Another Filmmaker Finds His Way to the D2DVD Fold

Smokin' Joe Carnahan (BLOOD, GUTS BULLETS AND OCTANE; NARC; SMOKIN' ACES) talks about the D2DVD project he's doing:


"I think the only reason to ever do something that goes straight to DVD (which has this malodorous vibe for some reason) is that it gives you the ability to really push it. And I don't mean pushing the obvious sex/violence tandem but pushing CONTENT and doing things from a straight storytelling angle that they (the studio) would never allow in a 'mainstream' theatrical release.
That's what's exciting. Going out and sneaking up on an unsuspectingaudience and doing something smart and timely and somewhat radical in tone. I'm pumped. I wish I could be more specific. As the story and script begin to allign, perhaps I can be."

Welcome, Joe.

Edit to add: Oh, and apparently it's a prequel to the DVD hit SMOKIN' ACES.

ARKOFF Formula Redux

Film Flap has a further expansion on the principles of the ARKOFF formula. In this segment, "Revolutionary scenes get talked about." He even has a nifty Youtube link to an old AIP trailer.

More Stuff To Consider While ON THE LOT

Lots to cover as last night's episode of Fox's ON THE LOT was a two hour extravaganza that proves a lot of the tried and true we try to preach here at good old DISContent. I look at these folks and I see the same sort of people who email me here or meet me somewhere like the Scriptwriter's Showcase - people hungry to make their first film and get it distributed. And while there is a lot of pablum to wade through because it's reality television, there is one great quality about the program:

You get to learn from their mistakes. In - freaking - valuable.

So what did we learn from Monday night?

1. HAVE A STORY.

Kenny didn't.

2. HAVE A CONCEPT AND COMMIT TO IT FULLY.

Jess had problems in this area because it seemed she didn't know exactly what her concept was or what it required of her.

3. DON'T DO A TRAILER. TELL A STORY INSTEAD.

Marty Martin was pitching, plain and simple. His movie's title was bad too.

4. BE UNIQUE YET UNIVERSAL.

Will did that in his homage to Harold Lloyd. Adam Stein took the idea, "There's someone for everyone," and Zach Lipovsky did a one take homage to Rube Goldberg and The Three Stooges. Andrew Hunt took a DUI situation and gave it one twist. Their stories were unique yet universal. Easily accessible, but with a new hook to bring us in...

5. BUILD YOUR CHARACTERS AND MAKE SURE THEY REFLECT WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO SAY.

Mateen had characters that seemed diametrically opposed from what he was trying to portray.

6. GIVE YOUR ACTORS SOMETHING TO DO.

David, while having an interesting little movie, sold himself short by not directing his actors better and utilizing their talents.

7. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.

Jason should have known better than to make fun of a "special needs person." What would have been funny about it is if he had switched it around somehow where the slow guy got the girl and someone yelled at him, "Getta Rhoom."

8. FIND YOUR NICHE.

Claudia, while being an outrageous personality, is a filmmaker who isn't suited for comedy. Her film had a great look though, as if shot with reversal stock and pushed a bit. Hilary tried for a pee joke and didn't commit to it.

I think there are many more lessons to be learned from people's failures and triumphs, and I'm absolutely sure that I'm only scratching the surface. In terms of learning the lessons though, I would like to see this all put in a dialectic at some point so that the contestants can deconstruct their films, their methodologies, and philosophies. There's nothing like getting up in front of your peers and superiors and defending your film's pov. It helps you formulate your own aesthetic when it comes to making movies.

EDIT to add: I didn't get a chance to watch the followup show last night, but will catch it online sometime today. I understand that the results were interesting.

You Knew It Was Coming...

...To a DVD Player near you.

Don't be Afraid of the Dark

It's saturday and I'm going through the mail for the week - at least the stuff that didn't have "Urgent" or "Final Warning" on them - and I came across several screeners and postcards people have sent in asking me to take a look at their short film or their feature. I guess the work I've done with SEX MACHINE and MUTANT SWINGER FROM MARS (all rights still available!) is getting around. That's a good thing because watching movies, writing movies, producing and marketing movies is my job. So if you want to send me an email first asking me to take a look at your film, I will do so. You know what I look for in a movie, so if your romantic comedy doesn't have an exploding bodypart in it in the first ten minutes - it's a pass. First, let me know what you want to send me a screener of or a link to so I can save you time and expense.

