Gregory Lamberson's Blog, page 10

STORM DEMON Reviews & Giveaway

It's an exciting time for my occult detective series The Jake Helman Files because the novels are currently being pitched as a possible TV series, and because I'm currently writing the sixth book.  Hollywood pitches can amount to something or nothing, but it's great knowing my books are being read by people who actually make those decisions.  I'm holding a Goodreads giveaway for five signed copies of the latest and fifth book in the series, Storm Demon; readers have until Valentine's Day to enter. https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/77217-storm-demon.



Here are the reviews for the book so far:

The Horror Fiction Review: http://thehorrorfictionreview.blogspot.com/2013/11/november-2013-reviews.html

Excerpts:

Private Eye Jake Helman returns in his fifth epic adventure and the series shows NO signs of losing steam.

STORM DEMON features plenty of action (a staple of the series), plenty of occult happenings, an apocalyptic rat attack, some wild monsters, and all manner of obstacles for our favorite anti-hero to grapple with; but there's also a side story involving a rising in the drug underworld and Maria's attempt to protect an innocent child from it. Like the others in the series, it's pretty much a perfect blend of occult horror and gritty street-crime goodness. And the ending this time is total edge-of-your-seat fun ...

Dreadful Tales: http://dreadfultales.com/2013/10/04/storm-demon-by-gregory-lamberson/

Excerpts:

Storm Demon, the 5th instalment in the Helman canon, takes Jake further into the fire than ever before, and sees him face down a bigger and badder villain than he’s seen in… well… 4 books. Trust me when I say this: If you weren’t completely invested in this series by now, you’re doomed to become a super-fan from here on out.

Jake has been through hell more than I could possibly imagine, and this installment is no different than the rest… save for the massive amount of action involved. Truth be told, Lamberson has always made his best efforts to keep the pace going at an even keel, but this particular story sees virtually no lull long enough to even refresh a coffee or, god forbid, sleep.

Storm Demon is one of the best examples of a balls-to-the-wall action/horror and how it’s done right.

Not only is Lamberson on the top of his game with Storm Demon, but he delivers one of the best “YOU’RE FUCKING KIDDING ME!?” moments of recent memory, with a twist even I wasn’t expecting. And that’s saying a lot, given the years I’ve invested in this series.

Lamberson outdoes himself with every installment of the Helman files, leaving this reader exhausted, yet begging for more with the end of every book. Storm Demon is no exception.

Library Journal

PI Jake Helman has returned to New York from Pavot Island, minus his left hand, but with his friend Edgar, who is alive and restored to human form. Hoping to continue his new relationship with police detective Maria Vasquez, Jake must first track down another friend who has disappeared, a psychic named Laurel. His investigation leads him into conflict with a being almost older than time and embroils him in a literal maelstrom that threatens to destroy the city and, if unchecked, the world. VERDICT The fifth series entry delivers nonstop action as Jake’s enemies seem to stay one step ahead of him. Series fans and lovers of disaster stories and supernatural villains should enjoy this installment."

Booklist

Following closely on the heels of Tortured Spirits (2012), this exciting horror thriller finds Jake Helman, the NYPD detective turned occult crime fighter, looking into the disappearance of his friend, psychic healer Laurel Doniger. Jake soon discovers that something evil buried deep in Laurel’s past—under her real name, Erika Long, she was a popular romance novelist, until Erika Long vanished, presumed dead—has decided not to stay buried in the past. And now Jake is locked in battle with a powerful, and extremely determined, creature whose quest for revenge could spell the destruction of New York City and more. Despite the serious subject matter, Lamberson writes with a light hand, keeping the proceedings moving at a brisk clip, peppering the story with humor and lively characterizations. Fans of the Helman series—this is the fifth installment—should eat this one up.

