And now for a scene that's eerily remniscient of my first wedding night

March 26th, 2006
And now a scene eerily reminiscent of my first wedding night…



So Acolytes of Boo, when your faithful narrator last wrote here, we had just made an all new cut of the film Horrors of War. A presentation was made to our executive producer, who was neither impressed nor moved by this new cut in the slightest. It was not better according to him, so we will not have the opportunity to present the new cut, contrary to my previous post, IS being referred to as the “Director’s Cut” with approval of co-director John Whitney (so would it be more proper to say “Directors’ Cut”?).

I wrote a mini-version of the infamous Orsen Welles letter to Universal for TOUCH OF EVIL to our Executive Producer, detailing in the various ways why I feel this cut is superior. It was rejected, but that’s okay. It’s business and I understand his perspective. It would be incredible awkward to send or re-send a new cut of the film to prospective buyers that already have a cut. To be honest, the foreign markets really don’t care about character or story, they do just want guns, explosions, and monsters. It’s the domestic North American & other English speaking territories that I think this will hurt us to not present this new Director’s Cut.

Just so everyone knows all is not lost, I think we’re within a few short weeks from announcing our North American DVD release. What people need to realize is that there isn’t instant money, it takes time for delivery & contracts to finalize, and even then checks aren’t immediately cut to us. Patience peeps. As much as Brandy rags me, I have had the patience of a saint because this is zooming into my 3-year anniversary of brining Horrors of War to life. You can’t be a feature filmmaker with ADD, kids. It won’t and can’t work. Unless you’re already established, no one will stick with your project longer than you. Never.

Now, without rancor or malice, I intend to get the Director’s Cut seen as much as possible. My main option left is to start doing public screenings, also called “four walling”. This is where we rent a theatre and screen it our damn selves. I’ve already started with booking in Columbus (last night), Cincinnati, and Youngstown to cover our home state.



This past Friday, seven from the cast & crew from Horrors of War went to Cincinnati to tape a show called “VIEWFINDER”. This is a 30 minute show on PBS there and they focus on “tri-state filmmakers”. I was on the show with Bret  & Linda in 2004 for the 48 Hour Film Project and Always Late. The host Alphonzo kicks ass. He should be national because he’s relaxed, enthused, and charismatic.

I road down with Greg Sabo, and we all had a great time doing the show. What I love best is that it was well represented by everyone. John & I did our bit first, then Phil & Greg showing another side of production, then Jason, Joe, and Jason represented the acting side. It showed that our movie was not “a film by” with the usual director(s) taking all the credit. We demonstrated a unity and group mentality, which is my core faith in filmmaking as a collaborative process.



We were treated with great respect and applauded for the accomplishment that is Horrors of War. These people all seemed to grasp how hard it was to make the movie we made. The mountains we had to climb and the realities that what we did was recognized these people in the media.

Of course that’s in Cincinnati, not Columbus… I seem to have a lot less problems getting national & international press than I do local press. I sent out DVD press kits along with printed press kits to all the local media, especially the arts papers. We made a movie where virtually everyone in the central Ohio film scene participated to make it a higher quality film, and we used exclusively Ohio talent, and yet it’s not really worthy of print.



Now, the main paper, the Columbus Dispatch gave us a solid mention (no pictures, but I won’t complain), the “Other Paper” also gave us a small mention. The Columbus Alive, the entertainment/arts paper completely snubbed us. Nada, nothing. Of the TV news, Johnny DiLoretto gave us an amazing mention on the news. After snubbing Spike Lee’s INSIDE MAN, he recommended people see our movie instead. Now THAT was freakin’ classy and sweet. I am a little disappointed we didn’t get more press support, but I think we did very well with getting public awareness going. It’s nothing to feel bad about.

Last night was the first ever public screening of HORRORS OF WAR. I had no idea what to expect. I knew we’d have at least 100 people, thus doubling the money for the theatre rental, but beyond that, there is no guarantees. I knew we’d have some support from cast & crew, but they had their free screening. There’s no accurate way to predict attendance. It’s been my experience that at least 50-60% of the people who tell you they will attend never do. Robert Towne once wrote something in a script that I’ve found to be a universal truth – “People are unreliable, but at least that makes them predictable”. ((A free Best of Sonnyboo DVD to first person name this film))



We sold out last night. Much to my surprise, there was a line out the door, we had to start 15 minutes late because people were still buying tickets. At 7:20 the box office declared the film sold out and starting turning people away. The theatre was packed, even more so than Look At My Shorts or the cast & crew screening. ((FYI, as a former theatre manager “sold out” means when you get within 10% of the maximum, its declared sold out.)) It was a 400+ seat theatre.



