Tuesday, June 30, 2009
NIGHT OF THE CREEPS DVD Casewrap Contest!
Courtesy CHUD:
Go and Hang Fire!
Here.
DROIDMAKER
Friday, June 26, 2009
Pulp Mind: Green Screen Movies
So - I put it to the denizens of this corner of the pulp-perverse (say it quickly):
Name some low budget, all-green screen movies for me to look at. I also include short films in that request.
I want to see feature and short films that create a nice cohesive look utilizing greenscreen technology. Throw in a comment or two on what you thought worked and what didn't. Bonus pulp points to those who can also link to "How-to" articles about the film.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Perfect for the Conventions
It's called a "Willerby."Wouldn't you like to go to the San Diego Comic Con in this?
Perfect for one or a very close couple. All it needs is an electric cord/connection and a water hose.
Does it come in lime green?
Found here.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Okay - It IS New Media Tuesday...
Quoting Patrick Goldstein from the LA Times, Stern notes:
And later:“The real problem with the indie business isn’t quality, but discipline. We have a generation of filmmakers who feel entitled to make personal films… and a generation of executives who’ve been willing to essentially use specialty films as a loss-leader to launch their division or win awards. If people in the indie world want to start making money again, they have to start treating their investment like a truly precious natural resource, not like Monopoly money. Discipline is not antithetical to art.”
Every filmmaker would like her movie to break out of its niche and gain wider exposure and acceptance. But Stern’s point is apt: figure out your base, and develop a marketing plan that succeeds even if it never goes beyond that. If this sounds more like planning a small business than planning a movie, that’s sort of the point.I wouldn’t make another indie the way I did The Nines. I’d figure out how I was going to make money before figuring out how to get money.
Amen. Pass the sacra-mental wine, please.
I May Have to Start Twittering...
(For those of you who are a bit slow on the uptake: Wherever it says "indie musician" in the blog post, just substitute "Mad Pulp Bastard". Wherever it says "t-shirts" substitute "books, toys, DVDs and other pulp paraphenalia that pays the bastard's salary.")
H/Tip to Warren.
The Fighting Sullivan
"As a fan of the old timey Shadow radio shows, this audio drama by Bill Cunningham and produced by the Decoder Ring Theatre is right up my alley and the Bastard nailed it. Check it out, it's free and awesome and it comes in two chapters, two chapters."He also gives props to Emmett Furey's multimedia project Fury of Solace - which looks like a lot of fun...comics, video, prose, etc...
And Kid Sis Lis Fies for her movie The Commune which recently premiered at the Dances with Films Festival.
Check their stuff out then go make your own cool stuff.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Posting Your Novel Online...
So I ended a kind of dysfunctional, common-law marriage to an agent who’d spent five years not committing to my book. The agent had said, “The problem seems to be that I can’t decide ultimately if this is a great novel or just a novel with great writing in it.” He said everything but No. On the day I broke it off, he wrote that I was more than justified, for he still couldn’t commit to the novel — but that he wasn’t absolutely sure, and, “I might even be talked out of this position.” It freed me. I finally got the joke.
Then came the cosmic avalanche. Out of nowhere, I met Jerry Burgan, co-founder of We Five, the electro-folk ’60s band that recorded my all-time favorite song (“You Were On My Mind”), and we began collaborating on Burgan’s memoir. When I told him I was going to post my full novel online, he offered me an original song to accompany it. I heroically resisted tainting my literary work with a stunt like that.
Except that it just made so much sense. The novel is, after all, about a country rocker.
Ive Been Posting This Around...
But I thought I would post it here too...
Would there be any interest in an illustrated version of the radio play script, complete with illustrations, photos, my editorial notes and maybe a bonus Knightmare short story?
Say $1.99 for a Kindle / PDF download or $5.99 print ? (I'm estimating pricing here)
Please comment.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
It Isn't Wednesday, But It's Comics...
Thanks to Heidi MacDonald over at THE BEAT we have a picture of the size of the forthcoming DC Comics title WEDNESDAY COMICS:
Nice... an old school look with a ton of comics content inside...
Just like the old days when there was value for your dime.
I wish every comic book looked like this (The British model?) so comics could get back to being the throwaway literature they've always been and we can start to see the subject and storytelling innovations that the form requires in order to really grow.
You can't reach an audience from the inside of a mylar bag (or an ivory tower).
Remember kids, when the budget and costs are low you can be creative, experimental, opinionated, daring, audacious and get away with it. If comics are too expensive, people will stay away in droves...or ignite controversy on the internet. (Oops!)
The same point was recently made by Father Jim over here.
And earlier here.
