Mad Dog Movies » film festival

Zombie Head Assortment

Mike — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 23:11:52 +0000

I’m working on something mysterious. It involves animated zombies, of course.

Click the pic for a closer look.

The Other Gods in Oklahoma

Mike — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:35:30 +0000

This Saturday, July 10, Tulsa will be home to Oklahoma’s Underground Horror Filmfest. The event will feature music, horror hosts, vendors, and movies movies movies.

One block of films is being programmed by my internet friend, Craig Mullins of Unfilmable.com. The theme? H.P. Lovecraft Cinema, of course.

This means I’m happy to announce another public screening of Subterranea’s The Other Gods. In addition, here’s what else will be playing:

- The Silver Key a film by Gary Fierro and Conor Timmis (CT)
- H.P. Lovecraft’s The Book a film by James Raynor (United Kingdom)
- At the Reefers of Madness a film by Brian Clement (Toronto, ON)
- From Beyond a film by Michael Granberry (CA)
- Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer a film by Andrew Jones
- The Crimson Robe a by Russell Welch
- Elder Sign a film by Joseph Nanni
- plus clips (House of Black Wings, Pickman‘s Muse), trailers (Lovecraft Paragraphs, Colour from the Dark, Dirt Dauber, The Terrible Old Tran) and teasers (The Seventh Shadow)…

For more information, visit the Underground Horror Filmfest on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter

Join me at 360 | 365

Mike — Wed, 05 May 2010 05:28:56 +0000

It’s film festival season again in Rochester, and this year’s 360 | 365 George Eastman House Film Festival looks pretty promising.

I’ve been involved behind the scenes — I manage the website and I was on the short film panel — but there’s a ton of features I haven’t seen yet.

I encourage all film fans to check the schedule and come out to support the festival!

Here are some recommended events:

AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE
Thursday, May 06, 2010 9:45 PM
Dryden Theater
and
Saturday, May 08, 2010 7:30 PM
Little Theatre – Little 5

A history of exploitation films in America. I’ve been captivated by this genre for the last several years, which is why I jumped at the chance to provide some animated titles for the doc. Director Elijah Drenner will be in attendance.

MADE IN ROCHESTER
Little Theatre – Little 1
Thursday, May 06, 2010 6:45 PM

Here’s your chance to see the best films from the 360 | 365 Shorts Contest, plus films from Michelle Cardulla, Stan Main, Dave Marshall, and last but not least… Mike Russo’s VIRGIN FANG, starring yours truly as Draculess the timid vampire.

ADULT SHORTS: Hidden Worlds
Little Theatre – Little 1
Thursday, May 06, 2010 9:00 PM

ADULT SHORTS: Private Lives
Little Theatre – Little 5
Saturday, May 08, 2010 5:00 PM

These are the two shorts blocks I helped curate.
We watched about 130 entries, then chose the 15 we loved. Trust me, these are some great films.

WE CAN SHINE: FROM INSTITUTIONS TO INDEPENDENCE
Curtis Theatre
Sunday, May 09, 2010 3:00 PM

My student, Adrian Esposito, has completed his third documentary feature, and this is the best one to date. In We Can Shine, he shares the dark history of institutions for the disabled and how improvements have been made in recent years.

FREE PANELS

Local filmmakers should take advantage of the panel events at the festival, including the following:

Demo: RED CAMERA
The Austin Connection
Screenwriter’s Panel
Screenplay Live!

MUCH MUCH MORE

As if that’s not enough, I want to take in the following as well:

THE S FROM HELL
GONE WITH THE POPE
WAKE IN FRIGHT
THE SECRET OF KELLS
IT CAME FROM KUCHAR
CELL 211
HARRY BROWN
A CONVERSATION WITH THELMA SCHOONMAKER
THE RED SHOES

See you at the fest! Visit http://film360365.com for schedule and ticket information.

360 | 365 on Facebook

360 | 365 on Twitter

25 Hour Horror Feast

subterranea — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:47:54 +0000

Meanwhile, in Rochester, two of my films will be playing as part of The Little Theatre’s 25 Hour Horror Feast. The event starts Halloween Eve with a zombie walk, followed by a marathon of horror movies that continues through Halloween. A special horror-themed edition of Rochester’s Emerging Filmmakers Series will play that Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm.

Kicking off the EFS is the premiere of Skeletal Remains, which acts as both a tribute to classic horror movies and as a music video for 1970s rock group Aviary. (It was Matt Guarnere, a friend of Aviary’s Brad Love, who first suggested I try such a film.)

Someday I’d like to work some animation into Skeletal Remains, but I’ve had friends tell me the current live action cut plays pretty well. My approach was to borrow (steal) scenes from public domain movies like The House on Haunted Hill, The Last Man on Earth, and The Screaming Skull, then remix them to depict a fun little horror story. Now I get to brag that my film stars Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, and Vincent Price!

Later on in the show is Mike Russo’s Virgin Fang, which starred me(!) as Draculess, king nerd of vampires. Mike threw this at me back in August, when many of us Rochester Movie Makers were in the midst of multiple other summer short projects. He invited me to play the lead in this silent horror-comedy, and I was too flattered to refuse.

