OK, so I'm going to see Avatar 3D tonight, so I'll be editing this post to add that onto the end. Largely because the idea of finishing my list of movies seen this year with 'The Christmas Clause' really doesn't bear thinking about.
Here it is: The complete and unedited list of stuff I've seen this year, together with a reductive and pointless mark out of five. I've avoiding listing my own stuff, since that's a pretty pointless exercise and I've probably seen each 'going concern' movie countless times in various states of editing. I've also refrained from marking movies where I know people concerned reasonably well, because conflict of interest and yada yada yada.
But basically, here it is. It's going to be long.
Have a brilliant New Year.
January 10th
Friday the 13th Part III - **/5
All The Boys Love Mandy Lane - ***/5
Bring It On: In It to Win It - **/5
January 11th
Alien Abduction: The McPherson Tape - ***/5
Lake Placid 2 - **/5
January 17th
Slumdog Millionaire - ****/5
Shrooms - */5
January 18th
Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud - ***/5
January 19th
Breakfast at Tiffany's - ****/5
January 21st
My Bloody Valentine (3D version, 2009) - ***/5
January 23rd
Twelve Monkeys (3rd viewing) - *****/5
January 24th
Milk - ****/5
Frost/Nixon - ****/5
January 27th
The Reader - ***/5
January 29th
Blade Runner (The Final Cut) - *****/5
February 1st
The Wrestler - *****/5
Wanted - ***/5
February 3rd
Creatures from the Abyss - **/5
February 6th
The Girls Rebel Force of Competitive Swimmers - **/5
February 11th
Revolutionary Road - **/5
February 13th
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (3rd-ish viewing) - *****/5
Tokyo Gore Police - ****/5
February 14th
Tropic Thunder - ***/5
February 15th
Happy-Go-Lucky - ****/5
February 16th
Rachel Getting Married - ***/5
February 18th
Doubt - ***/5
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - ****/5
February 19th
Zombie Strippers! - **/5
Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (4th-ish viewing) - ***/5
February 20th
Revenge of the Nerds 2: Nerds in Paradise (2nd viewing) - ***/5
February 21st
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (2nd viewing) - ***/5
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning - **/5
February 22nd
Iron Man - ****/5
March 2nd
Eyes Wide Shut - ****/5
March 7th
Watchmen (Imax) - *****/5
March 14th
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster - ***/5
Diary of the Dead - **/5
March 15th
My Date with Drew - ***/5
March 18th
The Magnificent Seven (4th? viewing) - *****/5
March 19th
The Onion Movie - ***/5
March 22nd
Be Kind Rewind - ***/5
March 23rd
Grease 2 - **/5
March 25th
Little Shop of Horrors (1986, 8th-ish viewing) - *****/5
March 28th
Fast Food Nation - ***/5
Elvira's Haunted Hills - **/5
St Trinians - **/5
April 1st
Stand By Me (5th-ish viewing) - *****/5
April 14th
My Name is Bruce - ***/5
April 18th
Let The Right One In - ****/5
April 20th
Pineapple Express - **/5
April 25th
9 to 5 - ***/5
Sydney White - **/5
May 2nd
Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain - ***/5
May 6th
The Orphanage (2nd viewing) - *****/5
May 10th
Zombies Zombies Zombies - **/5
Superhero Movie - **/5
May 11th
Star Trek (2009) - ****/5
May 12th
Midnight Cowboy - ***/5
May 15th
The Gingerdead Man - **/5
May 23rd
The Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust - ***/5
Son of Rambow - ****/5
May 24th
Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation - ***/5
May 27th
Drag Me to Hell - ****/5
May 30th
Five Across the Eyes - **/5
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay - ***/5
May 31st
Small Town Folk - ***/5
June 4th
Twilight - ***/5 (Mini review at http://tinyurl.com/p5wqs8 )
June 6th
Candy Stripers - **/5 (Mini review at http://tinyurl.com/nbdp7d )
June 7th
Onechanbara: The Movie - ***/5 (Mini review at http://tinyurl.com/o2refa )
The Doll Master - ***/5 (Mini review at http://tinyurl.com/mupct6 )
June 8th
Alien Apocalypse - ***/5
June 10th
Ghostbusters (??th viewing) - *****/5
June 13th
Psycho Beach Party - ***/5
June 14th
The Hangover - ****/5
June 16th
Burn After Reading - ****/5
June 17th
Sleepy Hollow (2nd viewing) - ****/5
June 19th
Hairspray (2007) - ****/5
June 20th
Ghoulies (2nd viewing) - **/5
Ghoulies II (2nd viewing) - **/5
June 21st
Ghoulies go to College - **/5
Troll - **/5
June 25th
Shaun of the Dead - (3rd viewing) *****/5
June 28th
The Incredible Hulk - ***/5
July 3rd
Made of Honor - **/5
July 4th
Mamma Mia! - */5
July 5th
Casablanca (??th viewing) - *****/5
July 10th
Star Wars (??th viewing) - *****/5
July 14th
Megaladon - */5
July 21st
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - ****/5
July 25th
Prom Night (2008) - */5
July 31st
Quadrophenia - ****/5
August 1st
Over Her Dead Body - **/5
August 3rd
Doomsday - ***/5
August 8th
Anvil: The Story of Anvil - ****/5
American Teen - ***/5
August 9th
JCVD - ***/5
August 13th
Shark Attack 3: Megaladon - ***/5 (For entertainment value)
August 15th
Inglourious Basterds - *****/5
August 16th
Skinwalkers - **/5
Creature from Black Lake - **/5
Shark Attack - **/5
August 17th
Tomorrow Never Dies (2nd viewing) - ***/5
August 18th
Teeth - ****/5
August 19th
Crocodile 2: Death Roll - **/5
August 23rd
(500) Days of Summer - ****/5
The X-Files: I Want to Believe - **/5
Friday the 13th (2009) - **/5
August 27th
Donkey Punch - ***/5
August 29th
In The Loop - ****/5
Role Models - ***/5
Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus - **/5
August 30th
Crank: High Voltage - ***/5
August 31st
