Blood & Coffee

[Rodney V. Smith]

Title: Blood & Coffee
Director: Rodney Smith
Location: Toronto
Camera: HVX200 w/ Brevis35 Flip
Script by Rodney Smith & Andrew Stoute

SYNOPSIS: It's been 5 days and Bob still can't sleep. Worst yet, it's been 4 months, 2 weeks, 3 days and 21 hours since he's had any blood to drink. With a bounty on his head, it's exactly the worst time for Bob to be losing his perception of reality...

CREW:
Executive Producer: A Maguire
Producers: Kegan Sant & Aaron Pever
Line Producer: Kegan Sant
Director/DOP - Rodney Smith
Gaffer - Tony Ranieri
Grip - Jake Vincent
Fight Choreographer - Theik Smith

It's a tale of hot vampire babes, men on fire, cool cars and 1000 ELEPHANTS! Okay I'm kidding about the elephants, but there will be hot vampire babes...

http://flyinmonkey.com/bloodandcoffee/Blood-and-Coffee.png

[Rodney V. Smith]

Atlanta Cast

Louise - Alexis LaSalle
Kat - Catherine Maddox
Bernie - Solomon Chase
Harry - Andy Meeks
Bouncer - Steven Walker
Vampire - Stacy Ridgeway

Toronto Cast
Bob - BJ Jeroy
Claude - James Dalzell
Sammy - Katie MacTavish
Assassin - Namine Williams
Vampire Girl #1
Vampire Girl #2

CREW:
Executive Producer: A Maguire
Producers: Kegan Sant & Aaron Pever
Line Producer: Kegan Sant
Director/DOP - Rodney Smith
Gaffer - Tony Ranieri
Grip - Jake Vincent
Fight Choreographer - Theik Smith

CREW STILL NEEDED: PM me if you can help out on this project please.
Composer
VFX
Color Correction

[Rodney V. Smith]

Reserved for BTS photos and production blog

08.04.2008 Script is locked for production. Casting in progress.
09.07.2008 rewrites completed. previz using digital photography has begun.
09.08.2008 artwork for porn shop has started. designing the layout of the set. trying to lock down the actors schedules for an actual production date so i can talk to the final location; the diner

10.27.2008 - script rewrite and location change to shoot in Acworth, GA and downtown Atlanta GA. Uploaded still from the movie. Cast is changed:

Alexis LaSalle as "Louise"
Catherine Maddox as "Kat"
Solomon Chase as "Bernie"

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/1.png

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/2.png

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/3.png

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/4.png

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/5.png

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/6.png

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/7.png

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/8.png

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/9.png

[Simon Höfer]

Ok, I deleted my message. :D Welcome to the fest again :)

[krestofre]

I like the title! Looking forward to it.

[Rodney V. Smith]

now i gotta do the poster and get the script done... Already got my cast and crew set for this (same group from "Tomfoolery") and we'll be shooting in and around Toronto.

Hardest part is going to be finding the location for the 24Hour Porn Shop...

[Simon Höfer]

Hardest part is going to be finding the location for the 24Hour Porn Shop...

Tell us more :D

[Rodney V. Smith]

Gotta get the official rules in, but I'll definitely be bringing the sex, drugs, rock and roll.... and the funny. So this is aimed to be a dark comedy in many ways...

with 1000 ELEPHANTS!

[Will Clegg]

That is a fine title, sir. Looking forward to it.

[Rodney V. Smith]

poster up

[Simon Höfer]

Yeah, great poster! Now we are talking :D

[Rodney V. Smith]

but now i gotta beat YOUR location

[Simon Höfer]

but now i gotta beat YOUR location
Haha :beer: And don't forget the ultra cool other location :Drogar-Mark-04(DBG) the wooden bridge from the poster :evil:

[Rodney V. Smith]

Dammit. All I got on my list is a rooftop, a porn shop and a morgue...

Maybe I'll get lucky with the morgue location and get a good funeral home with marble fittings... that would be cool for that one scene...

[Simon Höfer]

Dammit. All I got on my list is a rooftop, a porn shop and a morgue...

Maybe I'll get lucky with the morgue location and get a good funeral home with marble fittings... that would be cool for that one scene...

I'm just kidding :D

Your list doesn't sound that bad either. Actually I think this combination is more interesting than mine.

[Rodney V. Smith]

I think this fest is going to be quite interesting because for the first time in 5 years I'll be venturing into the land of comedy (albeit dark comedy), so now I'll have to strike a balance in my shooting style and lighting (dark and moody) with the acting and story...

Some of the dialog and the situations are quite funny so far so we'll see how it shapes up in the rewrite. Maybe if I made it a musical...

[Blaine]

Another Vampire movie...excellent. :Drogar-Happy(DBG):

[Mark Harris]

Jesus, you already have a poster, locations, a crew and cast? I don't even have a solid idea yet...:(

[Rodney V. Smith]

well I JUST did the Toronto 48 Hour Film Challenge only last weekend, and worked with a good cast and crew. We'd talked about doing another film together and I had mentioned the next DVXUser Fest.. they they were all excited about it. We had a couple of locations available to us from the 48 Hour project, that we never got around to using, so those are definitely open to us.