It was a challenge for me to “act,” even if it was only hamming it up pantomime style. I helped Mike by knocking out some storyboards, then editing the piece in Final Cut Pro at Animatus.

Virgin Fang also stars the beautiful Becky Herber, with camera duties performed by RMM head honcho Stan Main.

Come out October 31st to The Little, 240 East Avenue, Rochester! For a complete run-down of the event, click here.

H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival Promo

subterranea — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 07:49:10 +0000

Here’s a 30 second piece I put together for the 2007 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. I won’t be attending this year, but I’ll be represented by this piece, which will most likely play before a screening or two.

The morph animation was done pen and ink. The room construction and camera moves were done in After Effects. Music is by Mars of deadhousemusic.com

H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival Promo 2007 from Mike Boas on Vimeo.

Lovecraft night at the Eerie Horror Film Festival

subterranea — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 21:20:48 +0000

I’m pleased to announce H.P. Lovecraft’s The Other Gods will be screening at the 2007 Eerie Horror Film Festival. Come out to the Erie Playhouse October 11 at 6:30 PM, when The Other Gods will play ahead of the new Lovecraft inspired feature, Cthulhu.

For more a complete list of films playing, visit http://www.eeriehorrorfilmfestival.com

To see a trailer of Cthulhu, visit http://www.cthulhuthemovie.com/

Pulp Uncovered in Lovecraft's Hometown

subterranea — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:51:52 +0000

This past weekend in H.P. Lovecraft’s hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, a new festival dedicated to literary and film fandom took place. The Other Gods screened during PULP UNCOVERED‘s “Afternoon of Lovecraft” at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Along with The Other Gods, the following subjects also played, courtesy of Lurker Films

The Music of Eric Zann by John Strysik (1980, 17 minutes)
Out of Mind: The Stories of H.P. Lovecraft by Raymond Saint-Jean (1998, 56 min)
The Call of Cthulhu by Andrew Leman & Sean Branney (2005, 47 min, silent film)

This is one festival I wish I could have attended, but my work schedule made it impossible. Hopefully, I’ll get another opportunity next year!

Thanks for attending!

subterranea — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 01:06:46 +0000

I want to extend a hearty thanks to everyone who braved the cold weather for Monday night’s Emerging Filmmakers series. It meant a lot to have family and friends there for The Other Gods’ first local theatrical screening. I had a great time talking movies and seeing what other indie artists had to show.

For those who missed it, don’t fret! I now have the entire short online for you to watch and share with your friends. Visit http://www.maddogmovies.com/theothergods/video.html

-Mike

Emerging Filmmakers this Monday

subterranea — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 19:00:41 +0000

Just a reminder for all Rochester film fans to come out this Monday night to the Little Theatre. Two pieces produced at Animatus will screen as part of the Emerging Filmmakers series.

“H.P. Lovecraft’s The Other Gods” is a five minute short produced by yours truly, Mike Boas. This horror adaptation tells of a prophet of the Dreamlands who scales a forbidden mountain to look upon his deities. This silent film is animated in silhouette style, with a score by Rochester musician Keith Handy.

“The South Africa Stand” is an animated short from one of my Animation Workshop students, Adrian Esposito. It tells the story of an American family that moves to South Africa in the 1970s in the midst of apartheid. Appalled, they eventually become involved in the anti-apartheid struggle. I’m especially proud of Adrian, who is expanding beyond animation exercises to produce personal stories with social content.

So come out to the Little on Monday night. Adrian and I will be on hand to take comments and questions.

EMERGING FILMMAKERS SERIES AT THE LITTLE THEATRE
240 East Avenue Rochester, NY
Monday, February 26, 2007, 9:15pm

For the entire line-up of films, visit
http://www.little-theatre.com/moviePage.php?filmID=447

Australia to host The Other Gods

subterranea — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 22:26:24 +0000

A NIGHT OF HORROR is a new film festival premiering in Sydney, Australia this coming March. In their call for submissions, they specified three entry categories: general horror, animation, and adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft. So I had to enter, didn’t I?

Today I learned that THE OTHER GODS has been chosen to screen at the festival. The organizers received 180 short films from horror filmmakers in 20 different countries, so it’s rewarding to know my film made the cut.

To learn more about A NIGHT OF HORROR, visit http://www.anightofhorror.com or check out the Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/nightofhorror

The Screenings Continue!

subterranea — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 17:30:45 +0000

For you residents of Rochester, NY, “The Other Gods” will be screening as part of the Little Theatre’s EMERGING FILMMAKERS series.

Come out for a night of short films Monday, February 26 at 9 PM. The Little Theatre is at 240 East Ave, Rochester, NY.

Find out more at http://www.little-theatre.com/emergingFilmmakers.php

I also just learned that “The Other Gods” played earlier this month in Houston, Texas, as part of the HORROR DANCE event.

Find out more at http://www.horrordance.org

The Other Gods to play Tromadance

subterranea — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 21:28:28 +0000

H.P. Lovecraft’s The Other Gods has been selected to play at this month’s Tromadance Film Festival, presented by Troma Entertainment.

