Podcast appearances and mentions of stephen zimmer

"The Prophet of Pop Culture" John B. Pyka, Gamer Girl AubryX Brewer, and the Incomparable Dee Bartee are joined by Author/Publisher/Broadcaster Stephen Zimmer! Stephen will join us to share cool news about upcoming releases from Seventh Star Press and plans for Imaginarium 2021! Plus new loot, movie and gaming news! Back of the Cereal Box on Social Media: Like us on www.Facebook.com/cerealboxpodcast Follow us on www.Instagram.com/cerealboxpodcast Tweet us at www.Twitter.com/cerealboxpod Watch us on www.YouTube.com/backofthecerealbox Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeart Radio! For booking and advertising contact us at cerealboxpodcast@gmail.com Follow Aubry on Twitch @Aubryx1 Follow Dee Bartee on Instagram @DeeBarteePhoto Support the show: --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cerealboxpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cerealboxpodcast/support

Holly Phillippe has seen ghosts since she was a young child; Stephen Zimmer has had supernatural experiences for years. Together, they have a house full of other worldly guests. Listen to Holly and Stephen talk about their experiences which continue to this day. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In this episode of “Just Click Submit,” the ISA’s Scott Markus speaks with Stephen Zimmer, the creator of Louisville’s Imaginarium Convention, a festival celebrating writers and all things pop culture. The Imaginarium Convention made its debut in 2014 with a central focus on providing creative writers and other creative talents educational, networking, professional, and mentoring opportunities. In 2019, The Writer Magazine named the Imaginarium Convention the best writing conference in Kentucky and the 2nd best writing conference in the Southeast USA. The Imaginarium Convention welcomes all genres and levels of experience, maintaining an inclusive, welcoming environment that brings together the vibrant atmosphere of a convention with the content-rich nature of a major writers conference. Three days filled with over 130 panels and workshops provide creative individuals an abundance to choose from to develop skill-sets to further their professional and artistic journeys. In supporting creative writing in all forms, The Imaginarium Convention embraces Game Development and Film/TV production, including programming content in each of these areas, a weekend-long gaming room, and an independent film festival with juried awards. More recently, The Imaginarium Convention has begun to develop the Imaginarium Initiative, to help facilitate support and educational opportunities for communities in need. Our first target area for this program will be the Eastern Kentucky region. A positive event that provides a wide range of support and beneficial elements to a diverse array of attendees, Imaginarium is dedicated to continue growing and expanding what we can offer to those pursuing a creative path.

The Blurb interview with Stephen Zimmer, author of Dream of the Navigator. Author Stephen Zimmer takes us behind the scenes to learn about the inspiration behind the creation of his Dystopian book Dream of the Navigator, book one of the Faraway Saga, and we also discuss his experience writing Fantasy and Horror. Dream of the Navigator (Faraway Saga Book 1) Kindle Edition https://amzn.to/2FTO7ZL Heart of a Lion (Dark Sun Dawn Book 1) Kindle Edition https://amzn.to/2FS8Ddx Hellscapes, Volume I Kindle Edition https://amzn.to/2RTBWCV The Exodus Gate (The Rising Dawn Saga Book 1) Kindle Edition https://amzn.to/2S8pbDI Amazon Author Page:  amazon.com/author/stephenzimmer Author website: www.stephenzimmer.com Publisher website: www.seventhstarpress.com Facebook Author page: www.facebook.com/stephenzimmer7 Twitter: @SGZimmer Instagram: @stephenzimmer7 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/StephenZimmer MeWe:  mewe.com/i/stephenzimmer Visit www.TheBlurb.tv for more episodes and links. View this episode on YouTube! You can subscribe to our YouTube channel for the video version of our episodes and our RSS Feed for the audio podcast. This episode sponsored by Fandom Outfitters. www.FandomOutfitters.com Here's a list of the Gear I use to record and edit the show, both the YouTube video edition and the audio podcast. This is a handy list of Resources for writers.  Don't forget to check out The BlurbMerch! #TheBlurb #Author #Interview #Fiction #Books #BookBuzz #BookWorm #GreatReads #AmWriting #AmReading #MustRead #WritersLife #StephenZimmer #YA #Dystopian

Join Marsha Casper Cook , A GOOD STORY IS A GOOD STORY on April 26 th at 11 PM EST 10PM CST 9PM  MT 8PM PST when she welcomes Stephen Zimmer and Jennifer Malone Wright for a great discussion on Books to Movies. The chat room will be open and the show is live! 714-242-5259 Stephen is an author, producer and director at EVER AFTER MEDIA and JennIfer is an author and marketing expert at STORYTIME BOOK REVIEWS AND PROMOTION.  Call in number is 714-242-5259 ( late night show) 10 PM CST  11 PM EST   For more info please go tohttp://www.worldofinknetwork.com http://www.stephenzimmer.com /http://www.jenniferwrightauthor.com http://www.marshacaspercook.com        

Hi Groupies! This week we are changing it up a little. The fantastic Stephen Zimmer is on the blog as an author interviewee. Stephen, as you may know, has been mentioned quite a lot on my podcast, Writer Groupie. He is a very inspiring author, and he’s been my friend for a lot of years, and I am so happy to have him on Writer Groupie! I did make a podcast for you below the interview, and yes, it HAS the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! Now that it is December I can finally talk about it! Official Bio: Stephen Zimmer is an The post Writer Groupie Episode 45-Stephen Zimmer, author appeared first on Kim Smith, Author.

The second half of the interviews I did at the Imaginarium convention in Louisville Kentucky September 19th – 21st Interviews with Sean Taylor, Logan L. Masterson, Jerry Benns, Rhyanna Benns and Stephen Zimmer

of The Exodus Gate, Crown of Vengence, and his latest book, The Storm Guardians. If you love fantasy, this is the show you have been waiting for!! Stephen has been a panelist for many many cons and is an awesome filmmaker as well. Be sure to tune in and hear our fun chat!

of The Exodus Gate, Crown of Vengence, and his latest book, The Storm Guardians. If you love fantasy, this is the show you have been waiting for!! Stephen has been a panelist for many many cons and is an awesome filmmaker as well. Be sure to tune in and hear our fun chat!

Missa welcomes Stephen Zimmer. He will be talking about his writings and making full length films in today's entertainment industry.

Missa welcomes Stephen Zimmer. He will be talking about his writings and making full length films in today's entertainment industry.

