Owner: Cranium Candy Movies URL:http://craniumcandymovies.blogspot.com Join Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:02:19 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: My Cranium Candy Movies Blog is about the movies I've written and
directed: from B-Movie horror to sexy comedies. Behind-the-scenes
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What Do You Mean, Lunatic? 2008-02-19 17:33:56 I don’t watch much TV, but tonight I caught a few shows. I like the upbeat announcer’s voice that always says, “New Episode coming next week.” But as a title came up that said “The Strike is over!” he said in his excited voice, “New Episodes coming in July.” I know these things take time to get going again, but I don’t see the problem… you write a script today, shoot it tomorrow, do a quick edit and air next Tuesday. Whatever happened to “The Show Must Go On?” Actually, I’m not all that serious… Making a movie takes so much time… every step of the way. It’s like moving… it’s endless… and after you pack up that last box, your stuff seems to multiply and there’s even more. Editing a movie is like that “Outer Limits” where the world sl
My Valentine's Date 2008-02-13 23:17:57 On Valentine
’s Day, I want to take my date to the most romantic place in the world. Not Paris… not Rome... but the Drive-in Movies! It’s as ancient a practice as carving stone or painting on cave walls, I know, but an evening at the drive-in was really special. Now, a lot of people today think taking your date to the Drive-in was just an excuse to get out of the house and make-out. But that’s not true… it was the atmosphere – the crackly speakers, the Announcements to go get your popcorn, enjoying a movie without ever getting out of your car. It’s all about the mood. What was great too, was that they were double features. This was a great way to see offbeat B-Movies you otherwise may not have otherwise seen. I saw lots of movies, but for some reason, a movie that
Atention All Major Studios! 2008-02-12 23:03:32 It’s a beautiful day today and the strike is over! I am sitting here at Swork having my second cup of dark coffee, glad that the writers are happy with their deal. As I write this, and the industry is starting up in full gear again… don’t take this as a strong hint… but it does cross my mind that people are often “discovered” sometimes just from their Blogs. You get a sense of them through their writing and might hire them. I am not pushy at all, as you know if you’ve been following my Blogs… but I am sitting here at Sworks in my grungy sweats and 3 Stooges t-shirt… sort of hanging out. I might even go for a third or fourth cup of coffee. I am enjoying myself today, but if perchance I am “discovered”… that’d be nice too! Just to let you know, though Read more:Major
, Studios
Messages for 6205 AD 2008-02-11 19:21:50 I remember after my movie Premiere of “Sex Chocolate & Zombie Republicans” ten years ago, one guy in the audience said, “I loved the movie overall, but why do the Zombies drool green gel first, then their faces turn white, while later the zombie faces turn white right away… but they never drool the green gel – they just growl? Were they part of the undead? – I’m confused.” Hmmm… I think I probably told him that as the Zombies are exposed to air for a few days in the summer heat, they start to dry up (but actually the sale on the case of lime jello expired before we shot those last scenes.) I guess the point is that lots of things happened in this movie: Right wing zombies crash into a house during a slumber party – one rips the framed bill of rights off the
Message in a Bottle 2008-02-10 21:34:31 As I sit here at Swork Coffee House thinking about movies, I realize that what a film is saying is more important than ever, today. Viewers are demanding messages they can relate to. Movies will endure generations after we’re gone, so their messages are really like “time in a bottle,” to later be watched over and over and appreciated. I thought about it, and what my message would be in “Blood Sucking Babes from Burbank” – “If your girlfriend starts rubbing jewels all over herself, strips and grows fangs, don’t try to reason with her – get the hell out of there!” How’s that? In Curse of the Pink Panties, the message is also clear… “If you’re a model, and evil spirits inhabit your panties… compassion and understanding is sure to work better than trying Read more:Message
Blood and Guts 2008-02-09 19:45:40 We must apologize. If you picked up a copy of “Blood
Sucking Babes from Burbank,” and have a weak stomach, the blood and gore may have really gotten to you. The attached picture is a blood sucking babe that won’t let this guy in the bar go sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong! Here’s a couple sentences from a random review of “Blood Sucking Babes from Burbank” I ran across. Dr. Gore, who reviews hundreds of horror movies, says this, “It’s as if the movie penetrated my eyes and blasted through the back of my skull. Images of babes and blood sucking were playing on the wall behind my head as my scrambled brains couldn’t keep up with the cheap carnage.” It’s true – “Babes” just might scramble your brains a little bit. Should I put a Warning o