Horror Novel Reviews: http://horrornovelreviews.com/2013/08/21/heres-an-advance-review-of-gregory-lambersons-storm-demon/

Excerpts:

Lamberson is an excellent writer with an outrageous imagination that ensures the incorporation of gnarly, near inconceivable villains and an endless supply of action. The man pens fiction in a manner that suggests he’s simply relaying what he sees in his mind, and that internal vision is packed full of breakneck chases, wonderfully over the top duels and some creatures that cry for a celluloid transfer. Greg’s prose hints at profound confidence, and that enables him to open the floodgates and free the raging assortment of creations isolated in his brain. And unleash those monsters he does; Gregory Lamberson is a fearless author who’s set out to create a new exciting world which pits man versus monster, and after reading just one single piece of this puzzle, I’d be a liar if I claimed Storm Demon was anything other than an extremely entertaining read.

Pre-order the novel right here.

Rating: 4/5

Horrornews.net: http://horrornews.net/79944/book-review-storm-demon-jake-helman-files-5-author-gregory-lamberson/

Excerpts:

The way Gregory Lamberson creates his characters and makes them believable is what makes him the most talented writer to work in this struggling industry. His stories, no matter how horrific they are, manage to catch the imaginations of readers who are fans of the horror genre. There is a reason that Gregory Lamberson is considered the best horror writer today. His novels never stop making us turn the page to see what his characters are going to face next.

The only thing different is, it is a book and you are in a position where you either want to find out what happens next or you are terrified of what is on the next page and what may happen to your favorite character. In some cases, Storm Demon is one surprise package that none of us are prepared for. The way the chaos builds is like watching a train wreck unfold. You know it is about to happen and you cannot peel your eyes off the ensuing chaos until it happens.

New Art for THE FRENZY WOLVES, CARNAGE ROAD

As an author and filmmaker, I love getting my first look at artwork for upcoming projects; it's even more exciting than opening that first case of freshly printed books or pressed DVDs.  I get a big thrill out of seeing how artists interpret my characters and stories.

Yesterday I received this stunning cover for my novel The Frenzy Wolves, which will be published by Medallion Press in October.  Wolves is the third book in my werewolf series The Frenzy Cycle, which includes The Frenzy Way and The Frenzy War.  This new cover was painted by the talented Patrick Reilly, who also painted the cover for The Frenzy War (the cover for The Frenzy Way was created by Tommy Castillo).  I love it!



I announced a while ago that actor Craig Sheffer had optioned the film/TV rights to my zombie novella Carnage Road.  While we wait to see if this becomes a television series (we wrote a pilot script and a bible) or an independent feature, I'm also developing the novella as a comic book or graphic novel with artist Kelly Forbes.  Right now we're putting together a proposal package to submit to publishers, but if we don't get any bites we intend to publish a graphic novel ourselves. Carnage Road is an "either or" situation in two different mediums.  Here are some of Kelly's fantastic concept designs for our project:







Kelly also created this fantastic concept art for Killer Rack, the comedy I'm directing this summer, written by Paul McGinnis, who is co-producing with me and Rod Durick.  Debbie Rochon is featured in the cast, and we'll be holding auditions and announcing additional cast soon.



And here is a quickie concept put together by Arick Szymecki for another upcoming film project to be announced.  The "ghost" is Paul McGinnis, the screenwriter of Killer Rack.  Details for this one are forthcoming, but I will tease that this is a collaboration with a fellow horror author.



This isn't exactly new art, but the movement behind it is exciting... and of course, I can't discuss it!  The other name listed below is David Tripet, who has worked on a zillion projects and attended the School of Visual Arts with me in the previous century.  I like seeing the covers side by side like this...



So there's a lot happening out there in Lamberson Land, and I'm working with a lot of good people - that's always the key.

