Lloyd Kaufman - Troma-rific!

So this was the flyer that went up at the Northern Lights Theater Pub in Salem, Oregon. BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES was screening again, to be followed by a new Troma release about killer racoons and then a midnight appearance by Lloyd Kaufman. So long story short, there were some problems with Lloyd doing his patented head-crush demonstration, so the Mid-Valley Video Festival guys asked if I would do it between movies and I said I'd be happy to. After all, we did a Lloyd Kaufman-inspired melon-head-crush in BRV anyway so it seems a perfect fit.



After a killer dinner at Buster's Barbecue and some beer at a nearby bar, we headed over to the theater and got our tickets. "RBV?" Hell, I don't care if the letters are jumbled on the ticket - they're still showing my movie!



My BRV co-writer, co-producer, editor, etc. Mike Hegg and I. We are so excited!



After BRV was over, Ross set up a tarp and I got out the melon I'd bought on the way to the theater. This crazy thing cost almost $9! Remind me not to do a demonstration with a melon in the middle of winter. Anyhow, here's Rob Merickel slicing a bit out of the rind to make sure the insides spew out towards the audience.



Getting ready to smash with a big rubber mallet!



Here I am making a point about something after the smash.



Hey, I at least wanted to get a bite! After the demo, we found out that the movie they were going to show next was actually WITH Lloyd. Not only that, but he was over an hour away in another town.



So the guys asked if they could make the evening a Joe Sherlock double feature by showing UNDERBELLY. I said that would rock! They broke the news to the audience, showed a great comedy/blaxploitation short called BLACK SANTA'S REVENGE and then, after I did a short intro, played UNDERBELLY. People seemed to dig it OK even if it didn't really fit "Monster Madness Fridays." There was so more downtime before Lloyd finally showed up sometime after 1 a.m.



Lloyd was entertaining, dropping one-liners here and there, but overall was passionate about his work, about independence, and about how the world is consolidating left and right, squeezing out the little guy.



After the Q&A, Lloyd cracked open a box of DVDs and posed for photos.



I'm all out of BRV copies for sale, but sacrificed one of the three personal copies I usually keep to give one to Lloyd. Unfortunately, this one got melon juice on the cover. But Lloyd gave it a thumbs up anyway!



Robert J. Olin had Lloyd sign a script he had with him that I had written. Lloyd initially said, "I can't sign this, I didn't write it." But then he said, "What the hell." Crazy!



Here is Lloyd and I with Salem filmmakers Josh Dent and Scott Hartmann.

I managed to crawl into bed sometime close to 4 in the morning, but it was a great night! Thanks to the MVVFest guys, Northern Lights, Lloyd and everyone who showed up!!

Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires Screening with Special Guest Lloyd Kaufman!

It's on! BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES shows on the big screen at the Northern Lights Theater Pub this Friday, Feb. 1 around 9 p.m.

BRV shows, followed by COONS (a b-movie about rednecks and killer racoons) followed by special guest Lloyd Kaufman, the man behind Troma films and such classics as The Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke'em High. Lloyd plans to demonstrate no-budget fx like the head smash and the arm rip!

Did I mention the theater is a bar, too?!

Two crazy movies plus Lloyd Kaufman for $5. Such a deal. Let's pack the place and get rowdy!

Northern Lights Theater Pub, 3893 Commercial St. SE in Salem, Oregon. Directions, menu and beer & wine list at www.northernlightstheaterpub.com

10:24

Well, I have 10:24 of TreeSpirit edited together so far. It continues to be rough as Tom deviated many times from the script and a few sections I don't feel work at all so I'm doing my best with what is left.

Busy week ahead so not sure how much editing I will get in, but plugging away...

Deconstruction

Looking at February to meet up with Mike about getting the DEADLY PREMONITIONS pieces put together for DVD.

