The Mustache: More Than Before
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Vimeo.com provides a better resolution than the old YouTube. I've begun moving stuff onto their site, at least to serve as an alternative host. Behold below, my 2006 film, The Mustache looking better than it's ever appeared online before.
The Mustache (Now on YouTube!)
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Finally, I've begun to transfer the Bombdotcom Productions videos to the only place on the Internet people will actually watch videos: YouTube. I've started with my most recent completed project, The Mustache. I've even decided to embed it right below this sentence.
Watch for more in the future, as I attempt to get off my lazy ass.
I initially conceived of the idea for my latest film, The Mustache while shooting Patrick Svensson's Hopscotch Hotshots. The original idea consisted pretty much of this: Sam Butler in a hideously fake mustache. That was back in the Summer of 2004.
Over the next year I figured out what to do with it. Ultimately, I decided that Mark Andrus -- pretty much playing Mark Andrus -- would be the perfect foil for a guy who just wants to wear his mustache. So I hammered out a script (the last hammering of which occured the night before the first attempt at shooting) and we were ready to go in Spring 2006. As I chronicled on this blog back in April, that shoot was a bust and we reshceduled for a couple weeks later. The shooting was arduous (largley because it was fucking hot), but we shot everything we needed in about eight hours. That was May. This is December.
Finally, though, it's out. Follow that link to see what will have been Bombdotcom's only completed film for 2006.
However, I've been talking with a couple of people. Joey Schlegel has written a couple of scripts that I'm poised to direct early next year. Jon Fairbanks has something in the pipeline. He might even get me to appear on camera (gasp!). And there's myriad whispers and rumblings for what else might happen in 2007.
Also, look forward to some new features on the Bombdotcom Productions website. For all the movies we did back in 2004, I produced a DVD with a host of special features (including commentaries) for each film. Expect to see those uploaded some time in the next few months.
Well, please watch my film if you have five minutes to spare. And if you have an additional couple of minutes, feel free to let me know what you think.
Last night finally saw the unveiling of my most recent film, The Mustache. This one took me way too damn long to edit. However, WiL Whitlark emailed me the music this weekend (and they're very good), and I was able to assemble it all in time for the Tower Theatre's Open Mic Night. I'm rather a fan of the Open Mic Night concept. For a mere fee of $5.00, I got my movie on the roster, under the condition that it was under ten minutes (it is). Admission was free, so a few friends came along. I was impressed that as many people stayed as they did and weren't simply there just to see the movie they were there for. That made it all the worse when the screenings came to an abrupt halt.
The bulb burnt out in the projector. This apparently doesn't happen frequently. It sucked. Perhaps even worse, I had hoped to do a little bit of shoulder-rubbing, getting to know a few of the other local Salt Lake filmmakers. But alas, the confusion and irritation at the end of it dampened the mood and the possibilites of that happening. And I'm probably too chickenshit to really approach anyone myself, anyway. So the lot of us came back to my apartment and had pie.
There will be another Open Mic Night in February. We're planning for it.
Audience response to my movie was pretty positive, I hear from my friends. I was there, of course, but I was far too anxious and nervous to judge objectively how people reacted. In my mind, it's not wholly improbable that a disgruntled audience member, after enduring five minutes of my brand of torture, will turn around, recognize me instantly as the one responsible for the film, and stab me to death.
Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of The Mustache ready to view online quite yet. Hopefully, it'll go up tomorrow, when I'll have higher quantities of free time. It will be the first content update on Bombdotcom's website in not yet two years. Part of me feels that I should launch a new design for the site at the same time. Another part realizes I need less obstacles to prevent me from making timely updates.
The shoot for "The Mustache" began a little late on Saturday, giving us some added pressure, considering the amount of time that we had Mark was limited. It was regrettably moot, though, because in the midst of shooting the second scene, Mark's car (which was the car we were using and a very important part of the film) ran into a major problem. So we had to cancel shooting for the rest of the day. We'll pick it up again in a couple weeks when we all have time. Oh well. Such is life.
