New CHTHONIC Trailer!

Watch the new trailer here

CHTHONIC Update

I decided to spend the Apocalypse doing what I love -- Working on my movie!

Here are some images from tonight's shoot on the new movie...

Maleina Malinskii and Walter Bosley in hypnosis scene

Costume continuity shot of Maleina

Maleina waiting for her next setup

CHTHONIC Comments

Just read through tomorrow's scene. Only three pages. Polished up the dialogue, cleaned out a little on-the-nose stuff. I know how I'll direct the actors, I have a general idea of the blocking, I'm comfortable with my influences on this one. This film is definitely in that production evolution where, between the original vision and how I'm executing what's turning up on screen, I'm finding myself in an unanticipated place...

Shooting Resumes On New Film

Tonight I picked up Raymond Howard, who plays Inspector Malone in CHTHONIC, and we shot his stuff in a spooky sequence. We waited until it was almost dark, capturing excellent footage in three areas of Redlands as the evening progressed. As usual, Ray was a natural. All that remains for this sequence are the shots of what's stalking his character. I'll post a still or two tomorrow.

I pick up the star, Maleina Malinskii and special consultant and Maleina's personal MUA, Ry Bouttavong, tomorrow and bring them here for a couple of days and nights. You should remember Ry from Greenspot Road, but if not, go back on this blog to 2010. We'll be shooting around town with Maleina solo and also doing her scene with Ray outside the cafe.

Maleina Malinskii, star of CHTHONIC

Ry Bouttavong

"Hell's Bells" Composer On Coast To Coast Tonight!

Joseph P Farrell, who composed and performed the music on my film's soundtrack is the guest tonight on Coast To Coast AM. Tune in now!

"Hell's Bells" Coming Soon On Amazon!

You will soon be able to watch Hell's Bells as a video download at Amazon in a few weeks. As soon as it's available, I'll make an announcement and provide the rental link here.

Onto The Next Thing

I guess it's time to start talking about the new film, Chthonic.

I took a week off from everything after the premier of Hell's Bells. A much needed time off as I was stressed beyond past experience. The premier went well. It was fun, people had a good time. Now I can get to the business of distributing the film while entering it in festivals. I'll be known as the silent movie guy for the next few months or so, while shooting the new film. As long as I'm known for something, I shouldn't bitch, right?

The script I'm re-working to better reflect what I want out of the available resources I have to make this film. The touches are presenting themselves. A lot will arise in the shooting because, unlike HB, I'll have more time to concentrate, more time to shoot the scenes. This film will develop in the doing even more so than HB. I'm looking forward to that. My actors are enthused. Several people who saw the trailer at the premier are really intrigued. I'm making this movie for me and then for them. Mostly for people who don't mind a film unwinding at its own pace. I'm lucky that I even get to make movies. The best thing is having all the creative control. Sure, I'm considering what I need to make it marketable, but that starts simply with 'good'. That's followed by 'true'.

Anyway, I'm going to enjoy making this movie. What I mean is, I'm going to let myself enjoy making this film. It'll be scary in the way that it is. There are more dimensions to horror films than just scaring people. Maybe I'm making a film that has horror in it, as opposed to making a horror film. I like that difference. Kind of like High Plains Drifter is a horror film. Yes it is.

Anyway, Lynch is an influence on me so I listen to a lot of Badalamenti during the process of conceptualizing the film.

It's late/early, I gotta get some sleep.

I'll be talking more about the new film now...

Photos From "Hell's Bells" Premier Night!

Eloisa Alaniz-Gomez

Jesse James Cowser and daughter

Michele McClelland, Josh Einertson, Suzi Shields

Justin and Jeremy Kruizenga

O'Donagh Haymes

Raymond Howard

Me

First Photo From "Hell's Bells" Premier!

Here I am with the cast on Sunday night!

Left to right:   Walter Bosley, O'Donagh Haymes, Ray Howard, Eloisa Alaniz-Gomez, Justin and Jeremy Kruizenga, Suzi Shields, Bobby Harkins Jr, Jesse Cowser, Michele McClelland, Joshua Einertson

Preview the DVD Case For "Hell's Bells"

Take a look...

"Hell's Bells" Premier & New Movie Trailer

The premier was a success and a lot of fun! We had a photographer there and I'll be receiving the photos on Wednesday, some of which I'll post here. People turned out, the film was well received and we had a fun gathering afterward. More to follow when I get the photos, but in the meantime enjoy the Chthonic trailer which I debuted last night...

CHTHONIC

Premier Day!

