip through it before I send it out. LAFF 3 was a success, culminating in Oscar winner God of Love playing.

So what will I do in 2012?

1) Get through production of 2 films
2) Send out 2 scripts to agents
3) Write daily
4) Make LAFF 4 a success
5) Network more

I am about to start working on my friend Ashley's film On The Move. I have a plan to do a small film after that, so this is attainable.

I think all of them can be done, but they are still a challenge. This may seem like little stuff, but given the past year, these will be a challenge, but I am up to it.

Feel free to share yours in the comments below?

Research

2012-01-04T22:19:00.000-05:00

I took vacation last week, as I do every year around Christmas. One of the things I did was start watching the over 40 hours of special features on my Star Wars Blu Ray Box Set(!!!).*

One of the documentaries on the special features disc has George Lucas as he preps writing The Phantom Menace. He discusses that he likes the solitude and he enjoys the research that he does, which is one of his favorite things.

I, too do some research as I write. I doubt I spend as much time on it as others, simply because I find it can wreck the screenwriting process. I can get too caught up in the research that I neglect the writing. I typically write a draft, get feedback and then go back and do more research to fill in gaps I may be missing.

To Lucas’s point, I am finding the research to be enjoyable. I am getting info on a variety of topics, many of which are interesting to me. Right now I am doing research on the Victorian Era and specifically life in London. I find it fascinating, especially the social practices of the times (can’t understand why they allowed and encouraged marriage to their first cousins.)

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to do more research on prostitution in 1800s London.

* - Yes I am a filmmaker and yes I know Blu Ray is the closest thing to the cinema experience one will get outside of a theater. I should’ve upgraded right away. But George Lucas is, IMO, on the cutting edge of filmmaking technology (ILM anyone?). Therefore, I decided I won’t upgrade to Blu Ray until he did. Now, all we need in Indy on Blu Ray…

Black List 2011

2011-12-27T21:04:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and you're not consuming too many sweets.

Not long ago, Hollywood released the 2011 edition of the Black List. For those unfamiliar, it's a poll of executives on the most popular unproduced scripts of the year. I usually get a copy of some of them. It's a good read for a screenwriter to learn the writing that's making waves in Tinseltown.

On this year's list one of them caught my eye. It's titled Bethlehem, written by Larry Brenner. It caught my eye as I thought maybe it's about my town.

Then I read the logline (attached with every title on the Black List): A group of people struggling to survive a zombie apocalypse make an alliance with a vampire, trading themselves as food in exchange for protection since zombies don’t eat vampires.

My head immediately hit my desk, as it is a similar premise to my Undead: Vampires vs. Zombies. I later read somewhere that the vampire is apparently benevolent and nice, so it could be different.

I got discouraged until I recalled the 2008 Black List, which had two films about British Knights fighting a powerful force. I also recalled Deep Impact and Armageddon. If anything I became more enocuraged and willing to work at the craft of writing. At the very least I will work to make it as good as can be.

It's amazing the motivation that's out there for you.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED...

2011-12-11T20:19:00.002-05:00

I wrote it down in my notebook, hoping that (as with many of my ideas) they leave my head once committed to paper.

It didn’t.

Now I am a firm believer in writing what you want to write, what you have a passion for. That’s the only way you’re going to be successful at writing. So I hashed a story. I wanted to write this film, my mind wanted it to get out. I took it as an exercise in writing what’s in your heart. The detective story was there and would continue to be there.

But a funny thing happened.

As I mentioned in my last post, I started writing a Tron fan film.

Now I immediately tried to dispel any notion of making a Tron short. For one, while I have (a modicum of) talent, the creative drive to make films and passion, I lack in time and the tech to make it. So I tried to make it go away.

It didn’t.

I wrote it down in my notebook, hoping that (as with many of my ideas) they leave my head once committed to paper.

It didn’t.

Now I am a firm believer in writing what you want to write, what you have a passion for. That’s the only way you’re going to be successful at writing. So I hashed a story. I wanted to write this film, my mind wanted it to get out. I took it as an exercise in writing what’s in your heart. The detective story was there and would continue to be there.

During my daily internet search routine, I checked out the Geeks of Doom site. They had a video and a link to Revolights. They were lights that were placed on your bicycle wheels and gave it the impression of a Tron lightcycle.

I also saw two Tron fan films on YouTube. One made very well on a $5,000 budget and one made on tools I currently own. Wasn’t as high quality as the first one, but it was pretty good.

I found a way to make it. So I got to writing.

It’s amazing how these things all come together. Maybe I am supposed to make this film. Maybe this isn’t a random idea. Perhaps, as CLU said in Tron Legacy: “it’s my destiny”.

WTF??!!

2011-12-10T10:13:00.002-05:00

I follow a routine of sorts early in the morning before I begin work. Scouring the internet is part of said routine.. I follow a pretty standard schedule of sites, one of which being Lehighvalleylive.com, which is the website for the Express-Times newspaper (why they don’t call is expresstimes.com is beyond me).

I discovered on there that there’s something called the Greater Lehigh Valley Filmmaker Festival. I immediately got excited and read the story. The festival would be playing in the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas theater. This was part of a new entertainment complex in conjunction with the Sands casino. They have music, comedy and the theater which is similar to the Alamo Drafthouse.

I looked for submission info. A film festival in my backyard, a mere mile from my residence? Sign me up! I searched further and it turns out the festival was LAST month in November. This was the first I heard of such an event, which celebrated local Lehigh Valley Talent.

How could you not promote or advertise this? The only thing I saw was an entry form on Lafayette College’s Film and Media studies website. It didn’t say this was a student event, only that it had an award for best film by a student under the age of 20.

It befuddles me how this event wasn’t more publicized. The cinema, less than a mile from my home is something I would jump at the chance to watch. Also, it would allow me to network with other filmmakers to collaborate on future projects.

Alas, no mention or advertising for this festival led me to miss it. I am sure I wasn’t the only one who missed out on this. I would think such a prestigious institution like Lafayette could advertise better (that’s not an insult, it is a great school). Especially for locals. I wrote to the two program chairs to let them know about this and if they did advertise, where they did it. I don’t expect to hear back; we know how academics are.

This saddens me because it seems, along with the South Side Film Festival, that they aren’t terribly willing to have local filmmakers help that are eager, and more importantly, close by. I hope both of them change that soon.

It's Personal

2011-12-01T21:19:00.001-05:00

I took a celebratory swig of rum and coke the other night as I finished the first draft of my fourth feature-length screenplay. Unlike other writers, I was not completely exhausted, ready to fall out of my chair (it’s not hoops after all), but I was happy to finish it.

Now that I’m finished, what do I plan to do? Write another script of course! I’ve started doing this as it gives me time away from what I just did so when I come back I have a fresh perspective. I’ve been jotting down ideas in my notebook for a detective TV show that’s pairs two PIs, one new school and one old school. My Moleskine is about 10% this show.

But wait, there’s more.

Ever since my birthday, when I got Tron on DVD, I’ve been on a Tron kick. Sure a lot of that has to do with the sexy Olivia Wilde’s Quorra (and that outfit), but I like the story as well. And visually Tron Legacy was stunning as hell and of course the original was a work or art not to mention groundbreaking.

So as I sat down yesterday to write character sketches for the detective show, something happens.

I am flooded with ideas for a Tron short film. It doesn’t help I watched 2 really good Tron short films the past few days. So I wrote them all down and the spine of a story presented itself.

The point of all this is not to bemoan the ideas I have; you can never fault inspiration as you never know when it hits. But I think you have to, if you’re going to make art of any kind, is to make what you want. Will I ever make a Tron fan film? Probably not. But I want to write this film. It’s personal and for me. If you’re not doing that, then you’re not doing it for the right reasons. Sure the feature may take me places, but once in a while I have to write what I want to write. This is it.

On The Move is Moving

2011-10-23T19:13:00.003-04:00

The seasons have changed, the leaves are starting to and On The Move has changed too.

Ashley and I have secured her school, Northampton Area Community College, as a primary filming location. The bulk of the film will be shot there.

My friend and frequent collaborator Bryan Schaefer will be joining as well. He will serve as Director of Photography. His expertise and experience will be invaluable to the production.

We set up a schedule for the film, with the weekend following Thanksgiving being the bulk of the shoot dates. Three consecutive filming days will give the film a great continuity. I am also hoping for a better consistency in the performances.

As with all of my films, there are further setbacks. Two of the actors backed out, one due to scheduling conflicts and the other due to taking an exaggeration personally. We are recasting these roles.

I am eager to get behind the camera again, especially with the diverse cast. The sooner the better. I can't wait to tackle this unique project.

On a side note, if you're a steampunk or Three Musketeers fan, check out the film. Not the best film of the year, nor is it the best adaptation of the Dumas classic. But it's a good time, unique and fun.

You Must Choose...Wisely

2011-09-11T14:11:00.002-04:00

Not sure that title applies, but it's awesome and from one of my fave flicks, so I put it down.

As I take a small break from football, I opened my little notebook and jotted down some more new ideas. I've been going nuts with ideas. I'm on my second Moleskine® notebook in 5 months (already 200 pages worth of ideas!). I get very excited about writing new projects and stories, but lately I am finding myself not as enthused when it comes to directing.

Don't get me wrong, I love making movies and the process of shooting intrigues me and makes it fun. But the tedium of organizing the shoot, getting it ready, casting (from the sense of going through hundreds of headshots), locations, tires me out. I know it's because I don't have a big enough crew to do that, and someday I will. But right now it's busy work that slows me down.

I got to thinking one day it's better to be a writer. You do the whole thing yourself, on your time and when you're done, it's done. Whereas once you're done shooting there's still the editing process. I thought for a moment it'd be better to just be a writer.

Then I realized that was silly. I LOVE directing, and given my personal situation, it may be harder to do it, but I still want to do it. But for a while there, I felt like I had to choose wisely.

These moments of doubt are good, they make you question what you're doing and force you to have an objective perspective. And by doing so, you can make sure your decision is a wise one. I think I've made it.

NFL Predictions

2011-09-07T22:49:00.000-04:00

Don't worry, there's a lot going on in the world of Stunod Pictures. On The Move is about to pick up and go behind the cameras soon. But I wanted to take this opportunity to share another passion: NFL football.

The NFL is back tomorrow night and I've made my picks. Some of them may seem out there, but I will leave you with this:

In the past 4 years or so, there are 6 new teams that make the playoffs after failing to the year before. SIX! That influences my picks for this year, which are below:

SUPER 8 and the SUPER ENDING

2011-07-10T23:24:00.000-04:00

Wow, has a lot gone on since my last post. Still not ready to talk about it, save for saying it deals with personal life upheaval.

During the time, however, I have not stopped working on my passion of film and filmmaking. Ashley and I are hard at work on our next film, On The Move. We finalized the script over the weekend and we start rehearsals this week. She is choreographing the fight sequences with the actors she procured for the first fight sequence. This weekend I will see the fruits of that labor.

I am also amassing crew for the picture and beginning to look at actors for various leading roles. I plan on having them audition very soon.

Thanks to my friend Jim, I met another filmmaker this past weekend. His neighbor Ken is a filmmaker for the United Nations. He recently won an award from the NY Independent Film Festival for a doc on the Khmer Rogue. He’s got a lot of awesome filmmaking equipment in his basement. It’s a good contact to have and we talked a bit. It was nice to meet someone like that who lives in my backyard.

I also had the opportunity to see Super 8. As a fan of both JJ Abrams and Steven Spielberg, I was pumped to see this film ever since the first trailer came out. When I learned it dealt with aliens and was an homage to classics like E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it became required viewing.

I won’t regurgitate the plot, as it’s been revealed everywhere, but it was a very good movie and well-made. The fact that this movie is carried by kids for the first half of the film is remarkable. They do a great job and are very believable in their roles. And the emotion and humanity that comes across on screen is poignant and brilliant because it comes from 12-year-olds.

Before I get to the best part, I have one big issue of the film and that’s **POSSIBLE SPOILER** the look of the alien. JJ Abrams has made three films with ginormous aliens. THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME! I’m all for some kind of continuity (Slusho is Star Trek was sweet) but my God, change up the alien! This film’s alien looked like it could be a cousin of the Cloverfield monster. You have digital tools and volumes of alien reference. Come up with something new!

That was small potatoes in comparison to the film, which had a remarkable ending. The last 5 minutes were brilliant. The juxtaposition of visuals, music and emotion are just breathtaking. I was really moved by the end score by Michael Giacchino, who’s fast becoming 1A in my list of favorite composers. He may not have the sheer number of memorable themes like John Williams (still tops IMO) but the emotional impact of his work can’t be understated. His piece, titled “Letting Go” ends the film as well as the arc of the main character, Joe Lamb. And the way the film ends, right up to the fade out, was a pure stroke of genius.

This is the type of film that strengthens my passion as a filmmaker and increases my resolve to make the best films that I can.

Super 8 won’t go down as the greatest of all-time, and probably will be forgotten during awards season, but it succeeds wildly at what it was trying to do and combines action and emotion like few films do nowadays. The film should be seen by everyone. I hope everyone get a chance to see it. You won’t regret it.

Moving On to On The Move

2011-06-22T23:27:00.000-04:00

It has been a long while since I’ve posted. That’s not due to a lack of activity, far from it. Certain events outside of the realm of filmmaking have required my undivided attention, so I’ve been dealing with that. It’s not something I am ready to discuss at this time.

Old Scratch’s final cut is about done. This version will be the one that goes out to festivals from now on. I am organizing a list of festival to enter. Right now, I’ve had to disqualify some for time and/or funding. That is an issue for entry fees. I plan on asking for reduced fees or free ones, as well as discussing options with my fellow producer.

In the meantime I’ve begun pre-production on my next film, On The Move. This will be the first film I direct that doesn’t come from my own script. Now, you may be asking “What about Brogue and The Fight to Survive?”. I had a hand in the creation and formation of those films from the idea stage. They were the result of joking banter between myself and a co-worker.

This film comes from the mind of Ashley Anh Bo, a family friend and my wife’s former karate student. She’s had this idea floating in her mind for a long time and came to me with a prose form of a story. We took time to develop it into script form and five drafts later we’re ready to go.

This project is my first foray into action movies. It’s not going to be Die Hard- like action, as there are only a couple of action sequences in the film. I wanted to start small and keep the recording of the action manageable.

This past week we got some exciting news. We posted our casting call through Mandy.com. We got many responses, some great, others not so much (why is a 21-year old white actor answering a call for a 20-year-old Asian male??). One of the responses came from Doua Moua, who was in Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino.

Ashley and I were overjoyed at this news. It could turn out to be a boon for us. I will probably have him audition, just to cover all of my bases, but Ashley likes him because, as an Asian, she feels he could be believable as her brother (we’re striving for authenticity in this regard. That’s why Ashley will have say in the casting process).

I am working on a website for the film, but in the meantime, I will post updates here on the Stunod Scoop. So stay tuned!

4 years later and...

2011-04-17T21:57:00.002-04:00

4 years ago I wrote a blog on myspace (does anyone use that anymore? Really?) about Owen Gleiberman and how he tries to turn film criticism into a literary exercise. I've been reading his reviews lately. There are short blurbs, a paragraph long and there are reviews lasting a page.

I've gotta say that his short reviews have morphed into what reviews should be: do you like the film and why or why not. If something sticks out, he tells us.

His long reviews, still haven't changed. Take a look at his review for Arthur. It has gotten better but he still tries to use words no one's used in a century at least.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all four increasing one's vocabulary, but is a film review the place for it? I don't think so.

For your reading pleasure, my blog post from 2007 about movie reviews and Owen Gleiberman:

As a big time fan of movies, I often read critic's thoughts on films. Being a filmmaker myself, I will see a variety of films and genres, but sometimes if I am on the fence about a flick, or haven't heard much about it, I will check in to see what the critics have to say. This will often decide if I see it in theaters or add it to my Netflix queue.

Reading these criticisms, I feel compelled to ask why the hell do they think they are major contributors to world literature? Let me give you an example. This review comes to us straight from Joe Morgenstern of The Wall St. Journal: "The screenplay is simply sensational. Feelings flow like molten lava. The dialogue overflows with edgy wit and acidulous arias of imprecation." WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT???!!! I'm sorry; I don't want to tote a dictionary around with me when I read a movie review in the paper. Are you seriously that pompous? Do you feel bad that you are stuck writing movies reviews at a paper as serious as the Wall St. Journal and need to use big words to feel like you fit in? Or is that a requirement perhaps? I honestly doubt that Mr. Morgenstern uses any of the words in bold above on a daily basis (which means a sharp melody of cursing, by the way).

The other big culprit of this is Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly. He's even worse than Mr. Morgenstern. Peter Travers only gets that way when he really hates a movie. His word choices make him out to be bigger than any of those movies. Roger Ebert does that once in a while, but it's usually when he's reminiscing of a similar movie to the one he's reviewing but he gets into the review after that. If his newspaper writing was the same as his TV show reviewing, I think he'd be much better off. The only critic who is like them who I respect (besides Ebert) is Chris Gore. He put his money where his mouth was and made a film. A couple of films, actually. So I can't say anything bad about him.

You people need to realize one thing: YOU ARE MOVIE CRITICS, NOT AUTHORS OR PROPOGATORS OF THE DICTIONARY. WE DON'T WANT TO CARRY WEBSTER'S AROUND WHEN WE READ YOUR REVIEWS. You should take some time to read the reviews at Joblo.com, whom I consider the best online critic and second only to Roger Ebert in terms of reviews. Joblo (aka Berge Garabedian) simply gives us some background on the film, tell us what they like and/or don't like and give a rating from 1 to 10. So easy, and yet so effective. Is that so hard to do? We just want to know whether or not we should see a movie. We don't want to hear words that weren't used after 1783. Do that, Misters Morgenstern, Gleiberman and (occasionally) Travers, and maybe you won't be considered a supercilious parcel of incongruity.

LAFF, Take 3

2011-04-11T21:05:00.010-04:00

As I’ve been promoting for what seems like months, LAFF finally went down this past Saturday. We had good vibes going in. Our lineup was strong, buoyed by an Oscar winner, and being our second year, we knew the setup of Penn Cinemas and how to work the projection equipment.

The day was overcast with some rain expected, which is always great for movies in the theater. We met up with Bryan shortly before 11 and Penn (theater owner) greeted us as we entered. There was a slight change in venues. Theater 10, where we showed films last year, was being used for a live link-in to the Met in NYC for the opera Le Comte. The films scheduled for that theater were moved to Theater 5.

As Penn led us to the tables, we were surprised to see this:

Penn rolled out a red carpet for us!! We took a couple of pictures with my family on the red carpet.

My wife and father-in-law on the red carpet.

My parents and daughter on the red carpet.

We had a good turnout. We’re still awaiting final numbers, but at one point both theaters (seating at least 100 people) were ¾ full.

Our sign led people to the theater.

God of Love, as expected, was a hit. That theater was standing room only during the screening. I was told Old Scratch got a great reaction. I kind of left after it was over. I got a nice surprise, seeing the movie with my college roommates, Chris Deatline and Jim Stritch. Jim lives about a mile from the theater and had to work, but was able to attend.

HxV, my son’s entry, was also well-received. He opened the fest and got laughs and a nice ovation. Brian even recognized him during the intro by putting his picture on the big screen. It’s sad he couldn’t see it, as he wasn’t there.

In addition to making films and playing sports, my son also plays cello. He was selected for a six-county concert, which was also held April 9. His concert was at 3. We were able to accommodate this by having him open the festival. His mom didn’t tell me that this concert was an all-day thing. He spent the morning learning the songs and then rehearsing. He got to see it on YouTube and was happy to have it turn out like it did.

I got to meet Martin Binder, director of Quick Shop, who lives in nearby Macungie. I also met Lauren Conoscenti, of Lititz, who directed Return to Red Jade. She works in post-production in NYC.

Lauren, with hat, and Martin, back left, pose with LAFF crew.

The LAFF-ter party was at Bryan’s again and we had a good time. Jon, who played Ned in Old Scratch, and Catherine Giarruso, of Massachusetts, who screened Cleaning House, attended.

All in all, the festival was a success. And we’ll be back next year, as Bryan told us Penn was talking to him about next year before we even got started.

