Last night's "Comic Book Club" appearance was fun. Next week, we'll all be down at MoCCA for a panel discussion and, likely, more drinking will follow.
I almost forgot how great the comic book crowd drinks. This is a good drinking industry.
MoCCA Monday, Nov 5th - Fox Atomic Presents The Nightmare Factory
In their first open-to-the-public event in New York City, Harper Collins graphic novel imprint Fox Atomic presents their latest thriller, The Nightmare Factory, at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. Writers Stuart Moore and Joe Harris, artists Michael Gaydos and Ted Keever, and editor Heidi MacDonald come together for a discussion of Fox Atomic and The Nightmare Factory with moderator Calvin Reid of Publisher's Weekly.
Fox Atomic is doing flash animated trailers for each of the four stories collected in THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY. First up is DR. LOCRIAN'S ASYLUM... written by me with art by Ted McKeever.
I'm going to be taking part in a "live talk show" put on by the folks at Comic Book Club to support THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY the night before Haloween, 10/30 here in New York City.
I'll be joining Stuart Moore, Michael Gaydos and Coleen Doran for an hour-long discussion which, I believe, goes out on the radio too.
I've never heard one of their shows, but everyone seems to say good things about the production these guys put on each week. For THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY SPECIAL, the show is temporarily moving to COMIX on 14th Street.
Posted on October 23, 2007, 1:46 PM in
The Tripper
Go buy a copy... don't be a commie bastard.
Bloody Disgusting: Win Severed Head from "The Tripper"
Posted on October 21, 2007, 12:49 PM in
The Tripper
I love this genre. Our friends at Bloody Disgusting are running a contest with the severed head of Wilson, the old-time, free-range first hippie slain by Reagan The Tripper, as the prize.
Some trivia, if you care...
"Wilson" was named for the evil despotic ruler of Gamehendge, the fantasy world portrayed in the Phish rock opera/opus The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday.
The character was originally due to have bugs start crawling out of his hair and clothing, giving new creedence to the concept of the "dirty, filthy hippie."
Check Out "The Tripper" DVD Site
Posted on October 16, 2007, 7:21 PM in
The Tripper
Fox has launched a new website to promote THE TRIPPER's release on DVD next week.
I highly, highly recommend the EXCLUSIVE VIDEO that's been added. Don't be a Nancy-boy!
Today's "The Artful Writer" On the Looming WGA Strike
I love Craig Mazin's blog, THE ARTFUL WRITER. I don't know what the proper 'nettiquite' is for reposting something like this, but I wanted to have this here so friends, family and those I work with could better... if not best understand what's at stake in the current labor negotiations and why this well might lead to a strike after Halloween.
I feel the exact same way Craig does... from the deeply held belief in unions to the absurdity we face across the bargaining table from the powers that be. I don't want this strike to happen and hope the AMPTP will bargain with one eye on reality. This current business terrifies me, honestly... but i do believe we're marching into it for the right reasons and we're doing so, together.
Again, apologies to Craig for reposting this. You can read it at his site here.
October 14, 2007
The Bad Guy
I'm a union guy. I was raised in a union household (my parents were public school teachers), I'm currently a dues-paying member of three unions (WGAw, DGA, IATSE), and if I do one more featured voice-over role, I'll join SAG as well.
I believe in unions.
And I love my unions.
But my first love, my greatest love, will always be the WGAw. I'd like to think that I'll keep directing films, but they have to be written first. I'll always write first, and I'll always be a writer first.
I want to be clear that when I criticize the leadership of my union, it's because I love my union. I want our union to succeed. And there's only one thing that makes me angrier than bad union tactics or poor union strategy or union corruption or union stupidity.
And that's greedy management.
Thus, I thought I'd take a little time today to swivel the barrel of my gun toward the AMPTP. Say what you will about Verrone and David Young (and I do), but the bottom line is that I share their goals.
The AMPTP, however, has been acting atrociously. For those of you who don't know, the proposal they currently have on the table isn't just bad.
It's immoral.