Well, I've had a busy weekend and it's still not over. Naturally, I can't sleep. Tonight is the theatrical screening of Hell's Bells. We reviewed the seating arrangement, added another poster to the lobby, and I returned home to prep the files for the projectionist. All the insomnia and occasional aggravations have certainly made this experience memorable. Depending upon how the evening is received, I'll have to think about doing this again. I'll probably sleep a lot after tonight! I hope so, anyway...

I'll be back here with a report on how it all went...

No Budget Cinema Theatrical Premier in 4 Days!

I know it's been a while since I posted, but I've been very busy. This Sunday is the premier event for Hell's Bells at the Fox Theater in Redlands, California, and we're all very excited! I've been polishing the film cut while shooting stuff and editing it for the Chthonic trailer that will be shown before the film. I've also been distributing promotional material for the event, as well as talking it up on podcasts and radio shows -- and I have designed a DVD case cover graphic, too. That's not all. I've also been preparing my commentary notes as I'm the emcee for the event. It's going to be a big night for us, to celebrate our accomplishment and as an introduction to our local community for future events. You'll get to see stills from Sunday night as we are shooting the event for inclusion of highlights in the 'making of' video.

Check out the latest lobby one sheet:

Cool Web Series

Check out this microbudget series by these talented guys!

Survival of the Dumbest

Hey all,

I have been quite busy this past week, between preparing for the premier of Hell's Bells later this month and shooting the trailer for the new film, Chthonic.

Chthonic: As time dwindled, and schedules were tweaked by unexpected administrivia, I decided to shoot only what I can use for a good trailer to debut at the HB premier event. I got some stuff done with our lead, Maleina, a couple of weeks ago. Since then, I created some title graphics and a few stills and such. I also fine tuned some scenes in the script. Some vital costuming and makeup issues were taken care of, as well. This week, I shot some imagery with one of our supporting actresses, Eloisa Alaniz-Gomez. It turned out better than expected, as a visual problem led to an unanticipated effect that I'm very pleased with. In the coming week, I'll be doing some more shooting for the trailer.

Eloisa Alaniz-Gomez in Chthonic

Hell's Bells: Only 15 days remain from this date until the premier event at the Fox Theater in Redlands! In the past couple of weeks I've printed several flyers and distributed them around town. I have been getting an enthusiastic response from people around town so hopefully that means a great turnout. We have already sold 100 tickets! The lobby poster at the theater has been drawing attention, too. I've also been fine tuning the film itself and it's about 95% where I want it. I'll also likely be submitting it to the first of a few festivals in the next couple of weeks, so wish me luck.

Maleina Malinskii

I'll be back here more regularly after the HB premier and throughout the Chthonic shoot. More to follow...

New Film Report

As announced, the next movie will be Chthonic, a sound horror film with a contemporary setting. We've already started shooting and will continue this coming week. This one is the result of five attempts to come up with a script I could shoot on my limited resources. Back in August I wrote a script which I loved but it was swiftly apparent to me to be too ambitious at the moment. I shelved it and decided to novelize the story for publication through my label, LCL. Then I wrote another entire screenplay within the following two weeks -- a very Hammeresque story which I also really liked -- and again decided it, too, was beyond my present means both materially and logistically. So there I was with two freshly completed screenplays in a period of four weeks but still no script I could shoot, as pleased as I was with my prolific month as a writer. Over the next few weeks, I developed two additional treatments, during which it was obvious I was trying to bring out a particular story. Ultimately, what became Chthonic has direct elements from the second script and the treatments. The story I crafted is finally something I can do, though not without a couple of relative challenges which I look forward to.

I don't want to say too much regarding plot specifics until a trailer has been released. I plan to release a short trailer at the Hell's Bells premier event, so we're focusing on certain scenes in the next couple of weeks of shooting. Haunting is the main theme; personal haunting. The two main characters are haunted by their pasts, each in different ways.

It also happens that ghosts and such are the easiest scary things to pull off on a microbudget. Fortunately also, the concept of the super-store helps in that department. When I was a kid there was no such thing as a year-round Halloween shop where all sorts of great costume, make-up and set dressings can be purchased by the enterprising filmmaker. Chthonic is not a gory movie (I don't do that) so if you like spooky atmospheric style, it's a movie you'll really want to see. I must say that some of the things I did visually with Hell's Bells will likely find their way into Chthonic, where visual style is concerned. The new film will be in black and white, for starters. There will be more scenes requiring set up visuals as I'm working on a Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur-meet-Herk Harvey vibe, at the moment. As always, one cannot exactly predict what will come from the filmmaking process, so I can't tell you what to expect beyond these style allusions. What I like about the process is what is created as I shoot and I've just started, so all I can honestly say is that it's going to be an attempt at a stylish horror movie about ghosts.

