So much has happened, so much to share... and yet, what to start with?
Well, a beloved family pet died on Friday. Luci had a long life - almost 20 years, if not exactly 20... the date when she was actually born is sort of not exactly known, but it's around there. I had fully expected her to not make it last Christmas, but she did, and then some; so I look at it as extra time we got with her.
She'll be missed.
I took a break from updating due to a project that shot in January, THE SUBLIME AND BEAUTIFUL, the debut feature from Blake Robbins (of whom you'll recognize from RUBBER, 'the sock guy' in a Hanes commercial, and other appearances). The project is currently in post-production, but will pass along news as I hear it.
From there, straight into work for the AMC Theatres 2012 Kansas City FilmFest - bumped up from a 'screener' to 'programmer' this year, specifically for the Narrative Feature selections, and doing some blogging for the FilmFest site... and now, on the cusp of starting another film shoot later in the month, more of which to come much later...
NAILBITER has been getting great reviews and awards at festivals and there may be some good news to share shortly... Kevin McKinney's CORPORATE FM made its premiere at FilmFest - both will be screening in Lawrence at the Free State Film Festival next weekend, along with other local work.
So... I changed the look of the blog. It was long overdue - older posts are more easy to find now, plus I like the template... it fits more with the blog's namesake.
And, of course, lots of material watched and waiting to be commented upon these past few months - but it'll have to wait just a tad longer... until the next post, at least.
Oh my... what a few months of indolence and industry will do to a blog's output... Now I'm also faced with the option of making cosmetic changes to attract new readers like flies to... well, you know. That will not happen until sometime in the midst of holiday season, I think. Until then, I bring you news of Good Things:
The KC Creepfest is the weekend of Oct. 28-29 and one of the main events will be the first public screening of Patrick Rea's second feature (a 'test-screening' and NOT an official premiere, so I gather), Saturday evening, with a Q & A with the filmmaker. So come on down, if you have the chance to... this has been building some buzz for quite some time, and I think that a lot of people are pretty anxious to finally see it.
Another Halloween treat is THE SLASHER KINGS, a multimedia show from the brain of playwright Ron Simonian. A rock Supergroup comprised of the most notorious horror film characters... that's sort of bringing to life the twisted urban legend of Charlie Manson auditioning for The Monkees - and WINNING A ROLE. The show debuts Oct. 27 and runs through Nov. 6, so if you don't make it by Halloween, you'll still have a chance. The show is preceded by an introductory short film, which I'm proud to say I had a part in its production - hopefully, I'll be seeing this on the weekend and will report back.
I'd also like to call your attention to two more things....
Casey Scott has been a good friend since meeting her on location in Ohio for the film 5 YEARS [aka THE HIDDEN] back in 2000. Since then, I've slowly discovered The Cult of Casey, which has been in existence since her album CREEP CITY. It's been difficult to find some her output (Diva Machina, Red Venus Love Army), but not completely impossible. Now she's getting ready to record a new album, GLORIE INCOGNITI, and like most artists who're working outside the corporate structure, she could use YOUR support. Hence, an IndieGoGo campaign to do just that - If you'd like to find out more, or to donate, just click on the widget, which will take you to the project page and give you all the info you need.
BTW, I did the editing on the promo video, which gives you a little taste of Casey.
Actor Blake Robbins (who you've probably seen in OZ, THE OFFICE, the Hanes sock commericial, THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN and RUBBER to name a few projects) is prepping for his feature film debut, THE SUBLIME AND THE BEAUTIFUL, to be shot in Lawrence, Kansas during the winter. Blake is a wonderful talent; please check out the Kickstarter page and if it sounds like something you'd like to see, take advantage of one of the options offered.
Usually, I'd be posting reviews of films seen, especially since I always try to find obscure gems during The Witching Season. For recent film reviews, take a look at 366 Underground, my recurring gig over at 366 Weird Movies. Reviews will gradually get back here, in dribs and drabs, and as far as Halloween viewing goes - STOP WATCHING TORTURE PORN AND SHITTY REMAKES OF FILMS THAT DIDN'T NEED THEM!!
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
October is the best time of year...
I'm definitely a Fall-type of person - good things tend to happen for me in the Fall, as everything prepares to die for the Winter...
Final shooting on Patrick Rea's NAILBITER wrapped up... they're looking at a premiere date sometime in Spring 2011, so if the Film Distribution Gods smile upon them, it could be out in general circulation sometime in 2012... BUNKER HILL is still looking for a distributor, so the only way to see it for now is to check your local film festival. AU PAIR, KS is finished, so I'm told, and will hopefully be at a festival near you sometime next year.
October also brings about the yearly Halloween movie themed links.
