Post-Holiday Bleh!

Been awhile.

I know, and I'm sorry.

I had a good Thanksgiving by myself (as I liked it that way) and was able to sit and contemplate a lot of things. Stuff that you need to do every now and then.

Saturday I went out with my friend director Mike Kallio to the Coach and Horses to celebrate his birthday. Lo and behold I got to meet Lisa Bonet and her boyfriend Jason (the tall, dred-locked dude on STARGATE: ATLANTIS) and groove to the very excellent jukebox. Later we made it over to Residuals (Bill Martell's hangout in Studio City) and finished the place.

Then I woke up with the flu. Not good (except for the weight loss).

I've been working from the house this week as I haven't wanted to infect my folks over at Firebrain. Lots of writing to catch up on and reassess my goals for the coming year.

I will have an announcement later next week on something pretty exciting. Something that finally came to fruition last week, and will be a part of my repertoire for next year.

90028

Hollywood doesn't exist.

Really it doesn't (and no this isn't a new media post). There is no incorporated town or city of Hollywood. Post offices recognize the zip codes of the area as being in Los Angeles. It has a mayor, but no city hall. It's not on official census maps.

Hollywood doesn't exist.

Yet millions of tourists visit here every year. They find it. They just know its location. You say "Hollywood" to anyone in the world and they know where you're talking about.

Yet Hollywood doesn't exist.

Anything can happen in Hollywood (and often does, especially at night). Legends lurk in the shadows behind the concrete and neon. Tales spring up of feats of derring-do. Perception is reality. The circus is always in town. For some, as powerful as the dream is, it comes laced with pain and heartache and terror. It's not just a dream, but a nightmare.

Thousands move here every year in pursuit of their dreams - or is it they pursue the same dream? An unknown unconscious signal to move to a city that doesn't exist. A city where anything can happen - the rules don't apply.

Is it to keep the dream alive?

Imagine the power of not being real - of being a myth, a legend.

Hollywood has that kind of power.

And God help me, I live here.

What Madness Is This?

I've been interviewed...

Courtesy of Matt Davids at whatmadness.com

Dead Mary - A Spotlight on DVD Marketing

Here's one of the titles I've been working on for Peace Arch's international sales.
(Clean art, no taglines nor credit block info)

Here's the DVD casewrap of the upcoming domestic release by Genius Products.

They are two separate interpretations of the same story. Ours was a more gritty, rural approach of a woman trapped in a remote cabin. Their's picks up on the reason all hell breaks loose - the children's game of looking into the mirror and saying, "Dead Mary" three times.

My tagline was better - You always hurt the ones you love - which is the central conceit of the story. Everyone turns on one another because they don't know who's possessed by the spirit of Dead Mary. Their title treatment is better.

Both are only able to show blood because they aren't MPAA rated key art. If this film were rated R then there could be NO blood or suspicious fluids in the artwork.

I can't wait to show you guys the art for LIVING DEATH, BOTTOM FEEDER, THE MAD, THE STILLBORN and HARM'S WAY.

R.I.P. VHS...

The eulogy can be found here.

Expect to See More Press Releases Like This...

For Immediate Release

WARNER HOME VIDEO TO RELEASE BRAND NEW “BABLYON 5” MADE FOR VIDEO IN 2007

BABYLON 5: THE LOST TALES TO BEGIN PRODUCTION NOVEMBER 13, 2006

BURBANK , CA , November 13, 2006 – Warner Home Video (WHV) and Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) have announced the start of production of “Babylon 5: The Lost Tales,” a made-for-video movie that will be targeted towards the Babylon 5 loyal audience and science-fiction fans in general . The announcement was jointly made by Jeff Brown, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Non-theatrical Franchise, Warner Home Video and Gregg Maday, Senior Vice President, Movies and Miniseries, WBTV.

WHV will be the home entertainment distributor for this made-for-DVD release which will include two new Babylon 5 stories collectively entitled “Voices of the Dark” in one film plus exclusive behind the scenes content. The stories will be written and directed by executive producer and original “ Babylon 5” creator J. Michael Straczynski. Executive producer Doug Netter also returns in that role. Actors from the original series that have signed on to participate in the project include Bruce Boxleitner (“President John Sheridan”), Tracy Scoggins (“Captain Elizabeth Lochley”) and Peter Woodward (“Galen”).

Babylon 5 is a top selling franchise on DVD to date with over $44 million in consumer sales. Launched in February 1993, the award winning series was a top rated show on television with more than 13.7 million viewers in its debut season. After its original planned five-year run – introducing the concept of a five year arc before other TV series began to use multi-season arcs -- the show went on to enjoy 9 successful years in syndication and Cable on the Sci-Fi Channel and TNT.