So this morning I cleared some time after THE BATMAN and watched three screeners and a couple of web shorts. One thing that struck me immediately was that despite the fact you guys have the capability (most of the shorts looked like DVX100A candidates) of setting your cameras to TRUE BLACK (zero %) you had your cameras set to VIDEO BLACK (+7) which is more of a GRAY than a black.

Why would you do that?

See, the whole revolution in HD cinematography has been that the cameras are LIGHT, shoot more FOOTAGE more CHEAPLY and it LOOKS LIKE FILM (or better). When you set your camera to Video Black you take all that cool technology you can cheaply use to create a PROFESSIONAL LOOKING MOVIE and PISS IT ALL AWAY.

VIDEO BLACK makes the image look MUDDY and OUT OF FOCUS. TRUE BLACK that's in focus looks CRISP, PROFESSIONAL and plain old BETTER.

Nothing's more infuriating than looking at something intriguing story-wise, and knowing you cannot sell it because it looks dirty and cheap. You spent all that time polishing and rehearsing your script didn't you? So why don't you do the same for the footage?

Shoot a test. Put it in the computer and play with it. Try different lighting and schemes and exposure settings.

But most definitely set the camera to record at True Black. That is if you want people to think you know what you're doing.

I Really Miss The Good Old Days When Studios Thought Like This...

Thank you, Internet...

THE LOTtery

No, not the Shirley Jackson short story - though I recommend you read it if you haven't already.

Okay, so last night was the second episode of Fox's ON THE LOT reality television program and there were several lessons to be learned from the mistakes of our contestants.

1. Learn to work with others.

There was one team last night that really drove their team vehicle into the swamp by fighting instead of working. it was reflected in how poor the one director's scene came out. She and the male director (and I'm sorry - I don't remember their names as they are all interchangable at this point in the contest) came up with a nasty scene because of their attitude toward one another. Did he sabotage her? I don't know for certain, but it leads to the next lesson...

2. Know what (and what you aren't) shooting and make sure you are covered.

The female director got booted because her scenes didn't work camera-wise. Whose fault is that? Hers. As a director and a producer you must know exactly what your DP is shooting at all times. Did the DP screw up? Yes, but they could have easily checked the footage while on location, cleared it, then moved on. On set, you the Director are responsible for what goes on. That's why you get the big chair.

3. You can't always "fix it in post."

The opening of the show had the team arguing over this and that and the consensus was the edit wasn't good (for a multitude of reasons or arguements).

4. Know your technology.

Because he knew what he could pull of with his software and experience, one of the trio of directors for TIME OUT was able to pull off something the others couldn't. They were able to go with their strengths and create a memorable short that had the celebrity judges asking, "How did you do that?" It goes back to the ARKOFF formula post from way back - revolutionary scenes get talked about.

(Oh, and FYI check out Film Flap for an expansion of the ARKOFF formula)

5. Know your film history.

One of the shorts (the one with the set up for a murder) had a scene which used long lenses to give it that documentary feel to it. It was strikingly similar to THE CONVERSATION and I fully expected Gene Hackman to step out of a van at the far end of the park. Ratner recognized the use of the long lens and damn if I didn't think he was going to mention CONVERSATION in his critique but he didn't.

Now why do I say "know your film history?" This will play out in the next episode where the contestants have to direct a scene with a crew. They have 30 minutes to prep and an hour to shoot. They don't have time because, as we all know, that means money. You have to get the crew on the same page quickly and simply.

You will see contestant-directors flounder as they try to describe a scene to their crew and actors when they could easily reference another film (or tv show, or painting or comic or whatever) and go from there more quickly and with fewer variables in play. Knowing what has come before gives you and your crew a starting point of tone to expand upon.

And again, this is especially important when time is a factor.