In Old Scratch news, we’re going to tweak it some more in the next couple of weeks. I am already working on a festival strategy as far as submissions. I plan on submitting to as many local fests as I can and also some IMDB-eligible ones. And look for Old Scratch online at the end of the month.

As always, check out stunodpictures.com for a release schedule and festival information.

Really?

2011-04-06T22:47:00.001-04:00

Since I started filmmaking, I’ve gone in full-bore, non-stop. I don’t want to half-ass it and I try to do the best I can with what I have.

With regards to writing, when I get the genesis of an idea, I cultivate it immediately. In certain circles, it’s recommended you let the idea similar a while before fleshing it out. Not me. I dive in, starting with research. If I hit a wall in fleshing it out, then I let it simmer. If I hit the wall two more times after that, then I abandon it.

I almost did this with my current spec script. It’s an episode of the smash Canadian hit Republic of Doyle. I caught this show last summer on vacation in Canada and I was hooked. I watched the rest of Season One online (and I watched all of Season Two online as well). It’s about a father-son detective team, in the vein of Columbo, Rockford Files and Magnum, PI. I liken the dad in the show to Higgins. It takes place (and produced) in St. John’s Newfoundland. While some of the humor is over my head (I’m not Canadian, after all), it’s a show with a nice mix of comedy and drama.

So, anyway, I’m working on a spec for this show that could take place after episode 12 of season 2. Tonight they aired the season finale, episode 13. Like all good shows do, the season finale turned the lives of the characters upside down.

While that’s great for storytelling, it sucks for my spec. I’m not sure whether I should start from scratch with this new info, or continue on the course I’ve laid out, letting those I know who read it that I wrote it before the finale aired. I’ve posted this conundrum on the Artful Writer forums (a website run by Hollywood screenwriter Craig Mazin).

It figures. Once I work out the plot and start writing the actual script, everything changes.

Story of my life.

Just a reminder, you can catch the WORLD PREMIERE of Old Scratch and HvX at the 2011 Lancaster Area Film Festival this Saturday at Penn Cinemas in Lititz, PA.

Almost there...almost there...

2011-04-04T23:31:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday was the final re-shoot for Old Scratch. The opening scenes where the cousins recount the story of Tom Walker were lacking and we re-shot those. We chose the scenic views of Alvernia College’s (sorry, University. It was a college when I went there.) outdoor athletic complex. My alma mater had improved it greatly since my commencement in 2001. On a quick side note – where the heck was this stuff when I went there? They have major musical and comedy acts, and students actually stay the weekend!

Anyway, the scenes improved greatly, as did the audio. Bryan, my partner-in-crime has a sweet digital audio recorder that captures sound to an SD card. It’s a G device that he got for a C note. Dude finds good deals. The sound was excellent.

I am waiting for the almost final cut, which Bryan is tackling this week. In the meantime, I trimmed my son’s short down and am working on color correction and audio sweetening. I have Goldwave, which you can use for free, to work on the sound and fix it up. I hope to have that done tomorrow so I can post the DVD and get it ready for Saturday.

I am very excited to see how it turns out. My son is pumped for his film, which opens the Lancaster Area Film Festival. I told him some of the big films that have opened fests like Cannes (Revenge of the Sith and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for starters) and he got excited. A lot of family and friends are going to come and see both his film and his acting debut in my film.

After the fest, I am taking some down time. I’ve been working on this film three years. I will enter it into a plethora of festivals and I will start work on my friend Ashley’s short film idea, my first action gig (she’s in Old Scratch as the cousin telling the story of Tom Walker). But right away I’m gonna take a rest.

The schedule is posted at LAFF’s website and I’ve uploaded pictures of our sign at Penn Cinemas. And if for some reason you cannot make LAFF, check out our Twitter feed during the fest for info and pics.

Finishing Touches

2011-03-27T23:52:00.003-04:00

Last week I had to travel for my real job. I only do it once a year. Nice to get out and see parts of the country, and since I don’t do it as often as the other employees, it’s a nice respite from the day-to-day. I don’t get to pick the time I travel and I was apprehensive since LAFF is close and Old Scratch isn’t done yet. While I was gone, I turned my rough edit over to Bryan Schaefer, my LAFF partner-in-crime as well as good friend and collaborator.

As with many of my films, Old Scratch has sound issues. Part of that stems from limited resources but part of it also stems from my tone deafness. In certain scenes, such as the opening minutes of the movie, Bryan is able to discern camera humming as the actors talk. I’ve tried but I cannot hear anything like that. He generously agreed to correct any sound issues while I was away.

Not only that, but he, along with Mark Pennell, another LAFF partner, friend and collaborator, gave me suggestions for additional footage that would make the story clearer. I agreed with what they proposed, and was thrilled to hear that Bryan had already secured the actors for a re-shoot.

I viewed Bryan’s rough cut tonight and was pleasantly surprised with what I saw. The new footage was great and the sound has improved by leaps and bounds. Bryan had to swap out shots to improve the audio and many of them are okay. I do have some notes and there are changes I am going to make, but the film is better for what Bryan did. I think this is my best work to date.

As March nears an end, I am getting pumped for LAFF and Old Scratch’s world premiere, which is taking place in Theater 6 at Penn Cinemas during the 12pm block. I expect it to start around 12:35. Speaking of LAFF’s schedule, please excuse the shameless promotion as you can find the festival’s entire schedule here.

LAFF Announces Lineup

2011-03-15T21:46:00.000-04:00

Forgive me for a minute of shameless promotion here. I just wanted to share with you the latest news from LAFF. We have announced our 2011 lineup. You can see all of the films here.

My Three-Year Mission Is Almost Done

2011-03-13T23:37:00.000-04:00

I spent the day in Lancaster viewing the last batch of submissions for LAFF III. As expected, this batch was the longest yet. We viewed over 20 films and it took 7 hours to get through. I’m not surprised as many people wait until the last minute for editing and money reasons. It was grueling to say the least.

After the viewing session was over Bryan, Mark and I got the last shot I needed for Old Scratch. It was the last shot of the film. I filmed it before but it didn’t come out right. This time it worked great. As we cleaned up, I mentioned I was glad to be done. It had been a long journey and I was excited to see the finished product, after having worked on it almost 2 years.

Bryan corrected me, saying it was almost 3 years. And he was right, because after one of the shoots his wife, Peggy (also executive producer) drove me back to my car and it was before their daughter was born. I realized he was right.

Due to being married and having other responsibilities, I can’t shoot every weekend. Same goes for my cast and crew. It’s amazing how much time goes by. I still have a hard time believing my mission to adapt one of my favorite short stories has taken almost three years.

Still, I am very happy with what I have and I like the edit. I am trying to cut it down as best I can, because it’s coming in at 30 minutes. I’d like to get it down to 25. But I think this may be my best work to date. The end of my three-year mission has turned out, IMO, to be a success.

I will find out soon enough, however if filmgoers agree with me. Old Scratch is making its world premiere at LAFF on April 9th. Speaking of LAFF, be sure to visit the festival website tomorrow as we announce what films will be screening in this year’s fest.

Coming Down The Home Stretch

2011-03-07T22:47:00.000-05:00

Spring is just around the corner and people are busy prepping for Spring, St. Patrick’s Day and warm weather. Here at Stunod Pictures we are busy as well. I am putting the finishing touches on Dylon’s Lego AVP parody film, as well as collaborating with composers on music for Old Scratch. In addition to all of that, this Sunday we are watching the last batch of films for LAFF, and picking a program schedule for the fest.

Dylon has settled on a title for his film. He’s calling it HvX: Hunter vs. Xenomorph. We got the music from composer Steve Sexton and Dylon is thrilled. The film is just about done, we’re just waiting for some voiceovers and it’ll be ready to go. It will have its world premiere at laugh.

I really like when I get the soundtrack for my films. It’s like Christmas morning for me. Listening to the track and seeing how the composer interprets my direction and the images, it’s really a joy. I get a rush out of it. Part of that is the fact that movie scores and jazz seems to be the only music that moves me nowadays. Though I will always have an ear for U2 and old-school (read: good) rap. But hearing the music that accompanies your film for the first time is a magical experience.

The best part about music and the short film format is the score is for a smaller piece, and therefore can be completed faster. For example, I requested music and three days later had 4 pieces for the film. We can have a dialogue and any changes can be done in a relatively short amount of time. And I can afford to wait until shooting is done to reach out to a composer because of the quick turnaround. That is mainly because most of the composers I work with like to view an edit to score the film.

I am happy so far with the piece. I think I may take out another minute or so to make it as tight as possible. But it will be ready for its world premiere at LAFF on April 9.

As I get closer to the release of the film, and subsequent projects as well, I will be sending out links, via Twitter, of my collaborators so you can check out their work. It’s a great way to get to know them and if you’re a fellow filmmaker, perhaps they can add to your production.

MVP

2011-02-24T22:39:00.000-05:00

I’d like to take this opportunity to discuss something that’s irked me for some time. And before we go further, let’s just say it’s not film related, it’s sports related. So if you don’t care, you may stop reading after the next paragraph.

This past weekend I had a blast shooting Old Scratch with my son and family friend Ashley. My boy was great in front of the camera. He’s a ham, so I didn’t think it’d be an issue. But he hit his marks and didn’t need many extra takes. I am so proud of him. I’m working on getting musicians now, and hope to have it completely finished in one month’s time.

Ok, now onto my rant. I shake my head sometimes at the choices for Most Valuable Players, aka MVPs in sports. I know baseball writers think their shite don’t stink, which is clearly evident to anyone paying attention to the Hall of Fame votes (one writer said that because the initial class, which had Babe Ruth, didn’t have unanimous choices, he wouldn’t vote for anyone on their first trip to the ballot. I’m being serious). Many sportswriters chose their MVP as the best player on the best team. I have three problems with this.

First of all, that is wrong to do in football, because more often than not, that will be the QB. Not that the QB is always undeserving, but in football, so many things have to go right for the QB to do well that singling him out is poor form. Secondly, let’s look at the Patriots in 2008. Tom Brady was out for the year and Matt Cassel who didn’t even start in college, let alone the pros, won 11 games and ha a season worthy of a Pro Bowl bid. That goes to show that you can’t always pick the best player on the best team. Now not too many people can argue Tom Brady’s worthiness (I will later), but they weren’t the best overall team, as they didn’t win the Super Bowl. What happened if there was another team with a 14-2 record and a QB with similar stats (let’s use Atlanta and Matt Ryan as an example). Who do you pick?

Which leads me to point #2. I don’t think you can choose the MVP until the postseason has ended. After all, that is what makes or breaks an MVP, in my opinion. If that was the case, then Brady should not have been MVP. The only sports that end with the regular season are Pro Soccer (everywhere but in the US) and college football (the BCS is NOT a national title system, it’s a series of exhibition games). Every other sport, save baseball, should wait until the playoffs are done. For one thing, that’s when the truly valuable players shine. That’s when stars become legends. Baseball is different because the regular season is the draw. The postseason is gravy. Every other sport is the opposite.

Lastly, the name of the award is MOST VALUABLE PLAYER, not BEST PLAYER. That means that without this individual’s performance, the team would not be as well off as they were. To me, the NFL MVP should have been Peyton Manning. That team was riddled with injuries, and a WR named Blair White went from languishing on the practice squad to an-almost star WR. They won their division when, by all intents and purposes they should’ve been .500. Had Manning been injured they don’t even win 5 games. That’s the definition of MVP.

Baseball got it right in 2006 when they named Ryan Howard MVP over Albert Pujols. Albert was the best player on the best team (who won the World series), but Howard kept the Phillies in the thick of the playoff hunt all year. They wouldn’t have sniffed the playoffs if not for Howard.

If you want to change the name of the award to something that means Best Player on the Best Team, fine. Do that. But until you do, I think it behooves voters to pick someone that changes a team, and without them would suffer a lost season.

After all, that’s what the award is called.

Prepping for LAFF and Splash (pages)

2011-02-20T19:05:00.004-05:00

This past week has been very eventful and exciting. And I'm recapping it on Sunday because I have President's Day off, surprisingly.

On Wednesday, I had the honor of announcing that God of Love, a 2011 Oscar® Nominee, will be screening at LAFF on April 9. This is a major coup for us, and after having Don Hertfeld (an Oscar® Nominee himself) screen a film last year, is helping make LAFF a festival to watch. This can only help us.

I've also been working with composers for both my film and my son's, both of which will also screen at LAFF. Although I've compressed my film to a very manageable size, YouTube is giving me problems when I try to upload it, so I've had to try other video sites. I settled on Vimeo and have the film out to a composer now. I'm waiting to hear back from him to see if he can do it in the time alloted.

I got a composer for my son's film, and he wrote a piece my son is gaga over. The problem is, at 11, he has some trouble articulating what he wants. I think after some false starts, the composer is aware of that, and tonight I sent the film and my boy's detailed requests. It's a five minute movie, so I would imagine the music would be ready soon.

On Tuesday night I finished the first draft of the first issue of a comic book I came up with. It needs some spit and polish and rewriting, but I think it's off to a good start. I want to nail the writing before I send it to artists and I want to have some art done when I pitch it, but I'm excited about the possibilities it presents. And it's all very ironic since I wasn't allowed to read comics growing up, save for the Death of Superman (My dad said they were a waste of money and my mom objected to the way women were drawn). I may go the indie publishing route or the self-publishing route, but that'll be a wait and see approach. Still, I am very excited.

Oh, before I forget, LAFF is now on Twitter. And don't forget our Facebook page.
Now I'm going to spend the rest of the night relaxing and enjoying the nice weather we've had. Especially since it might snow this weekend.

Yay.

It's All Flooding In

2011-01-29T23:09:00.000-05:00

I've had an extraordinary thing happen to me these past 9 days. I've gotten the germ of an idea (as I usually do) but it has come so complete and full that even I've been surprised.

You see with most of my ideas, I'll get a couple of parts and over time have to work it out to give it life. This time, however, I've gotten ideas that build upon one another and have allowed me to craft the most complete universe I've been able to forge in a while. Now don't get me wrong, I still have a ways to go before its ready to be scripted, but it's further along that any idea I've had in years.

What has caused this? I'm not sure. I only know that I wish to bottle it so it'd happen more! But rather than dwell on that, I'm taking this seed and running with it. It's timely, entertaining and so far has passed The Dinner Test.

Small aside: The Dinner Test (not sure if that's the proper name or not) was created by the Story guru Robert McKee. He suggested tell someone your idea in a restaurant/cafe. You tell the tale part way through and then excuse yourself. If it's any good, the person serving as audience will ask "What happens next?".

In any event, I am pumped for it and look forward to scripting it. I just wanted to share the incredible fullness of an idea.

Must be the leftover Christmas cookies...

Thoughts on the 2011 Oscar Nominations

2011-01-27T22:40:00.000-05:00

This past Tuesday, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Scientists (AMPAS) revealed the Oscar noms for 2011. I will list them below and give my thoughts. First, I want to ask a question to members of the Academy, and I wish to borrow from the late, great DeForest Kelley:

“Are you out of your Vulcan mind?”

Why the hell didn’t Christopher Nolan get a directing nod for Inception? Why do you hate him so much? He only helmed the most original film in at least a decade. You nominated it for Best Picture, why not director too? I know the Coens are well-thought of, but honestly, True Grit is a REMAKE! You’re making things worse by heaping praise on it. Don’t get me wrong it may be a great flick (haven’t seen it yet), but let’s reward originality, like you did with Inception.

Anyway, here are the noms, with my thoughts in italics:

Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem in "Biutiful"
Jeff Bridges in "True Grit"
Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network"
Colin Firth in "The King's Speech"
James Franco in "127 Hours"

I think it’s Firth’s to lose. However, a lot of people are praising Bardem’s performance in Biutiful. He might surprise and take it.

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale in "The Fighter"
John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone"
Jeremy Renner in "The Town"
Mark Ruffalo in "The Kids Are All Right"
Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech"

It’s been Bale for every major honor and I don’t see it stopping here. Though Renner’s performance was dark and heaped with praise. I like the dude too, so it’d be nice to see him take it. But I think Batman grabs the gold.

Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in "The Kids Are All Right"
Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine"

Queen Amidala, aka Natalie Portman, is a shoo-in. The pregnancy clinches it. Bening’s nom is her reward and Nicole Kidman=Coen Bros.

Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech"
Melissa Leo in "The Fighter"
Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit"
Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom"

I think Helena Bonham Carter takes it. Amy Adams and Melissa Leo will split votes. Hailee Steinfeld will be the sentimental fave, being 13 and her first role but, like Bening, I think the nom is her award.

Animated Feature Film
"How to Train Your Dragon" Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
"The Illusionist" Sylvain Chomet
"Toy Story 3" Lee Unkrich

Everyone is saying Toy Story is a shoo-in, and I have to agree, but I think the Illusionist has a chance. It’s supposed to be well-done.

Cinematography
"Black Swan," Matthew Libatique
"Inception," Wally Pfister
"The King's Speech," Danny Cohen
"The Social Network," Jeff Cronenweth
"True Grit," Roger Deakins

This may be the only category I think Social Network can win, HOWEVER…Roger Deakins is a lot like Jeff Bridges was last year. And Wally Pfister might be the one to take it this year after noms for both Batman films. I’m going with Deakins here.

Directing
"Black Swan," Darren Aronofsky
"The Fighter," David O. Russell
"The King's Speech," Tom Hooper
"The Social Network," David Fincher
"True Grit," Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

While Fincher got the Globe, I’m going to back whomever the DGA awards, as that historically has been the barometer. Four of the five Oscar nominated directors were also nominated for the DGA. Nolan got the other DGA nom. I’d love to see him take that award, so the Academy can see what a mistake they made. If that happens, I’m going with Aronofsky, who I want to see win.

Short Film (Live Action)
"The Confession," Tanel Toom
"The Crush," Michael Creagh
"God of Love," Luke Matheny
"Na Wewe," Ivan Goldschmidt
"Wish 143," Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Usually I don’t handicap this category, but if you’ve been following my blog, you may figure out why. My money here is on God of Love.

Visual Effects
"Alice in Wonderland," Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1," Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
"Hereafter," Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
"Inception," Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
"Iron Man 2," Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Interesting choices here. Hereafter is a Clint Eastwood flick, so that’s serious. Does the Academy honor what Harry Potter has done and award them here? Or does it go to Inception. I’d think Inception will take it, with the rotating hotel fight putting it over the top. Interestingly enough, that was not done with computers.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"127 Hours," Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
"The Social Network," Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
"Toy Story 3," Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
"True Grit," Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"Winter's Bone," Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

I think the Social Network takes this, but watch out for Winter’s Bone.

Writing (Original Screenplay)
"Another Year," Written by Mike Leigh
"The Fighter," Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
"Inception," Written by Christopher Nolan
"The Kids Are All Right," Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
"The King's Speech," Screenplay by David Seidler

To me, it’s a toss up between Inception and The King’s Speech. I think the latter wins but I want to see Inception take it home.

Best Picture
"Black Swan," Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
"The Fighter" David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
"Inception," Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
"The Kids Are All Right," Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
"The King's Speech," Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
"127 Hours," Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
"The Social Network," Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán, Producers
"Toy Story 3" Darla K. Anderson, Producer
"True Grit" Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
"Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

The PGA winner usually take the Oscar too. I think it comes down to three films: Social Network, The King’s Speech and Inception. I will go with the PGA winner, but if the Oscars were held today, I’d take King’s Speech.

Exciting Things for LAFF

2011-01-26T21:40:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I ventured to Lancaster to begin viewing entries for the third installment of the Lancaster Area Film Festival. I’m one of 5 judges we have, and we’re viewing the films shortly after our entry deadlines pass.

This year, we aren’t getting (well, no yet anyway) any 50-60 minute shorts or IMAX presentations, so we’re going to be able to show more films. This batch that we’ve viewed has a lot of variety and skill and I think we’re going to be able to put together a great screening.

That said, yesterday something happened that has us (well, me anyway) very excited about our program. I cannot divulge what it is yet, but I think we’re going to have a very good fest. Stay tuned to LAFF’s website as well as Stunod Pictures’ site to see just what that is!

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS.

