Linkapalooza - July 25, 2008... the onslaught of comic book movies is coming.

Some light Friday reading for all of you... just some more links, news and information that I thought you'd all be interested in.

Comics-Based Movies Keep on Comin' on Wired.com: This is a pretty cool article from Wired that looks ahead at all the movies coming out soon that are based on comic books. I can't decide if this is troublesome or good news, here's why... A few years ago, Marvel Entertainment was just licensing out their characters for use by the studios and taking a licensing fee. Then, it dawned on Marvel, why don't we make our own films? We own the characters, why take a small cut, when we can take the whole thing and control the whole deal? So, they took out a massive loan ($525Million, if I remember) and set out to make "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk" on their own, both of which were considered huge successes. Now, they've got a huge slate in development and they're off to the races as an indie studio. What they figured out is that things like built in audiences, existing characters and the idea of a franchise is where the money is. There's opportunities to expand beyond just a film and into, well, everything... now, all the comic book companies want in on the action and the studios are chomping at the bit to get involved. Here's why I think it's both troublesome and good news at the same time. It's good because the studios are starting to think and look outside the box for new ideas on new projects, it's bad because with all the recent success, they'll be playing in this sandbox for a while. Having said that, I think it's a matter of time before they start looking under them at all the indie shit being made and start grabbing ideas from that pool... until then, think like the comic book companies do and create characters and franchises. When the time finally rolls around where the studios look down for new ideas, you'll be ready.

Horror-Movie Directors To Make Short Films For Xbox on imdb.com: From out of the box thinking on getting ideas for films, let's look at out of the box ideas on distributing films. As you know, new forms of distribution is one of those things I follow closely... We knew that Microsoft and Sony wanted their respected gaming consoles to be the hubs of your living room by connecting to the internet and being able to stream films, but... guess what? They're looking for short form content now, as well. Side note: I really think short form will be the future of film. I mean, there will always be room for massive films like "Dark Knight", but there's going to be a whole new market for short form soon. Anyhow, a bunch of big name horror directors signed on to make short horror films for Xbox Live. If it's successful, maybe they'll be looking at short horror films from lesser known directors?

ZeeVee Introduces ZvBox PC-To-TV System on twice.com: My voice is hoarse from talking about all the new devices that will connect your PC to your TV. Here's another... this one looks to be doomed, though, as it suffers from the same things that's ailed all it's predecesor's, basically high cost and limited content. However, they way I read it, they're not looking to partner with a distributor. They just want to be able to connect the PC to the TV and let you decide what you watch. So, it must have an interface that allows you to browse your PC through your TV. Hmmm... interesting. I like that, putting the power into the hands of the consumer. Like I've been saying for a while, definitely a category to keep watching.

New Magid Survey: Short-Form Dominates Online Video Consumption and Hurts TV Viewership on videonuze.com: This just in, people are watching short form content online and it's hurting TV viewership. Is that really a surprise? Probably not... note this quote from the article, "short-form (is) a legitimate alternative entertainment format that creatives are embracing and audiences are adopting". Enough said... now, let's all go make some short horror films.

Dead and Gone signing at Dark Delicacies Saturday August 9th

Yossi Sasson and members of the cast and crew listed below will be signing copies of their new film, "Dead and Gone". Be sure to stop down to Dark Delicacies and buy yourselves a pair (of the movie and book, that is)! And be sure to check back right here at Dead Harvey for Sasson's upcoming mp3 interview.

Saturday, August 9^th – 2 pm – Dead and Gone
Harry Shannon (writer), composer Harry Manfredini, Kathryn Bates (Frankie), Yossi Sasson (Director), Gillian Shure (Kate), Dan Crawley (makeup fx) and other guests to be announced.signing the new horror film, Dead and Gone (DVD $26.98). Harry will also be signing the novel, Dead and Gone (TPB $16.95).

All items can be order through our website at http://www.darkdel.com/ under signing/events. This is a secure shopping cart.

Dark Delicacies
4213 W. Burbank Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91505
818-556-6660 / 888-darkdel
darkdel@darkdel.com
http://www.darkdel.com/
Tues - Fri 10 am to 7 pm
Sat/Sun 11 am to 6 pm
Closed Monday

Linkapalooza - May 20, 2008

Some interesting stuff going on out there in Hollywood these days...

