"Smokin' Hot"

Since the blog is late for no good reason this week, I'm going to try and make up for it by posting a bunch of pictures of "smokin' hot," half-dressed women.

The pictures below are all from the "Strip Club scenes." You might find it ironic that a film dealing with feminism has scenes that take place in a strip club. My defense is that it's not stripping but burlesque dancing these ladies are doing. Closed-minded people might scoff at that but believe me my friends, there is a difference. In fact, I'm about as proud of these scenes as I am of any in the movie.

Besides, a little over a year ago, Arrow in the Head did a short piece on Women's Studies in which the author referred to our cast as "smokin' hot." During the shoot, the Lady Killers wore that label like a badge of honor. We even put the quote in our press kit it became such a motif. Now, I don't want to sound superficial, but he had a point. If Women's Studies offers nothing else, it easily has one of the most attractive casts of any independent film out there.

My co-producer, Cindy Marie Martin, doesn't like it when I boil the concept of Women's Studies down to "hot chicks with knives," but I don't mean it in any sexist way. This film is about sex and death, and both are presented in ways that are thoughtful and intelligent if that's what you're after. However, if you just want to look at pretty girls do ultra-violent things to dudes (and other ladies) with sharp objects, this movie will work for you too.

I guess that sounds kind of base, but in many ways isn't that the whole point of a horror film? To appeal to the baser instincts? Throughout a lot of this production, various people involved (myself included) have done a lot to try and convince themselves they're working on some socially important critique on extremism and modern society. On one level it is. It has to be, because I'm not sure it's in me to make somethng that doesn't work on multiple levels. That said, let's be honest: Many people probably aren't going to want to see this film on a purely intellectual level. So lets call it what on another level it is: Exploitation.

"There, I said it! I said the dreaded "E" word! Fuck art! Fuck meaning! Hot chicks with knives! What's Women's Studies about? It's a comic book movie about hot chicks with knives."

And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that. I've spent a great deal of time feeling ashamed of myself for making this movie. I've listened to people tell me about how I need to "be careful what I put out into the world." "You've got to be careful of offending this group or that group or this other group." Because I've heard these things, I've worked very hard to try and make sure people understand the film isn't anti-feminist, anti-woman, or anti-pagan. (Another irony, if the film is anything? It's anti-violence. Sure, it's from the Natural Born Killers school of anti-violence film, but that shouldn't matter. Should it?)

In the end though, it doesn't matter what I tell people because they're going to draw their own conclusions anyway.

You want to know the truth? The secret truth folks? If when this film is done, somebody comes up to me and says, "You're the dude who made that movie about the smokin' hot chicks with knives." As long as they're not pissed off with me, I'm just fine with that. Even if they are pissed off at me, there's probably not a whole lot I can do about it, so I guess I'm fine with that too.

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Fight Choreographer Shanna Beauchamp (Black Widow Waitress) and Stef Williams (Black Widow Burlesque Dancer) take a rest between shots.




Stef Williams (Black Widow Burlesque Dancer) strikes an "Oh! how did this happen?" pose.




Amber Connors (Black Widow Bartender/Dancer) looks on as Tara Garwood (Judith) works out her dance with Stef Williams (Black Widow Burlesque Dancer).




Director Lonnie Martin talks over an intimate scene with Taisha Cameron (Amy) and Kevin Finklestein (Keith).




"Lonnie, do these scratches make my box look fat?"




This picture pretty much sums up the Women's Studies experience for Co-Producers Cindy Marie Martin (Mary) and Lonnie Martin.




Ryan Mulkay (Cop #1) really doesn't seem as concerned as he should about Amber Connors (Black Widow Bartender/Dancer) and the knife she's holding.




Shanna Beauchamp (Black Widow Waitress) is ready to @#$% you up!




"It's okay. You can trust me."




Ryan Mulkay (Cop #1) in a scene from Women's Studies.




Cindy Marie Martin (Mary) and Tara Garwood (Judith) in a scene from Women's Studies.


And finally, four "smokin' hot" portraits or four "smokin' hot" ladies:


Stef Williams as the Black Widow Burlesque Dancer.




Amber Connors as the Black Widow Bartender/Dancer.




Cindy Marie Martin as Mary.




Tara Garwood as Judith.

P-A-R-T . . .Y? Because We're Done!

This past Saturday the cast and crew shot our sole reshoot for Women's Studies. Afterwards, we got a bunch of food and booze and proceeded to consume, imbibe, and release.

As of this writing, it's Tuesday and my hangover is just today gone. I don't know if that's telling as to how hard I threw down, or as to how much my body can't take the revelry it once took fine in my early twenties. If you know the answer, please don't tell me.

It was quite a shindig. Joey Cabrera made his famous "donkey punch" which I was smart enough to turn down. I had a Dominican cigar, which I smoked with aplomb though no one else seemed inclined to join me. We had a bonfire which burned through the night. Food was everywhere. At certain points, we watched rush edits, raw footage, and even some of the cast's original auditions. It was a fantastic party.

And hey, we earned it.

It was a fine group of people who came together to shoot Women's Studies. I'll miss them all terribly. Sure, we'll see each other again, and rather soon I imagine. However, as a lot of the cast noted on Saturday, it'll never be in this way, to do what we did. But oh, the memories we'll have. I have a feeling we'll all be hard pressed to forget the adventure of the past five months.

So, raise a glass. Here's to the past, present, and future of Women's Studies, to fair acquaintances who became good friends, to all we've done together, and to everything we still may yet do.

(Pictures from the party are below. I'm honestly frightened and confused by what's going on in most of them.)