I keep saying this over and over (and I'll probably have it tattooed on my person somewhere) . If you want to affect people with your entertainments they have to be able to see it first. Get it into their hands and hearts as effectively and cheaply as possible. This Wednesday Comics seems to be a step in the right direction. Let's hope this is the case - more and less expensive comics that go for the throat (okay, or the groin) and look like a copy of the LA WEEKLY.
It's the pulp way.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Get Stuff Done...Now.
You want to write? Then start typing. But first, listen:
The Sound of Young America
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Pulp 2.0 Theatre of the Mind
Just a reminder...
The Knightmare: The Murder Legion Strikes at Midnight can be found here:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Don't forget to join our Facebook Group or check out Decoder Ring Theatre's other radio adventures!
Thanks for your support of New Pulp Media.
The Pulp 2.0 Screening Room
webisode #2
webisode #3
webisode #4
webisode #5
Monday, June 15, 2009
Pursuant to my Earlier Post re: Web Video Money
"Reveille last Thursday has signed a deal with Machinima.com, an entertainment network for the gaming generation. It's to executive produce and secure sponsorship for the Machinima Comedy Lab, a collaboration with 15 leading episodic television writers from popular TV series like The Simpsons, Futurama, SNL, Seinfeld, to develop original episodic comedy pilots for the Machinima.com network. One of those writers happens to be WGA West President and animation writer Patric Verrone. By securing sponsors for the Lab, Reveille and Machinima.com claim to be creating "a cost-effective way to incubate episodic series that can migrate from the Internet to TV with Reveille packaging the most successful series as pilots for broadcast and cable TV". (Machinima.com is the 7th most subscribed YouTube channel).
The writers working on the Machinima Comedy Lab pilots include: Ken Keeler, Stacie Lipp, Bill Oakley, Max Pross & Tom Gammill, Patric Verrone, Maiya Williams, Chris Cluess, Bill Freiberger, Eric Horsted, Christina Lynch, Peggy Nicoll, Mike Rowe, Loren Segan."
These Are The Movies I Grew Up With...
Italian dubbed movies...
Scratchy, literally throbbing with action movies...
$1.00 for a double feature...
$.25 for popcorn... most of which ended up on the floor as the images onscreen assaulted your senses...
How Not to Worry and Make Money with Web Video
I know I get asked "How do I make money at a web series (or book, or whatever)?" and I just have to say that being patient is helpful...
Making a great product is helpful...
And keeping an eye on those people who have done it and are experimenting with you is helpful.
From Video Business:
Next month at Comic-Con, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will launch its first original Web series, Time Jumper, a graphic novel series produced with legend Stan Lee. But unlike many other original Web series, which up to now have been streamed with ads online, WDSHE will sell Time Jumper as a download on iTunes and in 2010 on DVD.The studio is one of a number of companies testing new release strategies for original Web series that don’t rely on falling online advertising revenue as they try to make Web shows profitable.
And of particular note (emphasis mine)
and here:Big Fantastic, producer of 2007 Web hit Prom Queen, has been in the business probably the longest and has tried every type of business model, but Chris Hampel, one of the four guys who run the company, said producers are still trying to figure out the best monetization model.
Big Fantastic made its first two series, Sam Has 7 Friends and Prom Queen, for $50,000 each. They got picked up for distribution by Michael Eisner’s Vuguru, which re-packaged Prom Queen and sold it to foreign markets, helping to finance a second season of the show. The show also got a DVD release, but Hampel said residuals are minimal.
In Japan, the series took off as a mobile series and has even been remade. In the U.S., Prom Queen plays on the Verizon Vcast network, but mobile hasn’t taken off, he said.
Their deal with Eisner has pushed budgets on their latest shows up to the $500,000 to $1 million range, though profits are still small, “nothing that would upgrade our cars and girlfriends,” Hampel said.
There is much to ponder here, but as people bemoan the fact that they "seemingly" can't use ads alone for online content I go to YouTube, click on a video and see pop up advertisements brought to me by Visa. One company is sponsoring ads of another company popping up on a web video.“Fiction is expensive; it’s hard to do well,” Revision3 CEO Jim Louderback said of Revision3’s reality strategy. “You can never make your money back online.”
But you can develop an audience, which is why many bigger companies say they’re moving into the space.
Starz Digital Media is using the Web series as pilots for TV shows.
“There’s reduced risk in developing new content online versus the traditional model,” DeBevoise said.
Now Starz is developing a seven-part action series that could be turned into a TV series and looking to develop and acquire others.
Producers say to be successful online, shows need to involve the audience.
Williams said in the future, T180 might re-release its shows on DVD or package them for foreign distribution. They also could serve as a launch pad for a movie, building an audience before a theatrical release.