So it's really kinda putting the cart before the horse and following from the momentum of last week's project. Now we actually have to really flesh out the script once we get the rules in. At least we know who we'll be writing for and have a list of scenarios for the locations...

But we are definitely having sex, drug and vampires in it. That's my solemn vow. We may even have a ninja, but that's up in the air... depends on if we can get Rogan up to Toronto and into a ninja outfit :grin:

[Mark Harris]

But we are definitely having sex, drug and vampires in it...

I'm considering a werewolf in mine.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Werewolves would be sweet... they also live in the twilight hours of our reckoning... just like ninjas!

[Postmaster]

the location for the 24Hour Porn Shop...

I give you 10 stars :D


I'm considering a werewolf in mine.

Nice try Harris but that wouldn´t cut it.
Werewolfes don´t beat 24Hour Porn Shop Latex-Vampirellas.

Frank

[thartley]

This could be an interesting one to watch evolve. Or devolve. LOL!

Love the title. :thumbsup:

[Rodney V. Smith]

the devolution will begin shortly after they post the rules. I've got a good little set-up so far and even have a line on the funeral home in Toronto who might actually let me shoot there one night... My wife says the location is actually quite perfect for what I have in mind, but we'll see when I get back to Toronto.

In any case, the funeral home scene is all sketched out and almost fully realized... Now I have my actors chomping on the bit waiting for a complete scene to go through. They're getting all excited now...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Setting up casting for Madame Vera and Vern (the towtruck driver of the dead).

Need more seasoned actors for these roles, especially Madame Vera... she's gotta be drop dead gorgeous at 40.... so maturity and sophistication is going to be important. If anyone knows any actresses in the Toronto area who fit the description, please feel free to point her my way...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Just ordered the contact lenses for my vampire characters. Apparently you can't share them, so I;ve actually had to spend money on this production.

Gonna have to keep track of actual money spent since this one is going to have a small budget. I was even thinking of building a set... but then reality asserted itself quite firmly and said "end this line of thinking right now"... realit of course being my sane and logical wife, who insists that I can bring the rein of the Fat Monster down without building an elaborate set...

SO back to square one.. I shall content myself for the moment that she let me buy the contact lenses... at least I have that much.

Now for the 20 gallons of blood and the flame retardant suit....

[Simon Höfer]

I see you are keeping up with the interesting stuff :D Should I tell your wife that you could have saved the contacts if you would do the eyes in after effects? :D

[Rodney V. Smith]

She already asked about that (I think she's been reading the board behind my back) and I adamantly stated that I needed the contacts since the eyes were going to be in so many frames.

I was actually going to hide the eyes behind sunglasses for most of the movie, but with the addition of Madame Vera, that became a little more challenging to pull off. So to save on time and headaches in AE, we're just going to shoot as much of this practically as possible.

And speaking on practical FX... gotta put out a feeler for the stuntman who gets set on fire. That's probably going to kill my insurance somewhat...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay scratch the stunt guy. It's probably best to do the fire as a VFX anway. Stuntmen are expensive, especially when they're going to be lit on fire. Apparently they don't like that too much for some reason. So all burning man FX are to be done in Post-Production.

Wonder when the TwilightFest classifieds are going to be up. I need a VFX artist...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Anybody wanna volunteer to be lit on fire? The bums in the neighbourhood are avoiding me for some reason now...

[ZazaCast]

Sweet... I'm looking forward to this one!

[Postmaster]

Anybody wanna volunteer to be lit on fire?

I would volunteer to set the Latex-Vampirellas in the Porn Shop on fire :happy:

Frank

[Rodney V. Smith]

I need a score for this one. Any composers out there who are interested in a quirky dark comedy, feel free to contact me...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay i think from the first two pages that we're definitely going to need a score similar in feel to "Fight Club". The whole feel of the story so far is quirky and definitely funny, so we're on a good track.

I can almost hear the music in my head now... wait no: that's the actual music from Fight Club...

By the way: the Madame Vera character ROCKS! When I find the right actress for the role you guys are gonna love her.

[Simon Höfer]

This sounds definitely promising! Keep it up man!

[Rodney V. Smith]

Pages 2- 3 and the Sammy character is introduced.
SAMMY, 20s, cute, curly hair, looks sweet, but has a really bad attittude.

Man I hope the Porn Shop location is still cool with this. I gotta go out there next week when i get back to Toronto. Meet with the owner and find out the "when" of the actual shoot. The actual scene itself is pretty simple logistically wise, and I'm planning for 4 major set-ups that may actually be simplified into one long steadicam shot.... but I'd have to do a few test shots with the actors to see if it matches the mood and the urgency that is required for that the scene...

Now gotta go back and work the dialog and the actions.... make it funny instead of being merely amusing....

[Danielleus]

Yeah, I dig the title. AND the poster. Let's finish this time, huh? I loved where the last one (for TIMEfest) was going.

Good luck.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Getting an early start this time around and hope to be shooting in 2-3 weeks. Gotta lock down these locations and find my additional actors. I've been meeting some new people in Toronto so it shoudl go a little smoother this time around.

[thartley]

Need more seasoned actors for these roles, especially Madame Vera... she's gotta be drop dead gorgeous at 40.... .

