COLIN coming to U.S. Theaters

COLIN the British Zombie movie phenomenon that cost only $75 to make is coming to U.S. theaters this October

www.colinmovie.com

Listen to This Is Some Scene’s Interview with Marc Price here.

The surprise hit of the Cannes Film Festival, “COLIN”, a British zombie movie, which cost just $75 to make, will be released in US theaters this Fall. “Colin” is a new take on the traditional zombie film genre, telling the tale through the eyes of the zombie, played by 29-year-old Alastair Kirton.

Indie distributor Walking Shadows has just signed a deal to distribute the movie and is planning a theatrical release in major US cities, along with DVD and VOD around Halloween 2010.

Filmmaker Marc Price made headlines around the world when his DIY movie gained critical acclaim for being a fresh voice in a well-worn genre and was hailed as “redefining no-budget film- making” – Price taught himself many of the roles needed to make the film as he couldn’t afford to pay a crew, and got his friends to help out.

“Colin” was first snapped up for release in cinemas in the UK and Japan, with all deals brokered by Helen Grace of Left Film Sales. Price is thrilled that US audiences will now get to see his movie, after news of the film was featured on US television networks including CNN, ABC, and CBS.

Made for around $75 in cash – spent mostly on tea and cookies for the zombies – Price relied on friends and Facebook to cast his legion of undead extras. It took over 18 months and buckets of determination for Price to make the movie on a 10-year-old camcorder that broke during the shoot. Props were mainly household items and locations around his rented London home.

Price borrowed what he needed from friends and carried out most of the crew roles himself, while he held down a nightshift job as a taxi booker.

The movie follows Colin, played by Alastair Kirton – a new zombie, who’s finding his way in an apocalyptic London suburbia. Approaching the genre from a zombie’s perspective gave the story an interesting way to explore themes of humanity in a changing world.

“Colin” has won several festival awards, and has launched Marc Price’s film- maker career. He’s already preparing for his next movie “Thunderchild”, which although to be made on a slightly bigger budget will still embrace his DIY ethos.
Price hopes ‘”Colin” will encourage others to pick up a camera and make a movie and not be put off by not having a budget, as Price says:

“If our film does anything, hopefully it will make some 14-yearold who wishes to make a movie, say ‘Oh, it’s entirely possible, because my mobile phone has a better resolution than this guy’s camcorder.’ I am really excited by the idea of people watching my cheap little film and thinking ‘If this guy can do it, then so can I’”

Listen to This Is Some Scene’s Interview with Marc Price here.

High-Kick Girl! Highly Recommended

Recommended to me by Netflix since I liked “The Machine Girl,” High-Kick Girl is a fun and believable martial arts film. The trailer brags ‘no wires’, ‘no stuntmen’ ‘real kicking’ and it looks like the claims are 100% true. For martial arts purists, this film certainly delivers on every kick and punch. This is a bare bones, Japanese martial arts film and I found it refreshing to watch.

Kei (Rina Takeda) joins a karate dojo and quickly proves herself to be the most skilled fighter amongst all her male peers. However, her sensei Matsumura still refuses to give her the coveted black belt until she learns all the kata (forms). Too impatient to wait any longer, she hunts black belts which leads her to hastily join a fighting group called the Destroyers. The Destroyers don’t care about anything but fighting and earning money, and this suits Kei just fine. But when she finds out their true purpose — to destroy Matsumura — she decides she must do whatever it takes to put a stop to them.

The plot is simple. The locations are few. But the action is killer and isn’t that why we watch these movies? Well, that and watching cute Asian girls in school uniforms kick ass.

High-Kick Girl! Trailer

Kill Scenes: Horror Hosting!

If you are a horror filmmaker or a horror fan you NEED to get a KILL SCENES membership.. Membership is free. Think of it as if facebook & youtube spawned a demon child – that would be KILL SCENES. Their mascot KILLROY, a slashed, screaming smiley face conveys the fun aspect of the dark subject matter. This site is for hardcore horror aficionados. But it is more than just watching the best Kill Scenes in one location, Kill Scenes is a complete social networking site. You can blog, discuss in the forum, post videos, photos and events and even play horror themed games.

But what makes this site even better is its relentless dedication to independent horror filmmakers. The creators developed this site to be a hub for indie horror filmmakers to have one central location online where the fans can find them and they can find their audience.

No more being lost in a sea of content confusion with apathetic members in facebook, myspace and youtube. Kill Scenes gives the fans and the filmmakers the content they seek. It has been predicted among internet gurus that the future of social media is niche based and Kill Scenes has shown us the future.