Zombie Women of Satan - (Not rated as I know people involved)
The Final Destination (3D version) - **/5
The Descent: Part 2 - ***/5
September 1st
Adventureland - ***/5
September 5th
I Love You, Man - ***/5
September 7th
Demon Slayer - */5
September 8th
District 9 - ****/5
September 13th
True Romance (3rd viewing) - *****/5
September 16th
Gone Baby Gone - ****/5
September 19th
Sleepaway Camp - ***/5
September 24th
Religilous - ***/5
September 25th
Sex Drive - ****/5
Dead Snow - ****/5
September 26th
Bring It On: Fight to the Finish - */5
What Just Happened - ***/5
He's Just Not That Into You - **/5
September 27th
Gran Torino - ***/5
The Boat That Rocked - **/5
September 28th
Ghost Town - ***/5
September 29th
The Bachelor - **/5
Rope - ****/5
September 30th
Psycho (1960, 4th-ish viewing) - *****/5
October 3rd
Colin (2nd viewing) - Not rated as I know people involved
October 5th
The Wave - ***/5
October 6th
Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom (?th viewing) - *****/5
October 10th
Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers - **/5
October 11th
Eraserhead - (3rd? viewing) - ****/5
October 12th
The Foot Fist Way - ****/5
October 13th
The Blair Witch Project - (4th viewing) - *****/5
October 15th
Coraline - ****/5
October 17th
Doghouse - (Not rated as I know people involved)
October 18th
Up - *****/5
October 20th
Cloverfield (2nd viewing) - ****/5
Zombieland - ****/5
October 25th
Eden Lake - ***/5
The House Bunny - **/5
October 26th
Trick 'R Treat - ****/5
November 3rd
Quantum of Solace (2nd viewing) - ****/5
Road House (2nd viewing) - ***/5
November 7th
Saw V - **/5
Bad Biology - ***/5
November 10th
The Shawshank Redemption - (?th viewing) *****/5
Jennifer's Body - ***/5
November 18th
Before Sunrise (3rd viewing) - *****/5
November 23rd
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People - **/5
November 26th
Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope - (?th viewing) *****/5
November 29th
The Notorious Bettie Page - ***/5
November 30th
Paranormal Activity - ****/5
December 1st
The Princess Bride (?th viewing) - *****/5
December 4th
American Pie (4th-ish viewing) - ****/5
December 8th
The Breakfast Club - (?th viewing) - *****/5
December 12th
American Pie presents The Book of Love - **/5
December 14th
American Pie presents Band Camp (2nd viewing) - ***/5
December 15th
Edward Scissorhands (?th viewing) - *****/5
Where the Wild Things Are - ****/5
December 21st
A Christmas Wedding - */5
December 22nd
The Christmas Clause - */5
December 30th
Avatar (3D version) - ****/5 (*****/5 for spectacle)
December 31st
Shark Attack 3 (2nd viewing) - ***/5 (for entertainment)
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Back to the writing board
So, House on the Witchpit.
I've been messing around with the screenplay since about 2002, and it has changed a lot. The first draft was a fairly cheerful horror comedy; heavy on the sexy witches angle and up to the eyeballs in debt to Warlock in terms of structure. That first draft is pretty close to TrashHouse in terms of tone, and if I'd have shot it when I intended to (around 2005) it would probably have fit reasonably nicely into my output.
Times change, things move on. House on the Witchpit is no longer a frothy horror comedy; the only function of the screenplay is to scare the living shit out of the viewer, and it skews pretty goddamn dark. Then again, I like to think I've come a fair way since TrashHouse too. I hope my movies are getting more interesting and less easy to categorise, and the new-look HotWP fits into my later stuff pretty well.
Writing about bleak situations is a strange sensation for me. I'm a generally pretty upbeat kind of guy, and I feel somewhat detached from the jet-black sentiments that I seem to be capable of pouring onto paper (and then transferring onto the screen from there). I can't work out if I feel better or worse to 'let them out' or whether they end up tainting my day; hanging around after me like an evil cloud. Either way, the words seem to want to hit the paper, so I let them. But how dark do I seriously want to let this go? People who ultimately plonk their arses down in front of House on the Witchpit will be expecting a horror movie. They're watching it to be disturbed or creeped out, at least to some extent. But how serious are they about that?
In other words, just how dark do horror movie viewers want their horrors to get?
I'm intrigued to check out von Trier's AntiChrist, which seems to have taken the idea of how far to push and really run with it. I've heard all sorts of mixed opinions, from those who consider it the most effective horror of the last decade through to those who find it utterly laughable. Now matter how far I take HotWP, I can't see myself going to the visual extremes that von Trier has gone. But emotionally? How far is too far?
And, ultimately, am I willing to let go of the part of me that ultimately just wants my viewers to have fun? Because if you're going to deny them fun, you'd better have a damn good reason for it.
Decisions, decisions. I'm extremely proud of the script, though, and hope I make the right choices.
I've been messing around with the screenplay since about 2002, and it has changed a lot. The first draft was a fairly cheerful horror comedy; heavy on the sexy witches angle and up to the eyeballs in debt to Warlock in terms of structure. That first draft is pretty close to TrashHouse in terms of tone, and if I'd have shot it when I intended to (around 2005) it would probably have fit reasonably nicely into my output.
