1-2, 1 RBI, 1 RS, 2 putouts (U-6)

Above are my vital stats from Sunday's Valley Wheel Baseball League's Opening Day at Forest Park in Springfield, MA. Broken down, they of course mean: I got one hit in two plate appearances (my third plate appearance resulted in a sacrifice fly to left field which doesn't count against you), 1 run batted in (from the sac. fly), 1 run scored (which means I passed home plate, scoring a run), and caught two fly balls (playing shortstop). We won 13-4.

All in all an excellent, excellent way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I haven't played competetive baseball since high school, but thought I acquited myself quite well. I was surprised at the pitching talent in the league -- the guys throw hard and mix in some junk. I also remembered that I'm a dead pull hitter and have some work to do there; I was always a pretty one-dimensional hitter.

Here's a picture of me and buddy Joel, who joined the league with me. The resolution from the camera phone is kinda stinkified, but it does the trick. We have 15 games to go throughout the summer, and I can't wait for each and every one of them.

FEED YOUR CREW.

I've been noodling around the idea of writing a filmmaking book for over a year now. In fact, I was almost finished with a draft of the manuscript when two things happened that dampened my enthusiasm for the project: First, I gave the pages to three friends of mine who all offered astute observations, pointed criticisms, and helpful suggestions. Most importantly, though, was that each of them asked a different form of the same question: "Who's your audience?". It is an absolutely stupendous question. And when I started to examine my answer (which was, "Me, two years ago") I realized that I hadn't quite stayed true to that audience throughout the writing process. I was kind of all over the place in terms of who I was speaking to, and oftentimes found myself either speaking over the head of or (worse) speaking down to that intended audience. I was trying to be too many things to too many people. Structurally, the manuscript was a mess. But it was first draft, incomplete, and I had all the time in the world to finesse it.

That's when the second thing happened.

I came across Josh Becker's, "THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO LOW BUDGET FEATURE FILMMAKING" . Becker is a independent filmmaker who I had known of for years and respected; I actually use some his essays and writings in the Scriptwriting course that I teach. The book was a blow to me because not only did he mine the same territory as I was mining, he did so with a very similar tone and approach -- the two things that I thought I had going for me over all of the other filmmaking books out there. I was sunk.

Then, recently, two other things happened. First was that I came across an e-mail that Heretic Films' Alex Afterman had sent to us in October of 2005 expressing interest in distributing MAGDALENA'S BRAIN. One of the sentiments that each Scott, Warren and Joel (my manuscript readers) shared was an interest in the book's use of stories, antecdotes and front line experiences from the production of MAGDALENA'S BRAIN. Now, a new structure has revealed itself to me, inspired by the e-mail from Alex. I think I again have something new and interesting in terms of tone amd approach.

The second thing?

I'm actually now reading the Becker book, something that I never quite got around to doing. I had read the intro before and flipped through the pages, but had yet to actually dive into the book's guts. And you know what? That same feeling came to me that prompted the initial push to write the book in the first place.

I can write a better book.

So I will.

This post's title. by the way, is my tentative title for the book. It's not carved in stone, but it's got something, don't you think?

Where's Scott...?

photograph: Some old lady

We're missing amigo Scott Kittredge (he must have been chatting it up with the Crazy Babysitter Twins from GRINDHOUSE), but here's the gang from Chiller. Can't wait 'til next year!

Movie Quiz.

Now, I usually disdain these types of time wasters, but I've got some time to waste. Besides, it's movie-related:

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times.
THE BIG LEBOWSKI
2. Name a movie that you've seen multiple times in the theater.
HELLRAISER 2: HELLBOUND
3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie.
Bruce Campbell
4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie.
There isn't one.
5. Name a movie that you can and do quote from.
LET IT RIDE
5. Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
6. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with.
ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
7. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see.
MAGDALENA'S BRAIN. Seriously. It's THAT good.
8. Name a movie that you own.
I DRINK YOUR BLOOD
9. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.
Mark Wahlberg
10. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?
Of course. First one: KILL OR BE KILLED. Last one: SLEEPY HOLLOW.
11. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven't yet gotten around to it.
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
12. Ever walked out of a movie?
No.
13. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
14. Popcorn?
Usually
15. How often do you go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)?
2-3 times a month
16. What's the last movie you saw in the theater?
GRINDHOUSE
17. What's your favorite/preferred genre of movie?
Horror/Sci-Fi
18. What's the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
19. What movie do you wish you had never seen?
MAGNOLIA. So I could see it again for the first time.
20. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?
SANTA SANGRE
21. What is the scariest movie you've seen?
THE EXORCIST
22. What is the funniest movie you've seen?
THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN

Chiller (cont.)