Pulp, Pulp Everywhere

Submissions Guidelines for Astonishing Adventures Magazine

We at AAM love the old pulps like the Shadow, the Spider, the Operator (edit: Operator 5), Doc Savage, and any of the hundreds of other characters you could name. This was the main reason we started Astonishing in the first place, but we have other reasons in mind also. We want to see what the thriving pulp community out there has to say and what they have to show us. AAM is looking for new fiction based on original pulp-styled characters.


The word count can be anything under 3500, but we are open to review anything with a higher word count. Query us first before sending material. AAM is also looking for articles, columns, and artwork related to the pulp world - just ask!

The bad news is that we aren't paying one red cent at this time. Sorry kids, we’re a small magazine with big hopes, but little pocketbooks beyond the expenses of the magazine.The magazine will be a quarterly affair at this point with a web only distribution (in PDF form). The experimental part is that we will not be charging for the magazine.

Insane you say? Mad?

Well, we’re looking to generate income for the writers thanks to advertising eventually. Please give us a try and we look forward to reading your ASTONISHING ADVENTURES!PS: Send stories with monkeys! I love monkeys – evil monkeys are the best. Evil monkeys with Human brains are the E-ticket.

Deadline is August 1st, 2007

JDC Editor-In-Chief (don't call me chief)
EditorJDC@gmail.com

Tim Gallagher Editor
EditorTimGallagher@gmail.com

Astonishing Adventures Magazine
AstonishingSubmissions@gmail.com
WWW.AstonishingAdventuresMagazine.com
WWW.myspace.com/astonishingadventures


Pulpmaster
AstonishingSubmissions@gmail.com
www.astonishingadventuresmagazine.com


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Just to let everyone know I will be contributing a short story to this anthology series, and I urge you to flex your prose muscles and create something. There are worse things than not getting paid - like anonymity. This is a simple way for you to get your work in front of eyeballs and if I know John, he will spread the pulp as far and wide as possible.


This is the flexibility that the internet provides you. Take advantage of it. In the old days the pulp publishers had to go out of pocket for thousands and had to wait months before an issue hit the stands. Now, you as a writer can get your work in front of an appreciative audience and build on that.

Just like writer David Wellington whose books are now on the shelves after being seen on the web.

(edit to add: For those interested in the "PDF Magazine Movement" and for tips on creating PDF mags go here. Lots of great design work that employ principles founded in the pulps and their design)

A Lot To Take In....

I watched Fox televison's ON THE LOT last night, out of nothing less than morbid curiosity to see who made it to the top 50 contestants on the show. For those of you who haven't seen the promos on air and on the web, ON THE LOT is a "reality television show" (quotes mine) from Director Steven Spielberg and reality television king Mark Burnett (who has given us SURVIVOR and GLOBAL FREQUENCY).

The premise is quite simple: out of 12,000 contestants who submitted short films - 50 directors were chosen to come to Hollywood and participate in a series of challenges to determine the winner of a million dollar development deal with Dreamworks studios. The challenges consist of conceptualizing, writing and producing a short film every week to be judged by celebrity Hollywood judges Brett Ratner, Carrie Fischer and Garry Marshall.

For the most part, the tone was deadly serious by both the contestants (at least in their interviews) and the show's presenter (who read her lines with all the gravity of a death sentence punctuated by striking tones of music. Who said melodrama is dead?). All of the contestants, from various parts of the globe realize this is an opportunity for them to show their craft to "important" Hollywood decision-makers. Now all we need is a leading lady tied to some railroad tracks or a lumber mill's planking saw and we'll be set for a summer serial:

Chapter One:

"The Pitch of Doom!"

.....

Okay, okay. I make light of this, but the fact is that there were a few lessons to be learned by everyone from last night's "adventure." So let me go over what I took away from last night's episode as it relates to my own experience in the industry.

1. You don't always get to pick and choose your projects.

3-4 loglines were handed out to the 50 contestants who were told to come in with their movie pitches the next day. The directors , at first seemed a little flustered at the idea that they wouldn't be pitching their ideas, but someone else's...but hey, that's life. What the judges were looking for was the director's take on material they already own, and the judges were quite specific about the fact they knew the directors had talent, they just wanted to see if they had confidence.