Times change, things move on. House on the Witchpit is no longer a frothy horror comedy; the only function of the screenplay is to scare the living shit out of the viewer, and it skews pretty goddamn dark. Then again, I like to think I've come a fair way since TrashHouse too. I hope my movies are getting more interesting and less easy to categorise, and the new-look HotWP fits into my later stuff pretty well.
Writing about bleak situations is a strange sensation for me. I'm a generally pretty upbeat kind of guy, and I feel somewhat detached from the jet-black sentiments that I seem to be capable of pouring onto paper (and then transferring onto the screen from there). I can't work out if I feel better or worse to 'let them out' or whether they end up tainting my day; hanging around after me like an evil cloud. Either way, the words seem to want to hit the paper, so I let them. But how dark do I seriously want to let this go? People who ultimately plonk their arses down in front of House on the Witchpit will be expecting a horror movie. They're watching it to be disturbed or creeped out, at least to some extent. But how serious are they about that?
In other words, just how dark do horror movie viewers want their horrors to get?
I'm intrigued to check out von Trier's AntiChrist, which seems to have taken the idea of how far to push and really run with it. I've heard all sorts of mixed opinions, from those who consider it the most effective horror of the last decade through to those who find it utterly laughable. Now matter how far I take HotWP, I can't see myself going to the visual extremes that von Trier has gone. But emotionally? How far is too far?
And, ultimately, am I willing to let go of the part of me that ultimately just wants my viewers to have fun? Because if you're going to deny them fun, you'd better have a damn good reason for it.
Decisions, decisions. I'm extremely proud of the script, though, and hope I make the right choices.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
TDM DVD, Christmas approaches..
First things first, my advance copy of Lono Entertainment's US release of The Devil's Music turned up this week. It's out in the US on December 22nd. Chucking my copy at my Xbox 360 seems to suggest that the disc hasn't actually been region locked, which is rather great news for those in the UK who have checked out the movie via IndieMoviesOnline..
(cue blatant plug..)
Watch The Devil’s Music online free
..and are eager for a special edition DVD. For those in the US, the DVD will be your first chance to check the movie out, and I really really hope that you dig it. Lono have done a fantastic job; the special features are great, (including two terrific Easter Eggs for those who enjoy hunting things down!) and give a whole different perspective on the flick. So here's the link.. (Aw, come on, you KNEW another plug was coming..)
THE SPECIAL EDITION DVD!! ORDER FROM AMAZON NOW!!
Right, that should have sorted out all of your Devil's Music needs for the festive season. What else do I have to tell you wonderful cats about?
(This is possibly a diversionary tactic, as Pip is currently out buying a Christmas tree, and I really should be getting all the other decorations down from the loft. But I don't fancy doing that just yet, so I thought I'd chat to you lot instead)
Bordello Death Tales inches ever closer to being actually seen by people. It really won't be long now, I promise. And it's well worth the wait.
Went to see New Moon during the week, and probably shouldn't discuss my feelings about it for fear of alienating a whole bunch of Twilight fans. I also really hate pouring scorn on things that make people happy But then again I don't really think that Twilight fans are my particular demographic anyway, so hell with it.
New Moon is a terrible film. Terrible in a way that few films manage, and certainly one that makes the first movie in the series look like a masterpiece. From the CGI pantomime bears who pass for werewolves through to the frankly jaw-dropping Council of Vampire Stereotypes, this is a rotten flick. But the thing that makes it stand out from the pack, the thing that truly raises it (or sinks it) to a new level of terrible is its total lack of any sort of humour. There is, if memory serves, a grand total of one line which is meant to be funny in some way, and even that is a sort of quasi-funny line (it's a 'put the dog out' riff in reference to the werewolf). The audience at the screening I was at fell upon that line as if it were some kind of life raft; they hooted, laughed and howled, because the rest of the flick hadn't given them any chance at all to do so. At least not deliberately. You can laugh at the movie, but you can't laugh with it because it contains no sense of humour whatsoever.
Having said that, I emerged from the screening in a great mood. Films as entertainingly bad as New Moon don't come along very often, and I didn't feel shortchanged of my cash.
Elsewhere in sequelville, I checked out American Pie presents The Book of Love, which is number seven for those of us counting. It's much what you'd expect, but it also contains a sequence which cheerfully wanders out of 'gross out' territory and into 'massively disturbing'. It plays like something from a Takashi Miike movie, and the happy music over the top makes it worse. Pip had fallen asleep by this point in the movie, and I briefly wondered whether I had, too, and was actually dreaming. You'll know it when you see it.
Oh, and for anyone who's not yet following me on Twitter, you can do so over here
Right, better go get that stuff out of the loft.
Rock on,
Pat
(cue blatant plug..)
Watch The Devil’s Music online free
..and are eager for a special edition DVD. For those in the US, the DVD will be your first chance to check the movie out, and I really really hope that you dig it. Lono have done a fantastic job; the special features are great, (including two terrific Easter Eggs for those who enjoy hunting things down!) and give a whole different perspective on the flick. So here's the link.. (Aw, come on, you KNEW another plug was coming..)
THE SPECIAL EDITION DVD!! ORDER FROM AMAZON NOW!!
Right, that should have sorted out all of your Devil's Music needs for the festive season. What else do I have to tell you wonderful cats about?
(This is possibly a diversionary tactic, as Pip is currently out buying a Christmas tree, and I really should be getting all the other decorations down from the loft. But I don't fancy doing that just yet, so I thought I'd chat to you lot instead)
Bordello Death Tales inches ever closer to being actually seen by people. It really won't be long now, I promise. And it's well worth the wait.
