July 3rd 2005
Horrors of War Pre-Production Report
Now is the all consuming time of the feature film HORRORS OF WAR. These updates will be brief because of the amount of time the project is taking of me & a few dozen other people, all culminating into a fantastic debut from Ohio filmmakers. The train has begun it's unstoppable roll down the hill. Money has been spent, film is in the freezer, deal memos are signed, and The whole process has begun in earnest.
Last night I suffered through a food poisoning ordeal unlike any other I've had in my life. This little puke-fest may have also unleashed a far greater health problem in the form of kidney stones, a problem that recurs often in my family. If the pain is still with me tomorrow, I think I'll have to have surgery, right before the shoot. Wont' that be fun?
What can I say about storyboard artist Mike Bruinsma? Cast member David Carroll referred this guy to me and his storyboards have been spectacular. They are far greater than any I've ever had done, an he's showing an artistry & knack for the movie side of production art like only the highest professionals I've read about from Star Wars (like Doug Chiang, Syd Mead, Ralph McQuarrie, and all the other all time greats).
Many thanks go out to Mike, and to Dave for introducing us to each other. I want to see Mike Bruinsma get the recognition his work deserves after the movie is done.
This tank is one of the many great toys Phil Garrett and Ken Wilson have secured for our production. These kinds of things will add a great deal of production value, a commodity often missing in low budget filmmaking. This kind of atmospheric element will make our film look like a $1 million production, and it will just plain be fun to make Derek the first A.D. organize this for a shoot. I promised Derek at least 3 heart attacks during the 18 day shoot.
Someone emailed me and asked for an audition on Horrors of War. But that's not unusual. What is odd is that he said his buddy bought a BOOTLEG of our "Horrors of War" scene and trailer DVD at the FANGORIA horror convention in Burbank.....
Our move is already being bootlegged!
Locations (like the above “French Chateau”) are secured for filming. We are still in need of one final location, but it’s for the last day of shooting. One of the ideas for the film came from my first trip to Europe in 1997. While on the train going from Paris France to Hiedelberg Germany, I was in awe over how much the German countryside looked like Ohio. There were even modern suburbs that gave me flashbacks to my roots in Wadsworth Ohio. This helped spawn the concept of being able to do a World War II European setting shot in our own backyards.
Casting is mostly complete. We have a few one day roles to fill, but other than that, the main cast is set. Jon Osbeck will lead the cast along with some new faces like Joe Lorenzo from Shadowbox Cabaret, as well as many others. The casting schedule is pretty intense, but most people are adhering to local acting guru Richard Mason’s mantra “This is their shot. Movies like this just happen very often.” I wish I knew who gave Richard Mason a copy of the entire script, but
And this parting image of producer/co-writer Phil Garrett (aka pgarretL) holding one of the many obstacles from the location that will double as France. We have to make sure we do not kill too many cats when we shoot in Mechanicsburg.
These updates will sporadic at best. Directing an ambitious feature film on film with very little money means very little time for updates & messing around.
Peace out Acolytes of Boo. This is the beginning…
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