The first offense is their suggestion that residuals be tied to profit. I've already eviscerated that nonsense in another article, so I'll simply refer you to that. If you want the executive summary, it goes like this: residuals are for the reuse of the fruits of our authorship. They must forever be tied to authorship. They are not a reward for the proper or improper work of the cast, the director, the producer, the editor or the marketing department. Period, the end, strike to the death over this if we must.
The second offense is the notion that residuals could be applied against up front money. In other words, if you're paid more than scale, the company could attempt to "recoup" residuals out of your fee for writing.
Hell no.
Once again, residuals are not labor fees, they are reuse fees. It doesn't matter how much you earn. That's why we all get the same residual rate, regardless of how much we make up front. If the companies are serious about this redefinition, then they will need to stop using the word "residual" and start using the word "bullshit."
Because that's what this proposal is. And again...strike to the death.
Third offense--the elimination of separated rights. Our separated rights are already an impoverished version of the rights all American non-work-for-hire authors retain. They were fought for and won in the past, and they are absolutely worth fighting for today. Even if Hollywood weren't currently attempting to turn every feature film release into a musical (thus triggering separated rights for screenwriters of original works), this would be a non-starter.
If they're serious about this...then I'm gonna have to go with...
...strike to the death.
Fourth offense--a proposal that would eliminate the requirement to include the writers' names in advertising, even in situations where the director or producer is included.
Strike.
To.
The.
Death.
But here's the thing. All of that stuff is prologue to the big one. Internet.
Forget jurisdiction over animation, DVD residuals, creative rights (sadly), and everything else that the WGA wants to argue about. The only one that matters right now is finding good reuse formulae for the internet.
Naturally, the AMPTP proposal for the internet stinks. It's horrid.
So...strike to the death?
No.
Here's my basic principle.
I'm a moderate kind of guy. So if I think a proposal is worth the Strike Of Death™, then I'm going to presume that the AMPTP surely isn't serious about it.
And yeah, I called them Shirley.
I think all of the above is hateful, unnecessary, intentionally provocative crap...except the internet proposal, which I hope is just a crappy starting point toward a good, fair-minded, let's-end-this-25-year-war deal.
Now, I've tried to get my union to concentrate on The One Issue That Binds Us, because I think the other issues are distractions.
So now here's my special little note to the AMPTP (and Ms. Brogliatti, hey...I hope you still love me, cuz I believe in you too...gotta be some more level heads like ours on each side of that table, right?)
AMPTP...drop your proposals. Get serious. Bargain in good faith. Silence the fringe voices on your side, and maybe you'll find that the fringe voices on our side start to recede.
If not, you're going to lose the moderates. There's a lot of us. We're active, and we vote. Right now, we're watching and hoping.
But don't mistake our even tempers for acceptance or an inclination to appease.
If you're not serious about your proposals, then please get serious in a useful way.
If you are serious...
...then I'll see you on the picket line.
IGN: The Tripper "Unrated" DVD Review
Posted on October 12, 2007, 7:33 AM in
The Tripper
It's a shame when good films either don't get the kind of recognition they deserve or find themselves buried beneath a lot of other crap projects that make it difficult for audiences to have an opportunity to check them out. David Arquette's The Tripper is one such film. Despite it's short-lived theatrical run and its poor reception from critics, it's found a much better home on DVD; delivering a host of wonderful extras that only highlight just how great a horror film this really is.
THE TRIPPER hits the streets on 10/23... unrated and unimpeachable, just like old Ronnie.
In one emotionally wrung and high-pitched battle which might have showcased Roger Clemens' final appearance in the game we've been watching him dominate for the past twenty some-odd years, the Yankees survived to face the back end of the Indians' rotation another day.
With Joe Torre's job apparently on the line, an appalling fact if true, the players responded and beat the snot out of Cleveland.
The always excellent Bob Klapisch writes in today's Record:
Torre chose not to use Steinbrenner's comments as a rallying point before Game 3, as tempting as it must've been. The manager spoke to his players in a closed-door meeting and could've easily reminded them the loudmouth Steinbrenner was at it again.