Went to see New Moon during the week, and probably shouldn't discuss my feelings about it for fear of alienating a whole bunch of Twilight fans. I also really hate pouring scorn on things that make people happy But then again I don't really think that Twilight fans are my particular demographic anyway, so hell with it.
New Moon is a terrible film. Terrible in a way that few films manage, and certainly one that makes the first movie in the series look like a masterpiece. From the CGI pantomime bears who pass for werewolves through to the frankly jaw-dropping Council of Vampire Stereotypes, this is a rotten flick. But the thing that makes it stand out from the pack, the thing that truly raises it (or sinks it) to a new level of terrible is its total lack of any sort of humour. There is, if memory serves, a grand total of one line which is meant to be funny in some way, and even that is a sort of quasi-funny line (it's a 'put the dog out' riff in reference to the werewolf). The audience at the screening I was at fell upon that line as if it were some kind of life raft; they hooted, laughed and howled, because the rest of the flick hadn't given them any chance at all to do so. At least not deliberately. You can laugh at the movie, but you can't laugh with it because it contains no sense of humour whatsoever.
Having said that, I emerged from the screening in a great mood. Films as entertainingly bad as New Moon don't come along very often, and I didn't feel shortchanged of my cash.
Elsewhere in sequelville, I checked out American Pie presents The Book of Love, which is number seven for those of us counting. It's much what you'd expect, but it also contains a sequence which cheerfully wanders out of 'gross out' territory and into 'massively disturbing'. It plays like something from a Takashi Miike movie, and the happy music over the top makes it worse. Pip had fallen asleep by this point in the movie, and I briefly wondered whether I had, too, and was actually dreaming. You'll know it when you see it.
Oh, and for anyone who's not yet following me on Twitter, you can do so over here
Right, better go get that stuff out of the loft.
Rock on,
Pat
Friday, October 30, 2009
If you're in the UK..
Go and watch The Devil's Music!
Now!
And spread the word by any means necessary! Twitter, Facebook, IMDB, whatever.. Our movie is in your hands.
http://www.indiemoviesonline.com/news/the-devils-music-premiere-301009
(If you're in the US, don't worry.. The rather awesome DVD will be along on December 22nd!)
Now!
And spread the word by any means necessary! Twitter, Facebook, IMDB, whatever.. Our movie is in your hands.
http://www.indiemoviesonline.com/news/the-devils-music-premiere-301009
(If you're in the US, don't worry.. The rather awesome DVD will be along on December 22nd!)
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Paranormal Activity: You Do The Math
So, is it a good thing or a bad thing for those of us on the tiny-budget side of the Hollywood wall that Paranormal Activity just took the number one box office slot in the US, beating the likes of Saw VI? Given that PA allegedly cost $15,000, mightn't this reignite interest in micro-budget movies that have more to offer in the way of plot, scares and so on than their big-budget counterparts?
Haven't got a clue. My gut tells me that various executives will be scrabbling around looking for other movies to pick up that are exactly like PA. My gut feeling expands on this notion to suggest that, once there are no more micro-budget flicks to pick up that are exactly like PA, they'll pick up a bunch of other stuff and simply market it to look exactly like PA. Then they'll note that the numbers are dropping, conclude that people aren't interested in micro-budget chillers any more, shrug their shoulders and go off and make Saw VII.
The great, grand point of course is that the public didn't flock to PA because it was cheap. They went despite the fact it was cheap. Because it appeared to offer something a bit new. Something a bit different. Something that hadn't been focus-grouped.
I haven't actually seen Paranormal Activity at this point, I hasten to add. I hate making sweeping statements in a blog and then later finding out that I hate the movie in question. I'm assuming I'll like this one. It looks stripped down, lean, scary.. Everything that I very much doubt that Saw VI will be (wouldn't know.. I gave up at IV, which I think showed remarkable staying power all things considered).
Oh, and before I forget, everyone in the UK should point their browsers towards http://www.indiemoviesonline.com next Friday. Hopefully, you all know why.
Rock on,
Pat
Haven't got a clue. My gut tells me that various executives will be scrabbling around looking for other movies to pick up that are exactly like PA. My gut feeling expands on this notion to suggest that, once there are no more micro-budget flicks to pick up that are exactly like PA, they'll pick up a bunch of other stuff and simply market it to look exactly like PA. Then they'll note that the numbers are dropping, conclude that people aren't interested in micro-budget chillers any more, shrug their shoulders and go off and make Saw VII.
The great, grand point of course is that the public didn't flock to PA because it was cheap. They went despite the fact it was cheap. Because it appeared to offer something a bit new. Something a bit different. Something that hadn't been focus-grouped.
I haven't actually seen Paranormal Activity at this point, I hasten to add. I hate making sweeping statements in a blog and then later finding out that I hate the movie in question. I'm assuming I'll like this one. It looks stripped down, lean, scary.. Everything that I very much doubt that Saw VI will be (wouldn't know.. I gave up at IV, which I think showed remarkable staying power all things considered).
Oh, and before I forget, everyone in the UK should point their browsers towards http://www.indiemoviesonline.com next Friday. Hopefully, you all know why.
Rock on,
Pat
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Streaming Zeroes and Ones
I'm typing this blog entry listening to Marilyn Manson's The High End of Low on Spotify. I never bothered to pick up the CD when it came out because I'd been underwhelmed by his previous one, plus it happened to come out at the same time as a load of other incredibly good music. But then this evening, I suddenly remembered it. I tapped a few keys, and within seconds I'm listening to it on Spotify. The whole album. Free. In the hour before, I'd been listening to the wonderful new album from The Mountain Goats. Also on Spotify, and also free. OK, so there are short ads every few tracks, but they're only about 10 seconds long and pretty unintrusive.
