M-Theory May 26 at the Mayfair Ottawa

The "Tickle Me Ottawa" film Festival is rockin' the Mayfair Theatre (with laughter) at 7 pm tonight (May 26, 2011)!

The audience will pick the winners, so join us at Ottawa's Mayfair Theatre (1074 Bank St.). Tickets are available at the Mayfair Theatre box office ($6 for members, $10 non-members, $7 seniors, $5 for children).
2011 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

Slipping Sideways (JF Dufault, Dir.)
Deep-seated secrets are exposed during a typical family Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks to a simple bar of soap, pent up emotions are unleashed, but will they be cleansed?

SNIP (Bill Lyle, Dir.)
An immature Paul faces a life changing event as his wife presses him to get a vasectomy. Plagued by fear, Paul's day and night dreams are haunted by the worst case scenarios. Finally, Paul takes a stand against the procedure only to be confronted and blackmailed into it by an unexpected foe.

Buon Giorno Sayonara (Karen Hope, Dir.)
A Japanese couple and an Italian couple witness each others arguments while on holiday at the English seaside. Although they can’t understand what’s being said, it’s clear to the Japanese woman (Kumiko), and the Italian man (Gherardo), that they’re both being taken for granted by their partners, who storm off, leaving Kumiko and Gherardo stranded together.

Labour Laws (James Glen, Dir.)

Labour Laws is a fun short film about a woman who returns to work after winning a court case for wrongful dismissal for being pregnant.

Breath of Fresh Air (Olesia Shewchuk, Dir.)
Travis (Andrew Fraser) wants to air a new side of himself to his flawless girlfriend, Amanda (Jessie Fraser). He's going to take their relationship to the next level… will this act rip them apart? In this cute romantic comedy short film, written by Brad Condon, directed by Olesia Shewchuk, one man's expectations pass through the ultimate test.

Emily's Sketchbook (Colin Gray, Dir.)
In this film within a film, Alex, a young writer, is busy trying to put the finishing touches on his latest romance story, 'Emily's Sketchbook' despite a serious case of writer's block and interruptions from an uncouth housemate. Unfortunately for Alex, Quinn, the leading man in his story has aspirations of being an action hero and continually tries to steer Alex's 'mushy, sissy' plot into an adventure packed melee. Alex must fight hard to keep his innocent love tale from being lost to a horde of pirates, ninjas, zombies, terrorists and irate gourmet chefs. However, the biggest surprise of all comes when leading lady Emily decides to take matters into her own hands.

Bugbaby (Rebecca Lorenne, Dir.)

Sammy Gregory is a 'special needs' infant - special in that he resembles a giant insect, and needs a constant supply of raw meat. His parents (Lara Fisher and Jared Martzell), are understandably at the end of their rope. They invite a social worker (Mink Stole) over to see if their baby can possibly be adopted to a more capable family. But when the social worker reveals herself to be more interested in punishing Sammy's parents than in helping anyone, little Sammy proves that he might be a valued member of the family after all.

The New Suited (Niels Beekes, Dir.)

is a pilot for a series about 'Suited'. Suited, along with Sarah and the E.R.I.C, are spies fighting the more modern criminals. Suited is chosen for this job because of his Lucky Hero Gene. This episode they take on Eugene. Eugene is a fantasy game addict that receives his powers in the real world and becomes crazed with it.


M-Theory

M-Theory (Lloyd Deane, Dir.)

Meet Neil Mundus. He’s a smooth talking, self-confident, chick magnet with a skyrocketing academic career and seems destined for greatness. Well...maybe in some parallel universe. The Neil Mundus who occupies this universe is a little more, err, challenged. But when pushed into a corner, even the worm turns. Just when this universe seems to be conspiring against him, Neil finds a way to turn the situation around. But making choices can have some unusual consequences in the realm of extra dimensions and M-Theory.

Hoppy Easter to all

Wishing everyone a Hoppy Easter!

Ronn surprised me with some yummy Easter treats, including a traditional chocolate bunny, plus a chocolate cow and a chocolate duck.

Have a happy and healthy holiday.

-- Janet Hetherington

Stake Land strikes April 22; Lionsgate dips into eco-horror with The Bay

New poster for Stake Land

Two new horror films explain the inexplicable as "epidemics" and "biological disasters."

Director Jim Mickle's new vampire epidemic flick Stake Land, written by Nick Damici and Jim Mickle, is set to strike on April 22, 2011.

Mickle first grabbed the attention of horror film fans with his zombie-rat thriller Mulberry Street, in which Damici also starred and served as co-writer. They have teamed up again to deliver an even darker and bloodier shocker. Drawing on the post-apocalyptic frenzy described by Richard Matheson (author of the novel I Am Legend) and George Romero, Stake Land is described as a road movie with fangs.

When an epidemic of vampirism strikes, humans find themselves on the run from vicious, feral beasts. Cities become tombs and survivors cling together in rural pockets, fearful of nightfall. When his family is slaughtered, young Martin (Gossip Girl's Connor Paolo) is taken under the wing of a grizzled, wayward hunter (In the Cut's Nick Damici) whose new prey are the undead.