One of the more unusual fellows that you will encounter in the Kentucky indie film community, Eric Butts is a very talented guy who brings a depth of technical and historical knowledge to any project that he delves into. In addition to being a filmmaker, he is also a very capable talent in music, perfectly capable of being a one-man rock band in a studio environment.I had the pleasure of working with Eric when I directed Shadows Light, and I can say that you will find few people as passionate about film and storytelling as Eric. More recently, Eric has dived into the world of CGI, including 3D modeling and animation. In this IMM spotlight, we visited with Eric to find out how things are going, what's on the horizon, and to give readers a little idea about the man himself. -Stephen Zimmer, for Indie Movie Masters Blog Interview, March 10, 2010 SZ: You are a man capable of wearing many hats, in terms of writing, producing, directing, doing CGI, editing, etc. How would you describe yourself these days, in relation to your career?EB: I've started referring to myself as an artist, but I always cringe a little, because it sounds so pretentious. I've also enjoy being called a Renaissance man. Ultimately, I'd like to be known as a director, maybe an editor and musician as well. I love doing all the other stuff I do, because it's fun to want to learn something and then actually do it, but I really only do it because not a lot of other people can in my current budget levels. I've found it to be a lot cheaper to buy a book and spend some time and just do it myself. That just spilled over to my friends, most of whom are film people as well. A lot of them are very talented too and sometimes they have projects I HAVE to be a part of. I just love making stuff!SZ: What first got you into pursuing an independent film career?EB: I was just sort of born wanting to do it. I started playing music at 2 and started writing by 3. I just never wanted to do anything else. Part of it is because I grew up loving movies. My folks let me watch whatever I wanted at a young age. I spent so much time in video stores, that at one point I actually listed a video clerk as an emergency contact for my school. My mom loved horror and my Dad's into Sci-Fi. My first movie ever was "Alien" when I was 6 months old. Everyone in the theater thought "Oh great, here's comes the screaming baby" but I apparently stayed transfixed on the screen the whole time. Plus, my folks have always been very supportive of my creative thinking! Reality can suck! Sometimes I'd rather create and live in my own worlds and film making allows that on a constant basis.SZ: What are some of the things that you like especially about the world of indie film?EB:No release date deadlines, which is great when you can't spend money, cause time is usually the indie film maker's friend! That can also be a problem. I come from the school of thought that art is never released, it escapes! There's always going to be more you can do to make things better and the more time you have with a project the more things you start wanting to fix. Eventually, you have to just let it go and let it be what it's going to be, then maybe, someday, you can pull a Lucas and go back and fix things, something I've never had a problem with people doing by the way. Other than that, I've never seen much difference between indie and Hollywood for me. I'm going to make what I want to make, period. I would like to make a living at it eventually, but I HAVE to make what makes me happy first! Luckily, most of my ideas are for summer blockbuster types of films, which makes it hard for me to write scripts I can afford to do. Now, with my CG, I'm capable of a lot more!SZ: Conversely, what are the biggest negatives about working in indie film, besides the obvious money restraints?EB: Really all the drawbacks stem from lack of funds. Scheduling is next to impossible. If you need more than a couple actors to get together at the same time, you can quickly find your hair turning gray... ask Jerry Williams. Extras are impossible to find in any large number. The talent pool is thin compared to the choices you have when you can pay people. Sometimes getting people to take what you're doing seriously can be difficult, because a lot of times they think it's just going to be something fun to do and don't realize how much work it actually is! SZ:You’ve been delving into the world of 3D modeling and animation lately. How is that going? EB: It has been insanely fun! CG was something I used to think was way out of my abilities, but I've always had ideas that require CG! I made a short 30 minute film when I was 15, so it would have been around 1995, that movie had a bunch of CG morphing in it, some of the shots were even pretty good. Last year I upgraded all my software and had some minor 3D capabilities, which gave me some really cool Ideas for some CG movies. I quickly find I couldn't do too much with what I had. I started looking into videos of CG programs and quickly found Lightwave and out of the three major CG programs, it was the one in my price range, but also seemed easy to use. I decided to get it. I also knew I was limited in my 3D motion tracking and after some research found a great program called SynthEyes. It's one of the industry standards and surprisingly cheap, for what it is. I then found out, my favorite show, "Battlestar Galactica" (Modern) used Lightwave and Syntheyes for 95% of their CG and their CG is incredible! So I was totally sold. Lightwave is amazing. Right out of the box with very little knowledge at all I was able to start making some cool stuff and within a month I had some shots that could have been in Galactica! So I'm very pleased. Don't get me wrong, I love practical effects too, I grew up a Savini fan, but I'm also a George Lucas fan. So I've always loved both and some projects of mine require more CG and some require more Practical and I don't understand why so many people hate CG so much, I've always believed one of the reasons people like movies is to see things they never could in real life.SZ: Rumor has it that you have a "modest" DVD and BluRay collection, and that you are a "bit" of a film historian. So, name a few of your favorite directors, and why are they your favorites?EB: He, he, ha. Yeah, "Modest." I have around 2,000 DVD's and about 600 Blu-rays. Plus, I still have a bunch of laserdiscs and some VHS. My dad has a collection bigger than mine! I LOVE movies. You learn more about filmmaking from watching movies than anywhere else, except on-set experience. You even learn more from bad movies than you do good ones. As for my favorite directors, Lloyd Kaufman I believe to be an underrated genius. Most people just lumps his films in with the rest of the Troma catalouge, but his films are so much more than that! It's kind of like Jerry William's films. On the surface that can be enjoyed as gross out weird comedies, but if you look deeper, you start to realize how well thought out, clever and smart his films are. I'm also a huge fan of George Romero, I love the way he gets very real performances in bizzare situations. He know's how to make the characters matter. I love the visual style of Dario Argento and Peter Jackson. I love the "Lord of the Rings" films, but his earlier work is just as incredible, especially "Heavenly Creatures". Some one who's new to directing, but has been around as a writer for a while is Ron Moore. This guy changed my life and the way I approach writing. I will see ANYTHING he's involved with and know it will be good!SZ: Zeppo was one of the bigger projects that you have been involved with. How was it working with Debbie Rochon and Loyd Kaufman?EB: Well "Zeppo: Sinners from Beyond the Moon!" was an incredible experience. It took us 3 years and a lot of learning, but the whole thing was just one fun experiment. I love the movie and it is pretty much everything Jerry Williams and I wanted it to be, but we knew starting out that part of the fun of the project was going to be in how we tried doing a little bit of eveything, it was my first time compositing shots. A couple of them turned out pretty good, but I learned A LOT about green screen from that shoot. The whole thing was like that, just always trying things and sometimes being succesful and even when we weren't it still worked for the type of film it was meant to be. It was sort of like the idea of film school, it was a safe place to fail. One place we did NOT fail was in casting Lloyd and Debbie! Jerry and I both had grown up being Troma fans, so Lloyd Kaufman is just a god to us, and as I've gotten older and continued to love his films, I've learned how much of a truely underrated genius Lloyd is! And Debbie... Debbie I'd been a fan of for a long time and even though she's appeared in a few films that weren't quite as good as others, she's always been consistently exellent. Lloyd and Debbie both are the kind of people who, before you meet them, you think they're going to be cool, but once you meet them, they're WAY cooler than you could have ever imagined! We still all keep in touch and will be working together soon. Debbie stepped my game up as an actor on Zeppo. Getting to work with her so closely as an actor taught me alot, and ever since then when I act in films I try to bring that level of focus.SZ: How have things gone with Zeppo since completion? Where can people buy/rent/view it right now?EB: Well after screening Zeppo in a few festivals we had tried to get distribution and we kept hearing the same thing... " we love Zeppo, but can't do any foreign sales with black and white movies." So for a moment we made some dvds and started selling it ourself, but that kind of became a pain for us to deal with, so we finally found this thing called Create Space on Amazon. It's a pretty cool deal. We have control over what the product is and all we have to do is collect a bit of money for the discs. This is a great sevice for indie filmmakers, especially one's like me and Jerry who just want to make movies and not deal with all the rest of it! So, with in a month or two, Zeppo will be availbe on VOD and DVD through Amazon. SZ: You have worked quite a bit with rising cult film legend Jerry Williams. Do you consider him to be sane? Secondly, can you give some really good dirt on him? (humor intended in this question!!!!) EB: Jerry Williams is INCREDIBLE!! He has a completly unique vison in his films. On the surface they're these weird random comedies, but if you pay close attention you see there's a definate message and interesting storyline going on. He deserves major cult status, because his films are always hilarious and within seconds, you KNOW it's a Jerry William's movie. He's also a great guy, he's part of my family. Much like Lloyd Kaufman, you can't judge Jerry based on his films alone. He's a down to earth guy who's nice and willing to help everyone as long as they're not being too crazy.Is he sane? Yes, but I belive that's because his films are outlets for his insanity. I'm actually slightly worried about what will happen to him while he's on hiatus to raise his new baby, but luckily he's spent a great deal of time getting footage lately, so he'll have plenty to edit. I have some dirt on Jerry for sure...so here's a little bit. Jerry drives his car very slow! SZ: One of your newest projects is Girl/Girl Scene. What is it? Who’s involved?EB: Girl/Girl Scene is amazing! It's not something I would have expected to be involved with, but it was such a great opportunity, I'd be a fool to say no. It's executive produced by Nic Brown and Written by Tucky Williams. Nic called me up and told me he and Tucky were wanting to make a dramatic lesbian web series. At first I wasn't so sure, but I really enjoy hanging out with Tucky and Nic and I was excited by the idea of getting to focus on Directing. Then I got the pilot script from Tucky and I was sold. I knew she was a talented actress and I've come to realize she is an equally talented writer. The script was really good. In my first reading I found that I cared about the characters and was left wanting to know what happens next, so that was a good sign. Then Tucky started casting all these incredible actors which made my job a whole lot easier. All I ever really had to focus on was how I wanted to tell the story visually, and having that much time to devote to one line of thought led to some really great choices. I've been editing it and have most of a rough cut done and it's great! It really draws you in and engages you, plus it's got some great humor in it. Shooting on HD has really been amazing. I've watched some of the scenes on Blu ray and it's a REAL show. You could put this next to any drama out there and it looks just as good. I've since read the script for episode 2, and oh man... The pilot does a great job of letting you know who these people are and what they're about, but episode 2 is going to hook people! We're about 4 to 6 weeks away from revaling the pilot for free, online at girlgirlscene.comSZ: The trailer has been having some tremendous success recently. Describe how that all unfolded and what kind of response you are seeing.EB: It's been great! At first we posted it on the Girl/Girl Scene FaceBook group page. It was there for 24 hours first and we had great feedback pouring in. Then we posted it on YouTube and DailyMotion. YouTube was getting about 500 views a day in the beginning and DailyMotion wasn't doing much, untill AfterEllen.com posted our trailer on their site. Within six hours the trailer gained over 2,000 views. The real good part is, now, about a week after posting it, we're still seeing really good traffic. Some days are fifty views, some days are two hundred, this leads me to belivie Girl Girl Scene is building some word of mouth. After about 2 weeks we're at around eight thousand views total. I knew this was turning out to be a great project on all parts, but I am a bit surprized how quickly it's getting out there when we've barely even promoted it!SZ: What other projects are on the near horizon for Eric Butts? Can you give us a scoop perhaps?One of the downsides to people finding out I'm as good as I say I am, is that I now get offered all kinds of stuff all the time. Sometimes I have to miss out on things I really want to do because I'm too busy. I mean, people should still ask me, because if I can help I will. Right now I've been directing and doing all of post production on "Girl/Girl Scene", I've been editing a behind the scene documentary for Jacob Ennis' "Red River", I'm helping out with a fun project Billy Boyd is doing as an actor and VFX, I'm acting, composing the score and doing MAJOR VFX on Roni Jonah's "Malfunction" with Billy Boyd and Sven Granlund, plus I may be editing it as well. I've got one more role to film for Jerry Williams before his baby break. I'm trying to write a couple new scripts for myself and finish a new Record I've been putting off for a long time now. I'm also starting advance pre-production on a feature film I want to make this summer, it's a very dark fun monster movie in the tone of "Feast" or "Return of the Living Dead." But I need to work on a beach for a week and that may prove just out of reach of our resources for this year, in which case I'll move to a back up script I have for a much darker Argento inspired Giallo film. I have a bunch of stuff coming out soon too. I acted in Roni Jonah's "Trepan:Redux". I was a HUGE fan and supporter of the original and when I was given the chance to be in a new version of it, I came prepared and gave the best performance I've given yet. I was also in "The Last Temptation of Fluffy" and did a VFX shot for it, as well as creating the poster. There should be countless Jerry Williams films coming out soon that I'm in. "Zombie Hombre" was just released for free online and I played my twin brother. The cool thing was that the footage was shot a few years apart and I look very different in both roles. Also, I'm in "Cornball Classics" that is available on Amazon Video on Demand. Plus, how could I forget the upcoming "Trouser Snake!"SZ: Anything else that you feel inquiring minds want to know about Eric Butts?I'm obsessed with the modern "Battlestar Galactica" and "Caprica" and you should be too! I LOVE action figures and have a HUGE collection of modern "Star Wars" figures, including hundreds of Clone Troopers. I can't get enough U.K. Wildcats basketball! SZ: If people would like to follow or connect with you or your projects(including beautiful single women), what are your links for sites and social networking? www.zeppothemovie.comwww.girlgirlscene.comMyspace.com/EricButts (I don't uses this site much anymore)And I'm on FaceBook all the time, but there are a few Eric Butts' on there so make sure you get the right one!

