Coming Soon to DVD (for real)!

If you haven't heard yet, Death on Demand is coming to DVD on July 8th, through MTI Home Video. Fangoria just did an interview with Adam and I, and there's talk of Anne and Krista appearing in Femme Fatales, Fangoria's sister publication. Adam and I also just recorded a DVD commentary the other day as part of the special features, which is slightly more tedious than you might think. Still, fun to do.

Recently, we licensed the film to German distributor, KSM. No word on release dates, but we're looking forward to hearing everyone's performance in German.

We'll keep you updated on where to find the film as we get reports from the distributor.

Debt on Demand

It's August, and as we wind down a very hot summer, I look back over the last three months with a certain wistful...

I'll cut the crap now. We parted ways with Allied Entertainment. We had a difference of opinion about how to sell the film to buyers. Cannes came and went. We had a good time (how could we not, it was Cannes, for God's sake) and met a lot of folks in the financial end of things. Many people don't realize that the toughest part of making a movie is raising the financing. And while there are no rules to raising the money for your film, one thing holds true. You need attachments. Who's in it? Who's directing it? These were the most common questions we heard when we pitched our other projects.

We came back with a full head of steam and started pushing ahead with casting choices. We also found a new sales agent in the form of Barry Barnholtz. For the unwashed, Barnholtz Entertainment is the sales agent you want for your horror film in North America. The company has pull with distributors and they can get your film out there. So, we are confident tht there'll be a DVD release. So the moral, my children? Always, always, go for the deal you want.

The film is being repped internationally by DC MEDIAS of France. We met these guys in Cannes. They're young, but very savvy, and we have the feeling they'll be a force to be reckoned with someday.

We had a screening in July at New York Film Academy. About a hundred people showed up, and most of the cast and crew were represented. Even Krista (Velvet Luv) flew up from Florida to see it, which was really cool. The film got a good response. We've also submitted to horror festivals, and will be hearing back soon.

This film, which was supposed to be a no budget, quick-and-dirty money maker, has cost us plenty in time and money. But, overall, it was a good experience. We purchased the script, shot the film, edited it, and sold it (twice) in less than 10 months. We met some cool people, got to play with latex, and added a second feature film to our body of work (after Seasons in the Valley). It's amazing how people suddenly give you the time of day at Cannes when they know you have a finished film in the market.

Don't know what's next. Maybe "Maggots", maybe something else. We're doing a reality show. Just shot the pilot, so that will likely keep us occupied for awhile if all goes as planned. I also need a nap. Not a long one. Just need to shut my eyes for a second and then, it's back into the fray. One thing is for sure, however. The next one will have a budget.

Cannes You Believe It?

Try the moules. At the table is (L-R) Kevin, Charity from Brain Damage Films, Sarah, who runs the Paris office, Adam, and Alex.

I'm writing this post from an apartment in Cannes this week, giving me the opportunity to work the word "Cannes" into some kind of lame pun. We came here expecting to sell DOD and our doc, "Seasons in the Valley." The good news, of course, is that DOD flew off the shelf (before it was even finished) and we now have a distributor in Allied Entertainment. To sweeten things further, Allied is including the film in their Cannes lineup. We're now focused on selling "Seasons" and have gotten some great leads, and we're taking meetings this week with distributors/sales agents.

We're delivering DOD next week, and then, it's on to the next film. Maggots, which has been "festering" into a fine wine over the last nine months, is showing promise as the heir to the Evil Twins "in-production" throne. No promises on a start date, though.

In the meantime, we're planning to hold a big thank you screening for cast and crew sometime this summer in NYC. We'll keep you in the loop. Anybody know of a good (ie, cheap) theater venue?

I know I speak for Adam, too, when I say how much we appreciate everyone's great work and commitment to this project over the last nine months. This has been a tough film to make, given the (nonexistent) budget, but with everyone's help we did what we set out to do last year, and even exceeded our own expectations. The film looks and sounds great!

Stay Evil.

His screen's bigger than mine!

The pic above is of Drozdowski doing foley work on the film.
The film is looking great. Screeners went out last week to LA and beyond to the companies who had already expressed an interest just based on the trailer. The screeners have a first pass audio mix and about 40% of the music with many repeated cues. Even so it's pretty damn cool.

