Status Update: Casting News, Possible Locations, Major Announcement Coming!!

Hey there. Here's the latest on MOTW:

First of all, want to introduce you to Jason, the newest member to the crew, as seen is this photo to the right. Last week, after talking over the project with him and getting somewhat frustrated about not hearing anything from people about playing the roles in the movie. Jason volunteered his services, which was great and lifted a huge burden off me. So not only will he be part of the cast, but he'll be helping me out with some of the behind the scenes stuff as well.

So thanks again Jason for the help. He also tells me that he may know some others that'll be willing to help out as well. So things are starting to come together.

I also think we've pinned down a set date for when we'll begin shooting. I'll let you know soon.

On tap this week will be me scouting locations for the shoot and hopefully confirming that we can use these locations for that time. I should find out later on this week.

With everything coming together, I think sometime in early July, I'll have a major announcement to make about this project. So stay tuned for that.

That's the latest for now. I'll have another update later on this week.

Status Update: Script is Done!! Major News Coming!!

Hey there, I know it's been over a month and a half since my last update, but that doesn't mean things have been at a standstill.

In fact, I can start the update with four words:

The Script Is... DONE!!!!!

That's right, the basic script for the first episode of the mini-series has been completed. I finished the last part of it late Monday night (June 12). I've sent it out to several people, including the lead actors, guys that could be part of the crew and a few other friends that know about the project. So far the response has been good. I'll let you know in a future post.

Some other things have been happening as well with the project. Some very cool stuff in fact. So cool that as much as I would like to share it with you right now, I can't. At least not yet.

Sometime in early July though, once I get all the key pieces together, it will all be revealed. And I can't wait to share it with everyone.

Oh and one more thing, we're about one step closer from finally coming up with the teaser trailer. My friend David was able to show me a bit of a test sample and if the rest of it is anything like that test, you guys will be impressed. So stay tuned, it won't be long now.

That's it for now. Next update will be soon. And if things work out, it'll be a big one.

Status Update: Work on the Teaser and Scripts Continues

Hey there, thought I'd give a quick status report on where things stand right now.

-- Work is still being done on the long anticipated --and long-delayed-- teaser trailer. My friend David is still working on the effects part of the trailer, which is requiring a program he's testing out from what he tells me. So until he gets that worked out, again the teaser's on standby. I'd like to say I should have it ready to premiere sometime in May, but you never know with these things.

--I'm still working on the scripts, hopefully I'll have them all done in May. I'm still debating whether this will be a four-or-five part series. When I have everything written out and converted into a script, I should be able to know. I do want every episode to end with a cliff-hanger or a shocking moment, so we'll see.

--An official logo for the series should be revealed shortly. My newest online friend Bobby has agreed to help craft up a logo based on my ideas and once I see the finished product, I'll post it here.

--And lastly, we're still deliberating on the actual shooting dates, but it's looking more like the last week of July/first week of August will be the safe bet to shoot all of the first episode and perhaps some parts of the other episodes as well. I figure we'll meet up next summer to complete the other episodes of the series.

That's it for now. I'll have another update when there's more news to report.

Status Update: Teaser Trailer Footage is Done!!!

Here's the latest news on the MOTW project:

--On Monday (April 3), I was finally able to get the last bit of footage needed for the teaser trailer. My friend Adam, who's playing the lead role, was able to complete the pick-up shots for the trailer and after a long downloading process, I was able to get the last bit of footage.

What's next? Well even though I have all the footage, it still needs some special effects work and some music and editing. I've sent the raw footage off to my friend David to put the effects work together. And once he's done with that, then I'll be able to edit the teaser.

I also believe I found what could be some perfect music to use for the teaser. I still have to test it out first after I get everything together, but if it works out, I think it'll work. There's also a chance that the person behind this music could be the one who'll be doing the music for the short films as well. I'll keep you posted whether this is a done deal or not.

--May have found another person to help out. Not just with this mini-series, but the other possible projects that I may be doing over the summer. I won't say any more until I hear from him and see if it works with his schedule. But he definitely sounds interested.

--Still hammering out the script, which I hope to have done by the end of the month.

