Well, it does for me, at least, although I’m sure plenty of fans and 53
sweaty guys on the losing side’ll be pretty disappointed. Nevertheless,
whatever happens between the Colts and Saints on Sunday, my week couldn’t
have gone much better.

First, the dinner party we threw for some local theater folks on Tuesday
night went great. Four solid voices, four folks well-versed with the tricks
of the acting trade, will be providing the narrative skills for Head Trauma,
the audio book I’ve been working on with fellow author Frank Wales
for…well, quite a while now. Not only was dinner great, the company was
great, and I’m very much looking forward to the upcoming recording sessions.
Head Trauma will include several stories from my first horror anthology,
Stuff Out’a My Head (still a few copies of the first printing left, hit the
store to snag one, complete with illos by Bernie Wrightson). I’m leaning
towards Brutal, Chance Meeting, The Monthly and p0rn-which may be retitled
Skin Flick to match the screenplay I wrote based on the short story, which
is currently sitting on a producer’s desk in New York.

So, dinner early in the week goes great. Wednesday, I buckled down and
finally got through the revisions on a freelance gig I’d hoped to turn in on
Monday, when things started getting hectic around here with paperwork and
deal-making in progress. Still, late Wednesday, I finally wrapped that puppy
up, and got it in to my editor. Two days early. Never a bad thing.

Wednesday also served to supply me with the final go-ahead I needed for what
came Thursday night, my radio interview with the guys who host THWIPT, a
weekly broadcast covering comics, comic creators, movies, new releases, etc.
(Check ‘em out at: http://www.inthefaceradio.com, 9 p.m. central, every
Thursday night).

The interview was a blast. First question right out of the gate was a
surprising one, and some of the other ones along the way came out of
nowhere, but over an hour and fifteen minutes flashed by like nothing.

Of course, Thursday night was also when my much-hyped announcement could
finally be made. After getting the thumbs-up from the production company
earlier in the week, I could finally let the cat out of the bag. Visions of
Sarah, my ghost story script, has been picked up, and will be going into
production later this year. I can’t say everything about it that I want, and
the official announcement and PR will probably be forthcoming from
Sometimes, Dead is Better Films next week, but the budget for the film is in
the low millions, and my payday alone for the option, screenplay and rights
is in the mid five figures. Easily, the biggest single payday for a writing
job in my career (and hopefully the first of a whole lot more!). These guys
are serious, and they’ve already been working with a casting agent, scouted
facilities in NY and CT, and put my script in the hands of a number of well-
established Hollywood types, including key staffers from films like M. Night
Shyamalan’s SIGNS and The Sixth Sense and One Hour Photo, The Woodsman, etc.
The response to the script has been fantastic, and the producers have
already contacted one actress with an academy award on her resume, and are
looking to secure other A-list talent for the film.

A multimillion dollar budget? Not one, but possibly two Oscar winners in the
cast? Yeah, as you can imagine, I’ve been waiting a long time to be able to
post about the deal, and now I can. Even more announcements are coming, as
the studio lines up the key players, both in front of and behind the
cameras. Oh, and did I mention theatrical release? Oh, yeah, there’s that.
The company is firmly set on a theatrical release.

Far and away, best week of 2010 by a considerable margin. I’ve been working
damned hard on getting my screenplays seen, ever since going through the
hassles and drama regarding The Bunker last year around this time. I made
the decision then that I needed to seriously start reaching higher, and
ditching the bottom-feeders plaguing my low-budget efforts. Now, it’s paying
off. I’ve got a real deal for real money in place, and people with
connections are seeing my work. More importantly, they’re being impressed by
it. Not people who I’ve established relationships with or who I’ve known
professionally from one project or another, but people on the inside in the
moviemaking industry who don’t know me from a hole in the wall, who have
actually said, concerning Visions: “We should take this to Scott Rudin.”
And, “The script is very compelling-any studio would be interested in this
project.”

