It’s December 30. One more day of 2011 remains.
This year saw my first full year as an former projectionist for Regal Cinemas, the creation of my companies, my first trip ever to L.A., and the creation of a new music video and two short films. I co-presented the west coast premiere of a film made by and featuring one of the people I admire the most in the whole world and got to work with another person whom I also admire just as much. I spent some quality time with my family and friends (though it never feels like enough, does it?) I've tried harder than ever this year to work past my intense introversion and plan on doing even more next year to get past it. Be Nancy! ;D
Next year will see more short films, more music videos, and my first feature. I'll be heading to Vancouver, Canada, in a couple of weeks because aftershock is playing at Curio Presents Viscera Film Festival. Curio is headed by a friend I made this year, Karen, who is like my horror soul-sistah. February sees me back in L.A. and July sees me in San Diego. And who knows where else I'll get to go and what else I'll get to see and do this coming year!
Please be safe on this, our last weekend of 2011, and continue to be safe well into 2012.
See you on the flip side!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Been some crazy busy times here at Kimyoo Aitch-Queue...
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! You have no idea how grateful I am for pretty much everything, especially this past year and a half or so. So many things to be thankful for...
My silence of late was more because I had lots to talk about, but didn't want to say too much. I still have a lot of stuff going on that I can't talk about yet, but I can say this: it's official, Kimyoo Films is now Kimyoo Films, Inc.! Yep, I've taken a giant step forward. two of them, actually, because I've made a sister company for it: Nightbird Studios, Inc.!
Here's the distinction: Kimyoo Films is my baby. It's been with me since 1995 when I decided to name my company after the Japanese word for strange. But, by calling it "Films" I limit its scope, in a sense. Nightbird Studios is for everything else that I have interest in: podcasts / radio shows (I'm talking horror shows here, not awesome podcasts like what my friends Noel (his blog which lists every podcasts he's doing, zomg, Jaye and Tony (who have Zombie vs. Shark), and Miguel (who has Monster Island Resort) do,) comic books, novels, video games...stuff like that. The film festival, when I start it up again, will be under Nightbird Studios and not Kimyoo Films. Hallowscreen isn't about me, it's about the films so I don't even want it to look like it's going to be the "Kimyoo Films Show starring Kimyoo Films!"
I have lots and lots of plans and lots and lots of ideas, but filmmaking comes first and first up is the short film I promised to the Fies sisters for I Hate L.A., Too. This film is slightly more complicated than my past stuff in that I want to film in a business that no one I know owns or even works there. Do to that safely for all parties requires insurance. Well, if I'm going to go through all that, I should be able to get a permit...and if I'm going to get a permit, I might as well go ahead and make Kimyoo Films a corporate reality. It took a lot longer than I had anticipated because I wanted to have the film done a couple of months ago. Ah well, you live and learn. After that film is shot, cut, and on the circuit, I plan on shooting at least one or two more shorts as I prepare for my first feature. I'm hoping to spend half of December and all of January writing another draft of the feature in order to shoot it late next year.
On a side note, it's always easier to ask for funding if you have a fully legal, operating corporation! :D
As I move forward on these projects, I'll be posting more when I CAN post.
And now, to round off this post, some great news! JustUs was accepted to the Little Terrors Film Festival in Toronto for their December edition (date and time to follow) and aftershock has been accepted to Bad Granny's Bazaar's Free Film Night in Oklahoma City on January 26, 2012 as part of Viscera!
My silence of late was more because I had lots to talk about, but didn't want to say too much. I still have a lot of stuff going on that I can't talk about yet, but I can say this: it's official, Kimyoo Films is now Kimyoo Films, Inc.! Yep, I've taken a giant step forward. two of them, actually, because I've made a sister company for it: Nightbird Studios, Inc.!
Here's the distinction: Kimyoo Films is my baby. It's been with me since 1995 when I decided to name my company after the Japanese word for strange. But, by calling it "Films" I limit its scope, in a sense. Nightbird Studios is for everything else that I have interest in: podcasts / radio shows (I'm talking horror shows here, not awesome podcasts like what my friends Noel (his blog which lists every podcasts he's doing, zomg, Jaye and Tony (who have Zombie vs. Shark), and Miguel (who has Monster Island Resort) do,) comic books, novels, video games...stuff like that. The film festival, when I start it up again, will be under Nightbird Studios and not Kimyoo Films. Hallowscreen isn't about me, it's about the films so I don't even want it to look like it's going to be the "Kimyoo Films Show starring Kimyoo Films!"
