Film announcement: 'The Waterboard'

Many of you have heard about this already, but for those who haven't it's time for an official announcement. My next film will be a character-driven horror short titled 'The Waterboard' to be shot this fall. It'll be my 4th film. This project leads to a feature film to be produced sometime in the fall of 2009. Running time will be approximately 8 minutes long.

'The Waterboard' deals with the disturbing real-life CIA-sanctioned torture technique used in the ongoing Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. The torture technique actually dates many hundreds of years, but it has only gained recent crucial notoriety as a result of the shadowy moral implications of it being used by the CIA to extract information from suspected terrorist subjects. Despite this background, the film isn't really politically-driven but it's instead character-driven. It introduces a character that I've been obsessed with for over 10 years and the film asks questions about man's capacity for evil thru torture, no matter how warranted torture might seen in a particular scenario (see 'the ticking time bomb scenario').

I won't give any details of the film's plot, but I will say that this film isn't 'torture-porn'. I don't give a rat's ass about 'torture porn' ('Saw','Hostel' and the like), and I'm aiming for something different here.The trend of 'torture porn' has arguably come to an end. I march at the beat of my own drummer here, and I believe this film and it's feature length companion piece have something to say. These are films about the problem of evil, about man's capacity for it, and how it feels to truly confront evil in the real world.

I held a meeting at my place back in June 1st to start forming a productorial team with some colleagues for these endeavors.Mark Colegrove (the upcoming 'Isle Of The Damned'), Angie Ennis (from the past CoLab filmmaker's collective), David Kratz (maker of the comedy short 'Nintendik', shown at MFF this past May), and local neophyte filmmaker Rick Smith were there.Shane Logue, local Baltimore actor and director of 'Hachigame', couldn't attend, but he hopes to be onboard for these efforts also. The meet went very well, and it looks like I have a solid foundation to make some films worth a damn. Not just these two films, but more.

But I don't want to get too far ahead of myself here. For now, I need to start 'kicking my own ass'. 'The Waterboard' doesn't shoot until the fall, but there's much prep-work to be done for it. I start on this work immediately, There will be a casting call at the Creative Alliance in early August (Sat, August 9th) for starters. 'Kicking my own ass' also applies to other areas of my life.Lately, I've come to realize how my personal demons are delaying my development as a filmmaker, and as a man in general. Willpower and self-discipline will be my focus this summer. I've got some serious films with a vision to make. It's about now or never.

So, what's going on?

It's been a few weeks since my last blog entry. My blog has been looking at me with big puppy eyes asking: 'So, what's going on?'

Well, I just signed the lease on a new apartment, and will be moving into it by the end of the summer. For the first time, I'll be living in Baltimore City. Charles Village to be specific.The space is small. It's just a room with a bathroom attached, but it's cheap. The space will allow me to work only part-time while I complete my degree at UMBC. The place is also within walking distance to some of my favorite city hangouts, like Video Americain and The Charles theater. I'll also be able to drive less and save gas by taking the bus to work and school.

My new lease is just for 8 months, so as soon as I get back to full-time employment I'll be looking for a bigger place early next year. Also, living at this space is a good rehearsal if I do decide to move to NYC next year.So, city living, here I come! Hurray for cramped apartment living!

Now that my search for a new place has been clinched, I can concentrate full time into the script for my short. I also will be giving Horror-101.com much love. There's that Spanish CLEP exam I need to take soon. And, there are also three pesky short video projects I really need to complete.

I've been fighting my 'lazy' and 'writer's block' demons lately, and I better kick their asses and get back into the full swing of things. Even though I'm not taking a summer class, my summer is going to be just as busy as my past spring was, and it's critical that I stay on the ball.

Does that satisfy you, my cute little blog? 'Yes', the blog says, its big puppy eyes undilating back to normal.