Well, there's my insomniac's report on Chthonic for today. I'll bet you're glad to read about anything but the Hell's Bells premier event!.

Update On Final Progress of Movie Post Production

You guys have been seeing so many posts here promoting Hell's Bells, I thought I'd share some actual comments about how post production is going.

I finished getting all the necessary elements included into the visual story. Taking a month off from doing anything -- not even looking at it! -- did wonders for me and the film. Where I'm at presently is cutting and pacing, specifically I'm doing the fun stuff. Because this is a silent film set in the late 1920s, I'm adding some touches typical of the experience of films of that decade. Remember, this film is homage rather than pastiche. I'm taking the liberty of using authentic touches where I see fit. The fun touches will actually serve to bring the film in around 50 minutes, which is ideal for the premier audience. Once I get the pacing the way I want it, then I'll be doing things like playing with the contrast and adding scratches and diffusion.

Tonight I'm burning the latest cut onto DVD with the actual Joseph Farrell scores because I want to watch it as I would any other movie. I haven't seen anything but the first rough cut of 67 minutes on anything other than a computer monitor and in sections, so I look forward to a straight through viewing.

I'm looking at the premier as a test screening. There are several people attending who will give me their honest comments, as well as attendees who I'll lean an ear toward after the show. From this I can tweak whatever I need to before committing to a final cut for distribution. I am anxious to get the film submitted to the Lovecraft festival in Portland, though, but I don't want to rush that either. Above all else, I want the film to be entertaining and people who have seen even the lengthy 67 minute cut without any touches but the B&W say it is. I'll be viewing it with three members of the cast this coming week -- the three who haven't seen it yet -- so it'll be interesting to see their reactions.

Well, I gotta back to the editing station. I wanted to post something other than a promo tonight. More to follow...

"Hell's Bells" Premier Approaches!

Got Your Tickets Yet?

 

Tickets to the premier are cheaper online!

Get Yours Now!

The New Movie!

Here it is, folks -- the title of my next movie!

I begin shooting this film on Thursday. It's a 90-minute sound horror feature in B&W...

Filmmaker To Watch For

A couple of months ago I was invited to the premier of an indie film written and directed by a microbudget director you should keep an eye on. Shawn Kelley of Ruby Red Films hosted a fairly crowded gathering at his unveiling of Kill Your Television, his latest horror offering. Here's the deal: Shawn likes a genre I generally do not -- the stalk-and-slash variety. Seriously, I don't like this sub-genre of horror, generally. But Shawn's films show such an enjoyable talent with suspense and terror that they are an exception to my rule. Personally, I'd like to see more of what Shawn could do with my favorite category (supernatural horror), but I like what he does already so I recommend you check out Kill Your Television and then his previous film, Black Rose.

In Kill Your Television, a young woman finds herself alone after her boyfriend cancels their date to hang out and watch horror films. Her night grows progressively worse as more than one unwanted guest appears and her night of horror fun becomes far too real and not at all fun.

Check it out:

Kill Your Television

Hell's Bells Premier Event

Don't forget to get your tickets for the premier of Hell's Bells at the Fox in Redlands!

Hell's Bells Premier Event

Pre-Production Day!

This morning I pick up my female lead to determine hairstyle, go over costuming points and discuss the script. I have an acting coach employed on this film: Shaun Brower. At around dawn I woke up and reviewed a portion of an influence film, listening to a director's commentary. Now I'm having some tea, waking up to full speed, and will be heading off to get Maleina.

Maleina Malinskii

 This film started with one title which changed during the writing, but now I'm considering going back to the original. It's not a common word, but it is appropriate and also appropriately intriguing. Since this is a film I will produce more self-indulgently than the last, it's not going to be for the multi-plex ADD crowd. I think you likely know how I feel about that. This one has some very personal themes, though what some will assume is obvious will be off. Once the writing is done, the real fun part begins, and I don't just refer to the shooting. I'm talking about the subtext that bubbles to the surface. This is often kick-started for me by other films; little moments or shots from scenes of influential films that aren't just things I'll copy but more catalysts for my deeper understanding of what is actually going on. Homage as spark plug.

Drawing by Edith Head

So, today will be for dealing with symbolism and archetypal stimulants.

I can't wait to get started...

The Next No Budget Cinema Production Begins Soon!

That's right, I'll be going into production on the next film very soon.