Started importing the footage Tom Shaffer shot of my short script TREESPIRIT. After some consideration, I'm going to deconstruct the NIGEL PUDDING'S MONSTER FILES project. The UNDERBUG segment has always been rather tame, esp. since it was written around my young son (8 or so when I shot it), and doesn't quite fit with the themes of the other segments shot so far. I'm going to put UNDERBUG as an extra on the EATER dvd when I put that together later this year. Meanwhile, I'm going to edit TREESPIRIT and the GHOST NURSE short that Laura G. shot for me. I've got two other segments I am lining people up to shoot. Just need to do some finish work on the monster masks and if everything else lines up I can get those productions off and running. Making plans for a new narrator, but no news to report as of yet.

And so it goes...

Preggers!

Finished photoshop work on the DEADLY PREMONITIONS photo gallery - imported the pics into iMovie, reordered them and dropped them into a timeline. Added a title and a montage of music from the movie and exported it out to tape. Have been e-mailing with Mike Hegg about the final post/dvd work.

Also exported the PLATOON OF THE DEAD cast interviews and behind the scenes imovie files to tape.

Worked a bit on a couple of horror scripts I have underway and came up with some new ideas for one of the TWISTED FATES stories - just ways to add a little visual interest to one of the scenes in the "VideoDrone" segment.

Have been e-mailing with Robert J. Olin about shooting the "Welcome Sister" segment of TWISTED FATES. His February is full so we are zeroing in on a weekend in March.

Found out that an actress I'd worked with before is pregnant. I'd written a werewolf short designed for her to star in, but it looks now like it will have to wait a while or I may need to recast it.

5 Left

Last night I went through the 100 photos that Tom Stedham took of the DEADLY PREMONITIONS shoot, picked out the ones I wanted to include in the DP photo gallery dvd extra, cropped/resized/photoshopped all but 5. Definitely on track to have it finished by the weekend.

Awesome!!!

And the crowd goes wild!

The screening last Friday of TRAILER PARK DOUBLE WIDE TRILOGY OF TERROR at the Northern Lights Theater Pub in Salem, Oregon was awesome! The crowd really seemed to get into it and hooted and hollored and laughed and seemed to have a swell time. Lots of questions in the Q&A, too! Right after it turned Midnight, it was my buddy John Bowker's birthday, so I got the audience to all sing to him. It was great. I gave him a ZOMBIE COP dvd! All kinds of cast and friends came for the showing and I thank them all for being a part of my own movie madness!


Holly played "Bob" the cleaner and Micah played a skull-faced fiend!


Joe, Darla Doom, Michelle and Brent seemed to have a swell time.


Darla thought Amanda was scared of the zombies....


David C. Duncan starred in the "Zombies At The Door" segment.


A big thanks to Ross from the Mid-Valley Video Festival who arranged the screening!

All of the segments of DEADLY PREMONITIONS have been edited and mastered out to tape, as well as a bloopers segment. Dubbed the segments in order to VHS yesterday and need to sit down with a notepad and make note of any fine-tuning that needs to be done. I know sound levels vary a bit. Hoping to hook up with Mike Hegg towards the end of January to work on assembling the pieces.

Have all of the photos resized and polished for the DEADLY PREMONITIONS photo gallery that Tom Stedham didn't take. Going to tackle his cd of 100 pics over the rest of the week.

Finished the behind-the-scenes segement for PLATOON OF THE DEAD - lots of funny stuff.

DP / POTD / TPDWTOT

Mastered the finale segment and bloopers reel for DEADLY PREMONTIONS to tape over the weekend. Still some sound work left for the Frankie and Cherry segment and the photo gallery to do. Going to be meeting with Mike Hegg this weekend to chat about him helping me with post-production/DVD authoring work.

Imported about 80 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage from PLATOON OF THE DEAD and cut together a cast interviews segment. Currently working on cutting together the behind-the-scenes segment. Lots of laughs on set.

