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Let's face it, werewolf movies have gotten quite lame lately.
Sure, there have been a few exceptions, but there have been way too many lackluster movies involving lycanthropes. Stupid plotlines. Horrible acting. Terrible transformation scenes. Just films that, as a werewolf fan, have totally let me down.
There's a saying that goes, "If you want something done right, do it yourself".
So, I'm setting out to film my very own werewolf movie.
This all began several years ago as a writing assignment for college. It was a one scene sample for film class. My scene was for a werewolf movie. A movie that I wanted to see. I got an "A" for my effort.
The cool part about this was, I had so much fun doing that scene, I continued working on it on my free time, until I had written out an entire script outline, one that I envisioned being a five-part epic designed for TV or video.
The storyline involves a young man, who finds out on his 18th birthday that he has been cursed with lycantrophy and becomes a werewolf. The only sign of his condition is a small, pentagram shaped mark located on his left forearm. Shortly after his first transformation, he discovers several other things that will further complicate his life, including murder and a deep family secret.
I gave out samples of the story to several of my friends, who were impressed with what I had done. I began turning my script into a novel, writing about six or seven small chapters until a lot of things, such as work, caused me to set it aside. But I always had the intention of resuming it one day and still held on to the hope that to make it into a movie.
In the time since I wrote it out, I managed to discuss my dream project with several friends of mine. Friends who, like me, are fans of the genre and had special skills, like makeup and acting and filmmaking. Through several stages of talking, things began falling into place and the dream project was --slowly but surely-- becoming a reality.
Last May, I had cast three of my friends in the key roles for the movie. I'd even worked out a script for a potential teaser about the film while I was reworking the now 11 year old storyline into an actual working script. I've even came up with a much cooler ending than what I'd originally written out. Things were going so well, it looked as if filming would start up this summer.
But in the months since, things have changed. First and foremost, was putting the finances together. Even for a low budget, independent werewolf movie, it'll still take some cash to put it all together. And, unfortunately, that's not the case for me, especially with bills and other matters taking the most of my minimum wage paychecks.
Second, even if I had the funds together, getting everyone to come to Michigan would pose a problem. The three leads all live in different states and trying to get their schedules to fit would be a problem. Throw in the fact that this would be a huge undertaking and that there was little time to put it all together gave me more than enough reason to delay it.
As I've told my friends and posted on my page a while back, "Now that is if everything falls into place. If things don't fall through, if the suit isn't ready, if the effects don't work out, or if anything causes me to feel that this isn't ready, then I have no problem pushing it back or delaying it indefinitely. I rather have it ready to go or not ready at all."
So the plan now is to film the movie next summer, and have it ready by fall 2006.
So now that I have about a year and a half to get it ready, it'll give me plenty of time to get it ready. That means taking as much time as possible to polish and fine tune the script, casting other people for the other roles in the film, scouting locations in Michigan, and everything else. Mostly, I look at the rest of this year to get all the behind the scenes stuff ready and the first half of 2006 to get the cast and locations ready, so that everything will click into place by the time shooting starts next summer.
And, even though I won't film the movie this summer, it doesn't mean I won't be filming something in 2005. I'm planning to do one or two short films later this year to get my feet wet and to figure out what will --or won't-- work when I film the big movie. I'll keep you posted on those short projects in the coming months.
In the meantime, this page will still be active in 2005. I'll keep you posted on all the behind the scenes details, fill you in on any developing matters about the film, and maybe, just maybe, post the original story. I still have it, in it's non computer, hard copy form, and I'll show you some of it, in all it's ugliness.
Despite the delays and the holdups, my goal remains the same: to make this a werewolf movie unlike any other. One that I, as a fan, would want to see if I didn't write this film myself. I refuse to settle for anything less than that. What fuels it for me even more is the fact that I know it can be done. I've just seen a recent fan made film, "Curse of the Wolf", that proves to me that it can be done.
So keep checking back here over the next 18 months or so, as I intend to keep everyone informed on casting, script development and everything else as I take you through each step of the making of this fan-based, independent werewolf movie.
This is a pet project for me. Something that I've spent years fine tuning and thinking about in one form or another. Hopefully, in 2006, this project will become a reality. One that all werewolf fans will love to see.