Nudity Required 2008-02-05 00:20:45 Call me crazy… I don’t like shooting nude scenes. It’s a lot of work. The lighting has to be absolutely perfect, since everything’s all right out in the open. If you show too much, it could actually prevent sales to some countries since all their rules are different on what’s acceptable to be seen or not. You have to show just enough to make the viewer want to see more. A love scene is usually shot in such short clips from many different angles and dissolved together to make it more fluid and romantic. On top of worrying about all that, you have to be constantly aware that the actors are not uncomfortable or starting to feel awkward along the way. Why have nudity? Well, for certain genres, like B-Movie horrors… that is one of their “main ingredients.” “No Read more:Nudity
If You Could... 2008-02-03 20:59:23 I was thinking more about movies having to do with time travel. There are so many missed moments you could pursue if you could race back and forth through time. If you had the means, would you go back to that one job interview you blew, and get it right this time? How about that person you let walk out of your life? Would you go back a few hours to the beginning of the Superbowl and change your bet to the Giants? Here’s something on a much bigger scale… How about chasing Jack the Ripper through time, as he spreads his murders throughout all ages? Malcolm McDowell plays H. G. Wells chasing David Warner in the 1979, “Time After Time.” As you remember, in this movie Jack the Ripper thought causing mayhem in different time periods would give him ultimate power, but when the
It's About Time 2008-02-02 10:49:25 People are fascinated with movies dealing with time travel, and the idea of “what if.” I thought of that again yesterday afternoon. I was in a hurry to run some errands, but before I left the house I just had to review and print out a complaint letter to the CEO of TCF Bank about a gift card that I hadn’t used right away and it expired. Well, not only could I not get the $25, but for them to reimburse me the money, they said it would actually cost more than the $25 the card was worth. Such a simple time-waster to spend much time on this letter… I printed it to send later. Then, as I was heading down my residential street, I came upon an accident that had just happened probably less than10 minutes earlier – a beautiful black mustang looked like a matchbox car run over by a la
Let there Be Slushee 2008-01-28 20:30:06 Thanks to those of you who sent in an email for a free Cranium Candy movie. If you haven’t yet, just drop us an email at craniumcandymovies@yahoo.com with the subject, “Send me a DVD!” anytime this week. We’ll pick some names next week. As I sit outside here at Swork Coffee, hoping those black clouds just keep moving on by without drenching me, I’m thinking of some new screenplay ideas. Supposedly there are no new ideas, just new twists on ideas… and I’m feeling lazy, so I’m trying to combine some of the great movies that have come out lately… My new movie is about a sweet teenage girl who gets pregnant and while pondering her situation, she finds a suitcase full of money at the scene of a drug deal gone bad. It’s all told from her point of view holding her c
No Zombies, No Demons 2008-01-27 22:39:54 A few years back, between Zombie and monster movies, I wanted to do something different. I wrote a romance that was set around a bizarre group of Hollywood people - “Shattered Dreams & the Pretty Peach Martini.” I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right – I am known for my really really long titles. “Shattered Dreams & the Pretty Peach Martini.” is not about the acting or glamorous side of Hollywood, it’s about a college student – Nicole - who loves movies. She longs to be a successful and respected talent agent. She doesn’t know what she’s fallen into with a bunch of angry, crazy clients. One tough goth model was jealous that Nicole got the agent position, so she wrestles her to the floor right there in the office in a cat fight. Nicole avoid Read more:Zombies
, Demons
Free Movie Drawing 2008-01-26 00:10:16 From some of the comments I’ve gotten, most readers of this Blog haven’t seen a Cranium Candy movie… and a lot haven’t really seen many “B-Movies.” I think it’d be fun to mail out a movie to a few of you who would really like to see one and comment. I’m not interested in getting “reviews”… just if you want to write a couple sentences about the movie… not to “promote” the movie, really… just some real reactions to it or the B-Movie style in general. Plus, we’ll post your picture in the Blog too, if you want. I’ll mail a few of you a free DVD of one of our movies. Here are the basic requirements: Must be excited about watching a B-Movie Must be 18+Have a U.S. or Canadian mailing address of some kind (po box is okay)Haven’t