UPDATE: no sooner did I post this blog than this amazing 3D treatment of Patrick Reilly's artwork for THE FRENZY WAR came to my attention: you have to click on the link to get the effect.  http://zippymilkaholic.deviantart.com/art/Frenzy-War-by-PReilly-428140630


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You can follow The Frenzy Wolves on Facbook here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Frenzy-Wolves-by-Gregory-Lamberson/229462967080880?ref=br_tf

Carnage Road here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carnage-Road-by-Gregory-Lamberson/288877387824911

Killer Rack here: https://www.facebook.com/KillerRack

My Author & Filmmaker page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gregory-Lamberson-Author-Filmmaker/232650553535136

My Twitter feed here: https://twitter.com/GregLamberson

Jake Helman has his own Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/JakeHelmanPI

A personal Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jake.helman.79?fref=ts

And The Jake Helman Files Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/136320846384508/

You can purchase all of my books on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Gregory-Lamberson/e/B001JS2GHM

Don't forget my website: http://gregorylamberson.com/

Have a great weekend!

Now He's Winston Churchill

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."- Winston Churchill #Filmmaking)

This is the response of a local filmmaker to getting caught falsely claiming to be a member of the Writers Guild of America on his IMDB Pro page.  Apparently he believes that making untrue claims is synonymous with standing up for something.  There's no apology for the lie, no explanation for his blatant misrepresentation.  The usual suspects are offering support for his misdeeds, that's the way a lot of people roll here - aiding and abetting wrongful behavior.  I don't feel the least bid bad calling him out.  He's sort of our area's Shia Labeouf.  This is the end of this episode for me, though; we'll see whether or not he removes the WGA from his page.

The Buffalo Film Flam

Did you ever have the dream where you wake up one morning and you're not a giant cockroach, but you live in a building full of normal people and that building is surrounded by giant cockroaches?  Neither have I, but that's how I feel some days.  There are so many hustlers in the "Buffalo Film Community" who are running short cons or long cons that it makes it difficult for those of us trying to build something here that doesn't involve duplicity or mind control.

There was the guy who thumped his chest and belly ached that if we didn't all kiss his ass and donate money to his torture porn movie he wasn't going to bring its non-existent $10 million sequel to the city. Then there's the guy who seems to have bilked his investors out of almost $2 million for a nine-years-in-the-making epic that will never be finished...who is also the guy who convinced a small army of people he was going to finance their short films and put them to work on others, I guess so they'd hang on every word he posted in his forum.  I think that was two years ago...want to place a bet on how many of those films have been made?  Once, a king maker (in his own mind) told me he wanted to help me to become the Buffalo Niagara Film Commissioner from his power base in his parents' basement; I want to make movies, not play Fantasy Takeover (he made the same offer to another  local).  And there's an outfit which requires a special make-up effects artist to include its company name as part of any credit he receives working on films outside "the organization."  Buck Henry would have had a field day with these characters.

There's a real Messiah complex here - folks who are good at marketing themselves in the "world" of Facebook seem obsessed with accumulating followers  - they crave that almighty power base, but there's no power to be had here, the idea is laughable.  There's the guy who's spent years showing drawings of the movie studio complex he's going to build ("We're breaking ground any day"); the guy who pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $250,000 from his day job to finance his productions (he's supposedly back in business);  the guy who has anonymously created more than one Facebook gossip page to make himself famous, and falsely accused one actor of sexual harassment and a married actress of having an affair, to make himself look good by comparison. The list goes on and on.  Maybe it's the chemicals from Niagara Falls and Love Canal, but we have more than our share of delusional gods.  For about one year, if you Googled "Buffalo Film Producer,"  the first entries you saw were links to the embezzlement story, so these episodes stick to the rest of us.

Sometimes this is all good for a laugh, sometimes it's just depressing.  And I'm not even talking about the guys who announce projects they never make, or shoot films they don't finish, or lecture people at length in a condescending manner even though they've never accomplished a damn thing (That means you, Double-O Steroid).

Starting in 2015, Western New York will have the most aggressive tax incentive program in the country - 40% on qualified below the line costs (thanks in part to the efforts of our film commission office).  That's sure to bring some productions to town and put some of our professional and aspiring movie makers to work.  What will visiting producers find when they come here looking for qualified crews?  I hope they stay the hell off Facebook...and IMDB Pro.  Here's a screen shot of one local filmmaker's IMDB Pro page (IMDB Pro is an industry version of the regular IMDB; you have to pay for it by the month).  The filmmaker claims to be a member of WGA (Writers Guild of America) but he's not, and never has been.