2011-01-09T23:24:00.000-05:00

The calendar has flipped to 2011. It’s time to pause and reflect on 2010 with an eye toward what I want to achieve this year.

You may recall my resolutions for 2010. How did I do?

1) I released just one film, my son’s Lego adventure Aham and the Sinister Prize. Old Scratch has taken much longer than expected due to weather and scheduling conflicts. I could do more but I’m not one to shoot two projects at once.
2) I did achieve this goal and I am very proud of this. I know completing the draft of a feature screenplay is tough and tiring, but to me it’s just longer than a short. I get more frustrated when I realize the draft won’t work. Case in point, I had to re-write the third act of Traffic Jam for a variety of reasons. But I did it.
3) Not only was LAFF a big success, but the theater owner invited us back the day of the festival. We are well on our way to making the third edition our best yet.
4) This was put on the backburner, but once Old Scratch is done this will be my next task.
5) I didn’t do this because I just started re-connecting with the producer and it’s a lot like a movie based on a comic that came out last year. I am not sure this has a place in the market anymore.

Taking a good long look at things, I've tried to be ambitious yet realistic. There are things I can definitely do and others that will take work, but can be done. Here’s what I hope to accomplish in 2011:

1) Release 4 films this year (counting my son’s)
2) Write something (script, story, outline or blog) every day
3) Polish feature scripts & prep them to be sent out to agents, producers and contests
4) Make LAFF 3 a success
5) Finish a short film in time for a contest
6) Write a story that you want to write, even if it’s never made or read

Pretty close to last year’s resolutions. #2 is a new one but very important. This comes from an article I read on Jerry Seinfeld’s advice to a comedian. I think if I can take time to write daily, I will be better for it and my work will be better.

The last one is a bit different but important nonetheless. I have put off some stories that I’ve wanted to write because I am not sure they can be made or entered into contests due to copyright, resources, etc. But part of what got me into this was the passion I had for telling stories. I think some of that has gone because I am only concerned in writing what I can make or sell. It would behoove me to write what I want to write (a mantra oft repeated in the writing world), if nothing more than to satisfy myself and help me improve.

I think all of this is doable and I look forward to making 2011 the year I cross off every resolution as complete.

CHRISTMAS TIME

2011-01-08T19:31:00.000-05:00

Today marks the end of Christmas in my house. The tree and decorations have been moved to storage for another year.

It’s very sad for me because it means a return to every ay life – now I know many people have already done so (some of my family did that December 26th!), but I’d like to think it lasts as long as decorations are still up. The reason I like it so much is that I see a change in people. (Save for Black Friday) I get an air of goodwill that I don’t feel the rest of the year.

I make sure to take extra time to enjoy all of the celebrations to the fullest. While I am blessed to still have both of my grandmothers alive, I realize that each holiday could be their last. I know that goes for all of us, but they are older.

To me, Christmas is still a time of hope, joy and possibilities. No matter how the world deteriorates, I’m still positive in the last month of the year. A part of that goes away when the tree does, but I smile knowing it’ll be here again before I know it.

Yin-Yang

2010-12-12T10:21:00.000-05:00

I’m feeling a mixed bag of emotions this weekend. Part of me feels joyous and accomplished because I’ve finished editing the footage of Old Scratch that we have (and will complete between next week and New Year’s Day) and I’m working on an entry in the Samsung Mobile Video contest (at a maximum of 2 minutes, it’ll be my shortest film to date).

I just finished the fourth draft of my feature script as well. Any time you complete a draft of a feature screenplay, you should rejoice and believe me, I’m rejoicing. Mix in my son’s birthday party and a trip to see Santa where my daughter didn’t cry (and actually ran up to Santa), it’s a great time.

I’m also a sad time as I will spend a few days with nothing to do. I will let the script sit for 2 weeks to get a fresh perspective (and writer’s group is done til January now). I have two ideas, including one for a comic book, I don’t want to rush through them just to have a story to work on.

I always hate this time. Things are slow and since I have two weeks off from the paying job, I want to make sure I use it to get some filmmaking work done. It’s a waste if I have nothing going on. Sure, I do have some things to do. I will use it as a chance to pare down the stack of DVDs next to my TV, the obligatory watching of A Christmas Carol (1951 Alastair Sim version, the best BY FAR) and Love Actually, and completing book two of The Dark Tower.

But these two weeks are a golden opportunity, and I can’t pass them up. I am trying to film the Samsung contest entry in those two weeks but so far, I’m having little luck. I am staying positive, however, and I know that I will get something done. I just hate the feelings this time give me.

UPDATE: I wrote this Sunday morning. About an hour after I published it, I came up with an idea. I let it go, but it stayed with me all day and I still slept on it. This morning, it hit me with a vengeance. I am now working on it. I also have phone call interviews with potential actors for my Samsung contest entry. JP 12/13/10 7:48am

Another Kris Williams Headscratcher

2010-11-17T22:05:00.004-05:00

If you recall, I posted a blog about Kris Williams and her apparent inability to accept compliments .

This past weekend, her ostensible bad attitude reared its head again when she posted the following:
...@KrisWilliams81 I am SOOOO sick of people telling me i look like @oliviawilde i wonder if she gets it as much as i do. Insanely annoying.

Wow. She takes offense to being mistaken for a highly attractive, talented actress whose career is beginning to skyrocket. Really? You have a problem with that? There are really worse things in the world than being compared to a top-notch actress. I don't understand why she has such a problem accepting compliments.

This is especially puzzling because not only is Kris Williams beautiful (apparently she has a problem with that too), but if she were smart, she could turn this into an acting career. I can see a producer, thinking big, saying, “We have a small role for an actress. Let’s get Olivia Wilde. She’s got the looks and name recognition.”

So the producer contacts her agent and for whatever reason, Ms. Wilde cannot be in the film. The producer’s assistant says “Hey boss, what about Kris Williams of Ghost Hunters? She looks like Olivia Wilde.”

The producer, who’s never seen the show, but has heard of it, checks it out. He says “Wow, that would be great! She looks like Olivia and she’ll be cheaper !” Now I seriously doubt if she takes a meeting with this producer, and he tells her why she was chosen, that Ms. Williams will turn it down because of that.

For me, it goes back to her being spoiled and big-headed because of her success. She is the face of Ghost Hunters for many, and now that she’s on GHI, that will only continue.

Anyway, I replied to the tweet (rather than re-tweeting it, but alas):

On Monday 15th November 2010, @jprug said:
(In reply to KrisWilliams81) Unappreciative wanna-be star...@KrisWilliams81 I am SOOOO sick of people telling me i look like @oliviawilde i wonder if she gets it as much as i do. Insanely annoying.

I was summarily blocked from following her, which doesn’t really bother me. It only goes to show that I hit home and I’m right.

I’m really saddened to see this behavior, as she is talented and could have a bigger career (if she wants it). But I suppose as a filmmaker, I ought to get used to this. But it’s even sadder because you don’t see any of this behavior from Jason, Grant, Steve, Tango, Amy or any of the other investigators.

Not Completely Down with UP

2010-10-27T22:47:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my father-in-law, I have a growing collection of Disney films (I’m not complaining, they’re cool to have. I just need to get Oliver & Company, my fave growing up). He gets them for my kids.

Right now, my daughter’s film du jour is Up, the critically acclaimed, Oscar-winning hit. And rightfully so. This is one of the best animated films I’ve seen in a while. By now it’s obvious that Pixar folks are able to tell great stories and we can all learn from them.

I guess I’ll warn you that there are spoilers involved, but if you haven’t seen it yet, then you must either be living under a rock or in our military, to which I want to say thank you for your service and see this film when you get a chance.

I especially think the first 15-20 minutes are a revelation. They tell the tale of Carl and Ellie’s life together with just pictures and music. There’s no dialogue. You laugh, you say “Wow, that’s my life!” and you cry. Not too many films can do that if they tried (and many do).

When it gets to the adventure part, there are some major problems I have with it and it focuses on believability. When Carl returns home from Ellie’s funeral, we see him getting up the next morning. He gets out of bed and has to crack his joints to get moving. For most of the first third, he needs a cane and can’t go without it. You buy that he’s an older gentleman.

Then when Carl and Russell get to Venezuela, things change. Carl is able to mount and ride a bird, pick up Dug, who looks like a big dog, climb a Zeppelin and hang upside down, and move heavy appliances out of his house. I think of my grandfather in his 70s when I see Carl and there was NO WAY he could do ANY of those things. I can believe Charles Muntz doing them because of the type of person he was, but not Carl.

These things take me out of the movie somewhat, and they get magnified every time I watch. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an above-average film, but not in the suspension of disbelief apartment.

Aspiring writers and filmmakers, I would suggest getting a copy of the script for the aforementioned first 15-20 minutes. You will learn a lot. And I do look forward to Pixar’s future offerings, while hoping they make them a bit more believable.

Sucker Punch: I Am Unprepared

2010-10-26T22:19:00.001-04:00

Zack Snyder is fast becoming one my favorite filmmakers. Sure, he’ll never be Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg, but the man tackled Watchmen and made as faithful an adaptation as anyone could ask for! Granted, the story is ideal to the comics medium, but you can’t argue that Watchmen was the best film we could hope to get. And I am sure viewing the Ultimate Cut, which basically is a film version of the comic to the letter, this will become more evident.

That said, Zack has a new movie coming out called Sucker Punch. It made news because local (from Allentown, PA) hottie actress Amanda Seyfried was Snyder’s first choice for the leading role. She had to turn it down because the producers of Big Love, the HBO show she is on, wouldn’t accommodate her. Emily Browning (of A Series of Unfortunate Events fame), replaced her.

I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t get around to seeing the trailer until a couple of weeks ago. And all I can say is “WOW!!!”. The visuals in this 85 second piece are just astounding. And there are many. Billed as Alice in Wonderland with machine guns, this is going to be a technical achievement. And the female stars (including Vanessa Hudgens of HS Musical fame) all look amazing in their scantily-clad outfits. Hudgens and Emily Browning especially look fantastic.

The film takes place in Brattleboro, VT (where I spent a day last week) and centers on Baby Doll (Browning) who’s locked in a mental institution by her evil stepfather. Baby Doll creates a stunning imaginary reality to escape to. She is scheduled to have a lobotomy and must find a way out, utilizing her dream world. The trailer is packed with elements of fantasy, sci-fi, World War I and World War II. This film is going to be a treat to watch. If you haven’t checked out the trailer, do so immediately!

Been A Long Time...

2010-10-25T22:02:00.000-04:00

I sit here on a nice, 60° day in Pennsylvania, about 30 hours from my town’s trick-or-treating a few days from Halloween. I see it’s been a quite a while since I’ve written and that’s not because I’ve forgotten, it’s because not a lot has been going on movie wise.

I have just returned from a business trip for my job that pays the bills. They let me out once a year, and my trip took me to VT and NH. The scenery was wonderful as I was told by the locals I came during the best week of foliage season. Every where you went there were colors and fog in the middle of the mountains. It truly was a sight to behold.

A few days after my last post I took my annual trip to Canada. It was good to relax and spend time with my family. Also had a nice lineup of beers to enjoy, so that was a plus. It also helped me re-charge my batteries, which led to serious writing upon my return.

I have been writing furiously since then, working on a short story, a feature and tweaking Traffic Jam, which is about ready to be sent out.

The biggest news is that my hard-drive situation has been resolved (kind of). My old hard drive cannot be accessed, well not without spending upwards of $550. I have the new hard drive which can hold 3 ½ times what my old one can. I’ve captured the footage for Old Scratch and starting to re-edit. Fortunately I have a lot of my EDL done, so it’s just a matter of finding it.

I’ve also made a list of changes I’d like to make to the website. Some of it still looks off in Firefox and IE, so I will fix those.

Old Scratch is set to finish shooting on the Lancaster set Thanksgiving weekend. I’ll then just need the narration shots and V.O. and production will be completed. We’re on track for the 2011 Lancaster Area Film Festival.

My son’s next Lego film, based on AVP, wrapped and will also play in LAFF.

Lots to do, especially with the holidays coming, but it’s exciting, and not just because my birthday is Black Friday…

2010 NFL Predictions

2010-08-12T11:16:00.002-04:00

With the 2010 NFL Season less than a month away, I have decided to make my predictions. I do this every year and I admit I am pretty good at picking the regular season, but falter in the playoffs (huh, sounds like the San Diego Chargers, a hated rival of my Broncos). Now, it is August 12th today, and as of this time, Brett Favre is not playing. I am making this prediction under the assumption he doesn’t come back, so I will revisit this if he does.

AFC EAST
New England
Miami
NY Jets
Buffalo

AFC NORTH
Baltimore
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
Cleveland

AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis
Tennessee
Houston
Jacksonville

AFC WEST
San Diego
Denver
Oakland
Kansas City

NFC EAST
Dallas
NY Giants
Washington
Philadelphia

NFC NORTH
Green Bay
Minnesota
Chicago
Detroit

NFC SOUTH
New Orleans
Atlanta
Carolina
Tampa Bay

NFC WEST
San Francisco
Seattle
Arizona
St. Louis

AFC PLAYOFFS

WILD CARD
Baltimore over Miami
San Diego over Tennessee

DIVISIONAL
Indianapolis over San Diego
Baltimore over New England

CHAMPIONSHIP
Baltimore over Indianapolis

SUPER BOWL XLV

NFC PLAYOFFS

WILD CARD
New Orleans over Atlanta
NY Giants over San Francisco

DIVISIONAL
Dallas over New Orleans
Green Bay over NY Giants

CHAMPIONSHIP
Green Bay over Dallas

Baltimore over Green Bay

Caveat #2: I am also assuming that Darrelle Revis will not be playing this year. That knocks the Jets down and kills any Super Bowl aspirations they have.

Some of these choices may be extreme and make you question whether or not I know what I’m talking about. But let me share this stat, straight from Peter King:

“Twelve teams make the playoffs each year. In the past five years, check out the turnover from the previous year. How many different teams made the playoffs compared to the year before:

2005: 7.
2006: 7.
2007: 6.
2008: 7.
2009: 6.

So for five straight years there's been at least a 50-percent turnover in the playoff teams. “

That being said, let’s revisit last year’s 12 playoff teams: Indianapolis, San Diego, New England, Cincinnati, NY Jets and Baltimore in the AFC; New Orleans, Minnesota, Dallas, Arizona, Green Bay and Philly in the NFC. Half of these teams WON’T be in the playoffs this year, according to recent history.

The Jets are the trendy pick in the AFC. But if they have no Revis, IMO they have little shot at Super Bowl glory. Without Revis, they only have Antonio Cromartie (aka the NFL’s Shawn Kemp), an unproven RB starter, an injured and aging RB backup, a sub-par QB, a WR with the dropsies and another who’s suspended. And don’t forget they snuck into the playoffs thanks to Denver’s ineptitude. So I think they’re overrated.

The Chargers have a lot of personnel issues but due to the mediocrity this year in the AFC West, they should have the division wrapped up by Week 12-13. Oakland and KC will be improved and Denver has a rash of injuries, but until Oakland takes strides on the field, they are still Oakland. Denver has more talent overall than both of those teams and assuming health, should finish in 2nd, though I think Denver will win 6-7 games while Oakland is good for 5-6, and KC 4-5.

This year will end the streak of NFC North champions going from worst to first. Tampa is improving but there’s just too much to overcome. I don’t know of any SI cover jinx, but the Madden Curse is alive and well; I expect Drew Brees to either miss time or play hurt and have the Saints suffer as a result.

Everyone is in love with Kevin Kolb and while I think he’ll do ok (at least in fantasy terms), remember he tanked in his two games against above average teams. He really only had one good game and that was against KC. There are going to be growing pains and they have a lot of problems in other areas to contend. Mike Shanahan is the best coach in that division and McNabb will play pissed all year. I see the Skins winning 7 games to Philly’s 6.

The NFC West is the most wide-open, as three teams can legitimately compete for the division crown. Of those three, San Francisco has the most talent but Alex Smith is scary. Arizona lost parts and Matt Leinart will be lucky to have half the success of Kurt Warner. Seattle has to get used to a new coach and potentially new QB, as I don’t see Hasselbeck lasting a whole year.

Even though Ben Roethlisberger will likely see his suspension reduced to four games, that still won’t help the Steelers. If Byron Leftwich or Dennis Dixon are forced to win games, as I think defenses will do by stacking the box, I can see Pittsburgh starting 1-3.
Baltimore looks really good in the preseason, though they have a lot of variables with an aging defense AND uncertainty about Ed Reed. Cincinnati has weapons, I think it’s up to Carson Palmer and a good running game to keep Cincy in the hunt for a division title.

New England and Indianapolis have to stay healthy. If they do that, there’s a good chance, IMO, that they could play for a trip to Dallas in January.

Green Bay looks very improved and could very well end up in Texas for the Super Bowl. That is assuming that #4 doesn’t suit up for the Purple & Gold. If he’s there, the NFC is the Vikings to lose, IMO. If not, Minnesota will have to win despite Tavaris Jackson. They finish second only because they are stacked everywhere else.

So there you have it. I may have to revisit this if Favre and/or Revis return, but for right now, this is how I see 2010 shaping up.

2010-08-11T22:06:00.002-04:00

Kris Williams of Ghost Hunters – Not Nice, Thinks She’s Fat?

As many of you know, I am on Twitter. One of the people I follow is Kris Williams of Ghost Hunters, a show I enjoy watching, especially with my son. While I don’t think that some of their methods are actually able to detect the paranormal, they are still professional and the show is of good quality.

Despite the rumors that Kris Williams was an actress hired to liven up the show (interesting aside: Steve Gonsalves’ Twitter page say he’s a Ghost Hunters cast member, not a TAPS member…), she is a competent member of the team and not unattractive.

So last Thursday she posted the following to her Twitter account:

“Sittin in casting office w/friend
who’s audtionin 4 commercial-
Can’t get over how skinny all
these girls r-Feel like buyin them
sandwiches”

Now this made me shake my head, as Kris is, as I said, very attractive. She’s easily the best looking female on TAPS and not surprisingly, has done some modeling.

Since I follow her and I think she’s nuts, I responded with the following:

“@KrisWilliams81 They must be
unhealthily thin because you are
skinny too!”

This is the response I got, in a private message, no less:

“Like ud know. So sick of people
telling me I’m thin. These women
were toothpicks, that I’m not even
close to being”

I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Here was someone who’s clearly attractive and has tons of fans, and when one of said fans gives her a compliment, she sends a nasty message.

I blame part of this on her, but also society and the business as a whole. Obviously she was in a room with women who eat three square meals a WEEK. She is normal, which you can’t say about too many women in that field and she had the audacity to send me that kind of message.

So the moral of the story is don’t send any messages to Kris Williams on Twitter.
She appears to have a skewed view of herself due to being in Hollywood. I am also going to say, and let me be clear this is my personal opinion only, that she is probably disconnected from reality on other subjects as well.

Ironic that she’s on a reality TV show…

Restless

2010-07-28T23:15:00.001-04:00

Summer is probably my favorite time of year. I say probably because I don’t like the heat, but I like the activities one can do in the summer. No, I’m not one of those crybabies who complain daily about how hot it is. I’m quite the opposite. My problem is that I sweat when the temperature hits 76° and above, doing nothing more than standing. My doctor tells me it is a condition and sadly there is nothing that can be done about it.

There is a point to my sharing TMI. Summer’s the time of year where very little gets done filmmaking-wise. With all of the activities going on, it’s awfully tough to coordinate schedules. Usually I take time to edit films shot in the spring or prep them for final release and being filling out festival entry applications. I had planned to edit Old Scratch some more, but I cannot access my external hard drive where I store all of my footage and scripts. My computer reads my drive and shows that it's there, but I can't access anything. And I have a lot of stuff in there! I don’t have a hard drive right now. I have handed it over to a computer expert to look at, but he’s running a business and I can’t be afforded special treatment. He’s working with customers in the order they came in and it’s going to take awhile.

Lately I’ve been restless with regards to writing. I’ve wanted to get stories out and it bugs me if I don’t. Normally I am able to write whatever comes to mind and go back to revise it, but I’m being as brutal with it as I’ve ever been. If it doesn’t work or looks like it’ll go nowhere a few pages later, I stop and cut it immediately. I wish I could chalk it up solely to my improving writing skills (and it is partly a result of that), but I also think it’s because I am without my usual creative outlet of editing.

