OK, the final pickup on Sunday went great. I came down with a small book of storyboards and we knocked most of them out pretty fast. It took a little while to prep the shooting area, but once it was ready, we were rockin’ and rollin’. Not bad for having only one grip (thanks Spencer! and double thanks for finally bringing back my Scarlet Diva DVD!) It was kind of fun too, cause Mel House was also at Phobia shooting stuff for Closet Space on the other side of the building (you could hear our screams alternating between takes.)

We did miss one shot which was way over complicated, totally unnecessary, and I was totally under prepared for it anyway, but all the cool crap we came up with on the spot made up for it in spades. Ashley also came in to do wound makeup and coach the actors (IE: show people how to get their asses taken out by zombies!) Also look for Houston horror filmmaker Josh Vargus as the Voodoo Queen’s pet werewolf Jojo!

This just in: Ashley is now in the movie a total of SIX TIMES. Get out the hooch, yo. “Spot Ashley” is now officially a drinking game! Ashley’s shooter of choice for this game is Rum, btw. Her newest scene, which I grabbed on stage at #’s nightclub during Kaos, features her being nabbed by Vampyr: a blood-sucking vixen from B.D. Griffin’s Museum of the Damned and the Depraved.

Oh, I’ve also thrown in a VERY special surprise for fans of my short film Leiah. This is so cool, I can’t even begin to… yeah. Dave, if you’re out there, you’re gonna love this.

I just finished cutting the new scenes into the film earlier today, and it’s giving me a real high. Thanks everyone who came down and made it possible. From the looks of it, all our work this last week has really paid off.

Well, as soon as I get a few more VFX shots in from Mike Oliver, a few illustrations from an artist in California, and a couple of minor VO sessions and another trip out to San Antonio to work with the composer, let’s just say we could be looking at screening this puppy very soon.

Oh, here’s a taste of last weekend…

-s

Beware The Voodoo Queen

Kraig is screwed (wait til you see who did that to him)

Houston, Texas indie filmmaker Josh Vargus and his messed up crew are busy shooting the most demented horror flick you’ll probably ever see.

This is the same guy who’s film CRADLE was called “The most disturbing horror film ever to screen at the Alamo Drafthouse”.

Well, they just put out a new behind-the-scenes diary for the current flick, and apparently we ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Grab a puke bucket and get ready for SWAY.

Sway: Behind the Bullshit

(sorry, YouTube removed the video.)

Keep up with him on MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/deadguyupyourass

I’ve just started a Yahoo group for the Houston Filmmakers Organization.. which I’ve also just started. It’s been up 4 days and already has 80 members. Looking good! Very soon we will be holding local industry mixers downtown. Everyone runs around saying “Film Texas!” (yeah, original).. I say it’s pretty useless to concentrate solely on attracting filmmakers here when we are barely supporting our local filmmakers (Houston, in particular.. obviously Austin does very well). IE, it’s not about Film Texas, it’s about Texas Film. If we have a booming film culture, we WILL attract more productions.

As I see it, it’s going to require:

1. A real film program at one of the major collages.
2. Better inner-city film houses (like The Alamo Drafthouse) to support film appreciation, the culture of indie/alternative film-watching, and to serve as a venue for screening local works.
3. A solid organization of local filmmakers to help people meet and network, share resources, put casts & crews together, and figure out how to get their ideas on the screen.
4. A great film commission to support and advocate all this.

Luckily, we already have an awesome Houston Film Commission. They offer all kinds of services to filmmakers such as help with locations, locating all the local resources you need, and even access to a free, 40 seat digital theater for holding screenings for press, investors, cast/crew, etc.

So, climbing up the ladder, I’m tackling #3. Anyone located in Houston, TX and currently involved in film/TV in any way, please sign up on the HFO Yahoo group and help us grow:

groups.yahoo.com/group/houstonfilm

Just had one of those semi-religious editing nights on Necrophobia, working with Iron Maiden blasting and Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormatory running on repeat until 4:30 in the morning. Working on reel2 (of 4). Lost a lot of great shit, but also expanded a few important character moments and now it flows like a well oiled Swedish sex toy. I don’t mind loosing a few random jokes, because I’ve gained three or four great new scares and given the whole reel a far more dark and gritty tone. I’ve dumped a lot of character moments that didn’t really move the plot along, in favor of letting the other more important character moments breathe a little more. I’ve also knocked off a good 5-7 minutes. Which is great, because last I checked the film was at about 1:45, and I’m trying to get it to 1:30. Shouldn’t be too hard now.

We’ve gotten some mention on the net in the last few days. Very cool. Also got myself in the middle of an argument with some jackass who’s been threatening Heidi Martinuzzi (arguably one of the most active, enthusiastic, and friendly personalities in the horror industry). Details on my MySpace blog. Funny shit.

www.myspace.com/texasfilm