So now, the waiting begins again. Waiting for agents to middleman the script
and actors and actresses to read it. Waiting for scheduling to be roughed
out, then finalized. Waiting for crew to be hired. Waiting for locations to
be reserved. Waiting to see how much more I’ll be involved with the film
from this point forward. I already have an alternate ending scene to turn
in, and I’ll be working on that later on during the week. Then it’s being
patient, which I’m not exactly good at, while the producers do their thing.
On Monday, I’ll be on the phone, getting the next update.

Who knows how good next week might be, huh?

* * * * * * * * * *

Follow me on Twitter. I may not follow you back, but still, occasionally I
say something amusing, you might enjoy it:

http://www.twitter.com/JosephMonks

And of course, film-related updates will be comin’ regularly through Sight
Unseen Pictures, the company through which I do my film work. Following is
as easy as clicking:

http://www.twitter.com/SightUnseenPics

* * * * * * * * * *

Currently listening to: Dead Enough For Life by Icon of Coil

Been talking about it for a week now, and tonight’s the night. I’ll be on
with the guys from Heroplex Comics in Texas on the THWIPT radio show (10
p.m. Eastern, 9 p.m. Central, 7 West coast), talking about my career in
comics, (yep, even way back to the Cry for Dawn days); discussing what it
was like working with industry legend Bernie Wrightson on my first horror
anthology and the Gardens of the Dead portfolio project; going blind,
returning to comics (and finally getting a great review out of Tony
Isabella!), and becoming the world’s first-and only-blind feature film
director. I know, that’s a whole lot of stuff, but I’ll be on for about 90
minutes, which is plenty of time to cover that, and to make a pretty big
announcement concerning one of my film properties. The official announcement
will be made sometime next week, but the THWIPT guys’ll be breaking that
news live tonight.

You can tune in to the program by visiting:

http://www.inthefaceradio.com

and clicking LISTEN. If you have any trouble hearing the broadcast, simply
refresh your browser and hit LISTEN again. It works, trust me.

As for contacting the show to ask questions or comment, you can get in touch
by doing one of the following:

To text in:
214-205-4724

to get in via twitter, send a direct message to:
@heroplex

to email, send to the following address:
heroplex@gmail.com

Let the guys know who you are and where you come from, I’m sure they’ll give
you a shout out during the program. And, it’s the internet. You know what
that means…uncensored!

* * * * * * * * * *

Currently listening to: If You Were Here by the Thompson Twins

And, it’ll be happening exclusively on the Thwipt radio show (all you comic
book geeks should have fun with that one), put on by the guys from Heroplex
Comics, out in Texas. Show begins at 9:00 p.m. TX time (10:00 p.m. East
coast time & 7:00 p.m. out on the West coast).

So, how can you check Thwipt out? Tune in? Call in to ask questions? Simple.
Visit the site at:

http://www.inthefaceradio.com

and click on listen. If you get the show intro and lose the feed, simply
reload the page and click listen again, you should be fine. I’m told you can
call in, text, or e-mail, so check the site for those details. I’ll also be
tweeting about the program at:

http://www.twitter.com/josephmonks

so check in there as well in the event of any last minute changes. We’re
gonna be talking my career in comics, writing, horror, going blind, and
filmmaking. Not to mention anything else that gets thrown my way by
callers/texters/e-mailers wanting to talk. I’m really looking forward to
being able to make the announcement, which I’ve been waiting to do for a
long, *long* time. Better part of a year, now that the calendar’s struck Feb
again.

Anyway, should make for a good time. Tune in, give the program a shout or
contact us via the ‘net. Program runs two hours, I’m told, so plenty of time
to get in touch.

Plus, it’s the internet-that means uncensored. Who knows what’s likely to
happen given those parameters?

* * * * * * * * * *

Currently listening to: Hardly Wait by Juliette Lewis

(apologies to Donna Summer)

Lots happening. Seems there’s one slow day, and then Whammo!-fifty things at
once. Since it’s already late, I’ll just throw down the update and then get
back to work, because there’s no shortage of work that needs to be done
around here.

