Summer Movies

This summer has been a sorry summer for movies. At least for the "Summer Blockbusters!" 

I don't get much free time to go the movies so I catch most of them on DVD. (Thanks to the awesome NETFLIX!) 

However, this summer I caught the following films on the Big Screen:

Star Trek (Enjoyed)

Wolverine (Hated!!)

Terminator:Salvation (Hated!!!) 

Transformers 2 (Fun but completely pointless and tasteless) 

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (Enjoyed but wanted more to be in the movie) 

The Proposal (I went with my girlfriend for all those bad movies I dragged her to see. I actually found the movie enjoyable and funny) 

Excuse me for wanting a story to go with my block buster. I mean the fact that studios, producers and directors are just focusing on action and effects is just insulting. Especially when the price of going to the movies and/or renting a DVD just gets higher. I like character, I like dialogue and I like purpose. Wolverine, Terminator:Salvation, and Transformers 2 had none of that! What is mind blowing is the fact that all three of those movies have years, books, stories, movies, TV shows, and more worth of character development, story, etc. But when it came time to making the movies they through all that shit out and made a mix of incoherent, dumb, senseless and worthless movies. I love Wolverine, the Terminator and Transformers, but not their 2009 Summer movies. They sucked! Transformers was the most enjoyable one out of the three. Michael Bay has to stop saying "I just wanted to make a pop corn movie." He says that for everyone of his films. It's just a smoke mirror to hide his lack of talent of making a movie, that just isn't camera angles, effects and hot women. 

Finally, I am looking forward to seeing GI JOE  after reading Aint It Cool News' review. I am a GIANT GI JOE fan and was completely horrified by the movie's trailers.  But after reading Harry's review a glimmer of hope appears. I hated Stephen Sommers VAN HELSING. It was total trash. And I saw it in the theaters for FREE. I still wanted my money back! 

We will find out next week if he destroyed my childhood. LOL!!! 

PREPARING TO SHOOT

We are about 2 weeks from Principal Photography for Outworld Entertainment's black comedy "The Frappinos." 

I am extremely excited! I haven't made a film in over a year, and I truly miss it. "The Frappinos" came to me for two reasons:

1) The great amount of fans from my early rendition of the characters (titled "The Frappachinos" back then) were demanding me to make a sequel or revamp the characters. 

2) With all the heavy pre-production going into our upcoming horror film "Dark Passages" I wanted to make something on a smaller scale that I can film in a week. 

Since early spring the company and I have been working on getting "The Frappinos" together. I have to say it wasn't an easy road. I had one casting issue after another.  After 3 months I lost the entire ORIGINAL cast of "THE FRAPPACHINOS" due to scheduling conflicts and the shitty economy. ( Let's face it, putting together a Indie/Guerilla style production isn't easy.) 

The casting problems brought me to some great new talent. And caused me to make some creative changes that I never thought about. In the end, I am extremely happy with what we have come up with in our rehearsal stage. The actors are comfortable with each other, their characters and the script. They are all looking forward to filming! 

Over the next two weeks I will finish up my shot list and all the other fun "work" aspects of film production with my Assistant Director, Meghan Haring. 

Until then check out "The Frappinos" myspace page:

www.myspace.com/frappinos

Outworld Entertainment

When I started OutWorld Entertainment 10 years ago, the world of cinema was changing drastically.  Independent films were starting to become important players in the industry. And, more and more of them were being made.

 

It was also becoming cheaper and easier to make a film with the release of current modern technology. HD didn’t play the role it does today back then. In fact HD was still something that was being worked on and was far from being affordable.

 

My first films were made on Hi-8 tape and eventually MiniDV. Editing software and computers were becoming very popular and affordable. My first editing system was a Pentium 2 (when that was a big deal) and had the latest version of Adobe Premiere.  I edited most of my projects on that system and exported everything on to VHS! Yes, everyone still had one of those and the general public was still just transferring over to DVD.  

 

A few years later I got an external DVD burner to attach to my system. I remember being extremely excited about the upgrade. I was able to make DVD copies of my films. Technology was moving really fast. Faster then most of us could keep up with. Even though we were capable of burning DVDs most players couldn’t read them! Now every computer has a DVD/CD burner. And every DVD player can read DVD+R and DVD-Rs.

 

My point is that OutWorld Entertainment started at the turning of the tide. We have come along way from our Hi-8 tapes and PC editing systems. We now shoot with professional HD cameras and edit on MAC PRO systems. “DARK PASSAGES” is the project of OWE’s future!

Raising Funds for Indie Films

The movie making business is a hard and time consuming process.  Trying to raise money for a film is one of the hardest things to do when things in the world are good. Now try doing it when the country is in it’s worst economic slumps in history.

