Dr. Squid's Smorgasbord of Terror!

Artwork for Sale

2012-01-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

I'm putting some original artwork up for sale. These are charcoal and/or pencil renderings.

Death Awaits

Voluptuous Turning

Bondage

Finale

Fishnets

Reclining on a Line

Lazy Days

Contemplation

The Darkness

Lonliness

Musing

Woman

Farmhand

Artwork is shipped rolled in a mailing tube. $25 for each piece. Contact me with what you'd like and we'll figure out the shipping cost.

DOB 2?

2012-01-23T18:50:00.000-08:00

Last year, I was talking to Tom Shaffer, who played Dr. Mobius in my half-hour sci-fi horror movie DIMENSION OF BLOOD back in 1995.

He had delivered a pizza to a woman who bore a striking resemblance to the character of Leroy the janitor in DOB, and Tom suggested that I make a sequel featuring this woman as Leroy's long lost sister or something.

(Brian, who played Leroy, along with Brenda and Tom behind the scenes of Dimension of Blood)

At the time I was neck-deep in projects and said that I just didn't have the time.

He replied, "Well, you should let ME make it."

I thought about it for a moment. I have long had an idea for a sequel or more accurately, an idea for a remake of the first one with a second and third act added. But I hadn't really made any moves towards making that and wasn't sure I ever would. Considering that it would be 'interesting" to see how he would interpret the world and mythos I had created year ago, I said, "Why not?"

Tom worked on writing, casting, directing and editing his 40-minute sequel to DOB over many months and we finally had a little premiere party for it at his house late last year.

Since then, Tom has continued to write some spin-off shorts that are set in this DOB2 world that he's created. That's kind of far out!

Here are a few screen caps from DOB 2:

Meanwhile, I spent some time last year remastering three of my early flicks, including Dimension of Blood, with the intention of putting them out on a DVD together. It's a bit of a back burner project right now, but I hope to get it done sometime in the first half of this year.

Bits...

2012-01-23T17:29:00.000-08:00

Very busy in the non-movie parts of my life, but making progress here and there. Last night I took care of some more Blood Creek Woodsman pick-up shots as well as inserts for a horror short I am remastering. Spitting blood onto a tree, my driveway and a piece of plastic - good times!!! Also gave the burned body prop a first coat of paint.

And on it goes...

2011 End of the Year Wrap-Up!

2012-01-01T13:56:00.001-08:00

Another year has flown by. I was able to make some progress on a number of movie projects and am feeling pretty good about getting more projects wrapped up in 2012.

Twisted Fates - Mid-Valley Video Festival in Salem, Oregon screened the "Welcome Sister" segment earlier this year. Screened the trailer at the Underbelly premiere in December. Designed the DVD sleeve and imprint. Final post-production is done! Will be released on DVD in early 2012!

Truly Dreadful Tales - After I finally found out after several months that the original person hadn't shot a dang thing for the "Crazed" segment, I told them to just forget it. I set Tim Shrum (of http://kidschlocko.blogspot.com) up to shoot it. He made some cool props and shot some nifty catfighting! I spent the end of the year getting that segment edited and scored. I also did the music and sound effects for the "BeetleManiac" segment. Designed the DVD sleeve and imprint as well. Checking the final DVD master and plan to have it available in early 2012!

Underbelly - After being out of stock for years, I re-released this at the end of the year with a snazzy new cover and put together a trailer for it. Available in the store. Held a successful premiere screening/dvd release at Northern Lights Theater Pub in Salem, Oregon in December.

Blood Creek Woodsman - Shot some pick-up shots and worked on a snazzy paper mache burned up body prop. Still a few more pick-up shots left to get and then it's off to the editor!

Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires - Held a screening in February at The Club, a bar we shot parts of the movie at in Winlock, Washington. The next night, Two-Minute Miracle, who performed the title theme for the movie, played at the same bar. Good times! Copies available in the store (under distributor's new title Inbred Redneck Vampires).

Deadly Premonitions - Finally released at the beginning of this year. Cut a new trailer for it. Held a screening at Northern Lights Theater Pub in Salem, Oregon in March. Copies available in the store.

Dimension of Blood, Monster in the Garage and Crimson Heather - Planning a DVD-r triple-feature release of these older projects from 1995-98 or so. Remastering as best I can from 3/4" videotape originals and have spent a LOT of time fixing a lot of sound issues. Designed sleeve and dvd imprint, created photo gallery and edited DOB behind-the-scenes featurette. To be released in early 2012.

Beneath a Dead Moon - Started work on this anthology of some of my horror shorts. A few recent ones, a few from years ago. Have been importing old footage, tweaking sound issues, re-scoring, etc. Will be nice to get these out on DVD for folks to see! I wrote/shot/edited/scored a bigfoot short, "Shriek of the Sasquatch" this summer. Decided to go ahead and post this one online to share, but it will be part of this anthology as well.

In other people's movies news, I shot a sequence for a new monster movie from WAVE Video. I got to be a tiny part of Luc Bernier's horror anthology HATE by playing Fred, a voice heard on a phone. It was cool because I recorded myself reading the lines in my kid's bedroom, imported the footage into my computer, made a quicktime file, e-mailed it off to the editor and about 20 minutes later, I was in the movie! I'm also acting as a producer on an upcoming horror anthology (working title Abberations).

Wrote a fun horror short and finished outlining a horror comedy script I've been working on.

Did some cartoon illustration this year: a couple of t-shirt designs as well as some possible art for a horror RPG. Also did some logo design.

Spent Spring Break in San Diego visiting friends and got to check out Legoland, the zoo and SeaWorld. My sister got married this summer and I was in the wedding plus helped with a bunch of stuff and made a nice photo gallery dvd that we played at the reception. Even sold a few movie posters! www.drsquid.net/postersforsale.html

Went to Crypticon Seattle in May with my buddies and had an awesome time! My photo-filled trip diary is here!

Saw Loudness in Portland, Oregon in May and Judas Priest in Seattle in October! RAAAAWK!!!!!

Another busy year full of stressful times and fun times. As usual.

Here's to 2012!

Coming together...

2011-12-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

Heard from Tim in Oklahoma last night - they took care of some reshoots for the "Crazed" segment of TRULY DREADFUL TALES and plan on wrapping it up by the weekend. Yay! I hope to edit it all together over the Christmas break.

Have been working on fixing some of my older video shorts for compilation into a new anthology. Was uploading footage from a project I did just 6 years ago that had some sound issues - and now I know how to fix them! Kind of pain to drudge through stuff like this, but it'll be nice to have improved it and then be able to get them out for folks to see.

Took care of four BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN pick-up shots the other night. Hope to do more this weekend. Y'know, doing blood splatters in the garage is better than doing them in the house, but even with trash bags laid out all over the place, blood still seems to get everywhere.

Sold several movie posters recently - if you are interested, check 'em out here: www.drsquid.net/postersforsale.html

Onward!!!

Underbelly Screening Wrap-Up!

2011-12-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

We held a screening/dvd release for UNDERBELLY last Friday at the Northern Lights Theater Pub in Salem, Oregon.

Yeah, that's the ticket!

Up in lights! Unrated, even!!!

Here's some of the crowd after the screening.

So a bunch of Robert J. Olin's friends came down from Portland to see the movie and brought their own Bob masks...

Now, this is scary!

A bunch of us hung out at the nearby bar after the show...

Where the Bob masks continued to pop up...

In all sorts of places...

Even the bartender got into the act!

Thanks to everyone who came out for the show! Hoping to have many more screenings this next year!

UNDERBELLY is available here.

Don Dohler, An Inspiration

2011-12-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

It was five years ago today that Baltimore filmmaker Don Dohler passed away.

It was appropriate that my filmmaking friend John called me to pass along the sad news that Don Dohler had lost his battle with cancer at age 60.

John and I were both in middle school when we seperately caught Don's movie THE ALIEN FACTOR on the channel 12 afternoon movie. The movie was a huge inspiration for us both and got us interested in making our own movies. The picture above is Don inside an alien outfit from the movie.

Many years later, TBS aired THE ALIEN FACTOR and I got it recorded on tape. That VHS tape was gold to me for I'd never seen the movie any other time and had never seen it available in video stores where I lived. At the end of the movie, in the end credits crawl, there was an address for the company that made the movie. I wrote to them, telling them how cool the movie was. Unfortunately the address was no longer good and the letter was returned to me. Rats.

Even more years later, I was able to interview Don by mail for my zine Dr. Squid. Don not only wrote back but answered my questions with great detail. As time went on, I got into making movies and Don was always an inspiration. He and I corresponded by e-mail many times. He was always nice, supportive and seemed happy to share stories about his work.

It was those qualities that made him such an inspiration to many making movies today, from no-budget videomakers, to FX guys, even to J.J. Abrams, who was able to do some music for Don's movie Nightbeast back in the early 80s.

This is a shot of Don in his basement where they built a set for the Sheriff's office for THE ALIEN FACTOR.

Below is Don's inscription to me from his book, "B-Movie Horrors." Don made his mark on so many lives and he is truly missed.

UNDERBELLY Trailer and Screening!!!

2011-12-01T20:38:00.000-08:00

DVD Release Premiere Screening of the sexy thriller UNDERBELLY, Friday, December 9 at 9 p.m. at the Northern Lights Theater Pub, 3893 Commercial Street Southeast, Salem, OR 97302.

Just $3 and they serve beer, wine and food! I'll have Underbelly DVDs for sale as well as Deadly Premonitions, Inbred Redneck Vampires and others and even some old VHS stuff!

Can't make it? Pick up a copy at the ol' Dr. Squid store!

See ya there!

I Poop Jellybeans!

2011-11-29T21:21:00.000-08:00

So...

The wife needs to stop by a fabric store after dinner tonight and says it'll only take a few minutes.

Many, many minutes later my son and I are going stir crazy waiting around.

Look what I found in the pattern area:

Jug Jacket! A jacket for your jugs!

Then we wandered over to the crafty area. My son saw this and said, "It's the evil nutcraker," and then made the guy's mouth move and voiced, "I'm going to crack your nuts!!!"

Needless to say, I was laughing pretty good, BUT THEN...

Oh my God, it's a Penguin Pooper...that comes packaged with a pile of poop balls! Then I saw THIS:

Look at the strained expression on his face!!! Then we saw the packaging:

Wow!

UNDERBELLY Available Again!

2011-11-13T20:47:00.000-08:00

Out-of-stock for many years, UNDERBELLY is available again on DVD-r with a snazzy new cover design to boot! www.drsquid.net/underbelly.html

In this twist-filled erotic thriller, a college student in search of a professor's missing niece becomes entangled with the small town's criminal underbelly including sexy prostitutes, vile gangsters and thuggish hitmen. Hot women appear at every turn, just not the one he's looking for. Even with the help of a sexy hooker, will he live long enough to find out what really going on?

