killer63

2011-10-12T14:19:00.002-04:00

...in case anyone stumbles through here, any Killer63 updates will be posted over on my Batturtle blog, or on the Mayfair website / Facebook page. Thanx!

2009-11-21T22:21:00.002-05:00

Killer63 2009 is underway. More info to be posted here soon. Also check out the Batturtle site, might end up writing stuff there in regards to the fest too.

Killer63 IV:

Friday December 18th at 9pm at the Mayfair Theatre (1074 bank Street, Ottawa)

2008-11-14T17:54:00.001-05:00

The Killer63 2008 premieres tomorrow night at the Mayfair Theatre.

2008-11-14T00:56:00.002-05:00

There's not much in the way I can show from my Killer63 short without giving away spoilers. Almost all the cool stills would give up something cool (especially being a short...bad horror movie stuff starts happening pretty quickly). So, not the most exciting of images, but here are three of the stars of 'Play Me'(directed and written by me), Mac Dale, Jesse Buck and Brett Kelly.

2008-11-13T23:08:00.003-05:00

Had a nice write up about the Killer63 in The Ottawa Sun today. Alas, most of it was misprints, false quotes and total errors. But, in a glass half full capacity, all of the time and place and ticket price stuff was correct.

2008-11-06T12:57:00.002-05:00

Killer63's glamorous poster for 2008, as designed by Mark Singleton (who also did FX work and acted in 'Play Me', my directorial effort for this years screening).

2008-11-03T12:31:00.000-05:00

Behind the camera on 'The Lost Girls'

2008-11-01T01:06:00.000-04:00

Poster for Melanie Mortensen's short film, 'The Lost Girls'.

2008-10-31T00:06:00.001-04:00

Bonnie Robinson (director) and Firuz Daud (cinematographer) setting up a shot on the set of 'Scrambled'.

2008-10-30T11:31:00.002-04:00

A couple of images from 'Scrambled', directed by returning Killer63 participant Bonnie Robinson. In which a couple kids are playing with fake blood, something that many a indie horror filmmaker can identify with. As you might imagine, things get more complicated than that, in what I thought was a very 'Tales from the Crypt' kind of story.

2008-10-29T20:43:00.002-04:00

The current Mayfair schedule, featuring the listing for this year's Killer63 screening. Sadly enough, this may end up being the last schedule ever for the theatre. Let's all hope for a good old fashioned movie magic miracle to keep the place up and running.

2008-10-21T13:20:00.002-04:00

It's been an age since an update (sorry), but posts will be happening much more frequently now as Killer63 films are being shot and edited and nearing finished product.

The Mayfair is all booked and confirmed for November 15th at the late late show (not sure the exact start time, somewhere around 11PM).

The above couple of pictures are from 'The Cinema Ghoul', written and directed by Paul Gordon.

2008-09-10T00:21:00.001-04:00

The premiere of K63 this year will be on Saturday November 15th at the Mayfair Theatre in Ottawa (late late show).

2008-09-06T11:20:00.004-04:00

Lots of Killer63 stuff going on. I've been crazy busy though (as is everyone on the planet now-a-days it seems), hence I've been a bit neglectful of my blogger duties. So, I'll hit you with a bit of an update here, then hopefully next time (or if not next time then soon after next time) I'll have some pictures from the other filmmakers to share.

As it stands at the moment, our official participants are:

Bonnie Robinson
Chris Chitaroni & Jimm Moir
Jera Kenez
Harry Windsor
Paul Gordon
Melanie Mortersen
Deny Trudel
Ralph Gethings

...along with myself. On top of that there's another five or six filmmakers I'm still trying to peer pressure into participating. And a bunch of new folks submitting stuff as well. Number of films shown will depend on a few factors (like length of individual projects), but the intention is to have a bunch of shorts that accumulate to be the same length as a feature film (so likely around 90 minutes +).

Here's a bit of bio and project info on some of the filmmakers and their projects:

Bonnie:

She was contemplating one of two scripts. I think the one she's decided on involves a dead cat prop and kindah' has the feel of an old Tales from the Crypt comic (or TV episode).

Chris & Jimm:

They've also got two scripts finished between them that they were story-boarding and casting for. Last bit of news I got from Chris was that he had done some cool haunted house filming for it.

Jera:

This will be Jera's third short for the Killer63. His first two efforts had this great signature look to them thanks to some nice cinematography and lots of post-production work. I look forward to more of the same this year.

Harry:

A digital animator/VFX Artist for both film and TV, Harry helps writers and directors realize their ideas. Harry has acted in short films and is currently working on animations for "Truth Duty Valour" and on a political satire for Fred Graver's "Remix America".