Also finished a first draft of a script I was asked to write. Going to take a break from it for a few weeks then come back fresh to work on expanding it a bit more.

Need to get ready for the Friday night screening of TRAILER PARK DOUBLE WIDE TRILOGY OF TERROR at a theater pub an hour or so north of me.

Busy busy busy.

Maxwell Smart

"Missed it by...that much."

OK, so I didn't get DEADLY PREMONITIONS totally done before the end of 2007, but I'm still going to call it good because I am so dang close. Did some fine tuning on the "Frankie and Cherry" sequence early this morning and just finished up a new piece of music for it.

What's left? A few more music cues for the Frankie and Cherry section and sound effects for the big finale segment. Then double-checking sound levels and exporting to tape.

I'm also about 2/3 of the way through the bloopers segment, leaving just a photo slide show to put together. I'd say I'll have all the "pieces" done by the end of the week.

Home Stretch

Juggling multiple segments of DEADLY PREMONITIONS right now. Have almost 4 minutes of the big finale together (hoping to have 5 minutes for this) and have the 2-minute epilogue done and am tacking the end credits onto it. Waiting on a reply from someone about name(s) they want used to finish the end credits. Just finished the opening credits and I think they turned out way cool. Amazing what you can do with a plastic skull, a jumbo light bulb and some fireworks. Took a track I had previously made in GarageBand (for the jogging sequence) and edited and reworked it a bit to use as the opening theme. Cool! Should be wrapping all of these segments up shortly and that just leaves "segment 8," including the Frankie and Cherry stuff I shot a few weekends ago. I have all of the bloopers pulled aside in a file, so that should go together pretty quickly. I've easily got 200 photos from the various shoots, so that will be a little bit of work to make some sort of a photo gallery file.

Haven't gotten a confirmation but the last I heard the Mid-Valley Video Festival guys were thinking of showing TRAILER PARK DOUBLE WIDE TRILOGY OF TERROR at the Northern Lights Theater Pub in Salem, Oregon on January 11.

Had a great Christmas visiting with family and friends. Got a lot of great KISS stuff!

Evilmaker Double Feature DVD Now Available!!!

You can pick up this loaded double-feature DVD at www.tempevideo.com for just $12.99! Here is the rundown:

• Two movies! EVILMAKER and EVILMAKER 2: ABOMINATION
• Audio commentaries for both films with the director (that's John) and cinematographer (that's me!)
• EVILMAKER blooper reel
• EVILMAKER behind-the-scenes
• 44-minute, extensive ABOMINATION featurette
• Trailers



THE EVILMAKER (2000, 99 mins.): First time available on DVD! Serena returns home after escaping an abusive relationship to spend time with three of her friends from high school. A weekend at the beach seems like an ideal way to relax and relive the old days until their car breaks down near an abandoned house. What starts out as a creepy night turns into three days of hell as they experience terror around every corner while they fight to survive The Evilmaker! I was the dp and co-editor on this one plus did some sound effects and a little music.

ABOMINATION: EVILMAKER II (2003, 79 mins.): A year after tragic events struck four close friends, the mystery of their disappearance still has not been solved. One family member dares to hurl herself into a web of darkness and evil in order to find out what really happened. The evil unleashed from her actions will have a terrifying consequence for everyone as they combat The Evilmaker! I was the dp on this one.

If anything, it's worth picking up to see the BAD DREAMS AND BLOODY SCREAMS, the behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of ABOMINATION. Mike Hegg documeted the entire shoot and managed to cut almost 24 hours of candid behind-the-scenes and interview footage into 44 minutes. You'll see the agony, the troubleshooting, the wee hours of the morning, the moviemaking addiction, the dedication, the tricks and the magic. Seriously - it's pretty damn cool.

2007 Year In Review

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Frankie and Cherry

Shot the last sequence for DEADLY PREMONITIONS today with Michelle "Ame" Mahoney and Darla Doom, both of whom recently worked on John Bowker's PLATOON OF THE DEAD. Both of them were great and Rob Merickel came along to play the killer and do some bloody effects make-up. I'll post some more pics later this week, but here's one of Michelle, Darla and I.