Starring Tamra Redmond (The Seekers), Heather Storm (National Lampoon's Dorm Days 2, Epic Movie, Lost Treasure of the Maya) and Shannon (Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires, Evilmaker 2) with Tom Shaffer and Robert Olin, both from Deadly Premonitions. Opening credit sequence features Jenny Wallace (Planet of the Erotic Ape, Hookers in a Haunted House).

MicrocinemaScene.com's John Oak Dalton says: "..knowing "nerd-noir"...gives off a cool vibe, and is an overall solidly-produced outing with sharp scripting, witty performances, some nice twists and turns, and eye-popping women. Three stars."

Buried.com's The Mortician says: "Think of a Fred Olen Ray movie being morphed with the dark humor of something like Martin Scorsese's AFTER HOURS...Amidst the interesting story, there's plenty of nudity peppered throughout the movie in a homage to directors like Jim Wynorski and Fred Olen Ray. The story comes to a halt so that viewers can feast their eyes upon sex scenes and strip routines...boasts solid performances by the cast and technically, the movie is standout...I can't see fans of b-grade exploitation movies having any beefs with the contents that UNDERBELLY delivers... salutes the Roger Corman formula of the '80's"

B-independent.com's Allen Richards says: "a soft-boiled crime thriller where those nerd-qualities take the edge off the darker elements. Think Fred Olen Ray for the Dungeons and Dragon's crowd...and that's not a knock...a fish-out-of-water comedy...giddy, b-movie fun."

www.drsquid.net/underbelly.html

100 Things All At Once

2011-10-10T05:37:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the lack of posts as of late.

I wrote out a long-winded blog post about what is going on, but I just deleted it in favor of something brief:

I've got a whole mess of things on my plate right now: movies and pieces of movies in various stages of development; small projects that have turned into large ones; freelance illustration jobs; etc.

Plus more and more work from work being brought home on top of family commitments.

Stuff is happening, but at a slow pace.

The main thing, though, is that I am in more of a "wait until it's done" mode of posting, rather than a "this is happening right now" mode of posting.

The "glimpse behind the scenes as projects develop" approach is interesting to be sure, but also leads to disappointment when a project someone reads about takes a long time to finish, or gets pushed aside for another project or just doesn't end up going anywhere. At this point, so many of these projects are taking forever as my time is spread thinner and thinner, that I'd just rather wait until some things are wrapped up to blab about them here.

Of course I could change my mind tomorrow. That's the beauty of this blog thing. Another day, another post.

For now, those of you following this, stay tuned!!!

Monster Drawings

2011-09-29T23:26:00.001-07:00

Drew up a bunch of monsters a while back to give as samples to a company working in a horror game...

Women Rastlin' and Lots of Blood

2011-09-01T22:52:00.000-07:00

Well alright!!! Tim Shrum has a killer update on his latest shoot for the "Crazed" segment for Truly Dreadful Tales here: http://kidschlocko.blogspot.com/2011/09/summer-slaycation-11-women-rastlin-and.html

Getting Crazier!

2011-08-22T23:05:00.000-07:00

Tim Shrum is making some good headway on the 'Crazed' segment for TRULY DREADFUL TALES! Check out his latest production diary entry here:

http://kidschlocko.blogspot.com/2011/08/summer-slaycation-9-stage-two.html

Meanwhile, here is the lovely and talented Jennifer, looking, well, not quite so lovely...

Scent of the Sasquatch - Watch It Now!

2011-08-15T21:55:00.000-07:00

I decided to put this segment up online to share with folks. It was so much fun to make! It will still be a part of the TRULY DREADFUL TALES horror anthology. Enjoy the bigfooty goodness!

Summer's Flyin' By

2011-08-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

My summer is getting packed with all sorts of personal and family stuff going on. Nothing bad, just keeping me busy, and away from movie stuff.

Good news is I finished the music and sound effects for the 'BeetleManiac' segment for TRULY DREADFUL TALES.

Tim Shrum is still working on shooting the 'Crazed' segment for that down in Oklahoma. Here's a pic from today's shoot:

Still working on finishing up the body prop for BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN pick-up shots.

See y'all in the fall!

Tom Stedham on Burn Notice!

2011-08-12T00:28:00.000-07:00

Actor Tom Stedham was featured as a mercenary on tonight's episode of BURN NOTICE. Here are a bunch of screen shots:

Tom was in my sci-fi/horror flick ODD NOGGINS many years ago:

Then he was in my sexy thriller DEADLY PREMONITIONS:

Next Tom came out to Oregon to star in PLATOON OF THE DEAD:

Tom has a cameo in my upcoming TWISTED FATES horror anthology:

Most recently, Tom came out to star in the upcoming BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN:

I Love Paper Mache

2011-07-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

Working on a paper mache prop for BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN! Have been taking photos for a 'how to' post when it's all done. For now, here's a sneak peek.

Fringe "?" Teaser One - Where Is Peter Bishop?

2011-07-18T22:15:00.000-07:00

I love Fringe! Just saw the Season 4 teaser - check it out here:

Here are some stills of the flurry of frames that are at the end. First up there is this repeating frame...

...which runs between each of these...

Looking forward to the season premiere on 9/23/11!!!

Scent of the Sasquatch Title Card

2011-07-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

CRAZED!!!

2011-07-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

Truly Dreadful Tales is coming together, with the last two segments currently in production. I shot about 80% of the Bigfoot segment this weekend and meanwhile Tim, of Kid Schlocko fame has started work on the "Crazed" segment. He's been posting updates over at the Kid Schlocko blog and I am excited!! Here are a few pics:

Paper mache' guns! Cool!

The landlord's nosey daughter! Hot!

Scent of the Sasquatch

2011-07-09T22:48:00.000-07:00

Shot the bulk of a segment for TRULY DREADFUL TALES today. Here are a bunch o' pics!

Bryn Kristi as enjoys a cup of tea as she chats on the phone.

Sabrina Larivee and Bryn chat before heading out...

"Feels like we're being watched or something..."

Shooting the raging Bigfoot!

You can trust me. I'm with the government.

Who knew that Bigfoot wore Converse?

The cast!

The cast again!

Beauty and the Beast!

Beauty and the Beast Part Two!

Tired and sore from hiking around and such. Still a handful of pick-up shots to do at a later date.

Everyone was fantastic today! Thanks for all of your help!!!

Percolating...

2011-06-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

Have been e-mailing back and forth with someone who is going to shoot the "Crazed" segment for TRULY DREADFUL TALES. He's getting actresses cast, building props, etc. Very excited to see how it turns out. Meanwhile I am working on scheduling shooting the last segment for TRULY DREADFUL TALES, a bigfoot short I will shoot & direct.

Filled a couple of DVD orders for DEADLY PREMONITIONS.

Pretty much done with the trailer or TWISTED FATES and am working on finishing up the DVD sleeve. Computer problems have delayed the DVD authoring, but I'll be looking into some other options in the next couple of weeks. Would really love to get it done, duplicated and have a swell screening sometime this summer.

Working on a schedule for shooting the last remaining BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN pick-up shots.

Heading to the Markum Inn this weekend for a Jumbo Markum Burger!

Oh, and mostly busy with work and family stuff, but still trying to finish up all these movie projects stacked on my plate.

Bit by bit...

Crypticon 2011 Photo Diary!

2011-06-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

Here it is! http://www.drsquid.net/crypticon2011

Here are just a few pics from this fun trip:

Linnea Quigley!

2011-05-31T18:09:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the Crypticon Seattle convention. Had a great time! Plan a full trip photo diary soon, but it'll take a while to get together. For now, here is a photo of me with scream queen Linnea Quigley. I've met Brinke Stevens several times. If I can meet Michelle Bauer someday, my trifecta will be complete!!!!

Time Flies

2011-05-16T17:22:00.000-07:00

Progress is being made here and there on various projects...how's that for cryptic?

Gearing up to go to Crypticon Seattle in 2 weeks. Planning to post a whole mess o' photos of the trip once I am back, as I have done with the 2010 Cryption and the 2009 Crypticon.

Deadly Premonitions Available from WAVE Video!

2011-04-24T23:35:00.000-07:00

Deadly Premonitions DVDs are now available via credit card from WAVE video!

http://wavemovies.com/other_producers/fandc/index.php

Dr. Squid's Lab Report List!

2011-04-18T18:02:00.000-07:00

Made my first google docs form. Pretty sweet. If you want to sign up for my e-mail list for periodic "Dr. Squid Lab Reports" go here!

Platoon of the Dead - just $9.99

2011-04-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

Check it out! Zombies and Tough Tom Stedham for under $10!

Quickie FX shot for TWISTED FATES

2011-04-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

So, for TWISTED FATES, I needed a quick shot of a closed-circuit TV monitor in a woman's pantry. Originally I was going to make a tape or DVD of a bit of the footage shot from the other room and actually play it on this little TV.

However, 2 things: one, it's hard to keep reflections of the camera off of a screen in a front-on shot like that, and two, I actually didn't have a decent shot of the two guys - either the woman was in the shot or they were looking the wrong way or at the camera or something.

This was to be a very quick insert shot, so a still image on the screen was going to be fine.

So, I grabbed these two frames: This one, where the guys looked the way I wanted them to...

...and this one, where the background and doorway areas were clear.

I combined them in Photoshop, masking out the woman with the background from the second shot, turning it to black and white and created the frame below:

With the blue background, I was able to use an iMovie plug-in (thanks for pointing it out to me, Victor!) to combine it with my tv monitor shot, resulting in this:

As I said, it's a very quick insert shot, so the lack of movement on the monitor if fine.

As always, so much work for such little details, but they all pay off in the end!

Sandwich!

2011-04-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

With Sophia and Jack at a recent shoot for a video short

Triple Yeah!

2011-04-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Got called for Jury Duty, but then my number wasn't on the list, so didn't have to go. Yeah!

Finished my taxes. Double yeah!

Have been busy with shooting and editing a couple of custom video shorts.

Took a family vacation to San Diego for spring break. Legoland, San Diego Zoo and Sea World plus seeing old friends. Good times.

Did some work on TWISTED FATES here and there and am laying groundwork to finish up TRULY DREADFUL TALES by this summer.

Looking forward to going to Crypticon Seattle at the end of May.

And...

In looking for tax-related files, I found the safety glasses I've needed for about a year so I can do a reshoot of an FX shot for EATER!

Triple yeah!!