Just look for a 20 yr old heavy smoker. That should do it. :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)

[Rodney V. Smith]

Eww nasty. I want someone who LOOKS mature, not old. Older women have a certain look of experience in their eyes and even the way they stand that no amount of acting by a younger woman can replicate... It's like trying to dress your 20 year old buddy up as an old man with powder in his beard and latex... you can always tell the difference from faking it to being it.

[Dustin R. Rogan]

I like porn...

Can't wait for this Rodney!

Rogan

[Rodney V. Smith]

Ahh there's the inestimable Mr Rogan. I'm working with a fellow DVXUser from Atlanta about getting this entry together. Dunno how much he can help with the actual production so far since Blood & Coffee will be shot in Toronto, but its a good step forward. We're actually about to wrap shooting on the remake of Act II and the experience has been a good one so far, so we definitely intend to work together in the future. This time around I have other people kicking my ass to get it done early on...

[Dustin R. Rogan]

wondering what it'll take to get you to Texas lol.

Love to work with you

I've been away, b/c my big screen doesn't show picture anymore, having the guys come on monday to replace it. So I'm at work using theirs...ssshhh.

Talk at you laters

Rogan

[cinealma]

Sex, drugs and vampires! Love it! Whether you go campy or straight, should be a good one. Popcorn is already poppin'!

[Rodney V. Smith]

it's kind of a straight vibe we're going for, more of the ridiculous nature of the situation. first draft of the script is going to a comedy writer so I have no idea yet how he's going to interpret it.

[Rodney V. Smith]

So... driving down the highway this morning and pondering about the "Twilight Zone" aspect of my script. I actually completed it (8 pages long) and it's a pretty damn good script... but I had this feeling that it wasn't quite twilight enough.

So me and Alexis (actress from Act 2) start talking about the whole story at the base level, not even about the script and suddenly I had an epiphany... it will require me rewriting the script, but now definitely has the edge that hopefully will take us to where we need to be...

Yes it still has leather vampire babes and the porn shop is intact. And now it's going to be a hell of a lot funnier.

Today I announce it to the world: TODAY I BRING THE FUNNY.

natch

[Simon Höfer]

Haha, really looking forward to this one! I hope you can make it :)

[Rodney V. Smith]

I'm making it this time for sure. Got the funeral home location to go look at when I get back to Toronto. Just also met a composer who lives really damn close to me and we're going to have a meeting this week.

Plus I'm on page 4 of the rewrite... I'm PSYCHED to shoot this puppy and put it down. Even considering a second entry if we manage to fly through this production...

[Rodney V. Smith]

But that's just high energy right now.. I'm riding on the creative waves from this weekend's shoot, so I just wanna go and shoot more and more and more....
I think i need a downer. No more coffee or sugar for this man.

[Simon Höfer]

Just some Blood & Coffee :evil:

[Rodney V. Smith]

well maybe a little blood...

I'm really amped about this script though. The new concept is totally cool and I really think it's got a commercial quality. I'll think about the palette once we start getting shotlists and storyboard together, but the feel of it so far gets me all excited.

Wait til I get to stage 2 of writing: having my writing partner tear the script apart....

[Rodney V. Smith]

First draft is officially completed. Now it's time to break it down and do a solid rewrite to fix the holes. Not too pleased with the logic holes here so I now have to make sure it is flawless AND entertaining. No Deus Ex Machina... or wise old elves...

[ExtremeSleuth]

Bad ass poster. looking forward to this. best of luck

[Rodney V. Smith]

actually that gets me to thinking: ever notice how there's always a "wise old elf" character in stories? Someone who always knows what's going on, or the history of the beast in the story, including it's weak spot or even the myth of a weak spot. You know those guys I'm talking about. Suppose there was one who was a liar, didn't actually know a damn thing about weak spots on monsters and would invariably send our intrepid hero off to his doom with faulty information or just plain guess-work.... now that would suck for the hero of course, but think about it...

Sounds like a side character to me... maybe one worth exploring...

[pauly_the_hitman]

Nice poster sounds cool...Good luck.
Pauly

[Rodney V. Smith]

I've decided that I'm going to make this into a musical... yes that's right! a musical with vampires and demons and pornshops...

Okay, enough of fthat. Slight bit of delirium there.... seriously though, hammering down the script and getting it perfect. I'll be prepared for a real Kholi critique ths time around...

[Simon Höfer]

O_o

Yeah, I am also looking for a kholi critique, but I think he said that he will only critique again when he submits an entry himself.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay, just so you guys have a little info before I start off on a new thread: this script is based in part on my novel "Chasing the Sun" (which I'm still in the process of completion). I actually started the novel as a way of fleshing out the characters and world of this vampire script I've been working on.

One of the biggest difficulties I'd found with writing vampires was the fact that everything seemed to be a paper cut out. You have a tendency to want to make them as cool as possible, so when I first wrote the character of Bob, I made him super cool, one total badass... but it wasn't the character i;dut lots of started with at all. In fact this Bob was an action hero... and it slowly occurred to me that I didn;t know the character at all. Maybe that was why writing the script had been like pulling teeth... well somebody elses teeth at least: fun but lots of screaming involved...

