Still waiting on work

I was off all this week which gave me time to update my reel a little. I now have the two movie trailers I did for KO Creative in my possession; "The Wizard Of Gore" and "Provoked". These will be great to put in the forefront of attention to trailer houses.

Got a call from Percision Post today. They have something for me next week to promote Court TV's change over to their new name. Not really exciting stuff, but right now I need to work. At least until New Wave or any of the others need me.

Still waiting on notes from Avi Arad concerning the "Bratz" DVD. Called The Cannery today and they said nothing has come back yet. So it looks like I'll be taking this Precision job for next week. At some point next week I'll be running off another round of DVD reels and resumes to bombard everyone with. Must keep up on my 'every three to four month' attack now.

My God is it almost September?! How did that happen?

Rough Cuts Out The Door

The "Bratz" DVD rough cuts went out the door yesterday. Dustin from Lionsgate loved what I cut and only had one addition to one of the pods. Now everything from myself and the two other editors will go before Avi Arad and his team for final approval. I'm told we should hear feedback sometime next week.

Checking in with the usual suspects, which include Precision Post and KO Creative who mentioned more projects coming in shortly, as well as New Wave for possible work.

"Bratz" Crunch Time!

The rep from Lionsgate is in today at 10am to check out all cuts for the "Bratz" DVD. There are three editors working on this project including myself. We're each cutting four pods timing in at around 2 to 3 minutes a piece. Turnaround on this has been a little brutal, incurring a few late nights. After his initial approval and / or notes, we'll make the changes and ship everything out to the studio Friday. Final notes should follow sometime next week.

"Poltergeist" 25th Anniversary DVD

My second big project with New Wave Entertainment will be released on DVD, October 9th. I cut the first of a two part documentary entitled, "Ghost Hunters: Science Of The Spirits". Click the box art for more details. Click here for a larger view of the front cover, here for the back. I know people are already bitching about the lack of extras but the truth is a lot of the actors and filmmakers connected with the film refused to be involved. Sad.

"JLA" Movie? Get The Shark Ready

I have a new comic book movie prediction. The last one was right when the credits rolled on "X2". As many of you know I said, "Now...what ever happens from this point on, THIS is "The Empire Strikes Back" of the X-Men movies". Sure enough it was.

New prediction: If they make a Justice League Of America or Avengers movie it will be jumping the shark for comics on film. Power surge, overload, lights out. Some things are better left in the comics and video games. Read more here.

"Bratz" continues

In the middle of my two week stint at The Cannery working on four short pods for the "Bratz" DVD. It's been a cute project to cut. Very MTV style. So I haven't been crying in my milk about what the film is. We're still waiting on footage for one of the pods so we may be going into next week on rough cut delivery.

Too early to know what next week will bring exactly. Certainly I'll be here for the next project or perhaps back to KO. Still anticipating that call from New Wave to return. Checked in about a week ago but there was nothing yet.

Who Is This "Superbad"?

"Come to me...'Superbad'. KNNEEEEELLL BEFORE ZOD!!!"

The trailer looked mediocre at best. As I watched it the first time I thought, 'straight to video...NEXT!'. So why is "Superbad" getting all these great reviews? My curiousity has peaked just a little. But I still think I'll be waiting for DVD and listening to much more word-of-mouth from people I know first.

OWN IT!: Rooms Now Booked at The San Diego Marriott!

After huridly making other arrangements earlier this week once I found out The San Diego Marriot Hotel and Marina had already sold out for Comic-Con next year, I pretty much put to bed the idea of actually getting in there from this point on. However something amazing just happened! Crystal was looking at Priceline.com to make hotel reservations for San Diego in a few weeks. Coinicidentally the hotel chosen as the best luxury deal was The Marriott. Through further investigation she discovered that they now in fact have rooms available for the dates I wanted next July. HOLY SHIT!!

After she told me I quickly scrambled over to the Marriott site to confirm...THERE IT WAS! Not really sure what happened before. Perhaps the event coordinators booked more of a block than they needed and had just reeled it back a little. It could have been several things but the fact is this...