--We may have a time frame to start shooting. I'm looking at a 3-to-4 day window in the last week of July/early part of August to begin. It'll still be a one or two day shoot (for at least the first episode, but possibly some of the second), but with this window, we'll be able to accomendate any possible pick up shots or make up for bad footage. Plus, those days will also help with any future M1F projects. I'll let you know if and when those dates are confirmed.

-- What's a film (or a film series, in this case) without a logo? Or a slick poster for that matter?
Well, I'm not an artist, but after doing some doodling on a sheet of paper, I think I've come up with a cool looking logo for the movie. I've shown it to a couple of friends and they both agree that it's quite good. I won't show it to you guys just yet, but when I get it looking perfect, you'll see it right here.

As for the poster, well I've talked with someone online, who's done some poster work for a fan film I've seen recently, and he's definitely up for it. Stay tuned.

--And lastly, some possible news on the werewolf suit, the all important piece to the series. I got an email from my friend Brandon, who'll be doing the suit and the effects for the movie, and he tells me that he has some ideas and even some designs done. From what he tells me, he'll love to work on it, but it depends on time and cost. So we'll see what happens. (BTW, he's been dealing with a recent back injury, so get better soon bud!)

And that's it. A lot of news there. Again things are moving along quite well. I'll have another update later on this month.

Status Update: News on the Teaser, Casting, and a Website Plug.

Hey there.

Here's the latest news on the series:

--Teaser: Big news here. I got in touch with one of my online friends and he's totally on board to help with the most important part of the teaser trailer: the special effects. Thanks David for the help, especially considering he's busy putting together his latest project, which I can't wait to see. Still awaiting getting some pickup shots from Adam and hopefully I can get some outside footage done. But due to all of this, I'm going to delay releasing the teaser until April, but at least now things are moving along.

--Casting: Got in contact with my friend Lance, who I hadn't heard from in a while. When I originally came up with the film version of MOTW, he was up for one of the roles. But since I last talked with him, the status of the film had changed to a mini-series. When I talked with him a few days ago, I brought him up to speed on what had happened and was curious to know if he was still up for playing the part, which has radically changed from what I had originally planned. His response was yes. So now that makes two roles cast for the series. There's still one more person who was up for playing a key role in the original movie concept who, like Lance, I hadn't heard from in a while. Hopefully, I'll hear from him soon and see if he's still up for the part.

--Shameless Plug: While I was checking out my usual sites, I clicked on a link to another site and got a pleasant surprise: MOTW was mentioned in another site. Werewolf Movies.com, a site devoted to movies and TV shows on werewolves, added us to the list of upcoming projects in their March 18th update. You can click here for the page they've created just for the series. I also want to thank Noel, the webmaster for Werewolf Movies. com for the mention and the plug. I guess this means there's no going back now.

That's it for now. Good news all around and the buzz, albeit small, continues to build. Hopefully things will continue on this positive track. I'll have an update on the all important teaser trailer next time.

MOTW Status Update

Here's the latest on the MOTW mini-series.

-- I've got another friend signed up to help out with the project. My online friend Matt is expecting to help with anything, either behind the scenes or in front, or both. Thanks bud!!

-- Adam just sent out the next piece to the teaser trailer, the dialogue for the two-minute or so teaser. Still got a ways to go though before it's ready. Adam's going to do some pick up shots this week. I hope to add some extra footage this week as well. But the essential piece to the teaser: adding some special effects is up in the air. I've got a few leads, so we'll see if they play out for the teaser. If not, I have a back up plan in mind. But I really hope it doesn't come to that, cause I really want to use the special effects.

-- We're looking at two possible windows to shoot the first episode: either the last week of July or the last week of September. It could be one or the other, or it could be both. If both of those periods work out, then we can start on the other episodes of the series.

-- And lastly, sometime in the next week or two, I should be completing work on the next draft of the first episode. I've got some ideas on what I want to do, even have a title in mind. So once I get some free time set aside, I'll get around to finishing it up.

That's it for now. I'll have another update soon.

Early Buzz

First off, the trailer's nowhere close to being done.

The script's in early early development, going thru a major rewrite.

And aside from my bud Adam, no one else is cast in the mini-series.