It's that kind of entrepreneurship that tells me that ad-only on web video is going to continue to morph, but it's going to turn out just fine.
And while large companies can't make money with ad-only web video, that's not to say that some entrepreneurial sort can't do it on his own. With the budget levels some of these guys are working at ($50,000) , you can make an attractive movie serial or series that can be sold overseas.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Pulp Legion Electrogram #4
Has hit the web.
It features my dissection on what made MEGA SHARK V. GIANT OCTOPUS work.
If you would like to join the Pulp Legion please head to the right of the blog and sign up in the subscription window in the sidebar. Pulp Legionnaires get special privileges and bonuses that general blog readers don't. Stuff that you won't see here on the blog.
So join today and get in on the fun.
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Knightmare: The Murder Legion Strikes at Midnight Pt. 2
Is here.The Knightmare races to Carol Lane's rescue as the top-secret Nazi shock troops of the Murder Legion strike at the reception at the Griffith Observatory.
Can The Knightmare elude the vengeful Lt. McGrath and escape the attacks of fantastic weapons developed in Hitler's evil laboratories?
Tune in and find out!
Got to our Fans of the Knightmare Facebook page.
Or join the fun at the Audio Drama Talk boards!
From Nikki Finke: Indie Filmmakers Speak Out
1. Change the title of your indie film to begin with an “A” or a number to get higher placement on iTunes.
A little togue-in-cheek but interesting.
2. “Experiment and try new ways of getting your indie film out there.”
Well, duh...
3. Clark Hallren, Managing Director of the Entertainment Industries Group for JP Morgan Securities warned, “Guys it’s tough. Phenomenal events that statistically cannot happen did happen: we’re at an interesting point in the business.”
4. Lisa Nitti of Greenberg Traurig offered a financing checklist and the necessary groundwork that indie producers must complete to have a shot at getting money: a preliminary financing plan, a solid budget and schedule, and an understanding of Hollywood guild requirements.
Again, duh! This is like saying, "Nazis are bad."
5. Foreign pre-sales are not as readily available as in years past.
Foreign pre-sales haven't been readily available for quite awhile - like 5 years... and yet smart, high-concept, financially responsible genre movies work.
6. Established indie producers with a successful track record have a somewhat easier time than newcomers in getting attention from international sales companies.
Duh - fest.
7. Genre always makes a difference. Forget costume dramas and spoofs.
Yes, because when taken together the horror, scifi, thriller and action-adventure genres account for about 60% of all the genres produced.
8. “Indie producers must have names that mean something to TV worldwide; [before pre-sales can be made] international distributors need time to talk to TV folks who are covering 60%-70% of minimum guarantees,” said Edward Noeltner, President of Cinema Management Group.
This is financially responsible and practical because it elevates the profile of the picture in its most financially viable arena - television. The actor fees are lower and yet more people recognize the star because they invite him or her into their home every week.
9. The number of banks involved in indie film financing has constricted and greatly impacted funds available. Previous to the financial market meltdown, there were 30 to 35 players. That number has been cut by 2/3s.
10. Financiers basically want a return on their investment. “I encourage indie producers to understand their film’s audience as much as they can. Understand what you mean when you pitch project. I want to support a film, but I care about capital and return on that capital. I just want to get my money back,” explained banker Hallren.
Find the audience that will support the film. Then, make the film. Don't make a movie then figure out there's no audience for it.
11. Risk tolerance by investors is at an all-time low. "We’re all in a back-to-basics environment,” advised Danny Mandel, Managing Director of Newbridge Film Capital. “We won't return to where we were; now investors are all about preservation of capital.”
Pulp movies sell. That's as basic as it gets.
12. Mandel predicted that by 2010 indieprods could see more capital available.
And then they won't need distributors because they'll be distributing via server themselves.
13. In indie producers favor: distributors will always need new product to fill pipelines.
See #12 above.
14. At the Cannes Festival, Mandel met five international distributors who wanted a movie with "Wedding" in the title.
Zombie Wedding? Blood Wedding? My Wedding to a Monster?
15. New financing models are having some success, says Danae Ringelmann, Co-Founder of IndieGoGo. She cited documentary producer Robert Greenwald as an example of a new paradigm: Greenwald needed $200,000 to finance his Iraq For Sale. He turned to his substantial email distribution list. Nine days and four emails later, he had raised $276,000. Think of it as “raising money Obama-style,” suggested Ringelmann.
Pay attention to this. It's a subscription model by any other name and the money is sweet.
16. Build a fan base for an indie film before it’s even made.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Lay the groundwork for the content - then deliver.