Simply known as Mister, the vampire stalker takes Martin on a journey through the locked-down towns of America's heartland, searching for a better place while taking down any bloodsuckers that cross their path. Along the way they recruit fellow travellers, including a nun (Kelly McGillis), who is caught in a crisis of faith when her followers turn into ravenous beasts. This ragtag family unit cautiously moves north, avoiding major thoroughfares that have been seized by The Brethren, a fundamentalist militia headed by Jebedia Loven (Tony award-winning actor Michael Cerveris) that interprets the plague as the Lord's work.

Stake Land also stars horror movie icon Danielle Harris (Hatchet II) and was produced by indie horror producer-writer-director Larry Fessenden (The Last Winter).

More horror bubbling up from The Bay

On April 14, Lionsgate reported that it acquired U.S. distribution rights to Barry Levinson's  found-footage eco-horror film The Bay (formerly Isopod) from Alliance Films. The announcement was made jointly by Joe Drake, President of the Motion Picture Group, and Jason Constantine, President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions.

"Ingenious genre films are and always will be a specialty at Lionsgate," Drake comments. "The Bay is a shining example of the kind of truly fresh horror film that audiences are always ready for, and that we excel at eventizing with them. Thanks to Barry, we'll all be afraid to go in the water for years to come."

The film was directed by Barry Levinson (Good Morning Vietnam, Rain Man) from a script he co-wrote with Michael Wallach.  The Bay was produced by Levinson, Jason Blum, Steven Schneider, and Oren Peli, and co-produced by Mythodic Films, with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Jason Sosnoff, Colin Strause, and Greg Strause executive producing.

"It's exciting to see a company like Lionsgate embrace The Bay so enthusiastically," says director Barry Levinson. "The found footage / multiplatform approach opened up the film to creative possibilities I hadn't encountered in my previous films, and I think these sorts of films will only continue to push boundaries as the technology changes."

This "biological disaster" film is another from the producers of Paranormal Activity. The sci-fi horror flick features Michael Beasley, Lauren Cohn and Christopher Denham.

The film follows the producers' work on Insidious, and chronicles an unprecedented biological disaster unleashed from the waters of the Chesapeake Bay -- an isopod parasite, carrying a horrific untreatable disease that jumps from fish to human hosts. The horror and scope of the event unfolds on footage captured on home videos and the internet by the town's victims.

"We have been big admirers of Jason Blum, Steven Schneider and Oren Peli since their breakout hit Paranormal Activity, and are thrilled to be in business with them," says Constantine. "This film works so effectively because it establishes a very natural, everyday world, places the audience intimately within it, and then sits back as everything takes a horrific turn. Barry has incorporated found footage to the most satisfying possible effect, and it's all the scarier for not relying on anything supernatural."

The Bay is an Alliance presentation in association with IM Global. IM Global handled foreign sales, and Alliance will distribute in Canada, the UK and Spain.

The deal was negotiated by Lionsgate's Constantine, with Eda Kowan, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, and Wendy Jaffe, Executive Vice President Business & Legal Affairs for Acquisitions.  The sale was brokered on behalf of Alliance by ICM and CAA.  ICM packaged the film and represents Levinson and Wallach.

New Dark Tower novel from Stephen King in 2012

Roland rides again!

The StephenKing.com newsletter reports that Stephen King has written a new Dark Tower novel, The Wind Through the Keyhole, and includes a note from author about its genesis:

"Dear Constant Readers,

At some point, while worrying over the copyedited manuscript of the next book (11/22/63, out November 8th), I started thinking—and dreaming—about Mid-World again. The major story of Roland and his ka-tet was told, but I realized there was at least one hole in the narrative progression: what happened to Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susannah, and Oy between the time they leave the Emerald City (the end of Wizard and Glass) and the time we pick them up again, on the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis (the beginning of Wolves of the Calla)?

There was a storm, I decided. One of sudden and vicious intensity. The kind to which billy-bumblers like Oy are particularly susceptible. Little by little, a story began to take shape. I saw a line of riders, one of them Roland's old mate, Jamie DeCurry, emerging from clouds of alkali dust thrown by a high wind. I saw a severed head on a fencepost. I saw a swamp full of dangers and terrors. I saw just enough to want to see the rest. Long story short, I went back to visit an-tet with my friends for awhile.

The result is a novel called The Wind Through the Keyhole. It's finished, and I expect it will be published next year.

It won't tell you much that's new about Roland and his friends, but there's a lot none of us knew about Mid-World, both past and present. The novel is shorter than DT 2-7, but quite a bit longer than the first volume—call this one DT 4.5. It's not going to change anybody's life, but God, I had fun.

Steve King"

Brandon Routh goes from Superman to supernatural sleuth in DYLAN DOG: DEAD OF NIGHT

Brandon Routh is abandoning the cape and packing silver bullets in the new horror/comedy DYLAN DOG: DEAD OF NIGHT, scheduled for theaters on April 29, 2011.

