Purgatory Comics Trailer

Well after six months of promises, here's the official trailer to "Purgatory Comics." I really hope you guys dig it. Making a clean trailer is no easy task, especially when you want to give people the general idea of your film without giving too much away. I might be a bit biased, but I like it. It gets me all tingly inside.

In case you're wondering, the three awesome songs in there are "I'm Ready" by Fenix Down, "Dressed Up & Messed Up" by Billy "Harp" Hamilton and the Lowriders, and "In the Spin" by Fox Vulpini.

New film web site on the horizon. Sweet mother of pearl, I gotta get to bed...

Bon Jovi @ Central Park NY 7/12/08

New York, New York - Central Park - 7/12/08

Livin' on a Prayer
You Give Love a Bad Name
Lost Highway
Born to Be My baby
Runaway
Sleep When I'm Dead w/ Twist & Shout
Blaze of Glory
Whole Lot of Leavin'
In These Arms
We Got it Goin' On
It's My Life
I'll Be There For You (Richie on vocals)
Have a Nice Day
Keep the Faith
Who Says
Bad Medicine w/ Shout

ENCORE:
Always
Dead or Alive
I Love this Town

Awesome show, perfect weather. Thanks to Shane for winning the tix.

Purgatory Comics

There's your title unless something better strikes me between now and this weekend. What's this weekend? The premiere of the first official trailer! Last night I cut a rough cut, and this weekend I'm going to fine tune in, put in the titles, and put it right here on this blog. It's a nice two and a half minutes that will show you some of the cleaner (i.e. not R-rated) scenes (that was a tough task), as well as introduce you to our characters and story.

I like the title of Purgatory Comics. It just took awhile to grow on me to the point where I liked it a lot. I'll admit, it's better written than said. But it really captures the theme of the film well. Plus it's the name of the fictional comic store it's about, so there ya go. And it doesn't hurt that I already own the domain name. But like I said, it's not officially official for another, say, 48 hours...

Poll: Possible Title Ideas

Update: I'm pretty much knocking out "Purgatory, New York" from the options. It was a favorite of mine, but I recently learned of this new Charlie Kaufman film coming out this year. It's a weird coincidence, made even weirder by the fact that he's one of my favorite writers. So please don't vote for "Purgatory, New York." "Purgatory Comics," however, is still fine.

Hey folks, below are a few of the possible title ideas that have come up through brainstorming. Give a quick vote and see if you like any of these. Consider how the title fits into the plot and theme of the film, and also consider the marketing standpoint. I'm not basing my decision on this poll; just trying to see where other people stand. If you absolutely despise every title below, feel free to leave your own ideas (you need to register on blogspot to leave comments...it's fast and free so go for it if you haven't already).

Here's the plot again:

The film tells the story of a young woman named Cola who is frightened away from the life of responsibilities that come with becoming a mature adult. She runs from her old successes and hides in a comic book store (Purgatory Comics), where she helps the owner Evan keep the business alive. The two of them, along with a young customer named Berner, form a bond that is threatened to be broken when Cola's old life begins calling her back.

In case you forgot or didn't know, I can't use the title Bagged and Boarded anymore. If you have questions or need more details, drop a comment and I'll answer you.

Thanks for the feedback. The moment I register I final title, I'll do a new website and cut a trailer.

I Tried to Get an Internet Celebrity in the Film Once

Happy Fourth, folks! I think enough time has passed where I can start sharing some older stories about the film that I didn't originally publicize. Here's one I completely forgot about until last night. So in the movie, there's a character named Peter Whales (played by Bob Socci). The character of Whales was originally based on a combination of two people: Comic writer Alan Moore, and Mike "The Big Man" (Later I'd give him a splash of Dr. Cox and Hannibal Lector).

The idea to put an older, bitter character in the script came when I was on the way to work, and the radio station played a rant from The Big Man (aka, the Kid from Brooklyn). I've heard him before, but I thought the idea to have a character like that in the movie was hilarious. Thus, Peter Whales was born. LONG before casting, I was wondering if I'd be able to find someone crazy enough to deliver the vulgar, sexist, sacrilegious lines I'd written for Whales. Then the idea came up to actually get the Big Man himself! Here's one of his famous Internet rants:

This part was fun...I'd written him, then actually got to talk to both him and his agent on the phone a few times. I sent him the pages of the script and really tried to convince him to do it. Of course it eventually didn't happen...probably because I tried to get him for free (then I offered to negotiate pay, but never gave a solid price). It also seems to me that he finds acting to be a bit tedious, which I understand. To his credit, he was a very nice guy; very open and approachable (despite his intimidating video rants). So that's my story about trying to get an Internet celebrity.

Over the time, the character of Whales changed and was less of a shouting old man, and more of a psychological manipulator. Of course, Bob Socci plays Whales and he did great.

Here's another little know fact: I'd written Llyod Kaufman, president of Troma films, to see about getting him to do a cameo as a customer. By the time he read it (this is on myspace), it was long after the shoot. I should've called him instead!

Camille Jackson Joins the Soundtrack

The music of Camille Jackson has joined the growing soundtrack for "Untitled Ralph Movie." Check out her myspace page and give a listen to her song called "This Town," which will be the song used in the film. Camille is an acoustic/bluegrass type performer from Oregon and was kind enough to sign on to the project.

I'm thinking of putting up a poll with some new film title possibilities, including one I'm leaning toward. Maybe I'll do that this week. I'll be doing a new web site and trailer right after I get a title, and I also desperately need to either update or redesign the site for Warm Milk Productions.