2. You are not the only game in town.

Notice how there were multiple pitches of the same material/concept? Happens all the time, even in the trenches of D2DVD. The judges were looking for the best take on the material - the one that made them want to see the movie. Sometimes your take on it is the one they want, and other times it's the other guy's (or gal's), or sometimes it's a combination of both.

3. When you go in to pitch, they are rooting for you:

Executives want to be "wowed." They want to be impressed by your sensibilities and your talent. They also want to have the confidence to send you up in front of their bosses - because it makes them look good and that's their job. So relax, be prepared and...

4. Know your story:

It was so painful last night watching that guy from Indiana (or that guy from Sanata Monica) fumble the ball because he - a) wasn't confident, b) wasn't prepared, and c) saw the judges as apart from him. He didn't know his story well enough to move it forward and as a result he got stuck in the mud. It was painful to watch because so many of us have been there, wallowing in the swamp of indecision. Take a note card in with you. Refer to it like a roadmap so at the very least you can get your story out of your mouth and into their heads.

(And let's be clear - that's the minimum. You want to get the story out of your mouth and into their hearts and their imagination. That's when the story pitch is sold - when they can "see" the movie you're telling)

5. Keep it simple:

When the director came in and quickly and easily pitched his take on the logline: A catholic priest about to take his vows falls in love with a woman and questions everything (paraphrased obviously). He gave us backkground, characters and a second act in under three minutes, then he gave it a third act crisis that really propelled the movie forward. In five minutes he told a complete story with all the elements required...and more.

There were other contestants who stumbled over themselves trying to put not only their kitchen sink, but their neighbor's into their pitch. It was a confusing mess and again, very painful to watch. I actually had sympathy for the judges at this point. (Insert mad pulp bastard joke here)

It was clear the difference a good, clean, simple pitch makes in communicating what the movie is about. The judges smiled and truly thanked the guy for coming in to pitch. Garry Marshall held out his wallet, indicating he would buy that pitch. I am going to troll later today to see if that footage is up anywhere so I can post it. It's worth looking at.

So, as much as I am loathe to admit it, maybe there are some lessons to be taken away from this show. They are currently into the "film politics" phase of the game where everyone wants to be chief. It will be a good train wreck to watch and learn from...

But understand, this is television and not "reality." Your mileage may vary.

...It Was the Worst of Times.

Well TV Week has put up clips of the new shows for the fall.

Expect to see half or more of them announced on DVD sets within 6 weeks of their debut. To say I am underwhelmed is to put it mildly. I would have to be on speed to even get up to being underwhelmed. Lets face it that most of these shows deserve a quick death...

And they don't deserve to be out on DVD.

I can think of two shows in this whole lineup that I really want to make time for - BIONIC WOMAN and SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES. There are a couple that I'll watch the first episode and yawn (ALIENS IN AMERICA, MOONLIGHT, GUIDE TO STARTING OVER) and there are those that should be burned with the white hot intensity of a thousand blazing suns (THE RETURN OF JEZEBEL JADE, DOWN TO YOU, NEW AMSTERDAM) and never see the light of day.

(and really, I want to know who blew whom to get K-VILLE on the schedule)

I'm an avid TV watcher, but this is all pretty thin. I hope they put THEM into production soon...or bring back JERICHO.

Denis, Will, Alex, Jim, Caroline, Diane - you have nothing to worry about up north. None of your networks are going to have anything to buy - you'll have to make your own shows now.

Friday Afternoon Roundup

Kiss on the cheek goes to Liz Fies for posting this.

I am still winning this online Hockey pool, though for the life of me I don't know how. I think I've pissed off the "hockey experts" who won't even respond to my playful bastardly jibber jabber.

Had a nice "conversation" with Henshaw the other day who reminds me - with actions and not words - that I have backup should I need to get into a knife fight. Thanks.

Been thinking of the similarities between the feature film and the short story. That's all a feature film is - a short story where you're dropped right into the action. Television is the novel - or series of novels - with many chapters and twists. This is all leading into thoughts regarding the internet, short stories, short films, DVD and comics --the full blender of media set on puree' within my grey matter.