Forget about having a facebook or myspace page. Stop that pointless tweeting and sign up with Kill Scenes where they actually care about the future of independent horror films.

To make it even more fun, the creators will have contests for members whether it is a film contest for anyone who wants to make a kill scene over the weekend or just a simple forum contest where the simple task of leaving a content places you in the drawing. With the support of the fans and filmmakers, Kill Scenes is sure to make Hollywood stand up and take notice. So go now and sign up and in the future you’ll be able to say, “I was there when it all began.”

You can sign up at KILL SCENES by clicking here.

The Crazies Review

I found that the original ‘The Crazies’ (1973) by George A. Romero frightened me much more than the recent remake. That’s not to say that I think the new ‘The Crazies’ directed by Breck Eisner was terrible but it did lack the balls to point a finger directly at the antagonist – the United States government.

The Crazies is about the inhabitants of a small Iowa town, called Ogden Marsh, suddenly plagued by insanity and then death after a mysterious toxin contaminates their water supply. One man, his wife, a nurse, and the sheriff try to survive this plague, but the military is killing everyone on sight. They’re going to have to fight their way out, or die by either the plague or the military.

George A. Romero – you might remember him from those zombie movies – has been known for having political overtones in his films, The Crazies (1973) was no different. The original film frightened me because of the way the military / government was portrayed in that film.

In this new film, the crimes are committed but the film glosses over them, never  making a statement. The film seems too afraid to cross that line. Perhaps the audience doesn’t want that. But the audience should be challenged. Maybe in Obama’s USA, people want to have hope in the government so the producers thought a anti-government message would not play to audiences. Back in the Bush era they might have been more daring. Remember, when Romero made the original America was dealing with Vietnam, Kent State and a wicked distrust for the government. Although people have felt that for 8 years under George Bush, I think they are trying really hard to gain that trust back – and playing down the government in the remake hurts this film.

But what does that leave us with? A government who has an accident and kills everyone, even those not contaminated – including women and children and then blow up entire town – but look over here everyone – a crazy person! Whew, glad we didn’t spend too much time on that other nasty stuff. Horror should have balls and not pussy out when it comes to pointing a finger.

I think since The Crazies dealt with the big-bad government with kid gloves in a time people might not want to see them attacked led to the film feeling slightly tame. A film without a strong antagonist is a weak film.

Oh – and one more thing – this is NOT a zombie movie. I am reading reviews where the crazies are being called Zombies – they aren’t zombies. Just because this was a Romero movie doesn’t mean they are zombies. Unfortunately, the make-up guys did go a bit on the zombie side for the make up which I think was a mistake.

All that said, the performances were well done and I cared about the characters involved. You could do a lot worse if you want to go and see a movie this weekend – I’m looking in your direction Cop Out!

If you haven’t seen the original, give it a chance. It may surprise you – it has a lot more going on and it is set in Pennsylvania. Maybe that’s why I have a soft spot for it

21 Powerful Rewrite Strategies – March 1st

Monday night, March 1st at 9PM EST / 6PM Hollywood time, James will give feeback on ScreenwritingU’s “21 Powerful Rewrite Strategies” teleseminar. What did he learn from the seminar and was it worth it? What was the most valuable lessons learned from the seminar and can help you on your screenwriting journey. All these questions will be answered so tune in.

Here is some of what will be covered in this teleseminar:

- The #1 Key to Rewriting Success. Change this one thing and
rewriting gets so much easier.
- Three ways to turn ordinary characters into extremely compelling
story people.
- The most important question you must ask to turn dull scenes into
dramatic and valuable scenes.
- What to do when you’re confused over a scene or character.
- The key ingredient that will turn a simple conflict into an
unforgettable one.
- The #1 Reason writers won’t cut bad scenes. Don’t be guilty of this.
- And 16 other Advanced Strategies for rewriting.

Geoffrey Fletcher on Some Scene

Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 9PM EST / 6PM PST, James welcomes Geoffrey Fletcher to This Is Some Scene. Mr. Fletcher’s screenplay for the 2009 film “Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire” has been nominated for an Oscar at this year’s 82nd Academy Awards.

Listen to the show here.

Nick Hornby on Some Scene

Monday, February 15th, 2010 at 9PM EST / 6PM PST, James welcomes Nick Hornby to This Is Some Scene. Best known for his wickedly funny novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, Nick Hornby’s screenplay for the 2009 film “An Education” has been nominated for an Oscar at this year’s 82nd Academy Awards.