Stay tuned...
Sure, there have been a few exceptions, but there have been way too many lackluster movies involving lycanthropes. Stupid plotlines. Horrible acting. Terrible transformation scenes. Just films that, as a werewolf fan, have totally let me down.
There's a saying that goes, "If you want something done right, do it yourself".
So, I'm setting out to film my very own werewolf movie.
This all began several years ago as a writing assignment for college. It was a one scene sample for film class. My scene was for a werewolf movie. A movie that I wanted to see. I got an "A" for my effort.
The cool part about this was, I had so much fun doing that scene, I continued working on it on my free time, until I had written out an entire script outline, one that I envisioned being a five-part epic designed for TV or video.
The storyline involves a young man, who finds out on his 18th birthday that he has been cursed with lycantrophy and becomes a werewolf. The only sign of his condition is a small, pentagram shaped mark located on his left forearm. Shortly after his first transformation, he discovers several other things that will further complicate his life, including murder and a deep family secret.
I gave out samples of the story to several of my friends, who were impressed with what I had done. I began turning my script into a novel, writing about six or seven small chapters until a lot of things, such as work, caused me to set it aside. But I always had the intention of resuming it one day and still held on to the hope that to make it into a movie.
In the time since I wrote it out, I managed to discuss my dream project with several friends of mine. Friends who, like me, are fans of the genre and had special skills, like makeup and acting and filmmaking. Through several stages of talking, things began falling into place and the dream project was --slowly but surely-- becoming a reality.
Last May, I had cast three of my friends in the key roles for the movie. I'd even worked out a script for a potential teaser about the film while I was reworking the now 11 year old storyline into an actual working script. I've even came up with a much cooler ending than what I'd originally written out. Things were going so well, it looked as if filming would start up this summer.
But in the months since, things have changed. First and foremost, was putting the finances together. Even for a low budget, independent werewolf movie, it'll still take some cash to put it all together. And, unfortunately, that's not the case for me, especially with bills and other matters taking the most of my minimum wage paychecks.
Second, even if I had the funds together, getting everyone to come to Michigan would pose a problem. The three leads all live in different states and trying to get their schedules to fit would be a problem. Throw in the fact that this would be a huge undertaking and that there was little time to put it all together gave me more than enough reason to delay it.
As I've told my friends and posted on my page a while back, "Now that is if everything falls into place. If things don't fall through, if the suit isn't ready, if the effects don't work out, or if anything causes me to feel that this isn't ready, then I have no problem pushing it back or delaying it indefinitely. I rather have it ready to go or not ready at all."
So the plan now is to film the movie next summer, and have it ready by fall 2006.
So now that I have about a year and a half to get it ready, it'll give me plenty of time to get it ready. That means taking as much time as possible to polish and fine tune the script, casting other people for the other roles in the film, scouting locations in Michigan, and everything else. Mostly, I look at the rest of this year to get all the behind the scenes stuff ready and the first half of 2006 to get the cast and locations ready, so that everything will click into place by the time shooting starts next summer.
And, even though I won't film the movie this summer, it doesn't mean I won't be filming something in 2005. I'm planning to do one or two short films later this year to get my feet wet and to figure out what will --or won't-- work when I film the big movie. I'll keep you posted on those short projects in the coming months.
In the meantime, this page will still be active in 2005. I'll keep you posted on all the behind the scenes details, fill you in on any developing matters about the film, and maybe, just maybe, post the original story. I still have it, in it's non computer, hard copy form, and I'll show you some of it, in all it's ugliness.
Despite the delays and the holdups, my goal remains the same: to make this a werewolf movie unlike any other. One that I, as a fan, would want to see if I didn't write this film myself. I refuse to settle for anything less than that. What fuels it for me even more is the fact that I know it can be done. I've just seen a recent fan made film, "Curse of the Wolf", that proves to me that it can be done.
So keep checking back here over the next 18 months or so, as I intend to keep everyone informed on casting, script development and everything else as I take you through each step of the making of this fan-based, independent werewolf movie.
This is a pet project for me. Something that I've spent years fine tuning and thinking about in one form or another. Hopefully, in 2006, this project will become a reality. One that all werewolf fans will love to see.
Stay tuned...