Deadly Premonitions DVD Release Screening

2011-03-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

Had a fantastic time last night at the Northern Lights Theatre Pub for the Deadly Premonitions DVD Release screening! Here are a few pics...

Here is one of my posters in the lobby.

Up in lights! Me with Robert J. Olin (Detective Newman) and Rob Merickel (the masked killer)

Movies for sale!

Some of the attendees after the screening.

Welcome Sister at Mid-Valley Video Festival 2011

2011-02-28T10:10:00.000-08:00

Actress Bryn Kristi, director Bob Olin, actress Sabrian Larivee and production assistant Dale Wilson and I at the 2011 Mid-Valley Video Festival in Salem, Oregon. 'Welcome Sister' played during a block of short films. Bob cast & directed this segment of the TWISTED FATES anthology that I wrote/shot/edited/scored. A swell time was had by all!

Deadly Premonitions DVD Release Screening!

2011-02-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

Friday, March 4 at Northern Lights Theatre Pub, 3893 Commercial St. SE, Salem. Just $3 to get in and they serve beer, wine and food! I'll have copies of Deadly Premonitions, plus Trailer Park Double Wide Trilogy of Terror, Inbred Redneck Vampires, Housebound and The Evilmaker with me - just $10 each.

Deadly Premonitions Finally Available! New Trailer!

2011-02-12T20:33:00.000-08:00

Starring Amira, Tom Stedham, Robert J. Olin, Barb Bradshaw, Tom Shaffer, Alexandra Paris, Rob Merickel, Toni Draggon, Lacey Brassiere, Morgan Mayhem, Darla Doom and Michelle "Ame" Mahoney. Written and directed by Joe Sherlock

Carrie, a young woman gets a gift certificate for her birthday for a session with a local psychic. At first she thinks it's silly but figures that since it's free, she'll go. The psychic reveals horrible news - that Carrie will be surrounded by death and blood. She flees and gets on with arranging her upcoming high school reunion. One by one, the classmates she calls turn up dead. What is the strange connection? Could the psychic have been right? Will Carrie survive these Deadly Premonitions?

http://www.drsquid.net/deadlypremonitions.html

BRV Screening & Band Show in Winlock!

2011-02-06T19:19:00.000-08:00

Mike and I with the snazzy event poster outside of The Club tavern in fabulous Winlock, Washington, February 4, 2011.

My buddy John came over from central Oregon for the weekend's festivities.

Rich, Shelly and Lisa! Rich is beside himself with excitement about the movie screening!!! Rich's band, Two Minute Miracle, plays the theme song as well as other music in the movie and he appears as a vampire guitar player. Shelly played Gloria, the beauty salon owner and Lisa played Candy, the beer-swilling woman hit on at the bar.

Good gravy!!! Lil' Eva is all grow'd up! The lovely and talented Linsdey Hope was also helping out at the bar since things were extra busy!

They must've known I was coming because they were serving a special of bbq pulled pork, beans and potato salad. Nice!

Nate Hope played the band's drummer in the movie.

How big is that giant cock?

Two Minute Miracle, ready to rock and roll!

HUGE THANKS to Bruce, the owner of The Club!

Ron rocks so hard he doesn't need a stage - any counter will do!

Two Minute Miracle rocks The Club!

Good times. Good times, indeed.

BRV Screening at Bar It Was Filmed In!

2011-01-24T17:46:00.000-08:00

This is gonna be a hoot and a half! See y'all there! - Mayor Farnsworth

Movie Posters for Sale!

2011-01-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

Check 'em all out - http://www.proaxis.com/~sherlockfam/postersforsale.html

DEAD INK Trailer

2011-01-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

My short SUPERSTAR is featured on this release. Pick it up at http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Ink-Debbie-D/dp/B0041OSW8S/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1283543758&sr=1-1

Shriek of the Sasquatch!

2011-01-09T20:36:00.000-08:00

I love this trailer. Why? Because it harkens back to my childhood in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and low-budget monster movies of the era. This is the latest flick from Steve Sessions and it is both set in the 70s and made to look like it was FROM the 70s (note the scratches, rough cuts and audio crackles and pops in the trailer - all put in there by Steve - he's been shooting the movie just over the last 2 years).

I have had a bigfoot movie script in the works for some time now, and several years back, I decided it would be really cool if I set the story in the 1970s. I figured I could get some wigs, funky clothes, a few sheets of wood panelling, some ferns, a macrame owl or two, find some locals who had 1970s vehicles and I could pull it off. I can't wait to check out Steve's movie and look at all the details he put in to set it in the time period. Things that remind me of the 70s and/or those low-budget monster movies of the time include:

The doctor on the phone with an anatomical chart behind him
Wood paneling
The green VW van!
The low, low voice of the narrator
The film damage and audio cracks & pops
The beaded door divider
The hairstyles and sideburns
The short shorts on the girl creeping around next to the brick house
The crocheted blanket and patterned pillows
A telephone booth - those are getting very hard to find!
And of course the music and freeze frame with funky typography at the end.

Coolness!

2010 is OVER. FINALLY!!!

2010-12-31T23:59:00.000-08:00

2010 is OVER. FINALLY.

Movie-wise, I made small bits of progress on EATER, BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN, TWISTED FATES and TRULY DREADFUL TALES, but still none of them are completed. Started writing a handful of different scripts...but none of them are done. Managed to squeeze in a couple of small custom video projects for folks as well.

Really enjoyed putting a horror short together for Steve Sessions' DEAD INK anthology. After a bunch of casting and scheduling troubles, it ended up being a quick, hectic shoot in June, but thanks to Sophia, Floyd, Sabrina and Rob for coming through to help make a great little scary short.

Finished opening and ending credit sequences for John Bowker's EVIL RISING, as well as several pick-up shots and a behind-the-scenes featurette. John is nearing the finish line on post-production, so hope to see that in 2011.

Sub Rosa re-released Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires via MVD Entertainment with a new title: INBRED REDNACK VAMPIRES, but the DVD was missing several extras (including director commentary track) that were still listed on the sleeve! FUCK! Still, it's nice to have some version of it available for people again.

All sorts of expensive car work this year, appliances dying, relatives all getting older and in poorer health, pay & benefits reductions at work, deaths of friends, had a bunch of colds, etc. Whine, whine, whine. Sorry, I'm just in a bad mood.

On the bright side, a local bar held a screening of BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES as a part of it's grand opening in May and that was fun. I also managed to be part of a tiny group that pulled off a huge 2-school High School Reunion this summer and also had a good time at the Crypticon Seattle horror convention in June. Bit the bullet and took the family to DisneyWorld this summer. Also reconnected with a long-lost friend from my childhood in New Jersey this fall. So not all bad, I guess.

So, here comes 2011 and I pretty much have the same resolutions as in recent years: finish movie projects, eat better and exercise more, work smarter, pay down debt, blah, blah, blah.

We'll see how it goes.

Netflix 2010

2010-12-30T17:22:00.000-08:00

So it's the end of 2010 and a lot of websites, magazine and TV shows are featuring all kinds of lists - best movies of the year, worst movies of the year, etc.

Whatever.

I went through my list of Netflix rentals for 2010 and made some rambling statements. Here they are for your enjoyment.

Best Worst Movie was very entertaining and having worked behind vendor tables at comic book shows and seen how various horror cons work, I could really feel for those guys when they went to some cons and no one cared about them. After that, I checked out Troll 2, which some people I know couldn't believe I had not seen. Well now I have. Wow. It's everything they said it would be. And more. And yes, it's one of those that you just have to watch to understand.

The Forbidden World and Galaxy of Terror DVDs were spectacular. Not only because I love these sci-fi/horror sleazefests, but the extras were crazy extensive!

Love love love love Fringe.

Loved Anvil: The Story of Anvil.

Moon was great. Reminded me of Silent Running.

Bog was a "regional," that being usually a one-off, small-budget production made by people with big hearts and often no talent. Those movies where a guy got some money together, shot with local townsfolk in places like bars, private homes and the woods, often with a cheap monster costume and cheeseball effects. Plots are rather ridiculous and acting is usually wooden, save for one or two mega-overactors (often the ones with lots of 'theatrical' stage experience). These regionals also spotlight the local architecture, unique land formations or cultural events. Most of the ones I dig are from the 70s so you also have the fashion, haircuts, cars and decor of the time. Invasion of the Blood Farmers, Giant Spider Invasion and The Alien Factor all fall into this category. Bog was relly bad.

Cthulhu was such an odd movie. Shot here in the northwest, it's a modern riff on Lovecraft's Shadow over Innsmouth with a gay man returning to the small town he grew up in to find a local church involved in unearthly worship. It's dark and a little slow and not very gorey or scary. It's unsettling. Some of it's cool. Some of it is dull. Tori Spelling is in it and does fine in a small role. The northwest locations are exploited well. I listened to the commentary and that helped with some of the murkier plot issues and I learned a lot about a typically troubled low-budget production. I also read several interviews with the write and director, which shed even more light onto things. Seems like they were trying to utilize an often-used theme of Lovecraft's, that of someone who had gone to the big city or university returning to a small someplace they once knew, only to find it similar on the surface, but dark and changed just beneath the surface. They really wanted to tell the story of a man who grew up in a small town, hiding and ashamed of his sexuality, who went to the big city where he could live the lifestyle he wanted to and then had to return home as a changed person and face what he had initially tried to escape. But shoehorning that together with a Lovecraftian tale just didn't seem to gel for me.

Beyond that, in finding out more about the production, they had at least one cool looking fish-man costume created and went to far as the have helicopter shots of fish-men coming up out of the surf and then they barely used any of the footage! Many have said that a lot of Lovecraft wasn't really about monsters per se, but about mood and suspense...a looming sense of dread. A lot of movies that use Lovecraft as a basis or inspiration have showcased big slimy monsters and some say that isn't necessarily true to the author. Well, I dig big slimy monsters, so that's what I was hoping for here and I think we got too little of them. As I said, it was an odd movie.

Liked the squid-head manhole cover, though.

I still dig The Outsiders.

And Toy Story 3 was great, and made me tear up.

Sickened Now Available

2010-12-28T17:35:00.000-08:00

I shot the opening sequence for this Phil Herman movie and the majority of the music in the flick is by me. You can order it here: http://wavemovies.com/other_producers/falcon/index.php

"Cheetos...they're not just for sex anymore."

2010-12-21T17:26:00.000-08:00

What does that line mean? You'll just have to pick up VAMPIRISA'S VELVET VAULT OF HORROR and find out.

Jeff Dylan Graham Melts!