I hope to have the drive back soon. I can’t wait to resume cutting. Then again, I might get better scripts…

Speaking of improving writing skills, there are developments happening as a result of my emerging talents which may provide me a chance to step closer to my dream. I’ll keep you all posted and hope to have something to write soon.

Happy 30th Anniversary, Empire Strikes Back!

2010-05-25T11:56:00.001-04:00

Today marks the 30th Anniversary of the release of the Empire Strikes Back. The film that turned the Star Wars saga on its head and added to the mythos of the saga as it is today. It’s considered by many the best of the saga (IMO it shares that distinction with Revenge of the Sith).

I’ve spoken many times about Star Wars and its impact on me, so I won’t relay that yet again. But Empire Strikes Back is widely considered to be better than the original film, so today, I am going to make a list of sequels that, in my mind, are better than the originals.

These are in no particular order:

Empire Strikes Back
The Godfather Part II
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
The Dark Knight
Spider-man 2
Star Trek II – The Wrath of Khan
Aliens
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger*

* From Russia with Love was leaps and bounds better than Dr. No, but Goldfinger upped that ante even more and remains, to me, the best Bond film to date.

Lost

2010-05-25T09:16:00.004-04:00

On Sunday night, my wife and I sat down to watch the final episode of Lost. I wanted to write something yesterday about it, but I figured it’d be good to sit and let my thoughts stew for a while.

First, a disclaimer: I wasn’t around when The Mary Tyler Moore Show did their group hug, and I was too young to watch adult shows like M*A*S*H and St. Elsewhere when they ended (I’ve seen a couple dozen episodes of M*A*S*H, including the oft-discussed finale, and I have no idea what all the fuss is about). So I cannot comment on them. I grew up with 80s shows like The A-Team, Greatest American Hero, Magnum, P.I. and Knight Rider. I wanted you to have that context going in.

When Lost came along, it looked cool, as did the others I enjoy, so I decided to watch. From the opening moments, I was blown away. And I stayed that way through all six seasons. It was not only entertaining and thought-provoking, which great shows need to do, but as a writer-director, it provided inspiration, and served as a textbook example of layering puzzles and storytelling. Sure there were low moments (Season 3, Nikki & Paolo), but I never lost faith. And it was rewarded with one of the best finales I could imagine.

As the end came, I felt a sadness inside. Tears formed but never fell from my eyes. I think part of the sadness was for what was happening to the characters, but I think most of it was the realization that come this fall (or January, as in recent seasons) there would be no more Lost. For the past six years my only fear was that Lost would move to Thursdays (I play basketball and volleyball, so I miss that night. That’s why I’m mad at Fox for moving Fringe and now CBS for moving Big Bang Theory).

What boggles my mind is that many of the major questions were answered and fans didn’t get it. One of the biggest was “What was the Dharma Initiative?” Did you watch Season 5? “What was the island?” Did you see Ab Aeterno this season (which was one of the 5 best episodes of the show, by the way!)? Jacob told Richard what it was. Amazing how easily people forget and how dense they can be. I know part of the reason for that, but that’s for another blog.

The producers made it abundantly clear that this show was, in the end, about the characters. And I think each got a satisfying conclusion. I like what happened with Jack because I relate to him in the fact that I’m dense and it takes me a while to see the writing on the wall. So I appreciated that. I was thrilled to see the tension between Jack and Kate come to a head and see them kiss. Something about them getting together in Season 3 didn’t seem right, but this did, but sadly came too late. Everyone got their reunion, even Sayid and Shannon (who I am convinced now, after a day of thought, that she was who Sayid referred to when he told Smoke Monster Locke the only thing he wanted was taken from him). Seeing Sawyer and Juliet reunite at a vending machine of all places was a nice touch. I also like how we got clues as to what the flash-sideways was (should we re-name it flash forward? But that may not be right either, since there was no now where they were) at the end, though, like Jack, I was too dense in realizing it.

It was great seeing Hurley become the steward of the island. He was one of the best and most sincere characters. I was glad to see him spared suffering. I was happy to see Ben redeemed. He turned around, bravely, when the Smoke Monster duped him, as all he wanted to do was stay on the island. Hurley gave him his wish. His not joining the others at the end was one of the reasons why the writers are so good. Ben was redeemed, but didn’t feel ready to join the others. That was masterful storytelling. By the way, Ben is one of the toughest dudes ever. I don’t think nerds get beat up that much by bullies! He’s got balls of steel and I admire him for that.

The show came full circle at the end, which is what stories like this should do (trivia: the tentative title for the show was ircle). As Jack walked through the jungle to meet his end, we saw Vincent join him in his final moments. He was spared long enough to see his friends leave the island in the Ajira plane. Then, the last shot was his eye closing in the same spot he woke up when Flight 815 crashed (which I didn’t realize until later. Hey, it’s been six years! Do you know what can happen in six years?). It forever changed TV and forever changed me.

The enduring legacy of this show, IMO, will be that in a sea of mediocre dramas and God-awful reality TV for the lowest common denominator, Lost proved that you could have a successful show that made you think, shuffle backwards and forwards in time, and not dot every I and cross every T. I hope that TV execs realize this and take more chances on these types of shows. Including one tentatively titled Apparition by an little-known writer from Bethlehem, PA.

As I mourn the end, I take comfort in the fact that I can always live with these characters on DVD. And I will carry the themes the show presented with me: yes, I will, as a human being, eventually die, that I am not alone and that it’s all about the journey. I want to say thank yo, to the entire cast and crew for a wonderful six seasons of entertainment, thoughts and discussions and inspiration. My life and TV will never be the same.

Siding With Hollywood

2010-05-04T22:11:00.000-04:00

I’m going to write about something that will shock you. It will go against a lot of what I’ve written about before.

You may think I’m nuts. You’ll think I’ve lost it. Once I explain, I know you’ll understand.

I side with Hollywood on the decline of DVDs.

Go ahead, take a minute to pull yourselves off of the floor. I’ll wait.

Now why did I say something so preposterous? Technology.

But those of you who know me are aware of my love of tech. I would go crazy if I didn’t have the internet (save for the Apocalypse, where the internet would be the least of my problems). My iPhone is my new fave toy. It has given us Mp3s, Apple TV and the ability to download movies. Netflix now has the capability of allowing you to download movies from your queue onto to your TV. Therein lies the problem and why I side with Hollywood.

Does anyone listen to a CD anymore? Go to any Best Buy or FYE and the movie shelves outnumber the CD shelves 2 and 3 to 1. DVDs will be obsolete in the future, but not the near future due to file size and affordability of set top boxes. That’s probably the only good thing about the recession: people being more frugal and not splurging for entertainment options like Apple TV. It helps keep DVD around longer.

The biggest problem with all of this is special features. As a filmmaker that interests me as much, if not more, than the movie itself. It’s how I supplement my learning of the craft. And the films that you download or buy on iTunes are just that: the film. Sure I could probably find production notes online or see an article on the films FX somewhere, but that doesn’t compare to the wealth of knowledge available on the filmmaking special features.

I think it’s time to start a letter-writing campaign to include special feature downloads. I would pay an extra $1 for them and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

And you thought I cared about studios losing money (well, I don’t until they hire me to write and direct!)!

LAFF, Take 2

2010-04-29T20:46:00.010-04:00

LAFF’s second go-round was a rousing success. It was held at Penn Cinemas, a beautiful facility in Lititz. It rivals my local Rave Theater, which in my mind is the best theater I’ve ever been to. Penn Ketchum, the owner, said he had never seen the kind of foot traffic that we brought in. Around noon we had 40 tickets sold, and two hours later we had tripled that number.

Penn Cinemas, site of this year's fest

I think we got a tremendous amount of quality work this year. The festival attendees who spoke with the LAFF staff were raving about the quality of the films in the festival. A reporter from the Lancaster Newspaper was in attendance and told Bryan that the festival was fantastic and he wanted to know how we got so many great films.
This year we announced the winners with a video message that Bryan taped. He tried to sound sincere and appear to not be reading off a card, but it funny looking. His cadence and gestures were off. Bryan always looks, on camera, like he hasn’t slept in a year (which, with three kids under the age of two, is probably true).

Theaters 6 & 10, where the films played

We also took time before the films played to recognize the filmmakers in attendance by having them stand and applaud. My son even signed a couple of autographs! He acted like it was no big deal, but I could tell inside he was beaming. His film was well received. He had his own little entourage, with my wife, daughter and parents attending, as well as his mom, her boyfriend and their 3 kids, grandmother, aunt and uncle. His film, Aham and the Sinister Prize, got laughs and nice applause. I personally think his first film was better, but he enjoyed it and was happy with it, so that’s all that matters. In the end, that’s all that counts. He’s even working on a live action movie now with his friends. I will have another little post about that soon. It’s funny how he’s going about building it (in a good way).

Film fans talking about the quality films during a break

Penn invited us back for the 3rd annual Lancaster Area Film Festival, which was great. Bryan said submissions for the 2011 event would start toward the middle of September.

The winners of the festival were listed before the fest. They are:

Grand Prize winner, Best of the Festival: Jennifer Unknown Directed by Matt McNevin
Best of the Feature Shorts: Jacob and Death Directed by David Updike
Best of the Shorts: We Were None Directed by Ivan Kander
Best of the Short Shorts: Topi Directed by Arjun Rihan

ADVENTURES IN FILM FESTIVAL LAND

2010-04-13T09:18:00.002-04:00

During downtime on the set of Old Scratch earlier this month, Bryan regaled me with stories of his adventures with other festival directors. It’s always good to get feedback from others doing similar work. A healthy exchange of ideas can always be a benefit and may help better you or your duties.

They can also make you scratch your head and wonder how people get through a day.

Bryan and I learned that we apparently are a small minority in that we are filmmakers who run a festival and don’t just show our own films. That baffles some of the festival reps Bryan has talked to. They can’t seem to wrap their head around it.

The other thing that boggles my mind is the selection process. A lot of them have an interesting way of doing it. A lot of them have one person who receives entries, watch them and then pass it along to another member of the selection committee. When Bryan told them how we do it (make copies and split the entries among the committee), they were flabbergasted. Making copies of the DVDs seemed a foreign concept to them.

The worst example I’ve seen comes from the New Hope Film Festival. Bryan entered his work and the next day had a rejection letter. Naturally, Bryan was curious how this could happen and asked. I should mention Bryan wasn’t trying to change their minds or appeal the decision, he was just wondering how they could decide so soon. So the director told him he watches all entries and if he deems it good enough, sends it to the selection committee. Bryan told him that was interesting and explained how we did it, to which the New Hope Festival Director said, in a totally douche move “Aren’t you special?” I know one festival I’m not entering nor recommending!

There are many ways to skin a cat, and many that seem both counter-intuitive and nonsensical. And hey, that’s fine. Whatever blows your hair back. I like our process, I like our fest and the way we run it. In the end, it’s showing quality films, having a showcase for undiscovered talent and in the end, having a good time.

Oh, one more thing. I have a message to filmmakers out there. Withoutabox makes us send a rejection letter. I don’t know why as that is not how the real world works. Rarely do you get rejection letters for anything, including job interviews. I think the only thing you do is loan rejections and that’s because it’s the law.

Anyway, filmmakers, you’re going to get rejected to festivals. That’s a given. Most of them require a fee to enter. You have to know going in that there’s a chance you’re going to pay and not get in. DEAL WITH IT! I have entered festivals where the fee is over 20 times my budget. I didn’t get in. That’s a fact of life! Don’t whine when you don’t get in and ask for your money back! You’re not entitled to it. It’s a reflection of the society we live in now and it makes you look bad.

I am in the same boat. I can only enter 5-7 festivals a year due to my money situation and I fully expect that if I am rejected I won’t get that money back. Man up, deal with it and move on.

Ok, I’m done with the PSA. Check out the Film Festival website to see the 2010 festival selections!

PERSISTENCE PAYS

2010-04-13T09:16:00.003-04:00

A lot has been going on as the Lancaster Area Film Festival gets closer. As I prep not only my son’s film, but my entries for the program, I wanted to stop and share a personal success with you.

I have chronicled my back-and-forth with IMDB here. The last I heard from them they asked how selective LAFF was. Bryan was kind enough to write a letter to them explaining how our processed worked. That was back in December.

I checked the site regularly through February to see if I was added, but I was not. As festival prep amped up, I turned my attention to Old Scratch and Aham and the Sinister Prize. Last weekend I was shooting the former in Lancaster and as Bryan and I digitized the footage, we discussed the festival and Withoutabox. IMDB came up and he told me that Brogue was added.

We went to my page and for a moment, I swear there was an angelic glow around the page. I had done it. I was now on IMDB as the writer, producer and director of Brogue.

It may not be a big deal, but to me, the fact that one can search for Kate Beckinsale and transition to my page immediately after is big. People in the industry may stumble upon it and inquire as to my work. It could open the door to bigger and better things.

And now Withoutabox is adding any film submitted to a festival through their site to IMDB regardless of acceptance, there’s a chance to get all of my films added.

Let this be a lesson of persistence and patience (strange since I have none of the latter. Just ask my wife!). Two and a half years after I first attempted to get my films added to this glorious site, I am officially in! Never giving up and keeping at it will pay off.

As we get closer to the fest, keep checking stunodpictures.com for more news on the fest and info on our latest films.

March Madness

2010-03-25T13:39:00.003-04:00

It is often said that March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb. To that, I say shenanigans. Sports fans call this month March Madness and that is indeed the case. Spring is in the air, though, save for one nice weekend, you can’t tell. The NCAA Tournament is in full swing, though it’s lost a bit of its luster since my Jayhawks are eliminated. My son’s hoops squad made the playoffs only to lose at the last second, and my daughter turned 2(!!!). It has truly been one wayward lunar cycle.

If that seems like a lot, well, I’m not done. I’m trying to get Old Scratch finished for LAFF. I still have 1-2 days of shooting left plus editing. And recently, I’ve been volunteering as often as I can for Independent Congressional Candidate Jake Towne. I shot seven 1-2 minute videos explaining his stance on the issues. He plans on putting them on his website and possible You Tube as well.

To assist with these endeavors, I recently purchased a capture card. When I captured my Old Scratch tapes at Bryan’s, I had trouble capturing Jake’s vids, so I wanted to make sure I could capture them and get to work.

It was easy enough to get them into the computer, and it was relatively quick. And to top it off, I learned that ULead Media Studio came with the card, so I now had a third editing system. Once it was in my machine, I imported the footage into Premiere. I started playback to edit, but the program froze once it played for 4-5 seconds. I could shut Premiere down, but the rest of my computer was sluggish as a result. I then attempted to edit in Sony Vegas. I imported the footage, but it froze the program while building audio peaks (at 98% no less! Couldn’t it freeze at 2% or 15%?).

For the next four days I spent my nights researching troubleshooting methods. It got extremely frustrating. I even forked over cash to upgrade my RAM from 512MB to 1.25 GB.

Last Sunday night, I was at my wit’s end, though if you ask my wife, I am there every night. I could think of only one other solution. But instead of opening Jake’s videos when I was in Premiere, I opened Old Scratch. Lo and behold, I was able to edit! But why did that work and not Jake’s footage?

In bed that night, it hit me. I captured Old Scratch with Bryan’s card, but I captured Jake’s with mine. I have since worked on more of Old Scratch. I think I either need to get new drivers or a new capture card.

And lest you think the drama of March has ended, I still have a fantasy baseball draft this Sunday, MLB Opening Day is less than two weeks away and LAFF is around the corner. April may be just as loco!

Academy Award Recap

2010-03-24T16:58:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago the Oscar ceremony was held. This year was a bit different in that there were 10 Best Picture nominees. And there were few sure things. Would Avatar take Best Picture? Would Kathryn Bigelow or Lee Daniels make history?

I feel it was a given that Mo’Nique and Christoph Waltz were going to take home the Best Supporting Actress/Actor. Jeff Bridges was also considered a shoo-in for Best Actor. It was great to see him finally win. He’s a great actor and a likeable guy. My only regret is Jeremy Renner had little shot. He comes across as a down-to-earth dude who’d be fun to have a beer with. Little trivia tidbit: He makes a fortune renovating and flipping older homes. Acting is a side gig. Well, now I guess you can say was a side gig.

Kathryn Bigelow did make history in becoming the first woman to win Best Director. She beat out her ex-husband, James Cameron and Lee Daniels, who would’ve been the first Black Director to win. She was expected to win since she also took home the DGA award. The PGA also gave their Best Picture to The Hurt Locker, which won the Oscar, natch.

Some of the surprises included Best Foreign Film. The only one I heard of this season was The White Ribbon. The winner was a movie I’d never heard of. The other biggie was Best Adapted Screenplay. Everyone thought Up In The Air would win, but it went to Precious. The author of the novel, Sapphire, looked like she was having a heart attack when the writer went up to claim his prize. So dramatic.

Sandra Bullock was the biggest surprise. Most people figured either Meryl Streep or Helen Mirren would win, but they most likely split the vote, allowing Sandra to take it. A lot of industry folks and fans say she doesn’t deserve it, but she won it, so deal. I guess now she’s fallen victim to the supposed Best Actress Curse, as he husband cheated on her.

The last big surprise was in Short Documentary. Easton, PA native (near my hometown) Roger Williams won for Music By Prudence. He was also part of the night’s strangest moment. Overjoyed when he won, he ran onstage and began a heartfelt speech. Then, out of nowhere, some fat, ugly red-headed woman took the mic, made a jab about men talking and hijacked their remaining 45 seconds. Turns out she was the film’s producer, but she was such a douche the other producers fired her. Through it all, Roger took the high road and remained gracious. The film airs on HBO in May.

I would’ve like to have seen District 9 take home Best VFX, and it would’ve any other year. But Avatar’s achievements gave it the edge. Still, Neil Blomkamp will have work as long as he wants. If you haven’t seen District 9, make sure you do.

All in all, it was a great show, it had suspense, it had deserving winners, and the hosts did great. Now excuse me, I have to get back to editing. I’m inspired!

Traffic Jam: Not Forgotten

2010-02-19T12:55:00.001-05:00

As I work on finishing Old Scratch, help a friend set up her short film and prep for LAFF, I still remain cognizant of the fact that Traffic Jam, my second feature-length script, sits there. It waits to be sent out into the world, or more likely, ripped apart and begun anew.

I’ve given it time to sit and recently came back to it. I’ve made further changes, albeit small ones, but I am to the point where I need fresh eyes and new ideas to improve it. My writer’s group has been great up to this point. The military historian in particular helped me craft a great opening sequence, but due to my aforementioned activities and my son’s basketball games, I have yet to attend in 2010.

I’ve recently been blessed with the insight of the folks at the Artful Writer forums, some of whom are working pros. Yesterday I set up a script exchange with a TV writer. I read his latest pilot while he tackles my work. I’m very excited to get this talented new look at my work.

It may seem to some that I am pulling myself too thin, but doing all of this keeps me sharp. If this keeps up I hone my focus and I feel the work is better. 2010 looks like it’s gonna be good!

An Interesting Dilemma

2010-02-16T22:06:00.002-05:00

I'm going through what I consider is a fascinating conundrum with regards to my writing. My latest project is a wizard story set in the contemporary world. I think I have a pretty good idea, and I know that because I let it stew for about 30 hours and was still able to work with it.

In fact, a wealth of ideas and information came out. I did research, I worked out the characters and the world they inhabit, including detailed histories. I also worked out the protagonist, the villain and I think I have the subplot down. The problem I have is exactly how to tell it.

Should my story be a noirish detective whodunit? A POV yarn? A tale told by an omniscient observer? I can't decide.

There are tons of suggestions about getting around writer's block. While I don't believe in it, I think I may have to try some. I don't believe in writer's block because it's an excuse to stop writing. I keep pounding through, even if it's crap, because eventually I get back on track. But I have never come across a problem like this. I can't fight through something if I can't even start.

I'm hoping to get some help from pros. I've posted my problem on artfulwriter.com; a site run by Craig Mazin (Scary Movie 3 & 4 and Superhero Movie) and Teddy Elliot (Pirates of the Carribean). Derek Haas (Wanted, The A-Team and 3:10 to Yuma) also lurks. If anyone can help me, I am hoping they can.