Paul:

This will be Paul's first film screened at the Killer63. Though he was a great help behind the scenes for our first two events, helping get together the screening version of all the projects for the premiere, and was our contact at the Mayfair Theatre.

Melanie:

She just finished up a different horror project (called 'The Horror'), and is now onto working on a new one titled 'Plans' for the Killer63 screening.

Ralph:

A great fx guy, Ralph participated in year one of our event, and we're happy to have him back this year.

Deny:

I worked on the crew of Bonnie's project with Denny for last years event. He's jumping on board to make his own project this year.

--------

I'm off to try and finish writin' my script now. More news soon!

2008-08-16T16:49:00.001-04:00

Fancy new logo - designed by Mark Singleton

2008-07-25T13:42:00.002-04:00

Thought I'd put a lil' update on the ole' blog. Not a ton of news at the moment...the gears are churning along towards our eventual Halloween time screening. Have myself and six other filmmakers officially on board to make a short, a whole bunch on the fence (wanting to participate, but trying to figure out if they can fit in making a short into hectic schedules). And filmmakers getting in contact with us about submitting films for consideration to be screened (which are welcome).

I've received the first script to give a once over to. It's not mandatory for me to look over anyones writing, but a number of us involved with Killer63 go back and forth working on each others projects. So reading over a story and giving one's opinion has become quite common.

Hope to have signed up a couple more filmmakers any day now. Will keep everyone apprised.

2008-06-24T16:45:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite things about working on movies is the strange requests that pop-up in pre-production. Topics of conversation that would rarely come up in other lines of work. Whether it be something in regards to finding a weird location to shoot in (like tracking down a prison cell or a morgue) , bizarre wardrobe needed (say...a super-villain costume) or uncommon props.

Today I got an e-mail from one of the Killer63 filmmakers saying;
"So, Josh, I have an idea for Killer-63, but I'm going to need a dead animal. Any ideas...?"

I sent over a few thoughts...but she thinks that she tracked down what she needed thanks to the internet, more specifically a place called Haunted Props (see above). The miracles of modern technology. I don't know what her script is about, but that sure is a creepy dead thing.

2008-06-23T18:30:00.002-04:00

Directly right under this posting you'll see one from a while back, with a similar logo, that says this blog isn't going to be used anymore. Well, we've backpedaled on that idea and are going to make use of it again for the 2008 go-round.

So, if anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to leave 'em here. And we'll update with more news and photo's and stuff as projects start getting underway. Stay tuned, and we'll see you at the eventual premiere around Halloween, here in Ottawa.

2007-08-03T13:56:00.001-04:00

No more posts here! There's been a fancy new official site set-up (see link over to your right). So I'm going to halt posts here in hopes of leading filmmakers and interested parties over to the new and improved site. See yah over there.

2007-05-08T23:43:00.000-04:00

Captain Cutter (Brett Kelly) fights an evil Pirate (Frank Rothery)

The good guys: Gary Peterson, Amanda Leigh and Dan Tait

What does one do after an Edgar Allen Poe adaptation for the K63? Why, a pirate movie of course. 'Pirates of Snake Island' is currently in the midst of filming, directed by Brett Kelly. A number of K63 members are also serving as crew members and actors. Shooting will continue throughout May and into June.

In direct K63 related news, the start date for getting wheels in motion for year two of another batch of shorts has possibly been decided. Just have to double check the calendar and a few other factors. Stay tuned for updates.

2007-03-10T00:22:00.000-05:00

Brett sends over early news of his next screening, which is happening next month:

Brett Kelly Entertainment is thrilled to announce the World Premiere of their newest movie

KINGDOM OF THE VAMPIRE (an action-packed horror drama in the tradition of George Romero's vampire epic "Martin").

For those not in the know, Brett Kelly is the notorious, Ottawa-based cult filmmaker responsible for such movies as “The Bonesetter” and its sequel “The Bonesetter Returns” as well as “The Feral Man” and last year’s indie hit “My Dead Girlfriend” (which enjoyed an appearance at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival and a release through Blockbuster Video). KINGDOM marks Kelly’s sixth feature film since 2002. The movie stars Brett Kelly, Anastasia Kimmett, Karin Landstad, Chip Hair and Jody Haucke.

The project is a remake of the 1991 film of the same name from cult movie director J.R. Bookwalter (“The Dead Next Door”, “Robot Ninja”). Bookwalter began his career in the late 1980's after being discovered by famed director Sam Raimi (“The Evil Dead”, “Spider-man”). Bookwalter remains on board for this newer version of the film as executive producer, and it will be released by his label Tempe Video in the fall of 2007.

The event is taking place at the Mayfair Theatre in Ottawa at 11:30 pm on April 14th . Admission is $8. Start time is approximate so people are asked to please arrive early.

Everyone mark your calenders.