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Joey Cabrera doesn't trust Tara Garwood's wild, "donkey punch" laden eyes.




Oh Iris! What would your dad think?




Forget partying. After five months of shooting, James A. Radack just wants to take a nap.




Director of Photography Aaron "Don't Call Me" Shirley and Composer Ryan Sayward Whittier share a "special" moment.




Dear God/dess, keep Tara away from the donkey punch!!!!




9:30? Tiffany James doesn't care what time it is. (Though note she drinks no donkey punch.)




I really have no idea what's going on in this picture.




Sound Guru Sean Russell and Mundy Spears are not as sober as they look.




Joey Cabrera achieves his lifelong dream: to be surrounded by hot women with his head in my crotch.




See? Cindy and Tara actually really like each other!




Nothing like a rousing game of "Vagina Ball" to clear out a party. (Laura Bloechl will show everyone at work this one.)



The Cast's Last Hurrah.

Wrapped!

I Went to Bed Instead of Writing Yesterday's Blog.

Horrifyingly unacceptable, isn't it?

I was beat though. The Women's Studies cast, crew, and I shot all day yesterday and the day before. Due to the time constraints set by the location and actors' schedules, we had to work at a breakneck pace that kept me moving constantly. By the time I wound down with dinner and a couple of beers, exhaustion hit me like a freight train and I had to run some REM cycles.

I thought I'd make up for it for by posting a ton of pictures from the shoots, but "Ha!" The joke was on me. It turns out all the good pictures were taken on the camera owned by our Gaffer, Jim Housell. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get them from him. Therefore, you'll have to settle for the few pictures I managed to drum up from my personal camera.

I know, I know. Late Blog. Sub-par pictures. Somebody fire this guy.

Next week I'll post some of the good pictures. Plus I'll be able to report not only on this shoot, but the one we're doing tomorrow with Tara Garwood (Judith) and Cindy Marie Martin (Mary). It's a humdinger.

Until then . . .

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Mundy Spears (Sharon), Cindy Marie Martin (Mary), and Tara Garwood (Judith) out of costume at a friend's wedding. Yes, we have actual lives outside of this movie. Well, some of us do.




The camera department works with the steadicam. From L to R: Director of Photography Aaron Shirley, Camera Assistant Laurel Keller, Camera Operator Thomas Fant.




Tears for the dead.




"I went out the desert and I killed this guy." Stef Williams (Black Widow Burlesque Dancer) tells her tale.




Jack of all trades Joey Cabrera rummages through his make-up kit.




Fight Choreographer Shanna Beauchamp (Black Widow Waitress) exudes total hotness while a blurry Joey Cabrera throws gang signs in the background.




Josh Davidson (Revels) touches up a tattoo for Stef Williams (Black Widow Burlesque Dancer).




"All right, what have I told people about playing around with props? It's all fun and games until Josh takes a knife to the chest."

Backyard Movies

***SPOILER ALERT! MEGA, GIANT, HUGE, "OH MY GOD! HOW COULD THE BASTARDS GIVE THAT AWAY?" SPOILER ALERT****

(Seriously, a pretty big Women's Studies plot point is revealed in the pictures below, so if you're avoiding that sort of thing, don't read any further. I know. I know. the curiousity is killing you, and how could I put you in this position. You know something? Self-control. Try using some.)

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Back in the late seventies, many low-budget, indie horror films in the Women's Studies vein were referred to as "backyard movies." The definition is a film with no studio backing, made by a bunch of dedicated filmmakers with no promise of distribution, only a hope. The idea is that the films were "shot in somebody's backyard." (Stephen King credits mystery/film critic Chris Steinbrenner as coining the term, so I will too.)

Whether or not many of these films actually were shot in a backyard depends on the film. Rest assured, one shot of Women's Studies was indeed shot in my back yard. Well, side yard.

It's not entirely uncommon. Hell, even the big boys do it. Spielberg shot pick-ups for Jaws in a friend's backyard swimming pool.

Below are some pictures from what was an incredibly inventive and fun pick-up shoot featuring Kelley "Diane" Slagle.

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"What'd you put dirt in my hole for, boy?!?"




It's not a bomb. We swear. No really.




Get a piece of the rock.




You know what they say about girls who wear black bras, don't you? And have tattoos? And let happy Joeys paint blood all over them?




"Is she dead? Kick her! See if she's dead!"




Lick The Slagle. You'll totally trip balls.

"Baby, You Can Drive My Car"

Another weekend, another Women's Studies shoot. We spent a lot of time in the car this past weekend . . . not driving, but filming.

Below are some pictures from those car shoots as well as a few from the weekend before where Ziggy, the babydoll from hell, came on set to creep everybody out.

Also, Fangoria Magazine released a short version of their Women's Studies set report. Look for the full article to appear in print in a future Fango issue.



Cindy Marie Martin (Mary) shows off her gaffer's tape "shoes."




Laura Bloechl (Iris) watches as Tiffany James (Melissa) shows us what a great mom she'd be.




Director Lonnie Martin and DP Aaron Shirley try to catch a quick catnap. The snuggle pictures will be used for blackmail later.




Lighting Assitant Joey Cabrera shows off his fantastic parenting skills.




The Lady Killers, from L to R: Laura Bloechl (Iris), Tara Garwood (Judith), Tiffany James (Melissa), Kelley Slagle (Diane)



Prepping the van for the car shoots.




Cindy Marie Martin (Mary) and Lighting Assistant Joey Cabrera work the light helicopter.




Taisha Cameron (Amy) smiles for the camera while Kevin Finkelstein (Keith) looks on.




Filming a car shot from Women's Studies.



"I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille."