Category: Film

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People of Dead Park: Jaren Childers

The first time I met Jaren Childers, I had her bumped off.

Someone had to die. I don’t know why, but someone had to go, and that straw fell to Jaren.

It’s her fault, really. She responded to a casting call. I wanted to film a new short video series, The World’s Shortest Rom Coms. To be fair, I let her fall in love over and over and over again before we had her killed. Okay, maybe she was jilted a few times for that other girl. Who I also had killed. But she got to experience some love and kisses on her way out.

Before anyone reports me to the authorities, let me explain.

I make movies. And I write stories about a dark, scary place called Dead Park. Jaren not only reached out when I posted my casting call, she recruited four other actors to come along for the ride – including the second dead girl and one of her own killers.

Sometimes you meet creative talents that bring out the best in you. I really enjoyed working with Jaren. Her enthusiasm for acting is contagious, and like me, she’s a networker. Every film shoot is a chance to do just that, and she and her acting colleagues embraced that fully one summer day.

Jaren and I have collaborated on a number of things since that day. Some for my day job and many for Dead Park. She’s the one who will give you a guilt trip if you click the page for my Amazon links. Yeah. Fine. Go ahead and buy from Amazon and not me. Give them more of your hard-earned money.

The 2023 graduate of Campbellsville University is working hard to find acting gigs where she can. She’s also giving tours of the Angel’s Envy Distillery, so if you happen to meet her there – tell her I said hello.

I’ve got at least one more short film I hope to shoot with Jaren (and Macy – you know, the other dead girl?) in the near future. This time, I think I’ll let them live. I’m grateful to both of them for sharing their talents, and especially Jaren, who became a full-fledged producer on The World’s Shortest Rom Coms with all her efforts to make that film shoot happen.

You can check out the Rom Com series below. It’s less than three minutes, so seriously, watch them all and enjoy.

Thanks, Jaren, for being a great friend and a willing victim.

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Good night, Len. Thanks for the Laughter

I’m at a loss for words tonight.

The last few days I’ve been thinking about Len Cella. I haven’t chatted with him in a long while. I friended him on Facebook many years ago, and he played a role in my movie, The Last Temptation of Fluffy.

Len filmed all his scenes himself, with no pay. He was an absolute perfectionist, doing take after take after take of the most inane, innocuous lines.

And he was screamingly funny.

If you’ve never heard of Len, let me back you up and bring you up to speed. He’s the creator of the Moron Movies, some of the funniest shorts ever committed to film. Long before the internet, his stuff was featured on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Real People. Have a look for yourself just how funny he was.

Len passed away a week ago on Christmas Eve. He was out walking near his house and was struck by a car.

He was 80 years old.

I’m really sorry i didn’t get another chance to chat with him, and to thank him for the inspiration. If you’ve seen my World’s Shortest Horror Films or World’s Shortest Noir Films or the old Adam and Eve film series, that’s 1000% Len’s influence. Short, simple, funny.

RIP to a true original.

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Kayla Perkins Answers 3 Irrelevant Questions

Kayla Perkins

I’ve known Kayla Perkins since my earliest days as a filmmaker. The actress and model started her career at the age of twelve when she appeared on The Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie on the E channel. Kayla, who would be crowned Junior Miss Kentucky in 2003, fell in love with TV and film thanks to her experience on The Simple Life, and she’s become a fan favorite on the independent film circuit. Her credits include The Dark Room, A Promise To Alexis, The Killbillies, The Girl, the TV show Nashville, and many more, including a short I produced, The Last Temptation of Fluffy. She is busier than ever today working on projects like The Art Of Killing; Monster On: The Art Of The Craft; The Baton Rouge Serial Killer: Derrick Todd Lee; 12 Till Dawn; Midas Cove; Murder, Murder, Kill, Kill; and The Anniversary.

Kayla dabbles in books as well. We collaborated on a novel, Kayla Perkins is Dead, and she’s writing a wonderful children’s book with her son Kayden. The book is called I’m Kayden and I Have JIA, and it was written by mother and son to help children like Kayden who are dealing with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

Whew, that’s a mouthful.

But, that’s not important right now.

This week, I asked Kayla to answer the 3 Irrelevant Questions. So here we go!

What is your favorite guilty pleasure movie? 

I love all kinds of movies. But one movie that I love and have watched literally over 32 times is called My Fault with Nicole Wallace and Gabriel Guevara. It is based on the book by Mercedes Ron. My Fault is such a great story, and the chemistry that these two actors have is amazing! They did an amazing job. I love romance movies.

If you could spend a day with full access to any animal, what animal would it be? 

There are so many animals that I would love to spend the day with, but if I had to choose, I would pick a tiger. Tigers are the largest cat species. I love cats. I have two named Cinammon and Tabby. They are just like kids. They are super fast. I love that they go after what they want. I think everyone of us should go after what we want in life.

