Tuesday, January 28, 2014

28 Days Later

Oh dear, oh dear, it seems I have fallen behind on keeping this thing update to date.

On the bright side, unlike in the past when I failed to keep a blog or something like a blog up to date, it was out of sheer laziness, well dear reader, I can report that is not the case this time around.

As I posted in the 2013 entry I had a good feeling for 2014, so far it has proven to be true.

In the last 28 days, we have started the paper work to LLC, my company, Sinister Dream Productions, we're starting to gain a following with our podcast, Sinister DreamCast (rate and review us, please), as of last night it looks like we're going to get to add up to three more podcasts to our repertoire, which means in the coming months we'll be launching the Sinister DreamCast Network (still the working title), I finished the 3rd draft of the feature length spiritual warfare script (yes it is as awesome as it sounds), we're starting a short film series this year, we're calling "Weekend Shorts", at the moment, making at least 4 of them, all and all I'm pretty fucking pumped.

As someone who likes entertainment, you should also be pumped too.

I'm insanely proud of what we're doing at SDP.  I feel like we're developing a voice, that's a combination of all of the awesome people that have agreed to join me on this journey.

We as an entertainment community also are on the dawn of a new era too.  With the advent of digital, VOD and streaming you don't have to have your movie, (or whatever you want to show) in a big theatre to gain fans.  All you need is an internet connection, something that Sinister Dream planning on taking full advantage of, it's very exciting.

Keep an eye out on this space for more details to come, as they come out.  I will keep everyone update as best I can, as well as use this space to give some fun behind the scenes details!

If you're not excited you should be!

-Nick

PS If you're one of those people who hates all things Apple you can also listen to the podcast (both streaming and as a download) here on SoundCloud!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Chris Kluwe, and the Pointlessness of Replicating Reality

A few days late and I'm still at a loss on what to blog about.  

At first, I thought I was going to write about the Chris Kluwe situation, but I already spoke about the Duck Dynasty bullshit and I'm not 100% sure I want my blog to have a political streak to it.  

OK, well, let me just touch on it.  Just want to ask, where were are all those crazy, patriotic  "Christians" rushing to Chris's defense?  He was actually fired for standing up for his beliefs, not given a half hearted slap on the wrist, and not a zealot to be found screaming in his name.

If you want the details, click here to read it straight from Mr. Kluwe.  

It's pretty fucked up, and just reinforces my thoughts that the NFL is just a bunch of over paid bros, but there's my two cents on that.  

Which leads me down the thought path on how there are so many horrible things out in this great big world of ours.  This is the reason why I want to devote my creative endeavors to keeping people's minds off of them for a little while.

For the life of me I cannot understand why people want their movies to be ultra real.  Don't get me wrong, I want my flicks to have some believability, but why the fuck would I want them to be based in real life?  Real life, as I stated earlier, is kinda horrible and escapism is needed now a days.  With all of the information that we are told to process in a day, we need to switch our brains off.

That's really all my brain has at the moment... I think I should probably write an additional post next week to make up for the weak sauce that is this post.   Though I probably educated you on the Chris Kluwe situation, so that's pretty cool... um... The End?

-Nick

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

2013

I spent most of yesterday thinking about the previous year.

I noticed that for a lot of people 2013 was a shitty year, on this I cannot relate as 2013 was just a year for me, nothing bad happened but nothing great happened. Truly, if I were to list everything that happened to me this year there isn’t much that one would go “oooo” to.

Regardless to how underwhelming 2013 was for me, I continued my thinking, I couldn’t help, but reflect on the one truly shitty thing about 2013 for me: the fact that I’m still working as a dock manager, and not a full time filmmaker.  This thought has kept me awake, for a very long time now. I know it takes time to get to the point where I am working full time as a filmmaker, especially since I choose the “back door” independent  method of making it as a filmmaker.  The overwhelming thought of if I am doing it right, and not wasting valuable time.

Counterpoint to this overwhelming feeling of dread, I can’t help but reflect on the fact that though I am not working full time as a filmmaker I am still making head way in achieving my goal.
I can’t help but feel like this time next year I will be writing a post entitled “2014” and speaking about everything wonderful that happened in this past year.