Sometimes life takes interesting routes, especially when it comes to individuals that pursue careers in the arts. For one such young man, the path began in the world of hardcore and punk rock music, before he embarked on a serious acting career that has entailed both stage and independent film. Steve Guynn, of Lexington, Kentucky, is one of the more active individuals in his home region. When he isn't doing something like jumping out of planes (he is an active skydiver), he is working on projects, rehearsing, and honing his craft. A self-motivated individual, a necessity in the indie film world, Steve has actively toured in professional theater. In today's IMM interview, we will be visiting with Steve Guynn as he takes us into his world, from his music roots, to stage and film (with his thoughts on the two mediums), and his plans for the future. As intense as he was during his punk rock days towards his music, so is he towards his film and theater endeavors. Without a doubt, Steve Guynn is well on his way towards a successful acting and production career.-Stephen Zimmer for Indie Movie Masters Blog, September 21st, 2009SZ: You have a music, theater and film background. Let's briefly touch on your music career. Tell us about the bands you've been in.SG: I played guitar and sang backing vocals in a hardcore band called Ungrateful. We played shows in Lexington, Louisville, Somerset, Berea and so on. We were banned from most places we played in Lexington including The Wrocklage and Alcoholics Anonymous. The Dame wouldn’t even let us in their doors. It was hard to find a venue or club we were in good standing with, though Rock Haven was one such a place, not too dirty, not too clean, just right like Baby Bear’s soup. We released an album worldwide in 1996 titled ‘Southside Lexington Hardcore’ on Sound Pollution Records. I played guitar and sang backing vocals for Retribution, though I am not the guitarist on their EP recording. Retribution, The Infected, Brassknuckle Boys and other ‘back in the day’ punk bands thank Steve Ungrateful in the thanks section of their record sleeve or cd insert. That’s me. This is strange to me because no one called me Steve Ungrateful to my face, most people on the street called me ‘Hardcore Steve’. I guess it is worth mentioning that I also played in several bands (one called Ghetto Blasters for example) that did not release any recordings. I experienced so many good and bad times during those years. The Lexington KY Punk Scene will always be a family to me.SZ: Did your years as a touring and recording musician help in any way when you went full time into theater and acting?SG: Yes definitely. I can always look back on all the fights (literally) and problems with the police and just know that my problems now aren’t really that bad. At least I’m not in jail for a victimless crime you know. All that I went through just to perform the music I love makes me realize that I enjoy performing for people and getting ideas out there. No matter what I am doing to put a roof over my head or food on my plate, if I am not performing, I feel like I am not contributing to the world.SZ: What has your formal training been in terms of acting and theater?SG: I graduated May 2007 with a BA in Theatre at the University of Kentucky. I worked full-time as a maintenance man at a private school while attending classes at UK. Russell Henderson taught me vocal production; Margo Buchanan was my acting instructor; I took a playwriting class with Herman Farrell III. It was a real honor studying under Herman Farrell III. He was the kind of professor that really cared about his students and would make time for them. That’s it for formal training. I strongly feel that every time I take a theatre contract or work on a film set I am perpetually learning about acting and the entertainment industry as a whole.SZ: What were your experiences in professional theater like? (touring, acting multiple roles in children's theater, etc)SG: Wow, experiences in professional theatre. My first professional theatre contract was with The Lost Colony, it was their 2006 season. I have mixed feelings about that place. It is an outdoor drama located on Roanoke Island. They housed us in these town homes at Morrison Grove, which is a beautiful place. They have their own beach there, so you can imagine how often I was drunk and naked. To sum it up, my summer 2006 consisted of acting, skydiving, surfing, fishing, drinking and some other things too. That part of it was great. Here’s the bad part. I was hired as an AT. This means actor/tech. I acted in the show and I loaded scenery in the stage left and stage right scene docks during scene changes. They had shipped in new scenery that year. Each piece of scenery weighed 1000 pounds; no I am not exaggerating. Only four of us AT’s at a time would fit on a ‘book piece’ as we called them due to the way they folded. That means 1000 pounds divided between four people, multiple times a night, Monday-Saturday, 74 performances that summer. This was probably the most laborious work I’ve ever done in my life.I’ve done a few musicals. This was local work at the Actors Guild of Lexington and the Lexington Opera House. I played an ensemble member in The Music Man, this was performed Spring 2008 at the Lexington Opera House. I must say, for the finale we performed the song 76 Trombones; we had the Lexington Christian Academy Marching Band on stage, we had a chorus of 60 singers, and we had a pit orchestra, all performing the same song. I have now been part of an ensemble with a marching band and an orchestra. This was one of the greatest experiences of my life, thank you Ryan Shirar. I love musicals, although I am not the best singer or dancer. Summer 2008 I did the show Tecumseh! in Chillicothe, Ohio. I can’t say enough good things about this place or this show. I played the lead bad guy, a character named Tompkins. A lot of stage combat in this show. I got to scalp Indians and cut off their chest skin and shoot them and stab them all summer. It was great. I was one mean dude you did not want to mess with. I want to make it clear that I do not hold any prejudice against Native Americans, I just like stage combat. Outdoor dramas are very important because they educate our youth and the general populace on American history. I have maid some life-long friends at outdoor dramas.I worked with a children’s touring company Fall 2008 called Hampstead Stage Company. That was interesting. Some touring companies send teams of five, six or more out on the road. Some send two. That is Hampstead Stage Company. Since they only send two out, one man and one woman, both players have to play multiple roles. In the stage production of Prince Caspian I played Professor, Peter, Edmund, Trumpkin, Dr. Cornelius, King Miraz, Reepicheep and Aslan. In A Christmas Carol I played Fred, Ebenezer Scrooge and Solicitor. They send both shows out on the road. I played eleven different characters in two plays. Rehearsals drove me crazy. 11-12 hour days for a month straight. I was on ‘team standby’. This means my partner and I performed at a town hall in Barnstead, New Hampshire. We did not tour. It was very rewarding in the end to actually get these shows up and on their feet. SZ: What do you find to be the biggest challenges or differences regarding film vs. theater acting?SG: The challenges are very different and very much the same. In film a director wants to get an angle. In theatre a director wants to get a composition. A lot of hard work goes into both.SZ: Do you tend to enjoy theater or film more as an actor? Is one more satisfying than the other?SG: I get this question all the time. It’s a good question. Theatre and film are both magic to me. In a stage production, I love being in the same room as the people I’m telling the story to. In a film production, I love the relationship with the camera; it feels otherworldly. Both are my children. I love both.SZ: You have worked with director Jerry Williams on more than one project. What were they, and what was it like working with Jerry? Did you need counseling after working on his projects?SG: Jerry Williams is one of the most creative people I have ever worked with. Many people don’t know that Jerry has a MA in Creative Writing from Morehead State University, thus the references to myth and folktales in his scripts. In 2007 Jerry put me in Misadventures In Space as Captain Tiberius and his twin brother Jessup Tiberius. That was a blast, mostly improvised work. That same year I played a zombie in Zeppo: Sinners From Beyond The Moon! Goatboy Films recently finished production on Saucer Sex From Beyond. This piece showed at Fright Night Film Festival 2009. I play Captain RobRoy Tiberius in that. Jerry let me write a monologue for that character. This was a real privilege. It is not often in film or theatre that you get to write in your own part, especially when the writer/director has a concept for the part. I know how it is to write your own work, you do not want anyone else to change it because it is yours. Jerry relinquished that control and gave me a creative license with his work. That’s rare. Thank you Jerry Williams. I am also in several of his films that are as of yet unreleased. He’s going to kill me for posting links to them below. And yes, I am definitely going to need counseling.SZ: What have you found to be the most frustrating elements of the indie film world?SG: Poverty. It comes with the territory. Some think that if the independent film community had more support and more exposure then they wouldn’t be independent. I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers. I just know that I am Bum #1, you know, like Public Enemy #1, except with no money.SZ: Conversely, what do you find most beneficial about the indie film world?SG: A level of expression and creativity rarely found in other mediums. Most indie filmmakers are not afraid to be experimental. That takes courage and I respect that. Courage and sensibility are two qualities that distinguish a great director from a good director.SZ: What are your career goals regarding both theater and film?SG: I am going to continue acting on stage & film. That’s plan A. There are certain novels that, one day, someone is going to make into a stage and/or film production. When they do, I am going to be there. It will probably be in the United Kingdom. That is all I can disclose at this time.SZ: Give us a list of your indie film credits to date.SG The years here are during the production, not necessarily the same year as release.2009 Saucer Sex From Beyond Captain RobRoy Tiberius Goatboy Films2007 Misadventures In Space Captain Tiberius, Jessup Tiberius Goatboy Films2007 Zeppo: Sinners From Beyond The Moon! Zombie Goatboy Films2006 The Edison Death Machine Rex the EMT Zombie Planet Productions2005 Sirens Bobby the Manager Ever After Media/ Cineline Productions2004 Promise Bank Robber It Doesn’t Matter! Productions2004 Theatre Live Today Famous Guest Cindy Yu2004 Know Your Chronic Masturbator Robbie Optimal Riviera ProductionsSZ: How can people find some of your work or you on the internet? (websites, any Facebook or MySpace pages, etc)SG: Here are some links…………. http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=63331862http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=63332047http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=63332092http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=63332241http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=63332407http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=63332507