17. The disappearance of a number of local and regional film critics is a major concern because it makes it tough to launch an indie movie, noted Lawrence Bender, the Oscar-winning indie producer of Pulp Fiction, An Inconvenient Truth, and the upcoming Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds. So Bender said indie filmmakers must now be content with “tweets and the craziest things,” but not the critical insights of years past.
Blogs have risen to take this place on a regional level.
18. Roger Corman, the quintessential indie producer (Death Race 2000, Grand Theft Auto, Rock N' Roll High School) sees the Internet as a “ray of hope” for indie producers.
Pay attention. The man has powers.
19. Corman envisions a day when distributors and theaters are gone and an ASCAP-type organization collects revenues for indie producers.
I can see that.
20. Concensus advice on how to get an indie film made: never give up.
21. Finding a documentary subject that’s worth a two to four year commitment comes down to “you know it when you see it,” related Marina Zenovich, Director/Producer/Co-Writer of Roman Polanski: Wanted And Desired, Director/Producer of Who Is Bernard Tapie?, Director/Producer of Independents Day Zenovich.
22. “Always good to get an idea from a financier,” quipped Davis Guggenheim, Director/Producer of It Might Get Loud, Gracie, and Director/Executive Producer of An Inconvenient Truth. Guggenheim was lucky enough to be pitched by financier Thomas Tull who asked, “Do you like the electric guitar?"
Yes, ask people what they are financing. Don't try to convince a beer drinker to drink wine. Convince him to try your brand of beer.
23. RJ Cutler, Filmmaker and President of Actual Reality Pictures (The September Issue, The War Room) noted that marketing and outreach for every documentary film is something of a riddle, but advised producers to investigate ancillary revenues. He pointed to Morgan Spurlock who had significant returns in the educational marketplace for his feature Super Size Me, which he cut down to an hour and created an accompanying curriculum and guide.
Movies aren't just movies. They are properties that can be re-purposed for a variety of functions and audiences.
24. Before an indie film gets to the marketplace, producers must know who the audience is for the film, counseled Dennis Rice, Founder of Visio' Entertainment. “If you can’t market your film, you shouldn’t make it. If there’s no audience, you can’t get a return on investment.”
Now where have I heard that before?
25. Once an indie producer knows who the film’s audience is, reaching them cost effectively is the next hurdle.
It's called the internet.
26. There’s no longer a one size fits all model for indie distribution; patterns and windows are changing as are the means of distribution. New strategies include video-on-demand, checkerboard release patterns, digital downloads via iTunes.
Be small. Be nimble. Be quick.
27. “There are at least 10 distribution structures out there, and new companies popping up,” offered Liesl Copland of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment's Global Finance and Distribution Group. Among the new companies she cited: Big Beach, End Game, and Zip Line. All have been smart about marketing spends, she says.
Yes, be smart about where to get the most bang for the buck.
28. Indie producers need to move past the old distribution model and learn from experimentation.
Yes. yes. yes.
29. Copland advised indie producers to think about own their own consumer habits when making movies in this kind of market “though clarity hasn’t surfaced in new revenue streams”.
How do you and your friends spend money? If that's where you spend money, don't you think it's a good possibility that you can find your audience there too? Again, find the audience then fulfill their needs with entertainment they will enjoy.
30. Ted Mundorff, CEO of Landmark Theatres, sees video on demand pre-release and then theatrical release is working for some indie titles like Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience. (Bubble ignited the trend. But Mundroff worries about cable companies saturating the market with titles.)
Again, experiment and report on what the results were. The scientific method.
31. David Straus, Co-Founder and CEO of Withoutabox (a division of IMDb.com), implored indie producers to find ways to connect directly to audiences. “You don’t have to throw a ton of money to push a film to an audience; in an ideal world, the audience pulls film to them.”
32. Aggregating an audience is the lynchpin of this new world order. But is it something that impresses banks enough to lend money? Doubtful.
So leverage the audience in other ways that makes getting money from banks unnecessary.
33. It’s not all doom and gloom despite the disappearance of studio-backed indie film divisions like Warner Independent.
Good riddance.
34. There is opportunity for indie producers as long as they don’t get hung up on a 35mm theatrical film release. Ira Deutchman, CEO of Emerging Pictures, explained: “With digital, we can begin to play around with release patterns.”
Be wise with your money. Besides who shoots on film anymore?
35. Deutchman also recommended that indie producers “aggregate your communities.” He finds that his network of theaters does well with Jewish, gay-themed and French films as well as those that are spiritual and have "Wedding" in the title.
Nuff said.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Yes, I'm Watching...