I saw the first episode of Sanctuary on You Tube, and while I'm not sure that it's entirely my shot of whiskey, I do applaud the effort and innovation.

MTV Headbangers Love Sex Machine

I received this link earlier today from the VP of Distribution at Anthem Pictures.

From the review:

This B-movie horror/sci-fi film is a case study on how to make a compelling, stylistic movie for $8,000. Director Christopher Sharpe shot the flick in and around Oklahoma City, using volunteer actors, producers and cameramen, and only paid for location shooting, food, special effects and makeup.

For fans of mad scientist flicks, “Terminator” style adventures and Dario Argento splatter, Sex Machine is a must.

Remember kids -- cool does not have a budget -- so be cool.

Don't Ask Questions...

Just watch the awesome mishmash of weirdness that is GOLDEN BAT!

This is What is Known as "Building Your Brand"

Many sources, including this one here, report that NBC TV series HEROES has already created a spinoff series, ORIGINS, that will run after the HEROES series ends this season.

In a six episode miniseries of standalone stories, ORIGINS is designed to showcase new characters in this HEROES UNIVERSE (okay, ugh...), the most popular of which will then be spun into the main program.

.

(I believe DC Comics called this a FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL back in the day)

.

This will up the regular season of episodes to 30 (24 of HEROES and 6 of ORIGINS) which means fewer repeats and fewer channel surfs away from NBC on Monday nights. Likewise, the SciFi Channel will probably be running ORIGINS as it runs HEROES on its Friday night lineup.

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I'll lay money right now that the ORIGINS DVD set will right on the heels of the show and will feature content leading into the second season as well as must-have background on the making of these standalone stories.

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I'll also say right now that I like the idea of standalone "short" stories featuring different characters every week. It allows for different genres within the HEROES universe (Okay, I'll stop. I promise) as well as "guest" directors and writers. A "mini-movie" every episode.

.

(Something similar to the new BABYLON 5 DVD coming out soon, and featuring three 30 minute shorts set in the B5 universe)

Wolfman's Got Nards!

So I'm cruising around the blogosphere and find that one of my favorite movies of ALL FREAKIN' TIME is finally coming to DVD in a two disc set. I am tearing up here as I read all the coolness that is going into this set. I love this movie so much I went out and bought the script. I also have the lobbycard set (back when they were just phasing out lobbycards) that are cool beyond words. This goes on the pre-buy list.

(Huge hat tip and high five to DVD Trash for making my day)

EDIT TO ADD: Suited types who read me - this movie would make a great DVD Premiere series...do it.

Bringing the Hammer Down

Variety reports that British Horror film icon HAMMER STUDIOS has been bought by a concern led by reality TV maven John DeMol.

They hope to resurrect the studio and its 300 plus library of titles. What worries me is the following from the article:

Reinvigorated Hammer studio --which hasn't done any production to speak of since the mid-1980s -- will be run by former Liberty Global execs Simon Oakes and Marc Schipper. Oakes played a leading role in brokering the deal.
"Hammer is a great British media brand that has lain dormant but lived on in people's imaginations. It is more intelligent and character-driven than traditional American 'goreography,' and we intend to capitalize on this and make it a global brand," Oakes said in a statement.

That highlighted statement indicates they don't know what they hell they have on their hands. Hammer succeeded by making horror films. They failed when they went off mission. Now we have guys in charge who are afraid to make horrifying movies, but...

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Hammer was responsible for introducing sex and bloody violence into horror movies!

Their movies weren't subtle and off-camera like the Universal Monster series... these folks knew who they were making movies for, and what that audience demanded.

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Now, in this press release/article, the term "character-driven" is being used as a euphemism for "high brow" or "art-house" or "intelligent"... and they are right, the Hammer movies are intelligent. They feature characters who are driven to suck the very life out of you, or driven to purge an entire town for killing a vampire who kept everyone in fear, or driven to push the boundaries of science into that of horror. They are intelligent in their consistency to instill fear and horror in the audience. Hammer movies are intelligent in that they are entertaining. They are good pulp, and good pulp always has great, memorable characters...