It also spurred the creation of five feature length movies based on the series including The Gathering, In the Beginning, Thirdspace, River of Souls and A Call to Arms, as well as the limited series Crusade. Babylon 5 has received numerous awards including two Emmys, two consecutive Hugo Awards, the Ray Bradbury Award for Dramatic Screenwriting from the Science Fiction Writers of America, five English Media ‘Cult TV’ Awards, the E Pluribus Unum Award from the American Cinema Foundation, the Sci-Fi Universe Reader Choice Award for Best TV Series and was the winner of the TV Guide Poll for Best Sci-Fi Show.

“We are very excited to be releasing this new made-for-video release filled with original content for ‘ Babylon 5’, one of the most successful science fiction series of all time,” said Jeff Brown. “This popular TV show which has been off the air for a few years continues to have a strong loyal fan base that is hungry for more content. This is the first time we’re utilizing one of our popular TV franchises as a made-for-video title, and we have a strong commitment to the growth of this sector.”

“It’s great to be reunited with Joe and Doug once again,” commented Maday. “I have always been very proud to be associated with their wonderful work on Babylon 5 and I’m confident the “Lost Tales” will add to the legacy of this very special franchise.”

On an immense space station built by the Earth Alliance in the 2250s, the crew of Babylon 5 are charged with maintaining the peace among the various alien races by providing a sanctuary where grievances and negotiations can be worked out among duly appointed ambassadors. Aside from its diplomatic function, Babylon 5 also serves as a military post for Earth and a port of call for travelers, traders, businessmen, criminals, and Rangers. The story of The Lost Tales picks up several years after the events of its original story, and follows several of its major characters in new adventures set against the backdrop of the Babylon 5 universe.

About Warner Home Video

With operations in 90 international territories Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio,
offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.

About Warner Bros. Television

Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) is one of the entertainment industry's most respected providers of original content, producing award-winning drama and comedy series, made-for-television movies and miniseries for both network and cable television. Having produced 28 series for the 2006-2007 season, WBTV is the industry's number one supplier of primetime television programming, with multiple shows on each of the five broadcast networks, as well as numerous cable networks.

Stand By For Retro-Adventure!

Here is my interview with Richard Lowry, director of the fantastically fun retro-adventures Monarch of the Moon and Destination Mars! This double-feature will be coming out in December from Image Entertainment and Dark Horse.

Both movies were made with a lot of creativity, planning and perspiration. Money was not a factor (or maybe it was since they didn't really have any). Richard and his brother Tor took what they had and made it work for them... but let Richard tell their story:

Origins:

Where are you guys from?

Tor and I grew up in Bettendorf, Iowa and dabbled in filmmaking when our father bought us a Super 8 camera. Over the next few years we made countless shorts, culminating with HAWK JONES. HAWK was an all-child cops-&-robbers movie that Tor wrote and I directed. It enjoyed a modestly successful video release and sparked my drive to become a movie director.


What were your influences growing up?

As my interest in films grew, my father introduced me to many of his favorite directors; Hitchcock, Capra, Wilder and more. Their work greatly influenced me. I also became excited by the contemporaries of the time, which were Carpenter, DePalma, Spielberg and Lucas.


How long have you been in Los Angeles?

Before moving to Los Angeles, I spent four years in Portland, Oregon writing music for a commercial company, while also pursuing my interest in filmmaking. Though I was successful writing music, my real passion was making films. Unfortunately, there was little opportunity in Oregon. During those four years I did manage to make my second feature, JESSICA for a few thousand dollars. It was subsequently released by Omega Pictures and Image Entertainment.

Los Angeles has been my home for nearly 15 years. In that time I've managed to produce and direct five more features and a few shorts. The last feature,MONARCH OF THE MOON, is my highest profile project to date and has established a working relationship with Dark Horse Comics, who executive produced the movie.


What is your style?

I don't have a particular style, I tend to emulate other director's techniques. I always employ a style that's appropriate for the subject matter. It creates a nice diversity in my work. Someone can watch "Destination Mars", "Don't Feed the Animals", then "The Looking Glass" and not have a clue that they're made by the same director.


Destination Mars!

How did you decide to make homage to 50’s sci-fi?

Tor was the mastermind behind MARS. It was during his bout with chicken pox that he endured PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE every day for a month. On the 31st day he sat down and wrote the screenplay. When he sent it to me, I was impressed with how well he
captured the Ed Wood flavor.


How long did it take to make?

With the script in hand, I attempted to raise funding. I secured a very unusual cast -- Carl
Anthony, Dolores Fuller, Conrad Brooks, Kenneth Tobey, Warren Stevens, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Brink Stevens and even Charlie Callas as the nutty scientist. With this cast signed on, I was sure I could get a hundred thousand or so to make the film. I struck out, getting rejections from Tim Burton's company and even Sam Raimi's, among more.