Today's interview takes us to the fine state of Indiana, where director/producer/writer Mark Racop and the MagicHouse Productions team is based.A full production house with a studio facility, MagicHouse Productions is readying an exciting new science fiction movie, Starship II. The film features an extraordinary amount of special effects elements, and returns many fan favorites from the first Starship film (titled Rock N Roll Starship).For the indie film world, Mark Racop and MagicHouse Productions represents an intelligent approach to developing films and a production company. Mark has spearheaded a methodical path that has built a solid foundation for current and future projects, one that draws upon previous projects and has established an in-house production infrastructure. This approach enables growth in each progressive project, something demonstrated strongly in Starship II with its arsenal of special effects and increased production value.The buzz has been building for Starship II at conventions across the country, and is well on the way to becoming a growing indie movie franchise. Working with an array of talented individuals in Indiana such as Jeff Ello (the mastermind behind the CGI) and Chuck Budreau (sound and music wizard who is also with Indy Film News, a networking and resource site for Indiana Filmmakers), Mark has worked to establish the nucleus of an outstanding independent movie team.Mark Racop is a filmmaker to watch, and MagicHouse Productions is definitely on the indie movie map. Watch out for Starship II in the very near future, and hop on board a great new indie movie series!-by Stephen Zimmer, for Indie Movie Masters, September 6, 2009 SZ: What is your background in terms of filmmaking/production? MR: The filmmaking bug bit me at an early age. My father John remembers that I was interested in making movies even at the age of two, always asking, "How do they DO that?" Dad could only answer, "Trick photography." So while other children were reading short stories, I was busy reading–check that–studying Stephen Whitfield’s "The Making of Star Trek." My filmmaking life was changed permanently when "Star Wars: A New Hope" was released when I was twelve-years-old. I knew from the first scene of that movie that I HAD to make movies. I voraciously read everything I could about movie making. As a huge1966 Batman fan, it was no surprise to my friends that I decided to make Batman the focus of my movies while learning my craft. I collected a rag tag group of misfits from Logansport High School–and I'm quick to add myself to the list of rag tag misfits–to make my first movie in 1980, a 60 minute short film. We didn’t have a clue what we were doing when we started, but we figured things out pretty quickly. Shot on Super 8 movie film, and edited by hand with a Kmart splicer, it truly was a labor of love. It lacked big time, but as a first film, it was rather ambitious–there were several fight scenes, and the movie was made at many locations throughout Logansport, including the vault of the First National Bank. Logansport Mayor Jone Wilson even played a cameo in the film. The movie was rough, but well-received, and won some awards in high school. Bolstered by the completion of my first effort, the following summer I made a second Batman film, a 30 minute short. The titles, fight scenes, and editing were much more sophisticated, and I was learning from my mistakes. Mayor Jone Wilson again made herself available for a cameo. And again, I received some awards. There was little doubt that I would be going to college, and there was even less doubt that filmmaking would be the major. Majoring in telecommunications with a film emphasis at Ball State, I worked on several short films for classes, and networked with students that shared my passion for filmmaking. It didn’t take long for students to figure out that I was very serious about making movies. I was the only one that owned my own equipment. Even though I was ahead of my class, I still had a lot to learn. Before diving into professional filmmaking I knew I needed to learn more about lighting, sound, editing, and overall pacing. My third and final Batman film was entered in the David Letterman Scholarship Contest at Ball State, and won a $3,500 award. Logansport Mayor John Davis played a cameo this time. This film was certainly different than my previous two. Acting, sound effects, and lighting improved tremendously. I built sets for the first time, which provided for better camera angles. And the ultimate prop was added–the Batmobile. Built by five seventeen-year-olds, we transformed a 1974 Monte Carlo into the world-famous Batmobile and used it in my very first car chase. The David Letterman Scholarship award opened a lot of doors. It gave me credibility to deal with people in Hollywood as well as local investors. Without the scholarship, I don't think I would have made it on the set of my "big break," a terrible action/terrorist movie called "Terror Squad," made in Kokomo, Indiana, in1986. The final film was horrible, but I learned so much from being on a professional set. As the head production assistant, I learned the ins and outs of just every single department. I helped the camera and grip departments lug equipment, helped stuntmen with prepping cars for stunts, built a storefront for an explosion, landed product placement for clothing for the movie’s star, Chuck Connors, and I ferried film from the airport to the editor. I learned about special effects makeup, safety requirements for explosions and bullet hits, and how the same shots can be accomplished with different camera techniques–and how to choose the best one. I was invited to Hollywood by some of the crew from "Terror Squad," so my friend Jeff Johnson and I departed in a 1976 Dodge Colt with stars in our eyes. 41 hours later, we arrived in the usually sunny state to find that we had somehow brought snow with us. Yep, that’s right--for the first time in ten years, Los Angeles experienced snow! I spent time on several movie sets and at camera stores, and talked with professionals in the business to learn what it really takes to make it in the business. I also learned that I didn’t want to live in LA. It just wasn’t right for me. SZ: When was MagicHouse Productions formed, and what was your mission with the company when it began? MR: I formed MagicHouse Productions in 1987 and raised money to shoot my first professional movie, the ultra-low budget spoof, "Rock N Roll Starship." The up-front budget was $5,000, and the final cost of the film was $25,000. Dark Star and Hardware Wars were major inspirations as we put the movie together. The movie featured cheesy sets, cheesy dialogue, and cheesy acting–but it was all part of the plan. SZ: As independent production companies often need to pay the bills while developing a feature film project, what kind of production work do you engage in outside of your film endeavors? MR: I shoot documentaries, commercials, promotional videos, music videos, and even legal depositions to keep the lights on. SZ: Give us a little history leading up to the production of Starship II, in terms of when the first film was produced, the response to it, and when you made a decision to do a sequel (and when you began pre-production on it). MR: "Rock n Roll Starship" has played well to science fiction audiences across the Mid-west. I am truly amazed at our fan following. While we never received national distribution, we have self-distributed over 1,500 copies on tape and DVD, from Georgia to Minneapolis.I am my toughest critic, and I am really tough on the film, but it is nice to see a crowd of 400 people rolling in the aisles with laughter. It helps remind me that it was worth all of the hard work. While we were shooting Starship 1, we joked about the possibility of a sequel, and the ideas that could be incorporated into it. While everyone else went to sleep, I was writing down hundreds of tiny notes on scrap paper, napkins, placemats--anything I could get my hands on. People everywhere demanded the sequel. The beautiful Leslie Culton is one of our biggest fans. It was really weird. She met us at a con, quoting dialogue from Starship! And then all of the planets aligned to allow us to make the sequel. I lost my job as a manager of a movie theater--and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Chuck Budreau and I took those hundreds of scrap notes and used them as an outline to create the script for "Starship II." We finished the first draft in three weeks, and did a script readthrough at the 1998 Inconjunction science fiction convention. Actors that had moved to New York and Ohio moved back to Indiana. At a chance meeting in a movie theater in Lafayette, watching the end credits of "Phantom Menace," I found our special effects team. SZ: For those that may not have seen the first Starship film, catch us up to speed on events pertaining to the beginning of the story in Starship II, as well as a little about the plot of the new movie. MR: Because "Starship II" involves time travel, it is both a sequel and a prequel--making it a sprequel. Bob, Doug, and Jorge are well-known throughout the galaxy as the ones that blew up the Ramses Colony. In a freak accident, they accidentally go back in time to right before the blew up the colony. They now have the opportunity to stop themselves from blowing up the colony, and clearing their names...but you know how changing things in the past in a time travel has a way of screwing things up in the future, right? Bob, Doug, and Jorge discover that they have to go back in time to stop themselves from stopping themselves, or the entire universe will be taken over by robots! SZ: What cast members returned from the first film for the 2nd? Who are some of the key new additions? MR: Rob Hinkle, Michael Allen Williams, and Logan Michaels reprise their original roles of Bob, Doug, and Jorge. Christopher Tracy returns for a cameo as the evil golden android Zake, and Robert Hubbard reprises his role as Leiutenant Ed. Scream queen Leslie Culton joins the cast as the female lead, Captain Jane Wey, and we were fortunate enough to land John Astin (Gomez from The Addams Family, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes 2) as Professor Peabody. Babylon 5 alumni Jason Carter and the late Richard Biggs play Commander Deckins and Sergeant Franklin. And to finish off the cast, we hired Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica) to play cloned news reporters John Alpha and John Beta.SZ: Highlight a few key members of your production group involved withStarship II. MR: Three people made a significant difference from the first film to the second--Jeff Ello, director of photography and also the post production special effects supervisor; Greg Fauvergue, set designer and builder; and key grip Eric Ridge, who provided camera booms, dolly track, and other great toys for me to play with.Jeff ElloGreg FauvergueEric RidgeSZ: What lessons did you learn out of the process of the first film that you have applied to help improve the process of making the 2nd? MR: I am always learning from my successes and failures, and I knew that we had to overcome the shortcomings from the first film. We shot the first movie on film, and the cost was astronomical for negative and developing and transferring to video. The sets were built from white beaded styrofoam. We built the lights from foamcore and hung them from the rafters with twine. Even minor setups sometimes took an hour. We did the special effects on the Amiga Videotoaster. The sequel had to have better sets. It had to have exteriors, and it had to have a much larger cast. We shot on miniDV with Canon XL1s and GL1s. We had professional lighting. The sets were made from plywood. Camera setups took minutes instead of hours. "Starship 2" was a radical step up from the original film, featuring a much more sophisticated script, great sets, great special effects, and most importantly, some great actors from Hollywood. The up-front budget for Starship II was $50,000, and the final budget is coming in around $100,000. SZ: How has having a studio facility helped the process in Starship II? What has it enabled that would have otherwise been too surmounting to attempt otherwise? MR: We bought the 8,300 square foot building a few years after we wrapped Starship II, but the studio has changed our filmmaking forever. We have shot five movies, two shorts, and several commercials at our facilities. It has allowed us to build sets and leave them standing much longer than borrowed warehouses. I hate to shoot in interior locations any more because the studio is so much more controllable. From electrical to makeup to office space and our kitchenette, everything is right here.SZ: Your team is tackling an extraordinary amount of effect shots for a film, whether independent or not. Tell us about the number of FX shots estimated in Starship II and some of the challenges you have faced in this area of the production. MR: Ugh! Yes, Starship II has an exceptional number of effects, that's for sure! At last count, there are over 800 visual effects shots. I made the mistake of allowing the FX guys on set. They got me so excited that we added 100 visual effect shots that weren't in the script! Raising the money to make the movie was a snap. Finding competent special effects artists that can generate usable material to assist Jeff Ello has been nearly impossible. With the exception of Staffon Norling and Ian Strandberg, he has had to scrap or completely redo almost every single effect that was delivered to him.SZ: Do you have an estimate as to when Starship II will be finished? MR: Jeff Ello has passed the most difficult portions of the effects work, so we expect completion "around the end of the year." In the meantime, I have worked on five more movies, and one that I co-produced, A Time For the Heart, was premiered at the Imax theater in Indianapolis this past spring to a sell out crowd. I am also in preproduction on three more films, so there is never a dull moment around here.SZ: When finished, what kind of path are you looking to take Starship II on?(festival circuits? Distribution goals? Etc.) MR: A successful film producer in Hollywood happens to be the cousin of my primary investor, and we expect that he will be able to point us in the right direction when he sees the completed movie. We are planning a limited theatrical run, and hoping for Sci Fi Channel or Lions Gate to pick us up. Festivals and science fiction conventions are definitely part of the future for Starship II, I'm sure.SZ: Are there plans already for a Starship III? MR: Absolutely! Starship II ends with a cliffhanger, so we are compelled to make a Starship III to wrap up the mystery. The script is halfway completed. And Jeff Ello has said that he didn't spend the past several years of his life making special effects for just one movie. With 90% of the effects work already done, the next movie will go much faster in post this time!SZ: Give us some links for folks to use to find out more and connect with MagicHouse Productions and Starship II online. MR: You can find Starship II online at: www.starship2.com, and MagicHouse Productions at www.magich.com. (Starship II Trailer)