But Torre never broke stride. Instead, he summoned Yogi Berra into the room and, according to one person who witnessed the meeting, asked Yogi what he thought of being down 0-2 in a best-of-five series.
"Well, you know, it isn't over 'til it's over," Berra said, breaking up the room. "We were down [1-3] in the '58 Series against the [Milwaukee] Braves and we came back to win that one."
"Yeah, I know, my brother was on that team," Torre said, referring to Frank.
The Yankees left the meeting feeling renewed. Johnny Damon said, "We knew there was a lot on the line, we love Joe Torre." Wouldn't you know, the Bombers blew away the Indians when it mattered.
Game four kicks off tonight at the Stadium. Chien Ming Wang is pitching on short rest but he dominates at home, so... good move, Joe.
When this is all over and the Yankees have bested the Indians in five games (would have been four if they weren't fucked by the descending bugs in Game 2), we'll remember that Cleveland manager Eric Wedge elected not to move up CC Sabbathia so he could get the dominant Fausto Carmona the start in game 5.
Everything's on the line. More drama. More heartstrings pulled tighter than a drum.
Game two in Cleveland had been a true classic. Andy Pettite was vintage, shutting down the Indians and preserving a 1-0 lead after Melky Cabrera somehow homered off Fausto Carmona... who had been absolutely untouchable.
Then... the plague descended. A swarm of locust or whatever the fuck they were ('Canadian Soldiers' we would later be told) blew in from Lake Eerie and Joba Chamberlain couldn't see... couldn't throw strikes for the first time, apparently, in his life, walked Grady Sizemore, threw two wild pitches in the inning and allowed Grady to come around and tie the game.
After a brilliant inning plus from the great Mariano Rivera, the Yankees were forced to go with 'Bullpen Option C' in the form of Jose Vizcaino... who promptly walked the leadoff runner, loaded the bases, and sent the Yankees back home nursing an 0-2 record and facing elimination later today in the Bronx.
Fucking crap.
Roger goes today and I expect another vintage pitching performance. Mussina and Hughes are available to back the Rocket up since, really, we have no true bullpen to be trusted other than Joba (who is still amazing and wouldn't hide behind the bugs as an excuse even though I would have allowed it, myself) and Mo.
I also expect the Yankees to pound Westbrook... then Paul Byrd tomorrow... before taking this thing back to Cleveland on Tuesday for another go-round with CC Sabbathia. The Yankees have been here before. They've come back from the brink all season long.
They will win.
"The Nightmare Factory" Signing at Jim Hanley's Universe
THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY has been getting great reviews and Harper Collins has got the creators doing signings, radio shows and Halloween events all this month to promote. But try and stop by and say hi if you're in the neighborhood of Jim Hanley's Universe on 10/11. There's no potential Yankee playoff game that night. The gods wouldn't have it any other way.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2007 - NEW YORK, NY
JIM HANLEY'S UNIVERSE -- 6:30 p.m.
4 West 33rd St.
New York, NY 10001
(off 5th Ave. - opposite the Empire State Building)
Tel: (212) 268-7088
*Signing event with Nightmare Factory writers/artists: Stuart Moore, Joe Harris, Michael Gaydos -- FREE
Thought you guys might be interested in a FREE SCREENING of THE TRIPPER on 10/15 here in New York City!
Fox is releasing the film on DVD the week after. In anticipation, the movie's been touring all big the genre festivals (Toronto After Dark, Stiges, Screamfest, Fantasia, and others) and it looks like there's going to be this freebee at Two Boots' Pioneer Theater in the village presented by our friends at FANGORIA MAGAZINE. This would be the first public screening of the new "unrated" director's cut. I hear there's more blood. Since this is already the bloodiest movie (among other things) I've, personally, ever seen... I can't help but be curious myself.
I'm going to be attending... If you're interested in coming with me please follow these instructions:
First ever public screening of the "Unrated" Director's Cut!
Mon October 15
6:30pm
East 3rd Street, between Avenues A and B (closer to A)
New York City
Free screening! To obtain tickets, send an e-mail to:
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