"* Starred info submitted by page owner via IMDb Resume (has not been verified by IMDb)".  His regular IMDB page doesn't include this misinformation, which is apparently reserved for the professional world outside Buffalo; there's no reason why anyone in his camp would see how he represents himself to the world outside our small pond.   Some people will call this a "little white lie."  Who doesn't lie on his resume?  I don't.  Do you?  Someone pointed out to me that this is fraud. If someone working in Hollywood pulled this stunt, he'd be slitting his professional throat.  But this is just Buffalo, so there will be no repercussions; there never are.   People will still coddle him and kiss his ass to be part of his "family." As a writer, I'm offended: people bust their behinds to get into the Writers Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Directors Guild of America.  This self serving lie diminishes the work real professionals do, which is a standard many in Buffalo won't comprehend.

There are a lot of talented, hardworking people in this city - far more than there are hucksters. I've seen amateur productions grow in quantity and quality in the last five years. Most of the professionals are too busy working to notice every instance of skulduggery around them.  2015 is right around the corner, and I hope the pros and aspiring pros stick together the way the charlatans do, or a wonderful opportunity to build something here could slip through our fingers.  Some people don't like to hear the truth, others do. The people worth working with give a damn.

Booklist reviews STORM DEMON, Book 5 vof The Jake Helman Files

Following closely on the heels of Tortured Spirits (2012), this exciting horror thriller finds Jake Helman, the NYPD detective turned occult crime fighter, looking into the disappearance of his friend, psychic healer Laurel Doniger. Jake soon discovers that something evil buried deep in Laurel’s past—under her real name, Erika Long, she was a popular romance novelist, until Erika Long vanished, presumed dead—has decided not to stay buried in the past. And now Jake is locked in battle with a powerful, and extremely determined, creature whose quest for revenge could spell the destruction of New York City and more. Despite the serious subject matter, Lamberson writes with a light hand, keeping the proceedings moving at a brisk clip, peppering the story with humor and lively characterizations. Fans of the Helman series—this is the fifth installment—should eat this one up.

— David Pitt

Jake Helman is Social Networking

That's right, occult detective Jake Helman, star of my novel series The Jake Helman Files, and who already has a Facebook Group, now   Yhas his own Facebook "person" page and a Twitter account.  You can follow his musings each day and learn a little bit about what's entailed in fighting ghosts, evil billionaires, serial killers, zombies, angels, demons and giant mutant octopus gods.

So what gives?

I can't say!  But here are the links:

The Jake Helman Files on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/136320846384508/

Jake Helman's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jake.helman.79?fref=ts

Jake Helman(P.I.) on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakeHelmanPI

If you're a fan of the series, or any of my books or films - or any books or films - give the man a follow!  He's lost his wife, his eye, his hand, and part of his face, he needs support.  But whatever you do, don't tell him I sent you, I owe that guy money.

And don't forget to buy STORM DEMON, Book 5 in the series!

2014 Releases

First, I can't believe I didn't post the poster for Killer Rack, the next film I'm directing.  This one was written by Paul McGinnis, so it's the first film I'm directing that I didn't direct myself, and I'm producing it with Paul McGinnis and Rod Durick.  The story is a slapstick horror comedy about a woman who gets breast implants which turn out to be Lovecraftian monsters; Debbie Rochon plays the mad scientist who installs them.  The script is hilarious, and I have high hopes the film will be a classic.  What do you think about that?  Anyway, the poster is designed by Kelly Forbes, the talented artist who did one of the two online Johnny Gruesome comics a few years ago (and Kelly and I are developing something big together).  Killer Rack will shoot in May/June, and you can follow it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KillerRack