My pal Andrew Mangum (Frazetta Comics and a whole bunch more), hooked me up
with the guys from In the Face radio, which you can listen to here:

www.inthefaceradio.com

Looks like next Thursday night (I believe that’s Feb. 4th), I’ll be on in
the evening, talking comics, horror, my first film, The Bunker, and possibly
making a special announcement. I’m waiting to get the okay on that from the
people involved, but fingers crossed, next Thursday I’ll be able to open my
trap about some pretty exciting new stuff. As for Andrew, if you’re in
Dallas this coming weekend, make it a point to head on over to the Dallas
Comic Con. You can find the pertinent details at their official site:

http://www.scifiexpo.com/DCC/dcc-guests.html

Go by his table, bust his balls a little, maybe ask him to draw you a sketch
featuring a gay Wolverine hitting on Professor X, and then let him know I
sent you over. I’m sure by the third or fourth request, he’ll be turning to
his wife, Danita and going, “What the fuck is up with all the
Wolverine-frenching-Professor-X shit?!” Trust me-it’ll make for a good
laugh…

In other news, I’m about 75% of the way through my new short story,
tentatively entitled CHASERS. I’m going to try and finish that up by next
week, run it by fellow author Frank Wales as a potential tale for our
upcoming audio book. Next Tuesday night I’m meeting with some seasoned stage
actors who are interested in narrating the stories, so hopefully we’ll see
what’s what around a tableful of food, as Pam is prepping to go to war in
the kitchen. My wife cooks like you wouldn’t believe, we don’t have people
over enough to take advantage of it, so she’s gonna be whipping up enough
stuff, I’m sure, to feed an army. Could be a late night indeed if there’s a
dessert planned…

Added to that, got a new freelance I’m working on, and the final act of the
sequel to my Everglades slasher flick to pound out. And, somewhere in the
middle of all *that,* I’m carving out some research time concerning the U.S.
military for a screenplay I’d like to begin toying with by my birthday,
later this month. I’m very jazzed about the plot notes I’ve made, and there’s
even some tethers to a true story I read recently, and I think the thing’s
got loads of potential. For now, I’m simply calling it Outpost 9, which just
kinda popped into my head and sounded catchy. Depending on my research, it
may change, but it’s generic enough that I can’t really see moving away from
it, unless of course, something better comes along.

And that’s that. All the news that’s fit to print. Check back during the
week for the confirmed time for the radio interview, as I’ll be posting it
here as soon as I have it locked-down. As well, you can also check in with
me on Twitter for the info, at:

http://www.twitter.com/josephmonks

or over at:

http://www.twitter.com/SightUnseenPics

The program’s a call-in show, I believe, so feel free to check in when we’re
on air.

Just don’t ask me about writing a gay Wolverine meets Professor X story,
okay?

* * * * * * * * * *

Currently listening to: Nemesis by Shriekback

Last week seemed to fly by, but I guess it’s understandable given all the
stuff that’s been going on. With a deal getting ever-closer to put Visions
of Sarah into production, one of the producers wound up getting a tour of
the immense new studio being readied up in Connecticut by DogstarDGM. I’m
told the producers came away quite impressed with the facility, the
management up there, and of course, with the tax credits available. The
place is huge, will have everything a film company needs right on-site, and
with the company I’m dealing with having offices in New York, Connecticut is
a hop-skip-and-jump away. I know I was pretty jazzed just listening to the
online presentation, and that was even before I got the first-hand
recounting of the grand tour, so that made for a good weekend, despite the
way the NFL games went on Sunday.

Also on the film front, it appears that investors are making firm
commitments to the producers now, the financial instruments & paperwork
necessary to actually secure financing are in place and are being sent to
prospective backers, and there’s already been one request for a meeting. I’m
planning to go up to New York anyway sometime in the next month or so, so it’d
be nice to tag-team in some producer head-to-head time while I’m in town.

Also getting my blood pumping is the knowledge that they’re now dealing with
a casting agency to explore potential leads for the film, and that’s where I’m
dangling my mental rabbit’s foot at the moment. The folks being talked about
are A-list and in demand, so that always creates headaches when it comes to
trying to nail down a production schedule, but if they can secure even two
of the top four targets, this project’s going to get thrown into
pre-production so fast it’ll probably give a couple of us whiplash.

