Writer, Filmmaker, and Creator of Stranger Things Studios. Making short flicks and putting them on YouTube. This is who I am, and what I've been up to...
Have you ever wondered what
kind of time commitment goes into making a movie? Or where most of the
man hours go? How much time is actually spent filming? What
kind of behind-the-scene tasks do people never think about?
I use to record how much
time I dumped into each movie I made. The STS Debut Film, for example,
took me 6-8 hours over the course of two days to make. As productions got
more involved I stopped keeping track of the time. I found it was more
self-indulgent than useful.
If
you're reading this, I'm almost amazed.That means that, 1) you kept Stranger Things Studios on your Facebook news feed,
2) you saw this post on a holiday weekend, and 3) you actually took the time to
click on the link.So, wow!And thank you.
Some dude finds a lost plasma rifle just laying
around. If only there was something to shoot at…
Director’s Notes
There’s not much to say about “Ninja Range.” It was filmed spur of the moment one day after Charlie and I finished location scouting out in Somerset, Wisconsin. I already had the rifle in the back of my blazer to show off, as well as the camera. We found the closest park to us. It took us no longer than 30 minutes to film.
After a grueling October I am now sitting on the raw footage
for three brand new movies! That means
the rest of the year can be spent indoors, in the comfort of my home, sculpting
away at the footage while it gets progressively colder and darker outside
without me.
Last year I made a biannual list of upcoming movies that I
wanted to see. Yeah… the second half of
that biannual thing didn’t happen. This
year, let’s just do an annual list
and call it good. Here are my top ten movies of 2012, for least to most anticipated.
I don’t remember exactly how this all came about. Awhile back I was contacted by a man named Michael
Fassbender and asked if I was interested in being a part of a paid film studio
internship.
I don’t know what put my name on the radar; maybe my
technical theater and creative writing on my Macalester College transcript; or
the manuscript I had submitted to various publishers over the last two years;
or hell, even this blog and my YouTube channel.
Regardless, my name, portfolio, and passion for film and story creation
caught their attention.
I just finished the script to my third movie! It's called Ashes of Man. Now the fun begins: picking out a cast and
crew.
Ashes of Man is intended to be Stranger Things Studios’ third movie.
However, it is quite an undertaking. I’m
estimating it at 8-12 minutes when all is said and done. It’ll be shot in roughly 11 outdoors
locations, 4 indoor locations, plus dozens of setting shots throughout the
cities.
Keeping in the spirit of Conan: The Barbarian’s recent theatrical release, I thought it only fitting that I devote a blog entry to it.There is a great deal about the iconic warrior that most people don’t know.For one, Conan first appeared in 1932, a full decade before J.R.R. Tolkien even began writing the Lord of the Rings.Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Conan was the birth of the fantasy genre.
Given that people know very little of Conan prior to the 1980s films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, I’m assuming that means people know even less about his creator, Robert E. Howard.
I was told once a very intriguing story regarding the troubled soul of Robert E. Howard.Rumor has it that he was not inspired to write Conan stories; but rather commanded to do so by the apparition of the barbarian, which would periodically come to visit him.With his hooded eyes edged in wrath, and his sword dripping in blood, Conan would threaten Howard with his life if he did not sit down and pen the barbarian’s tale.And so, night after night, the apparition would oversee Howard’s work; while in a cold sweat Howard would write as vigorously as possible for fear that he would not live to see the light of day again should he slow down.
True or not, it is an excellent story.
But that, it is rumored, is how the legend of the great Conan of Cimmeria was written.
Once a year I visit IMDb’s website and sift through all the upcoming movies for their synopses and trailers.I find a lot of films that go under the radar that I think I’d rather enjoy. Unfortunately, the listings always peter out after 6 months out.This is the first time I’ve actually looked at the list twice in one year.In hindsight, I should probably do this three times a year.
Anyways, for the second half of 2011 here are the top 12 movies I want to see, and the trailers for top 4.
12. Immortals - November 11
Theseus is a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain a weapon that can destroy humanity.
11. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - December 16
Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law take on their fiercest adversary, Professor Moriarty.
10. The Three Musketeers - October 14
Starring Logan Lerman, Matthew Macfadyen, Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans and Milla Jovovich.
8. Crazy, Stupid, Love - July 29
A married guy (Steve Carell) tries to balance handling a crisis with his wife (Julianne Moore), attending couples therapy, and maintaining his relationship with his kids.Also starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.
9. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - June 29
During the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the USA, Shia LaBeouf and Optimus Prime go up against Shockwave.
8. Crazy, Stupid, Love - July 29
A married guy (Steve Carell) tries to balance handling a crisis with his wife (Julianne Moore), attending couples therapy, and maintaining his relationship with his kids.Also starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.
7. Cowboys and Aliens - July 29
In Silver City, Arizona, Apache Indians and Western settlers must lay their differences aside when an alien spaceship crash lands in their city.Stars Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford.
6. Terri - July 1
A comedy centered on the relationship between oversized teen misfit Terri (Jacob Wysocki) and his well-meaning vice principal (John C. Reilly).
5. 30 Minutes or Less - August 12
Two fledgling criminals (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson) kidnap pizza delivery guy Nick (Jesse Eisenberg), strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank.
As the perfect Grand Opening, let me tell you about May 4th.For those of you who are not nerds, May 4th is unofficial Star Wars Day, for the sole reason that on that day you can look at your hairy Wookie friend and say, “May the 4th be with you.”
Now, it occurred to me that even though I own the trilogy (yes, trilogy; there are only three of them) I cannot remember the last time I watched them.I know February 2010 I willing jumped into a frozen lake because it sounded like a good idea, and then spent the rest of the day half-conscious on my couch watching the 1977 Star Wars.Before that, I “watched” the whole trilogy in 2007, but I was using it as background noise while I worked on a college art project.But the last time I truly sat down and watched the whole trilogy?It’s been at least five years.
Well, we fixed that.Unfortunately, May the 4th landed on a Wednesday.Boo.
But, May the 14th, was seemed like a good runner-up, landed on a Saturday. Yay!
So we rearranged my living room to make room for more people.Then we made Star Wars cookies, Wookie cookies, blue milk, the whole works.I even hunted down some Colt 45 because Billy Dee Williams was the spokesman for it back in the 80s.Ah, Colt 45.Works every time…
To introduce each movie I prepped a 10-15 minute video reel of the original trailers, 80s commercials, and fan-made Star Wars videos. It was epic.
But wait! It gets better - Spring Con was the following weekend.Now, I had never been to a comic book convention before.The place was packed with all types of booths - mostly comic book artists displaying their work; selling their prints and books; and enthusiastically sharing their passion with you.However, there were also display tables with all sorts of movie props; figurines for sale; and of course people in costume!Predator, Hellboy, Joker, and andAND...
Maybe next May I’ll be in San Diego at the real Comicon.Otherwise, May the 4th lands on a Friday.Woot woot!Oh, and Star Wars comes out on Blu Ray in September.Save up now!
If
you're reading this, I'm almost amazed.
That means that, 1) you kept Stranger Things Studios on your Facebook news feed,
2) you saw this post on a holiday weekend, and 3) you actually took the time to
click on the link. So, wow! And thank you.
I just finished the script to my third movie! It's called Ashes of Man. Now the fun begins: picking out a cast and
crew.
As the perfect Grand Opening, let me tell you about May 4th. For those of you who are not nerds, May 4th is unofficial Star Wars Day, for the sole reason that on that day you can look at your hairy Wookie friend and say, “May the 4th be with you.”
But wait! It gets better - Spring Con was the following weekend. Now, I had never been to a comic book convention before. The place was packed with all types of booths - mostly comic book artists displaying their work; selling their prints and books; and enthusiastically sharing their passion with you. However, there were also display tables with all sorts of movie props; figurines for sale; and of course people in costume! Predator, Hellboy, Joker, and and AND...