Leading Man at Forbes.com - Okay, if there was a spectrum and at one far end, there was Dead Harvey, who's navigating, promoting and working the no-budget, indie horror scene... the other far end would be this guy, Peter Chernin. Some people consider him to be the most powerful man in Hollywood, basically because as President of News Corp, "he runs the most-watched TV network, the largest movie studio (based on year-to-date box office sales), a clutch of cable channels and an expanding array of Internet sites." All the guys who you and I would bend over a couch to get a meeting with would do the same (and probably more) to get a meeting with Chernin... and I mean that figuratively, I think. Anyhow, it's a great article on how he and Disney's Iger basically stopped the writers strike, how he's not going to let an actor's strike happen and where he thinks this whole industry is going. Very interesting...

Indies paving a self-distribution trail on YouMakeMedia.com - When I first saw the title of this, I thought it was going to be about self-distributing DVD's and content online, however... it's about how some indie filmmakers are securing theatrical releases all on their own. There's some great ideas in there...

Netflix to Sell a Device for Instantly Watching Movies on TV Sets on NewYorkTimes.com - Well, the future is here! Netflix is now selling a digital box for $99 that will connect the internet to your TV. It's not like it hasn't been tried before (AppleTV), but they're doing it at the right price. They will house the content on a server somewhere and you can watch whatever you want, on demand. I think we all agree, a box that connects the internet to your TV, tranlating content so it's easy to navigate is where we're going to go. I don't think there's any questions there. It's just about figuring out who owns those boxes and Netflix is taking a stab at it. The problem, once again, will be with the studios, who will be reluctant to give up their titles. Maybe, after they've squeezed all the juice out of them that they can, they might pass them on. However, if you take the studio's problems out if it, this should open up doors for indie filmmakers. Just think, can you see a day where Netflix (or whoever owns the boxes) has an option for you to upload content, design a page, then it's instantly offered to every household that has the box and you split revenues with them? I can...

'Dawn of the Dead' goes 3-D on TheHollywoodReporter.com - Is this for real? Is there really a big enough audience to justify "dimensionalizing" George A. Romero's 1978 original version of "Dawn of the Dead" to stereoscopic 3-D for a theatrical release? Considering that it costs a minimum of $50K per minute to do and that the film is 126 minutes long, someone's going to spend $6.3Million to create this? The original film had a budget of under $1Million! Someone's insane for thinking this makes economical sense... but, I'll go see it.

Linkapalooza - May 13, 2008

Sorry, again, for being a bit late on the post...

First off... "Midnight Meat Train". I know a bit about it, I'm excited for it, but I have to admit, I'm a bit pissed off at what's going on here. I know that it's based on the 1984 Clive Barker short story of the same name from his 'Books of Blood', I know that it's been in production hell for years now and has had various directors attached... and, finally, I know that the upcoming version was written by Jeff Buhler (with help from Clive) and directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. ...but, what's the f'ing deal here? First I heard that it wasn't going to get a theatrical release. Then, the Midnight Meat Train website says it's coming out May 16th (I'm assuming it's not) and, finally, imdb says it's coming out in August 1st, which is a Friday... which would mean that it IS getting a theatrical release. Then, there's the whole thing about the title, it was originally "Midnight Meat Train", then just "Midnight Train", now it's back to "Midnight Meat Train". The trailer looks great and it should be a good movie, so... just f'ing release it, we know it's finished. This is what pisses me off... horror's the only genre that doesn't fit with the studio's corporate plans. Comedies, dramas and action moves can all be cut down to a PG-13 without comprimising the film and, therefore, appeal to that wider audience. Horror can't do that... and especially horror like "Midnight Meat Train". So, the reality is, all these title changes and moving dates around have nothing to do with the quality of the film, in fact it's probably a good, gory horror and the studios simply don't know what to do with it.