This week, an indie film success story was completed when Patrick Pierre's new feature "The City Is Mine" was released nationwide by Maverick Entertainment. To those that know and understand the incredibly difficult process of making a truly independent feature, this is a moment for celebration, a rewarding culmination of alot of hard work and effort. It is always wonderful to see an indie filmmaker achieve a major success, which raises the credibility of indie filmmaking and opens up new possibilities for indie filmmakers everywhere.Writer/Director Patrick Pierre's career has certainly taken a big step forward, and he is already ramping up for his next project. In this interview, we will be going into the story behind the making of "The City Is Mine", including the path that it took from being a locally made indie film in Mercer County, New Jersey to becoming an acquisition by industry heavyweight Maverick Entertainment. There are lessons to be learned, and inspiration to be had. Indie Filmmakers and those involved in the world of indie film are definitely advised to pick up a copy of "The City is Mine", and share in a great indie success story.-Stephen Zimmer for Indie Movie Masters, August 21, 2009SZ: Tell us a little about your personal background prior to the making of “The City Is Mine”PP: I'm a native of Haiti; I immigrated to the U.S. when I was 8 years old. I lived in Brooklyn NY for many years where I attended school and graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in 1995. Shortly after, I moved to Trenton, NJ where I currently live. I attended community college at Mercer County in 1998, 2001 & 2003 where I took some courses in Theater, Acting and Stage Production. I was a volunteer in a lot of small independent productions where I gain some crew experience working on set. In 2005 I decided to form my own production company, Pierre Films, LLC. After writing and directing several short films, I decided to take the plunge into feature film. In 2007 I started production on "The City Is Mine"SZ: Describe the time line involved in “The City Is Mine”, from pre-production to final cut.PP: From pre-production to final cut was one year. The script development process started in February of 2007 where my co-writer, Adriana Gittens, worked on the first draft of the script. After several draft, the screenplay was ready in about 2 months. From then, we started planning the actual production, from holding auditions to rehearsals. Finally we were ready to begin production May 2007. Production lasted for 4 months. We filmed on weekends only. Production was wrapped in September 2007. Not wasting time, we went right into the post-production phase, which lasted 4 months. The Film Premiered on February 16, 2008 to a sold out audience in Trenton, NJ.SZ: Where did you shoot “The City is Mine? How many locations did you endup using in the movie?PP: The City Is Mine was filmed throughout Mercer County NJ, mostly in the city of Trenton and some surrounding towns including, Ewing, Hamilton and Lawrence. We did end up going to New York to do one scene in upper Manhattan. A little over 15 locations were used shooting the film. Most of our locations were outdoors so it made things a little easier because working on an independent film is a little tough securing locations. Filming outdoors only required us getting permission from the City, which wasn't difficult. Due to limited budget and time we had to be creative and use certain interior locations multiple times in different shots giving the illusion it was several locations. For example we used one house in the film to be the home of several different characters in the movie. As you watch the film you can’t tell it's the same location.SZ: What were the biggest challenges in balancing a shooting schedule usingweekends and nights?PP: The biggest challenges in balancing the shooting schedule was working around all the actors' schedules and making sure everyone was available at the same time. A good example, we may have a scene Saturday with actor A and actor B, but actor A wouldn’t be available on Saturday and actor B wouldn’t be available on Sunday. I would resolve this situation by pushing that particular scene back to a date when both actors were available on the same day. Lucky for us, we didn't have that problem too often because I gave the cast and crew a shooting schedule way ahead of production, but things do come up and as a director, you have to learn to adjust.SZ: Shooting a staggered schedule (Nights and weekends), were you able to maintain a core crew, or did you have to use/rotate a larger team?PP: Shooting a staggered schedule was very difficult to maintain a core crew. In the beginning we had problems with people not being able to remain with the production team, because of the time involved on a daily shoot. Long hours were very common shooting The City is Mine. At times we started shooting in the early afternoon and wouldn't wrap till midnight or later. As production went on, the crew shrunk, but luckily the ones who stayed on board were dedicated and I believe things ended up running much smoother with a small dedicated crew.SZ: As indie filmmakers end up performing multiple functions on most productions, how many “hats” did you end up having to wear to get this project completed?PP: I had to wear several hats in completing "The City Is Mine." I was the director, set designer, Cinematographer, Sound, Editor, Music Composer and a few others, though I did wear many hats, I did not do this alone. Every member of the production crew contributed to the production of the film, whether it was the PA who was holding the boom mic or the actor who volunteered to do the slate board in between takes.SZ: One gear question: What kind of cameras/format did you use for “The City is Mine”, and what were the main software elements used in post-production?PP: The camera that was use for "The City Is Mine" was the Panasonic DVX100a, which is DV(Digital Video) format. In post-production, Sony Vegas 6d was used to edit the film. Magic Bullet was also used for color correction. Sony Acid to create the score and sound FX. Our visual effects artist used Adobe After Effects to create some of the gun and other visual effects in the film.SZ: How would you describe your style as a director?I would describe my style as very visual. Before every scene, I make sure I do a thorough storyboard. I like to visualize a scene before I begin any kind of blocking. Visualizing the scene in my mind gives me a big advantage when it's time to yell action. In turn, being so visual, the end results is a stunning visual scene composition with every shot well thought out, every frame analyzed. I personally believe the story is the most important aspect in any film, without a good story, you will lose your audience, so having that knowledge, coupled with my visual style and love for cinematography, I feel the audience is not only enjoying a beautiful story being told, their eyes are also being treated to something amazing, whether they realize it or not.SZ: Tell us a little about the principle cast and your experience with them, from your perspective as the director.PP: The principle cast was amazing. As a director the biggest gift you can have on a film production is a wonderful dedicated and talented cast. Each one had something special about them. A majority of them had prior film and stage experience which helped tremendously in the day to day shooting because of the long hours involved, they knew how to deal with that. Our lead actor, Kirk Ponton had never acted before, this was his first major production. He surprised himself, me and everyone who saw the film. He hit the part out the park. All members of the principle cast were easy to work with, but not all were easy to direct. I took the challenge as a director to push them to the limit in terms of their performance and what I expected to get out of them. At times, some would get annoyed from the many takes that were involved in a particular scene but it was my job to explain the scene to them and try to get the best performance out of a take, whether it took 2 or 20. To the less experienced principle cast members, they learned a lot working on The City Is Mine, I have to say I also learned many things from them which I plan to utilize in my next production.SZ: Once completed, what was the path you took regarding festivals and other exhibitions?PP: Once the film completed it was our goal to have the biggest Premier/screening we could. I started researching several venues and ultimately went with "The Contemporary Auditorium" which seats 400+. In February 16, 2008 we screened at The Contemporary to a sold out audience. Due to the success of the first screening, 2 others followed at the same place. Then shortly after, I went right into the festival circuit. I researched several film festivals and created a plan to give "The City Is Mine" the best opportunity to screen at film festivals. I started looking at festivals which catered to the type of genre The City Is Mine was and started submitting to them. We were selected to screen at many film festivals which included: 2008 American Black Film Festival, 2008 San Diego Black Film Festival and 2008 Twin Cities Black Film Festival. We received a total of 4 nominations in the 2008 American Black Film Festival for the Jury Prize Best Actor, Innovational Film and Inspirational Film.SZ: How did your distribution deal with Maverick Entertainment come about When did they become aware of your project and show interest?PP: The Distribution deal with Maverick came about right after we were an Official Selection at the 2008 American Black Film Festival. Maverick became interested in acquiring the film once news hit that we were nominated for the awards. They contacted me and the negotiation process began.SZ: What’s up next for Patrick Pierre? And how can people continue to follow you and your filmmaking career (main website and/or social networking links)PP: What's next for Patrick Pierre is a wonderful film that I am especially excited about called "Visions of Yvette". The synopsis is: during our economic downturn, a single mother is forced into prostitution and drug addiction causing internal turmoil in her attempt to maintain custody of her son. I hope to begin shooting Visions of Yvette late this year. You can visit www.thecityisminemovie.com to get up to date information with that production or follow me on facebook.

Con Trek, the new episodic series on the Microsoft XBOX Video Marketplace covering the world of conventions and festivals, is the result of innovation, vision, and persistence. Conceived by Nashville's dynamic duo of Stephen and Suzie Lackey, who produced the successful documentary feature "Fans and Freaks" on the world of Fan Cons, Con Trek is quickly gaining momentum, becoming a shining example of independent content development and strategic usage of emerging new media markets.With two vibrant and very talented show hosts (Brittney Eskew and Alan Smith), several episodes under their belt, and a distribution model that offers alot of possibilities for growth, Con Trek is poised to become a true independent hit. In today's indie adventure, we will be visiting with Stephen and Suzie Lackey to get some background on Con Trek; what it is, what's been done so far, and where it's going. It has some great lessons for independent content developers regarding persistence and planning.Nowhere else will you get the kind of inside coverage of science fiction, fantasy, and horror events and conventions that you will with Con Trek. Be sure to check out an episode on the XBOX Video Marketplace today!-Stephen Zimmer for Indie Movie Masters Blog, July 26,2009SZ: Tell us a little about your respective backgrounds as it pertains to indie filmmaking.Stephen: Well, I thought for years I was going to be a rock star, or at least work in the music business. While I was in college I switched my focus to TV production. While I was in college I worked at the local television station and did some student video projects. When Suzie and I were married was the first time I worked on a feature project.Suzie: I have been a film fan for as long as I can remember. I went to film school at Watkins College of Art, Design and Film. Instead of tackling a short film first, my husband Stephen and I jumped headfirst into a feature documentary film entitled Fans and Freaks: The Culture of Comics and Conventions. After being in production for two years, the film was completed in 2002 and has played several film festivals and won a few awards along the way. It still plays conventions and genre events. I know I learned more from making the film versus sitting in the classroom. Since that film, Stephen and I have directed several short documentary films.SZ: Tell us a little about what Con Trek is, in terms of format and style.Stephen: Con Trek is a documentary television series that visits different conventions or festivals each episode. The show is brief at less that a half hour but it goes a little beyond the typical sound bites that most other shows that try to cover the subject stick too. The show is earthy and deep in the middle of each event in an attempt to really draw the viewer into the proceedings. If you're a fan of the particular convention or subject you'll feel right at home and if you aren't you'll get to see some things you may never get to see any other way. The show is currently available exclusively on the the XBOX 360. The show can be found in the Video Marketplace under Gamer TV. The series is also listed under Independent programming.Suzie: Each episode is approximately 17-25 minutes in length, but don’t let the run time fool you: we pack a lot into a short amount of time.Here is a preview of one Con Trek's first episode from season one.SZ: Who are the main players on the Con Trek team?Stephen: Stephen Lackey (me) producer/director/editorSuzie Lackey producer/directorBrittney Eskew hostAlan Smith hostMike Young photographer/production assistantJulie Trull PublicistSZ: How and when did you come up with the concept for Con Trek? What were the main inspirations?Stephen: Well, our first feature was a film called "Fans and Freaks: The Culture of Comics and Conventions". It was a documentary about the world of fandom. We had really good success with that film and over the years have been constantly asked when and if we would do a sequel. I never wanted to do that unless we came up with a unique format to show more conventions and meet more fans. So, the idea for Con Trek was born.Suzie: We are fans and attendees of these events first and foremost. We fly our “geek flag” proudly.SZ: Tell us a little about the relationship between Con Trek and MicroSoft. When did you first pitch the show to them, and how long did it take before the first episode was aired on Xbox? Describe the road that you took.Stephen: I'm a tech fanatic so I saw a couple of years ago during coverage of the Consumer electronics show that Microsoft would be starting up an IP (internet protocol) TV program for broadcasting television programming over the net and that the XBOX 360 would be doing television shows for streaming or download. So I started researching and found a contact. I pitched a number of ideas to them and sent in all of our previous work which included "Fans and Freaks" and a number of additional short docs we had done. They liked the "Con Trek" pitch and a couple of others so we began to move forward with the process of getting the series rolling. We encountered a number of speed bumps which slowed the process down a good bit but two years later the first episode hit the XBOX Live service.SZ: How many Con Trek episodes do you project in a given year?Stephen: This year we hope to do six to eight episodes. Based on how well they do we'll decide about the numbers for next year. The show will soon be available to a wider audience so that may change everything but it's too early to announce anything there yet.SZ: What are some of your highlight moments so far from the first few episodes? Any specific guests that really surprised you? Any particular wild events that you would like to share with us?Stephen: Well, the big thing is all of the fans that we've met. We've made new friends throughout this process that we'll hopefully have for years to come. As far as guests Dana Snyder (Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force) was a real blast, and many of the professionals we met while covering Wonderfest were great. The big thing is the fans. For instance at Lebowski Fest (our most recent shoot) we didn't have to buy a single beer at the after party. Everyone has been really great.Suzie: Nothing rivals Dragon Con for unabashed cool events and guests and wild attendees.SZ: On that note, who are a few of the more notable/recognizable guests that you have interviewed so far?Stephen: We interviewed Nichelle Nichols (Star trek), Steve Niles (author of 30 Days of Night) Jovanka Vukovic (editor of Rue Morgue magazine), just to name a few of my favorites.SZ: How did you go about selecting your hosts, Alan and Brittney? What kind of hosts were you looking to cast?Stephen: We held a number of casting calls and decided on them after meeting with man people. We wanted hosts that were open minded and energetic. We needed a duo that had good chemistry together too. We wanted one hardcore fan and one less than hardcore fan so we could show two perspectives on the subject. Brittney and Alan are truly exactly what we were hoping for when we began casting. SZ: The Xbox channels, with shows like Con Trek, represent a model for new media content delivery. Do you see signs that this model will be successful for independent developers/filmmakers? Stephen: I believe that yes this system of downloading or streaming TV and film is the future of media and it should really offer more opportunities to indie creators. The only problem is that it's so early in the evolution of this new system that only die hard creators ready to stick with it will see any success. In other words, there's not much money in it yet.SZ: Have you gotten any feedback yet from your contacts at MicroSoft?Stephen: They love the show and are very enthusiastic for us to stick with it.SZ: Do you foresee Con Trek making a jump to broadcast at some point? Or will it remain a Video on Demand-style episodic program?Stephen: We hope to see the show jump to network or cable TV or to see it expand to a much greater level within the new media model. This fall the show will be available wider for sure in its current set up but we hope to take it much further.SZ: Where has Con Trek been over the past few months, and what are some of the places and events that you will be visiting in the near future?Stephen: We've stuck with mostly southern shows and events in Atlanta ,Georgia, Louisville, Kentucky, and Metropolis,Illinois. We'd like to of course expand further out into the country next year, perhaps even do some real coverage of San Diego Comic Con. We want to do the smaller more quirky shows all over the country too.SZ: How does one find and access Con Trek on the Xbox?Stephen: Just log in and go to Video Marketplace, then to Gamer TV, and choose Con Trek to see all of the episodes. Again, we're also listed under the Independent Programming section too.SZ: How does one connect to Con Trek on the web (Facebook, Myspace, website, etc)?Stephen: We're all over the place. We have articles, blogs, pictures and more at the official website at http://www.contrek.com/, we have a fan site on Facebook too, just search for Con Trek, on Myspace we're at www.myspace.com/contrek, and see video tralers, clips, and previews at www.youtube.com/contrektvI think that's about it. If I missed anything, it's linked on the main Con Trek website.Here is a preview of episode 2 from season one of Con Trek