Keeping The Passion Alive

2010-02-09T16:04:00.005-05:00

Since it’s Valentine’s Day this Sunday, I thought it’d be appropriate to broach the subject of passion. No, I’m not talking about the passion with your significant other.

I’m referring to the passion for doing something; in this case filmmaking. While my passion is as strong as ever, there are things that come up from time-to-time that reinforce it. One of them is awards season. Today I was invigorated by the news that Oscar nominated shorts will get a theatrical release(link to it). I always get changed up when my collaborators are as excited as I am.

My wife is a black belt and used to teach at her dojo. One of her students approached me in 2008 with an idea for a film that could incorporate martial arts. With the film festival (link to it) and the events of last year, I couldn’t devote much time to it. Now I’ve been able to go through two drafts with her. Her excitement is contagious and growing as we go along. It’s great to see, especially from a teenager. And I should mention her script deals with human trafficking, a tough subject for adults to tackle, let alone a teen. When I was a teenager, all I tried to do is get Star Wars into as much of my writing as I could.

We’re going to work on the script some more soon and I hope to start shooting in May.

I don’t have a lesson or anything with this post. All I can say is that passion drives and fuels my filmmaking and makes my life better. I’m sure if you incorporate it into anything, no matter what, I’m sure you’ll see positive change too.

Big Things for Nominated Shorts

2010-02-09T16:04:00.004-05:00

I was reading the Hollywood Reporter today and I saw that the short films nominated for Oscars will be released in theaters in 100 cities nationwide. Two of the nominated short documentaries have aired on HBO with a third soon to follow. They will all eventually end up on iTunes as well.

This is great news for short filmmakers everywhere. Many of us dream of theatrical releases, something the short filmmaker realistically has a small chance of. Now you’re able to get your work out there, perhaps in front of a producer who’s looking to hire a director for a new project. And with iTunes will not only increase viewership, but you get a wider audience and maybe even get some coin. Especially for people like me, who don’t live in the 100 cities (Allentown, PA won’t be one, I can guarantee you that).

Magnolia Films, who’s behind the release (and has been doing it for 5 years!) needs to be commended. They’re giving the little guy a voice and giving other filmmakers something to shoot for in a day and age where hope is hard to come by. Well done.

Oscar Time!

2010-02-02T16:28:00.001-05:00

This morning the nominations were announced for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. As Academy Prez Tom Sherak and the very lovely Anne Hathaway announced the nominees, I was excited and invigorated. Awards season always gets my blood going and gets my creative juices flowing. I always feel an extra piece of motivation during awards season. It makes me want to get to work. I seriously wanted to go out right then and there and start shooting the rest of Old Scratch.

I was reading The Hollywood Reporter this morning and they were talking about 1939, the last year of the Golden Age of the Studios, and how they had 10 Best Picture Nominees. Many of them are classic films, like The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, were part of the reason there were 10 nominees. If you took half away, what films would you deny (potential) Oscar glory? They discussed the fact that The Dark Knight is partly responsible for the Academy going back to 10 Best Pictures noms.

It’s nice to know that a comic book film has that kind of pull. It truly was a masterpiece, and I think 50 years from now it will be looked at as a watershed moment in cinema. Geeky was officially cool. (I also think they will consider it a travesty the Christopher Nolan was not nominated for an Oscar). You can take what was historically a child’s medium and make it adult, serious and entertaining for the masses. I hope that there are more films like this going forward.

Looking at this year’s Oscar list, I see some surprises both good and bad. I am glad to see Jeremy Renner get a Best Actor nom for The Hurt Locker. The film is getting love, but he wasn’t. I was also happy to see Stanley Tucci get a nod for Best Supporting Actor. Ditto for Matt Damon in Invictus. Up landed a Best Picture Nom as well as Best Animated film and Best Screenplay. I was upset to see Sam Rockwell left out for Moon. His performance was touted by a lot of people, including serious film bloggers. I have yet to see it but he’s a good actor and a cool guy. He deserves some love I think. Also, Viggo Mortensen not getting a sniff of recognition for The Road. That book affected me deeply and while I have yet to see the movie (damn limited releases!!) if the character is anything like he was in the book, it’s a meaty, choice role and an actor of his caliber will do well.

I was also surprised to see A Serious Man get noms for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. I have yet to see it but I hear it’s a good film though not one of the Coen’s best. I was sure 500 (Days) of Summer would get a screenplay nod, but it didn’t.

I was also happy to see Michael Giacchino, my other fave compose, get a nod for Up’s score. He’s won a few awards, I hope it continues.

To me, this means that the Academy is guilty of what the Hollywood Foreign Press does: play favorites. Clint Eastwood’s films always seem to have a nom, as do the Coen brothers now. Sure, they are masters of their craft, but not everything they do is gold. You know they will always be there, why not give Scott Neustadter &
Michael H. Weber (Summer’s writers) some recognition. They may never again write something as original and fun as the film they did.

I don’t think there are any clear favorites except Mo’nique and Christoph Waltz in the Supporting Actor categories. It should be wide open and fun, which is what makes the Oscars cool.

Shooting, The Globes and Conan

2010-01-18T22:25:00.001-05:00

2010 is off to a great start for me. I’ve really been able to dig in and get things going. It helps that my daughter is firmly settled into a routine now so I can better plan things. Just this past week, I got a lot done: I’m halfway through rewrite passes on my feature script, I finalized a design for my Stunod Pictures DVDs and on Saturday we shot Old Scratch.

I’ve wanted to put the films on DVD for a couple of years, but for a filmmaker who specializes in no-budget shorts, I didn’t have the funds to do it the way I wanted and how they deserved to be done. Early last year I got the software I needed but wasn’t able to come up with something simple that I could work with. Now I have that but the test DVDs I used are awful, so I have to try again. But I think it’s going to work. What I am doing is breaking up my film in volumes. Right now I have enough for two volumes. I am hoping by the end of the year to have three.

On Saturday, we shot Old Scratch in Lancaster at my producer’s office and his parents’ pool house. We added two actors to the mix: Alicia Wernick and Jon Patrick Smith. Both of them did excellent work and fit their roles perfectly. I was very impressed with Alicia and re-wrote a scene for her as a result. We didn’t get in as much as we planned, but we got awfully close. It was a great day. I still need to cast the grandpa and grandchild for the intro and V.O scenes. I have an actor in mind for the grandpa. Sam Fatta, who played the teacher in my film The Chase, would be great for the role. I was hoping my son Dylon would play the grandson, but he isn’t that interested. Still I have time and that may be the last thing that I shoot.

Last night I watched the Golden Globes. I think it was well done and Ricky Gervais did a great job hosting. I guess some of the winners could be considered a surprise, but since these awards aren’t usually a pre-cursor to the Oscars, I’m not sure the term “surprise” is accurate. It was a shock to see Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges win. They both deserved it. I loved Robert Downey’s speech. Very funny. Mo’nique had a very moving speech as well. And while I think a lot of people in Hollywood are out of touch with reality, James Cameron confirmed for me last night that he’s the most out of touch. The country is in a recession and not getting better and he says “Give yourselves a hand. We have the best job in the world.” Many people watching are out of work and he’s talking about how great he has it. Well done dumbass.

Lastly, I want to give my thoughts on the NBC Late Night fiasco. NBC really screwed the pooch on this one. First of all, Jay Leno is NOT FUNNY. The only reason he did well on the The Tonight Show is because it’s the Tonight Show and many senior citizens and people in their 50s watched it. They were going to watch because it was a big part of their lives. When Jay left, we got to see him for what he really is: A no-talent hack. The fact that they’re willing to do what they did shows they don’t really like Conan, who is much better at this than Jay. Conan is getting screwed and I support him 100%. I hope he goes to Fox and blows Jay out of the water. The only good thing about this is that David Letterman is finally getting the ratings he deserves. He’s probably sitting back and loving every second. And with what he’s been through, it’s good to see him getting positive news.

Keep your eyes peeled to stunodpictures.com for more news and updates, especially as the lineup for the 2010 Lancaster Area Film Festival starts to takes shape.

Remembering Back, Looking Ahead

2010-01-04T23:14:00.001-05:00

2010 is here. I feel the hope and optimism that accompanies the change in calendar year. People are eager to get past the rough 2009 many of us experienced.

I am one of them. After not releasing a film, I am very eager to jump back on the horse and get going. Granted the Lancaster Area Film Festival, one of the major reasons I didn’t finish any movies, was a big success, but it took a lot of work to get up and running. This year will be a lot easier since we have a theater who’s selling all of the food. We just have to worry about tickets and films.

I am sitting reflecting on the nice Christmas my family had, especially since my wife and I took down our tree today (her idea). I love Christmas not only for the obvious reasons, but because people seem to be generally better and nicer to their fellow man this time of year. It’s really a time of joy and hope. The Christmas tree and decorations are a symbol of that to me. That all seems to go away once people return to their lives on January 2. Putting them back in storage for a year reminds me that things will revert to normal.

While I reflect on that, I also take the time to go back through my goals, see what I’ve accomplished and look to the year ahead and make new goals. So let’s take a look at what I aimed for in 2009:

1) Release 3 films
2) Release 4 episodes of my web series
3) Get all films released into at least 1 festival
4) Attend all east coast festivals my films are accepted to
5) Start Production of 007 fan film
6) Get previously released films onto DVD
7) Finish feature script and send it out
8) Ask producer I worked with in past for rights to the script we collaborated on
9) Help Make LAFF a success

As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t reach 1 or 2, and subsequently, 3 and 4 couldn’t be possible. I lost the prime skating rink for the Bond fan film, but that probably won’t happen now, but I have something I think is better that I will share later on.

#6 is almost complete, so I am counting that. I finished seven and am in the process of sending it out for feedback, so notch that one in the belt.

I also got a new job that I needed time to adjust to, as did my wife. That, coupled with my daughter learning to walk, talk and get into mischief, made my getting films done more challenging. Now, with a year under my belt with those adjustments, I feel confident that I can not only set goals that are attainable (though may still be difficult) but reach them. So without further ado, here are my goals for 2010:

1) Release 3 films
2) Complete a first draft of 2 feature length scripts
3) Make LAFF's second year a success
4) Finish putting my films on DVD
5) Get rights to hero-oriented script I collaborated on with a Hollywood Producer

As you can see, there are fewer goals this year. They are still high aims, but fewer of them. They're also more realistic, IMO. Now you may be thinking how I can release three films when I didn't put one out last year? Well, Old Scratch will finish shooting in February, and my son just finished shooting his second Lego film, this time doing an homage to Godzilla and Indiana Jones. I am so proud! So that leaves just one more short film to shepherd through. That and since I'll most likely have to take on filming without Bryan's help early on in the year (more on that below), I can make more ambitious schedules because I'll only have to align my time with my actors, not my usual crew (which tends to be the opposite of mine).

As for #4, that is about 60% done. Once Old Scratch and LAFF are done, I can concentrate on finishing this.

#2 may be a tricky one. My first feature needs some polishing, but I am still working on the script that Bryan and I worked on before. I am taking that up because he's about to become the father of twins, so he won't have much time (also why I need to finish Old Scratch soon) this year until probably the fall.

As for #5, I still want to do that, but if I can get any kind of positive outcome with my first feature, even just placing in a contest, I think it'll give me the leverage to get the script.

So there you have it. I'm ready to get started, so take care and may you all have a prosperous New Year. Please feel free to share your goals, filmmaking and otherwise, for 2010.

P.S.: Minor quibble here, but the decade isn't over yet. There was no year 0 so we still have one year to go.

Recent Update and Stuff

2009-12-29T12:02:00.004-05:00

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and got everything you wanted.

Some of you have asked about the shoot on the 20th and how it went. I am sorry to say that once again, God intervened. There was about two feet of snow in Lancaster (around a foot near my home) and we were forced to postpone.

Many people ask if I get sick of these things always happening, and I must admit it is frustrating at times. But every film that has had some sort of delay has played in, and done well at, various film festivals. So I take each one as a good sign.

I am particularly frustrated because we were able to procure a variety of talented actors and actresses for the remaining parts. We have a model and actress splitting her time on the East Coast and LA, an actor with major acting training and small parts on cable shows and another with top roles in various productions in all mediums. I am very excited to work with this group and they are pumped about the script. It’s going to be great, we just need some time now.

Since I expected to have the week prior to Christmas to edit the footage, I instead took the time to watch some films in my seemingly ever-increasing pile. For those that don’t know, I have a stack of about 20 DVDs next to my flat-screen. Some are favorites I want to watch again, some are major hits I didn’t get to see in theaters and others have special features I can learn from. I’m halfway through Inglorious Basterds and I caught up on the 1951 UK version of A Christmas Carol with Alastair Sim, far and away the best adaptation. My father in law is a big help in this regard. He goes to Sam’s Club and grabs New Releases just about every week. Now, with awards season being here, he’s grabbing some of the nominated films.

As a filmmaker, I should be watching as many as I can to see why they were nominated, but I have to confess that there are some I just don’t want to see. Julie and Julia is a perfect example. I have no interest in the subject matter or the story itself, even if Amy Adams is in it (though with her character’s short hair, she looks like a man). Yes I will miss out on a great performance, but it’s hard for me to watch when I have no interest in what the film is about. Now, if I’m in the Academy and I have a vote, that’s a different story…

The other thing I wanted to touch on is the death of Brittany Murphy.

It was very sad to see her pass at the age of 32. Being 31 now, it scares me when I see people dying that young. It makes you consider your own mortality, especially when you’re the same age. Now if it was a heart attack, usually a person has an abnormality that wasn’t discovered or they were on drugs. It’s rare for someone who appeared to be healthy to just die of a massive heart attack at such a young age. But it still gives me pause. I offer my condolences to her family. May you rest in peace and may perpetual light shine upon you, Brittany.

2009 has been rough for many. Here’s to a Happy New Year and better days ahead in 2010.

Best Films of the Decade

2009-12-23T15:19:00.002-05:00

As the first decade of the new millennium comes to a close, you will see many “best of” lists in the media. One of the biggest is “best films of the decade”, one that I can get behind. So as the year draws to a close, I’d like to offer, in no particular order my favorite films of the decade (these are ones that I have seen. There are some that may make you say ‘what, you don’t like film x?’ It’s because I haven’t seen it. Hey, I’m a family man and filmmaker myself; there have to be sacrifices).

So without further ado, here are my best (favorite is probably the better word) films of the decade:

28 Days Later
History of Violence
The Dark Knight
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
The Prestige
Children of Men
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
No country for Old Men
Batman Begins & The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Lord of The Rings Trilogy
Jason Bourne Trilogy
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Kill Bill Vol. 2
Gladiator
The Departed
Watchmen
Heist
The Brotherhood of the Wolf
Primer
Let the Right One In
Iron Man
Memento
30 Days of Night
Gladiator
Big Fish
Pan’s Labyrinth
Wall-E
Night Watch
Day Watch
Juno
Batman Begins
X-men
X-men 2
Once
Star Trek
Love Actually
Pitch Black
American Psycho
King Kong
28 Days Later
In Bruges

Tell me your list!

End of the Year Approaches

2009-12-11T09:35:00.000-05:00

The Holiday Season is upon us. Hanukkah is upon us and two weeks from today is Christmas. Kwanzaa starts soon after that, as does Festivus. In the midst of my preparations for this most wonderful time of year, I’m still hard at work on films.

I received an email from IMDB on Monday asking for more information on the Lancaster Area Film Festival, specifically how selective it is. Bryan is being gracious enough to write a small piece regarding this, including the film by the co-writer of American Pie and the sci-fi authors that were present and in some of the films.

The Sunday before Christmas we will be resuming shooting of Old Scratch. I hope to get most of it done, if not all of it. That may be hard as well as finalizing designs for Mark’s makeup for the end. I’d love to say more but it will give it away. We’re in the process of looking for actors for smaller parts.

I’ve also sprung ideas for a crossover of two great pop culture institutions into a story. Whether it will be a short film or a short story, I can’t say at this point. I probably won’t tackle it until later in 2010. But I think it’s a great idea personally and something that fans of both sagas will enjoy.

Lastly, I am looking back at 2009 while prepping for 2010. With the changes in my life, including my baby girl, I have to reassess my goals. While 2009 was an ambitious year, I’m starting to believe it was unrealistic to achieve. I am sure I will be scaling back my goals, but after having no films released this year (well, maybe I’ll have one: my son’s second Lego short is almost done, but I am just producing that), I don’t think I can shoot for Mars. I’ll stick to shooting for the moon. You have to. And with my short scripts (5-7 pages) I think I can do that. But my goals articles are a couple of weeks off.

In the meantime, enjoy your Holiday season, may you have a prosperous New Year and keep your eyes on stunodpictures.com for updates.

IHM-DIB

2009-11-18T15:47:00.003-05:00

I have a love hate relationship with IMDB for a few years now. For those that aren’t familiar, IMDB is an acronym for Internet Movie Database. I like to call it IHM-DIB. It is THE go-to tool for anything regarding movie and TV. You can look up actors, films, and TV episodes from all over the world. It is used by everyone in the movie industry and those who want to be in the industry. They even have a sister site, IMDBPro.com, that is a pay service used strictly by industry professionals.

One of the great things about it is that you can make changes to it. Now granted, the changes are limited and they have to be approved (which can take anywhere from two weeks to two months) but you can edit them. I was one of the many who tried to update Heath Ledger’s page upon his death. I have added some trivia to some known and not-so-known writers and directors.

But the biggest thing is that they allow filmmakers to have their own credits posted, even for short films. They recently partnered with Withoutabox, allowing films accepted to fests through that site get added to IMDB. This is a great tool for filmmakers, who can now get some exposure on a site used by pros. And face it, it’s cool to look up Brad Pitt on IMDB one minute, then search and find your name next.

They have guidelines where this is concerned, just so some guy who was an extra on public access doesn’t have a page. But IMDB allows to request your film (or your buddy’s) to be added.

This is where the hate comes in. For the past 5 years I have tried to get all of my films listed. That’s where some of the guidelines come in. They will accept your film if it’s screened to the public or sold as a DVD. This includes film festivals, though there are certain ones they don’t accept (mainly the NY International Independent Film & Video Festival, which my first two films were in and one received an award for. Go figure) because they take anything, regardless of quality (they should leave a lot of Hollywood films out for that very reason). So that knocks out The Prize and Passing The Test. Fine, I can see their point.

When you add a title, you pick things like director, writer, actors, who released it, country and year of origin, and they have a drop down list of festivals. If it’s in this list usually there’s a good chance they’ll take it. With the exception of the American Motion Picture Society Film Festival and our fest, the Lancaster Area Film Festival, all of the others that I’ve been accepted into are in their database.

To this day, none of my credits have been to be added. And of course there is no way to contact them and see why you weren’t added. I’m sure they’d say your entry didn’t meet guidelines, and wouldn’t elaborate on which guidelines you failed to meet. I am hoping that at least Brogue would get added because Bryan is in it, and he has a credit from getting Ironicality into IMDB since it was accepted to a fest via Withoutabox.

I am getting frustrated, not because I am left out, but because of the whole damn process. It has come to a point where I will enter the festival I help run via Withoutabox just so I can get listed! What has the world come to?

Paranormal Activity = Abnormal Failure

2009-11-03T10:14:00.001-05:00

Sunday was a great day for me. My wife and I went on a date, the first we’ve had in a while. She turned me on to the film Paranormal Activity phenomenon, which is a rare thing. We planned to catch a matinee and a romantic dinner afterwards.

We were both very hyped up to see the film. My wife loves horror movies that are scary, and I have been since we got together, because anything that gets my wife to jump into my lap is a good thing. ;) Besides that, my goal is to do what writer-director Oren Peli did: get a film made for a cheap amount and get distribution. He made a film that became the new Blair Witch Project and as of last week, became the most profitable indie film of all time.

After watching the film, I have to say WOW! What a MAJOR disappointment! There were hardly any scary moments, and the last four or five shots seem manufactured (whereas the rest of the film felt real and genuine). I thought the actors were great; they had real chemistry and you felt as if they’d been together for a while. But the only semi-scary moment has been shown in the film’s TV spots. I really haven’t been this underwhelmed with a film in a long while.