After a year of struggling, Tor finally showed up to Los Angeles with a few thousand in his pocket. He asked if we could make a movie for $7,000. I said yeah, let's do MARS on MINI-DV. Tor was skeptical, but somehow, we put it together and movie got finished
two years later.


What was involved in the production process? Who contributed ?

The movie's producer, Chris Patton, donated his Cannon XL1 to the project and introduced us to Adobe Premiere. Also, he acquired a filmlooking software that was amazing. We built sets in a Burbank warehouse and shot the principal photography in 14 days. Casting was done through Backstage West and our cast was perfect. Having no-names in the movie helped sell it as a lost film. At the OJAI film festival, when the movie was finished, audience members were
convinced that it really was fifty years old.


Cost?

During post for MARS, Tor mastered the most valuable software tool for the project: Adobe After Effects. Within months he was a skilled compositor. In the end, our $7,000 movie had over three hundred visual effects that Tor single handedly pulled off.


What did you learn making DM?


MARS received acclaim from many noted people, including Leonard Maltin and Harry Knowles. Harry loved it so much, he put it on his 2002 favorite movies list. What did I learn from this experience? That with the tools, a filmmaker could make an entertaining, quality movie for very little money, as long as he or she is smart about the execution.


Monarch of the Moon:

Is this a sequel to Destination Mars!?

While we were in post on MARS, we discussed other potential lost film ideas. I had always enjoyed the serials, and suggested the idea. It was one of many good ideas we all had, and when Dark Horse Comics approached us to do another lost film, we decided to go with the serial idea.


How did this picture come about?

Mike Richardson of Dark Horse orchestrated our deal with Image Entertainment. It was Image that requested another MARS-type film, on the condition that we make this one in color. The fact that MARS was in black and white hindered its distribution for almost five years.


Did your budget affect how you wrote it?

Chris and I wrote the screenplay for Monarch, always keeping our limitations in mind. Image was only giving us $85,000, so we had to be careful not to bury ourselves with a script that was too ambitious. We discussed every scene carefully and how we could pull off the effects. Chris had a vast knowledge of the effects softwares, so nothing we wrote couldn't be done. Consequently, MONARCH (many of which you can see in this trailer) ended up with nearly 900 visual effect shots. We're sure we set a record for a film of this budget.


How was it working with green screen? Especially on a low budget.

Well over a third of the movie required green screen photography. Our initial approach was fatal. We shot a good portion of the green screen with a diffusion filter. This caused glows around the actors, and it was nearly impossible to key out. Chris had to turn to his friends at Filmworks in Santa Monica to save us, and the clean up work they did was amazing.

We were also limited on lights, so the green screen was never really adequately lit. This resulted in countless rotoscope jobs. Also, our costume designer would show up with outfits containing bright green and blue colors. One of the actors wore a headpiece that had greenish-blue feathers. Another keying nightmare.

The complications in post added a year to the film's completion. Image was gracious enough to
allows us this time, and they are extremely pleased with the results. MONARCH and MARS will be released as a double-pack DVD set on December 5th.

Equipment you used?

MONARCH was shot with the Panasonic DVX100a. The image it produced was fantastic. To date, few people who've seen the movie have questioned the format. The clarity, color saturation and 24p motion prove that this camera is a must for independent filmmakers.


Advice for filmmakers wanting to do this themselves?

My advice to independent filmmakers is to avoid the high cost of film. With good execution, a camera like the DVX100 can produce an image equal to good 16mm. By saving costs this way, your shooting ratio can increase and schedule be extended. You can focus on quality rather then attempting principal photography in ten days because the Arriflex is due back. And unless there is an understanding of effects software and its limitations, don't attempt a visual effects extravaganza. Only do so if you have experienced artists at your disposal.

Above all, spend time on a good script and use only good actors. Don't let your brother Biff or Aunt Tildie play major roles. Independent films suffer most from this. There are many serious, professional actors willing to do independent films as long as the script is good.

Any questions can be addressed to myself or Tor via our website, http://lowrybrothers.com

Why Screw It Up With Writing?

I got into a minor tiff with a client the other day because they were of the (wrong) opinion that a sell sheet needed more copy on the cover. I argued (and won) that if I were to write what we're already seeing in the artwork, it would be an oxymoron.

As writers we tend to overwrite and describe things in dialogue we are already seeing onscreen. We have to remember that first and foremost we are visualists - we "see" the movie in our head and it tells us the story. Why tell the same story twice?

What's needed and what we're looking for of course is an added layer of story.

What's interesting in design is that we work in layers. Photoshop stacks as many layers as is required to create an image. You can have your base image, background, texture, color and then text.

