Green Eyed Monster And The Grey Sky Project

On to other things...

2010-04-04T00:38:00.002-05:00

I probably should have posted about this some time ago, but better late than never right?

After finishing the G.E.M. tour and diving into freelance work I started work on another project that had been eating a way at me for a while. All that time on the road gave me exactly what I needed to flesh out the details for a website I had been wanting to develop. So I spent countless nights writing out the details and fine tuning the plan.

Although we are still in a Beta Version and have many more features to introduce I am happy to announce that anyone interested can follow me and a whole team of filmmakers @ TheMoviePool.com

If you're up for it you can join the site and share your stories as well. See you there.

Surving the crash...

2008-05-06T08:02:00.003-05:00

Approx 7,000 miles in 60 days, New York to Los Angeles and in between.

It was great but I have to admit that I am happy to be home. That last bit in L.A. was very tiresome. Trying to go full steam at the convention everyday proved to be a challenge after having not had a good nights sleep in a while and even losing a little sleep on a few nights. Overall it was good though. One of those things you know - if I had it to do again, I would.

The drive back was long and quick. Rushed really. I had to be back for the screening on Wednesday so I pretty much drove straight from L.A., only resting to stretch my legs and catch a short nights sleep at trusty old truck stops.

One of the only memorable things about the trip back happened at a gas station outside of El Paso. A guy kept trying to convince me to give him a ride to WHEREVER I WAS GOING. He didn't care really. I kept telling him NO and he kept asking which freeway I would take. He said he could ride with me for as long as I'd let him, then he'd get off. There was a little humor to the situation really. He was trying to be funny to break the ice. I don't do the hitch-hiker thing.

Back at home the screening went well. We didn't have a huge turnout, maybe 25 - 30 people but it was still nice. A lot of family and friends showed up to show their ongoing support and that's always appreciated. The picture looked great but to be honest, the sound was horrible. The speakers sounded as if they were blown. I had to ask them to lower the volume but it didn't help much. The speakers were terrible. One of the things I was looking forward to was having GREEN EYED MONSTER in the marquee. It was something they said they would do but they didn't end up doing. I hadn't mentioned it to anyone because I thought it would be cool for them to show up and see it - but it wasn't there. I was going to bring it up to the manager but I knew it wasn't in the contract and he was pretty much acting like a dick. He wasn't the booking manager, just the manager on duty and he didn't hide the fact that I was an annoyance. I don't care though. It was a wednesday night, they weren't exactly busy. I just left it alone since at this point I would have to have taken everyone outside and shown them the sign - the moment was lost. Ah well - next time.

Being back is a little weird. For the first time in nearly two years I have allowed myself to wind down. It's a little scary really. All I can think of is Pirandello's A DAY GOES BY. Of course I haven't actually read the story in about 4 years so I can only make comparisons from what I remember.

I do know that everything around me looks a little different. I guess it sounds like I am exaggerating here so I should point out that I am not referring to the 60 day journey, but really the long process of writing, producing, directing, editing, and promoting this movie. The monster overhead at all times, the lingering what if that is no more. What if has pretty much come and gone. Winding down has been a whirlwind, a crashing down of nervous tension - finally allowing me to relax.

It's funny but my son is much bigger and talks way more than I truthfully remember ( I refer to toddler years as dog years - they grow so fast). My wife, who was only my girlfriend when this whole process began is still supportive as ever and I appreciate it more than ever. I can see the stresses in her face as she has balanced the kids, her career, and supporting my dreams. At the screening my brother showed up and I wanted to say so much but really couldn't. There were so many people around and the time is never right. We both invested a lot in this movie, more than just money really. He has always been extremely supportive and I wonder if he truly knows how much I've tried.

It sounds funny but even the damn cat looks different - it's bigger.

There is so much more to tell - and believe me I will. I don't intend for the blogs to cease. I really didn't intend to wait a week between posts. I still have a few video logs to post so those will still be coming up - even though they are slightly dated.

But that will have to be tomorrow. Today I am off to start editing a short project for the Boys and Girls Club. It's a short gig that a friend got for me as soon as I got back - the timing is excellent because I could really use the work.

I do want to mention a few things quickly though. The $500 Video Puzzle has been great so far, nobody has solved it but tons of eyes have seen it. I backed off a little bit this past week but I am going to continue to push it out there. I still have a few plans for getting more eyes on it. HOW BOUT THAT 100,000 ROB! It actually was the first of a several videos that will come out to support the movie. The others are actually clues for the movie as well is individual contests but they are on hold temporarily. It seems we were able to get enough attention during this tour and will be signing a distribution deal soon - fingers crossed. More about that later.

Well I think a weeks long rest is plenty. I am going to be announcing my next project very soon (this month) so keep an eye out for it. I will probably mention it more on the blog than on the G.E.M. site because it's an entirely different movie, not along the same lines at all. I should be getting the Grey Sky Project site back up but it needs a little updating.

I have a much larger project aside from G.E.M and aside from the next movie I have planned, but it's way too soon for that - just thought I'd throw it out there. I guess I just want anyone reading to know that the blogs aren't going to stop, the video logs will continue - probably infrequently but what else is new.

This whole adventure is not going to stop anytime soon for one simple reason: This is my life.

The Advetures Of A Persistent And Stubborn Man

2008-04-28T16:52:00.007-05:00

Now that Fangoria is over I can dish all the dirt!

Well not dirt really but all the stuff I went through over the weekend. It was a great weekend and I met a ton of interesting people. There were directors and producers and it was very interesting - and scary, to learn that most of them aren't much better off than I am. Sure they've made a few more movies and work with bigger budgets but they have the same worries, and none of them really know where the financing for their next film is going to come from. The Cinema Fairies just sprinkle gold dust down now and then I guess.

As I mentioned before we were all notified that electricity would cost over $100 for the event. We were also told that there were rules about how our stuff could be brought into the event. Small passenger vehicles could come up to the dock but not trucks - the monster truck was considered a truck in this case. It's a strange setup and if you're in a big truck you had to pay for teamsters to load you up in a cart and take you into the exhibitors area - $50 per cart. I really would have only had one cart but I wasn't going to do it.

So because of the truck being tall I had to park in a lot a few blocks away and carry all my stuff back by myself. I basically stuffed a big duffle bag, it had wheels so it worked out.

The thing is, I needed electricity. Luckily I had an idea and risked it. You see I have an extra battery in the back of the truck to operate the signs, along with a large Pure Sine Wave inverter to convert the power. So I loaded this stuff up into the bag and hoped for the best. This added about another 25bs to the bag. So there I was, dragging a 50lb bag, carrying posters, with an Andy Warhol screenwriters bag draped over my shoulder. It was heavy. WHO WANTS TO ARM WRESTLE NOW HUH???

From the ground level parking lots there is a flight of outdoor concrete steps you have to walk up to get to the exhibitors level. I'd estimate oh, about 50 - 60 steps. So I dragged the bag up the steps and about another block (in distance) to the entrance. Luckily since I was a vendor I could just wheel my stuff in. I don't know how they would have reacted to the whole Car Battery in a bag thing. So I set up my table and went to work underneath on my rig. The problem is I had to be careful not to cause any sparks or I would get caught. I only sparked once - sweated for an hour about it but nobody noticed.

So with a little hard work I saved myself over $150 by dragging my stuff a few blocks and rigging up the battery under my table.

All was great. For a day anyway.

I knew that battery wouldn't last all weekend even though it was just charging a laptop but I assumed it would last longer than it did. I got through the first day fine but on the second day it died out after only 2hrs. 7hrs to go and no display!

I Couldn't have that. So I went into stealth mode and stuffed the battery in a box. I asked the girl in the booth next to me to watch my stuff - she was very nice and I had been chatting with her and her husband all weekend. She sold these cool skeleton things she makes.

So I walked about 6 blocks with my battery in a box. I took another chance and just took the big battery out of the truck and walked back with it instead. It had a full charge so I hoped for the best and hoped I wouldn't be stranded later.

When I got back I was tired and dying. It was hot. I rigged it all up again and got back to work. Luckily I made it through the day, walked back with the battery, and the truck started! BUT I HAD TO PLAN FOR THE NEXT DAY. I took the small battery to Autozone and gave it a fresh charge.

The next day I went through all the motions again but this time they opened up another parking lot so I only had to walk about 4 blocks.

Before I went to the convention I stopped for a bite at Mcdonalds and the strangest thing happened. The place was packed so I had to sit at a wall booth meant for multiple people. I was eating and a guy walked up talking to himself. He placed his food down, looked at me and lifted up his shirt to reveal a huge scar. He said, "It's my birthday today - I'm 26. One year ago I was in a 27 day coma because I got in a car with a crazy lady in Manhattan. She was drunk and slammed us into a tree."

That was his introduction. No hello...how are you, just all of that info. He was from New York and had a thick accent. We talked, or really he talked and I just listened while I finished eating.

He told me about how he had left one night without telling anyone. He assumed all his friends thought he was either in jail or dead. He told me that he came to California to get out of trouble but he moved in with his cousins. TWIN BROTHERS - ONE BLOOD, ONE CRIP. How does that happen?

So he moved into a hostel to try to get his head straight. He seemed like a good guy who just wanted to better himself. I wish him luck.

Back at the convention I had a pretty slow day with sales, but I met more interesting people so it was great. I was interviewed by Bloody-Disgusting.com but I think I blew it. I was really tired and I kind of rambled. I don't think I gave them any good stuff. I also gave a copy of G.E.M. to Sean Clark, the writer/producer of The Black Waters of Echoes Pond. No expectations really. He was just really cool so I told him to check it out one night. He is working on his first big project so I doubt he will ever have the time, who knows?

I was kind of dreading quitting time because I had to stuff everything back into the duffle bag and drag it to the truck, so I just didn't think about it much.

It was slowing down and I started to consider packing up but then I had a series of interesting conversations with people that made the day better.

The first was a woman who really, really, really wanted me to make a movie about Zombies on a cruise ship. I swear it has to have been done before but she said it hadn't. She was a Zombie freak and was all over FLIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. I haven't seen it, yet.

She talked for a while about how she wanted to be an actress but let the dream go. She actually moved to L.A. for it (never told me where from). She said she just joined the rat race and became a Horror junkie. If they do a casting call for a Zombie Cruise Ship movie I told her she should go. If not, she would regret it forever.

A guy walked up during this conversation and told me that Zombies were old news. What we really needed was a CYBORG VAMPIRE movie.

Try to kill it with a stake?

-You can't it's a cyborg!

Sunlight won't kill it - it's a cyborg!

It still drinks blood, for no other reason but that it has to or it wouldn't be a vampire.

"So who made this vampire", I asked.

WE ALL DID, he responded. There is a big machine brain that drains all of our emotions and stuffs them into an SD card style chip. The chip gets so full of emotions it turns itself into a fully functional robot?