So I started over. Then I started over again. And then came the idea for the novel through Nanowrimo. National November Writing Month.. the idea is to write or get started on writign a novel 50,000 words in 30 days. I made the deadline with 75,000 words and there was no end in sight... but now I had this whole world to build on and I actually knew the chracter of Bob very well, including the world he lived in.

The first thing I discovered were the rules... and they were nothing like I had thought of.

My vampires live right alongside of us... they could even be your neighbor... or your boss... and the blood... I'll save that one for the movie...

Now I'll take a cue from Jason Spinos and next post will feature an exceprt of the novel... If you guys dig it, i may even post more as the countdown continues.. just can't promise daily like Jason did, since we're ramping up production and everything...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Dammit! i want a Kholi review. Can I demand one you think? Or might that be pushing it a little too far?

O_o

Yeah, I am also looking for a kholi critique, but I think he said that he will only critique again when he submits an entry himself.

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[gabrielflorit]

I'd say don't post the novel at all, at least not here. While it might benefit the novel to have us read it, it doesn't help your short film, because it gives us way too much information. I chose not to read it, for the same reason I won't put my script online when it's done - you know what I mean?

On the other hand, we're all here to learn from each other, so posting the novel or script and have us shoot it down/praise it will help you accomplish a better product...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Actually the novel isn't going to give away too much at all. At least not the parts I'm posting. I've found that the joy of a novel is the fact that you can have a character standing at a door for 12 pages and never actually enter or even touch the door. In a screenplay... well dude is through that door in a few shots and there is none of the play of language and introspection that a novel can reveal.

As it is I've used the novel to actually build up the world of the vampire and the rules, so there are absolutely no spoilers. The screenplay actually occurs AFTER the novel ends. The novel was just a way for me to GET there and understand where I needed to go and why...

The short occurs in the space between where the novel ends and the feature length movie begins...

[Rodney V. Smith]

okay opinions by show of hands: do I continue the little excerpts or no?

[Matt Sconce]

Yes!

[Blaine]

o/


You said show of hand, right? :beer:

[Rodney V. Smith]

show of beer is a good vote. :D

[Dustin R. Rogan]

someone say beer??
O/
I
^

Rogan

[Rodney V. Smith]

beer is a good thing to have and to give! let there be beer for everyone! and enough ninjas to go around!

[Rodney V. Smith]

Porn Shop location is tentatively locked. I'm in shock.

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[Matt Sconce]

Love it! that is some very interesting writing. I am enjoying these segments.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Love it! that is some very interesting writing. I am enjoying these segments.

Thanks dude. Glad you're enjoying it. Makes it worthwhile to post if someone out there is reading it. :grin:

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Thanks dude. Glad you're enjoying it. Makes it worthwhile to post if someone out there is reading it. :grin:Reading them myself as well. Keep'em coming! :beer:

[Matt Sconce]

Thanks dude. Glad you're enjoying it. Makes it worthwhile to post if someone out there is reading it. :grin:

Definitely reading it.:beer:

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[Matt Sconce]

I wonder who will show up for the meeting....I want to know!

[Dustin R. Rogan]

ok you got me hooked...

Rogan

[Rodney V. Smith]

ok you got me hooked...

Rogan


It's Sammy isn't it? She has that effect on people.... You should meet her real life counter-part. You'll fall in love and have your heart ripped out and stitched back together in the space of one minute... such a lovely girl....

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Sammy rules!

Nice work.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Sammy rules!

Nice work.


See? I knew that all I had to do was introduce Sammy and I'll have everyone hooked.

Ironically, she wasn't even a character in the screenplay for the feature until after i wrote this novel, and she was so damn cool I HAD to put her into the screenplay.

Writing chracter history is one thing, or character outlines, but sitting down to write a novel about your main character, you learn so much about him and the people around him. And those people, those moments, that's what adds depth to any screenplay. A character can have one line in a screenplay, but becasue of that history it can mean so much more and have solid weight behind it.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

See? I knew that all I had to do was introduce Sammy and I'll have everyone hooked.

Ironically, she wasn't even a character in the screenplay for the feature until after i wrote this novel, and she was so damn cool I HAD to put her into the screenplay.

Writing chracter history is one thing, or character outlines, but sitting down to write a novel about your main character, you learn so much about him and the people around him. And those people, those moments, that's what adds depth to any screenplay. A character can have one line in a screenplay, but becasue of that history it can mean so much more and have solid weight behind it.And I actually typed that before reading your post. :D

[Rodney V. Smith]

I take it you just like bad girls then.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

I take it you just like bad girls then.
No comment. :lipsrseal

[Dustin R. Rogan]

I'll comment, I like any girl that...well ok...nvm no comment. :lipsrseal

Rogan

[Rodney V. Smith]

Remember that whole ripping heart out thing? If she was a Mortal COmbat character she'd be... um.. who's the guy who rips your heart out again?

[Troy Ruff]

sounds like fun, I cant wait to see, good luck :)

[Rodney V. Smith]

It will be a ball. And I promise Sammy is in the short film (for all you Sammy lovers)

[Rodney V. Smith]

need help choosing poster designs... whihc do you guys prefer?


http://flyinmonkey.com/bloodandcoffee/Blood-and-Coffee.png

New poster

http://flyinmonkey.com/bloodandcoffee/bloodandcoffee.gif

old poster

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Damn! I really like them both. I think I'm leaning towards the Sammy one. :D

[Matt Sconce]

I like the new one.