Same with writing. Every layer needs to be different and distinctive and yet work with the whole. Dialogue should not reinforce action or image but supplement it. Together they create the story you want and need to tell.

And then there's the moments like the above example when you just need to shut the fuck up and let the visuals carry the story. A really good visual allows the audience to bring some of themselves to it - to feel the power of the invading spaceship as it looms overhead, or wonder how the knife blade will hurt as it punches into a set of lungs, or how cool it would be to kiss that beautiful girl's soft red lips. You don't need to say how cool or painful it is - we can see that.

And boy, in the right moment do we feel it.

Words From The Master Pulpster

Bloomberg.com has a nice interview with Roger Corman here.

The best part of the interview and one that digs deep into this pulpster's heart muscle:

The strategy was to make the best possible film for the money. I’ve seen so many people slough off low-budget films. You cannot do that. When Jonathan Demme did his first film, which was for us, it was a woman-in-prison picture. He said to me, “I’m going to make the best woman-in-prison picture ever made.'’ That’s the attitude that you must have.

It's about having respect for the material and delivering the goods. You can't expect to make something good when you look down on the genre. I know so many people who want to "cash in" on a horror movie instead of just making a good one.

Thanks to Steven at The Horror Blog for pointing me toward this.

On Sale Now!

Just getting back into the writing thing (at least blogging. I've been writing a lot of other stuff lately - press releases, treatments, business proposals, and yes the occasional bit of the script stuff) as I've been devoted to marketing and producing endeavors as well as moving from the Secret Mountain HQ to the MPB Pad.

I've been busy.

So as I am unpacking the libraries of pulp and comics and reconfiguring the office, I opened up the old screenwriter's toolbox and saw one of the most powerful tools in any writer's toolbox (warchest, arsenal - take your pick). It's the one thing that will work in any situation, any time, anywhere. It's amazing that we writers often pack it away and forget it's there.

[cue commercial theme]

And for an unlimited time, I'm am offering this handy-dandy writer's tool that slices and dices through any problem for the unheard of low, low price of...

Absolutely free.

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen I'm talking about the genuine, all-purpose, stainless...

What If...

(Batteries not included)

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That's right, no matter what the problem - sagging plot, weak characterization, no theme, no concept - What If can take care of it. The true multi-purpose writer's tool.

Backed into a corner? Simply take out the What if and watch it go to work...and amazingly it keeps on working until you tell it to stop and put it away.

Character has no resonance? Simply ask "What if?" and use this amazing tool for every tough situation. What if takes you in any direction you want.

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Perfect for conceptualizing...rewriting...polishing...tweaking... It never runs down and it never breaks no matter how rough you treat it.

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No writer's pad should be without one.

Order yours today. Operators are standing by.

Thought For The Day...

Intelligent Design is "Fi-Sci"...

The British are coming (Back)...

There is a very interesting article in the LA Times today about how American networks are adapting British shows for our audience. The article says that our ponderous (they say, "cautious and cumbersome") system of development has "has made it too difficult and expensive for fresh ideas to break through."

If this is an honest assessment of the development system in the USA, then how bad must it be in other countries where series take years to just go to pilot?

This is the main point of the article - America is robbing other country's shows because the development has already been done for them. All they have to do is translate the show to the American idiom.

Is this a good thing? A bad thing? Is America exposing its citizens to shows they otherwise wouldn't see ? Is it cultural cannibalism?

Light 'em if you got 'em and let's talk.

We've Been Doing It For Years....

Craig Mazin has a great piece in the Artful Writer (see sidebar) about the new business model for the studios and the filmmakers involved in that system. It's nice to see that they've caught up with the independents who've used this business model for years.

My thought is that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

What does all this mean for writers? Well, as my regular readers know - it means you don't become JUST a writer, or JUST a director.
You become an entrepeneur.
You become a business.
You become a brand.

Borat Wins (Is Nice...)

So the Industry is reporting to the world that BORAT earned around $26M on 800 screens across the country, doing what have been termed, "FARENHEIT 911" numbers.

But what does it mean to the average Joe or Jane filmmaker-screenwriter?

- BORAT was made for pocket change (in terms of studio money). They spent more on the marketing and promotion than they did on the film itself.
- It had a unique approach to its material. An approach that was low-budget (documentary-style).
- It had "underground buzz" thanks to the HBO show (and DVD series) DA ALI G SHOW.
- Cohen got out there and stumped for his movie - but again in a unique way - as the character of the movie. He became controversial.
- Cohen honed his material and character - his brand - to a fine edge before he made his movie. He did what he knew he could do well, then took it a bit further.
- He came out at the right time - during a national election period.

I can't wait to see the DVD...