I truly feel like there is something big coming over the horizon, for Sinister Dream Productions and myself.

So, in the immortal words of Captain Jack Sparrow, I say “Bring me that horizon,” 2014!

-Nick

What would Jesus do? Not be a Fucking Dick that's What!

I’m sure at this point you’re all aware of what Phil Robertson from the mind-bogglingly-über-popular A&E show Duck Dynasty and his comparison of  homosexually to beastiality.  As a result to his comments, which A&E rightfully found to be inappropriate, they suspended him from the show.  Which is kinda funny when you really think about it since the show’s about his family so in a way they suspended him from his family.

That really should’ve been the end of it, but not in this “Christian” nation.  Once the “Religious” Right found out that A&E suspended him, they started screaming about the First Amendment and how A&E was infringing on Robertson’s.  Well, my dear readers, I took a gander at ye ol’ First Amendment and it reads as such:


"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."


Nowhere in there does it say anything about it being illegal for an employer to SUSPEND an employee for making statements that the employer feels are inappropriate.

Which leads me to believe that this isn’t about freedom of speech, but about how “Christians” have a hate-on for the LGBT community.  These “Christians” will take ANY chance they get to throw in a few jabs to a group of people who they hate because a book, that has gone through tons of alterations and translations from the Bronze Age, tells them that it’s wrong.

Never mind the fact the book they quote from also says you should never eat shellfish, or mix fabrics, but they seem to be OK with ignoring those parts.  On top of the fact that homosexuality was only seen as a sin to the Jews, because homosexuality, specifically lesbianism, was closely tied to goddess worshiping.

The Jews, being the only monotheistic religion in the region, understandably rejected these practices, in light of the fact that these polytheists in the region where also the people who were trying to kill them for being monotheists. Wow that doesn’t sound familiar, one culture pushing their beliefs on another, we would never do that in this day and age.

Which is the reason why when I think of what Jesus would say about this whole situation, I can’t help but laugh.  Jesus hung out with the lowest of the low, tax collectors, prostitutes, said the rich had no chance of getting into Heaven, and challenged the establishment of his culture.  Do you REALLY think he would care about two people of the same sex loving each other?  Honestly from everything we know about him he would most likely want to be friends with them and ask them to join him.

So “Christian” gay bashers, remember that next time you condemn someone’s lifestyle, because I would bet my soul that Jesus would be on the other side of your scorn telling you to leave them alone.

-Nick

Long Time Ago in my Mind Far Far Away

After watching for, I think, the fourth time the documentary The People vs. George Lucas, I find myself pondering the same things that I always do about Star Wars.  Which is a never ending battle in my brain-pan between the two parts of my personality, the filmmaker and the fanboy.

For a long time, there was a fight going on in my mind that went something like this:  

Fanboy wants to tear everything that Lucas has done since ‘97 to the ground and kill it with fire.  Whereas Filmmaker relates to Lucas’s opinion that they’re his movies, his movies where he can do whatever he damn well pleases with them.  Then Fanboy comes back and screams “JAR JAR FUCKING BINKS, MAN!”, Filmmaker knows he’s right, but calmingly responds with something about auteur theory.  This only pisses of Fanboy even more, he gets up, jumps up and down screaming incoherently only making out words and phrases from time to time like “Boba Fett’s just a goddamn clone”, “midichlorians”, and “childhood ruined”.  All Filmmaker can do to calm him down is just say “lightsaber fight in Episode I” and Fanboy’s rage subsides long enough for him to say “Yeah, that was pretty cool.”

That was my mind for years and years, until I realize something, they’re both right.
Like it or not Star Wars were Lucas’s movies and he could do whatever he wanted with them, but on the other hand he forgot something very important, he would’ve never been able to do any of the things he did to the flicks without us fans.  Without us fans buying everything with “Star Wars” written on it and going to see those movies as many times as possible he would’ve never had the power to make those changes.  

Once I realized this it left me with a Buddhist like state of Zen.  Granted, Jar Jar Binks’s voice still kept me from fandom Nirvana, but nothing’s perfect.
Now all we can do is look to the future and pray to God (or the Force) that J.J. Abrams has this Zen of fanboy and filmmaker when he makes VII.  I don’t know about you, but I look forward it.

Nick