Is this the way the music industry is likely to go? Or is it just one more means of distribution? There are already murmurings that the Spotify business model leaves artists out of pocket, or that the free version might be unsustainable, but right now it's certainly something that works for me. I won't be abandoning CDs or paid MP3s from Amazon just yet, but Spotify's a pretty cool new way of checking stuff out that I'm curious about.
Naturally, this is a subject close to might heart right now. The Devil's Music will be available, free, in HD, across the UK only for online screenings starting on Friday, thanks to the amazing folks at http://www.indiemoviesonline.com. This is our first venture into these brave new distribution methods, and I'm ridiculously excited. IMO have been fantastic with the launch of the flick.. Hopefully by now you've seen the full page ad on the inside back cover of this month's Total Film, and there are more ads to follow in other publications. They've given the flick a great big marketing push and hopefully thousands upon thousands of people will see the movie over the coming weeks.
Is this the future of film distribution? Time will tell, but it sure looks promising. In the meantime, hope you all enjoy the film. Be sure to let us know.
Is this the way the music industry is likely to go? Or is it just one more means of distribution? There are already murmurings that the Spotify business model leaves artists out of pocket, or that the free version might be unsustainable, but right now it's certainly something that works for me. I won't be abandoning CDs or paid MP3s from Amazon just yet, but Spotify's a pretty cool new way of checking stuff out that I'm curious about.
Naturally, this is a subject close to might heart right now. The Devil's Music will be available, free, in HD, across the UK only for online screenings starting on Friday, thanks to the amazing folks at http://www.indiemoviesonline.com. This is our first venture into these brave new distribution methods, and I'm ridiculously excited. IMO have been fantastic with the launch of the flick.. Hopefully by now you've seen the full page ad on the inside back cover of this month's Total Film, and there are more ads to follow in other publications. They've given the flick a great big marketing push and hopefully thousands upon thousands of people will see the movie over the coming weeks.
Is this the future of film distribution? Time will tell, but it sure looks promising. In the meantime, hope you all enjoy the film. Be sure to let us know.
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Daily Mail & Howard the Duck
So, Jan Moir spouts a bunch of homophobic garbage and people final notice that the Daily Mail is a foul, grubby little paper which spreads hatred via innuendo. Everybody goes to the PCC to register their dissaproval, then suddenly notices that the PCC's chairman is actually Paul Dacre who (drumroll) is also the editor of the foul, grubby little paper in the first place. People really haven't been paying attention, but it's nice that they're finally joining the party.
I got to the party early. I was setting out dips and drinks before everyone else arrived. Because I got a crash-course in how the Daily Mail operates at the tender age of 12, when the wretched paper in question gave my parents the impression that I was interested in bestiality. Yes, it's the second rant about newspaper fact-checking this year, and with apologies to EE Cummings; here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called pure dark hatred of the Daily Mail.
I wasn't the coolest 12 year old going. I was vaguely awkward and vaguely weird, but I was just beginning to fashion myself an identity all of my very own. That identity, unsurprisingly, was based on movies. I loved 'em, and I realised early on that by going out on a limb and loving the movies that nobody else loved, by paying attention to those poor, confused, malformed little flicks that everyone else seemed determined to kick into the gutter I could stand out from the crowd at school. Whilst they sung the praises of whatever flick had just hit the local Odeon, I'd sing the praises on a straight-to-VHS Charles Band movie that I'd rented. And people would listen, and laugh, and I'd be the Movies Guy, which was a damn sight better than just being the guy who was always picked three-from-last for every sports team going.
One afternoon after school, I went to see Howard The Duck with my mate Dan Rice. HTD had been a horrible flop at the US box office, to the degree that it was retitled on these shores as Howard:A New Breed of Hero and the advertising campaign (rather brilliantly) went to absurd lengths to conceal that the hero was a duck. We saw the late afternoon showing at a fantastic cinema in Westcliff called the Classic (which was knocked down and turned into a fucking Halfords some years later) and there were only two other people watching the movie. Evidently, Howard was repeating the egg he'd laid Stateside. I loved the movie. It was horribly misjudged and hugely embarrassing, so I naturally told everyone who cared to lend an ear how wonderful I thought it was.
That Saturday morning, I awoke to hear my parents discussing something in hushed tones. When I entered the room they fell silent. Then, very cautiously, my Mum started to ask me about 'that duck film'. I sensed that something was horribly amiss, and my eyes fell onto the copy of the Daily Mail that lay on my Mum's bedside table. Apparently, a schoolteacher had taken a class of 6 year-olds to see Howard, and had marched them all out at 'bedroom scene'. She had then written to her favourite shitrag vocalising her disgust, and the Mail had responded by detailing various events from HTD with all traces of humour or context carefully removed. So my parents now thought that the film that I had been championing all week was, not to put too fine a point on it, a duck-fucking movie. No matter how much I protested that it 'wasn't like that', the mud stuck.
That time, as a 12-year old, I crumbled. I took back my support for the movie and felt an odd shame every time the title was mentioned. The Mail took something I'd loved and turned it into a source of embarrassment, something that made me feel awkward and sad. For years, I persuaded myself that Howard The Duck didn't exist; if it didn't exist, I had nothing to be embarrassed about.
Weird the way these experiences shape a man. The whole Howard The Duck incident taught me a lot of things. It taught me that context is all-important. It taught me that just because it's okay for Lea Thompson to want to fuck her son in Back To The Future, that apparently doesn't mean it's okay for her to want to fuck a duck in Howard The Duck (Seriously, what was her agent thinking? Fear of typecasting?). But most of all, it taught me that the Daily Mail has a special mirror of lies which can turn whatever it reflects into something foul and ugly.