I have lots and lots of plans and lots and lots of ideas, but filmmaking comes first and first up is the short film I promised to the Fies sisters for I Hate L.A., Too. This film is slightly more complicated than my past stuff in that I want to film in a business that no one I know owns or even works there. Do to that safely for all parties requires insurance. Well, if I'm going to go through all that, I should be able to get a permit...and if I'm going to get a permit, I might as well go ahead and make Kimyoo Films a corporate reality. It took a lot longer than I had anticipated because I wanted to have the film done a couple of months ago. Ah well, you live and learn. After that film is shot, cut, and on the circuit, I plan on shooting at least one or two more shorts as I prepare for my first feature. I'm hoping to spend half of December and all of January writing another draft of the feature in order to shoot it late next year.
On a side note, it's always easier to ask for funding if you have a fully legal, operating corporation! :D
As I move forward on these projects, I'll be posting more when I CAN post.
And now, to round off this post, some great news! JustUs was accepted to the Little Terrors Film Festival in Toronto for their December edition (date and time to follow) and aftershock has been accepted to Bad Granny's Bazaar's Free Film Night in Oklahoma City on January 26, 2012 as part of Viscera!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
JustUs WON at Creative Loafing's Reel Terror Film Festival! :D
Last night, my film JustUs won Best Faux Radio Broadcast at Creative Loafing's Reel Terror Film Festival in Tampa! A near-the-hometown award at a near-the-hometown screening!!
In my inimitable way, I'm sure I looked like a complete prat on stage when I went up to get the award...I hope I said the right words and they came out making some semblance of sense. I'm sure I forgot to thank people so... Huge thanks go out to the Creative Loafing group for liking my flick and giving it an award, my cast and Janine for helping me make it, Kristin Mellian and Aaron Pushkar for giving me incredible radio sweepers, and, of course, the wonderful Brinke Stevens for lending her voice and talents for the DJ, Sheryl Black!
I'll keep checking to see if they have a piece up soon about the festival.
Also...I just discovered that JustUs was REVIEWED on Ain't It Cool News! (click the link and scroll down until you see my trailer. :D )
"Director Lori Bowen shows restraint and patience in this pretty straightforward revenge snippet involving a rapist/murderer released on a technicality, a woman in white, and a room filled with plastic. The tone is pretty heavy and the camera work is done with a talented hand. Definitely a good and terrifying treat that only takes six minutes to unfold." -- Mark L. Miller (AmbushBug), Ain't It Cool News
In my inimitable way, I'm sure I looked like a complete prat on stage when I went up to get the award...I hope I said the right words and they came out making some semblance of sense. I'm sure I forgot to thank people so... Huge thanks go out to the Creative Loafing group for liking my flick and giving it an award, my cast and Janine for helping me make it, Kristin Mellian and Aaron Pushkar for giving me incredible radio sweepers, and, of course, the wonderful Brinke Stevens for lending her voice and talents for the DJ, Sheryl Black!
I'll keep checking to see if they have a piece up soon about the festival.
Also...I just discovered that JustUs was REVIEWED on Ain't It Cool News! (click the link and scroll down until you see my trailer. :D )
"Director Lori Bowen shows restraint and patience in this pretty straightforward revenge snippet involving a rapist/murderer released on a technicality, a woman in white, and a room filled with plastic. The tone is pretty heavy and the camera work is done with a talented hand. Definitely a good and terrifying treat that only takes six minutes to unfold." -- Mark L. Miller (AmbushBug), Ain't It Cool News
Friday, October 14, 2011
The Thing
I haven’t written a review for a while, but tonight I watched The Thing and wanted to get this out. It's 3:17 in the morning so please pardon any overt typos... :D
My main issue with remakes is that they’re written by people who don’t understand or have the same motivation for writing or making the new film as the originators. Rarely is a remake undertaken with true passion for the subject and in horror, it seems that most remakes are written by fans who want nothing more than to leave their mark on their favourite franchise (witness how lovingly the Elm Street remake writers poured over Freddy’s backstory and left the rest of the characters, especially Nancy Holbrook, whose model, Nancy Thompson, was written for a specific reason and with purpose, out to dry...but I digress.)