Thanks to the fine folks at TNT and E1 Entertainment I have been plowing through a stack of screeners for some fine television, some not so fine television, and a movie that...well, didn't measure up to the high standards of exploitation we hold near and dear.
So, in order of no significance whatsoever:
THE CLOSER - loved the opening of the new season. I remember when the show started and I was not so smitten as to tune in every week and see Kyra Sedgwick do her southern accent. But, like kudzu I suppose, she's grown on me with that southern charm and righteous indignation over injustice. While not appointment television (is there such a dinosaur anymore?) THE CLOSER will hit my DVD player or laptop at some point.
HAWTHORNE - uneven at best. While Jada Pinkett Smith can be charming and engaging, the whole show (the pilot) seemed to forget one crucial factor: "If this main character is putting her life back together after losing her husband, shouldn't we see more of him to understand the bond that's been severed?" I just couldn't buy into it all. I hope the second episode raises the bar considerably and really makes us feel for these people. Speaking of which...
RAISING THE BAR - into its second season now (?) and it has started to find its groove. Like CLOSER I will wait and bank some episodes before watching further. This is much better than the first pilot which looked (frankly) cheap.
THE HUNGER (SEASON 1) - E1 has reissued this Showtime series, but has cheaped out by not adding anything new to the mix. Great locations, actors and a few stories by the sharp-toothed bastard himself, Harlan Ellison. It is a show that follows the other anthology show formulas before it (TWILIGHT ZONE, NIGHT GALLERY, THE HITCHER) but with an emphasis on the weird, dark and sexy. I'm glad they were able to finally collect all the episodes (something I wanted to do when I was a t York, but was shot down because "people don't want to watch big packages of TV shows at once." This was, of course, before TV DVD took off and righteously put two slugs into that theory). The packaging is good and really reflects the nature of the show. Netflix it.
SAVING GRACE - not a big Holly Hunter fan, but this show grows on you too, as I can relate to some of the characters and their idioms. The screener didn't help change my opinion as it was poorly mastered and didn't play after the first episode, though the menu says there's three epeisodes on the disc. Oh well.
SOME WEDDING REALITY SHOW ON TNT - I watched two minutes of this (whatever it's really called) and nearly broke my DVD player in my haste to throw the disc against the wall. Hate is too weak a word for this waste of money and effort.
ELSEWHERE - a low budget indie movie that forgot that. What I mean by that is an "indie movie" is supposed to provide audiences with something they can't get elesewhere. ELSEWHERE IS supposed to be a thriller, but it forgot to be thrilling. This was a movie that played it too safe with the premise and will probably play on Lifetime at some point. I knew who did it right after he was introduced. No twists that you couldn't see a mile away. No turns, no threats (except once! I will give it that). I was extremely disappointed because I wanted this one to go for the throat and couldn't even gofor the kneecaps. Skip it.
I have TNT's DARK BLUE sitting on my desk and I'm anxious to sink my teeth into something akin to THE SHIELD. This is the impression I get from the key art so here's hoping.
No Explanation Required: Satan Hates You
From the twisted colon of James felix McKenney (AUTOMATONS) and his Monsterpants movies banner...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Green Hornet Conquers Web...Again
Many folks here in these parts know of my affection for the french Green Hornet short that made the rounds a couple of years ago.
Now, from MTV's SPLASH PAGE comes this announcement that there's a new Green Hornet web series shooting in Chicago:
Over at Destructo, they’re reporting that filming for a “GreenHornetTV” web series recently occurred at a famous landmark in Chicago. While their sources say the project isn’t related to the “Green Hornet” movie, they do claim that whatever does come of the shoot will end up online at www.GreenHornetTV.com. (The site currently states that whatever is planned for it is “coming soon.”)
“Filming at the Uptown Bank building seems to have been for basic interior shots and did not appear to involve the Hornet himself,” reads the site’s report. “However, other witnesses said that the police who were present may not have been wearing Chicago issued uniforms, but this could not be confirmed.”
Could there be yet another medium Green Hornet is headed to in the near future? We’ll be sure to keep you posted as any news develops.
Could this be where The Knightmare heads to in the future?
Hmmmm...
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
The Knightmare: A Hero is His Car
Maybe this is an American thing, or possibly an Angeleno thing, but many of our pulp heroes and heroines have been defined by the vehicle they drive (or pilot):Batman has the Bat-mobile...
The Shadow has Shrevvy the cab driver chauffeur him around in a Yellow cab...
The Green Hornet has The Black Beauty...
and Wonder Woman has her Invisible Plane.
So, while I paint a pretty good audio picture of our horrific hero's car in part one of The Knightmare: The Murder Legion Strikes at Midnight, it was one sharp-eared listener who goes by the handle "Planish" over at the Audio Drama Talk forums who knew the truth...