"So how does it become a Vampire?" I asked.

WE ALL LOVE VAMPIRES SO MUCH IT JUST GETS STUCK INTO HIM, he said.

This went on for about a half hour. I tried to hard not to laugh. Not because of the idea but because of his responses. If he got backed into a wall he just said, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE EXPLAINED, IT's A CYBORG VAMPIRE!

I would dismiss the idea completely but then again with a tagline like - IT'S A MUTHAFUCKIN CYBORG VAMPIRE, it might just hit.

By the way, BLACK DEVIL DOLL got an X rating. They spun this creatively with the theme of the movie. The posters say, RATED X BY AN ALL WHITE JURY - MUTHAFUCKA!

The conversation ended with the guy telling me not to steal his idea.

Just after 6:00 another guy walked up to the table and started to talk to me. He looked a lot like Guillermo Del Toro but was a little darker. His name was Pedro Reynosa (I think - he never gave me his card).

This conversation was entirely different but still very interesting. He comes to these things to try to pitch his ideas to directors. He has a great attitude about it too. Basically he says he's been told NO, he's been told that NOBoDY WILL LISTEN AT A CONVENTION, and he's been told to COME BACK WITH AN AGENT. But he's also been told to send the script to the office.

He had been doing it for three years and he learned to stop bringing scripts. Instead he brought 10 page treatments with a 2 page Synopsis and Breakdown. He said these are the most popular because someone can pass or accept it within 5 minutes.

He offered his opinion about how to promote the movie and get distribution but he also admitted that he knew little about the subject and only wanted to write. He said that these conventions are great because Directors and Producers are accesible. They aren't superfamous and are always looking for an idea that might hit. The logic was there.

He mentioned the old saying that always rings true, "A beginning writer is like a prostitute, whoring himself out to the lowest bidder."

He never really pitched anything to me and it made perfect sense. He said there was no reason to pitch to people who are still scraping their way up as well. What good could it do. Although I don't entirely agree, in this case he was right, I can't help him.

Before I left I visited the coolest table in the world! It was the PUPPETMASTER guy. He had all the puppetmaster dolls and the 7 DVD set for sale. I grew up on those movies. It's funny because as a kid I never realized I was scraping the bottom of the cinematic barrel. I thought it was gold!

I also saw a poster for his companies next film, GINGERBREAD MAN 2: THE PASSION OF THE CRUST!

I probably won't get a chance to catch that one but the title is hilarious.

My last sale of the day was a fun one. A man walked up quickly with his daughter. They seemed like they were in a rush and he only asked a few questions about the movie. He asked me to sign it and if I would take a picture with his daughter. It probably meant more to me than it did to them because there aren't any bragging rights associated with that photo - it was a nice way to end the day for me though. I packed it all up, dragged my stuff back to the truck and said my goodbyes to Hollywood.

I had spent the last few nights camped outside the SUNSET GOWER STUDIOS. After a few nights hunting down comfortable places in Santa Monica and the edges of Beverly Hills I finally stumbled across this place. It really isn't in the greatest of neighborhoods but the parking is less restrictive, the place is bright, and it's always really busy. Each night I would find a good spot and wait for the coast to be clear and then jump into the back quickly before anyone saw me. Simply because I didn't want people to know I was in it. With it just sitting there nobody would ever guess someone was sleeping in it.

It did have it's issues though. There was a jazz club across the street and Friday and Saturday night were a little crazy. On Friday the area was packed with cars circling around and the parking lot was full of people who had just gotten into a fight. That's what a guy with a bloody shirt means right?

I was too tired to care. I have to admit that I did lose a little sleep that night because of the noise and the thoughts dancing around in my head. Saturday was a little more calm but it still got rowdy.

Why did I stay?

Simple. The place had the most amazing view of the HOLLYWOOD sign. Whether you are into mainstream or indie, the megaplex or the arthouse, it all centers around the same place, the same idea, that one big sign. If it didn't we'd all be novelists right?

Each morning I got up and took a good look at the sign and the studios. Maybe one day I'll have the resources to be able to utilize the same studios in one of my productions.

I can point to the spots I slept in and tell everyone about the experience.

One day.

Fangoria Weekend of Horrors and a whole lotta porn...

2008-04-26T00:14:00.013-05:00

Quick Tip: TALL TRUCKS ARE HARD TO PARK.

The monster truck happens to be about 10ft high so trying to park this thing at the Los Angeles convention center was a B****. It worked out though, parking was $12 or $17 at a nearby hotel so I just drove around until I found one that allowed bigger trucks (one day it's a big truck , then small, then big again). So I lucked out and found $5 parking at a small Taco Stand/Parking Lot (just like Mcdonalds at a Chevron right - serves two purposes). So I basically had to huff it about 6 blocks but I could use the excercise. I mean just because I shower everday at 24hr fitness doesn't mean I have to actually work out there right?

Dragging all my stuff the 6 blocks was also a pain - more about that on Sunday!

It seems that Fangoria isn't the only one hosting a weekend for those with a slight cinematic obsession - it turns out this weekend is also ADULTCON at the convention center too.

Question: Why would the Adultcon vendors pass out clear bags? Seriously?

Close to closing time a few questionable looking women wandered in with clear bags, clear heels, and all of their SCHWAG showing. I mean ADULTCON merch is limited to a certain category of unmentionables - in various colors and sizes of course.

On to another subject...

I keep running in to the writer/producer of The Dark Waters Of Echoes Pond, Sean Clark. I'm sure I don't stand out in the guys memory or anything but we've met at Texas Fear Fest, briefly at Monster Mania in Jersey, and finally got to talking while in line at the City of Los Angeles to get the whole sellers permit thing situated. This is the same movie that has brought the Avellan twins (Elektra and Elise) to each of these promotions as they have lead roles in the film.

Strictly by chance the Green Eyed Monster table is directly across from the Black Waters of Echoes Pond booth - complete with stars, autograph lines, and Horror themed T-shirts.

I spent the afternoon perfecting my whole spiel again, it changes so much and still isn't perfected. Toward the end of the day (a little bit after the AdultCon girls crashed the party) I heard one of the Avellan twins call out GREEN EYED MONSTER! I would call them by their individual names but I don't know which is which. The OLSEN's got used to it - maybe these girls will too.

I had thought about dropping by to say "hi" since they were nice enough to give me that picture back in Texas but I decided against it because I would look like an idiot - or a stalker- or both. Now here I was and they were calling me. I turned and one of them shouted, "I recognize you, you look familiar."

I started to laugh and shouted back that I doubted they recognized me but that I should look a little familiar - maybe... that is if I don't blend into the thousands of other people that celebrities meet at these things. Before I got a chance to really say much of anything one of them said, "FROM YOUTUBE!" I was shocked.

Like an IDIOT my first response was, "Really, you saw me on youtube?"

They laughed and said, "YES YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT US ON YOUTUBE, WE WATCHED YOUR VIDEO."

I didn't really know what to say so I just said, "Yeah I did it on purpose just to steal a few views." But then I had to ask how they saw the video.

All of this took place in screams across the room so I finally walked over. They said that one of their friends had told them that there were "tribute videos" all over Youtube and had showed them a few of them. They admitted to being a little creeped out by it all because they said sometimes the videos are a little weird. So they found my video because someone mentioned online obsessed stalkers! Damn it!

You see I tagged my Youtube video with their names so that it would come up in searches, since I had shown their picture and met them at Texas Fear Fest it was pretty justifiable I think. But now I felt weird. They laughed when I swore to them that I wasn't an obsessed stalker or anything. They had seen my video and knew that it wasn't anything like that. I just mentioned meeting them in Texas and showed the picture. I was relieved to know that they weren't going to be calling security or putting a restraining order on me or anything.

I thought this whole thing was cool since they had actually recognized me from the internet so I took the opportunity to offer them both copies of Green Eyed Monster. They seemed genuinely excited about watching it. I also became a dork and snuck in how awesome I thought their uncle was. I don't think I told them anything new when I told them that Robert Rodriguez inspired an entire generation of filmmakers. Rebel Without A Crew should be required reading in school if you ask me.

PROJECT VIRAL HAS BEEN A SUCCESS SO FAR! I am getting tons of hits to the site, people are trying to answer it, I'm getting screening requests, and I got a few more emails from online horror sites and "INTERESTED PARTIES."

Even though I am stuck at the table and can't walk around I have still been able to meet several other filmmakers (SORRY NO FOOTAGE YET, THEY ARE PRETTY SCRICT ABOUT CAMERAS). I talked to the producer of A MEXICAN WEREWOLF IN TEXAS and found out that I actually attended a midnight screening of it in Dallas at the Inwood theater. I always thought it was called CHUPACABRA but it turned out to be the same film, we spoke for a while. I also shot the breeze with the producer of a new movie called RED VELVET. They had a booth in Texas also but this was a new guy. He was really interested in the tour that I did and mentioned wanting to do something similar.

This is the RED VELVET KILLER BUNNY GUY THING.

BLACK DEVIL DOLL strikes again! That movie is going to make a billion dollars. People love it. This time they were wheeling the actual doll from the movie around on a dolly. It was in a glass case with caution tape around it. People were crowded behind it screaming, "IT's A MUTHAFUCKIN PUPPET, DON'T MAKE IT BREAK THE GLASS!"

Damn it I could have saved thousands if I just did a rendition of a sex starved - mexican serial killer - sock puppet! Maybe next time huh?

Adventures in the Inland Empire

2008-04-24T09:31:00.017-05:00

So much to say...so little time in a coffee shop without making a purchase...

I want to start by giving a big THANK YOU to everyone who is helping spread the word about the $500 Video Puzzle. It's really working, we've gotten 11.5k views in only 2 days! We've also already had a few people try to answer it - they were close but not quite there.

Before I get into Project: Viral, my time in the Inland Empire, and getting "evicted"... I think we'll take a stroll through Hollywood.

I guess we can walk & talk.

So I've been camping out at a truck stop just outside of L.A. near a place called UPLAND. After driving around a couple of days I started to notice that all of the signs referred to the entire area as the INLAND EMPIRE. Haven't seen the David Lynch movie yet but I've been thinking about it all week. The area suited me well because there is a 24hr fitness, a Starbucks, and the TruckStop all within a few short miles. Perfect right?

The plan was to spend a few days at the Starbucks and the TruckStop, utilizing the Internet and the outlets to work on the Project Viral video and the site updates. I had to design the puzzle, edit it, post it, and start spreading the word.

1) Editing Software Completely Shut Down.
2) Internet was unreliable.
3) TruckStop got tired of me.