2010-12-20T17:11:00.000-08:00

Jeff Dylan Graham melts into yellow goo in the weirdo movie ODD NOGGINS

You Can Kiss My Ass!

2010-12-19T17:09:00.000-08:00

Goofball aliens and the chick they abducted in WE NEED EARTH WOMEN

Shiny

2010-12-18T16:09:00.000-08:00

Athena Demos in Twisted Fates.

Eyebrow Action

2010-12-17T22:59:00.000-08:00

Jon Wilmot in Twisted Fates.

Pretzels

2010-12-16T22:57:00.000-08:00

Behind the scenes of Evil Rising.

Busy Busy Busy

2010-11-24T17:20:00.000-08:00

Sadly, not busy with movie stuff. Crazy busy at work - lots of working late and bringing work home. Sucks. And lots of family commitments lately. Still hope to eek out some more progress on movie projects by year's end. This blog used to be a place to post all my incremental progress and keep myself motivated. Mmmmmmm...not so much anymore. But maybe...

Almost Halloween

2010-10-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

Almost Halloween...which means the end of the year is screaming towards me. Time to take stock of where I'm at on projects and see what I can finish up by Dec. 31.

Blood Creek Woodsman - closing in on having all the pick-ups shot. Got stuff finished up at the Markum Inn a couple of weeks ago.

Twisted Fates - Narrator/Wraparound is pretty much edited. Have just a couple of insert shots to shoot and drop in. Found a long-missing tape, which was good, but lots of bad sound that needed to be fixed, which was bad, but was able to run it through filters and through Garageband and got it to where I am happy with it, which is good. Working on sound and music now. Composed a title theme in Garageband a few weeks ago. Will need to adjust one of the segments to jive with the introduction, but shouldn't be too much trouble.

Deadly Premonitions - Need to double check last master from Mike and finish DVD sleeve design.

Still have some fixing to do on Eater, the fun sci-fi/short I did with my son and his friends.

Truly Dreadful Tales - Waiting for footage of 'Crazed' segment from filmmaker in Ohio. Still need to finish music for 'Beetlemaniac' segment. Writing final segment.

And of course Secret Projects #1-99 are all still in various stages of development.

Don Leifert, 1950-2010

2010-10-24T01:27:00.000-07:00

I've written about my love of The Alien Factor and Don Dohler in the past. I just found out that one of Don's frequent actors, Don Leifert, passed away this weekend.

Don Leifert had a William Shatner-esque delivery that I always felt matched the characters he was playing.

I first saw him as Ben Zachary in The Alien Factor. He also had roles in Dohler's Nightbeast and Galaxy Invader and the title role in Fiend. Dohler's 2004 sci-fi movie Crawler is still in post for CGI effects with the Timewarp Films folks and Leifert apparently had a role in it playing a character named...Zachary. Can't wait to check it out.

Until this spring, Leifert was a theater teacher at Towson High School in Towson, Maryland. Judging from the comments on the Don Leifert Appreciation Group Facebook page, his students loved him.

R.I.P.

Twisted Fates Title Theme

2010-10-07T13:06:00.001-07:00

I was going for a 1970s made-for-tv horror movie kind of vibe. Listened to Salem's Lot and Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries themes a bunch and then came up with this.

15 Years of F&C Productions

2010-09-27T17:32:00.000-07:00

Way back in the fall of 1995, while sitting behind the counter at Hero Hero, a comic shop I co-owned with some high school buddies, I began scribbling notes and drawing sketches for an X-Files-ish b-horror movie. I had some cool special effects shots in mind and started linking them together with a storyline of government conspiracies, men in black and things from another dimension. I remember hashing through the project with Tom Shaffer at that counter and a few weeks later, I grabbed my giant VHS camcorder, threw Tom into a lab coat and began making the short feature DIMENSION OF BLOOD.

Thus was the birth of F&C Productions and my plunge into the world of shot-on-video movies.

I had been self-publishing a comic book and just started publishing a zine called Dr. Squid which featured b-movie reviews among other things. I had subscribed to Draculina Magazine, which advertised many no-budget, homemade horror tapes in the back, so I was aware of a growing subculture of selling and trading these VHS movies. I had made some sci-fi and horror shorts with friends John Bowker and Rob Merickel years earlier, and this looked like fun.

My dad helped me edit DIMENSION OF BLOOD on a 3/4-inch U-Matic editing system, a dinosaur in the editing world already at that time, but ya gotta work with what you've got. I had some VHS copies made and we had a little screening and it was fun.

This was the early days of the internet for me, but soon I had a website up and was networking with other homemade moviemakers around the globe. There were 'microcinema' bulletin boards and amateur movie review sites were popping up all over the place.

My old friend John Bowker came over for a visit and once he saw DIMENSION OF BLOOD, he said he had to be involved in my next production.

I soon made another short feature called MONSTER IN THE GARAGE, a horror comedy starring John and Rob. Again, I made some paper mache monsters, some props, mixed up some fake blood, cast a bunch of friends, and made a movie. I put the two movies on a double feature tape and ended up selling some through Draculina Magazine.

Next up I became the videographer for John's fantasy feature, DREAMWALKERS for his own "Pipedreams Entertainment." It was a herculean project, shot on long weekends for a year or so. I played a role, made some props, etc. We used three Hi-8 cameras over the course of the shoot and most everyone we knew ended up in a role. John and I edited that together on the 3/4" system, which by this time my dad had given me.

Things accelerated over the next several years, with John and I both writing and directing projects, and me shooting them. John ended up getting his own editing set-up and though the internet, we got involved in shooting not just our own features, but anthology segments for other microcinema folks.

My stuff was mostly horror/sci-fi with a comedic bent: TRAILER PARK DOUBLE-WIDE TRILOGY OF TERROR, VAMPIRISA'S VELVET VAULT OF HORROR, WE NEED EARTH WOMEN, CRIMSON HEATHER, LUST OF THE VAMPIRE HOOKERS, and ODD NOGGINS, which gained some notoriety due to it being composed of scenes shot by folks all over the country, following a script and using props I would send them. The final product even caught the attention of infamous b-movie critic Joe Bob Briggs, who gave me a great quote to use, calling me, “The Jean Paul Sartre of exploitation,” and commenting further, “Drive-In Academy Award nominations for Joe Sherlock, the writer/director/composer/editor, for doing things the drive-in way.” During the same time, John got some financing and flew in an actress from L.A., for a straight horror feature, THE EVILMAKER. Others that followed included ABOMINATION: EVILMAKER 2, THE SEEKERS and HOUSEBOUND, all straight horror. We were both involved in anthologies like the ALIEN CONSPIRACY series, WEREWOLF TALES and TWISTED ILLUSIONS 2.

John's THE EVILMAKER was picked up by a regional distributor, who unfortunately went bankrupt. ABOMINATION: EVILMAKER 2 was picked up by Brain Damage Films and showed up in Hollywood Video stores across the country! Both HOUSEBOUND and THE SEEKERS were picked up and put out on DVD as well.

I tried my hand at something different in the early 2000s, making a sexy crime thriller called UNDERBELLY. Then John made the move to Hollywood. In the spring of 2003, I hired Ron Ford to direct a segment for TWISTED FATES, a horror anthology I'd written. Later in 2003, Mike Hegg and I were contracted to co-write a crazy comedy called BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES. We both produced, I directed, Mike edited and we again cast all sorts of friends and contacts. It was a huge cast, a huge project, shot mainly in a remote location 3 hours from me on long weekends in the last summer and fall. The next summer, we had a big premiere and a weeklong run at a Portland, Oregon theater/bar. It came out on DVD from a New-York-based distributor in September of 2004 and by summer of 2007 it was sold out. It was available on Netflix and it's high gross-out factor earned it both praise and thrashings across the internet.

In 2005, I started shooting a mystery thriller I'd written called DEADLY PREMONITIONS with an actor from Alabama named Tom Stedham, who had been in some contributed footage in ODD NOGGINS, and flew out to be star in this new feature. Shooting for it continued off and on over the next several years. I was also shooting more for TWISTED FATES, including one segment directed by Robert J. Olin, and contracting out to other filmmakers to shoot from my scripts for a monster-themed anthology called TRULY DREADFUL TALES. I even sold a horror script I'd written to another producer.

John moved back to Oregon in 2007 and we got right into a new project, a sci-fi zombie flick called PLATOON OF THE DEAD. Tom Stedham came out again and we also brought actress Ariauna Albright up from L.A. I was my first time shooting in HD and it was a huge project. At the end of 2007 Tempe Video put out a double feature DVD set of The EVILMAKER & ABOMINATION: EVILMAKER 2.

Both John and I began screening and premiering our movies at a theater/pub in Salem, Oregon called Northern Lights. Not only have the events been fun, but we've sold the place out, Troma's Lloyd Kaufman stopped by, and we even cast for a project from the audience!

In early 2009, I shot and played a role in EVIL RISING, another John-written & directed horror flick. Tempe Video released PLATOON OF THE DEAD in June of that year, and insanely enough, John and embarked on yet another horror feature later that summer. I shot & directed one of the most ambitious projects I've done yet, BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN, written by John.

In the spring of 2010, I wrote & directed a short for Steve Sessions' tattoo-themed horror anthology DEAD INK, and that summer BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES was re-released on DVD with a new title from the distributor: INBRED REDNECK VAMPIRES.

So here were are in late 2010, a decade and a half after the birth of F&C Productions. It's funny - the "F" and "C" originally stood for "Fast" and "Cheap." While every once in a while it seems like I'm able to do things fast or cheap, the fact is that the majority of the time projects take forever and there are always expenses you don't count on! As always, I've got more projects on my plate than I have time for, but I just keep on keepin' on.

These movies wouldn't be anything without the great friends and contacts I've made over the years. Some of the best non-actor actors I've met, amazing craftsmen in props & effects, people with connections I would have never thought of, folks who let us shoot in their homes and get things bloody, technical wizards and so many others are all part of the puzzle that makes these wild flicks come to life.

Finally I have to thank my family for supporting me in this crazy addiction for the last 15 years.

Here's to another 15 years? Who knows? You never know what the future might hold. But I know I have projects to get back to working on...

Dead Ink Now Available!

2010-09-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

DEAD INK, a tattoo-themed horror anthology starring Debbie D, Demona Bast, Isabelle Stephen and Luc Bernier is now available from Amazon. The main anthology is directed by Steve Sessions and Luc Bernier. Bonus shorts are included including one directed by me and starring Floyd Sumner and Sophia Maria.

Pick up the dvd here: http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Ink-Debbie-D/dp/B0041OSW8S/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1283543758&sr=1-1

Dead Ink

2010-07-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

I was very excited to be able to work on a segment for Steve Session's new tattoo-themed horror anthology, DEAD INK.