But not soon after I announced my plans for the MOTW film series, I've been getting early buzz from my friends about it. They're eager about the concept. They're psyched about the teaser trailer and want to see what I have planned. In fact, I did a very, very rough cut of the teaser a few days ago. The reason behind it was twofold: to try out my movie editing program and to see what I can and can't do with the footage that I've received so far.

Will you get to see the rough cut? Maybe someday, but right now, not a chance.

But I did get to show it to a select few, And through that, I was able to get some feedback and some help.

One of my friends referred me to his friend, who may help out with some of the effects. And another online friend of mine may look into adding some more effects to the teaser as well. So we'll see what happens.

In the meantime, I wanted to put this poster up. It's from that first friend I mentioned earlier. It's not bad, but as he told me in an IM, i't's crappy (haha). He did tell me that he'll come up with a better one later. I might even come up with some ideas of my own.

But, for right now, as I look at it. it's not too bad. Might use it for something down the road, at least until we get real footage and real stuff that I'll be able to post.

In any event, that's the update for now. I'll have another update in March, where hopefully I can tell you how the teaser trailer is progressing so far.

Major News: MOTW, The MiniSeries is On!

Man, a lot has happened since my last post.

First thing you noticed is the name of the blog has changed again. I'll get into that in a moment.

Now, let me go back to what prompted the changes:

Between November and December, the plan was the same as before: to craft a twenty-minute or so short film based on my full-length feature film idea. The short film was based, in part, on the teaser trailer idea I'd came up a while back. Now, originally, I was going to use this short film to be like a "prequel" or a "lost scene" that would play into the full-length film that I was going to film in 2007. I was even playing around with what to call it. "MOTW: Prelude" or "MOTW: Revelations", as one friend suggested.

But the more I thought about it, the more that I saw that it wasn't working. I couldn't come up with how best to set the story up. I had ideas here and there, but each time it led to a dead end. It was getting frustrating.

Then, something came to me that I hadn't thought about in a long, long time.

I went back to where it all began.

If you go all the way back to my first post on this very blog, I even mentioned how it all began, how I originally came up with this when I was in college. This is what I wrote in that blog: "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."

And that's when it dawned on me, why should I waste more time trying to cram a movie script together or even a short film, when I could do what I originally had in mind long ago: A mini-series.

So, after I talked it over with my friend who's involved in this, I made the decision to go ahead with this.

So, here's how the mini-series plan will break down:

-- It will be a five (or six) part-series of short films or episodes. It won't be sequels, just a continuation of the main story.

--Each episode will run somewhere between 20 to 30 minutes, with each episode (except for the last) ending in a cliff-hanger.

-- The first episode will be shot during the summer, probably in August, and should be ready for release in the fall.

-- The remaining episodes will be filmed in 2007, and should be released throughout the year, but right now that's tenatively set.

-- Once I get all of the episodes done, I plan to craft all of them into one long movie as well.

-- Each episode will have its own name, or subtitle. I'll fill you in on those once they are done.

And that's it. I think it's going to be an exciting venture. And a chance to finally show my vision of a werewolf story with everyone.

But if you think I'm done with all the news. Think again.


You see this guy to the left?

This is my friend Adam.

And you're going to get to know him a lot over the next several months or so, because this is the guy that'll be playing the lead role in the mini-series of films. We've met almost two years ago online and after he sent me a photo of what he looked like, something clicked. He struck me as the perfect guy to play the main character. When I mentioned that to him, he was all for it. And he's been there through all the changes and delays. He is more than up for it now then he was when I first proposed it to him. So, as I said, you're going to see him a lot as the project moves ahead.

And I'm still not done with all the news:

Remember my teaser trailer idea? The one I had planned back in the summer, but got delayed and derailed.

Well this time, it's going to happen.

Last Saturday, Adam completed the first part of what will be part of the teaser trailer for the newly-minted film series, based on a new script that I've written. The footage he sent me looks great.

Now, this is only the first step. I still need a few more elements before I can put it all together, but if everything works out, the teaser trailer will debut by the end of March. And this time, I can say that without a doubt.

So that's it. As I said, a lot has happened. And it's all good. So get ready, the mini-series is coming.

And I can't wait for it to get started.