An evil army is approaching, and a lead character is lamenting the power and flexibility of evil in the world...the monologue draws to a pivotal moment...the actor's voice swells...and..."All we have is Steel!...Wizardry! All we have is defense!"This line, from a character played by the actor Steve Guynn in an upcoming Jerry Williams fantasy film, is just one of many, many examples of the great lines that one encounters in a Jerry Williams film!Jerry Williams is an indie filmmaker extraordinaire. He is a guy who usually has multiple films in various stages of production, and has crafted a style that can only be described as his very own, unique genre. He definitely pushes the envelope with his work, and elicits alot of reactions, ranging from those that love his signature style (count me in this group), to others less inclined, such as a film reviewer that actually called for someone, somewhere to punch Jerry for making the film that the guy was reviewing (true story!).One thing that is indisputable is that you will be hard-pressed to find someone who is more passionate about independent film. You will also be sorely challenged to find someone who is more gracious in the goodwill and support that Jerry regularly extends to other filmmakers of all genres and styles.From cardboard sets and creative uses of his cat (note to Humane Society: the cat has never been harmed and is, in fact, quite spoiled!), to voluptuous actresses leaving little to the imagination, to cult independent film stars such as Debbie Rochon, Conrad Brooks, and Troma's Loyd Kaufman, Jerry's works always have the unexpected and the original. What most people don't realize is that underneath all of the onscreen insanity, Jerry actually injects a serious literary undercurrent, an example of which he discusses in this interview concerning his feature "Misadventures in Space".Jerry is a playright, poet, and prose writer as well, and we wanted to bring a little of that aspect out in this interview, and encourage the reader to look into his excellent poetry collection that is in print, called Mirrors and Portraits.It is my intention that this interview gives the reader a little insight into the craziness, humor, work ethic, committment, talent, dedication, and other characteristics that Jerry possesses. (The genius right alongside the offbeat and insane, so to speak!) You will also hopefully get a sense of his collaborative spirit, as well as get to meet a few of his regular cohorts such as Pat Bowling and Eric Butts.The indie filmmaking world is not an easy one, and Jerry puts his heart and soul into his work. With all the things stacked against the no-budget indie filmmaker, Jerry's progress, success, and prolific filmmaking nature gives inspiration to all of us; the "Steel, Wizardry, and Defense!", if you will, to keep fighting the good fight for independent film.So here it goes! Buckle up, hold on to your seat! Now...Ladies and Gentlemen...the long-awaited IMM interview with Goatboy Films' legendary and controversial director, Jerry Williams!!!-Stephen Zimmer, for Indie Movie Masters, June 25, 2009SZ: We know you are a brilliant, genius filmmaker, but give us a little idea as to your background, education, that kind of thing.JW: I've always been a writer, first and foremost, and I got a masters degree in creative writing from MSU....two things from that time have always influenced my cinema work are my love of hidden messages in writing and my love of the grotesque...Lovecraft, Tolkien, and my personal favorite Clive Barker. In literary criticism, one of the things of Hemingway that struck me was he was very direct in his writing, but if you peered deeper in...there was hidden meanings in such simple direct sentence structures. I like the idea of my films, no matter how simple or silly it appears should have some deeper levels. I had read once that Gene Roddenberry made star trek a vehicle where he could talk about the human condition under the guise of a 'sci fi' show....I wanted to take that idea and apply it to indie or cult cinema, and place hidden messages or motifs in crazy surreal films. Misadventures in Space on one level is a silly send up of the sci fi genre in general and star trek in particular, but it is also a satire of the Iraqi war...when I wrote it...I was constantly watching the cable news shows, and the character Brother Bishop Tucker(Billy W. Blackwell) was named after conservative TV host Tucker Carlson. That biting satire buried in sci fi nonsense interested me...a form of commentary that hopefully some people got when they saw the film.SZ: What got you into movies so passionately, and what type of movies or what movies are your favorites?JW: I got into cinema as an extension of what I was trying to do with my poetry and coffeehouse performances. I have tons of favorite filmmakers...passion about the film is what I respond to....regardless of the genre. I took an art motif of homegrown 'slacker Dada' to my films. I like surreal films, and I love the idea of marrying cartoons, surreal, and junkfood low brow culture into sci fi or horror films. I love older cinema, and since I never had a color TV until I was into my teens, the idea of a black and white film never seemed weird to me... I watched all of the crazy shows from the 70's in black and white. Older movies seemed, to me at least, filled with beautiful women and films that needed plot and characters in them. When I see the CG inspired madness and MTV inspired 'slick shots' in films...I wonder how dated they will look in twenty years. I would rather watch an Ed Wood, Russ Meyer, or Ray Dennis Steckler film anyday over glossed over candy that passes for films these days.....the female lead from 'creature of the Black Lagoon' seems much more beautiful to me than some of these tacky celebrities out of hollywood of late.....Bela Lugosi was Dracula, and Flash Gordan fought Emperor Ming's evil empire give me more enjoyment than most current films.SZ: Do you have some favorite directors? And why are they your favorites?JW: Ed Wood, Clive Barker, Lloyd Kaufman, Ray Dennis Steckler, Kevin Smith and Russ Meyers. Each director had a unique vision of what they were shooting for, and some (Ed Wood, Ray Dennis Steckler) did great with limited or no budgets. I also love my friend Conrad Brooks and his films....definitely worth a look for fans of surreal horror and 'offbeat' films. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention local filmmakers George Bonilla, Jacob Ennis, Cherokee Hall, Stephen Zimmer, Matt Perry, Daniel Roberts, Mark Poole, Jason Crowe and my favorite Tim Ritter. I did several films with George Bonilla as an AD, and all of his films are surreal horror and worth a look for psychotronic film fans.....I did a nod to him and named several characters after him in Ectovision!Jacob Ennis produced my film Purvos, and I learned a lot...a lot from him on making films...Stash is a 70's slasher horror film much better than anything that Hollywood puts out there...I love Stephen Zimmer's films...his Shadows and Light movie is a fantasy film that really had a unique vision, and I really liked Matt Perry's film murderer. Tim Ritter is still a favorite director of mine, and definitely influenced Purvos.SZ: Do you have a day job? Or do you just sit back and collect royalty checks from the Goatboy films Empire?JW: I'm a working stiff, and fund my films myself which gives me freedom and headaches at the same time. Perhaps one day goatboyfilms will help fuel that run for the whitehouse or Senate. Vote Williams!SZ: How in the world did you come up with the name Goatboy films? What is the story behind the name of your studio?JW:From my friend Chadwell, we were kicking around ideas for a film company name in early 2001. It was Chadwell's nickname in college by a tripped out hippy chick. The name fit what I shooting for, and we kept it. It's not related to that saturday night live skit.SZ: Tell us about Pat Bowling and others in the Goatboy Films empire, as I know you work regularly with a few particular renegades like Pat.JW: I've known Pat from college, and our differences work out for the best. I'm a 'head in the clouds dreamer' sometimes, and Pat is a 'nuts and bolts' guy and that combination helps get projects done. Trust me, Pat is worth his weight in gold when it comes to the UFO film. Pat is also a damn good actor as well, I think he likes production much more... his acting swan song will be in Queen of the Cursed World. Pat is briefly in the medieval thing I'm cooking up...Insomnia and Dragon Witch. He did a fantastic job editing 'The Cursed Doll' which is now with Echelon StudiosSZ:How in the world would you describe a “Jerry William’s Film”? It seems to me you defy classification, but I had to ask, if only to know how best to describe your stuff myself. You perplex me!JW: Live action cartoon energy slacker dada satire comedy horror show....I guess my films move to their own heartbeats....I like the idea of crossing genres...high brow motives with junk food pop culture. I have some notes about doing my version of Alice in Wonderland called at this point 'Alice Caligari'...I like the idea of bringing in older actors since our culture is so youth obsessed, and Lewis Carroll's book lends itself easily to symbolic and freudian intrepretations...I read several biographies and literary criticisms of his creative work, and agree it was his only outlet in a repressed and solitary existence. It's still up in the air at this point.SZ: You have incredible women in your films. How do you convince them to be involved in no-budget projects without shelling out big bucks?JW: Well, my films usually have strong female character roles...most films you have a finite amount of what and who you can play. Slasher films usually have two roles in them...hero or victim, and sci fi films are even more restrictive. My films may be out in left field, but the female characters have power and command respect. I like that the actresses bring something to the table. Leslie Rogers was a fanastic Fiona in Soul Robbers, and Heather Price does a fantastic turn in Ectovision. Stephani Heise and Natasha Roberts who played the lovers in Purvos did great.I wanted Purvos to be a little different. Actors will at least listen to you, if your film isn't the 'slasher-on-the loose' fare, and I don't cut off roles at 24 years old....I find the youth obsessed culture out of tinseltown is shallow to my taste, but of course that's just my opnion.SZ: What is your largest budget to date? What is a typical budget on a Goatboy project? (In US Dollars, Yen, or Euros, you can pick)JW: Zeppo definitely, but I'm not sure about the final budget...that's more with Eric Butts and Moodswing Entertainment. I work with various budgets, but I joke with Pat that some of my films cost a six pack of beer and a song! I will say that at the end of the day, folks won't care about your budget if you engage them and entertain them. I've seen several modest budgeted films and felt great whereas I've seen CGI laden films that cost more than the gross national budget of small Africian countries and though they were slick emotionally dead pieces of eye fluff.SZ: You have a knack for casting, such as using the regal William Schaeffer Tolliver, the insane Steve Guynn, the Bruce Campbell-esque Daniel Roberts, the larger than life Cherokee Hall, etc. How do you approach casting such colorful characters? Do you bribe them?JW: I bribe them with my personality! No seriously, I usually connect with actors and crews working on other films for friends....I met several talented