It has been quite a chore getting the next movie off the ground. Not the actual production, which hasn't started yet, but just deciding which damned script to shoot! I wrote two complete screenplays in August, started three others in September, and am finally on the one that will be produced. I have a tentative title, I have the two leads cast, and I know essentially where it will be filmed. Once I finish the script, I cast the remaining roles and then we go into production. It will be a 90 minute feature which I will shoot entirely before my silent film "Hell's Bells" premiers. Those who attend the premier will be the first to see the trailer for this new film -- a horror movie with sound. I'm still deciding if it will be color or B&W.

I will reveal the lead, though:

Maleina Malinskii

 

H.P.Lovecraft Film Festival Report 2012

This past weekend was our second time at the San Pedro gathering of Lovecraft enthusiasts. Once again we stayed at the affordable and convenient Vagabond Inn, just a short walk from the Warner Grand Theater on Pacific. This theater, you will recall from my report last on the LCL blog, is a classic movie palace with amazing inlaid wood work in the ceiling. I highly recommend you take in an event or film there some time.

Me

The gang included my son, filmmaker Austin Bosley of Bury Shelly fame; my nephew, actor Bobby Harkins Jr, who appears in my films; his dad, Bob, who is a major patron of No Budget Cinema events; and Shawn Kelley, director of Kill Your Television and other films. There was much great discussion and raunchy humor, some beer and sodas, plenty of carbs. But we were there for the Lovecraftian entertainment.

Shawn Kelley

Bob, Bobby Jr, and Austin

The first night was a decent intro, featuring the three Cthulhu episodes of South Park, a feature film version of The Thing On The Doorstep submitted to the festival for competition, and (my favorite part of Friday night's offerings) a live vintage radio show performance of The Statement of Randolph Carter, complete with sound effects a la Foley. The South Park stuff I had seen, of course, but it's always fun. The Doorstep film wasn't my favorite. Wasn't crazy about it, lost my interest quick. But we still had Saturday to look forward to and journeyed back to the hotel for hanging out, beer and soda and snacks and making fun of Bobby Harkins Jr (as usual).

We stayed up late that night, slept in Saturday morning, grabbed sandwiches for lunch then lounged around the room until it was time to head to the theater. First up was a Lovecraftian Real Ghostbusters episode, most of which I spent perusing the bazaar. But I must admit the 'Hatecraft' episode of Scooby Doo (which I've always detested) was pretty funny and fit the theme of the event. Some stuff turned me off for a variety of reasons: annoying overuse of filters or ACTORS not simply acting but ACTING, and my favorite bugaboo: gore or anything similar to people getting sick. Thus did I walk out on more films than I expected to. That's just me, though.

Macabre Fantasy Radio Theater

There were about 17 submitted shorts, five of them I really enjoyed. My favorites were Bedtime For Timmy, George Jones and the Giant Squid (which won the judges' award), Doctor Glamour (which was fun and offered some unexpected hilarity), The Captured Bird and The Shunned House which was quite effectively creepy and made me want to see more of it. These films, except for Captured Bird, had direct Lovecraft thematic elements, Bird simply being rather a cool teaser for a bigger film more than a pure Lovecraft short.

Image from the colorful Doctor Glamour

What I think is really cool is that the film which won the audience favorite award is The Music of Jo Hyeja by Korean filmmaker Jihyun Park -- who was on her first ever trip to the USA to attend this festival! That has to be very exciting for her that she won. Her film is a very spooky version of Lovecraft's The Music Of Erich Zann. All this was followed by a rare screening of The Evil Clergyman starring Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, which was a nice treat.

Clearly amused at something

We all bought some cool tee shirts, chatted with the folks involved with the Portland home version of the festival, and enjoyed a couple of days and nights of nerd heaven for a second year in a row. After Saturday night's screenings, we had ice cream at the after-party and then made our journey back through hundreds of big nasty roaches that infest Gaffey Street after dark -- quite fitting of a Lovecraft weekend, actually.


I will be submitting Hell's Bells to the Portland Lovecraft festival very soon, so stay tuned. I'll announce here whether it is selected for screening. All in all, it was another fun year at an amazing event that filmmaker Aaron Vanek works his butt off to make happen. I highly recommend all Lovecraft fans attend next year. We already can't wait!

Movie In Development In Canada

I don't only make no budget films, I also write, produce and develop other projects on higher budget levels. Check out this project being developed right now in Nova Scotia, adapted from a story I wrote with my sometime writing pal Mike Williamson:

Damnation

 

Film Festival Weekend!

I will be away from the computer for the next three days, attending the H.P.Lovecraft Film Festival in San Pedro, California. This is the second year my posse and I are attending and we are quite enthused! Three days of hanging out with other nerds, two evenings of amazing indie films -- all inspired by the weirdness of Lovecraft. A delightful way to kick off the Halloween season!