Introducing MOTW: The Short Film

In my last post, I told you about how, due to the delays with the teaser trailer and other holdups that I had to delay making the movie until late 2006 or early 2007. I also decided that I'm going to make a short film based on the script I made for the teaser trailer instead.

Well since then, my plan for doing this has expanded a bit. So here's how it's going to play out:

-- I'm going to make this a 20-30 minute movie, although the time limit might change since I haven't finished the script yet.

-- The script I've done for the teaser trailer will serve as the heart for the short film, although I'm not sure if I'll use this as the start for the short film or not.

-- I want to use this short film in two ways: to serve as a stand-alone film to set up what the full-length film will be about and to use this to serve in as a key part for the full length movie. Hopefully, I'll be able to pull that off.

-- I'm not sure how many people will be in the cast for this one, although I am pleased to report that my friend Adam, who was going to play the lead in the full length film, has agreed to play the lead in this short film.

So that's how it stands right now. As you can see, I've also made a few changes to this page as well to reflect what I'll be planning. I'm still going to call this "Mark of the Wolf", but I'm adding a secondary title to distinguish this from the full length film. I haven't decided what the secondary title will be just yet. I may even wait till we're done filming to decide. But for right now, I'm calling this MOTW: The Short Film.

I'll have an update in the next couple of weeks or so.

MOTW: On the Back-Burner... for now

I begin this post with something I wrote back a while ago, in one of my earlier posts for this blog:

"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."

After what went down with my teaser trailer plan being delayed indefinitely because my friend couldn't get any footage shot, I've come to a decision about my pet project.

I'm pushing it back. Again.

A lot of factors went to this decision. Mainly, was the fact that I have no teaser trailer for this film. With the weather getting colder and my friend(who's playing the lead) not being able to get footage done, this was a key factor in not getting this off the ground. My plan was to use this trailer to promote the film and possibly to drum up funds for the big film. Since it was looking highly doubtful to get a teaser trailer ready until at least next spring or when the weather warms up, that was one cause for the delay.

I did look at other angles, like not using my friend in the footage or using his voice or something like that. I even looked at using another script idea for a trailer, but I rather use him and I rather use this idea.

Another factor was time involved for doing this film. I talked with a lot of people, some friends I know, when it came to shooting this film. The way the script is now, even though I'm still crafting it, will be about 90 minutes and even if I were to get everyone's schedules together, since a lot of people will be from out of town, I doubt we can get everything done in about a week's time. I'll see what we can do, but considering that I need to get some work in as to putting such a project together, I'd rather have a safe plan than just one that may fall apart when everyone gets together.

So like I said, after giving this some thought, I've decided to delay MOTW until late next year or possibly summer 2007. I think by that time, a solid game plan will be in place to put my pet project together.

But in the meantime, I'm not completely given up on my baby. Remember my teaser trailer idea? I think it's good. So good in fact that next summer I'm going to turn that small script into a short film. Shooting this short film. I think this will be great practice for me as to what I can and can't do when it comes to filming this. Plus, my friend will be heading up here to film his part for this. Which works great time wise and budget wise as well. So we'll see what happens. I'm going to expand upon this short film idea, turning my two-to-three minute teaser until a thirty minute or so movie. I may even still call it "Mark of the Wolf", but maybe use that as an introduction or a launching pad for what the main feature will be about.

So, as I stated earlier in my previous post and at the start of this one, I rather have it ready to go than not ready at all. What I plan to do the rest of this year and part of 2006 will help me to make sure that this film will be ready to go, whenever it happens.

Teaser Trailer -- Delayed Until Further Notice

Hey there.

Trust me when I say that the above headline is NOT I wanted to type out today. If anything I wanted to announce that my friend had completed filming the live action part of the teaser trailer, or even better, that I had both the live action and effects footage and was hard at work editing it together.

Instead, I have to type out these words.

Delayed Until Further Notice.

Which sucks, big time.

Well, let me first explain how we got to this point. On Friday, my friend had informed me that on Saturday, he and his friend would be heading out to their location in Minnesota to shoot the live action segment of the teaser trailer. Very exciting news. Then earlier on Saturday, I went over with my friend - who's playing the lead role in the movie, by the way- what I wanted to see in each shot. What range or angle I was looking for and even coming up with some last minute changes to help the project along. If things went well, my friend would tell me either later that evening or today how the shoot went and possibly, when I would get the footage together to help craft the two-to-three minute trailer.