Also made some great editing progress on DEADLY PREMONITIONS Friday and Saturday.

Prepping my end off the year wrap-up post and let me tell you, 2007 was a zillion times better than 2006.

More soon...

Done...Done...On To The Next One...

PLATOON OF THE DEAD wrapped today. Lots of zombies, lots of craziness, lots of cool shots. It started to snow today! Luckily it was brief. Can't wait to see the thing put together.

Back to finishing up DEADLY PREMONITIONS. More editing to do, shooting the last remaining sequence on Sunday.

Then back to TWISTED FATES in 2008.

Go...go...go!!!!

Moving Ahead....

Finished the "guts" effects on Morgan for DEADLY PREMONTIONS (a little frame-by-frame of her guts spilling out as the killer slices her open). Sweet. Also composed some cool music for the bellydance scene using GarageBand. Finished editing that segment and have started yet another one. Tonight I put together a sequence using original footage from 2005 plus parts of two versions of some pick-up shots done a few weeks ago, one with the actress having a wig on (that was too long) and one with her current shorter haircut. Believe it or not, with some quick cuts and extreme angles, it all cut together very well!

Just got the rewrite for the last two days of shooting on PLATOON OF THE DEAD. Gotta get storyboarding and planning as John will be here Thursday night to meet about it. So much to do!

Took a little time last Sunday to put together this music video for a crazy song I did with my son and his friends. Check it out!



I also put together this little animated opening sequence for the movie's newscaster, Link Masters:



Cast, location and time are just about set for the last "killer" sequence I need for DEADLY PREMONITIONS. Was going to shoot today but a storm and probable power outages made me cancel it. Hope to get it shot within the next two weeks and wrap this puppy up!

Mr. Popular

Now that the 9-day shoot for PLATOON OF THE DEAD is done, I'm trying to make some headway on my own projects. We do have 2 more days on PLATOON, but I need to wait until I get John's rewrite before I can storyboard.

In recent days, I've had to tell a few folks that I was just too busy to help with their projects. Then today, I was asked to co-write and direct a new project. When it rains, it pours! I told him that I could probably help with some writing but I had plenty on my plate at the moment.

Have been working on editing for DEADLY PREMONITIONS. Bit by bit.

Robert J. Olin found a couple of actors for the very last sequence I need for DEADLY PREMONITIONS - we are looking to shoot on December 2.

Worked a tiny bit on TWISTED FATES tonight as well.

Also got several packages together that I've needed to, but since tomorrow is Sunday, they'll have to wait until Monday to go to the post office.

It's almost 2:30 a.m., so I guess I'd better go to bed.

Platoon of the Dead

OK, kids, the project I was working on the last few weeks is my buddy writer/director John Bowker's PLATOON OF THE DEAD. John got me involved as camera/lights/sound guy as I've done on almost all of his projects. I also had a moment of insanity and volunteered to handle the craft services. Everyone seemed to like the food (chili, minestrone soup, tacos, lasagna, spaghetti, sloppy joes and lots of lots of sandwiches!) but next time I think I'll let someone else handle it. A big thanks to my wife who worked hard to help me get the food together.

We just finished up a 9-day shoot, straight through, no days off. Well, we had Halloween night off, so that was nice. The first day ended up being 18 hours and the second day went overschedule in a similar manner. Just about killed me. Things started to go smoother after that as we all got into a good rhythm and the schedule wasn't as ambitious as the days wore on.

Lots of tremendous performances, great effects and good times were had. We have 2 more days of shooting in December and the flick is due out from Tempe Video next summer. Here are a few pics I've been OK'd to share (thanks to Michelle for taking some of these)!