But so what. I can always go to Walgreens and get a neck brace…

* * * * * * * * * *

Currently listening to: Today I Woke to the Rain of Blood by Combichrist

Been an odd couple of days. Started out last week, when my fave pair of
walking shoes went south. First, the laces got so stretched out, I had Pam
go get me a new pair. Pain in the ass lacing up sneakers when you can’t see,
because you *always* miss a loop and have to go back. So, I replace the
laces. Same day, about ten minutes into my 5 mile walk, the whole innersole
just tore loose. Sneakers are shot, which sent me to my backup pair. But it
didn’t end there. My office chair was next. The arm’s been iffy for a while,
but I go to get up, and the front half of the arm rest pretty much splits in
half. Took a couple of kabob skewers punched through front-to-back and some
duct tape to shore it up temporarily until I can get a replacement pad
ordered. But that wasn’t all. Following that, my favorite pair of boots,
these suede ones I got out in California about 6 years ago, shred right
along the back heel. Poof. Gone. Today? This morning, my Sennheiser
headphones simply fall apart. Crack right along the arc that holds the
things together where they’re adjustable.

I tell you, it’s getting to the point where I’m afraid to take my dick out
to piss…

Luckily, it’s all minor stuff. I’ve got backup sneakers, backup headphones,
a new pair of work boots that I need to start breaking in, etc. While I’m
ticked about the Sennheisers, overall, these are pretty minor in the grand
scheme of things, and I’ll take the tradeoff any day.

Tradeoff, you say? What tradeoff?

Well, got some extraordinarily good news today that makes the petty stuff
seem, well…petty. The executive producer who wants to bring Visions of
Sarah to the screen updated me on where the company stands in terms of
financing, and I got to see the operating agreement and the financials for
the company for the first time this afternoon. All I can say is, “Wow.” The
budget they’re now working to secure would definitely be enough to make the
film with the kind of production value I could’ve only dreamed about when I
was making The Bunker. These guys want to put seven figures behind the
flick, they’re talking A-list talent, the casting agency they’re working
with is top-shelf, and they are dead-set on a theatrical release.

Selling this script would be huge for me, and not just in terms of it being
a heck of a payday. If the producers land the talent they’re angling for,
the flick’s guaranteed to get a lot of ink. Heck, if just one of the leads
pans out, the flick’d generate buzz. Nobody on the short list for any of the
parts isn’t recognizeable. Even the supporting cast being discussed is made
up of actors just about anybody who occasionally goes to the movies would
know.

There’s a long way to go yet, and I know plenty of people who’ve been down
this road before-some who’ve even gotten paychecks, only to have the film
dead-ended in the middle of pre-production or disappearing in turnaround
purgatory. But still, while little things around the office are falling
apart, negotiations on the screenplay and rights are still going strong.
This property is moving closer and closer to being green-lit every day. So
if I gotta deal with headphones giving up the ghost and sneakers that’ve
walked their last mile…so be it.

I can always buy brand new and better once the first check’s in the bank…

* * * * * * * * * *

I’m on Twitter. (Who isn’t, right?) Still, if you wanna follow, I promise to
make it interesting. No tweets about waking up and having a cup of coffee,
waving to the mailman, feeding my cat, walking my dog, checking my e-mail,
etc. May not always be terribly entertaining, but it won’t be too mundane,
promise.

http://www.twitter.com/josephmonks

And, for movie-related-stuff only, check out Sight Unseen Pictures, home of
the world’s 1st blind film director, and busy screenwritin’ fiend:

http://www.twitter.com/SightUnseenPics

* * * * * * * * * *

Currently listening to: Whiskey for My Men, Beer For My Horses by Toby Keith
& Willie Nelson (no joke, can you believe this?)

