When Idaho Falls

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Hey There Folks,

Been longer than usual, but that's not without good reason. I've been hard at work with this Youth Outreach promo while visiting my mom in Idaho.

While I've been here I've also been writing my next film titled, "Along Together". When I looked up on IMDb to see if it was an original enough name, I discovered there are close to 10 films with the same title, which should make it somewhat difficult to find. So, for the time being, this might be just a working title because there hasn't been another "Alone Together" scheduled to come out this year or the next... Fingers crossed.

"Alone Together [Working Title]" is a tragic love story twisted within a tale of a mother's undying quest for revenge.

The screenplay is rather grim at the moment, but I like that. People I explain it to say there should be a happier ending, but I just don't think this story is meant to end well, considering the nature of everyone's work. But I can't say too much. You'll have to wait until I get some dailies online.

I'm also considering keeping a video journal throughout the production process to maybe add as a special feature for that theoretical DVD. But seeing as how this production is about to supercede the $600 budget limitations of my previous films, I'll be on the lookout for potential investors. A few of my colleagues from school have relied on kickstarter with some significant success. Who knows? I might actually get somewhere with this.

In the meantime, I'd be an idiot not to mention that I recently met Tony Gilroy who's best known for writing the Bourne films and more recently writing and directing "Michael Clayton". It was an interesting encounter. I'd given him a DVD with some of my films. He said the acting was weak in most of them. I defended my work respectfully and explained the circumstances under which everyone was working, but I don't think it made much of a difference. The one film he said he loved the most was "MEMO" which I had removed from my youtube channel because of its blatant intimacy, but it was its unfrogiving nature that Mr. Gilroy found so brilliant about the piece. I was touched, considering that of the work on my DVD it was one of the few pieces that was entirely my own writing--actually that was all it was, typos and all. He said he wanted to see more of that kind of work in my narrative films, which becomes the current challenge with "Alone Together".

I'm pretty pleased with my characters. Two intimate people who've made a living out of keeping their distance from society--from feeling. It's really something I can't wait to start casting once the schoolyear starts.

Sean Connery in "Zardoz": Dig those pants!

In other movie talks, I've been watching an eclectic selection while I've been away from home. Just last night I watched "Zardoz"... That was interesting. I remembered having watched it when I was a kid and it brought back some memories, mostly of why I hadn't seen it in so long (Sean Connery's attire, mostly).

Here's just an off the top of my head list of what I've been watching lately:
- Three Kings (David O. Russell)
- King Of New York (Abel Ferrara)
- The Bourne Identity (David Liman)
- The African Queen (John Huston)
- Good Night, And Good Luck (George Clooney)
- Catch Me If You Can (Steven Spielberg)
- The Asphault Jungle (John Huston)
- Cowboy Bebop [Sessions 1-26 & The Movie] (Shinichiro Watanabe)

Spike Spiegel from the series "Cowboy Bebop"

Cowboy Bebop is especially something that's gotten my attention this summer. Don't get no cooler than that. I really underestimated what people had told me about the series until my friend Chris Vella had shown me the pilot episode last semester. It blew me away. The writing is incredible. The animation is superb. I'd never really been a fan of anime, but this doesn't really change anything because Bebop remains in a league of its own. It's got a westernized spice to it. Something I've never seen in Japanese animation. Most other anime cartoons I'd seen that tried to play the super-cool American angle were merely aiming to immitate, whereas Bebop seeks to take off on an inspired interpretation of the Spaghetti Western, the classic Film Noir and classic Sci-Fis like Star Wars.

I'll admit, in an attempt to somewhat rip off Bebop, my brother and I, along with our friend Chris Vella, had developed a sci-fi in the same vain. It's really meant to borrow nothing more than a somewhat stylized backdrop, to allow us to take things to a live action level. While I was at school I'd considered a space pirate premise, but with lack of funds had to shelf it until I saw an opportunity. This project should develop over the next year, but for now remains something I'm doing in my off time.

Another project that's currently in production is an estranged surrealistic animated short I've been producing with help from my good friend Jordan Cash-Cooper. Can't wait to see what Jordan's been up to. Last I spoke to him, we'd finished storyboarding the sequences and I'd left him to do the animatics while I was away. Don't know whether I should be excited or worried at this point, but all the same, I know Jordan will create something pretty wonderful.