Me, Tom Stedham, Ariauna Albright and writer/director John Bowker. Tom flew in from Alabama and Ariauna flew in from Los Angeles. The rest of the cast were local.

Cast & crew at the "zombie house" in Peoria, Oregon.

Dr. Squid and his Zombie Babes!!!

John needs more sleep! Ariauna was a trooper, working the boom most of the times she wasn't in front of the camera.

Wild & crazy...nice tattoo.

Setting up the "barf shot." Ariauna could do the scene, but didn't want to see it!

Two tough chicks with a plastic gun. Hot!

My wife's lasagna was a big hit!

Master and apprentice - me guiding young Colter in the art of shooting behind-the-scenes video.

Zombie bride I did make-up on.

John and I having a calm discussion about the next scene. BFF!

Tom convincing me he deserved more screen time....

Eeeeeeeww!!! A rotting zombie soldier effect by me.

Their lips are sealed. Ariauna looks damn fine in a hat.

Ariauna models her severed zombie soldier arm.

Make-up on Marie by me.

Make-up on Lisa by me.

Our heroes, Chris, Tom and Tyler.

Lewis the zombie soldier and I (make-up by Rob Merickel).

Shooting the "Pile of Bones" scene.

Make-up on Michelle by Rob Merickel.

Special effects on Johnathan by Rob Merickel.

It was cold up in the woods!

Tom playing it up extra creepy with Amanda.

I don't know what was going on here. I was in the other room. Really.

Me with Michelle. She looks so serious!

Tom Stedham, me and Ariauna Albright. Good times. Good times.

Have done some editing on DEADLY PREMONITIONS and still catching up on sleep. Be back later...

Back...Then Gone Again...

Well, it looks like it may be a while until I will be given the OK to talk about and share some photos from the project I mentioned in my previous post.

In the meantime, I am back to working on DEADLY PREMONITIONS. One more sequence to shoot; editing continues as well.

I'm out of town for the weekend and then Thanksgiving rolls around so I will likely will be taking another break from posting.

Gobble gobble.

ZOMBIES!!!!

I've been kept busy for the last 2 weeks with a local production of a play version of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. I was on a team of make-up people and also played a zombie, along with my son. He had an awesome time! We even had a midnight show and it was by far the best - I think many in the audience had hung out at the bar nextdoor to the theater beforehand. They were really vocal - and it was cool.



Here I am making Rob Merickel up with his green base coat. Rob headed up the make-up team and did an awesome job.



I was shooting a scene in my garage today and look what happened. Hmmmm.....

I'm going to be MIA for about a month working on a project I am not allowed to talk about for a while. Be back sometime in November.

Eater in My Car!

I shot some pick-up shots with Amira on Saturday for DEADLY PREMONITIONS and then shot a fun sequence for the EATER project. Here is Amira in her car with my son playing the monster in the back seat. Good times.

Morgan Mayhem ROCKS!

Just got back from 5 hours of reshoots for DEADLY PREMONITIONS and my first time working with Morgan Mayhem. She was awesome - a real trooper and horror movie fan so she really "got" what we were trying to do. I think she even had a good time getting all bloody!

The week is going to be crazy with working on the Night of the Living Dead play for the next five nights straight and shooting more DEADLY PREMONITIONS pick-ups and stuff for EATER on Saturday.

The trick is to keep breathing, right?

Evilmaker Double Feature DVD!

Tempe Video is going to be putting out a double-feature DVD release of two movies I worked on - THE EVILMAKER and EVILMAKER 2: ABOMINATION. My buddy John Bowker wrote and directed both horror movies; I did camera/lights/sound and co-edited the first movie, shot and lit the last one. I even contributed a piece of music to the first one and helped with sound effects - I fondly remember sitting on the floor of John's house recording him punching a cantelope for just the right sound!

If all goes well, I'll be shooting a sequence for DEADLY PREMONITIONS tomorrow night. Working with someone new but she seems quite cool, so we'll see if she enjoys getting all bloody!

