Bring our JURASSIC PARK live show to your town! Less than 4 days left to donate! Read all about our project here.
Don't miss the world premiere of Marc Potts and Cole Selix's CINEMA SIX at the Dallas International Film Festival on April 13th! Tickets available here.
Our absurdist comedy JPBF played to sold out crowds as part of SXSW's Midnight Shorts. Slackerwood said of the film, "If Zach Galifianakis' character from The Hangover were conducting a job interview, it might go something like this. Quirky, crazy, and definitely shocking, this will almost certainly make you laugh."
Kerri Lendo's and my new short MODERN MAN was featured in the Huffington Post! Read the article and see the short here.
We sold out two shows and set lots of things on fire. Check out photos from the show, read the reviews, and watch a highlight reel of our live staging of the movie ALIENS on an ice rink!
"A miracle of live performance." -Movies.com
"Unparalleled chaos... this ferociously DIY production followed Cameron's film to the hilt." -io9.com
"Everyone fell in absolute love with what they saw and the reactions couldn’t be stronger." -CHUD.com
"The final product actually exceeded my wildest expectations... one of the best stage shows I’ve ever attended." -Collider.com
"Magnificent... far and away the greatest manifestation of film geek passion I have ever witnessed." -CultureMap
Two young men are thrown into a battle between an evil monster threatening their house and the corporate greed that surrounds them. Watch Bird-Scorpion on YouTube.
.
AFF 2011 Interview: John Merriman, 'You Hurt My Feelings'
This year it seems to be the Year of Merriman, even if several of the movies in which he appears won't hit screens until next year. If you played the six-degree game, you'd have plenty of degrees left over to connect to John Merriman in the Austin and indie film scene. He's acted in at least six feature films in the last year, including You Hurt My Feelings and An Ordinary Family, which are playing Austin Film Festival this week. He's also in the cast of the upcoming Pictures of Superheroes, Cinema Six, The Man from Orlando and Loves Her Gun, all shot locally this year. Merriman has been in countless shorts including his own Sleep Study (co-written and co-directed by Kerri Lendo), which played AFF last year, and Scott Rice's (student) Oscar-nominated short Perils in Nude Modeling. I'm losing breath simply writing all that and it's just the highlights.
Los Angeles Film Festival Loves Austin (and John Merriman)
The Los Angeles Film Festival has a heavy dose of Austin in its lineup this year. Not only that, but I've counted at least three films involving local actor John Merriman (pictured above with Kerri Lendo at AFF 2010). Is there some sort of conspiracy afoot? Is he becoming the Austin version of Dick Miller? Along with the films playing at LAFF, I've been on set visits this year for two upcoming movies with Merriman in them, and he was in one of the SXSW bumpers this year. I think someone needs to look into this before something tragic -- or very funny -- happens.
A glance at the new movies coming from Texas artists
After years of locals bemoaning the flood of Californians into Austin, the tables were turned this past week as a handful of Austin filmmakers turned up on the West Coast for the Los Angeles Film Festival. Richard Linklater's "Bernie" served as the fest's opening-night film and topped a list of local films that included Mike Akel's "An Ordinary Family" and multiple vehicles for Austin actor John Merriman.
SLEEP STUDY is live on Funny or Die as of yesterday and is featured on The Huffington Post as of today! Watch it and vote!
Help us bring Orbit(film) to theaters! Make a donation on our Kickstarter page and you'll receive stickers, posters, and a message from space! Check out the new poster below.
Hammer to Nail says it's "funny and heartfelt" and praises the richness of the script and the outstanding performances.
IndieWIRE gives the film an A- and calls it, "a tender drama," and, "an enthralling collage of small moments."
Variety dubs the film, "a small-bore work that takes low-budget longing and anxiety to poetic heights."
Film Independent says of the film, "it is risk taking filmmaking that stays with you days later."
I'm so proud to be a part of this film. Thanks again to everyone at the LA Film Fest for being such wonderful hosts!
YOU HURT MY FEELINGS premieres at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 17th. Buy tickets and see more screening times here.
YOU HURT MY FEELINGS on the LAFF website.
YOU HURT MY FEELINGS and SLEEP STUDY are headed to the Los Angeles Film Festival. Tickets are on sale now. Hope to see you there!
YOU HURT MY FEELINGS:
Fri, Jun 17th 7:30pm, Downtown Independent (map)
Tue, Jun 21st 10:30pm, Downtown Independent (map)
Wed, Jun 22nd 4:20pm, Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 13 (map)
BUY TICKETS
SLEEP STUDY:
Wed, Jun 22nd 10:30pm, Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 9 (map)
Sat, Jun 25th 10:10pm, Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE 10 (map)
BUY TICKETS
Steve Collins' absurd short film J.P.B.F. plays Rooftop Films 2011 Summer Series on Thursday May 26th at 8pm. More details here. Co-starring the hilarious Courtney Davis.
Our micro-budget feature film MY NAME IS BUTTONS (2002) is finally available for online viewing! Just visit watchbuttons.com and start watching immediately.
(ABOVE: On set with co-director Courtney Davis and cinematographer David Layton).
I play a doctor, a priest, and a hanged man in the latest from The Hard Gravel. It was some of the most fun I've ever had on a shoot. We spent the day running around a ghost town acting like idiots and then we ate cheeseburgers.
Kerri Lendo's and my short film SLEEP STUDY is at the Maryland Film Festival this weekend.
Screening times:
Saturday May 7, 2011, 7:00 PM, Charles Theater 3
Sunday May 8, 2011, 2:30 PM, Windup Space
We've also launched a website where we will eventually post the complete film following out festival run (The film will also screen at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June).
ORBIT(film) is a collaborative, 80-minute omnibus movie about our solar system. Each film is made by a different acclaimed filmmaker artist, who deals with the science of outer space through creative and emotional storytelling and visual poetry.
In NEPTUNE CALLING I play the eponymous king who prank calls the other planets.The 2011 tour kicked off in Houston with an outdoor screening sponsored by the Aurora Picture Show and Rooftop Films and heads to the Off+Camera Film Festival in Krakow, Poland on April 11-14.
The SXSW bumper that I was in is now online! Directed by Joe Nicolosi and featuring Jason Newman (THE MAN FROM ORLANDO).