Instead, when I talked with him late last night, he basically told me that he got nothing from the shoot.

Damn.

He explained that his friend, who would be doing the camera work for the shoot didn't get in until late. And by the time he arrived, it was getting late for them to get any footage in at all for the trailer.

Damn again.

So, here I am, back where I was at the beginning. With nothing. And, again typing the following words: Delayed Until Further Notice.

So what happens now? Well I hope to see if it's at all possible for my friend to get together with his friend to try again another time. From what he tells me, they get together about once a month, but maybe I can convince him to meet up at an earlier time. We'll see.

Meanwhile, my other friend, who's doing the effects part for the trailer, is still at a holding pattern because of his current situation with school and moving to a new place. But, he is able to salvage some of the old footage together (from the original disc he'd sent me that had gotten lost in the mail) and could have something done soon.

So, until both of those elements come together, it looks like I won't have anything to show you guys in October or early November. At this rate, it's looking unlikely that I won't have anything until the new year if I'm lucky. I really hope that 's not the case, because the more I think of it, the more I want to use this teaser trailer as a tool to possibly drum up funds to help with the actual movie. I'm also tossing around the idea of doing a more simple teaser just to get the word out, but I want to talk it over with my friend first.

So, until I say different, the teaser trailer for MOTW is delayed until further notice. To say I'm disappointed in this bit of news is an understatement. Words can't even describe how I'm feeling. This was a perfect opportunity to present an early look of what my film will be about. But instead, I'm at a holding pattern. The only thing that's keeping me sane right now is the fact that I'm not the first, nor the last, to have a movie project get temporarily derailed. Hopefully, something will develop shortly that will help put my teaser trailer -- and possibly even next year's movie shoot -- back on track.

That's it for now. I'll have another update next week, or earlier if things warrant.

Teaser Trailer -- Major News

Hey there, big news to share about the planned teaser trailer for the movie.

On my last post, it looked like things might be delayed because the disc my friend had made concerning the effects needed for the trailer had gotten lost in the mail. Shortly afterwards, it looked unlikely he could make another, not for a while anyway, cause of the time it took to get the first one made and the fact that it would be impossible to make a duplicate.

A couple of days ago, I got good news from my friend. He told me that he was able to recover some of the footage he made the last time, be able to make some new effects and then merge the two. So that means that there's a chance I can get the much needed effects part after all, and a lot sooner than I had hoped.

That's one part of the news. The other part is sometime next weekend, filming will begin on the live action part of the trailer. I'd sent over the script to my other friend, who's playing the lead role in the movie, the other day. Shortly afterwards, we had talked over what I'd wanted to see in the trailer (because he lives in Minnesota and I live in Michigan, this is the only way I can tell him what I want to see since I can't be there for the actual shoot) and he's totally on board with my vision. I understand that he and another friend will be filming that next weekend and as soon as he can get it done, he'll send over the file.

So once I get those two elements, I'll be able to edit them all together to make what I hope would be a two-or-three minute trailer on the movie. My hope, if everything comes together, is to have it out by either late October (Halloween, perhaps?) or early November. That's a plan that a week and a half ago, I didn't think was possible. But now, I believe it will be.

So that's it for now. I'll have another update sometime next week.

Teaser Trailer News

Been a while since the last update, but here's the latest.

It looks like the teaser trailer for the movie may be delayed. I was supposed to receive a disc from one of my friends that contained the effects needed for the trailer. Unfortunately, the disc somehow got lost in the mail. Unbelieveable. Stuff like that happens once every billion times and it had to happen to me with the disc needed for the movie.

So anyhow, I'm looking at other options, including talking with another friend to whip up something quick effect wise for the trailer as a backup.

Meanwhile, it's looking like my lead actor will do his part for the trailer the first weekend of October. I'm emailing him the revised script for it this week. So, it's going to be delayed, it may be late in October (possibly around Halloween, which would be great if that happens) or sometime in November. I'll keep you posted.

Work on the script continues. I'll probably have it completed in November.

