'Goonies' is 25 years old in 2010!? Man, I'm old. Well, at least that gives a good excuse to try and get 'Goonies' in for a screening at the Mayfair. But I digress... just wanted to post a quick 'Happy New Years' wish to all. 2010: the year we make contact, the year of Lisa Simpson's wedding, and the year that the '90's 'Knight Rider' TV movie took place in. Good times.

Aw yeah Christmas!!

Alex Contreras in the title role of 'Alex Vampire Slayer'



Killer63 year IV is tonight! If you don't go you'll regret it for the rest of your life! Like that time Homer didn't go and see Mr. T at the mall. That's how you'll feel. Complete regret.

KILLER63 IV LINE-UP REVEALED!!

16 Projects from 11 filmmakers! Ranging from under 60 seconds in length to a whopping 22 minutes! Featuring local Ottawa talent, and shorts from the far off lands of Calgary and Montreal! Vampires, Zombies, Aliens, Torture, Elvis, Puppets, Cartoons!!

(listed alphabetically by director...)

Massacrator – Pierre Ayotte

You & Your Friends - Jeff Campbell

Fallacy of Man, Saturday Morning Cartoons - Chris Chitaroni

Hostile Entities, Revival, Hel-Away - Matt Fincer / Creepy Puppet Projects

Snare Off (music video by The Love Machine) - Luca Fiore

Ronald, One Percent - Michael Anthony Horrigan

Legend of the Bonesetter – Brett Kelly

Alex Vampire Slayer - Al Kratina

The Morning After of the Living Dead - Josh Stafford

Ghost Town, Bleed On(music video by Liminal State) – Kyle Thomas

Dead Pussy - Steve Villeneuve

(PS - yes...you will find the exact same posting on Facebook and on the Mayfair site and maybe a couple other places. Usually I try to keep things original, but in this case, it's so much easier to cut and paste and try to spread the word of the screening through the magic of the inter-webs)

A batch of behind the scenes shots taken during last Saturday's shoot for my contribution to this year's Killer63. Stare in wonder at our high tech clapper board! Ok...it's not a clapper board. We forgot our clapper board, so we made use of the memo board off the fridge. Indie film-making ingenuity at it's best. The title on it is 'The Morning After'. Not sure if that's actually our final title. Both 'cause since then I was reminded that that's already a movie with Jeff Bridges and Jane Fonda in it, and because I think some other folks might have come up with better titles then my idea.

The classy looking black and white shot features our acting duo of Sarah Lavrisa and Mark Singleton. Both are deep in thought...and / or pretending to listen to my direction. The short was shot by Amber Peters (in the red sweater checking out the scene through the camera), who also shot my Killer63 movie in '08 (which also featured Mark's acting, though he died pretty quickly in that one).

And finally, our pale-faced red-eyed Zombie Girl was played by Jennilee Murray (those contacts were such a great lil' touch). Seen here getting some blood make-up touch-up's from super crew member Anne-Marie Kelly.

The tapes are in the hands of my editor as I write this. My schedule is a bit insane, so not sure when I'll actually get to look at what she puts together. That's the good loop-hole about organizing a festival screening, you can miss the deadline and be the last one to get the project done.

Been working on the latest Killer63 short horror film festival for a lil' while now. Have about eight or nine filmmakers confirmed as participants, and a number of other submissions received or on their way in to me. And, have a fancy new logo thanks to K63 alum Brett Kelly (I like it...looks very EC Comics). I'll be shooting my short next weekend, as per usual, at a much later date then I had originally planned. After I get everyone's stuff in, I'm going to slap together a trailer to show at the Mayfair (guess I'll post it online as well).

I'll try my best to be more frequent with festival related updates. Be sure to keep your calendar clear on Friday December 18th at 9PM for the big premiere of Killer63 IV at the Mayfair!

Kind of a last minute entry...but I was stuck working all day, so this is my first chance to sit at the computer. Tonight marks the Ottawa premiere of SMASH CUT at the Mayfair! A film which was directed, written by, features music by, and stars various owners, managers and friends of the Mayfair Theatre (like my geeky movie friend Jennilee, in character in the above photo as Gigi Spot).

I'll be shocked if the place isn't packed tonight. So, if you're coming out, be sure to arrive nice and early for all the crazy horror fun.

Today it was announced via the Ottawa X-Press that the Mayfair was awarded the best movie theatre ever award. My friend corrected me that it was actually: The Mayfair has won the best movie theatre in the history of the galaxy, now and ever shall be, Amen.

Both might be a slight exaggeration and paraphrasing of what actually happened or was printed. In reality, the Best of Ottawa 2009 poll results were published in the new issue of the X-Press, and the Mayfair got awarded the distinction of the 'best alternative to a multiplex movie theatre'. Which is pretty awesome...though the title of the category still seems a bit strange, plain ole' 'best theatre' would be nice. Anyhow, nit-picking aside, thanks go out to the X-Press for the nomination and all the fine folks of Ottawa for voting.

PS - The cover of the issue features Sasha Grey in 'Smash Cut', which was filmed in part at the Mayfair (and screens November 20th!)