Bought a blonde wig last Friday for Amira to use in some pick-up shots I need for DEADLY PREMONITIONS - she still has the outfit she needs to wear, but her hair is a bit shorter now. Planning to shoot in a wide shot so the wig won't be too noticeable. Gotta keep on pushing to get this thing wrapped up!

As Mayor Farnsworth said in BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES, "Much to do! Much to do!"

Zombies!

Another five minutes of DEADLY PREMONITIONS is edited. There are two pick-up scenes I need to shoot and I have leads on both of them. Hoping to take care of them soon and wrap this puppy up! Spent some time last night on screen shots of the cast to use in the ending credits.

About 7 minutes of bloopers and behind the scenes so far, too.

Someone talked to me the other day about another possible screening of BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES. More news if it comes to pass...

Spent part of Saturday at the local stage theater making up about 30 people as zombies with my buddy Rob. Then everyone walked through the local farmer's market and around a big arts & crafts festival handing out fliers promoting the upcoming play version of Night of the Living Dead. My son and I are going to play zombies in the first three performances in October and boy is he excited! Should be fun!

Happy Birthday Tom Stedham

He's the man.

50:15

Adding up the segments I have together thus far for DEADLY PREMONITIONS, that's my running time: 50:15. I've got four segments left to do plus the opening and ending credits. Planning on running a craigslist ad this weekend to try and cast the reshoot/extra scenes I need to do.

Spent last night putting together a demo reel for Robert J. Olin for him to take to an audition on Wednesday.

Gotta keep on plugging away...

8:19

DEADLY PREMONITIONS editing rolls on. Latest segment is 8:19. Was halfway through editing this segment and was just plain unhappy with how some inserts were playing. I decided I didn't want to be unhappy with it forever, so I shot some new inserts, recaptured them all and recut the whole section. I had to realign a lot of sound files around once things shuffled, but in the end it was way worth it. Ever have those happy accidents where things just fall into place and seem to have a thematic connection you never intended? Well, that happened so it was well worth the extra time.

And so it goes...

Get On The List

I've had several people ask me about getting copies of BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES, which as I mentioned in a post two weeks ago, recently sold out at the distributor. I've told them that they can be found at various online retailers and on EBay, but some people want to buy it directly from me - kind if the "support your local independent filmmaker" thing. Very nice indeed. The distributor said that they plan to do another duplication run sometime in the future, but are not sure how long they want to keep it off the market (so it's "fresh" when it comes out again).

IF you want to pick up the movie from me, drop me a line and I will add your name and e-mail to a list. When I run into more copies or they do the next duplication run, I will let you know it's available. Thanks to everyone who has supported the movie so far and to those still wanting to get it. So cool.

Remember

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

By Erma Bombeck
(written after she learned
she was dying of cancer.)

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love you's." More "I'm sorry's."

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it ... live it .and never give it back. Stop sweating the small stuff.

Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what.

Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.

Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with. And what we are doing each day. I hope you all have a blessed day.

Dr. Squid in the Paper!

Here's an article about the upcoming screening for BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES!

http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/09/06/this_day/news10.txt

Interviewed

I did a phone interview with a a reporter from The Daily News, a newspaper in Longview, Washington, about the BLOODSUCKING REDNECK VAMPIRES showing in Winlock, WA on Saturday. We talked about the movie, the town and other stuff I've done. It will be interesting to see the resulting article.

Finally have decided that I need some new footage for DEADLY PREMONITIONS. One sequence that I'd had a model in Las Vegas shoot for me several years back just has so many technical issues, that it's going to be easier for me to reshoot it with someone here that try and work around everything. Also there was one "killer filler" sequence in the original script that I never got around to shooting. I figured I might not need it, but as I'm geting farther along in editing, I think I'll need it not only for running time, but to break up some other action/scenes. I rewrote the segments slightly last night and talked to someone who might have some casting ideas.

More later....