Now, I don’t want my review to take away the admiration I have for what Oren Peli has done. He is to be commended for making a film on limited means and creating incredible buzz for it. He is set in Hollywood and should have a long career. His next feature is Area 51, which is apparently going to be Paranormal Activity with aliens. I still want to see it, being an alien and UFO buff, but I have tempered my enthusiasm for it.

Nevertheless, Oren should be commended for his efforts. I am very excited to see the Behind-The-Scenes features on the DVD and how you accomplished some of those visual effects on that budget. I am sorry to say, that the product doesn’t get anywhere close to the hype.

A Sad Loss

2009-11-02T12:28:00.003-05:00

This past Friday I was taking a break from working on my feature script and went online to scope out some movie-related websites. One of them was a perennial favorite, The Amateur FanFilms Forum(AFFF).

To my surprise, I was redirected to Random String of Words. This is the site for Palamedes, who owns AFFF. He left a note that said the forum was done, citing costs and the site's prevalence of spam and nots.

This was very sad for me. The AFFF was, in many ways, my education in fan films and filmmaking. I learned a lot of tips and tricks, made a few friends and gained collaborators. I found it after I spent a lot of time on TheForce.net's Fan Films forum. When the realization hit me that people on the TheForce.net's forums were only interested in getting advice, not giving it, and that many of them were pretentious (this included moderators, unfortunately), the helpful, laidback folks at AFFF were a welcome change.

As a result of my time on the site, I can say my stories and filmmaking skills are better. I've reached out to my friends, hoping we can keep in touch and/or collaborate on future projects together.

Like all good things, The Amateur Fan Films Forum has come to an end. While it is a sad thing, I take comfort in knowing that the knowledge, friends and contacts I made through it will carry on. I am thankful for its existence and recall it fondly.

Amateur Fan Films Forum, 2000 - 2009
R.I.P.

LAFF is on Withoutabox!

2009-10-22T08:28:00.002-04:00

I am happy to announce that the Lancaster Area Film Festival is now on Withoutabox! This is great news for us, as it legitimizes our fest and with their new initiative, we can watch digital screeners online, making our job easier (Well, making my job easier. I'm in charge of the selection committee).
You can go here to view our entry and enter the fest.

Out Of Touch

2009-10-19T09:45:00.001-04:00

No, I’m not going to discuss Hall and Oates. They were before my time and a reminder that my mother controlled the radio all those years on our trips to see Grandma in Pittsburgh (thank Heavens for walkmans!). Rather, I am touching on a theme today.

One of the many great things about my wife (besides being beautiful and a Star Wars fan) is that she shares the remote with me equally. I usually get the run of the TV on Sundays so I can watch football and she gets time alone with our daughter. In turn, unless the Denver Broncos are on, we watch Sunday night TV on ABC until she goes to bed (fortunately for me, between 9:30-10, so I catch most of the game anyway!). One show she loves to watch is Extreme Home Makeover. She loves seeing the transformation of the houses (she’s into building and home improvements, which is great because I am not.) and the reaction of the people who get the homes.

While they do a great job, and I think Ty is a great role model for young people and adults alike (is that guy on crack? How does a 40+ man maintain that high energy level on a daily basis?), they have a big flaw that really takes me out of the show: they’re all maudlin. Anyone who watches the show knows that these people have hardships and that’s why they need the house, but do you need to make them re-live that hardship by bringing it up all week? And then you give them the house and remind them they had it real bad just seven days ago? C’mon. For a world focusing on the negative, you actually have a show that accentuates something positive, but Ty and the others bring it down by talking about why the families were in the shitter to begin with. Now I realize that maybe the producers encourage that to shape the show and do a rags-to-riches type tale, but it wears on me after a while. And the worst is when they do it with kids. They are suffering when they shouldn’t have to, they have a brand new house with awesome things that most normal kids never get, and you make them feel like crap for reminding them they’re in the situation they have. If that IS an order from ABC to do that, then it shows they’re out of touch with society.

Speaking of which, you may be asking why I watch that with my wife instead of watching the game on another TV? The answer is my cable company made the full switch to digital and as such, only one TV works. That’s because you need a converter box for ALL of your TV’s if you want them to work. In one of the most blatant attempts to get more money, they are seriously inconveniencing customers by doing this. I am sure they can make it work without having to do this. In fact, their top competitor is able to do that, and I am thinking of giving them a call this week. In the midst of a recession, where many people are out of work, the company pulls this. You’re not Comcast. You have competition to worry about. Yet that doesn’t seem to bother them. They too are out of touch.

Finally, many have said that Hollywood is VERY out of touch with America at large. I got another confirmation of that this morning while reading the Hollywood Reporter. The networks are highlighting volunteering this week, while showcasing it on some of their shows, including Parks & Recreation. They give the standard spiel about how it’s good and does good for you as well as the person you’re helping, yada-yada-yada. It has some traction because it’s led by former studio boss Sherry Lansing who is highly respected.

While it’s a good idea in principle, I question the timing. Sure, volunteering has its rewards I guess ( I didn’t get much of my volunteering that was mandatory in HS and college – that’s probably why), but right now people are out of work and struggling to survive and keep their homes. Their time is spent looking for work. The last thing they need to do is volunteer. President Obama is making that a big push, even to the point of making it mandatory for 18 year-olds ( this isn’t a political blog, but that is wrong on so many levels, and I will leave it at that). Let’s focus on getting people back to work and securing their futures at least for a while before we worry about volunteering. Once again…

…They’re out of touch and I’m out of time. I have work I need to do. I would like to say that I welcome any and all comments, criticisms and queries about the re-designed website. Please visit if you get a chance.

STUNODPICTURES.COM REBOOT

2009-10-15T15:06:00.001-04:00

No I am not talking about the endless stream of sad films coming out of Tinseltown. I’m referring to stunodpictures.com. I am proud to announce the redesign of our website. There are still some bugs that need to be worked out, but for the most part it is up and running.

I decided to make the change for a few reasons. When I first made the site, I just wanted a web presence. This was before YouTube but after I made my first two films. That and my friends and collaborators on those films thought it was neat to see themselves on the web.

Now things have changed. With my involvement in the Lancaster Area Film Festival and my name on that homepage, as well as my desire to soon start a financing push for a feature, I felt it was time to have a more professional looking website. My site was good for 2003, when it was created. But it looked like crap. I had planned on doing it earlier this year, but when my computers crashed I lost Frontpage, which I used to create it.

There’s not much that will change, other than a more streamlined look and better looking graphics. I’ve added a link to upcoming projects, which will give you a tease of what is to come.

I am also thinking of adding a section for my other creative endeavors as well. I am in the midst of working on a short story, as well as turning some of my more ambitious and improbable scripts (only due to time constraints, nothing more) into short stories. I may post them on this page as well. I have some time to work on them because filming won’t resume on Old Scratch until November now.

The story I am working on now deals with two prominent characters from an academia-based profession made prominent by two different, but connected popular culture mediums. Want to know more?

Stay tuned to the new and improved stunodpictures.com.

5...5 Minute...5 Minute Moooovies!

2009-09-29T10:50:00.001-04:00

As we approach the end of September (already??!!) and get closer to the holiday season, I had some time to do some honest reflection this past weekend. It looks like I will be cutting it close to getting to my goal of releasing three films this year. Especially since I am waiting to finish filming Old Scratch!

Now you may be asking how I plan to accomplish this with three months left in the year and my notorious history of taking almost 6 months to shoot 1 film? The answer is: scripts of 5 pages or less. I have finally come up with good story ideas that can be told in a 5 minute (or fewer) time frame. They’re entertaining, can be seen by a wide audience and have a message. I must say that last part surprises even me, because usually I am not trying to say anything that profound. The best part is that they take place primarily in one location, with another location for a couple of scenes. The biggest thing is these can all be shot in one day. I need to make more of these films, but so far the stories I have aren’t conducive to a five minute telling. Maybe I can write some more as the year winds down.

In other news, I have to vent for a moment. I am kind of at a loss at all of the attention Michael Jackson and Roman Polanski are getting. While I both respect these men as great artists who have made classic and timeless works, they are child molesters! If they weren’t the people they were, they’d be (or would have been, in Michael’s case) in jail and no one would care! Now, the entire world is having a Jackson memorial and Hollywood and the Weinsteins are having rallies to support Polanski. They raped children! What is wrong with you? You wouldn’t back him if that was your child he accosted.

That’s enough of that. I’m gonna get back to writing. No sense in wasting time on that stuff.

Saddening State of Sequels

2009-09-22T09:52:00.005-04:00

I finally had the chance to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen a couple of weeks back. I was very pumped to see it for a variety of reasons: I grow up with the toys and cartoons, I saw the animated movie in the 1980s (where I cried on my mom's arm, screaming "They can't kill Optimus mommy, they can't!") I loved the first live action film and they shot the opening sequence of the movie in my backyard (which looked awesome!).

I confess myself disappointed in this effort, and I tend to find the positives in both. Unlike a lot of critics, there was a plot and unlike Adam Quigley of Slashfilm.com and Always Watching fame, I could easily follow what was going on when robots were fighting (In all seriousness Adam, if you watch the movie you can tell who's who and what they're doing). Still, the movie was a bomb. Like I said, there was a story, but I really didn't care about it. There was never any sense of doom or dread. The first film had that. They also added way too many new transformers on both sides, without telling us who they were. Now I know this film is a ploy to sell Hasbro toys, but just because you can explain things seen in the movie with toys, doesn't mean you should. After all, the bulk of this audience doesn't even play with them! Some of the action is just there because Michael Bay knows how to blow shit up. It was one big clusterfuck.

The same thing happened when I took my wife and son to see Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. My boy really enjoyed the first film and was excited to see it as soon as he saw the first trailer.

I was entertained by the flick, but I had a few problems with it, and they are similar to what I am seeing in sequels today. It's proof that most sequels don't advance the story, they are just grabs for more money. They try to build a franchise for films that aren't set up for them. This film fits that mold perfectly. The first flick gave us a closed ending. It was nice and neat. But because it made over $300 million the studio just HAD to make another.

So what went wrong? The first thing is mailed-in performances. What's surprising here is that it comes from the film's lead, Ben Stiller. He looks disinterested throughout the picture. Perhaps he's waiting for his next project, or to get home to his wife. Either way, this dooms the film to mediocrity.

I also think that there were too many characters, just like in TF2. They introduced Amelia Earhart, General Custer, Al Capone, Ivan the Terrible, Napoleoon and Kahmunrah. That's IN ADDITION to all of the big characters from the first film (plus dozens of minor characters!)! That tends to confuse the main target audience: children.

There's also a lack of tension until about 3/4 of the way through the film. Larry head to get the tablet, but other than daylight, there wasn't any kind of hurry. We learn near the end that he has a meeting with Wal-Mart in the morning. That's poor storytelling. Then again, the writers also wrote the horrid Jimmy Fallon starrer Taxi. So maybe we expect too much. All in all, these negatives don't allow this film to be good.

Now there were a lot of positives. Hank Azaria was hilarious, especially when talking to Oscar the Grouch and Darth Vader. My son tells everyone "What's with the cape? Are we going to the opera? I don't think so."

Amy Adams is wonderful as Earhart. She is a great actress and it's about time she gets a studio film. She looks smokin' in her aviator pants. I told my wife she needs to get a pair. Really, they are that great. Christopher Guest shines as Ivan the Terrible, and the CGI was seamless. I was sad to see less of Robin Williams, but given his health, I can see why.

Sadly, most of the sequels we're seeing are way below par (X-men: The Last Stand, anyone?). And as soon as a film does well, the studio announces sequel plans. The days of The Godfather Part II, The Empire Strikes Back andTerminator 2, great sequels that are as good or surpass the original, are long gone. The Dark Knight was a welcome exception that proves the rule. Films like The Hangover get sequels before they even come out. Seriously, what can you possibly do in The Hangover 2 that can be matched by the original?

And you can't lay the blame squarely on the filmmakers. Guys like Robert Zemeckis and Robert Gale made Back to the Future II and III, even though they didn't want to, because the studio was making one and they figured if it was going to get screwed up, they were going to do it. You have to give them credit for it. And while these movies suck (not BTTF II and III, sequels in general, though BTTF II isn't that great IMO), it does open the door for filmmakers who otherwise wouldn't have a gig. I fully expect that my first Hollywood directing gig will be on the set of Confessions of a Shopaholic 3: Charge Hard. Yeah it will be terrible, end up going to video, but I will at least have a job. But if I create my own masterpiece, and the studios want a sequel, I think I would honestly lose sleep over whether or not I'd do it. In the past, it was a no-brainer. Now, I am not sure. And that's the fault of studio interference.

So Hollywood, please stop making sequels just to make a buck. You wonder why you lose 55-60% of your audience after the first week. It's not rocket science, your sequels suck!

I Suggest You Try It

2009-09-01T08:50:00.001-04:00

I just got back from a wonderful (and much needed) vacation in McDonalds Corners, Ontario, Canada. Situated about 90 minutes southwest of Ottawa, it's home to Lake Dalhousie, a wonderful fishing spot. We went with my father- and brother-in-law and his fiancée. It was a nice time.

It also gave me the time to sit down and hammer out changes and rewrites to my feature script. With my son out fishing and my daughter either at the park or sleeping, I sat down and took a good honest look at my work. I was able to make some changes which I think solidify Act One and give me a lot of good ideas where to go in Act Two.

If you ever get a chance to get away for a couple of days, not even a week, take it. You will do very well with your writing. Just having that time to do nothing but work on your piece is invigorating. Of course I did partake in fishing, family activities and a trip to Ottawa, but the time I spent writing was invaluable.

The Genius of Remakes

2009-07-05T22:20:00.005-04:00

I was very disheartened to read a couple of weeks back that two of my favorite 80s films, movies that I grew up on, Flight of the Navigator and Teen Wolf, were going to be given the remake treatment by Hollywood.

As with most people, I find remakes to be terribly worse than the original, often a waste of my money and time. The few exceptions I can think of are 3:10 to Yuma and, and, well that's about it right now.

But as I sat in traffic last week, a thought crossed my mind: remakes may be the best idea Hollywood has entertained in years. Many of you are probably wondering if I've lost my mind, but hear me out. Think about it. You learn that a film is getting the remake treatment. The current generation of young people, who a lot of movies are targeted to, especially in the summer, haven't heard of the remake. So they will ask their friends and older relatives, and seek out the original AFTER seeing the original. Older fans will pine for said original either after seeing the inferior remake or avoiding it altogether, and the studios will accommodate by releasing the original on DVD. You will still have some fans who like the remake, and you always have younger people who don't enjoy old movies, and they buy the new one for their home theaters.

So not only does the studio make money on the theatrical release, but they get the DVD revenue from the new release AND re-releasing the original work. Three times the profit. Now, once in a while they have to act like they want to help the consumer. So they'll package the original work with the remake, like the DVD release of The Day The Earth Stood Still. Well done, studios. I commend you on doing one thing intelligently with film these days.

Now we can only hope they keep producing inferior remakes, otherwise the plan goes to hell.

To Tweet or not to Tweet

2009-06-28T13:02:00.002-04:00

I received an email the other day from an old friend. It said he wants to follow me on Twitter.

I've been reluctant to join the newest internet phenomenon. First of all, when not doing internet related things, I lead an average life. Many would consider boring especially for the 14-24 crowd that this is geared to. I'm also not convinced that Twitter is a lifelong thing. According to the various entertainment news reports, it's not a moneymaker. They have a hard time getting ad revenue. If memory serves, News Corp. (owns Fox) set a timetable to make it profitable or they will sell it. So it may be gone by Christmas.

Then again, I would be able to follow some of my fave podcasts, including Slashfilm and members of Cinematical. I could also follow my favorites actors/athletes/celebs, ones that someday (hopefully!) could be colleagues.

I know people read my blog, so I turn this to you. Should I join? If you tweet, why do you like it? I look forward to hearing from you.

Rough and Tumble

2009-06-04T09:16:00.003-04:00

I am glad the calendar has turned and June is upon us. Partly because the official start of summer goes down on the 20th, and my son gets out of school so we can hang out more, but also because May was a very rough month.

Not that I have anything against May. My wedding anniversary is May 13th. And it started out well enough with the Lancaster Area Film Festival. But the next day things took a turn for the worse. My car went to vehicle heaven. We had one car which made it difficult. To make matters worse, my computer, which is my lifeblood for films and income, went kaput. I had no internet for almost a week. That is hard to deal with for me. The internet is my way of staying connected. I couldn't work on Old Scratch.

But if there is anything I've learned, it's that if you stick things out, they will change. And they did. I type this on my brother-in-law's old computer. Thanks BJ, not only for your comp, but also serving our country in the Air Force! I am also working on the finishing touches of my script's first draft, which I did thanks to the electronics meltdown. The only thing is now I can't find my FrontPage disc to reinstall that. I can't work on my website without it.

June looks promising, and I look forward to the nice weather. I hope to finish Old Scratch and I have a couple of smaller projects I think I can do before the end of Summer (which is September 20th, not Labor Day!).

So the moral of the story is: stick it out, you can endure, it will get better. A good message for these tough times.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to call Nintendo Tech Support. My Wii isn't working and my wife is upset. She wanted to play beer pong (yes it's a game on Wii. Called Ping Cup. No lie).

We Had a Good LAFF

2009-05-12T09:24:00.002-04:00

Yes, I realize it's May 12, and the Lancaster Area Film Festival took place ten days ago. There has been a lot going on for both Bryan and myself, and I haven't had a chance to post about it. I do think that the time has given me a chance to objectively assess things.

All things considered, LAFF was a success. I think that has to attributed in part to some of our filmmakers and special guests, authors Brian Keene and J.F. Gonzalez. Bryan was hoping to have 500 attendees but once I saw where Liberty Place was located, I knew that was going to be hard to attain. Still, everyone had a good time, and that's what matters. We now also know what it takes to put this together and gives us a good idea of what to do and what not to do.

Some of the highlights:

- Theater 3 was packed for the second block, and the crowd went nuts for Jimmy's Travel Blog. Bryan said people teared up they were laughing so hard.

- My son, 9-year-old Dylon got an honorable mention award and was cheered on by the other filmmakers in attendance. His film kicked off the festival and many guests came just to see his film before hitting the other theaters. He was so happy, as was I. I was a very proud papa.

- A Stormtrooper and TIE pilot from the 501st Legion came, and my son and his friends got pictures with them. I did too. The Stormtrooper was short and I asked him "Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?" Always wanted to say that. My daughter didn't want anything to do with them, or Cylo, the local baseball team's mascot. He even gave me a hug and still she cried.

All in all it was a great experience to be a part of, and I look forward to doing it again next year. My task is submissions next year, which means I get watch all of the films first. I am very excited about that prospect.

In the next few weeks, I have some exciting news about projects I will share. Keep checking stunodpictures.com for updates.

Upcoming Screenings

2009-04-13T11:59:00.004-04:00

I am very happy to announce that three Stunod films have been accepted to the Lancaster Area Film Festival! All three films will be playing on Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 at Liberty Place in Lancaster, PA. The times have not been announced yet. You will be able to see The Fight To Survive: A Mighty Wind, Brogue and Lego Shark Attack.

Be sure to keep checking stunodpictures.com, as we will post showtimes when they become available.

Oscars - Quick Thoughts

2009-03-23T09:09:00.007-04:00

I'm sitting here on Sunday night, March 22, relaxing after watching a great weekend of the NCAA Tournament. I just realized that exactly one month ago was the Oscars. Since I was mired in a lot of stuff, I didn't get a chance to comment. Since they happened ages ago (as far as media goes), I figured it's too far gone for an in-depth commentary, but I did want to make a few comments.

- Did anyone have a doubt that Heath Ledger would get the Oscar? Many people may think that he may have gotten it as a final goodbye tribute, but he truly had the best performance of the year. It was also great because he won for playing a comic book character, further proof that they are truly mainstream. Great news for us geeks.

- I liked the ceremony, especially bringing out past winners in the acting categories. I think they ought to keep it. I liked the scenes from the various genres of movies as well, though I think right after that, give away an award. You can also do more awards back to back, like sound editing and sound mixing immediately after. Good way to cut time.