[Rodney V. Smith]

anybody else? Simon?

[Simon Höfer]

I haven't had time to go all though them yet. I read the first one, which I really liked :) Going to read the others probably tomorrow. It's bedtime for me now!

[Rodney V. Smith]

I meant the posters.


http://flyinmonkey.com/bloodandcoffee/Blood-and-Coffee.png

New poster

http://flyinmonkey.com/bloodandcoffee/bloodandcoffee.gif

old poster

which do you guys prefer?

[Simon Höfer]

Jeeez! I started writing the last post before you postetd yours :D That's creepy! talk about timing!

[Rodney V. Smith]

muahahahahaha: welcome to Rodney world

[Simon Höfer]

Right now I would prefer the old one. Maybe with some changes the new one. Maybe blood in the coffee instead of the skull and the hard edge of the credits are also not my taste :D

[Rodney V. Smith]

hrmmm. good points. i was thinking of adding boobies as well... too much ya think? :cheesy:

[Rodney V. Smith]

okay one more to consider...

http://flyinmonkey.com/bloodandcoffee/Blood-and-Coffee3.png
#3 Sammy Poster

http://flyinmonkey.com/bloodandcoffee/Blood-and-Coffee.png

#2 Skull & Coffee

http://flyinmonkey.com/bloodandcoffee/bloodandcoffee.gif

#1 Tattoos and Dragons

[Rodney V. Smith]

Gimme some votes here please.

[Kyle Stebbins]

I like the coffee one, with the skull... though I feel like you could do more with it.

Pointer: Try thinking more about your font treatment than your pictures.

-- Probably the best piece of advice I could give.


Also, on your sunglasses I noticed a straight edge on the bottom revealing where the layer ends. Clean that up with a soft-edged eraser! =)

Sincerely,

the graphic design asshole

[Rodney V. Smith]

Caught out by Mr Stebbins himself. This is because of the Rogan thing isn't it?

Fine I'll go clean up my posters... I'm surprised you didn't like the one with the girl better. that's currently my favorite...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Just wrote a scene that I now have to figure out the technical details, but it's that scene I was telling Simon about, where he can do his stunts and appear in my movie...

I was thinking of having him flip in the air with 2 axes in his hand and attack the main character... but that might require him to accidentally kill himself, and we don't want that...

We'll figure it out along the way and exactly how to film it. it's a brief sequence anyway and we will make this work.

Once we talk it will be official but I'm now announcing my plans to have Simon appear in Blood and Coffee and be a total bad-ass.

Now to get Rogan on board...

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

I was thinking of having him flip in the air with 2 axes in his hand and attack the main character... but that might require him to accidentally kill himself, and we don't want that...

Have you been spying on Simon!??

[Rodney V. Smith]

yes indeedy. I have to one up him on the stunts right now, especially since I can;t have a burning man....

[Lawsuit_Boy]

Fantastic posters! This one sounds interesting. I'm not much of a sucker for vampire babes or dudes (sorry, the vampire thing doesn't do it for me) but that doesn't stop me from appreciating. Looking forward to it!

[Dustin R. Rogan]

I like the Sammy poster! Whats this about me? I'm down for whateves!

Rogan

PS emailed you some info!

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[Marlon Ladd]

Man, all those posters are tight, but the first one to me is definately the best. Looks straight up like it would be on display at a movie theater. Good job! Did you design them?

[Rodney V. Smith]

Yeah I did the designs. Make it easier for me to communicate my wishes to the artist. :grin:

Maybe I can find a way to use them all... good promotional stuff... kind of like "character posters"

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[Sean Smith]

I love the title. I didn't even need the tag line and I was hooked. Can't wait to see it.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Cool dude. Now I'm here making sure there's actual coffee in the film :grin:. there will be blood for sure, but the coffee.. that's the challenging part.

[Simon Höfer]

Haha! Yeah, I wanna see some coffee!

[Kyle Stebbins]

Man, all those posters are tight, but the first one to me is definately the best. Looks straight up like it would be on display at a movie theater. Good job! Did you design them?

I would agree... with a couple alterations. I'm also concerned that the actress isn't in the film? Am I wrong?

[Rodney V. Smith]

The actress is almost definitely in the film... we're just on the fence about her wearing clothes or not at this point... That particular scene is going to have to go through a few rewrites since it's one I'm not so sure about yet...

[Jarrod Homer]

I'm gonna have to agree that the poster with the coffee and skull is the best, at least in my opinion. They are all pretty cool though but that being my favorite.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay then, Coffee and Skulls it is... i'll likely fix it up a little bit, play with the font and make it the final design. thanks guys.

[Kyle Stebbins]

Okay then, Coffee and Skulls it is... i'll likely fix it up a little bit, play with the font and make it the final design. thanks guys.

Hey man, pick whatever one you like the most. Both of them would work.

