Boxing Day

4 years ago, I helped produce a $2000 feature film. A comedy called Boxing Day that was written & directed by Francis Abbey, a film school graduate I had met a few years prior. Since its completion, I've watched it at the American Film Institute theater in DC amongst hundreds of howling people and in the most depressing, ill equipped, makeshift film festival screening rooms. It won awards at festivals and received glowing reviews, but I never felt like it reached its potential. Today, Francis has decided to release the full movie online for free on YouTube so hopefully it will reach people who haven't had the chance to see it yet. We screened it just last week and it still makes me laugh.

March

This is what I watched in March a well as the complete first (and only) season of IFC's Film School and Season 6 of Lost. Mostly docs about wrestling as well as some women in prison movies.

3.1 Chasing Ghosts
3.2 The Hollywood Complex
3.3 Shut Up Little Man
3.4 Cave of Forgotten Dreams
3.5 Middle Men
3.6 The Thin Blue Line
3.7 The Reinactors/Small Town Gay Bar
3.8 Women In Cages
3.9 Caged Heat
3.10 Inferno
3.11 Primal Fear
3.12 The Cat O' Nine Tails
3.13 Flock of Dodos
3.14 Darkon
3.15 Demoniacs
3.16 The Backyard
3.17 Selling God
3.18 The Rise and Fall of WCW
3.19 Beyond the Mat
3.20 Half Nelson
3.21 The Bad Lieutenant
3.22 The Exorcist/Game Change
3.23 Film Geek
3.24 This Film Is Not Yet Rated
3.25 Thirst
3.26 Videodrome
3.27 Made/Swingers/The Happening
3.28 Revenge of the Electric Car
3.29 Misery/Sarah Palin: You Betcha
3.30 Project Nim
3.31 Popatopolis

February

Here are the films I watched this month as part of my New Years Resolution. I watched mostly movies about the devil, the church, and evil in preparation for finishing Veil later in the month.

2.1 In a Glass Cage
2.2 Mimic
2.3 Highlander
2.4 All In the Game
2.5 Gone Forever
2.6 The Last Word (2008)
2.7 Twist of Faith
2.8 Playing Columbine
2.9 The God Who Wasn't There
2.10 Cronos
2.11 Collision: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson/The Outsider/Deadlands: The Rising
2.12 Strangeland
2.13 The Devil's Bible/End of Days
2.14 City Lights
2.15 Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory/The Social Network
2.16 Shame
2.17 Megan is Missing
2.18 Human Centipede 2
2.19 The Astronaut Farmer
2.20 Contagion/Casino/Castaway
2.21 Battlefield Earth/The Fly
2.22 All the Presidents Men/The Silence of the Lambs
2.23 The Big Bird Cage
2.24 Midnight Cowboy/American Swing
2.25 Blood and Lace/The Room
2.26 50/50
2.27 The Dead Zone/The River Wild/The Lincoln Lawyer
2.28 Sideways/Babel/Jagged Edge
2.29 Confessions of a Superhero/Blow/Strictly Background

January

My New Year's resolution was to watch a new movie every day. Some I had seen before, but most I saw for the first time. In January I seemed to watch mostly documentaries and French lesbian vampire movies.

1.1 The Marinovich Project
1.2 The Beaver
1.3 Ninjas vs. Vampires
1.4 Ninjas vs. Zombies
1.5 The Devil Within Her
1.6 Child's Play 2/Best Worst Movie
1.7 Making the Boys
1.8 Welcome to Nollywood/Nollywood Babylon
1.9 Machete Maidens Unleashed
1.10 House on Haunted Hill/Some Kind of Monster
1.11 The Shiver of the Vampire
1.12 Shark Attack 3
1.13 The Nude Vampire
1.14 Senna
1.15 Frozen River
1.16 Murder By Decree
1.17 12th & Delaware
1.18 The Pit (2009)
1.19 No Crossover:The Trial of Allen Iverson
1.20 Hated: GG Allin & The Murder Junkies
1.21 The Phantom of the Opera (Argento)
1.22 Waking Sleeping Beauty
1.23 Dreamaniac
1.24 Two Orphan Vampires
1.25 Wishmaster 4
1.26 The Arbor
1.27 Inferno: The Making of The Expendables
1.28 All Good Things
1.29 Julie and Jack/Punch Drunk Love
1.30 Jules and Jim
1.31 The Best That Never Was/Two in the Wave/Monster's Ball

Veil Official Poster

Production wrapped on Veil Dec 1. There are still a few days of additional photography tentatively scheduled for February but I'm very excited with the way it's all cutting together. I haven't written any blog entries since late October but plan to release a series of retroactive entries covering the funding, casting, and production as well as future entries covering the post-production process. Until then, here is the poster I've worked up for Veil. I think it represents the film extremely well.

Save The Broke Filmmakers

This is a truncated version of the original Veil pitch video. It was scrapped after a month online in which it raised very little money for the campaign. We thought it was funny but replaced it with a more serious, straightforward, and sober video. People seems to prefer that and gave us more money. This video still makes me laugh so here it is.

30 Days

In 1999, a $20,000 horror film was made with a minimal crew and no stars. The Blair Witch Project was released and made $248,000,000. It became the most profitable film of all time.

In 2009, a $15,000 horror film was made with a minimal crew and no stars. Paranormal Activity was released and made $193,000,000. It has spawned a franchise that has gone on to generate half a billion dollars.

In November, we're going to make a horror film for $5000 with a minimal crew and no stars. The name of the film is Veil and we need your help. We have only 4 days left to raise the budget. Our campaign can be viewed @ http://www.indiegogo.com/Veil.

When you make a donation of $5, your name will be listed in special thanks credits. $20 will get you an autographed DVD copy of the finished movie. Anyone making a $100 donation will receive a producer credit on the film.

Even if Veil doesn't become the next great horror film, you'll still be a part of something that will last forever. Many of you have already given generously and we thank you. Please continue to support the project by reposting the IndieGoGo link, joining the facebook fanpage, or passing along our pitch video.

facebook.com/page/Veil/154047104689878?sk=wall
indiegogo.com/veil
tensundays.com/veil.html