While I’ve been waiting for confirmation about a possible deal surrounding
the Visions of Sarah screenplay, I haven’t been ignoring other irons in the
fire. And, the one heating up at the moment is getting redder and redder.

Last year, I broached the subject of doing an audio anthology with Hacker’s
Source editor and fellow author, Frank Wales. We batted around the idea a
bit when Frank and Jacki, his wife, were visiting here for the weekend,
checking out the (at the time) new homestead. Things happened, both of us
got way busy, but now with things settlin’ down, we’re back on it, and just
the other day I set up a meeting with some voice talent to begin exploring
what we can do, when we can start doing it, etc. Frank and I are both pretty
excited about it. We’ve been in touch with some pro voice actors, and people
involved in the Florida theatre scene, and right now we’re looking to have
three to five different narrators come on board for the recordings, which I’d
like to begin around the end of February.

The task at hand now is juggling my freelances, completing the two
screenplays I’m working on, negotiating the sale of Visions, and squeezing
in a short story I might want to use for the audio book, while revisiting
all the stories in the To Be Considered… pile. Some have been around for
quite a while, and probably need some updating. I know for a fact that
‘Walkers, if it makes the cut, needs some edits and tightening up.

Bottom line? Lots of stuff to decide, a lengthy list of past & present
fiction to pare down, and then Frank and I will need to compare what we
have, so we don’t tread too much on one topic/sub-genre. I know we both have
a werewolf story (or two), although I don’t see any reason we can’t include
two in one anthology. Especially since we’re not really worried about
limitations on our content. Since we’re not going to accompany this with a
print version, if we decide to run 400 pages? So what? We’ll do it. And,
unless Frank’s got more werewolf than I know of at present, neither story is
remotely like the other. But it’s one example of the kinds of things we need
to work out before putting together a final list of tales, since we can’t
logistically release a thousand page audio book, even using MP3 format. We’re
going with MP3 because it’ll cut down on the amount of CDs-something that
*kills* traditional audio book publishers. In standard format, a 500 pg.
book requires at least 8 CDs, and sometimes more. By going with MP3 format,
we can fit a ton more content on far fewer discs, thus keeping the price
down and replication costs at a minimum. That’ll help us out when it comes
to shipping ‘em, too, storing ‘em, etc. Far simpler, and just about
everybody has MP3 now. As well, we do plan to have a release that could be
made available via ITunes (I hear they’re selling audio books now, as well
as music), which is cool because then we don’t need to ship or package
anything.

The whole thing is long overdue, and I’m glad Frank and I have gotten the
project back on track. Regardless of what happens with either the Visions of
Sarah script or Skin Flick, putting time into this is something I’ve been
looking forward to. If a directing gig comes up and interrupts, it still
shouldn’t delay the release indefinitely. Once the stories are assigned and
the recording location set, working around everyone’s schedule is something
we’d planned on having to do anyway, back when we first began exploring the
idea.

And that’s what’s happenin’ around the Chanting Monks/Sight Unseen compound
this week. Writin’, writin’, writin’ is about to become writin’, readin’ and
more writin’ real soon.

Unless the cold weather down here gives everybody laryngitis. *That,* of
course, wouldn’t surprise me at all…

* * * * * * * * * *

Currently listening to: Remorse by Bella Morte

The first 7 days of 2010 are in the books, and I can’t complain about a one
of ‘em. The clock’s just ticked past midnight, but about 20 minutes ago I
got a call from the film producer I’ve been dealing with about Visions of
Sarah, and there was some pretty positive news to report. He’s been working
primarily on financing, and we got good news earlier in the week about
additional investors looking to come on board. Today, he was contacted by a
casting director about three actors (including the lead male, who I had in
mind while writing the script), and was all-but guaranteed she could put
scripts into the hands of all three by early next week. Considering that for
one of the top three roles we’ve targeted an Academy Award winner, that was
a pretty good exchange they had today. I almost wish it was Monday already,
so I could sit around waiting for an update after they talk some more. Well,
okay, maybe not *that* desperate for Monday to arrive, after all, there’s
playoff football this weekend, but still…every step forward the studio
takes, Visions gets that much closer to being made.

