HELLO AGAIN, HELLO
Hey everyone, again apologies for not blogging at all during these past few months, but work is very time consuming and when you add that to the adventures of life outside making movies -- and there are plenty of those -- well, time for blogging has been hard to find.
A lot of you may have read that Michael Zakin, president of Zoetrope announced in the Wall Street Journal just a week or so ago, that JEEPERS CREEPERS III: CATHEDRAL would at last roll before cameras in Mississippi.
Now I find out that a lot of you also thought that we had already shot JEEPERS CREEPERS 3 in Mississippi because some nitwits involved with my current film, HAUNTED thought it would be cool to secretly spread the rumor that it was JEEPERS 3 and not HAUNTED that I was actually shooting in the Deep South.
I will let those responsible for purposefully leaking misinformation about my films and career explain themselves, but please know it was without my consent. Just accept my apology for all the confusion.
Long story short, no, JEEPERS 3 has not been shot yet, and if you have been reading my sporadic blog entries, it was the film HAUNTED that I was toiling away on, in the lovely city of Greenville, Mississippi in the most Northern part of the State this past year.
ROSEWOOD LANE
To my great horror and revulsion, I have seen terribly inferior bootlegs and pirated copies of my film ROSEWOOD LANE posted everywhere across the internet. I can't tell you how disheartening this is, since the film won't be released over here from Universal Home Video, until September.
I have seen parts of these bootlegged copies (primarily from a foreign DVD where the film has already been released) and not only is the picture muddy and cropped, but the sound, including Bennett Salvay's terrific score and Matt Waters (GAME OF THRONES) sound design is warbled and destroyed.
Please wait for ROSEWOOD LANE to be properly released by Universal Pictures. It only hurts, not helps the terrible financial straights independent filmmakers such as myself, are in, when films are routinely stolen and posted.
THE RATTLEMAN COMETH
In other areas, THE RATTLEMAN is gearing up for shooting and that means that shortly, casting will begin. At the center of the film are three teenage brothers who unwittingly unleash a centuries old killing machine in their small seaside town. And the search for the three brothers who are the heart of the film, is about to begin.
I know many of you ask how you can get into one of the Jeepers movies, and I thought it would be fun to tell you, that we may in fact be accepting taped auditions for THE RATTLEMAN, from places other than just New York and Los Angeles.
While the film is already set to feature Ray Wise, Adrienne Barbeau, Diane DeLano, Lesley-Anne Down and hopefully the remarkable Doug Jones in the title role: Below are the descriptions of the Castle brothers, the other principal parts we will be looking to cast.
NICKY CASTLE (Must look 12-14)
The youngest of the Castle brothers. Independent, mischievous, single-minded, a lover of comic books and horror flicks, Nicky has grown up tough. He has had to, because life is hard: he lives in fear of his violent and alcoholic father and has no memory of his mother, and is basically being raised by his two older siblings Wiley and Burton.
WILEY CASTLE (Must look 15-17)
The middle Castle brother, Wiley is smart, creative and gentle, striving to look tough and strong, as he struggles to find his place in the world. It isn't easy, as he is always navigating the violent and often brutal world at home with a dad who drinks and is physically abusive. Wiley is gay but would never show it or look it. His older brother Burton is supportive of Wiley's clandestine relationship with another boy at school, but knows there would be big trouble if anyone found out. If the three brothers were their own makeshift family (and they are) Wiley would probably be the mother and older brother Burton the father. Though Wiley certainly doesn't see himself as a mother figure, and isn't a great one, as he often fights with and takes out many of his frustrations on little brother Nicky.
BURTON CASTLE (Must look 18-19)
The oldest of the Castle brothers. Burton quit high school and took his GED so he could take over his father's plumbing business, when dad's drinking threatened to end the family business all together. As this struggling young man strives to be a father and big brother to his younger brothers, he is always just one step ahead of social services, determined to keep himself and his brothers together -- all the while negotiating the unpredictable and violent land mine that is his father. Mom bailed years earlier and Burton is doing the best he can to juggle the family business, keep his brothers out of trouble, and keep up his relationship with his girlfriend Tasha, who is from the rich part of town and way out of his social sphere.If any of those characters strike a chord in you, and you think you could handle it, again we may be accepting taped auditions. More information later when the casting gets to a full swing here in Los Angeles.
JEEPERS CREEPERS NOSTALGIA
Came across something in an old box of Jeepers stuff that I thought might be fun to share. The old publicity department at the old (since defunct) MGM, (not to be confused with the new and exciting MGM run by my wonderful POWDER producer Roger Birnbaum) created several poster ideas for the original JEEPERS CREEPERS, before deciding on the "Creeper eye looking out a hole in sewn up human flesh" that became the calling card for the film.
Thought you might like to take a look at some of them. You can download them by simply double clicking on them and then dragging or dropping, or whatever your system software requires for copying them to your desktop.
First we start with what was originally decided on for the one sheet: but if you will notice this is an early version (the credit block is from another film, as the Jeepers credit block was not yet finalized) and the tag lines may have been different or in a different order when the final poster was decided.
And here are some other versions, takes and ideas that were presented to sell the original Creeper tale to movie audiences. Look at all the different angles that were considered. What the following works reminds me of, is that it is always the combined efforts of so many talented folks, creating not just the films we see. but the ad campaigns that make us want to see them!
Of course my favorite thing I have come across recently, is this piece of art, from who I do not know, but it was back in 2009 when once again JC3 was a real possibility.
First we start with what was originally decided on for the one sheet: but if you will notice this is an early version (the credit block is from another film, as the Jeepers credit block was not yet finalized) and the tag lines may have been different or in a different order when the final poster was decided.
And here are some other versions, takes and ideas that were presented to sell the original Creeper tale to movie audiences. Look at all the different angles that were considered. What the following works reminds me of, is that it is always the combined efforts of so many talented folks, creating not just the films we see. but the ad campaigns that make us want to see them!
Of course my favorite thing I have come across recently, is this piece of art, from who I do not know, but it was back in 2009 when once again JC3 was a real possibility.
CREEPING INTO THE POPULAR CULTURE
A couple of cute little nods to The Creeper and his tales recently on network TV. One was a plug for JEEPERS CREEPERS II on a Saturday Night Live sketch, and here is another nod to the films, in this clip from FOX's Bob Burgers:
As for whether or not JEEPERS THREEPERS will finally go before cameras after THE RATTLEMAN... my fingers are as crossed as yours may be.