Let me know if you'd like any help. Lord knows I'm fine with making Rogan wait longer for his poster =)

Kyle

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Final draft is shaping up. I have:
Sammy (check),
Claude (check)
Blood (bukets),
Coffee (check),
sexy half naked vampire chicks (x3),
ball (check),
Simon attacks (check)
Twilight Zone feel/theme type of thing (check)

[Kyle Stebbins]

Final draft is shaping up. I have:
sexy half naked vampire chicks (x3),


Share the wealth!

[Rodney V. Smith]

no one cast yet for the girls. trying to decide on tattoos or no tattoos...

[Simon Höfer]

Difficult question :D

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

No tattoos. Save them for Sammy, it will help her stand out. :thumbsup:

[Rodney V. Smith]

No tattoos. Save them for Sammy, it will help her stand out. :thumbsup:

Good point. better character design options. thanks for steering me in the right direction.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Good point. better character design options. thanks for steering me in the right direction.
If Sammy does a scene with them I would also give them completely different hair colour, but that's just me.

Like, if Sammy had red hair, I would make the other 3 blonde.

[Rodney V. Smith]

We have three girls lined up, one of them playing a very important role in the movie. We're actually in the process of finding a new actress to play Sammy, someone who fits the role a lot more visually, and Katie will most likely take the role of the lead vampire girl who is featured most prominently in the script.

Details to come, but the auditions are being set up for the other two vampire girls. So far the options we have are pretty stunning and yes: they all have no problem being on screen in bra and underwear...

met with my actors today and they;re pretty jazzed about the script. Also met with a fellow DVXUser who may be coming on board to help me produce this film. We just have to work out our responsibilities since we're both used to doing the whole producing thing ourselves. Me I'm ready to hand over control of production and just worry about directing the actors and setting up the shot.

Also bought a nice selection of Moles on my last trip into Atlanta and I'll have to figure out a way to bring some of those up for the shoot. Would hate to have to rent here. And yes, shipping lights by Fed-Ex gets ridiculously expensive....

More to come...

[Rodney V. Smith]

now, software for storyboards, or draw by hand.,.. choices choices....

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay I just got signed on to be 1st AC on a feature in DC, so it looks like we won;t be shooting til september. We're talking about possibly the very first week of September, so gives us a month to lock down the final locations and get the actors all rehearsed.

Final location list:
Porn Shop
Diner
Beach
Rooftop
Park/Playground

The Madame Vera scene is definitely out unfortunately. And it was such a good one too...

Oh well, if you don't know when to cut, when you should't be a filmmaker.

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Finalized the script and it's a lot darker than I had intended. We're going to have to punch up some dialog to add more comedic elements, but at this point it's very dark humor so don;t expect to laugh your ass off.. more chuckle at cleverness of it all.

Funny thing is that it took me getting away from the office (home) in order to finally finish. No distractions... well except for a full scale family gathering in the woods for picnic at the cottage, but that wasn't too much a distraction...

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Does anyone else have a problem with their page counts and timing?

The industry average on timing for screenplays is a minute per page, and that's all good an well go get an average. But realistically that doesn't seem to work... at least not anymore.

I've found that my 6 page scripts easily become completed 8 minute movies once the mood is set and pacing is established. Character movements around the set eats up a chunk of time to build atmosphere and of course delivery eats into that time as well... Sure some of this is editable in post, like bring dialog closer to overlap, etc... but getting a 6 minute movie out of a 6 page script, no longer seems doable.

"Blood & Coffee" stands at the 8 minute mark right now and I know it's easily going to be 10 minutes. My usual strategy is to shoot the whole thing adn then whittle it down in post as soon as all of the scenes are together... but for the sake of expediency I know I have to tighten my script.

Anyone one else with similar issues with their 6 page scripts running longer?

[Simon Höfer]

No problem here. I just write a 2 1/2 page script and I am good to go :D

[Rodney V. Smith]

doh!

[Rodney V. Smith]

News: Kegan Sant is going to be coming on board to help me with the production of this little project. That's some good news since he is pretty talented and knows exactly what he wants to see from the production.

H's got some interesting ideas so it will be a good experience to collaborate.

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[Rodney V. Smith]

rewriting the last 2 pages of the script. The ending wasn't cohesive with everything else and one of the characters will now have a stronger role to play. A real reason to be there, so I'm very happy with the new direction.

After this last edit, I believe that the script will be locked.

Hurray for edits.

[Simon Höfer]

That sounds great! You are moving forward :)

[Rodney V. Smith]

forward movement is good. Doesn't help that I've also been helping prep another short in Atlanta. Thankfully I have a good level of appreciation and enthusiasm for both projects and I'm now really having fun with this script.

And now that I'm having fun it's time to stop and get it storyboarded.

Lots to do over the next month in order to meet the shoot date for September.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Nepotism (and the fact that I don;t have to pay him) runs deep here at Flyin' Monkey Films: Just signed my brother onto crew to do the fight choreography. He's actually been doing fight choreography for over a year now, mostly onstage, and he handled some of the fight scenes on one of the music videos ("Oh Girl" by Synnnah) and he did quite a bang up job.

Now he's going to get to have some fun with swords and is even buying his own ticket to fly up on the weekend of the fight scene to work with the actors and get blocking taken care of.

This looks to be fun...

[ExtremeSleuth]

Very cool news!