Floyd drew up his own sleeve of tattoos!

Rob colors the work I did on Floyd's other hand - a flaming eyeball with a tentacle coming out of the top!

Sabrina Larivee helped out moving lights, loading and unloading stuff, holding the boom and a zillion other things...and she plays a part, too!

Rob Merickel had a tough job...but somebody had to do it.

Floyd makes his best mean dude face...and I think it's pretty good.

Floyd Sumner, me, Sophia Maria and Rob Merickel

Blood Creek Woodsman Pick-Ups

2010-05-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

Rob gets Adam all bloody for some pick-up shots. Thanks for the location, Floyd!

It's the happy couple!

Splattery foam latex guts!

Making bloody horror movies RAAAAAAWKS!!!!!!

Dug a hole...

2010-05-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

Dug a hole in my back yard last night. My son came home and asked me what I was doing and I told him I was going to shoot a scene where a girl is laying half in the hole, her lower section covered in grass and dirt and fake blood & guts on her belly, so she looks like she was cut in half. He said he thought I was digging a grave. I said I kind of was. Then he said that it was actually kind of cool. Indeed.

Also started on another paper mache prop - covered a halloween plastic skull with a plastic bag and paper mache'd over it. Step by step...

Late last night the girl who is going to get killed in a scene on Sunday said her boss had put her on the work schedule for Sunday and she had to work until 5, so she couldn't be there at 2:45. I suggested we could still do it, just shuffle a few things around, so now she will be there at 5:30. Hope it all goes well.

On it goes...

Eat at The Markum Inn!

2010-05-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well look what I found!

Not only do they have great burgers and desserts, but I shot a huge amount of BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN at Ward's restaurant and house, too. Ward plays a bartender in the movie, a role he also played in my movie UNDERBELLY that I shot there a few years back. He also helped scout a bunch of other locations for the movie and even lined up a sweet police car for us!

Time is Flying By!

2010-04-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

Finished the opening and ending credit sequences for EVIL RISING a few weeks back as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette. Handed it all off to John for him to finish the video edit. He said he has a list of about 200 sound fixes to make, but hoping he wraps it all up soon.

Making plans to shoot the remaining scenes for BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN over the next few weeks, then can hand off to John who will being editing after he's done with EVIL RISING.

Designed a sweet DVD sleeve for the PG13 version of IT HAUNTS. Waiting to hear back from a duplicator with a quote.

Finished the 'Welcome Sister' segment of TWISTED FATES - music and sound effects all done. Have done a little work on capturing and editing the narrator/wraparound footage.

BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES had a screening Friday, May 7 at 8 p.m. to celebrate the grand opening of the new theater at the ƒ/stop Fitzgerald's Public House pub (and now theater!), 335 Grove St. NE Salem, Oregon 97301. The retitled movie (INBRED REDNECK VAMPIRES) is coming out June 29 - you can preorder it here: http://www.seeofsound.com/p.php?s=MVD5000D

I have a new page on the website for it at http://www.drsquid.net/irv

Looking very forward to going to Crypticon in Seattle this year!

More news soon....

Down, but not out...

2010-04-12T11:05:00.001-07:00

This year has been particularly busy in the work, home and family departments, so progress on movie stuff has been painfully slow. I have some deadlines (some put upon me, some self-imposed) coming at me, so will have some progress on stuff soon.

Need to finish up the opening and ending credit sequences for EVIL RISING by Monday. Also hope to have a slightly trimmed batch of behind-the-scenes footage for EVIL RISING ready as well (at the very least, I have the raw footage pulled together).

Did a new ZIPPY WAFFLEBUNS short with my son and his cousin a few weeks back and recently shot another with another friend of his. Need to shoot a couple of parts then put that together.

In the midst of writing a short for a horror anthology I was invited to be a part of. Have the story outlined and one person cast - need to finish the script, cast, shoot and edit. Only needs to be 15 minutes long, so plan to knock it out in a weekend. On top of mine, I'll be cameraman for another short in the same anthology, shoot still to be scheduled. Both have to be delivered in the next couple of months.

Also recently did one small freelance video project and another to do in the new few weeks, plus a video project for work.

Have a handful of BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN scenes left to shoot, some with actors, some just inserts, establishing shots and effects close-ups.

Still need to finish the inserts, music and credits for EATER. Need to get the PG-13 version of IT HAUNTS duplicated, then continue work on getting TWISTED FATES finished up. Still need to get that very last master copy of DEADLY PREMONITIONS so I can check it and look into getting copies duplicated. Heard that 'Crazed,' the latest segment for TRULY DREADFUL TALES is almost done shooting. Hoping to get that footage soon so I can edit it and add music. Still need to finish music for the 'BeetleManiac' segment. Then there is that werewolf short, but it's way far down on the list right now. Maybe this summer....

Oh yeah and there's that high school class reunion I'm helping plan and time is flying by!!!

Here we go!!!!!!!!!!!!

Inbred Redneck Vampires

2010-03-31T12:43:00.001-07:00

Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires has been sold out from the distributor for a few years now, but they are rereleasing it in June with a new title and artwork. Same movie and extras as the original release. You can preorder it now at http://www.seeofsound.com/p.php?s=MVD5000D

Thinking about planning a few screenings this summer since it will be available again...

Cooking, Party Planners, Feng Shui, Magic and a Docusoap. Really? REALLY?!?!?!

2010-03-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

A new cooking show is coming about a catering and event company who is hired by a demanding client to produce an extraordinary celebration or event. The owner and his team of party planners and chefs must dream up a theme and cuisine and tap the depths of their imagination and culinary talents! New show on Bravo!? Food Network? Travel Channel? Of course, not, silly goose! It's a new show from SyFy Channel!

In another new show, a Feng Shui master interweaves contemporary, practical solutions with ancient mystical philosophies to arrange personal homes, restaurants, stores, and even sports arenas. Fabulous new series on my wife's favorite channel HGTV? TLC? Nope. SyFy Channel, of course!!

How about a show about a magician who teams with thinkers and illusioneers, starts with doodles in a notebook, and creates breathtaking, mind-bending events for his clients. Disney Channel? Another new not-a-cartoon for Cartoon Network? Oh why bother, you already know it's a new show on SyFy Channel.

Since SyFy describes it's next new show as a "docusoap," I'm not even going to bother with it. Docusoap? Really? It is about a inventor and scientist, so I guess that might actually be relevant to the "science" part of "sci-fi." OH WAIT! Sci-Fi changed their name to SyFy, so that doesn't even work now!!!!

A game show about special-effects make-up artists might be cool and I guess might connect to science-fiction films at least, depending on what types of effects they are doing. Another 'Paranormal' show, a Big Brother type of show with folks in a biodome and an 'Untitled Artifact Search Series' round out the list of new shows.

And don't forget, SyFy is your home for.....wrestling.

Footnote: Yes, I know Sci-Fi changed to SyFy last year and declared their new genre as anything that was "imagination-based entertainment" not "science fiction," so it admittedly no longer requires any of it's programming to necessarily be science-fiction, which makes this rant pretty much null and void as far as the SyFy folks would be concerned. But I don't care. I still think it sucks that I watch way more science fiction on THISTV, AMC and even FX and SPIKE for Christ's sake than on SyFy.

Zippy Wafflebuns: Cheese

2010-02-15T16:45:00.000-08:00

Sickened

2010-02-13T23:53:00.000-08:00

Director Phil Herman sent me this sneak peek at the cover for his latest flick, Sickened. I shot a sequence for this thriller. Check out Phil's site for the movie at http://gonehell.angelfire.com

BeetleManiac Pix

2010-01-05T17:10:00.000-08:00

Isabelle Stephen sent me a few pics from the BEETLEMANIAC segment that she and Luc Bernier shot up in Canada for my TRULY DREADFUL TALES horror anthology. She just sent me the footage so looking forward to seeing it!

2009 End of the Year Wrap-Up

2009-12-31T06:13:00.000-08:00

Another busy year is coming to a close in the ol' lab of Dr. Squid!

In the first few months of 2009, I was director of photography/sound man for writer/director John Bowker's EVIL RISING. I also helped with location work, photography, logo design & credits on top of playing a supporting role in this horror feature:

EVIL RISING was another bigger-than-expected project that took a lot of out me and was made more difficult because my wife and I were the only family caring for my father-in-law as he was dying from pancreatic cancer. That was the worst experience of my life. John postponed one big shoot, pushing it out a couple of months and for that I will be forever thankful. I've just finished a bunch of pick-up shots for John, who has a rough cut together and is looking at several months of sound work. Check stuff out at www.myspace.com/evilrisingmovie.

This year, I made more progress on my horror anthology TWISTED FATES.

I completed the video edit on the 'Welcome Sister' segment - just about done with sound effects and music.

I also finished video edit, music and sound work for the 'It Haunts'...

and the 'New Neighbor' segments! Next up, the narrator/wraparound sequence.

In the spring, I posted a ridiculously massive PLATOON OF THE DEAD production diary on my website at http://www.drsquid.net/potdblog.

The DVD was released from Tempe Video in May and included several fun extras I edited as well as a commentary track by me and John. You can pick it up on sale at www.tempevideo.com or rent it on Netflix!

We held a big premiere for it in Salem, Oregon and it was a total sell-out - the theater had to add a second showing on another screen!

Got a 90% done version of EATER together for a family and friends screening over Memorial Day Weekend. EATER is a sci-fi/horror short I've made with my son and his friends. Still need to finish that one up.

There are still just a couple of tweaks left on the DEADLY PREMONITIONS dvd.

We held a fantastic screening of it in Salem, Oregon in August and star Tom Stedham was out from Alabama for the show. A great time was had by all. Hoping my dvd guy can fix things up and I can get some copies made in 2010.

Luc Bernier and Isabelle Stephen shot the 'Beetlemaniac' segment for TRULY DREADFUL TALES up in Canada this year. I'm currently waiting on the the footage from them to edit.

Meanwhile, Matthew and Maria Aldridge are currently shooting the 'Crazed' segment in Ohio. The 'Death Nurse' and 'Treespirit' segments have been done for a bit. I am planning one more segment for this horror anthology.

In June, some buddies and I went to the Crypticon Seattle horror convention. We had a great time, saw some great screenings and met some new friends whom we eventually worked with later in the year. I posted a Crypticon Seattle 2009 trip blog on my website at www.drsquid.net/crypticon2009.