It looks as though several people have been viewing the blog (nice), so rather than add to the post below and run the risk of others missing out on added nuggets, I thought I'd append with a new post.

To continue...

In addition to the MFX Studio guys (who also have a relationship with something called the Douglas Education Center, which graduates up to 50(!) students a semester from their makeup/FX curriculum, we also hung out with fellow filmmaker, Bill Hellfire. Bill's interests are actually pretty far removed from mine, but it was an interesting discussion about the realities of low budget filmmaking and the pitfalls of distribution. Bill actually ended up working as a producer for Media Blasters after forming a relationship with them from distributing his film, DUCK! THE CARBINE HIGH MASSACRE. Scott ended up buying several discs from the Media Blasters table, most of which I expect to get my hands on as Scott makes his way through them.

Other observations/things from the show:

-The David Arquette/Thomas Jane table (room, actually) had, at times, a 4 hour wait. Crazy.

-The HOWARD TV gang of Richard Christie and JD were all over the show, interviewing fans and celebs alike. If you listened to Howard's SIRIUS show this morning, you probably got an earful of their exploits.



-Those two Crazy Babysitter Twins from GRINDHOUSE are un-freaking-believably HOT.

-Speaking of Howard, the "Purchase of the Day"? My brother nabbed the complete WWOR-TV Channel 9 show DVD SET. Something like 27 DVDs of every episode. The guy wanted $150 on Saturday, but settled for $75 just as we were leaving on Saturday. I don't know who the bigger chump is.

-The after-show hours were kind of intolerable thanks to the music acts being right in the middle of the lobby. Just dreadful. Past shows would relagate the music to a Ballroom somewhere while the lobby/bar area was reserved for chatting it up. So, instead of hooking up with fellow fans, writers, filmmakers and celebs (past interesting hookups at either Chiller or Fango shows included: Tony Timpone and Mike Gingold, Ted Bohus, Kane Hodder, Eli Roth, Ti West, Captain Lou Albano, and many other memorable run-ins), we ended up with a quick round at the the Ruth Chris' Steak House bar ($9.75 for a Jim Beam and Coke) and then went back to our room to watch the Yankee game.

-Spoke for a while with Douglas E. Winter, who didn't seem to be getting enough props at his lonely little table. Good guy. I snuck him a copy of MAGDALENA'S BRAIN, and hope he takes the time to check it out.

Anyway, the weather wasn't a factor, thanks to our room being at the same hotel, so the only tiem we strayed from the confines was for a Wendy's lunch. And the trip back was quiet and retrospective as we all compared our booty.

Buddy Karl, was the big "winner" of the show, I think. Between his purchases of the Complete Bionic Woman DVD Set, and the the Complete Real Ghostbusters DVD Set, he'll have to be putting in some serious overtime.

Can't wait 'til next year.

Chiller Weekend

Back from the Chiller Show and, as hoped, had a supercool combination of fanboy and independent filmmaker bliss. First off... the booty (bear in mind, I slipped a little on my usually rock solid, iron clad, self imposed ethical guidelines of purchasing pirated merchandise. Check my earlier posting here for how my thought process works in regards to bootleg flicks).



HEARTS OF DARKNESS - Unavailable on DVD, I bought a boot of one of the greatest documentaries I've ever seen on one of the best movies ever made. I have a VHS screening copy somehere up in the attic, but I was able to pick this up for $10. It saved me a trip up those creepy stairs.
ETHICAL CODE VIOLATION - 2 out of 10. If/when a legit DVD of this becomes available, I WILL buy it.



JLA: UNAIRED CBS PILOT - Never released/aired. This is an unbelievably horrible pilot for a show that was thankfully never picked up. JLA, of course, stands for the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, the superhero team that includes GREEN LANTERN, THE FLASH, THE ATOM, THE MARTIAN MANHUNTER and others. This is a serious piece of crap. An unwatchable, poorly written/produced show that is deservedly reviled by the fans to whom it was aimed, and who (like me) have continued to seek it out in the convention circuit. I had to buy a copy (for $10) because the quality of the print was slightly better than those of the 3 or 4 tapes/discs I had previously bought of this terrible, terrible pilot.
ETHICAL CODE VIOLATION - 2 out of 10. Everybody involved with this show has been paid for their services. The master is sitting on a shelf in some CBS vault, never to see the light of day. If I want to show my son how cool J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter could look in real life, I damn well won't let CBS tell me I can't.



FABULOUS BARON MUNCHAUSEN - A Czech production from 1961 that's unavailable on home video. I've always wanted to see this film, which utilizes miniatures, animations, model work, live action, and lots of other really cool production cheats to bring the Baron to life.
ETHICAL CODE VIOLATION - 2 out of 10. Tell me who the rights owner is and I'll send them a check.