Got a thumbs-up from the editor who assigned me my last freelance. Always
happy to beat a deadline, and that one went in a week early. The sequel
script to my Everglades slasher flick is past the 2/3 stage now, after I
hadda do a few rewrites to fix a continuity issue and set up something
necessary for the climax. The holidays really set me back on that, I thought
I’d be done by now. But there’s no rush on it, and it’s first-draft only
anyway, so taking some more time isn’t much of a concern.

Speaking of screenplays, when it rains, it pours. And, that’s *never* a bad
thing. At least, not when it comes to the creative stuff. Since I’d begun
working on this particular script, I hadn’t given much thought to other
stuff floating around in my head. Why? Because there wasn’t much floating
around. For one of the few times in my life, I didn’t have a pad full of
notes getting filled up concerning the next thing I wanted to do. I didn’t
have anything on the horizon, so to speak, and that’s rare. Sure enough, I
knock out that freelance, get back to work on the slasher sequel, and then I
read a story on one of my e-mail lists, which spurred a firestorm of ideas.
I spent Tuesday night thinking about plotlines and characters and over the
course of the next 48 hours, almost the entire story laid itself out in my
head. I don’t even know if I’ll get to start work on that this month, but it’s
nice having it out there in front of me, waiting.

And finally, had a good idea for a new short story, which I spent last night
outlining. I’m anxious to get onto that, because I’ve been in touch with
some local talent here in S. Florida about the audio book project I’ve got
in the works with fellow author Frank Wales. I think we’re going to be able
to start reviewing talent for that project sometime during February, if not
sooner. Biggest problem there isn’t gonna be finding the talent, or getting
top-notch recording. I think it’s gonna be recording all the choices we
have, and then being forced to whittle the list down to soemthing
manageable.

Thousand page audio book anthology, anyone???

* * * * * * * * * *

You on Twitter? That’s two of us. Follow me at:

http://www.twitter.com/josephmonks

and, to follow the exploits of the world’s first blind feature filmmaker and
the studio he calls home, follow:

http://www.twitter.com/SightUnseenPics

* * * * * * * * * *

Currently listening to: Resurrection Mary by Ex Voto

Well, actually, this kinda straddles 2009 into 2010, but it’s the way I’d
like things to keep going. Right now, all signs are pointing to exactly
that.

Got an e-mail from a distributor who had been very interested in The Bunker.
This goes back a while, and when I first sent out a screener, it was
pre-film look and pre-full-score and it definitely had flaws. Still, the guy
seemed genuinely interested, and it wasn’t like I didn’t tell him the flick
was a rough screener only, so I sent it out. Well, this distrib’s overseas,
so for several weeks, I hear nothing. Nada. Not a peep. Initially, I was
figuring, “Okay, it’s gonna be a turn-down. No big deal. The film’s not 100%
finished, and there’s gonna be NOs along the way, that’s the way it is for
any filmmaker.”

But that wasn’t it. Turns out the first DVD simply went AWOL. Never got
there. After a while, I heard back, we rekindled our conversation about the
film, I had a new trailer (a much better one) to show off, and after putting
him off for a while until the film-look got done, I finally sent out a
second screener.

Time went by. I spoke with him about the work that was (supposed to be)
being done on the sound design, some corrections, little things that still
needed to be polished up before the film was 100% locked down. Then, of
course, as you already know if you’ve been following along, things happened,
I pulled out of the deal to use The Bunker as the premiere episode of a Euro
TV program, and I began working on a new framing sequence for the flick.

Well, earlier this year, we got an offer to distribute the film overseas,
and I had to turn it down because I want the movie right, and that’s gonna
require some additional shooting. Plus, with it looking more and more like
Visions of Sarah will be a GO for sometime this year, and the studio we’re
talking to targeting theatrical distribution, that’s reason enough to hold
back on The Bunker, until I’m happy with it.

