HOLLYWOOD INVESTIGATOR HELPS FILMMAKER GET DISTRIBUTION
DEAL
by Thomas M. Sipos, managing editor.
[April 20, 2005]
[HollywoodInvestigator.com]
Filmmaker Rick Lavon has a DVD distribution deal for his short film, Stiffs
by Sid -- and it's thanks to winning the Hollywood
Investigator Halloween Horror Film Awards!
Last November -- after reading
about Lavon's winning film in the Investigator! -- Jamie
Thompson of the North Hollywood based MovieBank contacted the Investigator,
asking to be put in touch with Lavon.
As a result, Stiffs
by Sid is now one of four zombie- themed short films to be included
on
the MovieBank's upcoming Zombie
Collection DVD set.
The
Zombie Collection, to be released later this year, will contain
four features (The
Last Man on Earth, White
Zombie, King
of the Zombies, and Night
of the Living Dead), plus four shorts and production notes --
including Lavon's notes about Stiffs by Sid.
* World Horror Convention Screening
As an added benefit of winning
the Investigator's 2004 horror film contest, Stiffs
by Sid was screened at the 2005
World Horror Convention on April 8 and 10, in New York City's prestigious Park
Central Hotel.
The Investigator also screened its other prize-winning
films: Vlad, Skinwalker:
Curse of the Shaman, Jeremy's Wake-Up
Call, and the Pitbull Daycare music video, "You
Make Me Feel So Dead".
"You
Make Me Feel So Dead" director Paul Hough provided the Investigator
with free copies of his music video and feature length documentary, The
Backyard. The latter is a brutal exposé of the bloody
amateur sport of backyard wrestling. Hough's DVDs were some of the
prizes in an Investigator random drawing for lucky fans who attended the
screenings.
Excited Canadian fans visiting
the Big Apple (left) were thrilled to get some of the Hough DVDs and Stiffs
by Sid mini-posters after the screening.
Fans were also giddy over
meeting Lavon, peppering him with eager questions after his film's screening.
During the Q&A, Lavon
explained his innovative casting method. While most filmmakers seek
actors through such traditional sources as casting agents, the Independent
Feature Project's résumé bank, ads in Backstage,
or flyers posted at drama schools, Lavon instead advertised on Craigslist. (He did use one method popular with poor indie filmmakers: casting friends.)
"The worst thing is trying
to coordinate everyone's schedule," said Lavon. He recommends that
filmmakers "overbook" their casts "because actors will cancel if a better-paying
job comes along." Especially true when one is offering a none-paying
job. Although Lavon's lead actor, Theodore Bouloukos, was paid, much
of his cast wasn't. (Hey, what are friends for?)
If two actors
show up for the same role, says Lavon, one can always be used for background.
Stiffs
by Sid was shot entirely in New York, including the grave-robbing
scenes set in California's famed Forest
Lawn Cemetery. Period-piece stock footage from the Golden
State
also contributed to the film's tone. Finally, Lavon's film achieved
its polished, award- winning look using a 3-chip DV video camera.
Lavon informs the Investigator
that Stiffs by Sid will next be screening
at
New York City's Arlene's GroceryFilm Festival, this
coming May.
Are YOU a horror filmmaker seeking publicity? It's never too early to enter
our horror film contest!
We review entries as they arrive.
And if you're a filmmaker or actor
who doesn't do horror -- we want to hear from you too! Contact us about your project and
maybe we'll write a news story about it! |
Copyright 2005 by HollywoodInvestigator.com
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