We have already had very positive response and one new worldwide distribution offer! Which---- we are not inclined to accept right now, but it's on the table. The film is very strong and looks far better than any of the others that I can see in the same budget range. It also has it's own voice, the comedy comes through very strongly and the gore is sick.

The music and soundscape work that Adam and Chris have been doing has added another very tangible element to the film.
We expect to be hitting the final mix some time around the end of April beginning of May. Kevin and I head out to Cannes on the 14th of may and we want the finished film in our hands.

I'm sure the actor's are very antsy to see what we have but darlings, you'll just have to be patient!

Cheers

I Know I KNow

We havn't been posting recently. We are busy!!!!!

The film is locked. it's all audio, music, foley and trailer cutting right now. The trailer that you have all grown to love is really the result of the five days post shooting before we went out to LA. It has none of the spectacular composite shots and effects that we now have in the film which need to go into a trailer. So that's what we are doing kids.

Here's some more pics. Enjoy

A picture says a thousand words and I have nothing to say

Dread Central

Check out the following from www.dreadcentral.com
http://www.dreadcentral.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1541
We'll be updating them on the progress of the film. Check them out for all your horror news.

Horror and Hotties

We heard from Krista Grotte-- who plays Velvet Luv --that she was part of a horror evening in Florida over the weekend. The trailer got screened at Horror & Hotties and apparently there was a nice response. Holy Crap, wait till they see the blood and gore in the final film! It's kicking ass. We had a friend in the office last friday. Mike Dardano is a PR person and he viewed a couple of the death scenes. He was HOWLING IN HORROR.

KB has been overseeing the finishing touches in the thankgiving scene flashback. WOW scary scary scary.

We've also been previewing music and SFX tracks and it's all sounding great. I'm excited.

What is WRONG with you?

Meet Chris D. Our sound Designer. Hard at work or hardly working? You be the judge.
Working hard! This is seriously exciting and a tangible step beyond the hours and hours that we have all been spending in dark rooms looking at very dry footage. Chris D and Adam B have both been uploading sound files which we have been previewing along with the existing cut of the film. I can tell you that it sounds Phat, Fat and Phffaaaaat! Here Chris enjoys a few quiet moments with Gretchen McIntyre in his own dark room just moments before she is brutally bludgeoned to death by a dining room table. I am jealous that Chris gets to work with a large screen version of the film in front of him. He says it looks great and I am ready to believe him!

By the end of today the most up to date sound and video files will be accessible by the creative post team from anywhere in the world via the wonders of FTP. With Adam in LA, Chris in San Francisco and the rest of us in New York -- it's a blessing.

I will be heading out to LA later in the month to deliver screeners and have meetings with some of the potential sales agents for the film.

Later Evil ones

It’s all about the screaming baby.

The funny thing is that once you start cutting a film it’s all about how the story plays out. You leave the script behind and look for the film that makes the most sense in terms of timing. We found that certain places where we shot Richard ( Dan Falcone) during principal photography just didn’t work anymore because of geographical proximity to other characters in the house, and especially to our mean dude Sean.

We ended the week with a small reshoot. Friday we were back in the old house picking up three shots. The house was #*!ing cold! Tim, who was onset to advise about continuity, lost all feeling in his feet and was hobbling around the office for three hours when we got back. Dan had to work in a single shirt and his nipples were hard enough to cut glass. We also picked up a couple of POV shots and then were scurrying back to the warmth of Chatsby. Once there, we mocked up some night shots with Dan and actually shot a couple of additional phone call scenes that we have added. Amazing how we managed to make the wall behind Kevin’s desk look like a derelict house.

Friday and Saturday we recorded ADR with Dan Falcone, Sara Cristal and Elizabeth Jamison. We were covering screaming, death noises, choking on blood, the sound of sex, and a little dialogue. It was fun asking Sara to vocalise her reaction to dildos being thrown on her tummy. She was also able to watch her own death and vocalise that. She looked green the first time I showed her the death. It’s pretty barbaric.

The funniest thing that happened all day was that after the sessions, I always asked the actors which scene they wanted to see? Sara’s request was the Tammy and Brad sex scene! I understand why, it’s sexy and funny. A hot combination!
Evil Iz literally aka Adam.