So, out of the blue, on the final day of 2009, I receive an offer, from the
same guy who hadn’t received the first screener, (and, thankfully,
understood the second one still had rough spots). Technically, this is the
third offer to distribute the Bunker (although one of them was handled
behind my back, so I have no idea what it entailed.). Unfortunately, I have
to turn this one down, too, although it’s a good offer. And, rather than be
secretive about it, lest people think I’m just blowing smoke (because that’s
not my style), it came from Carlos Alperin at Galloping Films, which has
released a number of award winning films. Their deal is very attractive. I’m
grateful that Carlos has retained an interest in the film, despite the
numerous delays I wish I would have eliminated going back to 2007. But I can’t
change that, so I’m going into 2010 with Visions of Sarah creeping closer
towards getting made, two of my other scripts being looked at by indie
studios, and the promise of a very decent paycheck coming my way if the
script for Visions is sold.

And, of course, The Bunker. Once the financial details are worked out for
the Visions screenplay, I plan to shoot the wraparound, finish the ADR
required to fix the one remaining troublespot, and then contact Gary
Finneran’s family, to see about licensing the rights to his score and one of
his original songs through his estate. Not sure that’ll be the easiest thing
to do, as I’m not sure Gary even had time to copyright two pieces he’d
specifically done for me in the months before his death, but I’ll worry
about that when the time comes. My hope is that the older pieces were
copyrighted long ago, and that I’ll still be able to use them. If not, that
would be very disappointing, but again, just like with 2007, there’s nothing
I can do about that, so the plan is to try, see where it goes, and if not,
then I’ve got other musicians who would love a shot at filling those holes.
It was easy enough to find a really reliable post house to strip off the
subpar film look and redo that, and with the number of talented musicians I’m
in touch with, it isn’t as daunting a proposition as it would be if I didn’t
have these connections.

It’s early yet, and I’ve gotta be patient, but the movie stuff’s definitely
gotten a lot more promising since I began sending out the screenplays and
talking up film companies. Having Visions being discussed to these lengths
(we’ve been working on a deal with this studio for a few months now), is a
positive sign. So is getting a firm offer from a well-regarded international
distributor with very good terms and comments from the head honcho in charge
of acquisitions like, “I found The Bunker very well directed. Good
characters and plot.”

More positive quotes to add to the long list I’ve accumulated since sending
out the first screeners, and taking it out on the road to a couple of
conventions and fests. The good thing? Well, besides more positive reviews,
that is? That with Visions projected to have a much bigger budget and the
producers shooting for a theatrical release, if that movie comes out first?
It’ll definitely help The Bunker. The bad news? Well, that’s where the
being-patient thing comes into play again. Means I gotta wait a while longer
to release a film that’s already garnered three distribution offers. But the
way things are going right now? Little easier to be patient these days. A
budget that’s potentially twenty times what I spent on The Bunker? Maybe
even bigger?

Yeah, I can learn to wait. It isn’t like there isn’t anything else to work
on around here…

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I tweet here, (and not so often as to piss folks off). So follow me at:

http://www.twitter.com/josephmonks

and, if you want to stay up to date on all the stuff going on with my film
projects, follow the home of the world’s first blind feature filmmaker:

http://www.twitter.com/sightunseenpictures

* * * * * * * * * *

Currently listening to Sentinel, by VNV Nation

Brief, and to the point. While the clock ticks down to Santa’s evening
arrival, all the best to you & yours (well, *most* of you & yours) for a
safe, happy, and healthy Christmas. (And belated Hanukkah wishes to all my
menorah-lightin’ friends.)

Enjoy the day and weekend, and I hope you don’t have to shovel out from
under too much of the white stuff if you’re in an area where snow is an
issue. (I’ll refrain from gloating down here in sunny FL at the Chanting
Monks/Sight Unseen compound).

Ho-Ho-Ho! (Now where’s my egg nog???)
* * * * * * * * * *
Follow me on Twitter. You heard me, holiday or not, click on the link and
get to it! Especially if you got a spiffy new computer from Santa!

http://www.twitter.com/josephmonks

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Currently listening to: Christmas Wrapping, by The Waitresses