More directed towards the present, I've been in potato country for about a week now. It's spectacular out here. So beautiful. I wish I had my own camera, but unfortunately I've only been able to use an army of disposable cameras while I've been out here. I'll post some photos once they're developed.

This place is pretty rural. My mom's cabin is sandwiched between a neighboring horse ranch and a free-range chicken farm that's owned by an ex-mormon preacher named Don. He's a real character. I've spent my off time helping unpack my mom's boxes from their move here, from Arizona. I've also taken some driving lessons and picked wild raspberries that haven started cultivating behind my mom's shed. Really a vacation.

See You Space Cowboy,

John

P.S.

Best of the Summer Blockblunders:

1. Inception (incredible)

2. Toy Story 3 (tough to beat)

3. Iron Man 2 (a little lacking, but still a sold actioner)

The Game of Life, BP... Oh, I'm alright.

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Hey Guys,

Back again, gearing up for summer. What's up with you?

I've been paying some close attention to the BP disaster and budget cut situation in Albany. I'm surprised at a lot right now, so I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. Sometimes it may feel like the world's ending but I'm waiting till public transportation stops running. At that point everyone's just too busy killing each other that they don't have time to ride the bus.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE...

I've finally FINALLY cut the hudson guild approved cut of "Among Giants". It's now online.

I do have other films from school that I've meant to post online, but am spending some time to refine them a bit. Very excited.

Before the summer started, I wanted to experiment in going back and editing a movie I thought had some potential; "The Spirit". I gave it a watch, but began to really despise the dialogue. Needless to say, I've left the idea behind, but I'm thinking about other films that would be fun to re-cut... Or re-write.

I'm caught in the throes of writing a monster film, and probably a couple of them.

Hudson Guild has hired me to direct another promotional film focused on hudson guild's youth outreach program that introduces teens and youngsters (k-5) to performing on stage.

Be back with more. In the meantime, remember that when you're playing the game of life, a lot is left up to chance because you're spinning a stupid dial on a board.

OH! Saw some cool movies this summer. Just got a bundle of B-Movies. Plus first season of MST3K!

See Ya,
John

It's Summer Time... Is Living Getting Easy?

So, with this recession business, clawing at the ankles of the city's economy, I woke up this morning to see Bloomberg trying to explain to a disgruntled and scoffing local coverage the state had cut a lot of the city's funding and it looks like the first of the six thousand job cut will be teachers.

"6,400 teachers and 300 classroom aides...
and to close 50 senior centers, 16 day care centers and perhaps 10 libraries."
-New York Times

I have to say I'm awfully upset. It's these types of organizations that keep communities together, to a degree that most people either don't care or even bother to acknowledge sometimes. Regardless of who Bloomberg is pining the blame on at the moment, I think this is a crucially important time for anyone who has the opportunity of being inspired by their elders, their teachers, or their libraries, to visit those places. Hel1! The weather's getting nicer.

I also would like to draw attention to my most recent documentary, which so coincidentally has to do with a local Chelsea community center, called the Hudson Guild. I, along with help from my friend Caleb Foss, captured two dress rehearsals by the center's community theater company. For months the company has been assembling a production of the classic Wagner opera, "The Ring" (Der Rings Des Nibelungen). If you're not familiar, "The Ring" is a four day opera (you might have heard the song "Ride of the Valkyries" in Apocalypse Now).

I was commissioned by Jim Furlong and the Hudson Guild to produce a small promotional documentary about the production, for potential investors. It was an amazing opportunity for a couple reasons. I'd worked for Jim as an assistant in high school and was familiar with his theater productions. First, being a production assistant and then later acting in a production of "Alice In Wonderland". Also, because Jim's company had put a tremendous production. It does very well to break the mold of community theater as something bold and ambitious.

Very shortly I'll be posting the final cut here and on youtube. It'll be called, "Among Giants" and runs about 7 min.