The Knightmare's rolling arsenal is real.
From the Corsair wiki (emphasis mine):
Heinz planned to put the Phantom Corsair, which cost approximately $24,000 to produce in 1938 (approximately $300,000 in 2005 dollars) into limited production at an estimated selling price of $12,500. However, Heinz's death, shortly after the car was completed, ended those plans.
The completely unique 1938 Phantom Corsair now resides in the National Automobile Museum (The Harrah Collection) in Reno, Nevada.
The full story of this car, as well as studio pictures, appears in the October 2006 edition of Classic and Sports Car magazine.
I hate to burst their bubble, but that's not the full story...
You can discuss this here or over at the Fans of the Knightmare Facebook board.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Follow up to Batman Post Below....
Read it.
Enjoyed same.
Grant Morrison is a sick puppy. Ditto Frank Quitely.
Looking forward to more of this.
Still, would have liked a black utility belt.
I'll live.
If It's SF, Online and Free...
BACKGROUND : I started doing this to play with a blog, and it grew out of doing Super Reader after finding a increasing number of interesting stuffed related to Super Reader, and, of course, SF online. So, I thought, why not do the rest, as well. So, I set out on a quest to try and remember everything genre related I had read, which turns out to be a bit harder than I thought, and rate them as a guide for me, and for picking stuff for other people that ask. I will remember stuff occasionally, and add it. I figured this would likely take a couple of years.
Everything new I read that is Free gets listed here, as well. When I discover a Free version of something on Not Free SF Reader, I will move it to here, as there is no shortage of posts on Not Free SF Reader.
This is a good project, I just wish it had been part of Wikipedia. Some of the links the blogger uses is to material you have to pay for, but is probably available for free somewhere... ahem.
The point is -- this is a good start. Now all we need is your free novel up there...
EDIT TO ADD: TO CLEAR UP ANY MISCONCEPTIONS - I DID NOT CREATE THE FREE SF READER, BUT I CAN SEE HOW SOMEONE MAY THINK THAT DO MY POOR EDITING OF THIS POST. I WILL OF COURSE CORRECT THAT OVERSIGHT.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
No Explanation Required: Popatopolis
The true story of Jim Wynorski...the man who wouldn't sacrifice squibs for t*ts.
The unapologetic trailer is here.
NSFW
New Media Pimpin'
His pimp hand is strong. (Ask his writing staff)
He also gave us the New Pulp Media company motto:
"Get off your ass and make your own media."
And I think that's as good a mandate as any I've heard, and fits right into the no-nonsense, here are the tools - use 'em approach we take here at Pulp 2.0. Nothing would please me more than for people to take time out of their week and create something - a short story, a piece of art, a photograph, a short film, an animation, an audio piece, or even a bit of code that does something cool.
Because when you finish something and show it, you get better almost instantly. You just have to do it first...and keep doing it.
And that's the approach of New Pulp Media (both as a company and a philosophy), to conceive of ways to get you to jump in and write or draw, film or whatever creative outlet best suits your temperament. To do it fast, inexpensively and in an entertaining way.
But most of all to have fun and to share those different forms of storytelling fun with others. The rest will take care of itself.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
You're Welcome...
Because everyone deserves a bit of Monica Bellucci...Go to The Fit Birds and show your appreciation.
I Love New Media...
Friday, June 05, 2009
Headway
I made a new header for the blog and it will stay there a little while anyway. I can already see what's wrong with it and as I stare at it I am certain I will pick apart all of its faults.I am such a bastard - even to myself. Okay, especially to my own work.
As I settle into the new digs and actually enjoy today's summer shower it feels good to take 30 minutes and whip up some artwork (by way of an original panel by Darwyn Cooke) and throw it up on the web. I know that in a few hours I'll have a couple of emails or comments telling me what they like, what they don't and why. Absolutely all part of the process. Absolutely the best and worst thing about the web.
So in that vein of thought, I present this - a mock up of a cover for the Rip Rocket chapter of my Open Source Pulp Manual (R)
This is a mockup of the pulp magazine in which his adventures appeared. Rip is an "Outerspace Agent" fusing the mission of Kennedy's New Frontier speech with the burgeoning "spy movement" of the early sixties.
The stories are definitely "spy fi"...
So let me know what you think. Brutal honesty always the best policy.
-----------------------------------
Rip Rocket is copyright (c) 2009 by Bill Cunningham and New Pulp Media. Original art by Freeman (Freidman?). Magazine design by Bill Cunningham.
I'm a Batman Fan...