I had already been having problems editing on my laptop but during this period the software shutdown completely. I had to uninstall/ reinstall and eventually wipe the hard drive. This still didn't do it. I ended up having to figure out a work around that utilized compression software I downloaded. It was a mess, the workarounds took nearly a day to figure out. The design of the puzzle had already taken up quite a bit of time also.

The next step was to post the video. I was working from the Truck Stop now since they were open 24hrs and had Wi-Fi ($3 day pass). But it was completely unreliable. I uploaded the video, or tried to, about 4 times before it finished. Each time took nearly 45 mintues because of the poor connection and 3 out of the 4 times the connection got cut off at about minute 42. Talk about frustrating.

I tried to time the video but that was thrown way offline by the software problems and the internet issues. I actually had to leave the TruckStop to get to a Starbucks for the upload.

When I stepped outside there was a friendly little note on my windshield issued by the TruckStop security. It read: YOUR VEHICLE WILL BE TOWED - YOU'VE BEEN HERE TOO LONG. It had my license plate and a description of the vehicle (not hard really - BIG TRUCK WITH SIGNS). So aside from not getting the video posted in time, I was "evicted".

“Success seems to be connected to action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit” - Conrad Hilton (founder of Hilton Hotels)

NOTE: Paris Hiltons pictures are all over the place here. It got me to thinking about the poor guy who worked his whole life to build an empire and what he would've thought of A NIGHT IN PARIS. I'm glad I was curious because I found this quote and I think it's a great one.

So I got to Starbucks. Posted the Video. Life went on.

Moving on.

I like Los Angeles, really I do...but damn this city is so strict! Union this, permit that, don't park here, don't park there, TOW, TOW, TOW! I call it the TOWLAND. The signs are everywhere.

I wasn't able to do the promotion last weekend. I registered with the city of Los Angeles for a temporary sellers permit and I thought I was done with it. I wasn't. Apparently you have to register your business afterward with the Tax Office. Even though a part of the sellers permit application is for the Tax office, you have to do it again. Whatever.

So I had to go to the city to make sure I was registered for the Convention this weekend - that's the big one. I'm really looking forward to this weekend but I haven't had to jump through this many hoops for any other state, or any other convention.

I got an email yesterday that said if I wanted electricity it would be another $120! The booth is already costing $350! That's $470! I did both Texas Conventions put together for less than that!

Since my eviction I've been finding random places to shut down for the night. This has been an adventure all it's own. Let's just say I wake up every hour or so to make sure I'm not cruising along the freeway...In Tow.

Project Viral...A little more info.

2008-04-21T14:40:00.008-05:00

The video explains the bulk of it all but I really wanted to touch up quickly on the idea behind Project: Viral.

Since the "tour" started we've been faced with one critical problem. LACK OF PUBLICITY. We've been able to get a few great articles written up and are thankful for those, but we really need more coverage to get the word out. We've spent money on press releases and press release services but the results have been less than favorable really. I don't have to get into all of the budgeting issues but suffice it to say, a publicist is not within our means. A good publicist is truly worth their weight in gold, and they know it.

The viral video campaign has been something I've had in mind for a while, originally we'd hoped to launch a series of CLUE VIDEOS that serve as a companion to the contest within the film, but we've postponed that with the hopes of attracting a greater audience first. Postponed, not scrapped. Those videos will definitely launch, a date is not yet set however.

Making a video go viral is a tricky thing to do and a truly viral video is almost always contraversial or extremely entertaining. I really don't want to piggy-back on top of celebrity gossip or politics to get views so I'm definitely not going that route. I also don't do sketch comedy or parody very well so that is ruled out as well. Comedic videos are usually the videos that go viral the quickest.

I guess I could take a football to the groin while wearing a Green Eyed Monster T-shirt but I think we've all seen that one way too many times.

Still, I am hopeful that people will take in interest in the video. I don't want to say too much but it will be relevant to the movie and will even utilize some footage from the film - it's only appropriate that it should right? It will also be short - 90 seconds tops. Some say more than 30 seconds is way too much but we'll see.

If you're not much of a Youtuber you probably haven't seen too many viral videos so I'll show you a few examples. One of the funny, strange, and unexplainable videos is Chocolate Rain, this thing took off like wildfire and he sang the song on television shows and received nationwide press. Another good example is anything by the Venetian Princess. Her looks and elaborate videos have gotten her national press, plenty of television appearances, and even a role on an upcoming television show. I could give you hundreds of examples but I think you get the picture.

I'm not much a singer and really don't expect the same results, but the potential for success is there. It just depends on how you gauge it.

NOTE: The launch of the video is being timed based on advice and rearch as to how to best utilize the 48hr window. You will all be notified when it goes public.

Under the Desert Sun...FEEL THE BURN!

2008-04-17T15:00:00.013-05:00

It's been a few days now but I finally have the time, and the grease free hands, to break out the laptop and describe how the last couple of days have been. It started out with a little bit of a scare with the truck in Albuquerque but I had to brave the long stretch of desert with my fingers crossed, hoping for the best. In a perfect world I would have made it to Phoenix, successfully promoted Green Eyed Monster, and been carried off into the sunset by a crowd of happy little Indie Film Fans.

It's not a perfect world.

The trip was going fine, I split my time between rubbing the skin off of my sunburned face and talking to my new co-pilot that I picked up at the flea market (watch the video). Then I had the bright idea to stop and take a picture of the WELCOME TO ARIZONA sign and grab a picture for Rob that compared the Monster Truck to the Big Rigs.

When I got back in the truck it wouldn't start. I turned the key a second time and it started right up so I continued on. I was really hoping it was a fluke but I basically new that my starter was going out. Somewhere before Flagstaff, AZ I stopped for gas, only because I desperately needed it. I didn't want to shut the truck off but I figured it would be okay because aside from the rest stop thing, it had started fine nearly a dozen times since the "Starbucks Incident".

I filled up the tank and hopped in. It wouldn't start. I tried everything and finally got help from two guys who showed me a new trick to get your starter working.

WARNING: DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME

So if you get a screwdriver and touch the positive and negative posts connecting to the starter, there is a chance you will JUMP the starter itself and get your engine going. Sure you have to brave a shower of sparks, risk electrocution, and of course there is always the possibility of getting your arm sucked into the motor when it starts up....but it just might start. So I gave them $20 and two copies of the movie and headed toward Phoenix with this solid piece of advice from them: DON'T EVER TURN IT OFF AGAIN. EVER.

The plan was to find an autoparts store in Phoenix and camp out there until morning. My wife looked a few up online but I couldn't find them and it was late. I ended up parking in a Wal-Mart parking lot and camping out there. It was open 24hrs and well lit so it was safe enough I guess. There was also a Starbucks in the same shopping center so I knew I could jump online in the morning and find an AutoParts store.

Side Note: I actually parked near a tree branch that scraped against the truck all night (yes they have trees in this parking lot).

I went to Starbucks in the morning looking, feeling, and probably smelling like a guy that could use a shower and a shave. I hopped online and called around until I found an Autozone that had the starter. I went back to the truck to try my hand at Jumping the starter with the screwdriver and it took me forever to do. I thought I was going to be blinded by sparks since I had to do all of this from underneath the truck. My arms have a few burns now and I ruined a Green Eyed Monster shirt. BUT I GOT IT STARTED!

I drove to the store and shut off the truck. I mean they had the part inside and all I had to do was change it right there in the parking lot, right? THEY WERE WRONG ABOUT IT BEING IN STOCK. So there I was without a starter. They could have had a runner bring one but not until early evening. I had to find it some other way.

In the parking lot I met a guy who was in town from Minnesota. He had his RV stolen from a family lot and didn't even know it was gone until he received a letter from the Phoenix police saying they had found it on a backroad with the steering wheel torn apart. He was a really nice guy and we talked a little bit about the truck, about his situation, and about my situation, and the movie. He suggested a few places he had seen that dealt with bigger trucks, and he also offered to let me use his tools if I found the starter before he left town. I thanked him and gave him a copy of Green Eyed Monster before I left since I had no idea when or if I would be back. I had to climb back under the truck and give it another go. I got it started a little quicker this time, somewhere in the 10 - 15 minute range. I stopped caring about the sparks. The screwdriver began to melt. FEEL THE BURN!

I decided to take the advice of the guys in the desert the night before. DON'T TURN IT OFF. EVER. So I spent the rest of the day searching for the starter and leaving the motor running. Everywhere I went I had to put a CLUB on the steering wheel and hoped for the best. I kept thinking I would come outside and find the truck gone and all the cars around it smashed to pieces.

I called a around and was given number after number, address after address, until finally somebody had it. It was a long day of driving, waiting, and driving. I didn't want to leave the truck idleing to long in the desert because it would surely have overheated so I had to drive in circles while I waited around for the part. I finally got it and I went back to the Wal-mart I had spent the night at since the area was nice and I knew if I needed anything I could go inside and pick it up. Anything but a bath that is, and I really wanted one. It was nearly 100 degrees in Phoenix. Wet or Dry heat doesn't matter when IT'S HOT!!!!!!

I parked the truck and went inside to let it cool down. I was in Wal-Mart for about an hour enjoying the A/C. I picked up a few silver markers and a few other things and then set out for the truck. Changing a starter really isn't that hard. But with luck like mine, I might as well have been overhauling the engine.

You see I've always been willing to tinker with cars and have been a Shade Tree Mechanic for a good part of my life now. I remember when I was 15yrs old I bought my first car. It was a 1987 Honda Accord (I told everyone it was an 89). It was cool, well to me anyway. You see I grew up with two friends whose first cars were much better than that. My friend JUAN (New York) got an of-the-year Ford Mustang when he was a freshman in highschool. My friend Anthony got a Camaro Z28. It's funny because they always swear they were never spoiled. YEAH RIGHT! That's okay though because my Honda had the Flip-Up headlights so I rocked! We called it the SMOKE-SCREEN. People thought it was because it was grey but the real reason is that when I punched the gas on the freeway I left a cloud of smoke behind me...I was like a ninja.

I guess that's not a good thing because the motor ended up blowing out and I had no car. Then my friend Anthony had the bright idea of us changing out the entire motor. I mean how hard could it be? So we found a used one and pulled out the motor and put in the new one by ourselves. This might not sound like much but at 15 it was pretty cool to me. We did it alone, with no instruction. Just kind of looking at how things were and trying to get them back to normal once we put the new motor in. It worked. The Honda lived on, for a little bit longer anyway.

Back in Phoenix I knew a starter would be a breeze. Of course it wasn't. I had some tools with me that were kind of cheap so I broke two sockets and one extension trying to loosen the bolts. Walmart doesn't have the best selection of single sockets so I ended up walking a few blocks to a LOWES and I bought 1 good quality socket of the exact size I needed. I went back to the truck and got both screws off and dropped the starter down. Now all that was left were two small screws that connect the battery to the starter. YES THE SCREWS I WAS TOUCHING WITH THE SCREWDRIVER. One of them had melted a little bit and was fused to the starter. It wasn't going anywhere. I had to take a hammer and break it free from the starter. It wasn't easy to do when it's all happening underneath the truck with a small flashlight as my only source of light.

