Well, 2012 was not the best year, but it wasn't the worst, either.
I started off the year by sliding across an icy road and smashing my wife's car into the curb.
Yay.
I did order DVDs of the just-finished-up TWISTED FATES and TRULY DREADFUL TALES in January so that was cool.
In February the Mid-Valley Video Festival honored me as their ‘featured filmmaker’ so in addition to the bigfoot short SCENT OF THE SASQUATCH, they screened TWISTED FATES!
I was even interviewed by the local paper, which was fun!
Also in February, I got to see Michael Schenker Group and Anvil in Portland. It was awesome!
Several of my titles became available from the W.A.V.E. Video site: UNDERBELLY, DEADLY PREMONITIONS and TRULY DREADFUL TALES.
I was interviewed for "SOV: The True Independents," a pair of documentaries on the shot-on-video horror of the 80s and 90s.
Also in March, I was asked to make a movie for Warlock Home Video and set about getting a cheeseball, shot-on-VHS horror comedy written up. The result was BLOODY RED LIPS OF BLOOD, which was shot in the spring and early summer.
At one of the BLOODY RED LIPS OF BLOOD shoots, I also held a photoshoot to create a snazzy and suitably schlocky photo to go at the top of my drquid.net site. Chicks and monsters - what's not to like?
After remastering the werewolf short Dark Bite from an old 3/4" master the distributor had, the director found the original Hi-8 tapes after all! So I re-edited from scratch, worked in some additional footage and did all new sound effects and music.
It's the last piece of my anthology BENEATH A DEAD MOON. As soon as I can connect with one of the actors for a needed voiceover, I can get it all finished up, get some copies and plan a screening!
In April, Steve Sessions' horror anthology ABERRATIONS was released. I was a producer on this one.
Also in April, TWISTED FATES got reviewed on Ain't It Cool News! I got a great pull quote: "...Every scene and every minute of TWISTED FATES oozes a love for all things horror," which was pretty damn cool.
The director of the film festival for Crypticon Seattle contacted me and said they wanted to screen TWISTED FATES as a "friends of Crypticon" type of thing at this year's convention. Cool!
I started off the month of May attending Jell-O Wrestling fundraiser for local roller derby team. Needless to say, that was entertaining.
Memorial Day weekend rolled around and my buddies and I once again headed to the Crypticon Seattle horror convention. Great guests and panels and lots of fun times. On the down side, all of Sunday afternoon's events (including my screening) were left out of the printed program thanks to some lame volunteers - and boy were the organizers pissed! A bunch of free promotional posters I was promised by someone didn't materialize, either. However, I had some posters of my own and we had a swell screening. Did some Q&A afterward and even sold a few DVDs!
You can check out the whole Crypticon Seattle 2012 Trip Report here: http://skullfaceastronaut.com/drsquid/crypticon2012/
About three years after the initial shooting for BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN, the project was unfortunately still waiting in line with the editor, who was busy with finishing up previous projects. Mike Hegg got a hold of us in June and said he would like to help out, so I began a series of trips up to Portland to work with him on cutting this bloody body count movie together. By the end of the year, we'd finished the rough cut and are currently working on all sorts of fine-tuning. So excited to see this come together in 2013!
Got to see some great local indie movies this year, including Henry Weintraub's Killing Me and Jason Freeman's The Weather Outside. I am bummed I never was able to make it to see his brother Todd Freeman's Cell Count (as everyone tells me I'd love it), but it's out on VOD now, so I'll have to check it out.
I took my son to see Iron Maiden play in Auburn, Washington at the end of July - first time seeing them for both of us and they were fantastic!
Then, in August, we went to see Motley Crue and KISS in Ridgefield, Washington. Incredible show! We had great seats near the front and were enveloped with the confetti cloud at the end as the confetti cannons were just to the side of our seats.
Did a few freelance video projects for people this year, and some freelance drawing and graphic design as well. I designed not only BRLOB dvd sleeve for Warlock but also their Warlock Warrior certificate, Phantom of the Grindhouse and Paranormal web series logo AND the TeenApe: Balls Deep logo. Crazy stuff!
Online network BlackFlag.TV began airing some of my stuff this year - the short SUPERSTAR is played all the time (recently it played four times in one day!) and my features TWISTED FATES and TRULY DREADFUL TALES have played as well!
Finished the remastering work on three of my earliest efforts and will shortly be releasing a DIMENSION OF BLOOD / MONSTER IN THE GARAGE / CRIMSON HEATHER triple feature DVD.
Also this year, I won four DVDs in online contests, won free tickets to the roller derby and KISS came out with a new album! Not bad!
In October, we held a BLOODY RED LIPS OF BLOOD premiere screening at the f/Stop Fitzgerald's in Salem, Oregon. I brought along the bug monster puppet and a swell time was had by all.
Warlock Home Video released the movie on DVD in October as well.
Also in October, I started posting a series of sharable squares/memes and they were a big hit! By the time I was done I'd made and posted 50 of them! I need to do some more in 2013. In the meantime, you can check them all out here: https://picasaweb.google.com/fandcproductions/Squares
I wrapped up 2012 by taking part in the "Holiday Horror Bazaar" as part of the Grindhouse Theater series in Tacoma, Washington. Sold some stuff, got to see a 35mm screening of Silent Night Deadly Night and even won a Fangoria magazine!
Just put the opening credits to BENEATH A DEAD MOON together the other day and getting them done was a great way to finish off the year!
Goodbye 2012.
Hello 2013.