One of our readers left a comment about internet financing, basically about how there are some sites that help filmmakers raise money. He left a couple of links in there, one to CinemaTech and another to a Yahoo! article. So, first off, to answer your questions, yes to both... I'm going to do a bit of research and come up with a bigger post on using the internet to raise money for your film and we definitely take requests. I've actually been thinking about doing a post on this ever since I talked with Christine Parker, who's one of the people behind The Adrenalin Group, the guys who brought you "Forever Dead" and the upcoming, "Fistful of Brains". They make their movies on the cheap and used a lot of their own money, but they did raise a fair amount of money by using ebay. Do an ebay search and you can usually find someone selling off producer credits or something. Any service that makes it easier for you to raise money is good. However, there will always be a caveat with each service. So, I will be writing up a bigger post on this because I do think it's worth looking into...

A lot of indie filmmakers overlook the process of marketing their film and there are some absolute bare minimum efforts that should be made, such as a website, Myspace page, a trailer on Youtube, stuff like that... Hollywood puts millions upon million into their marketing and, while you may have a marketing budget of zero, there's still some things you can do. Check this out... Indie Horror Film Viral Marketing Campaign Freaks out Okies - remember the old adage, any press is good press? Well, that's definitely true in film. The cop called it a publicity stunt gone bad, but, I'll tell you what... a lot of people in that town now know about the film AND I'll bet the premiere went well. This is good work, as far as I'm concerned. The other thing I came across was just kinda cool. To promote the exclusive thrillers and horror films on 13th Street, the bathrooms of a nightclub in Hamburg were specially prepared. Just after entering the room, the light suddenly goes out and the room is bathed in black light. And now a bloody crime scene becomes visible on the floor and walls: "See what others don't see. 13TH STREET. The Action and Suspense Channel." Check out the picture below...

Linkapalooza - May 6, 2008

And now... on it's new day, LINKAPALOOZA!

I Can Smell Your Brains Cinema presents Street Trash - I love what the guys over at I Can Smell Your Brains are doing... having a classic, low-budget horror film screen every other week or so and inviting the filmmaker, actors or writers in to discuss it. This time around, they're screening the 80's classic, "Street Trash" and actor Bill Chepil will be there for a Q & A and sign autographs. If you're anywhere close to Chandler, AZ, you should go check it out...

Blu-ray Disc Hardware Not Picking Up Steam - this article is about how Blu-ray isn't selling like they predicted... and I'd like to point out that I just deleted a huge, long post on my opinions on this because I thought it was too long winded and I didn't want to bore anyone with my ramblings. So, instead, I'll summarize my points. If you really care about the history and my rationale, feel free to email me. So, here we go... Blu-ray (at least how it's marketed now) is about increased quality and, with technology going where it's going, we're not into quality. We're into quantity... and choice. Blu-ray discs have ten times the space on them, so what I think they should be doing is putting ten times the content on there. Further, why replace a medium that has nothing wrong with it? When's the last time anyone complained about DVD's because the quality sucks? Lastly, if you are going to change something, get rid of the disc all together, we want it on demand and/or digitally... and I want more options. I want to scroll through an endless library of films, pick what I want and have it play instantly. I don't give a flying F if it's in 1080p. 720p will do just fine... thank you.

The complete eejit's guide to Filmmaking - I'm not sure how useful this is for our readers, but if you're just starting out, it's worth a look-see. I'm not sure how I came across it, but it's goes through some basics, such as "how to get your movie online" and "creating dramatic structure for screenplays". It goes through fundamentals... and I think there's more Hollywood studio execs who should go through this than low-budget indie filmmakers, but hey... that's just my opinion.

AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits - They have a pretty cool concept going that I KNOW a lot of you would be interested in. Basically, they take indie horror shorts that are just collecting dust, put them together and sell them as a compilation... and split the profits with you. A blurb from their website - "AAAAAH!! Indie Horror Hits was created by filmmakers for horror fans and filmmakers alike. We've made short horror films and we want discerning audiences to enjoy them long after their all-too-brief film festival runs. Let's face it. Most short horror films don't have much - if any - life beyond a handful of genre festivals in a few scattered cities. For horror fans and filmmakers, that's really scary. We aim to resurrect the best of the best of these horror films and unleash them in compilations for viewers everywhere to enjoy over and over..."