2007-03-04T00:39:00.000-05:00

Director Brian Singlton with the star of Death Trike

Everyone's favorite short film about the insane and violent rampage of a murderous children's three wheeled cycle has been accepted to The Independent Film Festival of Boston. The festival runs from April 25th - 30th...in Boston.

2007-02-22T16:03:00.000-05:00

Not much in the way of actual Killer63 related news of late. And we're still months off on getting things rolling on the second batch of shorts. So, figured that I'd put up the occasional update of news projects from the K63 alum here on the blog.

Above is a shot of 'Daycamp Massacre' director looking over the script on the location of his new movie 'Dead of Winter'. A good old fashioned story where a bunch of people go into the woods and get killed by a madman. Check out the Dudez Productions MySpace page for more info.

2007-01-08T17:25:00.000-05:00

Got in a few pictures from the screening. Here's one of the crowd rolling in to the Mayfair. Find yourself and win a prize! Wait...this just in...there are no prizes.

2006-12-31T18:31:00.000-05:00

A big thanks go out to everyone who attended the inaugural Killer63 screening last night. It was a great evening all around. Many more people were in attendance than anticipated, and all of the filmmakers were quite pleased with the reception. Killer63 will definitely be back in 2007. Bigger, better, and possibly even with a bit more of something leaning towards organization, planning and enforced deadlines. And a bit earlier in the year...maybe Halloween. But in the meantime, please feel free to check in here for updates on future screenings and DVD releases and such. Happy New Year.

2006-12-29T21:38:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the big premiere screening for the eight new short movies. If you're not tied up with the tail end of holiday festivities, and if the late late start isn't past your bed time, we hope to see you there.

2006-12-12T12:51:00.000-05:00

Our official lil' listing for the premiere is up on the new Mayfair Theatre schedule (December 10th - January 13th). You'll find us on there at 11:30PM on Saturday December 30th.

2006-11-29T23:57:00.000-05:00

Director Brian Singleton ('Forest of the Dead') sent in some production stills from 'Death Trike'. The titular villain is seen in the top photo. Under that is Mark Singleton as Gutter, and then a trio of Halloween masked goons.

2006-11-28T01:03:00.000-05:00

Tara Mackenzie and Mark Courneyea star in my K63 short, 'Checklist' (actually...they're the only two people in it from front to back). Here's a few pictures from the currently being edited product that my editor e-mailed over upon my request that I wanted a couple of images that didn't give away too much of the story. I'm going in to sit over her shoulder tomorrow and hopefully put the final touches on the thing (she has all of the computer skills, I just have my humble directors opinion).

2006-11-27T16:47:00.000-05:00

Brett sent over a couple of screen-grabs from his Edgar Allan Poe adaptation (that's him in the central role). He's in the midst of editing it all together. The score is already complete, which was composed to the narration track, before a single frame had even been shot.

2006-11-21T17:31:00.000-05:00

Above is a still from Marc Adornato's K63 short. Although it's not called 'Terror Channel' as the text in the image might suggest, it's actual title is 'In God We Trust'. Which Marc describes as "a non-fiction horror film".

Jeremy Kennedy also sent in a lil' update that his project has been titled 'Dreaming in Revelation'. You can find a couple of images from it elsewhere on this blog.

In other news: Brett Kelly has completed shooting his adaptation of 'The Tell tale Heart'. Jodi Pittman has shot the initial day of his schedule for his project 'Day Camp Massacre'. Day two is planned for next Monday. And Brian Singleton will finish up a short re-shoot tonight for 'Death Trike'. Some good progress all around.

2006-11-16T02:09:00.000-05:00

Once again...the last thing that I want to do is put up a spoiler image on the internet here. But, Brian has sent in the early teaser poster for his epic motion picture 'Death Trike'. Don't ask me for hints on the plot though, I don't want to ruin the twist for anyone interested in coming to check out the K63. You'll just have to wait 'till December 30th.

2006-11-15T12:37:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to announce that the premiere screening of the collective K63 shorts will be Saturday December 30th at the Mayfair Theatre . Not sure the exact time of the showing just yet, but it'll be a late late show. Probably hovering somewhere around 11PM (not quite midnight madness), which seems proper for a batch of horror stories. It should serve as a good day for the premiere as well seeing how as it's post Christmas and office parties, pre-New Year's Eve, and on a weekend.

The screening is thanks to a late show initiative to happen the last Saturday of every month. Hopefully things go well, and maybe such screenings can happen more often. Upcoming, on Saturday the 25th at 11:30PM they're showing 'Death Race 2000'. Be sure to go and check it out.