I now have three rooms booked at The San Diego Marriot Hotel and Marina for the entire stay of Comic-Con 2008!!! And it's all thanks to Crystal learning this important and unanticipated change!

O.K. so the price is a bit more than this year. Probably another affect of the event selling out for the first time. They know they can charge those prices now and people will pay. The main thing is...WE'RE IN!

THANK YOU, CRYSTAL!!!

From KO Creative To The Cannery

After working a grueling three week straight run on 60 teasers for the first season of "Poltergeist: The Legacy", I have now returned to The Cannery to cut a couple of pods for the "Bratz" movie DVD.

Probably about a week and a half of the time with KO was spent working from home. Would head in to pick up a Firewire drive, then spend the next series of days only having to deal with a 7 second commute to work; from the bedroom to the computer in the next room! Then at the end of each day I'd upload my work to an FTP site.

This last week on the project was insanely intense. Studio dictated changes in length to a :10, :15, :20, and :30 spot for each of the fifteen episodes became all I lived, ate, slept, and dreamt about. After working two very full weekends in a row, that included some heavy late nights, I began cutting the "Bratz" pieces this past Monday at The Cannery. However I STILL had to go back to KO Monday and Tuesday nights to finish even more changes in length to all those spots. Needless to say I'm just about out of gas and really looking forward to having some down time this coming weekend.

The "Bratz" project will take me through until August 24, but I'm told they'll have more work for me when this ends. KO has also expressed interest in my returning when the current gig is done. All we have to do now is get New Wave Entertainment to call with something cool to follow these other projects.

I'll Take The Briefcase...

This is the only "Blade Runner" 25th Anniversary DVD Collection for me! First up is the theatrical re-release in New York and Los Angeles on October 5. Then comes the multi-disc sets due out on December 18. Finally! 2 disc? Nah! 4 disc? Hmmm...not quite. 5 disc briefcase with all versions of the film and a miriad of bonus features and goodies including a miniature police spinner
...FUCK YEAH!!!

Comic-Con Crisis and Quick Rebound

Crystal informed me yesterday she learned that the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina, The accomodation jewel in the crown of attending Comic-Con located right next door, had already sold out for next year!!! Aaaaaahhhhhh!!! Not cool!

I'd been calling at least once a week since this year's event ended to see when next year's dates would become available. It's usually the early to middle part of August that you can book. Last week's call still came up that the latest they could make a reservation for was July 19. And now suddenly...BAM! Everything is gone!

Clearly this year's Comic-Con sell out has the event coordinators stepping up their plans to block out more space in more hotels. Yesterday I immediately called remaining hotels located right across the street from the San Diego Convention Center. Thank God The Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter still had rooms left. However they were quickly selling out as well. I now have three rooms reserved with them...WHEEEEE-EEEEEWWWW!! THE Omni, also across the street, and a secondary Marriott next door to that were also sold out. Embassy Suites one block away only had a hand full of rooms left.

The funny thing is just two days ago I was wondering what the view of the Convention Center was like from a hotel across the street. Must have been a premonition. I love waking up in the morning during Comic-Con, opening the curtains, and seeing that sea of congregating fans. There's just an energy to it.

Bottom line is we're in. However I'll still check the event housing authority when they officially release all the blocked rooms next February. Perhaps we'll still be able to get into The Marriott next door. And yet The Hilton looks great as well. As does The Omni and I'm certainly looking forward to giving those a chance.

Earthquake!

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake hit Chatsworth last night at 1am. The epicenter was only 10 minutes from where I live. I was at my computer just getting ready to shut down and head to bed. It definitely scared me a little because after the initial rattle that lasted for a few seconds, there was a rolling motion for 10 seconds more. No damage anywhere luckily. Whew.

More MINI Pimpage

During my continued quest to add more British accessories to my MINI I noticed someone on the road this morning with a blue MINI that had a grille badge. I'd casually looked into this before and was toying with the idea. Seeing one on a real MINI started the wheels turning a bit more loud.