During the summer, John Bowker asked me to direct and shoot his latest project, a "body count' flick called BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN. Tom Stedham flew out from Alabama to star and it's the second biggest project I've ever done next to BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES. Tons of shooting, huge cast, lots of effects, gallons of blood. We've been shooting off an on since the beginning of August and it's about 95% shot right now - still need to line up some pick-up and effects shoots.

John hopes to start editing by next spring, once he's done with EVIL RISING.

In the fall, I was asked to play a 'honky tonk extra' in a local vampire flick, THICKER THAN WATER. I also directed/shot/edited a sequence for New York-based filmmaker Phil Herman's latest movie, SICKENED. Heard that another movie I shot & directed a bunch of scenes for called SLEEPWALKER STRANGLER is just about ready for release.

Just a few days ago, an extensive interview with me was posted over at Smash or Trash Indie Filmmaking. Check it out at http://smashortrashindiefilmmaking.com/?page_id=556

In a year of deaths in the family, relatives in the hospital, downsizing at work, and all kinds of other crap, it is good to look back and know that I have such great friends around me who really have helped me through.

Here's to 2010 - a year in which I hope to finish up some of these long-in-production movies; attend another Crypticon Seattle convention; and eat, drink and be merry at some new screenings!

Happy New Year!

New Interview at Smash or Trash Indie Filmmaking Site

2009-12-21T10:21:00.000-08:00

Check out a new and pretty extensive interview over at Smash or Trash Indie Filmmaking: http://smashortrashindiefilmmaking.com/?page_id=556

It was originally done in 2004 but never published, then Robert was kind enough to do a follow-up a few months ago to bring it up to date. Enjoy.

THEY WON'T STAY DEAD!

2009-12-19T11:43:00.000-08:00

Had an awesome time last night checking out a zombie-themed surf band fronted by a guy I went to high school with - They Won't Stay Dead! (http://www.myspace.com/theywontstaydeadidoo). The poster said that if you dressed as a zombie you'd get in free, so Rob and I did! Craig was a zombie santa and they tore the place up!

Unfortunately my photo's kind of dark, but look at Rob's eye!!!!

I still have crunchy dried blood remnants in my beard, but I went and got donuts this morning anyway. No one asked a thing.

What a great way to start my Christmas vacation!

ABC, You Motherfuckers Ruined Christmas!

2009-12-11T12:54:00.000-08:00

http://www.dorktower.com/2009/12/10/an-open-letter-to-abc-from-my-friend-leon/

Almost the End of the Year

2009-12-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

Time seems to be whizzing by as 2009 comes to an end. I'm working on my end-of-the-year wrap-up.

Here is a freelance project I've been working on:

And so it goes....

Hero Hero - 20 Years Ago

2009-11-20T20:53:00.001-08:00

My buddy Rob reminded me today that it was 20 years ago this week that we opened Hero Hero Comics Cards and Games. It seems like a lifetime ago..and it was - the lifetime of my son, who was born the week before the shop closed in 1997.

I found a few photos up in my office - they're not a complete picture, just a glimpse of what was many years of incredible experiences.

Chatting in the shop one late night with my buddy Mitch.

We had rubber stamps made with these cartoon faces I'd drawn of the 3 owners - we would stamp our faces next to items we liked in the monthly ordering catalog.

Frank and Rob - check out Rob's cool Madman shirt!

In-store appearance by Shane Glines. Shane was just starting out when he was at the shop. Soon after this, he moved to California to work for Spumco and went on to work on animated shows like Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond and Samurai Jack.

Frank, me, comic book artist (and featured actor in TRAILER PARK DOUBLE WIDE TRILOGY OF TERROR) Jack Pollock, Rob and our friend Dale at an in-store appearance by Jack celebrating the release of his Devil Chef one-shot from Dark Horse Comics. We are enjoying some celery, which according to a hilarious fake ad in the Devil Chef book is "nature's toothbrush for your colon!"

Rob watering the sidewalk on the day of Jack's in-store appearance

Taking Stock....

2009-11-04T17:01:00.000-08:00

As the end of the year races towards me, I'm taking a look at where I am on many of my movie projects...

EVIL RISING - Writer/director John Bowker will be visiting next weekend to upload the final pick-up shots and credit files I have. Which means I need to get 'em done by then!

DEADLY PREMONITONS - Had an incredible screening back in August of a 99% done version. Just a few tweaks left to do.

TWISTED FATES - Have been working a bit on the 'It Haunts' and 'New Neighbor' segments, next up will be music & sound effects for the 'Welcome Sister' segment.

TRULY DREADFUL TALES - The 'Death Nurse' and 'TreeSpirit' segments have been done for a while now, the 'Beetlemaniac' segment has been shot and I am waiting for the footage. The 'Crazed' segment materials are in the hands of the director - hoping they can get something shot by the end of the year. Still haven't made that pool monster outfit, but am leaning back towards rewriting this is a mummy story (which I'd started to do last year).

BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN - Man oh man this thing turned in to a monster. It's going to be a hell of a flick once it's done. Still have several pick-ups and inserts to take care of as well as a big flashback kill scene. Maybe this month?

Camryn Manheim

2009-11-01T14:40:00.000-08:00

I ran a Camryn Manheim fansite for a few years, starting back at the end of 1997. At the time, there was very little about this actress on the 'net - she hadn't won her Emmy "...for all the fat girls," she hadn't published her "Wake Up I'm Fat" book, etc. I periodically gathered photos and news items and posted them on the site. In late 2002, Camryn opened a new, gigantic official website (http://www.camrynmanheim.com) which pretty much rendered my site obsolete. I chopped mine down to just these few pix and my tale of meeting her. More recently, I've been downsizing my site and decided to move that stuff here.

Meeting Camryn
Coolness of all coolness - I met Camryn Manheim! In person! In the flesh! She was in a nearby town for a book signing and through a variety of circumstances, I was invited to spend some time with her and her brother between dinner and her signing. So, my wife and I got to spend about a half an hour chatting with the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress in a dimly lit lounge in Portland, Oregon. It was surreal! I mean, we had watched her every week as Eleanor Frutt on The Practice and here she was..."real," right across the table. We chatted about my website for her, her brother's website for her, e-mail, movies, the gruelling book tour, etc. It was so cool and she was so nice. We went outside and snapped a bunch of photos before splitting up to go over to the bookstore.

When my wife and I got to the store (after driving around in circles for a while trying to find a good parking place), there was a loooong line and we overhead that this was the "overflow line." That is, the room was already full and they had roped it off. We figured we were screwed and wouldn't be able to hear the reading. Then, through a wonderful set of circumstances, we were waved through the rope and got to spend the entire reading and signing hanging out with Camryn's friends and family behind her table! Like I said, it was surreal.

It was fascinating to stand behind her during the signing and hear all of the things fans said to her. Many brought gifts and letters. Many were moved to tears in telling her how inspirational she was. A long lost high school classmate of Camryn's even showed up! We took some more pictures and then Camryn was off to the airport to catch a red-eye to Atlanta for a signing the next day. She was a very cool, funny and nice woman and quite an inspiration to all!

Blood Creek Woodsman - October Shoot Pix

2009-10-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

Still shooting on BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN. Shot on some private property in Dallas, Oregon for the movie's opening logging scene. The forecast was for afternoon showers, but it only sprinkled a few times! I also was very happy to have several old friends show up to act as cast and crew. Not only were they very helpful but they couldn't wait for their death scenes! True horror fans, all of them. As the day went on, we got more and more involved in squirting blood all over everyone and didn't really get any pictures, but here is what we did get.

Adam is mad...and Brent has no idea what's coming...

Bob as Jason the foreman

Craig waits with tubing up his pants while Rob prepares for rain...both water from the sky and blood from a pump!

Bob runs the blood-filled super soaker while Adam tries not to saw anything off and I try to get it all on tape!

Craig is impressed with Rob's chainsaw blade effect.

YEEEEARRRGGGGGH!

All smiles! Adam, me and Craig after a particular bloody death scene!

Rick in mid-splatter!

INSANE!!!!

2009-10-13T17:38:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/education/12discipline.html?bl

So a 6-year-old was so excited about joining the boy scouts, he took his new camping utensil (fork/knife/spoon combo) to school to use at lunch. Thanks to a zero-tolerance policy with no allowance for discretion by the district, this kid was suspended and is up for 45 days at reform school! What the hell? If that's not infuriating enough, last year state lawmakers there tried to make disciplinary rules more flexible by giving local boards authority to modify the terms of the expulsion on a case-by-case basis, but because the law addressed "expulsion" and not "suspension," this kid was still kicked out of school for a month and a half. This poor kid is scarred for life because of a technicality!

Pissed off yet? Get this - also in Delaware, a third-grade girl was expelled for a year because her grandmother had sent a birthday cake to school, along with a knife to cut it. A year!!!! Even worse: the teacher called the principal — but not before using the knife to cut and serve the cake. WHAT?!?!?!! The teacher uses the knife to cut the cake, serves it to the kids, then calls the principal and gets the birthday girl kicked out of school for a year?!??!

I just checked and my kid's school district's policies includes this: "Under state and federal law, expulsion from school is required for a period of not less than one year for any student who is determined to have brought a weapon to school. The superintendent may modify the expulsion requirement for a student on a case-by-case basis."

Additionally, under "discipline/due process," the following is included: "Disciplinary measures are applied depending on the nature of the offense. The age and past pattern of behavior of a student will be considered prior to any suspension or expulsion."

Good. Just like most schools, my kid's school has it's fair share of kids who are just complete assholes, so I certainly want some rules, but I'm glad to see the policies allow for some discretion to avoid situations like these completely insane examples from Delaware.

AAAAAUUUURRGGGHH!!!!!

Blood Creek Woodsman - September Shoot Pix

2009-10-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

Here are a bunch of pictures from the September 2009 shoot for BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN!

Happy campers Darla Doom and Joe Scott.

One flashlight and two headlights.

Branch through the head rig I made for Darla Doom!

Pair of fake legs I made. I should've taken a picture before I covered it all with foam and t-shirts - it's closet rods and hinges underneath.

Shooting upstairs with Mike on sound and Daren waiting for his close-up!

Shooting the "party house" scene. They are playing a game I made up called Sweet Corn!

Jaime screams for the first time in a movie...and she was great!

Annie performed a fantastic death scene!

Annie and Rob bask in the blood!

Hot chicks...kissing! Nice.

William meets the Blood Creek Woodsman.

Annie and Daren get close for a scene.

Sex and violence.

William splattered against the side of the RV.

Amanda screaming bloody murder!

Another great and bloody death scene in the can!

Blood Creek Woodsman - August Shoot Pix

2009-10-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

Here are a bunch of pictures from the August 2009 shoot for BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN!

Rob Merickel and Bryn Kristi.