There, i made it through the whole blog without mentioning the whole 'they supported the nazis' thing.
Dammit.
I got to the party early. I was setting out dips and drinks before everyone else arrived. Because I got a crash-course in how the Daily Mail operates at the tender age of 12, when the wretched paper in question gave my parents the impression that I was interested in bestiality. Yes, it's the second rant about newspaper fact-checking this year, and with apologies to EE Cummings; here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called pure dark hatred of the Daily Mail.
I wasn't the coolest 12 year old going. I was vaguely awkward and vaguely weird, but I was just beginning to fashion myself an identity all of my very own. That identity, unsurprisingly, was based on movies. I loved 'em, and I realised early on that by going out on a limb and loving the movies that nobody else loved, by paying attention to those poor, confused, malformed little flicks that everyone else seemed determined to kick into the gutter I could stand out from the crowd at school. Whilst they sung the praises of whatever flick had just hit the local Odeon, I'd sing the praises on a straight-to-VHS Charles Band movie that I'd rented. And people would listen, and laugh, and I'd be the Movies Guy, which was a damn sight better than just being the guy who was always picked three-from-last for every sports team going.
One afternoon after school, I went to see Howard The Duck with my mate Dan Rice. HTD had been a horrible flop at the US box office, to the degree that it was retitled on these shores as Howard:A New Breed of Hero and the advertising campaign (rather brilliantly) went to absurd lengths to conceal that the hero was a duck. We saw the late afternoon showing at a fantastic cinema in Westcliff called the Classic (which was knocked down and turned into a fucking Halfords some years later) and there were only two other people watching the movie. Evidently, Howard was repeating the egg he'd laid Stateside. I loved the movie. It was horribly misjudged and hugely embarrassing, so I naturally told everyone who cared to lend an ear how wonderful I thought it was.
That Saturday morning, I awoke to hear my parents discussing something in hushed tones. When I entered the room they fell silent. Then, very cautiously, my Mum started to ask me about 'that duck film'. I sensed that something was horribly amiss, and my eyes fell onto the copy of the Daily Mail that lay on my Mum's bedside table. Apparently, a schoolteacher had taken a class of 6 year-olds to see Howard, and had marched them all out at 'bedroom scene'. She had then written to her favourite shitrag vocalising her disgust, and the Mail had responded by detailing various events from HTD with all traces of humour or context carefully removed. So my parents now thought that the film that I had been championing all week was, not to put too fine a point on it, a duck-fucking movie. No matter how much I protested that it 'wasn't like that', the mud stuck.
That time, as a 12-year old, I crumbled. I took back my support for the movie and felt an odd shame every time the title was mentioned. The Mail took something I'd loved and turned it into a source of embarrassment, something that made me feel awkward and sad. For years, I persuaded myself that Howard The Duck didn't exist; if it didn't exist, I had nothing to be embarrassed about.
Weird the way these experiences shape a man. The whole Howard The Duck incident taught me a lot of things. It taught me that context is all-important. It taught me that just because it's okay for Lea Thompson to want to fuck her son in Back To The Future, that apparently doesn't mean it's okay for her to want to fuck a duck in Howard The Duck (Seriously, what was her agent thinking? Fear of typecasting?). But most of all, it taught me that the Daily Mail has a special mirror of lies which can turn whatever it reflects into something foul and ugly.
There, i made it through the whole blog without mentioning the whole 'they supported the nazis' thing.
Dammit.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Bad Journalism
Y'know sometimes how a story or a situation can just sit in the back of your mind all week? Well, it's been one of those weeks. In this case, the thing that's been pinging around my cranium for the last few days has been this article from the Guardian.
It's the worst piece of journalism I've seen in a while, and whilst two of those comics who have been misrepresented have been afforded a right-of-reply (Richard Herring's can be read here and Brendon Burns' can be read here) this is still too little too late in my book.
I've long been troubled by the idea of how the press can deliberately misrepresent a person, and to take an avowedly and outspokenly anti-racist such as Herring and use out of context quotes to portray him as the opposite is fundamentally depressing but nothing new.
Here's a fun game to play. Take a look around your house, and see what items could be misrepresented in some way by the tabloids were you ever to stand accused of a crime. Granted, my own house is full of a great deal of amassed paraphernalia from years of shooting straight-to-DVD splatter movies, so I have a head start. I've got an awful lot of bloodstained wedding dresses, gimp masks, surgical tools, cheerleader outfits and chainsaws sitting in my loft, which would pretty much mean that the tabloids would hang me without trial if they ever found the need to. But what about beyond that? Ok, let's have a rummage through a typical loft.
What do we have here?
"Films feature full-frontal footage of naked children, and real-life death and mutilation"
That'd be Superman: The Movie, Good Morning Vietnam and JFK..
"Publications featuring underage sexualised nudity"
That'd be back-issues of the tabloid newspapers themselves (!) from a few years ago before they raised the minimum age for Page 3 from 16 to 18.
"Audio recordings detailing mutilation, rape and murder"
That'd be the Eminem albums.
"Books detailing black magic rituals"
Harry Potter stand up and take a bow.
It sounds like I'm exaggerating for comic effect here, but I'm really not. The cumalative effect of listing a whole bunch of stuff completely out of context is a very powerful thing. If I'd never heard of Richard Herring prior to that article on Monday I would, frankly, have assumed that he was at best an idiot and at worst a fascist. The fact that he's actually one of the best stand-ups in the country and has strongly held and frequently articulated anti-racist views makes the article both incredibly irritating and also rather dangerous.