After another trip inside Wal-Mart I was able to get the old starter completely off and the new one on. After re-connecting the battery the truck started. It was great.

(Side Note: I actually did have a little issue in the morning with it but that was a simple enough fix not worth getting into, basically loose wires and rigs - after the hammer incident)

It was late when I finished, probably around 11pm and I needed a shower. I was smart enough to wear rubber gloves most of the time so my hands weren't too greasy. I drove out to 24hr fitness and took a long shower. I tried to shave but that didn't go very well. My beard grows very fast and I had picked up the CHEAPEST SET OF RAZORS I have ever used in my life. I picked them up in Albuquerque and I have a good mind to drive back there just to punch the guy who sold them to me. It was like tweezing each hair out one by one. I couldn't take it so I stopped. It wasn't worth it. It was all pull with very little hair being removed. When I walked out of there I had one patch of hair gone but I was too tired to care. I went back in the morning with better razors and took another shower. These razors were much better.

So that was my breakdown story. Fun huh?

On to other things...

I mentioned the other day that we were screened in Utah. We submitted G.E.M. to the World Horror Convention in March but we never heard back as far as our submission status. We were supposed to head that way but we didn't make it. I was really curious and never found anything about it or any other movie on their website so I started to Google away (I'm a Googler, no YAHOO here). All I found was a posting by a guy who attended the WHC and he briefly mentioned Green Eyed Monster. I'll try to find it later and link to it but it really isn't about G.E.M. it's about how much he disliked the WHC and the screening venue they had. He ends by saying, "I was tempted to see Green Eyed Monster and Red Victoria but the venue was so terrible I couldn't see myself going back." So that's all I have as proof that we were in fact scheduled to screen.

This post is very long so I will cut it off here and leave you with two things:

The first is something I've been working on: Project Viral. I need all of your help. Watch for the video and more information soon.

The second is a picture of the set I crashed on my first night in Los Angeles!

No I Can't Break Your $100 Bill!!!

2008-04-14T01:02:00.013-05:00

The weather here is just as crazy as Texas, either that or I came at a bad time. I woke up freezing and burned up outside a few hours later...

In order to get a spot at this market you have to be there by 7am and it's first come first serve unless your under contract. Now I think we already know that I am a night owl, I was up until almost 2am. I had to blog right? Well I had to be up by 6am to make sure I got out there in time to get the same spot I had before (why mess with a good thing). It wasn't that hard because I woke up at 5am freezing my butt off, but then drifted back to sleep and snoozed the alarm.

Next thing I know.... 6:50AM!

I was out of the truck and driving by 6:55. It worked out though because 7am isn't really the deadline, it just gives you a chance at a better spot. So I got there quickly and was able to get my exact spot again. The time was critical because seconds after I parked a hoard of trucks drove in and quickly filled the spaces around me. People don't really pile in until after 9am so once you have your spot you can relax. What I decided to do though was to walk around and look for a cheap DVD player. I have a small flat screen TV with me and I decided to set it up instead of the laptop but I needed a DVD player (last one broke). I walked around for a while and found one for $10! When I paid the guy for it he told me that he was missing a "Special" DVD and if it was in there just toss it or bring it back... yeah, "Special" (that means PORN!). So I took it straight back and it didn't work. His DVD wasn't in there either. Luckily he gave me my money back and I found a woman who sold me another one for $10. She wanted $15 but yeah, I talked her down to $10! Ha! Anyway it worked and I set up with the small TV and DVD player....(this would hurt me later on in the day)

There were new and interesting people around me today so the day was pretty fun. There was this guy who was the ultimate salesmen. He would come over to talk to me about the movie but as soon as someone approached his table he would stop mid sentence and yell... How much you got?! Make an offer! It was great. Sadly, he got jacked! At some point in the day somebody walked off with his lawnmower. It was crazy because nobody saw anything. I know I didn't. That was one smooth thief. I mean, how do you walk away with a LAWNMOWER!!!! I felt bad for the guy but he didn't let it phase him too much. He walked around trying to find him without any luck and then he came back and bought a movie from me.

There was also this kid who was selling all of his old toys for $1 so I bought something from him. I'm saving that for the next video so BE PATIENT!

Next were the two Pueblo Indians who were selling homemade necklaces and bracelets next to me. These guys proved to be the most interesting part of the day (at the flea market anyway). We talked about all kinds of things and they also told me about a few Native American legends that sounded really cool. They even invited me and my wife out to their reservation during the annual FEAST DAY in August. They mentioned hiking in the wilderness, mountainside horseback riding, and really wanted to talk about old stories and superstitions that they felt belonged in a movie. We exchanged contact information and I really would like to make the trip back up for the event but I'm sure I won't have the time. Who knows? Before I left they gave me two dream catchers and a necklace. They said it was to "help keep the negativity away and the good dreams in... because you seem like a man with big dreams."

I got Sunburned. Bad.

During the day they make announcements and they made one today about a couple who were walking around with counterfeit 100's and 50's and they warned everyone not to take anything larger than a $20. I was approached 3 times today by people who said they wanted the movie but only had a $100 bill. I turned them all down even though I had change. I can't risk it. They all said they would get change and come back but none of them did. Maybe I dodged a bullet, maybe I lost a sale, BUT I DIDN'T BREAK ANY $100's!

So when the day ended (it went well by the way), I stopped at Starbucks to use the Internet. When I left the truck would not start. The battery was dead. I climbed in the back to pull the spare battery that runs the signs and installed it as the main battery but it didn't work either. All day running that TV took a toll on the truck. I started it periodically but couldn't leave it running because of the emissions and the crowds. So there I was alone with a truck that would not start...AT STARBUCKS! Basically it was full of girls and one guy on a bike so I couldn't ask anyone for a jump. I did actually ask one girl but she said she couldn't use her car to do jump starts. I understood completely. I mean think about it, a guy comes out of nowhere and says basically, "HEY CAN YOU COME TO THE PARKING LOT WITH ME?" It's not what I said but it still the same. So I looked online for a nearby Auto part store (for a charger) but there wasn't anything less than 2 miles away. Just as I started to walk down the street I saw a guy sitting in a huge Dodge so I thought BINGO! I walked over and asked him for the jump, I even offered to pay but he didn't want any money. He was nice enough give me the jump start even though he had his wife and kids with him. I gave him a couple of DVD's and told him what I was doing.

BUT THE JUMPSTART DIDN'T WORK. The truck still didn't start and there I was again.: alone, the truck wouldn't start, and I didn't have a clue why. So I did what anyone would do. I TRIED EVERYTHING. I pulled out a hammer and crawled under the truck and started POUNDING at the starter. Then I tightened the cables on the battery as best I could. I even went to the fuse box to check things out and re-arrange a few things because I do a little trick every night to keep the truck from starting. I DONT WANT ANYONE STEALING IT WITH ME ASLEEP IN THE BACK! So I did find a fuse that was a little funny looking but not blown. Actually it was a relay. Anyway after doing all of this I got into the truck and crossed my fingers. IT STARTED. I did ruin a Green Eyed Monster shirt though. So I really don't know what it was but I hope it was the Relay, I really think it might be the starter but I hope not. I know how to change it myself but the part on that truck is around $300.

I made it back to my trusty old truck stop and will head to Phoenix tomorrow (if the truck starts).

Oh, by the way. I just found out that the movie screened in UTAH without me knowing it. Well I'm 90% sure it did. But I've written too much already...I'll save that for tomorrow.

An underwear Tornado and TRUCKERS ONLY!

2008-04-13T00:31:00.010-05:00

So the "second leg" of the tour is officially in motion and I'm in Albuquerque, NM. There were a few changes and cancellations that threw me off a little but I'm here at the New Mexico State Fair promoting Green Eyed Monster. I love New Mexico.

The Mountains are amazing.

People around here probably think I'm an idiot for staring at them so much but I can't help it. I grew up loving books like: MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, CALL OF THE WILD, THE RIVER, HATCHET, etc. etc. So I keep imaging what the mountains are like on foot. I had a great view from my table all day today so when it got slow I just looked passed the crowds and up toward the mountains. I hate it every time I realize I'm a dork.

So the trip up here was interesting. I've driven to L.A. before but never this route. I was driving through a whole lot of nothing at about 2am on Thursday when I realized I was completely alone. It saw a sign that said NEXT REST AREA 90 MILES and I gulped, hoping I wouldn't get a flat tire. I've seen THE HILLS HAVE EYES one two many times.

I stopped for an oil change on the way out here at a small Mom and Pop shop and the mechanic was nice enough to treat me to a genuine ROUTE BEER 66. I love root beer and this really was some good stuff. I spent the 45 minutes I was there looking at cow skulls that decorated the front of the place. The rest of the drive was pretty smooth except that the speed limit is about 75 which means people go 80 and I come chugging along at a cool 60-65 tops! I made a ton of road enemies.

So I've spent my first few nights alone and I have to say it's a little weird. Sleeping at truck stops in the middle of nowhere takes on a whole new meaning when there is no one around to hear you scream... (yeah they've used that line a lot so I thought I would use it to). So in case you haven't picked up on it yet, Jose isn't with me on this part of the tour. You can read about it on his blog or I can summarize it here. With 3 weeks left in the tour, gas prices climbing, and a few checks not coming through on time, I couldn't afford to finish this journey with two people. I had to go it alone. I felt really bad but Jose was really understanding about the whole thing. He has been trying to get his script into a few contests with May 1st deadlines so it turns out this works well for him anyway. He is also still holding down the promotions in Dallas and trying to arrange a screening in Ft. Worth (fingers crossed). Once this whole thing is done I'll blog about how much money is really in my pocket right now but I don't want to scare anyone. I am always a very persistent person and I refused to cut the trip short but let me put it this way... I haven't been able to drink a single cup of coffee, or an energy drink, and McDonald's $1 menu is already getting me nauseous.

CALIFORNIA OR BUST!

So at the Fair/ Expo today people were actually very receptive to what I was doing. I was shocked but I signed 3 autographs and sold more copies than at TX Fear Fest and in HOUSTON combined (That's really because we didn't sell much out there). There is a film school in Santa Fe and apparently they just shot a movie here called GAME with GERARD BUTLER and people are still abuzz about it, well at least 2 people that bought copies mentioned being extras in it. I also met a group of kids who questioned me about filmmaking because they make short films and a local Videographer stopped to chit chat about what we shot the movie in . It's funny because they place looks just like the Flea Market in Houston but so far the environment is different. NO MANGO ON A STICK but Tacos, Fruit, and Tamarindo can be found around every corner.