5.1 Sweet Lord Almighty 5.1

It’s been a very busy few days and there has been a lot going on in the background. We started to interview potential sound designers early last week. We are really thrilled that Chris Drozdowski will be joining the creative team. Chris is an Emmy winning sound mixer and designer who is based in San Francisco. He really stood out with his excitement for the film and with ideas he had about how to create a soundscape for the film that will elevate it. He will actually begin this week with Sound Effects and Foley work. Chris will mix not only a stereo soundtrack but also a 5.1 surround sound mix which is awesome and was never an expectation. It will give the film one more edge in the market. We can safely say that very few films at this budget level have the production values which we are now bringing to the project.

Stay tuned evil ones

"Now this scene is about Brad's manhood, please don't try to overshadow the moment by acting."

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of attention that tanning a member gets. While we have put weeks of time into post production in a multitude of areas, it is the simple mention of Brad Manley's boner that illicits the most response.

Be that as it may, and regardless of the time we have spent privately gazing in wonder at this magnificent member, it is only 9 frames of the 132,480 frames in the completed film (Yes that's one hundred and thirty two thousand four hundred and eighty)

Stay tuned for more news about Brad on Demand.... I mean Death On Demand.
AM

Shading Penis

It will go down in the history of expression from Kevin "finished shading the penis".... Ire.

This Week: Strangling Computers, Shading Penises

This is crunch time, people. We have about three to four weeks if we want to make Cannes. Distributors need time to decide if they want this movie and then, if they do, they need time to get their materials together for taking it to market.

Adam Blau is cranking away on a score for this film, and sent us a superdetailed spotting report, showing where he thinks music should go. Almost an hour of music, and songs from bands that our music supervisor will be searching for and licensing over the next couple of weeks.

Recently, Adam (Matalon) was locked in mortal combat with our edit system, specifically, the G5, which has been, as Adam likes to put it, "shitting the bed". I'm not sure who will win the battle, but I believe Adam has a slight edge, as he has arms. The computer cannot throw him out the window.

I spent a couple of hours shading Brad's penis the other day. Four years of film school have not gone wasted. The full benefit of this "tweak" will not be realized until the film hits DVD, and then everyone can wear out the FRAME ADV buttons on their remotes, as they try to determine whether or not the tallywhacker is genuine. Anyway, after finishing the frame by frame paint job, I felt the need to hit Home Depot on the way home to look at hardware I didn't need. I even picked a fight with a dude in the paint department.

Keep reading. We'll try and update more frequently. Our website is undergoing a reboot, as well. We are forming the Chatsby Group as an umbrella for all the companies that we've started, and there'll be new sites for Chatsby Films, ChatsbyKids, and the new ChatsbyMedia, which is our corporate and commercial division. Things are definitely afoot...--KB

Etiquette For Dummies (and Psychos)

Speaking for myself, I am not quick to judge McIntyre for his actions, as he obviously has a lot to work out for himself. It's true, most people don't like it when you murder your wife, kids, and mother-in-law, especially during a holiday--very tragic. But, if you take a fly on the wall view, McIntyre is not evil in the "classic" sense. Basically, I think he suffers from a case of bad manners.

Let's look at the big picture. The dude spent most of his life on adventures in exotic places for months at a time, where in many cases his life was on the line. Have you ever spent two weeks on a glacier, or at 25,000 feet, in below freezing temperatures? I didn't think so. You don't shower when you're up there, and the folks you hang with on your expedition don't either. There's no time for manners when the possibility of freezing to death, cerebral edema, falling over a ledge (where it's too dangerous for anyone to recover your body), losing a limb to frostbite, or finding a good place to relieve yourself require most of your daily attention. These guys talk about the dump they just took like they talk about their favorite TV show, and nobody cares. Manly things. So there's that.

And let's not forget, McIntyre REALLY DID suffer a cerebral edema, and in a hallucinatory fit, may have accidentally killed one of his sherpas.

"Not cool," you say, "when you're in someone else's country, you're a GUEST."