Madeline Morgan.

Madeline screams, reflected in blood splatter!

Thanks to Mike and Ward, we had this great police car to use!

Mike Hegg's rig done up as the sheriff's vehicle. Vinyl lettering, a color xerox sheriff's star and a real police car light bar made this look great!

We put this sign on the two police rigs when we were driving them to a location or around town.

Morgan Mayhem ready for some fake blood!

Bryn Kristi and Tom Stedham.

Tom Stedham argues with Jeremiah Benjamin while Michelle Ame Mahoney looks on.

Talking over the next shots with Adam Paris.

Michelle Ame Mahoney and Bryn Kristi beat the snot out of each other!

Tom Stedham takes aim.

Pigging out at The Markum Inn - me with John Bowker, Tom Stedham and Bryn Kristi.

Tom Stedham and Bryn Kristi share a quiet moment.

Thicker Than Water

2009-10-12T17:08:00.000-07:00

Rob Merickel and I travelled up to the lovely Markum Inn last Friday night to play extras in a "honky tonk" scene for a local indie vampire flick called THICKER THAN WATER. Things got started about 11 p.m. and we ended up getting home around 4 a.m. It was really nice to not be working like a sleep-deprived dog and worried about every aspect of production! We just relaxed in the bar, had some iced tea and waited to be told where to sit. The director brought the cowboy hats and I kind of like the look as a character type of thing. Maybe I'll have to get myself a decent cowboy hat and have this fella show up in some future project! Thanks to Gary for the invitation and thanks to Eric for the hats and ginger ale! Good luck on the project - can't wait to see it!

Rob, Ward and I, all thinking, "You're not from around here, are ya?"

August Vacation

2009-09-24T22:36:00.001-07:00

We traveled up to Seattle to visit friends for a few days in August and we visited crazy pop culture weird stuff store, Archie McPhee.

I love pickles!

I love bacon!

Here is my son with his purchase - a unicorn impaling a mime. Classic. It also comes with a snooty businessman and a hippie to impale.

Here is some awesome lasagna I had down the street from Archie McPhee...with a unicorn.

Darth Vader puts the death grip on me in front of Comics Dungeon during their anniversary sale.

Me and members of the 501st.

We stopped at a used record store called Golden Oldies. Great place crammed with vinyl. I picked up some old Hall & Oates records as well as this rare gem:

Apparently this was some special premium or gift to Canada Dry distributors - a 4-record set of a radio special celebrating H&O's 10 years together. 3 sides are cuts from various albums with the pair providing anecdotes about writing the songs, people they worked with, etc. And Don Imus is the host! The other 5 sides are a concert recording from Montreal. Totally sweet!

We stopped at the world famous Scarecrow Video in Seattle. All I can say is holy cow! Mike was nice enough to take the kids on a long walk while I spent an eternity checking out their gigantic inventory. I rented a dvd-r of the 1978 TV-movie Cotton Candy, directed by Ron Howard and written by Ron and his brother Clint (who also starred, alongside Charles Martin Smith).

For all of it's 1970's trappings, I still dig this movie (likely a lot due to nostalgia) and sure wish Ron would put it out on an official DVD. It was produced by Ron Howard Productions and Major H Productions (which according to Biography.com was a company founded by Howard) as part of a multi-year deal with NBC. Someone in some Internet Movie Database comments said that Disney bought it and has it locked up in their vaults. Who knows?

I've love to see a DVD release of it, with some extras. Ron and Clint and Charles could do a commentary track. Heck, Leslie King (who played the drummer) is still around from what I can tell - she directed a short film back in 2004 and appears to have cowritten a new project that's in development. Here she is in 1979's Gas Pump Girls.

Pretty decent BBQ pulled pork sandwich at a Texas BBQ place.

Then we went to Portland's Oaks Park amusement park with my sister for the first time and it was a blast. This is where they filmed part of the Sasquatch Dumpling Gang, one of my favorite flicks!

That was an awesome corndog.

We rode Big Pink, one of the rides that the characters in the Sasquatch Dumpling Gang rides. It was fun!

Later, we went to the Oregon coast with friends and had a swell time. Here I am hurling some seaweed back to the ocean at the coast and thinking it would be cool to make an H.P. Lovecraft movie someday.

At a pirate-themed shopping mall, I picked up some old VHS tapes including Breeders, the ridiculous sci-fi horror b-movie by Tim Kincaid. Here's a monster shot:

In other August events news, our dog got a haircut.

My son earned his third degree blackbelt. He's only 12! In fact, he is the youngest student to achieve third degree blackbelt at his school. I am constantly impressed.

So now the summer is over. School is cranked back up and I am still trying to finish shooting on BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN. Getting great performances and bloody kills (like the one below), but it is taking a long time.

After that's all shot and the footage is off to my buddy (and the movie's writer/producer) John for editing, I'll get back to finishing up all of the stuff still on my plate.

Onward!!!

Brooke Wilberger, Rest in Peace

2009-09-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

I had this flier taped to the door to my garage for years. The apartment complex where she was abducted is just down the road from my house. It was one of those situations where you can't believe something like that has happened in your town.

We screened one of my flicks at a theater at the beginning of August. I'd shot a lot of the movie in my house and I noticed the flier on the door in the background of a few scenes. We'd taken it down only a while back, after Joel Courtney had been extradited to Oregon for a while.

All of the information released by the DA thus far adds up to the location of Brooke's remains being anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes from my house. It's eerie.

The first thing I thought when I heard the news was that her family would be able to finally lay her to rest.

Time is Flying

2009-09-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe summer is over!!!!! Geez louise it went by in a flash. My kid's back to school next week so my nights will soon be booked up with helping with homework when not occupied by Boy Scouts or other activities.

Had a good time visiting Seattle, then Portland, then Bend over the last few weekends. Will post some vacation photos soon.

Still need to call my website host and see if they've been able to track down the bandwidth issues with the drsquid.net site.

Movie-wise have mostly been busy planning the next round of shooting for BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN. May not fit it all into September, but hopefully can get everything done by the first part of OCTOBER.

Heard that Luc Bernier and Isabelle Stephen finished shooting the "BeetleManiac" segment for TRULY DREADFUL TALES. I have another package ready to go out for a segment and need to get a monster costume done so my friend Rob Merickel can take a crack at the last segment for it.

Ridiculously busy so pardon the sporatic postings here. After October, things should settle down a tad and I can hopefully start posting some real progress reports from all these projects!!!!

Deadly Premonitions World Premiere!

2009-08-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

We held the DEADLY PREMONITIONS world premiere on Friday, August 7, 2009 at the Northern Lights Theater Pub in Salem, Oregon. This capped off a week of shooting with Tom Stedham on the BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN. Tom had flown out from Alabama so it was extra swell to have him out for the premiere!

Tom says, "Hey! Look at me on the big screen!"

I started shooting this movie back in the summer of 2005 when Tom had offered to come out to Oregon to star in a project. It was the only thing I had close to a finished script for, so I quickly fleshed it out and we shot for a quick 4 days. Over the next two years, I shot the rest of the movie here and there with local folks. After a good six months or so of editing, my buddy Mike helped with some post-production and DVD authoring stuff. What we screened at the premiere was a 99% done version - just needing some color work on one scene and a bit of sound work.

Sabrina, Tom and the rest of the crowd waiting for the show to begin!

We had sent Amanda ahead to buy a block of tickets earlier in the day. Unfortunately, one page of the theater's website said 9 p.m. and the other said 9:30 p.m.! So there was a whole gaggle of people outside in the parking lot waiting for their tickets, but it didn't really matter because I had the copies (one plus a black-up disk) of the movie! The projectionist was pissed because I guess no one had told him he needed to set up the digital projector - I had arranged the screening through some local film festival folks as I have with all of my other screenings there.

The film fest guy showed up just before the show and then everything went great.

Well, here we are - the cast of DEADLY PREMONITIONS! Me, Darla Doom, Toni Draggon, Alexandra Paris (showing off), Rob Merickel, Barb White, Amira, Tom Stedham, Morgan Mayhem, Robert J. Olin, Michelle 'Ame' Mahoney, Terry and Jerry Eckert.

During my intro, I had suggested that the movie's drinking game was to drink whenever there were boobs on the screen. Well, boy did everyone get into that! They started holding their glasses in the air and counting down when they even thought that boobs were coming. Since most of the cast were there, along with their friends, and there was lots of beer, there was a lot of yelling and cheering whenever someone appeared on screen or did something cool or sexy on screen. When Darla and Michelle's make out scene came on, the place nearly exploded!

(back) Toni Draggon, Me, Darla Doom; (front) Michelle 'Ame' Mahoney, Tom Stedham

Amanda Bounds can't get enough of that Tough Tom Stedham!

Amanda and Morgan were inspired by Darla's strangulation death scene!

Others might say that there are seven boobs in this photo, but I would never say such a thing about my buddy Tom.

Mike Hegg and Rob Merickel check for rain inside the pool hall/bar after the screening.

It was a mind-blowing experience and afterwards most of us headed across the parking lot to a bar/pool hall to hang out and chat. I can't thank everyone enough for coming to the show - it was a great way to end a grueling week!

Much To Do, Much To Do

2009-08-12T17:47:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while and I have been very busy.

Last week Tom Stedham flew out from Alabama to star in a horror flick called THE BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN. John Bowker wrote and produced it and he asked me to shoot and direct it. Rob Merickel came on board to play the deputy as well as do make-up and special effects and my BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES partner Mike Hegg picked up a sweet new HD camera and allowed us to use it for the shoot.

I was a crazy few weeks of planning, storyboarding, asking for favors, borrowing and buying props, designing logos, costumes, etc. Then it was a crazy week of shooting. I totally blew the scheduling and we were behind from day one. We had to have a bit of a pow wow and thankfully a few actors and actresses could make it for an additional day. We also pushed even more stuff off to sometime in September, adding to several sequences we had already planned to pick up then.

Great performances and some real magic captured on tape. Life has also been busy at home and work has been a killer, both before I took the week off and now that I have returned.

We capped off the week with a premiere of DEADLY PREMONITIONS at the Northern Lights Theater Pub in Salem, Oregon. It was extra special because Tom Stedham could be there for it, being out from Alabama for the movie shoot and all. We screened a nearly perfect DVD-r, that only really needed one scene's lighting tweaked and some sound fixed. Everyone said the thing looked finished to them. Because of those last few tweaks, I didn't have copies for everyone, so will have to take care of that in the coming months.

Several folks were taking pics during the shoot, so I'll try to look at them as well as my own and then put a bunch up here on the blog.

