Monday, April 20, 2009

What turns ya on?

Hello SCARS readers!

This Friday, I had the honor of grossing out the owners/students of the hair school I attend. You see we had a hair show going on with a "circus" theme. I chose to step outside of the box and add a slight element of gore to the mix. Nothing crazy, just some bloody eye bandages and painted on stitches - over all pretty tame. But since it was not a bright happy ray of sunshine ... there were some neigh sayers. (I do after all live in the mid-west.)

However the models I fired to do the show seemed overly thrilled to be made into my creations! One of the models had never done anything even close to gory and she just lite up! I mean she acted like freakin little girl during her first Halloween!

First she wanted the biggest, baddest mohawk up do. Then she wanted to carry one the manikin heads around with her. (The school owner shot that down, since apparently we are in middle school and it's not like I, you know, PAID to be there or anything.) Lastly this model got the amazing idea to fake choke me during the final walk of the show. Amazing.

This lady normally impersonates Julia Roberts at big corporate parties ... now she's pretending to choke me in front of yuppie bankers, dressed like a corpse. Truly, fucking, amazing.

But this isn't the first I've seen the phenomenon. In fact it happens every time we get someone new on set and ask them to get gory. They LOVE it. I mean really love it. So much in fact, that when we try and wipe them down before they go home, they insist on staying gory so they can freak out someone in the drive-through. 

So what is it about the red, red kroovy that makes people so damn happy? 

I was talking with Eric Stanze about this and he suggested that people love it so much because it lets them deal with their own mortality in fun, safe environment. I agree that plays a major part of it ... but I think it's filling the need for something else. That something else being chaos.

Most humans, whether they admit it or not, thrive on some level of chaos. It makes us feel needed and alive. Like there is a fucking purpose after all. When you choose to be covered and in fake blood and run around ... you are choosing chaos. You are choosing something out of the normal rat race. It's liberating.

So in a way ... we horror filmmakers our offering a public service. *wink*

I tell the owner of my school to put that in her pipe and smoke it! 
(That was my 4:20 joke for the day.)

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Other things you must look at after reading this blog:


Mr.Stanze writes about my movie FIVE and the amazing UGLY SHYLA.


Fucking amazing.


A Nos favorite.



STAY DEAD!

<3>



Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Easter 2009

Hello SCARS READERS!

Easter, the day of our Lord, is always a strange time for me. I remember really liking it as a kid and nowadays it's normally just awkward. Unlike Thanksgiving, when every ones eating, or Christmas, when every ones getting presents, Easter is the sobering holiday when you have to deal with loved ones head on. - I hope yours went without a hitch.

It was also a sad day because we lost Marilyn Chambers. She's been an inspiration of mine and my heart goes out to her family.

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Today I'm getting ready for my RATLINE interview. I can't believe we have one day left of shooting (Friday) and we're already doing recap interviews. this project has moved along really quick. Which is kinda nice for a change. 

We added some great people to our team during RATLINE. Trevor Williams has done a kick ass job stepping in as production designer and B.T.S. director! Bob Nealon has done so much for the FX department and overall "watching out" for us it's amazing. It takes most new people a few projects before they really fit in. These guys felt like family from the start. 

I also wanna brag on Mr.Jason Christ. He's not new to Wicked Pixel. In fact he's one of the "originals". But in the last few years Jason has been stepping out from behind the camera and getting in front of it. He's the lead in RATLINE and has done nothing short of a stealer performance. I'm so happy for him and I can't wait for all of you to see him shine! 

RATLINE also stars Emily Haack, a personal favorite. She won me over with her first film SCRAPBOOK and continues to amaze me on RATLINE. Her fans will not be disappointed!

And I can't end this blog without giving mad props to the charming Sarah Swofford.  She is an actress you've got to keep your eye out for! I'm so happy she joined us for RATLINE and I know she's got great things coming her way ....

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A big CONGRATULATIONS to my Friend Philip Warner A.K.A. LITHIUM PICNIC for his picture getting the cover of BIZARRE MAGAZINE! You should pick up a copy for yourself and stare at the beautiful MOSH.

STAY DEAD!
Nos




Sunday, April 5, 2009

Age old question ....

Greetings SCARS fans!

I'd like to dedicate this blog to a question I so often get: "Why do you watch and participate in exploitation and horror films?"

Actually it seems this question is coming up more and more these days. Strange, given the most people aren't very happy with the state of things and have a lot of rage. So one would think horror movies would be a given for entertainment.

But people seem to be rather confused about the business.

So allow me to clear my throat: To understand my "obsession" you must first drop the notion that these movies cause the problem. Horror and exploitation film are a response to the problem. Murder, rape, violence, and overall cruelty were around long before the motion picture was invented. To sit there and say that these films have anything to do with what is going on in the real world is ignorant.

Now on to why I like them. Very simply, it's stress relief. 

There are very few honest emotions left in this world. Political correctness has seen to that. Most go through life never showing our true selves. - We just walk were we are suppose to walk and say what we are suppose to say. All the while rage is bubbling just below the surface of our skin.

Horror and exploitation movies are a release from that. For around two hours we can sit and experience real human emotion. Unforgiving and unflinching.

-Well at least that's how it's suppose to go down. There are watered down pieces of shot that call themselves horror films that should never, EVER, see the light of day. But that's another blog for another day .....

As for as me participating in them ... it's because I enjoy it. Yes, that's right .. I do enjoy re-living my own death over and over. It's soothing to me. -You either get that or you don't. These films have saved my life more than once.

STAY DEAD!
Nos