There. I've admitted it. Now I can begin the process of healing.I also like The Bat and The Black Bat. I suppose it's the idea of these very different characters taking on the ominous persona of a gargoyle-ish creature of the night. That and the "self made man" aspect.
Well, if you don't already know Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, who did such a bang-up job in reinventing Mort Weisinger's Superman in their ALL-STAR SUPERMAN series, are reinventing Batman. I won't go into the details here because it's been a major event in the life of the series (LoL), except to say it's a new Batman and a new Robin...
But damnit, they kept the garish, so-bright-it-hurts yellow utility belt! (Not to forget Robin's yellow silk cape!)
Criminal Mastermind: What's that glowing over there in the shadows? Oh hey! It's Batman.
There's Robin over there. Bright as day.
Cue roaring gunfire and blood splatter.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Can Someone Please Tell Comics This?
--------------------------------------------"The new issue of McSweeney's, he adds, will be published in newspaper form, in an attempt to show that if the print model is changed, if it can offer "a clear and different experience" from the internet, then it can thrive. "We believe that if you use the hell out of the medium, if you give investigative journalism space, if you give photojournalists space, if you give graphic artists and cartoonists space – if you really truly give readers an experience that can't be duplicated on the web – then they will spend $1 for a copy. And that $1 per copy, plus the revenue from some (but not all that many) ads, will keep the enterprise afloat," he writes.
Eggers ends with a rousing call for the future of print. "This is a time to roar back and assert and celebrate the beauty of the printed page," he says. "Give people something to fight for, and they will fight for it. Give something to pay for, and they'll pay for it."
I want my comics on newspaper. I want to pay $1 for a big slab of culture with a lot of different comics in it... and ads for things I like... and a short story or two. I don't want to pay $3.99 for 22 pages of "story" (yes, that's sarcasm) on glossy white paper stock with card stock covers that winds up in a plastic bag and a board.
I also want to go online and read the comics if I miss the print edition. Surrounded by advertising and links and all sorts of "Google-ness" that pays for it.
But most of all I want to see kids reading comics again. With their folks. Just like my Dad and I used to do when I was a kid growing up in the small burg of Aiken, SC.
Every Sunday after church I would ask that we drop by the Aiken Drug Store to pick up the Atlanta Journal and Constitution which was the only paper in the area that carried DICK TRACY, THE PHANTOM and STEVE CANYON. All of this and the rest of the paper for only 50 cents.
Comics should be cheap.
The content shouldn't.
H/T to Warren
Foundation
From Brigid Alverson over at Robot 6:
"I call this the Zuda Test, because I formulated it while reviewing the comics at Zuda.com, DC’s webcomics competition site. Each month, I and my Digital Strips colleagues Steve Shinney and Jason Sigler read all ten of the comics at Zuda and discuss the pros and cons of each one.
Month after month, I found myself making the same complaint: After eight pages, I had no idea what was going on."
Read the whole essay. In those first eight pages you should visually give us an idea of what world this is, who the characters are, and why we should care about them...
They don't necessarily have to speak, in fact, it may be more intriguing to not have them speak to one another, but we have to have a sense of their characters and the world.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
To All Asylum Haters
Every couple of months we receive an email that includes some variation of the following:
“Give me back the two hours of my life I wasted watching your movie.”
We don’t mind negative feedback (it’s practically the only kind we get), but this one just bugs me.
For one thing, it’s not clever and it’s not original. In fact, dare I say it… it’s sort of a mockbuster of cinematic criticism. Second, our movies are rarely longer than 90 minutes (they just feel like they’re two hours). And frankly, they don’t usually get any better after the first 15. If you hate the movie and still end up watching the whole thing, I’m sorry… but that’s on you.
So, please don’t ask for refunds of time anymore. Just tell us what you really think, like Jeff, who wrote:
“I hate you please die in a fire”
Now that’s original.
Jonah Hex in the Scarred Flesh
www.imnotobsessed.com
Josh Brolin as 1970's DC Comics character Jonah Hex which has been recently revived...
Comics isn't all about spandex.
I'd Rather Be Confused For Ten Minutes Then Bored For Five Seconds
If you don't take the time to watch this then you will be lost in that forest of wannabes to be eaten by the wolves.
Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go fuckin' write.
From the Comments
For the longest time people were saying the short story market was dead...I think perhaps its resurrection is all-digital.
Couldn't agree more. As magazine sales disintegrate more and more short fiction is appearing on the web. Sites like Plots With Guns (http://plotswithguns.com) and Thrilling Detective (http://thrillingdetective.com) have always been web based, but even more traditional print mags are moving to the web as their markets collapse.
When the NY Times finds it could save money (and by money I mean millions) by giving its subscribers a Kindle and having them download the paper every day then you have to say the gong is ringing loud and clear.