I was able to get a FREE SHOWER yesterday! I walked into the truck stop looking like a lost child because the layout was very unfamiliar and when I asked the woman at the counter how much it was for a shower she gave me a coupon. It was welcome gift! The funny thing about this place though was that the showers were upstairs. When I went up to shower there was a man standing who took your coupon and sort of guarded a room that said TRUCKERS ONLY. I really, really, really wanted to go back there to see what all the fuss was about but from where I was standing there were about 5 big burly guys watching TV and/or playing a game of cards so I didn't want to test it...I did mention I was alone right? I could imagine walking in and being asked "Which rig are you driving?" or "What are you hauling?" and having to point at my funny looking truck. The showers were clean though and I guess I'll leave the truckers room for the truckers.

I have to mention one last thing. I know my description won't do it justice but I saw the strangest thing today. It was a tornado of Bras and Panties. I tried to get my camera out quickly but all I could do was take a snapshot of the aftermath of a strange gust of wind. I was standing at my table when all of a sudden I heard a loud noise so I turned to check it out. A gust of wind was coming down the aisle behind me and tearing through people's Canopies and sending their tent poles and merchandise flying. It was the strangest thing because of the timing. You could literally watch one booth get torn apart, wait a few seconds and then see another. It wasn't steady and the wind didn't even touch my area. It was a whirlwind and the last Canopy it hit did the job. A woman was selling bras and panties and had them hanging on display from all around here. When the wind came through it took up about 15 - 20 pair and they started to fly in a circular, tornado like fashion. I don't mean to say that they flew about 5 - 10 feet of the ground, these things went up at least 100 feet in this same pattern. It was like watching someone let go of a handful of helium balloons. I heard a one man ask another, "What's that?", and the man replied, "I think it's a bunch of panties!".

It was hilarious and interesting at the same time.

Oh, and I got in a fight with a can of Tuna. Easy open can my a**.

Live And Very Attractive

2008-04-01T22:45:00.016-05:00

AFI-Dallas hit the ground running last week and is going full force into the weekend. Dallas is pretty much abuzz with filmmakers and filmmaker-types chatting about the films they've seen, what films they'd like to see, and the films they "wished had been lost in the mail during submission" (that's an actual quote I overheard at the festival). I also overheard a few jurors joking around about how their votes were for sale to the "highest bidder." I'm sure they were joking, although those awards do carry a certain value and I'm sure a silent auction would be more than possible! (j/k)

I do have to mention one thing. I think I hate film gurus.

On a few separate occasions I found myself overhearing conversations between guys that were completely disecting a few of the films they'd seen.... for the worse. COME TO THINK of it, I think I'm an eavesdropper. Ah what the hell... If I consider myself an aspiring writer I think it's acceptable to be a little OBSERVANT. So basically the guys were trashing a couple of films. They were about my age, so I doubt they had much experience in the way of feature filmmaking under their belts - but in this day and age it's entirely possible. It really got under my skin because some of these filmmakers spend decades getting a project completed only for the filmmaker-types to rip it apart. Where's the loyalty? The feeling of "we look out for our own"? I guess that doesn't apply really... but it'd be a lot cooler if it did (tongue in cheek -McConaughey). I know, I know...opinions, opinions, blah, blah...

I was able to attend the premiere of the Docuconcert Bowling For Soup: Live and Very Attractive and I had a blast. I'd been hearing about this project for months and had been curious to see a finished product. A few of my friends worked on it, namely King Hollis -the director, and Edwin Harris - the editor. These guys have been great to me. They pretty much took me under their wing when I was in college and I've been doing freelance work with them since. They sent me to the Sturgis Bike Rally. We all know how that turned out right? (refer to the Full Moon Tattoo and Horror Festival post). They're also given a Special Thanks in Green Eyed Monster.
The Bowling For Soup guys were in attendance at the screening and were hilarious. Their concerts are full of humor and interaction with the audience. It was a blast. Enough said.

Now on to another band. I feel like a groupie damn it!

My wife surprised me with tickets to see one of my favorite bands, called CHEVELLE, play in Corpus Christi. I was actually born in a small town just outside of Corpus called Beeville,TX (I'll pause for the laughter). We moved just after I was born; actually we lived there long enough for me to crack my head open at 6 months old... but that's an entirely different story. I swear I'm ok though. Unless you count the... nevermind.

The decision to go down to see Chevelle was made pretty much like this.

Weekend at the beach? Favorite band live?
...two seconds later

It was great fun. A much need breather from all that's going on with the movie, the tour, and everything else. We lucked out and an attorney-friend-of-my-wifes let us crash at her Condo. The two of us were down there on a tight budget but ended up riding in a boat to a Cribs-Worthy (Lifestyles of The Rich and Famous) beach house and mingling with a judge and a few attorneys. All I could say was...wow! They were great to us.

ON TO THE MAIN EVENT.

So we went to a place called the Concrete Street Pavilion and watched Chevelle ROCK. Yeah, they ROCKED. I have to say I've been listening to this band since they came out and have yet to be disappointed by any of their albums.

I know there are those out there that don't care too much for new rock. Still, I think there's something to be said for being able to follow the career of a new band as opposed to studying the career of one long-gone. I say do both.

Today was my son Aidan's 4th Birthday. My wife and I took him, and my stepson Tino, to the Zoo and to Chuck-E-Cheese. I love how easy it is to make children smile. It's a great feeling. I won't be in town for his actual Birthday party so I really wanted to spend the day with him today. It really sucks though because I told him that I would be leaving town soon and he asked me if I would come back for his party. When I told him I couldn't he pulled out the old, PLEEEEEEZE!. Then he got mad at me.

Such is the life right?

Under The Same Moon (Regroup)

2008-03-25T22:24:00.016-05:00

The Full Moon Tattoo and Horror Festival went over decently; and Jose and I set out on a journey to find a McDonalds with an electrical outlet and Wi-Fi. It turns out that Mcdonalds doesn't really like having outlets in the customer area....something about fire safety.

We decided to find a Starbucks to get some work done before heading out. I had to make another executive decision that I wasn't too sure about. We completely cancelled Atlanta. It started out when we cancelled the screening and tried to wing it by heading to Nashville for the Horror Con. The plan was to head to Nashville and sweep the Con and then head out to Atlanta for the Drive-In Flea Market on Sunday. We also planned promotions around the city and the university on Monday & Tuesday before working our way back home to Dallas.

Early on we'd planned to attend the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah but it didn't make sense logistically. We tried to get into HorrorHound in Indianapolis because it would have fit perfectly, but nobody ever returned our emails/calls about reserving a table (we met people at Monster-Mania who worked for Horrorhound and said they were having a big problem with that and they apologized). When these two cons didn't work out and we didn't make it into AFI-DALLAS (which I must admit I was holding a slot for) we decided to make the most of it and return to Dallas to promote at AFI and attend a few screenings while we regrouped and prepared for the next leg of our journey toward Los Angeles.

Back in Nashville I had to make the decision of Atlanta over an early trip back to Dallas. We had been contacted by two Local papers to do interviews and had been contacted by a potential distributor who wanted to meet just outside of Dallas this week (cross your fingers), so coming back to Dallas had its benefits. It was a very hard decision to make because I wanted to have some kind of presence in Atlanta but it made sense to get back here and get these things taken care of. I'm sure Jose appreciates the extra nights sleeping in his bed and I am happy that I will definitely be here for my son Aidan's Birthday. I am still making rounds with the truck throughout the D/FW area so I think it should be beneficial to our sponsors also, since this is a major metropolitan area.

So we're here. In Dallas. Hoping for St. Louis. Planning for L.A.

Sorry if we've thrown things off track but we have to make sure we can finish this trip within the budget. BTW - we broke Jose's aircard the day after I announced my new T-mobile Hotspot service so there went the idea of two signals and more posts. It's going to cost between $200-$300 to get another one.

On to another story....

I am in shock. In disbelief. Disappointed.

I've spent several months working on a story that I am very passionate about and I was dealt a shattering blow today. It's possible that I'm being too dramatic but it really did come as a shock. I'd been tossing ideas around with my wife to make the story stronger and even told Jose about it several times on the road (which is something I never do- I usually don't talk about my stories until I'm asking for opinions on drafts). He seemed to think it was pretty solid and worth pursuing further. I think I'm getting better at writing treatments right now and this is the route I was going with this story.

Jose and I discussed this on the road. Sometimes we start with a Treatment. Sometimes just an Outline. Sometimes even a Short Story is born and it evolves into the screenplay. Since we are both budding screenwriters we try different ways to find out what works. I think we also said that we will write specific scenes from time to time during our story development.

I mentioned everything about the writing simply to make a point I guess. Although I am not completely finished with the script I am very far along with the story and the development process.

I was really looking forward to making this project my next Do-It-Yourself feature.

Problem is.... It's been done.

Well it was just done. I was reading Entertainment Weekly last night and came across an article about a movie that rang too close to home. It was very interesting but it put a lump in my throat.

The movie is called UNDER THE SAME MOON (LA MISMA LUNA) and was released on 03/20/08 to a small amount of theaters nationwide. It focuses on the story of a boy and his mother and immigration in the United States. Okay so the subject matter isn't new or anything but the similarites this movie has to my own script are unnerving! I read all I could tonight and even watched the trailer over and over. Each time the lump grew bigger. I can't believe I let this film slip by without noticing it. I have been in my own world for the past Two years getting G.E.M. off the ground, completed, and now marketing it.

Judging by the trailer I may have to scrap a project I am very passionate about, because it would come off as being a total rip of this movie. As I said before I may be overreacting but I will do my best to compare the stories without having seen the movie and without wanting to reveal too much of my own.

1) Both stories focus on a young boy approx 9-10 trying to find his way back to his family, specifically his mother, due to the issues surrounding immigration.

2) Both stories focus on the innocence of the child caught in the crossfire in an adults debate (immigration)

3) Both stories have the child encounter an older man in their journeys to assist along the way (of course they end up assisting eachother) Their story has a migrant worker, mine is simply a neighborhood recluse.

4) Both stories show the characters being smuggled into the counry the exact same way! (or so it seems from the trailer)....and I'm not talking about the traditional ways people think of.

That's enough. I really don't want to go on because I can hear the worlds smallest violin already playing in my head.

I am going to see the movie at 3pm today because I have to. I have considered not watching it but I will always wonder. If anything it may give me an edge.

There are plenty of stories like this one that should be told. Plenty of them will. My biggest fear is not this movie. It's the fact that Hollywood bought the movie. Not a small distributor. The big boys. What this means is that in the next few years these movies will be cranked out like every other movie that's an unexpected hit.