[Rodney V. Smith]

Very cool news!

and proof that nepotism works!

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[Rodney V. Smith]

added the synopsis on page 1.

[Kegan]

Glad to be onboard! Sorry I haven't posted earlier, but I'm excited to be apart of Blood & Coffee with Rodney.

-Kegan

[Rodney V. Smith]

I'm at the airport, flight delayed an hour and my novel is on my external USB harddrive... which needs power to run. Of course, being a genius, packed the powercord in my gear bag and I'll give you one guess where THAT is....

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[Rodney V. Smith]

So a couple of polishing sessions later plus one new improved ending and i think we have a much more dynamic script.

jake and i met this evening to talk shop and ended up getting a solid block of preproduction going. We'll be building the porn shop set in jake's basement and making it a hell of a lot more sleazy than anything we've looked at so far... plus we have more flexibility. Art Department is going to have to really run the show in that aspect. Jake is also a graphic artist as well as myself, so we're going to create packaging and posters for the porn shop. We were even talking about making a gigantic dildo out of playdough to have in the background of one shot...

We took a walk down to the playground swing set where the climactic scene occurs and did some lighting scenarios as well as basic blocking, so that scene is just about completely planned out. Now I'm going to go back with the digital camera and take some photos for the storyboards. it's going to be a cool scene and realistically I think we can knock the rooftop scene as well as the playground, out in one night.

The diner might end up being a dessert shop that I really like the look of, so I'll have to confirm that soon.

Now time to call up the actors and check for availability...

[Rodney V. Smith]

http://flyinmonkey.com/bloodandcoffee/images/100_0802.JPG
swing set location.... dark yes, but we'll have better lighting for the actual shoot

[Rodney V. Smith]

All excepts from the novel have been replaced due to a request from my literary agent.

[Rodney V. Smith]

added a new cast member to the list... be sure to check her out; she's a smoking hot assassin

[Rodney V. Smith]

so we're planning some easter eggs for the porn shop scene. for those in the know, it's a little inside joke, and for those that don;t get it... well you'd just have had to have been there.

anyway, started designing the 3 posters and dvds and the one delivery box full of dvds. the funniest thing is the hardest thing so far is coming up with outrageous names for porn movies.... a lot that i;ve come up with are actual real movies and they have the most outlandish titles.

anyway, if any of you guys have any suggestions for porno movie titles and/or actors, please feel free to chime in. the covers won;t be the same without some truly outrageous name....

[Kegan]

I got a good one! How about SexArise - The hottest new erotic fitness video?!

Definitely screams porno to me.

-Kegan

[Simon Höfer]

Looking good! Me likes smoking hot assassins :D

[Rodney V. Smith]

I got a good one! How about SexArise - The hottest new erotic fitness video?!

Definitely screams porno to me.

-Kegan
talk about inside jokes! but you know what... i think i will do one...
so
title #1; (secret)
title #2; Sexarise
title #3 (something crude in german)
title #4 Smells Like Old Spice (maybe I can get a picture of JDS for the cover :evil: )
title #5 Monster Party (yes I'm aiming right at you Fat Monster guys, and guess what? it's gonna be gay porn)

[Rodney V. Smith]

simon how about a good german title something totally ridiculous

[Simon Höfer]

Well, last time I went into the 18+ section of my videostore to look for some good horror movies, I walked across some disturbing Porn DVDs. But I think it's not appropriate for this forum :D

[Rodney V. Smith]

you can say it in german or pm me.
same goes for anyone else.

[Rodney V. Smith]

now THAT was awesome title. definitely goes in the and adds to some fun design work. thanks Simon

[Simon Höfer]

:evil:

[gabrielflorit]

Does anyone else have a problem with their page counts and timing?

The industry average on timing for screenplays is a minute per page, and that's all good an well go get an average. But realistically that doesn't seem to work... at least not anymore.

I don't know about industry, but I get a feeling my 5-page script is going to run long.

[Rodney V. Smith]

i'm at 8 pages so i know there are bits that will have to get the chop... but i prefer to have more than less...

[Mattykins]

The one page per minute thing kinda works out as an average. Dialog runs long whereas a 2 page action sequence can be done in 30 seconds.

Looking forward to this bugger though! Can't wait to see what you put together.

[Rodney V. Smith]

it's gonna be interesting, especially now that we're building the porn shop. Should be a great opportunity to have some fun with it.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay, I've pasted the first 50 pages of the novel here and since that is what I normally submit to agents and publishers, I'll stop the story here. It's a good stopping point I think and I hope you've enjoyed a little bit of insight into my character's world.

The segment that we're about to film happens after the actual novel has ended, so there's a hell of a lot that happens between the two. I've done my best to make it a stand alone piece, kind of like a One Shot comic book, where those that have read along know about the characters, and those new to the story, well they aren't left out at all. Just know that nothing in the movie "Blood and Coffee" is represented in the excepts you have read.

With that said, it's time go go all out into hell month and get some shit shot!

I'm looking forward to this and to seeing all of you guys pull your shorts together. This fest is gonna be slamming.