It was elating to have a good crowd. Screening the “Director’s Cut” to a paying audience had a satisfaction in that it played much better to an audience. It is a grimmer story with more drama than the apparently more comedic original cut. My proudest moment? During the scene with Sgt. Gary (Dan Kiely) and Claire (Megan Pillar), you could hear a pin drop. No one twitched, no one moved, no one whispered. It was a meaningful, deep moment and I had the audience. No special effects, no gun, no monsters, no explosions, not even music to sell the scene. Just actors, and all natural light, and I was able to have an audience feel exactly what I set out to do.



We’re doing screenings of Horrors of War in Cincinnati and Youngstown. Even after last night, I am skeptical about attendance since I am not as known around the film communities in those areas, but I can rely on that fueling my marketing pushes to try to get similar attendance. The aforementioned episode of VIEWFINDER will help us immensely in raising awareness in Cincinnati.

I have decided to push my next feature. I was originally going to shoot in JUNE, but I’ve decided to dedicate myself to proper & full promotional efforts for HORRORS OF WAR. To me, the biggest mistake in the independent film world is thinking that finishing the film is the end. It’s not. It’s not even the halfway mark. This is a marathon, and we’re just getting started. I feel a moral obligation to the investors, the cast & crew, and myself to take Horrors of War all the way. Beyond a DVD deal, I need to see this movie sell some copies too.

I don’t just want to cash a check, and go “Whew! SUCKERS! Moving on…” and it’s surprisingly tempting to be lulled into that. I’m sick of this movie. I’ve worked on it for nearly 3 years. I want to move on desperately, but I gave my word. I said I would see it through and I will. I made a promise and I intend to deliver. I’m not like a lot of yahoos who make a million promises and deliver on 1 out of 7 & then expect credit for it. Never make a promise you can’t keep.



I have a dark comedy with only one location and a limited cast as my next project. I think I’m doing things a little backwards. I was supposed to do that first, then try the ambitious period war film with locations, tanks, extras and explosions…

That’s all I got in my now. I’m off to see a showcase with the lovely Brandy as she acts. I know it’s acting because she’s wearing a dress. She doesn’t own one, so I know it’s “acting” and a “character”….I love this chick.

Later Dayz Acoloytes,
Piotr Johann Rosputin

Oh, and watch this is raw B-Roll footage shot by Zac Sabo whilst shooting in Logan Ohio on Horrors of War


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DRINK IT UP! www.Sonnyboo.com

Love is Stronger Than Justice

March 10th, 2006
Love is Stronger than Justice



Yet another film festival/screening for the local film community has come & gone. This time, the size was enormous. Even bigger than last time, we had a 4 hour program & much to my dismay, we turned down several movies. A “Look at My Shorts III part 2” is already planning for April. My hope to have this be the last one I was involved with has turned into another commitment to administrate one more. Seems I can’t cut my ties as easily as I’d hoped from the short film world.

There were several standout movies. Of particular note was C. Alec Rossel’s THE BAG, and Louie Cowan’s A COLD BLOOD, written and starring Dan Kiely. There was all kinds of brouhaha over being 4 hours and the play order. I don’t care, I’m so sick of everyone’s ego I could vomit. When we first ran over, I gave up my single 2 minute short without hesitation. I make movies for the sole reason of seeing them with a bunch of strangers in a dark room. Losing that opportunity took no time for me to decide. Not everyone is willing to do that.

Soon we’ll have announcements about the next one, and how we can show some of the films that didn’t make it or have been made since. I hope I have even less to do with this one.



Last weekend Brandy & I went to Cleveland for Johnny K. Wu’s premiere of a music video for Sweden’s Bimbo Boy. Brandy was in the music video, along with several Horrors of War alums (like Christine & Chandler Chapman, and Joe Shaw, etc.). Before hand, we ate at C&Y, a Chinese Restaurant Johnny introduced us to after Indieclub one week. I love that place.  I spent the evening in a gay bar where I was not hit upon and that was strangely disappointing.

Johnny Wu is the coolest. There are no two ways about it. He and I have a lot in common. Spending a day up at Casa De Wu not too long ago trying to work out a technical issue with an unforgiving quicktime file, I witnessed just how similar his place and lifestyle is to my own. The way filmmakers congregate to our place and work with out equipment, the support structure, and even the drama in the film communities. Johnny has far more tolerance and more generosity than I do. I wish I were more like Johnny K. Wu. Especially in his ability to kick ass, both literally and figuratively.



I don’t know why. I have no real answer. I got a whim, and I did it, okay? I wasn’t even bored. I just got a weird urge & I followed it.

I re-edited Horrors of War.