2006-11-14T03:15:00.000-05:00

A lil' teaser image in every sense of the word. This past Saturday we shot day one of a planned two day schedule for 'Checklist', my offering towards the K63. Everything went swimmingly. I think that we got some good stuff, and we even managed to finish ahead of schedule (despite having to get a back-up camera brought in to complete the last few shots of the day due to battery issues).

I do have a couple more photo's handy, but the issue is that I'm kind of hesitant to put them up 'cause they'll kind of blow the story's twist. So for now, you get someone holding a hammer. Who is it holding a hammer? What are they hammering with it? Where are they hammering? So many questions.

My editor is picking up the tape Tuesday afternoon to get started in on puzzle piecing everything together. And I'm hovering around 99% or so sure that day two of the shoot will happen Wednesday afternoon at a downtown coffee shop.

2006-11-10T03:17:00.000-05:00

A couple more shots from Brian's dusk 'till dawn shoot which took place from Sunday the 5th all the way to the morning of the 6th.

2006-11-09T16:24:00.000-05:00

Now, I don't want to be the one giving away spoilers towards the plot line of one of the K63 shorts. Don't want to ruin any surprises or plot twists for anyone. But here's a teaser image from Brian Singleton's shoot last weekend. Let's just say that the title of the project includes the words 'Trike' and 'Death'...not necessarily in that order.

2006-10-30T01:50:00.000-05:00

Images from Nicole Thompson's 'Endless', featuring fellow Killer63 director Marc Adornato in an acting role (middle picture) and a trio of cult members (?)

2006-10-27T15:20:00.000-04:00

A few teaser images from Jeremy Kennedy's dream inspired (or nightmare from the looks of it) contribution to the challenge. The pic's were titled 'Blur' (which I think is actually a pretty cool title for a movie), but the short remains without a name as of yet.

2006-10-23T02:47:00.000-04:00

Brett's going with an adaptation of a classic for the challenge:

2006-10-23T01:51:00.000-04:00

Here's some more shots from Ralph's short. Titled 'Reckoning', it stars Ray Besarah, John McLenachan, Kevin Preece, and Catalina LaForce.

I like the no-face white monster, very Clive Barker Cenobite reminiscent.

2006-10-18T01:06:00.000-04:00

Here's a couple of picture's from Ralph's short, which he did some shooting for last weekend. Pretty sure that that skull head guy with the knife is up to no good.

2006-10-13T17:18:00.000-04:00

Looks like Ralph is getting underway with shooting this weekend. That marks the first of the collective to bring their project before the camera. Here's a little update from him:

After searching all the Halloween stock at many stores I pretty much gave up on finding a good knife prop for my short. I had sculpted a half blade to fit into a plastic handle for another effect and thought; "…hey why not do a whole knife?". Well here it is, the prototype knife (measuring almost eighteen inches) that I sculpted this afternoon. It still needs sanding and paint, but it will handle my FX chores greatly, which is to safely slash a woman’s throat. I’ll post a pic or two after this weekends shoot. If I had thought it would actually look as good as it does I would have put tubing into it for a bloody better effect…. Maybe next time.

2006-10-08T22:55:00.000-04:00

Nicole Thompson is the first to send in a title and a notice for talent for her short, 'Endless'.
She's on the lookout for the following:

female lead - mid twenties to early thirties
male - mid twenties to early thirties
male - mid thirties, more a character actor husky in build

Plus four or five extras (over eighteen)

If interested, e-mail in your acting resume (no head-shots yet please) to:

treasurecove@canada.com

2006-10-04T17:05:00.000-04:00

Another letterhead logo design. The first one (below) was done up miraculously fast by Brett Kelly, as he, Jodi Pittman and I initially discussed the Killer63 endeavour via MSN. This new one was whipped up by Jeremy Kennedy.

2006-10-03T11:25:00.000-04:00

Ok, so here's our rules:
Make a horror movie...keep it under at or under nine minutes.
Go!

There was some thought to add a rule...or a whole bunch of rules.
But a lot of the participants seemed happy with just the chance to do a horror movie and it came to conclusion that that was theme enough.
I think that'll work well too.
Maybe for the next one we can do something giant and complicated, but for the inaugural effort, keep it simple.

All of the filmmakers involved have access to the site, so once things get rolling I hope we'll see lots of updates and pictures and behind the scenes stuff.

Day 2: Now
Day 63: December 3rd

2006-10-02T18:04:00.000-04:00

Today is Day 1 of the 2006 Killer63 filmmaker's challenge. There's a meeting tonight with about half of the participants (it's seemingly utterly impossible to get thirteen of us all together at the same time...well, one of us lives in the UK... so he's not likely going to be showing up). We're going to get together and discuss some thoughts on the joint theme of the shorts (besides for all being horror movies) and finalize the rules.

This here will be the venture's main blog, we'll have some links up to another site and the participant's other websites up asap.