Bowing foolishly, mangling the language, that's okay, that's what most natives will (barely) tolerate from foreigners. But, when you go on a killing spree while in country, that's when people take offense. Listen, the guy's a mountaineer, for crying out loud! Things are a little more intense in his world. Mountaineers (and surfers) invented the catchphrase, "Intense, dude!" for a reason. So, there's that.

When McIntyre gets back to his country, everyone's coming down on him for the murder. The folks from the dead sherpa's village are seen on CNN, putting a curse on him. And now, he's sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner, and his mother in law is giving him grief.

"Are you okay, Sean?"
"You should take some aspirin, Sean!"
"That wasn't necessary, Sean!"

Someone cut her f@#%ing head off, please. Admit it, you're all thinking it. Don't lay it all on McIntyre. Okay, sure, he could smile wanly back at her and limply tell her that he's "all right". That's what most people do with their in-laws. Just get through the weekend without a major disagreement, maintain the illusion that you like them, they'll soon be on a plane back home. Good manners, right?

Depending on which female acquaintance I run into, I have a running database in my brain which contains the correct greeting for each one of them. In Europe, it's easy, because everyone gives each other a proper peck on each cheek. Simple. Not in America. There's no standard, and you have to pre-judge what affection each person will accept from you. Which is more intimate, a hug or a kiss? Depends on the woman. Some require a handshake, some a hug with a tap out at the end, some a kiss on the cheek. Everyone has a different affection sharing protocol, and their own set of boundaries. Of course, you just do what works for you, even if it produces the occasional faltering air kiss.

I'm not suggesting that you practice McIntyre's techniques with women. That would be incredibly gauche. But, as you can see, not knowing the proper etiquette for a given situation can produce some very awkward moments. Give the guy a break. Please. Thank You. --Regards, KB

Bombs Away

We exported quicktimes for Adam Blau over night and they have been FTPd to the server this morning so that he has access to everything. We split the film into 9 different scoring chapters all with timecode burns so that we can talk coherently about the film even though we are 3500 miles apart.

I'm getting antsy about getting the screeners done so that we can get them out to the people who need them.

I had dinner on Saturday evening with one of our investors who was over from Paris. He was interested in how we were doing but never asked about sales and didn't put any pressure on us. We like him. He said he had shown the trailer to all the people in his office with good feedback.

Compression Depression

I feel like I've lost a child. I think locking picture is both thrilling and depressing at the same time. We can no longer argue over the aethetics of a particular delivery or the nuance of a rack focus. I'm kinda laughing at myself but there has definately been a feeling of... forgive me...loss around here the last couple of days. Oh sure we're working and moving forward but it's all kinda bitty. Cleaning up audio tracks ready for export. Recapturing 10 Bit clips for effects shots, talking about sound effects etc.
I think it will be another week to ten days before all these pieces start to come back together.

The Power of Voodoo

This week was the week that the digital voodoo began. We have a series of Visual Effects (VISFX) shots to produce as well as some clips that need some doctoring. I have personally been swearing continually about a small piece of monofillament which managed to cut through a particular shot of Anne McDaniels as she entered the attic.
I submit to the jury two screnshots before and after the digital voodoo. We are exporting these clips for painting and will then reimport them into the film.
I think that is COOL!
It's time consuming process as the images have to be painted frame by frame. I think the results speak for themselves and we have even removed a small zit on the left side Anne's chin. You're welcome darling!
Evil Iz

Monday Murder

What is wrong with Mondays?! The day started with two hours cursing Verizon because our internet was down for the second business day in a row and as a result we couldn't transfer files across from our server to burn a DVD for Adam in LA. Got that sorted and then got into the edit. This is the film that will not die. Everytime we think we are going to get through the end of the film we start re-looking at scenes Why? because we got bogged down figuring out the best way to sell Darla's reaction to Brad's penis! No kids it's not that kind of movie but the guy does spend a substantial amount of time with a non stop boner -- the result of a tab of Erecxa. And so when we called it a day today we were still only just murdering Velvet.
We will be getting into some audio editing this week and it looks like we will be adding a music supervisor to the team who will be putting together some great tracks for a soundtrack to support the orchestral wotk Adam is doing. So who knows we might even end up with a soundtrack album at the end of this. That's all I have to say for now. Keep reading and add a comment already!!!