I still can't work out Brian Logan's motives, and in a way I'm past caring. If it was an article in the Daily Mail I'd be able to shrug it off easier (frankly, if you read that piece of shit and expect it to be anything other than incoherent lies then you deserve everything you get), but The Guardian turns up on my mat most mornings, and I'd credited them with a little more. Not a lot, just a little.
As Beck once so beautifully put it..
"Don't believe everything that you read,
You get.."
(Coughs.. Squints at lyrics sheet)
"..a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve"
It's the worst piece of journalism I've seen in a while, and whilst two of those comics who have been misrepresented have been afforded a right-of-reply (Richard Herring's can be read here and Brendon Burns' can be read here) this is still too little too late in my book.
I've long been troubled by the idea of how the press can deliberately misrepresent a person, and to take an avowedly and outspokenly anti-racist such as Herring and use out of context quotes to portray him as the opposite is fundamentally depressing but nothing new.
Here's a fun game to play. Take a look around your house, and see what items could be misrepresented in some way by the tabloids were you ever to stand accused of a crime. Granted, my own house is full of a great deal of amassed paraphernalia from years of shooting straight-to-DVD splatter movies, so I have a head start. I've got an awful lot of bloodstained wedding dresses, gimp masks, surgical tools, cheerleader outfits and chainsaws sitting in my loft, which would pretty much mean that the tabloids would hang me without trial if they ever found the need to. But what about beyond that? Ok, let's have a rummage through a typical loft.
What do we have here?
"Films feature full-frontal footage of naked children, and real-life death and mutilation"
That'd be Superman: The Movie, Good Morning Vietnam and JFK..
"Publications featuring underage sexualised nudity"
That'd be back-issues of the tabloid newspapers themselves (!) from a few years ago before they raised the minimum age for Page 3 from 16 to 18.
"Audio recordings detailing mutilation, rape and murder"
That'd be the Eminem albums.
"Books detailing black magic rituals"
Harry Potter stand up and take a bow.
It sounds like I'm exaggerating for comic effect here, but I'm really not. The cumalative effect of listing a whole bunch of stuff completely out of context is a very powerful thing. If I'd never heard of Richard Herring prior to that article on Monday I would, frankly, have assumed that he was at best an idiot and at worst a fascist. The fact that he's actually one of the best stand-ups in the country and has strongly held and frequently articulated anti-racist views makes the article both incredibly irritating and also rather dangerous.
I still can't work out Brian Logan's motives, and in a way I'm past caring. If it was an article in the Daily Mail I'd be able to shrug it off easier (frankly, if you read that piece of shit and expect it to be anything other than incoherent lies then you deserve everything you get), but The Guardian turns up on my mat most mornings, and I'd credited them with a little more. Not a lot, just a little.
As Beck once so beautifully put it..
"Don't believe everything that you read,
You get.."
(Coughs.. Squints at lyrics sheet)
"..a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve"
Friday, July 24, 2009
The Devil's Music Release
We're delighted to announce that The Devil's Music has signed with the excellent Lono Entertainment for US DVD release. Check out Lono's homepage at http://lonoentertainment.com/ and, while you're over there, order yourself a copy of James Eaves' fantastic movie Bane which Lono are also distributing.
We're hoping that the DVD will hit in time for Halloween, so I'd best stop typing this blog and get back to preparing our delivery list.
Hopefully we'll be making an announcement regarding a rather unconventional UK release in the next few weeks.
We're hoping that the DVD will hit in time for Halloween, so I'd best stop typing this blog and get back to preparing our delivery list.
Hopefully we'll be making an announcement regarding a rather unconventional UK release in the next few weeks.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Colin and the BDT rough assembly
It's been a pretty amazing few weeks for our buddy Marc Price, who headed out to Cannes to promote his fantastic £45 epic Colin and ended up everywhere from CNN to The Sun. He was also all over TV that weekend. It's a fantastic example of what can happen in this crazy world of tiny budgets and big ideas..
Back at Jinx, we had the pleasure of sitting and watching the rough assembly of Bordello Death Tales last week. It was a cool experience and a really unusual one; it's not often that a filmmaker gets to sit down and watch a movie that he's directed a third of, yet hasn't seen the rest. I love the flick to bits. It's got a real energy to it, and hopefully delivers more or less everything genre fans are looking for. I can't wait to see it with a festival audience.
Back at Jinx, we had the pleasure of sitting and watching the rough assembly of Bordello Death Tales last week. It was a cool experience and a really unusual one; it's not often that a filmmaker gets to sit down and watch a movie that he's directed a third of, yet hasn't seen the rest. I love the flick to bits. It's got a real energy to it, and hopefully delivers more or less everything genre fans are looking for. I can't wait to see it with a festival audience.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Hellbride Release Hits..
..and it's great. The DVD came through my door last week, and Midnight have done a terrific job on it. The movie has been remastered from the HD source and looks brighter and cleaner than any of the screeners. The extras are all good fun, including a commentary with myself and my esteemed DoP Al Ronald. It also hasn't been region locked, so it'll play in more or less any player that you put it into. This one's a must-buy, kids, so point your browser to;
THIS AMAZON LINK RIGHT HERE!!
..and pick up a copy now!
Elsewhere on the web, there's a new interview with me over at;
I LIKE HORROR MOVIES INTERVIEW
which is the first one I've done in a little while. Any other horror sites or blogs wanting to run interviews in support of Hellbride, get in touch and I'll be happy to help.
I've been trying to sort of the remastering of KillerKiller for a potential BluRay release.. It'll hopefully happen, but there just aren't enough hours in the day at the moment..
THIS AMAZON LINK RIGHT HERE!!