I know The Thing in theatres right now is purported to be a prequel and not a remake. I call it a premake. It’s taking the bare bones of the first remake (yes, it’s a remake, I’ll get to that later, I’m sure), adding a few new characters, and follows through to the end, but it has a higher budget and what some people believe are “better effects.”
Let’s be honest here, even the title gives itself away; it’s not called The Thing Begins or Before the Thing or Again with the Thing. It’s The Thing. It’s as though The Thing took John Carpenter’s The Thing and assimilated it like the characters it’s about, but there’s just something intrinsically Not Right about it. To put it in the parlance of the film, it’s imitating and it can’t help it when a big mouth bursts through its chest when the viewer starts to think: “Hey, wait a minute...”
To sum up The New Thing’s story: a team of Norwegian explorers discover a massive alien craft well below the surface of Antarctica (100,000 years down, geologically speaking) and they call in American paleontologist Kate (the wonderful Mary Elizabeth Winstead) to help dig out the craft’s pilot (which was found near the surface, by the way. 100,000 years down is a loooooong way to go, ya dig?)
Anyway, she brings it up and the head of the expedition wants to take a tissue sample before she’s cleared the block of ice as being okay to drill into. It doesn’t matter since it’s warmer in the storeroom than outside and the ice starts melting. Dun dun dun....
Chaos ensues when The Thing inevitably bursts out of the ice very dramatically and eats everyone one by one.
That right there is a huge problem. Nothing The Thing does in this film is subtle. There’s no tension, no questioning who is what is who. Once The Thing is freed, the film turns into a sort of sci-fi action slasher.
Kate figures things out way too fast, almost faster than Blair (Wilford Brimley in Carpenter’s flick). It got to the point where I thought the character had read the script and was picking the right times to tell everyone what was going on.
Would it be a spoiler to say that it had a happy ending? “But Lori,” I hear you say in my head because I’m awesome like that, “the Norwegians were all counted as dead five or ten minutes into Carpenter’s flick.” I know. The NORWEGIANS were dead.
*sigh*
They dealt with the Norwegians and tying it into Carpenter’s The Thing as an afterthought; the scenes that tie them together are cut into the credits, accompanied by the only instance of Ennio Morricone’s brilliant theme (Marco Beltrami scored The New Thing and while I liked his work on Scream, his style is way too bombastic and in your face.)
The effects...they brought in two brilliant practical effects creature guys, Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., who were Stan Winston acolytes and have done some amazing work (The Terminator, Aliens, Death Becomes Her among so many others. Go look them up on the IMDb, seriously.) Then, the majority of their work was covered in CGI. The ubiquitous They also decided to show way too much of The Thing, probably to distract the viewer from wondering about the inconsistencies.
It’s a good cast dealing with what they’ve been given to the best of their abilities, but, honestly, the American angle was only added so they wouldn’t have to film the whole thing in Norwegian thereby alienating all those who don’t want to read the movie. They might’ve had a tighter film if they’d kept the Americans out of it because, other than to propel the movie forward, they add nothing to the story. As much as I like Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the film, any other character could’ve taken on that mantle.
John Carpenter’s The Thing was taut, though breezy, playing up the “Who Goes There?” (if you’ll pardon the reference) aspect far better than even its predecessor, Howard Hawks’ The Thing From Another World. The New Thing isn’t a prequel to a Cold War science fiction flick, though, it’s a prequel to Carpenter’s The Thing. If you can’t uphold the quality and tension of the flick you’re premaking then just don’t bother.
It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good either. At least its predecessor is called John Carpenter’s The Thing, but that won’t eliminate confusion when the DVD is released. Maybe that’s a tactic Universal is banking on, all those Blu-ray units moved because some people think that it’s JC’s The Thing.
I’d say avoid.