I don't think I will be scrapping this script however. It goes back to 05-06 when I wrote and directed a short entitled EL CRIMINAL. It went over very well and won a few awards. The short and the expanded feature are inspired by my father and his childhood, by family and friends, and by people I've met along the way. I think that alone makes it worth the effort.

As for G.E.M. I definitely have more in mind, and up my sleave for that series of films. Only time will tell....

Oh, and yes I did mention something about distribution above. We actually have two pending proposals now. I hadn't announced it because I never announce that kind of stuff until it happens. The truth of it all is that we are trying to tread carefully. Jose and I are doing a lot to promote this movie and I don't want to jump at an offer too quickly. We'll see.

Full Moon Tattoo and Horror Festival

2008-03-23T14:23:00.008-05:00

We had our first truck stop shower yesterday and I have to admit that the restrooms were cleaner than Jose or I would have thought. Hooray for PILOT CENTERS! I've done the truck stop shower before but that was about 6 years ago. Each shower actually had a private room with a sink, a toilet, and a shower. I took some pictures with my phone but you can't see much so I didn't bother with them.

When we arrived at the Full Moon Tattoo and Horror Convention we noticed very quickly that it was a different environment than we were used to. The vendors area didn't close until Midnight and the Beer flowed like....well like BEER AT A BIKER RALLY!!!!

I tried to convince Jose to get KEVIN SMITH's face tattooed on his back but he wouldn't do it. We'll see if I can convince him today. They actually have an entire ballroom filled with Tattoo artists and people getting inked up on the spot. There is another ballroom with vendors but no indie filmmakers are here. Mostly swords, knives, skulls, and Movie Posters. GEORGE ROMERO, KANE HODDER, and a few other celebs are here and they are screening Horror Movies so there is in fact a Horror element to it all.

We watched Friday the 13th part 3 in (3-D) last night and it was hilarious. How many times can they point the back end of a shovel at the screen! I counted 2 popping eyeballs, 7 sticks, and a Yo-Yo that were directed to the screen. I wish I could have actually seen how well this went over back in the 80's when it first came out.

It was still pretty cool out here and we are going to promote a little more today. NOTHING LIKE PROMOTING A HORROR MOVIE TO BIKERS ON FLUFFY BUNNY DAY. (EASTER)

Actually I am just joking about the biker element. There were only about 40 bikes out front. I did a Reality Show Pilot in Sturgis South Dakota during the biker rally a few years back so this is nothing really. I had a great time in Sturgis. There were thousands of people on Bikes. In all honesty some of the rougher looking bikers actually hauled their Harley's on Trailers behind SUV's. It's not what we see on T.V. (well not always anyway)

In Sturgis they had mobile Tattoo Parlors and we spent a lot of time in the FULL THROTTLE SALOON. I have to admit though that I did get a tattoo before I left sturgis. Actually I just added to one I already had. Enough about that though.

The reason I was even in Sturgis was because I was recording the behind the scenes of a CARNIVAL SIDE SHOW. I SPENT THREE WEEKS in a house in the mountains of South Dakota with the KAT LADY, THE BEARDED LADY, THE HALF MAN, THE FIRE-EATER, THE TORTURE KING, and a guy who lit his balls on fire during an episode of Jackass. HEY BOBBY!

I had a great time. One tip though, DON'T GET IN THE JACUZZI!

Goodbye NY!

2008-03-21T23:08:00.013-05:00

So we officially left New York on Wednesday to head for Tennessee. There is a convention that we were unable to get a table at and we decided to crash it before heading out to Atlanta. We've been getting a lot of photos and video footage but haven't really been able to upload the bulk of it because of how hectic things are....but it will get better.

I bit the bullet today and signed up for T-mobile's hotspot service. Up until now we've been sharing Jose's laptop because he has a wireless anywhere card and can even upload while we are driving! Between the long hours driving the truck across the country, round and round the city, and the events, it's very hard for us to share one internet connection. I should say that Jose is very generous with his laptop but Videos and Blogging are generally time consuming so we are at the mercy of dead-spots and lagging uploads each day. With the hotspots I should be able to post more frequently even though it means finding designated locations to utilize the service.

Enough about that. New York was great. We drove around the city with our nerves on edge because of our NYPD experience but fortunately we got through it all just fine. We got lost all the time so we actually spent way more time on the street than we probably meant to. It was pretty funny actually because everytime we accidentally hit a toll we had to convince them to charge us the non-commercial rate. It worked every time but once.

I wanted to include this picture because this is one of the advertisers we actually got several questions about back at Monster Mania. We explained the new site to everyone who asked because of course the big question was.....How do I get paid? The slogan is UPLOAD-CREATE-GET PAID. Just to sum it up, the site is dedicated to the idea of content creators making money off of their viral videos. Everyone has spare footage sitting around so this was a pretty easy sell to people.
I will be reviewing the site later but I just wanted to mention it because we are still getting clicks from our New Jersey promotions.

We were able to crash at my friend Juan's place while he was out of town so that was a very welcome offer indeed! After the screening on Sunday we were completely beat. We used a car service to run an errand and met the funniest driver ever. I tried to record him but every time the camera came on he wasn't funny. When it shut off again he had me rolling. I managed a few rounds that evening and headed back to get rest in a comfortable bed. Tuesday again was split between work and rounds (driving) and we decided we might try to take in some of the city on Wednesday while we promoted the movie. It was ok. We hit up the Bowery so Jose could visit Joey Ramone Place and tacked up a few posters we probably shouldn't have. We passed out flyers to random people also because we saw a ton of people doing it. After that we headed to Time Square for a chance to really be immersed in the city. I almost paid for one of the PAY TO DISPLAY services but the weather was pretty crappy so the idea of getting drenched in front of angry people wasn't all that appealing. Instead we handed out soggy flyers to a few people and headed for the subway. I conveniently left a few flyers out but I didn't want to leave many because then the promo would border on litter.

When we left NY we decided to head down the coast into Jersey to visit the KWIK STOP where Kevin Smith shot CLERKS. I am a fan of Smith and how and a handful of low-budget filmmakers in the 90's inspired a generation of guerilla filmmaking (I tend to lean toward the Robert Rodriguez side of things though). Jose is a huge fan of Smith so I think it meant a lot to him to stand in that store and take in the environment. I felt the same when I visited Acuna where Rodriguez shot El Mariachi. We truly are a couple of dorks. Damn it I just realized that!

We took some photos and headed out. The wind really picked up as we drove and I have to admit that it put me on edge. Jose checked the weather and it said we were traveling through winds that were 14-18 mph with gusts up to 22mph. I don't really know how to put that into perspective except to say that on a few occasions the gusts actually pushed us into the next lane. We pushed on slowly and decided to stop at a LOVE's in Virginia. While we were falling to sleep the wind blew so hard we could feel the truck rocking so Jose checked again for Tornado's or anything like that. Maybe we were just on edge still but I really felt like I would wake up in OZ with a truckdriver smashed under the Monster Mobile.

Didn't happen.

What's Up With That Truck?

2008-03-19T11:30:00.013-05:00

I'd been wondering how effective the truck was but I think it proved itself at Monster-Mania. We had pictures of the truck at our table and every single person who passed recognized it. I can't remember how many people said, "I saw this outside, what is it?" It really is an attention getter and people seem to respond well to it. I am not sure how well that translates to web hits however, since this type of advertising builds name recognition and branding more than it directly translates to "action" on behalf of the consumer.

I remember even having one guy come in and tell us how excited he was to see that type of advertising and that he called his boss immediately to tell him about it. The truck was parked and at the time was displaying the VIRALSTREET.com advertisement so he even said he was going to look into viralstreet to learn more about it.

Yesterday we were even approached by a group of guys who wanted to know how they could make 400k since one of our advertisers is a home based business. It was kind of funny. We even had the chance to stop at a little mexican deli and eat a couple of Tortas and Mexican sodas that really made us feel like we were back in Texas. A torta is like a Mexican Sub Sandwhich with steak meat (or any meat really), lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, jalapenoes, and sometimes avacado. THEY'RE GREAT!

Back at Monster Mania this past weekend we had a blast. I really didn't get to do the celebrity thing or do anything beside work the table but I still met a ton of interesting people and spread the word about the movie. I met writers from Fangoria and Filmthreat who took copies of the movie so I am hopeful we will get a write-up about it. I also met a man who runs the Fright Night Film Fest who said he was very interested in meeting filmmakers such as ourselves who were willing to go to these extents to promote ourselves and our films. It was great to hear.

To sum it up a little more we slept at a truck stop the first night and made the commute back to Queens the second, to stay with a friend. That didn't work out too well since it turns out it takes forever to travel by train. We ducked out of Monster Mania early to head back to Queens for the screening at the Hell Gate Social.

I met George, one of the owners, and he was very excited to be able to see the movie. He was into the contest idea and asked me several questions about it. I was happy because he really helped us out by hosting this screening. The place it's great, it's an artsy - yet relaxed, atmosphere. I never really counted on too many people showing up because the city is huge and our promotions were small. I decided not to stress over and didn't want to put myself through the Austin experience all over again. I think I took that screening to heart simply because I expected more from it.

One of my fraternity brothers showed up and we talked extensively because he is an actor and his father is a Director out of Chicago. A friend of ours, Karina, from UNT also showed up with her boyfriend so that was cool. There were also a few locals in attendance and this is where I feel the success of the night was.

As the film started they paid little attention to it bit I watched them as their interest was occasionally piqued. By the end of the film everyone in the place was glued to the screen. They even had questions for me afterward and I gave out several copies of the DVD!

I think the night went well and was a success. I have always wanted to find a person I clicked with well, that was as eager as I am to succeed in this business. My wife supports me very much and Jose's girlfriend supports him. I still think there is something to be said about people forming partnerships to reach a similar goal and I hope we are able to combine our strengths and take a Jab at Hollywood. (yes I meant Jab)

A jerk in the road...

2008-03-14T00:43:00.005-05:00

If you noticed the twitter account at the top of the blog you'll see that I was updating our progress today. It was a productive travel day and I drove for about 11 hours to finish the trip to NY. Full Throttle is a powerful drug.

The travel wasn't very interesting but I did end up with a story for the day. So we hit New York just after 10 and tried our best to find our way to Queens. We ended up driving down broadway by accident but it was cool because we were actiing like tourists and were in awe at all the LARGE advertisements. We got lost, looked up directions, and then got lost again trying to find our way to Queens.

We were trying to find our way and I saw the entrance to the MIDTOWN QUEENS TUNNEL so I turned quickly to avoid getting lost again. As it turns out cars are supposed to be in one lane and trucks in another. Even though our truck is closer to a regular passenger vehicle than a commercial vehicle they pulled us over. Actually pulled is over isn't right, these cops were on foot.

I'M NOT GOING TO CENSOR THIS SO BE WARNED THAT THERE WILL BE CUSSING BELOW.

