Making Movies: A View From The Other Side"

Hello fellow Castle Creeps:
I'm trying to post a bit more often but sometimes it's difficult with all the activities I'm involved in. Still, I plug awa...
"Hey Creraturer!"
I can't believe it. Here I'm finally getting a chance to write to you fine people when HE destroys the moment. Excuse me while I kick a certain Green Goblin's Keester.
{*"I didn't know you hung out with the man himself, The Green Goblin!"*}
"Not that Green Goblin. Norman Osborn is only a comic book character. What an idiot."
{*"You better look at yourself in the mirror when you say that,"*}
"Hey Creature...Gorblie wants to know who you're talking to. Gorblie thinks it's funny looking for you to talk to nobody."
That's it, my patience is done, fried, baked, turn-me-over DONE!!! Please excuse the screams as I clean this mess up.
"Gorblie, just be quiet and sit down, and as for you ya little headcase..."
{*"I thought I was the voice inside your head, your voice of reason."*}
"I'll give you Reason, get back inside my head and be quiet. I ain't talking to you."
{*"You're talking to me now. I win. C-Ya!!!"*}
He's gone!
"Now, as for you, you green slime ball, what are you doing barging in here when I'm trying to write."
"Gorblie was excited because Santa brought the new movie to him."
Now I feel like a deer in the headlights.
"What movie? What's he talking about?"
"The new movie you're in Creature. Santa gave it to Gorblie."
"What do you mean by Santa brought it to you," I bemused.
Gorblie thought for a couple seconds before a huge smile (if you can call the grimace on his goblinoid features a smile)spread across his face. "it was given to me by a little old driver so lively and quick. I knew in a moment he must be a pr..."
Ah! Ah! Ah! That'll be enough of that. this is a family blob, I mean blog."
Now I'm more puzzled than ever although all you have to do is spend a few minutes with Gorblie and you'll be sucking your thumb to.
"You mean Nick, right? He was supposed to bring me a review copy.
Gorblie actually thought for a few minutes before answering.
"Yep, Jolly Ole' St. Nick...same guy. he came down the chimney while Gorblie was getting ready to light a fire and gave it to him.
"But, Nick would have brought it in his ca...oh forget it, give me the package."
Gorblie handed me the DVD already unwrapped.
"One Question before I banish you from the reading room. If this came from Jolly Ole' St.Nick who travelled down the chimney to bring it to me then why is it not wrapped?"
"Because...Gorblie couldn't watch it while it was wrapped."
"Ah, exactly what I thought. Now, give me a best Gorblie Christmas present...and get out of here!!!"
"Gorblie gone."
"Hm, A little old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment he must be a pr...hey, give me a break, I wrote that in tenth grade. The question is; how would Gorblie know that unless, the little weasel has been going through my archival chambers.'
Okay, mystery solved. I'll figure out what to do with him later. Anyway, the original gist of this missive (before it was hijacked by...THEM, no, not the Giant Ants) was to talk about the other side of movie making, working in front of the camera. Since we started making movies I have directed everything we did. I even wrote several of the shorts and one of the full-length features. Well, about midway through this year I took a little break from that as we had a few unfinished projects still being worked. To my surprise I was then invited to play small roles in a couple of short films. Needless to say I was more than happy to accept as this would give me an opportunity to both learn lines and work in front of the camera...as an actor.
It's not like I hadn't acted before but in all my other experiences I worked in front of and behind the camera. I was an occultist in a cameo on "Dark Dimensions, a thug in training in "Angora," A Fishing boat captain in "Bikini Monsters," and an old swamp poacher in "Shaawonokie." So I have had a little bit of screen time but these were minor roles. Now I was being asked to play a featured supporting part with dialogue exchange. Sounded like fun to me.
Earlier this year I directed the short,"Shock House," for Nick Cuti (yes, the Nick of the above exchange with Gorblie) which led to him inviting me to act in his next short, his directorial debut, "A Woman Without Substance." I was to play Dr. Steinmetz, the guy who kind of supports the theory of a mars expedition crew that disappears into a black hole. I spent a full day on set of the two day shoot and had a blast. I'll tell you one thing, It's nice to do your lines and be able to leave after. That's quite an unusual feeling for me.
On the heels of "A Woman Without Substance," I was invited to play another role in the Sci-Fi short "Lost in Transit." Here I was to play 21'st Century fix-it man and jack of all trades, Fred. This time I had two appearances in the movie and am the one that figures out where a little girl's lost transfer signal is being held. A hero through and through.
Filming "Lost in Transit" happened last weekend and it looks like everything went fine. What a great way to start Christmas week off. I had a lot of fun and would gladly do it again if called upon. Acting is fun for a change of pace but I still prefer writing, directing, and shooting a movie. All things considered, making movies is fun and something everyone should try.
Oh, someone's at the door. Hold on just one minute.
Opening the door I found Prof standing out in the hallway, a DVD in his hand.
"Hey Creature, this is for you. It 's that movie you've been waiting fopr. Nick dropped it off but said he couldn't stay because he had something previously planned for Christmas."
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute Prof. Was he riding in his car?"
The Prof looked at me in a way I usually look at Gorblie. I felt like a butaki (again, you figure it out).
"A_yeah! He brought it to the door but his car was sitting in the courtyard...running. How else did you expect him to deliver it?"
I took the DVD from him and held up the one from Gorblie in the other hand.
"Gorblie brought me one an hour ago and said Jolly Ole' St. Nick delivered it...down the chimney."
I'm sure, at that point, Prof and I both had that strange, blank look on our faces. The Prof was about to speak when we both heard a scuffle on the castle roof followed by a scraping noise. This was not the Werewolf boys. We ran to a window to look out in time to see..a sleigh pulled by a bunch of reindeer disappear into the distance. The Little Ole" Driver yelled back as they disappeared in the night sky "HO! HO! HO! Merry Christmas."
Prof and I both looked at each other in amazement and said together, "Don't Ask!!!"
Talk about going to New York by way of Miami. I hope all of you have a Wonderful Christmas Weekend!!!
The "Creature"

