This past Tuesday, I taught an abridged version of my edit class for several hours to inner-city kids. During the lunch break, one of the students commented on the HORRORS OF WAR Poster on the wall, asking if I knew anything about the movie. I said, "Sure", and then proceeded to play the trailer. Even the 3 girls were blown away. When it became clear in the class, via the Webdocs with me in them, that I was one of the makers of the film, they seemed to take on a different attitude. I was given a compliment of the highest order; they said the movie was going to be "Off the Hook". I think I can safely say there are at least 7-8 new copies for rent from that class. Now if only the movie would get released in North America. Maybe this November. Maybe not. Who knows?
We just got another award for HORRORS OF WAR. In August, we'll receive the "B-Movie top emerging B Filmmaking talent" by a B-movie convention. I'm also going to be on a panel with Lloyd Kaufman & Jim Wynorski. I can't wait, so I'll be attending this one. I'm there to represent the "unknown" filmmaker. I still can't watch the movie again, as I have seen it far too many times.
Progress on the feature length documentary has continued in due course. I'm setting a kind of deadline for late September. I doubt this will get any kind of public release, but this is what we are going to give to cast & crew as a free thank you for working on the movie. Timing this out to coincide with a DVD release would be great, but there are no guarantees with a "tentative" release date.
One last HORRORS OF WAR update, on the German Amazon.com (Amazon.de) the reviews are sharply in contrast of those who love it and those that hate it. That seems to really sum up people's feelings about the film. They either love it or hate it. I think that really is the secret of all movies. Some people love your movie, some people hate it. Get used to it kids. That's normal and that's life. There are some movies I hate that other people love. Go figure. Only amateurs & hobbyists don't understand that.
I have been dealing with technical issues on Eternal for the Derek. I have been capturing, then re-capturing the footage trying to tweak everything just right to edit in HD with the AspectHD codec. It seems to work much smoother with the JVC HD110 than the Sony line of HDV. The solution was to use a cheaper Sony HDV Handicam so that the capturing goes smoother, and Jesus Marimba that works so much better. After this weekend, we'll be all caught up on everything that's been shot so far, plus we'll be finishing off the rest of what they are shooting this weekend. Once it's all digitized, I am making 2 backups on the 2 portable 500 Gig drives Derek bought. Redundancy can never be bad. Always protect the data, and protect it often. I'm down to 1 intern helping on this project and I need at least 2-3 more. Assistant Editors have become the lifeblood of my editorial process. I like the team aspect, especially when it's not my own project, although I will probably institute this process into my own movies from here on out. Collaboration seems to increase the quality in the edit.
All of my feature work is on hold for a little bit. I want to develop the screenplays more fully and be 100% sure they are ready to roll. I value the script above all else these days. I want to choose my material very carefully and make the best possible movie based on what will be the blueprint.
Lately, I've been listening to my old CD's. The Black Crowes had so much more passion in their style than I remember. I had a bunch of CD's, but only listened to a few tracks. Now I'm devouring the entire catalog. Chris and Rich Robinson conveyed a depth and soul rarely heard in popular music, especially from ones as young as they were.
As for the world of Rossdonia the controversy is abound. "V" was convicted of turning over the names of the kitties that spilled the water dish on Brandy's computer. I commuted his sentence and this caused uproar in Rossdonia. I know he broke the law, but he's my friend, so I let him off the hook. The scorn & ridicule he and his family have been through was enough. I know that Paris Hilton spent a few weeks in jail, but this is different. I know this guy, so I'm letting him off. Besides, it's old news. Let's move on because I have better things to do than answer for my own questionable actions.