So a cop walks out in front of me to flag me down and I slow the truck to a stop. He didn't think I was stopping fast enough so he started screaming, "DO YOU NOT FUCKING SEE ME! HUH?"

I pulled to the side of the road and he charged the truck asking me again if I had, "FUCKING SEEN HIM." I tried to explain to him that there were cars behind me so I had to slow to a stop and not do a hard stop so he said, "DO YOU THINK I GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THE CARS BEHIND YOU? DO YOU THINK I GIVE A FUCK!!?

He was pretty much a guy who was mad at the world or at least on a power trip. I would like to think that, rather than think he was a true representation of what I thought was just a stereotype: The Rude New Yorker.

I gave him my insurance, etc. and he stepped away for about 45 minutes. We decided they pretty much just wanted us to sit there and sweat since they wanted to give us a hard time. I really was being very polite and responding with "yes sir" and "no sir" but the cops continued to be rude. Basically they talked down to me like I was an idiot. They yelled and said I was "disobeying New York Law" and missed over 5 signs that used the word truck. I made the mistake of trying to explain to them that we caught the sign to late but weren't really sure if our truck met that criteria or not. We were basically told that "this is New York, a truck is a truck in New York no matter if it's a personal vehicle."

The guy still made such a big deal about the truck stopping slow that I thought he might accuse me of trying to assault a cop or something. When they finally let us go we got lost for again for over an hour before finally finding my friend Juan's place. If you want to gory details of it all check out Jose's blog at punkcinema.blogspot.com. I am way too tired after the the long drive and the jerk in the road at the tunnel.

Basically our first few hours in NY sucked! We only drove up here to crash at a friends and we still have to drive 90 miles in the morning to get to the convention. We may have been better off sleeping in the truck back in Jersey!

On the Road...

2008-03-13T01:36:00.005-05:00

We're officially heading east to New Jersey. Monster-Mania here we come!

We actually left late yesterday. I had a crazy night on Monday and it turns out Jose actually lives well over an hour from my place in Dallas. When I picked him up we were actually at -1 hours to leaving town because my clock doesn't start until we pass Dallas. I ended up getting all kinds of crazy phone calls about things that I had to take care of so we had a few extra stops.

Life doesn't stop when you plan a crazy trip like this and I get torn in a million directions every day!

We hit the road and drove, and drove, and drove, and I remembered why I told myself I would never drive to New York again. IT'S FAR!!! My wife and I actually drove to New York for New Years Eve 06-07. We actually made way better time then. Victoria (my wife) and I drove in shifts and took short naps at rest stops because we had to make it there before the ball dropped!

I have actually done stuff like that several times before so that's why I was up to this trip no matter what kind of traveling arrangements I could make. I guess I never gave much thought to the idea that this type of traveling isn't for everyone. I've driven from Dallas to Chicago, NY, South Dakota, LA, MIAMI, and even Sacramento doing the very same thing. Gas station food, truck and rest stops, you know... the works. I think I have a strong stomach because I can pretty much eat anywhere or at least ignore the repurcussions of road food.

So we drove to Memphis and slept at a truck stop. It was very well lit and there were probably about 200 other trucks in the area so it was pretty safe I guess. I had to rig the door from the inside because I forgot to install a lock. I am pretty resourceful usually so I was able to make due with what I had (wire and a screwdriver). I also bought a pocket knife but it was more for piece of mind although you never can be too sure.

We woke up cold (and early) and grabbed some food before we hit the road. We actually woke up pretty early but didn't leave the truck stop for over two hours which kind of sucked. We ended up driving about the same distance we had driven the night before but in a longer period of time (I don't know how we did that!).

Well I think we could have driven longer but I made the decision to stop so I could get some work done because I hadn't posted in a few days. I made a deal with Jose yesterday that we could get a motel room today if we skipped out on the $20 we would have spent taking a shower. It sounds crazy but every penny counts and I know guys back home that skip showers for fun. Besides, when we were back in San Antonio I realized Jose was kind of cool because he walked around until like 5pm without showering for the new day - earned a few cool points in the man book.

We stopped at a few motels but Super 8 had the best deal because we were able to get two beds and Wi-Fi for only $53. The room actually has a microwave, mini-fridge, tv, desk, cable, and all of the regular stuff so it really isn't all that bad at all.

Back in 2004 I spent a week in Los Angeles interning at the American Film Market and I stayed in a room about half the size of this and in the ghetto. Seriously, I was in East L.A. and it was a very rough neighborhood but the price was right so I had to do it. The area reminded me of Dallas as far as Mexican restaurants and Taco Stands are concerned so I felt right at home and even walked to the store at night a few times. I guess I just like to take in the local air no matter where I am. I actually wrote a short story about it called Seven Days Alone In L.A. but it's back home in my big pile of work that I think still needs... well, work.

Where we are at now is pretty quiet and peaceful and all of the locals are gearing up for NASCAR this weekend so I am glad we will be gone before the crowd hits.

If you've read this far without any pictures I do really commend you.

I will make it more entertaining tomorrow.

Banner Envy....

2008-03-10T01:03:00.019-05:00

Texas Fear Fest was a fun experience. It gave us the first hand slap we needed that conventions can go either way when it comes to sales....but the promo opportunity is always there so UTILIZE IT AND EVERYTHING AROUND YOU.

The guys at the table next to us did an amazing job with promoting and I wish I could clone them and bring them on tour with us - or at least write a B-movie about a guy who clones....nah, nevermind. The guys were promoting their movie BUBBA'S CHILI PARLOR and I have to tell you that they received a ton of attention. The movie just has some kind of draw to it. They spent a big part of the day getting nearly every famous person in the room to sign their big banner and it looked great! Jose and I kept looking at the banner and thinking, "There's is better than ours" (it was bigger too but this isn't that kind of joke).

We did finally get the nerve to get a few celebrities to take photos with us but you should really watch Jose's latest video-blog to hear a funny story about what happens when you ask the wrong person, at the wrong time youtube.com/punkcinema.

This is Miko Hughes. He was the kid in Pet Semetary, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and my personal favorite Kindergarten Cop (Boys have penis, girls have vagina - priceless...)

Heather Langenkamp from the original Nightmare on Elm Street and Part 3.

This is Jose getting an autograph from Robert Englund (FREDDY!)
He stood in line both days to get a photo with Robert Englund (FREDDY) but I just couldn't do it. I grew up watching him and loving the Nightmare on Elm Street series but I kind of felt sorry for him. He easily had 1000 people in line and they all wanted a big smile, a handshake, a photo, an autograph, and sometimes the Freddy Glove in their face! I mean, didn't they watch the movies. If they fall asleep they could get killed over that kind of sh**.

This is Kane Hodder. He played JASON in parts 7,8,9, and 10. YES, he is really choking me. I saw him do this pose with a ton of people so I had to ask for it too. Couldn't breath right all day!

Electra and Elise Avellan. These girls were in GRINDHOUSE and are promoting a new movie but we Texas Filmmakers know them best as ROBERT RODRIGUEZ' nieces. They were actually very nice even though they were extremely busy when I walked up.

That's about all I had the nerve for because I was only asking for photos and wasn't buying anything so I didn't want to press my luck. After witnessing Jose's experience I thought I had enough shots to give you all a taste of the Fear Fest experience.

A pretty fun thing happened yesterday actually.A little girl, maybe 10 or 11 asked me how much I would charge her for an autograph (the people there charge $20 a pop). I was flattered and laughed a little as I told her I would love to sign anything she wanted. I gave her a couple of signed posters and a DVD (with her parent's permission). I also gave her some buttons and promo items. We sign a few of these a day these conventions and it's always weird because, in all honesty, we haven't really attained that level of success. People are always cheerful and say, "but you never know", "maybe one day", and all of that stuff. What made it different is that this little girl actually thought we were pretty cool just because we had made a movie. We were something big in her eyes and I thought it was great. She came back by the table again today to tell me that she told all of her friends about the movie and to say thank you again so I have her a few more posters. Sweet kid.

Well I am looking forward to the big trip up to Jersey and I've heard it's very cold so we'll see if these Texas boys don't freeze our butts off.

I'll probably bite Jose's style and add a twitter account to my blog. I've seen them before and I didn't think much of them but Jose made great use of his this weekend and I think I am sold. I have actually seen sites with updates like, JUST ATE CEREAL or DRIVING TO MOMS HOUSE. Jose being able to announce it the second JASON VORHEES got a copy of GREEN EYED MONSTER I thought it might work after all.

I cut a new intro that we will be posting with all of our video logs. I think it does a great job of summing up what we are doing, for that rare occasion we get a new viewer who wants to know what is going on. I posted it with my Austin Rant and I should add that I have tons of great footage from Austin and I will be posting another Austin Wrap-Up but I threw the rant out there just to show people we are still out here doing this. Please let us know what you think of the intro, or anything else for that matter.

A minor victory...

2008-03-07T02:20:00.003-06:00

We're back in Dallas and getting ready for Texas Fear Fest this weekend which promises to be loads of fun. It will be our second convention so we are pretty much seasoned by now.

Austin was great to us in general. We didn't get a big head count at the screening but we did succeed in getting ONE lone person to come out to the screening who we didn't know. There were 5 people (excluding Jose and I). Three were Jose's friend and one was my fraternity brother Anaiah. We actually have a local chapter at UT but didn't get much of a response. Actually when I checked my emails that night a few guys had tried to contact me to get my number, more info, and directions. I guess we could have had a handful more if I had gotten a hold of the chapter in time.

So who was the ONE unknown guy? I think he said his name was Alex but I'm not sure. He saw our Youtube videos because of Myspace but the truth is....we aren't the ones who told him about it. It was someone else and I would like to give them credit and a big THANK YOU.

My best friends older sister (pretty much my big sister too) emailed me yesterday because she has been keeping up with what we're doing and she offered to help do a little Myspace promoting specific to Austin. I was very grateful because I knew that Jose and I had a ton of stuff to do.

She sent out random invites, messages, and bulletins and she is actually the one who sent us our SUCCESS in Austin. we always said if we even had one person come out it was worth it. Thanks Angela!

I decided to give Free DVD's to everyone who attended and all I asked was that they show it to someone else. Maybe they will.

Austin is very supportive to filmmakers and musicians but we also got the impression that the people of Austin are numb to it all. All in all, I still think we had a pretty good regional run and there are people in Houston, San Antonio, and Austin that know about the movie now so I feel very accomplished as the week comes to an end. I

The trip home was great. Jose and I spend most of the time telling jokes and stories about growing up since we haven't known eachother long. I got all JACKED UP ON MOUNTAIN DEW (full throttle really) for the drive home and we pulled into Jose's place around 1am. He lives in SLEEPY HOLLOW. You have to drive about 15 minutes on a small winding, and wooded road to get to his place atop a small hill. It's a great area but at night, alone, it felt like someone would be throwing pumpkins at me at every turn. I made it home a little over an hour later and was dead tired.