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And John DeMol and company would do well to remember that and quit trying to "dress up" horror. It's doing quite well as horror.

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For those youngsters in the audience who haven't seen a Hammer movie there is an excellent DVD set of movies available. Tell 'em your mad pulp bastard sent you...

Okay Then, What Do I Do For An Encore?

SEX MACHINE is out in stores and I am busy promoting the heck out of it to retailers across the country who may not have picked up a copy. There's also international sales to consider as Cannes is coming up next week, and SM is a great little title that could sell in dozens of territories for DVD. Certainly enough to make back its budget.

So that leaves me with the question that is the title of this post - What's the next great little film that I can represent to distributors?

Now I have certain expectations about the films that I rep. They have to fit within my sensibility (pulpy) and be of sufficient quality (marketability) so I can put my magic to it and get them distribution. I've proven that I can take well made, independent genre movies and with the right marketing strategy get them in the hands of their intended audience. That was my job at York as their Director of Marketing and now that's my second (or is that third?) job as a freelance writer-producer-marketer. Now where's that next movie?

Fortunately, that decision was made for me when I saw a movie by writer-director Mike Kallio:

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MUTANT SWINGER FROM MARS!

(let that title seep inside the subconscious)

Mike has an affection for the cheese. Okay, he is the full wheel of cheese - but hey, he's okay about it. He looks like a roadie for ZZ Top, but somebody recently trusted him to shoot all the behind-the-scenes footage for the upcoming Bruce Campbell movie THEY CALL ME BRUCE.

MSFM is Mike's love letter to Ed Wood written in blood red crayon. It's probably the same sort of love letter that Madonna or Sondra Bullock have recently received. You know the kind where it always ends up with some neighbor saying, "He was a quiet boy. Kept to himself."

This movie, made with blood, sweat and other vital fluids stars a bunch of unknowns, and one guy who went out and made himself famous for being a brother and dating Rene Zellwegger (okay, he did a little more than that, but not much). See if you can find him in this trailer.

So yes, I'm repping a funny scifi movie with a legitimate star in it. Will wonders never cease. All rights to this movie are currently available and on the market.

Sex, Sex Everywhere!

Even on my kitchen table!

Sharing The Wealth...

I have just received notification from Joost that I have a ton of free invites available for dispersal to my readers. If you would like to jump into the future and see tons of cool media online for free then send me an email so I can send you an invite. Just put JOOST INVITE in the subject header. My email is listed on my profile page.

I understand Joost will soon be streaming content that is "More than meets the eye..." as well as content from ADULT SWIM. For those of you outside the US and Canada they have an Alliance Atlantis channel that features TOTAL RECALL 2070 episodes.

Now is the time to jump on board.

And Then There's This...

Occuring right down the street from us here at the office.

California = warm weather, sunshine, bikinis and... oh yeah, Forest fires!

This Sort of Thing Makes Me Very Angry...

And you wouldn't like me when I'm angry.

What I'm talking about is write here. (pun intended)

The LA Times version.

And the FADE IN magazine version.

And of course, The Artful Writer is on top of it all here.

The fact is this - it's all one big clusterf*ck that drags not only the WGA into a mire, but non-members such as myself. Any writer should, at the drop of a hat be able to go down to the WGA Accounting offices / Foreign levies division and be able to access an accounting statement by providing proof of identity (driver's license, passport, birth certificate) and authorship (cancelled check, writer's contract) and get a check for the amount owed within 30 days.

See this whole affair may be innocent, but it has the stink of corruption about it because statements were made that have already been proven false, procedures and laws that are already in place in California are being ignored, and The Guild didn't step up the necessary manpower and facilities to deal with a sudden influx of cash. The appearance of impropriety - whether it is ultimately true or not - cannot be tolerated in organizations that exist to be in the best interest and welfare of its members.

Twisted Things are Happening...Now!

Variety announced Sunday that the folks behind the wonderful family film SAW have struck a deal with website Break.com to release a feature film THE INTERNET KILLER in the United States in serial form.