IN THE VERY MEANTIME...
I just recently had a birthday, and my girlfriend recently discovered a white hair in my mane (thanks Sophomore Year). It was a little shocking having felt her truly pluck it out of my head. It was a part of me. My first WHITE hair. I didn't really think I'd react the way I did, but there it was. It was coarse and tired. Silver, almost. It caught the light, and strongly. A strand of my brown hair could easily get lost in the cracks, but this thing could only be lost on a windy day. Which is why Jenny and I wedged it shut into her pocket mirror.

Also, my Sophomore Year closed very well. The Sophomore Screening went over splendidly with an awesome night of killer flicks by a talented class. Looking forward to the Junior screening.

Oh, and as my birthday just passed, I ended up getting myself a couple treasures. I bought Killer's Kiss and Paths of Glory for cheap off of Oldies.com. And at Barnes and Nobles, I got Bicycle Thieves by Vittorio De Sica... and yes I got the tricked out Criterion version with the essays (c'mon! i'm like a total dork!)

And as an educational expense, I ended up getting Looney Tunes Gold Collection Vol 2. It was an educational expense because I needed to nab the segment "What's Opera, Doc?" for my Hudson Guild documentary... (you'll have to wait and see).

Well... I guess I'll leave you with a solid 'goodbye'. I just caught Con Air on TV for a couple of seconds and came right to that part where the prisoners were trying to take off with the plane in that weird scrap yard, while Nicholas (don't belong in action movies) Cage is searching for insulin. Eventually he runs into some Columbian cartel with a private jet and Nick Cage beats the hell out of a few of them, but a few of them are still in the plane when he leaves. So, the cartels end up taking off with the plane, and fail when John Cussak screws up their take-off by dropping a crane on the tail of the plane. When the plane crashes into a gasoline pump, the last living guy crawls out of the wreckage and John Malkovich (as Cyrus "The Virus") walks over to him and says something like "...nice try."

"Cyrus, Please!" he says.

Malkovich takes the cigarette from Swamp Thing's mouth.

"Cy--"
"--onara," he says as he flicks the cigarette into the lake of gas.

Adios,
John Morgan

P.S.
Keep on the lookout. I'll be posting a few new videos once I get back home from school. Just a few fine cuts here and there and I'll get em online as soon as possible.

I the meantime, if you haven't checked out my more recent doc, be sure to check "MORGAN AVE" which I featured at the Sophomore screening, along with "Killer's Kiss"

Sunday Funnies, Bushwick & Zombies in New York

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As of late, I've been doing a fair share of narrative work, but have shifted focus to the genre of documentary filmmaking. Surely, my focus will always be narrative, I really really started to enjoy documentary thanks to my Intro to Documentary course at SUNY Purchase's Film Conservatory.

This Sophomore year has been an eye-opening experience. I've had great opportunities to work with really inspirational individuals on very exciting projects. Sometimes I've acted, some times I've done mic booming, and most exciting of all has been my experiences as cinematographer for writer/director, Caleb Foss.

In the meantime, I've been putting some final touches on documentaries from last semester. The first is an eye-witness documentary on the NYC Zombie Crawl. The doc follows the volunteers who offer free make-up, zombie fanatics and the overwhelming 300-person zombie invasion of Time Square in September of 2009. The documentary is now available to watch in two parts on YouTube, Doug Sakmann's Blog, & the official NYC Zombie Crawl website! (BE SURE TO WATCH PART 2!)

The second is a 2 minute place film documentary called "Morgan Ave" on life in my neighborhood in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NYC, over the song "Sunny Afternoon" by The Kinks. The film was shot entirely on Super8 Black & White! It's also available to watch on YouTube.

A screen cap from Newt Jersey.

And last, but not least is my most recent documentary about writer and cartoonist, Bryan Korn entitled "Newt Jersey", where I interviewed Bryan about his short comic strip of the same name. The film consists entirely of still-animation and featured comics from his website. Also available to watch on YouTube. And if you're interested in reading Bryan's comic strip, be sure to visit his blog!