My main issue with remakes is that they’re written by people who don’t understand or have the same motivation for writing or making the new film as the originators. Rarely is a remake undertaken with true passion for the subject and in horror, it seems that most remakes are written by fans who want nothing more than to leave their mark on their favourite franchise (witness how lovingly the Elm Street remake writers poured over Freddy’s backstory and left the rest of the characters, especially Nancy Holbrook, whose model, Nancy Thompson, was written for a specific reason and with purpose, out to dry...but I digress.)
I know The Thing in theatres right now is purported to be a prequel and not a remake. I call it a premake. It’s taking the bare bones of the first remake (yes, it’s a remake, I’ll get to that later, I’m sure), adding a few new characters, and follows through to the end, but it has a higher budget and what some people believe are “better effects.”
Let’s be honest here, even the title gives itself away; it’s not called The Thing Begins or Before the Thing or Again with the Thing. It’s The Thing. It’s as though The Thing took John Carpenter’s The Thing and assimilated it like the characters it’s about, but there’s just something intrinsically Not Right about it. To put it in the parlance of the film, it’s imitating and it can’t help it when a big mouth bursts through its chest when the viewer starts to think: “Hey, wait a minute...”
To sum up The New Thing’s story: a team of Norwegian explorers discover a massive alien craft well below the surface of Antarctica (100,000 years down, geologically speaking) and they call in American paleontologist Kate (the wonderful Mary Elizabeth Winstead) to help dig out the craft’s pilot (which was found near the surface, by the way. 100,000 years down is a loooooong way to go, ya dig?)
Anyway, she brings it up and the head of the expedition wants to take a tissue sample before she’s cleared the block of ice as being okay to drill into. It doesn’t matter since it’s warmer in the storeroom than outside and the ice starts melting. Dun dun dun....
Chaos ensues when The Thing inevitably bursts out of the ice very dramatically and eats everyone one by one.
That right there is a huge problem. Nothing The Thing does in this film is subtle. There’s no tension, no questioning who is what is who. Once The Thing is freed, the film turns into a sort of sci-fi action slasher.
Kate figures things out way too fast, almost faster than Blair (Wilford Brimley in Carpenter’s flick). It got to the point where I thought the character had read the script and was picking the right times to tell everyone what was going on.
Would it be a spoiler to say that it had a happy ending? “But Lori,” I hear you say in my head because I’m awesome like that, “the Norwegians were all counted as dead five or ten minutes into Carpenter’s flick.” I know. The NORWEGIANS were dead.
*sigh*
They dealt with the Norwegians and tying it into Carpenter’s The Thing as an afterthought; the scenes that tie them together are cut into the credits, accompanied by the only instance of Ennio Morricone’s brilliant theme (Marco Beltrami scored The New Thing and while I liked his work on Scream, his style is way too bombastic and in your face.)
The effects...they brought in two brilliant practical effects creature guys, Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., who were Stan Winston acolytes and have done some amazing work (The Terminator, Aliens, Death Becomes Her among so many others. Go look them up on the IMDb, seriously.) Then, the majority of their work was covered in CGI. The ubiquitous They also decided to show way too much of The Thing, probably to distract the viewer from wondering about the inconsistencies.
It’s a good cast dealing with what they’ve been given to the best of their abilities, but, honestly, the American angle was only added so they wouldn’t have to film the whole thing in Norwegian thereby alienating all those who don’t want to read the movie. They might’ve had a tighter film if they’d kept the Americans out of it because, other than to propel the movie forward, they add nothing to the story. As much as I like Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the film, any other character could’ve taken on that mantle.
John Carpenter’s The Thing was taut, though breezy, playing up the “Who Goes There?” (if you’ll pardon the reference) aspect far better than even its predecessor, Howard Hawks’ The Thing From Another World. The New Thing isn’t a prequel to a Cold War science fiction flick, though, it’s a prequel to Carpenter’s The Thing. If you can’t uphold the quality and tension of the flick you’re premaking then just don’t bother.
It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good either. At least its predecessor is called John Carpenter’s The Thing, but that won’t eliminate confusion when the DVD is released. Maybe that’s a tactic Universal is banking on, all those Blu-ray units moved because some people think that it’s JC’s The Thing.