THE KIND OF FACE YOU HATE is doing its annual Shocktober blogging of horror literature, "The Kind of Face You SLASH!", and you can check out the entire series going back to 2008.
Stacie Ponder over at FINAL GIRL, is doing her Shocktober film listings;
and at A THRILLER A DAY, they're checking out the recently released tv series THRILLER - and getting to the horror episodes just in time for the holiday.
As for myself; refer to last year's posting and the post on the obscure CHILD'S PLAY down further on the page.
This year, I plan to keep to 'obscure horror', starting with television shows... I'll get to a few movies soon enough in the next week.
First on that list of obscurities is the anthology show DARKROOM, from the early 1980's, which featured James Coburn as the host.
It only lasted some six weeks; not really enough time to gather a general audience, but just enough for the few episodes that aired to stick in the heads of those who watched them. It chose from a decent pool of stories by writers like Robert Bloch, Fredric Brown, Cornell Woolrich, William F. Nolan and Robert McCammon, though the execution was somewhat spotty. It was only available on torrent, with dubious image quality, though that could change - the entire series was released on R4 dvd in Australia, so it's entirely possible an R1 release will happen soon - or at least better quality torrents will soon be popping up.
More obscure than that is the little seen QUINN MARTIN'S TALES OF THE UNEXEPECTED from 1977, broadcast on NBC. Really, the only memorable thing from this is the funky opening theme by David Shire:
No episodes of this available on the 'Net, which may not be a bad thing... As anyone who's seen the movie THE MEPHISTO WALTZ can tell you, 'horror' and 'Quinn Martin' are two terms that don't go well together - the most memorable episode was basically THE INVADERS done in the space of an hour instead of two seasons. Although "Force of Evil" looks like cheesy fun - in retrospect.
Since I mentioned cheesy horror, I went to see BLACK SWAN at the Kansas International Film Festival tonight, a late birthday present from a couple of friends. I'm a bit lukewarm on Darren Aaronovsky - I like PI and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, didn't like THE FOUNTAIN and haven't seen THE WRESTLER as of yet.
Can't really say that I liked BLACK SWAN, even though there's a lot that I should... unfortunately, for me, the parts don't add up to a satisfying whole. It definitely AIN'T your mother's THE RED SHOES, with its deliberate unromantic and realistic look at the world of ballet dancing... well, realistic in terms of the environment and feel.
It's sort of a combination of THE RED SHOES with REPULSION - Natalie Portman is a dancer who's chosen to headline the lead role of the Swan Queen in a production of SWAN LAKE. Natalie isn't quite so tightly wrapped herself - she's stifled by her mother (Barbara Hershey), who simultaneously spurs and hinders her; and another dancer (Mila Kunis) may be attempting to take over her role.
It aspires to be a modern version of THE RED SHOES, yet its soul is more attuned to the type of movie that you'd watch on Skinemax at 2am. Granted, THE RED SHOES might be even more appreciated if it had lesbian oral sex, gratuitous CGI effects, and really obvious symbolism...
Bottom line, there's nothing here that I haven't seen before, and in much better films - I just named them! It's visually great to look at, and Barbara Hershey will probably get an Oscar nomination, but I was doing the faceplant several times during the last third of the film.
Watching THE RED SHOES, I felt I'd watched something tragic, but was exhilarated by its love of Art. The takeaway from BS (note the initials) is pretty much, Dancers Are Even More Fucked Up Than Actresses...
Maybe they're right, but still....
And I can't imagine anyone wanting to even consider being a dancer after watching this.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Those Kids... (in Lawrence, KS)
The ThroughAGlass guys, Jeremy and Chris, have been pretty busy over the past couple of years... their feature musical, AIR, has been screening around the country and the world; but when would it finally be able to get into the public's sweaty hands?
April 6, 2010 - Cinema Epoch (the same people who released fellow Lawrence filmmaker Patrick Rea's THE EMPTY ACRE) are bringing AIR to the public at large... and you'll also want to keep your eye open about where to get the soundtrack album, too.
Since I mentioned Patrick, I also need to mention that more news and stills about NAILBITER have surfaced on the Dread Central and Bloody Disgusting horror websites... the news is indeed good, and I can say that I look forward to meeting fellow crew and cast again sometime this spring...
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
NAILBITER teaser
Very short teaser for Patrick Rea's upcoming feature.
J.T. O'Neal, writer/director of AU PAIR, KS was kind enough to pass this on - an assembly of the opening credits of the film. This isn't likely the final version, but it's a taste of what's coming down the pike.
Work begins on another project very soon -- as always, there's not much that I'll be able to say while it's in production. I can say that this is the long awaited NAILBITER, Patrick Rea's new feature. You can check out Patrick's site SenoReality Pictures, for official word about the film... there's a very enigmatic trailer up that offers up a hint of what to expect.