Perfect Location 2008-01-23 21:16:47 After yesterday’s post, I was remembering some of the film classes I took from B-Movie director Irv Berwick many years ago. One story he told the class was that while directing “The Monster of Piedras Blancas,” they were allowed to shoot around the lighthouse, but there were strict rules about not shooting inside it. The city even had a security guard posted so they wouldn’t go inside. Over a couple days, one of the crew guys got friendly with the guard and took him out for a few beers… quickly the crew slipped into the Lighthouse and got a wonderful ending shot of the two romantic leads kissing. After directing some of my own low budget movies I realize how important it is to get that good shot, no matter what. I wrote about “Bittersweet Lies” yesterday too… and Read more:Perfect
, Location
Fun, Classic B-Movies 2008-01-22 23:47:03 After releasing “Blood Sucking Babes from Burbank,” a lot of people assume Cranium Candy Entertainment mainly produces horror films… that was actually the first horror I had ever done. I like horror movies, but that’s not my favorite genre at all. When I was a kid, I went through a phase where I absolutely lived and breathed horror movies… they used to run old B-Movies on a TV show called “Chiller.” They didn’t show the famous, classic B-Movies… but more obscure, totally cheap B-Movie horror. I remember “The Hideous Sun Demon,” where a scientist actually went through reverse-evolution when he was exposed to the sun, and turned into a prehistoric lizard-creature. “Target Earth” was fun – made in the 50’s - and “The Cyclops,” was about a giant 50 Read more:Classic
Cheap Shot 2008-01-21 22:25:35 I wasn’t going to talk about the Sexy VJ Party Girls again, but I just heard from Kurt, my editor… that he’s making good progress with editing and authoring their video. They are hosting my feature length comedy from a few years back, “CyberSex Kittens.” Kurt leads such a different lifestyle, which I often forget when we’re talking on the phone. He is right on the U.S/Mexican border in Southern Arizona and as we’re talking this morning, one of his dogs starts barking like mad and chasing a stray donkey that walks by outside his back window. That’s an every day occurrence for him, I guess. The only donkey’s rear-end I see here in L.A. is if my former literary agent happens to walk by! (Cheap
shot, I know… but I couldn’t help it). Kurt also battles with al
Real People 2008-01-20 21:01:04 My Co-Producer on “Blood Sucking Babes from Burbank” - Danilo Mancinelli - is great at finding online reviews and he even manages to dig up the smallest mention of the movie here and there. He ran across a few new reviews and forwarded them to me… some good, some bad, and some right in the middle. I must say… I prefer “real people” reviews, actually. When they love something, they shout its praises and when they hate it, they definitely let you know that too. Sometimes one heartfelt word can say more than a whole 3 or 4 paragraphs from a “regular” reviewer. The following are real comments from real people directly from our YouTube videos as they were written: About the “Blood Sucking Babes from Burbank” Preview: this is hilllllarious!!! F-ing Lame!
Vampira 2008-01-20 00:16:53 Last week it was announced that Maila Nurmi, who was “Vampira,” had passed away. She was supposedly the inspiration for the Morticia Addams character. She also became the first big hostess in the B-Movies – a sexy Goth character… that was 1954. Some credit her for pioneering the teenage goth movement of today too: Nurmi filed a 10 million dollar lawsuit in 1989, saying that Elvira pirated her character. Ten million is quite a lawsuit! That’s not easy to see someone doing “your character,” and becoming a hit, I’m sure… but I always looked at Elvira as more of a parody of Vampira. Aside from Elvira and the Robots on Mystery Science Theater, I don’t know of a lot of fun hosts giving commentary on movies that have gotten really big. Maybe I should give th
Gross & Disgusting! 2008-01-20 00:07:21 I was excited to see I got a lot of comments about yesterday’s Blog… then when I opened them, they were like, “Disgusting!” Gross
!” “YUUUUUCK!” What could I have said to get these reactions? Then I looked at the picture I posted – the cute blonde Wendy eating Josh’s arm. You know, I don’t even think twice about some of those shots… but I guess they are pretty gory. To me, when I see the arm she’s munching on, it’s just a foam prop that I see sticking out of my prop box of bloody body parts in the garage. I forget that in the picture it looks pretty alarming. Well, to make up for it, I’m going to post a nice picture today… I’ll show one from my teen drama, “Bittersweet Lies.” (This will also show you I do some “normal” movies too!) In fa
Sexy VJ Party Girls 2008-01-18 03:24:21 Today was still supposed to be windy with the biting-cold Santa Anas, but actually it was really nice. I’m at Swork’s, thinking about my next DVD release. Our Executive Producer on “Blood Sucking Babes from Burbank” – Paul Beeson - was out a few months back and his brainstorm was to get some movie reviewers to host some Cranium Candy movies on DVD. Well, I was thinking Ebert and Roeper… but he “discovered” a couple of off-the-wall college girls that call themselves the Sexy VJ PartyGirls