- I have yet to see Milk, but I'm sure Sean Penn's performance was good. I just wanted Mickey Rourke to win, not only because of his performance, but I was excited to see what he'd say. Look up his Spirit Award speech. Funny as hell. Speaking of speeches, Dustin Lance Black gave what I think is the perfect acceptance speech. Sean Penn's was angry. What is he so mad about? He's one of the best actors of his generation, plus he's got two Oscars and a hot wife. What do you have to be mad about?

- Speaking of sound editing, I feel for the Slumdog Millionaire team. That was the only category they didn't win. That would piss me off, personally.

Lastly, check out streamingsoundtracks.com. It's internet radio playing nothing but movie and TV soundtracks and scores. Great for filmmakers, writers (like me, who like to listen to them when I write) and film fans.

It's Mid-March Already?

2009-03-19T10:55:00.002-04:00

Is it really March 19th? Does spring really come tomorrow? I guess it does. It's days like today that make Ferris Bueller a smart man. Life does pass you by if you don't slow down to look around.

A lot has happened since I last wrote here. We're filling up the film roster for the Lancaster Area Film Festival. I'm knee deep in production on Old Scratch. I'm also working on my feature script.

My daughter also celebrated her first birthday and my son is starting a brand new sport, lacrosse. I have to learn the rules so I know what's happening.

The only problem with Old Scratch so far is getting time to finish it. This past weekend I wasn't able to shoot, but Bryan, my DP stepped in. He knows what I'm going for and we're on the same page as usual, so I had no reservations about having him direct that day. I am very excited to see what he got. The scene he shot was Tom accepting the Devil's deal. I'm trying to edit as we go along, which will make things easier, especially as we get closer to LAFF's inaugural fest, which is where the film will play if finished. After this weekend, I have domestic responsibilities on hold for a few weeks, so I can finish production. We're going again on March 28th.

Also, I have been selected to participate in a documentary that Red Marker films is doing for ESPN regarding fantasy sports. I'm shooting footage that I hope will be included in the final product. For the uninitiated, fantasy sports is a game where you assemble real players from the major sports into your own teams and you get points based on their statistics. I've played since I was 12, and I have some great footage. I'm even meeting with a fantasy baseball expert this weekend to get some advice and film a small skit. I have great interactions with my kids, and my son's even helping me shoot. My baseball draft is next weekend, and I'm filming that. I know I'll get good stuff. The footage is due April 1, and I have no idea when this will be done, so I can't say when it will air.

I also wrote a script for a very short comic film. I think it's funny and I can put it together rather quickly. Perhaps I can get it in some festivals. Which reminds me, I need to get my music man on the horn.

Now that I am over the shock of the passage of time, I hope to have more entries soon for you, especially as we get closer to the festival. I may even post during the festival. But I have a lot coming up in the next few months that I will be sure to share.

Oh and if you get a chance, you HAVE to see Let The Right One In. Great film and it is a travesty that it was left out of best foreign picture Oscar. One of their many snubs this past year. I also recommend the book if you can find it. A great read, and excited me even more for the film.

Oscars

2009-01-27T08:02:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was a lot of fun. The only thing that put a damper on it was my boy was ill. In addition to a wonderful family weekend, I took the time to take a serious look at the Academy Award nominations. I didn’t want my emotions to cloud them. I know many a fanboy was irate over the exclusion of The Dark Knight from the Best Picture and Best Director categories. It was all over the web in a matter of minutes.

After taking a nice long look, I can’t say that I am surprised that they were excluded. After all, the Academy has never been that fond of summer blockbusters. Although this film was a critical darling, I personally considered it to be a long shot for this category. I always felt that after seeing it, Heath Ledger HAD to get a nom for his turn as the Joker. I am quite surprised to see him competing with Philip Seymour Hoffman, however. I took his role in Doubt as a leading role. But the Academy nominated Meryl Streep for Best Actress, so perhaps they consider her the star of the picture. Many pundits have Ledger as a lock to get the trophy, but I am not so sure of that. He’s got some very rough competition. I do think that in the end, Ledger will one because 1) He’s getting all the other major awards, 2) Most importantly, it is a PHENOMENAL performance and 3) Like it or not, some people will give him sympathy votes. Philip Seymour Hoffman has been nominated and has won before, and can do so again. Ledger won’t and I think that will ensure that he wins.

I have to admit I was surprised that Nolan didn’t get a nom, as he got a DGA nod. The DGA and the PGA usually are good predicators for Oscar, but not this time. Nolan really created a wonderful mythos for Batman and frankly, all comic books films to follow. He ought to be rewarded for that. But I think his reward comes from the fact that TDK got 8 nominations, including a second one for DP Wally Pfister, who I think has a great shot to win for Best Cinematography.

Very surprised to see The Reader get so many noms. I have yet to see it, but apparently it is very European in its structure, which the Academy tends to go ga-ga over. So it may end up with a few wins.

I was glad to see Marisa Tomei get nominated for The Wrestler, but was upset to see director Darren Aronofsky get shut out. Why doesn’t that man get any love? He takes on dark subjects and doesn’t hide them, he brings them out in all of their gory detail. He’s a genius, and I have no idea why he doesn’t get any love.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button led the way with 11 noms. I have yet to see this one, either, but from what I hear, Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York does a better job of dealing with the theme of aging than Button does. I have heard the CGI they did with Brad Pitt’s transformation was fantastic and needs to be seen in theaters.

On a quick side note, glad to see Josh Brolin finally doing well and getting some love. I was always convinced he was a good actor; he was just getting bad roles. I figured he’d always be the older kid from the Goonies. But he’s come full circle with a nod. Well done, Josh.

Most of the noms are really a surprise; they’ve been following the other awards. I plan on seeing some of these films as we get closer to Oscar night, around which time I will post my predictions. Feel free to compare with me! Until then, stay tuned to www.stunodpictures.com for updates on Old Scratch, which resumes production this weekend.

2009 New Year's Resolutions/Goals

2009-01-07T15:17:00.002-05:00

After revisiting my 2008 goals and taking some time to think, I have come up with my filmmaking resolutions for the New Year. In doing this, I had to consider what happened the past two years, including one of my best productions: my daughter. Being the dad of 9-month old girl takes a lot of time, something I didn't factor in last year. Now that we have a routine down, I have a better idea of what I can expect.

So, here are my resolutions for the New Year:

1) Release 3 films
2) Release 4 episodes of my web series
3) Get all films released into at least 1 festival
4) Attend all east coast festivals my films are accepted to
5) Start Production of 007 fan film
6) Get previously released films onto DVD
7) Finish feature script and send it out
8) Ask producer I worked with in past for rights to the script we collaborated on
9) Help Make LAFF a success

It looks like a lot, it really does. First off, you may be thinking that I'm planning on releasing more stuff than last year. It does look that way. But the web series for the most part is going to take place in one location. And the way I look at it, I can realistically get 3-4 episodes done in 1 afternoon. I don't want to give away too much yet, but when I can, you will see that it's not going to be that difficult.

You may also be saying that I've had #5 as a goal for three years now. Indeed I have. But two years ago, the impending birth of my daughter made budgets a concern, and last summer we were trying to get the baby into a routine. In fact, once Old Scratch is done shooting, I'm going to prep the 007 fan film. The hardest part is planning the skating scenes, everything else will be simple compared to that.

No Bryan, I didn't forget about #9. That isn't the 9th most important thing; these are in no particular order. But I will do my best to make LAFF a rousing success and the first in a series of great film festivals in PA.

A big daunting list. I can tell you that I am already hard at work on it. Old Scratch is almost done shooting, my feature script's 1st draft is almost done, and once that is done I'm going to get to work on putting all of my titles on DVD. The menus are done, it's a matter of the Behind the Scenes videos and creating the discs. I feel real good about these resolutions and my ability to do them.

As always, keep up to date with all of Stunod Pictures' happenings at our website. I hope your New Year is prosperous and adventurous.

Wrapping Up 2008 (Not into a present)

2008-12-22T08:27:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned before, I was going to take a look back at 2008 and see what goals I set out to accomplish I actually did accomplish.

I looked at this list and took stock of all that I have done. Sadly I have to say I did not complete many things on this list, but it wasn't through lack of effort. The biggest reason was the birth of my baby girl, the first in my family in four generations. It took a couple of months to help mom and baby get acclimated. That took a lot of time away from films, but I was happy to have it.

Let's first look back at what I laid out as goals for 2008:

1) Produce and distribute 5 films
2) Have each film released accepted into a film festival
3) Attend each festival I'm accepted to on the East Coast
4) Shoot Boilerplate
5) Finish 1st draft of feature script
6) Finish Gracious Host
7) Start preproduction on Star Wars fan film
8) Start adaptation of previous Star Wars fan films into short stories

Wow, a lot there. I was ambitious, as many people say I am, to a fault. But I feel if you don't challenge yourself, then you don't know what you can achieve. Let's start with what I did complete.

2) Have each film released accepted into a film festival - This was a rousing success! Two films released, all accepted into film festivals. Brogue & Lego Jaws, my son's stop motion film, were accepted into festivals. That also means that:

3) Attend each festival I'm accepted to on the East Coast was achieved as well. I attended the Virginville Film Festival for Brogue, and I will of course be at The Lancaster Area Film Festival for Lego Jaws.

As far as 1) Produce and distribute 5 films goes, I only got about halfway to that goal. Brogue and Lego Jaws were released, but Old Scratch is still in production. I figure about 2.5 shooting days to take care of that.

Due to my daughter's birth, completing number 4 and number 7 were out of the question. I know this summer, as long as I plan early enough, that I can shoot Boilerplate. I may have to hold off on Star Wars until 2010.

No. 6 is out of my hands because Mike, co-writer and producer of Gracious Host, wants to shoot at his house. But he too, had a daughter and hasn't finished repairs on his home, so that pushes that back.

I did start on Nos. 5 & 8. The feature script was a collaboration with Bryan and Mark of 81st Street Productions, but due to his wife having a girl (I know, it's an epidemic!), as well as setting up the Lancaster Film Festival, has put that on the backburner. I did get another idea for a feature script which I have started on, so I will make that my goal for 2009. I began the short stories, but since I had two other things going on, I figured I was stretched too thin. I do plan on working on those at some point.

So perhaps I did stretch myself too thin last year. Cognizant of that fact, coupled with what has gone on the last two years, I will readjust my goals for 2009. At least I know having a daughter won't be holding me back as my wife isn't pregnant. Though that could change. I am, after all, a handsome, sexy man (wife's words, not mine).

I hope all of you have a wonderful Holiday Season and a very blessed and Happy New Year.

End Of The Year

2008-12-02T19:57:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day. I know I did. I usually do, since my birthday is around it. Next year, my birthday will be on Thanksgiving.

As we come down to the end of 2008, one which will go down as historic (not just because I turned 30), I'm starting to reflect on what has happened. I am proud lately to be involved with putting together the Lancaster Area Film Festival with my friend Bryan. He's doing the bulk of the setup right now as he lives there and I'm 90 minutes away, but as we get closer I'm all in. I also have to watch all of the entries.

I am also glad to be able to finish shooting Old Scratch this month as well. I really like how things have turned out so far. I'm really looking forward to Mark as the Devil. He's got a lot of great ideas and Trevor, the protagonist, is doing excellent work as well. These two are going to be great.

I am also going to start shooting my web series over Christmas vacation. They're going to be short and simple to start. If they catch on, I will add more to them later. The best part is I can shoot 4-5 episodes at one time and stagger the release. It's really perfect.

Later this month I will revisit my 2008 goals and look forward to next year and add new goals.

Who I Should've Voted For

2008-12-02T19:55:00.000-05:00

2008-11-11T21:21:00.001-05:00

New logo!

2008-11-11T21:18:00.001-05:00

I've been thinking about updating our logo for a while now. Frankly, our old one didn't look that great. It wasn't professional at all. But I think I've changed that and I'm pleased with the results. So without further delay, I present our new logo!!

Music

2008-11-04T10:32:00.002-05:00

I wouldn't say I'm a big music person. Sure, I love movie music and U2, but I don't consider music a big part of my life outside of film. I can't stand listening to the radio as they play the same crap over and over again. I'd much rather listen to talk radio. Fortunately, I have Sirius and it's helped me open up to more music, especially jazz.

Being a filmmaker requires me to be open to all types of music as you never know what may work in a project. To that end I have great help in the person of my very good friend Jim Wolfe. A self-proclaimed "music snob" Jim has helped me find new bands and music to use in my film. And now he's combined two of his passions: writing and music, into a new blog Not Just Cheese. He is a student of music and he's going to offer suggestions on great music you've never heard of as well as undiscovered gems on your favorite artists' albums. Check it out. I know you'll enjoy it.

Shameless Plug Time...

2008-10-10T14:15:00.002-04:00

...but not for me! I'm here today to talk to you about a very important topic in today's day and age: preserving memories. With so much demanding our time, when we do get a chance to spend time with our family, or do something we enjoy, many of us want to remember that day. Some do it with pictures, others with stories. Have you tried scrapbooking?

My wife has started a company called Memories by Missy. For a good price and in little time, she can create for you a wonderful keepsake of your special day. I urge you to check out her site above. She does great work. She's like me when I get a good story idea: when a scrapbook idea hits her, watch out. She dominates.

I'm Jason of Stunod Pictures and I approved this message.

Fall is here

2008-10-02T14:16:00.004-04:00

The end of Summer has been busy and Fall has been nuts (no pun intended) so far. I can't believe it's October. I'll take a nap and wake up on my birthday (Nov 26) and take a shit and come out on Christmas morning.

I had a few family related events going on, including my annual family reunion and my daughter's baptism. Thanks to my lovely wife, who's my inspiration, I got an idea for a very short film that can be shot in a day and I hope to do that soon. But the end of this month we will continue/complete shooting Old Scratch and Gracious Host.

I'm helping to organize the Lancaster County Film Festival with my friend Bryan of 81st Street Productions. I love attending them, and I've been wanting to do one at Alvernia College, my alma mater, for years, but it's hard to work out logistics there. We're going to have it drive-thru style at a park, complete with a band to open the showings. It's going to be May 2nd, 2009. We're still hammering out details, but rest assured that I post more as I have it.

Speaking of films, I'm still making films and writing scripts. Early fall has been rough to get cast/crew together, but I still plan on getting three films shot before the end of the year. I've also thought of going back to school for computers and computer animation, but I have to wait til the economy gets better before I can do that.

2008-07-28T10:57:00.001-04:00

Summer Shooting

2008-07-16T10:24:00.002-04:00

Two weeks ago, we began production on Old Scratch in Lancaster, PA. Bryan got us a prime location: his parents' house. They have a beautiful ranch with indoor pool. It was perfect for Tom and his wife Melinda because they have a lot of money.

I was able to finish all of the scenes between Tom and his wife. Bryan again served as cinematographer and he brought a new weapon to his arsenal: a steadicam. It's a small lightweight one that attaches to your waist like a belt. I used it a lot because I had a lot of shots with motion. He hadn't read the script yet, but he did say a lot that what he was seeing was very good. I plan on shooting more in his warehouse in August.

I collaborated with the Misses on a short short Monday. I want this to be a surprise, so I won't reveal a lot. We were discussing movies and she said something that was very funny about a certain politician's film series, and not only was it funny, but it gave me an idea. So we worked on a script. It's going to be a bit less than five minutes long, and I'm going to shoot it this Saturday. I think its very funny.

I'm also going to start serious work on getting the DVDs out as well as the feature script. I have a lot of ideas that are starting to take shape for the feature. We've seem to have hit a rough patch and I think I can get it going.

I've also taken an interest in looking to write comics. Ever since I've been on my own, I've taken a liking to them (all the comic book movies sure help). I wasn't allowed to read them as a kid so I'm making up for lost time. I've had an idea that's starting to scream inside my head, so I'm going to start working on that. I just got another one over the weekend at the music video shoot. But that's gonna take time to develop.

Just a reminder, you can check out Brogue on Myspace TV. And keep an eye out for more stuff which will be added soon.

Virginville Film Festival

2008-07-16T10:10:00.002-04:00

I've been a bit lax for the updates and I totally apologize. I've had a lot going on ever since Brogue was released that I haven't had time to sit down and give you the lowdown.

The festival took place on an organic farm in Virginville, PA. A little side: yes that is a real town. It's not too far from Intercourse and Blue Ball, PA either. I'm not making this up. Best part about it, it's right in the heart of Amish country!

So anyway, you park and have to walk almost a mile to the actual site itself. In front of a barn sits a small pond/lake/body of water. That's where they put the big screen, which resembled a drive-in feel. The festival was organized by some of the farm's employees, who also worked on the Transformers shoot that occurred in Bethlehem not too long ago.

They started at 8 with a local band playing some tunes. We met the organizers and got a free DVD and pin. Bryan and I handed out postcards that let people know about our films (he had Ironicality playing 4 films before mine).

This festival was organized by these fine folks to give them and their friends an outlet to showcase their films. There were some home movies played as well as extreme sports videos. There was one short that was beautifully shot, with excellent production values. Sadly there was no story to it, and the main actor I think was mentally retarded because he made some outlandish facial expressions.

By the time my film played (I was 27 out of 30), it was around 1 am, so many people had already left, but the ones that stayed laughed when I wanted laughs and I got a nice ovation afterwards. I was happy with how I did it.

I am very thankful to the entire team at the festival for including my film.

Brogue's in the Virginville Film Festival!

2008-06-17T22:00:00.006-04:00

We got in! Brogue has been officially accepted into the Virginville Film Festival! The film will play on Saturday, June 28th. For more information, check out the festival blog.

I'd like to have as many people attend as possible. Shoot me a message and we'll make plans to go down.

I look forward to seeing you there!

All Apologies

2008-06-12T14:27:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to say that I'm sorry to everyone who was expecting Brogue last weekend. It's not that I forgot or didn't want to post it. I just want to make sure that it's of the best quality before I release it into the world. To that end, my co-producer, Bryan Schaefer, has asked for more time to look it over. He's in the midst of a project of his own, getting a pro sound mix on it. Sometimes there's delays in making sure something is the best it can be, and that's what happened here. It's also my fault for thinking it'd be done in a certain time as well. We don't have to book release dates years in advance because we don't have almost half a billion invested in a film like Hollywood. We don't make that mistake.

So all I ask is that you forgive the delay and please be patient. You won't be disappointed.

Hollywood Comes to PA

2008-06-02T10:18:00.003-04:00

Beginning tonight at 4pm EDT, Transformers 2 will commence shooting in Bethlehem, PA. The official release says that they are using the historic Bethlehem Steel site (the part that is not being constructed into a casino).

The shoot has our town standing in for a Chinese city and it's going to be destroyed by a robot. There are already signs of it, as Chinese symbols (properly rusted to match the building) adorn it. It apparently is going to be a scene very early in the film.

I have some contacts in the Police Dept., but I haven't heard back from them regarding getting on set. If not, there are some areas around the site that I can see a lot. I am very excited to see a authentic Hollywood production in my backyard. I will be taking detailed notes. And of course I expect the explosions to, as Michael Bay says "awesome". Stay tuned for more info.

Movie Updates

2008-06-02T08:35:00.004-04:00

Last week, I entered The Fight to Survive: A Mighty Wind and Brogue in the local Virginville Film Festival. It's a smaller fest, but they play the films on a big projector in front of a lake. According to my friend and sometime Stunod producer Bryan Schaefer, since they are small, you are accepted unless you have porn of a lot of swearing and violence. So while I'm not considering it a slam dunk, I am hopeful.

Plans are being made to shoot Old Scratch the last weekend in June. I imagine it will not get done that weekend, so we'll go into July.

I have also learned that my Stasis, the band I'm shooting a video for, has joined the Warped Tour. I am very excited, and also realize I've got a big challenge ahead of me. I cannot wait to tackle it.

Stay tuned to Stunodpictures.com for more festival updates.

It's Been A While, I Know...

2008-05-27T11:16:00.002-04:00

I apologize for the lack of updates. A lot has gone down. Brogue is being reviewed for any minor changes then it should be released by Friday. I begin production on Old Scratch in late June, as well as a music video for the band Stasis, whose song "Promises" is featured in Brogue. And in July, I will start work on a dream project: A James Bond fan film.