The Mayfair Theatre (the bestest theatre in all the land) has been nominated in two categories in the ‘Best of Ottawa 09 Readers Poll’ in the X-Press. Hence, now I will shamelessly ask (because beg is such a harsh word) everyone I know to take a moment, link over to their website, and vote for us as ‘best alternative to a multiplex’ and ‘best film festival’ (for the 'Silents is Golden' series). It should just be a category titled 'best theatre', wording there makes it sound like the best way to see a movie is in a multiplex... which is madness.

I should have posted this request a bit earlier…but didn’t think that a year end poll would close on Wednesday November 11th at 11:59PM. Y’know…’cause I thought the year ends at the end of the year, like say December 31st or so.

Anyhow, if you have a chance to vote, it’s greatly appreciated by me and the rest of your friends at the Mayfair:

X-Press Best of Ottawa 09 Readers Poll

Happy Halloween!!
Time for me to go and supervise some trick r treaters...to be followed by the annual practice of stealing candy from babies.

A couple days ago I read that Nickelodeon had bought 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' from co-creator and full owner Peter Laird. I didn't put much thought into this, being that we live in an age where big companies seem to be constantly buying up smaller companies (like Disney has with Pixar, the Muppets and Marvel). I figured that all it would mean was Nickelodeon would now be producing new cartoons and toys featuring the kid friendly multi-coloured headband wearing versions of the characters.

What I didn't realize, was that it was going to put into motion a chain of events that would lead to the demise in total of Mirage Studios itself. I just read a blog posting from Peter Laird in which he lays this out, and sounds very much like he has no interest in the characters anymore. Sometime in the near future there will be no more Mirage comics it seems. Leaves me kind of shocked and saddened.

I'm pretty sure that I own every comic Mirage has ever produced (not all first printings mind you...but I got 'em in some form). The turtle part in Batturtle comes from my love of TMNT. And at the moment even my favorite goalie on the Senators has Mirage character Casey Jones on his helmet.

I've had the pleasure of meeting pretty much all of the Mirage Studio artists who worked under Peter Laird. All are great guys who have a love of these characters, their books and their fans. Some of my prize possessions are a couple of original TMNT pages by long-time turtle writer and artist Jim Lawson. I look forward to reading all of their future non-TMNT related work.

I'm not sure when the last 'real' TMNT story will come out...sometime mid 2010 it sounds like. It will be a sad new comic day for me indeed when that date rolls around. And never say never I guess. This is not the first time Mirage has gone away. The traditional all red headband original characters could be back someday.

All good things must come to an end.

We (the Mayfair) got mentioned in the Ottawa Citizen yesterday in regards to the ongoing Lansdowne Live fun that's currently being hotly debated here in town. Click here for the link over to the article. Though if you're anything like me, you might want to refrain from reading some of the comments in reply to the issue (people's opinions that differ from mine make me furious!!).

Another lil' peek at the work being done on the Batturtle Productions logo animation. Intentions are for it to be tagged in front of the webisode project. We are working away on that, with plans to premiere online (obviously...seeing as they're webisodes and all) in 2010.

A second run at a Batty character design rotation. This one with a little more detail and shading on him. I've also seen a rough animation of the mini-project, it looks awesome.

This upcoming Friday night marks the greatest cross-promotion screening event in the history of the Mayfair! Roller derby girls AND 'Switchblade Sisters'. If you don't attend you clearly have your priorities all mixed up.

A few short weeks ago, being co-owner of the Mayfair wasn't part of my existence. Of course, much less was it even ever part of my day to day thought process. Now it's a constant and steady topic on my mind. Another thing packed into my already too packed schedule (a 48 hour day and 14 day week would be nice).

If you would have told me that the Mayfair was part of my future in more that a patron capacity though, I would have put up a hazard of a guess that my first suggestion of a movie to play might be 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'...maybe 'Big Trouble in Little China'. I would never have guessed that it would've been 'The Wiz'. Stranger things have happened I guess. So, if you're free Thursday night around nine or so, head on over to the Mayfair for a bizarre remake of Wizard of Oz starring Michael Jackson. I'll see yah there.

My friend (and conveniently enough also an animator) Cara Rowlands is currently working on an opening title thing for Batturtle Productions. A lil' project that I've been meaning to get underway for like a million years or so. The instigating factor was I wanted something neat to put in front of the currently in pre-production webisode series.

Here's the rotation for Batty. Where we finally get confirmation that he does indeed have a shell!

The Mayfair opened in 1932. In 2009 I became a co-owner.

Hope everyone has an Alpha Flight-tastic Canada Day. I will be crewing at some concert festivities like a chump. Or at least stuck there, hiding from the rain and not working because it looks like thunderstorms. No BBQ themed day off for me.

I'm working on a couple projects at the moment. Neither of which can I really talk about. Which makes blog updates a bit uneventful and difficult. I can at least say that one is a web-series and one is a comic book, and progress is happening on both.

The artist sent in the thumbnail layouts for issue three of the comic mini-series (it's five issues total). And even just at that stage it has me really excited. Can't wait to see it all penciled and inked.