Break, which primarily hosts user-generated videos aimed at young men, plans to significantly increase its video quality in order to stream a feature film properly. "Internet Killer" will be featured on Break's own Web site and syndicated with the netco's branding.
"We're big believers in distributed content, but we're also extraordinarily well positioned to launch a series of videos online to young men," said Break.com CEO Keith Richman. "Advertisers really like this stuff and the bet is we can bring in bigger brands with content like this."
Though other independent features have debuted online in their entirety before, "Internet Killer" will be the first to stream as a series of Webisodes. It will represent a unique challenge to keep each individual scene interesting to watch on its own. Richman added that making the first few Webisodes compelling will be particularly important in order to convince 'Net surfers to watch future installments.
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So what does this mean for us pulpsters?

Well, it means that money makers are expanding their brand in every direction possible. If there isn't one already, there's bound to be a SAW comic soon.

It also means that suddenly, you don't have just two outlets (Theatrical, DVD) for your movies and television. Nor do you have just one format either - you can set up shop on the net in feature or serial form. It means opportunity. It means an expansion of the market place.

Now that's twisted...

Wow - What A Weekend!

So there's been a lot happening around the Mad Pulp Pad here in the bowels of Hollywood. Lot of events that have pulled me away from working at the computer which is sometimes a good thing. I'm not going to make a habit of it by any means, but this time it was worth it.

First off, Saturday was FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, a national event sponsored by publishers, distributors and retailers to get people interested in reading comics. It's a good deal for anyone unfamiliar with this "holiday" as it means you can walk in to just about any comic book store around the country and walk out with a free comic or five.

I went down to MELTDOWN COMICS on bright beautiful Sunset Blvd. It's a big place and filled to the brim with all sorts of comics, magazines, books, toys, games and DVDs for any member of the family. There's cute baby stuff there too.

Anyway, I picked my alloted five free comics from an assortment of about twenty different titles. It was fun to hear the parents bringing the kids into the store:

Parent or Grandparent: You sure you want that one? Wouldn't you like Mickey Mouse instead?

Kid: Nope, I want The Astounding Wolf-Man!

Parent: Okay, Sally - but don't tell your Mother (or Father or Grandparent).

For those interested in such trivia (because Lord knows someone is going to ask in the comments) I picked up:

THE TRAIN WAS BANG ON TIME: An episode of The Black Diamond Detective Agency by Eddie Campbell (FROM HELL)

THE LONE RANGER/BATTLESTAR GALCTICA from Dynamite Entertainment

VIRGIN COMICS SAMPLER

THE ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY from Dark Horse Comics.

Free Comic book Day is also an opportunity where stores pull out their "Quarter Boxes" and sell their backstock for bargain prices. I was able to pick up a couple of lost classics... I was very happy.

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Phase Two of the weekend is that I was invited to The HULLABALOO benefit concert for The Silverlake Music Conservatory. We've been doing some pro bono work designing the posters, passes, and programs for the event using our talents to give back.

Well, last week we were all surprised with free VIP guest passes to the concert last night held at the Henry Fonda Theater. Free food , drink and merriment as the Firebrain Inc. team got to rub elbows with the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Gabriel Byrne, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eddie Vedder and the teachers and students of the conservatory (who can throw down with the best of them). Acoustic, jazz combos and full out rock n' roll concerts entertained us until around 2 am...

It was nice to get that reward for our hard work, but to be honest we would have done it anyway. The Conservatory provides such a needed service that the public schools can't. There are so many kids (and adults) out there who need a creative outlet like music, and it's people like Flea and the staff at The Conservatory who have answered the call. We were happy to lend a hand in something that wasn't commercially motivated. I would urge everyone to find some charity they could be interested in and invest yourself.

It's a simple formula for making the world better.

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Phase Three of the weekend was going to see SPIDERMAN 3 at the fabulous Arclight Theater. Before we got inside, we saw the TRANSFORMERS trailer on the side of a truck trailer that was there to screen for patrons waiting to get into the movie. Talk about a cool promotion!

S3 was cool. Good, but not great and has a few scratches in the diamond that doesn't make it ugly, the movie's just not flawless. There were a few scenes that stuck out like sore thumbs begging for another hit with the hammer (most notably the scene where Harry's butler tells Harry he's certain his father died by his own hand).