If you could hop in a fast car or private jet and go anywhere in the world for a favorite food, where would you go, and what would you eat? 

This is such a hard question. I love all kinds of food and snacks, but I’m not a big sweets person. If I had to pick one item, though it would be Superman ice cream. Growing up, going on vacation and doing photoshoots for pageants, I would eat Superman ice cream. Everytime I see it on vacation, it brings back memories.

You can learn more about Kayla Perkins and find her social media links at www.kaylaperkins.com

Movies and books featuring Kayla Perkins

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Roy Gonzales Answers 3 Irrelevant Questions

Hellbenders by Roy Gonzales and S W Salzman

Roy Gonzales and I met through our mutual friend, actress Ally Labar. Roy is a writer who has been writing for over 40 years, counting high school. His first big break was working with the company Prodigy Six in New York. He wrote the script for their film THE CROOKED MIND that came in 9th place in the Manhattan Film Fest. Prodigy Six also published two graphic novels based on his script SHADOW OF DARKNESS. Roy is currently working with Polarbear Film on a package of scripts. He’s working on the sequel to the up coming horror film, HOUSE OF DOLLS, and he published the novel HELLBENDERS based on his original screenplay of the same name co-written by best selling author Shawn W. Salzman. He’s looking for a producer to turn HELLBENDERS into a film.

House of Dolls

But that’s not important right now.

Roy is the second person on the hot seat, answering the 3 irrelevant questions.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure movie, and what defense do you have for it? 

I have a few that I go back to and watch. Blade Runner (1981) Apocalypse Now (1979), and the one that always gets a moan that they can’t believe I like it is Heaven’s Gate. (1980) Heaven’s Gate is an epic western that reminds me of The Godfather with its story and violence. When it was released, the critics destroyed it, saying it cost to much and it was too long. But, I think it was cuz, the director didn’t allow any press on the set when he was filming and to get revenge on him. They gave the film horrible reviews. I mean, now Heaven’s Gate is seen as a classic.

Screenwriter Roy Gonzales.

If you had a full day of access to any animal, what would it be? 

My neighbors dog Kopi. Named after the wrestler. Kopi is the best dog I have ever known. She is so cute and chill. I love her like she was my own.

If you were hungry and could fly or drive anywhere right now for the perfect snack or meal, where would you go? 

I would take a fast car to Bell Gardens, and to the Pioneer Chicken there. It’s the best chicken in Los Angeles. That is where I would go.

Buy HELLBENDERS the novel now on Amazon. Give this man some money for that trek to Pioneer Chicken!

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Scary Movies I Made With My Kid

During the 2020 Summer of Covid, my son Sam and I started a weekly tradition. We’d go out every Saturday morning to have breakfast and play tennis. We still have breakfast every Saturday, but in deference to our being artsy types and not athletes, we no longer play tennis. The rackets are still in my car should we ever get the urge, but it’s been a good while. And it’s winter now, so…

Sorry, I digress.

One morning over a round of badly played tennis, we started spitballing ideas for short horror films. Not the kind you normally see at film fest, mind you, but the kind you’d see if people on horror films had something called Common Sense. You know. Common Sense  tells you not to open doors that say, “Keep out.” Common Sense says, “Don’t hunt vampires during the day.” Common Sense says, “Run out the front door, not upstairs where there’s no escape.”

We had six or seven ideas by the time we left the courts that day. In the coming weeks, we ended up with fifteen. I started reaching out to actors on Facebook, asking folks to film themselves and send us footage. (Covid, remember?) We cut them together on my trusty ol’ MacBook, the one with iMovie HD because I still to this day refuse to learn the newer versions. (It’s just easier, okay?) And we released them one at a time on YouTube.

The World’s Shortest Horror Films is a fifteen part series featuring the talents of many old friends and new. I made a lot of short films in my day, but few make me prouder. I mean, I made them with my kid. We wrote them. We cut them together. We even appear in one. Well, I appear in it; you can hear his voice. (Spoiler alert, I am not opening that door!)

Sam and I went our separate ways creatively after Covid. I’m back to writing, and he’s in a killer school of rock band called Abstract Agenda. He plays keyboard, bass, guitar, and saxophone. As a matter of fact, I was in quarantine with Covid the day he brought home a saxophone for the first time in July. He went from the usual beginner squeaks and squawks to accurately playing the opening solo from “Careless Whisper” in less than two hours. Kinda makes you sick!

Maybe one day we’ll collaborate on another short. Until then, I’m proud of the one series we assembled together.

You can watch the whole series, all 15 short films, in the video below. It’s only an eight minute commitment, so give it a whirl, will you?