Listen to the show here.

Natural Storytelling

Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact. — Robert McKee

Tune in Monday night, February 8th at 9PM EST / 6PM Hollywood time to This Is Some Scene. The topic that James will discuss is “Being a natural storyteller.” James welcomes callers and guests in the chat room to talk about this topic. Also book recommendations and tips on how to improve your natural abilities at storytelling.

GROUNDBREAKING FEATURE DOCUMENTARY “THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS” IN SESSION AT SXSW FILM FESTIVAL

DENVER, CO. February 4, 2010—–THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS has been selected for the prestigious Spotlight Premiere section at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin, Texas, which runs from March 12th to 21st 2010.

“The team is ecstatic to be screening at SXSW for the film’s world premiere,” says Director Alexandre O. Philippe, “it’s the ideal platform for our launch, as the festival brings together indie films, music and interactive in a unique way that very much reflects the participatory nature of our doc.”

THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS explores the titanic struggle between a Godlike filmmaker and his legions of fans over the most popular franchise in movie history. “At its core, PvsG is the examination of a high-profile, dysfunctional love story”, says Philippe. “George created this humongous and intricate sandbox for us to play in; but is he the sole owner of it, or does it now belong to the ages? And what happens to your role as a creator when your audience claims it owns your art? We basically looked at the conflicted dynamic between George and his fans from a cultural perspective, and asked ourselves those questions.”

Listen to This Is Some Scene’s Interviews
with the creators of The People Vs. George Lucas:

Interview 1, Mar 2008 – Click here to listen.

Interview 2, Jan 2009 – Click here to listen.

The documentary features key testimonies from the likes of Gary Kurtz (Producer of AMERICAN GRAFFITI, STAR WARS and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK), Neil Gaiman (THE SANDMAN, AMERICAN GODS), Dave Prowse (aka Darth Vader), Anthony Waye (Executive Producer of the BOND franchise), and Dale Pollock (George Lucas’s Biographer, Author of SKYWALKING).

THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS inventively combines these exclusive interviews with fan footage from around the globe, and impassioned testimonies from George’s staunchest fans and foes. “Making this film was a huge investigative challenge, considering how many people were afraid to talk to us. George is a very powerful man. But we stuck to our guns and dug deep to deliver a completely uncensored, no-holds-barred factual account, and, ultimately, what we hope will be recognized as a loving tribute,” says DoP Robert Muratore.

“The obstacles we faced made us really think about the rapidly changing filmmaking landscape, and so we used digital technology to facilitate an open call for contributions – allowing us to make a fully participatory documentary”, says Producer Anna Higgs, known for cross-platform work in the UK and Europe. “In many ways, it’s a tribute to the YouTube generation, which Lucas’s advances in technology helped create,” points out Producer Kerry Roy; “fundamentally, it’s about how new media interacts with old media, as well as ownership and copyright in the digital age; and it was our intent from day one to give the fans a prevailing voice in the doc.”

The crew worked relentlessly for two and a half years to produce the most accurate, thorough, and impartial deconstruction of an entire generation’s love-hate for the man (admittedly) responsible for their childhood’s mythos; and they acknowledge that this project wouldn’t have been possible without the extraordinary support and encouragement from the fans and contributing filmmakers. “63,686 frequent flier miles, 634 hours of footage, 14TB of drive space, 126 interviews, 719 fan submissions, thousands of fan emails, and only three death threats. The positives outweigh the negatives, I suppose,” jests Producer Vanessa Philippe.

“We were driven by our own admiration for George, profound love of his films, obsession for their significance in popular culture, and opinions about their legacy as cultural milestones,” says Alexandre Philippe.

SXSW 2010 will take place in Austin, Texas, from March 12th – 21st, 2010.

To view the official trailer and for more information about the film, please visit the official website:
http://www.peoplevsgeorge.com

PvsG on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-People-vs-George-Lucas/

PvsG on MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/peoplevsgeorge

Follow PvsG on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/PvGDoc

Daywalt Horror: Suicide Girl

Drew Daywalt, the writer/director of the upcoming Camera Obscura and co-founder of the Fewdio horror troupe, has recently posted his latest short film SUICIDE GIRL

Watch Suicide Girl Here

The film tells the tale of what happens when a young woman’s suicide video acts as a catalyst for horror from beyond the grave…

Watch the video and leave comments on your thoughts of Drew’s latest short scare.

Also, listen to This Is Some Scene’s interview with Drew Daywalt here.

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