..and pick up a copy now!
Elsewhere on the web, there's a new interview with me over at;
I LIKE HORROR MOVIES INTERVIEW
which is the first one I've done in a little while. Any other horror sites or blogs wanting to run interviews in support of Hellbride, get in touch and I'll be happy to help.
I've been trying to sort of the remastering of KillerKiller for a potential BluRay release.. It'll hopefully happen, but there just aren't enough hours in the day at the moment..
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Release Strategies
As I've blogged about previously, the industry is in a state of flux and release strategies are changing all the time. New business models are cropping up all over the place; I humbly direct your attention through to Indie Movies Online who are offering free, streamed flicks (including Jake West's wonderfully splattery Evil Aliens) whenever you want them. Other folks have been grabbing the digital bull by the horns, and offering flicks in varied digital formats as well as burn-on-demand DVD.. (invest a few quid in Rob Pratten's MindFlesh or Al Ronald's Jesus vs the Messiah to check out cutting edge indie distribution).
Soooo.. Where does that leave us?
Well, Hellbride's going the traditional route to DVD but will also be avaailable for download within the US at least.. (URL to follow next update). We've been looking at the possibilities of initially launching The Devil's Music in a download format, but.. but..
To be honest, it's kind of scary. There's a comfort zone with DVD. It's an established format and we kind of know what to expect from it. The idea of taking the leap of a download/burn-on-demand release for a movie like TDM is slightly daunting; it's a great flick and we don't want to compromise the release in any way. We won't need to make a decision for another few months regardless; we want to give the Hellbride release room to breathe before unleashing TDM on a home format. But the decision will have to be made. And how long are tangible formats actually going to stick around for?
Soooo.. Where does that leave us?
Well, Hellbride's going the traditional route to DVD but will also be avaailable for download within the US at least.. (URL to follow next update). We've been looking at the possibilities of initially launching The Devil's Music in a download format, but.. but..
To be honest, it's kind of scary. There's a comfort zone with DVD. It's an established format and we kind of know what to expect from it. The idea of taking the leap of a download/burn-on-demand release for a movie like TDM is slightly daunting; it's a great flick and we don't want to compromise the release in any way. We won't need to make a decision for another few months regardless; we want to give the Hellbride release room to breathe before unleashing TDM on a home format. But the decision will have to be made. And how long are tangible formats actually going to stick around for?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Hellbride Artwork
As the release date for Hellbride draws closer (May 5th, or May 12th depending on where you read it. I have no inside information either way), I thought you might dig a look at the artwork..
Don't forget you can preorder over at Amazon by following this funky link right here.
Don't forget you can preorder over at Amazon by following this funky link right here.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
He shoots, he scores..
The 'he' in question being the mighty Phil Sheldon, who has worked on the scores of all my movies since KillerKiller. This evening, I sat down with Phil and listened to his work thus far on Vice Day, (which, for those who haven't been paying attention, is my chapter of the forthcoming Bordello Death Tales).
It's a weird, dark art; the ability to accentuate, compliment and bring to life the images onscreen with sound palettes and music. Many times, I've gone on about how much I like scores that are a little counter-intuitive (the aforementioned KK score being my favourite example; instead of going for doom-laden bass, Phil opted for sparse acoustic guitar and completely changed the feel of the movie in a way that I absolutely loved). For Vice Day, Phil's opted for stabs of accentuation and some recurring motifs for the two main characters, along with the occasional wig-out for when onscreen action demands it. Watching the segment through with his rough work was a joy.. It brought a couple of moments that had felt a bit flat vividly back to life, and has filled me with a fire to raise my game on the final edit to wring every ounce of tension, sexiness and horror out of the final segment that I possibly can.
Music and sound is so vital. It's an area that I've been guilty of neglecting at times during shoots, leaving sound crew to work with twitchy equipment and insufficient set-up times, or simply hoping for the best under impossible conditions, (the KK shoot, with wildly varying dialogue volumes from different directions in an impossibly echoey environment, must have left our long-suffering sound man Magic weeping into his cans). Tonight was a vivid reminder as to how the audio is every bit as vital as the onscreen images, and I'm determined never to let the area go neglected again.
Can't wait to hear Phil's final version, and I'm itching to get back to the edit suite with a renewed enthusiasm for the project as a whole.
A great evening, all told.
It's a weird, dark art; the ability to accentuate, compliment and bring to life the images onscreen with sound palettes and music. Many times, I've gone on about how much I like scores that are a little counter-intuitive (the aforementioned KK score being my favourite example; instead of going for doom-laden bass, Phil opted for sparse acoustic guitar and completely changed the feel of the movie in a way that I absolutely loved). For Vice Day, Phil's opted for stabs of accentuation and some recurring motifs for the two main characters, along with the occasional wig-out for when onscreen action demands it. Watching the segment through with his rough work was a joy.. It brought a couple of moments that had felt a bit flat vividly back to life, and has filled me with a fire to raise my game on the final edit to wring every ounce of tension, sexiness and horror out of the final segment that I possibly can.
Music and sound is so vital. It's an area that I've been guilty of neglecting at times during shoots, leaving sound crew to work with twitchy equipment and insufficient set-up times, or simply hoping for the best under impossible conditions, (the KK shoot, with wildly varying dialogue volumes from different directions in an impossibly echoey environment, must have left our long-suffering sound man Magic weeping into his cans). Tonight was a vivid reminder as to how the audio is every bit as vital as the onscreen images, and I'm determined never to let the area go neglected again.
Can't wait to hear Phil's final version, and I'm itching to get back to the edit suite with a renewed enthusiasm for the project as a whole.
A great evening, all told.
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