Death Defying Patience

Its official, we made it through the first hour of the film! We are looking to lock picture this coming week.
We have actually been cutting a little dialogue. Sorry my darling actors, but we did have a laugh at your expense today wondering if any of you would would scan through to see which of your lines we had cut. I think that everyone has suffered somewhere. The film continues to hover around 90 minutes so it is exactly where we want it to be.
I am also happy that there are a few really laugh out loud moments. The other surprising thing is that the college boys have become fully fledged characters and the party scene adds a dimension we had never realised would be so strong.
Signing off but we'll keep you up to date on Tim's car issues!

Inspiration for Murder

Today is a fairly easy one for me. Adam and Kevin have meetings in the city so I am working from home; just cleaning up audio and getting the dvd ready to send to Adam Blau so he can start composing the score. I did learn a helpful editing hint yesterday though. If you really want to get in the mood to murder (on screen of course) then I recommend driving a half hour in ten degree weather with no heat, then having your car break down and waiting on the side of the road for an hour to get it towed. Thats what I did yesterday and by the time I finally got to work I was ready to make everyone's death scene more gruesome and violent (Which is good since we were killing mom, grandma, and the two little girls at Thanksgiving Dinner). Today's light workload and the first snowflakes of the season have improved my demeanor though and I'm ready to go back to the office tommorow reinvigorated to finish the film.

Close Proximity To Death

Well we made it through the movie yesterday and finished off Darla in a fine fashion. After a short break we sat down to watch the film from the top. Well that's where it started. After four hours we had made it through the first three minutes. Yes it's better but Tim had murder on his mind and I think it was Kevin and I he was gunning for. I think we were all thouroughly irritated with each other by the time we called it a day.
The film is looking good and some of the opening scene is really brutal which is good right?
Next step is audio cleaning more picture notes and the best thing of all. The queasy squelchy wet sound effects that will help us all unload our lunches.
Stay tuned.
Evil Iz

Killing People

So it's Tuesday and I had to leave the office last night about 15 minutes shy of having totally massacred Darla, the lead character in our little opus Death On Demand.

I realized with some degree of glee that while Sean McIntyre (the bad guy) had simply killed his other victims he was in fact toying with Darla just as she had reached the outside world and perhaps her salvation. So I'm sitting here with Tim our editor only moments away from the end of the film luxuriating in the patter and slather of blood as it hits the ground. She's doing her best but I'm not sure if she's going to make it.

I'm feeling pretty good about the cut we have and am looking forward to going back to the beginning and getting very picky about what we have so far.

There is definately some pressure as we have already had some calls from a couple of the sales agents we met at AFM in November and we are aware that we have to get screeners out soon.

Victoria (Bert) is also steaming ahead with some plans for Maggots and we know that we have to try to get into preproduction by early April. We's like to have a trailer for that film by the time we hit Cannes in May.

Stay tuned we'll keep you in the loop

The Hardest Cut of All

So, this our shiny new blog, covering all things Evil. Adam and I will put out new tidbits when we have spare time, so expect the next update to happen sometime in 2009. Just a joke. I mean, we're busy, but nothing delights us more than BLOGGING. Really. So, here goes...

It's Monday, and we're about a day away from finishing the fine cut. Has not been easy. Tim created a rough cut back in December, almost slavishly following the script, so that we could get a handle on what we had for a film. Next, I ran through it with Tim from start-to-almost-finish, and we started cleaning and creating sequences from scratch. Adam followed closely behind, and while I built the Evil Twins website, he and Tim really scoured the film, looking into source footage and recapturing when they couldn't find what was needed in the bin, building performances, and ultimately making a version that'll springboard us into the next phase--scoring, mixing, and FX work, not to mention color correction.

We'll be sending the compressed film in "reels" to Adam Blau in LA, so that he can create the music. He performed miracles for the trailer--and quickly, too. He literally had finished music to us three days after getting the trailer from us. To thank him, we went and expanded the trailer by 30 seconds. Not to be defeated, he added more music to make it work for the new cut. Literally, overnight. So, needless to say, I feel really good about what he's going to do for the film.

There is, of course, urgency to getting this film done. We have several industry folks interested in seeing a screener when it's finished. Plus, we really want to get on with Maggots.