I'd also diddled with the concept of putting exterior fog lamps on the front grille. But the problem with that is I'd only be covering then up with Union Jack lamp covers and not turning the actual lights on...ever. These would be for show, not use. More research found that the wiring installation is more extensive than I'd like. Plus you have to drill a few holes behind the grille to accomodate everything. Yuck!

Ultimately (at this point anyway) I'm leaning more in the direction of the grille badges because there is such a wide selection online and, because they're magnetic, you can switch them out for something different whenever you want! If you're still curious at this point in my automotive self admiration, click on the image above.

Britney Spears Also Drives A Mini Cooper

BRITNEY SPEARS MUST DIE!!!!!!!!

Favreau Cam

Check out Jon Favreau viding his, Robert Downey, Jr's, and Stan Winston's entrance for the unveiling of the "Iron Man" Mark I suit at Comic-Con 2007. I was about 20 feet from where they walked out. Can't see me though.



And here is G4's interview with Jon on Thursday, a few days before the Mark I crate was opened.

KO Continues...

Came back to work at KO Creative this week while having two days of Comic-Con withdrawal. I still wish I was down there actually. :(

Continuing to work on teasers for the series "Poltergeist: The Legacy". All the 30 second spots are down (for 15 episodes), now I'm working on 20, 15, and 10 second cutdowns. 10 second cutdowns are probably the hardest, what with trying to cram so much plot into just a flicker of time. They also asked what my availability is for the next 3 weeks which is hopeful. They've asked this before and nothing has ever quite lasted that long so we'll see. However this would be great because I'm still hoping for that phone call to come from New Wave Entertainment that it's time to return, hopefully for good.

I may actually be working at Precision Post next Tuesday and Wednesday and then returning here to KO for the remainder of the week. Precision has a couple of interstitials for FX they want me to cut.

Comic-Con 2007 Wrap

As promised, here is the Saturday Photo of The Day! "Iron Man" Director Jon Favereau & Robert Downey, Jr signing autographs at the Marvel booth. A few moments later I would be meeting them!

Hey where did it go?! Even though this year's Comic-Con was the best I've attended so far, it also seemed to go by much too quickly.

After an appointment with my pariodontist just north of San Diego on Wednesday, I proceeded to the San Diego Marriott & Marina to check in. Traffic caused me to miss the first hour of preview night, but that was O.K. Wednesday evening's three-hour advance peek at the exhibit hall certainly was crowded. A lot in fact was going on and the fans knew one of the places to head was the Marvel booth where several "Iron Man" events would be taking place later during the weekend.

Thursday's Paramount Pictures preview saw two absolutely amazing events. First was the unplanned visit by "Iron Man" Director Jon Favereau. Originally switched from the Paramount to the Marvel Studios event on Saturday, Jon surprised everyone with an advanced Comic-Con exclusive trailer for the movie. Which of course was repeated two days later. Oh. My. God! This movie is going to ROCK! Clips included some of the origin and Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) in the Mark I suit busting out of captivity, taking on (with wrist affixed flame throwers!) dozens of machine gun touting bad guys. WOW! They even had a finished shot of Iron Man flying away from a couple of F-16 jets and taking on some bad guy robot on the ground. Amazing stuff!!!

Then came the "Indy 4" panel. Right next to "Iron Man" this was the jewel in the crown of the event for me...as well as a few thousand other fans! Of course the payoff to Steven Spielberg's live 'hello' from the set was the exclusive announcement that Karen Allen will be returning as Marion Ravenwood! I'll let the official video tell the story much better. The minute I saw 'Marion Ravenwood' on the back of that director's chair I screamed, "YESSS!!!". Karen Allen still looks fantastic and now I know this movie is going to be GREAT!

