Trying Something New

So I've been a bit lazy when it comes to the publicity end of my career. In the late 1990s and throughout most of the 2000s I was, as indie guerrilla god J.R. Bookwalter called me, a "media whore." Admittedly, I threw my name and products (Something To Scream About, October Moon, November Son to name my more "popular" titles) to anyone who would listen and print them. I frequently updated my personal website, and additional sites for each of my more recent films. Then I just... got bored, I guess.

I let all the sites slip (only www.octobermoonthefilm.com remains active). My experience with November Son (a.k.a. October Moon 2) was such a negative one (especially once it was in the hands of distributor Ariztical Entertainment) I lost interest. No more photo shoots, very few convention appearances, and practically no interviews... the "whore" had settled into just being a husband. Then a call came in...

So in November 2009, exactly 10 years to the month - almost the day! - I sold my first professional piece of journalism (a retrospective on The Slumber Party Massacre film franchise) to Femme Fatales Magazine, I was contacted by Shout! Factory. Company exec Cliff MacMillan was in charge of producing new material for the Roger Corman library Shout! had just licensed. Turns out the SPM trilogy was a part of this package, and while Googling the titles for general info, my name kept popping up (thanks to the retro FF piece and STSA). Cliff had seen STSA years ago, and wanted to know if I'd be interested in producing/directing/writing a new documentary on the SPM films. Not only was this a full-circle moment for my career, but it marks the first time I've been sought out as a director without my having to do all the footwork first. A big moment.

Now that production on the documentary Sleepless Nights: Revisiting The Slumber Party Massacres has wrapped (and is due on DVD October 5, 2010), I'm inspired to let the "whore" back out. Not really interested in the photo shoots and extensive convention appearances of this past decade. Would like, instead, to share my thoughts and experiences for those interested in how life is working as an indie filmmaker - with his foot now officially in the corporate film-making door. Also, how the industry is changing from being an individual "guerrilla" filmmaking kid with little competition and his camcorder in the late 90s to now having to accept that any 15 year old can make a professional-looking movie in his bedroom over the course of a weekend - while I'm forced to pull together a paid crew and 6 months of work to keep "relevant."

Blogging is something new to me. I'm not sure just yet how much attention I'll give it. Daily? Weekly? Monthly? At all? My thought is to not just comment on myself (yes, J.R., Hell has frozen over), but indie films I've seen, other folks I work with, and just the industry as a whole. I hope what you read here will bring you back for more.

Best,
Jason

FILMOGRAPHY:
Shy of Normal (2010, director/writer/producer)
Sleepless Nights: Revisting The Slumber Party Massacres (2010, director/writer)
Incest Death Sqaud 2 (2010, actor)
Dozers (2010, actor)
I Made My Own Damned Movie (2010, interview subject)
Unearthed: The Hellraiser Saga (2010, interview subject)
The 50 Scarriest Movies You've Never Seen (2010, interview subject)
November Son: October Moon 2 (2008, writer/director/producer)
The Legend Trip (2007, actor)
Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006, interview subject)
October Moon (2005, director/writer/producer)
Something To Scream About (2004, director/writer/producer)
Bad Movie Police, Case #3: Humanoids From Atlantis (2004, Assistant Director)
Bad Movie Police, Case #2: Chickboxer (2004, Assistant Director)
Bad Movie Police, Case #1: Galaxy of the Dinosaurs (2003, actor/Assistant Director)
Deadly Stingers (2003, actor/Assistant Director)
5 Dark Souls, Part III: Retribution (2003, director/writer)
Hell Asylum (2002, actor/supplements director)
Final Stab (2001, Assistant Director/Production Coordinator)
The Frightening (2001, Assistant Director/Production Coordinator)
The Brotherhood II: Young Warlocks (2001, Assistant Director/Production Coordinator)
The Brotherhood (2000, Assistant Director/Production Coordinator)
Ancient Evil: Scream of the Mummy (2000, Assistant Director)
Julia Wept (2000, director/writer/producer)
Voodoo Academy (1999, publicist)
5 Dark Souls, Part II: Roots of Evil (1998, writer/director)
5 Dark Souls (1996, writer/director)
Mark of the Devil 666: The Moralist (1995, writer/director)
Sacrifices (1994 - short - director)
America's Deadliest Home Video (1991, publicist)
Havoc (1991 - short - director/writer)