Popcorn Friday

Two movies that Meredith worked on years ago doing special FX makeup that we thought for sure would never see the light of day...have finally come to light.

First up is Hallettsville, an almost typical boy haunted by his ancestor's secrets kind of film. Grandmother dies leaving the family lake front property to who doesn't want it because it brings back bad memories. The son decides that the best thing to do with a freaky old house on haunted property is to pack up all his co-eds and run out for a night of drinking and debauchery.
The scariest thing in this was Gary Busey, who wasn't even in a scary role...he's just scary 'cause he's Gary Busey. This was Meredith's first exposure to Gary but would not be her last.
Anyway, rent it if you can find it. It was shot in Austin and Johnson City and crewed by a lot of locals (including Meredith). If you really want to have fun, see if you can get drunker than Gary by the time the credits role.


Next up, the film that almost gave Meredith an ulcer, Exit Speed. Story of an eclectic group travelers on Christmas Eve trying to minimize their carbon footprint and take the bus to BFE, Texas, when their travel is interrupted by a murderous crystaled-out gang of stunt motorcycle riders (they're rampant these days). Deciding that the bus is not running on eco-friendly natural gas and they harass the bus for kicks, fun, women, money and showmanship. Fighting back with cosplay, Mexican ingenuity, and kick ass soccer moms a war ensues.
Meredith did the makeup special effects (and there are a lot of effects). She tackled a lot of last minute director "what if we..." effects.
In any event, she learned a lot on this film:

• She learned that shooting a film in the Texas rainy season is a bad idea.
• Discovered that they manufacturer bug zappers in tennis racket form.
• She experienced first hand how to tell if a lawyer is lying...they opened their mouth.

She did meet a lot of fine people and learn some cool tricks to boot. Not sure if she would do it again, but I doubt she regretted doing it at all.
Overall, not a bad film. If you can find it in the bargain bin at the Super Wal*Mart pick it up. She did a great job on a pretty makeup effects laden film...worth a watch just to go "ewwwww...."

To wet your appetite here's a trailer:

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I'm not Irish, but I certainly enjoy a pint of Guinness when I can. Probably more English, Finish, and German with a little French thrown in for taste. But I really enjoy Irish culture, music, drink and food. I had the pleasure of visiting Ireland a few years back for work. I decided that it wasn't often I get to Ireland and extended my trip to cover the weekend to tool around Dublin and see some sites. First stop was the Guinness brewery. The Mecca for Guinness lovers.


I got some culture in by visiting Trinity College and the Book of Kells. I was fascinated by the library there, more than the famous book.
Also stopped by the Oscar Wilde statue Merrion Square.


















Well, we're off to Fiddler's Hearth to have some pints.
Happy St. Patty's Day!

Oldies but Goodies

I decided to dig up a couple of old 48hr film project films I'd edited years ago. Brought back memories of when I had more free time and could do this kind of thing for fun. These were a lot of work, but I met a lot of good people, who I remain good friends with today.
If you are not familiar with these kind of 48 hour film contests, they are a challenge in which you are given 48 hours to write, film and edit a movie. To keep everyone in check, you are required to include several key common elements that each team has to include in the finished film: A character, a line of dialog and a prop. Each team is also assigned a genre. Catch is that you aren't given those key elements until the start of the 48 hours. You are allowed to do some pre-production, such as finding cast and crew, securing locations, and rounding up equipment. But all the creative aspects of the film have to take place in those 48 hours.
I got stuck with editing part or all of these films. Since the editing is the final stop in the process, all eyes are on you to finish on time and the stress piles up. Both of these films were very close calls and just finished with seconds to spare.

Here is "What a Man's Gotta Do" which was our team's entry in the 2004 National Film Challenge.





Here is "The Fantastic Escape" which was done with a lot of the same crew and a large cast. This was the team's entry in the 2005 48 Hour Film Project.