Friday became a bit more crowded as word spread that Comic-Con was quickly selling out for the first time in its history! The four-day memberships had sold out two weeks before, as had the individual Saturday badges. By the time Saturday rolled around the entire event was completely sold out! Friday morning was the Warner Bros. preview event with one thing strangely missing: "The Dark Knight". I had read in advance that there probably would not be anything to promote the film here, but still had my hopes. Apparently there had been some problem between Warner's and Comic-Con that caused them to pass on bringing anything from the next Batman film and placing the first teaser trailer officially online right when the panel began. Curious. Never did find out the details. However, amongst some other movies that looked O.K., the one that stuck out was "Get Smart". They showed an extended Comic-Con exclusive trailer that was really hilarious and even action packed. This is not just a "Get Smart" remake, it's also a Steve Carrell vehicle all it's own which I think is a 'smart' move. Looks great!

Friday afternoon's Warner Home Video brought some of the stars of "Blade Runner" to the Hall H stage to promote the 25th anniversary re-release of the film this September as well as the subsequent DVD release later in the year. In attendance to talk "BR" and answer questions were Director Ridley Scott, actors Sean Young, Joanna Cassidy, James Hong, Joe Turkel, and futurist Syd Mead. They showed a new film trailer created for this new release as well as an amazing preview for a brand new documentary that will be included on the 5-disc DVD set. After several actors appeared talking about their experience on the movie against b-roll of never before seen behind the scenes footage, Edward James Olmos piped in by saying everyone has a fascinating story to tell, including Harrison Ford. He ended by asking the interview, 'did you talk to him?'. The screen abruptly went dark for several beats and when picture came back up, there was Harrison Ford! A sight that was greeted with enthusiastic cheers from everyone in the room. For the last two and a half decades Ford has repeatedly refused to comment on the movie because of his bad on-set relationship with Ridley Scott.

Saturday was certainly the big day and probably the most anticipated event of this year's Comic-Con: The unveiling of the actual Mark I suit from "Iron Man", autographs with Director Jon Favereau and Tony Stark himself, Robert Downey, Jr. as well as an appearance by the creator of all of Iron Man's movie suits, Stan Winston...AND Marvel Studios preview presentation of "Iron Man" with several more of the cast were on hand, including Gwyneth Paltrow. I was 20th in line when I arrived two hours early to see the Mark I unveiling and to get Jon and Robert's autograph. They were both great and really funny. A wall of blinding flashbulb lights greeted the giant 'Stark Industries' crate being split open, as well as cheers from a crowd that literally stopped traffic on the floor in every direction for a good half hour. An hour and a half later at the Marvel preview the trailer was shown twice to even more screaming fans. I was pretty lucky to actually get into Hall H, where most of the big studio previews and guest appearances take place. The line was insanely long since just about everyone wanted to see what the new comic studio had on their plate. This also included a peek at next year's "The Incredible Hulk".

Edward Norton and Liv Tyler were on hand to describe how this new Hulk will be more like the Bill Bixby TV series. Something a lot of fans, including myself, are glad to hear. They also showed on head and shoulders concept painting of how the character wlll look. Right now they are about two weeks into filming. Can't wait for this one either.

Sunday came all too quickly. Bought a lot of goodies and was amazed by all the eye candy while Crystal, who took the train down on Thursday, enjoyed the Marriott's pool and finished reading "Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince". Today she picked up the final book. She also perused the exhibit hall on Friday but smartly avoided the whole place on Saturday where you literally can't move there are SOOO many people! This year was no exception although there were times both Friday and Saturday (prime days) when the crowds seemed to ebb a bit. Might have been because people were scared of the sell out news and tried to hit a different day, causing attendance to be spread out a little.

Decided at the last minute to check out on Sunday instead of the originally planned Monday. Mostly due to the fact that KO Creative had work for me to continue with on site this week, as well as the financial end of it. Every day I just felt was incredible this year. Cool events, action packed programming, and plenty of star sightings. Aside from those I mentioned above, I also saw Rosario Dawson stop by the Jon Favereau / Robert Downey, Jr. signing on Saturday to the amazement of the crowd. Seth Rogan ("Knocked Up", "The 40 Year Old Virgin") roamed the exhibit hall before his "Superbad" panel. Gene Simmons was escorted in to promote his new comic. I even saw Cindy Morgan ("Tron", "Caddyshack") up in the autograph area.

As usual I took an insane amount of photos I am now going through to post the best of the best. Stay tuned, should have those up in the next day.