I'll go into more detail later as I think things over. I'm way too tired and DOCTOR WHO is ready on the laptop.

I'm Not Sayin' A Word...

	1	Bill Cunningham	99
	2	Michael Foster	88
	3	Micah Reid	86
	4	Dave Moses	85
	5	Will Dixon	83
	6	Larry Raskin	82
	7	John Whaley	77
	8	Jim Henshaw	74
	9	Denis McGrath	73
	10	Mark Askwith	72
	11	Mark Farrell	69
	11	Juniper	69

Except, "Have a good weekend..."

Yet Another Reason I Hate What Unions Have Become

Steven Grant's weekly column, Permanent Damage over at Comic Book Resources had a nice little bit in it that I am going to reprint here instead of linking to, just because you need to read this:
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Here's a good one: The Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) has decided that even if you create your own music you can't play it on your own website without paying them. They talked the US Copyright Office into designating their subsidiary Soundexchange the collector of Internet radio royalty payments for all music played on the Internet, not just music controlled by the RIAA. Why? Pretty much just so they can enforce their will on Internet radio.

What this means is that if you compose your own symphony and want to podcast it, you have to pay Soundexchange the royalties that you owe yourself. Then Soundexchange will pay the royalties back to you, if you pay Soundexchange for the service. If you don't want to join Soundexchange - and if your music doesn't fall under RIAA jurisdiction, why would you? - they don't have any obligation to give you the money you're owed. Because, apparently, nonmembers simply aren't owed any, even though they're required to pay.

It's basically racketeering, and like most such schemes various companies and organizations are now trying to impose on the Internet, I can't wait to see how they plan to enforce it, since the Internet is an international operation and it's only a US government agency that has authorized this thuggish stupidity. Not that it'll stop the RIAA from trying to operate like a pack of mobsters, but it'll be interesting to see what happens when someone decides to take them to court over this. It's hard to imagine courts will uphold the scheme for long though I expect some judge somewhere will think it's a wonderful idea, so arguing it in court doesn't seem in the RIAA's best interest, but if they back down on any threats of legal action they'll be backing down on all of them. Most likely they'll face any legal challenges with the standard corporate practice of driving up legal costs for the opposition and trying to keep the case from ever coming to trial.

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While I too don't think this will hold up in court, it really chaps my ass to think that this sort of thing still goes on and that the government wasn't smart enough or at least legally savvy enough to nip this in the bud right away. The fact that a union or "organization" is trying to control ALL revenue derived from music downloads on the net, even from non-members is (and always will be) preposterous. The RIAA should be a volunteer organization - if you want to join, pay fees and get services in return then great! If you don't and want to police your own affairs then that's good too... We're all adults here.

But that's not good enough for some folks. Those sort who say they know what's good for me and they're going to make a law to ensure they always "know" what's good for me all the while reaching around and taking dollars out of my pocket. Unions serve at the pleasure of their memberships, something Union leaders have ignored or forgotten.

They need to be reminded constantly of this fact.
I suggest a swift kick in the genitals.

SEX MACHINE IS OUT THERE

And no, I'm not talking about Britney's va-jay-jay, although I'm sure that comment has already been made somewhere by more "informed" gentlemen than I.

What I'm talking about is the ultra cool, ultra slick, ultra low budget pulp masterpiece by my friend and colleague Christopher Sharpe and his crew. This piece of pulp filmmaking is available TODAY at finer rental and retail outlets! We have been talking about this one for awhile and later today I will be posting a sneak preview of the opening scene and credits in order to tease and tantalize you folks on-the-fence about low budget sinema!

So put it in your Netflix que, hop over to the local Mom & Pop videostore or go here to order it direct (and while you're there, pick up their DVD of FRANKENHOOKER - a great companion piece to SEX MACHINE).

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And here's that taste:

Enjoy!

DuYu Vudu ?

The Powers that be have unveiled the new VUDU set top box. Lots of very cool features not the least of which is no subscription required and most of the major studios are backing it.

Read about it here at Film Ick.