 

All of OWE’s films, including our 4 award winning films, were all self funded and had budgets of no more then $500. “DARK PASSAGES” is a  much larger film that needs money to have it made.

 

Though the entire cast and crew (myself included) are not getting paid we still need money. We need to pay the Special Effects company, the music composer, Sound Studio, Costumes, etc.

 

“DARK PASSAGES” truly is the project of our future and it needs to be MADE!

 

Though things may be rough and scary for investors I march on searching for those who would help in bringing this amazing project to life.

 

If you are interested in being an investor or sponsor contact us at: producers@outworldentertainment.com  for a copy of our business plan.

A Dark Tunnel

So it’s been slightly over a year since DARK PASSAGES began it’s long twisted road of PRE-PRODUCTION.  Somewhere in between family emergencies, economic downfall and an over loaded work schedule I was able to keep DARK PASSAGES alive.

 

I’m not a quitter. Never have been. So despite all the crap that has happened over the last year I kept getting things together for this film.

 

I continue to pull through searching for investors and sponsors through a horrible economic time. That alone may make many people quit. But making movies has been a dream of mine ever since I was 12.  Just because the world decides to take a ride down the crap tube doesn’t mean I am going to follow.

 

The cast, crew and I are all going to come out of  this as winners! No matter how much crap we have to go through first.  

 

I have to say little by little, things are finally falling into place. Assistant Director Meghan and I have been working hard on getting things moving for this project and for the company. We’re starting to get people’s interest (again) and we are starting to start a buzz in the Industrial,Goth and Horror Industries.

 

A big plus is the addition of DARK PASSAGES first OFFICIAL SPONSOR!

Say hello to GRAVE CONCERNS EZINE! (www.graveconcernsezine.com)

Grave Concerns E-zine is an internet- based magazine only that specializes in Gothic & Darkwave, Industrial, EBM, Electro, Synthpop, Noise, IDM Experimental, Post-Punk, Alternative Rock, Indie, Glam, and Metal music. Julie Johnson began Grave Concerns E-zine in 1999 and has continued to grow ever since. Grave Concerns E-zine is located in up-state New York, but is known worldwide. Grave Concerns E-zine has become well-respected in the scene and has worked with many talented artists. 

I am extremely excited about having Julie Johnson and Grave Concerns supporting us. The Industrial/Goth/EBM scene may be relatively small here in the U.S. but we are strong and supportive.

So light is starting to shine in this dark tunnel I have been walking through for the last year. With every step I take I will find the tunnels end. Stick along for the ride!

A Dream Come True

It was about 1998/1999 when I first heard a LEAETHER STRIP song. It was STRAP ME DOWN and it was on a compilation from HOT TOPIC. That’s right, I said HOT TOPIC!  That’s when the store USE to be good and carried a lot of underground music. Now it’s become as commercialized as everything else these days.

 

Anyway, when I first heard that song I could not stop getting images of this really cool gothic/action/horror film out of my mind. The sound and the lyrics helped me create this wild story. Instantly, I knew I had to get my hands on more stuff from this band.

 

Well, living in Vernon, NJ doesn't let your hands get on things that aren't “mainstream.” It’s out in the country, hours away from any real Urban areas that support shops or music stores that carry more then what the radio was playing.  And, believe it or not, this was a time when iTUNES wasn’t even around!

 

So when ever I came across a LEAETHER STRIP album I grabbed it. Every time I listened I would get more and more images in my head. I wrote and did many art projects to LEAETHER STRIP songs, knowing one day that I would want to have him compose for one of my films.

 

Then one day Claus (LEAETHER STRIP) took down his website and disappeared from the music scene for a few years. At that time I thought my dreams of having him involved in one of my projects just went up in smoke.

 

You can imagine my excitement when I saw the return of LEAETHER STRIP back in 2005!  So when I was putting together the plans for DARK PASSAGES I knew It was the perfect project to get LEAETHER STRIP involved.

 

I couldn’t believe he said “YES” to the project! I was ecstatic to have one of my favorite musical artists doing the score to one of my films.

 

It’s been an absolute blast and honor to work with Claus. He has been extremely supportive from day one and has delivered some of his best work on this soundtrack.

 

I can’t wait for the world to hear it! LEAETHER STRIP fans are going to be pleased. The music is powerful, emotional and aggressive.  

 

ALFA MATRIX will be releasing the soundtrack in 2010! Not only will you be able to hear the musical composition but you will be able to get the awesome theme songs. It’s just an adrenaline rush to hear Claus’ voice sing lyrics that came straight from my script. It truly has been a dream come true.

 

Check out these links to read more!

 

ALFA MATRIX

 

SIDE LINE MAGAZINE

 

LEAETHER STRIP MYSPACE