That's it for now.

Teaser Trailer Update

Hey there.

Time for an update on the upcoming MOTW Teaser Trailer:

-I've finishing up a script rewrite for the trailer that I plan to send out pretty soon. I'm considering actually posting that online as well, but it's relatively short, so I don't know.

-My friend Grant, who was kind enough to put together the effects portion for the trailer, has informed me that it is done and that he has sent out the disc for me to look over. I should get it later on this week.

-Another thing I'm planning is a storyboard for the trailer. My newest online friend Chase has taken up my offer for doing that and should have it done sometime next month. That could be another thing that I'm thinking about posting here.

And that's it. It's still a go to have the teaser trailer done sometime in October. Hopefully by then, I'll find some way to get it out online so that everyone can see it. Anyone who knows of any possible places for me to post it, please let me know. I'm even plan to make some DVD copies for some of my other online friends to check out.

I'll have another update next week, if not sooner.

Production Update

It's been several months since I last updated this page, and a lot has happened.
First of all, plans are now set to put together a teaser trailer for the film. This is something I really wanted to do, because this will finally give everyone a chance to see what I have in mind for the film.
Right now, I'm writing a script specifically for it and I'm sending it out to my friend, who's playing the lead character. Now, since he lives in another state (Minnesota) and it would be stupid for him to come to Michigan (my home state) just for a teaser, he's going to film his part there sometime in October. I have another friend, living in Oregon, who'll be doing some effects related to the film, which I hope to have by October as well. Once I get both of their segments, I'll be putting the elements together and make a teaser trailer. If it works out, you guys will be seeing the finished work at the end of October.
Second update has to do with the effects. Me and another friend, who I'll hope will be doing the effects for the film, were talking about how to pull off what I hope will be some cool transformation scenes. From what he's told me, he believes he can put it together thru his computer. Now, in the long run, I think it'll work out for the cast, especially those who'll be playing the werewolves, so they don't have to worry about problems involving wearing prostectics, contacts, and stuff like that, which would add time and money to the shoot. What I have in mind is to concentrate the shooting schedule to a specific time frame where everyone can get together for this and delays is not part of the plan. Also, less time dealing with effects means more time shooting the dialogue and getting that done.
Now, just because there will be CGI scenes doesn't mean I'm not totally giving in to high tech. There will be an actual wolf suit there for the shoot, and my friend, who's just as much a werewolf fan as I am, promises me that the effects for the transformations won't be crappy at all. And I'm planning a lot of cool transformation scenes for this film.

So, what will the werewolf look like? Well, I want mine to have an "old school" look, along the lines of the old "WolfMan" movie. I don't have a drawing to show you yet, but I should have something to show soon.
Now, plans are still good to start shooting next summer, once we get everyone's schedules together. Of course, things can change and I'll keep you informed if it does. In the meantime, I'm still working on the final script, which is coming along great. It's come a long, long way from what I'd originally had in mind back in college when I first wrote this. What to expect for this film? Well, if you think of all the stereotypes that's been seen in werewolf films lately, don't when it comes to this movie. I have a vision in mind for this and if it all pays off, it will be unlike any werewolf film you've seen before. Yeah it sounds like a big boast, but I firmly believe it to be true. And hopefully, you'll all get to see what I mean.
I'm still working on the script, so I don't know how long the film will be. I'd say as a rough guess, it'll be around 90-100 minutes. I hope to have the script done sometime this fall. I also hope to start casting the other roles early next year. I do have two of the key roles cast, and you'll see who they are real soon. I'm also toying around with ideas of how to raise funds for the film. Believe me, the job I have right now, won't be nearly enough to put this project together. I'll let you know what I have in mind soon.

And, once I have the movie completed and edited, I have a lot of plans in store for the finished product. Topping the list will be selling the movie on DVD. I'm also going to try and submit it to any possible film festivals and competitions to see how it'll do. My dream is to have a "world premiere" showing at an actual theater, where that will be the true test to see if all of this work that lies ahead pays off.
But, that's a long ways off. Right now, the ball is slowly beginning to roll on this.

Sometime in October, you will all see what I have in mind.
That's it for now. I'll have another update soon.

MOTW: How it all began

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...