I’d say avoid.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
A couple of quick notes!
It's been crazy over here at Kimyoo Haitch-Queue! I got back yesterday from Spooky Empire where I was on two filmmaker panels and I attended a screening of JustUs at the Enzian's October FilmSlam (I'd found out about it on October 1 and was busy getting ready for Spooky so I neglected to post about it here) so expect a write up of that as soon as I emerge more fully from my introvert's coma. :D I wanted to share some very cool stuff before I retreat!
First of all, JustUs has been accepted to Creative Loafing's Reel Terror Film Festival in Ybor City, Florida, which takes place on October 22. The festival runs noon to midnight, but I was told that my film will be programmed in the third shorts block which is 10:20 pm-11:10pm.
Secondly, Char Hardin has bestowed JustUs with our very first review! Read it here! Thank you, Char!
Thirdly (and finally), if you're in Worchester, Massachusetts, for Rock and Shock or Canton, Ohio, for the Canton Film Festival, don't forget that JustUs is playing both of these events! I know, right? Anyway, Rock and Shock is a horror convention with a film festival of the same name. Heather Langenkamp's film I Am Nancy plays a couple of hours after my film (teehee!) and Robert Englund's new film Inkubus plays a few hours after that! (teeheehee!)
I'll be updating the blog in the next week while I wait for paperwork things to move through. You know how it is...the world runs on paperwork! But keep an eye out for some interesting and exciting things to happen in the Kimyoo-niverse! (I JUST TOTALLY MADE THAT UP! And the fact that I'm kind of excited by that tells you just how freaking exhausted I am right now...)
First of all, JustUs has been accepted to Creative Loafing's Reel Terror Film Festival in Ybor City, Florida, which takes place on October 22. The festival runs noon to midnight, but I was told that my film will be programmed in the third shorts block which is 10:20 pm-11:10pm.
Secondly, Char Hardin has bestowed JustUs with our very first review! Read it here! Thank you, Char!
Thirdly (and finally), if you're in Worchester, Massachusetts, for Rock and Shock or Canton, Ohio, for the Canton Film Festival, don't forget that JustUs is playing both of these events! I know, right? Anyway, Rock and Shock is a horror convention with a film festival of the same name. Heather Langenkamp's film I Am Nancy plays a couple of hours after my film (teehee!) and Robert Englund's new film Inkubus plays a few hours after that! (teeheehee!)
I'll be updating the blog in the next week while I wait for paperwork things to move through. You know how it is...the world runs on paperwork! But keep an eye out for some interesting and exciting things to happen in the Kimyoo-niverse! (I JUST TOTALLY MADE THAT UP! And the fact that I'm kind of excited by that tells you just how freaking exhausted I am right now...)
Thursday, September 29, 2011
JustUs heading to Rock and Shock, Sine heading to Europe!
Sometimes, you don't get emails from festivals that your work got in. I think it's because they depend on Withoutabox to notify when "Accepted" is clicked next to your name, but the fact of the fact of the matter is that Withoutabox, for all of its convenience, doesn't work like that apparently. Twice now, I've discovered that Sine has been accepted to a film festival because I logged into my account and saw the lovely green "ACCEPTED" under the festival name. The obverse is also true: I've been notified that it HASN'T been accepted only because I logged in.
Anyway, I'm happy to announce that "Sine" has been accepted to the European Film Festival which tours Europe from October 14 - November 17, 2011!
Also, I'm happy to announce that JustUs has been accepted to the Rock and Shock Film Festival which takes place October 14-16, 2011, in Boston, MA! The film festival is part of the Rock and Shock horror convention to which I WISH I was going not the least of which because Heather Langenkamp is going to be there! (And Robert Englund...but HEATHER! ;D ) Plus, I bet it's going to be a LOT of fun, but I'd already committed to filming my brother's side project, Didges Christ Superdrum at Zombicon in Ft. Myers that weekend. Plus, JustUs and Sine are playing Canton that weekend...and my friend and JustUs lead actress Sage Hall is getting MARRIED that weekend.
Neither of those festivals have posted their schedules yet, but I'll come back and post when they have. Plus, I have to update my laurels!
Whew! What a month!