actors on film sets by local filmmakers such as Cherokee Hall, George Bonilla, Daniel Roberts, Jacob Ennis, Eric Butts, and Cineline's Matt Perry ....you find out more about a person working with them in long period of time than someone who wows you in an audition, and are a complete pain in the ass afterward. People who want to work on my films are a pretty passionate group, and I've been very lucky to get actors like Steve Guynn, Jason Crowe, Nathan Day, Billy Blackwell, Roni Jonah, Stepahni Heise, Natasha Roberts, Claude Miles, Kat Carney and others in the regional area. I also got to mention that Chad Hundley is a fanastic comedic actor, and his timing especially with Cherokee Hall reminds me of the old Bowery Boys. If I missed anyone, trust me there are some great actors out there working.SZ: What is it like working with The Bob Cooke?JW: He was awesome in Misadventures, as was Belinda. Bob's passionate about any and all things cinema....there was one line from misadventures that makes me smile...Bob's character says 'Our heroes will come like rain to a parched desert!' Bob did the line, but swore he'd beat me if I sent him another script like that again! People should check out his site www.Kymovie.net, Bob Cooke is like Coca Cola...he's the real thing baby! Belinda is a damn good producer on films like Hellephone, and Monstrosity among others and a passionate actress(she was fantastic in STASH as the sleazy mother).SZ: Give me an idea of your filmography (Yes, I understand that we might need a couple pages worth of space for this one.)JW:Completed films:Mint condition -writer/director (a Clerks type comedy) 18 minutes 2003Manic / Happy Anniversary - producer for Jacob Ennis's shortsPurvos - 72 minutes, writer/director 2004Zeppo - writer/director, feature film 90 minutes (2007)Misadventures in space, feature film 74 minutes (2007) and 53 minutes (2009)Soul Robbers from Outerspace, feature 61 minutes.Major Power and the flying saucer from Mars (and other tales of the hero) compliation 53 minutes (2009)Pirate Candy Sampler, comedy film 49 minutesDinner for two, short 5 minutesPumpkin Joe, short 5 minutesTwin sisters of Desire and Death! (The 'lost' episode of Misadventures in Space) 10 minuteAlien Conspiracy Murders, short 34 minutesIn production:Ecto-vision!, Insomnia and the Dragon Witch, Saucer sex from beyond, and the UFO documentary film I'm working with Pat Bowling. I'm also starting an edit of'Queen of the Cursed World', and have several projects in the planning stages.As Assistant director on ZP movies:Edison Death Machine, Monstrosity, and Hellephone.SZ: Speaking of Zeppo, which is arguably your “biggest budget” project to date—what’s going on with it at the moment? Will it ever be released? Rabid fans want to know!!!! (Or will the boxed set version be out before the regular version?)JW: I'm dating myself with this admission, but when I was a kid in the late 70's there was live action TV shows like Shazam!, Isis, and Jason of Star Command. Zeppo was a homage of sorts to that crazy saturday morning craziness crossed with a surreal midnight movie like Liquid Sky and Looney Tunes cartoons. Zeppo in a nut shell is a black and white cartoony sci fi adventure with non pc humor, naked zombies, cruel sexy aliens, and cardboard tombstones! Eric brought a lot his humor, and production skills for the film (not only did he edit and produce the film, but supervised the music and special efx shots for the film). We're currently shopping the film out to distributors, so hopefully folks will get to see it soon. Debbie Rochon was fanasttic in it, and Lloyd Kaufman still cracks me up...editing Lloyd was the hardest thing since he brings so much to the table...I'd love for Lloyd to do more serious dramatic roles...the local actors Stacey Gillespie, Elysse, Amanda Kaye, Casey Miracle, etc. did a fanastic job under some crazy shoots, and I have to say we had great production help from Casey Miracle, William Schaeffer Tolliver, and makeup was done by Julia Caudill.If Eric and I were the heads of Zeppo, Eric's mom, Patsy Butts, who helped produced the film and was its biggest booster was the heart of it. Sadly she passed away last year, but her legacy lives on in the film.(Movie Trailer for Zeppo)SZ: Will there be a sequel to Zeppo? And will the sequel be released before the original?JW: Never say never, but for me it would depend on how the first film fares out with the folks out there.SZ: How do you pull off working on multiple film projects at the same time? Are you simply crazy? Or is there a method to this obvious madness?JW: Part craziness, and part necessity. I shoot fast on my solo films, but it is also cause a lot of the actors are only available for a finite amount of time, so I have to move fast. The shooting multiple films at the same time is a nod to Roger Corman's methods. He would shoot a scene for a movie for AIP, then he would move the props about and change costumes to shoot a scenefor his own film which he would sell to AIP or to other film distributors. Pure genius, but maddening at the same time.SZ: Loyd Kaufman, Conrad Brooks , Debbie Rochon…what is it like working with cult figures that you have been a fan of yourself? How in the world do you keep Loyd contained and under control on the set?JW: I worked with Conrad on my horror film Purvos, and he and I are good friends. I love classic cinema, and movie serials of Conrad's youth so we talk about his films, and his experiences. A nice man, but pretty set in his convinctions which I understand and emulate myself. I always look forward to working with Conrad on any film...a good actor, he brings a lot to the table. He's an older actor and still working...check out his Jan-Gel films. Expect more film madness from Conrad in the future. I loved working with Debbie Rochon. A beautiful and talented lady, she was fantastic to work with on Zeppo...committed to the script, and worked her butt off on it...an artistic lady with a huge heart, and I can see why guys (and gals) fall for her like a ton of bricks. Whenever I think of Debbie, I imagine she is taking her ten minutes free from Fangoria radio and production work to paint on canvas...an earth elemental, timeless and beautiful like the moonlight in June.Lloyd is great actor, and very committed to cinema on all levels. I was very nervous meeting him. His toxic Avenger films are a part of my youth, so it was great and surreal to work with him. Like Debbie, a committed actor who busted his butt on the film. He really is a genius of indie cinema, and his books on making films should be taught in schools. Even if you don't 'get' the Troma films, it does my heart good that they can be out there. I think Lloyd can say more in a 90 minute film about the current state of affairs and the universal prejudices we have in say Poultrygeist than hours upon hours of PBS programming. I think Troma and Lloyd are the best parts of Americana like the hot dog and baseball, which is why I think people respond it worldwide. If you're into films, do yourself a favor and pick up his books and see that there is a method to the madness. I kept Lloyd contained by a harem of nubile women who fed him grapes and fanned him in between scenes....just kidding...he was a pleasure to work with, although I'm sure he wouldn't have protested that grape feeding scenario.SZ: I happen to own a poetry book by you, called Mirrors and Portraits, which not many people may know about. At the risk of incurring your wrath, I would like to shed a little light on this side of you. Talk about the poetry book and any other literary projects you might have coming out?JW: In college, I hung out with the literary crowd and loved writing poetry. I also got over my shyness by reading poetry at coffehouses, although I preferred doing it at places you wouldn't think about poetry.In Morehead, it was the local bar called Spanky's....you'd get these high and drunk professors, along with bikers and rednecks playing music and reading their poetry. A rough hole in the wall, but it was fun and definitely a place of my youth. In Lexington, it was High on Rose....unfortunately these places don't exist anymore...I guess I'm more Charles Bukowski 'live life fully dammit' than hanging out at staid coffeshops talking about writing. I had written poetry from that time period, and finally got a book of verse together called Mirrors and Portraits. In a sense it a portrait of me as an angry young guy who loved everything to the fullest. It's like the first time you finally 'hear' Mozart and it moves in your heart...same thing with literature and poetry with me. Passion fuels literature, and hopefully if people see the book, and see me...flaws and all. I'm working on a new book of poetry. I love writing verse, and never want that to leave my heart or my life. I try to put poetry and some poetic ideas in my scripts as well.SZ: On that note, rumor has it that you might be developing something theater related? Is there any truth to this rumor?JW: I wrote the Halloween murder myster play, Green Ghost of the Tracks, for Kathy Hobb's theater company, Fantastical theatricals, and it was great to see a play of mine on stage. Theater is the ultimate high wire act. I have a couple of plays written together, that may or may not hit the stage. A lot of folks don't realize that I was actually more interested in forming a theater company to stage my work at the beginning, but went with films instead. I would still love to make a theater company, so maybe one day down the road when the stars are in place, it may happen. I would also like folks to check out Kathy and her wonderful Fantastical Theatricals, a wonderful experience for me as a writer.SZ: Where can people find and buy some Jerry Williams movies?JW: Purvos is available at Brain Damage films. Major Power and the Flying Saucer from Mars DVD is available at indieflix. Misadventures in space the original version is on google video and hungry flix. That film has a tight new edit, and should be in a DVD package soon with mint condition. I have a comedy film, Pirate Candy Sampler, which is a comedy in the style of 'Amazon Women on the moon' on google video as well. The Cursed doll is now with Echelon Studios, so it should be out soon. You can also see Purvos on netflix and get it off Amazaon.com. My book of poetry is also available on Amazon and other book seller sites.Links to buy Purvos, Major Power, and Mirrors and Portraits.Purvoshttp://www.amazon.com/Purvos-Conrad-Brooks/dp/B0012OTVCGPurvos on netflixhttp://www.netflix.com/Movie/Purvos/70093406?&mqso=70002140&trkid=129129Major Powerhttp://www.indieflix.com/Films/MajorPowerandtheFlyingSaucerfromMarsMirrors and Portraitshttp://www.amazon.com/Mirrors-Portraits-Jerry-Williams/dp/1413765807/ref=cm_cr-mr-titleMisadventures in space (original cut on google video)http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=895029670631039342&ei=qiE_SpqxA4WkqwLPruTKAQ&q=misadventures+in+spacePirate Candy Samplerhttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7192095349227927623&ei=5CU_SoasK5HwrgK-lIHLAQ&q=pirate+candy+samplerSZ: Will your cat be appearing in future projects, and will there be any parts available for other people’s cats, such as mine? Your cat’s performance was awesome as the Wizard Merlin in Major Power, and in the heavy-duty SFX sequence in the engine room in Misadventures in Space!JW: I actually jotted down an idea for 'Major Power and the Ghost train!', so if Major Power shows up...I think the Wizard would confer with the great wizards of yore...you always got to look out for ...evil ectoplasm!