Instead, a bunch of us ate burgers and watched American Dreamz. It was alright.
But then, later, we watched the Wong Jing-directed Stephen Chow/Andy Lau film, God of Gamblers II. If you're not familiar with the story, the Chow Yun-Fat vehicle God of Gamblers was a smash hit in Hong Kong. It was insanely popular, which is understandable, because it's fantastically entertaining cinema. Then Jeff Lau directs Stephen Chow and Ng Man Tat in a spoof entitled All for the Winner, which was also insanely popular and started Stephen Chow down the path to superstardom. Chow Yun-Fat isn't in God of Gamlbers II, but rather Stephen Chow's "Saint of Gamblers" character teams up with Chow Yun-Fat's protege, Andy Lau. And it's pretty awesome mo lei tau. Hardly Chow's best work, but it was fun.
The Streets' new album, "The Hardest Way To Make an Easy Living" streets tomorrow. I already have my copy on hold at work.
Lately, the Decemberists' "Castaways and Cutouts" album has not left my car CD player. Honestly, I would say its their weakest album, but that really does nothing to discredit it. It's still fantastic. I can't stop listening to "The Legionnaire's Lament."
While at Borders today, I came up with an idea. It was a grand idea, and I was very satisfied to have come upon such an idea. "I ought to write some of this down so I can remember it," I said to myself. I turned to do just that and lost it. Gone. Totally. I have no idea what it was. That sucks.
But I also came up with an idea for a script while at my other job. For a while I was apprehensive that I was aping too much from Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Doppelganger (a film I love deeply), but I think it's different enough. I'll think about it for a couple more days and then begin writing it.
That's it for tonight. I need to do something about my shitty audio recording situation, because I really need to start working on some of my animated projects, but they're all fucking stalled because I can't record anything.
Regardless of what I'm working on, I always want to be working on something else. In the midst of trying to finish my script for a film called "The Mustache," I've ended up writing half the screenplay for another project I've been thinking about, "Purple Blob Things." "The Mustache" is set to begin filming next Saturday. There's just one scene left to write, but damned if it just isn't coming. It'll happen, though.
It will be the first Bombdotcom movie in over a year. Considering that this time we're not working with a deadline (our last production, "The Great Sandwich Adventures" was shot in the three days before it was due and was still being edited an hour before the deadline), I'm going to really take some time to polish up the editing. "The Mustache" will star Mark Andrus and Sam Butler.
With any luck, this summer, we'll also get around to shooting something I intended to direct last summer entitled "The Importance of Tolerance." Most the cast dropped out at the last minute (okay, in all fairness, it was a full three hours before we were supposed to begin shooting) and the project fell through. Also, we're considering shooting one of Joseph Schlegel's scripts.
New on the site today is my latest entry into the Drawing Board's monthly drawing jam - a rendition of actress Kristin Kreuk.
Today, I came across a trailer for a Legend of Zelda feature-length fan film currently in postproduction. While the actual finished product will likely be of dubious quality, it's an endeavor I can totally support. I will admit that deep inside me, there is a desire to be a part of something that I love so much that I'd be willing to totally ruin for everyone else by making a shitty film.
This morning, I've finished watching an anime that many friends cite as among their favorites, GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka. I, too, was totally caught up in the escapades of the greatest teacher Japan has ever seen, despite a few points of frustration (the Vice Principal character, for one). But I'd recommend it.
That's all for now. I'll keep you posted about the production of "The Mustache" as it progresses.
John D. Moore
Filmmaker, writer, cartoonist, and designer living in Salt Lake City, Utah. Whatnot Studios is updated daily with cartoons, musings, stories, and project updates.
I initially conceived of the idea for my latest film, 
Last night finally saw the unveiling of my most recent film, The Mustache. This one took me way too 