My big 2014 release was supposed to be out already, but The Julian Year, the world's first TREEbook (Timed REading Experience E-book) has been pushed back to June.  The novel is complete in all its incarnations, and has been for some time, but a few final kinks and bugs in the technology need to be worked out.  The TREEbook is an all new product, and after all the time, effort, and capital invested to make it a reality, it has to work 100%.  And then it can't be rushed into the world, it needs a well thought out and well timed marketing campaign.  So I'm all for this delay, even though it will have a negative impact on my income this year, but I'm all for The Julian Year being a summer read. The world will have to wait a little longer to meet Rachel Konigsberg, who may be my favorite action here creation I've met yet.  The delay will also give more of you time to buy ipads, because that's what you'll need to read my apocalyptic tale.



So what will my first release be?  It may be an essay in a film-centric book or it may be a short story in a collection devoted to a cult horror filmmaker.  When I can name names, I will.

The Legend of Six Fingers, which I produced, should be released on DVD in May.  Then The Julian Year in June.  And Dry Bones, which I wrote and directed, will be available on DVD in late summer/early Fall.  The Frenzy Wolves, the third and final volume in my werewolf trilogy The Frenzy Cycle, will be published in October (I just finished the first draft, which was late primarily due to my work on Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival)..  And then Buffalo Dreams runs again in November.  So look for two feature films, two novels, and two short pieces from me in the coming year.

I'm currently in talks to direct a short film based on a short story by a fellow author which will be part of an anthology.  If it happens, it will happen soon, and will be released on DVD in October.  Carnage Road is still out there being pitched as a possible TV series by Craig Sheffer.  The last I heard, our proposal (pilot script and series bible) was being reviewed by several companies.  Craig is committed to producing and directing a feature film version this year if a TV series doesn't happen; I will be excited for either interpretation.  And there's something else gestating out in Hollywood land...

Library Journal reviews STORM DEMON

Library Journal's review of STORM DEMON, Book 5 in The Jake Helman Files:

"Lamberson, Gregory. Storm Demon: The Jake Helman Files. Medallion. Oct. 2013. 424p. ISBN 9781605427492. pap. $14.95. FANTASY

PI Jake Helman has returned to New York from Pavot Island, minus his left hand, but with his friend Edgar, who is alive and restored to human form. Hoping to continue his new relationship with police detective Maria Vasquez, Jake must first track down another friend who has disappeared, a psychic named Laurel. His investigation leads him into conflict with a being almost older than time and embroils him in a literal maelstrom that threatens to destroy the city and, if unchecked, the world. VERDICT The fifth series entry delivers nonstop action as Jake’s enemies seem to stay one step ahead of him. Series fans and lovers of disaster stories and supernatural villains should enjoy this installment."

I'm giving away five signed copies of this book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/77217-storm-demon

2013: That's a Wrap

2013 was my seventh year as a full time writer, which means it was my sixth year teetering on the edge of poverty.  My family has adapted, because when the inevitable "Oh my God, how are we going to eat?" and "Oh my God, how did I forget about this bill?" moments arrived, we panicked less than usual,  Kaelin finished first grade and started second grade.  In between, she played King Louie in a kids' production of The Jungle Book.  She continues to amaze me and Tamar with her great attitude, even if she is prone to dramatic outbursts (I have no idea where she gets that).  Tamar went off unemployment to get a seven month temp job, went back on unemployment, and got a full time job which actually pays pretty well by Buffalo standards; hopefully, sometime in the not so distant future, we'll be sufficiently out of the hole where we can actually benefit from her hard work and mine.

At the beginning of the year, I wrote Storm Demon. the fifth book in my occult detective series The Jake Helman Files.  It is the penultimate book in the series, or at least in the first cycle of the series, and it was published in October. Jake is my signature character, and I need that boy to keep kicking no matter what body parts he loses.  I also completed edits on The Julian Year, the first TREEbook (Timed Reading Experience E-book), and currently have a loaner IPad so I can see how the branching technology works.  It appears this will receive a soft release in February, and that soft release will be part of a much longer promotional period than usual.  Fingers crossed, this could be pretty big.  Initial reactions to my actual story - sort of a blend between an 80s James Herbert novel and Qautermass and the Pit, pummeled by nonstop action - have been excellent.