I also saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skullover the weekend. I have to say I liked it.

I wanted to be entertained, and I was. I wanted to see some vintage Indy mixed in with 50s sci-fi and I got it. I expected a couple "yeah, right" scenes, and I got 'em (IMO, the jeep jumping off the cliff onto a tree was more unbelievable than the vine swing). I enjoyed it, and more importantly, I got to see it with my 8-year-old son, who's seen all of the originals on DVD with me. It was as much about seeing Indy in the theaters the first time with him as it was about anything else. I will go see it again and I will watch it with the other 3.

The problem I think a lot of people have is that this was as much an homage to the cheesy 50s sci-fi B-movies as it was to Indy. And in that regard it succeeded IMO. The jungle chase rocked, I loved the big ants, and the nuke was cool (Bit of family history there: my paternal grandpa helped transport a nuke for testing which I believe was in 1957). The part of the scene with Indy in the fridge was classic Jones. Though afterwards I had to tell my son to never, ever try that.

If you go to see a movie of this type and expect it to be intelligent, well-paced, REALISTIC, with or without CGI, and the like, you've probably lost what makes people go to the movies in the first place - a genuine desire to have some fun and forget about life for a while. That's why I make movies myself.

Now there are 2 things I didn't like: 1) While I like Shia LeBoeuf's work (still can't believe Even Stevens is a decent actor), I DON'T want him to be the next generation Indy. I think this film kay have set that tone. My only problem with the jungle chase was that he was the star of it for 1/3 of the sequence [that's 2)]. I didn't like that part because it led to the end **MINOR SPOILER** when Mutt almost put the hat on. IF they do another, let them be a team (a la Matt Farrell and John McClane in Die Hard 4.0) and end it there. That'd be the equivalent of James Bond passing the torch to 008. Minor gripes though.

To me, Indy is a success and will be viewed multiple times.

Heath Ledger 1979-2008

2008-01-28T15:25:00.001-05:00

Last Tuesday the film world lost one of its best and brightest young stars. He died of a reported accidental overdose of prescription drugs. I remember I was checking my email as I closed up my work for the day and seeing the news on Yahoo! that he had been found dead. I checked the news on TV and other sites and discovered it was true.

I never knew the man, only his body of work. Yet I couldn't feel anything but sadness. I usually don't get that way for many celebrities, but for some reason I was upset. Perhaps it was the fact that he is only a few months younger than me; perhaps it's because like me, he was a dad.

His career didn't start out like much. I wasn't much of a fan of 10 Things I Hate About You. I really enjoyed his work in Monster's Ball and A Knight's Tale. I really could see that he was going to be special, though, when I saw him in Ned Kelly. To me it was the first sign he was destined to be a star. Then came Brokeback Mountain. Like many American men, I was very hesitant to see it, but when I did I was taken aback at his performance. It truly brought him to the forefront of the current generation of star performers. His portrayal of Ennis Del Mar was outstanding.

Then came word that he was to don the white makeup and green hair of the Joker. Like many others, I did not think that he was right for the part. Then came the trailer. I was blown away. He captures the essence of the character, and from the looks of it, will be the star of the show. Oftentimes a person's last work fades into obscurity (like Steve McQueen's; a PBS special), but I hope that his last finished performance will be as good as the trailer promises. I truly think he will make Nicholson's joker look like a depressed clown.

You're gone too soon and before you could reach your full potential. Rest in peace.

Brogue

2008-01-28T15:02:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the lack of posting recently. Things get more crazy in my life as I inch closer to the due date for the baby. That being said, I owe you an update on Brogue. I must tell you that when it comes to shooting a movie, I have found heaven. What's the secret, you ask? I1 location and 5 cameras. I managed to completely fill 7 MiniDV tapes with all the footage I wanted.

I expected to be filming in Lancaster, PA for most of the weekend, but it turns out I only need 6 hours on a Saturday. I shot it differently that I normally do as a result. I tend to have the movie cut in my head before I shoot. What that means is I know going in that scenes 1, 7, 11 and 15, I will use a master shot. So I only shoot those scenes in a master as opposed to the whole script. For this film, I shot the entire table scene from start to finish in a master as well as the closeups. A lot of that is creative choice, but a lot of it is also the fact that I had so many cameras. I had more to play with. On my upcoming film, I will go back to my old way.

I have never had a more fun, complete and exciting shoot than that. I am used to scheduling 2-3 days and needing 5-6. I get an actor who says he can make it, then he can't. Not Saturday. I seriously plan on doing this again (1 location and multiple cameras). It's an easier shoot really. I plan on shooting like that in the future as often as I can. If I get my Star Wars script off the ground, I will do it this way. Especially if I can do it in Lancaster with Brian (and since he has a green screen in his house).

Now there are a couple of glitches: in one of the cameras the tripod arm was in the shot, but that looks like a pool cue holder, so I have shots to work it that way. And in one master near the end, it's shot in 4:3 instead of widescreen, so I may have to work on that too in post. Other than that, everything looks great.

In the next 45 days or so, I am looking to finish shooting Gracious Host, as well as complete a small short called Fashion Sense. It's from the warped mind of Mike DeLorenzo.

Keep checking out stunodpictures.com for updates. I hope to have Brogue out by St. Patrick's Day, when my child is due.

Looking Back, Planning Ahead

2008-01-07T11:01:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! 2007 has bid us farewell and left us with many memories, while 2008 introduced itself with the promise of many more. I hope everyone had a great holiday. Mine was wonderful but too short, as it always seems to be. Thanks to Sirius satellite radio, however, I was able to listen to holiday music until New Year's Day!

Since it is 2008, I thought it appropriate to look back at my 2007 resolutions and make new ones. Here's what I resolved to do last year:

1) complete principal photography on 6 films - no
2) Enter at least 20 film festivals - partial check
3) Attend all East Coast festivals that my films are accepted to - n/a
4) Re-release The Prize and Passing The Test before April 1- check
5) Release all AUX8 films in development - no
6) Being writing feature script - check
7) Begin shooting Boilerplate - partial check

As you can see, I didn't hit all of my goals. I did begin the feature script with my pal and film partner, Bryan Schaefer. We had to put it on hold for the Writer's Strike, however.

I want to explain the partial checks. Being a member of Withoutabox, I have access to hundreds of film festivals. I register my film and they find appropriate fests to enter. I had over 20 to choose from, but for $ or time constraints, couldn't enter. As for Boilerplate I worked on animatics and began production of the main title, but had to stop when I learned my wife was pregnant. I have the production scheduled for this July, however.

I did get the re-releases out well before April 1, and I was proud to do so.

We only got to produce 1 AUX8 picture - The Fight To Survive: A Mighty Wind(which was accepted into the American Motion Picture Society film festival in CA. I had no festivals on the East Coast). We began production on Gracious Host, but had to postpone due to scheduling conflicts. That will resume this Spring.

The biggest thing I did in '07 was writing my goals down. This makes it easier to focus on them and keeps them in mind. It also allowed me to prioritize my time for films. I will be making that a habit going forward. And they always tell you to aim high. So after careful thought and review of last year, here are 2008 filmmaking resolutions:

1) Produce and distribute 5 films
2) Have each film released accepted into a film festival
3) Attend each festival I'm accepted to on the East Coast
4) Shoot Boilerplate
5) Finish 1st draft of feature script
6) Finish Gracious Host
7) Start preproduction on Star Wars fan film
8) Start adaptation of previous Star Wars fan
films into short stories

There you have it! An ambitious list, but that's what I'm told you're supposed to have. I'm hard at work on a lot of these already, so keep checking stunodpictures.com to check my progress. And once again, Happy New Year, and make it great in '08!

A Great Find

2007-12-17T20:02:00.000-05:00

There is a saying that goes no matter what you believe or celebrate, the holidays are a season of miracles. I've come to find out first hand how true that is.
Back when I was in college, after I had just screened The Prize at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival, many of the cast inquired about doing a sequel. They all enjoyed making the original and after having mild success, they were given new motivation. Now I decided when I started making movies that I wouldn't do sequels unless I planned them (or a trilogy) ahead of time. Most of them that aren't planned were dismal failures and nothing but a way for studios to make money in place of quality (hello Speed 2 and the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, I'm talking to you!). Since we all enjoyed it, I said why not.
I wrote a script with the main characters from The Prize and introduced a few new ones. It was focused on another valuable prize: an engagement ring.
As I do with all of my scripts, I wrote it longhand. I finished it just before I graduated from college. I had to set it aside as I took my first job with the Boardwalk Bullies.
When I returned to the Lehigh Valley and begun making films again, interest in doing the sequel grew. I got settled, I looked for the script, but couldn't find it. I ended up making The Chase, and it was once again forgotten.
Once the idea for Brogue came about, I had to do a bit of housecleaning to find some notes I made. Some were kept in boxes I had stored in my basement when I got my new house. I went down to check my files, and I found it.
I read it over. Up until now, I had given up on doing the sequel, as I knew the story I'd create wouldn't be half as good as the one I made all those years ago. That fear was gone.
The script needs some cleaning up, but the cast is gung-ho, and we'll look to add it to our slate in '08.

Brogue Updates

2007-12-17T19:53:00.001-05:00

In the midst of getting ready for the holidays (and getting over my first cold of the year, and pretty nasty one) I am happy to say that Brogue is moving along nicely. We finalized a shooting schedule, begun casting and worked on some animatics for the bar scenes.
Principal photography will go down January 5-6 in Lancaster, PA. I'm going to head out to the set on the 4th to do some early prep.
The animatics are for the first 2 1/2 pages of the bar scenes. I made them to help communicate my vision to Bryan Schaefer, DP. I've taken inspiration from Death Proof's meal scene. I watched the DVD with a stopwatch to get the camera's movements down.
I am very excited about our cast. We've got a lot of experienced actors tackling this piece. Mark Pennell is playing the lead role of Nigel. Mark is best known for his portrayal of Jimmy, a redneck Borat, on YouTube. Trevor Stynes is playing Conor. He has had roles in such films as "In The Name of the Father" with Daniel-Day Lewis and "In Good Company" with Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson. Ithann Lea, a veteran of film and commercials, will play Jacques.
For more information on Brogue as it enters production, check out www.stunodpictures.com.

Misconceptions

2007-11-14T10:44:00.000-05:00

I’ve often wondered during Hollywood strikes why more indie movies and auteurs aren’t snatched up by Hollywood to make sure there are films in theaters the year following the end of the strike (and to prevent rushed, crappy scripts from getting made). Well, I found out my answer on Monday.
I’m a member of Hollywoodbyphone.com, a website that has conference calls with working industry professionals. It is very informative and I learn a lot about the business. I’d highly recommend anyone wanting to make movies to join. Anyway, last week they had a conference call with a striking writer, and we were given access to the WGA strike rules. There are a lot of things writers need to do when they go on strike. I’d be happy to forward anyone a copy of the rules if they are interested. Just email me. Anyway, here’s what happens to non-union writers during a strike if they work for studios according to the strike rules:

13. Rules pertaining to non-members
The Guild does not have the authority to discipline non-members for strike breaking and/or scab writing. However, the Guild can and will bar that writer from future Guild membership. This policy has been strictly enforced in the past and has resulted in convincing many would-be strike breakers to refrain from seriously harming the Guild and its members during a strike. Therefore, it is important for you to report to the Guild the name of any non-member whom you believe has performed any writing services for a struck company and as much information as possible about the non-member's services.

So you see, it is very detrimental to the indie writer to work during this time. So what are we supposed to do? The current issue of Filmmaker Magazine has the answer. Alicia Van Couvering has a nice article describing a strategy for us. The short term looks like major indies will get trouble securing star cast because everyone wants a big payday in case SAG goes on strike next year. But the strike will give indies a better shot at getting films into production because that is going on in droves right now. So the answer is keep trying to get the films made. Get them out there to festivals. Because if 2009 is slow going, your film may catch the eye of a big-time distributor or someone who signs new talent and you’ll find yourself having a door opened for you.
I still don’t see why indie films completed or at least written before the strike can’t be gobbled up for 2009 (work done now will lead to some films screened in theaters in 2009. If they’re rushing things into production now, it means in 2009 we’ll either have very little or a lot of The Adventures of Pluto Nash). It gives the public an alternative to dumbed-down studio fare. It’s better for them to have something to make money off of that nothing.

In Brogue news, I have received quite a few headshots for the roles. I am excited to go through them all. Hopefully by the end of next week, I can give you the remaining cast.

And if I don’t get back to this before next week, I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday in the good ol’ U.S. of A.

Feature Update

2007-11-13T11:19:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, Bryan Schaefer and I got together to discuss the script to a feature film idea that I had. We hashed out the first act and part of the second act. I am very excited about this project because we had good conversations about it and we had tons of ideas. I think this film can come together quickly. The outline flows very nice and I have no doubt we will have a draft done before the spring.

All I will say about the plot is that it's about family relationships and dying with dignity. I think it will be an emotional film that will resonate with a lot of people.

We ideally want to shoot this ourselves, but we're hoping we can get financing for it. The fact that 11 Ways To Say I Love You was shot this past summer I'm hoping will make it a little easier to get some cash.

We're thinking of shooting HD - well, no, we WANT to do that, but nowadays the financing trend is to still go with film. I personally don't care, as long as we can make this movie. The only thing is Bryan and I have exclusively dealt with DV, so film will take a small learning curve.

I will keep you posted as stuff happens, and I hope to have a video blog to chart the film's progress.

The Wheels Are Churning

2007-11-13T10:44:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that next week is Thanksgiving already. Hard to fathom. Time is truly flying for the first time for me. And with the holidays around the corner, everyone becomes busy and harried trying to get ready. While I think that in itself is a topic for another post (or blog altogether), it also means that we are very busy here ourselves.

Before I told you that we decided to go with Confrontation as our next film. Actually, after talking with my friend and mentor Bryan Schaefer, I've decided that Brogue will be the next film we produce.

We chose this project because of its simplicity. It requires 1 location, and I have 3 cameras to film the action, drastically reducing shooting time. I'll also have more crew and the script is ready to go. We've already begun pre-production on the film, which will shoot before Christmas in Lancaster, PA, home of the Amish and location of the Harrison Ford classic Witness. The film follows four friends who all believe their accents attract the most women, and try to prove it.

The shoot should take three days, max and should be out early next year. After that I will begin work on Confrontation.

We have begun casting for the film, and I am pleased to announce that Mark Pennell will be starring as Nigel, the English member of the group. Mark has extensive experience in film, working with Bryan at 81st Street Productions and starring as Jimmy, a redneck Borat. You can see his work as Jimmy on youtube. I expect to have more casting notices by Thanksgiving.

Updates

2007-10-30T11:56:00.000-04:00

It's been very hectic lately, and I haven't had much of a chance to update this. For that I am sorry.

For now, The Tome has been put on hold. In place of it comes word that I will be working on a feature-length script with my friend Bryan Schaefer of 81st Street Productions. It's still in the infancy stages, so I don't want to give away any plot that we have in case it changes.

On the director front, I will be working on Confrontation next. This film is another reality show parody, this time spoofing A&E's Intervention. It will involve my devil cat Tyke and I expect it to be great, since everyone I've talked to regarding it thinks it hilarious. I hope to start that around Late November/early December.

The Fight To Survive: A Mighty Wind performed well at the American International Film and Video Festival in California. Every film is judged by their panel, which includes documentary filmmakers Ned Cordery and Alberto Kneipkamp, as well as Iris Vazquez. Our film got the following remarks:

"Production Values matched the subject matter. Technical Quality good."

All in all, a successful showing. Hopefully I can springboard this to more fests.

Oh, I have a page up for my latest film. You can check it out here. And as always, visit the site for further updates.

A PSA for Hollywood

2007-10-30T11:44:00.001-04:00

If anyone here follows Hollywood closely (not for the gossip, but the business side), you will know that tomorrow is the deadline for the contracts for the Writer’s Guild and soon to follow, the Directors Guild of America. Since a deal is not close to being done, and the writers have commissioned a strike, studios are piling up scripts like they’re going out of style so they have product if the strike is prolonged. I think that is a terrible idea and here’s why:

Have they so quickly forgotten the summer of 2005? That summer was the worst in recent memory and had studios wondering if theater-going was dead. It wasn’t and actually is extremely strong right now. The problem with that summer was that save for Revenge of the Sith, the movies were terrible. And this stockpiling of scripts leaves a very good indicator that this will happen again. By rushing, you don’t allow time to make a script the best that it can be.

Now don’t get me wrong, I know what’s at stake. If the strikes lasts in April and May, it will cut TV shows to only 10 episodes, because that’s when production on them starts. You’ll have a lot of re-runs and (gulp) reality shows. You’ll lose viewers.

But would you rather have 10 well-produced and entertaining shows or 10 rushed, mediocre ones? The former allows hope that viewers will return when the shows do.

So what to do, you ask? I have a simple, yet (in my mind, anyway) awesome solution: bring back the classics. I love Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, The Goonies and Blade Runner. But I’ve never seen them in the theater. (Please don’t stone me for this!) I’ve never seen The Godfather or Scarface. Wouldn’t it be great to view these films the way they were meant to be seen? This would kill 2 birds with one stone: you attract a new generation of fans and make people forget that there is a strike going on. You’d also guarantee that people wouldn’t bitch about bad movies.

But how to go about picking the films to screen? Simple: create an online voting system. This way you also get access to more people’s information to bombard them with new advertising and market demographics. Sucks for us, but you need it to have a successful bidness. This way people get to pick what they want to see. I personally don’t see how this could fail.

TV would go the same way. I’m sure you have mindless zombies who will flock to American Idol and Survivor: Sheyboygan. But for those who want something else: bring back classic TV. Knight Rider, A-Team, Dukes of Hazzard, MASH, Dynasty, Dallas, The Honeymooners… I could go on forever.

That's the fan in me talking. The filmmaker side of me says that this is an excellent time for studios to take a closer look at indie fare. Not only (in a lot of cases) do you not have to worry about guilds, but the film is done and will cost you chump change to purchase and distribute. I'd rather spend $12 million to buy and market a film like My Big Fat Greek Wedding than spend $50 mil on a sequel to In Her Shoes,which would tank miserably.

So while Hollywood is loosening their collars and wiping sweat from their brow, Hope is spreading good cheer in the Indie film world. It's our time, let's make the most of it.

My Award-Winning second film is now online!

2007-10-10T09:09:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to let you all know that my award-winning second film is now online! You can view Passing The Test at Google video, youtube, myspace and veoh.
I was awarded a spot on the list of the Top 50 Up and Coming Filmmakers of 2002 at the NY International Indie Film & Video Festival by Anoo Cotter for this movie.

The film follows Troy, a college student in a bind. If he fails this semester, his father will stop paying for his education. With the help of some loyal friends, he plots to steal the final exam so he can stay in school while also trying to win the heart of a girl.

Enjoy!

Updates

2007-09-21T11:06:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to let you all know there are a couple of updates to the website. By the way, just wanted to let you all know that the site is best viewed with Internet Explorer. I personally use Firefox, but in this case IE is better.

I also plan on putting a couple of easter eggs on the site for the next 2-3 new projects I am working on. That should be in So keep an eye out for those.

Let the Festival Circuit Begin!

2007-09-06T16:06:00.000-04:00

I am pleased to announce today that our film The Fight To Survive: A Mighty Wind has been accepted into the American Motion Picture Society's 2007 Film Festival. The Festival runs from October 12-14 in California. You can get more information om the festival, including attendance and society membership, at www.ampsvideo.com. After two years off from filmmaking, and the process of completing films taking longer, I am glad to see that I am having success with this latest effort. It kind of validates what I am doing and allows me to push forward. Perhaps my dream is not so crazy after all.

I am also in the process of getting my award-winning second film, Passing The Test, ready for the internet. Once that is done, I will begin earnest work on getting my films set for DVD.

Once that gets going, I will begin two projects that my son actually came up with. One is a music video based on KT Tunstalls hit song, "Suddenly I See". We're also going to do a Superman trailer with a twist. That will be our projects over Christmas I think.

Once I get more word on the festival, I will pass it on. Until then, keep an eye out for word on the DVDs.