Looking into getting an short bit of animation done for my mascot Batty there. Something quick and short for the opening titles of the web-series. Been meaning to get something like that done for an age, will be cool to see Batty in motion. Now if only I could get an action figure made in his likeness.

This upcoming Friday (May 29th) the Mayfair Theatre will be screening 'Young People Fucking' as their late late show (11PM). The movie is being shown as part of Canterbury High School's 40th anniversary, as it was directed by Canterbury alum Martin Gero.

Glenn Cockburn (one of the film's producers) will be in attendance to introduce the movie.

Tickets available at the theatre ($5 for members, $9 for non-members).

A movie that I worked on a lil' while back will have it's premiere this upcoming Friday night (May 22nd) at 7PM at the Nepean Creative Arts Centre (35 Stafford Road, Nepean...aka...Ottawa). Admission is $5.00.

Attack of the Giant Leeches is director Brett Kelly's re-make of the Roger Corman produced 1959 drive-in cult classic. A film which also got the MST3K treatment in 1992:

Dr. Forrester: Ah! Robinson, Servo, Mr. T. Robot! Our invention this week is inspired by this week's experiment, "Attack of the Giant Leeches". In ye olden times, alchemists believed that leeches served medicinal purposes.

TV's Frank: So do we!

Dr. Forrester: Uh, yes um, we found that the common fresh water leech uh, can serve the same purpose as a nicotine patch, and being neither food nor drug, there's no pesky FDA regulation to impede your progress and I can experiment at will. Frank?

TV's Frank: At your service.

Dr. Forrester: Our subject, Frank, has been trying to quit smoking for quite some time. He's a three pack-a-day man.

TV's Frank: No I'm not!

Dr. Forrester: Yes you are, shut up. Now this leech, we'll call him Patches...

TV's Frank: Yah!

Dr. Forrester: When applied to the neck or head area, will suck any desire to smoke out of Frank.

TV's Frank: No, no, no, no! No! No! No, I'm the sum of my vices! I have my pain, my happiness, my losses, my love! My struggles, my hobbies, my lent! I want to live! I want to live! I want to live! And love! And learn! And live!

Dr. Forrester: But this won't hurt a bit.

TV's Frank: Oh, Ok.

Dr. Forrester: Uh, there you go. Now, Patches, I'm depending on you, ya slug!

TV's Frank: Say, this is the most action I've ever got.

Yay for Free Comic Book Day!!!

This picture by Eric Talbot has nothing to do with me or Batturtle Productions. Except for if I had thought of it, I totally would have gotten him to draw me something like this one of the couple of times that I met him.

As I've stated on here in an earlier post, I prefer to add some form of picture along with my little blog updates. Alas, I don't have any photographic or art related stuff from the past month or so. Not that I haven't been busy. Work plows along on a couple projects that I can't really talk about just yet. Believe me, I wish I could gush about them but have been sworn to secrecy.

One (which I think I'm allowed to say is a comic book) is painfully close to hitting some form of maybe finding a publisher. It's such an insane uphill battle though. And I can't even say "but I can't complain"...'cause oh boy, could I ever complain about a couple of things that have happened to us in regards to finding a home for this thing and having it become an actual for real on paper comic book.

A couple posts ago I said I wanted to do something a bit more long form this year (like a feature length film). Which I would. But, out of nowhere (as good ideas have a tendency to often come from) a project that would be in a definite non-feature type format is on it's way to becoming a reality. As with that other project that's mentioned above, this too also involves comic books. Except they're more involved in the characters workplace location. I usually am extremely hard on my own writing...and I wrote something for this project that I think is my favorite thing that I've ever done. And that's a lot for me to fess up to considering my normal state of self deprecation.

On the weekend, crewed for a lil' bit on a comic book based shoot titled 'The Scarab'. Would've liked to have worked on it more, but had to ditch out 'cause I was already booked elsewhere. Anyhow, will contribute more work towards it in upcoming weeks.

Above is a shot of one of the costumed characters from the picture, The Woman in Red.

I guess this image could count as Blast From the Past #3 (I don't have drawers full of cool sketches like the TMNT blog has at it's disposal). That's me with a clipboard holding the lined shooting script, looking at a video assist monitor. This was taken during the shooting of one of the Villains shorts, which if I remember correctly was somewhere around 1950. Seems that long ago anyhow.

In more current news, am busy trying to get a few projects going:
I just wrote an 8 page back-up story for a friends comic book mini-series. The series that I co-wrote with Howard Wong is in the limbo of being shopped out to publisher's. In other writing related news, trying to figure out what to do with a trio of finished feature length scripts I have. Using them to sell out in some way would be just grand.

Also possibly re-tooling the ole' Comic Book Connection idea after having been inspired by a couple feature length doc's. Might be easier (well...easier is probably the wrong word) to focus the idea into a documentary with a beginning, middle, and end instead of a series straight away.

Basically, in 2009 I hope to do a longer project in some form. Fiction or doc... maybe both. If I can fit ambition and productivity in-between time spent at the Mayfair watching movies that is.