Snow Shark: Ancient Snow Beast, which I produced, was released on DVD and made it into Family Video, Redbox Canada and Walmart Canada, and was just licensed to itunes in three different countries.  It's on track to actually turn a profit, no doubt due to writer-director-star Sam Qualiana's catchy title and great concept.

I wrote, directed and produced another micro-budget movie, a horror comedy called Dry Bones, with Michael O'Hear as co-producer, co-director and star.  We shot most of the film in my house, so it became a real family experience, with Kaelin acting and occasionally slating and Tamar helping out in all manner of ways.  The film turned out well and will be released on DVD in 2014.  I had so much fun making it that I produced The Legend of Six FIngers for Sam Qualiana imediately after we wrapped Dry Bones.  That was fun too, and it will also be released on DVD in 2014.

Battledogs was released on DVD and is available for streaming on Netflix.  I was only the 1st AD on that, but I'm proud of the work that me and the other locals did on it.  And through Battledogs I became friends with Craig Sheffer, who actually visited the set of Dry Bones and optioned my zombie novella Carnage Road as a possible TV series or film.  We collaborated on a TV pilot script and a series bible, which he and his manager are presenting to companies right now.  I'm told that if the series doesn't go, he'll produce and direct a feature version.  Optimism rears its deceptive head.

My events partner Chris Scioli and I came up with Buffalo Film Expo, a one day event designed to help the fledgling film community in Buffalo, and Teddy Hanes helped us put it together.  I spent the whole day on my feet, moderating some fantastic panel discussions with local film professionals.  Attendance was okay, but would have been better if we'd thrown a beer blast instead.  We're doing it again next year...and we're expanding it.

This was the first year of Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival, a descendant of Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival, which Scioli and I had to put down to get out of an unproductive partnership with a third party.  We ran all day for seven days, showed some great films, and 30 filmmakers attended from out of town.  It was essentially the film festival I'd dreamed of for four years, and submissions are already coming in for 2014.  On the down side, the festival ate up every free minute I had for two months, and put me behind on several writing projects.

I was invited to submit work to two anthologies this year, one fiction and the other a collection of nonfiction essays.  I don't think I embarrassed myself with either piece, both of which will be published in 2014.

I am currently writing The Frenzy Wolves, which I'm treating as the last book in my werewolf series.  As with the Jake Helman Files, the door will be left open for continuation, but I honestly feel that with this novel I've said all I can about howlers.  This is the project that suffered delays due to Buffalo Dreams, and it's rolling along nicely.  It had better - it will be published in October!  For the sixth year running, Medallion Press has been great to me.

After I finish writing The Frenzy Wolves, I'm on to Jake Helman Six, and then I'm directing what I expect will be my final micro-budget film, Killer Rack, written by Paul McGinnis.  It's a crazy comedy and I'm looking forward to the experience.  I've "retired" from making micro-budget movies a couple of times in the past, but inspiration can be a real bitch.  I'm heading into 2014 with a great deal of tempered optimism, both for Carnage Road and something else I'm working on which has a lot of commercial potential, and I'm grateful to have struck up the various partnerships I have on all of the projects and events in the pipeline.