(). When we first met with the girls – Fawn and Lindsey - I asked them what they thought about classics like “Citizen Kane”… and Fawn (the blonde) said “if there’s no hot guys in it… it ‘sucks drippy eggs.’ They are opinionated and sharp… but I don’t know
Right Place at the Right Time 2008-01-15 22:38:44 Looking around the patio at Swork Coffee, I remember how we shot some “Blood Sucking Babes…” scenes right here. This is a privately-owned Coffee House, so they can let you shoot without a big hassle. Patricia, the owner is very artist-friendly too, which helps. On the other hand, trying to shoot at a chain store can be such a nightmare… insurance, paperwork, etc. Here at Swork’s, we had the run of the patio one day. It gave the movie an additional interesting new location too, instead of being like so many horror movies that take place in one living room scene after scene. Our shooting didn’t seem to disrupt anything that day, even with Felicity and Zack yelling at each other, and when a female zombie appears at the coffee house, smacking her bloody lips. Felicity ch Read more:Right
, Place
, Right Place
One for Every Mood 2008-01-13 23:54:54 I got an email out of the blue with new “Blood Sucking Babes from Burbank” art work from Maxim Media. They are the distributors that put “Babes” in a multi-pack called “Decrepit Crypt of Nightmares”, but for that, they used our original box cover art. The new cover is truly amazing – they have quite an art department over there. This new version has two white faced cannibal-girls poised for attack. I haven’t seen girls with such sharp fangs ready for blood, and giving off demonic glares since the last time an actress tried to cash one of my Cranium Candy Entertainment paychecks! … o.k. - just kidding… but you get the idea. I really want to publish that new box cover here… right now, but the version I got is a sample for corrections, so I should wait till the
The Afterlife 2008-01-10 19:47:27 Where does your Spirit really go when you cross over to the other side? If you’ve been “good”, does it really float up through the clouds, only to be standing in front of some huge gates made of solid gold? I often think that whatever happens, there’s no reason you couldn’t take a little detour along the way. If my Spirit were able to hang out on Earth for awhile after I die, if I’ve been “good” or even “okay”… I’d gravitate toward what I like. My little Sprit would probably hide inside my Panasonic camcorder. It might jump into a tall glass of rum and coke and swim around for awhile, dodging around the ice cubes. Now, the same should go if you’ve been “bad.” What if you kick the neighbor’s cat? Does that mean you’re going to plunge down into th
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN SMOKIN'? 2008-01-08 21:42:03 I’m asked this a lot because of the bizarre titles I come up with. But to me, viewers scan hundreds of titles, so it’s important to come up with a title that grabs their attention – even for that extra little moment. I try to get a viewer to chuckle, or at least wonder about a title instead of just passing it by. A few years back I was thrilled that my title “Sex, Chocolate & Zombie Republicans” was voted best title of the year by Alternative Cinema Magazine. “Sex, Chocolate & Zombie Republicans” was a movie where a curse wreaks havoc in peoples’ lives, causing them to face their worst nightmares. A girl gets upset that her boyfriend always falls asleep during sex, so when she walks down the street, every man she sees, falls fast asleep on the sidewalk
Freaky but True 2008-01-06 22:12:27 Several people who’ve read this Blog have asked me how I came up with the idea of “Blood Sucking Babes from Burbank.” The first thing I did was to think of the catchiest title I could… something so people would know right away that the movie is campy, and a gory horror at the same time. I first came up with the title before even starting on the script, but I had a good idea where it was going. Even though it’s campy, bloody fun, I wanted something close to reality. When the description says “based on a true story” on the “Babes” box cover, not everyone believes it. The premise that DeAnza came over to America in the late 1770’s, though, is fact… The claim that he lead his group of 200 explorers from San Diego to San Francisco is all true. They went through Read more:Freaky
After the Rain 2008-01-05 20:00:32 The pounding rain has let up for awhile. My “Blood Sucking Babes from Burbank” co-Producer, Danilo Mancinelli came out today with a friend of his, Cherise - who did much of the casting on Danilo’s sports movie, “Foul Shot.” Dan is celebrating the Jan. 1 opening of “Foul Shot” through major U.S. retailers. A bit early for wine, we all toasted to its success with some coffee. I actually had a good scene in “Foul Shot” as Tom Newton, a basketball scout who is misled by the coach. That is the thing that prevents the star basketball player from moving up the ladder. It was a fun character to play and it’s great to see the movie doing so well. “Foul Shot “ has been on Netflix for awhile and Dan, along with our Executive Producer Paul Beeson, were instrumen
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