Every so often you encounter individuals in the indie film world who are talented, genuinely supportive of indie film and filmmakers, and who are straight-shooters. Nic Brown, mastermind of the popular indie film site B Movie Man, is one of these uncommon individuals.In addition to running the rapidly growing B Movie Man site, which has articles, reviews, interviews, trailers, and much more covering the world of independent film and b-films, Nic is also a very talented author, photographer, martial artist, and has even made a foray into talent representation. Indie Movie Masters is proud to spotlight Nic Brown in all of these areas, from the world of B-Movie Man, to his excellent book Blood Curse, to his work with actress Tucky Williams. We hope that you get a little idea about Nic, a guy who everyone involved in indie films can count as an ally and friend. The good reputation that he enjoys among a great number of individuals within the indie film community is indeed well-earned.-Stephen Zimmer, for Indie Movie Masters, June 17, 2009SZ: First, tell us a little about Nic Brown, your background, main interests, etc.NB: Well I've been into movies for as long as long as I can remember. I got interested in B-Movies back in the 80's when grew up watching COMMANDER USA'S GROOVY MOVIES every Saturday afternoon on the USA Network. I also put myself through college working at a movie theater. I was a projectionist and finally a manager before I quit to go teach English in Japan for three years. While in Japan I was able to pursue my interest in writing and was regularly featured in several English language publications put out over there. That's also where I met my wife, although she's British, not Japanese. She was another English teacher. After we got back to the States I went to work for a Japanese trading company and I'm still there. I love the writing and the B-Movies, but I have to pay the bills too.As for my hobbies and interests, I love traveling, especially to other countries. Reading, I'm always reading a book of some kind. Here's a shocker, I love movies! I also do yoga, kung-fu, I'm an avid skier (not the easiest hobby to have living in Kentucky).SZ: Obviously, you like indie films, B-Films, and that kind of thing. So what are some of your favorite films?NB: That’s a tough question. It depends on my mood. For mainstream films: ALIENS, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, John Woo's HARD BOILED, LE PACTE DE LOUPS (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF), L.A. STORY, EUROTRIP, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN and LEON (THE PROFESSIONAL). From the independent film side: TROMEO & JULIET, TREK, BRAIN DEAD, THE CELLAR DOOR, UNDER THE RAVEN’S WING, DEAD MOON RISING and BONNIE & CLYDE VS. DRACULA. Of course there are more, but those are the ones that come to mind right away.SZ:What are some of the things/qualities that you look for in a good independent film/B-Movie?NB: For a good independent film I’m looking for originality, a good story and believable performances from the cast. Things like special effects and expensive sets are just extras. One more thing that is extremely important for a good independent film, which unfortunately is often overlooked, is the sound. I’m very forgiving of most of things when it comes to independent film, but if I can’t hear the dialogue, whether due to poor sound recording or the soundtrack music playing over it, I can’t enjoy the film.As for a good B-Movie, that’s easy: is it entertaining? If it is, then it’s a good B-Movie.SZ: Tell us about the original idea/concept for B Movie Man, and when was the site launched.NB: In mid-August 2006 I had the opportunity to meet two of my favorite authors, John Ringo and Dr. Travis S. Taylor (Google them if you don't know who they are). It was a small book signing in a mall in Tennessee and since it wasn't very busy we talked a lot. The publisher had a contest to win dinner with them and I lost, but they were nice enough to take me anyway! So I got to really know a couple of authors I admire and after that I felt inspired.I've always enjoyed writing but since my return from Japan, other than email I hadn't had much chance to write. Now I had the urge to finally write a book! I decided that for me, writing a book from a cold start would be like trying to run a marathon without ever training for it. It can be done by some people, but not me. So I started writing movie, book and television show reviews. Not wanting them to just sit on my computer I decided to start a website. I wanted Nicsflicks.com but it wasn't available at the time, so I went with a name that I'd been called by a friend of mine once after we discussed a number of obscure horror films that I like "B Movie Man".SZ: How has it evolved since its inception from your original vision for it?NB: Originally the site was just movie, book and television reviews. Then one day I started getting emails from indie filmmakers wanting me to check out their movies. So I started talking with indie filmmakers and that lead to doing interviews with them. From there I got the idea to start my “Women of Horror” series and that has become the most popular feature on my site.My original vision for the site was that it would be a venue for me to talk about movies I enjoy and to have a chance to improve my writing skills. Now it is still that, but more. I feel like it’s a place where independent filmmakers are not treated like second class citizens to Hollywood. There are a lot of really talented people out there and nothing makes me happier than to give some of them the opportunity to spread the word about their work.SZ: Do you use other contributors for the site? I imagine it is not an easy thing to develop as much content as you have on the site.NB: I have a few people contributing to the site. My wife Fiona, and a few of my friends like Eric Brooks and Crystal Angela write pieces for me as well. Of course there is also the new video series with Tucky, and the folks from Imaginaut Studios have given me an exclusive trailer for their new documentary on filmmaker Jim Wynorski: POPATOPOLIS, but in the end about 90% or more of the site's content is my own. I’m open to more contributions, but it’s not a paying gig so I take what I can get.SZ: Where do you see the site going in the future? Do you have any areas that you want to expand into?NB: I’m not sure where the site will go in the future. I’m very pleased with the way it is right now. I am excited about my new video content and I’ve started work on a new series called “Women of Sci-Fi” as well (coming soon). As far as expanding goes, I may start a feature about some of the music I like. I’m a big fan of some of the lesser known artists like The Cruxshadows or the late Warren Zevon so if I could do something there it might be fun!SZ: How many events do you attend? I’ve noticed you have been a panelist and an attendee at several conventions.NB: So far this year I’ve been to six events, three of them as a guest, and three just for fun. I have another three lined up for later this year: The Fright Night Film Festival, The Scarefest 2009 and the 3rd Annual B Movie Celebration. I’m a guest at Fright Night, I’m helping the organizers of Scarefest and I’ll be covering the B Movie Celebration for my site. I will probably go to a few more events just for fun, we’ll see.SZ: How is the feedback to the site? Do you get a lot of response to your reviews, articles, and interviews?NB: I get some very good feedback through email and when I’m at shows and such. My site isn’t set up like a blog, so there isn’t a feature for comments to be posted directly to the articles. I’m sure I’m missing out on some feedback because of that, but at the same time I don’t consider my site a “blog” so I like it the way it is.I also think the real feedback comes from the fact that a number of other websites carry my work. Roguecinema.com, Pretty-scary.net, Benevolentstreet.com and BMovieNation.com all carry some of my interviews and features. Plus, Vince Rotolo from BMovieCast.com invited me to be the regular guest host on his weekly B Movie Podcast. I’ve been doing that for over a year and half now and it’s a whole lot of fun.SZ: You do a lot of work with the very talented actress/model Tucky Williams, who has appeared in many independent films in significant roles. Tell us about your work with her, her website, and the joint appearances that you make together at conventions?NB: Tucky is a great lady and a good friend. I actually met her when I featured her in my “Women of Horror” series. I saw her film DEAD MOON RISING and contacted her about the feature. Since she lives in my home town we decided to do the interview at Café Jo Beth so my wife and I met her for dinner and then I did the interview. A couple of months later I was getting ready to do my first convention, the 2008 Scarefest, not as “B Movie Man” there to cover the event, but as Nic Brown, Author of “Blood Curse” and trying to sell a few books. I had an idea that I thought might be beneficial to me and Tucky. Since I had extra space at my booth, I invited Tucky to come share the booth with me. I even got the event organizers to promote her as a guest and the next thing you know, I had a line of people in front of booth and to date it has been my most successful show for sales. It was also Tucky’s first show and she found she really enjoyed getting to meet people and the whole convention atmosphere. So we decided to work together to promote her career as an actress and mine as an author. Tucky was also looking for someone to build her a website and I took a stab at it. I’m not the greatest webmaster out there, but I’m not bad either. Plus, I know what to avoid in a website like “Hey let’s do black text on a dark purple background”. That may not sound like a serious problem, but you’d be amazed at how many sites are almost impossible to read just because of their color scheme.In addition to handling Tucky’s website, I’m also working as her agent. I’m the first to admit that I’m not a professional agent, but Tucky wanted someone she could trust to help her with that aspect of her career. So I try my best. By the way, if any filmmakers are reading this check out http://www.tuckywilliams.com/ for a full resume, demo reel and photos!At the end of the day Tucky has become a really good friend to both me and my wife and that is what’s really important.SZ: Speaking of Tucky, I noticed that you have a new video interview series with Tucky on the B Movie Man site. Tell us a little about it.NB: We’re both really excited about this feature of the site. The series is called “Getting Lucky With Tucky” and in it Tucky interviews filmmakers, actors, and folks in the entertainment industry. Tucky has worked in television news and has a really great interviewing style. We’ve only done a couple of interviews so far, but we have plans to do a lot more, especially at some of the up coming conventions. Having new, original video content for my site is fantastic and Tucky loves doing the interviews so it’s a winner for both of us. The hardest part for me has been learning to edit video. We try to break the features down into five minute segments, plus I have to cut out all the parts where I start laughing at something funny she says.(SZ: here's one of the Getting Lucky With Tucky segments that are carried at the B Movie Man Site:SZ: Not everyone may know that you are an author. Tell us about Blood Curse: Werewolf For Hire Book One.NB: “Blood Curse” is my first novel. It’s an adventure/fantasy/mystery about a werewolf detective named Michael Warren. Michael’s world is one where the supernatural exists just outside of the public eye and he makes a living working with his partners Tabitha and her husband Sam who he describes by saying “She’s a witch and he’s my I.T. guy.” The first novel finds Michael traveling to Kentucky to investigate a disappearance that is related to a local horse farm owned by a wealthy sheik with a mysterious past.I like to think of “Blood Curse” as a B- Movie book. It’s got action, magic, werewolves, witches, and enough sex to keep it interesting. I wrote it because it is the kind of book I’d like to read. Also I was tired of all the moody vampires! Everywhere you look there’s another bloody vampire novel!SZ: I know you have studied martial arts. Did your martial arts background help lot with the plot development, characters, and fight scenes in Blood Curse?NB: Definitely. I spent ten years studying Shaolin Kung Fu and that has had a profound influence on most aspects of my life. With regards to my writing it has helped me have discipline. Writing a novel is not something most people do overnight, it takes hard work and dedication and those are traits that seriously studying the martial arts will help you develop. My study of Shaolin also helped me write the fight scenes. Knowing how to fight, what happens to someone if you twist their arm one way or kick them in another; that makes writing the fights both more realistic and more fun.SZ: When is the next book in the series coming out? And where can people order/buy the current one? (list all editions it is available in as well)NB: I’m still working on the second book in the series, but it’s almost finished! It will be called “Blood Sacrifice” and this time Michael must travel to England to find Tabitha’s niece. The first chapter of “Blood Sacrifice” is available for free download at http://www.werewolfforhire.com/, that’s my official site for the series. I hope to finish it this summer so it may be available this fall.You can also order copies of “Blood Curse” through that site. It’s available in paperback and hard cover editions or you can download the e-book as well. The paperback and hardcover editions are also available through Amazon.com and all the other online book retailers.SZ: Are there other ways to connect with B-Movie Man, such as social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook? If so, let us know!NB: I'm on myspace: www.myspace.com/nicholsbrown, Twitter: Bmovieman, look me up, I tweet about once a month! Facebook: look up Nic Brown you should find me. You can also reach me through The B Movie Cast: http://www.bmoviecast.com/, by the way, stop by podcastalley.com and vote for the B Movie Cast, we're #2 in entertainment and I'd love to see that go to #1!SZ: Is there anything else that you would like the indie film community to know about B Movie Man?NB: I’m always happy to check out new indie films so if you’ve got one you want me to look at, drop me a line! Now as Commander USA way say: "Until next time amigos, keep your nose in the wind, and your tail to yourself!"