Killer Rack

I don't think I've mentioned this on LJ, but the next film I'm tentatively directing and co-producing is Killer Rack, written and co-produced by Paul McGinnis and co-produced by Rod Durick.  Killer Rack won Best Original Screenplay at Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival last year (which was the festival's last year...).  The competition was judged by Toronto's Joseph O'Brien, and I actually didn't read it myself until this past spring, either during or after the Dry Bones shoot.  Paul acted in Bones (coming to DVD in 2014), and I remember him and Michael O'Hear looking at me like I'd just peed on the Sistine Chapel when I agreed on the spot to produce Sam Qualiana's The Legend of Six Fingers (Coming to DVD in 2014...).  I basically agreed to produce Six Fingers without having read a single page of the screenplay because 1) Sam said he was going to star, direct, shoot and edit the film himself, so I knew he could do it for very little money; and 2) I knew I could raise that  very little money.  Killer Rack is another story, in more ways than one: neither Paul nor Michael could shoot or edit the film, so there was no way they were making a professional looking feature with special effects for pennies (Six Fingers is a found footage film, so looking professional wasn't a concern).  This is one of the things I bring to the table as a producer of micro-budget films: I have a good idea how long is necessary to shoot them and how much money they will cost to make, even at rock bottom prices (Rock Bottom may be the sequel to Killer Rack).

Anyway, I told Paul to send me the script and I loved it.  I laughed out loud several times.  Paul had written a previous script called Mall Grizzly which was also funny, but it failed to win Best Original Screenplay at Buffalo Screams because it wasn't a screenplay, it was a play.  I liked it enough to give Paul a critique, and was pleased to see he applied 95% of what I taught him about formatting, structure, scene length etc. to Killer Rack. Few things are more irritating to a screenwriter than reading a screenplay by someone who hasn't even taken the time to do the slightest bit of research on how a screenplay should look and function.  So Killer Rack was an easy read, meaning the screenwriter, Paul, did not put up any barriers between the screenplay and the reader, but it was also a good read (and I want to go on record now, on December 7th, 2013, that the Slime City references were in the script before I attached myself to it).  I laughed harder reading Killer Rack than I can remember laughing at any script since Life of Brian back in the day.  The story is about Betty, a flat chested woman whose insecurity in her relationship and at her job leads her to get breast enhancement surgery,  What she doesn't know is that her surgeon, Dr. Thulu, worships the Elder Gods, and the implants she gives Betty are living creatures... and they are hungry.  Despite the somewhat selacious subject matter, there is a sweet love story at the core which reminds me of The Little Shop of Horrors musical more than anything else, and some hilarious set pieces.  I saw very clearly that this could be a classic comedy cult film if handled properly, and told Paul I had to direct it.  I told him upfront that I would not co-direct it (my experience is that there is only ever one true director on a project), but I would make him a co-producer so he would have some say in the project beyond the script.  I hammered out an agreement, he made a couple of script changes I requested, and we're now in development on the project.

Unbeknownst to me, my buddy Rod Durick had hoped to direct the film, or co-direct it with Paul.  Paul did the proper thing and went to Rod before shaking my hand, and Rod gave him his blessing to let me direct it.  I only found this out when I had my preliminary meeting with Paul.  Since Rod is one of my best friends in Buffalo, it would have been wrong to shut him out, and since he doesn't want to do special make-up effects anymore, and he's a jack of all trades, it made sense to make him a co-producer too.  Confession: I have never once had the experience - the luxury - of having a full time producer on set for any of the films I've directed, someone who could take care of regular bullshit and sudden crises so I could direct; I've always had to do double-triple-quadruple duty, and I trust Rod to use common sense and practical knowledge to handle things, so this should be a dream scenario for me.  Everything happens for a reason.

So we have a script, a writer, a director, three producers, and a production year (2014).  What's next?  Kelly Forbes (veteran graphic designer for FANGORIA, artist of one of the Johnny Gruesome online comics) is designing a teaser poster for us, Dave Setlik, graphic designer for Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival, is doing some concept drawings for me, and Debbie Rochon has committed to play Dr. Thulu.  We're scheduled to have our first production meeting next week, then we're doing preliminary casting, then we're fundraising.  Production depends on what happens with Craig Sheffer's TV/movie production of my novella Carnage Road, because I have to be available for that no matter what, but I enjoy shooting in the summer, and there is a hot tub scene.  So we'll see - we'll make it when the time is right.  In the meantime, feel free to "like" Killer Rack Movie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KillerRack .  We need your support.