 In the meantime, I'm finishing the cuts in a recent adaptation of an unproduced script by Ben Ripley called "Source Code". The film is currently being directed by Duncan Jones, who's recent indie debut "Moon" scored him big with audiences and critics. The film follows a US soldier in Iraq (Colter Stevens) who suddenly wakes up on a New York commuter train without explanation. Soon enough, he discovers a bomb on the train. The train explodes and he re-awakens in a strange military isolation chamber, where he learns that aboard the train, he was actually inhabiting the body of another commuter aboard the train, the time of the explosion. So, without any choice, Colter is forced to be sent back in time again, and again, until he finds the terrorist responsible for the bombing. I was given the script in class to adapt for my directing workshop course and really enjoyed it. It was a choice between either this, "The Social Network" which is about Facebook, and which I'd rather see flushed down a toilet, and "Everything Must Go", which was a very interesting indie dark comedy script, which I believe Will Ferrel is currently attached to.

Anyway, in the meantime, keep an eye out for my adaptation of "Source Code" and another original interview doc that's still in the works entitled, "Impracticle.", where I interview a fellow colleague about the hardships and lightnesses of moving.

OOOH! Couple more things!:

1) The YouTube Channel has totally been re-organized. Now you can very easily find work in categories. "Short Narratives", "Short Documentaries", "2009 Reel", "Evil Film", "Early Works" and "Colleagues' Videos". (BE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE & COMMENT!!!)

2) Dancing Zombie Productions is now on Twitter.

3) My good friend Darius Weeden has recently featured my 2009 Reel on his channel as a special "Public Service Announcement". Be sure to check it out.

If you haven't already seen my 2009 Reel, here's the video:


ENJOY!

Raw Power,
John Morgan

Seeling It With A Kiss...

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Hey Folks,

I know it's been a while, but who's complaining? (By looks of my followers list... I am.)

Frank Silvera in "Killer's Kiss"

Anywho, you might be wondering what I've been up to. I finished my adaptation of a scene from Kubrick's "Killer's Kiss" with good marks from my professor and peers alike. Woohoo! As of now, I'm starting a new semester which means new opportunities. You'll be seeing at least three more scene adaptations before the year is out, plus some Documentary work and who knows what else.

I'm really proud with what came out of the two day shoot for "Killer's Kiss". It was my goal, more or less, to emulate the energy, over the style of the original film, without duplicating it. Sure my version shares a lot with the Kubrick version, but there are some differences that I think put it into a more contemporary context.

Brought to you by Canada Goose.

The cast was great! I have to give a hats-off to them. My Gaffer and Key Grip Luke Francy as well. Everyone was so committed and gave 110% through the toughest conditions. In fact, the opening sequence was filmed in 23 degree weather. Lucky for Dozzia and Fil, I decided to make the scene take place in the car... Unlucky for me, I planned to film it from outside... But no matter, I had my Canada Goose jacket to keep me warm. That thing is a wonder.

 It was so cold that day, but it didn't matter. The energy was so high, and I think that might have been because my father had rented a Cadillac for us to shoot with... I said to get something mildly luxurious, but I was sprung with surprise when he came to pick up me and the crew in this sleek monster. The following location was in Brooklyn; my building, actually. I'd always wanted to use it in something. It has a very dreary sort of warehouse look to it... mainly because it used to be a factory at one point.

Setting up for the exterior shot in Bushwick.

We shot in the loading dock, as you'll see, which actually doesn't lead to some isolated loft area like in my scene, but to many apartments in the building... The rest of the warehouse scene was actually shot in the school's soundstage with a small set, which doesn't look half bad, but seeing how it's just a warehouse, it really didn't need all that work in the first place.

Me & Luke Francy working the 8x10 set.

It was a pretty confined space, but several elements help make it seem a little more spacious. For one, when I needed to shoot the other side of the room, I just shuffled over the table and shot the same brick wall I'd mounted my set against. Also, with most of the focus usually on one side of the room, it sort of gives your imagination the opportunity to fill in space and make the room seem larger than it really is.

Something I decided late on , and not until we got to the action sequences, was to induct the swinging light when Dozzia chokes Filipp. I'd seen Stuart Gordon do it in "Re-Animator" in the scene where Herbert West is chasing around the re-animated cat in the basement. I thought the swinging light was brilliant and created such a chaotic environment. The night before the shoot, I told Filipp to bring a clamp light I knew he had when he came to the set. I think it definitely supplies a lot more suspense to the sequence.

Anyway, here's the scene, and if you're at all interested, just below is Kubrick's version.

I hope you enjoy. And please, leave comments. I really appreciate feedback.

Raw Power,

John Morgan