New Movies Released"

Hey Gang:
While Gorblie and Doc are out hunting beasties to feed our beasties here in the "Castle" I thought I'd hop on here, uninterrupted, and tell you about some new releases that occurred during the last couple months.
First up, the movie I've written about for a couple years is finally coming out. Yes, "Bikini Monsters" will be available by the time you read this. BM is the movie that Creature Productions pitched in with Warbranch Productions to produce and shoot this full-length Feature. I helped produce, acted as assistant director, and camera operator. Oh, and Terence even gave me a small acting role as Captain Shaw. That was fun.
"Bikini Monsters" is the story of an experiment gone wild and a scientist driven to the brink. The screenplay was written by Terence Muncy and Erica J. Heflin and directed by Terence.
Next up is "Tagged." This is the movie that Creature Productions produced with Nicola Cuti. It is a coming of age story centered around the game of Lazer Tag. Three different arenas were used in the making of this full length feature which was shot in 2010. My buddy Nick wrote the screenplay and I directed it. The premiere for "Tagged" happened in early August of this year.
Also at the same premiere Nick Cuti released his sinister short Film, "Shock House." I directed that one as well. It was made earlier this year. The tagline is simple: Nobody ever leaves Shock House that enters!
So July and August were kind of fun months for me as the duo saw the release of three movies I was involved with. Still, I have something up my sleeve for later this year. Details to come.
Have a Great Day!!!
The "Creature"

Hello Everybody:
The new year came and went by in a flash. It seems funny that New Year's "the hype" is really only about two hours long. For an hour before New Years and an hour after the most intense partying one could imagine takes place. Then it quickly tapers off into a day off with nothing to do (mostly because of all the partying). Still we look forward to it every year.
So, what then do we do after the new Year has come and gone??? Settle back into our regular lives again only with the hope of fulfilling some new expectations via the form of...resolutions.
I only made one resolution for this year and that was to get back on track with my writing. That's going to be challenge enough without adding more to the mix. We'll see how it goes.
Anyway, I started my new Years with a bang. I worked from 3:30 A.M. until 10:30 A.M. After that I decided to do something different for the new year so I went and visited a couple friends of mine that opened a little comic booth at a local flea market. They'd been at the market for nearly a year yet I'd never gone there, even though the location was close to work. I have to admit they were surprised when they saw me walk in.
Well, to make a long story short, they had a really neat little place going and I ended up buying some comics, the first in over a year. I got 4-5 new ones and a couple older ones from my list. I even picked up a couple Blackhawk comics from 1967 I didn't have. I had a good time and managed to rekindle my passion for comics again (but that wasn't part of my resolution?!?!?). Oh well!!!
Have a Great Day!!!
The "Creature"