Monthly Archives: October 2006

The Legend Trip – the rough cut

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So if you look at my list of links on the right hand side, you’ll see The Legend Trip. This is a movie that is being directed, edited, shot, etc by a close and long time friend of mine, Jason Satterfield. I mean this guy has had a camera in his hands just about forever.

Well, I was fortunate enough to see a rough cut of the film which was around 80% complete, and let me just say…. If you want to see how horror movie masters get their starts, you NEED to check out this movie when it’s released. The cut was shown at the “It Came From Lake Michigan” horror film festival and seemed to have captured everyone who was able to make it at 1pm on an otherwise mundane Friday afternoon.

The style of the movie comes off as part experimental, part classic horror homage, and surprisingly part film noir (a style that I find used very seldomly in horror and suspense). It is a group of stories surrounding a house that has seen its share of blood over the decades. However unlike your typical anthology-like storytelling telling entire parts of the story one at a time, this seamlessly moves in and out between time periods filling in exactly what you need to know at this specific moment, keeping you trying to fill in the blanks as you move along. The effect is engrossing and at the same time keeps things unpredicatable and riveting.

The worst things I have to say about the film was that acting performances were slightly uneven, with some absolutely great moments mixed with some not so great moments. At this point that is all I can definitively say, as the rest depends on the remaining 20% that is being worked on. Rest assured, all of my remaining problems were addressed by Jason even before I had a chance to mention them. I can’t wait to see the final film once he gets the connecting narrative inserted and the final soundtrack scored.

I don’t have any info on a firm release date or method. I know they have home video distribution setup but I’m not sure about theatrical. So make sure you keep on your local video store or horror retailer and tell them to keep an eye out and ear open for the release of The Legend Trip. Hopefully it will only be the first of a long string of movies by Jason Satterfield.

One other thing I want to add. While I have known Jason for years, I have also been known to be brutally honest to a fault. Trust me folks, if I really didn’t like this film I simply wouldn’t have posted anything here. It can be a little rough around the edges at times, and certainly a bit different than most mainstream horror fans might be used to, but it’s definitely more honest than most of the PG-13 drek hollywood is shoveling out today and makes you use your brain a bit in between pools of blood and piles of guts.

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How does the second month look?

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So I am right in the middle of my second month right now. How does it look? Well, it could be better, it could be worse. I have made a few sales, have a few subscribers, and for the time being look to be staying in business. I have started on my quest to actually carry different genres and styles of books and comics, and it has been met with a lukewarm reception (though still much better than cold). After I am done with the mechanics of the site (I am SO close) I will begin working on marketing. Specifically I will walk the walk and begin advertising on Google and elsewhere to people who read other types of fiction.

One of the things that I am coming across is a “damned if you do damned if you don’t” dillema. If I shun the standard superhero/sci-fi/fantasy genres, I will lose the bread and butter of the industry, and it’s called the bread and butter for a reason. On the other hand, if I carry the same superhero/sci-fi/fantasy items that every other shop routinely stocks, I really have nothing to set myself apart from the crowd. If this were a perfect world, I would be independently wealthy and would simply stock all books regardless of type or genre. However I have to figure what I can get away with (aka what Heidi will let me get away with) and what has to be cut back.

I am starting to see the site programming slow down a bit. This is an extremely good thing. After essentially coding for 12+ hours a day, 7 days a week, I am done with it. Well ok, not done with it, but in desperate need of a real break. Luckily I finished out subscription invoicing which was one of the last major areas on the site that needed to be covered. I am also getting a hold on shipping. Talk about something I should have finished beforehand. Unfortunately my time was already stretched thin enough that a few hours extra to spend on shipping just wasn’t happening. My packaging time is down, and once I get a shaarp scissors will be down even further. I discovered the necessary evil of shipping peanuts. Yes, I hate them as much as everyone else, but they are commonly used for a single reason. they are cheap and convenient.

The post office has been nothing but aces. Since buying my own postal scale and printing up my own shipping at home, my trips to the post office (provided I make it a bit before last collection) involve simply walking in, dropping my packages into the package chute, and leaving. no more standing in line, waiting for the clerk to weigh and stamp the package, or standing in line (mentioned twice purposely).

Now I just have to figure out monthly sales tax and I should be set.

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