[Rodney V. Smith]

So the call is out for "Sexy Vampire Chicks" to fill the two open slots for the rooftop scene. Should be getting quite a few headshots in a while. It's such a small role with one line that I don;t even think I'll audition for it. It's more the look we're going for anyway... and grils willing to appear in their underwear... on a rooftop.. at night... in Toronto....

[Dingos8mybaby]

What?! I've worked with Katie before! Awesome!

GL with Twilight. :)

[Rodney V. Smith]

What?! I've worked with Katie before! Awesome!

GL with Twilight. :)


Yeah Katie rules. I worked with her on the Toronto 48 Hour Challenge for the film "Tomfoolery"... EXCELLENT actor. Really delivered, so I definitely had to use her again.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay, so turns out I'll be traveling back to Atlanta in October for a music video shoot, so I might be traveling between shoot days. Good news is that means more budget for "Blood and Coffee" and perhaps a little bit of edit time since the diner is the last scene to be shot...

So far I have tentative schedules for shooting the Park, Rooftop and Pornshop scenes. Since my actors all have day jobs, the park and rooftop scenes will have to be shot on one night, and then we can get Katie in to shoot the pornshop scene on the next night.

The diner is going to be the hardest to schedule and it sucks that it would cost so much to build a set for it, since we see so much more of the diner interior. Location, location, location....

[Rodney V. Smith]

On a side note: Strange things happen when you combine sushi, chinese food and a bottle of red wine. I've had to delay the production of the musical we were supposed to shoot in Atlanta, since schedules are extremely tight right now. So I had dinner with my lead actress last night and we got to talking about how she would kill to be in the vampire movie, to the point where she would fly to Toronto to do it. Since that's a nice $500+ ticket (on a good day) it really isn't that much of an option. So we got to talking about the entire story (the novel) and came up with this subplot featuring Louise, the vampire who turned Bob.

30 minutes later we had the entire plot all sorted out. One hour later I had the first 6 pages of a story that was trying to be longer than it is supposed to be. But I did have 6 pages and I started to pare it down to make it a complete story in it's own right, completely separate from "Blood and Coffee"... and perhaps a chapter in it's own right for the novel "Chasing the Sun".

It even has a different feel to it, more of a film noir and would be fun to create and pull off.

We might end up doing something with it... or maybe not, depending on timing. If we do, then I'll create a thread for it, and it would be a very late entry...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay MAJOR update. Moving the shoot of Blood & Coffee to Atlanta, finished a major rewrite of the film and we'll be shooting on the week of October 19-22.

The story now strongly features "Louise" and takes a very definite twilight feel which may have been in fact missing from the original script.

Headshots to be uploaded and cast lists revised. Now I gotta go shoot my other entry "the Trade" today.

We built the set for the porn shop so we're going to shoot the original script anyway, just not for Twilightfest. Too many cancellations and schedule changes on the part of my Toronto actors, so I'm returning to homebase with actors I know I have for sure, and we're shooting this puppy.

[Rodney V. Smith]

We've had a bad couple days of shooting, one issue being power and then immediately followed with a bad actor situation on day 2. So it's official: Blood & Coffee is not making this fest. We will continue production and try to replace actors and get this shot, but no use trying to rush it for Twilightfest.

Sigh. At least we got the other one finished and ready for upload... ironic... the backup film has now turned into the main production...

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

DAMN! I'm also looking forward to the backup but I really wanted to see this one. :(
Sorry to hear the bad news.

[Rodney V. Smith]

thanks dude. this one is still in production... just not for the fest

[Rodney V. Smith]

Craziest schedule ever this weekend: we shot a music video during the day.... then around 5pm-12am we shooting scenes for Blood & Coffee. Today is the last day and then we are wrapped. It all looks good so far, but man I am BEAT.

Word to the wise and not insane: never ever attempt this type of schedule. I have no idea how I'm even staying awake, but somehow I am.

Need more coffee now...

screengrabs to come and a new poster and cast list.

[Simon Höfer]

Looking forward to this one :) When will it be finished? Whaddayathink?

[Rodney V. Smith]

it's edited together already and waiting for the final scenes tonight. So it will actually be ready tomorrow. pity about the deadline being today... woudl have just SQEEEEEEEZED this one through.... oh well. This way I can take a little more time with the edit, but so far the edit is pretty solid. I'll upload it to Vimeo and link from here when it's ready to go. I may have to create a new page for it outside of Twilightfest though...

[Simon Höfer]

Ah, cool! but it's going to rock nevertheless :) And you can showcase it in a better quality :D Can't wait man! And if you can release it before they release the other fest entries, I am sure you get LOTS of views!

[MrKilloran]

Title makes me think of Blood & Chocolate ... but don't let that get to you, I'm still excited to see your entry.

[Rodney V. Smith]

added screen shots on first page

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/1.png
Catherine Maddox as "Kat"

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/2.png
Catherine Maddox and Alexis LaSalle

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/3.png
Alexis LaSalle as "Louise"

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/4.png
In the park

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/5.png

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/9.png

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/6.png

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/7.png

http://flyinmonkey.com/unbecoming/8.png
Sexy vampire chick as promised

[AmyO]

Nice grabs! I'm all for a film with sexy vampire chicks! Can't wait. :)

[darkrequiem1134]

any relation to blood and chocolate?