And it's not just short fiction. Interesting post at Joe Konrath's blog about his releasing one of his novels onto the Kindle for $1.59.
And how he shot to a #1 bestseller with it.
I will investigate this further, and see what I find out. John August has already dissected some of the manipulation going on over at Kindle as to how something gets on their bestseller list. Certainly I'm not saying that anything underhanded is going on, just that the methodologies employed give readers a skewed idea of what "bestseller" really means on Kindle's charts.
He's not making huge money ($1250.00) by any means, but it's an experiment and he rightly points out that an advance for a first time novel is traditionally about $5K.
And since he's putting it out himself all he's losing is the cut Amazon takes.
He could easily make $5K in a few months if sales remain strong.
Sure, he's not going to get royalties, but as you say it's about marketing. He needs to keep his brand fresh and strong and if he does that and works to maintain it then the royalty issue becomes moot.
Well, if he's selling it on Kindle and has built an audience, then he could easily do a print version via Createspace with added material and so forth - for the collector types. Again, I have to slice through his post. But, it points a way for new writers to get their work out there which is both a blessing and a curse. I do think that editors and designers will become more more important in this new paradigm. At least for those wishing to produce something of professional quality that stands out from the pack of books available.
And I don't know about you, but an extra $15K couldn't hurt (3 novels at $5k each/ year) and the fact they will always be "in print" means they are working for you. Then of course, there's the translation rights for other territories, the media and merchandise tie-ins... you get the picture.
He makes an excellent point about the advance a novelist would get in that it can either be spent on whatever or looked at as a business loan for your company and rolled back into it.
And ahem, certainly their will be companies hiring writers to work on Kindle novels based on outlines. The pulp publishing novel. Strictly percentage based, but a way to put callouses on your fingertips. This is how Tom Swift and Nancy Drew were created.
There are a lot of different ways to go about this, obviously, and I know a lot of people who are freaking out about it.
Certainly no need to freak, just start making plans and executing them. If you're an established writer - this is a new market for your work. If you're a newbie writer who needs experience, this is an opportunity. If you're a webcomics person, this is a way to sell your comics while you gather material for the GN. If you're and editor or graphic designer this a chance to ply your skillset to people who will need your services. It's past time that self-publishing raises the bar on its offerings and quality.
And if you're like me, you're already working on this and tying it into web video (movies and serials), audio, comics, social networking and merchandising.
Danni Daring TM and copyright (c) 2009 by Bill Cunningham and New Pulp Media. Artwork used for example purposes only - no rights implied.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
You Need Some Kindle-ing to Start a Fire
It's an important step forward, just like Whedon's DR. HORRIBLE was for video and reinforces several precepts we hold near and dear here at Pulp 2.0:
1. You can do it yourself.
2. Branding is important. John says he wouldn't have been as successful if he hadn't had a rep as the screenwriter of (insert Tim Burton or McG movie here).
3. More and more opportunities are happening every day that allow you to make money with your creative content - stories, books, comics, video, audio, merchandise...
4. This is where the industry(s) is (are) transitioning.
But also - let's talk about what this means as it relates to the future forms of media. There's a lot of cool nuggets buried underneath this release...
Note how John released a short story online and people bought it. Not a book or a magazine, but a byte-sized chunk of content. If one were to look back at the music industry you could see this falls right in line with what people are consuming via the web - singles. It's one of the things that has made Itunes so successful as a business model.
For the longest time people were saying the short story market was dead...I think perhaps its resurrection is all-digital.
"Magazines" will simply be areas on the web where similarly themed stories will be stored. People will pay for stories they like based on the logline and a preview and the reputation of the writer/artist (I'm definitely including comics in this scenario, gang) and the tastemaker editors and publishers.
But most importantly there's a revitalized market for self-contained short stories where there was a bloated print corpse in the traditional markets.
This isn't new, I and several others have written for Astonishing Adventures. Other publishers have original genre fiction online...
But right now, based on the numbers that August has and where the bulk of the money comes from, it looks like the economics of it are beginning to catch up to our vision.
Thoughts in the comments, please.
This Just In...
From my sister-in-law, Gail:
I just finished listening to The Knightmare. Just FYI, it scared the hell out of Sunny!!! She was lying in the hall sleeping and made a beeline under my chair when the program began! Ha ha It must be a success if it scares small children and animals?? : ) I enjoyed it and can’t wait for the next episode. It reminded me of nights working at Burcliff’s in Mishawaka. We would play episodes of The Shadow as we worked the lines. Nothing like the good ol’ days, right?
Yes, that's me - scaring small children and animals.
(Painting "Urubamba" by Gail)