I’m burnt out on the topic, I’m sick of talking about it, thinking about it, marketing it, and what do I do instead of watch Jon Stewart host the Oscars? I re-edited the thing I’m most sick of. Granted, it didn’t take long, approximately 5 minutes.

I had some weird thought in the back of my mind that said that a re-structuring of the entire timeline of the film into a linear story, as opposed to the “final” edit being a non-linear story. After the cast & crew screening I had this nagging feeling that we lost people with the jumping around.

So I originally was going to just re-structure where the original scene (the one that was never intended to be in the film & where Osbeck & Micah play different characters entirely), goes in the film. I told Phil my idea & he said, why not go all the way & try going back to the original scripted version? I said sure, and proceeded to do it within minutes. There is one exception to this. I left scene 30 in the post opening credits section. There was too much entailed in moving that scene with score, sound mix, and even picture edit cross dissolves that can’t be “undone” at this stage. Everything else was a simple cut & cross dissolve of sound & it was perfect.


This is NOT a “director’s cut” because I edited it alone on a whim without my co-director. It’s what I’m calling the “linear edit”. What I did was go back to the way the script went. We start off with a flashback of D-Day, into scenes 2 & 3, then the opening credits (exactly as intended), then we go out into scene 30, but it then goes into scene 4-29, and 31 to the end. There were intentional character arcs and storylines that got muddled when we went non-linear, telling the story in a flashback here, showing the end first. No matter how many dates & places and “six months earlier” title cards we used, it was NOT making sense. Now it does, and much to my surprise the film is much stronger now.

We went non-linear story after the horrid aftermath of screening the rough cut to our executive producer (see prior Blog entry). Scenes 2-3 were very weak at that point (I take my full responsibility as a director). After pickup shooting, and re-editing the scenes enhanced, we never tried to re-insert the scenes as they were intended. Tony, our executive producer also insisted we use the original scene, which was hard to justify. That scene is still in the new cut, but it takes place later, and makes more sense as a “tease” to a potential sequel (although I have no interest in seeing or making or even allowing a sequel to be made).


To be honest, the more I’ve scene the original scene in the film, the more disappointed I am in the lackluster sound mix on that one scene. It’s too thin. We had managed to make it seem bigger in my own sound mix (although borrowed elements from other films, so it was NOT an option to use that mix properly in the final film). I really feel like it seems smaller & thinner than even the number of guys we had. There was a theory that “if you can’t see it, you shouldn’t hear it” which is ludicrous. Sound makes the picture bigger, not just what you see. Now I’ve added music & some minor sound FX enhancements.

Horrors of War is the BANE OF MY EXISTENCE. It’s not a bane because I don’t like it, it’s a pain in the ass because I’ve spent two solid years (almost 3 total) with this and I’d like to be free of it, but I can’t until it’s out there, until a formal release. I dig the movie. I like it a lot, including the flaws and all. I especially like it better now. This new cut, which has been looked at by Greg Sabo, Jon Osbeck, John Whitney, and Phil Garrett, is vastly superior. I’m hoping we can convince our executive producer to accept it as the new & final (for now) cut of the film.



Here’s a secret just for the acolytes of Boo… I think we’re going to have a sneak preview or two of the finished film soon. I’m hoping to convince my cohorts to do this so we can gauge an audience reaction, and give people a chance to see it on the big screen (again), but the public, outside of just cast & crew.



We recorded the Horrors of War commentary tracks this week too. It went from 6:00PM to 4:30AM. I got only one pass, but then again I had my notes & did my homework. Whether we get multiple commentaries or not, my vote is to have one track with intermixed commentary so that it always stays interesting and lively. Each of our tracks by themselves aren’t all that exciting, but taking a “best of” pass will make a really great track, at least in my not so humble opinion.

We were asked why we went into the studio and recorded our own track (and similarly why I’m tackling all the behind the scenes docs myself), well I’m trying to create value for our DVD sale. If we have pre-made, professional grade extras and a studio quality commentary track ready, that’s less work (and thus expense) a distributor can charge us for on the back end. They could & would pay for it, but then we’d pay for that 3X over in the payouts. Since I have access to a studio and a nice professional recording facility, why not use it now?

That’s all I’ve got now. I still don’t feel a 100% and I feel much older than what I am right now. It’s a horrid feeling that I’m hoping to shed as I prepare my next feature that I intend to shoot this summer.


The stars are aligning and I have something special in mind. My first solo feature film effort. This will be interesting. More on that as it develops. Stay tuned my faithful listeners.

Adios Muchachos!
Senor Pedro Juan Rosalez
You amigo on the web

Oh, and watch this not public yet video of the visual FX work from Horrors of War


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DRINK IT UP! www.Sonnyboo.com