It was great in the morning because around 7am my 3yr old son saw me in bed, ran to me, and smothered me with hugs. It was worth the long drive.

I spent the morning catching up on emails and the like. Usually I get tons of questions about the movie, the contest, and the type of promoting I chose to do. People are mixed in their opinions about it and BELIEVE ME everyone has an opinion about it all.

I usually disregard people's negativity, I come down on myself hard enough, I really don't need to listen to anyone else who does it (yes I got emails today). There will always be people who hope others fail. People who criticize everything even if they have no grounds to do so.

I also worked on an intro for the Youtube videos so the first should be up as early as this afternoon so hopefully everyone likes it. I think it's pretty cool.

I was getting a haircut to day and the barber had a quote taped to the mirror in front of me. I ended up spending 45 minutes in the chair re-reading the same quote over-and-over:

NOTHING GREAT EVER HAPPENS IN THIS WORLD WITHOUT HARD WORK AND PASSION.

Our First Watching Party!

2008-03-03T00:25:00.003-06:00

I was so tired last night that I fell to sleep watching 30 Days of Night and I hadn't grabbed a blanket. My friend Jay had been out all night and when he returned I was awakened by his laughter as he handed me one of the best blankets I've ever used in my life, that guy buys good stuff. I guess the sight of a shivering guy on the couch was hilarious though because he couldn't stop laughing... or maybe I was just dreaming it. Either way I made sure to bother him at 7am when I woke. I think his hangover had just kicked in.

Jose and I went to Traders Village again to see if we would fare better on Sunday but bad weather kicked in so we ducked out a little early. We did actually sell more copies than Saturday and we decided to walk around and hand out a few copies of the movie to random strangers just to get the word out.

We left Houston around 3pm and headed out to San Antonio. I had never made that drive before but we actually made it in about 3hrs so it seemed like good time for the MONSTER WAGON.

We joked the whole way and figured that since we will be hitting Austin soon we have to practice our best Matthew Mcconaughey impressions....Alright, Alright, Alright.

Our first WATCHING PARTY in San Antonio this evening was incredible. Jose's girlfriend's parents hosted it and there was a great turn out. Her family couldn't have been more warm and welcoming and it felt good. They had prepared food for everyone and around 20 people showed up. We gave a little intro and had a small Q&A afterward. I have to admit that I had better responses and questions at this Q&A than I have ever had before. They seemed to all have really been paying attention to the movie. We recorded all of that so we may post some of the video later. Afterward we had several suggestions for other events we can attend on the tour and I was very impressed with everybody's enthusiasm. I hate to keep repeating myself but I can't describe how much of a welcome surprise it was to meet such a nice family that opened their home to us. As a writer it is too easy to focus on the negative state of things today but there is no denying that there are still great people out there.

Speaking of supportive people, I also checked my email and saw that one of our Sponsors will be hosting a screening in South Korea on March 14th. Thanks Rob! That is amazing news!

We'll be sleeping in warm beds tonight so I am really looking forward to that.

80psi

2008-03-01T23:19:00.002-06:00

Houston has been pretty good to us so far although we've gotten lost plenty of times already. We spent hours last night looking for a Wal-mart that we never really found. I've been pretty tired from the drive since Jose hasn't been given the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the MONSTER TRUCK just yet. I think I can handle the regional stuff but he'll get a shot once we head up to Jersey. We stopped yesterday at the Sam Houston statue just outside of Houston to video-log but I decided not to post my video because it was way too redundant and just wasn't that interesting (that's what happens when you're running on E!).

Today we did a little promo at a place called Traders Village (you can see more about that in the video log I'll post tonight). The place is huge so I thought we would give it a shot though I'm not convinced it's working all that well. I have tried to keep a variety in the type of events we do to make sure we hit well beyond a niche market. I want to hit Horror fans and the general public alike although it is much..MUCH harder to get your average joe to stop and listen to your spiel. We have flyers and posters but we both like giving people a little bit of backstory on what we're doing. I've also handed out a few free copies to people because I feel it is a great way to get the word-of-mouth going. If nothing else, free copies = more eyes on the movie.

Traders village is an interesting place if you need to find something on-the-cheap or get a hold of some exotic animal that probably shouldn't be sold to just anyone (live chinchillas for sale - today only!), but for our type of promotions it's a little different. Musicians, namely rappers, do it out here all the time - Paul Wall, UGK, Mike Jones, Lil Flip; well I'm not really sure that any of those guys were ever at Traders Village but they're from Houston so I don't see how they could have passed it up.

We both were asked to sign the DVD today which is always fun and strange at the same time. I always like to tell people, "It's not worth anything today but wait 10 years and put it on Ebay". It's fun to say anyway.

We will definitely be back there in the morning to tell more people about the movie and even though I haven't told Jose yet... I have a plan (like always). I am stubborn that every city we hit will be worth while so I just have to get a good night sleep and start my day off with a HUGE COFFEE.

When we left Traders Village we actually went to a tire shop because I noticed the back tires were a little low and I can't risk a flat. There happened to be a make-shift shop nearby so I tried to get a little help with the tires.

THERE WAS ONLY ONE PROBLEM. I don't know Spanish and these guys didn't know English.

I should say something about that really quickly. Being Hispanic and not knowing spanish is usually frowned upon. People really get offended and it can get really ugly. Believe me, I have dealt with it my entire life. I KNOW I KNOW. I should just learn spanish because absorbing an entire language is just THAT EASY.

To make along story short the tire conversation didn't get anywhere and was pretty funny. I tried to explain to the guy in the best SPANGLISH I could muster but it ended with the guy rubbing the tire and saying simply..."80psi". He walked off after that and never looked back. I think he really thought he had helped me, or he thought I was an idiot.

We ended up going to Discount Tire and paying $300 for two new back tires. We had a nail in one and it just made sense to replace them both before NY. That might sound like a decent price to plenty of you but to an Indie Filmmaker on a tight budget IT WAS CRAZY. I told Jose we couldn't eat for the next week. I'll try to post a picture in the morning with my new tires since I want to get the most out of them. I gave out posters and DVD's to a few of the people at Discount Tire and it seemed like they were into the movie. They gave us a decent deal I guess but you never can tell. I hate paying retail for anything and I know they have plenty of overhead to account for with every transaction.

When we got back to my friend Jay's place we watched Braveheart (Amazing Movie). It is always good to take in a great movie and remind yourself of why you want to push so hard toward this dream. That movie is a great cinematic achievement and a true emotional roller-coaster for the audience. ONE DAY.

Ready. Set. Go.

2008-02-29T22:32:00.001-06:00

We left Dallas this morning after a long week of setbacks but I am happy to finally be on the road. When I picked up Jose this morning he was surprised because he had never seen the truck. I don't think he had fully grasped the concept of a nationwide trip in a big Moving Billboard. People stare at us everywhere we go but I guess that's a good thing for the advertisers.

We pretty much just packed the essentials because we will be back in Dallas next week and can RE-UP! I brought a copy of Mark Twain's ROUGHING IT because I thought it was appropriate as we begin the Journey.

I found out today that we didn't make it into AFI-Dallas but I pretty much expected it so I'm not letting it get me down. I've sent the film out to a few other places and, being a horror film, I hope it will fare better in some of the genre festivals.

Now that we are officially on the road and this crazy idea is in effect I can't help but think about what brought this whole thing about. I really just wanted more people to get a chance to see what I've devoted the past few years of my life to.

I think I really just wanted to tell the world that Green Eyed Monster exists.

The Frightmare Experience!

2008-02-27T01:56:00.003-06:00

I never really knew much about what happened at horror conventions but after seeing previews of upcoming "Grindhouse" flicks, and a Nazi Exploitation flick with more skin in the Trailer than a Vivid Box Set, I knew this would be an experience I wouldn't soon forget. Between the tattooed women and the roller skating pig-guy, I learned anything goes at a Horror Con.

I've been trying to wrap things up in Dallas so my post will be quick. If you want detailed coverage of the weekend go to Jose Sauceda's PUNK!CINEMA blog and read all about it (main movie page has direct link). In case you don't know, he was my Assistant Director and is a great friend from college. He decided to take the risk and go on this crazy tour so hopefully he doesn't hate me by summer!

I will have to say something though. Jose was right about Texas Frightmare Weekend, the guy at the table next to us was promoting two very crazy movies. The first was the Nazi flick that featured a naked woman running with a gun for 95% of the trailer (90% of the entire movie I'm told). The other was called BLACK DEVIL DOLL. Think CHUCKY if he was making an EBONY edition PORNO!

Anticipating the drive.

2008-02-14T15:33:00.001-06:00

This trip is keeping me busy 24/7 as I confirm events and schedule stops and screenings along the way. I think I can add Tour Manager to my collection of hats also. Our Ebay Advertising experiment went over pretty well and we now have several sponsors for the Green Eyed Monster Tour!

I wanted to send out a general Thank You to the people who have contacted me over the last few weeks to express their support. It really does feel good to get an email from someone you've never met, someone who lives miles away, who just wants to wish you luck and tell you they admire the persistence.

It really made me think about the days to come. The anticipation is building and I'm pretty psyched about hitting the road. I'm curious as to how it will all turn out and what obstacles I might have to overcome. For anyone who doesn't know this yet, this isn't the kind of tour that will have us jetting across the U.S. and worrying about catching our next flight. This is road tripping at it's finest: gas station food, rest-stops, small town cops, and countless, and I mean countless, mile marker counting games. (Thank You Steve Jobs For Giving Us The IPOD....too bad I can't afford it so I have a regular MP3!!!)

I know I'm not the first person to do this kind of thing, it's done all the time, but I also know there are tons of people out their who had a plan just like this. Whether it was to promote their bands, their art, their films, or just to get away....but they didn't do it.

Something happens. You get older. You have bills. You get caught in the cycle. You have a life to live and you can't waste your time dreaming...

...wish me luck.

Texas Frightmare Weekend!

2008-02-01T17:18:00.001-06:00

We just registered for http://www.texasfrightmareweekend.com/ and I am pretty excited about it. Promoting Green Eyed Monster there should be a great way to jump start the tour. I'll announce more events soon and make updates to the screening schedule once exact dates and times are given the final Green Light!

. I'll be posting more soon but I've been polishing up a script I sold to a local company a few weeks ago.

Between the Ebay ads & messages, the script re-writes, and the website I'm starting to lose my voice! Not my speaking voice but my writing voice. I wrote half of this entry as if it were sales copy before I realized what was going on. I think I'll quit while I'm ahead.

Please come out and see us at the convention 02/22- 02/24 if you're local! DVD's will be available!