While DYLAN DOG: DEAD OF NIGHT is based on a popular comic book, which has sold over 60 million copies worldwide, this is a different kind of comic-book hero.

Dylan Dog is a private investigator specializing in affairs of the undead.  His PI business card reads "No Pulse?  No Problem." Armed with an edgy wit and carrying an arsenal of silver and wood-tipped bullets, Dylan must track down a dangerous artifact before a war ensues between his werewolf, vampire and zombie clients living undercover in the monster-infested backstreets of New Orleans.

Routh stars as Dylan Dog. The cast also includes Sam Huntington, Anita Briem, Peter Stormare and Taye Diggs. The film is directed by Kevin Munroe and written by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer.

For more info, check out:

The official website:  http://www.dylandogdeadofnight.com

The Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DylanDogDeadofNight

The YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/dylandogdeadofnight

Honey West #3 with Ronn Sutton art hits comic shops March 9

Honey West vs. evil robot in #3 - Art by Ronn Sutton

Ready for some super-cool retro good-girl action?

On March 9, 2011, Moonstone Books releases Honey West #3, the first part of the trilogy story "Murder On Mars" by writer Elaine Lee and artist Ronn Sutton.

 

As reported earlier this year, this three-issue story arc features fictional detective Honey West joining the cast of a mid-1960s low-budget science fiction B movie (Amazons of Mars) to investigate the murder of the film's starlet, Zu Zu Varga. Honey must find out if the culprit is a scheming ingenue, a down-on-his-luck director, a jealous agent or an aging teen heartthrob.

 

This storyline runs through Honey West issues #3, 4 and 5, after which artist Ronn Sutton will be penciling and inking some other Honey West projects in 2011.

 

"I'm currently wrapping up the artwork on my third issue," comments Sutton. "I've spent a lot of time drawing these issues, so to speed things up a little I've brought in a model with a belly dancing and burlesque background to help me create all the major Honey West poses in issue #5."

 

The character Honey West was created in the late 1950s by Gloria and Forest Fickling for a series of detective novels written until 1971. In 1965, Anne Francis starred in a Honey West TV series, after the character first made a brief appearance on the Burke's Law TV show. 

 

Honey must find the murderer!

 

"I'm having a lot of fun working on these issues," Sutton says. "In the original novels, Honey West was a much sexier character than she was portrayed on television. So I'm trying to re-instate that."

 

Ronn Sutton captures 1960s style

"The story takes place in 1965 and I've worked hard to visually recreate that era: the hairstyles, clothes, furniture, etc.," the artist says. "The mid-60s was also probably the last hurrah for that very girly-girl sex kitten image. That's what I'm trying to bring to my version of Honey. She's very alluring, well-built and she's always on the verge of spilling out of her clothes."

 

Sutton knows a fair bit about drawing sexy women after having drawn issues of Claypool Comics' Elvira, Mistress of the Dark for nine years. Prior to that he had worked on a number of other female protagonists such as Draculina, the vampress Luxura, a Vampira movie comic, and She-Dragon (for the Savage Dragon animated TV series).

 

"I'm attempting to portray a very specific look, something that was fleeting and now is long gone," he says. "But you see a certain sexiness in the way women dressed then, the way they walked, a particular sort of sexy sophistication that disappeared when go-go, hippie and unisex styles invaded."

 

Honey West is published by Moonstone Books. Each issue is 32 color pages for $3.99. The comic ships with three variant covers including one photo cover of Honey West actress Anne Francis, who passed away on January 2, 2011. Script by Elaine Lee, pencil and ink art by Ronn Sutton, colors by Ken Wolak.

 

Submit to the Tickle Me Ottawa Film Festival by April 15

Lloyd Dean of Bikeboy Productions and writer/director of M-THEORY is seeking comedy films from Ottawa area filmmakers.

Info follows on the Tickle Me Ottawa film fest, to premiere in May: 

Hey Ottawa filmmakers!  Think you’re funny? Make us laugh and you could get your film screened at Ottawa's Mayfair Theatre!

Submit your comedy short film to the 1^st annual Tickle Me Ottawa Film Festival

To enter, send two copies of your film (on DVD), a short description of your film (max. 100 words), along with your $10 entry fee to:

Tickle Me Ottawa

Lloyd Deane

c/o 214, 140 Mann Avenue

Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1E5

The (not so) fine print:

To qualify your film must be less than 20 minutes in length, and produced in the National Capital Region.  Entries must be postmarked no later than April 15, 2011. Official selections will be screened at the Mayfair theatre in May 2011. 

For more information, email: lloyddeane@yahoo.ca

Scene from M-THEORY

Meanwhile, M-THEORY will be screened on Friday, March 4, 2011 at 7:15 p.m. the University of Ottawa's Cinema Academica. The screening will be followed by a Q&A will Lloyd Deane and other members of the cast.