You may notice my snazzy blog design is gone - I had some bandwidth issues with my website host, so have taken a bunch of files down temporarily so they can track traffic and see if it's just someone hotlinking to some of my stuff or if by some weird fluke I am actualy getting TONS of traffic to the site. In the meantime, I've reverted back to this green motif that I like quite a bit.

Going to be travelling a bit in the next few weeks as well as getting back to some of my other movie projects and planning for the September shoots for BLOOD CREEK WOODSMAN.

More soon...

Patch

2009-07-22T22:16:00.000-07:00

Markum Inn

2009-07-22T17:37:00.000-07:00

Man sakes alive this place has awesome burgers! 36903 S Highway 213, Mount Angel, Oregon, (503) 829-9853. Tell 'em Dr. Squid sent ya!

Platoon of the Dead On Sale

2009-07-14T17:53:00.000-07:00

The price for PLATOON OF THE DEAD just got knocked down five bucks to $14.99 over at tempevideo.com

Busy and Busy

2009-07-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

Will be checking a new DEADLY PREMONITONS dvd proof soon. Mike burned it with some new software and says everything looks great.

Have been busy with work and home stuff as of late, but gearing up for involvement in a new project.

Finally fixed a problem in the "It Haunts" segment of TWISTED FATES. Need to double check a dvd proof to make sure I've fixed all sound issues and then can set that aside and plow through other stuff "on my plate."

More news soon...

Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything

2009-06-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

So I turned 42 over the weekend. I had a nice low-key birthday, just like I wanted. Had some bbq pulled pork for lunch, pizza for dinner followed by a birthday pie and watching THE ALIEN FACTOR and PHANTASM. Simple pleasures for a simple guy.

Checked the DEADLY PREMONITONS dvd and it's so close. Going to work with Mike to try and make sure the sound is in sync. Working on confirming a world premiere for it in August.

Still working here and there to try and finish old projects up.

Busy Summer

2009-06-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

Saw a locally-shot zombie flick called MELVIN Friday night and it was pretty cool!

Mike Hegg handed off a new proof of DEADLY PREMONITIONS that he says is "perfect!" Fingers crossed - will check out this week.

Ordered some cheap gas masks for a horror short. Have the script out to a potential director - waiting to hear back.

Meanwhile, work, work, work...

...and at home, yardwork, yardwork, yardwork.

Busy summer as usual....

Crypticon Seattle 2009

2009-06-12T23:59:00.000-07:00

I had an awesome time at the Crypticon Seattle horror con last weekend. Have posted a whole bunch of pics at http://www.drsquid.net/crypticon2009

Off to Crypticon Seattle

2009-06-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

So I am off tomorrow morning to the Crypticon Seattle convention with my buddies Rob, John and Mike. Here is a card I made to hand out in case I need to.

Looks like lots of cool panels (like Phantasm and The Fog) and lots of cool screenings scheduled. I'll try to take lots of pictures to share.

Sold Out! Second Screen! Platoon of the Dead World Premiere!

2009-05-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

Wow! The world premiere of PLATOON OF THE DEAD last night at Salem's Northern Lights Theater Pub sold out! The management finally decided to add a second show on another screen beginning about 40 minutes after the original show. Supercool! Everyone got grossed out at the right parts, laughed at the few funny lines and seemed to dig the flick. John and I did a Q&A afterwards and then additional cast & crew in attendance came up for a few more questions.

DVD menu up on the big screen as John and I take some questions from the audience.

John and I doing Q&A

The PLATOON OF THE DEAD cast and crew take some questions. Chris Keown, Tyler David, Michelle 'Ame' Mahoney, John Bowker, Morgan Mayhem, Rob Merickel and me!

Me and Brother D from the Mail Order Zombie podcast. He interviewed John and I so I'll let you know when the podcast we're in is posted!

Brother D chatting with make-up man Rob Merickel.

Me and Tyler David after the premiere.

Michelle, me and Brent after the premiere.

I am such a ham.

My sister lines up a shot in a game she and I played at Sharky's after the premiere.

Amanda Bounds got all zombified for the screening!

Me with Robert J. Olin and Dori Schwartz, who both appeared in THE SEEKERS

Me with Marie, who seemed to be a prom queen zombie and was showing off her dvd!

Rob checks out Amanda's homemade rotting zombie flesh!

You can order your own copy of PLATOON OF THE DEAD from Tempe Video. Sweet extras include audio commentary with me and John, Behind-the-scenes featurette, Zombie House tour, Tough Tom’s Movie Boot Camp, and Tempe DVD trailers  . Plus DVD-ROM content: Director & cinematographer interviews, cast & crew interviews, deleted scene and blooper reel. Cool!

Bob's Exterminator Service

2009-05-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a sign I made to go on the door of a truck for an insert shot in EATER. I've just finished a very rough cut of EATER, in anticipation of some out-of-state friends coming to visit this weekend - their kids are in it with my son and I thought it would be fun to watch while they are down. It's clocking in at about 30 minutes and is a fun, goofy watch. I created three laserblast effects last night by pulling frames out of iMovie into Photoshop, drawing the lasers on, importing the frames back into iMovie and dropping them into the timeline. Next up is a bunch of insert shots plus music. That's all I can hope for by this weekend. After that I can take my time doing credits, fixing up some shots and other fine-tuning.

Meanwhile, I've done a little bit of work on the Welcome Sister segment of TWISTED FATES and will return to wrapping that up in June.

Coming up soon is PLATOON OF THE DEAD premiere on May 29 and the Crypticon convention in Seattle.

As usual, my summer is already pretty packed between work, family and movie stuff!!!

Platoon of the Dead in The News

2009-05-12T17:10:00.000-07:00

http://www.fangoriaonline.com/home/news/9-film-news/2414-platoon-of-the-dead-premiere-set-more-on-dvd-release.html

http://www.horror-fanatics.com/articles/2009/05-12-platoonofthedeaddvd.html

http://videomash.org/?p=81

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0780872/

and an interview with Ariauna Albright:

http://www.obscurehorror.com/ariaunaalbrightinterview.html

I've also reposted all of my Platoon of the Dead production diaries on my Dr. Squid site so that they could be read in chronological order. Check it out!

http://www.drsquid.net/potdblog

Platoon of the Dead World Premiere May 29!

2009-05-06T06:18:00.000-07:00

The World Premiere of PLATOON OF THE DEAD will be held Friday, May 29, 2009 at 9:15 p.m. at the Northern Lights Theater Pub, 3893 Commercial St. SE, Salem, Oregon. Admission is only $3! Cast and crew will be in attendance. Come on out!

Platoon of the Dead Production Diary - December 9

2009-05-05T06:13:00.000-07:00

Eleventh and Final Day of Shooting - We were able to get all but one of our zombie army from yesterday for today. Again we met at my house for make-up. Check out the holiday hardware!!

We took care of this shot on the floor of my living room.

Then we headed back up to Macdonald Forest.

It was COLD! At one point, we were hiding out in the cars waiting for the hail to subside! It rained off and on and at one point actually started to snow. Snow! How cool (pun intended) but not good for matching footage to stuff shot yesterday, not to mention a couple of months ago. John and I wracked our brains trying to figure out a way to make it work. We ended up having someone say a line about it being ash coming from the cities when they burn them out to get rid of the zombie army. Pretty clever, I thought. Not sure John will need it though, as it turned out it only snowed for a little while. Joe slipped coming down a hill and messed up his back, but I think that was the only injury we had.

Rob was the smart one, having brought his own chair to sit in, blanket, umbrella, and handheld game system to play as he waited for the next needed fx shot.

Lewis puts the squeeze on Tyler.

Chris is ready to blast some zombies!

Marie, Lewis and Joe are ready to attack! As our fingers and toes went beyond numb, we wound down the shoot, getting the last shots on the list.

It's crazy eye Rob!

Marie apparently loves guns. And was cold.

We said our goodbyes, but it wasn't quite the same as the last day at Marie's house. Tom, Ariauna and Michelle were missing and frankly the bitter cold made us all just want to go home and get warm! It was both thrilling and a relief to be done with the shoot.

As it turns out, I've been lucky enough to work with John, Rob, Michelle, Amanda, Ariauna, Joe and Marie on small and large projects since we wrapped PLATOON.

Once again, my buddy John was able to work his magic to somehow pull together a cast, locations, props, effects and equipment to create both a movie and a movie-making experience I'll never forget. The dedication and heart that everyone put into this thing was amazing. As it turned out, there would be a long post-production road ahead, full of technical problems and delays.

John was kind enough to let me work on editing some DVD extras including cast & crew interviews, behind-the-scenes segment, blooper reel and a tour of the "zombie house."

John also put together a hilarious extra called Tough Tom's Movie Boot Camp - I had a good time putting together this title card!

PLATOON OF THE DEAD is scheduled for release by Tempe Video in June of 2009, about a year-and-a-half since we finished those last shots in the woods. It's going to rock! Thanks to everyone for reading! Now go buy a copy so we can make another one!

Platoon of the Dead Production Diary - December 8

2009-05-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

Tenth Day of Shooting - John, Rob, Chris, Amanda and Tyler met over at my house in the morning. Lewis had a bunch of guys from his National Guard unit scheduled to show up to play zombies, but once again, he was the only one that showed up!

A few phone calls and trips later, we had one of Chris' friends, Joe and Marie, Lewis' son and two of his friends on board. Luckily Lewis had a bunch of fatigues and gear, so everyone was outfitted and made-up as the zombie army!

'Tis the season for zombie joy.

Three hours behind schedule, we headed out to a place called Bald Hill Park and marched all of our stuff in.

There is an open barn at the top of the hill that we used as our base. The fact that it had no walls didn't help much with the freezing wind!

Though it was windy and freezing, we managed to get what we needed shot and finally wrapped it up as it started getting dark. One more day left...

Joe and Marie enjoyed a moment of zombie love in the parking lot.

Joe went shopping at Safeway in his zombie make-up. He was looking in the meat section for brains.

Sadly they didn't have any.

Bummer.

Platoon of the Dead Production Diary - November 5

2009-05-03T06:40:00.000-07:00

Tom and Ariauna slept at my house again last night. This morning my wife snapped this shot before I left for work of me, Tom, Ariauna and John. John made the trip to the airport to saw Tom and Ariauna off.

As always, it's bittersweet - fast friendships are made on movie sets and it all seems to end before you want it to. Both Tom and Ariauna were fantastic actors and real troopers when it came to pitching in and working those long, cold hours, even while being away from the comfort and safety zone of home. I'd work with either of them again in a heartbeat.

So it is back to the grind for me until December when we shoot a weekend of pick-ups out in the woods. I'm shivering just thinking about it!