Anyway, I'm happy to announce that "Sine" has been accepted to the European Film Festival which tours Europe from October 14 - November 17, 2011!
Also, I'm happy to announce that JustUs has been accepted to the Rock and Shock Film Festival which takes place October 14-16, 2011, in Boston, MA! The film festival is part of the Rock and Shock horror convention to which I WISH I was going not the least of which because Heather Langenkamp is going to be there! (And Robert Englund...but HEATHER! ;D ) Plus, I bet it's going to be a LOT of fun, but I'd already committed to filming my brother's side project, Didges Christ Superdrum at Zombicon in Ft. Myers that weekend. Plus, JustUs and Sine are playing Canton that weekend...and my friend and JustUs lead actress Sage Hall is getting MARRIED that weekend.
Neither of those festivals have posted their schedules yet, but I'll come back and post when they have. Plus, I have to update my laurels!
Whew! What a month!
Friday, September 23, 2011
JustUs screening dates and more!
I always have the intention of keeping up on my blog. It's not that I don't love this place, but I get tired of sitting in front of the computer so I end up only posting when I have good news to share, like now. I can't promise that I'll be better in the future, only that I'll try.
Firstly, while I won't be making anymore out-of-state trips for at least the rest of this year (plans always change, but I don't see it happening), I will be going to Spooky Empire in Orlando again this year, but as a filmmaker! I've been asked to be on two separate filmmaker panels during the convention! I don't have anything playing in the concurrent film festival, but it'll be fun to do those panels; thank you to Tim Anderson and Jesse Kozel for asking me!
Secondly, JustUs has gotten it's first two festival acceptances! Miguel Rodriguez of the Monster Island Resort podcast (and one of the nicest people I've met!) accepted my film to his event which is called Horrible Imaginings. It takes place on the weekend of November 4 in San Diego and last night, the Canton Film Festival in my birthplace of Canton, Ohio, accepted JustUs AND the music video Sine to their festival! And "Sine" just played the Black Rock Film Festival in Nevada over Labor Day weekend! That city doesn't exist outside of Burning Man!
You see that, Sarasota Film Festival? I haven't lived there for almost 23 years and they accepted two of my works the first time I submitted. I've lived here for almost 23 years and have been rejected every time I enter.
*sigh*
Anyway, I'm also in the middle of prepping a new flick. I'm hoping for a mid-October shoot date for this short, but paper work and all that need to be sorted out first. It shouldn't take too long, it's a six or seven page script with two locations. One location is slightly more complicated than the other, but locations are usually sticky wickets.
If you're in Orlando over the first weekend in October, come to Spooky Empire and say hi! I'll be the one wearing a horror themed t-shirt. Oh, wait...
Firstly, while I won't be making anymore out-of-state trips for at least the rest of this year (plans always change, but I don't see it happening), I will be going to Spooky Empire in Orlando again this year, but as a filmmaker! I've been asked to be on two separate filmmaker panels during the convention! I don't have anything playing in the concurrent film festival, but it'll be fun to do those panels; thank you to Tim Anderson and Jesse Kozel for asking me!
Secondly, JustUs has gotten it's first two festival acceptances! Miguel Rodriguez of the Monster Island Resort podcast (and one of the nicest people I've met!) accepted my film to his event which is called Horrible Imaginings. It takes place on the weekend of November 4 in San Diego and last night, the Canton Film Festival in my birthplace of Canton, Ohio, accepted JustUs AND the music video Sine to their festival! And "Sine" just played the Black Rock Film Festival in Nevada over Labor Day weekend! That city doesn't exist outside of Burning Man!
You see that, Sarasota Film Festival? I haven't lived there for almost 23 years and they accepted two of my works the first time I submitted. I've lived here for almost 23 years and have been rejected every time I enter.
*sigh*
Anyway, I'm also in the middle of prepping a new flick. I'm hoping for a mid-October shoot date for this short, but paper work and all that need to be sorted out first. It shouldn't take too long, it's a six or seven page script with two locations. One location is slightly more complicated than the other, but locations are usually sticky wickets.
If you're in Orlando over the first weekend in October, come to Spooky Empire and say hi! I'll be the one wearing a horror themed t-shirt. Oh, wait...
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