As someone who has read and re-read Troma president Lloyd Kaufman’s books on filmmaking, it’s a thrill to be part of this festival devoted to the independent spirit.

The 8th Annual TromaDance Film Festival will be held from January 22nd to 27th 2007 in Park City, UT.

http://2007.tromadance.com

"The Other Gods" on the big screen

subterranea — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 21:41:13 +0000

During my weekend in Portland for the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, I spoke to a few people who would be missing Sunday night, the night my short was playing. The last night of any film festival usually has less attendance, since many film-goers cut out for travel reasons or out of sheer exhaustion. I steeled myself for a “light” attendance that night.

Instead, the main theatre was mostly full as usual! Not sold out, but a respectable crowd of a few hundred. Now I had a new concern: could I avoid hyperventilating as the film played before so many sets of eyeballs?

Well, I survived. “The Other Gods” was received well. My colleagues all had incredibly supportive things to say.

Thanks to everyone at the festival for a great experience. I loved every minute of it, and I hope to attend next year.

See the Mad Dog Blog for more about the festival.

Keith Handy's music for The Other Gods

subterranea — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 11:47:54 +0000

Rochester composer Keith Handy has really outdone himself with his soundtrack for The Other Gods. As the producer, I wanted the feel of a classic silent film that later gave way to a more contemporary sound. Keith rose to the challenge and gave me an eerie mix of piano, synthesized sound, and distorted guitar for a truly shocking audio experience. Plus, he managed to get it done in record time!

We’ll be putting the entire short film online soon, but people can get a taste for the soundtrack right now by watching the trailer.

For more about Keith Handy and his music, visit his website at www.keithhandy.com. Check his latest blog entries for some inside information on his scoring sessions for the film, too!

The Other Gods premieres at HPL Film Fest

subterranea — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 16:48:52 +0000

It’s official! After many delays, work on “The Other Gods” is now complete. Not only that, the film will be screening at the 2006 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland Oregon.

I received a “telegram” from the festival announcing the utter horror the projectionist suffered at having seen the film, which was a real nice touch. (Click the pic below for a close-up view.)

I’m quite thrilled, and will be attending the festival to represent the animated short and hobnob with other Hobb’s End lurkers.

See you in October!

"Jason" wins at NecroComicon

subterranea — Thu, 02 Jun 2005 11:05:47 +0000

The “Friday the 13th” 25th anniversary celebration was a big success. I heard from Eben, convention head honcho:

“Yours and Rupert Takes Manhattan were winners. Yours screened on a 10 foot screen facing Hollywood blvd. all night (looped) on Thurs. night a ‘coming attraction’ for the weekend. It was a cool spectacle.”

So I’m imagining unsuspecting passers-by walking down Hollywood Boulevard, being subjected to my strange little cartoon. Pretty wild. This sort of response makes me want to get my next shorts out to festivals as soon as possible.

Jason Screenings

subterranea — Sun, 10 Apr 2005 15:26:41 +0000

“Jason: The Rebirth” is a modest fan film that was created for entry in the 2003 ManiaFest competition. The judges liked it quite a bit, awarding it second place (with a cash prize!). The producers of the Friday the 13th DVD box set were sponsoring the competition, and for a while it looked like they would be including several winning fan films with the collection. Legal problems prevented that from happening, unfortunately.

Once the DVD fell through, I decided to send the animated short out to some horror festivals and fan conventions. Here’s a list of Jason screenings so far:

NecroComicon – November 2004
Carnage Con – November 2004
Dark Xmas – November 2004
Cinema Wasteland – April 2005
Chicago Horror Fest – April 2005
NecroComicon – F13 reunion! – May 2005

The responses I’ve been getting inspired me to make the trip to Cleveland for April’s Cinema Wasteland Convention. Head honcho Ken Kish put together a great panel of guests and a line-up of trashy b-movies that were not to be missed.

Coincidentally, while I was in Cleveland, I had a supporter in Chicago pushing the cartoon. Ari Lehman, the actor who played young Jason in the first Friday film, gave me some props at the Chicago Horror Fest. I first communicated with Ari last year, after he found my website and showed interest in the cartoon. Here’s what he had to say about Chicago:

“I wanted to let you know that you now have some fans in Chicago.

This past weekend was the Chicago Horror film Festival at the Three Penny Cinema in Chicago. For the past two years, I have been a Special Guest at this event. On my way to the cinema this year, I put your DVD in my briefcase, hoping that maybe they would show it to the crowd. They were delighted to show your short animation on two nights, right after I spoke to the crowd, and the people were THRILLED! They really dug your film. The event’s co-ordinator commented that it was very well done and that he would like your work to be included next year as well.”

I can’t ask for any higher praise than that.

So what’s next? Well, I don’t own the characters or the music, so my options are limited. I’ll be sending it off to screenings as they present themselves, but I think that will taper off as I complete other films. When I approach the big festivals (that usually ask 25-40 dollars entry fee) it’ll be more satisfying to push a wholly original work.

Watch this space for future screening info!