BEHIND THE MASK: The Rise of Leslie Vernon - Supposed to be a great little meta-horror flick on the making of a serial killer. I don't have a leg to stand on with the morality of this purchase. Even though I promise to purchase a legit copy of the DVD and/or pay for a ticket to a theatrical showing, it's still a:
ETHICAL CODE VIOLATION - 10 out of 10.


MASTER OF HORROR SEASON 2 - A multidisc set of all 13 episodes of the uneven Showtime series' second season. I'd only seen one of these episodes previously (Dario Argento's PELTS... splatterific, by the way), but was really interested in checking out what the "masters" were up to this year. I don't have Showtime, but they, of course, will release DVDs of this series, so...
ETHICAL CODE VIOLATION - 10 out of 10.



DAYWATCH - Sequel to NIGHTWATCH, an excellent Russian film released last year (and one I'm guilty of having illegally purchased last Chiller, and went on to ignore the legit release months later. One of the glaring examples of hypocrisy in my above mentioned "ethical" manifesto. I still plan on buying the NIGHTWATCH DVD, though. Seriously, I do. Very soon).
ETHICAL CODE VIOLATION - 10 out of 10.

My other purchases included the excellent-looking Unearthed Films release of Frank Henenlotter's FRANKENHOOKER, Synapse films' 42nd STREET FOREVER trailer compilation and Brett Piper's SHOCK-O-RAMA. All legit purchases of officially released flicks.

I also WAS handed, without asking I'll have you know, a DVD screener of FRANK MILLER'S 300. I couldn't act ungracious and not accept it, so I did put my hand out and took it from the guy. No money exchanged hands, and he only gave it to me because I had purchased a good sized pile of swag from his table and he wanted to show his appreciation of my patronage.

People are asking me to make them copies of the DVD, though...

ETHICAL CODE VIOLATION - unknown.
************************************************************************************

As far as the weekend regarding independent filmmaking, I met several people who were both intereting just to rap with, and interesting as far as career/Glowing Screen/MAGDALENA'S BRAIN stuff went.

Most fun was had at the SYNAPSE FILMS table, where I hung out with the company's principals, Dona May, Jr and Jerry Chandler. Both were gracious guys with much in the way of advice as far as MAGDALENA'S BRAIN's distribution goes. I've had some questions in terms of the quarterly reports we've been recieving and the potential of foreign distribution, and it seems as if there's some Synaptic Synergy possible.

Also met at the Synapse table was Vincent Pereira, writer/director of the film A BETTER PLACE, and all around super guy. I've "known" Vincent through the boards over at the Mobius Home Video Forum for a couple of years now, but this was our first face to face meeting. Vincent's the type of guy whom you want to continue a relationship/dialogue with long after you first meet him. I hope I do; he's a filmmaker with a good heart and a boatload of talent.

Buddy Scott Kittredge met us down there on Saturday afternoon and was responsible for a couple of other interesting contacts/networking opportunities. First was MFX Studios, a Pennsylvania based comapny who was very forthcoming with advice regarding development of the effects needed for a the upcoming (but still unannounced) production of ATTACK OF THE SPACE CHICKENS.

(more to come)...

Chiller & more...

-It kind of snuck up on me this year, but this weekend brings the 2007 CHILLER THEATER SHOW. I'm not at all ashamed to say that it's one of the highlights of my year (I'd say it's tied with my annual Cape Cod vacation). As always, the guests are a little sketchy (Chakotay?!), but the DVD dealers and fellow filmmakers are the real reason I go down anyway. If there are any fellow filmmakers who will be at the show, drop me a line -- I'm always looking for East Coast contacts!

-Some interesting developments with writing projects have surfaced... ranging from two feature films to a small corporate gig, each promising either money, further career development, or both.

-Most exciting, I've recently been forwarded some conceptual artwork for a project that's gaining steam -- a feature film that I may be producing this summer. It's from a script I wrote a couple of years ago that has always been a dream of mine to see production. After seeing this new art, I gotta say I'm falling in love all over again with it.

-

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...

...welcome to Fenway Park.*

I would be remiss in my obligations to Red Sox Nation if I didn't
commemorate this date, April 2, 2007 as the official date of the Red Sox 2007 Major League Baseball campaign.

Go Sox.

*(The public address reference at the head of the his post was for effect only. I realize the game is in Kansas City today. I realize this because next Tuesday, when those words are actually spoken for the first time, I'll be sitting at Fenway Park, awaiting Josh Beckett's first pitch).