Look for photos of our weekend at my Lost Continent Library blog and have a great weekend!

New Video Blog!

Check out my new video blog here and see outtakes and the trailer for "Hell's Bells"...

No Budget Cinema Video Blog

Hell's Bells Premier Event Tickets On Sale Now!

Hell's Bells Premier Event Page

Boy, Have I Been Busy!

I have been busy for six days straight editing the film. I have done two full cuts, with third versions of two large scenes already. The film is really coming along. Hopefully I'll be posting an official trailer soon!

Hell's Bells Editing

I'll be in San Diego for a few days and will hopefully emerge Friday with the first cut of the film!

Post Production Update: Hell's Bells

What an aggravating week!

Because my laptop is a few years old, I had to get a new OS and start from scratch. That went easier than I expected and I downloaded my editing program. But after editing three scenes, it all crashed! And the scenes I thought I'd saved? Gone.

I was pissed off. But there is still time to get a cut done before the cast screening party so I returned my focus to remaining B roll shots. Two easy shots are a bar sign and a close-up of one supporting character. Another shot is of an oasis. Oases exist within an hour's drive from the Lost Amazon No Budget studios, but most are on tribal property (That's where guerrilla filmmaking really comes into play). I also need a shot of a vintage airplane, but discovered the one I've been wanting and searching for is actually based in Oregon -- and is the only working model in the world. Going to Oregon is not in the budget, so I emailed the owners about obtaining some stock footage. No answer. That's the downside to no budget filmmaking, some people don't take you seriously (until they see your work...and that's usually when I win them over). However, the plane isn't so necessary so if I don't find a substitute aircraft, I'll just cut the shot. What is mandatory is the train shot. I plan to get that this coming week while in San Diego cutting the film.

Because of the computer issues, I'll be cutting the film in San Diego at my friend's home facility, if we can't get my system working. I'll have just enough time to cut the film and get a DVD burned for the cast screening next Friday. It'll be a first rough cut, but everyone will get a chance to see the basic vision in 'Vintage Vision' black and white, with title cards and credits, and the original music scored by Joseph Farrell.

Anyway, it was a tough week with false starts and disappointments, but that's all part of the No Budget Cinema experience!

More to follow, especially on how soon the first official trailer will be released...

Post Production Update

I'm finishing title cards. A tedious but big task for a silent movie. Still, I'm creating them faster than I expected it would take. Next week, I'll get the B roll shot and start editing...

"Hell's Bells" Wraps!

Night Wrap! One More Day To Go!

Here are some stills from tonight...

"Hell's Bells" Shoot Tonight!

I'll be dressing the set later today for tonight's activity. There has been some stormy weather in surrounding areas, but it seems to have passed us by and we have clear skies. I have a few things to pick up today and then a shot list to create. Tonight should yield some of the best moments of the film!

More to follow, including some stills...

"Hell's Bells" Night Shoot

This Wednesday night we will shoot in the studio facility outdoor set -- and a very important couple of scenes! I'll have all five of my lead actors on hand for the most terrifying moments of the film. These will be the most complicated scenes of the entire movie but the payoff will be most enjoyable. I'm looking forward to getting Suzi and Michelle in full makeup and doing a few other things I have planned. For the next two days, I'll be building props and pulling together elements for effects and such.

I'm very excited to be at this stage of production on this film. It's really going to come together once I'm editing and I can't wait to release an official trailer. The teasers have been just that, experimental glimpses at what we've been doing. But once I have all the movie footage to draw from, and now that I have the music for the film secured, I'll be able to produce the proper trailer.

So, I will let you know when we've completed principal photography and I'll also post updates and stuff during the coming month, as I complete B roll and process the film through the post production phase.

Also, look for announcements relating to the next film -- a full length feature!

"Hell's Bells" Wraps Location Scenes!

Just watched today's footage -- and it looks great! We have officially finished location shooting with today's Yucca Valley scenes. Today's cast was Joshua Einertson, Suzi Shields and Michele McClelland. I had them all out there in the desert environs of Giant Rock in their costumes and makeup and we had a blast. What we shot today finishes a scene with Jesse, whose shots were done a few months ago in the same location. We also shot the opening scene of the movie with Josh. Everything went well, the ladies were perfect, and we didn't see any snakes! On the way home, there were frozen knock-off slurpee drinks for all!

The remainder of principal photography will be local settings (what I call the 'back lot') and my home exterior stage.In the meantime, enjoy the latest lobby card stills...