Blog Archives
Dream Thief Dreams Of Being A Superhero On The Wednesday Run–May 15, 2013
Who doesn’t like a good “possession” story?
Yep, those sorts of ghost/demon/entity tales wherein a strange force takes over the body of a living host are where it’s at. I mean, The Exorcist, written by William Peter Blatty and directed by William Friedkin, is one of my favourite films. “Wolf in the Fold”, written by acclaimed horror author, Robert Bloch, is one of my favourite episodes of the original 1960’s Star Trek series. At their essence, those types of stories remind us that we’re not always in control of our actions; that human beings can still revert to their base, most wild forms.
But what happens when the ghost/demon/entity takes over the human host and turns him into a superhero…that kills villains?
That’s the intriguing question that today’s release of Dream Thief asks.
Saturday At The Movies: It’s Worth the Pain and Gain
I did not have high hopes for this Michael Bay film. I don’t have high hopes for any Michael Bay film. He’s a fine tent pole, summer blockbuster director but the previews of this movie suggested this was something with a little more finesse – not a lot but a little. Boy, were my socks blow off!
The Grind: Starkers Digs Deep for CineCoup
For over two months, I’ve been buried alive.
As it turns out, being buried alive is actually pretty exciting. All-consuming for sure. Back in February, when director Paul Thompson pitched me the idea for a porn-star-mom stalked by a psychotic fan, and said, “let’s make a trailer for it and try to win a million bucks”, I thought, why not? Let’s go for it! I’ve done dumber things for much less motivation.
And so we plunged into the CineCoup Film Accelerator, competing with 91 teams across Canada to earn a million dollars in funding for our feature film ideas. Making the trailer itself was an exhausting rolling disaster, with locations pulling out upon learning the subject matter, a constantly changing crew, and only Paul and producer Rick Jang’s drive to finish holding our fragile enterprise together. With only two days to go before the competition entry deadline, they finished shooting our trailer for a thriller that doesn’t exist. Paul then madly edited it together, the first of what would turn out to be many marathon sessions with Final Cut Pro and a case of Coca-Cola.
Since then we’ve made countless videos, one a week, for two months. We’ve pitched our team. We’ve talked about the importance of soundtrack, post-sound and colour correction, relatively cheap tricks that give your film so much character. We’ve made posters for people to vote on (and a ridiculous ad-man noir vid as a very silly companion piece). We’ve made a silent(ish) sequence, with no dialogue, delving into our characters in a short but moving vignette. And it doesn’t stop there.
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Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde Deliver In Deadfall
I always love it when a film sneaks up on you. I think I’ve said that before and it remains the case with a small movie called Deadfall. You likely havent heard of it, as it had a minimal release before making it’s way onto Blu-Ray/DVD a few weeks back. However, with a solid cast and an intriguing story that kept the Queen and I guessing all the way through it, Deadfall is a film that definitely deserves a wider audience.
Check out the trailer and then find out why after the jump!
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No Rest for the CineCoup’ed
Two more weeks down, and twenty-five more teams have exited the CineCoup contest. I’ve been blogging about being part of Team Starkers in the CineCoup Film Accelerator, a grueling socially-driven contest to award one three-person team $1 million to make their feature film. We started at ninety-one teams from all over Canada. Now there’s fifty-seven. And this weekend they’re voting on the Top 40, so another seventeen teams will be shown the door.
The competition’s been heating up, and the best teams are definitely raising their game to earn a shot at that Cineplex money. There were two challenges to deliver over the past few weeks. The first was to create two possible movie posters for your film. I was surprised to see how professional and well designed the results were, once again showcasing the talent so many of these teams possess. There’s a great gallery of all the posters you can check out on Pinterest. (You can still vote for your faves, if you click on the images, taking you through to each poster’s CineCoup page.)
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In the Thick of It: Duking It Out for CineCoup
Two weeks ago I wrote about taking the plunge on the CineCoup Film Accelerator, making a trailer for Starkers, a feature-to-be in the hunt for $1 million in Cineplex funding. We’re definitely swimming in the deep end; no water-wings for the teams competing from all over Canada. When the contest opened there were ninety-one teams. Now there’s eighty-two. Fourteen days, and attrition has set in.
We’ve done two Mission Videos already in that time. Every Sunday, the CineCoup teams scramble to get a video in by midnight, which appears for public viewing starting the following Monday at 9pm. The first Mission Video was a “power trio” vid, giving each team a chance to introduce their members. Teams leapt at the chance to unleash their pent-up creativity. Check out the the three top videos so far after the jump!
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A Murder. A Hitman. A Chase. And Instagram? Thrills Abound In Snapshot #1 On The Wednesday Run – February 6, 2013
People tend to keep strange photos on their cell phones, don’t they? You know this better than most.
Don’t think so? Well, the next time you’re sitting on the bench, hydrating yourself from a rousing game of indoor soccer, try accidentally flipping through your buddy’s collection of pics on his new Galaxy S3. Quizzical looks and/or hilarity must surely follow if not an intervention of some sort.
You could also try hitting the “Explore” page on your iPhone’s Instagram app and be amazed at what people post for public consumption. This is especially true if you’re a parent. Heck, just visit the TMZ website and shake your head with disdain at this generation’s eroded examples of heroes and icons.
Yep. Strange, often incriminating, photos abound out there.
So, how about finding a cell phone containing photographs of a murder scene? How’s that for strange? Worrisome? Thrilling? That’s the premise of Snapshot, a hard-boiled tale that demands to be read – and seen!
Biff Bam Pop Holiday Gift Guide: Strange World: A Biff Bam Pop! Anthology
This holiday season, a lot of books are going to be given as gifts. Due to recent film releases, how many copies of Life of Pi, The Hobbit or Les Miserables are going to make their way under the tree? How many copies of <a-hem> Fifty Shades of Grey will be wrapped up with a red bow?
With the release of the iPad Mini, how many of those devices and other reading tablets will find themselves in the hands of readers with smiling faces by the 25th of this month? I’ll tell you the answer: lots.
Lots and lots and lots.
Well, we’ve got you covered at Biff Bam Pop! Books can be expensive and tablets need e-books to make them worthwhile. And if you haven’t already heard (or need to be reminded), our first short story anthology, Strange World: A Biff Bam Pop Short Story Anthology is waiting for you to gift to a loved one or yourself this holiday season!
You can read just how strange – and how cool – it is after the jump!
